I want to become a Kamen Rider

The sword blade clashed violently with the scimitar!

A dazzling spark, like a miniature sun suddenly bursting open, erupted in the pitch-black stairwell. This momentary light clearly illuminated two tightly pressed faceplates—one a silver, resolute knight's mask, the other a twisted, ferocious, and corrupt one.

The light also illuminated every detail of the swirling dust, the crumbling cement fragments, and the ground beneath their feet as they struggled.

Sparks flew, only to be quickly swallowed by the thick darkness, leaving only a burning afterimage on the retina. Immediately following was an even more intense and frequent clash of weapons.

"Sakuta, what are you standing there for?! If you keep watching, you're doomed when we get back!"

Fan Kang couldn't be bothered with his junior's long list of thoughts; all he knew was that he was fighting to the death here while Azusagawa Sakuta watched the show from the sidelines.

What, trying to recreate a classic scene here? He's not going to cooperate by shouting "Sakuta-kun, why are you just watching?" in this Kamen Rider Blade pose. He'll just wait until he gets back and shoot him to pieces with the Awakening Bow.

Wait, it seems his bow is gone.

Sadness comes from it.

"..."

Ultimately, if it weren't for helping Sakuta Azusagawa gain practical combat experience, he wouldn't have transformed into a sword and fought the Fallen Knight piece by piece on his own. Instead, he would have simply thrown a fireball to end the battle.

Ah! Ah! Oh!

Sakuta Azusagawa snapped out of his daze, his body beneath the Caesar Armor shuddering violently as he finally snapped out of his shock and reverie. His golden form instantly activated, the blade-gun switching to sword mode, whirring with energy as it thrust towards Ryuga's flank.

And Fan Kang could finally begin to guide him, in the manner of the Education Bureau, to get used to and adapt to the duel with the Fallen Knight.

"Note that, compared to regular Contract Knights, Fallen Knights' power is amplified by their despair, but their reactions are slowed down due to the loss of reason. This is true even if the person in front of you is the former second-ranked Contract Knight in Japan..."

"Everything is ultimately balanced. Even the most powerful beings have weaknesses. Fallen knights are not superior replacements for contracted knights; they are merely monsters born from despair."

"Therefore, when fighting against a Contract Knight, there are the following key points to keep in mind."

The longsword in his hand moved like a dragon, accurately piercing the opening exposed by the alien dragon's attack on Azusagawa Sakuta, forcing the opponent to retreat and defend.

"First, avoid its sharpest attack and strike at its joints; second, utilize the environment to limit its potential for a counterattack; third, maintain distance and be wary of its self-destructive tendencies in a desperate counterattack..."

"Hands! Follow up! Don't hesitate!" Fan Kang shouted a reminder, while skillfully deflecting the heavy slash from the alien dragon tooth aimed at Caesar with the blade of his sword.

"Feet! Dodge and absorb the force! Are you trying to take the hit head-on? You're asking for trouble!"

The alien dragon fang, who had initially retained some sanity but had been driven mad by despair, realized something:

"What do you take me for, the former second-best knight in Japan?!"

"Teaching tools."

Fan Kang spoke frankly.

Teaching tools...

The humiliation of being looked down upon and used instantly ignited a deeper rage. He had already lost everything—hope, future, and the love he had finally managed to grasp.

"Since I have no future, then I'll take away the future you've worked so hard to cultivate—roar!!"

It let out a deafening, venomous roar.

In the instant the scimitar clashed with the longsword, completely disregarding the risk of being pierced through half of his body by the longsword, like a wild beast that had completely lost its mind, he poured all his strength and speed into his legs, abandoned his defense, and pounced on Kamen Rider Caesar, who had just taken a blow and was still unsteady on his feet.

With a suicidal resolve, the scimitar in his hand slashed straight at Caesar's face.

If it were Kuuga, Fan Kang could have saved him in time, but now he is Kamen Rider Blade.

If it were him in the past, this would have been the beginning of a tragedy. But everything changes. Children grow up, seeds sprout and blossom, and even the most upright heroes grow old. After losing everything, the weak and scoundrel finally gained the power to make amends.

