“So… can anyone tell me what the heck just happened?”
Nekomata could hardly believe her eyes.
Setting aside Li Qianqiao’s absolute carpet-bombing of roasts, what on earth was the deal with those two monstrous things?!
Belle felt a headache coming on.
Though this was a slight detour from the original plan, now that the enemies were being entirely suppressed and dragged away by Li Qianqiao, they needed to secure the transport train as quickly as possible.
But right at that moment, disaster struck…
“Belle, I’ve got some bad news.” Wise’s voice crackled through the comms, dead serious.
“While you guys were busy facing off down there, the railway tracks were sabotaged!”
“What?!”
Belle’s face went pale.
In a sheer panic, she through Eous grabbed Nicole’s briefcase.
“Nicole, we’ve got a massive problem! The tracks are compromised!”
“What did you just say?!”
…
“This distance should be about right.”
Li Qianqiao had already ridden clear out of the tunnel, arriving at an isolated sector not far from the residential zone.
There wasn’t a soul in sight—making it the absolute perfect spot to eliminate some trash and erase the evidence.
With a sharp screech of rubber, Li Qianqiao brought the Auto Vajin to a halt on the deserted street.
Behind him, sprinting with relentless, bloodthirsty fury, was the Rat Orphnoch.
“Ha… haah… brat! Why’d you stop running?! Weren’t you barking pretty loudly back there?!”
The Rat Orphnoch leaned forward, hands resting on his knees as he panted heavily.
Despite his exhaustion, his eyes remained locked onto Li Qianqiao with pure malice.
If I wasn’t naturally built for speed, this punk really would have left me in the dust!
Wait… where’s Big Brother?
Only now did the Rat realize his partner was nowhere to be found.
He scanned the area left and right, but saw no trace of the Leech Orphnoch.
“Stop looking for your ‘Big Brother’. He’s probably still lagging far behind.” Li Qianqiao said, his feet planting onto the asphalt as he slowly walked toward the creature.
A chilling, unmistakable killing intent radiated from his gaze.
The sun was nearing the horizon, plunging the world into twilight.
The golden afterglow bathed Li Qianqiao’s silhouette, framing his tall, upright posture in what looked like a sacred, blinding aura.
“But you don’t need to worry. Once you’re dead, he’ll be joining you in the afterlife shortly!”
Li Qianqiao revealed the Faiz Driver strapped to his waist.
Under the Rat’s frozen, stunned gaze, he pulled out the Faiz Phone and snapped it open, inputting the code.
5 — 5 — 5
STANDING BY…
“Henshin!”
Li Qianqiao then slid the phone into the Driver decisively.
Why… why does it feel like… he is the ‘King’ right now…?
The Rat stood paralyzed for a split second before violently shaking his head to shatter the illusion.
“Haha, how could that be possible?! A mere human… how could a pathetic human ever be worthy of being our ‘King’ !”
The Rat’s voice was raspy and monstrous.
He dropped to all fours, his muscles tightening like a coiled spring as he glared at Li Qianqiao like a feral beast waiting to pounce.
“I have no idea what nonsense you’re spouting, and frankly, I don’t care to listen. Henshin!”
Li Qianqiao’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an absolute, crushing weight.
COMPLETE!
Under the setting sun, the sky bled a deep crimson, the clouds resembling a raging wildfire.
Suddenly, a beam of red light—far more brilliant than the twilight itself—burst from Li Qianqiao’s belt!
The Rat instinctively narrowed his eyes, his entire body tensing up.
He didn’t dare move.
In that exact fraction of a second, an overwhelming pressure of pure mortality surged from the man before him.
A cold shiver shot straight up his spine, instantly dampening the rabid battle lust he had felt just moments prior.
As the blinding crimson streams of Photon Blood settled into place, Li Qianqiao—now fully transformed into Kamen Rider Faiz—stepped forward to face his own destiny.
Terror finally crept into the Rat’s eyes.
Every single plate of the Faiz armor gleamed with a cold, metallic luster, vibrating with an incomprehensible, latent power.
“Haha… Hahaha! Just parlor tricks! You think wrapping yourself in a ridiculous suit of scrap metal means you can defeat me?!”
The Rat’s laughter grew high-pitched and erratic.
The suffocating aura radiating from Li Qianqiao was pushing his sanity to the absolute brink of collapse.
Li Qianqiao remained silent.
He reached down, unclipped the Mission Memory, and slotted it into the handlebar of the Auto Vajin, drawing the glowing laser blade—the Faiz Edge.
The tip of the red energy blade scraped against the concrete, throwing off a brilliant cascade of sparks with every step he took.
As Li Qianqiao’s towering figure closed the distance, the Rat’s frayed nerves completely snapped.
His voice twisted into pure madness:
“If… if you want a fight to the death so badly, then you can go straight to hell first!!”
The Rat launched himself forward like an arrow released from a longbow.
The sheer, explosive force of his leap left a spiderweb of deep fractures in the asphalt beneath his feet.
In the blink of an eye, the Rat closed a distance of over a dozen meters, appearing right in front of Li Qianqiao.
Looking at the motionless Rider, the Orphnoch raised his razor-sharp claws, an evil, triumphant grin tearing across his face.
“Die!!”
Just as the monster believed his strike was guaranteed to land, Li Qianqiao calmly raised his blade, pointing it straight at his target.
EXCEED CHARGE!
The Faiz Edge flashed with a violent surge of red energy, unleashing a massive, concentrated wave of compressed photons.
“Sparkle Cut!”
