Kamen Rider from the ancient times

"Back in the ancient ruins, I should have known you were the biggest problem!"

Narutaki stared at the person at the door with a gloomy expression.

Kawahara looked at him indifferently: "It really is you again. Don't tell me that you have always been the real leader of the Shocker organization."

This guy has been lurking around Tsukasa Kadoya from the very beginning, has a close relationship with Dai-Shocker, and is even able to contact a brutal force from another world. He claims to be defeating the destroyers of the world, but in reality, he has been doing things that destroy the world.

More importantly, it seems impossible to kill it no matter what.

"How on earth did you survive?"

Kawahara was genuinely curious about this question.

Upon hearing this, Narutaki burst into laughter. He then took a few steps forward and patted the time machine beside him.

"Yes, who am I really? And what is the true identity of the Shocker leader? It's a pity that even history doesn't know the answer!"

Narutaki revealed a slightly manic smile: "But I know who you are—Aguru! I also know what you want to do now. The time-altering machine can control all of this. So, will you choose to abandon that lonely and pathetic Kamen Rider Faiz, or will you choose to let him achieve immortality with me in the time loop?"

If everything from Tsukasa Kadoya stepping into the trap to the present day was orchestrated by Narutaki, then the time machine is likely also under his control.

Kawahara had considered this issue from the very beginning.

—Is Takumi Inui's consciousness resonating with the time machine, and is Narutaki's existence also connected to the time machine?

Unmoved and lost in thought, Kawahara crushed a piece of the door frame, then aimed the lightning-fast Pegasus Crossbow at Narutaki inside.

"You dare to compare yourself to Kamen Rider?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled the trigger.

However, Narutaki merely sneered disdainfully, his hand remaining motionless on the time machine. The next moment, the golden arrow dissipated into light particles after approaching a certain distance.

Kawahara paused slightly upon seeing this.

Narutaki said in a sinister tone, "It's undeniable that you Kamen Riders possess incredible power! However, Kamen Rider 4 was created for this purpose, so you have no chance anymore. Let the cycle begin once again! Hahahaha—"

As if to echo his words, a deafening explosion rang out outside the factory base, the powerful impact causing the entire ground to shake violently.

If Kawahara's side cannot quickly resolve the time machine issue, the other Kamen Riders outside will not be able to hold out for much longer.

Even if Narutaki doesn't intend to activate the time machine, Kawahara will still have to start over.

After gazing at Narutaki for a long time, Kawahara stepped into the room, his imposing, dark figure approaching the time machine step by step.

Narutaki's breathing suddenly quickened, and she stared at him with her eyes wide open until Kawahara stood right in front of her.

Nothing terrible happened.

The power to destroy the crossbow bolts was also gone, and the constant sense of urgency that tugged at his nerves was like a persecution complex.

With his crimson compound eyes, Kuuga glanced calmly at Narutaki beside him, then raised his hand and pressed it directly onto the mechanical sphere that served as the carrier of the "time alteration machine".

The ultimate power of decomposition and recombination surged into the time machine, but it had no effect whatsoever.

The reason for this is that Kawahara himself didn't dare to directly destroy the thing.

So how exactly do we destroy the time-altering machine while preserving Qianqiao's skills?

Not only must the time loop be stopped, but the time-altering machine must also be destroyed—because the world is still in a distorted history.

After standing in the wilderness once again and encountering Shinnosuke Tomari and Takeshi Shijima again, Kawahara realized the problem.

Since contacting Fengdu is no longer necessary.

He never even encountered Chase and the Black Hunter Shifting Chariot in this world.

Therefore, the world has never recovered.

If a time machine were preserved, perhaps Takumi Inui wouldn't have disappeared, but this distorted world would continue to exist, eventually replacing the real world at some point.

So how exactly do we do it?

Kawahara vaguely sensed something from this time machine that he had felt in Tsukasa Kadoya, but it seemed like something was missing.

At this moment, Narutaki couldn't help but speak up: "Hey~ what are you going to choose? Are you going to personally destroy the hope of that Kamen Rider's resurrection?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a pitch-black hand clamped down on his neck in an instant, so fast that Narutaki didn't even have time to react.

