Hey guys, and welcome back to the second chapter of this story! I hope with the premise chapter I am not upsetting anyone too much, but this is how I want to envision my story to be. As explained in the last chapter, I am rewriting most of the story and characters due to how flawed most of them are. After all, my 3 year hiatus has led me to rethinking on what I should be doing with my stories after all. If that is all, lets continue where we left off!
Disclaimer: This story is mine; the respective works belongs to the original writers.
A summoning from Louise, called on a boy she never knew!
While getting along nicely, the pompous boy Guiche entered a duel with the boy, who is now the familiar of Louise.
But suddenly, a mysterious book envelops Guiche's Valkyrie, which attacked him in return.
And out of the blue, the small book that the boy carries, reveals to be a legendary power that awakened the flame knight, Eugene!
(Insert Netsujo no spectrum by Ikimono gakari)
Nariyamanu ai o sakebu yosubete o daite koko ni irundahikari wa soko ni aru yo The scene opens with the night sky, revealing the two moons of Halkeginia, before the sword of flames and Louise's wand flies by the screen.
Yuzurenai omoi o kaketekibou no hate o boku wa ikiru yoyume o tsunaidakimi to Two figures approach the screen from afar, which are Louise and Eugene standing back to back as they looked up. Louise then readies her wand to her chest before the camera pans to Eugene as he pulls out his sword and slashes the screen.
(Instrumental) The title is revealed.
Hajimari o itsuka bokurano te de umidasunda yo The camera pans to the Tristain academy of magic, before showing Louise as she wakes up from her bed, yawning.
Yasashii kimi no koe mokitto sekai o kaerareru It then shows Louise walking past the mirror a few times, getting ready before looking at the photo frames on the table and smiling.
Daremo hitorikiri ja tachiagare ya shinai kara The scene then switches to Eugene walking down the academy's hallway as he greets the supporting characters, Kirche, Guiche, Montmorency and Tabitha.
Tagai ni te o nobashite kagiri mo koeta ashita e He then arrives at a open area as he looks up to skies before it is enveloped into darkness. Three mysterious figures then appear, smiling from their shadows.
(Short Instrumental) Two flashes of Eugene's childhood memories are shown
Nariyamanu ai o sakebu yobutsukariatte wakariaundahikari wo tsukuridasu yo The scene now shows Eugene running, before Louise joins him before they are shown to arrive at the cliffside, which reveals several monsters. Eugene then takes out his belt and book, inserting the latter before drawing out his sword, transforming him into Kamen rider saber.
Akiramenu omai wa kaketeHe rushes down to the monsters and uses his flames to dissipate all of them as he stops into a swordman's pose.
Kibou no hate o boku wa ikiru yoyume o tsunaidakimi to Suddenly, Louise's eyes went blank as she chanted a spell, enveloping everything in light before it shows her snapping out of her mind, showing that she was standing at the top of one of the academy's towers, as Eugene joins her. They smile at each other before the camera pans down, showing the sword of flames and Louise's wand.
"The same knight from ten years ago…" Louise utters in shock.
She could not believe it. Her familiar, whom she summoned happened to transform into the same knight she was saved by now stood in front of her. It was the same exact armor, and belt. Along with the sword.
"Now, dance with the flames!" Eugene declared, before his right hand began to glow slightly.
The Valkyrie made a strange noise before rushing forward with its spear. Eugene then ducked in his new armor before delivering a up slash to it, sending it upwards before he jumped really high, reaching the Valkyrie and then, slashing it, sending it downwards. The Valkyrie then crashed into the ground, creating a crater. The familiar then landed with his two legs smoothly.
"Interesting. So, this a Kamen rider's power." Eugene said as he looked at his sword, but before noticing his hand was glowing slightly.
"Eugene!" Louise slowly got up and ran to his side.
"You okay?" He asked her, which she nodded. But she suddenly leaned forward, her leg strength still having not recovered.
"Whoa there." He caught her before she fell. "Just rest here. I will wrap this up quick."
Setting her down, he then turned his attention to the Valkyrie.
'Each Kamen rider has its own enemies. Is that mine?' He thought before glancing down at his hand wielding his sword, which was glowing.
'I don't know about fighting, but does this glowing hand allow me to do so?'
"Look out!" Louise's voice rang, catching his attention as he looked up to see the possessed Valkyrie running to him, with its hand raised with its weapon. Immediately, he acted by raising his sword, which blocked the blow, sending the two into a deadlock.
Although the two entered into a deadlock, the Valkyrie's strength was overpowering the knight rider, as he was being pushed back.
'This guy is strong!' the rider thought.
"But! I won't drop here!" He shouted before pushing back the Valkyrie as the two let go of the deadlock.
Stumbling back for a bit, he got into a defensive post before charging towards the Valkyrie, jumping a few feet away as he got ready to slash the possessed monster. The Valkyrie's eyes then glowed before the two hands on its head separated and launched towards the dragon rider.
"I WON'T LOSEEEEE!" the rider roared as he came down, using his elbows quickly to kick and punch away the hands, before slashing the monster downwards, sparks flying out of its body.
Twirling the sword, he delivered an upper slash before using his leg to kick the monster. Gripping the sword with both of his hands, he went for its body and began to strike it several times using basic swordsman techniques. Each strike began to build up fire and soon enough, the sword was engulfed in flames. The next strike delivered a heavy blow to the Valkyrie as the flames caught the rider by surprise.
"Cool…This is my sword…". He muttered before looking at the possessed monster. But he soon realized mentally that his physical and mental strength was running out, as he never really got into a fight before.
It felt like the power would consume him if he kept going.
"I will end this with the next strike. But how…?" He declared as he and the monster got into a pose.
Images then flashed once again in his mind, of similar monsters and knights like him striking them down.
"That's it!" He said as he saw the Valkyrie leaping into the air, ready to strike him down.
Closing his eyes inside his helmet, he used his remaining fighting strength to channel the power into his sword. With his eyes glowing, his whole body gave off a flaming aura before the flames soon appeared from the sword once again.
