Love Live and Kamen Rider 19

Meanwhile, with Chievil distracting the enemy, Divine and Spirit pulled the cards from their Beast Soul Drivers without a word, inserted them into their Beast Soul Bracelets, and simultaneously spun the dials in opposite directions.

〖Awaken〗

〖Rising〗

Two distinct mechanical voices rang out, and Divine and Spirit were each enveloped in flames of different styles.

Divine was surrounded by a violent, scorching crimson fire, while Spirit was cloaked in a red lotus flame that appeared calm but was actually filled with the intent to incinerate everything!

〖The soul of the plume〗

〖Fire rosefinch〗

--Whoosh!

--Swish!

As the two mechanical voices faded, a crimson figure suddenly lunged out from the flames, accompanied by a flaming arrow shot from the other cluster of fire, charging toward the Knight Hunter with unstoppable momentum.

The Knight Hunter slashed at Chievil, who was in front of him, forcing him back, but a flaming arrow suddenly flew in from his side.

Seeing this, the Knight Hunter reached out a hand to grab the arrow, but he seemed to overlook the concentrated inferno within it. As soon as he gripped the projectile, it suddenly exploded, transforming into a blooming red lotus of fire that spread from the Knight Hunter's palm across his entire arm.

For a moment, he couldn't help but panic. Immediately after, a crimson figure suddenly appeared before him. Divine, now standing in front of the Knight Hunter, clenched his claw into a fist, and the translucent, flame-like armor covering his hand erupted with a red light, making his entire claw-hand look like a mass of real, scorching, dazzling fire.

Divine then landed a punch on the Knight Hunter's abdomen before he could react. In an instant, the flames condensed in Divine's fist exploded, and a fire flower, no less impressive than the red lotus wrapped around the Knight Hunter's arm, bloomed at the point of impact. The intense shockwave blasted the Knight Hunter away as if he were a cannonball ignited and fired from a mortar.

Before the blasted Knight Hunter could land, he suddenly felt something wrap around his waist. Struggling to look down, he saw a flash of purple, and he realized it was Chievil's Thunder Chain.

While he was still processing this, Chievil didn't hesitate for a second; he yanked the Thunder Chain, slamming the Knight Hunter into the ground and creating a crater about a meter deep. He then pulled the chain again, slamming him into the ground on the other side, creating yet another crater.

At the same time, Spirit, who had been waiting on the sidelines, raised the Crimson Lotus Crossbow—which resembled a burning giant bird—and aimed it at the Knight Hunter before pulling the trigger.

A flaming arrow, no less powerful—perhaps even more so—than the previous one, shot out from the Crimson Lotus Crossbow.

After leaving the crossbow, the arrow transformed into a small firebird and struck the Knight Hunter.

--Boom!

A loud explosion rang out, and a small mushroom cloud of fire instantly covered the Knight Hunter's position.

"Did we get him?"

"I don't know."

"Hm?... Ugh!"

Just as the three were vigilantly watching the Knight Hunter through the flames of the explosion, Chievil suddenly felt a massive pulling force coming from the other end of his Thunder Chain, and this immense strength yanked him forward.

"Kashu!"

As the shockwaves of the explosion dissipated, the Knight Hunter stood there without a single scratch, as if the trio's attacks were nothing more than a minor annoyance to him.

At this moment, he held Chievil by the throat, lifting him effortlessly before tossing him aside like trash. Seeing this, Divine hurriedly flapped his wings to fly into the sky and caught Chievil, just as the Knight Hunter's voice echoed out.

[Heh, what a pity, what a pity. If it were anyone else, they might have suffered a loss against your exquisite coordination, but unfortunately, you ran into me. Your previous attacks not only failed to hurt me, but actually allowed me to absorb the power within them, making me even stronger. And thanks to you, I've collected some useful data. As a reward, I'll let you die quickly!]

[--Kuuga!]

The dial on his belt turned to the pattern of a stag beetle, and the Knight Hunter's form shifted once more. This time, he took on the appearance of the first Heisei Kamen Rider, Kuuga, though his form bore a resemblance to Kuuga's Dragon Form.

