As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

"It's boring."

The weather hybrid lazily swung out an ice wall, which the flames crashed into, exploding into a cloud of steam. Isaka Shinkurou stood behind the ice wall, watching the chaos through the mist, a twisted smile spreading across his face: "If you burn to death so quickly, we won't hear your screams anymore... Let me see your suffering a little longer."

Before he finished speaking, several bolts of lightning descended from the sky, striking the center of the battlefield almost randomly, affecting both the metal dopant and the triceratops dopant simultaneously.

The metal roared and charged forward, crashing headfirst into the horn of the Triceratops hybrid, shattering the floor beneath its feet. Isaka chuckled softly, as if watching an amusing spectacle.

"A new power? Let me see how strong it is." The hoarse voice of the alien Skull rang out, his tattered trench coat flicked off, and bullets shot from the skull gun in his hand. W raised his hand to block with the Radiant Shield, and Prism Sword slashed out in the same direction. The green sword light and the black bullets collided and exploded into a shower of sparks.

"Isaka Mikuruo."

Terujiro's voice was unexpectedly calm, but beneath that calm lay a fierce fire that had burned for too many years, long since tempered into steel. He took out the Trial that Lin Chen had given him and inserted it into the Accel drive.

"Accel Trial!"

Blue lightning instantly covered his entire body, and the roar of the engine was deafening.

Kamen Rider Accel Judgment Form makes its appearance. He didn't roar; his figure transformed into a streak of blue lightning, hurtling towards the Weather Dopant. Each word he uttered was like a nail driven into the ground—

"Your day of judgment has come."

Seeing Accel charging towards him, Isaka Shinkuro said mockingly, "A vengeful ghost, huh? This time, I'll reunite you with your family!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Saeko Sonozaki took to the air again. This time, she didn't rush into the sky but stayed close to the ground to create distance, preparing to flank the battlefield. However, before she could find an angle, a golden streak of light caught up with her.

With a sudden flap of the photon wings behind Bursting Caesar, the Caesar Blade Spear gathered a blinding golden light and slashed down horizontally. Saeko barely managed to parry, but a tear was still torn in her Forbidden Armor. She staggered back more than ten steps before regaining her balance.

The entire Wind Tower teetered on the brink of collapse amidst the fierce battle. Cracks covered the walls, and chunks of cement from the ceiling kept falling.

Da Dao Keji frowned. The Wind Tower was the core of his undead shockwave; if the attack continued, the tower would collapse.

"You may all step back."

The four Never members, still engaged in combat, simultaneously ceased fighting without hesitation. Yuhara wanted to say something, but Ketsuko gave her a cold look—

"I said, step back." The four of them instantly left the battlefield.

"Enough already, these troublesome bugs."

He raised his hand and grasped the hilt of the Eternal Blade, pulling out the T2 Eternal Memory from his waist and inserting it into the Ultimate Slot at the base of the blade. His black cloak fluttered wildly in the sudden gust of wind, and the lights of the entire Wind Tower flickered three times simultaneously before finally going out completely.

Only the blue light on the Eternal Blade grew brighter and brighter, like a star awakening.

"Eternal! Maximum Drive!"

The moment the cold electronic voice faded, a blue energy tsunami erupted from the center of the Great Dao of Self-Discipline. It was no ordinary shockwave, but an interference wave capable of directly rewriting the underlying code of Gaia Memory.

An invisible energy swept across the entire hall, and wherever it passed, all the T1 Gaia Memory units simultaneously emitted a piercing wail.

The dopants besieging the NEVER members suddenly froze. The Beast Dopant let out a painful roar as its muscles began to melt; the Space Dopant shouted, "Maru!" and its body also dissipated into countless fragments, leaving a woman in a kimono lying directly on the ground;

Faced with the taboo of Caesar's Blade, he suddenly felt the Gaia Memory within his body dissipate, and his expression changed drastically; Isaka Shinkuro's Weather Domain shattered with a crash, he clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood, deactivated his transformation, and stared wide-eyed as the power of the Memory was gone.

Accel's Judgment Form unleashed its blue lightning, and the engine's roar remained deafening. A single strike landed on Isaka Mikuro's body, sending him crashing into the load-bearing wall like a rag doll, his eyes wide with resentment. "How could this happen?!" These were his last thoughts before he died.

W's reaction was extremely violent. The golden light around him faded at a visible speed, the Ultimate Driver emitted a sharp alarm, and the energy wings on his back instantly disintegrated into countless green data particles. The connection with Earth was forcibly severed, and the weightlessness of falling from the clouds into the abyss caused Shotaro and Philip to let out muffled groans simultaneously.

"So it was just as I thought... T1 memory is invalid..."

The two voices, hushed together, carried a sense of certainty. W's armor began to shatter from the chest, the green Earth data receding like a tide. The next second, Cyclone Ace Ultimate Form completely disintegrated, and Shotaro Hidari and Philip crashed heavily to the ground. Seeing W like this, Another Skull, bewildered by the situation, retreated to Fear's side.

Teruji stood rooted to the spot. He frowned slightly, looking at the people lying on the ground, his grip on the engine sword tightening. The Trial memory Lin Chen had given him seemed to be no longer the T1 version, and he sensed that this memory was far more powerful than in the other world.

