Love Live and Kamen Rider 21

[Heh, you're nothing but a fish on a chopping block now.] Seeing that Divine remained unresponsive, the Knight Hunter found it rather dull. He pulled his blade away from Divine, then held his Serrated Sword up, tracing it across Divine's chest. [It hurts, doesn't it? Your predecessors were just like you, watching their bodies slowly fade away while they could only ** helplessly. Now... it is time for the order of this world to be reconstituted!!!!]

With that, the Knight Hunter raised his Serrated Sword, intending to cleave Divine in two.

"Stop!!!!"

Just as the Knight Hunter was about to strike, a golden sword suddenly flew in, severing the hand the Knight Hunter was using to hold his weapon.

Looking at his severed hand on the ground, the Knight Hunter stared, unperturbed, at the golden sword that now stood between him and Divine.

The Beginning of Everything

Thousands of years ago, a strange species appeared in the world, disrupting its balance and wantonly slaughtering humanity. Because they resembled yokai but were not, people called them Mlortha, led by seven entities known as the seven-HBRUTE.

Due to the cruelty of the Mlortha and the destruction of the world's balance, the world's will, Gaia and Alaya, created two sets of armor specifically to combat them. One was Divine, possessing the power of Gaia, and the other was Spirit, possessing the power of Alaya. These were gifted to two Champions chosen from humanity who had passed the trials. Eventually, the two Champions donned the armor and went to the Mlortha stronghold to fight the seven-HBRUTE. Divine used his final strength to seal the seven-HBRUTE and the Mlortha before disappearing, while Spirit was mortally wounded and eventually perished.

In the end, people built a temple where Divine had sealed the seven-HBRUTE and the Mlortha to commemorate the two Champions, recording the events to warn future generations. As for the two sets of armor, Divine's could not be touched or removed because he had used his own body as the seal, while Spirit's armor was kept by the descendants of the Champion who had wielded it.

--I am a time separator

Thousands of years later, in an unknown ruin resembling a temple, a scream rang out: "Ah!"

At the same time, in an open space near the temple ruins, tents and various strange, complex instruments were scattered about. A group of people sat in front of one of the instruments, all dressed in attire that clearly identified them as archaeologists.

"Honestly, I bet Lie and the others tripped another trap." One of the female archaeologists with a good figure said in a tone of utter exasperation.

"Well, just get used to it, get used to it." This came from a slightly chubby male archaeologist.

"Hey! You fat pig, stay away from me! Seriously, why do I have to be here with you?" The female archaeologist snapped at the chubby man in a fierce tone.

"Eh~ Li, don't be like that. Look, I'm just trying to get closer to you." The chubby archaeologist wasn't scared off; instead, he moved even closer to the woman... oh no, it should be Li. He moved closer to Li.

"Get lost! Don't come near me, your grease is rubbing off on me!" Li held her hand in front of her, her tone filled with disgust.

"Besides, what do you even have going for you? No figure, no looks. Unlike my Gari, who is so perfect and handsome. You're just a pig." Li said with a lovestruck expression.

"Hey, Li, whether Gari likes you is one thing, but he's a full ten years younger than you." The chubby archaeologist tried to use this to make Li give up.

"It doesn't matter~ Sister-brother romances are trendy now anyway." Li's words seemed to shatter the chubby man's fantasies.

"Hey, hey, Boss, come over here, Li is acting love-struck again." The chubby man called out to a man in the distance who was working on an archaeological instrument.

"Hey! You fat pig, who are you calling love-struck? Do you want to die?!" Li balled her fists, threatening the chubby man as she approached him.

"Ha, haha, well, that, Li, Li, I, I actually didn't say anything, you didn't hear anything." The chubby man was so scared he couldn't even speak clearly.

"Enough talk, prepare to die."

"Ah! Boss, help me! Ah!" The chubby man was caught in a cross-arm lock by Li.

"Alright, how old are you two? Still acting like children. Everyone is watching." At this moment, a middle-aged man walked over and saved the chubby man's life.

