Volume One: We'll reclaim your heartbeat!
Chapter 3 - Knight of the Mirror World
The silver-white chest armor that outlined the shape of muscles, the circular assembly slots at various joints, the grille mask in the style of medieval knights, and finally, the twisted and deformed dragon head emblem that seemed to be burning on the outskirts. All of these combined to form Masked Rider Ryuga.
Kamen Rider Ryuga, in the original work, hails from the Mirror World as a knight and has made a contract with the contracted beast "Dragblacker." He battles using various powerful ability cards. Excluding survival forms, he is referred to as the Knight of the Mirror World.
The combat abilities of Kamen Rider Ryuga in the Rider War are probably only surpassed by the original work's "Kamen Rider Odin."
His own punching power of 12.5 tons and kicking power of 22.5 tons are not considered low throughout the Heisei Rider history. But even with such immense power, Ash, currently transformed into Ryuga, wondered if it was just on par with the power of a modified human.
The monster, Jikochū, in front of Ash, lacked the terrifying elements that a monster should have. Its thin limbs, humanoid appearance, and cartoonish expressions gave it a cartoon-like feel rather than the horrifying aura exuded by Ryuga.
However, despite its seemingly harmless appearance, Ash had a rough estimate of its power and speed after their brief encounter. Its displayed strength and speed data likely surpassed that of the various Riders and monsters he had seen before, including some of the villains from the Sentai teams.
Underneath its cute exterior, it hid a power that couldn't be calculated using conventional concepts. It seemed to fit the antagonist design of the Precure series, where they often had enemies capable of earth-shattering feats.
To defeat these monsters, Ash knew he needed something more than just power.
"Fortunately, I'm not lacking in those things."
However, Ira did not care about all this while flying in the sky. He was extremely displeased that his Jikochū had been beaten by someone who unexpectedly interfered. He immediately commanded the Jikochū to counterattack against Ash.
"Go, Jikochū! Whether he's a Kamen Rider or a True Kamen Rider, anyone who dares to obstruct us should be sent flying!"
"Jikochū!"
The soccer-themed Jikochū and baseball-themed Jikochū launched their attack on Ash, one on the left and the other on the right. Ash stood his ground without moving, simply dropping a mirror shard that he had been holding onto the ground.
"Clang!" The collision between the Jikochū resonated with a loud noise, causing Irato and the two Precure to instinctively cover their ears.
"Hahaha! That serves them right! That's the fate of those who defy our selfish organization... Huh?"
However, Iradid not witness the scene he had envisioned, where the Kamen Rider would be crushed like a piece of paper between the Jikochū. Instead, the two Jikochū collided and rolled on the ground, disoriented. Apart from a few glimmering fragments of mirrors on the empty field of the stadium, there was no trace of Ryuga.
"He... he disappeared! Raquel, do you know what happened?" Rikka asked, her mouth agape.
"I... I didn't see clearly~quell!" Raquel replied.
The dust raised by the impact completely obscured their vision, preventing even their enhanced senses from seeing what had happened.
Apart from Lance, who had already gone to find other companions, the two partner spirits hanging around the girl's waist also couldn't see what had happened.
"Do you know what happened, Mana?"
"It's a mirror!"
A mirror?! Mana's surprising revelation left Rikka puzzled. She looked left and right, but the scattered fragments of mirrors on the stadium were just ordinary glass, without anything special about them.
"Heart, what are you talking about? Those are just ordinary mirrors. It's not like the magic mirror we encountered in the Kingdom of Poker. How Ash-san used the mirror to escape," Rikka said, still confused.
"The reason lies not in the mirror itself, but in Ash-san!" explained Mana, who had sharper observational skills. "Ash-san, like a fish jumping into the water, jumped into the mirror in the instant before the attack, evading the Jikochū's assault."
Mana was correct. The Rider system developed by a person named Kanzaki Shirō from another world based on the concept of the Mirror World allowed for the ability to traverse between the "Mirror World" and the real world. Ryuga, who was originally from the Mirror World, had a particular advantage in this regard, and Ash used this characteristic to effortlessly evade the enemy's attack.