Following this, the serrated sword in the Knight Hunter's hand writhed again, transforming into a staff with two rounded ends and a green orb embedded in the center.

The Knight Hunter then leaped from his spot and thrust the staff toward Spirit, while an invisible force quietly condensed at the tip of the weapon.

Spirit didn't hesitate, hurriedly raising his Crimson Lotus Crossbow to block in front of him.

In an instant, their weapons collided. The Knight Hunter's strength far exceeded Spirit's expectations; he was knocked back several steps, and a rustic, golden stag beetle pattern appeared on Spirit's Crimson Lotus Crossbow before quietly vanishing. Even Spirit didn't notice this, though he had no time to pay attention to it anyway.

The Knight Hunter attacked with fierce intensity, his offensive leaving Spirit struggling to parry. Just then, Divine and Chievil suddenly appeared to help, giving Spirit a moment to catch his breath.

[Hmph! Don't get too happy; the warm-up has only just ended!]

As soon as the Knight Hunter finished speaking, his weapon changed once again, this time into a greatsword. His form also shifted slightly; while he retained Kuuga's head, his chest and shoulder armor became incredibly broad and thick, exuding a sense of power and strength!

He simply raised the greatsword and gave a light swipe toward Chievil, who was closest to him. A shower of sparks erupted from Chievil's body as he was forced to the ground, and a deep sword mark appeared on the armor covering his chest.

"Ugh..." Chievil collapsed to the ground, clutching the sword mark on his chest and groaning in pain, while his armor, unable to withstand the heavy blow, was forced to deactivate.

Kashu's face turned pale, cold sweat dripping from his forehead as he clutched a shocking, bloody wound on his chest.

"Kashu!..."

[Instead of worrying about others, you'd better worry about yourself!]

As Divine's attention shifted to the severely wounded Kashu, the Knight Hunter suddenly turned around, and the greatsword that had just wounded Kashu descended toward him with the same simple motion.

Suddenly sensing danger behind him, Divine hurriedly flapped his wings to fly into the air, while Spirit suddenly intervened from the side.

Seeing his attack interrupted, the Knight Hunter irritably shifted his gaze from Divine in the sky to Spirit in front of him, his appearance and weapon reverting to the staff-wielding form from before.

He took a step forward and thrust the staff toward Spirit, but Spirit, having been prepared, dodged the strike.

The Knight Hunter immediately abandoned his previous attack, flicked his wrist, and swept the staff toward Spirit.

Unable to dodge in time, Spirit was struck in the abdomen by the staff and stumbled back several steps. Not intending to let this opportunity slip, the Knight Hunter suddenly leaped high into the air and thrust the staff toward the center of Spirit's chest, where a rustic, golden stag beetle pattern appeared.

--Bam!

"Ughhh!!!"

Then, the pattern suddenly exploded. Violent sparks sprayed from the chest of Spirit, and at the same time, the armor on Spirit's body, unable to withstand the heavy blow just like Kashu's, was forced to disengage. Finally, Takai Geki collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Geki..."

--Whoosh!

"Huh?!" Before Divine could finish speaking, a thin, golden arrow suddenly struck Divine's right wing. Immediately after, the stag beetle pattern that had appeared on Spirit's chest reappeared on Divine's right wing.

--Boom!!!

"Wuaaaahhh!!!!"

The energy condensed within the pattern suddenly detonated on Divine's right wing. Subsequently, Divine, now missing a wing, plummeted from the sky like a kite with a broken string, leaving a sizable crater in the ground.

Likewise, the armor on Divine's body could no longer hold and was forced to disengage. Following this, the Knight Hunter, having reverted to his original form, slowly walked over to Senba Gari, who lay unconscious in the deep crater, and raised the Blood-Colored Serrated Sword in his hand high.

--Bang!

Just as the serrated sword in his hand was about to descend, the sound of a gunshot suddenly rang out, interrupting his attack.

The Knight Hunter reacted swiftly, turning around as he swung the serrated sword in a slashing motion. A small missile was sliced in two by his blade and detonated simultaneously, kicking up a cloud of smoke.

--Poof!!!

