Super God Academy: Kabuto

【Change Beetle!】

As the heavy armor, symbolizing absolute defense, was completely unleashed like stars exploding, its core, true form was reborn and revealed in the flames of energy!

The central structure of the chest armor blooms like flower petals, concealing the core of a crimson unicorn insect that slides upward and locks in place, perfectly fitting into the forehead of the new faceplate, becoming its most striking feature. Lightweight armor in silver and red, with smooth lines like a racing car and full of the aesthetic beauty of biological carapaces, instantly covers the entire body, with faint blue energy patterns illuminating the joints.

Kamen Rider Kabuto, Rider Form—this perfect balance of speed, power, and skill has truly arrived!

This not only meant that he had gained the qualification to unleash the legendary "Knight Kick," a move that could kill in one strike, but more importantly, it allowed him to activate the Kabuto system's unique supreme authority that touched the realm of space and time: Clock Up.

Unlike ordinary super soldiers who rely on genetic enhancement or energy bursts to achieve "high-speed movement," the essence of Clock Up is manipulating special particles called "time particles" that permeate the foundation of spacetime, briefly separating and elevating oneself from the unified flow of time in the outside world. The result is not a simple addition of one's own physical speed, but an infinite slowing down of the flow of time of the entire external world relative to oneself. Everything is as if it has fallen into viscous amber, almost frozen in time.

This is called rising time.

Watching Soton struggle to his feet from the deep crater of ruins a hundred meters away, shaking off the bricks and stones on his head and burning with rage and resentment in his eyes, Lin Yu simply raised his right hand and gently tapped an inconspicuous blue button on the right side of his belt.

"Clock Up".

**【Clock Up!】 (Time-up!)

The moment the insect instrument reproduces the sound effect—

hum...

A strange, low-frequency vibration, as if from the depths of the world, swept by.

Centered on Kabuto, visible reality suddenly fades and freezes!

The falling ashes and dust were frozen in their original trajectories, forming an eerie gray band of light. Every tremor of the muscles on the faces of the fleeing crowd in the distance, the terrified looks in their eyes, the gaping mouths—all were frozen into a still picture. The burning flames lost their vibrant life, transforming into twisted and stiff orange-red halos. Even sound vanished; the battlefield fell into an absolute, chilling silence. The sound of the wind, the crackling of fire, the distant alarms… all returned to nothingness.

Soton's massive body, which had just regained its footing, remained in a furious posture, roaring to the sky and pounding its chest with its fists. The anger in its amber eyes seemed like solidified resin, and its thick tail froze in mid-air halfway through its swing, making it a still sculpture full of savage power.

In this gray and static world stripped of color and time, only Kamen Rider Kabuto is the only "being" with vibrant colors and the ability to think and act freely.

Lin Yu didn't even move a step. He simply stood there, calmly "looking" at the still Soton in the distance.

Then, he moved.

No, discussing "speed" in a realm where time seems to stand still is meaningless. His thoughts were perfectly synchronized with the armor system; his fists, feet, elbows, knees... every part of his body transformed into an attack unit that transcended conventional physical concepts.

Countless afterimages of attacks, wreathed in crimson energy, simultaneously erupted around Soton in the same instant (from an external perspective)! Each strike landed precisely on the joints of his scales, energy flow points, or relatively weak areas. While the power of the Knight form wasn't as overwhelming as that of the Heavy Armor form, in this near-infinite "extension" of time, the force of each attack was perfectly transmitted and amplified, exploding into tiny yet dense ripples of energy on Soton's indestructible scales, spreading like water.

This "combo" that exceeds the limits of sensory endurance may not even last a hundredth of a second in real time.

**【Clock Over!】(Time-upgrade complete!)**

With the system notification sound, the time that had been stripped away suddenly returned to its original position!

Color, sound, movement... the instant everything returned to normal flow, all the delayed impact and destructive energy that had been applied to Soton during the time-up phase erupted completely at the same physical moment!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

As if being relentlessly hammered at an incredibly high frequency by an invisible giant, Soton's massive body simultaneously exploded with countless muffled thuds and flashes of energy! It couldn't even utter a complete roar of pain, only managing to squeeze out a string of incomprehensible gasps from its throat before being slammed to the ground by the terrifying combined force of countless attacks!

