I want to become a Kamen Rider

"You simply acquire skills faster and reach 'proficiency' or even 'mastery' more easily than the average person. But this merely means you have a higher starting point and are more efficient. It does not equate to you having accomplished anything remarkable."

Lady Astrid's tone was not didactic, but rather one of equal dialogue. She was simply stating her own views, treating the young child as an adult and informing her how she viewed these things.

"Being both literate and skilled in martial arts, proficient in music, and knowledgeable about the ways of the world is indeed remarkable and enviable. However... piling up these abilities and truly 'leaving behind' something are completely different concepts, my little star."

"What 'left behind'..."

"Before you boast of your strength to the thieves outside the castle, you must first understand that most thieves are created because of bad circumstances, bad weather, and the mistakes of the rulers. You must first be able to feel sorrow for the ordinary people who are harmed by thieves, and then feel guilty for the existence of thieves. This is a responsibility that we, as those in power, must bear."

The mother embraces the child with both arms and continues her story:

"Being a genius alone is not enough to become a hero. Conversely, even someone without any talent can become a hero as long as they persevere in upholding their beliefs."

The helicopter jolted violently, jolting Eleanor awake from her brief dream.

Outside the porthole, the city lights stretched out like a galaxy at my feet.

The engine roared on, the lingering echoes of a dream lingered in my ears, along with the soft crackling of the fireplace burning in the castle of my childhood.

She subconsciously touched the Knight's Seed in her arms; the icy touch jolted her fully awake. On the screen, the terrifying red dot of energy reaction was flashing rapidly at a coordinate in the far distance.

Talent is the starting point, responsibility is the journey, and what will we leave behind...?

Eleanor Mondebelle, Chairman of the European Knights Council, Kamen Rider Wizard, took a deep breath, her azure eyes sharp as cold stars under the dim light of the dashboard.

She adjusted the communication channel, her calm voice piercing through the roar of the propellers:

"Nightingale calling headquarters, target coordinates confirmed. 'Moonlight' is preparing to intervene. Repeat, 'Moonlight' is preparing to intervene."

……

……

The pungent fumes mixed with cement dust choked people and made their throats hurt.

A skyscraper, its upper half sheared off by some incomprehensible force, resembled the broken spine of a giant, its exposed steel bars twisted grotesquely, emitting a chilling groan. Beneath this crumbling, deathly shadow, a small, frail figure huddled tightly in its mother's arms.

The little boy's cheeks were streaked with mud from his tears, and his body trembled violently. Through his blurry, tear-filled eyes, he looked past his mother's shoulders, which were taut with fear, and stared intently at the vast, desolate source of despair shrouded in smoke and dust in the distance—a massive silhouette that moved like a mountain, advancing through the ruins at a slow but unstoppable pace.

Then, his gaze caught another figure.

Just as the collapsing building let out its final groan and was about to crash completely, that tiny figure rushed against the fleeing crowd like a moth drawn to a flame. It wasn't an attempt to stop the weight of over ten thousand tons, but rather, with astonishing explosive force, it used its shoulders and arms to firmly hold up a key structural support point, forcefully reversing the direction of the collapse.

Heavy concrete blocks and shattered glass curtain walls rained down on her already battered back with dull thuds. The ground beneath her feet cracked inch by inch, but she gritted her teeth and pushed the collapsing building toward a relatively open side.

"Woo...Mom..."

The little boy's cries were barely audible amidst the roar of the collapsing building and the screams of the crowd. His trembling finger pointed to the figure standing firm amidst the smoke and rubble, "Who...who is that big sister?"

The mother held her precious child tightly in her arms with all her might, as if trying to meld the child into her own body. Her voice trembled with the shock of surviving a catastrophe and an almost reverent awe.

"It's... Kamen Rider."

The behemoth that was moving was larger than anyone could imagine. With each step it took, the earth trembled violently, and the solid asphalt road crumbled and collapsed like a thin, brittle biscuit.

At this moment, it had no intention of causing any malicious damage; it was simply walking. Just as a human doesn't look down to count the anthills crushed underfoot when walking. Its huge, scarlet eyes indifferently swept over the creatures below, fleeing and wailing like dust, without pausing for a moment, as if looking at a void.

