Chapter 176: Destroyer of Worlds, why not thank Brother Decade?

"I never imagined the famous Decade would have such a perverse sense of humor."

A sudden female voice echoed in the air. Tsukasa Kadoya looked in the direction of the sound and saw a tall woman leaning against a utility pole by the street.

Her ice-blue long hair was as dazzling as crystal under the sunlight, and her eyes of the same color held a look of amusement. Her blue-and-white uniform accentuated her slender figure, and a smile played on her lips.

That posture—why did it look so familiar?

"Using your abilities to manipulate a child's preferences; that doesn't seem like something a righteous Kamen Rider would do."

"Righteousness and such don't apply to the Destroyer of Worlds, you know."

"What, worried I'll destroy this world?"

Tsukasa Kadoya chuckled, recognizing her as the so-called "Ice Queen who looks down upon the universe" he had seen on the screen when he first arrived in this world.

Tianyu Kongling—if he remembered correctly, that was her name.

"If you were truly capable of that, I would be quite happy."

"But since you were killed in one punch by a weakened Ohma Zi-O while in Complete Form, it's hard for me to believe you have that ability."

Tianyu Kongling said with a smile, though the meaning behind her words was anything but polite.

Killed in one punch by a weakened Ohma Zi-O while in Complete Form?

Tsukasa Kadoya narrowed his eyes slightly; he couldn't just let that slide.

"Oh, right, I misspoke."

Tianyu Kongling seemed to have remembered something. Tsukasa Kadoya's expression softened slightly—he had said so himself, how could Complete Form be one-shotted by Ohma Zi-O? Even if they weren't evenly matched, they should at least be able to trade blows, right?

"I should have said one palm strike."

"Was it a punch or a palm strike? The battle ended too quickly; I didn't see it clearly at all."

"You were using the latest equipment, the K-Touch 21, possessing not only the power of all Heisei-era Kamen Riders but also the power of Kamen Rider Zero-One, yet you were still one-shotted."

"It was just like a stray dog on the side of the road."

"It's one thing that the form was ugly, but the combat power was so weak that it broke the hearts of who knows how many Decade fans."

Tianyu Kongling smiled as she spoke the most cruel words.

Of course, these were also facts.

Using the latest equipment, the strongest form, and still in the "newbie protection period," only to be one-shotted by a weakened Ohma Zi-O.

And then the Ohma Zi-O who killed him was beaten to a pulp by Zi-O's Saber form.

Although there was the possibility of a "plot-mandated death," facts were facts, and countless Decade fans had their hearts broken because of it.

You son of a...

Tsukasa Kadoya rolled his eyes. If you don't know how to talk, can't you just stay quiet?

"But I suppose you really are the most caring Rider, saving a little boy's life on your very first day in this world."

"If it weren't for the stir he caused on the internet, coupled with the concern shown by that Kamen Rider Gatack from Da Xia, which made the topic even hotter, I wouldn't have come here, thinking to freeze his body and cure him when medical treatment becomes possible in the future."

"After all, in this era, countless people die every day; one less or one more doesn't make much difference. But he was lucky enough to attract my attention."

"The facts prove my approach was correct; otherwise, I wouldn't have met you here."

Tianyu Kongling's lips curled upward, and the surrounding temperature plummeted.

She truly hadn't expected her actions to lead her to meet this Kamen Rider in the truest sense.

The protagonist of Kamen Rider Decade, the Destroyer of Worlds, who records the worlds of other Riders by defeating them and turning them into cards, and who sacrifices himself to allow all worlds to be reborn.

Creation can only begin in destruction, so the stories of Riders, born anew after destruction, will persist forever.

Although the plot wasn't great, and his popularity in Japan wasn't particularly high—not even making the top five—he possessed extremely high popularity in Da Xia.

She hadn't expected the first Kamen Rider protagonist to appear in the real world to be him, but thinking about it carefully, it felt like a matter of course. Compared to others, Tsukasa Kadoya, who mastered the Dimensional Wall and traveled through different Kamen Rider worlds, was the most likely person to appear in reality.

"So, do you want me to sign an autograph for you?"

Tsukasa Kadoya did not deny Tianyu Kongling's words. In fact, if that young girl hadn't appeared and told him about this, he wouldn't have come here, nor would he have taken the initiative to look into these matters.

He just tilted his head and looked at Tianyu Kongling with a playful smile.

A flash of surprise crossed Tianyu Kongling's ice-blue eyes, and then she laughed out loud:

"I suppose I could."

"Although my favorite protagonist is Tendou Souji—his self-centered personality, treating himself like the sun, is truly fascinating."

"But you, well, you can barely count as second."

"However, the fact that you were willing to be killed by Hikari Natsumi to save the world is a huge point deduction in my book."

Tianyu Kongling shrugged.

"It would be even more perfect if you could purely be a Destroyer of Worlds, killing those Kamen Riders and destroying their worlds without any so-called restoration."

Tsukasa Kadoya couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, but he quickly put away his smile, his expression becoming serious.