On the other side, Sonozaki Kirihiko's Burst Caesar form was also unharmed. His photon wings flapped gently, and the golden light on the Caesar Blade remained dazzling. The Caesar System and the Gaia Memory followed completely different technological paths; its power originated from photon blood, not Earth's memory. The energy of Eternal Requiem swept over his armor without even causing a ripple.

What surprised Daido Katsumi the most was Sonozaki Ryubei.

The Fear Hybrid still stood in the center of the black swamp, its black mist showing no sign of dissipating. It even raised its withered hand, looking at all the people on the ground who had deactivated their transformations, and the Never members who remained in their hybrid forms, a look of keen interest in its eyes.

"Interesting. It can actually directly nullify the connection between the T1 Gaia Memory and Earth." Ryūbei's voice carried a hint of hoarse laughter. "What a pity, young man. I stopped using those low-level toys a long time ago. Now, I am the Earth's memory itself."

The black swamp beneath his feet churned even more violently, with grotesque faces appearing and disappearing within it. On the night Philip and Wakana escaped his control, he had partially merged himself into Earth's memories. Now, he had transcended the realm of Gaia's memories, and the Eternal Requiem was nothing more than a gentle breeze to him.

For the first time, Daido Katsumi's brows furrowed deeply. He had originally thought this attack would clear the area, but he hadn't expected so many people to remain unaffected. He slowly raised the Eternal Blade, his cold gaze sweeping over Terui Ryu and Kirihiko before finally settling on Sonozaki Ryubei.

"It seems I underestimated you."

Philip and Shotaro also stood up from the ground. Ryūbei knew this was a good opportunity to take Philip away, and immediately created the Swamp of Fear at Philip's feet.

"Shotaro, use the new memory. We can't use the T1 memory to transform again without destroying the Eternal Memory," Philip said to Shotaro, his ankles already submerged in the black swamp.

“Let’s go again, Philip!” Shotaro said, and then he and Philip took out new memories at the same time. Although they were still Hayate and Ace, they were covered with intricate patterns.

Chapter 173 Dealing with the Time Robbers

"Cyclone-X!"

"Joker-X!"

Two electronic sounds overlapped, carrying a deeper, more resonant roar than before. Philip's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground, his will transforming into a pale green stream of data that converged on the Lost Driver at Shotaro's waist.

Shotaro took a deep breath and inserted the intricately patterned Ace-X into the gold slot on the left side of his belt. The Xtreme Ultimate Memory that had appeared earlier automatically flew into his hand and clicked into place in the center of the driver.

"Transform!"

The two voices, indistinguishable from each other, rang out again.

"XTREME!"

A green-gold light shot into the sky, even more dazzling than before. The new Gale Ace Ultimate Form landed on the ground, the Swamp of Fear beneath his feet just reaching the spot where he had been standing, but it was blocked by the data stream flowing around him, not even a drop of the black water touching him.

"Come on, round two." W slowly raised the Prism Holy Sword, golden data streams swirling around its blade.

The battlefield is in a triangular standoff.

Katsumi Daido stood at the forefront, his pure white armor dazzlingly bright in the dim light. Behind him, four Never members held T2 Memory Devices, still in their transformed state.

Ryūbei stood in the center of the black swamp, his smile long gone. Behind him, the Beast and the Space Couple, their faces pale, supported each other. Terui Ryū's Engine Sword was held against Kujō Aya's neck, while Kirihiko's Caesar Blade was pressed against Saeko's temple, golden photon bullets poised to fire. In a corner, the Outcast Skull leaned against a pillar, his trench coat obscuring half his face, a low chuckle rumbling from his throat.

No one made the first move, but the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder that could have been set on fire.

Ryūbei stared at W, his crimson eyes surging with a paranoid desire for control, and broke the silence first.

“Someone…it’s time to go back to your father. You shouldn’t be standing there.”

Before the words were even finished, the black swamp surged, and countless hideous ghostly hands reached for W's ankles. At the same time, terrifying illusions unfolded, stretching the entire hall into a hellish scene, with the howls of evil spirits piercing everyone's eardrums.

A cold snort of self-discipline emanated from beneath his helmet, devoid of any emotion. With a backhand swipe, the Eternal Blade shattered the demonic hands before him with a blue blade of light. He didn't even glance at the illusions, charging straight at Ryubei across the swamp, his blade aimed directly at—he'd deal with this troublesome old man first.

W moved at the same moment. The Prism Holy Sword unleashed two beams of emerald gold, simultaneously slashing towards Eternal and the Fear Admixture.

A three-way battle erupted instantly.

The black mist collided with the blue energy, exploding into a chaotic torrent. Katsuki's speed was absurd; the Eternal Blade left afterimages in the black mist, each strike forcing Ryubei to retreat. The mental attacks, mixed with fear, were impossible to defend against, nearly dragging him into an illusion several times, but were always forcefully broken through by pure killing intent.

W moved at high speed between the two, the data stream tearing everything apart. He seized the opportunity when Katsuki was fiercely attacking Ryubei, and slashed Eternal in the back with his sword.

