Love Live and Kamen Rider 18

"Ugh... ah... aaaaaaaaah... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

Immediately following this, a scream that chilled the bone erupted from the man's throat. He curled up on the ground in agony, his face twisted and contorted by the sheer intensity of the pain.

Throughout this process, Medusa watched with cold indifference. She held not a shred of affection for the human before her, yet there was one thing about him she found quite satisfactory.

That was his unmasked ambition and greed!

However, Medusa had no intention of lingering any longer, so her body dissolved into a cloud of black mist and vanished.

She left behind only the man, whose body was already half-consumed by the disgusting mass of flesh, moaning in torment.

A few minutes later--

[Hahahahahahahaha]

A figure covered from head to toe in blood-red, flesh-like armor looked at his new form and let out a manic, hysterical laugh.

[Kamen Rider, your doomsday... has arrived!]

A new enemy--Knight Hunter!

"Kashu, what are you doing?"

At home, Senba Gari stood curiously behind Kashu, watching him fiddle incessantly with his laptop.

"Oh, Brother Yu, I'm just learning what people in this era do, and gathering some information about this time." Kashu kept his eyes glued to the dense text on the screen, responding to Senba Gari without turning his head. "After all, as an ancient man from a thousand years ago, I really have no adaptation to this world a millennium later, so I need to use this thing called a computer to learn more about this era."

"Is that so? That's fine, I suppose. Though you're a bit slow at this. Maybe I should ask... never mind, you'd better learn at your own pace." Senba Gari had originally intended to ask Silver Phantom to teach his ancient sworn brother about the knowledge of this era, but he suddenly remembered that while Silver Phantom used to be a highly capable assistant, now...

〖Master! Master! ヾ(*ΦωΦ)ツ〗

"What is it?" Senba Gari looked at Silver Phantom, who was holding a flyer, with a puzzled expression.

〖Master, look, a new game came out this month. Can we... hehe~ (＊＞︶＜＊)〗 Silver Phantom handed the flyer to Senba Gari, the expression on its dashboard shifting constantly.

He glanced at the flyer. Hmm, it was indeed a new game released this month. The screenshot quality on the flyer looked decent enough. The name... Robot Journey... what kind of name is that?! Do robots play as robots? It feels so out of place, yet the visuals actually look kind of cool, Senba Gari thought to himself with a slight mental grumble.

Then he looked at the price... Ah, what terrifying thing have I just seen? Why are there so many zeros at the end? Ah, I see, there must be a decimal point here, right? Right? Right...

"...No." After scrutinizing the flyer from top to bottom several times, Senba Gari finally spoke with a blank expression.

〖...Huh? (òωó?)〗

"Not buying it. Too many zeros at the end..."

〖...〗

〖Master~ (?????)〗

"What now?" Senba Gari, who had assumed Silver Phantom had given up, heard it call out to him and looked over, confused.

〖I know your bank account balance, you know~ There are a lot of zeros. (?????)〗

"..."

〖I can order it online, you know~ (?????)〗

"You win! I'll buy it! I'll buy it, okay!" Senba Gari agreed to Silver Phantom's request, which caused him immense heartache, with tears in his eyes. At that moment, only one thought filled his mind--

You were sent by Gaia to be the death of me, weren't you! It definitely is, right!? Damn it all!!! Waaaah... my bank account... I finally managed to fatten you up, and now you have to go on a diet... Waaaah...

〖Beep?〗

Ziying curiously reached out to touch Senba Gari, who was huddled in the corner of the room drawing circles, his back radiating a dark aura. Sensing the expression of a man whose heart was breaking over money, it suddenly recalled a special comfort technique it had learned from Silver Phantom a few days ago.

〖Beep beep beep~〗

Ziying extended its small mechanical arm to gently stroke Senba Gari's head. As the grief-stricken Senba Gari felt the cold touch on his head, he looked up. Seeing Ziying patting his head, he hugged the robot and sobbed, "Waaaah... Ziying... you're the only one who's good to me... Waaaah... Phantom has become a shut-in, Cangqiong has been corrupted by Silver Phantom into a hopeless gacha-collecting addict, that idiot Geki is a total lolicon who was even caught by the police a few days ago, and Kashu keeps blowing up the kitchen... Waaaah... I'm so tired... Out of all of them, only you, Ziying, are the most normal... Waaaah..."

〖Beep beep beep~〗

〖Master... is it really that serious... ┑(￣Д ￣)┍〗

"Brother Yu... your character is breaking down..."

Just as the human and the robot were left speechless by the scene, Ziying and Silver Phantom suddenly froze. Senba Gari and Kashu also sensed the shift, their expressions turning serious as Silver Phantom spoke in a cold, mechanical tone.

〖Master, the enemy has appeared. Cangqiong and Geki have already rushed to the scene.〗

"Understood!"

As soon as Silver Phantom finished speaking, Senba Gari and Kashu exchanged a look and nodded at each other.

