BA-G 41-60 (Patreon)

Updates per day until Tuesday, and yes, Work screwed my schedule.

41. Suffering is unnecessary, for I am coming!

“Ayane-san?” Shiroko froze. “You sound terrible… Could it be…”

Shiroko had a very bad feeling. She pressed her earpiece and shouted urgently.

"What happened to Serika?!”

“…Please come quickly.”

Ayane's voice was nasal, but she didn't continue.

Dan Kuroto raised an eyebrow, seemingly understanding. He looked around and picked out a fully equipped off-road jeep.

“Let's use this jeep to get there.”

Hanemi volunteered to get into the driver's seat, while Shiroko, clutching her gun, anxiously sat in the passenger seat. Dan Kuroto hopped onto his motorcycle.

This Rider motorcycle was no less powerful than a regular car; after all, it was a Kamen Rider's ride, and some even had more powerful motorcycles that could automatically transform and travel between worlds.

The sadness and anger in Ayane's voice were impossible to conceal, and even Shiroko sensed something was wrong. The three of them sped silently across the Abydos desert, kicking up two plumes of dust across the sandy landscape.

Following the coordinates and the drone that had been hovering in the air as a guide, the location provided by the mechanical soldier was easily found.

Hanemi slammed on the brakes, and before the car had even come to a complete stop, Shiroko jumped out impatiently. But as far as the eye could see, there was no cell where Serika could be held.

“Where... is Serika?”

Shiroko's voice trembled as she nervously looked around, but she didn't see the scene she hoped for. Instead, Ayane's pained voice came from the drone hovering in the air.

“Shiroko... please... look at the ground.”

Dan Kuroto's motorcycle stopped beside him. He dismounted and slowly walked toward Shiroko.

Sand whipped up by the wind, undulating dunes, a halo on the verge of collapse.

Shiroko dropped her gun, stretched out her trembling hands, knelt on the sand, and repeatedly threw the scalding sand backward.

‘Serika…’

Her hands moved swiftly, digging down along the halo, soon revealing the longed-for figure.

But as soon as a part of it was revealed, even as she tried to compose herself, Shiroko broke down.

“Move aside, I’ll do it.”

Dan Kuroto took two steps forward, reached out, grabbed Shiroko’s shoulder, and threw her into the sand behind him.

Thrown onto the ground by Dan Kuroto, Shiroko didn’t even get up; she remained seated, staring blankly at the shattered halo on the ground.

“Why…”

Hot tears welled up in her eyes and overflowed.

The breakdown wasn’t hysterical; it was an even more terrifying calm.

There's a saying: “Nothing is more sorrowful than a broken heart.”

Shiroko refused to understand the scene before her, yet stubbornly blamed it all on herself.

Dan Kuroto reached for his Gaschacon Bugvisor, casually scattering a cloud of black smoke that obscured everyone's vision. Then, his arm plunged into the desert, grasping a cold, stiff body.

He pulled it out.

“If those guys at CRT saw this, they'd be furious too.”

“But I just feel—disgusted.”

Dan Kuroto knelt down and gently placed the girl on the ground. The inhuman torture she had endured was beyond description; from the shattered halo above her head and her lifeless eyes, Dan Kuroto was certain of one thing.

“Has her mind vanished...?”

Being protected by their Halos, Kivotos Students wouldn't die even from the most severe injuries.

With rest and medication, they could recover to normal health.

However, the Halo's protection only prevented death; malnutrition, physical weakness, and mental trauma—equally serious but not fatal—were not covered.

The black-haired girl before them, Serika Kuromi, had completely lost herself after prolonged inhuman torture.

This was something even someone like Dan Kuroto could understand.

Dan Kuroto looked out into the black mist. Shiroko remained seated, stunned. She tried to move, but her legs wouldn't obey, and her hands trembled terribly. Despite the scorching desert, she felt as if she were in an ice cave.

Hanemi remained silent, in a terrifying silence. She too had seen the halo on the ground. After Dan Kuroto released the black mist, obscuring her vision, Hanemi finally understood what it was, and a chill ran down her spine.

‘I… that…’

That was the girl who had been kidnapped by their Helmet Gang.

And she herself was an accomplice in making it all happen.

Thinking of this, Hanemi could no longer hold on.

A massive wave of regret and fear crashed over her like a tidal wave, making it hard for her to breathe.

If only she had known it would end like this, if only she had known this fate…

She felt her breath trembling and instinctively reached for the jeep door, slowly sliding down the side and sitting on the sand. Her hands gripped her collar tightly, feeling a suffocating tightness in her chest.

“So that’s how you deal with enemies that can’t be eliminated.”

Dan Kuroto didn’t consider himself a good person. Even after being lectured by those meddlesome doctors and understanding the value of and respect for life, he couldn’t undo the mistakes he’d made.

But seeing the girl before him, Dan Kuroto felt a strange surge of emotion welling up inside him. This emotional impulse made him desperately want to do something.

Dan Kuroto wanted to activate the Alchemist Player Gashat on his belt and like he had with Ayane, use a healing potion to restore Serika. But his fingers barely touched it before he let go.

“I don’t have that power anymore."

The perfect finishing move that healed Ayane seems to have been cast when the Level X Gashat was first created, when its power was at its peak—a miracle perfectly suited to the unpredictable nature of Level X.

But now, Dan Kuroto could sense that even if the Alchemist Player Gashat created that potion again, it would only heal external wounds.

More important than the repulsive wounds on Serika Kuromi’s body was healing her broken and scattered mind, something that couldn’t be easily accomplished with a potion for treating external wounds.

“Now that things have come to this...”

Dan Kuroto glanced again at the two people outside the black mist.

Both girls were trapped in their own inner demons, and even the girl opposite the drone was in the same predicament, trapped in a self-pitying cycle of sin.

The only way to break this situation was...

“—To demonstrate the power of miracles.”

---

42. Overturning This Melancholy World

Raising his Gaschacon Bugvisor, Dan Kuroto pressed a button on the machine, holding the injection port to Serika Kuromi’s body.

“Cultivate.”

The Bugster virus surged from the machine, infecting and devouring the girl’s body, absorbing her memories, restoring her emotions, and recreating her mind.

From the very beginning, light flickered.

Orange lightning flashed through the clouds of cells, the river of blood flowed upstream, the earth of muscles trembled, the forest of nerves howled in the wind, and the sequence of genetic factors changed.

A girl named “Kuromi Serika” transformed from human to data, and then from data back to human.

A man’s voice called to her.

"Open your eyes, Kuromi Serika.”

‘Huh? Who’s calling me?’

‘So sleepy… I’m still in bed… I just finished working all night yesterday. Don’t wake me up so early…’

The voice came again.

“Time to wake up, Kuromi Serika.”

‘A part-time job?’

‘I...wait, today’s supposed to be my part-time job at Shibaseki Ramen?’

A sudden sense of unease washed over her, and the girl named Serika Kuromi abruptly sat up.

‘I’m not late!!!’

Sitting up abruptly, Serika realized she wasn’t in her bed at home, but in a desert. Besides Shiroko, whom she knew, there were two other people she didn’t recognize.

An unfamiliar girl, and...an unfamiliar adult?

‘Shiroko?’

Serika turned to Shiroko. The girl, who usually maintained a detached expression, had dried tears on her face. She nervously reached out and touched her fingers.

‘Shiroko-senpai, why the expression?’

Serika didn’t understand why Shiroko was crying, but her instinctive reaction was to grab Shiroko’s hand and ask, “Who bullied you? Was it Kaiser again?! Didn’t you already pay off this month’s debt?!”

“Serika, waah... Serika... waah...”

Shiroko stammered, only calling Serika’s name, making Serika blush with embarrassment for a while.

"W-What’s wrong, Shiroko-senpai? This is so embarrassing...”

Ayane’s voice came through to Dan Kuroto, who could hear her sniffle: “...Dan Kuroto-san, how... how did you do that?”

“The same thing as Hanemi,” Dan Kuroto replied in his mind. “Don’t tell anyone else. I also deleted a small part of Serika Kuromi’s memory.”

After being transformed into a data lifeform, Dan Kuroto could manipulate more of her. He simply used administrator privileges to delete the recent memories from the memory of the Bugster named “Kuromi Serika,” retaining only her memories up to that morning.

Without God Maximum as his foundation, even Kuroto couldn’t have performed such a precise task in just a few dozen seconds.

Normally, even a Bugster couldn’t so easily interfere with another Bugster, but with the added computing power of God Maximum Mighty X, Dan Kuroto used computing power that easily crushed other Bugsters to forcibly modify Kuromi Serika’s memories—those painful memories were better left untouched. It was precisely by deleting that part of her memory that the reborn Serika regained her original cheerful personality.

“That’s... fine.”

As the first witness to the scene, Ayane felt that those nightmarish memory shouldn’t be burdened on Serika. Seeing the revitalized Serika finally helped Ayane suppress some of the pain she had just witnessed.

“Mr. Dan Kuroto-san, please allow me... to once again express my sincerest gratitude.”

Ayane tried to keep her voice calm, but how could she so easily suppress the emotion in her words?

“Without you… I, Shiroko, and Serika—none of us would have been saved. It’s a miracle we couldn’t have accomplished… Really, thank you so much…”

“Hmph! With my godly abilities, nothing is impossible!”

Dan Kuroto snorted proudly, hands on his hips. “No need for empty words of thanks; if you want to thank me, you need to show your sincerity!”

“Yes, Mr. Dan Kuroto.” Ayane smiled slightly. “Once we’ve rescued Hoshino, we’ll repay your kindness with all our might.”

A reassuring strength.

That was Ayane’s feeling.

Lying in her hospital bed, Ayane prayed constantly, hoping for a miracle for Abydos.

And now, the miracle had truly arrived.

“Hmm... is that laboratory in the very center of the desert all that’s left?”

Dan Kuroto’s gaze pierced through the desert, reaching the laboratory’s roof, like a steel pyramid.

Another gaze, “staring,” met his.

“Looks like the owner of that laboratory,” Dan Kuroto said, shifting his position, “is just staying here, trying to confront me head-on.”

After meeting that gaze, the figure vanished. When Dan Kuroto looked again, only the laboratory remained.

Athough Dan Kuroto’s magnifying glasses could locate the laboratory, the saying “looking at a mountain makes one’s horse run itself to death” applied. With over two hundred kilometers of desert to travel, it was truly unbelievable how this laboratory could have been built there.

Perhaps this laboratory has always been here?

...

At Abydos School, Ayane was composing an email. It was for a certain young lady who had left Abydos but still held a special place in her heart.

“Nonomi-san, how have you been lately? This is Ayane, and I’m perfectly healthy.”

The light from the computer screen reflected off her glasses as she typed rapidly, lines of text appearing on the screen.

“A man named Dan Kuroto came to Abydos. According to him, he came at a request from the internet. Just when I was hoping for a miracle, he arrived like one.”

“Not only did he help Shiroko repel the Kaiser PMC and Helmet Gang forces, but he also healed me. Serika was found too; she’s perfectly healthy, as if she’s forgotten all her sorrows.”

The typing paused briefly, then Ayane typed again.

“Now, we’ve found Hoshino’s location. We’re going to bring her back.”

“Afterwards, we’ll give Hoshino a good scolding, make her say ‘I’m back,’ and tell her ‘Welcome back.’”

“If Nomiya can come, everyone will be very happy.”

“Hoshino will be very happy too.”

“These are Hoshino’s coordinates. If you have time, come along.”

“—Everyone misses you so much.”

Click~

‘Email sent.’

.

.

At the same time, at Schale Central Hospital.

“Sir! You can’t get up! Your body is in such a sorry a state—!”

“Move aside.”

He could not see.

He could not speak.

He could not hear.

His whole body ached; every step felt like walking on fire. But he still had to get up and go to that place.

His student was still waiting for him.

He had to thank the being who had come at his prayer’s call, breaking this miserable situation.

Leaving him with this mess was truly… unfortunate.

“Sir, where are you going? You were supposed to be under special care—”

Ignoring the sounds behind him, he sat in the electric wheelchair he’d stumbled upon, traveling at 100 miles per hour, and headed towards the coordinates that had popped into his mind.

---

43. Blue! Rage! Fire!

“Serika... I’m so glad you’re alright...”

It took Shiroko quite a while to finally speak normally. She was so excited; her emotions were like a rollercoaster. After this rollercoaster of emotions, she could only mechanically repeat Serika’s name at first, which made Serika feel embarrassed.

“Really~ Senpai, I’m perfectly fine!”

Even with her memories of being kidnapped erased, Serika acted the same as before, except for the blank and chaotic parts of her memory, which she found a little strange.

However, the excited Shiroko and the two other strangers in front of her made it difficult for her to investigate the nature of the memory gaps, so she could only suppress her questions for now.

“By the way, Shiroko-senpai, why are we in the desert?”

This was what confused Serika the most. Her memory stopped before she woke up the next day to go to work, and she had no idea what had happened to her.

Shiroko wiped away her tears, trying to compose herself. "Actually, it’s because...”

“Let me explain, Shiroko-kun.”

Ayane’s drone nearby made a sound, attracting Serika’s attention. "Ayane-senpai?”

Ayane shook the drone as a greeting and immediately explained to the bewildered Serika.

“The situation is like this—”

A few minutes later.

“Huh?! You mean Hoshino-senpai went to Kaiser Corporation alone to get them to extend the loan period, and then fell into their trap and got kidnapped?”

Serika’s eyes widened in shock. Ayane’s story was a mix of truth and falsehood, but most of it was true—Takanashi Hoshino left Abydos when Serika was kidnapped and Sensei was seriously injured. Everyone was at a loss, and then a mysterious stranger offered Hoshino this deal.

‘Give yourself to me, and I will guarantee the safety of everyone else and the continued existence of Abydos.’

When everyone was desperate, the terms of this deal were incredibly tempting. Hoshino was Abydos’s most mature student and the one who understood the situation most clearly. She knew perfectly well that this was a perfectly legitimate conspiracy—a conspiracy against Abydos, against her.

Whether she agreed or not, the Countermeasures Committee had no other choice. After seeing the Kaiser PMC’s armed forces, Hoshino knew that it was an army they couldn’t defeat—no matter how brave and skilled they were, they couldn’t possibly take on a hundred enemies.

‘Don’t come looking for me.’

Leaving behind a farewell letter, Takanashi Hoshino decided to sacrifice herself for the safety of others.

At the same time, she secretly clung to a sliver of hope and a miracle—she didn’t truly believe in the “man in the black suit” on the other end of the letter.

“Yes… Serika-san. Hoshino-san fell into the enemy’s trap, entered their camp alone, and is now being held captive there.”

Ayane didn’t know Hoshino’s current situation, but she could guess why Hoshino left Abydos.

From the farewell letter saying “Don’t come looking for me” and the application to withdraw from Abydos, Ayane could deduce some clues. There must have been prior contact with Hoshino to present such an irresistible condition at this time.

“Kaiser Corporation! Damn it!”

Blue! Rage! Fire!

Serika was furious. “They actually used such despicable means to trick Hoshino-senpai into leaving Abydos alone! Kaiser Corporation, I’ll make them pay!”

“And Hoshino-senpai—she fell for the enemy’s trick so easily! After we rescue her, we’ll give her a good talking-to! At least an hour!”

Stomping her foot angrily, Serika no longer cared why she was in the desert; her anxious desire to rescue Hoshino overshadowed her questions.

"Shall we set off now? But… where’s Nonomi-san? Where’s Sensei? Aren’t they here?”

Turning her gaze to Dan Kuroto and Hanemi behind her, Serika couldn’t help but ask.

“And speaking of which… who are they?”