"If I remember correctly, you are supposed to be a hero of this country, right?"

"As a hero saying such things, it's hard for me not to suspect your true thoughts about this country."

A dangerous curve appeared on Tianyu Kongling's lips.

"Of course I hope this country becomes better."

"And destruction is precisely the process by which I make this country better."

"As the Destroyer of Worlds, shouldn't you understand this better than I do?"

Creation can only begin in destruction.

She wanted to change this country, but she didn't want to use gentle means to do it.

Of course, gentle means wouldn't change anything anyway.

Therefore, death had become an inevitability.

But compared to a better new order in the future, the deaths of a few people were clearly not worth mentioning.

On this point, Decade, as the "Destroyer of Worlds," should understand better than her, shouldn't he?

"Another one who wants to subvert the order..."

Tsukasa Kadoya shook his head, seeing the shadows of many familiar people in Tianyu Kongling.

But—

"Suit yourself."

His face returned to that playful, cynical expression.

This kind of thing couldn't be called justice or evil, nor could it be tied to human freedom.

It was just their own internal struggle.

Besides, the other party was now known as the "Glory of Japan," and who knew how many supporters she had.

If he were to meddle in such things, what kind of "Destroyer of Worlds" would he be?

"Do you want to have a battle?"

Tianyu Kongling looked straight at Tsukasa Kadoya, a fighting spirit showing in her eyes.

"In this new world, you must also be quite curious about the power of other world systems, right?"

"The Demon God Manifestation: Demon's Extract that I possess has the title of the strongest Teigu in another world."

As the first and only powerhouse in Japan to step into Stage Four, she couldn't find an opponent here at all; even Kagura Shimizu, who was also a holder of Myriad Realms treasures, couldn't last a single move when she was serious.

If she weren't a warlike person, that would be one thing, but her personality was just like Esdeath's—she loved fighting different strong opponents the most.

But dangerous species like the ones that invaded reality last time weren't easy to encounter.

The Stage Three mutated creatures she rarely saw didn't even qualify to pique her interest in fighting.

But the man in front of her was different.

Tsukasa Kadoya frowned when she mentioned him being one-shotted by a weakened Ohma Zi-O in Complete Form. It could be seen that although he didn't come to this world after being killed by Ohma Zi-O, he had already experienced the plot of the Zi-O world; otherwise, he wouldn't know of Ohma's existence.

A Gatack Zecter alone could create a Stage Four powerhouse; Decade, who could command all Heisei Riders, including their final forms, definitely had strength above hers.

"How about it?"

"Let me see if your power can reach Stage Five."

Tianyu Kongling looked at Tsukasa Kadoya with a smile.

"Heh."

"Since you've said so, I'll play with you for a bit."

"Why not thank Brother Decade?"

A smile rose on Tsukasa Kadoya's lips as his fingers casually flicked the magenta camera on his chest. He never refused a challenge.

"Boom—!"

Amidst an earth-shattering explosion, Decade in Kabuto form delivered a Rider Kick that slammed heavily into Tianyu Kongling. A mushroom-cloud-like shockwave overturned everything in the vicinity, and smoke and dust rose into the sky.

When the smoke cleared, Tianyu Kongling lay powerlessly in the center of the ruins, her ice-blue long hair covered in dust, her pure white military uniform tattered.

Tsukasa Kadoya stood with his back to her, slowly raising his arm and pointing a single finger to the sky:

"Grandmother once said—"

"The only one who can defeat me in this world is the me of tomorrow."

The red armor dissipated into points of light, and he turned to look at the struggling, gasping Tianyu Kongling.

"How was that? Like the Tendou Souji you like?"

Although the Kabuto world he had visited back then wasn't the timeline where Tendou Souji was, after so many years, how could he not have been to the world where that man existed?

Centering everything on himself, treating himself as the sun?

Compared to Tianyu Kongling's praise for him, Tsukasa Kadoya preferred to call him a "narcissist and sister-complex."

That guy did indeed have a dazzling presence that left a deep impression, but specifically telling a Kamen Rider that you like another Rider best isn't very polite, you know.

Fortunately, he, Tsukasa Kadoya, was famously magnanimous; not only did he show mercy during the battle, but he even specifically transformed into the Kamen Rider form she liked to fight her, and even learned from Tendou Souji to give her a concluding line at the end.

A Rider with a heart as caring as his probably couldn't be found a second time.

"... You really are perverse."

Tianyu Kongling couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard Tsukasa Kadoya's words.

But regardless, the gap between her and Tsukasa Kadoya was far greater than she had imagined.

She had thought that even if Tsukasa Kadoya could defeat her, he would at least have to use the ultimate form of a Rider, but he had demonstrated the ability to crush her while in Kabuto's base form.

Although the acceleration state was a factor, there was no doubt that the power of a Kamen Rider was stronger than she had imagined.

"I'm sorry for not letting Lord Decade have his fill."

"I probably won't forget you for the rest of my life."

"?"

Although it sounded like she was saying his strength was great, was it his imagination? Why did it feel like there was a hint of sarcasm?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 177 =====