Chapter 176: The World Destroyer, Shouldn

“I never expected the famed Decade to have such a twisted sense of humor.”

A sudden female voice echoed through the air; Kamen Rider Decade turned toward its source and saw a tall woman leaning against a streetlight.

Her ice-blue hair shimmered like crystal in the sunlight, her eyes of the same hue held a curious amusement, her blue-and-white uniform accentuated her slender figure, and a smile played on her lips.

That pose… why does it feel so familiar?

“Manipulating children’s preferences isn’t the act of a righteous knight.”

“Righteousness doesn’t apply to a world destroyer.”

“What, worried I’ll destroy this world?”

Decade chuckled softly, recognizing her as the so-called “Ice Queen who towers over the universe” he’d seen on screen when he first arrived in this world.

Amano Soryu, if he remembered correctly.

“If you really can do it, I’d be quite delighted.”

“But you were one-punched to death by a weakened Oma Zi-O in his God Form—I find it hard to believe you have that kind of power.”

Amano Soryu smiled as she spoke, though her words carried unmistakable rudeness.

One-punched to death by a weakened Oma Zi-O in God Form?

Decade narrowed his eyes slightly—he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t heard that.

“Oh, right, I misspoke.”

Amano Soryu seemed to recall something; Decade’s expression eased slightly. He’d thought so—how could God Form possibly be one-shot by Oma Zi-O? Even if not evenly matched, at least they should’ve exchanged a few blows.

“It should’ve been a palm strike.”

“Was it a punch or a palm? The fight ended too fast—I couldn’t even see clearly.”

“You were using the latest gear, K-Touch 21—mastering the power of every Heisei Kamen Rider, plus the power of Kamen Rider Zero-One—and still got one-shot.”

“It was like being a roadside dog.”

“Your form was ugly, your power pathetic—so many Decade fans had their hearts shattered.”

Amano Soryu delivered the cruelest words with a smile.

Of course, they were all true.

Using the latest gear, the strongest form, still in newbie protection mode—and still one-shot by a weakened Oma Zi-O.

Then the Oma Zi-O who one-shot you got obliterated by Sougo’s Sacred Blade Form.

Even if there was some plot armor involved, facts are facts—so many Decade fans broke down because of it.

You’re fucking serious?

Decade rolled his eyes. If you can’t speak politely, then don’t speak at all.

“Still, I suppose it’s no surprise you’re the most compassionate knight—on your very first day in this world, you saved a little boy’s life.”

If it weren't for the online uproar he caused and the attention from Great Xia's Kamen Rider Gantou, which amplified the buzz, I never would have come here—I only came to freeze his body, waiting for a future time when he could be healed.

“After all, in this era, countless people die every day; losing one more wouldn’t matter, gaining one more wouldn’t change anything—but his luck was good enough to catch my attention.”

“It turns out my decision was right—otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you here.”

Amano Soryu’s lips curled slightly; the temperature around them plummeted.

She hadn’t expected her actions would lead her to meet this true Kamen Rider.

The protagonist of Kamen Rider Decade, the World Destroyer, who turned Riders into cards by eliminating them, recording their worlds, and sacrificing himself to rebirth all worlds.

Creation begins only through destruction; thus, the story of Riders born anew after destruction will endure forever.

Although the plot wasn't strong and its popularity in Sakura was low—even outside the top five—it enjoyed immense popularity in Great Xia.

I never expected the first Kamen Rider to appear in the real world would be him—but now that I think about it, it makes sense. Compared to others, Decade, who controls dimensional barriers and travels across Kamen Rider worlds, is the most likely to appear in the real world.

“So, want me to sign your autograph?”

Decade didn’t deny Amano Soryu’s words—in fact, if not for that girl appearing and telling him about it, he wouldn’t have come here, nor would he have actively looked into these things.

He merely tilted his head, watching her with a playful smile.

Amano Soryu’s ice-blue eyes flickered with surprise, then she let out a light laugh:

“Sure, why not.”

“Though my favorite protagonist is Tendo Sōji—he who centers himself as if he were the sun—is utterly captivating.”

But you? You're barely acceptable as second place.

“Still, dying willingly at the hands of Hikari Kairi to save the world? That’s a major point deduction in my book.”

Amano Soryu shrugged.

“If you could just be a pure world destroyer—kill the Kamen Riders, destroy their worlds, with no resurrection—it’d be perfect.”

Decade couldn’t help but laugh, but quickly sobered, his gaze turning serious.

“If I recall correctly, you’re supposed to be this country’s hero, aren’t you?”

