Guyver Armor: KAP-2

"Plastic armor deactivated!"

The moment the thoughts in his mind settled, the dark yellow suit covering his entire body scattered like a molting shell, revealing the sweat-soaked shirt underneath.

Tsubasa Kamino raised her hand and pressed it against her left lower abdomen, the burning warmth still lingering beneath the skin where her fingertips touched.

Those were the traces left by the disorderly proliferating biological cells that gnawed at flesh when the colony went out of control. The fine stinging pain came in waves, as if countless tiny tentacles were still restless in the flesh.

Firsthand experience is more convincing than any scene or information in his memory—the backlash from the bio-engineered armor was far more dangerous than he had anticipated.

Those proliferating creatures, with their almost insane instinct for reproduction, are never docile pets to be controlled, but rather ferocious beasts forcibly caged and lurking in the flesh and blood of their hosts.

If control is relaxed even slightly, it will immediately turn on the host and devour the body completely.

Tsubasa Kamino concealed the lingering sharpness in his eyes and walked out of the dark alley with a natural expression. The evening breeze at the alley entrance carried the aroma of oden wafting from the convenience store on the street corner, brushing against the slightly sweaty back of his neck and suppressing the burning pain slightly.

He joined the crowd at the subway entrance, where the large GG brand glass screens on both sides reflected the face of an ordinary office worker.

With black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, his shirt cuffs faded from washing, and his trousers neatly tucked into his faux leather shoes, he looked every bit the model of a disciplined middle school teacher.

Kamino Tsubasa's peripheral vision fell on the reflection in the glass, his brows furrowing slightly as he rapidly sorted through clues in his mind to resolve the potential danger of the malfunctioning implant.

Based on his understanding of the original text, there are three places where a glimmer of hope lies:

Firstly, there is the Japanese branch's Minakamiyama base, where the remains of a dormant Adventist starship are buried within a massive artificial mountain. The internal equipment of that ancient starship, which has survived to this day, is still operational and likely possesses the ability to repair defects in its implants.

Secondly, there is the Ark of Uranus, located deep underground in the "Hive Fortress," the headquarters of Kronos in Arizona in the southwestern United States. It contains the most complete technological archives of the Adventists to date, and may hold the key to completely repair the implants.

Thirdly, there is the North American branch of Kronos, located on the east coast of the United States in Washington, D.C. Later in the story, it was the scientists there who used the remaining cells of the KAP-2 to create the fourth artificial Guyver, namely the "KAP-2 Type F".

Just then, the subway station announcement sounded, and Tsubasa Kamino squeezed out of the carriage, casually buying a can of iced coffee from the vending machine.

The cool, black liquid slid down my throat, temporarily suppressing the phantom pain in my nerves.

"Let's start with the closest place... It seems we need to plan our trip to the Mina-no-Kami Mountain Ruins Base as soon as possible."

-----------------

In Akira Fukamachi's room, the curtains were drawn tightly shut.

Tetsuro Segawa slumped on the floor, his back pressed against the cold wall.

"Jing, we were attacked today!"

He spoke rapidly, his voice trembling with the shock of surviving a close call, as he recounted his experience of being attacked during the day.

"Those guys are all highly trained combat personnel; there must be a huge military organization behind them... And those shapeshifting monsters are definitely secretly manufactured biological weapons!"

Ruiji sat upright in the chair next to the desk, her eyes red-rimmed.

She picked up the conversation, adding details that Tetsuro hadn't mentioned: "Jing, it seems their target is... you, the way you were last night..."

Akira Fukamachi sat on the edge of the bed, head down, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms, drawing blood, but she was completely unaware of it.

The plight of his best friend and childhood sweetheart pierced his heart like needles; if someone hadn't appeared to save them...

"After this day, I'm finally awake," Tetsuro suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with lingering fear. "This isn't some science fiction story; it's reality where you could die at any moment!"

"Oh, right," Tetsuro said, as if he had suddenly remembered something, and slapped his thigh.

"The armor worn by that mysterious person who saved us is clearly the same as what you wore last night! I vaguely heard the attackers shouting, 'This guy should be called—Kaba? Or Kep? What a strange name…'"

"Kep!?"

The name struck Fukamachi Akira's mind like a thunderbolt.

The next second, the tumor-like mass on his back suddenly trembled violently as if it had received a signal, as if something was about to burst out of his body.

A fine electric current surged through my spine and spread throughout my limbs, as countless unfamiliar fragments of information flooded into my consciousness:

The armor's structure, the way it outputs power, the transformation trigger command... he instinctively understood that as long as he conveyed a firm will, the bio-armor named Kapp would descend once again.

Akira Fukamachi slowly raised her head, her eyes surging with an unprecedented determination.

He could no longer run away; he had to protect them, and he would use the power he had been given.

The next day, in the evening.

On the way home from school, the sunlight was blocked by thick clouds, and a suffocating stillness filled the air.

To avoid getting involved with unrelated people, on the advice of her brother Akira, Segawa Mizuki used great willpower to control herself and refuse Makishima Agito's invitation to discuss student council work, and embarked on the journey home with Fukamachi Akira and Tetsuro.

But just as the three walked across the quiet riverbank, the water suddenly began to churn violently.

"What's coming!" Fukamachi Akira growled, pulling the two of them behind him.

In the deep river, several dark shadows shot out with splashing water, pointing directly at the three people on the bank. They were actually several gray-brown tentacles!

"Kap!" With a loud shout from Fukamachi Akira, a bluish-green bio-armor appeared from behind, instantly covering his entire body.

KAP1 has arrived once again!

After transforming, the KAP-1 instinctively activated the beam transmitter on its head.

Several red, high-temperature laser beams flashed through the air, severing the incoming tentacles one by one.

"So you're the little guy, Kepp! Found you, lucky me!"

A massive, dark shadow lurking underwater slowly rose to the surface, revealing its true form in the dim light.

It was a strangely shaped monster, resembling a giant octopus.

The massive, grayish-brown head is flanked by numerous thick tentacles, each covered with a dense array of suckers. Its peculiar, straight pupils bulge outwards, flashing with a bloodthirsty red light.

The tentacles that were shot at earlier were a surprise attack launched from underwater.

"You've got some skill, but that's where you end up, hehehehe..."

The monster in the water let out a hoarse laugh: "Beast Squad, show yourselves! Attack all of you!"

As soon as the words were spoken, ten dark figures darted out from the woods behind the Segawa siblings, flanking them from both sides.