Sure enough, Li looked around and saw everyone watching them and laughing. She blushed, let go of the chubby man, and ran off.

"Phew~ Thank goodness, I'm alive. Thanks, Boss Mamoru." The chubby man gasped for air and thanked the middle-aged man he called Boss Mamoru.

"Enough, don't try to pull the wool over my eyes. If you hadn't been asking for it, this wouldn't have happened." Mamoru said to the chubby man with a hint of reproach.

"Hehe."

"Alright, I know you like Li, but you can't rush things, can you? So, get back to work. Lie and Gari are still down there."

"Hehe, yes, Boss." After saying that, the chubby man returned to sit in front of a monitoring instrument.

"Sigh, honestly, how did I end up with a teammate like that? I wonder how Lie and his son Gari are doing down there. For some reason, I have a bad feeling today."

"Don't worry, Boss, don't be too concerned. Don't forget that Lie and Gari know Yin-Yang Arts, and besides, Gari possesses infinite Spirit Power."

"That's true, maybe I'm just overthinking it."

Scene transition--

A handsome youth with black hair and black eyes was lying on the ground, panting in a very ungraceful manner. Standing beside him was a man who looked like an older version of the youth, complete with stubble. The man spoke in a tone of disappointment.

"Honestly, Gari, you're scared by a few small traps? You're way too timid~"

The youth—no, our protagonist, Senba Gari—stood up, furious. "You damn old man!! Is there any father who sabotages his own son like this!? A small trap? Where on earth do you see this as a small trap!"

He pointed to the end of a small path beside them, where a circular boulder several times larger than an elephant sat.

"And what kind of father pushes his own son to trigger a trap!!! If I hadn't used my Spirit Power Gun to blast a hole in the wall, we would have been done for!!!"

Senba Gari's father waved his hand dismissively, his tone lazy. "Oh, it's fine, it's fine. Look, aren't you still perfectly fine?"

"You damn old man, you..."

"Beep beep beep~" "Dad, your walkie-talkie is ringing."

"Oh? Right." Senba Gari's father took the walkie-talkie out of his chest pocket. "Hello, this is Senba Ryo, do you copy?"

"Hey, is that Ryo? It's me, Fatty, do you copy? It's Fatty." A thick, honest voice sounded from the walkie-talkie.

"Oh~ so it's Fatty, what's up?"

"Oh, we just detected a massive energy source near you. It's likely what we're looking for."

"Is that so? Let me look around." With that, Senba Ryo began fumbling around his surroundings.

"Hey! You damn old man, come over here, I think I found a switch." Senba Gari's voice suddenly rang out.

"Is that so? Wait a moment, I'll be right there." Senba Ryo turned back to say this to Senba Gari, then spoke into his walkie-talkie, "I'll stop here for now. We seem to have discovered something; we'll talk later."

"Understood. Stay safe, you two." A response came from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

"Are you done yet, you old fool? Hurry up!"

"I know, I know. You brat, you really have no respect for your elders." Senba Ryo muttered a few words before walking quickly toward Senba Gari.

When he reached Senba Gari's side, he suddenly noticed that the wall in front of his son featured a small diamond shape surrounded by geometric patterns that formed a larger diamond. There was a triangle at each of the four corners of this large diamond, creating a mysterious emblem. The entire pattern was covered in strange, ancient characters.

"Gari, can you read this?" Although Senba Ryo phrased it as a question, his tone was quite certain.

"Hmm, although this script is ancient and rare, it's a piece of cake for me." Senba Gari replied to his father's question while observing the characters surrounding the pattern.

"Oh? And what does it say?" Senba Ryo asked, looking like a curious child.

"It records the origin of this ruin and a legend." Senba Gari continued to study the writing on the wall, failing to notice his father acting silly again.

"Is that so? What kind of legend? Let's hear it."

"The legend seems to date back several thousand years. At that time, a creature known as Mlortha and seven beings leading them called the seven-HBRUTE appeared, destroying the balance of the world and plunging all living things into misery."

"Oh? And then?"