Li Qianqiao swung the blade downward in a ruthless arc, sending a massive, crescent-shaped crimson energy wave tearing through the air!
The Leech Orphnoch, having finally arrived at the scene, was greeted by the sight of the Rat about to be torn to pieces.
It unleashed the absolute maximum speed its body could muster, diving desperately toward them.
But the energy wave expanded too quickly.
The Rat couldn’t brake in time.
With one final, terror-stricken look in his eyes, his entire torso was cleanly bisected by the crimson slash!
“No… NO!!”
The Leech was a second too late.
By the time it crashed down next to Li Qianqiao, the two severed halves of the Rat’s body were already flying backward, hitting the pavement with a dull thud.
The last remnant of twilight dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in deep, stark hues.
Li Qianqiao slowly turned his head, staring expressionlessly through his glowing yellow visor at the Leech Orphnoch, which was currently cradling the mangled remains of its partner.
“Mi Xiaoqi… Mi Xiaoqi! Look at me, answer me!”
The Leech’s hands trembled violently as it tried in vain to piece the ash-stained body back together, heavy tears streaming uncontrollably down its grotesque face. This chapter was taken from novelping(.)com without permission.
As if hearing the desperate cries, a faint, translucent spirit manifested beside the monster—the human form the Rat once possessed.
“Boss… I told you… I’m a grown man now. Stop putting ‘Xiao’ in front of my name…” The pale phantom offered a weak, helpless smile.
“Isn’t it… sniff… more affectionate that way? I know I made you call me ‘Boss’, but… you’re my little brother!”
Tears welled up in Mi Xiaoqi’s fading eyes as the phantom began to dissolve into the air.
“Bro… get out of here. You can’t beat him… don’t throw your life away for nothing! Run! Just run!”
“Don’t go… NO!!”
The final trace of Mi Xiaoqi’s phantom vanished from the street.
His physical remains erupted in bright blue Orphnoch flames, breaking down into fine, grey ash that scattered into the wind, leaving only the heartbreaking wails of the Leech echoing through the night.
“Waaaaahhhhh—”
Watching this incredibly dramatic scene unfold, Li Qianqiao suddenly covered his face with his hand, crouched down, and reached toward his calf where his gear was locked.
“Wow. This is truly, deeply touching… MY ABSOLUTE ASS!! Don’t think I didn’t hear what you two garbage cans were talking about in the tunnel! You disgusting pieces of trash wanted to target Public Security members for arresting you in the past and I also heard your little brother said disgusting things about targeting kids! Trying to pull a tragic anime family monologue on me now?! Screw your mother’s monologue!!”
Li Qianqiao quickly removed the Mission Memory from the Faiz Edge and inserted it into the Faiz Pointer on his leg.
EXCEED CHARGE!
“Eat my Crimson Smash, you piece of trash!
Li Qianqiao suddenly leaped into the air, locking onto the Leech and executing a flawless Crimson Smash.
The Leech Orphnoch, completely caught off guard while mourning, could only raise its heavy arms in a desperate, agonizing attempt to block the descending energy drill!
The sheer destructive output of Crimson Smash was catastrophic.
The Leech was violently driven backward across the asphalt, its face contorting with absolute fury.
“Why?! Why are you doing this?! We have no grievance with you! Why did you have to kill him?! Even if you hate us, how could you launch a cowardly ambush during a final farewell?! Do you have no morals?! You absolute hypocrite!!”
Li Qianqiao looked down at the writhing Orphnoch with pure, icy disdain.
“You think scums like you deserve an explanation? Keep wondering in hell.”
With those words, Li Qianqiao maxed out the energy flow from his driver, the crimson energy cone expanded exponentially, completely tearing through the Leech’s defense.
Li Qianqiao laned a finisher as he jumped into the air and threw a Rider Kick into the red cone, piercing The Leech’s torso.
“The Master… will never… forgive you…”
Following the time-honored tradition of a villain’s parting threat, the Leech Orphnoch’s body erupted into a violent column of bright blue flames, completely consumed and reduced to a pile of lifeless grey ash.
“Hmph. Good riddance, scums.”
Li Qianqiao stood up, dusted off his palms, and hopped back onto his motorcycle.
🎵 Now in the hearts of everyone 🎵
🎵 Wake up The time to go 🎵
His phone’s ringtone echoed through the quiet street.
Li Qianqiao answered it, pressing it against his helmet.
“Yo, Sis Belle. What’s up?”
“Little Li! Oh thank goodness, you’re safe!” Belle let out a massive sigh of relief on the other end, but her tone immediately shifted back to urgent business.
“Listen, Nekomata took Perlman and went to negotiate with Vision Corporation entirely on her own. Since the tracks were blown up, Nicole and the rest of us have to dive deep into the Hollow to eliminate the Dead End Butcher to shrink the Hollow so that we can evacuate the citizens.”
“We’re going to buy as much time as we can. Since you’re wrapped up over there, can I trouble you to go after Nekomata?”
Li Qianqiao’s hand, which had been reaching down to undo his belt and cancel the transformation, paused.
A sharp, confident smirk spread across his face beneath the mask.
“No problem, Sis Belle. I’ve been sick of Vision Corporation’s garbage for a while now anyway. I’m on my way!”
“Perfect! I’ve already had Fairy track her coordinates for you. Follow the route I just sent!”
With a click, the call ended.
Li Qianqiao glanced at the map data on his screen, cracked the throttle, and tore down the road to intercept Nekomata.
As the final drop of twilight vanished, the heavy blanket of night claimed New Eridu.
Looking down from above, only a single, brilliant streak of crimson light flashed defiantly through the darkness.