I want to become a Kamen Rider

The man got out of the car, leaving the girl with only his back to the shadows.

"I'm going to do what I believe is the right thing to do."

"..."

Rain began to fall, and the girl lowered her head.

What she wanted to say.

She had wanted to say this from the very beginning: just saying this sentence would have been enough to refute that nagging, self-important, and arrogant teacher. But she wasn't that selfish.

She wanted to be an asset to him, not a burden.

So, accompanied by the sound of rain, I clench my fists and tell myself to accept this heavy answer.

Even if my master dies, I probably won't be able to fall in love with anyone else.

Chapter Thirty: A Guilty Conscience (4K)

As he stepped into the entrance hall of the Azusagawa house, a pure white, petite figure silently swept past his feet and lightly jumped onto his shoulder, her ruby-like eyes gleaming with an unusual light in the dim light.

Is this really a good idea?

"What do you mean?"

'That child must really, really like the anti-King.'

While chatting casually with Qubi, Fan Kang moved with unusual skill. He didn't even bother to examine the door lock structure. He simply took out a few inconspicuous little tools from his pocket, and with a few quick flicks of his fingers, a slight "click" was heard, and the door opened.

The whole process was smooth and natural, with a maturity that seemed out of place for a high school student.

"That's certainly not good."

'I thought that, given Kang Jun's personality, he would definitely say, "As long as my conscience is clear, that's enough."'

"What I fear most is having a guilty conscience."

Cupid shook his head.

'So, is he guilty or innocent?'

"I didn't ask, so how would I know if I felt guilty or not?"

He won't get the real answer unless he examines his own heart. With too much "homework," he has no time, no right, and no right to date.

The story of Kamen Rider is not a teen romance comedy.

'I still can't understand. The situation is clearly improving thanks to the efforts of the anti-king, and so many strange people and organizations have fallen to your sword. Is it really necessary to pretend to be so bitter and resentful?'

"Just assume I'm crazy."

Godzilla, just three simple words, carries the despair that crushed humanity.

No matter how hard he tries or how strong he becomes, he can't imagine himself defeating all Godzillas. Mizutani Migen's feelings are not a problem that can be addressed at this stage.

Perhaps, we may never be able to face it.

Unless he can obtain the power that Kyubey mentioned, the power of "Oma Zi-O," although he doesn't know if it's enough, how strong it is, or whether it can rival the true King of Monsters, Godzilla, at least he will have a tiny bit of the right to choose his future.

He is now only able to hold off the demons of the Veil Era by relying on his experience, awareness, and understanding that are thirty years ahead of him. Even if he is confident that the burning of his flesh and soul is as intense as that of any person or beast, it is still just a one-time fuel.

But who else can he rely on besides himself?

He had considered asking governments around the world for help, but the only ones who could analyze the technology of Kyubey and reverse-engineer it to create artificial knights were humans who had united thirty years later. Thirty years of accumulation and harsh reality were not something he could overcome with just words. Even the mutual trust between people was achieved through the actual sinking of those continents and the rampage of Godzilla.

He did indeed remember the names of the great scientists who analyzed and replicated Kyubey's technology in the future, and he had even seriously considered it at the beginning of his rebirth.

But, it's no use.

That counterfeit, known as the artificial knight, is the final roar and cry of humanity, a species that has dominated the earth for 250,000 years, in the face of annihilation and the threat of extinction. It is a counterattack of an era, the pinnacle of human intelligence, the crystallization of countless people's hard work and genuine tears.

Unlike stories where a genius scientist can create a whole set of groundbreaking equipment, in reality, only mathematics can still tolerate individual heroism.

As for humanity today, those nuclear warheads that are said to be able to destroy the Earth... it's a lukewarm piece of knowledge. All the nuclear warheads in the world combined could only destroy humanity itself, without harming the Earth in the slightest.

I can't remember where I read this quote, but it's very apt: "Human life is fragile, not the earth." But in the face of Godzilla, the earth is just as fragile as human life.

Even if all the nuclear and conventional warheads in the world were combined, they wouldn't be able to truly kill a few Godzillas. On the contrary, it's easier to create Kamen Riders who actually possess individual great power. In the end, we still have to go back to the old path of relying on high school students to save the world.