“Good question, young lady,” Dan Kuroto nodded. “You’ve ignored me for a full fifteen minutes. I thought you’d have more patience.”

“Ah, this is Mr. Dan Kuroto, who’s here to help us.”

Shiroko walked over to Dan Kuroto and introduced him to Serika. “When Kaiser’s Helmet Gang thugs attacked the school, it was thanks to him that we were able to hold them off. He’s helped us a lot with all sorts of things.”

Not just with the school, but also with Ayane and Serika. Shiroko wanted to say it, but remembering that these things were “unrelated” to Serika, she swallowed the words.

“As for this one, she was originally a student at Abydos.” Shiroko turned her gaze to Hanemi, who introduced herself. “She was brought here by Mr. Dan Kuroto to help, and she’s one of our fighting forces.”

“Please leave the vehicle piloting to me.” Hanemi gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you when you were in your most difficult time. Now, please consider this my atonement.”

“Atonement… that’s a bit harsh.” Serika frantically waved her hands. “Making that choice back then was unavoidable, wasn’t it? After all, we were just students, and there really wasn’t much we could do at that time...”

Serika thought Hanemi was referring to the school’s debt caused by the sandstorm, which led to a large number of students dropping out and transferring schools. But this explanation made Hanemi lower her head even more guiltily.

“Uh... so what do we do now?”

Serika realized that the more she talked, the lower Hanemi’s mood became, so she hurriedly changed the subject. It was then that she realized she didn’t have her weapon with her.

"Huh? Where’s my gun? Did I forget it at home?”

She was probably just tossed into some unknown sand dune when she was kidnapped, and it's probably hard to find her now.

Dan Kuroto walked over, reached behind his back, and casually placed an oversized pistol in her hand. "Use this for now; you can buy new weapons when you get back."

"Ah, thank you so much, Mr. Dan Kuroto..." Serika gratefully accepted the weapon, then froze.

"What is this?"

---

44. The Guide Who Calls for Miracles

"The Gashacon Magnum. It has pistol and rifle modes, and you can automatically switch between the two modes by pressing the button on it. It also has a Finishing Move slot for use with the Gashat."

Dan Kuroto's simple introduction was as straightforward as mentioning half-price potato chips at the supermarket next door, but it only made the listener more confused. Serika blinked blankly. "Eh? A Magnum... Finishing Move?"

"Yeah... you can't use that function without a Gashat," Dan Kuroto added. "So just think of it as a transforming gun that doesn't need reloading."

"This sounds more and more fantastical..." Serika examined the weapon in her hand. The weapon, called the Gashacon Magnum, looked like a toy. Holding it, Serika wondered if it was just a plastic toy the adult in front of her was using to fool her.

But since it was an adult whom Shiroko had introduced so earnestly, Serika felt a little expectant.

She raised the gun and aimed at the sand dune ahead.

"Let me fire one..."

Boom!

Serika pulled the trigger.

A jolt, even lower than she expected, followed by a bullet of concentrated energy that shot straight out of the muzzle and struck the sand dune ahead. Upon impact, the dune swelled slightly before exploding with a deafening roar, scattering sand everywhere.

"Huh? It really fires?" Serika could hardly believe her eyes. "And the power is incredible!"

"In pistol mode, the Magnum fires energy bullets that explode inside the target. It was originally designed to deal with a different kind of enemy, so its power is naturally greater." Dan Kuroto reached out, took the Magnum from the dazed cat's hand, and pressed the mode switch button.

'Rifle mode!'

The previously folded rifle instantly popped outward, extending further to transform into a more powerful rifle mode. The sniper scope above also activated. Dan Kuroto raised the rifle and fired another shot at the distant sand dune.

'Boom—!!'

The force, like being hit by an RPG rocket, stunned the three girls beside him, as well as the girl on the other end of the drone.

"In rifle mode, although you can't fire in bursts, the weapon's power and range have been significantly improved."

Shoving the Magnum into Serika's hand, Dan Kuroto said smugly. "You think what I'm holding is anything ordinary? How naive!"

"Envious... I want one too."

Shiroko's eyes were filled with obvious envy, her gaze fixed on Serika's Gashacon Magnum. Influenced by a series of events, Shiroko had also begun to crave greater power.

Serika began trying to master this amazing weapon, while Shiroko and Hanemi took the time to resupply and rest. Dan Kuroto, meanwhile, began preparations to head toward the center of the desert.

"Hmm... these helicopters and armored vehicles... seem to be able to connect to each other."

Dan Kuroto was inspecting a fully functional armored vehicle. These robot-driven vehicles appeared to have built-in intelligent control programs, and Dan Kuroto was trying to hack into them using the Bugster virus to remotely control them for fire support.

"These programs are really strange... tsk..."

Dan Kuroto released a portion of the virus, attempting to hack into the tank's control program. Ordinary armored vehicles certainly wouldn't have such a program setting that allows direct control upon hacking, but 80% of Kivotos's residents are intelligent robots.

For the robots' own convenience, direct intelligent ports were naturally provided, allowing them to control the entire vehicle directly using their own programs once they were on board.

And this gave Dan Kuroto the opportunity to manipulate things.

"Very good, so that's how the program works... I completely understand the control method."

Dan Kuroto smiled easily. He had fully grasped the vehicle control program before him. Next, he just needed to apply his experience to control all the vehicles and helicopters single-handedly.

Beep beep beep—

The armored vehicles and tanks under Dan Kuroto's complete control automatically lit up and assembled into formation at his command. He also readily accepted the small combat drones that had not yet been activated.

The armed helicopter squadron spread out in perfect formation around him, providing cover. These dozens of armored vehicles that had miraculously survived Dan Kuroto's mopping-up operation now became perfect reinforcements for everyone.

"What amazing skills, Mr. Dan Kuroto..."

Ayane's voice was filled with amazement. Ayane felt only admiration for Dan Kuroto's ability to single-handedly create an army; it was a powerful method she could never achieve.

"To control such a large armored combat force, even just moving it with one person's calculations, is already quite remarkable. To be able to control each vehicle so perfectly is simply unimaginable."

"Hahaha~ Of course, don't you know who I am?"

Dan Kuroto smiled smugly as a Hind helicopter smoothly landed in front of him. This commotion naturally drew the attention of the others nearby.

"Let's take this and head to the center of the desert."

"Another method we can't understand at all..."

Shiroko was used to Dan Kuroto's frequent acts of defying common sense. The Bugster Hanemi could also do similar things after training, except that her 'bandwidth' was definitely inferior to Dan Kuroto's without any enhancements.

"This... this... this..."

The most shocked person was undoubtedly Serika, who had just witnessed Dan Kuroto's methods.

She stammered for a long time, unable to utter a coherent sentence.

Leaving aside the fact that the countermeasures committee had no opportunity to use such luxurious support as a helicopter, the fact that this helicopter could automatically fly over without anyone in the cockpit was enough to leave Serika speechless.

"Alright, don't be surprised. You'll be surprised later. Go inside and wait."

Dan Kuroto stood at the cabin door, letting his sleeves flutter in the wind whipped up by the helicopter's rotors. He could sense that someone who could not be ignored was using all their strength to rush toward them.

"Hmm... so it was you."

Dan Kuroto felt a sense of unease.

Why had he been reborn into a world completely different from his previous one?

'Was it a miracle summoned by a sufficiently devout prayer that broke down the barrier between worlds?'

Watching the approaching figure, Dan Kuroto understood at a glance that his arrival in this world was directly related to the battered man before him.

No words were needed; Dan Kuroto and the man naturally established a connection, as if they had always known each other.

【Mr. Dan Kuroto... I'm so sorry to have come to see you looking like this.】

"It's alright. So, you're the one who summoned me to this world?"

Dan Kuroto looked at him with considerable interest. "Your abilities are quite powerful; otherwise, you couldn't have accomplished such miracle."

"You flatter me, Mr. Dan Kuroto." He seemed quite embarrassed. "I've seen you on TV for a long time. You look incredibly cool as a Kamen Rider. Unfortunately, my power is still too weak. Besides having the title 'Sensei,' I haven't saved anyone..."

A flicker of sadness crossed his eyes.

"In fact, I failed right from the start."

"Hmph~" Dan Kuroto snorted knowingly. "Looks like you're not from this world either."

"At first, I was just a passerby outside of Kivotos." He forced a smile, but the pain throughout his body forced him to abandon the idea. "But I gradually became drawn to these children."

"I wanted to try to save them, but as you can see, I... failed."

[Reality... is completely different from the game...]

He shed tears of regret, for his recklessness, for the misery of everyone, but not for coming to Kivotos.

"I see." Dan Kuroto stepped closer, meeting his gaze. "So, you found me."

[Yes... if anyone could change all of this, the first person that comes to mind is the dark genius, Dan Kuroto.]

He appears to have expectations of Dan Kuroto, hoping the man before him could reverse this tragedy. It was his understanding of his own powerlessness and his initial recklessness that led to this outcome, that caused his students to show such sorrow.

Therefore, he entrusted his 'hope' to that prayer. And this prayer, transcending dimensional limitations, brought that unknown ''code" into Kivotos. And this power, without a doubt, will derail the trajectory of fate.

"Hmph, I know your resolve. You're exactly like those doctors at the CR Center."

Dan Kuroto looked down at him. "Unfortunately, you're not the 'protagonist.'"

[...]

"However, for showing me this whole new world, you deserve my gratitude in some way."

Dan Kuroto raised his chin. "Do you need me to heal your body?"

[The "mystery" will interfere with any treatment I receive, but I've found a way.] He nodded slightly. [The shackles of the "Seven Laws" have descended upon me; I can no longer interfere with the world's course. Only a powerful being like you, capable of breaking through everything, can reverse this situation. And this experience will surely be useful next time.]

[But now, please give me the strength to walk alongside you.]

He raised his eyes, looking at the dark god.

[Virus or data, whatever can help me stand...]

[Just apologize to Hoshino.]

---

45. The time for attack has arrived.

"Then continue, as long as you can bear the pain."

Dan Kuroto took out the Gashacon Bugvisor and pressed a button on the man before him.

A large amount of Bugster virus surged into his body. Orange data lightning flashed around him, and the excruciating pain caused him to utter a few groans.

But for him, the pain was merely something he could endure by gritting his teeth.

The Bugster virus eroded his body, and after an accelerated infection process, it evolved into a fully fledged Bugster—Dan Kuroto's tried-and-true method of 'rebirth.' However, without Dan Kuroto's intervention to change the final outcome, an ordinary person infected in this way would inevitably end up as a regular fully fledged Bugster, not a Bugster that retains its previous memories, personality, and thoughts, indistinguishable from the original.

"Phew... it still hurts a lot..."

Sensei stood up from his wheelchair, felt his body move again, and bowed gratefully to Dan Kuroto. "Thank you so much, Mr. Dan Kuroto."

Dan Kuroto gave Sensei a second glance; few could truly impress him. "Not everyone can withstand the Bugster virus's erosion," he said. "You managed to endure this severe injury until the process was complete; that's quite unexpected."

Sensei gave a bitter smile. "After all... Hoshino-kun is still suffering. I simply can't just leave like this."

He reached up and tore off the bandages, his expression hardening. "So, even if it takes every means at my disposal, I will bring Hoshino-kun back."

Sensei's body had not actually been healed. Even Dan Kuroto understood this. This state could not be hidden from Dan Kuroto's divine talent.

As Sensei said, his body had been bound by the 'Seven Laws' the moment it connected to the Shittim Chest; no matter how it developed, it could only lead to predetermined chaos and destruction.

"Is there some rule destroying your body that even transforming into a Bugster can't stop?"

Dan Kuroto stared at Sensei's body before him.

After being transformed into a complete Bugster by he Bugster virus, Sensei had fully regained his ability to move, but his body was still under a constant bleeding effect, disintegrating itself every second.

"The mysteries within you are protecting your body, but is it still unable to withstand the weakening from above..."

Dan Kuroto's gaze swept over the scene; he could already see Sensei's data being continuously broken down and dissipating into the air, while new data was being generated from within the body, stubbornly replenishing the damaged areas—but even this could not keep up with the rate of dissipation.

"That's enough." Sensei laughed. "Becoming a Bugster allows me to block out pain, which is great. Otherwise, screaming in pain in front of the students would be really embarrassing."

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, what are you dawdling about outside..."

From the helicopter behind them, an impatient Serika leaned out. "You were the one who called us up first, so why aren't you up yourself—wait?"

Serika blinked incredulously, seemingly unable to believe her eyes. "S-Sensei?"

"Who?"

Upon hearing Serika say 'Sensei,' Shiroko's ears perked up immediately, and she sprang from her helicopter seat. "...Sensei?"

Wasn't Sensei supposedly transferred to Trinity's hospital for emergency treatment? How could he be here?

Peeking out of the helicopter cabin, Shiroko saw Sensei—whom she had only spent a few days with but who had left a deep impression on her—standing there unharmed. She even wondered if she was dreaming.

"Sensei... is that really you?"

Shiroko's voice held a hint of uncertainty. She did not know if this was her imagination, but seeing Dan Kuroto before her, the wheelchair beside Sensei, and the bandages that had just been removed, Shiroko felt relieved.

'So, it was another miracle created by Mr. Dan Kuroto?'

Having witnessed the many miracles Dan Kuroto had created and the many impasses he had broken, in Shiroko's mind, Dan Kuroto was synonymous with 'miracle.'

Just like how this 'Kimewaza' healed Ayane, that divine touch had left an indelible impression on Shiroko, allowing her to naturally believe that this was yet another instance of Dan Kuroto breaking the impossible.

"Shiroko-kun... it's been a while."

Sensei gave her a gentle smile. "You've had a tough time lately."

It felt like a dream.

Everything she had lost was gradually being taken back.

This time, Shiroko did not shed tears. Instead, she forced a smile. "Yeah, Sensei!"

"Alright, we can talk about the sweet stuff later."

Dan Kuroto clapped his hands, slightly breaking the tense atmosphere. "We don't have much time to waste. The lab in the middle of the desert is waiting for us."

"That's true. We can catch up later." Sensei nodded slightly. "Shiroko, Ayane-san, Serika, and Hanemi, let's... rescue Hoshino-kun."

Back on the helicopter, Dan Kuroto ordered the armored vehicles, tanks, and some attack helicopters to return to Abydos for defense. The attack helicopter squadron carrying Dan Kuroto and his group immediately took off, roaring toward the lab in the middle of the desert.

The reason for sending the armored vehicle unit back to the school was simply that if these vehicles ran out of fuel and broke down in the middle of the desert, they would not be easy to salvage and reuse.

With Dan Kuroto present, there was no need to worry about insufficient firepower in the ground battle. Therefore, they only needed to maintain an attack helicopter squadron for support and transportation.

On the helicopter, the students adjusted their weapons and checked their ammunition, striving for peak condition.

The two adults, however, moved to the other end of the helicopter, lowering their voices slightly.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, this body is dissipating rapidly. Even though the Shittim Chest mitigated some of it, the lost life force cannot be fully replenished."

Sensei's voice remained calm, without a trace of panic.

"Time is a bit tight. There's no extra time for me to investigate the mystery surrounding you."

Having deactivated his transformation, Kuroto Dan clicked his tongue.

Even a skilled cook cannot cook without ingredients.

Without time to study it, a mere glance would not suffice to analyze it. Moreover, Dan Kuroto vaguely sensed that the mystery troubling Sensei seems to be the highest level of mystery in this world.

Although reluctant to admit it, Dan Kuroto was currently helpless against it.

"It's alright. I was just a dying body being forcibly kept alive anyway. Being able to hold on a little longer than I expected is already enough."

Sensei smiled gently, then his expression turned serious.

"Right now, let's focus on rescuing Hoshino-kun. If it's a 'reversal' experiment, we might need to prepare for the worst."

