As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

The second strike. Cracks spread across the shield like venomous snakes.

clang!!!

The third blow. Guang Jin's knees buckled, and he was forced to kneel on one knee, his knee shattering the concrete floor.

"Damn it... damn it!" Guang Jin roared, his sword pointing out from the side of the shield, aiming straight for Lin Chen's throat. The sword was fast and ruthless, carrying the desperation of a cornered beast fighting for its life.

Lin Chen didn't even look. He released one hand from the hilt, and the armor on his left arm glowed with platinum light, allowing him to grab the golden-red sword with his bare hands. He closed his fingers, and his palm rubbed against the blade, creating dazzling sparks. No matter how much energy the golden light channeled, the sword couldn't advance an inch further.

"Is this your divine power?"

Lin Chen's voice was icy. With a sudden burst of power from his left arm, he flung the Sword Guide and the Radiant Gold into the air. The Radiant Gold lost its balance, and a slight opening appeared in the Apple Reflection Shield's defensive stance—

enough.

Lin Chen gripped the sword with both hands, his body shooting into the sky like a cannonball. The greatsword was raised high above his head, and tri-colored light condensed at the blade's edge into a gigantic blade of light tens of meters long, slashing down towards Guang Jin!

"Genesis—Slash!"

Guang Jin's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively raised the apple-shaped reflective shield above his head. The next instant, the blade collided with the shield—

boom--!!!

This time, there was no stalemate. The platinum blade, with overwhelming force, cleaved the supposedly absolute defensive apple-shaped reflective shield in two. The broken pieces of the shield flew to either side in Guangjin's horrified gaze, turning into a shower of golden-red fragments. The blade's momentum didn't wane, slamming into his breastplate.

"Aaaaaahh ...

Guang Jin let out a piercing scream as he was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string. He tumbled and bounced across the park ground before crashing heavily into a stone pillar. The reinforced concrete pillar collapsed with a deafening roar, burying him beneath the rubble.

Moments later, the ruins exploded.

Guangjin struggled to his feet. His magnificent crimson and gold robes were tattered, and a gruesome tear ran from his chest to his abdomen through his golden armor, from which crimson energy gushed forth like blood. Leaning on his broken sword, he swayed precariously, his eyes finally filled with nothing but fear.

"No...impossible...I am a god...I am an existence that surpasses the Golden Fruit..."

Lin Chen landed, his platinum armor gleaming with a sacred yet cold luster amidst the dust and smoke. Dragging his large cleaver, he walked step by step toward the gleaming gold armor, the blade carving a deep furrow in the ground, its tri-colored radiance flowing like water across the blade.

"god?"

He stopped in front of Guangjin, looking down at this once arrogant artificial consciousness, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"You are nothing but a worm that lives off desire."

Guangjin let out a desperate roar, concentrating all its remaining energy on the broken blade for a final counterattack against Lin Chen. A golden-red light surged forth like a final burst of energy, illuminating his distorted face.

Lin Chen raised his broadsword, the blade pointing directly at Guang Jin.

"Disappear."

He removed the Genesis -∞ memory from his belt and inserted it into the slot of the platinum greatsword's hilt. In an instant, red, green, and purple light surged from the blade like a volcanic eruption, converging into a sacred pillar of light that pierced the heavens and the earth.

“Genesis—Maximum Drive!”

The blade cleaved down.

Before Guang Jin could even let out a final wail, he was completely engulfed by the tri-colored radiance. His golden-red armor crumbled and vaporized inch by inch in the light, and his handsome yet distorted face twisted and shattered in the torrent of energy, eventually turning into countless tiny specks of light that dissipated in the afternoon sunlight.

boom--!!!

A beam of light pierced the earth, completely erasing the last trace of the radiant gold. A bottomless ravine remained in the center of the park, its edges scorched into a glassy state by the intense heat.

Chapter 287 After the rain, the sky is sunny

Lin Chen slowly straightened up and pulled out the memory chip from the handle. The light on the platinum armor gradually faded, and the armor dissipated into countless specks of light. He walked towards the spot where the golden light had disappeared, where a fist-sized ball of golden energy floated, condensed into the shape of an apple, with ominous dark red patterns flowing across its surface.

"Is this Fimsim's artificial golden fruit?"

Lin Chen stared at the ball of energy, filled with curiosity.

