I am Kamen Rider who reverses dimensions

"The fact that you took my hand so readily just now is the best apology. Besides, I did learn something. In the illusion just now, I realized my weakness in my mindset. That's something I learned."

"You are such a gentle person."

Seeing Talulah trying her best to comfort him, Gengo looked up and smiled at her. Then, a thunderous thud echoed through the woods. Talulah gasped as she looked at Gengo's instantly swollen left cheek, quickly pressing down on the boy's right fist, which he was trying to raise symmetrically. She cried out in alarm:

"What are you doing! Didn't I say I didn't blame you! Put your hand down, or I'll really get angry!"

“I know very well the pain of being consumed by evil thoughts; it is an unbearable torment.”

As Talulah frowned, Genji lowered his right hand, no longer trying to break free from the dragon girl's hold. He took out a handkerchief with his left hand, wiping the blood from his nose and the corners of his mouth, and said, his words slightly slurred:

"Because of my misjudgment, you suffered hardships you shouldn't have had to endure. It's only right that I pay the price for this mistake, and... I want to be your friend again."

Gensou rubbed his swollen cheek, trying to make his expression look more serious and clear his dizzy head, before looking at Talulah and saying:

"Grandpa once said that some things need to be calculated before becoming friends, otherwise it will become the beginning of a future breakdown..."

"It's all settled."

Talulah pursed her lips, looked at the disfigured boy, sighed, and gently stroked his cheek, saying:

"Don't hurt yourself like this. I've heard about your situation from Huijie. You've already been hurt a lot, so don't hurt yourself again because of this."

"Don't worry, this injury is nothing. It will heal in no time if I want it to."

Gensou tilted his head to avoid Talulah's hand, and then golden ripples danced, healing his swollen cheek. If you hadn't witnessed it with your own eyes, you would never have guessed that he had just been injured.

His practiced movements made Talulah feel even more clearly the heaviness in Chen Huijie's past.

"Don't make that face. Just think of it as me being stubborn. If I don't resolve this matter before becoming friends with you, I'll be very worried."

Seeing Talulah's sullen expression, Gengo chuckled and patted her shoulder. At that moment, Talulah frowned, glared angrily at Gengo, and said:

"Yuanxiang, although we haven't known each other for very long, do you really think our friendship needs to be handled so seriously to last?"

"Please don't be angry. No matter what we've been through, this is what I feel."

Gensou looked at Talulah and sighed, saying:

"Chen should have told you about it, right? It's about the thing I forgot about her."

"........."

Upon hearing this, Talulah's eyes widened slightly. She pointed at herself silently, her mouth opening and closing, seemingly unable to think of any words to respond to Gensou's words.

"I'm sorry, but... this really isn't something I can decide. There's nothing I can do about it right now."

"Do you really not recognize me at all?"

Talulah pressed for an answer, seemingly unable to believe it, but Genji shook his head and replied:

"Don't even mention you, I don't remember ever coming to the Reunion Movement. If Chen hadn't asked about you, I probably would never have come here again in my life."

"........"

"Well, anyway, at least we're reunited now. By the way, Talulah, could you tell me what that was just now?"

Seeing Talulah's frightened expression, Genji pursed his lips, then changed the subject, curiously asking her, "Honestly, if the Snake Shadow Curse were any stronger, it would be quite troublesome to deal with." After a moment of silence, Talulah cooperated by changing the subject, recounting her past.

Simply put...

Twenty years ago, Kosichä returned to Lungmen and threatened to destroy half of Lungmen to blackmail Wei Yanwu, taking away the young Talulah.

Subsequently, Talulah was raised in Ursus as Koschei's adopted daughter and heir, and served Koschei in his organization "Black Serpent".

However, Talulah, who gradually saw through Koschei's evil nature, deliberately inserted an Originium fragment into her arm to become an Infected in order not to inherit Koschei's will, and successfully assassinated Koschei.

However, Koschei had already cast a mental Originium Arts spell on Talulah and made a bet with her: if Talulah ever began to accept Koschei's ideas, she would become the new Koschei.

Therefore, while establishing the Reunion Movement, Talulah was also fighting against Koschei's curse, and she wanted to use her own power to prove Koschei wrong.

