As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

In the darkness, a cold voice rang in everyone's ears:

"Courage? What a ridiculous thing. You will soon find out that courage is worthless in the face of absolute fear."

Shotaro stood in the darkness, pulling his hat back up behind his back, the edge of which he had twisted and deformed. He was breathing heavily, his voice low but firm:

“A tough guy will protect what he should protect when he’s scared. But this one thing—I’ll never get wrong.”

A few days later, the wind completely stopped.

The water and electricity systems were completely paralyzed, cell phone signals vanished entirely, and radio and television broadcasts turned into static. The streets were deserted, save for the occasional gust of cold wind that churned up scraps of paper and fallen leaves. Every house had its doors and windows tightly shut, curtains drawn tight, and from the dark rooms came suppressed sobs and screams.

The police station was also unable to function properly; more than half of the officers were suffering from hallucinations of fear, and the rest could only barely hold down the prison and hospital. Terui Ryu hadn't slept for three days and three nights; his eyes were bloodshot, and his police uniform was stained with blood of unknown origin. He dragged his exhausted body into the Narumi Detective Agency and plopped down in a chair.

“It’s completely out of control,” Terujiro’s voice rang out. “Several people have jumped from the building. They said they saw hell beckoning to them. If this continues, Fuuto will become a dead city in less than a week.”

Akiko brought him a cup of hot water and placed it in front of him. She hadn't been sleeping well these past few days either, waking up from nightmares every day, but she still forced herself to manage everything at the agency.

Shotaro leaned against the wall. Fear is invisible. It hides in everyone's heart, creeping in through the smallest cracks of emotion, taking root, sprouting, and growing into a towering tree. You can break a stone, you can defeat an enemy, but you cannot defeat a thought.

"What should we do?" Akiko's voice trembled with tears. "Are we just supposed to watch Futo be destroyed like this?"

No one speaks.

A deathly silence fell over the detective agency. A piercing scream came from outside the window, then vanished as quickly as it had been swallowed by the darkness.

Everyone looked at Philip, but he just shook his head.

Terui Ryu stood up. "I'm going back to the police station now. Contact me anytime if you need anything." He glanced at Philip, said nothing more, and turned to leave the detective agency. Akiko tactfully followed him out, gently closing the door behind her.

Only Shotaro and Philip remained in the room.

Shotaro Sato walked up to Philip and stared at him without moving.

“Look at me, Philip.” Shotaro’s voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable authority. “Tell me, you have a way, don’t you?”

Philip hesitated for a long time before finally raising his head and looking at Shotaro.

“There’s only one way,” Philip’s voice rang out. “I’ll jump into the underground spring.”

Shotaro's pupils contracted: "What did you say?"

“My consciousness is connected to Earth’s memory,” Philip said slowly. “Zonozaki Ryubei has turned himself into a fear meme, parasitizing the Earth’s will. As long as I jump into the underground spring and fully merge with Earth’s memory, I can find his existence on the information level and gradually drive the concept of fear out of everyone’s consciousness.”

"And what about you?" Shotaro's voice trembled. "What would you do?"

Philip looked at him and smiled: "I will become a part of Earth's memory. Just like Ryubei, I will exist forever in the land of Fuuto, forever protecting this city."

"No way!" Shotaro grabbed his shoulder suddenly, with a force so great it felt like he was going to crush his bones. "I absolutely won't allow it! Don't even think about it!"

“Shotaro, there’s no other way.” Philip’s voice remained calm. “If this drags on any longer, Fuuto will really be beyond saving. I’m the only one who can do this.”

"I don't care!" Shotaro's eyes reddened. He gripped Philip tightly, as if afraid that if he let go, the other would disappear.

“Lin Chen will come back.” Zuo Xiangtaro took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “Kadoya Tsukasa will come back too. Lin Chen is such a mysterious guy, he must have other ways to solve this.”

Philip looked into Shotaro's determined eyes and remained silent for a long time. He knew Shotaro's temperament; once he made up his mind about something, he would never change it.

“Alright.” Philip nodded slightly. “I promise you, we won’t do that for now. We’ll wait for Lin Chen to come back.”

Shotaro Zuo breathed a sigh of relief and let go of her hand. But he didn't see the resolute glint in Philip's eyes as he turned to look out the window.

If it really comes down to the last moment, he will still make that choice.

Chapter 178 God W, Limit? Future

The next morning, the wind did not bring the sunrise.

When the first ray of sunlight, which should have pierced the darkness, was completely swallowed up, everyone knew that the worst was yet to come.

The windows of the Narumi Detective Agency were boarded up tightly, with only a few cracks letting in a faint, gray light. Shotaro Sato leaned against the door frame, while Ryu Terui leaned against the opposite wall, holding the engine memory in his hand, the veins on his arm clearly visible.

Wakana sat next to Philip, her face pale. Akiko huddled in the corner of the sofa, hugging her knees, barely daring to breathe.

Sherrard stood by the window, peering out through the gaps in the wooden planks.

"Something has changed." Before the words were even finished, the entire room jolted violently.

A deep, rumbling sound, like the breathing of a giant beast, came from outside the window. Sheradra pulled back the wooden planks, and everyone looked up—

The sky had completely darkened. A massive, dark cloud hung over the city, swallowing it whole in shadow.

Then the dark cloud began to gather.

Enormous wings unfurled from both sides of the clouds, covering half the sky. A ferocious head slowly rose, its two crimson eyes, composed of pure black mist, opening and coldly gazing down. A thick tail lashed through the clouds, each swing triggering a muffled rumble of thunder.

Fear Dragon Beast.

But this time, it is no longer an entity formed from Gaia's memory, but a colossal sky beast formed from the fear of the entire Wind City, whose every inch is constantly dissipating and reassembling.

