With a sliding kick, Ash slipped beneath Another Kuuga's crotch. Raising his hand, he swung the spike wrapped in pitch-black dragon flames at its back. Just as he was about to succeed, Another Kuuga's two extra limbs twisted backward, blocking the attack and catching the sword barehanded. It flung Ash and his sword before itself, then raised another enormous claw to crush him flat.
"--"
For some inexplicable reason, the claw casting a shadow over the Rider's visor abruptly stopped in midair above his head, as if it had been about to strike but suddenly could not bring itself to do so.
Naturally, Ash, whose nerves had been stretched to their limit throughout the battle, would not let such a baffling mistake from his enemy pass by.
Feeling the restraining force on his sword loosen slightly as well, Ash poured all his strength into thrusting his wrist forward, driving the holy sword into the gap between the overlapping armor plates on Another Kuuga's chest.
Blood pumped out in a torrent, and Ash saw the shattered watch and fragments within.
"Got it!"
Hearing Another Kuuga's incomparably mournful roar echo through the warehouse, Ash finally relaxed. This time, he had won a victory against the odds.
Just as joy at defeating a powerful enemy appeared on his face, the outer armor and muscle fibers of the enormous monster he had pierced began peeling away layer by layer, gradually revealing a familiar figure inside, dressed in blood and a pink dress.
"..."
Still holding the pose of thrusting the sword out with both hands, Ash froze like a statue. The girl hanging in midair with his sword through her chest, and those vacant eyes staring at him, made the smile vanish from his face as he stood there utterly stunned.
Thick, dark-red blood