Persuasion
"YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!" Tetsuo shouted as he slammed his fist onto Rintaro's head.
"Gah!" The "wielder" Nagare exclaimed as he fall onto the ground whilst clutching his head in pain.
"Thank god I didn't got hit on the head back then." Rin thought in a relieved tone of voice.
However, the wielder of Sezume glanced towards her direction with a raised fist and the still angry expression on his face, making Rin flinch.
"S-scary!" Everyone thought, backing away from Tetsuo.
Currently, everyone has returned to the Sword of Logos headquarters, with Charlotte deciding to come with them and when Tetsuo leaned about the second theft of a Holy Sword, he went mental.
"S-so what happened back there?" Donna asked, feeling slightly scared.
She and Fiona are then told about what happened at Lehart and the existence of the group known as the Devil Believers and the appearance of Cupiditas.
"We definitely need to find out the hideout of the Devil Believers and quickly." Noelle commented with a serious expression on her face.
"But the question is where though? There can't be many places for a massive group of people to gather to witness the summoning of a Devil." Ryo questioned whilst crossing his arms, remembering the number of people having turned up for the meeting before starting to become worried if the words of the Devil Believers having gained more supporters.
"But what about Cupiditas? What should we do about him?" Domi asked, gaining a slight unsure expression on her face.
"Your main priority is the Devil Believers. I'll inform Master Logos about Cupiditas's involvement." Reika explained, causing Domi to nod her head.
"And what about the Megid that the two Devil Believers are able to fuse into?" Donna asked, remembering the times when they fought Megids who have been using humans as hosts.
"I believe that you still be able to set them free with the powers your Holy Swords gain from Saikou. This isn't the first time that a Megid using two human hosts have appeared." Reika explained, causing everyone to become surprise at the last part.
"Really?" Rin asked whilst becoming slightly curious.
"Yes. The first one was fought by Asta and his….family back at Penyihir mountains. It's appearance was the starting point of the release of Primitive Dragon." Reika explained, causing everyone to widen their eyes, whilst becoming tense at the mention of Asta.
"Penyihir Mountains…." Charlotte thought, her thoughts turning towards other matters, such as Asta's…."safety".
The captain of the Blue Rose Magic Knights then shook her head, focusing on the more important topic.
"Likewise, I need to inform Sir Julius and the rest of the Magic Knight captains about what happened at Lehart, this is starting to become much worse than it already is." Charlotte explained, making Reika to nod her head.
It was at that moment that Ryo remembered something.
"…..When we fought Koueihei Orthus, something seemed different about "them". The wielder of Gekido commented, causing everyone to become curious.
"Yes. I did felt something off about them." Charlotte admitted whilst crossing her arms.
"Can you explain it?" Reika asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.
However, both Ryo and Charlotte shook their heads.
"It could possibly be related to how the Megid is using two hosts." Charlotte offered, making Reika sighed slightly.
"I suppose that's something to work on…." Reika thought before trailing off, thinking how the witches of Wonder World didn't report anything since it was two members of their clan were the ones who got consumed by the Megid.
"Can we please move on to the searching part? I want to retrieve Hayate and Nagare as soon as possible!" Tetsuo said in a slight agitated tone….whilst giving Rin and Rintaro a glare, causing the two of them to flinch.
"Huh? You got us another Holy Sword?!" Dazu asked in a stunned tone of voice as she, Bow and the rest of the Devil Believers stare at Nagare.
As of right now, all of the Devil Believers are in an underground room within Bow's house, with Cupiditas managing to get Dazu and Bow out of the ruckus that was happening in the square.
"Yep." The human form of Cupiditas responded with a smile on his face.
"This is good. With this, these two swords would help us gain the powers of a strong Devil." Bow commented, making everyone nod their heads in agreement.
"So what now?" One of the other members of the Devil Believers asked, becoming curious.
"All we need to do now is wait. With our intentions and reasoning heard, more people of the Common Realm and the Forsaken Realm will surely gather. We'll wait and see the mass of people will follow us." Bow explained, making everyone to nod their heads.
Whilst this was happening, the smile on Cupiditas's face started to gain an evil glint within it.
Tetsuo walked about his workshop with a frustrated expression on his face.
It has been two days since the events that occurred at Lehart, but nothing has come with up the search of the two missing Holy Swords, even with the aid of the other Magic Knight squads.
"With the large number of people that have heard the announcement of the Devil Believers, you'd expect some unusual movement from the Common and Forsaken Realms….." The wielder of Sezume thought, a small frown appearing on his face.