Meanwhile, Louise, who was watching this, was in awe and shock. Awe being the fact that her familiar could put a hold to a noble's magic, although not entirely, and shock being the fact that her familiar was donned in the armor of the knight that saved her ten years ago. Questions were ringing in her mind all over, as she wanted to ask her familiar if…
He was the one who saved her ten years ago.
But he had no recollection of his memories. And within moments, she realized the voice from the knight in that armor was slightly deeper from back then. It occurred to her that he might not be the one, but despite so, the question in her mind was…
'Where did he disappeared to after that day?'
Channeling enough power within him, the rider spoke sharply. "Fire dragon…burning slash!" He then swung his sword upwards, clashing with the spear of the Valkyrie. Using his might, he shouted before slamming his sword away, a flaming wave hitting the Valkyrie in its chest, before it flew upwards, and exploding in the air.
As the smoke cleared, the sight of the possessed monster was gone, only dirt remained on the ground.
Vestri field was now in a slight state of destruction. What was once green grass was now filled with dirt and some specks of fire. The flowers around were destroyed from their pots and laid on the ground.
Panting, the rider stabbed his sword on the ground before removing the book from his belt, as he slowly reverted to his human self without the armor. The glow on his hand also faded off.
Dusting the dirt off her uniform, Louise slowly got up and held her familiar, who seemed to be having breathing problems.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"Yeah…" Eugene nodded. "It's just that I need some rest."
The next day came, as Eugene rested on Louise's bed. Apparently, after they had returned to her room, he plopped onto the bed immediately and never said a word after that. Leaving with no choice, she helped him to the correct sleeping position before she took the other side of the bed and slept away.
Slowly opening her eyes, she got up and stretched her arms before letting out a yawn. She then gazed her eyes towards her familiar, who still laid in the same sleeping posture. Her mind then drifted off towards the previous day, as images of him wearing the same armor that she saw ten years ago.
'It couldn't be him right? He looks around my age. And if it were to be the person who saved us, he should be ten years older...' Louise thought as she drifted back into reality. Clasping her cheeks, she shook off the thoughts, having decided on what to do.
As the day was a off day for second year students, she decided to head to the library to find out more about the knight who saved her twice. After getting ready and having changed into her uniform, she turned to look at her sleeping familiar before exiting the room. On the way as she walked, she passed by students who were murmuring softly as they looked at her, but their murmurs were not soft enough for her to not hear.
"Isn't that Valliere, the one whose familiar fought Gramont?"
"I heard her familiar was a secret knight in disguise."
"It was a weird looking armor that I think I have heard before."
"Shh! Not so loud, she can hear you."
Sighing to herself, she was then stopped by a familiar person.
"I didn't know you became more famous after yesterday." Louise looked up to see the person she disliked a lot.
"Zerbst… What do you want?" She then walked past her, as the mentioned began to walk with her.
"Nothing. Just want to follow you around. Flame here doesn't mind it either." Zerbst said as she looked back to her salamander familiar, who croaked in return. "So then, where do you want to go."
"None of your business. Why do you even want to know in the first place?" Louise kept walking.
"Its about your human familiar that can transform into the knight that saved you previously right? That's why you want to look up on the history of those knights, to prove your assumptions that he could be your savior that you were looking for. And if by chance, you can find your lost childhood friend." Zerbst said as Louise came to a stop and faced her.
"Kirche. Your family and my family have been sworn archenemies for many years. What I pursue and seek, is for my own interests. It will never collude with yours. You can ridicule me in class, spread the word that I am a 'zero', but my pride will not allow any member of your family to interfere in my private matters, that includes you, 'the fever'."
"So persistent… fine then, I will leave you alone for once, just don't be too cocky about now that your familiar is no longer seen as a mere commoner." And with one turn, Kirche left the scene, leaving Louise alone once more.
"I didn't mean any of that you know…" Louise muttered before she turned around and headed to the library.
Floating in a dark void, was Eugene. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
"Where am I?" He muttered.
"Inside your consciousness." A voice sounded before a small speck of light lit up the area.
Turning towards the light, he asked. "Who are you?"
"Who am I? It seems like you have short term memory don't you?" The voice replied.
"Well, I don't remember stuff from long time ago. So it is explainable." Eugene shook his head.
"Not even yesterday?" The voice asked.
"Yesterday? If I remember, oh! I transformed into a kamen rider!" He recalled the events of yesterday.
The event where his duel opponent's mini warrior transformed into a terrifying monster, protecting his opponent, and then nearly getting killed by the monster's attack, only for him to be protected by a small book that summoned a sword that turned into a belt, which then prompted him into transforming into a kamen rider.
"Bahahaha! It seems now that you did remember. That's right, I…" The light then slowly glowed bigger, forcing the young man to shield his eyes. When the light died down, in its place was a crimson red dragon.
"You… are the dragon from yesterday!" Eugene exclaimed, pointing at the creature.
"Heh. It's been a long time coming." The red dragon looked away.
"Long time? What do you mean?" The young man looked confused.
"Don't worry about that for now. Anyways, I am the crimson god beast dragon emperor, and I have been residing in you for ten years, until the day you reawakened me yesterday, and became the knight, saber." The dragon flew around him as it spoke.
"Saber?" Eugene sounded confused.
"That's right, anyways, I think I should leave the rest of the explaining to your master, you will find out more from there. As I have just awakened, I can't last in this form for long, but all I can say is, the stronger you get, I will be able to sustain this form for longer than now, and who knows you will be able to communicate with me telepathically." The dragon continued.
"I don't know what you mean, but I will try whatever you mean." Eugene said.
"Good luck, future hero." The dragon then lit up till the void was filled with white.
"Where is it…" Louise said in annoyance as she continued to ruffle through the books.
It has been awhile since Louise had stepped into the library and she hasn't come across the book that she wanted to get clues on. Each book she came across, was either children's story books, or informative books on the different magic elements. She then headed to the history section where she had been looking for a book that could tell something about the knight armor that he familiar was clad on.