"Later, the world's willpower, Gaia and Alaya, decided to intervene. But since their true forms could not easily manifest, they decided to choose two Champions from the strongest race at the time—humanity—and bestowed upon them super armor specifically designed to counter Mlortha and the seven-HBRUTE. They were the Divine, possessing the power of Gaia, and the Spirit, possessing the power of Alaya."

"And then what happened?"

"After that, Mlortha and the seven-HBRUTE were finally sealed away by the Divine at the cost of his life, while the Spirit was critically injured, fell into a coma, and eventually died. Then..."

"Then people built this temple ruin to commemorate those two Champions," Senba Ryo interrupted to answer.

"Yes. At the same time, it is also the location where the Divine sealed Mlortha and the seven-HBRUTE. And the wall in front of us is the gate leading to that very place."

"What! This wall? Then how do we open it?" Senba Ryo's tone was now extremely excited.

Senba Gari did not reply. Instead, he walked to the diamond pattern on the wall, closed his eyes, and placed his hand on the small diamond in the center. At that moment, a faint azure glow emanated from his hand (to explain, this light is a power called spiritual energy, which both the protagonist and his father possess; the knight transformations and onmyodo arts that follow are also powered by this). The entire wall began to emit a faint blue light.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently. The tremors were so intense that they had to grab the nearby walls just to stand steady, and the scene revealed inside left them stunned.

The wall in front of them slowly rose. A grand hall appeared before them. The walls surrounding the hall were covered in the same strange characters they had seen earlier. In the center of the hall stood seven strange stone statues arranged in a fan shape, and in front of these seven statues lay an ancient corpse wearing bizarre clothing, resting inside a crystal coffin.

"Hey! This is Mamoru, do you copy? Hey! Ryo! Can you hear me?!" A voice filled with tension came through the walkie-talkie, snapping the father and son out of their brief stupor. Senba Ryo pulled the walkie-talkie from his chest and shouted into it.

"Hey, hey, this is Senba Ryo. I hear you. Is something wrong?"

"Phew~ thank goodness you're okay. There was a massive earthquake on the surface just now, and I thought something had happened to you." The person on the other end seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Haha, it's fine, it's fine. That earthquake was just us finding the temple hall and triggering the mechanism. You're worrying too much, Mamoru." Senba Ryo replied with a laugh while scratching his head.

"Yeah, Uncle Mamoru, you're worrying a bit too much." Senba Gari also spoke to Mamoru through the walkie-talkie.

"Honestly, I'm just worried about you out of the kindness of my heart, and in the end, I get lectured by you two." Mamoru replied helplessly from the other end.

"By the way, what did you see?"

"Other than stone, there's nothing but stone here. The most unique things are the seven stone statues in the center of the hall and the ancient corpse in the crystal coffin in front of them." As he said this, he glanced at the crystal coffin and his son, who was walking toward it.

"I see. Well, get ready there. I'll send someone to pick you up in a bit."

"Mhm, alright, I understand. I'm going to go find my son; you know his old habits—sometimes even I can't keep him in check." A look of helplessness appeared on Senba Ryo's face.

"Alright, alright, I get it. See you in a bit."

Senba Ryo put away the walkie-talkie and hurried toward his son.

"So, is there anything special about it?" He asked as soon as he reached his son's side.

Senba Gari didn't answer his father, continuing to stare at the corpse in the crystal coffin and the seven stone statues.

The corpse in the crystal coffin lay peacefully. Looking closely, it was an ancient male corpse wearing strange clothes and a bizarre mask. Most notably, there was a uniquely designed stone belt around his waist.

He didn't know why, but this belt gave him a very strange feeling. Yet, deep down, a voice seemed to echo in his heart, urging him to take the stone belt off.

The exterior of the stone belt resembled a modern PSP game console, though it lacked buttons. Instead, it had what looked like a screen display in the center, and the surface pattern was the same diamond totem they had seen on the wall, except the small diamond in the center had been replaced by the screen. Looking closely, there were long, narrow slots on both the top and the right side of the belt.