“For a hero to say such things, I can’t help but question your true feelings toward this country.”

Amano Soryu’s lips curled into a dangerous smile.

“Of course, I want this country to become better.”

“And destruction is the very process by which I make this country better.”

“As the World Destroyer, shouldn’t you understand this better than I do?”

Creation begins only through destruction.

She wanted to change this country—but not through gentle means.

Of course, gentle means wouldn’t work anyway.

So death became inevitable.

But compared to a better new order in the future, the deaths of a few were insignificant.

In this regard, the World Destroyer should understand better than she does, shouldn’t he?

“Another one who wants to overthrow the order.”

Decade shook his head—he saw many familiar faces in Amano Soryu.

But—

“Do as you please.”

His face returned to its carefree expression.

This wasn’t about justice or evil, nor about human freedom.

It was merely their own internal squabble.

Besides, she’s currently called the Pride of Sakura—she probably has countless supporters.

If I started meddling in this kind of thing, what would I even be called the World Destroyer for?

“Want to fight?”

Amano Soryu stared straight at Decade, her eyes brimming with battle lust.

“In this new world, you must be curious about the power systems of other worlds, right?”

“The Demon Essence I wield as my Demon Manifestation is known as the strongest Divine Artifact in another world.”

As the first and only warrior in Sakura to reach the fourth tier, she had no rivals here—even the Divine Artifact wielder Kagura Shizuka couldn’t survive a single blow when she was serious.

If she weren’t a battle-loving person, fine—but her personality was just like Esdeath’s: she adored fighting powerful opponents.

But dangerous species like the last one that invaded reality were hard to come by.

Rare third-tier mutated creatures didn’t even merit her interest.

But this man was different.

Decade had frowned when she mentioned his God Form being one-shot by a weakened Oma Zi-O—indicating he hadn’t come here after dying to Oma Zi-O, but he’d still experienced the Oma Zi-O storyline, or else he wouldn’t know about Oma’s existence.

A single Gantou Insect Device could forge a fourth-tier warrior; Decade, who could command all Heisei Riders and their ultimate forms, was undoubtedly stronger than her.

“What do you say?”

“Let me see if your power can reach the fifth tier.”

Amano Soryu smiled at Decade.

“Hmph.”

“Since you’re so eager, I’ll play along.”

“Don’t you owe Decade-nii a thank you?”

Decade’s lips curled into a smile as he idly fiddled with the magenta camera on his chest—he never refused a challenge.

“BOOM—!”

In a deafening explosion, Kamen Rider Kuuga’s Rider Kick slammed into Amano Soryu, sending a mushroom-cloud shockwave that obliterated everything around, dust rising high into the sky.

When the smoke cleared, Amano Soryu lay helplessly in the center of the ruins, her ice-blue hair caked in dust, her pure white uniform torn to shreds.

Decade stood with his back to her, slowly raising his arm, one finger pointing to the sky:

“Grandma used to say—”

“The only one who can defeat me is tomorrow’s me.”

The red armor dissolved into light particles; he turned to face the gasping Amano Soryu.

“How was that? Did it remind you of Tendo Sōji?”

Though the Kuuga world he’d visited wasn’t Tendo Sōji’s timeline, over the years, how could he not have visited the world where that man existed?

Centering himself as if he were the sun?

Compared to Amano Soryu’s praise, Decade preferred calling himself a “narcissist and sister-fanatic.”

That guy certainly had a dazzling presence—but to deliberately tell a Kamen Rider your favorite is another Rider? That’s hardly polite.

Fortunately, Kamen Rider Monota was famously generous—he held back in battle, transformed into the very form of Kamen Rider she loved to fight her, and even ended by mimicking Tendō Sōji’s final remark.

A knight with such kindness is probably impossible to find a second time.

“You really have a twisted sense of humor.”

Amano Sōrei couldn’t help rolling her eyes at Kamen Rider Monota’s words.

But to be fair, the gap between her and Kamen Rider Monota was far greater than she had imagined.

She had assumed that even if Monota could defeat her, he’d at least need to activate one of his Rider’s ultimate forms—but he crushed her while still in Kamen Rider’s base form.

Though her Accelerated State played a role, there was no doubt that Kamen Rider power was far stronger than she had believed.

“I apologize for not letting Lord Kiva fully enjoy himself.”

“I probably won’t forget you for the rest of my life.”

“?”

It sounded like he was praising his own strength, but was it his imagination? Why did it feel so sarcastic?

(End of Chapter)