Just then, a book slowly floated towards her from the right, which caught her eye as she took it. Then, just ahead of her, was a blue haired girl with glasses.
Louise was familiar with this girl.
"Tabitha? What are you doing here?" The pinkette asked.
Tabitha said nothing before using her staff to float another book towards her. Then, words escaped from her mouth.
"Helping, a book on knights." She said, not looking at Louise as her eyes stared at the book on her hands, which was flipped open.
Tabitha was not a very outspoken student. In fact, she has been very quiet and only spoke in simple words, but it was enough for people to understand.
"I see, thank you." Louise bowed as thanks.
Tabitha said nothing before closing her own book and left, leaving her on her own.
Louise then turned her attention to the book and realized it was the book that she was searching to get a clue on. Turning the pages, she began reading.
In a very dimly lit room, were three men that were surrounded by bookshelves. Two were sitting down, while one was staring out through a window.
"Seems like something has failed." One of them said. He has dark golden eyes, short black hair with center parting, along with a hair extension on his left that goes to his waist. He wore a simple black long sleeve coat with matching trousers. He also wore brown boots.
"Shut up Storious!" The man sitting across him snapped enjoyably. He had dark golden hair and eyes that matches the person he was talking that is held up by a black hairband. He wore a blue singlet with an orange stripe at the bottom, overlayered by a navy blue sleeveless jacket. He also wore tan colored jeans with black shoes.
"It's your fault that alter book was not completed!" The man snarled at the other.
"Calm down Zooous, you know that he doesn't want to truly make a incomplete book." The man at the window finally spoke as he turned away and approached the two. He sports short but black with a tiny bit of dark brown hair, and also shared the same dark golden eyes as the other two. He wore a red shirt which is layered by a dark black jacket. He also has a belt on his waist which spots two side skirts going down to the ankle. He also wore black jeans with a single white stripe going down, with black shoes with white soles.
"Legeiel…" Zooous snarled back.
"We have someone, behave yourselves." Storious gave a small smile and stared towards the door of the room, which then opened to reveal….
"It seems you are back." Legeiel said as the one approaching them was Miss Longueville, the secretary of Tristain academy.
"The book was quite useful. I hope that you would give me a more complete book to aid in my duties." She said as she handed the Ganseikou Golem book to Storious.
"Then you would be in for a surprise. Have a seat." Storious accepted it as he gestured for the woman to take a seat. He then stood up himself and approached the bookshelves and began to search for another book.
"So, Longueville, was the golem defeated because of a knight that transformed?" He asked.
"Yes, He transformed into a knight that uses fire on his sword." She replied nonchalantly as she served herself some tea.
"Fire? That's means…." Zooous put the pieces together quickly.
"Kamen rider saber has awakened once more." Legeiel finished off.
"Kamen rider? Is that how you guys refer to these knights as?" Longueville asked as she took a sip from her cup.
"In a way or so. These kamen riders…." Legeiel begins to explain.
"…. are knights that protect the balance of this world by interfering in all sorts of conflicts." Louise muttered to herself before turning to the next page before continuing. "Each knight is chosen based on their magical element, but, in a world of nobility and peasants, the organization that binds them together, drop their identities and see each other as equals."
"The original elements, fire, water, earth, and air are elements passed down to the next potential user. Other users awaken their own elements through their own magic. These elements were originally formed through their own wills when fighting."
And when Louise flipped to the next page…
"Eh?" She let out as she saw 2 blank pages, before flipping continuously, only to find every single page was blank.
"Blank?! How is this possible?" She said before the book suddenly went up in flames of its own.
"Kyahh!" She retracted her hands quickly as she dropped the burning book, which continued to burn before it turned to ash. She then checked her hands to make sure it was not burnt, and sighed in relief.
Looking at the ashes, slowly registering in her mind, it transformed into a state of panic as her face became written with it.
'Nonononono! The book! What should I do? If the librarian finds out about it, I am completely screwed!' She knelt down and slowly gathered the ashes from the former book in the hopes of sneaking it away.
"What are you doing?" The voice of a adult male asked from behind.
"Hyahhh! I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-sorry that the book is d-d-d-d-destroyed and it's my f-f-f-f-ault!" Louise's soul jumped and blurted out.
"Relax, Miss Valliere." The male said and made her turned to face him.
The person Louise saw made her face completely devoid of any soul in her body. The male was none more than the librarian himself, who was in his 40s, evident from the slight wrinkles on his face, wearing a long white buttoned shirt and long black pants draped with a maroon robe. He also wore business covered shoes whose surface is so shiny that one can see his reflection on it.
The librarian then looked over her shoulder to see the remains of the book, before thinking what to say.
"Sorry, Mr Pierre. I accept any punishment for destroying school property." Louise lowered her head as she turned to face him, ready to resign to her fate.
"I would if it was the latter. Raise your head, young one." The librarian replied.
Confused, she did as such and asked him "What do you mean? This book was here on the shelves. How could it not be school property?"
"This book does not catch the attention of many people. Or if I can explain better, it can't be seen by regular humans, even to nobles."
"Eh?"
"It was waiting for someone to read it, and pass its knowledge onto said person, that being you. But, it only wanted you to know what it wants you to know only. It's like as if the book had a mind on its own."
"And how would you know about it, Mr pierre?"
Lifting part of his robe. Pierre revealed a all too familiar logo that the pinkette had seen a few minutes ago.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Saber's partner." Pierre bowed his head.
"You are…from the Sword of Logos?!" Louise exclaimed softly.
Nodding his head in confirmation, Pierre continued "Indeed I am, while I serve as the librarian of this academy, I am the librarian of the organization and oversee the world from a perspective." He then looked away from her in a certain direction. "Now I believe that he has awakened. Miss Valliere, would you call your familiar over? I will like to have a chat with him."
Looking at his eyes, she asked. "About him being the knight?"
Turning back to her, he saw her eyes that spelled curiosity. "Not only that. We can find out the answers we seek from him, its been many years since the sword of flames was last used. I think we have a common ground."
"All right, give me a moment." And with that, she took off and out of the library.
