I want to become a Kamen Rider

The alien knight's arms, covered in bone spikes and ridged armor, held firm against the massive falling object.

The instant they made contact, blinding purple lightning and crimson energy collided and annihilated each other, producing a chilling hissing sound. An immense force, like the weight of billions of pounds, was instantly transmitted down.

“Crack!”

Her incredibly tough biological carapace, now transformed, emitted a low, sickening groan as it struggled under the strain. Spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across her arm armor. The ground beneath her feet crumbled and sank like a fragile biscuit.

The force of the impact knocked her down, causing her to kneel, her sharp kneecaps digging deep into the ground.

Severe pain!

A tearing, excruciating pain erupted from his arms, shoulders, and spine. A purplish, blood-like, viscous liquid gushed from the cracks in his armor.

But she did not fall.

Deep purple compound eyes flashed wildly beneath the mask, burning not with fear, but with an almost manic energy borrowed from the dream that had repeated itself for fourteen years, from the object of longing.

She gritted her teeth, forced a roar from deep within her throat, and mobilized the violent, abyss-like power within her body, thrusting wildly upwards.

"Get...out of my way—!"

Hands covered in scythe-like bone blades sliced ​​into the gaps of the dark red giant arm. Violent purple energy, like highly toxic corrosive liquid, poured wildly into the claws, causing pungent blue smoke and electric sparks to explode violently.

"Roar--!"

The monster let out a painful, even more ferocious roar.

Having shaken off the oncoming giant arm, the girl, whose courage had almost completely given up and whose mind had become like a rag turned monster, did not retreat. Instead, she took a heavy step forward with her leg, which was still trembling with fear and covered with hideous carapace and claws.

One step, another step.

Each step was accompanied by the subtle sounds of bones shifting and the grating noise of armor rubbing together. The girl, transformed into a monster, walked towards the real monster and stood in front of everyone.

She once dreamed of becoming a Kamen Rider, but now she's a monster.

That's just how the world is. The middle-aged man who wanted to become a Kamen Rider failed to become one and could only put a plastic sheet on his face and call himself a Kamen Rider; the girl who longed to become a Kamen Rider also failed to become the hero she imagined, but instead became a monster.

Those who fear battle acquire the belt and fight endlessly; those who lack awareness enter into a pact and unknowingly slide into the abyss; those who truly crave all of this always find their desires thwarted.

But when they hear others crying and wailing, even if they are not chosen, even if they are given the wrong things, even if all they can do is put a piece of plastic on their face, even if they become monsters with tears streaming down their faces, they will want to take a shaky step and stand up.

Because I want to become a Kamen Rider.

Even if it's just a self-proclaimed title.

Tears blurred her vision, and she forcefully pushed him away.

With all her might, the girl thrust her twisted, armored chest forward, and let out a hoarse yet piercing cry towards the monster and towards the world:

"I am--!!!"

Her voice trembled, choked with sobs, filled with despair at her own ugly appearance, and with a resolute determination that seemed to burn with the intensity of life itself.

"I am Kamen Rider—!!!"

Chapter 42 Standing Tall Among Us [4K]

The little boy, huddled under the concrete slab, reflected the silhouette of the purple monster in his blank, empty pupils; the dying female knight lay in a pool of blood, her fingers twitching unconsciously; in the distance, the waitress, shaking her charred companion, seemed to pause her cries for a moment, her gaze piercing through the falling black snow to the tiny figure blocking the monster's path.

To varying degrees, people have reacted in their own way to this cry.

Tina Hiiragi knew perfectly well that shouting could not be converted into power, and no matter how loud the volume, true courage could not be generated from it. But this was a declaration.

Tell those who can still move, those who can't, and those who are dying and in despair that the Kamen Riders are still here, and not all of them have fallen, so... don't give up hope.

Because she will be standing there.

It stood there, in the presence of this ugly, twisted, blood-stained monster, blocking everyone's way.

"Roar--!"

The monster's roar tore through the air, announcing the start of a new round of gladiatorial combat.

Not everyone has the talent to become a warrior, and before this, she had never actually fought a single battle in her life.

Naturally, she would lose to the weapon of war. Reality is not a fairy tale where you can gain power by shouting a few times. However... even the heroes in fairy tales come from reality.