"Let's move!"

--Scene Change

In a park, a figure clad in blood-red, flesh-like armor walked forward unhurriedly, wielding a blood-red Serrated Sword.

Before him, a rider stood holding a uniquely shaped blade, watching him with vigilance. He was navy blue in color, clad in silver-white armor, with red lines on his chest forming the spade symbol from a deck of cards. His shoulder guards were accented with gold, his helmet horns resembled those of a rhinoceros beetle, and he possessed a pair of distinct red compound insect eyes--Kamen Rider Blade.

[Give up. You Kamen Riders are merely stepping stones for me to rebuild a new order. Only by killing you can I reorganize the new order without any worries!]

"No, we won't let you change the order of this world as you please!" Blade's voice came from beneath the mask, though one could detect a hint of exhaustion in his tone.

[It doesn't matter, because you are going to die soon, just like your companions before you!]

Without another word, the blood-red armored figure lunged forward, leaning into a sprint with the Serrated Sword held high, intent on a single, lethal strike.

However, he had underestimated the years of combat experience Blade possessed. Blade held his blade in a reverse grip, bracing it vertically before him while his other hand pressed against the spine of the weapon. A crisp metallic clang rang out as Blade's Rouse Absorber-equipped blade met the enemy's Serrated Sword. The violent trembling of both weapons revealed the immense force behind their collision.

After a stalemate lasting only a few seconds, Blade and the blood-red armored figure both retreated several steps, buying themselves a moment to catch their breath.

[Not bad. You truly are Kamen Rider Blade, the one who abandoned his humanity to fight against fate. It's a pity, though—you will ultimately meet the same end as the other Riders: death!] With that, the dial on the blood-red armored figure's belt began to spin.

[--Kabuto!]

As the dial clicked onto the image of a rhinoceros beetle, the blood-red armor covering his body suddenly turned into a substance like soft clay, writhing and shifting across his frame. In an instant, his silhouette was completely transformed.

If one were to ignore the blood-red, flesh-like texture of the armor, the belt, and the green compound eyes, his current appearance was identical to the Heisei-era Kamen Rider—Kabuto!

"No... impossible! How... how do you possess the same ability as Tsukasa? What... what did you do to Tsukasa?!" Blade exclaimed in disbelief. The ability to transform into other Kamen Riders was unique to Kamen Rider Decade—Kadoya Tsukasa—but the enemy before him possessed the same power, leaving him deeply unsettled.

[Tsukasa? Oh, you mean Kadoya Tsukasa, Kamen Rider Decade, right? It's a shame, he's still alive and well. As for why I can take the form of other Riders, I'm afraid I don't have the patience to explain my secrets to a dying man. Besides, you already know too much...]

As his voice trailed off, everything around him suddenly slowed, as if time itself had come to a halt, leaving only him to move at a normal speed.

He slowly walked up to Blade and unleashed a flurry of swift, powerful punches that landed repeatedly on Blade's body. He followed up with a kick to Blade's abdomen. Blade was sent flying backward in slow motion, while the Serrated Sword in the blood-red armored figure's hand writhed and shifted, quickly transforming into a Kunai Gun.

He aimed the Kunai Gun at the slowly retreating Blade, firing several laser beams that crawled through the air toward his target.

Suddenly, the blood-red armored figure deactivated his acceleration. Everything returned to normal, but Blade was struck by a sudden wave of agony as he watched the laser beams hurtle toward him, leaving him no time to dodge.

--Boom, boom, boom, boom!!!

The lasers struck Blade, sending sparks flying from his armor. He collapsed to the ground, thick white smoke rising from his body; he had clearly been caught off guard by the sudden assault.

His strength was already far below his peak, and even standing up had become a difficult task.

The blood-red armored figure began to walk toward Blade, his form shifting back to its original appearance.

[Heh heh heh, it seems Kamen Rider Blade isn't much after all. Now, you can head to hell...]

--Whoosh!

Before he could finish his sentence, an arrow made of flame whistled through the air. Upon contact with the blood-red armored figure's chest, the arrow bloomed like a scorching lotus of fire.

A roar of an engine followed as a red figure on a motorcycle skidded to a halt between Blade and the blood-red armored figure, separating them completely.

"Senior Blade, are you alright!"

Spirit nimbly hopped off the Golden Firmament and stood in front of Blade, shielding him with a look of concern.

"I'm fine. Be careful, he's strong!" Blade said weakly.

"Understood."

[Spirit, is it? Perfect. You, Divine, and Chievil were my next targets anyway. Since you're here, I assume the other two have arrived as well.] As he spoke, the roar of engines echoed from the distance. Divine and Chievil rode up on the Silver Phantom and Ziying, respectively, coming to Spirit's side.