A voice, devoid of much emotion, pierced the mind like an ice pick:

"Run away. With your skill level, the fact that you've survived this long is already a result of that behemoth not even bothering with you."

Unlike her master's, the white ringed beast, with its thin, even indifferent emotions, stood atop the ruins, coldly watching her with its ruby-like eyes.

wow-

A pile of rubble was pushed aside with great effort. Mizutani Migen struggled to crawl out of the ruins.

As if she hadn't heard Kyubey's advice, half of the girl's body was soaked in blood, her left leg was bent at an unnatural angle, and she could only rely on the longsword in her hand, which was full of nicks, and even had cracks in its blade, to support her body.

She moved with difficulty and a limp, her goal not to escape, but ahead—to the back of the relatively "safe" ruins that had just been trampled by the giant beast.

She gritted her teeth and, with her last bit of strength, dragged the completely unconscious and lifeless Kawasaki Saki to a relatively intact large concrete block behind the path that the giant beast had just trod.

After doing all this, she was almost completely exhausted, and sweat mixed with blood dripped from her forehead.

Panting, she leaned on her sword again, dragging her crippled leg, and inch by inch, moved back towards the direction the giant beast had gone. Each step was accompanied by excruciating pain and the cracking sound of bones grinding together. Her hands trembled, not from fear, but because her body was on the verge of collapse.

The heavens and earth trembled. Skyscrapers collapsed as easily as building blocks, solid concrete crumbled into dust, and steel twisted and groaned. Faced with this cataclysmic force, humanity's proud civilization proved utterly fragile.

"It's evolving..."

She whispered hoarsely, her voice drowned out by the deafening crash of the collapse.

Mizutani Migen's grades weren't good, and he wasn't a genius, but he roughly understood... what that evolution speed meant.

In a mere few hours, or perhaps even less, it evolved eyelids, something it didn't have when it first came ashore. Aquatic creatures don't need eyelids. Those are structures reserved for terrestrial organisms adapted to terrestrial environments to protect their eyes exposed to the air.

It requires no learning, no time; the act of "login" itself is like opening Pandora's box, causing it to transform into a more perfect and terrifying form at a visible speed.

At first, she went all out and could barely leave a wound on Him. Now, a single sword strike only leaves a nick or a broken sword.

What will such a monster eventually become if it continues to evolve?

I don't know, not because I can't imagine it, but because I dare not imagine it. The fear that the answer brings might be enough to destroy any will to resist.

"So please forgive me, Master. Mikoto may be becoming a rather troublesome woman."

The girl drew her sword, its blackness enveloping her body.

His face, which was originally as aloof as an immortal, now looked like that of a fallen demon.

But that is not depravity.

"what have you done?"

For the first time, a noticeable crack appeared in the cold, indifferent voice in my mind, carrying a hint of shock at seeing something incomprehensible.

"You can become stronger by falling in love, right, Contract Knight?"

"..."

Cupid was speechless.

"I've always had a one-sided crush on my master."

A smile spread across his face, which had been as cool and aloof as the moon but was now stained with blood and dust. In the churning darkness, it carried a sense of self-abandonment and... resolve.

She gripped the broken sword, which was wildly coiled by dark light and seemed to have gained some kind of evil life. The blade emitted a thirsty and painful hum, and the girl's voice was filled with longing:

"It's funny, she claims to be a woman who wants to become the strongest martial artist, but she has long since become a woman who wants to become the strongest martial artist."

A dark light surged around her, draping her in an ominous yet powerful robe. Facing the direction of the giant beast, she dragged her injured leg forward, each step making a jarring sound as she trod on the broken rubble.

As if she had flipped a switch to let things slide, she began to speak.

"Only this twisted and desperate love, I dare say I can't lose to anyone else."

"I want to possess Master, I want to have Master, I want to sleep with Master in my arms, I want to be spoiled in Master's arms, I want... I want everything about him. I have been suppressing these feelings, watching Master from the closest place, supporting Master."

"He had clearly made up his mind to suppress his feelings. But despite saying he wanted to be a solitary knight, he ended up with more and more girls around him, and they were all so outstanding..."

