I want to become a Kamen Rider

Kuuga stood silently in place, his crimson armor, illuminated by the distant flames, resembling a blood-soaked war god.

"If the curse were truly effective, then the curse to worry about wouldn't be me, but rather you who have taken so many lives."

He looked down at the dying Dasmada.

“And, well, that is to say,” he tilted his head slightly, as if pondering a simple question, “is it possible that I also have companions?”

A flicker of surprise crossed Dasmada's dying eyes, quickly turning into a deeper mockery. He struggled to utter his final words:

"You mean... your companions and disciples? Ha... ha... if... if your companions... were truly reliable... then why... have you... been fighting alone... until now..."

His eyes began to glaze over, and the flame of his life was about to be extinguished.

The crimson knight remained silent for a moment.

The sea breeze whipped up the tattered pieces of his cloak behind him.

He looked up at the setting sun, halfway down the horizon, painting the sky and sea a magnificent blood red. Its fiery red compound eyes reflected the burning clouds and the shattered surface of the sea.

Then he spoke, his calm voice piercing through the bloody wind:

"I believe in humanity."

As soon as he finished speaking, the last glimmer of light in Dasmada's eyes went out completely.

The crimson knight took one last look at the battlefield stained red with blood and fire, and at the lifeless wreckage at his feet, before turning away.

The broken ice stretched out beneath his feet, just as it had come. The crimson knight traversed a path of ice and fire, disappearing into the deep twilight, leaving behind only a desolate harbor burning with embers, like the entrance to hell.

Chapter 40: Originally a Monster [4K]

Her fingertips were only ten centimeters away from the cold glass door.

Then, the world tore apart before my eyes.

boom--! ! !

Hiiragi Tina felt like a withered leaf being blown away.

Time seemed to stretch out, then compress in an instant. A blinding white light engulfed everything, followed by a scorching shockwave, carrying with it rubble, glass shards, hot metal fragments, and a thick, suffocating smell of gunpowder and acrid burning.

"Ugh——!"

Her back slammed heavily onto the cold, hard concrete floor. The violent shock made her vision go black, and it felt as if her internal organs had shifted. Excruciating pain exploded from every part of her body, and all that remained in her ears was a piercing, brain-destroying ringing that drowned out all other sounds. Each labored breath carried the smell of smoke and blood, burning her throat and nasal passages, choking her and bringing tears to her eyes.

Her vision blurred, and the tears, smoke, and dizziness from the impact made the whole world spin and turn upside down. Tina struggled, barely managing to prop herself up with her trembling arms, wiping away the blood and ash that were obscuring her eyes.

Hell on earth.

My vision was bloodshot and shaky.

The first thing that catches the eye is the "black snow" falling from the sky—burnt ashes, sawdust, scraps of paper, remnants of cloth... even some charred, unrecognizable fragments. They swirl and slowly settle in the polluted air filled with acrid smoke and dust, like a rain of deathly ashes.

No longer was there a warm, sun-drenched glass door, but a burning, twisted ruin billowing with black smoke. The once-fragrant "family restaurant," filled with the aroma of food and the sounds of laughter, was now nothing but broken walls and exposed steel bars, like the ribs of a dying beast, menacingly pointing towards the sky. Flames leaped and crackled greedily across the remains, while thick smoke, like a filthy python, swirled and rose, obscuring the sky.

The sound finally pierced through the thick barrier of buzzing, rushing into her ears like a cold tide.

It wasn't the aftershock of an explosion, but... weeping.

Heart-wrenching cries, desperate and helpless wails, painful moans, and children's terrified screams echoed through the burning ruins.

A young girl in a waitress's apron, half her face blackened by smoke, was futilely shaking a charred figure on the ground, emitting incoherent cries of anguish; not far away, a man in a suit was clutching a mangled leg, his eyes vacant as he stared at the burning roof, letting out a beast-like growl; closer still, a little boy sat on the ground, his face covered in blood and dust, his mouth agape in bewilderment, but no sound came out, only large tears silently rolling down his cheeks…

Hiiragi Tina stared blankly at everything, her mind completely blank.

Is this... what the minister has been fighting against? Is this... what a real disaster looks like? All the fantasies about Kamen Rider seem so pale and powerless in the face of this reality of blood and fire.

She felt a strong wave of nausea and dizziness, and her stomach was convulsing violently.

at this time--

Boom! Click!