Sensei turned to Dan Kuroto. "Are you confident you can bring back those who have already vanished, Mr. Dan Kuroto?"

"It's a bit difficult, but—" Dan Kuroto raised his chin, his arrogance undisguised.

"Who do you think I am?"

---

46. [Hello, Second Star]

The helicopters roared through the desolate Abydos desert, the steel laboratory building now in sight.

As Dan Kuroto's armed helicopter force was spotted, the Kaiser PMC forces stationed there opened fire on the approaching helicopters.

Sentry machine guns spat fire, surface-to-air missiles roared into the sky, mechs armed with Stinger missiles aimed at the helicopters, and soldiers piloting large mechs also aimed their cannons at the sky.

Under Dan Kuroto's control, each attack helicopter unleashed its firepower to the limit. The dispersed helicopters perfectly overlapped, covering all the surrounding ground firing positions of the entire laboratory—attack helicopters were ruthless near-ground reapers; those weaklings in movies that could be taken down by a single infantry rocket were nothing compared to real attack helicopters!

"Those helicopters—damn it, they were supposed to be our air force!"

The Kaiser soldiers fleeing in terror were furious, their vacuum tubes practically exploding.

"How did the enemy do that? How can they have ace pilots who can fly helicopters like that?"

"We haven't been able to contact the director until now, and the troops ahead have lost signal..."

Another mechanical soldier hung up the communicator in frustration. Unbeknownst to him, the troops ahead had already been wiped out, so naturally no one answered his plea for help.

"Captain, our anti-aircraft firepower wasn't enough to begin with. What do we do now?"

“Now…”

The mechanical soldier captain was also stumped; his mind couldn't calculate how to break out of this situation. Completely suppressed by aerial fire, they only had one option left.

“Retreat inside the laboratory and contact Lord Black Suit immediately!”

While Dan Kuroto's armed helicopter was engaged in battle with the Kaiser forces, from the distant desert in the direction they had come from, an off-road vehicle was speeding forward. The dust it kicked up caught the attention of those on the helicopter.

“That’s… a vehicle?”

With her excellent eyesight, Serika immediately spotted the convertible SUV heading their way.

The more she looked, the more familiar the driver seemed, though the distance was a bit too great for her to make out clearly—

“It’s Nonomi-san!”

Shiroko recognized the hair immediately—the long hair billowing in the strong wind—it was the girl they had always known, the emotionally rich, gentle, and kind girl.

“It’s Nonomi-san.” Sensei, his hand resting on the windowpane, watched the figure rapidly catching up with the helicopter. “I’ve always believed that we are all good friends who will support each other.”

“Great, it seems Nonomi-san received my email.”

At Abydos School, Ayane breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.  "At times like these, everyone should be together; that’s the best outcome!”

The accelerator was floored, ignoring the SUV’s groaning exhaust fumes; Nonomi no longer cared about anything.

"It's pathetic, isn't it, feeling sorry for myself..."

Just because she can't do it, should she give up entirely?

Nonomi slammed on the gas pedal. Her phone, clipped to the car mount, displayed the coordinates sent by Ayane.

"A miracle or a divine intervention!"

All that's needed is the courage to face all hardships.

The rest is the work of adults.

"Please lend me this power!"

This tragic ending needs the correction of a 'miracle'!

Having wiped away her tears, Nonomi no longer needed to hide in her room.

To avoid making a decision she would regret for the rest of her life, she resolutely defied her parents' objections and, with only a surge of courage, rushed to the heart of the desert to reunite with her companions!

“Nonomi-san!!”

A call popped up on her phone. Ayane answered, her voice choked with excitement coming through the receiver.

“—Welcome back!!!”

“Ayane-san!”

Like a scene from a youth drama, the clichéd yet heart-wrenching cry instantly filled Nonomi's eyes with tears.

"Yes! I'm back!"

"—Let me speak first!! Nonomi-senpai! Even though I don't know what happened, let's fight side by side again!"

"Nonomi-san, welcome back."

The familiar voices made her chest burn like fire. Long-suppressed pain seemed to vanish in that instant.

Finally, it was Sensei's voice.

"Nonomi-san, let's bring Hoshino-kun back together."

After all the Kaiser PMC ground forces were wiped out and all ground defenses were uprooted, the helicopter carrying Dan Kuroto and the others leisurely landed at the laboratory entrance, where Nonomi's SUV was already parked.

Dan Kuroto was the first to emerge from the helicopter. He had already realized that Nonomi was the one who issued the request. After stepping down from the helicopter, Dan Kuroto immediately examined the girl before him.

She looked more mature than expected, more like an upperclassman than the others, even a bit more mature than that. Her long golden hair fluttered in the desert wind, and the excitement on her face hadn't faded.

When she saw Dan Kuroto, she visibly paused.

"...Huh?"

"Hello, Miss Nonomi."

Dan Kuroto didn't extend his hand but instead put his hands behind his back. "This is our first meeting, isn't it? You're very lucky to have met me and to have had your request accepted."

"You..." Nonomi was taken aback, "You're the one who accepted my request!?"

From behind Dan Kuroto, Shiroko, Serika, and Ayane's drones leaped out of the cockpit one after another. Sensei also emerged, while Hanemi, after parking her drone, stood quietly behind Dan Kuroto.

“Nonomi-san!”

Before Nonomi could react, Shiroko was the first to rush forward, hugging her tightly. Ayane's drone swayed from side to side, its voice coming through the channel. "Great, Nonomi-san, you made it!”

“Mmm…” Nonomi hugged Shiroko tightly. “This time, it’s something important that we can’t be late for.”

...

Kaiser Secret Experiment Base.

"Rider—kick!"

The heavy metal door was kicked open by the purple Rider, and students armed with guns filed in. Sensei, as their commander, calmly issued orders to the students, instructing them to eliminate the Kaiser soldiers blocking their path in the most efficient and perfect manner.

Three minutes later, only one room remained before reaching the center of the laboratory.

"It's time."

Boom—!

The man straightened his black suit, checking one last time that his attire was appropriate, tightened his collar, turned, and bowed politely to the group that had burst through the door.

"Welcome to the Abydos Desert Central Laboratory. My name is 'Black Suit,' and I have been waiting for you."

----

47. The Battle of Adults, Part One

"Welcome to the Abydos Desert Central Laboratory. My name is 'Black Suit,' a member of 'Gematria.' I have been waiting for you."

A sharp black suit, a body indistinguishable from a normal adult, and a humanoid figure completely different from the previous Director Kaiser.

If eighty percent of what Dan Kuroto had seen and learned during his time living in Kivotos had been intelligent robots, animal citizens, and students, then the man before him who called himself 'Black Suit' was the second truly 'adult' Dan Kuroto had seen since Sensei.

"Sensei... we all know your identity. An incomprehensible being who appeared at the summons of the Federation Council President."

Black Suit's gaze lingered on Sensei, then fell upon the tablet Sensei was holding. "The owner of that mysterious artifact, the owner of [Schale]."

“Black Suit…” Sensei’s expression was unusually grave, only his eyes flashing with sharpness. “Where is Hoshino?”

“She’s right here, Sensei. But…” Black Suit finally turned his gaze to Sensei, surprised. "I heard… you were seriously injured in your battle with Kaiser PMC. That shouldn’t have healed so quickly. How did you manage to appear here unharmed?”

It seems Black Suit had his own information channels, able to obtain a lot of information from within Kivotos. But now was not the time to delve into it. Sensei had no goodwill toward this man who had kidnapped his student. He simply spoke coldly.

"Black Suit, release Hoshino now.”

The students beside him, though somewhat afraid of the man in the black suit, gripped their weapons tightly. They wanted to bring back their companion, their senior, no matter who stood in their way.

“Please don’t be so cautious, Sensei.” Black Suit’s voice remained calm. “First, let’s be clear, we don’t want to be on the opposite side from you, or rather…”

“Huh?”

Black Suit's gaze turned somewhat strange. "Does your body have a minor problem?"

"That's not something you need to worry about, Black Suit." Sensei narrowed his eyes: "I can still punch you in the face with this body."

"This is truly... unfortunate."

Black Suit had seen through Sensei's current state of slow dissipation and shook his head regretfully. "Personally, I have a very high opinion of you. We never wanted to be your enemy; rather, we hoped to cooperate with you."

“For us, clearing out this tiny territory of Abydos won't take much effort. But what we really want is a partner like you—it seems we've come a little too late.”

Shiroko, standing nearby, was furious: “How dare you say that!—Wasn't your people who ordered Sensei to be beaten like this!”

“We never concern ourselves with such trivial matters,” Black Suit spoke. “Execution is the responsibility of Kaiser Corporation itself. Besides, you should have already received Hoshino's resignation.”

Black Suit habitually tightened his tie.

"As for your suggestion of returning Hoshino to you, I'm afraid you no longer have that authority.”

Sensei didn't see Hoshino's resignation letter, as it was still in Abydos's classroom, but even without seeing it, Sensei could still make his decision.

“That kind of thing… I haven’t agreed to it yet.”

“Oh?”

“As the club’s advisor, I haven’t signed off on it—” Sensei met Black Suit’s gaze: “As long as I’m here, as long as I haven’t agreed, Hoshino is still an Abydos student, still the vice president of the Abydos student council.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Black Suit nodded repeatedly. “The academy and the students, and their Teacher… um… this concept is a bit tricky.”

Sensei stepped forward, rebuking Black Suit. “You deceived the children, trampled on their hearts, and exploited their pain!”

“Yes, as you say. We did indeed build our own interests on the suffering of others.”

Black Suit didn’t shy away, meeting the gazes of the Abydos members and Sensei’s angry eyes directly.

"If there’s a good and a bad way of doing things, what we did should undoubtedly be judged as ‘bad’.”

“But what we did was still legal.”

Dan Kuroto stood aside, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Based on what Black Suit said and everything he had learned before, these people had walked a tightrope of the law in every single thing they did.

While their methods were utterly disgusting, in a sense, only Serika, whom they finally found, could be definitively accused of a ‘crime.’

But before that, all the methods used by Kaiser Corporation were, as Black Suit said, ‘not illegal.’

Haven’t we already experienced this kind of thing countless times?

“The disaster that befell Abydos was not our responsibility.”

Black Suit spoke confidently to the crowd before him. “While such a catastrophe attacking an entire school district is extremely rare, it’s not entirely unheard of—if Gematria had such means, its actions would have been many times more aggressive. Abydos simply happened to experience a once-in-a-century catastrophe.”

“And Gematria merely exploited this disaster.”

“Those who wield power exploit the powerless, and the learned exploit the ignorant. Shouldn’t adults understand this principle in this harsh world?”

Black Suit’s actions was strangely familiar to Dan Kuroto. He pondered for a moment, then recalled his past self. He couldn’t help but laugh.

Laughing at himself for lowering himself to the same level as the other man because of his words.

“Why are you laughing, sir?”

Black Suit's expression cleared upon seeing Dan Kuroto, or rather, Kamen Rider Genm.

“Ah… it’s you. I can sense it.”

“Like Sensei beside him, like us, you are also a being from ‘outside the world.’ The energy we observed back then came from you.”

He took a step forward, seemingly eager to approach immediately. Dan Kuroto could feel his gaze fixed on his waist, or more precisely, on the Gashat from Alchemy Player.

“Unexpected, utterly unexpected.”

Black Suit’s eyes widened, as if he had witnessed a priceless treasure. “You… I must admit, you are truly a genius beyond compare.”

“The way of accessing this ‘Mystery’... to think it can be transformed in such a way; compared to what we attempted, what we Gematria do is indeed—lacking a certain elegance?”

“You certainly have an eye.”

Dan Kuroto laughed, his hands naturally outstretched.

"However, you know quite a bit about me, but I know absolutely nothing about you.”

“What kind of organization is Gematria?”

“Ah… so it’s unfair that only we understand you.”

Black Suit raised his right hand and pressed it to his chest.

“Gematria is… observers, explorers, and researchers. For some reason, we want to artificially create the ‘Sublime.’ This is the fundamental principle behind Gematria’s founding.”

----

48. The Battle of Adults, Part Two

“Gematria is… observers, explorers, and researchers. For some reason, we want to artificially create the ‘Sublime.’ This is the fundamental principle behind Gematria’s founding.”

“Creating the ‘Sublime’…”

Sensei’s eyes turned unfriendly, or rather, he realized that this was a scene he had never witnessed before. It was only because of the variable beside him that Black Suit chose to treat them this way at this moment, even speaking of Gematria’s existence in such a humble tone from this moment on.

“Please don’t rush, Sensei, and this… gentleman.”

Not knowing how to address Dan Kuroto, Black Suit asked him, “How should I address you?”

“Genm.”

Dan Kuroto announced his Kamen Rider name; since he was currently in Kamen Rider form, he naturally used his Kamen Rider title.

“This isn’t your real name… but we don’t care.”

Black Suit asked Dan Kuroto, “As far as we know, you came here to interfere with Kaiser Corporation’s operations in Abydos solely for ten million credits. If it’s just for such a trivial sum, Gematria could immediately pay you ten or a hundred times that amount, and we would even fully support your subsequent actions in Kivotos. Would such conditions earn us your friendship?”

“Difficult.”

“Mr. Genm, you’re an adult like us; you should understand the power of interests. Is the benefit you gain by siding with them really greater than cooperating with us?”

Dan Kuroto crossed his arms. “What you’re doing disgusts me physically, so I reject your proposal.”

“…”

Black Suit was silent for a moment. “If you reject even a proposal that allows you to pursue truth and mystery, what exactly are you seeking in Kivotos?”

“You’ve misunderstood something.”

“What?”

Dan Kuroto looked at Black Suit before him. “The pursuit of truth and mystery? That has long been on my agenda.”

“But what kind of confidence makes you think I need your help to pursue such things?”

Dan Kuroto’s face was hidden behind a mask, so Black Suit couldn’t see his features, but he could still sense the absolute confidence in Dan Kuroto’s words.

Unable to fathom this outsider, the enigmatic Black Suit couldn’t make a judgment.

Was he truly capable of pursuing a path different from Gematria’s, or was he simply acting out of spite?

Black Suit continued to plead, “Perhaps there’s still room for discussion regarding our cooperation?”

Dan Kuroto didn’t directly refuse. “That depends on my assessment of you.”

Assessment…

Gematria had descended upon Kivotos, and it was always they who assessed others; when did it become their turn to be judged?

Black Suit frowned at the man’s arrogance, but when his gaze fell on the Gashat on Dan Kuroto’s belt, he sighed deeply.

The man seems to have found a different path to the "sublime"; no wonder he was so fearless.

Geniuses are often eccentric.

Offending him now would clearly not be a good thing.

Black Suit looked up; there was still something he didn’t understand.

“This is the same question I have for you, Sensei.”

“You possess the ability to easily rule Kivotos, yet you’re content to be just a Sensei? And look at yourself, the pathetic state you’ve created.”

Faced with Black Suit’s question, Sensei simply clutched his card in his hand and looked at him.

“When I came here, there was only one thing left to do.”

“I came here for this reason.”

“To take responsibility for the suffering of these children.”

He held up a card, a card reflecting a shimmering light.

“It’s just something I, as a Teacher, as an ‘adult,’ must do.”

Dan Kuroto, standing nearby, looked at the card.

A massive stream of data flowed from it; in Dan Kuroto’s vision, the card’s level was almost identical to ‘God Maximum’ he possessed.

But—

This card appears to come with a severe price to pay.

Even without Sensei saying it aloud, Dan Kuroto understood this fact.

Just one glance was enough to reveal the power and cost it contained.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Black Suit shook his head. “You were just summoned to Abydos by chance, someone who has nothing to do with these students. Why must you take on this responsibility for them?”