As long as he doesn't die on the spot, completely destroyed, he can be revived now, so Fan Kang only gave a perfunctory reminder:

"Protect your vital organs. Just make sure you don't die on the spot."

"..."

Sakuta Azusagawa was taken aback by the overly direct instruction, but his body instinctively assumed a defensive stance, holding the Caesar Blade in front of him and instantly activating an energy shield.

Just as Fan Kang casually thrust out a sword, attempting to slow the momentum of the alien dragon tooth rushing towards Caesar, perhaps having summoned the awakened bow to attack him a thousand times over, an action almost like muscle memory occurred—he subconsciously raised his left hand towards Caesar, his fingers slightly hooked.

The movement was so natural, so subtle, just like the countless times he had summoned Kuuga's Pegasus Crossbow or Kalis's Awakening Bow in the past.

However, this time, even with Fan Kang's self-deprecating gaze that seemed to say, "This move is really stupid," he actually received a response.

hum-

A faint golden light appeared in the space where his left hand was clenched.

Immediately afterwards, as if summoned, countless tiny golden light particles appeared out of thin air. Like iron filings attracted by a magnet, they frantically converged, condensed, and shaped towards that one point.

The light solidified and shone brightly in an instant. The curved bow arm, the taut energy bowstring, the smooth and powerful overall design... Under Fan Kang's somewhat surprised gaze, a weapon with a familiar design, flowing with brilliant golden light—Kalis's Awakening Bow—fell into his hands.

A familiar, warm sensation, resonating subtly with the spirit stone at his waist, came from his body as he bent over.

"That makes things much simpler."

Without saying a word, he moved the golden arc.

hum!hum!hum!

Several golden energy arrows, condensed to the point of being almost tangible, shot out from the sky, precise, swift, and unavoidable.

In an instant, it pinned down the monstrous dragon fang that was frantically lunging at Azusagawa Sakuta.

Chapter 59 The Traveler of Time [4/5]

The fierce battle, the violent energy, and the slashing of blades had torn a huge gap in the walls and railings of this floor. The torrential rain outside finally found an outlet, carrying with it a biting, icy wind that relentlessly washed over and poured into this decaying space.

Rainwater flowed freely across the broken ground, mingling with dust and some kind of dark stain. The wind howled, the rain roared, and the fallen headed for their doom.

"When I first got this power, I also wanted to be a hero... like in the comics."

The monster, with one corner nailed to its back, perhaps on the verge of death, finally regained some of its former human form. Beneath the monster's ugly face was actually a handsome man with short black hair, the kind of guy who would be very popular with the opposite sex.

This is Makoto Itō, formerly Japan's second-best Kamen Rider.

He vomited blood as he reflected on his short life.

"But soon, I became resentful. I fought with my life on the line, burning in the darkness, yet no one praised me. Does becoming a Kamen Rider mean sacrificing everything for others? That's wrong. Even now, seeing someone like you, I still think it's wrong..."

The knight, named after his sword, stood amidst the wind and rain, the rain streaming down his silver armor, as if telling the story.

"So you start using this power to pursue your own 'happiness'."

"I am right!"

"I didn't say you were wrong."

Sakuta Azusagawa took out the document, which stated that Makoto Itō's actions, which utilized the power of the knights, were not theft or robbery; he simply chose to double-cross others.

He upheld his justice, took money from the underworld, and seized treasures from corrupt politicians who accepted bribes.

He also generously donated a small amount to others, but only a small amount.

Sakuta Azusagawa thought his respected senior would refute the other party in the name of justice, but he waited for a long time and never received a righteous and eloquent public opinion from his senior.

“I began to use the wealth I gained from exercising ‘justice,’ and then I learned from Cupid how to increase my power. Naturally, I saved many girls and fell in love with them.”

Makoto Ito looked at the figure holding the sword with a self-deprecating smile.

"You look down on me, don't you? A man like you."

"No, I'm quite envious. A harem king, even though he died young, at least he got to indulge himself properly once."

