Awakening

In a dim space, Gu Yu slowly opened his eyes.

"Where... is this..."

His body, which had been aching from absorbing too much Honkai Energy, was no longer in any pain.

However, after the pain subsided, Gu Yu, upon waking, found that his current situation seemed a bit off.

"Ah, a place I don't recognize, and no unfamiliar ceiling."

After scrambling to his feet from the ground, Gu Yu looked at the Knight Emblem on his right hand.

Hmm, it's still here.

After confirming that his greatest trump card was still usable, Gu Yu felt a little more confident.

However, just as he was about to act, the crimson Decade Driver suddenly appeared on his waist.

"Huh, what's this?!"

Seeing the belt suddenly hanging from his waist, Gu Yu looked around in confusion.

The surrounding space was exactly the same as before, with no changes whatsoever.

But then, from the Card Holder Sword on Gu Yu's waist, countless cards floated out, surrounding him.

"Guh... It hurts...!"

As these cards appeared, Gu Yu looked at the Knight Emblem on his right hand, which was causing him intense pain.

Although the appearance of the emblem hadn't changed, Gu Yu felt, in a mystical way, that his connection to it had become even stronger.

"These cards are..."

"G3, Knight, Kaixa, Garren, Ibuki, Gatack, Zeronos, Ixa..."

Looking at the inscriptions on these Rider cards, Gu Yu gently grabbed one and flicked it into the Driver.

[KamenRideAccel]

After the card was read, Gu Yu looked at his arm, now covered in deep red armor, and confirmed one thing.

He could use these non-main Rider cards normally.

"Strange, these cards weren't in the Card Holder Sword before."

"Did they awaken after I absorbed too much Honkai Energy?"

After deactivating his transformation, Gu Yu watched as the cards returned to the Card Holder on their own, falling into thought.

When he had inventoried the cards just now, Gu Yu hadn't found any of the terrifyingly powerful Rider cards like Odin, Cronus, or Genm.

However, even so, with the Kamen Ride abilities of these supporting Riders, Gu Yu's combat power had increased significantly.

As everyone knows, Kamen Rider Decade's powerful combat ability, besides Tsukasa Kadoya's own skill, relied on the versatility brought by switching Rider forms.

If he could use these cards wisely, then...

But the thought that these cards awakened because he absorbed too much Honkai Energy made Gu Yu unable to feel happy.

Even though Gu Yu wasn't experiencing any problems from absorbing the Honkai Energy now, he hadn't forgotten that Honkai Energy was essentially poison to the human body.

An ordinary person who absorbed Honkai Energy would immediately turn into a Meele.

And even Valkyries, who were trained to use Honkai Energy in combat, would have their lifespans drastically shortened.

Himeko Murata from the original Honkai Impact 3rd was the best example.

After suffering from the erosion of Honkai Energy within her artificial Stigmata, even an A-class Valkyrie like Himeko Murata's life was like a candle in the wind, liable to be extinguished at any moment.

Gu Yu hadn't turned into a Meele from absorbing too much Honkai Energy, but...

--Who could guarantee that next time wouldn't be the last?

"Tch, this Stigmata passively absorbing Honkai Energy is troublesome enough, and I actively absorbed it before."

Clenching his fist behind his back, Gu Yu punched the space in front of him.

"I'll have to be more careful from now on. For now..."

"It's time to get out of here!"

Real World. Changkong City.

After bringing the unconscious Gu Yu and Bronya to a safe location, Raiden Mei and Kiana felt a bit exhausted.

Although both of their physical abilities far surpassed ordinary people, they hadn't had much rest the previous night before being woken up.

The fatigue from yesterday had not yet subsided, and during the night, they had been on the run again to prevent another attack from those strange people.

Once the two were sure they were finally safe, an endless wave of exhaustion washed over their bodies and minds.

"Ah, this guy isn't even heavy."

Carefully and gently placing Gu Yu on the bed, Kiana wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a soft sigh.

"Seriously, carrying one person is this tiring. Could it be that I've really slacked off on my training since coming to Senba Academy?"

"Get some good rest, Kiana."

After putting Bronya down, Raiden Mei took out a bottle of mineral water and handed it to Kiana.

"Everyone's tired today, let's adjust our condition and make plans after Gu Yu wakes up."

However, just as the two were about to close their eyes and rest, Bronya, who Raiden Mei had placed on the sofa, suddenly made rustling sounds like a waking kitten.

"Mmm... my head hurts so much..."

Then, under the extremely wary gazes of the two, Bronya opened her sleepy eyes and immediately, with equal wariness, took two steps back.

"Bronya doesn't recognize you two."

"Who are you two, anyway?!"