Bad luck plagues him, he refuses to become a Kamen Rider.

Yuuki's expression was somewhat meaningful. With a flash, Hino Eiji was taken away and disappeared.

"I have to go take a look."

Kouta Kuzuha had a bad feeling, and he ran towards the dance troupe where Kaito Kazumon was.

Guihu didn't chase after them. He walked towards the car parked not far away, intending to find out what Youxing had just said.

Thinking of Sengoku Ryoma, who hadn't made a move when he was imprisoned, his expression became somewhat complicated.

"It's only been a little over a month... Lingma, Lingma, what exactly are you doing?"

He got into the car and drove back to the World Tree Foundation.

Chapter 96 The Unwillingness of the Demon-Slaying Fight

As night falls, the neon lights of Zeya City gradually illuminate.

Yuuki and Hino Eiji quickly arrived at the venue where the Baron Dance Company was located.

"You fly too fast."

Eiji leaned against the wall, his face turning pale from the extreme speed Yuuki was moving at.

Yu Xing did not respond; his gaze fell on a rehearsal space converted from an abandoned warehouse not far away.

The place was brightly lit, and several young people were sweating it out inside, with the lead dancer making sharp and powerful movements.

"Is it him?" Eiji followed Yuuki's gaze and frowned slightly. "He seems completely different from that young man named Kouta from earlier."

"Of course they're different."

Yu Xing strode towards the rehearsal space.

The rehearsal room door was open, and Yuuki walked right in just as the music stopped.

Kito turned around, sweat dripping from his chin. He looked at the newcomer with a wary expression.

The Baron Dance Company's practice area is very secluded, and few people usually come here.

"who are you?"

“People from the World Tree Foundation,” Yuuki said bluntly, “have come to reclaim your Driver and Lockseed.”

Kaito's gaze instantly sharpened, and the dance troupe members behind him were somewhat confused about what Yuuki was talking about.

Quwen Jiedou waved his hand, letting them go first. After the others left, he sneered.

"Recycling...on what grounds?"

"Because it is unstable, abusing its power will only lead to consequences you cannot bear."

Yu Xing looked at him, her voice cold.

"I won't give it to you."

When Kaito said this, his eyes burned with an almost scorching flame.

"The law of the jungle prevails; if you want it, come and take it yourself."

Yu Xing remained silent for a moment. He had read about the early experiences of the man in front of him and knew that the man in front of him had not had a good life.

But he has to take back the drive and lock.

"If this power is placed in your hands, it will only affect the stability of the world, so I'm sorry."

Yuuki took out the lock seed and put on the belt.

“A fair fight,” he said. “If you win, I’ll walk away; if I win, the driver and the lock are mine.”

Kaito stared at the lock for a few seconds, then put on the driver.

“Class C Lockseed, are you showing me mercy? But I will not go easy on you.”

“The level of the lock seed does not represent everything.”

The two pressed the switch almost simultaneously.

Banana heads and pine cone heads fell from the crack, quickly completing the dressing process.

"drink!"

Quwen Jiedou struck first, his peerless military sword drawing a sharp arc.

His speed was incredibly fast, far surpassing that of Kouta Kuzuha, and every strike was aimed at Yuuki's vital points.

But Yuuki was even faster, so fast that he couldn't react at all.

An immense force surged from the blade, causing Kaito's expression to change drastically. After exchanging a few blows, he abruptly distanced himself from Yuuki.

Is that all?

Looking at the trembling hands of the Kaito with the Excalibur, Yuuki asked calmly.

This remark thoroughly enraged Kaito Kōbun.

He let out a low growl, gripped the knife with both hands, and charged towards Yuuki like a cannonball.

Seeing the charging Kaito with his mane, Yuuki did not dodge.

Just as the blade was about to strike him, he turned to the side, his military knife sliding down the back of the Peerless Military Knife, and gently tapped it the instant he exhausted the power of the Chakra Battle.

"when--"

The peerless military knife flew out of his hand and embedded itself in the wall three meters away.

Quwen Jiedou staggered backward, and before he could regain his footing, Youxing's blade was already pressed against his throat.

"You lost."

Kaito looked incredulously at the blade pressed against his throat.

He lost, easily defeated by a C-level lockseed user.

“The level of the lock seed does not represent everything.”

Yuuki deactivated his transformation, retrieved the pinecone seed, and then reached out his hand.

"Drivers and lock types".

Kaito Kamenji gritted his teeth, his fingers gripping the driver tightly.

At this moment, his pride, his ambition, and the principles he believed in were all shattered by the man before him.

But he eventually managed to remove the driver.

"I will remember this day."

He handed the driver and the banana lock to Yuuki, his eyes burning with resentment.

Yuuki took the driver and lock, then turned and walked towards the door.

Hino Eiji stood silently at the door, watching everything until Yuuki walked to his side, at which point he let out a soft sigh.

"Even more ruthless than when I was with Kouta."

“Different people require different approaches.” Yuuki said without turning his head, “People like Kito with the rune mark will only start to truly think when they fully understand the difference in skill.”

The two figures disappeared into the night.

In the rehearsal room, Kaito Kanemon stood motionless.

He looked down at his empty hands, and a sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.

He thought he was strong enough, that he could overcome everything with the power of a knight, but now he realized that he was just a frog in a well.

"You're very unwilling, aren't you?"

A flippant voice suddenly rang out in the rehearsal room.

Quwen Jiedou suddenly looked up and saw a man in tattered clothes sitting on the windowsill, grinning at him.

"who are you?"

“A kind passerby.” Sagara jumped down from the windowsill. “I saw that battle just now, tsk tsk tsk, it was truly a sight to behold. Being beaten so badly by someone using a C-rank Lockseed must feel terrible, right?”

Quwen Jiedou clenched his fist.

What are you trying to say?

A deep purple lock appeared in Sagara's hand, emanating a chilling aura. "If you want to take back everything you have, I can help you."

Quwen Jiedou's gaze fell on the lock, and his pupils contracted slightly.

"what is this?"

“This is a much better gadget than the one you used before.” Sagara tossed him the lock-in, “but the cost of using it might be a little higher than a regular lock-in.”

The ring-shaped ring caught the lockstone, and a burning sensation came from its palm, as if the lockstone had its own life.

"The price?" He looked up at Sagara. "What price?"

Sagara didn't answer, he just smiled.

His figure began to become transparent, as if being erased bit by bit by an eraser.

"Use it if you want, or throw it away if you don't. It's up to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished completely into thin air.

Quwen Jiedou looked down at the lock seed in his hand, the deep purple light dancing in his eyes, and he gripped the lock seed tightly.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the World Tree Foundation.

Sengoku Ryoma's new laboratory is located on the third basement floor of the building. This is his private domain, and only a very few people besides him have access.

In the very center of the laboratory stood a sophisticated analyzer, at the core of which floated a drop of dark red liquid. That was Yu Xing's blood.

Sengoku Ryoma stood in front of the instrument, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with an almost fanatical light.

“It’s wonderful,” he whispered. “It’s simply a masterpiece of the Creator.”

The instrument screen displayed a dense array of data, showing parameters such as the rate of blood cell division, telomere length, and cell activity.

All the data points to the same conclusion: immortality!

"If we could figure out the source of this ability..."