Accompanied by a heavy, muffled boom, a black iron fist whose fingertips were encased in metal shot out from the side like lightning, accurately slamming into the Worm’s hideous green head!
“SQUEE—!”
The green Pupa Worm emitted a painful shriek, after which its body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, heavily snapping a large tree and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Yukino sat blankly on the grass, looking at the back standing in front of her.
That was a person clad in silver-red armor.
To be accurate, it wasn’t silver and red, but rather a silver body covered in deep red lines resembling blood vessels.
Those lines were still glowing faintly, as if continuously transmitting energy.
Kamen Rider, Faiz.
Minoru slowly straightened his body, then lightly shook his right wrist, which had gone a bit numb from punching the Worm just now.
*Made it in time.*
“Hiss-hiss—!”
Before Yukino could recover from her shock, the Pupal Worm up ahead was completely enraged.
Roaring, it waved its thick green sharp claws, charging toward Minoru once again like crazy!
“Come at me.”
Minoru snorted coldly, charging forward to meet the Worm.
*Thump!
Thump!
Thump!*
Heavy sounds of fist hitting flesh echoed continuously in the woodland.
Because the Pupal Worm was top-heavy, its movements were very clumsy.
So now, facing Minoru, it essentially only had a passive beating coming its way.
With every punch Minoru swung, it carried a sonic boom that tore through the air, beating the Pupal Worm into continuous retreat with green body fluids splashing everywhere.
“That’s about enough.”
Minoru timed it right, using a heavy spin kick to send the Worm stumbling backward.
He casually pulled out the Faiz Pointer from the right side of his belt, looking down and fiddling with the pointer in his hands while casually glancing at the Worm lying on the ground struggling to get up, speaking flatly.
“As for me, I don’t have a dream.”
“But I can protect other people’s dreams.”
Minoru said this line without blushing or his heart skipping a beat; he had actually wanted to try saying it once for a long time.
Now that the atmosphere was built up to this point, not casually dropping a cool line would be downright doing a disservice to this Rider suit of his.
However, while the speaker was casual, the listener took it to heart.
Yukino Yukinoshita, sitting slumped behind him, heard this sentence with absolute clarity.
Instantly, a trace of confusion flashed in Yukino’s cool eyes.
A dream?
Whose dream?
Hers?
This person…
said he would protect her dream?
Yukino’s breathing hitched slightly.
Of course she had a dream.
Which was to change this world that always relied on superficial interpersonal relationships to evade problems.
To strive to create a world where everyone faced themselves and others honestly.
Even if this path was destined to be lonely, destined to be misunderstood and isolated by everyone.
Yet was even a dream like this worth protecting?
Just because this person didn’t have a dream?
Minoru flipped open the cover of the phone on his belt, his thumb pressing down heavily on the “ENTER” key.
“Exceed Charge!”
Accompanied by a buzzing electronic sound effect, high-concentration deep-red photon blood surged down toward his right leg along the belt like a roaring river.
Minoru bent his waist slightly, preparing to raise his leg and fire off the Crimson Smash like Takumi Inui.
However!
Just in this fraction of a second while he lowered his head and got distracted!
That Pupal Worm, which originally seemed to be on its last breath, suddenly let out a sharp screech!
In the blink of an eye, a slit violently tore open on its abdomen, and a barb-covered tentacle shot out like a venomous snake striking, striking heavily against Minoru’s chest armor at a tricky angle!
*BANG!*
“Ugh!” Minoru let out a muffled groan, the massive impact sending him flying backward several meters.
*Crack, crack, crack…*
Accompanied by a tooth-grinding cracking sound, that Pupal Worm that succeeded in its sneak attack did not pursue its advantage; instead, it rolled on the ground in pain.
“This is…
molting?!”
Minoru clutched his chest and stabilized his footing, his expression beneath the helmet changing abruptly.
*BOOM—!*
Before Minoru could charge up to interrupt, accompanied by a violent explosion, the green pupa shell shattered into pieces like a bomb!
An Imago Worm, whose entire body exhibited a dark silver metallic luster with pair of arms growing sharp bone blades resembling a praying mantis, appeared on the spot!
“Hiss—!”
The Imago Worm let out a sharp screech.
The next second, the surrounding air seemed to ripple with visible waves.
The Worm’s figure instantly vanished from the spot!
No, it didn’t vanish; rather, its speed had reached a level completely uncapturable by the human eye!
“Want to play super acceleration?
Sorry, I’m in a rush.”
Minoru snorted coldly, unfazed.
The Imago form was just a bit harder to fight, not impossible.
With a thought, a red briefcase-like object instantly appeared in his hands.
It was precisely the [Faiz Blaster] drawn last night!
As for why he didn’t use the Axel Watch…
Having only a 10-second usage limit was one reason.
The second reason was based on performance.
In Kamen Rider Decade, Tsukasa Kadoya transmigrated to the world of Kabuto.
He forgot the plot and settings.
Anyway, in that world, after Kabuto and Tsukasa transformed into Faiz and activated Axel Form, the Worm could still Clock Up, proving it wasn’t just a time limit.
In fact, Kabuto’s Clock Up should be faster than Axel Form.
So to be safe, better use Blaster Form.
“Standing By!”
Accompanied by an oppressive electronic sound effect, a surge of deep-red photon blood, dozens of times larger than before, gushed out from the Blaster like a bursting dam, instantly covering Minoru’s entire body!
A dazzling red light rose into the sky, even illuminating the shadows of the surrounding woods completely red.
When the light dissipated, the originally black-and-silver Faiz armor had completely transformed into a vibrant red packed with power!
The photon outline generator on his back unfolded accordingly.
Kamen Rider Faiz — Blaster Form!
He wasn’t done yet!
Minoru also pulled out the Axel Watch.
Speed and stats…
he wanted them all!
…
“Squee—”
The Imago Worm only had time to let out a short, pathetic shriek before its body exploded noisily within the red light, turning into a cluster of eerie blue flames that eventually dispersed with the wind.
Minoru let out a long sigh of relief, returning the Blaster to the system space, preparing to leave this place.
“W-Wait a moment!”
Right at this moment, a cool voice came from behind.
Minoru stopped in his tracks, turning around.
He saw Yukino Yukinoshita had already stood up at some point.
That neat Sobu High uniform had some grass scraps clinging to it, but she didn’t care at all, merely staring fixatedly at the Kamen Rider before her with a complex look in her eyes.
“You…
what did you mean by that sentence just now?”
Yukino’s voice trembled slightly.
“Which one?” Minoru froze for a moment.
“You said…
you don’t have a dream, but you can protect other people’s dreams.”
Yukino took a deep breath, her hands unconsciously clenching in front of her, as if exerting all her effort to suppress a certain emotion within her heart.
“My dream…
is to change this world.”
A stubborn and lonely light flashed in Yukino’s eyes; she seemed to be speaking to Minoru, yet also confiding in herself.
“People in this world are always so weak.
When facing problems, they only rely on superficial interpersonal relationships to run away, licking each other’s wounds, while pushing aside those who are truly outstanding and point out the issues.”
“I want to rely on my own efforts to correct people’s weakness, to gradually change this world full of hypocrisy, and to carry out absolute justice!”
Speaking up to this point, Yukino’s voice grew low, carrying an imperceptible trace of vulnerability.
She raised her head, looking straight into Minoru’s yellow compound eyes.
“A dream like this…
that is neither gentle nor appealing…
are you going to protect that, too?”
After listening to Yukino’s long monologue, Minoru froze entirely inside his suit.
*Wait, hold on, lady!*