'Saber, so that is the name of the Kamen rider I am' Eugene thought as he looked into the sky of the world he had arrived to, with eyes that were filled with questions that he had wanted to ask Louise about the moment he woke up, but as she was not around, he had to wait.
'But I wonder why I could fight like I had been experienced for many years even though I only took up swordsmanship classes in one. Could it be this rune thing on my hand? It was glowing through my armor when I fought yesterday.' He looked down on his hand, curious for answers.
Just then, the door slammed open to reveal a familiar girl panting as he turned around.
"There you are. Where did you-" He started, before he was cut off.
"No questions. Library. Now!" Louise said between breaths.
"What do you mean? You can't just move me around as you wish, I still have yet to ask about yesterday." Eugene shook his head before he felt his hand being grabbed.
"That's why all the more you need to follow me!" She hissed slightly before she whispered. "There's someone that I want you to meet, and he can answer all of your questions."
Eugene gave abit of thought before he slowly nodded and gave a stern look. "Ok. But if it turns out to be a phony, I'm coming back immediately."
"You won't. Let's go."
The two left the room and headed to the library. Along the way, some students stared at them and began talking among themselves. Most likely, it was the fight that occured yesterday, given how it turned out. But they simply ignored them, for their goal was the library.
After a short while, they arrived at the library, in front of the librarian who was standing, as if he was awaiting their presence.
"I'm sorry for the wait, Mr Pierre" Louise said as she bowed her head before gesturing to her familiar. "This is Eugene, the user of the sword of flames."
Eugene then handed out his hand again, startling Louise, but she let it pass as she knew that he did it before with Siesta.
"It's….an honor to meet you, sir" Eugene said politely with a calm smile.
"Likewise, I'm Pierre, the academy's librarian and coincidentally, the librarian of the sword of logos." The older man said as he figured out what the young man was doing before shaking his hand.
"What you did was a handshake, correct? Sorry, because the rules of this world are as stringent as possible so I will like to clarify."
"Yeah. I don't really bow to people as I never done that before." Eugene countered as he let go of his hand before continuing. "Louise here says that you are able to answer all the questions that I can give regarding this."
Pierre nodded his head before heading to a door that was closed "But before that, I will like to show you something. Sorry Miss Valliere, but I will like to borrow him for awhile, as where I'm taking him is a secret that only he can know."
Louise pondered for a moment, before she came to a decisive reply.
"No."
The librarian blinked his eyes before clarifying himself "Perhaps you heard me wrong but-"
"No means no. Knight or not, he's my familiar and I have every right to be with him whenever he goes." Louise said sharply while pointing to Eugene, who looked baffled and confused at the same time.
"I'm sorry, but, the organisation, as you read in the book earlier, exercises it's rights to reject possible visitors. Don't worry, in time, as your familiar gains more experience, you will be allowed in eventually." Pierre shook his head, whilst his right hand was on his wand, ready to chant a spell.
"But-" Louise tried to reply back, only for Eugene to step forward and look into her face.
"It's okay. I will be safe, trust me. I don't think I will be getting any danger under him." The young man reassured her.
But her heart was tugging of pain, as if like she was afraid to lose someone that is important to her. But one can't blame her, given what she had gone through.
Her eyes watered slightly before she grabbed his hand tightly, surprising him.
"Come back safe… to me" She said softly, before looking at him with her bright, pink eyes.
'Damn, she's too cute when she looks like that' Eugene's mind raced before a smile graced his features.
"Thank you. Wait for me here, alright?"
Louise simply nodded before Pierre led Eugene to a door that leads to a storage room before drawing a small brown book item in his hand, the same book item that Eugene used before transforming into saber. The librarian then opened it.
BOOK GATE
The door glowed brightly in response before dying down and automatically opening, which revealed a spinning blue vortex, which suggested that it was a gateway.
"Let's go, Saber." Pierre said before jumping in.
Eugene looked back at his master and gave her a nod, which she returned, her hand on her chest, and headed into the vortex. The vortex immediately closed after he passed through.
Immediately after Eugene entered, he suddenly found himself spinning too much, for the vortex simply having no ground.
"What the! Hey! I can't balance myself help!" He cried out to the librarian, who looked like as if he was in a limbo position. The librarian looked back and chuckled at his sight.
"That's not funnyyyyyyy!" Eugene cried before they were engulfed in a white light.
Passing through the white light, Pierre landed gracefully, while Eugene, still spinning, flew out and landed on his back.
"Ow….." He groaned as he tried to compose himself.
"So, how was your first experience getting through the gate?" The librarian smiled.
"You are a goddamn sadist for sure." Eugene gave him a stinky look before he turned his attention to the giant door in front of them.
"Well then, here we are"
Pierre pushed the door open, to reveal a large room that is shaped like a dome. The sides contained two stairwells that lead to one central platform, which was surrounded by shelves of books that left a gap to a door. The railings of the platform proudly displayed a logo. and just right below it, was a unique table that consisted of drawers, machines, and screens. And in front of the table, was a hallway leading to another door.
"Woah….." Eugene gawked with his eyes and mouth wide open, trying to take it all in, as he had never seen such a grand room before.
"Well Eugene, no, Kamen rider saber, I welcome you to the northern branch headquarters, of the sword of logos." Pierre smiled with his hands wide open in a welcoming gesture.
"Sword of logos…" Eugene muttered as he stared at the logo on the railings.
"That's right, only the sacred swordsmen and swordswoman are allowed entry into this sacred place, one that we hold dear to our roots for thousands of years." Pierre explained.
"I see, but northern branch? This isn't all?"
"It isn't. The organisation has three branches. Northern where we are at, Southern, and Agatsaya. And our locations are in a place where no ordinary humans can enter. For the Northern branch where, once again we are, is located in the North pole. The Southern branch is located at the South pole. For the Agatsaya branch, well, unfortunately I won't tell you where it is yet."
"North pole, South pole, wait, Arctic and Antarctica?!" Eugene said out loud, having remembered the two places, for him being on Earth and having studied the continents before.