That unwavering dedication to humanity remains the same everywhere.

"Kamen Riders are just unlucky..."

"Kamen Riders are just unlucky..."

The monster's massive lava arm swept across, creating a scorching, deathly hurricane.

The giant arm grazed her side, shattering her hard carapace like fragile glass, leaving a horrific, charred, and smoking wound. Corrosive, dark red energy gnawed at her body like a leech. The excruciating pain made her vision blur, and her body was blasted away uncontrollably, crashing heavily into a pile of burning rubble, half-burying her in bricks and tiles.

The little boy under the concrete slab shrank back in fear.

She struggled, using the broken bone blade for support, each exertion bringing excruciating pain. Her deep purple compound eyes struggled to light up again in the smoke and dust, and she shakily stood up once more, standing between the monster and the crowd.

"But for me..."

"But for me..."

The monster seemed enraged by the tiny creature that kept rising to its feet. It growled and brewed a destructive dark red beam of light from its mouth.

A beam of light roared out, tearing through the air. Hiiragi Tina tumbled and dodged, the beam grazing her shoulder armor and instantly vaporizing it, revealing charred flesh beneath. The shockwave from the explosion sent her flying again, slamming her against a half-collapsed wall, which then crashed down with a deafening roar.

"This is the story of a 'monster' who deeply loves others..."

"This is the story of a 'monster' who deeply loves others..."

Boom——!

The earth collapsed like a fragile pancake.

Having finally managed to stand up from the ruins again, she only had time to cross her bone blades in front of her before being thrown off the ground by the torrent of pure power.

A deep purple figure crashed through a burning load-bearing wall behind her like a cannonball, rubble, smoke, and sparks exploding around her. Intense pain instantly overwhelmed her consciousness, her vision turning blood red. She could hear the ear-piercing sound of her carapace shattering, and felt as if her internal organs had shifted.

"cough……!"

A mouthful of purplish-black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs splattered onto the scorching rubble, making a sizzling sound.

The boy, huddled beneath the concrete slab, trembled violently as he watched the purple figure being blasted away. The dying female knight's fingers seemed to twitch more intensely, as if trying to grasp something. The distant waitress's cries were completely silenced, leaving only a silent, desperate gaze.

We can't fall... There are people behind us... For...

"So that life doesn't slip away before our eyes..."

"So that life doesn't slip away before our eyes..."

A superhuman roar erupted from the ruins and dust.

"Uhhhhhh-!"

The deep purple figure, dragging an almost immobile arm, staggered and swayed, using its other bone blade deeply embedded in the ground for support, forcefully pulling itself out of the pile of bricks and stones. Thick, foul blood dripped from the edges of its broken carapace, and the light in its compound eyes flickered, yet remained fixed on the monster in front of it.

It's impossible to remember how many times the giant lava arm crashed down on them once again.

Get out of the way! My body screamed instinctively.

But behind her lay the ruins, the corner beneath the concrete slab, the others she had to protect, the others the "monster" deeply loved, the humanity that the knight who wept in his dream would defend even with tears streaming down his face...

"No matter what... we must... step forward..."

She repeated her conviction hoarsely, without retreating. Instead, she bent her knees, pushed off the ground, and poured her remaining strength into the still-movable bone blade. Facing the burning giant arm, she fiercely slashed upwards!

"Qiang——!!"

The deafening clang of metal clashing against metal was deafening. Bone blades collided with lava arm armor, sparks flying. The difference in power was immense. The ground beneath Hiiragi Tina's feet cracked and sank deeper. She felt the bones in her supporting legs groaning, and her blade-wielding arm felt as if it were about to be broken and crushed by the overwhelming force.

The scorching heat transmitted through the bone blade almost set her ablaze.

"Crench--!"

A teeth-grinding cracking sound rang out. The tough bone blade, unable to withstand the terrifying force and high temperature, broke open in the middle with a shocking crack.

"Oh!"

The real monster was repelled, and she was once again violently slammed away, like a kite with a broken string, tumbling and crashing into a pile of burning car wreckage. The low, grating sound of twisting metal was deafening. Flames licked at her carapace, bringing new searing pain. Her consciousness was on the verge of fading under the intense pain and impact, and the edges of her vision began to black out.