Anyone with sufficient qualifications can be selected; anyone who falls in love can become stronger; anyone who experiences emotional ups and downs can gain power.

Incubator Technology, isn't that amazing?

The right to sign a contract with someone and make them a contract knight rests solely with Kyubey. This is why he tries to fight and train contract knights in an abstract way, only to a limited extent reminding human society to prepare for evacuation and vigilance, rather than revealing everything he knows, because it would be useless and risky.

Whether people believe it or not, they can't help. It's as if the underlying framework of the world has determined this situation, or that someone is manipulating it to create this situation—only emotionally rich high school students can save the world.

All he could do at that moment, besides taking the lead himself, was to train contract knights, making these high school students, who bore the mission of saving the world, as reliable and powerful as possible, so as to save more lives.

He needs more fighting power, more methods, and more allies.

That's why they came to investigate the whereabouts of Sakuta Azusagawa, who had a brilliant record and achievements as a contract knight in the original future.

"He really has 'disappeared,' Sakuta Azusagawa."

Inside the door, all was silent.

It wasn't a completely silent stillness, but a deathly stillness devoid of human presence. A faint scent of dust filled the air, along with a... smell of something forgotten by time.

The scene in the living room confirmed his premonition. The curtains were half-drawn, cutting the afternoon light, which should have been bright but was now shrouded in rain, into dim bands of light that slanted across the empty tatami mat. Several open magazines were scattered on the coffee table, and a half-empty glass of water had long since evaporated, leaving only a shallow ring of water at the bottom.

Everything remained in a state of "temporary absence," but due to the passage of time, it was shrouded in a sense of desolation, as if the owner had only gone out to buy a pack of cigarettes and never returned.

There were no signs of struggle, no chaos of fighting, only a chilling, utter emptiness.

The building was empty.

'Could they have been kidnapped?'

The white, suspicious alien creature on the shoulder raises a hypothesis.

"It's possible. Sakuta Azusagawa has a younger sister, but before he disappeared, he specifically sent her back to his hometown. Shortly after, he 'disappeared,' which suggests that he may have sensed the approaching danger and made some preparations in advance... although he ultimately failed."

There was no blood, no obvious signs of damage, and even the furniture was relatively neatly arranged. This didn't seem like a brutal kidnapping; it was more like a precise, silent "evaporation." The opponent was professional, and... their target was clear.

"Regular searches are meaningless."

Fan Kang whispered, as if speaking to himself.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. It wasn't giving up, but rather sinking my senses into a deeper realm.

hum-

A deep, ancient pulse quietly resonated from the depths of his body.

It wasn't a physical sound, but a resonance of pure energy. The illusory image of the spirit stone belt at his waist flickered slightly in the dim light before disappearing.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and the tiny dust particles stopped their meaningless churning in the faint beam of light filtering through the curtains.

Fan Kang opened his eyes again, and a dark golden luster, like molten lava, seemed to flash and disappear in the depths of his eyes.

'Kou-kun's development of the power of contracts is becoming increasingly outrageous. Ultimately, did Kuuga originally possess this ability?'

Kyubey sensed something and casually made a comment.

"The Rider Contract is simply to fulfill the host's wish to become a Kamen Rider and to manifest the magic you speak of in the form of a Kamen Rider. There is no stipulation that you can only use the abilities of the corresponding Kamen Rider. It's just that most contractors don't even fully develop the power of the Rider they originally transformed into."

"Moreover, theoretically, the empty self can achieve this."

'Theoretically speaking, it feels like it's something you, Kangjun, came up with that's theoretically feasible, right?'

"Who knows?"

He succinctly revealed the essence of the knight's contract, thus deflecting Kyubey's probing. In fact, he could only deflect it; he himself did not know the origin or nature of the spirit stone belt around his waist. This belt came with his rebirth, and he had never figured out how he got it.

It's just that I sometimes have this feeling that this belt is no different from the belt I used when it was a forgery. They are both wishes. The former embodies the wishes of desperate people for the warriors who fought for the survival of mankind, and the latter is similar.

The state he is in now is merely a necessary step in manipulating microscopic particles. If there is any difference, it is only that he "sees" it.

In his eyes, the world shed its surface colors and forms, transforming into pure energy flow and residual information.