“Why? Why? Why why why why?”

“Why?”

Sensei stared intently at him.

“Because that’s what adults have to do.”

“A person becomes an ‘adult’ only when they learn to take responsibility.”

Sensei’s voice was firm and resolute.

“Since no one is taking responsibility for them,”

“Then I will.”

Black Suit smiled. It was a smile of incomprehension.

“You seem to think… that adults are the ones who bear responsibility?”

“No, you’re wrong, Sensei.”

“The so-called adult is the one who transforms society according to his own will, formulates laws and rules, determines what is normal and abnormal, and identifies the ordinary and the extraordinary.”

“To rule the powerless with power, the ignorant with knowledge, and the incapable with strength—that is what makes a great person.”

“The immense power and authority of this city, the mysteries that reside within it—all of this was once in your hands, yet you so easily relinquished it.”

“What was the meaning of this choice? Truth, mystery, power, money, strength… why make such a meaningless choice and abandon everything? Why!”

Sensei thought for a moment; he wanted to say so much. Perhaps he wouldn’t be able to stop once he started.

But in the end, he said nothing.

“…Even if I told you, you would never understand.”

That was his reply to Black Suit.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t have you before you left.”

Black Suit spoke regretfully, “Although I liked you very much, there was nothing I could do.”

“And—”

Dan Kuroto suddenly spoke up.

“What you just said—transforming society according to one’s own will, establishing laws and rules, determining the normal and the abnormal, identifying the ordinary and the extraordinary, using power to dominate the powerless, using knowledge to dominate the ignorant, using force to dominate the weak…”

Dan Kuroto smiled disdainfully. “Actually, I’ve already done it all.”

“In fact, I know the beauty of those things better than you do.”

It was simply using a mind ahead of its time to create technology ahead of its time, and ultimately using that technology to achieve one’s desires.

For Dan Kuroto, he had already tasted these things.

The power of God Maximum Mighty X is his ultimate answer to everything; it’s the ultimate game created by analyzing the entire world and understanding everything.

At this point, Dan Kuroto recalled the figure who, in the end, still resolutely kicked him with all his might, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“But after doing those things, there will always be a group of guys with childish dreams who will punch you in the face with all their might.”

“There will always be those who defy this path and stand before you.”

There are always these kinds of people in every era.

“How stupid.”

They couldn’t even understand something like this.

“…I still don’t understand. But I understand the negotiations have broken down.”

Black Suit let out a long sigh. “Sensei, do you want to save Hoshino? She’s in the central laboratory behind me.”

“Through ‘mimicry,’ we’ve observed another mysterious aspect—‘Terror.’ Whether it can be applied to living students—the experiment has already begun.”

Sensei’s eyes widened in anger. “—You!!”

“That’s right, the subject of the experiment is Hoshino.”

Black Suit stood silently, watching Sensei run past him like the wind, showing no sign of stopping him. His gaze, however, remained fixed on the Kamen Rider before him.

Black smoke billowed around him, completely enveloping him—it seem to be some kind of teleportation technology.

“Mr. Genm.”

Before leaving, Black Suit’s eyes remained fixed on Dan Kuroto, as if trying to etch the man into his very being.

“…Gematria will be keeping a close eye on you in the future.”

---

49. [Horus] All-out Battle!

“Hoshino!!”

Sensei charged toward the laboratory behind Black Suit. The door was completely unsecured; even the password had been removed. It opened just as Sensei reached it.

Behind him, Dan Kuroto watched Black Suit leave through some unknown means, offering no resistance.

These people, who had appeared and disappeared so suddenly, hadn’t done anything substantial to him, so Dan Kuroto didn’t bother to investigate what these Gematria people were up to.

However, this didn’t mean Dan Kuroto had forgotten Kaiser Corporation’s provocation.

In short, Gematria could be ignored, but the Kaiser director who had pointed his finger at him and insulted him was definitely on Dan Kuroto’s radar.

Although Kaiser Corporation had more than one director, because of this one, Kaiser Corporation had become a target for Dan Kuroto.

“Hoshino-kun!”

“Hoshino-senpai!!”

Several students followed Sensei into the laboratory. In the center of the spacious experimental area, they could already see Hoshino bound to the experimental table.

Within the circular experimental area, separated by special glass and the control panel, the pink-haired girl’s head hung low, the halo above her head still lit. She was still conscious, but could only helplessly watch what was happening to her.

Bound to the experimental table by several special beams of light, Hoshino had given up resisting.

After experiencing disappointment and pain time and time again, she finally made a desperate decision—and of course, this was the result.

“It’s all meaningless now.”

Her final resolve had been deceived and trampled upon by despicable adults.

After stepping onto Black Suit’s experimental table, Black Suit played word games with her.

And this was the final straw that broke her:

“Takanashi Hoshino is the last member of the Abydos Student Council, and a symbol of Abydos’ continued existence. Voluntarily relinquishing student status and leaving the Abydos Student Council means that Abydos’s governing body no longer exists.”

“I signed a contract with Takanashi Hoshino of the Student Council, but you are no longer a member of that council.”

Having figured this out, Hoshino’s eyes lost their light.

“What a despicable adult… I… have been deceived again…”

She… had given up hope.

Since Serika disappeared and Sensei fell into a coma from her injuries, how much had happened?

How many days had passed? These things… it probably didn’t matter if she didn’t think about them anymore…

Just recently, the machines binding her seemed to activate.

A pain drilled into her body—was it torture?

That didn’t matter.

Because her soul was dead.

Black Suit who activated the machines was nowhere to be found, but Hoshino, bound by her restraints, couldn’t dwell on those things. The halo above her head had begun to shatter, and the strange energy flowing into her body was becoming more pronounced.

“What is this…?”

She couldn’t understand what these things were trying to do. But suddenly, terror gripped Hoshino’s heart.

Hoshino wasn’t afraid of death, but she could feel the energy filling her body trying to transform her into another version of herself.

“Replacement.”

This thought surfaced in Hoshino’s mind, which had already given up on thinking, and along with it, changes began to occur in Hoshino’s own body.

The restraints weakened as her body transformed, and within her, certain concepts seemed to be undergoing inexplicable changes.

Energy gathered above Hoshino’s head, coalescing into a constantly shifting space of countless colors. The fabricated concepts poured down, relentlessly cleansing Hoshino’s body. It was like playing a simple game of Othello, capturing the white piece named “Takanashi Hoshino” and flipping it over to become the black piece on the other side.

“Boom—!”

“What kind of mess of control panels are these?!”

“Just destroy them all, right? Machine guns, full fire!”

A loud, destructive sound seemed to come from outside, but Hoshino paid it no heed.

At this moment, something as absurd as the world turning upside down was happening within her.

“I… am I?”

The restraints were completely released, but the halo above her head underwent a strange change, shifting between bright pink and fragmented black. Hoshino’s clothing also subtly changed along with the shift in her “concept.”

A white long dress replaced Hoshino’s original school uniform, and a golden mask shaped like a hawk obscured her eyes.

In her hands, seemingly out of nowhere, appeared a white shotgun with a white-and-gold scimitar at the muzzle, and another black shotgun with a black-and-gold scimitar at the muzzle.

[Warning: The Reversal Experiment has entered its final stage. Unauthorized personnel, please leave immediately.]

[Warning: The Reversal Experiment has entered its final stage. Unauthorized personnel, please leave immediately.]

A piercing alarm began to sound from all directions of the laboratory. Sensei finally found the manual lever on the control panel and pulled it down forcefully.

[Manually open the laboratory door. Warning: internal energy reading exceeds critical point.]

“Hoshino-senpai!”

Serika, rifle in hand, charged into the center of the laboratory, only to be instantly overwhelmed by a powerful pressure, a pressure that even made her feel… suffocated.

“Serika, don’t go!”

Shiroko following closely behind reached out and grabbed Serika, stopping her from charging forward blindly. “Hoshino-kun is acting very strange!”

“This… what is wrong with Hoshino-kun…?”

Nonomi and Ayane, who arrived shortly after, were also shocked by Hoshino’s strange appearance. Sensei rushed to the door, already sensing the “dangerous feeling” emanating from Hoshino in the center of the laboratory.

“It’s ‘reversal.’”

Dan Kuroto walked past him. He had memorized everything Black Suit had said during his conversation with Gematria, including the last sentence. The strange changes appearing on Hoshino now must be the “reversal” experiment Black Suit had mentioned.

“While I don’t quite understand the exact meaning of ‘Reversal’ and ‘Terror,’ this student is undergoing some kind of irreversible change.”

Dan Kuroto’s Rider compound eyes possess data analysis capabilities. Although not as powerful as the analysis capabilities of God Maximum, it is still a usable function.

“A part of her is dissipating, being replaced by something else. This conceptual thing can’t be accurately expressed with data… It’s so annoying, everything starts before I’m prepared…”

Dan Kuroto scratched the back of his helmet in frustration.

Having immense talent but being limited by tools and time, unable to fully utilize it, this was incredibly frustrating. After hearing Dan Kuroto’s words, Sensei suddenly understood.

“Reversal… Is this how Gematria studies ‘the Sublime’? Damn it!”

Sensei clenched his fists tightly. At this moment, he could feel the attention emanating from “Hoshino.”

Because her face was hidden by a closed golden mask, Sensei couldn’t see her directly, but everyone present could feel a gaze cast down from the sky upon them.

She was “watching.”

“Sensei, what do we do now?”

Several students surrounded him. They didn’t know what to do, but as Sensei, as an adult, he had to make a decision and find a way forward for these children.

Dan Kuroto’s eyes gleamed with the light of analyzing data, but soon his gaze fell upon the chaotic colors in the sky.

“That thing… is it simulating something?”

“Simulation?”

Sensei also turned his gaze to the sky.

The indescribable colors, though not real, already exuded a terror beyond mystery. The blueprint drawn by Black Suit earlier was not empty words; they were indeed diligently studying how to recreate their “sublime,” and now it seemed they had grasped some of its secrets.

“That thing… it gives me a bad feeling…”

Sensei didn’t understand what it was, but he could sense that Gematria was clumsily imitating an “essence,” and now this “essence” was merging with the starry sky below.

The starry sky’s strange appearance was likely related to this chaotic entity.

The next moment, Sensei discerned the true name of the “Terror” revealed after the reversal.

“Hoshino is being transformed into… Horus.”

“If we wait until that ritual is complete, it will be too late.”

That energy is something the students cannot reach, and the only thing they can reach soon is this one.

He understood.

He reached out and took out the Shittim Chest.

He took a deep breath.

“Everyone, listen to my command!”

Sensei straightened up, his firm voice emanating from his lips. Hearing his voice, the students didn’t need to say anything more; their bodies moved spontaneously. They gripped their weapons, awaiting Sensei’s instructions.

“The Horus All-Out War is about to begin! Let’s…”

“Take back Hoshino-kun!”

----

50. Even a cat can understand what’s being said.

The experimental area was a wide, circular space. While it wasn’t suitable as a battlefield for a laboratory—the alloy floor and open space offered virtually no tactical options—

“Leave this to me.”

However, with the invincible Dan Kuroto present, this kind of problem was a piece of cake for Sensei.

“Neko King!”

Dan Kuroto pulled out the Alchemy Player Gashat, inserted another pink Gashat into the Player Driver, and activated the transformation.

"Grade 2!”

Gachan!

Level Up!

NekoNekoBuilder~

NekoNekoNekoking!

Neko King!

He pulled down his hood, tossed his cat vest, then countless cat soldiers immediately emerged from Dan Kuroto’s belt.

“Hahaha! All the cats are here! Immediately build bunkers and fortresses!”

Dan Kuroto gave the order without hesitation, and the cats immediately responded loudly, “Meow meow meow!”

Under the curious, shocked, and somewhat indifferent gazes of Serika and the others, these half-human-sized feline construction workers instantly sprang into action, building cheap and effective fortifications like concrete half-walls and sandbag bunkers in the open space. Their speed was so fast that even Hoshino, who should have been unconscious, was a beat too slow.

“Ah… these adorable fluffy things…”

Nonomi’s eyes narrowed.

Girls, after all, love cute things. These cats that were building fortresses and bunkers at lightning speed instantly captured the girls’ hearts—Momoi, your Gashat has a special attack attribute!

“Now we have cover from enemy attacks!”

Dan Kuroto spoke proudly, hands on his hips. “As expected—it’s all thanks to my divine talent!”

“Thank you! Mr. Dan Kuroto!”

Sensei’s eyes gleamed with joy, but his hands didn’t dare to slacken in the slightest. “Nonomi! Suppress Horus with fire!”

“Understood~”

Although her tone was still as soft as ever, her eyes were completely different.

This was Nonomi’s serious expression, able to control the recoil of her small machine gun with perfect composure—this was Izayoi Nonomi at full power.

Clang—

[The Two-Faced Crown]

A golden halo illuminated the back of Hoshino’s head, reflecting the sun’s brilliance.

A wave of heat, mixed with dazzling light, suddenly swept through the laboratory.

Sensei scrambled into cover as fast as he could, shouting, “Everyone, get out of the way of that light!”

“Huh?”

At Sensei’s warning, Shiroko and Nonomi nimbly slipped into the cover the cats had built, but Serika, standing directly opposite the light, was already pierced by it when she tried to get into cover.

“Ugh… My body… I can’t move…”

A a command-like feeling surged through Serika’s body, as if Hoshino had given her an order.

In an instant, Serika completely lost the ability to move.

All her joints were like jammed gears; not even a single finger could move.

Noticing that someone had been hit by her attack and was suffering from the binding effect, Hoshino moved again. The two shotguns she held, one black and one white, were raised high and crossed in the air.

Clang—

[Scepter and Flail]

The next second, Hoshino violently swung her two weapons, like a scepter and a flail, unleashing countless bullets that defied all logic, appearing in the trajectory of her swings like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, completely engulfing the frozen Serika before her.

“Serika!!”

Sensei tried to stand up and rush forward to shield Serika from the bullets, but someone faster appeared.

Dan Kuroto had somehow leaped high into the air, landing a flying kick in front of Serika, creating a raised section in the alloy floor that blocked the bullets’ path.

Boom—

The bullets that swept across the area were so powerful that they even kicked up dust. The section of alloy floor Dan Kuroto had created was shattered, but thankfully, it had barely stopped all the bullets that could have hit Serika.

After dodging the fatal blow, Serika finally recovered from her restraints, plopping down behind cover and panting heavily.

“Th-thank you…”

Serika was filled with lingering fear for a moment; when she was immobilized and completely unable to break free, her mind was completely blank.

Anyone in this situation would be caught off guard, right?

Just when she thought she was doomed, the purple Rider descended from the sky, stomping on the alloy floor until it warped and transformed into a shield, blocking the terrifying attack.

He deserved to be thanked for saving her life, right?

“Get up, the battle isn’t over yet.”

Dan Kuroto glanced at Serika behind cover. “Don’t lose your own life before you get her back.”

Serika is now a Bugster. In fact, even if she had taken that attack, she wouldn’t have been killed immediately.

Her body had already been uploaded to the Genm Server backup on the other side of the Millennium by Dan Kuroto.

A fully formed Bugster, unless killed under time-stopped conditions, simply regenerates over time.

Death? Absolutely nothing to fear.

Dan Kuroto only stopped the attack that could have killed Serika because he didn’t want the child to discover too early that her body was completely different from before.

Otherwise, all his effort in erasing memories and resurrecting Serika would feel like a waste of time, which made him very unhappy.

“Large-range crowd control attacks…”

Sensei’s thoughts began to formulate a countermeasure against “Horus,” but it was hard to guarantee that this was all the opponent’s moves. However, since two had already been tested, the next moves should be similar.