As for the seven stone statues, their designs were even stranger, looking like the monsters from tokusatsu films—terrifying in appearance.

The statue on the far right resembled an ancient Japanese armored warrior. The armor covered his entire body, leaving only his eyes visible. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary statue, but if one didn't ignore the eight spider-like appendages on its back, the entire statue looked like a spider monster.

To the left of the spider was a creature with three ferocious canine heads, standing on its hind legs like a dog. It had a very muscular build and wore a uniquely styled set of armor, giving off a hellish aura, with sharp claws on its hands and feet.

Further to the left was a figure with nine fox tails on its back, a seductive physique, and wearing a kimono. If one ignored the fox head, it might have been a beauty.

Then there was the statue on the far left. It was humanoid, wearing a wide samurai robe, with a ferocious demon head, sharp protruding teeth, and large, upward-curving horns on its forehead. Its fierce gaze seemed as if it would kill you on the spot.

To its right was a statue that looked like the tentacle monsters often described by modern people, with long tentacles extending from its armor and two bean-sized eyes peering out from a semi-circular helmet.

To the right of that was a statue with the upper body of a woman, a human face with snake hair, and the lower body of a snake tail. Its entire body was covered in scales, exactly like the legendary Medusa.

Finally, the statue in the center seemed different from the other six. It was pitch black, shaped like a humanoid Western dragon with a ferocious, terrifying dragon head, sharp claws, and a menacing suit of armor with a cape on its back. Its body was filled with an aura of destruction, making one feel an involuntary sense of fear.

"Hey! Son! Son! Gari!"

"Whoa!" The sudden shout startled Senba Gari, bringing him back to his senses.

"Are you trying to kill me, you idiot old man? Why are you yelling so loud?" He turned back to complain to his father.

"What do you mean? You looked like you were zoning out, and I thought something had happened to you." Senba Ryo didn't get angry at his son's rebuke.

"I see. I'm fine, just a little confused." Seeing the worried look in his father's eyes, Senba Gari didn't say anything more.

"Confused?" Senba Ryo looked puzzled, watching his son walk toward the crystal coffin.

Senba Gari walked up to the crystal coffin and slowly placed his hand upon it.

"Crack, crack-crack-crack." Suddenly, cracks began to form on the surface of the crystal coffin, spreading across the entire structure.

"Bang, crash!" Startled, Senba Gari pulled his hand back and took a few steps, only for the crystal coffin to suddenly shatter, revealing the ancient corpse inside.

"Hey, Gari, what's going on here?" Senba Ryo rushed to his son's side.

"I, I don't know either." Senba Gari was clearly shaken as well.

"Let's go take a look and see what's happening." Senba Ryo suggested to his son.

"Yeah." Senba Gari agreed with his father's suggestion and walked toward the ancient corpse.

The father and son approached the ancient corpse. "Well? Is there something wrong?" Senba Ryo asked his son.

"Hmm... I can't tell." Senba Gari shook his head, then looked at the belt around the waist of the ancient corpse.

(Take it off, take it off, hurry.)

"Who?! Who's talking?!" The sudden voice startled Senba Gari, causing him to shout at his surroundings. At the same time, one of the seven statues, the Nine-Tailed Fox Statue, emitted a faint, imperceptible purple light.

"What's wrong, Gari?" Seeing his son suddenly shouting at the air, Senba Ryo asked with concern.

"N-nothing. It's nothing." Senba Gari shook his head, indicating he was fine.

"Is that so? Then what were you shouting about just now?" Seeing that his son really seemed fine, Senba Ryo asked.

"Hm? There was a voice just now. Didn't you hear it?"

"What voice? I didn't hear anything."

"I see. Maybe I was just hearing things." Seeing his father's confused expression, he assumed he had misheard.

"However." Senba Gari slowly placed his hand on the stone belt. Why does that voice keep wanting me to take it off? It seems the only way to understand all of this is to remove it. He then slowly took off the stone belt, and the moment it was removed, the ancient corpse suddenly turned into sand and was blown away by the wind.