124Toa Solaric: I don't own Kamen Rider Kamuro or Senki Zesshou Symphogear! They belong to their respective owners just like anything that originated from other series. It looks like we're in the final part of season 01.
Kamen Rider Kamuro: Song of the New Stage
Ch13: The Song of Triumph and Victory!
"SOIYA! DECADE ARMS! HAKAISHA ON THE ROAD~!"
The giant helmet of Decade descended onto Kamuro. When it did so, grey and multicolored holograms appeared before going into the helmet. The helmet unfolded into armor similar to Decade, finishing the transformation with Kamuro's eyes blazing the same green as Decade and summoning the RideBooker card book weapon into his waiting hand.
This is Kamuro Decade Arms.
Shinmugurun suddenly stumbled back, recognizing just what Kamuro had unknowingly become.
"D-Destroyer on the road?" Kurokage-Shin gawked.
"Destroyer?" Tsubasa asked.
"Lapis-kun…" Hibiki whispered in worry.
"Remember this… I'm just a passing through Kamen Rider!" Kamuro declared, now burning mad. "I will be the one who destroys you all!"
(Play Sanmi Ittai by Little Blue boX)
The song begins as Lapis looks over the city and and then turns to the blue sky.
(Rarara rarara Run&GUN gan gangan. Rarara rarara tobitate)
As Lapis looks at the sky, behind his shadow were Kamuro and his Overlord form. In his right hand was the Silver Lockseed as Lapis remembered his former life.
(Sekaiichi mo tada no tsuukaten. motto mottoikou ze. ten made te ga todoitemo sora wa.
Motto motto DEKAI ze)
Lapis was playing soccer with his legs and doing some fancy tricks. Then we see Hibiki smiling as she is eating snacks with her friend Miku. Tsubasa and Kanade were training together as Kamen Rider Baron stood watching in Kanade's shadow. Chris looks lonely as she continued her journey before she sight her eyes on Lapis.
(Mada tsuyoku nareru. Shinka wotsuzukeru Karada. Hyakusen renma no waza kokoro de.)
Now we seen an army of Noise but the one leading them is Fine and Kamen Rider Mars.
(Sanmi ittai shin gi tai Wow Yeah. yume wa ZETTAI kanaetai Go Way)
Hibiki and Tsubasa were fighting against the Noise while Kamuro and Baron backed each other up before Kamuro saw Jam charging towards him.
(San, ni, ichi ZERO de taiyou e. chousenjou tataki tsukeru ze. Maketetamaru ka.)
Jam fired off an attack at Kamuro. But Kamuro was shown the Heisei Rider Lockseed before he started transforming into different forms. Jam transformed into Mars as he and Kamuro kept charging, coming close to crashing into one another.
(Rarara rarara Run&GUN gan gan gan.)
We see Genjuro drinking coffee and his assistants beside him.
(Rarara rarara tobitate)
Now we seen Kamuro practicing with his staff and his various forms before Lapis and his friends appeared, completing the opening.
Kamuro suddenly blinked right in front of Shinmugurun before shooting him several times in the face with his Rider Booker. This caused Shinmugurun to flinch back in pain. But Kamuro didn't finish there as he kept delivering vicious slashes with the Musou Saber in his left hand.
The Black Tortoise Overlord was launched back by the sheer killing intent that Kamuro pumped into his attacks.
"Shamubishe…" Shinmugurun growled with rage as he punched the ground to get himself back up. "You won't get away with this… Traitor!"
"That old name again?" Kamuro started coldly before he let loose sinister chuckles. "You call me a traitor when you and all the others were the ones that snuffed our world out? You dare think I would ever be part of the kind of world cruel enough to destroy everything dear to life, where nothing is sacred?"
Shinmugurun could only roar before firing an energy wave with his axe, but Kamuro soon vanished before it ever hit. The Overlord could only look about wildly before multiple blurs crashed into him.
"Wait, isn't that ability from one of his forms with a beetle motif?" Chris asked.
"That's because it's from Decade's power." Kurokage-Shin explained.
"Who or what exactly is Decade?" Tsubasa asked seriously.
"I don't know much… but Decade is a special Rider because he can use the abilities of other Riders, or even become those Riders if he needs to." Kurokage-Shin recalled from the memories.
"So Decade is the only Rider wearing hot pink?" Baron deadpanned.
As if he could hear her words, Kamuro turned around and started hopping like an angry child.
"IT'S NOT PINK! IT'S MAGENTAAAAAAA!"
This caused Baron and the rest to sweatdropped at him.
"Anybody still like what Lapis is doing now?" Knuckle asked.
Kurokage-Shin shrugged. "This is the first time I've seen it in action." He then made to get away from Kamuro. "But I'd say not to go in there now. Poor guy looks like he's not going to stop anytime soon."
However, Hibiki wasn't paying any attention to Kurokage-Shin's explanation but worried about her friend now.
"Lapis-kun…" Hibiki said with worried.
Kamuro soon reappeared again before he reaches his hand to the Cutting Blade and pushed it down once.
"SOIYA! DECADE SQUASH!"
Drawing the Musou Saber and RideBooker with his right and left hands respectively, Kamuro crossed his arms so that both blades pointed away from him. As this happened, multiple holographic Decade cards lined up between him and Shinmugurun. The Overlord blinked at the odd sight before he released what it was. It was too late for him though as Kamuro ran through the line of cards, allowing both of his swords to grow in size and power before he delivered several strikes at once.
Shinmugurun was launched back from the blows, now covered in multiple vicious wounds that leaked his Helheim blood.
"Let's see how your 'tough' body can handle this…" Kamuro snorted, ready to plunge his weapons into the Overlord's heart.
Two arms wrapping around his waist said otherwise, though.
"Lapis-kun, stop! This is enough!" Hibiki shouted, desperately hoping he would listen to reason.
"Let go of me!" Kamuro shouted, struggling with the girl's hold on him.
Hibiki bluntly refused by turning her hold into a vice grip, hurting both her own arms and Kamuro's torso. Baron and Tsubasa were holding his arms from different sides to prevent Kamuro loose.
"That is enough!" Baron said.
"You've already won! He won't mess with anyone anymore!" Hibiki pleaded desperately.
"Snapped out of it, Lapis!" Tsubasa exclaimed.
"You have no idea how I felt! Because of bastards like him, I lost what matter to me! I lost my sister! I lost my friends! I lost my world! He deserved to be ripped from limbs to limbs! I will remove him-" Before Kamuro could finish, Kurokage-Shin punched him across the helmet to stop him immediately.
"Enough is enough, Lapis!" Kurokage-Shin warned him with the tone of his voice.
"What was that for?" the silver Armored Rider demanded.
"To stop you from doing something completely fucking stupid! Look at what you're doing to the people that actually tried to be your friends first! Hell, look at what you've done!" Kurokage-Shin countered.
Kamuro turned and saw Shinmugurun's body burst into flames, proving that his last salvo was more than enough. But Kurokage-Shin didn't stop his berating. "Do you really think Kouta would be happy if he saw you like this?"
This caused Kamuro to pause. His eyes wide in shock and looks at everyone who were watching him. The girls slowly let him go as Kamuro on his knees. "…you do have a point… but what happened is personal." He finally said weakly.
Kurokage-Shin nodded in understanding. If he were standing in Lapis's place, he wouldn't forgive anyone insulting his own family either. "I know. But you still went a bit overboard there." He said calmly.
Kamuro soon turned to look at a worried Hibiki and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hibiki-chan… I am sorry about what happened earlier."
"I know." Hibiki replied. "But I want you to know that even if your sister isn't here, me and Miku-chan will still be here for you." She added.
"You aren't alone anymore, Lapis." Baron said. Tsubasa nodded.
"We should try to get to Mars and stop him." Kamuro said with new resolve. Knuckle, Baron, and Kurokage-Shin nodded to his answer.
"About time." Baron snared.
"There is no doubt he will get his hands on Durandal now." Knuckle said.
"Wait, what about Fine?" Chris asked, looking around. "Isn't she with that gold bastard now?"
The Riders looked at Chris with great hesitation, as they didn't know how to respond. They knew Chris might take this a bit hard due to her relationship with Fine.