“After unleashing your attacks, will there be a brief opening?” Sensei seized the opportunity. “Everyone, go all out now! Ayane, prepare the healing drones!”

“Roger!”

It’s hard to imagine how Hoshino managed to unleash a barrage of bullets like a machine gun, wielding only two shotguns. This unscientific attack method almost single-handedly suppressed the attacks of Sensei’s three-person team—and with Dan Kuroto’s unrestrained fighting power, that makes four.

“The firepower of that barrage is truly intense—”

Dan Kuroto reached out and raised the Gashacon Sparrow Bow, inserting the Neko King Gashat into the Kimewaza slot.

"I'll use my Finishing Move to pave the way for the situation!”

Neko Critical Finish!

Meow Meow Fatal Finish!

The Finishing Move of the Sparrow Bow converged. The surrounding cats automatically became energy, replenishing Dan Kuroto’s arrow, transforming into a giant crowned cat phantom with its arms crossed.

“Ha—!”

Unlike the previous Finishing Move which scattered into countless rain arrows of light, this time only a thick, peach-colored energy arrow was fired, along with the seemingly incomparably majestic Neko King, arms crossed, facing Hoshino not far away.

“Meow—Meow! Meow! Meow!”

----

51. Sensei, do you really your students that much?

“Ah… it’s a really big cat…”

Looking at the scene before her that defied all logic, Serika was completely bewildered. Shiroko, who was beside her, patted her shoulder.

“It’s okay, I don’t really understand either.”

“Right! Shiroko-senpai!”

Shiroko gave her a thumbs up. “So my advice is not to try to understand. The less you understand, the more you understand.”

“Huh—! What is all this?!”

Although Serika still couldn’t understand, she obediently shut her mouth. The things this adult beside her was doing were indeed a bit strange, but at least he was still an ally on her side—besides, Dan Kuroto’s incomprehensible new move had actually worked on Hoshino, who was in a bad state.

A giant cat fist slammed into her face. Hoshino—or rather, Horus—staggered during the “Reversal” ritual, nearly snapping her back from the blow.

“Ugh?!”

Hoshino’s voice came from beneath her mask, clearly indicating that the cat punch had taken a toll on her.

But what truly widened Dan Kuroto’s eyes was that Hoshino had actually taken the full force of the Finishing Move and hadn’t lost her fighting ability.

“There were hardly any people who could withstand the ultimate attack of my Rider system before,” Dan Kuroto said. “Is it a ritual called ‘Reversal’? It actually allows someone who was instantly killed by me to withstand a Finishing Move. This level of enhancement is quite interesting…”

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, this isn’t interesting at all…”

Sensei’s troubled voice came from behind.

After being hit head-on by the cat punch, Hoshino temporarily stopped moving due to the huge impact. The other students seized this opportunity to unleash their full power.

“Regarding this ‘Reversal,’ I know a little about it when I was a ‘player,’” Sensei said. “The students living in this city are all ‘mysteries’ born from some kind of conceptual existence, and corresponding to these mysteries is the ‘Terror’ from the outside world.”

“Although the two are closely related, once the reversal ritual succeeds, the ‘mystery’ will cease to exist, leaving only ‘Terror,’” Sensei explained to Dan Kuroto. “In that case, what exists will no longer be ‘Takanashi Hoshino,’ but something called ‘Horus.’”

Gripping the Shittim Chest tightly in his hand, Sensei looked directly at Dan Kuroto, and then at Hoshino behind him.

“They are all my irreplaceable students. I don’t want them to suffer here.”

“Sensei,” Dan Kuroto spoke, “do you like your students that much?”

“Because I’m their Teacher.” Sensei looked at the students before him, a fleeting smile appearing on his resolute expression.

“When I made up my mind to come to Kivotos, I didn’t need to think about it anymore.”

“Hoshino-senpai! Don’t sleep in!”

---

The rifle in her hand fired continuously, creating ripples on the familiar body of her senior, but some bullets still managed to penetrate Hoshino's defenses, sparking.

While unleashing her full attack power, Serika shouted.

"Senpai! We've come to take you back to Abydos! Are you still sleepwalking, Senpai?! Wake up!!"

"..."

Serika's shouts had no effect on Hoshino.

"Damn it! Calling her like that doesn't work!"

Serika dodged the barrage of bullets from Hoshino's hands with a leap.

The cover built by the cats was a huge help; otherwise, they wouldn't be safely firing from behind cover, but rather being chased all over the battlefield by the dense bullets from Hoshino's two shotguns.

“Hmm… Hoshino-chan doesn't seem to recognize us…” Nonomi emptied her rotary machine gun and crouched behind cover to reload. “Speaking of which, isn’t Hoshino-chan wearing something like a mask? Is that mask covering her eyes?”

“If her eyes are just covered, how could she not recognize us?”

Shiroko stepped on her missile drone, sending the cobbled-together drone rapidly into the air and firing missiles towards Hoshino.

“Then let’s use these missiles to shoot off Hoshino-senpai’s mask!”

“…”

Raising one hand and pointing at the incoming missiles, Hoshino seemed to be chanting something.

[Shining Sun Disk]

A huge, winged metal disk rose from behind Hoshino, like a sturdy shield, blocking all the drone missiles fired by Shiroko before spinning in a poised-to-launch maneuver.

“That’s…”

Sensei’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were contemplating something for a moment, then widened suddenly.

“Oh no! It’s a projectile attack!”

Calculating the trajectory of the twin-winged sun disk in the blink of an eye, Sensei flipped over the cover behind him and rushed in one direction, shouting, “Everyone! Get behind this cover!”

Hearing Sensei’s call, Shiroko, Serika, and Nonomi slid to Sensei’s position. Dan Kuroto, however, didn’t follow Sensei’s instructions. He confidently raised his sparrow-shaped bow, splitting it into a double-scythe configuration, intending to take Hoshino’s attack head-on.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto! Don't be careless!"

Sensei's voice rang out from behind.

"In mythology, Horus transformed into a sun disc and flew into the sky during the final battle, killing Set with his scepter and flail! Although it's just a legend, Hoshino's reversal means this move will likely be very powerful!!"

"Isn't that perfect?"

Dan Kuroto wasn't afraid of death; in fact, he'd long ago disregarded such trivial matters as life and death.

The change in Hoshino's 'concept' piqued Dan Kuroto's interest.

"This level of valuable data—you wouldn't normally get it at Kivotos, would you?"

Dan Kuroto's gaze swept over the incomprehensible machinery around him.

This laboratory was undoubtedly the secret lab built by the Black Suit, the one invested in by Gematria. Such a secret location that's constructed with such time, cost, and effort, must be for executing something truly crucial.

The Black Suit's 'Reversal experiment' was certainly not one that could be easily conducted. He had spent so much time planning, entrusting Kaiser Corporation to gradually erode Abydos, pushing them to the brink of desperation before finally seizing control of their only experimental material, 'Takanashi Hoshino'.

Now, thanks to Dan Kuroto and Sensei's interference, this meticulously planned experiment, barely begun, has been abandoned, leaving Dan Kuroto and Sensei to reap the rewards.

"This is the shrewd instinct required of a company president!"

Dan Kuroto raised his hand, drew the Mighty Action X and Neko King Gashats from his belt, and simultaneously inserted them into the Kimewaza slot of his scythe. He crossed the scythes and pressed the Kimewaza button.

Clang!

'Kimewaza!'

----

52. It's coming! Is your life force reserve enough?!

"Takanashi Hoshino, as interest on saving you, I'll take this data with all my might!"

Hoshino didn't hear Dan Kuroto's laughter. She simply raised her black shotgun and swung it downward.

The twin-winged sun disc hurtled towards Dan Kuroto at unimaginable speed, while Dan Kuroto swung his fully charged twin scythes forward.

Mighty Neko Critical Finish!

With the double Gashat energy superimposed, the twin scythes erupted with purple and peach-colored energy.

A cat's meow echoed from somewhere. The weapon, imbued with powerful Finishing Move energy, collided violently with the rapidly approaching golden disc.

Clang—!

"Huh?! This force?"

The instant the solar disk made contact with Dan Kuroto's twin scythes, Dan Kuroto exclaimed, "It's on par with the Gashacon armor that's already unleashed a Finishing Move—no! It even outclasses it?!"

"Mr. Dan Kuroto!"

Ayane's drone shouted from behind. "Drop your weapons! Get out of the way of that disk!"

As a student who had been saved by Dan Kuroto, Ayane felt deep affection for him—that's how children are; they remember anyone who's kind to them, especially someone who had saved her and revived Abydos. Her concern for Dan Kuroto at this moment was genuine.

“Now… that won’t do!”

Dan Kuroto was locked in a stalemate with the rapidly spinning sun disk before him. Sparks flew as his scythes clashed with the golden disk, the ear-piercing metallic scraping sound filling the air.

The surging energy was constantly being ejected, landing on the surrounding floor and exploding in bursts of light.

“Data, reading—”

The device on Dan Kuroto’s Rider armor head, collectively known as the “GM Head-ACT1,” equipped with a special data-reading function, was now operating at full power, retrieving the necessary research data from his clash with Reversal energy—

To develop the new Gashat and obtain new research data, Dan Kuroto had poured his heart and soul into it, even to the point of risking his life. This was a miracle worthy of his genius and the characteristics of his multiple Bugster lives.

With unparalleled passion for research, a mind brimming with divine talent, and astonishing perception, Dan Kuroto was going all out, desperately trying to extract the necessary data and intelligence from this extremely rare opportunity—an opportunity that might only come once.

“Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle—! Is there any energy left, Horus?!”

The Finishing Move energy on Dan Kuroto's scythes gradually dimmed, but the solar disk before him still had some energy left.

Dan Kuroto knew that when the Finishing Move energy on his scythes disappeared, the battle would end.

It seems that the power of this solar disk had indeed been enhanced to some extent by the unique 'Terror' it had after its reversal.

“Fine, consider it another form of data acquisition—”

Boom—!

Dan Kuroto's twin scythes were knocked away and flung to the ground, while the sun disc manipulated by Hoshino continued its trajectory, striking Dan Kuroto's body with undiminished force.

"Ugh!!"

After striking Dan Kuroto, the solar disk shot into the air, unleashing scorching rays of sunlight from its base, searing his body as if the bottom of a rocket booster had been placed directly on his head and set ablaze.

“Mr. Dan Kuroto!”

Ayane cried out in shock, attempting to throw her prepared medical kit at Dan Kuroto, who was enveloped in the rays. However, the kit turned to ashes the instant it was hit by the light; it was unimaginable just how hot the center of the disk had become.

Sizzle—

The solar disk's radiance ended a few seconds later, leaving behind a floor of red-hot, nearly liquefied metal, and the purple-masked Rider, his body sparking, kneeling helplessly.

Even after Hoshino's transformation, she couldn't sustain the use of the sun's energy for long, let alone in her current, incomplete state.

After unleashing this technique, Hoshino paused, the halo behind her head briefly flashing pink before reverting to black, and she once again raised her white and black shotguns.

[Scepter and Flail]

"Let's go save him—whoa?!"

The impatient Serika immediately tried to stand up to pull Dan Kuroto away from Hoshino's gun barrels, who was already mid-air, but Sensei was faster. He reached out, grabbed Serika by the back of her collar, and pulled her back like a kitten.

"Sensei?! Why?"

Serika turned back in surprise, not understanding why Sensei wouldn't let her save their companion. But Sensei appears to know everything all along, reaching out to press her head down and calming the others.

"It's alright, trust him."

The devastating blow, imbued with immense power, was unleashed from the two shotguns in Hoshino's hands. Her left hand held the 'scepter' representing royal power, her right the 'flail' wielding the power of killing—two weapons, in outside mythology, that had slain another god.

These concepts were abstracted into the two shotguns in Hoshino's hands.

When the concept of 'terror' aligns with legend, the true terror of 'Terror' is revealed; it's a blow imbued with 'concept.'

Unless there's an equal 'mystery' to counteract it—unfortunately, Dan Kuroto didn't possess such a thing.

Falling.

Slaying.

In an instant, Hoshino had already floated behind Dan Kuroto, leaving an X-shaped wound on his chest. Accompanied by a rapid warning sound, Dan Kuroto's Rider gauge dropped to zero.

'Beep beep beep beep—du'

'Game Over'

Kamen Rider Genm's body turned into grayish-white pixels, slumped forward, and collapsed to the ground, dissipating into pixelated light points in the air.

Ayane, standing behind, stared in shock, her eyes widening as she covered her mouth.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto... is dead?"

Shiroko froze, completely unable to believe what she was seeing. "No, no way!"

Mr. Dan Kuroto, who was so valiant and invincible before, is now... dead?

The students' fighting spirit visibly crumbled.

Shiroko, pulled back to her feet by Dan Kuroto and forced to continue fighting; Ayane, who had received Dan Kuroto's kindness and knew how incredibly important he was to them; and Nonomi, whose fate had been changed because of Dan Kuroto's commission—all of them stared blankly at the dissipating light in the center of the battlefield, as if their souls had been ripped away.

Could it be… that their tragic fate was beyond redemption? In the end, he was killed by Hoshino-senpai—

Shiroko turned helplessly to her Sensei, seeking some help. “Sensei…”

“Don’t worry.”

Sensei’s face showed no sadness, only a smile of unwavering confidence in victory.

“He will return like lightning.”

The next moment, a purple pipe suddenly appeared in the sky.

The familiar purple Rider kicked out from it, delivering a solid kick to Hoshino and sending her flying.

"Wahahahaha—Here comes Kami!!!"

Dan Kuroto landed smoothly, wielding the Gashacon Destroyer and the Gashacon Holy Sword, pointing them at Hoshino in a dual-wielding style, fully revived and at his peak.

"Life remaining, 98!"

----

53. Throwing objects from high places is wrong! Senpai!

"Sensei… did you already know that Mr. Dan Kuroto would be resurrected?"

Ayane's voice came from the drone, and Shiroko stared at Sensei with a resentful expression.

"Sensei, if you knew this, you should have said so sooner!"

What could Sensei say? He couldn't very well say that he had seen Dan Kuroto resurrected in a TV drama, which was why he wasn't worried, could he?

Sensei reached out and patted Shiroko and Serika's heads, apologizing, "Okay, okay, it was my fault. I'll definitely say something like that next time."

After his perfect resurrection, Dan Kuroto adjusted his position and launched a flying kick, using the time difference to deliver a powerful blow to Hoshino.

This trick of using invincibility frames to inflict damage is seen in many games and is a very useful technique—but most people shouldn't try it.

"..."

Hoshino's golden mask, weakened by Dan Kuroto's flying kick, showed signs of cracking. Noticing this, Sensei immediately ordered the students to seize the fleeting opportunity.

"Now! Concentrate fire to suppress the target!"

"Okay I'll take care of it"

Nonomi was the first to set up the machine gun. The newly replaced magazines allowed the machine gun to fire at full power, the muzzle spinning and spitting fire as it unleashed a deluge of bullets.

“Hoshino-chan—this is to wake you up quickly! I'll apologize properly afterward!”

“Ugh! Seriously! Whatever!”

Serika’s aura shone brightly, and the gun in her hand seemed to be summoned by a different force, unleashing even greater power than before.

“Hoshino-senpai! If you’re still not awake, I’ll beat you awake with all my might!”

“If that’s the only way to wake Hoshino-kun, then let’s do it.”

Shiroko gripped her rifle tightly, using her superb marksmanship to fire all the bullets in a straight line, hitting Hoshino in the distance without reservation.

At the same time, the missile drone took off again, unleashing all its missiles at once.

“Full fire!”

Before Hoshino could recover from the shock of Dan Kuroto's Rider kick, she was engulfed by a barrage of bullets.