Sparks flew from the pure white armor.

His charging figure paused for a moment. He did not turn back to retaliate.

The next instant, even more violent blue energy exploded from his body, crushing everything in its path and indiscriminately blasting both of them away. The rhythm of the battlefield was back under his control.

Ryūbei was forced back, and the black mist surged again, with demonic hands rushing towards the two like a tide. Katsumi shattered a row of demonic hands in front of him with a single slash, the blue aftershock dispersing any subsequent attacks. He then aimed his blade at the figure moving within the black mist once more.

W's Prism Sword drew an X-shaped barrier in front of him, and the data stream tore apart the demonic hand. His gaze swept between Eternal and the Fear Hybrid, and his sword light slashed at both sides simultaneously.

The Great Way of Self-Discipline made the same choice.

The blue blade light of the Eternal Blade and the emerald gold sword light of the Prism Holy Sword slashed at the black mist from two directions with the same overwhelming force.

Ryūbei condensed black mist into a shield, taking the two attacks head-on. With a loud clang, the shield shattered, and he was thrown backward, crashing heavily into the wall.

At the same time, the Eternal Blade slashed back at W. W was prepared, and the Prism Sword parried diagonally, sparks flying. The two clashed, their swords clashing repeatedly.

Ryūbei rose from the corner and slammed his hands onto the ground. The entire hall floor instantly collapsed, transforming into a bottomless black swamp. Countless gigantic demonic hands emerged from the swamp, simultaneously grabbing at the two locked in a deadly battle.

The two retreated simultaneously, each shattering the demonic hand in front of them. Just then, Ryūbei's black mist condensed behind them, and withered claws reached for their backs.

Both turned around simultaneously. The Eternal Blade slashed towards Ryubei's forehead, while the Prism Holy Sword, following W's turn, deflected, aiming straight for Daido Katsumi's throat. The claw of the Fear-Mixed Being stopped between the two.

Three attacks are about to collide—

All sound suddenly disappeared.

Sparks flew and hovered in mid-air. The Eternal Blade stopped millimeters from Ryubei's forehead, while the Prism Holy Sword was aimed directly at Daido Katsumi's throat, Ryubei's hand frozen between the two.

The entire spacetime came to a complete standstill.

"Tap, tap, tap."

The crisp sound of leather shoes broke the deathly silence, echoing in the empty hall. Swartz, dressed in his signature purple suit, slowly walked into the center of the battlefield, a cold smile playing on his lips. He leisurely surveyed the entire scene, looking at the motionless Kamen Riders and monsters with a condescending disdain in his eyes.

His gaze finally settled on W, and his eyes lit up.

“I didn’t expect such a pleasant surprise.” Swartz walked up to W, reached out and gently stroked the golden X mark on W’s chest, his tone filled with undisguised greed. “You are now much stronger than the original W. This power is enough to cause a huge problem for the still-developing Oma Zi-O.”

Thinking of Oma Zi-O, Swartz's face instantly turned sinister: "He was just a puppet I chose, a tool to clear obstacles for me, so how could he grow to the level of the future? How could he take away everything that should have belonged to me?"

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and didn't rush to take out the watch. He first cautiously scanned every corner of the hall, not even missing the cracks in the ceiling or behind the pillars. He still remembered the time when Aura and Ur failed; that annoying bug that had chased them into this world made him wary.

After confirming that there were no hidden people around, Swartz walked back to W. He took out a completely black knight watch from his pocket. The watch face was blank, with only a strange purple pattern slowly rotating around it.

"Hand over your power to me obediently, Kamen Rider W. With your power, my plan to become king will be one step closer."

He pressed the black watch face against W's chest.

But he didn't see that beneath W's armor, Shotaro's eyes were darting around rapidly.

In the consciousness space, Zuo Xiangtaro stared at the frozen flow of time before him, unable to help but click his tongue in amazement: "I didn't expect these two X-type memory blocks to actually be able to withstand the ability to stop time. Lin Chen really did anticipate this, otherwise we would have been in deep trouble this time. Should we retaliate, Philip? Giving him a punch now would definitely catch him off guard."

“No rush, Shotaro.” Philip sat in front of a bookshelf made of data, his fingers flying across the data stream in front of him. “Decade said he prepared a big gift for these time jackers, but he’s being very mysterious and won’t say what it is. I’m quite curious too. Anyway, we’re safe now, so let’s wait and see.”

"Fine, whatever you say." Shotaro shrugged, crossing his arms and watching the show. "But seriously, this guy is so stupid. Does he really think he's invincible just because time stops?"

While the two were talking, Swartz had already pressed the black watch face firmly against W's chest.

"Very good, the power is... no!"

Swartz's expression changed drastically. He felt something cold, viscous, with a strong sense of spatial distortion, suddenly burst out from the contact point between the dial and the W armor, and quickly spread upwards along his fingers.

"What the hell is this?!"

He was horrified and tried to pull his hand back, only to find it was as if welded to W's chest, completely immobile. The eerie black membrane, like a living thing, crawled up his arm, unaffected by his time-stopping ability.

"No! Let me go!"