"…"
"Did something happen?" Tsubasa asked, looking serious.
"This is going to be hard to explain. You better listen to me first before asking any questions." Kamuro said, staring at the girls – especially Chris.
"What do you mean?" Chris asked.
"We will explain on the way." Knuckle said with serious tone. The longer they stay here, the better the chances Mars manages to claim Durandal.
Mars stared at the operation system for the Kadingir before he felt a presence approach him.
"What do you want, Redyue?" Mars asked seriously, not ever turning to look at her.
Redyue stood on her knee as the Golden Rider glanced at her.
"I'm here to report that they're coming this way." Redyue said calmly.
"I already felt it after Shinmugurun's death." Mars answered back. "Redyue, I need you for another important task. How would you like to play with a new big toy?"
(With Kamuro and others)
The three girls could only gape at the Riders after hearing their stories while they ran through Lydian Academy's hallways right now. After that, though, they proceeded to respond in their own ways.
"Fine got turned into a Lockseed by Mars when she turned her back on him…?" Tsubasa repeated, still not grasping the actual words. "Is that even possible?"
Baron nodded. "Mars backstabbed her when she was heading for the door to get Durandal."
"We saw it happen." Knuckle added, tone heavy.
"Fine is really… Ryoko-san?" Hibiki asked, further shocked and upset. "It can't be…"
"It's true, Hibiki-chan. I don't know why she is doing this… but this is the true personality Ryoko's been hiding from us." Kamuro said.
"An immortal…" Tsubasa came in. "I can't believe no one noticed…"
Kamuro nodded before he noticed how quiet Chris had become, and her fist clenched hard like a stone now.
"Chris…" Kamuro started. He can already guess what is on her mind now.
Chris grit her teeth in anger. "Now I'll never get any answers from her because she let her own guard down."
Baron scoffed at Chris. "Get in line, midget. You may want answers from that woman, but I lost my chance to give her my own piece of mind about my family's death."
Chris glared right back at Baron, her eyebrow now marked with an angry tic.
"Again with the midget thing, old woman?!" Chris countered.
"Midget! Midget! Midget! Midget! You're nothing but a shorty with a fuse!" Baron continued chanting.
"Old! Old! Old! Old! I bet that you can't see the white hair you're getting now." Chris retorted with a mocking tone.
Kamuro shook his head, desperately hoping to defuse this argument until Knuckle turned to him.
"Do you think you can separate Fine from Mars?" Knuckle asked.
Kamuro could only reply in the negative. "No, this is my first time actually seeing a person being turned into a Lockseed. I doubt Kougane will make it easy to release Fine."
"Then it's irreversible..." Chris said before looking down, downtrodden. "What am I supposed to do now?"
Kamuro sighed before he turned his attention to the hallway and began moving again.
"Hey! Where you are going?" Chris voiced her anger and confusion.
Kamuro stopped to look back at Chris.
"I'm going to stop Kougane like I intended to from the start. But you - you can leave this place if you want to." Kamuro said. This surprised Chris greatly.
"But why?" Chris asked again. Kamuro could only sigh.
"I'm sorry about not being able to keep my promise to you about Fine and why she's doing any of this. But the only thing that I can do now in order to atone for that is stopping Kougane." Kamuro replied, his voice steely.
Chris could only growl. "Don't think I'll let you go that easily, Lapis!"
"You don't even have any reasons for fighting Kougane now." Kamuro answered back.
"Kougane took my chance to get answers from her! I'm going to give that gold teme pain a thousand fold!" Chris shouted with furious glare. "And you! I know there is something you aren't telling me, especially with this 'Kouta' person that keeps popping up. I will get my answers!"
"Really, then?" Kamuro teased. "Do you plan on putting me on a leash?"
"T-That's not your business!" Chris blushed furiously.
"Maybe you shouldn't fight. It looks like you might get sick." Kamuro observed with a concerned look. This caused Chris's face to flash beet red.
"I DON'T HAVE A FUCKING FEVER, DUMBASS!" Chris roared.
'Is he really that dense?' Kurokage-Shin thought in confusion. Lapis did mention he was older, but should he really be this oblivious to romance?
Without any further warning, though, the floor beneath them started trembling.
"What's going on now?" Knuckle asked in trepidation.
Bursting from the floor was none other than Mars himself – now bearing, to everyone's horror, the Durandal.
"The Durandal…" Hibiki paled at the sight.
"You all are the last obstacle in my way. Once you fall down, I shall finally take my place as God of the New World and bring humanity itself to extinction!"
"Not gonna let that happen!" Kamuro shouted back.
Mars swung the Durandal and shot a golden energy wave at the group. Kamuro leapt into the way and blocked with an Overlord barrier – however, it seemed that even he could not stand for long against this weapon, as his shield was now cracking from the pressure on it.
"Is this what we're dealing with?" Chris wondered out loud.
"I'm surprised that he hasn't gone berserk like Hibiki yet." Baron noted, grudgingly respecting Mars' prowess.
"Time to get serious," Kamuro said as he soon summoned his Kachidoki Lockseed.
"KACHIDOKI!"
His Silver Arms vanished in sparkles of light as a Helheim portal opened above him. Coming out was none other than his own Kachidoki Arms. Kamuro then locked the Kachidoki Lockseed into his Driver and hit the Cutting Blade.
"LOCK ON! SOIYA! KACHIDOKI ARMS! IZA SHUTSUJIN! EI! EI! OH~!"
The Kachidoki Arms landed on his head and folded out into Kamuro's armor, who then drew the Kachidoki Bata from his back.
"This is Our Stage Now!" Kamuro declared.
He soon ran forward, deflecting Mars's energy arrows before the two Riders collided with each other. The two Riders glared at each other before they threw themselves through the wall and back outside.
Mars and Kamuro got up as they continued clashing with each other. Mars soon summoned crystalline whips from the ground before flinging them at Kamuro. But Kamuro jumped back and countered the whips with vines before catching Mars and launching him backwards. Baron soon joined the fight with several arrows. However, her arrows can't even pierce his protective armor and they fizzled away on contact.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Baron shouted in dismay.
"Then let us have a crack at him the same time!" Kurokage-Shin said as he and Knuckle coming along.
"KURUMI SPARKING!"
"LIQUID! MATSUBOKKURI ENERGY SQUASH!"
The two Riders launched energy projectiles from their weapons which connected with Mars - but to no effect. Mars scoffed and answered with a golden slash that sent all but Kamuro tumbling away in pain.
"We have to help as well." Hibiki said. Chris and Tsubasa nodded.
"Balwisyall necscell Gungnir tron…" Hibiki sang.
"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri Tron…" Tsubasa sang.
"Killiter Ichaival tron…" Chris sang.
The three girls surrounded by bright lights before transforming into their Symphogear suits. They soon leapt out the huge hole in the wall.
"Any ideas on how to defeat him?" Hibiki asked her friends.
"The only thing we can do now is take Durandal from Mars and hope it's enough to even things in our favor!" Tsubasa replied.
"Sounds like my kind of plan." Chris added with a smirk.
Mars flipped around when he spotted the three Symphogear girls leaping into the scene.
"Come to accept death?" Mars challenged them as they came in close, Chris firing off mini rocket missiles at him. Mars drew his other sword, destroying the projectiles. "Pathetic!"
Kamuro summoned his Hinawa DJ Gun in reply before firing bullets at Mars to draw attention away from the girls.
"Don't forget about us, Mars!" Kamuro said.
"Do you really think that you can defeat me? I'm the Gold God of this world now!" Mars mocked them all.
"You don't even deserve to call yourself a God!" Kamuro shouted back, continuing his bullet barrage on Mars.
"You're nothing but a rotten fruit!" Baron added, firing arrows at Mars.
Mars only staggered a little before his armor glow and healed, prompting him to laugh at all of his opponents.
"You waste your power for this! Power should be used to subdue the weak and punish them! Those too weak always seek power - always push each other down to reach the top! You don't even understand the ways of evolution!"
"You couldn't be any more wrong! Power should be used to protect those who are weaker than us!" Knuckle argued back. "Then again, you aren't real, so you wouldn't know any better!"
"You aren't even a real Golden Fruit!" Kamuro shouted as well.