"That's right! It was this that led to Fimsim's ultimate destruction!"

Labis emerged from the side and stopped beside him. The last overlord of Fimsim looked up at the floating golden apple, his eyes beneath the hood swirling with an indescribable complexity.

"At the height of the Fimsim civilization, our people were no longer satisfied with the naturally occurring golden fruits. They were greedy and arrogant, and they wanted to create more powerful and controllable artificial intelligence fruits to completely dominate the Helheim Forest and even surpass the Trial itself."

His voice was deep.

"Light Gold is the final product of that experiment. Initially, it was just a formless, special entity, encapsulated in a specially made fruit core. But they underestimated the power of desire. From the moment it was born, Light Gold possessed self-awareness. It began to amplify the fighting spirit, possessiveness, and jealousy in the hearts of its people, burrowing into every soul like a venomous snake, inciting the entire race to kill each other."

His pupils began to dilate, as if he had returned to that era.

"It feeds on everyone's negative emotions and lives, growing stronger and stronger, while the Fimsim civilization rapidly declines in endless civil war. The once glorious empire has been reduced to ruins in just a few decades, leaving only us... the last of the survivors."

Lin Chen didn't interrupt, but just listened quietly.

Labis was one of the few special individuals in his race who possessed the ability to 'manipulate dreams'. Unable to bear watching civilization be completely destroyed, he used all his power to seal the physical form of Light Gold within an ancient stone tablet, dragging it into an eternal dream prison.

The seal could only confine the physical body of the radiant gold, not its consciousness. Over countless years, it had been subtly influencing the outside world, constantly whispering seductive words, enticing everyone with desire to break the seal. It was like a poisonous seed buried underground; as long as someone dug up the soil, it would sprout anew.

Lin Chen understood. It seemed that Zhan Ji Lingma was the 'fool' who dug up the soil.

Later, Helheim descended upon Earth, and the Yggdrasil Foundation began researching the dominant civilization. While excavating ruins, Sengoku Ryoma found the sealed stone tablet and deciphered the inscriptions. He believed it was the key to the 'True Golden Fruit,' unaware that he had unlocked... the shackles of destruction.

As the seal loosened, the consciousness of the Light Gold began to awaken. It first bewitched Sengoku Ryoma, making him its eyes and ears in the human world; then, it used people like Peco and Hatsuse, whose hearts were filled with desire and resentment, to transform its power into seeds of evil, sowing them in the hearts of every knight who longed for the Golden Fruit.

After finishing speaking, Labis slowly turned his head to look at Lin Chen, his voice carrying a hint of relieved exhaustion:

"Now, it has finally disappeared. This artificial fruit has also lost its core of consciousness, leaving only pure energy residue."

Lin Chen stared at the golden ball of light, remained silent for a moment, then reached out and clenched it in his palm. The warm touch came through his fingers, like holding a beating heart.

"Energy residue..." he muttered to himself. He put it away immediately.

The sounds of battle coming from behind drew their attention.

Wu Daogui's emerald green energy gathered wildly on the bowstring, and three melon energy arrows were fired in quick succession, forming a triangular pattern to block the Dark Armor Warrior's evasion route.

But the Dark Armored Warrior merely lowered his center of gravity slightly, his figure twisting like a black shadow, passing through the gaps in the arrows at an incredible angle. Negative energy exploded beneath his feet, and he used the momentum to leap up, instantly closing in again.

Guihu's pupils contracted, and he spun his sonic bow horizontally, barely managing to deflect the arrow that was slashing down at him. Sparks flew between the two men, and the immense impact left his arms numb and his tiger's mouth split open.

Dark Armor gave him no chance to breathe. His left hand formed a claw, gripping Zangetsu's wrist tightly, while his right hand unleashed a sonic arrow like a viper's tongue, piercing straight for the faceplate.

"...!"

Guihu suddenly tilted his head, the arrow grazing his visor and sending sparks flying. He then used his forehead armor to strike his opponent, forcing him back half a step. Immediately afterward, he reversed his grip on the sonic bow, the bowstring slicing like a blade towards the dark armored warrior's throat.

clang!

Arrows clashed with bowstrings. Dark Armored Warrior let out a low growl, forcefully deflecting the attack, and then delivered a powerful knee strike to Zangetsu's abdomen.

