Heh, you're nothing but a fish on the chopping block now. Seeing that Divine still wasn't fighting back, Knight Hunter lost interest. He pulled his foot away from Divine, then brandished his Serrated Sword over Divine's chest. It must hurt, doesn't it? Your predecessors were just like you. They watched helplessly as their bodies slowly vanished, unable to do a thing. Now... it's time to restore order to this world!!!!
As he spoke, Knight Hunter raised the Serrated Sword, ready to cleave Divine in two.
"Stop!!!!"
Just as Knight Hunter was about to cut Divine in half, a golden sword suddenly shot through the air and sliced off the hand holding his sword.
Staring at his severed hand on the ground, Knight Hunter calmly looked at the golden sword between him and Divine.
How It All Began
Thousands of years ago, strange creatures appeared in the world. They upset its balance and slaughtered humans without restraint. They resembled monsters, but weren't monsters, so people called them Mlortha—and the seven beings that led them the Seven-HBrute.
Because of the Mlortha's brutality toward humans and the damage they'd done to the world's balance, the world's will, Gaia and Alaya, each created a suit of armor designed to fight them: Divine, which wielded Gaia's power, and Spirit, which wielded Alaya's. They gave the armor to two warriors chosen from among humanity, who had passed their trials. The two warriors wore their armor and fought the Seven-HBrute at the Mlortha's stronghold. In the end, Divine used his final strength to seal away the Seven-HBrute and the Mlortha, then disappeared without a trace. Spirit, meanwhile, was gravely wounded, fell unconscious, and eventually died.
People later built a shrine at the place where Divine had sealed away the Seven-HBrute and the Mlortha, to honor the two warriors. They recorded the story to warn future generations. As for the armor, Divine's could neither be touched nor removed, since his body itself served as the seal. Spirit's armor was kept by the descendants of the warrior who had worn it.
--Time skip--
Thousands of years later, in the ruins of an unknown place that resembled a temple, a scream rang out. "Ah!"
At the same time, an open area near the temple ruins was covered with tents and strange, complex instruments. A group of people sat in front of one of the devices, all dressed like archaeologists.
"Honestly, Hunter and the others must've triggered another trap," said one of the female archaeologists, a well-built woman, sounding utterly exasperated.
"Eh, you get used to it," replied a somewhat overweight male archaeologist.
"Hey, Fatso, stay away from me! Seriously, why do I have to be stuck here with you?" the woman snapped at him.
"Aw, Li, don't be like that. Look, I'm just trying to get a little closer to you." The fat archaeologist didn't back off. Instead, he edged even closer to her—well, not the woman... Li.
"Get lost! Don't come near me. You're rubbing your grease all over me!" Li held a hand up to keep him away, her voice full of disgust.
"And what's so great about you, anyway? You've got no figure and no looks. Nothing like my Gari, who's so handsome and perfectly built. You're just a pig." Li said this with a lovestruck expression.
"Hey, Li, whether Gari likes you or not is another matter, but he's a whole ten years younger than you," the fat archaeologist said, trying to make her give up.
"That's fine~ Older women dating younger guys are all the rage these days." Li's words seemed to crush the fat man's hopes.
"Hey, boss! Come over here—Li's in heat again!" the fat man called to a man in the distance who was working with the archaeological instruments.
"Hey! Fatso, who are you calling in heat? Want to die?" Li clenched her fists and stalked toward him, threateningly.
"H-ha ha... Li, I... I didn't say anything. You didn't hear anything, either." The fat man was so scared he could barely get the words out.
"Enough talk. Prepare to die!"
"Ah! Boss, help! Ah!" Li pinned the fat man in a cross-arm lock.
"Okay, you two. Aren't you a little old to be acting like children? Everyone's watching." A middle-aged man walked over just then and saved the fat man.
Sure enough, Li looked around and saw everyone nearby watching and laughing at them. She blushed, let the fat man go, and ran off.
"Phew~ I'm alive! Thanks, boss Mamoru." The fat man caught his breath and thanked the middle-aged man, whom he called Boss Mamoru.
"Come on, don't try to sweet-talk me. This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been asking for it," Mamoru said, chiding him.
"Heh heh."
"Look, I know you like Li, but you can't rush these things, right? Now get back to work. Hunter and Gari are still down there."
"Heh heh. Yes, boss." The fat man returned to a device that looked like a monitor and sat down in front of it.
"Honestly, how did I end up with a teammate like that? I wonder how Hunter and his son Gari are doing down there. I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling about today."
"Don't worry, boss. There's no need to be so concerned. Don't forget, Hunter and Gari know Yin-Yang magic. Besides, Gari has unlimited spirit power."
"That's true. Maybe I'm just overthinking it."
Scene change--
A handsome boy with black hair and black eyes lay sprawled on the ground, panting. Beside him stood a stubbly man who looked like an older version of the boy. The man spoke with the exasperation of someone who couldn't believe his son had turned out this way.