"I have a debt to pay to the man who's been protecting this world and saved my life… I am not going down without paying it back!" Kurokage-Shin affirmed with a defiant stand.
"Fools!" Mars roared with fury as he unleashed another powerful heatwave on his surroundings. Hibiki tried to resist the attack, but it was enough to crack her armor and send her flying back.
"Itai…" Hibiki groaned.
"Are you alright?" Knuckle asked.
"I'm fine… Shisho…" Hibiki answered.
"Can you still move?" Knuckle said, giving Hibiki a hand.
Hibiki took it and rose back up.
Kamuro, Tsubasa, and Baron were fighting Mars once again as the Golden Rider showed how well he could hold his own. He threw them off and sent them crashing into the ground with a well-placed Sonic Arrow blast.
Mars glanced at the enemies around him with manic glee. Now that he held both Fine's Nehustan and Durandal, he was practically just one step away from true godhood!
Mars soon vanished before he rushed at them again. They tried their damnedest, but even then none of the heroes were able to match Mars' speed. As he stopped, Mars noticed that only Kurokage-Shin was still standing, frowning at the thought of how much he had struggled until he finally became his puppet – and then how Kamuro ruined all his plans up till now.
Kurokage-Shin tried to slash him with his Kagematsu, but Mars slashed his weapon in half before sending him flying with a powerful hack from Durandal. Once he landed back on the floor, Kurokage-Shin reverted to Ryoji.
"Hase!" Kamuro shouted for his friend.
Ryoji fought to pick himself up, but the blood running down his forehead proved that he was far from making any meaningful movements.
Everyone stopped immediately when the ground started shaking again.
"Now what?" Knuckle asked incredulously.
Kamuro turned to the school, only to widen his eyes and voice his shock. "Everyone! The school!"
Lydian Academy was crumbling apart – and in its place, a tower-like cannon crawling with Helheim plants stood over everything.
"What is that thing?" Hibiki asked in horror.
"Could that be Kadingir?" Chris wondered in shock.
Tsubasa's eyes widened before gritting her teeth. "T-That's Kadingir!?"
"But I feel someone there -!" Kamuro growled in realization. "Redyue is operating that thing!"
"Don't forget about me!" Mars said, charging at Kamuro when he let his guard down.
"MELON ENERGY!"
With no further ado, a large energy melon appeared above Mars and split apart into a rain of endless arrows on him. This caused him to stop moving as he noticed Baron with her Sonic Arrow.
"You think this will be enough to hold me down…" Mars mocked before taking the Durandal and swinging the golden blade upward to disrupt the attack from above.
Baron soon rushed at him with her Sonic Arrow. He saw it coming and dodged her attack as she swung at him. Mars blocked her attack before following with a powerful slash to send Baron downward, canceling her Jimber Melon transformation and reverting her to her original Banana arms form.
Before Mars could approach her, dozens of vines emerged out of nowhere and bound Mars completely. In short order, a flower-shaped Crack opened behind Baron. Flower petals burst out and Mars was blinded by the cloud of petals. Then a Sakura Hurricane shot out and knocked Mars down to the ground as the Durandal went flying high into the air when the Rider sped past him.
The Sakura Hurricane stopped and Shinji dismounted.
"Did I make it in time?" Shinji asked.
"Shinji, are the others alright?" Knuckle asked their newcomer.
Shinji nodded before focusing his attention on Mars. "But we need to hurry before Kadingir fires!"
"Kisama… Look at what you've done!" Mars roared as he burst out of the vines with an angry flash.
The Durandal soon landed in a forest not far from where they were now.
"I won't let you get it!" Mars screamed once again.
Shinji's only reply came in the form of a glare and his own Lockseed.
"KIVA!"
"Henshin…" Shinji started.
"LOCK ON!"
The Kiva Arms Armor Parts dropped onto Shinji, forming his Rider Wear suit before disassembling to fold onto his body to form his armor.
"SOIYA! KIVA ARMS! KING OF VAM~PIRE!"
"Wake Up and break the Chains of Destiny!" Kurokage declared before charging at Mars.
Before Kamuro could join Kurokage, he noticed his Heisei Lockseed glowing and took it out to investigate. To his surprise, the light actually leapt out and flew towards Knuckle, changing his Arms into a new set entirely.
The broken Kurumi Arms were replaced with red armor with red shoulder guards, and red anklets. He no longer had the Kurumi Bombers, but his fists were burning with furious flames. His helmet had red compound eyes, a silver mouth piece, and yellow horns.
"KUUGA ARMS! CHOU HENSHIN, HA-HA-HA!"
"What in the world?" Chris voiced everyone's surprise.
"Did that Lockseed give the Commander another form?" Tsubasa asked.
Soon Knuckle and Kurokage charged together in a gambit to keep Mars away from the Durandal. The two Riders worked together against him incredibly well - when Mars fired a shot from his Sonic Arrow, Knuckle countered with a furious fiery punch to cancel it out and land another attack of his own. With this, Kurokage managed to get another attack in while Mars was distracted with his Sonic Arrow.
"SOIYA! KIVA SPARKING! GARURU!"
A howl echoed as Kurokage reappeared with the Garuru Saber to block Mars's swing before dealing several blows on him.
"You might take me on… but I'm indestructible!" Mars roared as the cracks on his armor started healing in microseconds. "Nothing, neither Symphogear nor Rider, can stop me now!"
"Could it be the power of Nehustan?" Chris grit her teeth.
Is there anything that I can do to help? Hibiki thought worriedly. Suddenly, inspiration hit her – and prompted her to run to the Durandal.
"Hibiki, where you are going?" Tsubasa asked.
"We can use the Durandal now, right?"
"Wait up!" Tsubasa said. She remembered that Hibiki almost lost control when using the Durandal.
"Of course!" Chris leapt back to her feet as she followed Hibiki into the forest. Only Durandal could cancel out Nehustan's abilities.
Mars whipped his head back to see the three Symphogear users gunning for Durandal, only to roar "You shall not have it again!"
But Kamuro blocked Mars before he retaliated with several Musou Saber strikes. After kicking Mars away, the Silver Apple turned to Kurokage and Knuckle.
"Shinji-san! Genjuro-san! Find a way to shut down the Kadingir!"
The two Riders nodded and hurried to the massive cannon.
"Do you think you can truly stop the destruction of humanity?" Mars chuckled as he pushed himself back up.
Kamuro simply raised his sword and swore "You can keep coming back, Kougane, but you will be cut down every time you do!"
With a roar, Mars charged at Kamuro with his Sword Bringer screaming for blood, the samurai Rider responding in kind. Swords clashed and sparks flew as the two Apple Riders exchanged fast and furious blows. Kamuro struck with a quick chop which Mars blocked and the knight Rider retaliated with a series of furious slashes which Kamuro parried and deflected.
The two of them slashed their weapons at the same time, creating a deadlock as they glared each other down.
"You got stronger, this is better than when we had last fought." Mars commented.
"I don't take flatterer." Kamuro replied before he kicked Mars back.
The Gold Rider jumped into the air and let loose several Arrows against Kamuro, but the Silver Apple calmly stopped them cold with a well-timed barrier.
"SOIYA! KACHIDOKI AU LAIT!"
Kamuro's body started burning with orange flames before they all converged in his ready Musou Saber.
"GOLDEN AU LAIT! NEHUSTAN AU LAIT!"
Mars replied with his own black and red flames with Sonic Arrow. With one mighty swing, both Riders sent a fiery tsunami against one another – and suffered the consequences of being knocked clean away from the sheer force of the explosion.
(With Hibiki)
Hibiki continued leaping through the forest in search of the Durandal. It was the only thing truly capable of stopping Nehustan. It wasn't until later that she had found the weapon's signature glow.
"The Durandal…" Hibiki said quietly, eyes widening.
Inhaling deeply, Hibiki steeled herself before she-
"Hey brat, look out!" Chris shouted.
Hibiki turned around and saw Inves coming after her. She grimaced before she sent half of them flying away with powerful punches and kicks – the rest were subdued by a rain of blue swords.
"Tsubasa… thank you." Hibiki said.