"How do you know that? I haven't told you the names at all." Pierre questioned with his eyebrow raised suspiciously.
"O-oh, Louise told me that simply, she's just booksmart." Eugene rubbed his head sheepishly while his mind was in a frenzy.
'Holy hell I almost gave the fact that I was from earth, I mean not even this guy would believe if I said so. Close one right there!'
"I see, well you certainly have taken a liking to Miss Valliere already right? Since you do speak highly of her."
"W-what? Nah, she's just someone that I am ok with, well, I did told her that she shouldn't treat me like a familiar, but rather a partner in arms, since I'm kinda armed now."
"I see. Well, anyway, this is all I want to show you for now, in time I'll teach you how to use our facilities wisely. We should head back and carry on this conversation with your partner that is."
"Why so?"
"Because she deserves to know everything, about the knight who saved her ten years ago."
Meanwhile, with Longueville, She was pondering over what the three men in the room she was sharing with said.
"I see, so that boy is one of your enemies." She said.
"Anyone who simply draws any sacred sword and transforms into a Kamen rider is automatically an enemy of ours, no matter who wields it." Zooous said sharply.
"They are the reason why we are hiding here since our last assasult to complete the great book." Legeiel continued.
"And would there be any reason for you guys to choose me as a partner?" The woman sipped her tea.
"Your criminal deeds have interested us, Longueville, no, Matilda, also known as 'Fouquet, the crumbling dirt'. We need your help." Storoius said as he was looking at a machine that has a writing hand that was continuing to scribble on a book.
"And what help would that be? I'm just a thief."
"And a thief can steal a sword no? Us Megids could have lesser work if there was less riders to deal with."
"You want me to steal the sword of flames that the boy holds?"
"Not the sword, but the book he wields. The wonder ride books powers the Kamen riders, without it, they are just simply useless and can fall within one strike."
While explaining, the writing hand stopped writing on the book, which Storoius then took the ganseikou golem alter book from a slot connected to the hand and handed it back to the thief. Without hesitation, she took it and placed it in her pocket.
"The golem should be much stronger this time. When he's knocked out of his transformation, use whatever you do to take the book out of his hands and bring it here. I am expecting good things" Storoius ordered.
"And you will pay me as promised?" Longueville narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah." Storoius smiled.
"Now get going, woman! My patience is running out!" Zooous exclaimed.
The thief said nothing before huffing at the man and walking out of the room. Pondering some thoughts in her head, her mind began to plan on how she was going to go about the theft, and hoping that the knight would simply surrender, for he was being new to the scene.
"I see….so he's a knight to protect humanity and to resolve any conflicts within the region. That's what these Kamen riders are born for?" Louise questioned.
Pierre and Eugene had returned from the northern branch of the sword of logos HQ and met up with the pinkette, with the librarian explaining all of the information that the girl needed to know, about the history of the sword of logos, and how the Kamen riders came to be.
"Correct. But Eugene, can you recall how you obtained the book that allows you to transform?" Pierre then turned his head to the young man.
"Sorry, I'm amnesiac, I don't have any form of recollection other than hearing a voice in my head and the book in my hand for many years before I transformed, less me being summoned here to be her familiar of course." Eugene shook his head.
"What did the voice said?"
A few seconds passed before Eugene replied with confidence in his tone.
"When there is despair, hope exists."
Silence soon followed as Pierre gathered his thoughts while Eugene looked at him. However, unbeknownst to him, Louise's inner thoughts went into shock and surprise as she could recall the exact same sentence said by the knight on the day her friend disappeared.
"Then it confirms it. You are not the previous Saber I knew, you are the next after him." Pierre said.
"So, I just inherited that guy's powers?" Eugene asked.
"I'm not sure. It has been ten years since the sword of flames was last used, how you came to use its power as well. Plus, your amnesia is a huge factor in looking at this as a mystery to solve."
"I see, it's alright, I don't exactly really know what to do about this, but if what I have been told is true, then I will use this power to protect myself and those I care for. That's what Kamen riders are born for."
The librarian then turned his head to Louise who had been listening in, with Eugene following suit "I'm sorry I cannot be any use for your enquiries, but what I said should suffice for you right?"
But unknown to them until now, tears were streaming down the pinkette's face like a waterfall.
"Louise. You alright?" Eugene held his hand to her face, startling her.
"Eh! U-uh yeah! I'm f-fine! Thank you Mr Pierre, but if you would excuse me for a bit, I'll like to use the bathroom." She wiped her tears and with her heels turned, she raced out of the room.
"Louise!" Eugene called out before moving in to follow her, but was stopped by Pierre.
"I see, I guess this is fate after all."
"How is this fate?" Eugene eyed him with confusion.
"I don't recall too much of the details, but some of the swordsmen who served for many years said they encountered three kids, and one disappeared during the last major war in this region." Pierre paused before turning to him. "Go. I'm sure she wants answers from you and vice versa on a personal note."
Eugene nodded at him before racing out of the room.
"Such youth. I wonder if each swordsman are coming in at a younger age, the burden they will shoulder would be tough. But if it's those two, maybe something could change in this world." Pierre remarked before heading back to his work as a librarian of the academy.
"Louise!"
Eugene called out as he ran through the academy's hallways, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. All he saw was just students walking up and down with their books, or her schoolmates interacting with their newly summoned familiars. He tried asking them for directions or any possible sightings, but every one of them either said no, or ignored him.
"Where did she go, come on…" He wondered worriedly, as he couldn't bear to think what may possibly happen. Then, just by luck, he saw a familiar maid turning around the corner that he instantaneously recognised, thanks to his incredible photo memory.
"Excuse me!" He jogged over to her.
"Oh, you are Miss Valliere's familiar. How can I help?" She replied with a warm smile.
"You are Siesta if I'm not wrong right?" He asked.
"That's right. It's a pleasure to meet you, uhh…."
"Eugene."
"Right! Then Mr Eugene. How can I help you?"