"Bang--!!!"

The earth trembled. Soton lay sprawled in the cracked pit like a collapsed hill, his limbs twitching slightly as he tried to prop himself up. He found that his pride and joy seemed to have been drained away. After struggling several times, he was unable to get up and could only let out muffled groans filled with pain and extreme confusion.

---

Off the coast of Juxia City, on the deck of the massive aircraft carrier "Juxia".

General Dukao, who had witnessed the entire latter half of this inhuman battle through remote monitoring and energy detection equipment, had an unprecedentedly solemn expression. When he saw the silver and red armor disengage and the dark red mechanical insect device, as if it had a life of its own, detach lightly from his waist, transform into a streak of light, and disappear silently into the void as if submerged in water, his pupils contracted violently.

That was no ordinary spatial warp or optical cloaking! Even with the advanced detection technology left behind by the Deno civilization, it was completely unable to analyze the principle of its disappearance, and could not track any conventional energy residue or spatial fluctuations, as if that mechanical life had never existed in this physical dimension.

"Sir, the energy signal... has completely disappeared. Unable to analyze or track it," the technical officer beside him reported in a dry voice.

Dukao took a deep breath, forcing himself to snap out of his technological shock. He quickly tidied his appearance and strode confidently toward the young man—Lin Yu—who had just appeared on the deck through some unknown means.

"Hello, Mr. Lin Yu." Dukao stopped at an appropriate distance, extending his hand first. His tone was solemn, with the directness characteristic of a soldier and the respect for the strong. "I've long admired your name. Your actions in Juxia City prevented even greater civilian casualties."

Lin Yu shook hands with him, his grip moderate, neither humble nor arrogant: "Hello, General Dukao."

Dukao's gaze involuntarily drifted to the figure behind Lin Yu—a massive creature crouching in the corner of the deck, clutching its head, looking dazed from the beating, and occasionally wincing in pain. "Who are you here for? Was that... armored mage yours?" He carefully chose his words.

Lin Yu turned to the side and gestured to Soton with his eyes. "This is yours to handle." His voice was calm, as if he were simply handing over an item. "I believe that with the Super God Academy and your methods, you should be able to 'guide' it, so that its brute force is used... where it should be used."

Dukao and Lianfeng, who was right behind him, exchanged a glance, both seeing the undisguised shock in each other's eyes. They immediately recognized him as the Crocodile God Soton, the third-generation super soldier from the Styx Galaxy who had just caused a huge commotion in the city and whose records indicated he belonged to the Styx Galaxy! He had been subdued and brought back so "easily" by this young man.

"On behalf of the nation and its people, we thank you for your tremendous help." Dukao's tone became even more sincere. He paused, his gaze refocusing on Lin Yu, a complex mix of expectation and probing. "I wonder... what are your thoughts on the future situation? Or rather, are you willing to...?"

"I know what you're thinking, General Dukao." Lin Yu calmly interrupted him, his deep eyes seemingly able to see through all strategic deployments and human calculations. "Super God Academy, Super Soldier Company... you have your own plans and discipline."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable resolve, echoing clearly across the sea-breathing deck:

"But I will not join any organization, nor will I take orders from anyone."

He slightly raised his head, gazing at the vast horizon where the sea met the sky in the distance, his tone calm yet containing an unwavering resolve:

"I will decide the path I take. I will appear when the time is right."

Before Dukao could make any further attempt to persuade or persuade him to stay, Lin Yu's figure vanished from the deck without warning, just as he had arrived.

There were no lighting effects, no spatial ripples, and not even the slightest changes in airflow.

He just disappeared like that.

Only the Crocodile God Thornton, scratching his large head with a bewildered and aggrieved expression, and Dukao and Lianfeng, their faces solemn and lost in deep thought, remained on the deck. The sea breeze ruffled their clothes, and in the distance, the waves of the aircraft carrier fleet cruised. An uncontrollable yet incredibly powerful variable had officially entered the perilous game of chess that was Earth.