"Hibiki, are you sure that you want to try this again?" Tsubasa asked seriously.
"I know the risk of losing control… but there is no other way." Hibiki replied, equally serious.
Tsubasa stared Hibiki down before she snorted, smirking.
"You better not screw up." Chris commented, crossing her arms.
Hibiki soon approached the Durandal's hilt and began pulling the sword free from its tree.
But the golden sword won't budge an inch.
Why isn't it working? Hibiki widened her eyes with anxiety. She remembered the Durandal responding to her the last time.
"Please move…" Hibiki pleaded as she kept pulling on the sword.
Suddenly, she felt another hand on the Durandal's hilt and saw Chris.
"Chris-chan…"
"Let's not waste time – if it can't be done alone, let's do it together!"
(Within the Kadingir)
Redyue was adjusting the controls of Kadingir with her Overlord power. Thought it wasn't easy to deal with that man's command on her now.
"What an interesting toy…" Redyue mused.
It wasn't until she spotted Kurokage and Knuckle heading toward her direction that she ever bothered moving.
"So you want to play with me as well…" Redyue drawled.
(Outside of Kadingir)
Kurokage and Knuckle sprinted to the massive cannon before them. It wasn't until they saw Inves emerge from the Kadingir that Knuckle sent a powerful flame fist at them.
A Berserker Inves was next to greet them.
"DOGGA!"
Kurokage jumped into the air with a large purple hammer and slammed on the head of the Inves to destroy it. Soon he noticed a demonic dragon face form on Kadingir before it leered down at them.
"What is that?" Kurokage asked in shock.
"Shinji, move back!" Kurokage turned around to see Knuckle's body begin to burst with flame. He soon jumped away from Knuckle's targets: the Inves and Kadingir.
The demonic dragon fired a powerful violet beam at them. Knuckle promptly slammed his fists together to reply with a fiery double-punch.
The two attacks collided with each other, struggling for dominance.
Kurokage suddenly felt something growing within his commander about to come out in one deciding move.
Knuckle have been trained in multiple styles of martial arts and learned from various action movies. He kept training to improve his fighting styles even though he couldn't do any damage to Noise in the past.
"It's not over yet!" Knuckle roared, increasing the flames going into the punch.
His flames grew in so much power, in fact, that they formed a roaring tiger that started charging at Kadingir.
"H-How can a normal human have this much power!?" Redyue trembled at this new revelation.
Knuckle slowly, but surely kept pushing forward as his tiger started overwhelming the demon's beam. With one last swipe, though, it opened a path right into Kadingir itself.
(Back to the battle)
Once again, Nehustan managed to heal Mars enough that he was first to rise again, now back at square one of the whole battle.
The Artificial Being then caught Kamuro wide open with a single electric shockwave, forcing him back considerably even as he kept marching on.
"No matter how many times you stand up again or gain new powers, I will always win!" Mars crowed. "Even Overlord immortality has its limits!"
"What keeps me going isn't just immortality, but the will inherited from Kouta to protect others once more!" Kamuro shot back.
Baron tried to tackle Mars from behind, but Mars backhanded the other Knight with his Mars Bringer, sending her flying back.
"He's too strong…" Baron groaned, getting angry. She refused to concede to a lunatic like him. "There has to be a way to defeat him…" Suddenly, she remembered the metallic banana from Sagara and took it out. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" She held the metallic banana tightly as she watched Kamuro fighting Mars once again. But Mars simply countered Kamuro again, with the Silver Rider doggedly hitting him in reply.
That bastard Mars almost corrupted her best friend, sacrificed people to gain power and ruined her chances of getting revenge on Fine. Lapis was right. Mars needed to be stopped here and now!
Baron soon remembered the nightmare about her family's death, followed by people who were suffering under the monsters controlled by Kougane and Fine.
"No more…" Gritting her teeth, Baron clenched onto the banana tightly.
"I have to keep moving and keep triumphing…" Baron reminded herself of Lapis's words. But she reminded herself that she isn't just here for revenge in the past. She is going to protect everyone important to her. She will protect everyone!
As if it answered her will, the metallic banana suddenly began to flash and morphed into a brand new Lockseed right before her eyes. It was colored completely yellow and resembled the Kachidoki Lockseed marked with the code K.L.S.-02.
Baron didn't question this turn of events – with Mars steadily gaining ground, this could have been the only way to change the tides again!
"VICTORY!"
Another Crack opened above Baron, but this time the Armor Parts resembled a banana with black highlights.
Baron proceeded to lock the new Lockseed into her Driver before pushing the Cutting Blade. The core of her Victory Lockseed resembled an octagonal banana slice while the lid's backside image was a type of futuristic claymore.
"COME ON!"
The Victory Armor Part landed on Baron's head before disassembling into her new Arms.
"VICTORY ARMS!"
The top part of the Armor part flipped down onto Baron's back to reveal her helmet. Her helmet now resembled a roman gladiator helmet with curved yellow horns hanging on the back of her helmet.
The front part flipped down to become her skirt armor with black highlights and studs which revealed her chestplate, which was also yellow with her symbol in silver on a gray background surrounded by yellow bolts. It side parts rotated down on their axes to become large shoulder guards while her forearm braces also gained similar armor.
The visor lit up as yellow juice splashed from her armor. Soon appearing around her neck were none other than yellow scarfs hanging in the wind. Mirroring Kachidoki's DJ Gun, Victory Arms summoned forth a futuristic claymore called the Matchlock Victory. Fully unveiled, Baron Victory Arms resembled a full armored European Knight.
"BURNING BLADE OF COURAGE!"
Ryoji was trying to get himself up as he saw Kamuro struggling immensely. The original Kurokage stared daggers at the golden Rider who had manipulated him into doing his bidding in frustration, not having enough in him to help. He clenched his fist on his Energy Lockseed in response to his rage.
"I won't forgive him for what he did…" Ryoji affirmed angrily. "I will not let that fucking bastard win!"
I still have debts to pay, after all… The black-haired teen thought with determination.
This fight wasn't just only to release himself from Mars, no; this was to prove to people he can truly change.
Lapis.
Jonouchi.
Kouta.
As if to reward this line of thinking, Aashuimu phased into existence right in front of him.
"A sword…?" Ryoji asked, confused at this weapon's appearance.
Aashuimu then turned into a beam of energy before flowing into his Energy Lockseed and creating a new Lockseed altogether. The Energy Lockseed was now black with the image of Aashuimu in the front.
Ryoji didn't hesitate and strapped on his Genesis Driver before unlocking the new Lockseed. "It's ass kicking time! Let's…HENSHIN!"
"AASHUIMU ENERGY!"
A stone portal appeared behind Ryoji as he got back up to his feet. An aura projection of the Aashuimu hovered around him. Without hesitation, he placed the new Lockseed into his Genesis Driver before pushing the lever, opening up the Lockseed and filling the Concentrate Pods with clear liquid.
"LIQUID!"
Ryoji soon transformed into his Kurokage-Shin form with the Matsubokkuri Energy Arms until his Matsubokkuri Energy Arms shattered completely, revealing a new Arms. Kurokage-Shin's Aashuimu Energy Arms armor was white with two large bull horns hanging on his back and white armor pauldrons with black highlights; he bore white and black chestplate armor, helmet now bearing an attachment resembling bull's horns with a brown visor. He was armed with Aashuimu, but the sword soon changed into a futuristic katana with a Lockseed compartment.
"AASHUIMU ENERGY ARMS!"
The loud chants caught the attention of the two opposite Riders. Only their masks hid their collective surprise.
Kamuro openly gawked. "No way…"
Mars could only grind his teeth together. "What is the meaning of this, Shamubishe?" He demanded.
"He has nothing to do with this." Baron answered. "But we resolved to defeat you."
Kurokage-Shin crunched his knuckles together. "We're planning on kicking your ass!" Kurokage-Shin added. He can totally bet Jonouchi would be jealous if he saw him now.
The two Riders soon started attacking Mars furiously with their new weapons. Mars dodged their attacks before firing an energy arrow at Baron, but Baron swung her claymore to knock it down.
Kurokage-Shin soon ran at lightning speed before delivering several slashes across Mars' chest to knock him further back.