"Don't worry, no matter what the outcome, you won't have the chance to see it," Kawahara said coldly.

As the hand tightened, Narutaki's face flushed red as he instinctively struggled, his voice breaking out in a series of tearing sounds.

"Humans...can you kill them...?"

"..."

Kūga lowered his head slightly and approached him. His large, fiery compound eyes reflected Narutaki's current appearance, which seemed to contain doubt, yet also appeared to be cold, cruel, and devoid of any emotion.

"Human? How could you be human?"

Kawahara tilted his head, looking at him with a puzzled expression: "You're just Shocker, a monster created by Shocker! Or the leader of Shocker? It doesn't matter what you are, how could you possibly be human?"

Narutaki: "..."

His expression turned ferocious, and he managed to squeeze out his last words with difficulty.

"You can't kill me... But if you kill me now... you'll definitely regret it...!"

Kawahara looked at him with a flicker in his eyes, and just then, the time machine beside them suddenly emitted a crimson light, and a series of red countdown numbers appeared on the plate in the middle of the mechanical sphere.

10…9…8…7…6……

The decimal point of the seconds is followed by milliseconds and microseconds, so the rapidly changing numbers also bring a sense of urgency.

Kawahara's heart stirred; he noticed the aura that had flashed by just a moment ago.

He also did not stop the time machine that was counting down.

Because someone else has died.

Until the seconds completely reached zero, and then, like a stopped heart monitor, the whole world seemed to be in a piercing buzzing, and finally, in a distorted visual perception, everything returned to its original position.

……

Swah——

Kawahara opened his eyes, looking at the wilderness in front of him and the city's edge in the distance, his expressionless demeanor instantly changing.

"boom!"

The azure sky changed in an instant.

The oppressive and heavy dark clouds gathered out of thin air amidst the erupting dark power, like a sudden apocalypse. Thunder and torrential rain that suddenly pierced the sky quickly spread from the wilderness to the city!

The Special Investigation Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Shinnosuke Tomari, who was lying face down on the table, suddenly opened his eyes. Before he could recover from the shock of his "death," a loud rumble of thunder came from the sky outside the window.

He instinctively turned his head to look and saw that the city was already covered by thick black clouds.

"Crash-"

The torrential rain flooded the city almost instantly.

At the entrance of a Tokyo cinema, Shijima Tsuyoshi and Shijima Kiriko exchanged a glance. Facing the latter's sorrowful gaze, Shijima Tsuyoshi hesitated, unable to reveal to her who had met their end this time.

At that moment, dark clouds suddenly rolled in like an overturned inkstone, and the heavy rain soaked the two of them to the bone.

This has never happened before.

……

Youth 4WD racing track.

This was Yuto Sakurai's first experience of returning to a time loop. He was wondering about his memories when a golden lightning bolt flashed across the dark sky.

What followed was a rain curtain like dense arrows, which quickly splashed up on the ground. The gale carried the shrill rain of arrows, and the suffocating darkness seemed to be swallowing up the whole world.

On the highway not far away, Qian Qiao, leaning against his motorcycle, watched the golden lightning flash by.

"Has he been found...?"

……

……

The abandoned factory at the Shuka base.

Time started over, and Narutaki emerged from the shadows, staring at the time machine before him with an inscrutable expression.

The next moment, a deafening explosion came from outside, accompanied by a violent shaking of the ground. The continuous rumbling sound covered all directions, as if the whole world was being bombarded!

Even the surrounding steel and concrete structures began to crumble and fall apart.

The scorching heat came with the wind and rain, and the walls crackled and sputtered, spreading fiery red fissures like lava. The terrifying, destructive aura almost stole everyone's breath.

Narutaki's expression changed slightly, and his body swayed and fell to the ground due to the violent tremor.

Then, with a loud "boom!"
The laboratory's ceiling and doors were blown off in the explosion, exposing the time machine's container to the raging storm. Ahead, amidst the chaos of rain and smoke, a dark and menacing demon slowly approached.

"You're a madman..."

Narutaki's facial muscles twitched as he said, "Aren't you worried that your reckless behavior will destroy the time machine?!"

