Love Live and Kamen Rider 24

Gradually, the figure revealed his appearance. He was a man in his twenties, wearing strange clothes and a bizarre mask on his face.

"Yo, we finally meet, kid."

Senba Gari did not reply, his pupils suddenly contracting. The figure he saw before him was one he would never forget for the rest of his life; it was the source of his trauma, for this figure was exactly the thousand-year-old corpse he had seen with his father several months ago.

When he finally regained his senses, he pointed his trembling right hand at the masked man, his voice shaking as he asked, "Y-y-y-you, a-a-a-aren't you... didn't you already turn to dust!"

"Uh (ー_ー)!! Look, kid, can you calm down? I did indeed turn to dust—ugh, why does that sound so weird? Never mind, just calm down and listen to me." Seeing that even Senba Gari's speech was trembling, the masked man hurriedly urged him to settle down.

(Seriously, is this guy really the reincarnation of my other soul fragments?) the masked man thought to himself.

"Uh, fine, go ahead." Senba Gari twitched at the corner of his eye as he looked at the masked man, taking a moment to steady his panicked heart.

"Oh, oh! As expected of a kid who dares to fight Mlortha, you accepted that pretty quickly!" the masked man let out a strange cry.

"Alright, stop acting like a clown, it's time to talk business." Gaia appeared at this moment to make her presence known.

"Hm? What business?"

"Oh, right, right, I almost forgot because you didn't mention it. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Camus, and I am the wearer of Divine. And this little loli is Gaia; you've already met her, right?" The masked man sat on the ground, introducing himself and Gaia to Senba Gari.

"Um, my name is Senba Gari, just call me Gari. Also, why am I here, and what is this business you're talking about?" Senba Gari blurted out all his questions in one breath.

"That, you see, you are—"

"I was the one who dragged you here while you were on the verge of death and saved you." Gaia interrupted Camus before he could finish his sentence.

"That's right. And before we talk business, you have to answer my question first." As he said this, Camus's tone became unusually serious.

"Oh, go ahead and ask." Seeing Camus turn serious, Senba Gari looked at him with an equally serious expression.

"Ahem, then, young man, would you like to form a contract with me and become a Magical Boy?"

Silence. The entire white space fell into a deathly stillness.

Gaia and Senba Gari looked at Camus with speechless expressions (→_→), and one could read the same thought in both of their eyes.

(This guy is definitely an idiot.)

"Uh, ha, ahahaha, th-that was a slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue! Let's try that again, let's try again." Camus looked at the two people in front of him with a guilty conscience.

"Forget it, I'm leaving first. You two hurry up." After saying that, Gaia disappeared into the World Interstice.

"Cough, ahem, well, Gari, if we could give you the power to defeat Mlortha, would you use it to protect this world?" Camus asked this time in a very serious tone.

"I will! Of course I will! As long as I can wipe them out, I'll do anything." Senba Gari looked at Camus with excitement.

"Good, that is the Senba Gari I expected to see."

After speaking, Camus reached out his hand, and a spatial ripple appeared in the space where his hand was.

"Snap." A strangely shaped belt appeared in Camus's hand.

The main color of the belt was silver-white with golden patterns. Its shape resembled a modern PSP game console, though it lacked any buttons. In the center, however, was a screen display. The surface pattern was the same diamond-shaped totem he had seen in the ruins, except the small diamond in the center had been replaced by the screen display. Looking closely, there were long, narrow slots on both the top and the right side of the belt.

"This, isn't this that stone belt?! How did it..." Senba Gari looked at the belt in Camus's hand in surprise.

"Why isn't it stone anymore? That's because Gaia and I unsealed it, of course." With that, Camus handed the belt to Senba Gari.

"Hold onto it. Oh, right, take this too." Camus pulled something from his pocket: a card that was pitch black on one side with no patterns or markings, and featured a gray diamond pattern on the other. He handed it to Senba Gari.

"This is... uh, Camus, your body." As Senba Gari held the card, he looked up to see Camus's body beginning to turn transparent, as if he would disappear at any second.

"Oh my, it seems time is running out. Never mind, Gari, remember: if you want to obtain the power of Divine, go and awaken the Phantom Beasts within your heart." After saying this, he used both hands to push Senba Gari into the spatial ripple behind him.

"Wait, Camus, Camus!" The words had barely left his lips before Senba Gari vanished.

"Is this really okay? Does he truly have the ability to defeat them?" Not long after Senba Gari disappeared, Gaia's voice echoed.

"Ah, it's fine. After all, he is me." Camus looked at the spot where Senba Gari had vanished.