This attack was massive, almost a combined assault of the entire Abydos team.

After seconds of being overwhelmed by bullets and drone missiles, a golden halo rose again from the dust of the explosion, blocking the group from unleashing another barrage.

[The Two-Faced Crown]

Just like the previous heatwave and blinding light, this time the prepared group had already taken cover, avoiding the mysterious light that seemed to lock onto their targets.

"There's an opening!"

Dan Kuroto crossed his two swords, adopting a flawed swordsmanship stance, and used brute force to accelerate his charge, slashing fiercely at Hoshino's face.

"Ugh! Die!"

Sensei behind him covered his face. "Um... She's supposed to be a student we're trying to save, isn't 'Die!' a bit odd?"

"What's there to worry about? It's all the same principle, just say whatever comes to mind."

Dan Kuroto's sword struck Hoshino's mask directly.

The weapon's 'destructive' attribute kicked in at this moment, identifying the golden eagle mask as the target. The instant the Gashacon Destroyer's blade fell, the mask, constructed of 'mystery,' began to crack inch by inch with golden light.

"It worked?"

Sensei looked in surprise towards Dan Kuroto's direction. Dan Kuroto's desperate attack had successfully struck Hoshino's mask. With a crisp sound, the golden mask shattered, turning into fragments of golden light.

"No, it seems something's still missing."

Dan Kuroto was the closest to Hoshino so he saw her face revealed after the mask shattered. Her eyes could see everything again, but her body remained beyond her conscious control.

“Sensei… and everyone…”

When Takanashi Hoshino was bound by the mask, she was like Horus in mythology, blinded by the new moon. In mythology, Horus's eyes are the sun and the moon; when the new moon rises, Horus becomes “blind.” When blind, Horus mistakes friends for enemies and attacks them—this is the meaning behind the golden eagle mask worn on Hoshino's face when her “mystery” is reversed into “Terror.”

Now, still bound by the concept of “Terror,” Hoshino, though regaining her clarity of mind after the mask shattered, still sees everyone as enemies.

Unlike before, when she couldn't distinguish right from wrong, she is now consciously watching her body attack her friends.

“I... I think I can't control my body anymore...”

Hoshino uttered in a sorrowful voice, “This... this isn't what I wanted to do...”

“It's alright, Hoshino.”

Sensei stood up, facing Hoshino directly. “We came here to take you back! So don't worry, we'll figure something out!”

“Easier said than done. I've already taken care of everything.”

Forced back by the shotgun in Hoshino's hand, Dan Kuroto clicked his tongue. “How can you cry while fighting? That's so out of character!”

“Sorry...”

Hoshino's movements suddenly paused.

The next moment, four beams of light shot out from her body, landing on the battlefield where they fought and transforming into four golden ceramic jars that hovered in mid-air.

At the same time, Hoshino's body was uncontrollably propelled into the sky, enveloped in a dazzling light.

“Wait... I...”

Before she could finish speaking, Hoshino was unable to utter another word.

Enveloped in the light, she was briefly blinded again. Bathed in light, like a banana-shaped passageway in a dormitory at night, the brightness made it impossible for her to see anything. Thus, her consciousness was once again blocked.

“What is this thing?”

Dan Kuroto paused, while Sensei reacted immediately: “Whatever it is, destroy it!”

Hoshino entered a state where she was temporarily immune to attack, but the four ceramic jars that had suddenly appeared around her must have some special meaning—in times like these, don't think, just act on your intuition.

[Sleeping Wine]

Ceramic wine bottles suddenly began to fall from the sky, which was enveloped in light, crashing down on various parts of the area with a series of clattering sounds.

Serika couldn't help but shout, “Senpai! Throwing things from high-rise buildings is wrong!”

“Is this the time to worry about that!?”

----

54. It just accidentally showed a little bit.

The “preservation jar” separated from the body didn't seem to be Horus's original intention, but rather Hoshino's own effort. It could be said that exposing a weakness that didn't originally exist within her was an effort to help her friends defeat him more quickly.

Now, seemingly sensing Hoshino's self-destructive actions, Horus, with her golden mask shattered, used a shimmering light enveloping her entire body to maintain a state of “blindness,” and the bottles falling from the sky were also skills derived from the concept of “Terror.”

“This liquor… it smells so seductive.”

Dan Kuroto's helmet automatically activated its filtering function after detecting the hypnotic aura, and this remark reminded Sensei that he also remembered what it was.

Sensei pondered for a moment: “Legend has it that Horus laced Sekhmet with a wine made from the juice of sleep, replacing human blood, and tricked her into drinking it, thus breaking her divine spell and slaying the blood-drinking lioness.”

“So, if you get hit by those bottles, it triggers some kind of skill, right?”

True to his game developer nature, Kuroto Dan quickly grasped the concept using a game's trigger mechanism.

"So, this skill is activated to prevent us from destroying the jars?”

“That must be it.” Sensei nodded. “Destroy those jars as quickly as possible!”

Under Sensei’s command, the students turned their guns, each pointing at a “preservation jar,” while the last one was left to Dan Kuroto.

Swinging the Gashacon Holy Sword into the air, Dan Kuroto inserted Mighty Action X into his Finishing Move slot and pressed the button.

“Kimewaza!”

The finishing move’s energy rapidly surged to his right foot. Dan Kuroto leaped into the air, slamming his full-force kick into the hilt of the Gashacon Holy Sword.

"Go!”

The flying kick, imbued with Finishing Move energy, was transmitted to the Holy Sword.

With this overwhelming force, the Holy Sword was like a javelin slaying a god. It pierced straight down, instantly piercing the jar.

Boom—!

“Actually, I’ve wanted to ask this for a while now…”

Serika looked at Dan Kuroto in the distance after her rifle shattered its target.

“Why does everything Kuroto-san breaks explode? Is he some kind of explosion maniac? He just kicked a can with his sword!”

“Don’t ask. There’s no need to be so clear about Kamen Riders."

Dan Kuroto landed lightly, answering Serika’s question casually. “The biggest feature of the Kamen Rider system I developed is its ability to create an explosion of energy inside the target—a tactic that’s very effective against certain special enemies.”

The destruction of the four “preservation jars” triggered a chain reaction. Hoshino, enveloped in light, cried out in pain and plummeted to the ground. The light enveloping her body extinguished, revealing Hoshino’s true form.

Dan Kuroto tossed his sword aside and reached for the Alchemy Player Gashat.

This golden Gashat, usually stored on his belt, lit up automatically, seemingly triggered by Hoshino’s weakened state, creating a resonance with the Alchemy Player Gashat and achieving some kind of special synergy.

“The Gashat reacted spontaneously?”

Dan Kuroto looked at the golden Gashat in his hand, which had become brighter. The small potion bottle on top of the Gashat began to react; even though he hadn't inserted it into his belt yet, the belt was already showing as “awaiting activation.”

“It seems there are aspects of the Gashat that my talent created don't fully understand yet."

Why did his self-made Alchemy Player Gashat reach the unknown level of “X”?

In this world filled with “mystery,” what exactly is the significance of this Gashat?

“Did this Gashat, created using Kivotos materials imbued with ‘mysterious’ properties, possess some kind of special ability I haven't understood yet?”

Dan Kuroto's mind raced in those few seconds.

The Alchemy Player Gashat not only used materials unique to Kivotos, but the game's theme was also chosen by Dan Kuroto in a stroke of inspiration—Alchemy—a subject that resonated with “Mystery.”

Perhaps it was this coincidence, combined with Dan Kuroto's own miraculous powers, that led to the creation of this Level X Gashat.

“Alright, in that case, I'll use you!” Dan Kuroto inserted the Gashat into the driver.

"Henshin!”

After the familiar voice rang out, instead of the usual golden panel passing through his body to complete the transformation, the weakened Reversal Hoshino collapsed to her knees.

The ceiling displayed a chaotic illusion constructed by a mysterious device through ritual.

Amidst this chaotic scene, twelve golden stars appeared on the Alchemy Player upgrade panel before Dan Kuroto—

Where the original upgrade panel had only a large cauldron for alchemy and hanging vines, it zoomed out like an animation, revealing pixelated walls and windows, replacing the original cauldron and vine background. Beyond those windows, twelve bright golden stars were twinkling.

This upgrade panel, now depicting the stars outside the window, passed through Dan Kuroto's body, who was clad in the armor. Then another, ambiguous upgrade voice line rang out.

I got you!

Harmony! Master! Exceed!

Yes! The highest level of divine talent!

Alchemy player! Alchemy Player!

I AM KAMI!

When the transformation ended, the sound of boiling water in the cauldron was no longer heard, but the bright sound of twinkling stars.

At the same time, Dan Kuroto's mage armor also underwent some new changes.

The jeweled headband remained, but the central gem had been replaced with one that shimmered with iridescent light. The original red light armor and alchemist's skirt now featured gold stripes adorning the shoulders, and two sashes covered in mysterious runes hung from the back of the shoulder armor—a significant change from the first transformation into the Alchemy Player armor.

“This form…” Sensei’s astonished voice came from behind: “Mr. Dan Kuroto, what exactly is this…?”

“Hmm… perhaps my God Maximum has loosened a bit.” Dan Kuroto crossed his arms, striking a smug pose. “Maybe it’s an Easter egg mode triggered under special circumstances; please don’t mind it.”

“No, no, no, this is so incredibly exciting, okay, Kami!”

Even without understanding the underlying mechanism, he still had to put on a show.

Dan Kuroto reached for his Gashat at his waist, inserted it into the Kimewaza slot, and golden light gathered in the vial, then converged upwards to Dan Kuroto's fingertip.

Kimewaza!

Dan Kuroto extended his finger and placed a drop of energy essence on Hoshino's forehead.

At the same time, a golden star lit up on the Alchemy Player Gashat card.

“Alchemy Critical Droplet!”

A drop of alchemy, also known as “Dan Kuroto's Drop,” the mysterious Finishing Move that once defied fate and reversed Ayane's injuries, reappeared at this moment.

Perhaps the Gashat had its own judgment, or perhaps X itself is an unknown quantity capable of creating miracles...

With a deep male voice announcing this, after Dan Kuroto's divine drop fell, the black halo above Hoshino's head shattered. The original pink halo shone brightly once more.

A Divine Finish!

In an instant, the false chaos above her head vanished, leaving only Hoshino, now back to normal, staring blankly at the Rider who had shattered all darkness before her.

----

55. My buddy was ruined by Total power.

“The reversal... disappeared?”

Sensei stood up from behind cover.

The battlefield, which had been filled with violent energy and false chaos, was now calm. The main source of this chaos—Hoshino in her reversed state—had been stopped by Dan Kuroto's Finishing Move, using an unknown principle, and returned to normal.

The false chaos, having lost its target, had become a pool of energy with nowhere to go.

With the machines on both sides completely destroyed by Nonomi and the others' weapons, the laboratory finally returned to calm. Only in the center of the laboratory remained Takanashi Hoshino, bewildered, helpless, and astonished.

“I... I'm back to normal?”

The shotgun in Hoshino's hand had returned to its original form when the inversion ended, and the extra weapon had also disappeared. Everything was back to normal.

“Yes, young lady.”

Gashu~

Dan Kuroto drew his Gashat from his belt. With a flash of pixelated light, Dan Kuroto's true form appeared before Hoshino, proudly raising his head, arms outstretched, a sunny and healthy smile on his face.

“There's nothing I can't do. This is the greatness—the talent of KAMI! Hahahaha!”

“Hoshino-senpai!”

Serika was the first to rush forward, accidentally bumping into Dan Kuroto's arm as she passed him. But Serika's attention was entirely focused on Hoshino, whom she had lost and then regained.

This senpai, whom she always complained about for being lazy and sleeping, was someone she realized was an indispensable part of her life only when she was about to lose her.

“Huh? Serika-chan, don't hug me like that all of a sudden...”

Hoshino waved her arms helplessly. Not long ago, she had been at odds with these adorable juniors. Even if it wasn't her intention, the fact was right in front of her, and Hoshino felt that she had failed as a senior and had no face to face her friends.

"Oji-san is so shy...”

“Idiot senpai! Idiot Hoshino!”

Serika hugged Hoshino tightly. Knowing that Hoshino had sacrificed herself to ensure Abydos's survival, she wanted nothing more than to berate this idiot senpai, but in the end, she blurted out.

“Hoshino-senpai… welcome back.”

Shiroko lowered her gun, standing a step behind Serika, tears streaming down her face.

From the very beginning, just when they thought all hope was lost, the plot had suddenly taken a shocking turn, leading to a happy ending they could never have imagined.

“All our perseverance was meaningful…”

Thinking this, Shiroko's gaze met that of the embarrassed Hoshino. Facing the senior who had brought her to Abydos, Shiroko finally smiled.

“Hoshino-kun, welcome back.”

The machine gun in her hand dropped to the ground. Nonomi ran two steps and embraced Serika and Hoshino, who were hugging each other, pulling them into her arms.

“Waaaaah—that's great!! Hoshino-chan! Serika-chan!”

Seemingly the one crying the most bitterly and releasing the most, Nonomi finally released the pent-up bitterness in her heart as she hugged the two people before her. When she was forcibly taken away from Abydos, Nonomi was constantly tormented by her own conscience.

At that time, Serika was kidnapped, and Hoshino subsequently disappeared. With these crises erupting simultaneously, she was forcibly taken away by her family, leaving behind a mess. Every time she woke up from her dreams, she was surrounded by accusations, accusing her of abandoning her companions in the most difficult time.

Now, all the guilt was finally released, and the Abydos members were finally reunited. The warmth and touch of their embrace told Nonomi that this wasn't a fantasy, but real.

Under such stimulation, Nonomi couldn't even maintain her composure anymore, crying uncontrollably, her expression even more childlike than Serika's.

“Haha... one after another, what are you all doing...” Hoshino's expression, initially awkward and bewildered, gradually calmed down, and she hugged the two people in front of her even tighter.

These were her one and only treasure, an irreplaceable bond.

“I'm sorry...”

“And... I'm back.”

Like a cliché line from the most old-fashioned youth drama, but in this miraculous reunion, this cliché line was the most fitting.

“Hoshino-kun, it's great to see you back at Abydos Academy.”

Sensei approached from behind, a gentle smile on his face, showing no anger whatsoever, only joy at Hoshino's safe return.

Looking at his face, Hoshino couldn't help but recall Sensei's appearance when he first arrived at Abydos and lowered her head, speaking, “Sensei... I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble.”

“Don't talk nonsense. I'm the one who should be apologizing.”

Sensei reached out and patted Hoshino's head.

“Making my student suffer so much is my dereliction of duty as Sensei. I should be the one apologizing to you.”

He smiled apologetically. “If only I were stronger, you wouldn't have had to suffer so much.”

“And—”

Sensei tapped Hoshino lightly on the head with a chopstick. “Don't make decisions on your own and worry others in the future.”

“Hehehe...”

When they left the lab, the Kaiser PMC robots that had been fighting with them seemed to have disappeared. But that was fine; it saved them from inconsiderately disturbing Abydos's reunion.

“If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I definitely wouldn't believe it if someone said all these armed helicopters were operated by one person.”

Nonomi looked at the armed helicopters, tanks, and armored vehicles neatly lined up on the sand, neatly landed. She hadn't thought about it much when she arrived, but now, having time to see it again, she realized just how astonishing this feat truly was.

"Are all these armored vehicles our spoils?”

“Of course.”

A purple glint flashed in Dan Kuroto's eyes. All the armored vehicles restarted, preparing to evacuate the laboratory in the middle of the desert.

“Once you've eaten me, do you think you can just spit it out? Humph!”