The response to that statement came from a figure that had been slammed hard in front of him. The latter struggled to his feet, but the armor, which was flashing with fire, could no longer support him in the fight.

The figure of the pitch-black Kuuga then passed through the hazy rain and stood in front of Narutaki.

The black armor, formed from flesh and blood, also bore scars, but these marks quickly disappeared as the flowing gold light passed over it.

"Don't worry."

A soothing voice gently rang out: "As long as you don't dare to make up your mind to destroy it, it's safe. Look, I've even taken special care to protect it."

Narutaki looked around: "..."

In some ways, it really did provide some protection.

Despite the intense destruction, the mechanical equipment connected to the time machine remained intact; only the entire abandoned factory surrounding it was engulfed in a raging inferno.

Kawahara slowly walked over, reached out and picked up the struggling Kamen Rider 4 from the ground, staring into its bloodless mechanical compound eyes.

"To be honest, if humans can really create these things, I really think it's amazing."

"Cyborgs, cyborgs, spaceships, time machines..."

"They all sound like symbols of civilization."

"Unfortunately, none of them are human."

As the words, which sounded like a sigh, fell, the power of molecular recombination surged from his palm into Kamen Rider 4's body, and supernatural flames seeped out from within his body.

Kamen Rider 4, with its neck held by the hand, struggled desperately, its body emitting a metallic clanging sound, causing the surrounding sand and dust to tremble, as its own power resisted this brutal destructive force.

Finally, Kamen Rider 4 broke free from Kuuga's restraints, roaring in a low voice as it staggered and attempted to launch a counterattack.

However, the next moment, its body suddenly stiffened like a jammed machine, and intense sparks burst out from within, gradually destroying every part of its body.

"Boom!"

Kamen Rider 4 exploded into a towering flame!

The burning parts fell in the rain, and in the end, only a dark and hideous monster remained in front of Narutaki.

Under his unreadable gaze, Kawahara walked up to the time machine again and violently pried open the mechanical panel that had been used for the countdown.

"Crack!"

In the flashing electric light, a red signal motorcycle was placed inside a mechanical gap.

—Signal Faiz.

Just as Kawahara was about to take out the signal motorcycle, Narutaki's voice rang out.

"Are you really going to do this?"

Narutaki looked at him with a sinister gaze: "Without this, those Kamen Riders will never have a second chance after they die!"

Kawahara paused upon hearing this: "I believe in Inui Takumi, and I believe that he will no longer fear death and separation—no matter who it is."

"how about you?"

Narutaki approached him step by step, as if expectant.

Kawahara turned his head indifferently to look at him: "Please don't act like you're a Kamen Rider fan, it's a bit disgusting, Narutaki."

However, Narutaki just smiled strangely.

As the signal Faiz was retrieved from the time machine, as if connected by an invisible rope, Kawahara felt a strong resistance.

And that inexplicable sense of crisis became increasingly apparent.

After a pause, Kawahara continued to pull the signal Faiz outwards without changing his mind. Just then, the time machine emitted a red light again.

"Stop! Stop it!"

The light projected a virtual image above the mechanical sphere, and a figure whose face was covered by a red cloak struggled, uttering a hoarse voice just like the mechanical Shocker Knight had spoken then.

"—Narutaki, you traitor! You actually deceived me!"

He appears to be the true leader of Shocker.

Narutaki's smile became even more twisted and eerie: "Boss, I didn't lie to you. The Kamen Riders' longing for their comrades can make time stand still, right? As long as they don't give up, that's enough, right!"

Because of the loss of signal Faiz, the virtual projection of the red cloak began to flicker, and the Shocker leader shouted at Kawahara in even greater panic.

"Narutaki is deceiving you. If you take this, you will disappear too! Let go of it, and we can live again. We can achieve immortality in the time loop, and we can even rule this world together!"

The leader of Shocker screamed hysterically, then suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled off the hood of his cloak, revealing his face that had been covered.

Kawahara, who had been watching indifferently, suddenly had a change in his gaze.

The face contorted into a sinister expression: "Do you want 'me' to die completely? You won't do that, because I am him, and he is me. His wish is to live forever in time!"

This Shocker leader had a handsome face.

...(End of chapter)