Deep within the breach, the burning ruins were pushed aside and arched by a brute force, with bricks and rubble falling like raindrops.

A massive, twisted, and ominously cold metallic figure, surrounded by flames and thick smoke, slowly rose to its feet, exuding an oppressive aura that seemed capable of crushing everything in its path.

Despair, like tangible ice water, instantly drenched the body that Hiiragi Tina had barely managed to hold up. Instinctively, she wanted to curl up, to find a crack to disappear into, to vanish from this hell.

However, just as the monster took a giant step toward the nearest group of crying and fleeing survivors, a small but resolute figure, like a moth drawn to a flame, suddenly burst out from the shadow of the broken wall.

"Look over here! Look over here, you monster!" A hoarse shout, trembling with obvious fear, yet unusually clear, rang out.

That was... the Bento Girl's voice? Hiiragi Tina's blurry vision focused.

What a miserable sight!

Her armor was riddled with cracks and torn in several places, revealing her blood-stained uniform underneath. One side of her visor was completely shattered, revealing the girl's pale, blood-stained face, her lips pressed tightly together in agony. The weapon in her hand—a crimson longsword—was now dim, like a candle flickering in the wind.

She had clearly just struggled out of some rubble; she was unsteady and swaying.

But she stepped forward.

In the shadow of that colossal creature, before the terror that could crush everything, she stood like a stubborn pebble, blocking the only path to hell.

Looking at the sky filled with "black snow," and at the scene of a mantis trying to stop a chariot, Tina Hiiragi suddenly realized something. She had always admired Kamen Rider, but it was just an admiration.

The real Kamen Rider isn't like she imagined, transforming in style, defeating enemies in style, and then becoming a hero simply by being cheered on by everyone.

He will die, becoming a Kamen Rider.

"Come on! I am your opponent!" the young knight roared again, brandishing her dull longsword with all her might, trying to attract the monster's attention.

The monster's writhing red core turned towards her. It was a gaze of pure destruction, as if looking at an ant.

call--!

Without any frills, the monster's massive limbs, wreathed in metallic spikes, swept across like a battering ram, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air.

The female knight attempted to block.

“Dang—Crack!!!”

A piercing sound of metal shattering.

The already damaged longsword exploded into countless points of light, the immense force slamming into the armored arms she had crossed to protect her chest. The armor dented and shattered like paper. She was flung away like a kite with a broken string, tracing a shrill arc through the air.

"puff!"

A mouthful of blood spurted from her mouth, scattering a shocking red dot on the falling black snow.

boom.

She crashed heavily not far from Hiiragi Tina, her body tumbling and kicking up a cloud of dust. Shards of her armor clattered and scattered on the ground. She struggled a few times, but could no longer get up, only curling up in pain, each breath accompanied by blood and violent spasms.

Tina Hiiragi had always dreamed of becoming a Kamen Rider, but the real Kamen Rider was defeated right before her eyes.

She instinctively closed her eyes in despair, then opened them again at the sound of the wailing.

"No...you're not allowed to go there..."

The dying knight on the ground let out a faint but clear wail.

With her last ounce of strength, she dug her blood- and dust-covered fingers into the cold ground, dragging her mangled body, and tried to grab the monster's massive foot, which was about to step over her and trample the huddled crowd.

"Run...run...you guys...run!!!"

She used the last bit of air in her chest to let out a cry that was almost a sob of blood. The sound was weak, but it was like a red-hot awl that pierced the desperate cries on the ruins and also pierced into Hiiragi Tina's frozen mind.

run……

Run...

Even so weak, even though she was about to be shattered to pieces in the next second, she was still shouting... urge everyone to run...

Why are you working so hard? Don't you really like the minister? If he dies, you'll never see him again. Why are you working so hard? These people here have nothing to do with you.

If this is what Kamen Rider is all about, then becoming a Kamen Rider... is just too cruel.

Tina Hiiragi's pupils trembled violently.

She watched the young knight drag her along in vain, watched her being easily pulled down by the monster's heel and flung away like a rag doll, watched her spit out more blood, yet she still stared intently in the direction of the monster, making hoarse, incoherent urging sounds in her throat.

Fear still coiled around her like a cold, venomous snake, leaving her stiff. But at this moment, another, more unfamiliar and acute emotion surged up like magma from beneath the icy layer of fear.

