I want to become a Kamen Rider

"Then why did she go?"

She pursed her lips and looked at the dying figure diagonally in front of her.

"Perhaps they thought that sacrificing themselves could buy them some time; it seems that a few people actually managed to escape."

"That's it..."

She held the cold metal cube in her hand, as if she knew by birth how to use it, and placed it on her waist.

Noticing her actions, Venalita was somewhat puzzled:

"What you yearn for is the glory of heroes, a fake stage play. But what you see now is the true nature of the world—cruel, chaotic, and survival of the fittest. What you want is not the same as the real Kamen Rider."

"What I yearn for is neither the shining armor nor the glory of a hero, but simply a man weeping in a dream."

Are you in love?

"Maybe so. After all, I've had that dream for fourteen years."

Just because you hear a cool line from that man squatting in the back alley doesn't mean you can stop crying.

She is still very scared, and she is still crying.

"You'll turn into a monster."

"Even I know that in the beginning, Kamen Riders were monsters just like you, no different..."

Black snow fell heavily from the sky, and the girl, tears streaming down her face, trembled as she raised her arm, transforming into a monster.

"—It was by standing up that he became a knight."

Chapter 41 does not claim to be [4K].

It was a few days ago, on an ordinary afternoon that was almost forgotten.

Sunlight generously streamed into the empty Service Club activity room, gilding even the dust particles in the air with a golden edge. The windows were open, and a warm breeze carrying the scents of grass and cherry blossoms stirred the curtains; it was so quiet that you could hear the chirping of sparrows outside.

"Phew... Great! The minister isn't here!"

Like a little mouse that has stolen some oil, Hiiragi Tina tiptoed into the empty clubroom.

Her heart raced at the thought of this little adventure, and a barely suppressed smug smile played on her lips. She eagerly huddled in her favorite corner of the sofa, practically humming a tune, and carefully opened the brightly colored cover, ready to immerse herself in the fantasy world of heroes.

"Ahhh! The new form is so cool, and the special effects of this finishing move are amazing!"

She gasped softly, her fingertips gliding across the page, her eyes sparkling, completely absorbed in the magnificent scene of the hero's triumphant return and the cheers of the crowd.

At this moment, there were no worries about schoolwork, no sharp tongues from the minister, only her and the heroes she admired.

Just as my fingertips were about to touch that cool hero transformation illustration—

"Clap."

A hand, with distinct knuckles, fair and slender, yet covered in calluses from swords, unexpectedly emerged from the heavy shadows of the curtains beside her and precisely pressed onto the cover of her beloved magazine.

"Whoa?!" Hiiragi Tina was so startled she almost jumped up, her heart skipped a beat.

She looked up abruptly and met a pair of eyes that she found "evil," "filthy," and "malicious."

He is the minister.

He had hidden there without anyone noticing, like a hunter lying in wait.

"Minister?!"

Tina Hiiragi's voice changed, and she instinctively tried to protect the manga, but the opponent's power was far beyond her ability to resist. The brand-new magazine was easily snatched away and fell into the club president's hands.

"Ah, my new magazine!"

"Same as always, let me see the new comic first."

Tina Hiiragi brandished her fists, trying to rebel against the minister's tyranny, only to be ruthlessly suppressed.

An old-fashioned person with no appreciation for art casually flips through comics, frowns, and then starts to offer sharp commentary.

"It's that kind of story where someone easily gains power, becomes popular, and then charges in to defeat the bad guys while shouting about friendship and bonds."

"An old relic."

Tina Hiiragi snorted in dissatisfaction, but the evil department head's ears were surprisingly sharp.

"I heard."

In the past, she would probably have been scared into apologizing immediately, but this time, since it concerned her favorite hero, she argued her case.

"The minister is actually the kind of Showa-era old man who thinks the new Ultraman series is too flashy and then repeats things like Ultraman should be simple and plain. He has absolutely no modern appreciation for the genre!"

"Don't label me without my permission. Even I watch the new Ultraman shows that are of good quality. If the quality is really bad, then we should blame the production company, not the audience for not buying it. Also, as a member of the Knights Club, if you're going to give an example, please use Kamen Rider."

"Then, Minister, tell us your understanding of Kamen Rider."

She secretly debates with people online, is proficient in internet arguing techniques, and most importantly, she can speak normally in front of the minister. Hiiragi Tina is already prepared to label the minister as a heretic.

However, the man in front of him did not deny the comic book in his hand; rather, his eyes were full of envy.

"I want that too, the kind of story where you gain power easily, without training, without hard fighting, without dying, just a carefree and happy family story. In fact, that's the kind of story I want most."

He complained somewhat helplessly:

"Kamen Rider is such a loser!"

"Minister, I can't pretend I didn't hear such outrageous remarks."

"Say what you will, but in my eyes, Kamen Riders are just unlucky guys."

For some reason, this guy is very biased. He's not standing on the side of objectively evaluating the quality of the work at all. Instead, he's fixated on the treatment of the knights in the show.

What the hell are you doing? Don't try to empathize with the knights in the show. Shouldn't the focus be on the overall quality of the work?

"They've already worked so hard and are so tired, and those damned screenwriters and authors still have to create tragedy. They should apologize to the knights who have worked so hard and put in so much effort, only to be tormented by them!"

Hiiragi Tina suspected that this guy wasn't here to steal her manga today, but simply to pour out his troubles.

After being vented on for ages, this guy didn't even mention his understanding of Kamen Rider; instead, he went out for lunch.

"That's enough of my complaints. I'm going out for dinner."

"So you know you're just venting your frustrations, huh?" Tina Hiiragi, unable to bear it any longer, called out to Fan Kang.