"Well……!"

Guihu groaned, the melon-armored breastplate groaning under the strain. He slid backward, his boots scraping black marks on the ground. Before he could regain his footing, the dark-armored warrior had already caught up to him like a shadow.

The sonic arrow was raised high above the head, and dark negative energy condensed at the blade's edge into a twisted blade of light, which slashed down towards Zangetsu.

There is no way to avoid it.

Guihu gritted his teeth and placed the sonic bow above his head—

boom!!!

A violent burst of negative energy exploded. Zangetsu's figure was engulfed in the dark shockwave, his emerald green armor flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto a park bench, the metal frame instantly twisting and deforming. Guihu lay in the ruins, half of his visor shattered, his emerald green compound eyes flickering, the sonic bow slipping from his hand and rolling several meters away.

The dark-armored warrior landed slowly, dragging arrows behind him, and walked towards him step by step. His crimson eyes held no pity, only pure destructive urges.

After recounting that long-forgotten history, Rabius's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the battle behind him.

In the park's open space, Dark Armored Warrior had already walked up to Takatora. His body, covered in dark armor, was slightly hunched over as he looked down at Zangetsu lying in the ruins. He slowly raised the sonic arrow in his hand, the blade aimed at Takatora's chest.

As Labis watched this scene, his eyes, hidden beneath his hood, gradually dimmed. He murmured to himself:

"I never thought that even someone like him would have his desires amplified by the Seed of Evil... It seems that there is no difference between humans and the Fimsim race. They are all just fighting and devouring each other."

"It's a bit too early to draw conclusions."

Lin Chen stood beside him and shook his head. His gaze remained fixed on the dark figure, his tone calm.

"Just watch, there's a reason why Kouta Kazuha will be the ultimate winner."

He paused, then turned to look at Labis, his dark golden eyes reflecting the afternoon sunlight:

"You only see the desires in people's hearts, but you don't see that there is also kindness, a sense of protection, and the courage to sacrifice for others. And Kouta Kazuha... he is absolutely capable of overcoming his own darkness!"

Wu Daogui lay amidst the twisted metal rubble, his visor shattered. He stared at the impending shadow of death, not raising a hand to block, but instead straining out a hoarse voice from beneath his broken armor:

"Kuzuha...Kouta..."

The arrow paused slightly.

“You’re not…the kind of person who can be controlled by power…” Guihu coughed up a mouthful of residual energy liquid, his fingers digging tightly into the ground. “Wake up…your companions…are still waiting for you…”

The Dark Armored Warrior's head tilted slightly, as if some program had momentarily malfunctioned. But the pause lasted less than half a second before the arrow was raised again, the negative energy emitting a piercing shriek—

Just as the light blade was about to strike!

"Ugh... Ahh ...

Dark Armored Warrior suddenly clutched his head and let out a bloodcurdling roar.

"What's going on?!" Labis's pupils shrank.

Lin Chen stood to the side with his arms crossed, a slow smile curving his lips: "It's starting."

Dark Armored Warrior knelt on one knee, an arrow flying from his hand and embedding itself in the ground. He gripped his visor tightly with both hands, letting out a groan that sounded inhuman. In that abyss of consciousness corrupted by the Seed of Evil, Kouta Kazuha stood in a pitch-black void, surrounded by countless hands formed from negative emotions, pulling at his limbs, trying to drag him into eternal darkness.

—Give up.

The seductive voice of lingering light and gold echoed in the darkness.

Your desires, your obsessions, your thirst for victory... these are all your true inner self. Accept them, and you will gain power that transcends everything.

Kota knelt in the void, his eyes unfocused.

But just then, a glimmer of warm light pierced through the darkness.

He looked up in a daze and saw that familiar face. Yuya Kakui stood in the light, not the imposter disguised by the light-gold, but the real Yuya—the captain who would give him the last rice ball, and who would pat him on the shoulder and say "Team Gaim can't do without anyone" when he was down.

"Kouta," Yuya said with a smile, extending his hand. "Stand up. You're not the kind of guy who'll lose to darkness."

The light grew brighter and brighter. The figures of Mai Takashi, Nonai Jō, and even Kaito Kōbun appeared in the light. They stood at the edge of that dark abyss, reaching out their hands to him.

"Kouta!"

"Come back quickly!"