"Just Eugene is fine. Anyways, I need you to help me find Louise. I can't find her after talking to the librarian with her because she ran out crying."
"What?! She's gone?!" Siesta shouted loudly before she covered her mouth, as the students around them turned their heads to look at them.
"Yeah. Do you know where she may be?"
"Usually she hangs out at a few locations, if not it would be the rooftops of the academy's towers. I'll cover the ground. Can you go to the towers?"
"I'll do just that. But how would we inform each other if we found her?"
"Through her that's what! Let's go!" And with that, Siesta took off at amazing speed, while Eugene spent no time running for the towers.
'When there is despair, Hope exists'
Louise couldn't get the words out of her head as she kept thinking of the day of the attack. It was truly a traumatizing day for her as she lost her good friend. But now, she had summoned a human as a familiar, who could transform into the knight who conveyed those words, and on top of that, he looks way too similar to the friend she lost.
'I hope it isn't true, but… is Eugene really Laos?' She thought as she saw her vision was very watery, indicating that she had been crying for a while.
'I miss you so much…Laos….'
"...Louise!" A familiar voice rang out, making her raise her head.
Instinctively, she looked around and started to grab nearby objects as she had stopped by the horse shed that was filled with the smell of horses, but that wasn't her concern. Tried as she might, the movements she was making was in fact, came with a lot of noise, which the horses began to make some as well. But her goal was to simply hide herself from the sight of people and be alone.
She didn't want to share the sadness and pain that was in her heart.
She didn't need any form of comforting.
Her pride was clouding her as of such.
But to no avail, a pair of hands reached to the objects and grabbed her hand. And before she knew it, she came face to face with her familiar.
"There you are. What are you doing? Did I do something wrong?" Eugene asked.
She knew she had no escape, and had to answer his questions. But the pain she felt in her heart was too much for her to bear with all those years building in her heart, had to overflow at some point.
She pulled her hands away, and wiped her tears that began to fall non stop.
"Why…"
"Why, what?" Eugene asked once more.
She covered her eyes, and exploded, and before the young man knew, she ran up to him and grabbed him by his collar.
"Why must you bear the face of the one I cherish so much?! You were the knight of ten years ago aren't you?! Where did you bring him to?! WHERE, WHERE WHERE?!"
Eugene was taken aback by her rageful and confused eyes before all of a sudden, the same blurry images flashed into his head, and finally cleared up.
'Louise….you…'
He realized that he was the childhood friend of her and the other girl in the photo, and that pulled him to the present time once more.
He looked down to see the pinkette fully knelt down at his feet, crying away uncontrollably.
"Bring back Laos…. Bring him back…." She sobbed as her tears kept falling down her face.
Without thinking, Eugene instinctively rushed forward and gave her a large hug, wrapping her tiny body in his arms, which she was completely shocked about.
"Eugene?" She called out by surprise.
"….Its Laos…" Eugene said.
"Eh?"
"There's no way I would be a different person with the same face. It took me long enough, but I remembered something."
"I don't get it… is this your way of comforting me?"
"No…. Remember our promise? All those years back? You, Me, and Rita. We promised that if one of us need help, then one of us would come running."
That was when it all hit her. The promise was on point, and to attest the fact that he was the one whom she summoned in the summoning ritual, couldn't be just purely a coincidence. It could have been him coming to her aid.
She looked into his eyes once more, who gave a warm and yet familiar smile.
"I'm home, Lu."
"Laos…" She muttered, realizing her nickname that only two people knew was called right in front of her, before finally getting up and leaping into his arms, crying out once more.
"Laos!"
He said no further and slowly sat down with her, as she sobbed, letting all her pain out of her heart.
Not too far away, Siesta realized what happened and respectfully gave them space, as she teared up slightly on her own, happy that her friend could finally have some happiness. She then walked away from the scene, hoping to give them some more time.
From another part of the academy, Longueville had just returned from visiting the Megids and had seen the scene unfold from afar. But not caring for anything, she began to plan out how she was going to take the book from the rider's hands, since the distance between herself and the rider was near.
"Laos, you are home…" Louise muttered as her sobbing came to an end.
"I am, but I feel weird being called that name at the moment." The man looked at her with a slight smile.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, think about it, even though we are childhood friends, but that's all I ever know. I still can't recall anything yet, there's just no clue or any hint that will help me remember. So, while I slowly search for those answers, I think it would be best to call me by my other name. Plus we don't want to have the other students hearing about this right? The story would just be crazy and you would be swooned all over. Plus, I am no longer of royalty myself. I'm just a man who took over the mantle of a dead knight."
Louise looked down sadly, listening in to everything. Reluctantly, she nodded.
"Okay, but I will get to call you by your real name when we are in the room. And if your name slips out, you need to think of a way to protect me. Clear?"
"Are you even listening to me?" Eugene deadpanned.
"No can do! This is an order from your master given your familiar status." She huffed.
"That just sounds like the Louise I know."
Louise looked up and saw him smiling warmly at her. Unknowingly, she felt her face heat up slightly, with her heart skipping a beat.
"Ahem! Mind if I park my horse here? You kids are not even supposed to be here."
A voice alerted the two which made them look up, which revealed to be Longueville and a horse which made some sounds in return.
"Oh! Sorry, we'll be taking our leave now. Come Louise."
Nodding in agreement, she took his hand, stood up immediately and left.
'Well that was easy, plus he didn't even noticed. Looks like I don't have to use the golem book after all.' Longueville smiled as her left hand revealed the item she was looking for. Not wanting to arise any more suspicions, she carried on her normal duties and parked her horse.
"Well, that was close. We almost got found out." Eugene said as they were now at an entrance to the academy's main building.
"Y-yeah" Louise nodded.
"Oh, if it isn't the knight and his familiar." A voice called out, making the two turn to the voice, which revealed to be a red haired woman and her red salamander.
"You look-" Eugene started, but got cut off by Louise who stood in front of him.
"Out of my sight, Zerbst." She grumbled.
"I'm not even here for you, I just want to see the knight who saved everyone previously." The red haired placed her hand on Louise's head and placed her aside before coming face to face.
