No one would know Sakiko's sadness. Hehe!
In the twilight, everyone entered the park.
"Finally, I'm here. I, Kamen Rider Blade, can't always be treated like a fool!"
With Anon and Soyo's caring expressions (Tomori knew, while Mutsumi simply had no expression), Kamiyama Rikuo walked into the dark part of the woods. Having found the trick, he put down the cumbersome awakening evolution device, took out his fountain pen, and concentrated his mental will.
The fountain pen transformed back into the Blay Buckle. He inserted the Ace of Spades and placed it on his waist. Cards surged out like a tide, forming a belt.
"Henshin!"
[Turn Up.]
A blue light screen, depicting a rhinoceros beetle, appeared in front of Rikuo. It passed through Rikuo autonomously, and the blue and silver Kamen Rider Blade appeared!
"Is it really true? Kakkoii!"
The pink-haired Anon exclaimed, her gray eyes seemingly glowing with surprise as she looked at Rikuo. Mutsumi's golden pupils rotated as if she wanted to say something, but seeing Anon's premature exclamation, she quietly closed her small mouth.
"I told you it wasn't a joke!"
Rikuo waved his arms, feeling more at ease controlling Blade.
'It seems that after strengthening my resolve, my control has significantly improved.'
"Soyo, I want to test my speed. Can you help me time it?"
Soyo hadn't recovered from her shock. Unlike Anon's simple personality which could readily accept it, Soyo felt her worldview had been shattered!
"Soyo hasn't come back to her senses yet, Riku. I'll help you time it."
"Alright, but in this state, you have to call me Blade, Kamen Rider Blade. It's not chuunibyou; it's just in case..."
"Alright! I know! I remember this patch of woods is about 200 meters long. Run to the end and come back. Countdown 3, 2, 1, go!"
Rikuo shot out like an arrow. Anon only felt a gust of wind pass by her, and her gray eyes were filled with shock.
"So amazing! Whoa! He's already back! I'll press."
Anon felt like she'd only been stunned for a short while, and the other party was already running back. Fortunately, she came back to her senses in time, or she would have been a little embarrassed.
"17.26 seconds? 400 meters in 17.2 seconds? Isn't that more than twice as fast as the world record of 43.03 seconds?"
"Well, he is a Kamen Rider after all. Comparing him to humans is a bit unfair."
Rikuo moved his limbs slightly. Running at full speed still took a toll. But just like a normal human running at full speed would feel tired, he clearly had stronger recovery in his Rider state. In about 3 seconds, he no longer felt tired.
'I remember Blade's normal maximum speed is 100m/5.7s, which is about 30% faster. It seems that it does indeed get stronger with increased resolve.'
"Hehe, now I can say my friend is a Kamen Rider!"
"I bet your friends will look at you the same way you guys looked at me before..."
Listening to Anon's joking words, Rikuo retorted.
"It seems so."
Anon awkwardly touched her face.
"Oh, right, I had something important to ask Soyo. No, what was it?"
Rikuo was about to ask Soyo to investigate the 8 of Spades when he suddenly saw a dark shadow dart past and land next to Soyo.
"Little girl, am I beautiful?"
Soyo had just recovered from the shock of Rikuo transforming into Blade when a dark, rotten face appeared before her, a mouth split open to her cheeks, eyes as dark and hollow as an abyss. In her hand, she held a rusty pair of scissors with strands of hair stuck to the blades. Indeed, it was the famous urban legend Anomaly from the island nation, Kuchisake-onna (Slit-Mouthed Woman).
"Ah ↑ Ah ↑ Ah ↑ Ah ↓ Ah ↑ Ah ↓ Ah ↑ Ah ↓ Ah ↑ Ah ↓ Ah ↑ Ah ↓!"
"Holy crap, Soyo-san's world-class singing!"
Although he was complaining, Rikuo had already arrived next to Kuchisake-onna. To deal with Kuchisake-onna, one cannot directly answer 'beautiful' or 'not beautiful'. If you say 'beautiful', she will turn the person who said it into her; if you say 'not beautiful', she will kill the person.
But Rikuo didn't need to consider how to answer; he was going to seal her anyway. He remembered the method for dealing with Kuchisake-onna from a forum.
"Give up, you can't win against me in terms of beauty."
This instantly enraged Kuchisake-onna. Her neck spun 180 degrees, and she stared directly at Rikuo, her dark pupils showing no emotion, but the black aura she emitted clearly displayed her anger.