It was at that moment that a knock can be heard from the door.
"Yes?" Tetsuo asked, snapping out of his thoughts.
The door opened, revealing Fiona.
"Ehm. Vice-Captain Ryo received a message regarding the searching for Hayate and Nagare-" The Sword of Logos maid began to said before quickly closing the door.
A heavily "thud" can be heard from the other side and when Fiona opened the door again, Tetsuo is seen laying on the ground, staring at the ceiling.
"…...You were prepared for my reaction, weren't you?" The wielder of Sezume asked after a few seconds of being silent.
This cause Fiona to giggle in response.
"Really? This is the direction that you saw the people heading?" Noelle asked in a questioning tone of voice whilst glancing over her shoulder to look at Alyssa.
It was the merchant who reported to the Magic Knights about seeing numerous people moving towards a single direction.
There have been reports about people acting in a slight agitated manner within small settlements, but it was only when the silver hair girl and Nero unexpectedly encounter Alyssa that a solid lead can be found.
"Yes. That's correct." Alyssa responded in a calm tone of voice.
The reasoning for Noelle's confusion is that the three of them are flying towards the boarder that separates the Clover Kingdom from the neutral zone.
"But why are the Devil Believers, plus Cupiditas, want to lead people into the neutral zone? It's far too dangerous for people with low Mana." Noelle thought as she and Alyssa flew over rocky ground.
"Hey. I just realize something." Nero said, causing the other two to look towards the Sword of Logos sealing Mage.
"There's a Devil residing in the Spade Kingdom, don't you think that maybe…." Nero began to say before trailing off, letting the information sink in.
It took a few seconds for Noelle to realize what Nero is trying to say, her eyes widening.
"You're saying that these Devil Believer group are taking people to the Spade Kingdom and sacrificing two Holy Swords to the currently residing Devil in order to receive their power." Alyssa guessed, making Nero nod her head in response.
"That could be the likely scenario." Nero responded, causing a small frown to appear on Alyssa's face.
"And what about Cupiditas? Why is he deciding to help them?" Alyssa asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.
"How much do you know about Cupiditas? You are from Wonder World after all." Noelle asked, becoming curious.
"I've heard stories about a Megid who is more devious than the three Megid Generals, but that's all." Alyssa responded, making the swords-woman of steel nod her head slightly.
"We better reach them and speak sense into the citizens, they have no idea what they're getting themselves into." Noelle muttered as she focus her attention forwards.
"Do you really think that they will listen to you?" Alyssa asked in a blank tone of voice.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" The wielder of Argent-Coronne questioned, snapping her attention back onto the merchant.
"The people that the Devil Believers have gathered and are taking them to the Spade Kingdom are likely those who hold grudges towards the upper-class, and since you're a member of royalty, the highest tier of the upper-class, your words will have no effect on them." The merchant explained, causing a frown to appear on Noelle's face.
"Well, I just have to try my best in stalling them until the others arrive….." The silver hair girl responded in a low tone of voice.
"…..That would be interesting to watch." Alyssa commented in a blunt tone of voice.
"What did you say?!" Noelle demanded, an angry expression appearing on her face.
It was at that moment Nero spotted something.
"I can see them." The Sword of Logos sealing Mage said, causing the other two to look in the same direction that Nero is looking at, and their eyes widened slightly as they saw the large amount of people slowly approaching the boarder of the Clover Kingdom.
"There it is, the neutral zone." Dazu commented as she glanced at the frozen tundra that makes up the neutral zone that separates the Clover Kingdom and the Spade Kingdom.
"Yes." Bow commented in a calm tone of voice, yet there is a slight hint of worry in her eyes.
Soon, the Devil Believers stopped walking, causing the gathered group of people to stop as well.
"Here we are, the point where the Clover Kingdom ends." Dazu said as she focus her attention onto the gathered people.
"From here on, the path to the Spade Kingdom will be a treacherous one, and many of you will unlikely to make it." Dazu explained, causing many to gain nervous expressions on their faces.
"But with my catalyst magic, our combined Mana will be enough to protect the few of us who will then go on and receive the powers of the Devil." Dazu further explained in a firm tone of voice, which seemed to have the reassuring effect on the gathered people.
"Hold it!" A voice called, causing the Devil Believers to become on guard before turning towards the source of the voice just in time to see Joyeues landing on the ground, being followed by Alyssa.