"How is that possible? Is it magic? The Mirror World is just something from fairy tale picture books," Rikka exclaimed.
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Moreover, how could such a small mirror allow someone to enter? Just when Rikka firmly believed this, a voice from her feet startled her so much that she felt her heart would jump out of her throat.
"Even though you can transform into a Precure, you don't believe in magic or the existence of the Mirror World. You're quite an interesting person."
As Ash spoke, he emerged from a puddle reflecting light near Rikka's feet, causing her to scream and sit on the ground, clutching her skirt in fright.
"Wow... What... How did you come out of there?"
Thinking about how the other person appeared and the possibility of her skirt being seen, Rikka blushed and tightly pulled down her skirt.
"What are you doing?" Ash's nonchalant demeanor subtly pricked Rikka's pride, and a hint of disdain seemed to pierce through his mask.
"Why would I even need to look at your safety shorts?"
"What did you say?" Rikka was furious. "You actually looked? That's so rude!"
Ash had no intention of further engaging with Rikka. He raised his hand, scanning the sky, and fired a shot at Ira, who had his back turned.
"Whoa!" Startled by the gunshot, Ira swiftly dodged from side to side with an S-shaped movement. He then patted himself all over to check for any wounds and let out a sigh of relief when he found none. Pointing at Ash on the ground, he cursed vehemently.
"You scoundrel! That was so low! I nearly had my clothes torn—no, you ambushed me. Who's the real villain here?"
Ash shook his head. As far as the purity of being a villain goes, Ira's ability to say such things was just too low.
"But luckily, I'm one step ahead of you. Your ambush didn't hit me! Your aim is terrible!"
Seeing the proud Ira with a shining red dot on his collar, Ash's face beneath the mask genuinely smiled this time. "Do you really think I missed?"
"You deceitful scoundrel! Jikochū—"
Before Ira could give any further orders, Ash charged towards the two Jikochū on his own.
"Wow, amazing!" Watching Ash effortlessly handle the two Jikochū on the field, fighting them as if it were his home ground, Mana couldn't help but express her sincere admiration.
Truth be told, the two Jikochū were not weak at all. In the previous battle with the Precure, they had been knocked down multiple times by the soccer and baseball attacks from the Jikochū. Ash had silently noted this detail.
After a brief observation, Ash learned from the mistakes of the past and directly engaged the monsters, maintaining an almost touching distance from them while launching his attacks.
Kicking a soccer ball requires lifting a leg, swinging a baseball bat requires space. So, once he got close, whether it was soccer or baseball, they couldn't attack Ryuga properly. They had to give up their advantage, while Ryuga could unleash his abilities without restraint.
Ryuga's fists struck the round Jikochū as if he were a skilled boxer pounding a punching bag. Punch after punch, relentlessly attacking from an extremely close range, he repeatedly hammered the baseball Jikochū, making it dent inward amidst its wailing cries. Its round body couldn't catch up with Ryuga in front of it, and its proud baseball attacks were rendered useless, causing immense frustration.
And whenever the Jikochū tried to attack Ash while he was focused on attacking the other Jikochū...
"Soccer shot!"
While Ryuga was pummeling the baseball Jikochū, the soccer Jikochū that had circled around behind took the opportunity to kick a soccer ball directly at Ryuga's seemingly vulnerable back. However, Ash, who had been keeping an eye on the other side, simply stepped forward, using the body of the Jikochū in front of him as a shield.
"Ah!" The Jikochū that was hit by the soccer ball also became furious and launched an attack directly at the other Jikochū. In the end, the two of them started fighting each other.
"That was also part of my calculations," Ash said, shaking his slightly sore hand after delivering a blow to his teammate, the Jikochū. These monsters were powerful but seemed to have a peculiar kind of stupidity, making them surprisingly easy to deceive.
"They only think of themselves and are selfish to the point of not even considering their surroundings. That's why they're called Jikochū, right?"
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