"Minister, you haven't told us yet, what your understanding of Kamen Rider is."

"I made this up, and there are no real cases to refer to. Just take it as a joke."

"If you're going to make something up, make it up properly. No, I mean, tell it properly."

The minister shrugged and placed one hand on the doorknob.

"To me, Kamen Rider is not a heroic tale of cool transformations, cool battles, and cool basking in everyone's cheers; it's a story of 'monsters'."

"A monster story?"

"Yes, it's a story about monsters."

The man in front of her had smiled many times. He smiled when he snatched her comic book, he smiled when he won a verbal battle with Yukinoshita, and he even smiled when he ate Yuihama's cookies. But only this time, Hiiragi Tina would admit, was his smile somewhat handsome.

"Even if you're terrified, utterly fearful, and incredibly cowardly, you still have to step forward to save your life from slipping away before your eyes..."

His smile, regardless of his looks or physique, simply made him very attractive.

"The story of a monster who deeply loves others."

.........

……

"Thinking of the minister's sour face at a time like this makes one feel anything but happy."

At the edge of the smoke-filled ruins, a tearful girl complained loudly.

Venalita's orange eyes suddenly narrowed.

You were clearly smiling.

"Really? It's just that the minister's face is too funny."

A viscous, deep, dark substance, seemingly capable of swallowing light, mixed with violent and ominous dark purple electric snakes, surged forth from the girl's belt like living things. It was not a gentle covering, but rather an erosion with a kind of thirst and pain, instantly coiling around her slender body.

"Ughh ...

The intense pain caused her to arch her back and let out a disjointed scream.

Instead of the flashy effects of a hero's transformation, it is a painful and twisted alienation originating from the deepest part of a living being.

Beneath her fair skin, eerie, deep purple lines, resembling both veins and inscriptions, suddenly burst forth and spread, crawling across her cheeks, neck, and bare arms. It wasn't decoration; something was writhing and multiplying.

Snap! Snap snap—!

A series of sickening sounds—the dislocation of bones and the rapid growth of carapace—rang out. Two rows of sharp, dark, bone-spur-like crystals suddenly pierced her shoulder blades, gleaming with an ominous light. Her spine bulged, covered with thick, metallic-looking dark biological carapaces, extending all the way to her tailbone.

The limbs swelled and twisted rapidly.

The once slender arms were now encased in layers of sharp, angular, purplish-black armor. The hands had been completely mutated; the fingers were elongated and hardened, with sharp, scythe-like bone blades extending from the fingertips, gleaming with a deadly cold light. The legs were similarly covered in heavy, ferocious bio-armor, with sharp ramming horns at the knees, and the feet transformed into scales and claws more suited for tearing and stomping.

She became a monster, not the handsome hero she had always dreamed of being.

"Am I ugly now, Venalita?"

The already dark mascot showed no mercy.

"Yes, it's ugly."

"You really don't know how to talk. If the minister were here, he would at least praise me."

"If you want him to praise you, you'd better survive first."

Her vision blurred with tears, and her body trembled with fear. She looked at her hands, covered in hideous carapaces and extending into scythe-like bone blades—these were not the shining knight's hands of her dreams, but the claws of a monster used to hunt and kill.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The thing known as the Deep-Sea Shocker's decisive weapon approached her step by step. Its heavy footsteps, like the death knell of the Grim Reaper, drew ever closer, and its enormous shadow completely enveloped her tiny purple figure.

The air was thick with the acrid smell of ruins, and every breath felt like swallowing a red-hot knife. Their mutated limbs trembled instinctively under fear and pressure, and the bone blades emitted a faint hum.

I understand now, I can understand now, I finally understand.

"I was terrified..."

"Extremely terrified..."

"Extremely cowardly..."

She raised her head and wiped away the tears from her eyes.

Even so, we must stand up and fight.

Thick smoke and falling black snow were stirred up by the monster's footsteps, forming a murky vortex. With each step it took, the earth groaned, the flames flickered, and the cries of the survivors were instantly extinguished by a deeper fear, turning into a silent tremor.

Face it!

charge!

The mutated feet slammed into the ground, sending shards of cement flying everywhere. The movements were clumsy and chaotic, displaying only an innate, primal, and brutal madness.

"Roar--!"

The monster roared, and she, now a monster herself, did not back down, responding with a furious howl.

clang--!

The deafening clang of metal clashing echoed through the ruins, and blinding sparks shot out like an explosion, illuminating the black snow.

The immense recoil caused her arms to tremble violently, her mutated bones seemingly about to shatter inch by inch, and thick, purplish-black blood seeped from the gaps between the bone blades and the carapace. The monster's massive foot was shaken by the ferocious impact, pausing slightly.

The monster's counterattack came quickly. Its massive body suddenly leaned forward, and a huge arm made of lava and bone, wrapped in dark red energy, crashed down on her like a collapsing mountain, with a terrifying shriek that tore through the air and a temperature high enough to melt steel.

The fierce winds nearly suffocated her, and the intense heat scorched her carapace. There was no time to think, and no chance to back down.

Since they are all monsters, the only way to determine who is superior is through monster methods, monster postures, and monster logic.

"Ah ah ah ah ah--!!"

With a non-human roar, her legs, covered in thick armor and sharp horns, slammed into the ground, cracking the earth beneath her feet. She did not dodge, did not deflect the force, did not use any techniques, and knew nothing and did not need to know anything. She faced the destructive giant arm head-on, raising her arms like a purple-black arrow released from a bow, charging head-on.

Bang—crackling sound.

An indescribable, terrifying impact rang out, like two meteorites colliding violently in near-Earth orbit.