However, when she saw the object of her anger, she paused for a moment.
"Joker, weren't you already dead?"
"How come every ghost knows I'm Joker?"
"Hehe, is it a newborn Joker? A Joker cursed into a human actually still has power? If there's a Joker, then the world will cycle! Joker, since the world will cycle within 10 years, why not have some fun? Don't worry, even if everything in the world disappears, we will protect you! We are on the same side!"
"What are you talking about? How can a Kamen Rider be on the same side as Anomalies!"
"Kamen Rider? Is that this generation's Joker's name? Then Kamen Rider, since you refuse to be a comrade, I will imprison you until the world's cycle!"
"You're even more serious than Tomori."
"Huh?"
Tomori, who was already trembling with fear watching Kuchisake-onna communicate with Rikuo, suddenly heard Rikuo mention her name.
"It's nothing, Tomori, you guys hide first."
Rikuo summoned the Blay Rouzer, swiping the Jack of Spades (ability: Allows Blade to assume Jack Form; Enables flight) - 2400 AP (since it's a direct ability use, it's not +AP), and the 6 of Clubs (ability: Supplements the next attack with ice) - 1200 AP. His initial form's AP was 5000 points, and what he used was already all the offensive means he currently possessed.
'Her speed is very fast, I need to control her with a blizzard first.'
Two light screens flew into his chest armor. Golden-brown wings appeared on his back, and Rikuo swung the Blay Rouzer, slashing towards Kuchisake-onna. A blue and white blizzard flew towards Kuchisake-onna, following the direction of the sword's swing.
Kuchisake-onna's face suddenly split open, revealing a jagged mouth that stretched across her cheeks, and countless strands of hair transformed into black thorns, striking out. Upon contact with the blizzard, her hands and hair were frozen. Rikuo leaped forcefully, combining the power of his legs and wings to exceed the limit speed of 150km/h, reaching 200km/h as he charged towards Kuchisake-onna.
He slashed with all his might, but unfortunately, Kuchisake-onna reacted instantly, sidestepping to avoid the direct impact. However, her frozen hands were not so flexible, and Rikuo cleanly severed both of them.
"Joker, I admit you are stronger than me, but can you protect four people simultaneously?"
Kuchisake-onna transformed into three black mists and flew towards the four girls (Soyo and Mutsumi stood together). Rikuo couldn't distinguish between the real and fake, so he could only wait for the right moment.
'No matter which direction I pursue, one wrong move will be a disaster for one of them.'
The moment the black mist materialized, Rikuo once again combined his jumping power with his wings, flying towards Mutsumi's direction.
"Mutsumi-chan, be careful."
Soyo hugged Mutsumi, wanting to use herself to shield her for a moment, so Rikuo could eliminate Kuchisake-onna, right?
'I've used Mutsumi-chan so many times, hurt her for so long; this can be considered atonement, right?'
Mutsumi was held in Soyo's arms, feeling a warmth like a mother's. It should be said that Soyo at this moment was far warmer than her so-called mother.
"A hero can't run away from battle! How can I let girls shield each other?"
Rikuo had already flown in front of the two girls.
"You fell for it, Joker! In a state of full-speed, tense flight, you can't just change direction, can you? My target has always been only you!"
Kuchisake-onna sidestepped, avoiding Rikuo's frontal attack. The jagged teeth on her cheeks and the thorns formed by her hair struck Rikuo's chest armor, but he couldn't dodge because Soyo and Mutsumi were right behind him.
His armor disintegrated, and Rikuo fell straight backward. Fortunately, Soyo was quick to catch him.
"Joker, we can actually negotiate. If you like these humans, you can take them back as toys. We just need to ensure you live so the world can cycle and everything will reset. So why care about the current destruction? We Anomalies were materialized by Undead energy. You, too, are an Undead. We are on the same side! Why struggle so much for these low-level humans?"
"Heh, who the hell is on the same side as you?"
Rikuo coughed blood, his body trembling but his expression firm as he replied.
"It seems we can't talk sense into you. Why fight so desperately, Joker?"
"Because I am not just Joker, but also Blade, Kamen Rider Blade."
Rikuo inserted the Ace of Spades again, and the silver and blue Rider reappeared. Although he could only kneel on one knee, supporting himself with the Blay Rouzer, his eyes beneath the armor were incredibly resolute.
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