"Honestly, Gari, you got scared by a few little traps? You're such a coward~"
The boy... no, the protagonist of this story, Senba Gari, angrily jumped to his feet. "ヽ(#`Д′)ノ You bastard, Dad!! What kind of father sets up his own son like that!? And you call that a little trap? Where did you get the idea this was a little trap?!"
He pointed to the end of a passage beside them, where a round boulder several times bigger than an elephant sat.
"And what kind of father pushes his own son down to trigger a trap!!! If I hadn't blasted a huge hole straight through the wall with my Spirit Power Gun, we'd all be done for!!!"
Senba Ryo waved his hand and replied lazily, "Aw, don't worry, it's all right. Look, you're fine, aren't you?"
"You bastard, Dad, you..."
"Beep beep beep~" "Dad, your walkie-talkie's going off."
"Oh? Right." Senba Ryo took the walkie-talkie from his breast pocket. "Hello, this is Senba Ryo. Can you hear me?"
"Hello, Hunter? It's Fatso. Can you hear me? It's Fatso."
A naive-sounding voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"Oh~ It's Fatso. What's up?"
"Well, we suddenly picked up a massive energy source near you. We figure it might be what we're looking for."
"Really? I'll take a look." Senba Ryo began feeling around for something.
"Hey! Dad, come over here! I think I found a switch." Senba Gari's voice suddenly rang out.
"Really? Hang on, I'm coming." Senba Ryo turned and called to Senba Gari, then said into the walkie-talkie, "We have to go. We may have found something. We'll talk later."
"Got it. Be careful over there," came the reply from the other end.
"Dad, are you done? Hurry up!"
"I know, I know, you brat. You've got no respect for your elders," Senba Ryo muttered, then hurried over to Senba Gari.
When he reached his son, he noticed a small diamond shape on the wall in front of him, surrounded by other geometric shapes that formed a larger diamond. Triangles sat at each of the larger diamond's four corners, creating a mysterious design. Strange writing covered the area around it.
"Gari, can you read this?" Senba Ryo asked, though his tone made it clear he was sure of the answer.
"Yeah. The script is ancient and rare, but it's still easy for me." Senba Gari studied the writing around the design as he answered his father.
"Oh? What does it say?" Senba Ryo asked with the eager expression of a curious child.
"It tells how these ruins came to be, and about a legend." Senba Gari continued studying the writing on the wall, unaware that his dad was acting silly again.
"Really? What legend? Tell me."
"The legend says that thousands of years ago, a creature called the Mlortha appeared in the world, along with the Seven-HBrute who led them. They upset the balance of the world, and all living things suffered."
"Oh? What happened next?"
"Then the will of the world, Gaia and Alaya, decided to intervene. But since they couldn't easily manifest their true forms, they chose two warriors from the only strongest race in the world at the time—humans—and bestowed upon them super armor designed to fight the Mlortha and the Seven-HBrute. One was Divine, who wielded Gaia's power, and the other was Spirit, who wielded Alaya's power."
"And then?"
"Then Divine sealed the Mlortha and the Seven-HBrute away with his life, while Spirit was gravely wounded, fell unconscious, and eventually died. And then..."
"And then people built these temple ruins to honor the two warriors," Senba Ryo cut in.
"Yeah. This is also where Divine sealed the Mlortha and the Seven-HBrute away. This wall in front of us is the entrance to that place."
"What! This wall? How do we open it?" Senba Ryo asked, visibly excited.
Senba Gari didn't answer. He simply walked over to the diamond design on the wall, closed his eyes, and placed his hand on the small diamond in its center. A faint azure glow shone from his hand. (To explain, this light is a power called spirit power. The protagonist and his father can both use it, and the Kamen Rider transformations and Yin-Yang magic that come later are activated with it.) The entire wall began to glow faintly blue.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. The tremors were so powerful that they had to brace themselves against the nearby wall just to stay upright. What lay beyond it left them stunned.
The wall in front of them slowly rose. Beyond it was a hall. Strange writing covered the walls on every side, just like the writing they had seen earlier. In the middle of the hall stood seven strange statues arranged in a fan shape. In front of them lay an ancient corpse in a crystal coffin, wearing clothes that looked completely out of place beside the statues.
"Hello! This is Mamoru. Can you hear me? Hello, Hunter! Can you hear me?!" A tense voice came through the walkie-talkie, jolting the father and son out of their brief stupor. Senba Ryo pulled the walkie-talkie from his breast pocket and called into it.
"Hello, this is Senba Ryo. I hear you. What's wrong?"
"Phew~ Thank goodness you're okay. There was an earthquake up here just now, and I thought something had happened to you." The person on the other end sounded relieved.
"Haha, we're fine, we're fine. The earthquake happened because we found the temple hall and activated a mechanism. Mamoru, you worry too much." Senba Ryo scratched his head and laughed.
"Yeah, Uncle Mamoru, you're worrying a little too much," Senba Gari added, speaking to Mamoru through the walkie-talkie.
"Honestly, I was worried about you, and all I get in return is a lecture." Mamoru sounded exasperated from the other end.
"By the way, what did you find?"
"There's nothing here but stone. The most unusual things are the seven statues in the center of the hall and the ancient corpse in the crystal coffin in front of them." As he spoke, he glanced at the coffin and at his son, who was walking toward it.