Ordinary vision is temporarily blocked, replaced by a sublimation that transcends the five senses. Perhaps it is the sixth sense representing superpowers, perhaps the seventh sense representing time, the "Manas" consciousness, perhaps the eighth sense symbolizing possibility, or perhaps the ninth sense of transcendence, the "Amala" consciousness.

Regardless of what it is, for pragmatist Fan Kang, as long as it works, that's enough.

He "saw" the faint ripples of energy remaining in the air, like waves spreading across water—traces left by life. He "saw" the warm, almost dissipating halo of "existence" left by Azusagawa Sakuta when he last touched the dusty furniture. He "saw" the extremely faint fragments of emotions drifting in the air, belonging to different individuals—anxiety, worry, and... a trace of fear forcibly suppressed, a fear that did not come from Azusagawa Sakuta himself, but rather seemed like the cold imprint left by an intruder.

His gaze was like an invisible probe, sweeping inch by inch across the floor, walls, and ceiling.

The remaining information in the living room was too fragmented and weak to point to any clear clues. He stepped onto the stairs leading to the second floor. Each step on the wooden floor felt like stepping on an invisible stream of information, stirring up barely perceptible ripples.

Sakuta Azusagawa's room.

Pushing open the door, the room was simply furnished, also covered with a thin layer of dust. A workbook lay open on the desk, the pen cap undone, as if its owner had only temporarily left. Fan Kang's gaze finally settled on the floor in the center of the room.

To the average person, all that could be seen there was a clean wooden floor and dust.

But in Fan Kang's eyes, there remained an extremely glaring, ominous dark red mark.

The mark was not blood, but a remnant left by something, distorted and bizarre in shape, with a cold, unnatural mechanical feel, sharp edges, like a brand.

"That is……"

What is truly chilling is that in the center of this dark red mark, there remains an extremely blurry, almost vanished symbol: a black eagle made of twisted lines, with a horizontal pupil embedded in the very center of the eagle!

"It's a Shocker!"

Even worse than being kidnapped, falling into Shocker's hands could mean a brutal and inhumane modification surgery for Azusagawa Sakuta, turning him into a monster weapon that only knows how to kill, or making him a guinea pig for their forbidden experiments.

Although the original Rider originated from this, it doesn't mean Fan Kang can sit idly by and watch Shocker create another new "father" for him. Regardless of the possibility of being transformed into something other than a locust monster, such as a cockroach monster or a rat monster, or simply becoming a mass-produced Shocker combatant, whatever the outcome...

Once separated from human form, tragedy begins.

"Sakuta Azusagawa is still alive! But time is running out! I must act immediately!"

He didn't glance at the empty room again, turned around and strode downstairs, each step carrying a heavy force that seemed to shatter the ground.

They ran towards the window, not the door.

Just as they were about to burst through the window, the suspicious white alien creature that had been silent on their shoulder for so long finally spoke:

There's a girl crying.

"I have more important things to do..."

"Admit it, Kangjun, you know the right answer, you just don't want to become weak."

"I just……"

"The Kangjun I know pursues a perfect ending, doesn't he? You worry about even a lost child on the street, and you'd generously give your life for strangers. You never run away, always carrying the burning passion to fight even at the cost of your life. So why hurt the girl who might be the one who cares about you the most in this world, the one who actively severed ties with others and distanced herself from them, yet still tries to get closer to you?"

The sound of rain tapping against the windowpane made him stop.

“I understand. Although I’m very unwilling and I think you had ill intentions, and this is probably the only time, but... thank you, Cupid.”

'Boys are arrogant, that's not cute at all.' Cupid flicked his tail.

"Stop being so verbose."

……

……

The cold rain showed no sign of stopping.

She remained curled up on that small electric scooter, like a rag doll forgotten by the world.

A thick coat, still warm from her body and soaked through, was gently draped over her cold, trembling shoulders, carrying an undeniable air of authority.

She looked up and saw that person breaking through the rain, walking resolutely towards her.

"Aren't you going to do what you think is right?"

"People can't just do the right thing; they also need to do things that make them happy sometimes."

"Are you happy being with me?"

"It's noisy, but also very fun."

Rainwater meandered down his outstretched arm.

"Come with me."

"Under what name?"

"In the name of master and disciple."