Ryubei Sonozaki's voice rang out simultaneously from all directions.

"Come here, you should understand. Fear doesn't disappear into thin air; it only shifts and gathers. And now, all the fear in Wind City is with me—you hold the only solution. The spring is there. Jump in, complete the Gaia Impact, fully merge your consciousness with the will of Earth, and all fear will vanish. This isn't a choice; it's an equation. You just need to substitute it in."

Black raindrops pattered against the roof, like a silent urging.

Philip turned from the window, his gaze falling on Shotaro's face. He didn't speak. His lips moved, as if he were about to utter a conclusion.

"Hey."

Shotaro Zuo had already stood up. He took a few steps to Philip, and suddenly pressed his hands down on Philip's shoulders with such force that the other man frowned slightly.

Were you thinking about something you shouldn't have just now?

Philip paused for a moment: "...I'm calculating the optimal solution."

"Optimal solution my foot!" Shotaro's voice was low, but it sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth. "You promised me something, and there's still one thing you haven't done. Have you forgotten?"

Philip paused.

Shotaro didn't look at him anymore. He turned to face the colossal beast that blotted out the sky outside the window, pulled his hat back over his head, and pressed the brim down hard.

“…I really can’t figure out any other solution.” His voice calmed down, even carrying a hint of self-deprecation. “But I’ve never been the type to solve problems by ‘calculation.’ Hey, Philip—you think, I’ll do the coding. We’ve divided the work so far, haven’t we?

Philip watched his retreating figure. "...Hmm."

Just as everyone fell silent, a flippant voice suddenly rang out.

"Such a grand scene as soon as I returned, Fengdu is really interesting."

Everyone turned around and saw Tsukasa Kadoya walk to the window, holding a camera and constantly pressing the shutter button on the sky outside.

The shutter clicked, capturing the terrifying, sky-covering dragon beast and the apocalyptic city on film.

"What's going on? There's such a commotion as soon as I got back. Tell me what's happening," Lin Chen's voice rang out.

Upon seeing this, Shotaro's eyes lit up with hope: "You're finally back!"

He took a deep breath and recounted everything that had happened in the past few days.

Lin Chen rubbed his temples, a knowing look on his face: "I didn't expect that old bastard to have this trick up his sleeve. He can even pull off meme contamination."

He paused, looked at Shotaro and Philip, and said in a resolute tone:

"Go, Shotaro, Philip. Transform into W, and surpass the limit."

Shotaro suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of confusion, as if he wanted to say something—the fear he was experiencing was not a physical phenomenon at all!

"I know." Lin Chen didn't let him finish speaking. "This time is different. The final memory is complete. Go and fight."

Upon hearing this, Shotaro and Philip exchanged a glance and nodded.

Beneath the overwhelming black clouds, not a single ray of sunlight could penetrate. The sky was a deathly leaden gray, and the terrifying dragon beast coiled above the clouds, its crimson eyes coldly gazing down at the earth. Each breath it took triggered a muffled rumble of thunder, plunging the entire city into an atmosphere of boundless oppression.

Shotaro and Philip walked side by side to the door and pushed it open. A cold wind rushed in, ruffling their clothes. They didn't flinch, their gazes fixed firmly on the ferocious beast in the sky.

No extra words are needed; a single glance is enough for them to understand each other's feelings.

"Are you ready, partner?" Shotaro turned to look at Philip.

Philip nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Always here."

Shotaro Sakai raised his hand and fastened Double Driver to his waist. Philip's waist appeared at the same time.

Shotaro flipped his right hand, and a jet-black memory module with mysterious patterns appeared in his palm. He pressed the button on top of the memory module, and a crisp electronic sound broke the silence:

"Joker-X!"

Philip simultaneously raised his left hand, and the Cyclone memory appeared in his left hand. The same button-pressing sound rang out:

"Cyclone-X!"

Without hesitation, the two simultaneously inserted the memory into the slots on both sides of the drive.

"Transform!"

The two shouted in unison.

Shotaro Hidari pulled down the lever in the center of the driver.

"Cyclone-X! Joker-X!"

A burst of exhilarating electronic sound effects erupted, drowning out the thunder and wind. A vibrant green whirlwind and a black aura suddenly exploded, sending rubble and dust flying from the ground.

As Kamen Rider W appeared, Ryubei's voice rang out again: "Still struggling? Someone, come here!"

After transforming, W ignored Ryubei's words, raised her right hand, closed her eyes, and even the compound eyes of the W armor dimmed. After a short silence, W's compound eyes suddenly lit up.

"Om-"

A long and sacred hum suddenly resounded throughout the heavens and earth. It was warm and grand, as if it came from the end of the universe, or as if it originated from the depths of everyone's heart.

In the sky, the originally impenetrable black cloud suddenly cracked open from the center.

A beam of seven colors, a hundred times brighter than the sun, burst forth from the crack. Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet mingled and shifted, like a flowing rainbow.

"Crack!"

The seven-colored light, like a divine sword, forcefully cleaved the sky-covering dark clouds, creating a massive rift that pierced the heavens and the earth. Under the illumination of the seven-colored light, the black, fearful clouds melted rapidly, like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun, emitting a "sizzling" sound.

Everyone in the firm instinctively looked up and squinted at the sky.

At the center of the seven-colored beam of light, a memory object, like a bird spreading its wings, landed in W's hand.

It is made entirely of pure crystal, with no superfluous engravings on its surface, only a faint W-shaped pattern that appears and disappears amidst the seven-colored light. The seven colors flow continuously within it.

"Is this the Ultimate Memory? Let's go, partner." Shotaro's voice rang out, and then he directly closed the Lost Driver at his waist, attaching the Ultimate Memory to it.