Thinking of the Kaiser Corporation director he'd blown off with an arrow, Dan Kuroto couldn't help but snort again. Killing these robots would only mean they were returning to the mother AI and waiting to be resurrected.

To truly satisfy Dan Kuroto, he had to make Kaiser Corporation bleed profusely, even swallow it whole.

----

56. Is the flow about to change?

The helicopter's rotors roared as it carried them slowly upward from the center of the desert.

Standing by the window, Hoshino looked at the buildings buried beneath the sand and unconsciously reached out to touch the window.

Beside her, Serika asked curiously, “Hoshino-senpai, what are you looking at?”

Hoshino's expression was one of regret. “Serika-chan, you probably don't know, but buried in this desert is our former Abydos campus.”

“Campus?” Serika was stunned. “Wasn't our school just a playground and two buildings?”

“This place used to be Abydos's campus.” Hoshino proudly raised her chin. “Abydos used to be the largest and oldest school district in all of Kivotos.”

“Here?” Serika exclaimed in surprise. “It’s about 400 or 500 kilometers from our school, isn’t it? This is right in the heart of the Abydos Desert!”

“Hoshino-senpai is right,” Ayane’s voice came through the earpiece. “The Abydos school district used to be a behemoth spanning over a thousand kilometers. That sandstorm submerged almost ninety percent of Abydos. The remaining part of the school district is just a former annex.”

“I think I did hear that explanation when I enrolled…” Serika tried hard to recall what she had heard before, while Hoshino simply gazed nostalgically at the occasional spires of buildings peeking out from the desert below, as if reminiscing about something.

For Hoshino, who had witnessed Abydos’s glorious past, those bygone days were long forgotten, and she had grown accustomed to her current small school. But being brought to the center of the desert by the Black Suit and seeing those familiar buildings again brought back some forgotten memories.

“To be honest, how could we forget the past so easily?”

Looking at the towering buildings swept across the desert below, Serika couldn’t help but lament, “Was the school district really this big? That damned sandstorm...”

“So, that’s why the previous student council president was willing to take on debt to fight the sand for territory,” Hoshino nodded. “These vast school districts not only had more classrooms and dormitories, but also possess all sorts of production lines and machinery. They were buried underground along with this sandstorm.”

“So, that’s why Abydos plummeted after losing those things?”

Dan Kuroto analyzed the incident entirely from a corporate perspective.

“It’s like a company losing all its functional departments, leaving only a chairman. Unable to produce products, the company naturally declines.”

“Hmm... that’s a fitting analogy...”

Hoshino nodded, looking at the man who had pulled them all out of hell, the man who had created a miracle, her curiosity growing stronger.

"Dan Kuroto...san, is that right?”

“A completely different kind of adult from a Sensei...”

Hoshino’s heterochromatic eyes finally took a proper look at Dan Kuroto before her.

"To be honest, he doesn’t seem like a ‘teacher’ at all.”

“I’ve never admitted to being a Teacher.” Dan Kuroto twisted his neck. “And I could never be a good Teacher; I’m just a game administrator.”

“A grown-up with mysterious powers, no less.” Hoshino smiled. “I’m glad you’re here to help us, Mr. Dan Kuroto. Next time you need my help, I definitely won’t refuse.”

Dan Kuroto single-handedly completed the entire epic ‘Abydos’ questline. However, unlike in games where questlines yield rare equipment or exclusive titles, here, Dan Kuroto received only the most sincere gratitude and friendship from the Abydos students.

Hmm… in a sense, being recognized as a friend of Abydos might be very helpful for Dan Kuroto’s work in the future.

The helicopter roared across the desert and landed on Abydos’s training ground, where Ayane was already waiting.

Many armored vehicles captured by Dan Kuroto’s virus were already parked on the surrounding ground. These controlled war machines had just helped repel an attack from Kaiser Corporation—clearly, these tanks and helicopters with Kaiser PMC markings had misled the surrounding Kaiser Corporation armed forces into believing that the desert’s leadership had finally issued the battle plan to seize Abydos.

So they were bombarded by their own artillery, leaving the mechanical soldiers bewildered and scrambling for cover.

What happened?

We were attacked by our own tanks and helicopters?

Who is the enemy?

After two squads were wiped out by their own artillery and they lost all contact with their superiors, the Kaiser soldiers had no choice but to retreat temporarily.

Meanwhile, Ayane, hiding in the school, experienced for the first time the feeling of “truth” and “justice” on her side—

It felt amazing!

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, Sensei! And everyone!”

Ayane watched the swarms of returning helicopters in the sky and the numerous armored vehicles lined up along the streets near the school, once again feeling the power of Dan Kuroto. Her classmates clung to the helicopter doors, waving to her.

Seeing those familiar figures, Ayane felt an urge to cry again.

“Without you, this ending probably wouldn’t have been possible.”

Sensei smiled as he watched the students reconnecting in the distance. Dan Kuroto stood beside him, arms crossed.

"Is this why you summoned me to this world? Now that this is over, you should be satisfied, right?”

“Actually…”

As a player who transmigrated into this game, even though the current version hasn’t been updated much further into the future, and as a “player,” Sensei still possesses a slight “future vision.”

"Abydos’ crisis isn’t just what we see now, but after changing Hoshino-kun’s fate, I think… we can relax a little here for now.”

“However, the next two major events are the ‘Princess of the Nameless Gods’ and the ‘Signing of the Eden Treaty.’”

Sensei looked into the distance at the D·U District, where a towering white tower stood. Beneath the peaceful surface, undercurrents surged, and danger lurked everywhere. He couldn’t help but feel deeply worried about the future of these children.

“Oh?” Dan Kuroto chuckled. “I love having advance information when I’m planning a game. Just tell me what you have to say. Since you did provide new ideas for my game development, I won’t hold you responsible for suddenly pulling me into this world.”

“Actually, from the very beginning, I had already fallen into the trap of the ‘Seven Ancient Laws.’” Sensei pulled out a tablet from his pocket, the ‘Shittim Chest,’ from Dan Kuroto. “The coded message I uttered when activating the ‘Shittim Chest’ was linked to the world’s consciousness, thus locking in my ability to change the course of this world.”

Dan Kuroto looked at him. “The flow?”

“The world defined by the Seven Ancient Laws is a world of chaos, disorder, and destruction.” Sensei explained his understanding to Dan Kuroto. “I haven’t yet confirmed the full extent of the Seven Ancient Laws, but they guide the timeline towards destruction and decay.”

“And correspondingly, there is the ‘Jericho Law,’ a law that has been completely devoured in this world.”

Sensei handed the tablet to Dan Kuroto, speaking solemnly. “Mr. Dan Kuroto, what I hope for is that you can break this world’s fate of being destroyed by ‘disorder.’”

“Please save this world from ‘destruction.’”

“—May I ask that?”

----

57. Shittim Chest

“Let me see this thing.”

Dan Kuroto took the Shittim Chest from Sensei’s hand. “It looks like an ordinary tablet.”

“It is a tablet in design, but it is actually an ancient artifact excavated from ancient ruins.”

Sensei let Dan Kuroto take the Shittim Chest. He could feel his body beginning to disintegrate. The unbridgeable gap was widening, and his body, which was forcibly relying on the Shittim Chest and Bugster to prolong its life, had indeed reached its limit.

“Needs to unlock it?” Dan Kuroto looked at the pitch-black Shittim Chest in his hand, tapped the screen a few times, and pressed the only button a few times, but it didn’t light up again. “Is it locked to the holder?”

“The Shittim Chest comes with access to the Schale Tower, and it also allows direct connection to all students,” Sensei explained to Dan Kuroto. “Moreover, the Shittim Chest is an ancient artifact from a bygone era, possessing a mystical aura.”

“With the power of the Shittim Chest, I can perfectly synchronize my commands to every student I command.” Sensei nodded. “And within the Shittim Chest lies an intelligent AI that maintains all of Schale’s functions.”

Sensei unlocked the Shittim Chest. Unfortunately, this access was non-transferable; otherwise, Sensei could have simply unlocked it and given the access to Dan Kuroto, instead of worrying about what to do for so long.

After all, he body didn’t have much time left, and if he died, Shittim Chest and its matching Schale Tower would also shut down.

For the Central Student Council, this would be a direct and devastating blow.

When Sensei collapsed before, the Central Student Council was already at a loss—not only had the student council president disappeared, but Sensei, the only one who could help, had also fallen; it was simply adding insult to injury.

Now, Sensei had finally managed to stand up and do what he could before. Naturally, he wanted to do everything he could to preserve the power of the Shittim Chest.

As the screen lit up, a dilapidated classroom appeared on the tablet.

A girl with blue hair, wearing a light blue sailor uniform, was sitting at a desk, dozing with her eyes closed. She opened her eyes as the screen lit up.

“AI assistant, A.R.O.N.A., is in standby mode.”

“Hello, Sensei…”

Her voice hesitated, as if unsure of her current situation. “Your body… has recovered?”

“Only temporarily.” Sensei didn’t lie about his physical condition when facing the girl, but laid everything bare. “Arona, could you transfer my permissions to Mr. Dan Kuroto beside me?”

“Although I don’t know how you overcame your physiological limits to achieve self-recovery…”

The girl named Arona shook her head regretfully, her tone as indifferent as her expression. “But it’s impossible. Once bound to you, this permission cannot be changed.”

“Hmm… an intelligent AI…”

Dan Kuroto reached out and tapped the girl on the screen, only to find that she seemed to actually sense his touch.

When someone other than Sensei’s finger touched her, she would place her palm on the spot where the touch was made, while also moving away from Dan Kuroto’s finger.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Don’t you like me that much?” Dan Kuroto frowned.

“If you’re not Sensei, please don’t touch me.”

Arona didn’t recognize the strange, black-clad man before her, and she instinctively dodged Dan Kuroto’s casual touch.

But this dodge ignited Dan Kuroto’s stubbornness.

He tapped the screen repeatedly, then pressed his finger against Arona’s head, as if determined to knock the little girl’s head off.

“I’ll press! I’ll press! I’ll press!”

Dan Kuroto’s fingers tapped rapidly across the screen, while Arona, after dodging a dozen times, simply opened her umbrella gun and retreated behind it like a turtle, refusing to come out no matter how much Dan Kuroto tapped.

“Strange adult, stop tapping, it’s annoying.”

Arona’s sullen voice came from behind the umbrella, seemingly very annoyed with Dan Kuroto.

“Sensei, who is this guy? Why did you give him access?”

“I am Dan Kuroto! You little girl, remember that!”

Holding up the tablet, Dan Kuroto pressed his face against the screen, determined to show Arona his divine facial expression—this guy usually exudes a powerful aura when he’s silent and is also a handsome, tall, and charismatic guy, so why does he have to make everyone remember his facial expressions!

“Hahahaha…”

Sensei watched the interaction between the two, a forced smile on his face, but he didn’t stop them. He knew he was trying to transfer the Shittim Chest’s permissions to Dan Kuroto. After all, his body was about to dissipate, making this a top priority.

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, you see, if Arona can’t transfer the Shittim Chest’s permissions to you…” Sensei’s voice rang out. “Do you have a way to take the Shittim Chest’s permissions away?”

“…Sensei, don’t you want me anymore?”

Arona, hiding behind the umbrella, peeked out from behind it upon hearing this.

“I don’t want to part with you either, Arona.” Sensei’s expression dimmed slightly. “But this is the best way. It’s better for the Shittim Chest to continue being usable than to become a useless brick.”

“I’ll give it a try.”

Dan Kuroto’s exaggerated facial expression vanished instantly, replaced by his usual president-like demeanor. Holding the Shittim Chest, Dan Kuroto began releasing the Bugster virus from his hand, attempting to directly infect the tablet and gain control of the Shittim Chest.

The Bugster virus is essentially an electronic virus.

Because of this characteristic, Dan Kuroto had used it to bypass countless obstacles, especially in a world dominated by electronic systems, where this feature made him incredibly adept. And facing the Shittim Chest, this clearly electronic device, Dan Kuroto naturally and habitually resorted to his attack.

“Unknown virus detected in Shittim Chest, protection activated.”

When Dan Kuroto released the Bugster virus, Arona on the tablet immediately detected the intrusion.

At that moment, Sensei also spoke up. “Arona, can you lower the defenses and let this virus enter the Shittim Chest?”

“Sorry, Sensei, this is the Shittim Chest’s built-in defense mechanism.”

Arona shook her head. “This is a self-initiated antivirus program by the Shittim Chest when it faces a crisis of being usurped or purged; it’s not something I can control.”

“No problem!”

A purple glint flashed in Dan Kuroto’s eyes. “It’s just a firewall! Watch me push it over!”

----

58. It’s like a Pokémon battle!

A swarm of Bugster viruses surrounded the Shittim Chest in Dan Kuroto’s hands, relentlessly attacking the tablet’s firewall. Under this onslaught, Arona felt as if she were being besieged by a large group of malicious individuals.

It’s understandable that she felt this way; Bugster viruses are inherently highly aggressive, and for an AI like her, it would instinctively trigger a defensive reaction. However, Arona herself wasn’t optimistic about Dan Kuroto’s ability to break through the Shittim Chest’s defenses.

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, don’t underestimate the Shittim Chest’s defenses,” Arona spoke, holding her umbrella horizontally. “The fact that it can protect the Shittim Chest from external attacks for so long makes its defenses virtually impenetrable. Ordinary hacking techniques simply can’t break through.”

“That’s true,” Sensei nodded in agreement. “The Central Student Council has tried many methods before, but they couldn’t even activate the Shittim Chest. It’s an artifact left behind by the Central Student Council president. Of course, I’m also very curious about where the student council president went.”

After obtaining the Shittim Chest from Rin, Sensei never saw the student council president again, and he had no idea where she had gone, abandoning the entire Kivotos. Of course, Sensei had no way of getting the answer now.

“Hiss… this defense system is indeed quite troublesome…”

Dan Kuroto’s hands, connected to the Shittim Chest’s system via data cables constructed from the Bugster virus, were locked in a fierce battle with the Shittim Chest’s firewall within the unknown cyberspace.

One side possessed mysterious defense data, the other an unknown virus with equally mysterious powers; the data war within the Shittim Chest was incredibly brutal.

One side swallowed the other, the other counterattacked.

The Shittim Chest’s firewall was temporarily unable to defeat Dan Kuroto’s Bugster virus, but Dan Kuroto was also unable to break through the current territory; both sides were locked in a stalemate.

“Hey! Hold this for me!”

Dan Kuroto called out to Sensei, shoving the tablet into his hand. Before Sensei could even ask, Dan Kuroto reached for the Driver and Gashat, transforming at lightning speed.

“Grade X, transform!”

LEVEL UP!

Alchemy Player!

This transformation was at the Alchemy Player level, different from the one he’d performed in front of Hoshino before; it was more like a normal form. The pattern on the upgrade panel reverted to the cauldron and vines. After transforming, Dan Kuroto, clad in his armor, transformed into a wisp of virus and burrowed into the Shittim Chest.

Arona was shocked. “Huh? He disappeared?!”

Sensei chuckled, the confidence that came from watching the entire Kamen Rider series. “It’s alright, Arona will get used to it.”

“I feel... it won’t be easy to get used to.”

Entering the cyberspace in his true form, Dan Kuroto immediately saw the materialized city walls ahead. Before him, as a Bugster, everything constructed from data was presented as a tangible, interactive entity. The Shittim Chest’s firewall was like a pristine white wall, protecting the now-distant perfect city.

The cyber minions on the walls, machine guns firing, unleashed a hail of fire on the Spartan soldiers below, who were the embodiment of the Bugster virus.

From Dan Kuroto’s perspective, he could see several cyber minions, unable to control their guns, being thrown backward by the recoil, landing hard on their backsides, then quickly getting up and frantically trying to control their fire.