The boy beneath the concrete slab had closed his eyes sometime earlier, his small body curled up even tighter. The dying female knight's fingers were completely still; only her chest was still rising and falling weakly. The waitress covered her mouth, tears silently streaming down her face; each fall of that purple figure felt like a heavy hammer blow to her heart.

...stand up...you must...stand up...

She has to try... to get more time.

Her trembling legs could barely support her weight, and her consciousness teetered on the brink of excruciating pain and exhaustion. A faint yet clear voice, like a stone thrown into stagnant water, pierced through the echoes of the monster's roar and the crackling of the flames:

"Go for it... Go for it!"

The sound came from under the concrete slab.

"Come on, Kamen Rider!"

The voice came from behind.

"Come on!"

The voice came from the "human world" she was protecting.

"Don't lose!"

"stand up!"

"Well done!"

...More sounds came from the cracks in the ruins, from behind the burning broken walls.

These cries could not mend her shattered shell, replenish her depleted strength, or dispel the terrifying shadow of that colossal creature. They were merely sounds, as fragile as ashes falling in black snow.

However, for Hiiragi Tina, this faint sound was like a scorching hot iron, fiercely imprinted on her fading consciousness.

"Kamen Rider... have I become one...?"

In the end, she stood up.

Using the broken bone blade to brace herself against the ground, her nearly crushed, mutated legs unleashed a power beyond their limits. Amidst splattering blood and flying carapace fragments, she—

He forcefully pulled himself back up from the brink of kneeling.

Like a purple javelin stuck in scorched earth, cracked yet unbreakable, it once again stood between the torrent of destruction and the faint hope.

After several rounds of clashes and entanglements, the real monster responded with an even more ferocious roar. Its giant foot, which had been slashed by the bone blade and corroded by the corrosive liquid, suddenly rose up. Instead of stomping, it swept towards the girl who had transformed into a monster, like a battering sledge, with a shrill whistle that tore through the air and a dark red energy vortex.

Wherever it passed, burning bricks, tiles, wood and stones were easily crushed, and scorching winds were whipped up.

The shadow of death loomed over her. The attack was slow. She could have easily dodged this heavy and conspicuous blow, cleared the way, and nimbly evaded it, but instead, she could only cross her badly damaged arms and try to take the hit head-on.

There were too many people behind her, and even though she didn't know if she could stand up after taking this blow, she had no choice.

Stepping aside means making way... Behind her are many more lives she can't see, huddled in the cracks of the ruins, clinging to her "wall" to survive.

Looking at the oncoming torrent, exhausted, she opened her eyes wide, wanting to truly witness her fate.

Then, I saw... the rising waves.

"Well done! I, the Evil King's True Eye, acknowledge you, Miss Monster Knight!"

A girl's voice, full of energy and carrying the same obvious chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) vibe as the department head, rang out.

No, the minister seems to be the real deal, so he doesn't count as having chuunibyou. Wait, this one seems to be the real deal too, but the minister says he's a Kamen Rider, while this one says he's the Evil King Eye. By the way, what is the Evil King Eye?

Doubts arose in my heart, and along with the noisy sound, a whirlwind of intertwined emerald green and pitch black appeared on the battlefield.

"Rikka! Don't be so rude!"

A mature, steady, yet helpless female voice followed closely behind. The whirlwind deflected the torrent, allowing her to easily catch the attack while also making out the two-colored figure amidst the swirling black snow.

It is a two-person Kamen Rider, W.

It seems there's more than that.

clang--!

The heavy impact caused the monster's massive body to sway once more.

"Target weakness analysis complete. Prioritize attacking its energy core and damaged joints in the waist."

A silver-clad knight, unfamiliar to Hiiragi Tina, appeared and gave orders to the entire arena in a cold, detached voice.

"I'll clear the way."

A verdant knight leaped from the ruins like a ferocious beast. Her armor was covered in a bio-material-like layer of keratin, and her hands extended into enormous, sharp claws. With a gesture that left Hiiragi Tina speechless, she ignored the scorching heat wave generated by the monster's molten lava arm and pounced fiercely. Her massive claws, carrying the force to tear everything apart, viciously grabbed at the monster's already damaged giant foot.