Immediately after, two silver figures darted out from the explosion's smoke. Seeing this, the Knight Hunter discarded the serrated sword and calmly extended both hands.

--Clap

"What?!"

〖Holy crap! Σ( ° △ °|||)︴〗

Blade and Silver Phantom stared in shock as their blades were caught by the opponent with such nonchalance. You've got to be kidding me?!

[Heh!]

The Knight Hunter let out a disdainful laugh. He then moved both hands simultaneously; with one hand, he tossed Silver Phantom aside, while with the other, he bypassed the Blay Rouzer and grabbed Blade by the throat, lifting him up as if he were a chick. His free hand suddenly sprouted five sharp claws that pressed against Blade's abdomen, and he spoke in an icy tone.

[Tell me... if I were to apply just a little bit of force, what do you think would happen?... Oh, right, right, you seem to be immortal, but that doesn't matter. I think you've guessed it by now, haven't you? I can transform into any Kamen Rider from Kuuga all the way to Ghost, and I can also use their corresponding abilities. Tell me—if I use Blade's power, your power, what would happen to this world?]

"You...!" Blade looked at the Knight Hunter, who was preparing to strike, with a hint of terror. A sense of despair welled up in his heart. If what the opponent said was true, then the only Joker left in this world would be Aikawa Hajime. If that were the case... No! This can't be!

Just as the Knight Hunter was about to make his move, he noticed Blade struggling violently, but this only made the Knight Hunter even more excited.

[Interesting. Are you afraid? Heh, hahaha!!! A Kamen Rider can actually feel fear? Heh, hahahahahaha!]

--Bang!

Just as the Knight Hunter was laughing loudly, a gunshot rang out, and a bullet struck the wrist of the hand the Knight Hunter was using to grip Blade's throat with pinpoint accuracy.

[Who?!] The Knight Hunter released Blade in pain and retreated, maintaining a significant distance from the half-kneeling Blade, then scanned his surroundings vigilantly.

In the open space not far from him, a mercury-colored barrier suddenly appeared. At the same time, a Kamen Rider with green compound eyes, primarily magenta, white, and black in color, appeared before him. From the strangely shaped pistol held in his hand, which was still emitting white smoke from its muzzle, it was clear that he was the one who had fired the shot.

"Can't a Kamen Rider feel fear? You should know, Kamen Riders are human, too!"

The tenth Heisei Kamen Rider, the Destroyer of Worlds—Decade!

History about to be rewritten

Watching Decade suddenly appear and ruin his fun, the Knight Hunter clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Tch... looks like my luck isn't great today. Troublesome people keep popping up one after another. Oh well, the data is mostly collected anyway, so I'll let you off for today." Having said that, the Knight Hunter bent his knees, leaped high into the air, and vanished.

Silently watching the Knight Hunter's disappearing figure, Decade let out a slight sigh of relief in his heart. After all, he wasn't confident he could drive the Knight Hunter away. He then turned back to look at Senba Gari and the others lying scattered on the ground, sighed helplessly, and mercury-colored spatial barriers appeared in front of each person, transporting them all to another location.

---Divider

"Ugh..." As soon as Senba Gari opened his eyes after a long period of darkness, he was blinded by the sunlight streaming in from outside. After adjusting to the light, he looked around at the familiar decor with a dazed expression.

"This... isn't this my living room? How did I get back? Didn't I..."

"Oh? Finally awake, junior."

Just as Senba Gari was wondering how he had returned, a voice suddenly reached him. Senba Gari immediately looked over with vigilance. He saw a man with fluffy hair, a rectangular magenta reflex camera hanging around his neck, and a black jacket over a red sweater, along with another man with slightly long, short black hair wearing a brown jacket, sitting with his legs crossed and holding tea brewed for him by Silver Phantom.

"Don't be so guarded, relax... slurp..." The man in the brown jacket waved his hand at Senba Gari without a care, then joined his companion in taking a sip of tea with an expression of pure enjoyment.