She raised the broken sword, wreathed in boiling black flames, trembling yet with unwavering resolve, pointing it towards the distant behemoth. The sword's dark light emitted a piercing shriek, as if echoing the desperate cry from the depths of her soul:

"I know it's not Master's fault. He treated everyone equally but coldly, but I still really want to complain. I want to yell at him, I want to ask him why he can't see me?!"

“I gave up the shortcut that I had held in my hands since I first met him, and chose to walk the same path as my master.”

“My master complains to me every day, saying things like ‘Contract Knights can become stronger just by falling in love’ and ‘How convenient!’... but he never cares how hard I have to endure it.”

The dark light surged violently with the intense fluctuations of her emotions, and the pebbles beneath her feet silently turned to dust.

"This is to protect everyone, to buy time..."

The broken sword was rebuilt in the darkness, and the girl raised it with a wicked smile.

she says.

"There's nothing we can do about it, Master."

Chapter Ninety-Five: The Sun (3/?)

Despite having always followed him through thick and thin, Xiao Feng's long silver hair was the smoothest Fan Kang had ever seen. Sleeping with it on his pillow would surely bring him sweet dreams.

However, it backfired.

It was a strange dream.

dawn.

This was the night before, and the morning after the girl, who was his disciple, said she would be his support.

The girl in his dream, with clear eyes and a touch of unpolished innocence, looked up at him and asked:

"Master, Master, Master, is it possible for me to become a hero like you if I persevere and uphold my beliefs?"

"Theoretically, that's true, but I'd rather you give up halfway."

"Is Master afraid that he will be lonely if his position is taken away? It's okay. Just go into Yu Yan's arms when that time comes, and Yu Yan will comfort you."

"Boom!"

A precise chop to the neck landed on the girl's smooth forehead with just the right amount of force.

Amid the girl's cries of pain, Fan Kang corrected her.

"First, I was acting. Second, becoming a hero is an unfortunate thing, and the era in which heroes emerge is also an unfortunate era. You were born in an unfortunate era, and I don't want my precious disciple to become that unfortunate person."

"..."

"If I could, I would hope that you would remain mediocre your whole life and never try to be a hero. When you are in unbearable pain, sadness, or want to cry, just give up halfway. No one will blame you. If anyone dares to blame you, I will blame them."

"Master Ming never cares about what others say. Even when he is in unbearable pain, sadness, or wanting to cry, he will grit his teeth and persevere."

"That's so that you, and others, don't have to do it."

The girl pursed her lips and asked, without warning:

"If I give up halfway, will my master be the one most in a position to blame me?"

"No matter what position you are in, I will not blame you."

"you swear."

"I swear."

The boy abruptly changed the subject.

"Because all I do is beat you up. If you really do something wrong, it's my responsibility to correct your mistakes and guide you back to the right path."

He pursed his lips and suddenly asked, "Could you repeat what Master said earlier?"

"Which sentence?"

“‘You are my precious disciple’”.

He nodded, repeating clearly without any perfunctory response.

“You are my precious disciple. Even if you give up halfway, I will not blame you. Cry if you want to cry, laugh if you want to laugh. It’s okay. Even in such an unfortunate time, you don’t have to suppress yourself, because I am here.”

"...Master, aren't you supposed to be a tsundere?"

"That's because you guys insisted on finding cute points in me and forcing them on me, right?"

The girl turned her face away; perhaps a light drizzle had begun to fall, and water droplets were wetting the ground.

"I'm going to practice."

"go Go."

The boy picked up the sandwich from under the bench; it was breakfast prepared for him by his disciple, and he began to chew.

While searching, I found a diary with an elegant cover and the words "Observation Diary" written on it. It must have belonged to a young girl.

A white, suspicious alien creature then jumped onto his shoulder.

'Aren't you going to open it and take a look?'

"Peeping into someone else's diary is not a respectable thing to do."

'People who keep diaries are usually not respectable people. This time, Kyubey is really doing it for your own good.'

He didn't say anything, but instead reached out and pushed the notebook further in to make sure it wouldn't fall out or get wet... even though it wasn't raining.

"There are many things I just pretend not to know, not that I really don't know. Being a little oblivious is better for everyone."

'Perhaps things are more serious than you imagine.'