The gathered people backed away whilst the Devil Believers hold their ground.
"What are you doing here, Magic Knight?" Bow asked with a scowl on her face, yet raise an eye-brow at Alyssa's presence.
"We're here to stop you. You and the others are leading these people on a dangerous path, one that has no turning point." Joyeues said in a calm tone of voice.
This cause Bow to scoff.
"We're aware of that. Our journey is one full of risks, risks that we are willing to take if it means breaking the chains that the upper-class placed on us whilst you people protect them without a care of our well-being." Bow explained, an angry expression appearing on her face.
"You're not the only one who have a hard time growing up…." The swords-woman of steel thought as she remembered her past of being bullied by Solid and Nebra whilst receiving the cold shoulder treatment from Nozel.
Whilst this could have been a good argument point, Joyeues knew that the Devil Believers and the others won't believe her.
"What about you? Are you a lowly servant of the Magic Knights?" Dazu asked whilst glancing towards Alyssa, sensing how her Mana is lower than Joyeues's.
The comment about being a "lowly servant" caused a tick-mark to appear on Alyssa's forehead.
"I'm a merchant." Alyssa responded in a slight angry tone of voice, in the attempt of remaining calm, and decided not to mention about being the sponsor of the Sword of Logos Magic Knights.
"Please turn around. There are some Magic Knights that do care about the well being of the citizens of the Common Realm and the Forsaken Realm." Joyeues said in a firm tone of voice.
However, Dazu gained an angry expression on her face.
"Really? If they do, then should have put more effort back then." Dazu sneered.
"….." Joyeues wanted to say something, but can't find the words to say.
"If you two got nothing else to say, then let us through." Bow said whilst glancing towards the neutral zone.
"I can't do that, I need to retrieve what we've lost." Joyeues responded, referring to Hayate and Nagare, which are being held by two members of the Devil Believers.
"And how are you going to do that? I hardly think you would raise your blade against them, the people that you're trying to persuade not to walk the path of the Devil." A voice commented, causing Joyeues and Alyssa to spin around and saw Cupiditas sitting on a rock that is jutting out of the ground.
"What are you doing here, Cupiditas?" Joyeues asked in a serious tone of voice whilst getting into a battle stance.
Alyssa placed a hand on her sword.
"Just simply observing their departure…..and making sure that it's not interrupted." Cupiditas explained, a smirk appearing on his face.
"Why are you helping them? We know what sort of person you are." Joyeues asked as she kept her gaze locked on Cupiditas.
This comment caused the members of the Devil Believers to glance at each other.
"What? I just like to see people follow their desires…...and their reactions." Cupiditas explained before standing up.
"But to do that, I suppose that you three need to get rid off first." Cupiditas commented before a dark light appeared into existence and when the light died down, Cupiditas is now holding his shield with the sword sheathed into it.
"Those weapons…." Joyeues thought as she remember being told how Cupiditas used them during his brief appearance in Lehart.
"…Hm?" Joyeues thought as she spotted a square-shaped slot on the sword.
"Wait, is that….." Joyeues thought again whilst starting to gain a bad feeling.
As if in response, Cupiditas took a black-boarded Wonder-Ride book which as an image of two male children being cared by a wolf underneath the title of "Imperium Twin".
"You're-!" Alyssa said, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Yes. Yes I am." Cupiditas responded, seemingly knowing what the merchant is planning on saying before opening the cover of "Imperium Twin".
"The caring by a she-wolf results in the creation of a mighty empire."
The Wonder-Ride book announced before Cupiditas closed the cover and placed "Imperium Twin" into the sword, causing an ominous standby sound to start playing.
This went on for a few seconds until Cupiditas removed the sword from the shield.
Unsheathe the sword and shield!
The voice announced and a black mechanical wolf burst out of the larger version of "Imperium Twin".
When Golden Sword is powered by the twin founders, its mightest blade force the world to bow to its Emperor!
Golden Sword/Shield of Power!
The voice announced again just as the wolf circled around Cupiditas before fusing with him, cladding him in armour which possess a black under-suit with the main armour having the colours of gold and lines of red. Two separate pieces of red cloth, acting as capes, hang from his back with the helmet's visor being primarily squared-shape with a sword in the middle.
"Kamen Rider Spatha, the swordsman of gold." The now transformed Spatha announced just as silence fall upon everyone with the only sword being the howling wind.