"..." Watching these two men drinking tea so leisurely in his living room, Senba Gari didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Huh—the tea your robot makes is really good. Compared to that lifeless Auto Vajin of Takumi's, this guy is clearly more to my taste. Hey, junior, give me this robot. This 'treasure' is very much to my liking! The best part is that it's also a motorcycle." The man patted the shoulder of Silver Phantom, whose chest dashboard was displaying 〖(?_? )〗, and stated his intentions without any attempt to hide them.

"Hey! I'm asking, who the hell are you two! Drinking tea in my house so casually is one thing... but you're actually trying to poach from me right in front of my eyes! Where did you come from, you robbers!?" Senba Gari pointed at the man's nose.

The man, however, didn't care about Senba Gari's actions at all, took another sip of tea, and then spoke leisurely.

"I'm not a robber, I'm a thief Rider!"

"...Wow... wow... is... is that so... but, is there a difference?! If anything, the nature of it is just as despicable, hey!" Senba Gari just wanted to say 'WTF' at this point.

"Alright, alright, Kaito, stop messing around. We still have serious business to discuss." The man with the camera around his neck interrupted the bickering between the two.

"So, who are you people exactly!" Senba Gari demanded again.

"Ahem." The man with the camera around his neck held a fist to his mouth and coughed softly, then slowly turned the conversation. "If I just say our names, you'll probably still be wary of us, so I'll tell you our other identity while I'm at it. My name is Kadoya Tsukasa, and I am also Kamen Rider—Decade."

As he spoke, Kadoya Tsukasa took out a card featuring the distinct image of Decade and placed it in front of Senba Gari.

"Kaito Daiki, just like that guy, is also a Kamen Rider—Kamen Rider Diend. Furthermore, we are your seniors, so you should show a little more respect when you speak. If you're willing to give me this robot, I might consider whether or not to forgive you." Kaito Daiki sipped the hot tea in his hand leisurely as he slowly revealed his identity.

"I'm afraid I have to refuse that, so you'll just have to keep resenting me for the rest of your life, Senior..."

Senba Gari stared at the two people in front of him, completely dumbfounded. The two individuals sitting there leisurely drinking tea were actually Kamen Riders, and if he wasn't mistaken, they were their predecessors in the Rider lineage. If his guess was correct, the reason they had managed to return home was also because of these two senior Riders, so Senba Gari lowered his head and thanked Kadoya Tsukasa and the other man.

"If I'm not mistaken, it was you two seniors who saved us, right? Thank you so very much."

"Oh? You figured it out? You're not as slow as I thought. But the one who really saved you was Tsukasa; I just came out to get some fresh air." Kaito Daiki pointed at Kadoya Tsukasa beside him as he spoke.

"Regardless, thank you both, Seniors." Senba Gari thanked them once again.

"If you really want to thank me, just give me that robot." Kaito Daiki said, a glimmer of desire flashing in his eyes.

〖(?_? )〗

"...Just how obsessed are you with my Phantom? Out of it, Cangqiong, and Ziying, you just have to be so fixated on Phantom... Even though you are my senior, I still have to refuse. My deepest apologies." Senba Gari decisively refused once more.

"Tsk, so it's still a no, huh? If only I could have stolen it..."

"Hey, you just said 'stolen,' didn't you? →_→"

"Alright, alright, that's enough out of you two. Besides, Kaito, we're here on official business." Kadoya Tsukasa interrupted their conversation at this moment.

"Fine, fine, I'll stop. You say it, Tsukasa."

"I won't waste any more time; I'll get straight to the point. I've come to ask a favor of you this time." Kadoya Tsukasa looked at Senba Gari with a serious expression. "That is to change the history..."

But before Kadoya Tsukasa could finish his sentence, Senba Gari suddenly felt the space around him begin to distort, and all time froze at the very moment Kadoya Tsukasa had opened his mouth.

Then, everything returned to darkness.

--Scene Change

One hour ago--

Inside a sealed space within the Relic Hall, there were many pipes and instruments that looked completely out of place. In the very center stood a massive, upright, ring-shaped machine, with all the surrounding wires and pipes connected to the ring in an orderly fashion.

"Hahahaha! Finally... it's finally finished! The ultimate weapon capable of completely wiping out those detestable Kamen Riders!"