Mars drew the Nehustan Energy Lockseed and placed it in the black Sonic Arrow before shooting into the air above the Riders.
"NEHUSTAN ENERGY!"
Multiple crystalline arrows met the two Riders head-on, yet neither of them flinched.
Baron soon shifted her Matchlock Victory into a high-tech rifle before she started to shoot Mars with red bullets. Mars attempted to slash them away, only to feel sparks erupting from his chest.
"Bakana…! What are you?" Mars cursed in pain.
Kurokage-Shin soon leapt back before pushing the lever.
"AASHUIMU ENERGY SQUASH!"
Kurokage-Shin drew his katana in a 360 position as dark energy gathered around him. He then stabbed the blade into the ground as black razor energy waves rose up. Kurokage-Shin focused his glare on Mars as the energy waves hit Mars.
Though Nehustan's healing ability was useful, Mars could still feel the brutal force from Kurokage-Shin's attack. Soon after, Kurokage-Shin pulled the sword from the ground as he sent the black flames across the blade straight towards Mars – nad from the Golden Rider's horrific screams, it was a confirmed hit.
Baron soon leapt into the air before using the Cutting Blade.
"COME ON! VICTORY SQUASH!"
Her Matchlock Victory was burning with golden flames as it reached its apex in the sky. Then with one final blow, Baron went crashing down blade-first into Mars, launching him back like a ballistic missile.
"That was awesome!" Kurokage-Shin cheered.
Mars soon landed on the ground before slowly and painfully pushing himself back. He clenched his fists in bitter rage. In fact, both his rage and the power from Fine started escalating enough to - !
Everyone whipped their heads to see Kadingir go up in flames – and Mars exploding into a swarm of black locusts!
"Unforgivable… UNFORGIVABLE!" Mars roared before the swarm also took to the fire.
"What is going on?" Knuckle asked confused.
"Oh crap…" Kurokage-Shin said before looking at Kamuro. "Is he going to use that form again?"
Kamuro grimly nodded. "Stay on your guard, everyone!"
Mars reemerged from the flames, this time riding on the ten story tall, nine-tailed Flame Horse. Appearing beside the demonic steed were two large Noise made of flame flying above them. This was all the warning the Riders had before the Flame Horse sent fireballs flying everywhere in a straight strafe.
"What did I tell you!?" Mars laughed madly. "This is where it ends!"
Kamuro was hit by the full force of a wayward fireball, and right into the path of the Flame Horse's falling foot – if a golden slash hadn't intervened.
"It's not over yet!" a familiar voice shouted back.
Kamuro and the others turned to the sky and saw Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris in new forms with colorful wings. But what surprised them all was the sight of the girls now wielding the Durandal without consequence!
"The Durandal?! They can actually use it now?" Baron asked in surprise.
"We will use this blade to end your existence." Tsubasa boasted towards Mars.
Mars stared daggers in reply. They were using what was rightfully his! "I won't let you have it!"
The Flame Horse charged at the three airborne girls, but they were prepared for it! The Durandal was glowing once again before the trio took aim and fired a burning slash right at Mars! Even though Mars supposed to be invincible in this form, combined with the power of Nehustan and Fine no less, this pain he felt was far too similar to the last person who had managed to best this form last time.
"AAAAHHHH….!" Mars screamed as his massive horse was launched back. The Flame Horse was rolling on the ground before the Noise took after the Symphogear.
"We'll take care of them!" Tsubasa called to the Riders before the three Symphogear users engaged the Noise in one last dogfight.
The two titan Noise simply launched a new army in response.
"I won't let you harm anyone else!" Hibiki said.
Mars was attempting to raise himself and his steed back up, only to see his armor cracking heavily.
"What's happening to me?!" Mars demanded to know.
(Play Ranbu Escalation ost)
"It's time that we finished this, Mars!" Kamuro shouted as his bracelet started to glow once again.
A magic circle appeared before him as he summoned Joeshuimu. Kamuro then summoned his Hinawa Daidai DJ Gun with his other hand.
He flipped up a piece attached under the DJ Gun's barrel over on the front. Afterwards, he held his Musou Saber up to the DJ Gun and slid the blade into the barrel. This caused the Great Orange Blade edge piece to pop out the other end which was the back of the DJ Gun's Matchlock Grip. He unlocked his Kachidoki Lockseed.
"LOCK OFF!"
Kamuro then locked his Kachidoki Lockseed onto the DJ Gun's Drive Bay.
"LOCK ON!"
Kamuro gripped the DJ Gun in Taiken Mode tightly with one hand while holding Joeshuimu with his other hand.
"Let's do this…" Kamuro whispered. "Rosyuo..."
Before anyone could realize what happened, blue and red flames appeared on Kamuro's back like a set of wings. He was taking off into the air before Mars noticed he was shooting straight for him.
"Now we break free of the shackles of the past!" Kamuro intoned as he drew his weapons back.
Mars urged the Flame Horse to get up before charging at Kamuro while firing fireballs at the flying samurai. Unfortunately for him, Kamuro easily dodged them all with speed too great for Mars to match.
"SHAMBUSIHE!" roared Mars.
"KOUGANE!" Kamuro shouted.
As both opposing Riders charged at each other, the DJ Gun began to count up like the Musou Saber, only it went higher and further.
"1! 10! 100! 1,000! 10,000! 100,000,000! 1,000,000,000,000! MURYODAISU!"
Mars continued blasting Kamuro with fireballs, but Kamuro went through the attacks like it was nothing to him as he continued charging towards the Forbidden Fruit. Energy flared out from the DJ Gun's blade with each count as its power finally reached its zenith.
"KACHIDOKI CHARGE!"
Kamuro spun around in the air and violently slashed Mars across the chest with both swords, increasing the cracks enough that fire burst out of them. Kamuro was skidding across the ground after landing.
"How-?! How could this be!? The world is almost mine for the taking!" Mars denied his defeat angrily. How could he lose a third time? "This can't be over…" His Rider form soon shimmered before something emerged from the broken armor.
Kamuro turns around to see something that resembled a red apple with gold highlights try to flee from the armor of Mars. This was Kougane's true form as the artificial Fruit of Knowledge.
Kamuro was prepared to attack one more time – only to see his allies were already doing so.
"COME ON! VICTORY SPARKING!"
"AASHUIMU ENERGY SPARKING!"
"SOIYA! KIVA SQUASH! WAKE UP!"
Baron, Kurokage-Shin, Knuckle, Kurokage, Chris, Hibiki, and Tsubasa were soon all falling onto the artificial Golden Fruit.
"N-N-N-NOOOOO!" Kougane screamed in pain. Their combined attacks caused the artificial golden fruit to crack before it exploded into nothing.
(OST end)
Kamuro soon spotted a familiar figure trying to flee from the scene after the Kadingir was destroyed. He promptly landed before her presence.
"That sword…" Redyue was speechless before Kamuro pointed his blade towards her.
"Redyue, I will ask you once." Kamuro said. "What happened to Rosyuo?"
"Why should I tell you!?" Redyue mocked with a dark laugh.
Kamuro frowned before he slashed Redyue right across the chest, fully fed up with her evil.
Kamuro approached Redyue again before he grabbed her neck and pulled her close to his face. He knew full well that Redyue could only ever lie to others for her own goals.
"Then I will do this… the hard way."
His bracelet started to glow as Redyue began to scream in pain, Kamuro now probing through her memories about the events she recalled in Zawame City.
He saw Redyue talking to Rosyuo about entrusting a part of the Forbidden fruit to Kouta when humanity's fate was sealed. But Rosyuo wanted to see some hope, which angered Redyue even though she didn't show it.
Redyue was talking to Mitsuzane about using Mai in order to defeat Kouta once and for all, but she could only raise an eyebrow as the human started angrily conversing with the air.
Redyue reappeared and started fighting against Kouta and Ryouma when they attempted to disrupt the machine for reviving Kyrnn. It wasn't long until Redyue sent Kouta into an illusionary nightmare where he became an Inves and everyone in Zawame City wanted to destroy him. But even this wasn't enough to stop him – if anything, it only fully resolved Kouta's will to fight for humanity even if he couldn't be part of it anymore.