However, after the village incident and the stabbing of her friend, Talulah couldn't help but doubt her ideal of establishing peace between the infected and the uninfected.

That slight wavering triggered the Originium Arts that Koschei had applied, causing Koschei's spirit to begin attaching itself to Talulah.

"Luckily, you took care of it."

At this point, Talulah breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Gensou, saying:

"Honestly, I had no idea that I was being controlled by Koschei. Now that I think about it, some of the orders I gave during this time are so incomprehensible. God knows what terrible conspiracy Koschei was plotting."

“Koschei…is indeed a cunning fellow, Talulah, haven’t you realized it yet? You’ve been playing a losing bet from the very beginning.”

Gensou twirled the peach pit he'd pulled from his pocket, glanced at Talulah who was still bewildered, and sighed inwardly.

When he made that bet, Kosiché was subtly manipulating the issue, transforming Talulah's rebuttal into a binary opposition—

You, Talulah, don't you oppose my, Koschie's, view that the people are ignorant and unteachable? Fine, then you should assume that the people are necessarily holy and immaculate, all knowing how to be grateful, tolerant, and loyal. If you can't do that, then you're wrong.

It was under the influence of this bet that Talulah's understanding of human beings shifted from opposing the idea that "human nature is inherently evil" to the somewhat extreme attitude that "human beings are inherently good, and doing evil is simply a matter of being unable to control themselves."

Looking back at the subtle details in Chen Huijie's and Frostnova's words, as well as the things she herself had experienced, it's not hard to see that Talulah maintained a great deal of tolerance for the divisive forces within the team.

The answer to this question is now clear: it was the content of her bet with Kosiché. She unconsciously made excuses for those people to prove that they all had their own unavoidable difficulties.

But one day, Talulah will find no excuse, and she may even realize that the root of the problem lies in her own kindness and tolerance toward others.

That was the beginning of Talulah's downfall, and that day would eventually come, because people's hearts cannot be simply distinguished by 'good and evil'. Talulah could not possibly gain the support of all the infected, and even her supporters could not be without any selfish motives.

Hearing Gensou's words, Talulah froze on the spot. Judging from her appearance, it seemed that she had never thought in this direction before, and had been hitting a wall in the trap set by Koschei from beginning to end.

"Talulah, you are growing into a leader among the infected, so while moving forward, you must learn to be self-critical and not look at things from such a one-dimensional perspective."

Gensho looked at the dragon girl in front of him with earnest words and said:

"Although I don't understand politics or how to manage an organization, I can shamelessly say that I have some experience in 'staying true to our original aspirations'... Wait, no, that's not right."

At this point, Genji suddenly realized something. Before setting off, Frostnova had casually mentioned in their conversation, "My dad thinks Talulah is really upset and is starting to act like she's not herself anymore. But like me, he doesn't know how to comfort her. Right now, we can only trouble you, Genji, to go and take a look." So, they don't know about Koschei's curse?!

Faced with Gensou's question, Talulah slowly lowered her head, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, and said:

"Well, I was worried this would cause conflict among the organization's higher-ups, so I didn't say anything. But I did tell Alina to keep an eye on me..."

"I see..."

Yuanxiang nodded his forehead, looking somewhat troubled, and said:

“I have no memories related to the Reunion Movement, so I won’t offer any advice for now. Let’s go back first. Alina should be awake by now, and I think you’d really like to see her… Who’s there? Come out!”

205 'Kingdoms'

Without hesitation, Gensou pulled Talulah behind him, and hurled the 'Fang' in his hand, sending it hurtling towards the edge of the forest like an arrow. After a crisp clang, the 'Fang' turned into a white light and returned directly to the boy's hand. The impact it carried clearly showed that his memory had not gained much of an advantage in the previous exchange.

At that moment, on the snow-covered plain, a ghostly figure silently appeared in Yuanxiang's sight. The hem of his black coat fluttered slightly in the wind, and the snowflakes falling from the sky turned black as they landed on it, then shattered and scattered on the ground, filthy like mud. He just stood there quietly, but the entire space seemed to become oppressive because of it, and the stuffy atmosphere made it difficult to breathe.

Furthermore, there were two more of these beings, standing in a triangle. Even though there was a considerable distance between them, they gave Talulah the illusion that the two of them were trapped here.