"Is this the guy? I have a feeling there's something about him that makes my heart race." Divine, having dismounted from the Silver Phantom, stared at the blood-red armored figure. With his body already showing signs of Mlortha-fication, he could sense a subtle, unsettling aura emanating from the enemy.

"Yeah, I feel it too. It feels like my Chimera doesn't really like the taste of this guy. In fact, it hates him." Chievil, who maintained a subtle connection with his Beast Chimera, felt an instinctive, baseless hatred for the enemy before him.

"What are you two talking about? I don't understand at all." Unlike his two companions, Spirit was completely baffled by their words.

At that moment, the blood-red armored figure began to laugh.

[Hahahaha! You're all here! Divine, Spirit, and Chievil—the three of you are finally gathered. This saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one.]

"Who are you?"

Seeing the enemy laugh, the three of them quickly moved to protect the injured Blade, watching their opponent with extreme caution, fearing a trap.

[Heh, me? I am the creator of this world's new order! But for now, I am simply a 'hunter' who specializes in killing Kamen Riders. You can call me—Knight Hunter!]

Total Defeat

"A hunter who specializes in killing Kamen Riders..."

"Knight Hunter."

Facing this bizarre enemy, the three did not lower their guard for even a second.

Knight Hunter paced back and forth before the trio, his Serrated Sword in hand, before speaking slowly.

[I had intended to save you for last, but since you've walked right into my trap, I don't mind wiping you all out at once.]

"Tch, anyone can talk big. Let's go." Without waiting for his partners, Spirit charged straight at Knight Hunter and engaged him in close-quarters combat.

"Brother Yu, what do we do?" Chievil asked Divine, unsure of how to proceed.

"What else can we do? We have to bite the bullet. That idiot Geki can't take him on alone," Divine said with a helpless tone, then turned to the vehicles. "Phantom, please look after Senior Blade for us."

〖Understood, master.〗

〖Leave it to us.〗

〖Beep-beep!〗

"Kashu, let's go." After the three robots replied, Divine drew his Flame Feather Blade and charged in.

Chievil rotated the Shadow Soul Driver on his belt ninety degrees to the left, revealing the hilt hidden inside. He gripped the hilt and pulled hard.

The belt detached from Chievil's waist like a nimble snake, revealing a secondary belt underneath. Using the Shadow Soul Driver as a guard, the arrow-shaped metal plates on the belt linked together one by one to form a long, thin purple double-edged sword—Thunder Chain.

Chievil swung the Thunder Chain at Knight Hunter, who was still locked in combat with Spirit. The blade instantly separated into individual arrow-shaped plates, moving like a living snake as it struck forward with unstoppable force.

However, upon seeing the blade thrusting rapidly toward him, Knight Hunter kicked Spirit away and used the momentum to push himself backward, dodging the incoming strike.

But before he could even catch his breath, Divine suddenly appeared behind him, his Flame Feather Blade slashing down with an unstoppable force.

Knowing he could not dodge in the usual way, he resorted to a different method.

The dial on his belt spun rapidly, finally stopping at a pattern resembling an eye.

[--Ghost!]

Immediately, the armor on Knight Hunter's body began to knead itself like modeling clay, and in the end, the shape of his entire armor changed once more; while the color remained red, the design had completely transformed into that of the Heisei Neo-Heisei Kamen Rider--Ghost.

In Divine's eyes, this transformation took less than a second to complete, and just as the Flame Feather Blade was about to make contact with Knight Hunter, it eerily passed right through his body.

"Wha...?!"

[--Hibiki!]

While Divine was still stunned that his attack had passed straight through Knight Hunter's body, Knight Hunter's appearance shifted into yet another form, that of the sixth Heisei Kamen Rider--Hibiki.

And before Divine could react, Knight Hunter snapped his Serrated Sword into two pieces, which then writhed and morphed into a pair of thick drumsticks.

--Whoosh!

A burst of crimson flame erupted from the ends of the drumsticks, and as he swung them simultaneously, the flames flew from the sticks and landed on Divine's back.

Two crimson flowers of flame bloomed across Divine's back, and the impact of the fire sent him tumbling to the ground beside Spirit, while Knight Hunter's appearance reverted to his original form.

"You alright, you bastard Gari?" Spirit asked.

"I'm fine. The opponent's attack style is a bit bizarre; if we don't get serious, we really won't be able to take him down."

Having said that, Divine revealed the Beast Soul Bracelet that had been on his wrist from the start to Spirit, the implication of which was clear to see.

In response, Spirit also revealed the Beast Soul Bracelet on his own wrist to Divine, showing that his intentions were the same as Divine's, and Chievil, who was watching from the side, guessed their intent upon seeing the bracelets in their hands, so he charged at Knight Hunter without a word, aiming to distract him so he would have no time to pay attention to this side.

--Clang!

The purple soft sword aligned once more into a thin blade and struck head-on at Knight Hunter, who raised his blood-colored Serrated Sword to parry Chievil's strike.