During the battle against Rosyuo, Kouta soon fell to the ground immediately. Redyue took advantage of Rosyuo's distraction while he was talking with Kouta.
"Kouta Kazuraba, I have seen your resolve." Rosyuo said calmly.
Before he could finish his sentence, Rosyuo got hit in the chest by an energy beam and fell to his knees.
Kouta could only stare in anguished shock as the Overlord King fell to the ground, with Redyue soon emerging from her hiding spot with an evil laugh.
"You let your guard down, my liege!" Redyue mocked.
"Redyue…" Rosyuo turned to look at his supposed assistant, and the last other member of the Femushinmu.
Kouta gritted his teeth in fury at Redyue, struggling as he rose back up.
"Coward…" Kaito growled at the cruelest of all the players in Helheim's game.
"Oh, how I've waited for this moment." Redyue continued gloating. "The golden fruit… The power to control the world… It's finally mine!"
Redyue soon thrust her hand into Rosyuo's chest and pulled out the Fruit of Knowledge. She could only laugh like a maniac at how everything had finally worked out – the Heart of Helheim itself was finally hers!
"Redyue…" Kouta gritted his teeth once more.
To everyone's surprise, though, the fruit in Redyue's hand stopped glowing. In fact, and to Redyue's horror, it started decaying!
"What's the meaning of this!?" Redyue roared before she marched back to her King's side and kicked him aside.
She walked over his body and looked back down on him.
"Rosyuo! Where. Is. The fruit!?"
"The role of our people is complete!" Rosyuo explained, weakened from the wound. Still, he found it in himself to laugh. "The nightmare is over! My queen, I shall be with you soon!"
Howling with rage, Redyue repeatedly stabbed at the First Man's body, wanting nothing more than that satisfaction of bloody torture.
"Damn you! DAMN YOU! It was in my grasp! The gold fruit! And you…!"
"Redyue…!" Redyue turned to see Kouta standing tall once more, even in spite of his injuries, and now focused on her with as much righteous fury as possible.
"I'll stop you and end this HERE AND NOW!"
"You're as good as dead now!" Redyue shot back. "What the hell can you do now?"
Kouta's eyes flashed red for a moment before he drew out his Kachidoki Lockseed. In fact, he actually brought it back into its original metallic orange form and then reforged it!
"Henshin!" Kouta intoned.
"KACHIDOKI!"
"FRUITS BASKET!"
Redyue tried to blast him with an energy orb, but the metallic fruits protected Kouta as he changed into Kachidoki Arms before the Armor Parts slammed into him, blowing the Kachidoki armor off and creating a new Arms – one with silver armor, the image of multiple fruits now arranged on a black chest plate, a triangular helmet with a golden version of the Gaim symbol as its crest, a rainbow visor, and a majestic black and red cape.
"KIWAMI ARMS! DAI! DAI! DAI! DAI! DAI SHOGUN!"
Gaim spun his Kiwami Lockseed enough times to send multiple Arms Weapons flying at Redyue, but she responded with a strong backhand swipe with her Dau before charging right for him.
Gaim answered with Kurokage-Shin's Kagematsu and the two clashed with each other. But Gaim had the upper hand as he delivered several blows on Redyue.
Her anger increasing, Redyue attempted attacking with Helheim vines. Gaim simply took them away from and lashed with them, visor glowing, before he took Rosyuo's Joeshuimu.
"What… is this power?" Redyue asked in complete shock.
Gaim interrupted with several blows with Joeshuimu that kept sending the mad green Overlord back.
"Me!? Die!?" Redyue exclaimed, not believing what was happening.
"HINAWA DAIDAI DJ JU!"
Gaim summoned that familiar weapon before he loaded it with his original Orange Lockseed.
"LOCK ON!"
"FRUIT BASKET! ORANGE CHARGE!"
Gaim fired one last blast that incinerated Redyue, finally closing the curtain on the Femushinmu story….
Kamuro released Redyue from his spell before shoving her to the ground. He had seen enough.
Kouta…you actually became Overlord….Kamuro thought to himself, upset and heartbroken. To think that his friend, the person that had inspired him so much, would end up being dragged into Helheim's mess…
He looked back to Redyue before approaching her again.
"So the almighty Redyue was defeated by a Rider who was trashed by Rosyuo - very pathetic, but a fitting end for you." Kamuro commented sarcastically.
Redyue's eyes widened in shock. "What!? Are you-?"
"Yes! I'm looking down on YOU." Kamuro answered darkly, "You survived all this time by cowering in Rosyuo's shadow, which only proves how weak and helpless you really are. It's a real shame Demushu or the others didn't put an end to a weakling like you out of the forest."
"You…!" Redyue crunched her teeth at the Silver Apple. "You have no right to call yourself a hero either, traitor!"
"I have to admit that no ones' hand is truly clean, including mine - but I will protect this world in Kouta's stead and for my precious friends. I will fight either human or Inves." Kamuro affirmed.
"You Bloodly Hypocrite!"
Kamuro delivered another double slash across Redyue's chest to send her flying back further.
"Call me what you want, wench. But I'm here to extract my revenge for my older sister's death and making my friends suffer." Kamuro said before thrust his sword into Redyue's chest.
"Gah…!" Redyue grunted in pain. "Damn you… You won't get away with mocking me!"
Kamuro simply pulled his sword out, which sent Redyue reeling on the ground. Before Kamuro could deal with a final blow, a dark glow surrounded her before she vanished into thin air.
"Who did this!?" Kamuro asked.
"Very good Kamuro," a deep voice echoed through the woods. "It's too bad that Kougane and Fine failed their ambitions. I will eventually succeed in their place in the destruction of humanity."
"Who are you!?" Kamuro demanded angrily. Alas, there were no answers. "Dammit!"
The Silver Rider could only tremble with fury, his fists clenched tight enough to nearly break his skin. He was close – but if he could get this far, next time would be much better.
Knowing that nothing could be done now, though, Kamuro sighed before he raced back to check on his friends.
Hibiki soon noticed something shining on the ground - and saw what looked like the Nehustan Energy Lockseed.
She picked it up gingerly – in spite of all its damage, it seemed that Nehustan could be used just one last time.
"Is that… what I think it is?" Chris hesitated in asking.
"I can still feel Fine's presence within that Lockseed. But it's very faint." The two girls turned to see Lapis approaching them.
"What are you going to do with it?" Hibiki asked. She hoped that her friend wouldn't think about destroying the Lockseed.
"We're going to get some answers from her." Lapis said.
Soon, Fine was awake – which meant, as she noticed at last, that she was finally released from the Lockseed. Of course, her joy was short-lived as she collapsed on the ground before noticing Lapis in front of her.
"Overlord…" Fine growled.
"Your plan to destroy humanity has already failed, Fine." Lapis said calmly. "Kadingir is already destroyed."
Fine could only double-take at the words. Her Kadingir, the ultimate weapon to liberate this world from the rotten human race - gone?
"And Kougane has fallen. Permanently." Lapis added. "But he used up a lot of you and Nehustan's power -enough to weaken you into a normal human being."
Fine gritted her teeth in increasing rage. Because she wasn't watching her back against Kougane carefully, her plan for humanity was wronged by the Riders and Symphogear users.
"Are you going to kill me?" Fine asked bitterly.
"No, we won't." Lapis surprised her with the words. "But we have some questions concerning why you went so far to make people suffer."
"We?" Fine raised an eyebrow before she heard footsteps - and saw Chris, Hibiki and the others approaching them. But Kanade was the last person to join them, throwing looks of caution at her.
"Fine… What exactly do you want out of all this senseless conflict?" Chris asked angrily.
"Didn't I already tell you that humans always seek conflicts, no matter what?" Fine retorted.
"That may be true. But they can also change." Kanade countered determinedly.
"Ryoko-san… who exactly are you?" Hibiki asked at last.
"This body is indeed that of Ryoko Sakurai, but her soul had already died out 12 years ago." Fine answered.
"W-what do you mean?" Tsubasa asked in quiet horror.
Fine revealed that she was a priestess who served God before she fell in love with him. She tried to reach out for him by building a tower to reach the heavens - until God caused it to collapse and cursed humanity with never speaking the same language again. It wasn't until later that she had reawakened in her latest host, Ryoko Sakurai - when Tsubasa had awakened the first relic with her own song.