"Are you leaving now?" Seeing Camus's figure about to fade away, a hint of sadness flashed in Gaia's eyes.

"Yeah, I'm leaving. Oh, right, take this mask. If you miss me, just look at it." Camus took off his mask and handed it to Gaia. His true face was exposed to the air—a face that looked exactly like Senba Gari's.

"Who, who would miss you!" Although she said that, Gaia blushed and held the mask tightly to her chest.

"Is that so? Goodbye." As the words fell, Camus vanished.

"Goodbye." With that, Gaia also disappeared into the World Interstice.

Scene change--

In a ruin somewhere in Akihabara, a spatial ripple appeared, then vanished, leaving only one figure behind.

"Camus, don't worry. I will definitely wipe out all the Mlortha." Senba Gari looked at the belt and card in his hands and said silently.

"Now then." Senba Gari placed the belt in front of his waist.

The belt suddenly extended a white strap, and on the right side of the white strap was a buckle, also silver with golden patterns. The belt and the strap clicked tightly around his waist.

Senba Gari gripped the card tightly, closed his eyes, and thought in his heart.

(Awaken the Phantom Beast within my heart.)

"Skree~~~" A loud, resonant bird cry rang out.

Senba Gari opened his eyes. The card in his hand was gone, and before him appeared a sky burning with flames. Standing before him was a Phantom Beast with fiery red wings, eagle-like claws, and the body of a man with the head of a bird: Garuda.

"Garuda! Fight alongside me!"

"Screech!"

Hearing the voice of Senba Gari, Garuda transformed into a massive ball of fire. Slowly, the flames shrank until they were the size of a palm. Senba Gari reached out and grasped the fire, and it finally solidified into the card from before, only now the previously blank space featured the image of a fire-red, bird-headed humanoid, and the gray totem on the reverse side had also turned fire-red.

Senba Gari closed his eyes once more, then opened them; he had returned to the original world, and the card in his hand had changed its appearance. He held the card in his right hand and spoke two words.

"Transform!"

Senba Gari inserted the card into the slot on the right side of his belt.

Simultaneously, the belt's LCD screen displayed the Garuda pattern from the card he had just inserted.

"Whoosh." A pillar of fire-red light erupted from beneath him, piercing straight into the sky.

"Vehicle armour appear," a synthesized metallic voice rang out from the belt.

Following this, fire-red phantom armor appeared over every part of Senba Gari's body.

"Armed."

"Divine Garuda."

Another synthesized metallic voice emanated from the belt.

Then, the phantom armor solidified into real armor, equipping itself onto Senba Gari's body.

"Screech!" A phantom of Garuda appeared behind him.

The pillar of light dissipated, revealing the appearance of the armor: the main body was fire-red with golden line patterns and black reinforced skin. It featured a fire-red, eagle-headed helmet with two deep blue compound eyes and silver armor plating over the mouth. The shoulder armor resembled slightly curved, folded wings, while the chest armor was engraved with numerous feather patterns and featured a red, flame-shaped gem at the center. The back armor consisted of two wings folded together, and the arm armor featured patterns similar to eagle talons, with two golden eagle-claw blades flipped and locked onto the gauntlets. The leg armor shared the same patterns as the arms, with the addition of an eagle-claw design gripping the leg plating, while the thigh armor was adorned with a single feather-like plate.

A flash of blue light crossed the deep blue compound eyes. After transforming, Senba Gari snapped his right fingers.

"Snap."

He looked in the direction where the lion Mlortha had fled.

"Now, the hunt begins." Divine's voice sounded from beneath the mask.

Symphony of Battle

"Now, the hunt begins." Divine's voice sounded from beneath the mask.

Then, Divine drew a card from the card box on his right.

The card looked identical to the transformation card, except the pattern on its surface was a pair of burning, fire-red wings.

One side of the card featured three small grooves and three raised ridges between them, which corresponded perfectly to the protrusions and indentations in the long slot above the belt.

His right hand swiped the card across the top of the belt.

"Blazing Wings." The belt's synthesized metallic voice sounded again, and the card dissolved into red light particles that merged into Divine's back. The wings behind the Garuda pattern on the belt screen spread open accordingly.

"Click." The armor on Divine's back, which had resembled two folded wings, opened and spread out to the sides, revealing the interior of the back armor. Two unfolded wing plates appeared, reaching only to his shoulders, and the back armor that had been covered by the wing plates was now visible. It was silver-white, and where it connected to the wing plates, there were three small flame thrusters on each side, while the back featured fire-red stripes outlining a geometric diamond pattern.