"..."

Makoto Ito was clearly stunned, then let out a faint, ambiguous laugh tinged with blood, “...Is that so? I thought you were the kind of rigid, old-fashioned man with a strong sense of justice? Turns out, you’re pretty much like me.”

Upon hearing this, Sakuta Azusagawa said indignantly:

"You are not the same as the senior."

"No, it's the same. I share the same desire as him, longing to be loved, valued, and embraced, but that man gave up his own desires and chose to live for others. Such a person is bound to meet a terrible end."

The long-lost hatred has faded away, and this sentence doesn't even carry the connotation of a curse.

It's more like a cold prophecy based on one's own experience.

"Then, on what grounds will you kill me? My hero, whose nature is one with mine?"

Makoto Ito watched the figure holding the sword raise it.

He sneered.

"Is it justice, right and wrong, law, or rules?"

"Because you hurt others and trampled on life."

"I see, it's really hard to find a single fault with it."

He froze on the spot, then his smile faded. He fumbled in his pocket with difficulty, pulled out a card with worn edges and bloodstains, and with his last bit of strength threw it toward the knight who was about to take his life.

The card tumbled a few times in the air before landing on the muddy ground.

"I acknowledge you, a hero with a sincere heart."

Even the figure wielding the sword never imagined that, in the very end, he would receive the blessing of a scoundrel.

"I hope you can have a different ending."

"I will work hard."

Just as the longsword was about to fall, a woman's voice rang out.

"stop."

Fan Kang was certainly not the kind of man who would actually stop and investigate if someone shouted "Stop!" His sword did not falter for a moment.

But something was faster than the sword that fell.

A blinding golden streak tore through the rain, hurtling towards him at a speed beyond visual perception. Its target was his descending longsword.

"clang--!!"

The immense impact deflected the longsword's trajectory, the blade grazing Ito Makoto's body before embedding itself deeply into the wall beside him, sending shards of stone flying.

The shockwave instantly dispersed the surrounding rainwater, creating a cloud of smoke and mist.

As visibility improved, a figure emerged, clad in magnificent golden armor and sporting unique insect-like compound eyes on its head. It was unclear whether to call it a monster or a knight, but it stood between the sword-wielding knight and the dying monster.

Clearly, the newcomer was not a woman with whom Makoto Itō had an affair. The former knight ranked second was already dead. For the time being, there was no one of that caliber in this country.

In the broken stairwell, amidst the wind and rain, a new variable emerged, and Azusagawa Sakuta was extremely nervous. But the knight, whose name was synonymous with sword, simply and slowly pulled the longsword embedded in the wall, asking a question with an almost indifferent calmness, his voice piercing through the rain:

"identity?"

The visitor's voice, processed with a voice changer, carried an ethereal and distant quality.

"A traveler of time".

"Purpose."

"Correct the erroneous trajectory."

A brief silence. Only the wind and rain howled.

Why are you getting in my way?

"Because you are the beginning of the trajectory deflection."

He ran two fingers across the longsword, a pale blue light swirling around it, and a smile crept into his voice:

"Are those who should have died, those whom I saved... also within the scope of your 'correction'?"

As the knight drew his sword, the onlooker, who was already on guard, simultaneously placed his hand on his waist.

The wind and rain have stopped.

【Clock Up!】

The cold electronic sound effects proclaimed the victory that was already in her grasp. She had waited and searched for a long time, and finally found that the person was not fighting in his ultimate form.

"I won."

The world—in her eyes—was frozen, slowed down.

The torrential rain pouring down outside the window, the dense, curtain-like raindrops, now resembled strings of transparent crystal beads frozen in mid-air. Each droplet was clearly visible, refracting the faint glow of the dim sky outside the window, suspended outside the broken wall hole, forming an eerie and still picture.

The gust of wind rushing in through the window, the airflow carrying rain and chill, was now like a viscous, transparent gel, moving so slowly that its movement was almost imperceptible. Flying dust particles and fragments of broken wall paint all hung eerily in mid-air, like meticulously arranged miniature landscapes in a museum.