“A battle line similar to before—no, it should be said to be several times stronger than before...”

Dan Kuroto recalled his previous encounter with Veritas. The final offensive was supposedly used from a data packet left behind by someone. It had indeed caused him some trouble. Now, the defensive firepower before him was dozens of times stronger than before.

What was originally a defense of sandbags and trenches had suddenly upgraded to thick city walls, complete with magical runes. While the cyber hordes on the city walls were still similar to before, their firepower was clearly several levels stronger. Machine guns, rocket launchers, and city artillery were all available, and cyber hordes could even be seen hovering in the air, piloting armed helicopters.

“Using ordinary tactics like this, I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to break through their defenses…”

Dan Kuroto stood at a distance, watching the battle unfold for several minutes. He clicked his tongue, then came up with a good idea.

“I remember, Gaschacon Bugvisor should contain quite a few Bugster virus samples, right?”

Dan Kuroto took out his Gaschacon Bugvisor, pressed a button to search for a moment, and found his past masterpiece, the most suitable Bugster virus for dealing with the current situation—at least better than the virus he was currently using.

With a single thought, Dan Kuroto raised the Gaschacon Bugvisor high, pressed the button, and shouted like he was about to transform into the big brother of the Olympus clan.

"Come forth! Gamedeus!”

“Ughhhhhhh—!”

A towering golden figure, fused with the orange lightning of the virus, appeared in this data space. This powerful presence even made Arona within the Shittim Chest feel a tremor and a chilling pressure.

“What... what is he doing?”

That was Dan Kuroto’s creation, an unsolvable enemy created to prevent anyone from beating the game—before he personally crafted the Gashat, Gamedeus was utterly invincible.

And how could Dan Kuroto not have secretly backed up such invincible Bugster data?

Although in the end this Bugster, which was supposed to be the final monster of Kamen Rider Chronicles, was absorbed by his father, becoming a stepping stone to the Golden Cronus, its immense power was undeniably real. It was perfectly suited to deal with these defenses, also composed of data.

“Hahahaha! Charge! Gamedeus!”

Dan Kuroto commanded his creation, flashing a typical villainous, sunny smile. “I’d like to see if the Shittim Chest’s defenses can withstand Gamedeus’s full-force attack!”

Although unconscious released Gamedeus Bugster acted according to Dan Kuroto's commands.

Upon receiving Dan Kuroto's order, it raised its "God Slayer" and unleashed a full-force attack against the overwhelming barrage of fire on the firewall—

'All-Demon One-Slash!'

Boom!

The one-hit kill sword technique originating from Bugster in Kyokugen Kento, amplified by infinite probability, easily tore a large hole in the firewall.

Seizing this opportunity, Dan Kuroto used the incubator to retrieve Gamedeus, then launched a flying kick, rushing through the crack into Shittim Chest's internal system.

--

59. I Don't Want to Be a Sensei

Blue sky, shattered classroom, and a girl in a blue dress and white skirt.

"You... you actually did it..."

Arona's eyes were filled with disbelief. This room in the Shittim Chest had always been occupied by her alone.

But today, a Kamen Rider in a mysterious suit of armor, with a flying kick, forcefully entered the room in the most brute-force manner, becoming one of only two people in it.

Outside the room, the forcibly breached code wall was slowly healing itself, but for Dan Kuroto, who had already infiltrated, the firewall was irrelevant. He was now inside Shittim Chest; all he needed to do next was gain access.

“Heh heh~ I told you, there’s nothing I can’t do!”

Dan Kuroto patted his chest smugly: “Even if your electronic defenses are strong, it doesn’t matter! For me, it’s just a matter of time!”

“No… you, this…”

Arona was clearly confused by Dan Kuroto’s sudden infiltration of Shittim Chest: “You’re not human/an idiot?!”

“Who are you calling an idiot?”

“What I mean is…” Arona composed herself, “Mr. Dan Kuroto, you… aren’t human?”

Dan Kuroto laughed three times.

"Arona, humans really are limited in their abilities. What I’ve learned from my short life is that the more scheming a person does, the more likely their schemes are to fail due to unexpected circumstances. Therefore, one must become a superhuman!”

“I have abandoned my humanity and become a complete Bugster!”

Dan Kuroto’s hands involuntarily opened due to his increasingly loud voice, slightly startling Arona

“An abnormal adult…”

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, it seems you have succeeded.”

Seeing Genm suddenly appear on the screen, Sensei knew Dan Kuroto had successfully hacked into Shittim Chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Arona, now we can add him to the access list, right?"

"Sure, sure..." Arona glanced at the Kamen Rider beside her, who was observing the room, a little unhappy. "Is it really necessary?"

"Please, Arona, just do me a favor."

Sensei gave Arona an apologetic smile on the screen. "After all, he'll definitely need a lot of help later. If Shittim Chest's functions can assist Mr. Dan Kuroto, it should make things easier for him."

"Hmm... I understand."

Arona finally agreed. She turned and walked towards Dan Kuroto, who was studying the blue room intently, and beckoned him over. "Mr. Dan Kuroto, please do your biometric authentication with me. This is how we input your information into Shittim Chest."

Dan Kuroto thought for a moment: "Wouldn't that method work?"

"No way! That's illegal! Do you expect to kick the firewall every time you want to manipulate Shittim Chest?!"

Arona angrily made an X gesture.

"Honestly! I don't know why Sensei insisted on letting you inherit Shittim Chest!"

Slightly annoyed, Arona turned her head away, not wanting to see that comical, hard-shelled face.

"Hold out your hand!"

"Why?"

“Biodata collection in progress.”

Dan Kuroto extended his gloved hand, and Arona reached out and grasped his hand—

After a long pause—

“Huh? Why can't I read it?”

She reached out, withdrew, reached out again, and withdrew again.

Arona then realized she couldn't read Dan Kuroto's biodata. She understood that the armor Dan Kuroto was wearing was blocking her data collection.

“Take off this armor! Otherwise, I can't input the data!”

“What a nuisance…”

Dan Kuroto pulled out his Gashat. He had put on the Kamen Rider armor with great fanfare to force his way through Shittim Chest's firewall, but now that he was inside, there was no need to continue wearing it.

“Hmph… just a normal adult, about the same as Sensei.”

Arona’s eyes lingered on Dan Kuroto’s face for a moment before gathering some necessary information about him and adding it to her database.

Having done all this, Arona took two steps back and nodded to Dan Kuroto, saying, "That's good. From now on, you can use Shittim Chest normally."

"That simple?" Dan Kuroto asked doubtfully: "Isn't there... any more mysterious rituals or something?"

Arona countered with a puzzled look. "You've already infiltrated Shittim Chest's central system, what mysterious rituals do you need?"

The room Arona was in was the center for storing user data. Others submitted materials and had them reviewed by the system, but Dan Kuroto had directly added the materials to the system, so there were no complicated procedures.

"That makes sense, it's good that the problem is solved." Dan Kuroto nodded. "Shall I go out then?"

"...Suit yourself."

Although she had granted Dan Kuroto access to Shittim Chest, he was still a complete stranger to Arona, and their conversation remained somewhat unfamiliar.

After completing the authentication process, Dan Kuroto bypassed the firewall again without any obstacles. He successfully stepped out of the tablet and reappeared before Sensei.

"I believe this shouldn't be a problem for Mr. Dan Kuroto," Sensei smiled at him. "You can use Shittim Chest from now on."

"Afterwards, I will write a letter informing Rin and the others that you are my designated successor as the next 'Sensei'."

Hearing this, Dan Kuroto looked up, clearly puzzled. "Wait? Did I hear that right? You're going to appoint me as Sensei?"

“After all… these children really need an adult to guide them forward.” Sensei said apologetically to Dan Kuroto, “I know this doesn’t suit your personality, but could you…”

“No, no, no! I’m not doing it!” Dan Kuroto shook his head repeatedly, directly rejecting Sensei’s proposal: “I’m not suited to be Sensei at all, and I don’t want to be Sensei!”

“I’m going to be the president of Genm Corporation, expanding to every corner of the world! I won’t be Sensei! I won’t!”

“Ah, this…” Sensei was clearly a little troubled, but then understood: “You’re right, after all, it’s Mr. Dan Kuroto. It’s indeed a bit difficult for you to be a Sensei.”

"Good to know." Dan Kuroto was satisfied with Sensei's lack of insistence. "Just for your attitude, although I'm not happy to be Sensei, I can still help out and solve some problems. But anything beyond that is none of my business!"

"I see... alright then." Sensei nodded. This man was just like that; it was impossible to get him to willingly take over Sensei's position so easily.

"In that case, Mr. Dan Kuroto, please. I'll leave my data to you."

60. Let Me Explain Genm

Sensei placed his hand on his chest: "To create a Gashat from Bugster's data—Mr. Dan Kuroto, you should be able to achieve that, right?"

As Sensei said this, Dan Kuroto suddenly stepped forward, scrutinized Sensei closely, and clicked his tongue.

"Dissipating so quickly?"

"Yes, probably in a few more hours."

They were still at Abydos Academy. The countermeasures committee was busy preparing ingredients from the greenhouse Dan Kuroto had built for the evening's banquet. When Dan Kuroto returned, he casually used Neko King Gashat to construct several more buildings to provide basic necessities—these buildings completely took up the playground, making the otherwise normal Abydos Academy look somewhat crowded.

"That's why I'm in such a hurry to prepare everything," Sensei said, his expression turning somewhat helpless.

"To be honest, I really didn't expect that I'd just started preparing to show off my skills, and then I'd be crippled and stuck in the hospital, unable to even get up..."

"You look quite relaxed saying that," Dan Kuroto said bluntly, pointing at his face. "What, knowing you're about to die, and even becoming a Bugster won't save you, you're actually relieved?"

“Ha… I just feel like I can’t change anything.” Sensei shook his head regretfully, watching the children playing in the classroom in the distance, and smiled. “Before, they were just 2D characters separated by a screen, but in the end, it was me, the one outside the screen, who truly fell in love.”

“If I just disappear like this, will I perish, or will I return to reality?”

Sensei looked at the sunset. “It’s like a dream, and even after waking up, I’m still moved?”

“Well, you’re really something.” Dan Kuroto gave him the middle finger without any politeness. “You dragged me into this world to put out a fire, and then just walked away, huh?”

Smoke curled from the Abydos schoolhouse. Hoshino was washing carrots and potatoes, while Serika, wearing an apron, tended to chicken on the cutting board, occasionally glancing at the curry in the pot. Nonomi was on the phone, seemingly discussing some important decision with her family. Ayane sat nearby, teacup in hand, chatting amiably with Hanemi, a new member of the group, seemingly discussing enrollment. Shiroko stood by the pot, drooling over the bubbling curry.

Suddenly, Dan Kuroto reached out and plunged his hand into Sensei's chest.

"How could I let you succeed! Get out!!"

A ripple spread through the Bugster's body as Dan Kuroto's miraculous power flowed in his hand, searching for something within Sensei's chest.

"The human body is like a box. Now I'm going to open your box and let me see your dreams—"

The power to create Gashats with imagination—Dan Kuroto, too, possessed it!

“Take it then, this is my ‘dream.’”

Sensei watched him quietly, pausing slightly as Dan Kuroto moved. Slowly, Dan Kuroto withdrew the Gashat from Sensei's chest, and a deep blue Gashat detached from Sensei's body along with Dan Kuroto's hand.

“A Level 2 Gashat…”

It was only a Level 2 Gashat, but unlike the Gashat called Alchemy Player, this Gashat was a Rider Gashat inserted into the main card slot. Moreover, Dan Kuroto could see that this Gashat even had room for evolution; its potential was not limited to just Level 2.

Under the bright light, the game's cover art lit up on the deep blue Gashat's controller: a shooting star streaking across the sky against a deep, prelude-like sky.

“Guide of the Stars, that’s your Gashat name.” Dan Kuroto held up the Gashat, sunlight reflecting off its crystal panel, creating a mesmerizing effect. “It’s an action-adventure game about traversing timelines and saving the world with countless companions.”

“Sounds like a clichéd, classic story game.” Sensei laughed. “It’s a good game, isn’t it?”

“Indeed.” Dan Kuroto waved the Gashat at him. “I’ll take this Gashat for now.”

In the distance, as if remembering something, Ayane jogged towards Sensei and Dan Kuroto.

"What's wrong, Ayane-san?" Sensei asked with concern.

"Ah, Sensei! We were preparing for tonight's dinner party when we suddenly remembered something very important!"

Ayane's face first showed panic, then embarrassment, as she turned to Dan Kuroto: "Um... those guys from the Handyman 68, and those thugs, they seem to still be in jail... what should we do with them?"

“Ah, right.” Dan Kuroto slapped his fist. “So much has happened in such a short time, I almost forgot!”

“Actually, it wasn’t that long, was it?” Ayane pushed up her glasses. “Although a lot happened, Mr. Dan Kuroto acted so quickly. He single-handedly wiped out the entire Kaiser PMC force, stole a helicopter as a vehicle to the middle of the desert, and rescued Hoshino-senpai in relatively short time. If you really want to count…”

Ayane looked at her phone, then at her watch, a slightly stunned expression on her face.

"Only about a day?”

Yes… things that would normally take several days to resolve, after Dan Kuroto joined in, were like sodium thrown into water, producing a shocking and dramatic reaction—he truly reversed all those tragic fates.

“Ah… don’t be so harsh on those children.” Sensei stood up. “Aru and the others are lovely, good kids too.”

“Yes, yes, you’re the Sensei, you’re patient with every student.” Dan Kuroto also stood up casually. “Whatever you say. What do you suggest?”

“Let’s release them quickly.” Sensei walked ahead towards the prison. “Next time, be a little more patient with these children, Mr. Dan Kuroto. They’re not inherently bad.”

“Is that so?” Dan Kuroto followed behind Sensei, and Ayane quickly caught up. “But I don’t think a child who attacks students from other schools just because they were hired is a good student.”

“After all, they’re children from Gehenna Academy,” Sensei smiled. “Children can’t distinguish between good and evil. That’s when adults have to take responsibility and teach them what’s right and wrong.”

“As long as you put in the effort, they’ll definitely feel it.” Sensei walked up the steps. “Put yourself in their shoes.”

The prison environment looked gloomy, but it was actually quite nice; it was just an illusion created by the game’s stereotypical dark-style stone-brick dungeon. The familiar iron bars on the outside were the only distinguishing features.

Inside, the cells had standard dormitory beds. Although there were no computers, there were charging ports and Wi-Fi throughout the room.

Although Dan Kuroto claimed to be withholding food from the prisoners, the cat warden actually provided three meals a day, plus a limited quantity of caramel pudding per day. Phone chargers were also delivered by the cat guards.After being imprisoned, aside from Aru seemingly lost in thought, and Haruka, separated from Aru and having her weapons confiscated, entering a darker mode, Kayoko and Mutsuki appeared to adapt quite quickly.

"Oh the Wi-Fi here is pretty fast, it's really comfortable for playing online games"

Mutsuki lay on the bed, her little legs upside down against the wall, playing on her phone in a handstand position. In the opposite room, Kayoko simply drank her hot water, sitting upright in a chair, browsing the current news.

"Mutsuki, aren't you nervous?"

"Why think about such useless things? Let's play a game together~"

Kayoko looked at Mutsuki, who was laughing and playing games across from her, then glanced at Haruka beside her, who was trembling with fear, and at Aru, who looked like the world was ending. She couldn't help but sigh again, rubbing her forehead.

"Sigh... what's going on..."

Just as she was thinking about her next move, footsteps came from the direction of the door.

Kayoko looked up and saw that the person who walked in seems to be... Sensei, the one who was seriously injured and unconscious in the news?

---