"You look handsome, no wonder you got the girls falling for you already." She said with a sly tone.
"Who are you, and what do you want from us?" Eugene narrowed his eyes, as he went to Louise's side once more.
"Name's Kirche, and unfortunately for you, but your master here is an enemy of mine." Kirche said nonchalantly.
"Enemy?" He replied dumbfoundedly.
"It's a long story, I'll explain later when we end class." Louise cut in before taking him away as they began to make their way in, with her not batting an eye to the red head.
Louise then gestured to Eugene that he needed to be alone for a bit as his familiar status wouldn't allow him to enter the class. The young man groaned but accepted it nonetheless, and he left in the opposite direction when they parted ways. Now left with nothing to do, he simply walked the hallways before going out to one of the open fields, where the many other familiars were resting.
"Am I really the only human here?" He gawked at the other creatures to confirm that they were all animals in various forms before he sighed in disappointment.
"Man I really thought there would at least be some other people to talk to. This sucks."
"Then you can talk to me instead" A voice rang out.
He turned around, hoping to see that his wish was granted, but it wasn't a human.
It was a monster that resembled a human, covered in black, faded gold and gold itself, and brown armor. But its head was the most familiar as it spotted two large hands, along with a red book on its abdomen. Its left hand was also larger and longer.
"You…!" He recalled the hands on its head and sprang up, hand on the swordriver already.
"That's right, I will entertain you, while I turn this school to ashes, and claim your book back." The golem stated before revealing a blank book in its hands.
"If you think that's all you got, then you shall go down in flames!" Eugene declared as he placed the driver on his waist, with flames surrounding the red strap as it locked into place.
SEIKEN! SWORDRIVER!
He then held the small book still in his hand and opened it.
BRAVE DRAGON!
Closing the book, he inserted it into the most left slot. The familiar standby tune that sounded medieval-like played once more.
A giant version of the book suddenly appeared from the sky and slammed down to the ground, and Eugene drew out the sword from the buckle.
REKKA BATTOU!
Twirling it in his hand, he got into a stance with the sword..
"Henshin!"
The book behind him then flipped also to the same picture of the knight. He raised the sword up and slashed the air in front of him, making a 'x' shape.
BRAVE DRAGON!
A voice sang as the same dragon emerged from the giant book, and circled around him, before merging and the flames disappearing off. The 'x' shape he created then flew to his face, merging as well.
REKKA ISSATSU! WHEN THE DRAGON OF VALOR AND THE SWORD OF FLAMES MEET, THE CRIMSON SWORD WILL PENETRATE ALL EVIL
The voice read as Eugene made a bunch of sword moves to go along with it, eventually ending in a pose.
KAENKEN REKKA
"Kamen rider saber….!" The golem spat as it got into a fighting stance.
"Good to know that I am recognized, though this will be the last time you will see me in this armor!" Saber said as he began to charge forward and slashed the golem.
The golem stumbled back before opening the blank book and threw it into the air, which caused a barrier to open up and sealing off one section of the academy, trapping the two as well.
"Let's see you save these people now, Saber." The golem declared as the walls within the barrier to crumble and crack.
'Damn it! I don't have time' Saber gritted his teeth as he knew that if the walls gave in, people on the top floors will began to fall to their deaths.
"Why do this, golem?!" Saber asked.
"Why? Its simple, I follow the orders of Master Fouquet who wants the birth of new megids, and to cut down new people like you." The golem taunted.
"If you think that's gonna happen, I will crush you under your hands, and this blade!" Saber declared before charging once more.
In her class, Louise was paying attention to the lessons as usual, though her mind was much more heavier than before. Her childhood friend was revealed to be the same man that was her familiar through the summoning ritual, and yet he was bearing the same armor that saved her back then.
She also had learned the true existence of these armored knights known as Kamen Riders who lead hundreds of swordsmen to dedicate the peace to their world, away from corruption, and destruction.
But all those thoughts were cut short as a yellow barrier suddenly appeared in the classroom, and to the outside, which divided the classroom into two, causing the students to suddenly talk as they rose from their seats to check the barrier, which was opaque. Louise was within the barriers as well, but for some reason, she couldn't just hear the students on her side, but on the other side as well, which was filled with shouting, panicking as the voices called out for them.
"What's going on?" She muttered as she got up, and moved to the barrier, but before she could get near it, her eyes picked up the sounds of metal clashing outside her classroom, which she could immediately recognize.
She headed out to the window to check the source, before she turned around immediately and dashed out of the classroom, with the students looking at her curiously.
"Grrrrahhh!" Saber bellowed as his twirled his blade, slamming it down but the golem simply caught it with his hands.
The golem then used its larger hand to grab the rider's sword wielding hand and tossed him into the academy walls. The rider crashed into the wall with great force as he fell to the ground. Unfazed, he got up and ran towards the golem once more, but it then launched its two hands towards the rider who blocked the hands before swatting them away. But the hands simply went further behind him as a scream rang out, causing him to stop his tracks and turn behind, only to find a familiar girl struggling within the hands grasp as they dragged her into the open, for the rider to see for himself.
"No! Let me go!" Louise cried out.
"Bastard! Let her go!" Saber angrily shouted.
"Such a valuable piece of hardware, now like I said, do you think you can save these people? No I'm letting you choose, save the girl, or save those up there?" The golem said.
Clenching his sword tightly, Saber looked down as he knew he was playing into the megid's hands. It was a do or die situation, and he wasn't having it.
"Eugene! Help! Laos!" Louise cried out, tears in her eyes as fear consumed her once again, her legs feeling numb and her body shivering.
"What will you do?" The golem asked once more.
'He's right. I do not have the abilities to save Louise and the people in the building. If only….' Saber looked heavily at his sword, with his left hand glowing brightly.
'Tap the book, saber.' A voice called out.
Blinking his eyes, Saber suddenly came face to face with the crimson dragon once more, though the surroundings were black.
"You will help me?" Saber asked.