"What sort of Mana does this person possess!" Nero thought, her body shivering slightly as she and the others felt the Mana coming off Spatha, the Mana seemingly having a darker tone to it.
"You're the same as them?!" Bow spoke, a half angry expression appearing of her face.
"What? Just because I'm able to don armour like the Sword of Logos Magic Knights, it doesn't mean I'm one of them." Spatha commented, not effected by the glare that Bow is giving him.
"Anyway!" The swordsman of gold said before returning his attention towards Joyeues, Nero and Alyssa.
"Maybe I should take that Holy Sword of yours. I heard that it's forged differently than the other Holy Sword." Spatha commented as he point Golden Sword at Joyeues, an evil smirk appearing underneath his helmet.
"You're not taking Argent-Couronne." Joyeues immediately responded in a defensive tone of voice.
Spatha chuckled at this.
"You take on Spatha whilst I retrieve Hayate and Nagare." Alyssa whispered to the swords-woman of steel, causing her to slightly nod her head, not wanting to give anything away.
Silence filled the air for a few seconds until Joyeues charged towards Spatha whilst Alyssa spun around and dashed towards the Devil Believers, with Nero clutching onto the merchant's shoulder tightly.
Immediately responding, many Shimis sprung into existence, halting Alyssa in her tracks.
"Knew that this won't be easy." The merchant thought in annoyance just as Dazu and Bow transformed into Koueihei Orthus.
Alyssa took a few steps back just as the Shimis and Koueihei Orthus began to circle around the merchant.
"Who is going to attack first?" Alyssa questioned in her head as she turn her heads to the side.
The first to move was a Shimi, who is positioned to the right of Alyssa, but the merchant was quick enough to spin around and blocked the incoming attack.
Alyssa then jumped back to avoid attack from another Shimi, letting the attack hit the first Shimi instead.
Alyssa turned her attention towards Koueihei Orthus who at that moment began to move.
"Just need to be aware about that snaked tail of theirs…." Alyssa thought as she jumped to the side to avoid a claw from Koueihei Orthus.
Movement from the conner of her vision caught Alyssa's attention, causing the merchant to glance of her shoulder and saw to Shimis ready to attack her.
This caused a troubled expression to appear on Alyssa's face.
However, before the Shimis could through their sword-based attacks, the Shimi themselves got attacked by two separate attacks.
And there we have it, the Magic Knights discovering that the Devil Believers are taking their supporters to the Spade Kingdom in order to obtain powers from a Devil. This chapter revealed that Cupiditas himself is a Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Spatha, the swordsman of gold.
In Gotchard:
1) With Kyoka's experiment of making Lachesis more human, she discovered that there are human essense within her, leading to the idea of using the essense's memories to aid her in the experiment. Minato explained that Alchemists overwrite people's memories when they have interacted with a Chemy rather than erasing them just as Houtarou noticed that in all of the pictures that Kyoka has taken during the experiments, Ryo is becoming more depressed.
2) With Gaelijah, she has taken an interest with Clotho and decided to reset the powers that Clotho has gathered from Gigist. Meanwhile, a depressed Ryo explained to Houtarou and the others that Hijiri sent him a depressing text before spotting (1)Hopper-1 and (EX)Nijigon which leads to Minato overwiting his memories once again who later explained that this method is getting to a dangerous point with Houtarou suggesting that they should restore all of Ryo's memories.
3) It was during this time that a reemerged Submarine Malgam started to attack and when Houtarou and Rin questioned about this, since (5)DeepMariner is still with them, Clotho appeared and explained that those who have turned into Malgams in the past contain the Chemy's essense within them, thus be able to turn back into Malgams. After the two Kamen Riders defeated the Submarine Malgam and Golem, they took Ryo back to the Alchemy Academy where he started to remember all of his involvments with the Chemies.
With Lachesis possessing human essenses, it could be that Geryon, Clotho and Clotho possess human essenses as well because the Dark Kings, mainly Germain, created Geryon but rather being obedient, he's interested with his own goal which may have originated from the memories within the human essense within him.
brave kid: At some point, yes.
Howard576:
1) That's...something I haven't considered, but if you're planning to obtain powers from a Devil, be prepare for side-effects such as body alterations.
2) Agreed, I hope that Geryon will get cut down by one of the two remaining Dark Kings rather than the Kamen Riders.
3) Yeah, Future-Daybreak certainly has a darker tone to it than the main series.
4) As a fan of the franchise, I'll still watch the 6th Reiwa Kamen Rider where I hope that it will have a good storyline.