(One story later)
Tsubasa was trembling with fury, teeth clenched. "So it's because of you that Kanade lost her family!"
"That's why you found me and worked with those Americans?" Chris asked, angry.
Fine turned to look Lapis right in the eye.
"Why do you still fight for humanity?" she asked softly. "After all, you saw how cruel they can become and they will make the wrong choice, just like what happened to your people."
"That is true." Lapis said. "But… I just refused to accept that humanity can be brought together by force, like with the Kadingir."
"What?" Fine widened her eyes as she asked this.
"Because a friend of mine once told me that he fights so that humans can understand each other." Lapis answered. "He fights for a world without sacrifices."
"A world without sacrifices?" Hibiki asked, confused.
Even Chris, Kanade, and Tsubasa turned to Lapis with confusion.
"You might do this for a good cause, but you lost your way." Lapis said seriously. "Unlike you, though, he is fighting to destroy all of the cruel rules."
"What cruel rule?" Kanade asked.
But Ryoji explained in Lapis' place. "The Rule of Reality. It's a rule that says hope can only be obtained by sacrificing something else in return," He answered. "Like an organization sacrificing innocent lives to attain ultimate power." He flashed back to the memories of Yggrdrassil using Beat Riders as scapegoats.
"Or killing thousands in order to save billions." Lapis quoted a certain white Rider.
"T-That's horrible." Hibiki gasped.
"I-It can't be…" Tsubasa said with a disbelieving expression. "…There is no way I would follow such a rule."
But Fine scoffed. "Then I call your friend a naïve idealist, Overlord, but you are right about one thing. You have to sacrifice something to gain something else in return. It is an undeniable truth in this world, I can you tell you that he will fail to do the impossible." Fine answered. "The line between bravery and foolishness is quite blurred after all."
"You are wrong, Fine." Lapis answered as he looked toward at Fine. "Those who let themselves be dictated by the rules become weak. If you really hate why there always sacrifices of innocents in this world, then destroy that rule and make the world a better place."
"Then you think that you can do it?" Fine asked.
"I can't make promises that I can't keep." Lapis said. "But if I must, I will fight so there won't be people who have to face the same decisions and hardships that I have. If sacrifices are demanded, then I will fight the world that demands them."
The girls looked at Lapis with complete wide-eyed awe and surprise. But yet… they believed he could do it, that he could destroy the cruel laws that demanded sacrifice.
"I…I want to destroy the Rule of Reality as well!" Hibiki declared with resolve.
"I don't know if I can offer much help, but I will lend you my blade to make sure it is possible." Tsubasa added.
"I don't know about destroying rules. But I will blast anything that gets in my way." Chris said grimly.
Suddenly, Fine noticed her body began to disintegrate. She looked to Lapis with one last smirk, "So they put their faith in you. My plan might be foiled by you and your friends for now, but I will rise again. I look forward to the day we meet again, Lapis Shamubishe. I hope you will not disappoint me. I don't want your claim if you're not at your very best."
Lapis could only chuckle before he returned the smirk, "As an Overlord, I might be around this world a little longer than a normal human."
"And I'm expecting you to look after Chris." Fine added with a smile. Lapis and Chris double-took at this surprise swerve from the ancient priestess.
"Fine…" Before they could ask anything, she had completely vanished in front of them. Fine had well and truly died.
2nd Division Headquarters had prepared campsites for those who didn't make it to the underground shelter. However, there are some who preferred to be by themselves - especially Ryoji and Lapis, who were drinking soda together in one cut-off area.
"That really hits the spot!" Ryoji said, happily. He was more than happy to celebrate his start in a new world with a refreshing drink.
"So the Aashuimu upgraded your Lockseed?" Lapis asked, holding his can.
"Yeah, though I wish the offer came sooner." Ryoji said, looking at the Aashuimu Energy Lockseed in his hand.
"It must have been involved with your feelings." Lapis stated.
"I was pretty pissed at Kougane for everything." Ryoji admitted. He then looked at Lapis.
"Hey Lapis, so you're going the same path as Kouta to destroy the Rule of Reality?" Ryoji asked.
Lapis nodded. It seemed following that path is his best option.
"If you even need my power, don't hesitate to ask." Ryoji smiled with a firm resolve.
Lapis smiled softly – Ryoji had changed a lot from his immature, younger self.
"If you ever need a place to stay, you can bunk at my apartment for a while." Lapis said. While his apartment wasn't exactly big, it can accommodate more people.
Ryoji grinned at the offer and nodded. The front flap of their tent opened and Kanade came in with the others.
"Hey Kanade. Do you guys need something?" Lapis asked.
"Yeah… Since Kougane is gone, do you think that you can tell us who Kouta Kazuraba is?" Kanade asked.
The rest seemed to be waiting for Lapis's answer as well. They were truly intrigued by just who 'Kouta' had to be if he inspired Lapis so much.
"It just that we felt you aren't telling us the whole story," Tsubasa explained as calmly as possible. "You, Kougane, and Demushu seem to have this connection to this Kouta person."
"His name has been mentioned a lot these days," Chris pointed out. "But why is he so important?" And personally, she wanted to know more about Lapis.
"I know it might be personal, if you don't want to talk about it. I understand." Genjuro said, fixing Lapis' position with a firm gaze.
Lapis looked at Ryoji, who nodded before focusing his attention on his friends. "I had reasons for keeping my secrets." He paused. "But I think it's the right time now."
"You see…" Lapis started. "There was another world of humans struck by Helheim… I've been in that world."
"What?" Hibiki asked. "There was another world attacked by Helheim?"
Lapis nodded.
"Then again, it does make sense – Helheim has the power to reach out to other worlds and even dimensions, right?" Shinji asked.
"But why didn't you tell us about it?" Tsubasa asked. Somehow she felt a bit bitter that Lapis had neglected to mention something as big as this earlier.
"I had no way of knowing if you were similar to the authorities of that world." Lapis answered.
"What are you talking about?" Genjuro asked.
"In that world, the human governments learned about Helheim trying to invade, but they wanted the power of Helheim for themselves and kept the people they were supposed to protect ignorant of the incoming invasion." Lapis explained. This prompted everyone listening to frown.
"Sick bastards…" Chris remarked.
"How could they be this irresponsible?" Tsubasa asked.
"And they developed the Sengoku Driver to harness Helheim fruits and adapt to Helheim's condition…" Lapis said, taking out his Driver.
"You mean these were originally from that world?" Kanade looked between Lapis and her Sengoku Driver in surprise.
"Yes. They were developed by an organization known as Yggdrasill, a massive corporation that Hase knows a lot more about." Lapis motioned to Ryoji. "After all, I don't think I ever met them, actually."
"Hase?" Kanade asked.
"I was originally from that world, and the original Kamen Rider Kurokage." Ryoji clarified for them. Everyone, of course, whipped back to him in sheer surprise.
"O-Original Kurokage?" Shinji asked.
"That makes me your predecessor." Ryoji smirked. "From Lapis's account, you actually do a lot better as my successor as Kurokage, but Kurokage-Shin will be even more powerful."
"T-Thanks." Shinji said.
"Speaking of which, Kanade and Genjuro also had predecessors." Lapis added.
"You mean there was a Baron and Knuckle as well?" Tsubasa asked.
"It's a long story…" Ryoji said. He knew that Lapis could help him out with the events that occurred after he was killed, which was actually pretty early in terms of how the story went.
And with that, Ryoji began telling as much as he could about the story of the Armored Riders – the Beat Rider dancing troupes formed after Yggdrasil had bought Zawame City, the Lockseed introduction, and how everything changed.
(One story later)
"After defeating Kougane with Kouta's help, I thought that I might pass on to the afterlife due to Kougane's supposed death. I was already saying my farewells to Kouta and hoped he can make a better decision than Rosyuo could." Lapis recalled sadly, his mind going back to his world prior to Helheim's rise.
His friends were quiet as they were digesting everything they had heard so far.
"So you got killed as an Inves…?" Shinji asked Ryoji nervously.