"Naturally. I am bound to you, so I shall guide you in your path to be a swordsman for logos. Can't have you chickening out if you were to wield that sword. Now tap the book, and I will help you from there." The crimson dragon said before the surroundings changed back to reality.
"I understand….." Saber said before he pointed his sword to the golem "I will save both my master and the people in the buildings, and crush you with my blade!"
"Then let's see you try!" The golem's eyes began to lit up as the barrier did followed, with the walls beginning to turn into burnt pages and crumble, sending people from the floors running further in to avoid falling.
Saber wasted no time, and tapped the book on his belt.
BRAVE DRAGON!
Flames begin to surround his right hand as he transferred his sword to his left hand, with crimson flames building up from his book, as it projected out the shape of the crimson dragon and flying behind him.
"DRAGON WONDERRR!" Saber shouted as he thrusted his flaming hand forward, sending the dragon flying towards the golem, knocking it backwards slightly before flying to the large hands, knocking it away, releasing Louise as she fell to the ground, with Saber catching her and setting her down.
"You alright?" Saber asked.
Looking into his eyes, she only could shake her head in response, as her strength would not allow her to talk.
"Don't worry, I will settle this in a bit. Wait for me, Lu." Under his helmet, Saber smiled with determination at her, as one obstacle is gone.
"You fool….! GRRAAAAAHHHHHHH" The golem roared as the red book on his abdomen began to glow as he drew rocks around him, including the walls from the buildings as he grew in size that matched the height of the tower of the academy itself.
"A-are you kidding me?!" Saber said, completely not expecting this move from the monster as he carried the pinkette and put her in a safe spot.
"You can beat it right…?" Louise asked, noticing her familiar's tone.
"I can. I just didn't expect this dude to be the size of King Kong!" Saber exclaimed.
"King Kong? What's that?" She asked in confusion.
'Oh shit, I forgot this isn't earth!' His mind panicked once more.
"Uh, some fantasy warlord thing, ahahaha!" He laughed it off before clearing his throat and turning around to face the giant monster.
"Don't worry, I will finish this quick!"
Saber then sheathed his sword into the buckle before clicking on the trigger and drawing it out.
HISSATSU DOKUHAH!
"Come out dragon!" He echoed as flames began to pour out from the book and surround him. He went along with a bunch of twirls and ending in a pose.
"FLAME CROSS SLASH!" He roared.
The golem attempted to destroy the rider by slamming his fist down into the ground, but the rider jumped up with ease and leaped up into the air using its body. The dragon flew up as well, spewing fire to the monster as it began to burn up before surrounding the rider. Gripping his sword tight, he began to roll down and delivered several slashes of fire to the golem, and the dragon flew down, unleashing a huge breath of fire, until the rider landed on the ground.
"N-no, this plan was supposed to…!" The golem tried to make out its final words before it exploded into thin air, leaving out a final cry.
Getting up, Saber raised his sword in victory, having defeated the large monster and claiming his first kill.
The surroundings then began to rebuild its destruction as the barrier began to disappear in particles, finally leaving no trace of a battle that happened.
The academy was at peace once again.
Sheathing his sword, Saber removed his book from the driver, undoing his transformation and reverting back to his civilian form as he made his way to his master, who was slowly getting back up on her own.
"You alright?" He began to dust the dust and grass off her clothes, making her blush slightly, knowing that she now had been saved, twice, by the same knight.
She said nothing before leaning on him, as she gripped his clothes.
"Thank you…" Her voice quivered.
"Lu, we are in public, remember?" Eugene smiled.
Realizing that, she immediately regained her composure, not wanting their newly found secret to be exposed that quickly.
"I-I was just saying a form of thanks! Familiars are supposed to defend their masters after all, even if its you." Louise huffed before giving a warm smile to her childhood friend.
Then, out of nowhere, a growling sound came out, from Eugene's stomach.
"Ah…."
"Pfft! Hehe!" Louise began to giggle.
"What so funny about a stomach growl? I'm just freaking hungry from that battle." Eugene asked.
"Nothing. Just suddenly remembered the growl of the friend I grew up with." She turned her body around before looking at him, gesturing to move. "Come, Let's go to Siesta and get a nice meal for you."
"Roger that, Miss, lead the way."
And the two began to talk happily as they walked, relieving the friendship that was thought to have been lost all those years ago.
From a high point in the academy's tower, Longueville had witnessed the entire battle and was left unsatisfied.
'Tch! That monster is useless, looks like I will have to make another trip, and I will go out this time round.' She grumbled before hearing a voice call out to her, which was Colbert.
"O-oh, Mr Colbert! How may I help?" She quickly tucked away the alter ride book in her pockets and smiled at the teacher.
"Please deliver this to the headmaster. Its urgent, and he needs to see this immediately." Colbert said, handing out a parchment to her.
"Your looks won't accelerate the process. But note taken." The secretary took it before Colbert simply left the scene.
Heading to the door, her smile dropped before opening the doors to the headmasters office to deliver said parchment.
And that's it! Oh wow! It took that long didn't it. Now I really apologize for the long delay as like I said, growing up means that you'll need to be in society someday. And that's what happened.
When I first wrote this story, I was still in school, but not having the best of time for it as it was stressful to graduate from it. But now I have graduated for more than a year already, it was time for the next step. Now for many countries, it would be straight to work or to university. But, however, my country has mandatory military conscription where we need to serve two years minimum in the armed forces. Now I'll let you guess which country I am from, but unlike the majority who will serve the two years and get out, I have decided to make it my career, and so I have become a regular in the navy, and yes, I have been posted to a ship and sailed a few times already.
But yes, with this, I think its quite understandable where I'm coming from, and being in the military is no easy feat, but I have to make my life happy in the next few years, hence this. However, I promise while being in the military doesn't mean I will shut down everything. And yes, I have previously posted (for those who have seen) a proposal that I will write a bunch of chapters and post it, but I thought it was not possible right now, in my career, so we'll stick to the old way, write out a chapter, and post it immediately.
Once again, I hope to seek your understanding, and I'll see y'all in the next chapter!