"Is that so? Then get ready there. I'll send someone to pick you up later."
"Okay, got it. I'm going after my son. You know how he is—sometimes even I can't keep him in check." Senba Ryo looked a little helpless.
"All right, all right, I know. See you later."
Senba Ryo put away the walkie-talkie and hurried after his son.
"Well? Did you notice anything unusual?" he asked as soon as he reached his son.
Senba Gari didn't answer. He simply studied the corpse in the crystal coffin and the seven statues.
The corpse lay peacefully in the crystal coffin. On closer inspection, it was a male corpse dressed in strange clothes and wearing a strange mask. Most peculiar of all, it had a distinctive Stone Belt around its waist.
For some reason, the belt gave him a strange feeling. Yet somewhere deep in his heart, a voice kept echoing, telling him to remove it.
The Stone Belt looked like a modern PSP handheld game console, but it had no buttons. In the center was something like a display screen, and the surface bore the same diamond-shaped emblem they had seen on the wall. The small diamond in the middle had been replaced by the screen. Looking closer, he saw a long, narrow slot on the top and another on the right side of the belt.
The seven statues were even stranger. They looked like monsters from a tokusatsu show, and were terrifying to behold.
The statue on the far right resembled a warrior in ancient Japanese armor. Armor covered its entire body, leaving only its eyes exposed. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary statue—but if you didn't ignore the eight spider-like segmented legs on its back, the whole thing looked like a spider monster.
To the left of the spider stood a creature with three snarling canine heads and a body shaped like a dog standing upright. It was powerfully built and wore distinctive armor, giving it an infernal appearance. Its hands and feet ended in razor-sharp claws.
The next statue to the left had nine fox tails, an alluring figure, and wore a kimono. If you ignored the fox's head, it might have been a beauty.
The statue on the far left was humanoid, dressed in a loose samurai robe, and had a hideous oni's head. Sharp teeth protruded from its mouth, and a huge horn curved upward from its forehead. Its vicious eyes seemed ready to kill anyone who looked at it.
The statue to its right looked like what modern people called a tentacle monster. Long tentacles emerged from its armor, and two tiny, bead-like eyes peered out from its half-round helmet.
The next statue to the right had the upper body of a woman, a human face and snake hair, and a snake's tail for its lower body. Scales covered it from head to tail. It looked exactly like the Medusa of legend.
The statue at the center seemed different from the other six. It was black as night and took the form of a humanoid western dragon. It had a hideous dragon's head, sharp claws, and fearsome armor with a cape hanging from its back. An aura of destruction surrounded it, filling anyone who looked at it with fear.
"Hey! Son! Son! Gari!"
"Whoa!" The sudden shout startled Senba Gari and snapped him back to his senses.
"Do you want to give me a heart attack, you idiot? Why are you yelling so loudly?" He turned and complained to his father.
"What? You looked distracted, so I thought something had happened to you." Senba Ryo didn't get angry at his son for snapping at him.
"Oh, I see. I'm fine. I was just wondering about something." Seeing the concern in his father's eyes, Senba Gari let it go.
"Wondering about what?" Senba Ryo asked, puzzled, as he watched his son walk toward the crystal coffin.
Senba Gari reached the crystal coffin and slowly placed his hand on it.
"Crack, crack-crack-crack." Suddenly, cracks began to spread across the top of the crystal coffin, eventually covering its entire surface.
"Crash! Clatter." Startled, Senba Gari pulled his hand away and took a few steps back. The crystal coffin suddenly shattered, revealing the ancient corpse inside.
"Hey, Gari, what's going on?" Senba Ryo hurried to his son's side.
"I... I don't know." Senba Gari was clearly startled, too.
"Let's go take a look and see what happened," Senba Ryo suggested.
"Yeah." Senba Gari agreed with his father and walked over to the corpse.
The father and son approached the corpse. "Well? Is anything wrong?" Senba Ryo asked his son.
"Hmm... I can't tell." Senba Gari shook his head, then looked at the belt around the corpse's waist.
(Remove it. Take it off, quickly.)
"Who?! Who's there?!" The sudden voice startled Senba Gari. He shouted at the empty air and looked around. At that moment, the Nine-Tailed Fox Statue gave off a faint, almost imperceptible purple glow.
"What's wrong, Gari?" Seeing his son shouting at the air, Senba Ryo asked with concern.
"N-nothing." Senba Gari shook his head to show he was fine.
"Really? Then what were you shouting about?" Once he saw that his son was all right, Senba Ryo asked.
"Huh? I heard a voice just now. Didn't you hear it?"
"What voice? No."
"Oh, maybe I imagined it." Seeing his father's confused expression, Senba Gari thought he must have heard wrong.
"But..." Senba Gari slowly reached for the Stone Belt. (Why does that voice keep telling me to take it off? I guess I'll only find out what's going on if I remove it.) Then he slowly took the Stone Belt off. The moment it came free, the ancient corpse suddenly turned to sand and blew away on the wind. (
Before you continue