"I did." Ryoji admitted glumly. "That idiot Kouta tried to save me even though I was already beyond salvation – yeah, definitely one of my greatest regrets."
The others were sad and horrified at this. They never actually saw a human eat Helheim fruit, but learning what Ryoji went through, they vowed that nothing else would.
"Have you tried to reach Zawame again?" Genjuro asked. He knew Lapis would definitely wanted to know what had happened to his friend Kouta.
Lapis shook his head with a downcast expression. "I already did, but I keep ending up in Helheim… but if anything bad happened to Kouta… it would've been my fault."
To his surprise, he felt someone hug him – specifically, Miku.
"Miku-chan…" Lapis said, looking surprised.
"It's alright… Lapis-kun." Miku said, holding his back tightly. "We are all here for you." She added with a smile. "All of us."
Lapis looked around at the others once more. Instead of sad sympathetic faces, he saw smiling and soft encouragement. He couldn't help but smile back, reminding himself that he was amongst friends.
"I know, Miku-chan." Lapis hugged her back. "I know."
He then turned back to the others. "That is all I know. Any questions?"
Genjuro shook his head. "You've answered every question I might have had. I don't blame you for not wanting to talk about it. If our government even comes up with something like the Scalar System, I can tell you I'd be the first one to shoot it down."
"I can't accept it either." Shinji agreed.
"Even if they did, I would just destroy it," Lapis said, and everyone knew he wasn't kidding.
"If they can make ten million drivers, they should have possessed powerful enough forces to protect the rest of humanity from Helheim." Tsubasa contemplated. "But apparently Yggdrasill was too cynical to think that there was an alternative to culling humanity."
"All thanks to some stupid evil lemon mad scientist." Chris snared with a frown. Honestly, if she had Ryouma Sengoku in front of her right now, she would have kicked him.
Kanade was scratching her hair in confusion, though. "So… the original Baron was a guy," she put out at last – the idea that she was wearing a male alternate identity was pretty hard to swallow.
"Well, you used to be like Kaito before you found something better to fight for." Lapis reassured her. "I can say that you're better than him."
"You have a cool transformation." Hibiki added.
"I was cool as well!" Ryoji shouted indignantly.
"So what did happen to Rosyuo?" Genjuro brought a new question up. "Does he even live in Helheim anymore?"
"No, he was already dead because Redyue backstabbed him." Lapis answered.
"Redyue?" Kanade asked, surprised at Lapis' words, "How do you know that?"
"I confronted Redyue when she was trying to flee earlier and I probed her memories" Lapis explained.
"How did she originally die?" Ryoji asked curious.
"Kouta was the one who finished her off… and he turned into an Overlord in the process." Lapis said.
"I see…" Ryoji said.
"Did you kill her?" Chris asked.
"No, someone interfered when I was going to deal the final blow." Lapis explained. "But I didn't get anything but the voice-"
"Cheer up, you'll find her again eventually." Kanade patted Lapis' shoulder.
"Thank you, but what exactly is going to happen to Lydian Academy now?" Lapis voiced his curiosity. "I mean, Kadingir did destroy the entire school building."
Hibiki and Miku widened their eyes in realization before looking at each other in worry.
"Does this mean it will be shut down?" Hibiki asked.
"Not really." Genjuro assured them all. "The school will eventually be rebuilt again, but in a safe location."
This gave the group some relief before he continued.
"But there is another problem," Genjuro said. "With Fine's death, government agencies from different countries might send agents to investigate this incident."
"Leave it to me." Lapis replied.
"What exactly are you going to do?" Chris cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"There is no doubt they will come after the girls for their Symphogear and possibly learning about Helheim's existence. I will rewrite their memories." Lapis said.
They stared at him.
"Oh yeah, we forgot you can do that." Kanade chuckled nervously.
"It's better that we have less people involved." Lapis said.
Shinji, Miku, and Hibiki then looked at each other nervously. This prompted confusion on Lapis' part as he looked at them.
"Is there something wrong?"
"About that… we came across some of Hibiki and Miku's friends who didn't make it to the shelter." Shinji said at last. "We sorta…took them to 2nd Division for shelter."
Lapis promptly face palmed at this.
"Lapis-kun, is it alright if you don't erase their memories?" Hibiki pleaded with both hands together.
"Umm… I don't know." Lapis answered. The only reason he didn't erase Miku's or Hibiki's memories was because he had a close friendship with both girls who also accepted the reality he lived in.
Miku then popped into his vision with the same expression Hibiki wore.
"Please, Lapis-kun." Miku said nicely.
Lapis backed up as the two girls kept scooching forward. Their faces…well, Lapis now understood the concept of 'puppy eyes'.
"Please…?" The two girls pleaded.
Lapis nodded fiercely in order to make them stop.
A few months later…
In the Helheim forest, Lapis was approaching what was left of the ruined castle, stopping in front of the tombstone and tomb of the Queen.
"Hello Kyrnn… Rosyuo… It's another nice day in the human world. But I finally completed the mission that our people couldn't fulfill." Lapis greeted the resting place of his friends. "Kougane is finally destroyed thanks to my friends. Lydian Academy is starting to rebuild in new ground and everything else in the city seems to be going back to normal. I still keep close contact with 2nd Division since they're the only people I can trust when it comes to Helheim."
"But Redyue is still on the loose somewhere out in the human world." Lapis paused to organize his next words. "…Rosyuo, you may forbid me from killing her, but I can't allow someone like her to run free."
Lapis then moved on, hoping to add some form of relief to this conversation. "Boss Lady seemed pretty lively when I introduced Ryoji Hase to her – ever since he became my roommate, she's been looking after him like a real mother hen. The most surprising part was 2nd Division arranging for Chris-chan to live in the apartment next door to mine. She's still a little stiff around us, but she cares about us in her own way."
Lapis continued with a chuckle. "But I don't understand why she acts so strange around me most of the time. I don't know if Fine really cared about Chris-chan or not, but I will watch over her. No Kyrnn, I don't see Chris-chan like that. I guess my life in the human world is getting better each time." Lapis laughed as he pretended to make a conversation with his old friends. "I hope you guys keep my sister company in the afterlife. I really miss talking with you guys like the old days… I miss you guys. I have to go now."
Lapis soon placed the bouquet of roses on their gravesite before leaving for the human world – his new home.
(Back in the real world)
Lapis continued running down the street as he saw crowds gathering nearby.
I hope I won't be too late… Lapis thought grimly.
"Hey Lapis-kun!" Lapis turned to see Hibiki and the girls waiting for him.
"What took you so long?" Chris asked impatiently.
"Sorry, I had to take care of something personal." Lapis apologized. "Have they started yet?"
"You're right on time, Lapis-kun." Miku said.
"Here they come." Hibiki cheered.
They soon heard upbeat hip-pop themed music playing as they turned to see Ryoji with a group of young teens dancing together.
Ryoji took Lapis's word to heart as he introduced Beat Riders to this world – sure enough, he became a sensation across Japan's streets alongside his new team, Neo Raid Wild. They were all dancing happily as the crowd cheered, Lapis and his friends' chief among them.
"Still can't believe he made it this popular." Chris commented, though her smile betrayed how she felt about her friend.
"You know, it likely won't be long until Beat Riders become an international thing if he considered going around the world." Tsubasa considered the possibility with a bright smile.
"I'm definitely rooting for that to happen!" Hibiki and Miku smiled.
"Same here." Kanade added.
Lapis smiled at this scene. He felt like things were truly looking up – he had found a new home, new family, and even felt like the past was now truly behind him
But…
… For some reason the Silver Rider felt that there was still an even greater conflict ahead – one that he and his friends might call their hardest conflict of all.
To be continued…
AN: And that is the end of Season One arc!. I have to admit that I'm happy I can finally get Season One off my chest. Finally, Kanade and company learned the truth from Lapis and Hase about what happened in the original world of Gaim.
I bet you weren't expecting Hase getting a new form after his revival as Kurokage-Shin. I made his transformation similar to what happened to Chase when he becomes Kamen Rider Chaser. Also I'm going to take a break from Season 1 and focus on my other fics and my personal life.
I also want to thank Sekishiki and KadoyaOkami for editing.
Last Edit: KadoyaOkami, 5-23-15