"hiss......"

Suddenly, the newcomer emitted a sound like a viper flicking its tongue. It was unclear whether this was due to the strange noise emanating from the helmet he wore, which resembled a gas mask, or if it was simply a habitual way he spoke. Then, the three of them simultaneously looked up at Talulah and said:

"Daughter of Kosiché, what have you just done?"

"The Ursus Emperor's personal guards, what are you doing here?!"

Talulah did not answer. She drew her sword and questioned her warily:

“You bunch of butchers don’t seem like you just happened to be passing by.”

"Hiss... Of course, we came specifically for you. We need to assess the current situation. Also, you are the Duke's daughter. Remember, given your status, you should address us with more civilized terms."

"I am not that bug's daughter, never have been!"

Talulah's sword blazed with intense flames as she stared intently at the Ursus guard, saying:

"I am Talulah, I am an Infected, remember that!"

"Hiss... What a determined look. If this is in line with your plan, then we really need to reassess the current situation."

The Ursus guard fully heeded Talulah's declaration, looking at the silver-haired dragon girl with the same tone one would use to inspect merchandise, and said:

"Farewell, daughter of Koschche, we look forward to that day."

As soon as they finished speaking, Yuanxiang and Talulah heard the sounds of fighting not far away, with the Patriots' battle cries being particularly shocking. This meant that the Reunion Movement's forces were under attack, and it was very likely that the attack came from within or outside Ursus.

Upon hearing this sound, Talulah pointed her sword at the Ursus guard and said in a low voice:

Did I give you permission to leave?

"hiss......."

The Ursus guard stopped and looked at Talulah. Although he didn't speak, the surprise in his eyes said it all. He didn't expect that this daughter of Kosichä had the courage to stop three guards. Or... was this also part of 'his' plan?

"You have harmed my people. You know we are here, and you will not leave!"

Talulah gritted her teeth and declared her will to the Ursus Guards. She was well aware of the strength of the Ursus Guards, but the Reunion Movement had finally found a relatively safe base. If these guards were allowed to leave and take the news of the Reunion Movement back, they would have to move again to avoid the successive arrivals of the disciplinary teams or Imperial soldiers. As a result, the Reunion Movement, which was already extremely weak due to the departure of a large number of members, would suffer heavy losses and might even be unable to recover.

"Kosiché's daughters, are you two enough to take her on?"

Upon hearing this, the Ursus guard murmured with a playful tone, wondering if Kosic was hiding some kind of veiled message in this provocation. Otherwise, this matter would seem far too presumptuous.

No, you're wrong.

Gengo placed the Lost Driver on his waist, tapped the memory in his hand, and said:

“It’s not the two of us, it’s just me, Talulah. Go check on your team, I’ll take care of things here.”

After speaking, Yuanxiang's eyes sharpened, and a powerful killing intent erupted from his thin body, causing the Ursus guards to raise their eyebrows and look directly at the boy they had initially thought was a pretty boy.

"I understand, then I'll leave it to you."

Talulah knew Gensou's fighting strength very well. If a real fight broke out, she might even be a hindrance. So, without being coy, she turned around and walked towards the location of the Reunion Movement.

Watching Talulah's retreating figure, one of the Ursus guards' hearts stirred, his fingers twitching slightly as if he had some scheme in mind. But at that moment, the relentless cold wind on the snowfield became incredibly sharp, as if countless knives were hidden within it. The deadly sense of danger made the Ursus guard immediately focus his attention, watching the boy in the middle with utmost concentration. They could sense that if they showed the slightest weakness in front of him, they would be forced to retreat from this battle.

"Hiss... My apologies, I didn't expect you to be such an outstanding warrior."

The head of the Ursus guards looked at Gensou and said in his strange tone:

"You show no fear whatsoever. In terms of sheer presence, you're on par with Captain Bozokasti. A warrior like you is wasting your time on this icy plain..."

"Stop with the nonsense."

Gensou tossed the memory chip aside, glanced at the leading guard, placed it in the slot without pushing it away, and assumed a fighting stance. Golden ripples flashed across his body, strengthening his physique, and he whispered:

"Fight if you want, or wait to die. You're just keeping me from going back to sleep."