"Whoosh." The flame thrusters on his back ejected streams of deep red fire, which then wove together into a pair of beautiful, deep red wings of flame.

Divine bent his legs slightly, the wings of flame behind him spreading wide, and with a powerful flap, Divine took to the sky.

"Whoosh." Divine flapped the wings of flame once more, flying rapidly toward the direction of the lion Mlortha like a flaming meteor.

- Pursuit in Progress

Somewhere in Akihabara, a five-person rescue team sent by the police was cautiously and rapidly heading toward the location where the lion Mlortha and Senba Gari had previously fought. Unfortunately, they did not know that Senba Gari and the lion Mlortha were no longer there.

"What a shame. It was such a lively place, but now... sigh," said one of the members, Member A.

"Exactly. I was planning to come here tomorrow to buy figures, but now it's all gone," said another, Member B.

"Alright, stop complaining. Don't forget our objective," said their captain.

"But, Captain, is it even possible that the boy the girl mentioned is still alive? I heard from others that the thing is a monster," a timid member, Member C, asked, looking at their captain with doubt.

"Yeah, C is right. If that boy really..."

"Enough, stop talking. I know. Actually, I've thought about it too, but if even a boy dares to fight a monster while we're here fearing this and that, then we're not even as good as a child," the captain interrupted Member D.

"Yeah, if even a kid dares to do it, it would be too shameful if we didn't," Member A said, tucking Member D under his arm.

"Sigh, fine. We... Cap, Captain, look, look there!" Member D pointed ahead in a panic.

When everyone turned around, they saw the lion Mlortha charging toward them at high speed.

"No! Everyone, provide cover and retreat!" The captain simultaneously raised his pistol and aimed at the lion Mlortha.

"Bang! Bang bang!!!" But the pistol's power only caused a few sparks to fly off the lion Mlortha's body.

"Roar!!!"

The lion Mlortha accelerated, rushed up to Member B, and raised its sharp claws before bringing them down.

Member B didn't even have time to scream before he was torn in two.

"B! Damn it!" Seeing Member B torn in two, Member A angrily grabbed his pistol and charged at the lion Mlortha.

"A! Don't!"

"Ugh, ahhh!"

The captain was just about to stop Member A, but Member A was swatted into a puddle of meat paste by the lion Mlortha (our protagonist has plot armor, after all).

"Argh!!!!"

"Help, help me, no, don't kill me! Ah!!"

"You bastard, ahhh!"

The captain watched his team members fall one by one, feeling powerless, so he angrily raised his pistol and fired at the lion Mlortha.

"Ugh." The damage the pistol dealt to the lion Mlortha was negligible, and as a result, the captain was struck down and injured by the lion Mlortha.

Just as the lion Mlortha raised its claw, about to kill the captain, a ball of fire interrupted its attack.

"BOOM!!!!"

The flames crashed heavily in front of the lion Mlortha, and as they gradually dissipated, they revealed a fire-red figure inside.

"I've finally found you, you stinking lion. Come on, let's settle our score once and for all!" Divine pointed a finger at the lion Mlortha.

But when the lion Mlortha saw Divine's figure, its body trembled instinctively, as if it had encountered its natural predator.

It abandoned the injured captain and turned to run, but would Divine let it have its way? Of course not.

"Hey, you're still trying to run?" Seeing the lion Mlortha turn and flee upon spotting him, Divine flipped forward, leaped in front of the lion Mlortha, turned, and punched it, knocking it to the ground.

The lion Mlortha was knocked to the ground by Divine, and in its anger, it swiped its claws at Divine.

Divine dodged the lion Mlortha's attack with a single sidestep, then clenched his left fist, ignited it with flames, and struck the lion Mlortha in the abdomen.

"Awoo!" The lion Mlortha stumbled back a few steps, clutching its scorched belly and howling in pain, then raised its claws, which flickered with a black light, and swiped them down at Divine, sending three black claw-wind slashes rushing toward him.

"Ugh!" After Divine was struck, sparks flew from the armor on his body, and he let out a cry of pain.

"Tch, I guess this is still a bit of a stretch, huh? Whatever, let's end this quickly."

"Clang." With a thought from Divine, the two metal eagle claws on his arms flipped to the front, and then, pushing off with his right foot, Divine charged rapidly toward the lion Mlortha, his dual claws ignited with flames as he slashed down at the lion Mlortha in an X-shape.

Two X-shaped sparks erupted from the lion Mlortha's body, and before it could even steady itself, it was kicked to the ground by a back-kick from Divine.