What is...?

Was it fear? Shame? Anger? Or... some kind of numbness that had been forcibly torn apart?

"jingle……"

A soft yet clear cracking sound came right in front of her, within reach.

That cold, smooth, ominous creation—the Otherworldly Knight Driver—had somehow been flung into her view by the explosion or shockwave. It lay silently on the ground, a mixture of blood, ash, and shards of glass, its dark metal shell reflecting the flickering firelight.

A voice screamed in her head, sharper and more desperate than ever: Pick it up! It's right here! Pick it up! Like her! Fight! Stop it!

A strong impulse drove her.

Almost instinctively, with trembling hands, she reached out to the cold metal cube beside her for the first time. Her fingertips drew closer and closer to the cold driver, ten centimeters... five centimeters... she could even feel the faint, ominous chill emanating from it.

Grab it! End it all!

Fear, like ice water, instantly extinguished the tiny spark that had just ignited.

Hiiragi Tina burst into tears, crying utterly uselessly.

Those were not tears of pity, nor tears shed for the dying young knight. They were tears shed purely out of fear, after terror had completely overwhelmed reason.

The minister was absolutely right; she was a hopeless case, a cowardly piece of trash.

“Wu… Wuaaaaa…”

The suppressed sobs finally burst from her throat, turning into broken, incoherent wailing.

Tears streamed down her face like broken beads, mingling with the blood and ashes, washing muddy furrows into her pale cheeks.

Tina Hiiragi curled up, clutching her head tightly with both hands, as if this would shield her from the hellish scene before her, from the allure and curse emanating from the cold driver.

Her shoulders trembled violently, her teeth chattered uncontrollably, and the world twisted and spun in her tear-blurred vision, leaving only burning flames, falling black snow, the monster's enormous shadow, and the young knight lying in a pool of blood, her breath faint but still struggling in vain.

"I can't... I really can't..." she repeated like a mantra, her voice hoarse and broken, filled with self-loathing, "I'll die... like her... I'll die... I don't want to..."

She was just an ordinary high school girl, without any professional training. She didn't even dare to resist the club president who stole her magazine and committed school tyranny. Where would she find the courage to fight such a monster?

I like Kamen Rider and dream of becoming a Kamen Rider, but I eventually discovered that Kamen Rider is not as glamorous as I imagined. It's not as simple as just putting on a belt and transforming in style, fighting in style, and defeating enemies in style.

"Hiiragi Tina, it doesn't really matter whether you go or not."

A voice rang out above her head, interrupting her fearful repetition.

Hiiragi Tina jolted, raising her head like a startled bird, her eyes blurred with tears as she looked in the direction of the sound. Above the ruins, amidst the swirling "black snow," Venarita, whom the minister had previously crushed to death, floated there.

His orange eyes, like two full moons, looked down at everything below without any emotion, finally locking onto her, who was curled up on the ground, looking utterly disheveled.

"That's Deepsea Shocker's ultimate weapon, even against Kuuga..."

"Even a minister can't beat him?"

"No, even if it's Kuuga, it might take five minutes to disassemble."

Was the minister really that powerful? I had a similar question planted in my mind long ago, even in a dream, and it sprouted.

The person in her dream was as powerful as the minister, possessing unparalleled strength and courage that she dared not even dream of. So why was he crying?

Why are you crying?

If I had to put it into words, she was crying right now, and everyone around her was crying too.

"Waaah... Mom... Mom, where are you...?"

A little boy had somehow crawled to a spot not far from the female knight. His small body was curled up under a broken cement slab, his face covered in blood and tears. He was crying out in the direction of the female knight, seemingly trying to get closer to the only "big sister" who had stood up to protect everyone. He was crying.

Further away, the waitress, her charred figure swaying, was also crying. The man in front, clutching his broken leg, was also crying. Everyone was crying.

Humans have empathy; when they hear others are sad, they feel sad themselves, so despair can spread.

Therefore, the knight in the dream's tears... were not because of loneliness, nor out of fear; they were not tears shed for himself at all.

Those were the tears of a man so gentle that he would feel sad for the sorrow of others.

"..."

Her lips trembled, tears streaming down her face, as she reached out once more to the cursed metal cube.

"You wouldn't be able to win even if you went, so what's the point?"