Chapter 391

The sunset's afterglow fell on the mountains, the willow leaves like a maiden's fine brows. The cottage emitted flickering, unsteady starlight, and the flowing sound was crisp and lingering.

Hayami Kohei pushed open the door; an elderly man in a black suit sat in a chair, and beside him stood a middle‑aged man wearing round glasses with a gentle expression.

"Lord Wo Wang, Fourze and the others have already reached Kyoto. The matter of the barrier will be resolved soon; I just fear that person will intervene again," Hayami Kohei bowed and whispered in front of the elder.

"Libra, you must learn to judge. Your fear has already splattered from your bones; although you have a useful pair of eyes, your heart has been polluted by what you see yourself."

Wo Wang Guangming stood up, gently patted the trembling Hayami Kohei, "If that person appears in Kyoto, it means I will truly meet him face to face."

"Lord Wo Wang, you intend to act personally? That's rather…" the middle‑aged man beside them said, surprised at Wo Wang Guangming's meaning.

"Meeting does not mean fighting, Virgo," Wo Wang Guangming said, "Sometimes a chat is fine. We come to Kyoto every year to commemorate the friends who share our ideals, so for comrades, taking action is not the only option."

It was obvious that the middle‑aged man with round glasses was the Virgo Switcher, Jiang Benzhou Hui.

"It's me; Lu Lang will understand us," Jiang Benzhou Hui lowered his head.

However, as he lowered his head, a chill ran through his heart, because the star singer Lu Lang was the one they had killed—that's the so‑called friend with shared ideals.

If he truly appears in Kyoto, we can, as the chairman said, talk about ideals, talk about the universe.

However, Wo Wang Guangming's meaning was clear: if that person truly hinders ascension, he will meet the same fate as the star singer Lu Lang—next year's today will be his death anniversary.

"Let's go, Virgo," Wo Wang Guangming said.

"Very well, sir," Jiang Benzhou Hui picked up the black umbrella hanging beside the fireplace, like a servant; the pitch‑black, light‑impermeable umbrella slowly enveloped the two bodies.

The passing trains halted, cheers rang endlessly, and the Heavenly River students surged from the carriages like a tide. The chairman was indeed generous, chartering several private cars just to transport the Kamen Rider club members out of Heavenly River.

"Kyoto, here I come! I'm going to have a blast," Ruyue Xian Tairan, looking down from the train, stepped out of the station and shouted at the bustling crowd.

"Calm down, we must follow the teacher's instructions and not run around recklessly," Ge Xing Xian Wu said.

"Xian Wu is right; we mustn't run around. I've heard there are yokai in some places here," Chengdao Youmu made a frightened face.

Upon hearing the three, Jiang Xia smiled and said, "You may move freely; I'm not worried about your safety. Field trips are rare, so enjoy these few days."

"I have other matters with Teacher Tianyuan."

Aside from revealing the four barriers, there really is nothing that requires a Knight transformation.

"What about you?" Chengdao Youmu looked at Yuan Tian Sarina standing beside Jiang Xia, as if understanding something.

She felt certain of death; if Senior Fuchijō learned of this, she would surely kill her. Before Senior Fuchijō decided to apply for university, she specifically instructed her to keep a close eye on the people around the teacher.

If another girl appears by the teacher's side and you fail to stop it, she will snatch away her most precious Yousun doll.

"It's over, it's over, I should have thought of this earlier," Chengdao Youmu looked at the Yousun behind her backpack, a tear glimmered in her eyes; she was about to lose that cute treasure.

At that moment, Ge Xing Xian Wu told his companions he had business and walked away alone toward the opposite direction.

"Alright then, disband," Jiang Xia clapped his hands, and with that he turned and left together with Yuan Tian Sarina.

They should not appear again before dusk.

However, Yuan Tian Sarina was to destroy the barrier, while Jiang Xia would wander around with a map.

Before going to see the torii, there should be a small town here; he walked alone following the map.

The town was quite different; its streets looked as they did centuries ago, wooden Japanese‑style houses, and each shop bore white stripes.

Occasionally, women in kimono with ancient makeup roamed here; the hallmark of the makeup was pallor, the whole face turned ghost‑white—perhaps that was the local feature.

Even though it was a month early, many tourists still visited.

Each shop here was listed in the travel guide, and he weaved through the crowd.

"The local specialties are quite tasty—grilled quail, Fushimi Inari's specialties, and those fox‑like white fruit skewers," Jiang Xia praised.

He has visited many worlds, yet the places he runs to aren't far; this was his first time here, so he wanted to taste everything. After all, he had plenty of time and could stroll leisurely.

However, while admiring the torii, the once‑clear fork suddenly emitted a bang‑bang collision sound.

Jiang Xia heard that sound clearly; it was the clamor of battle, and it came from an old friend.

Jiang Xia stepped over the dense trees flanking the torii—precious plants transplanted nationwide by professionals—but they had now been rudely trampled flat by chaotic footprints.

He passed through a corridor of interwoven red and blue, reaching the road's end, where an endless series of torii formed the passage; the blue represented sunlight scattering through clouds.

As expected, Libra brandished the tin staff in hand, battling Meteor and Ruyue Xian Tairan.

Jiang Xia looked closely; the hidden energy ripple emanated from the ground, extending all the way to the sky.

This must be one of the barriers; a Constellation Apostle alone cannot create it—only an instant burst of cosmic energy reaching its limit can.

"RiderRocketDrillKick!"

"MeteorTornado!"

Ruyue Xian Tairan and Shokuta Meteor simultaneously activated their ultimate moves. They didn't know why the Star Disciple followed them to Kyoto, but whatever the reason, defeating them would stop everything.

Libra held the tin staff horizontally before his chest, gazing at the brilliance that had reached its limit before him, without flinching.

Click

The ultimate struck Libra's body, but at that moment Libra's body erupted with starlight, becoming instantly ethereal; the charged ultimate surged through Libra's form and kicked into the air.

The midair then echoed with a shattering sound; the two, who had been straining to eliminate the Star Disciple, were instantly blasted away, rolling in the soil.

Although massive cosmic energy gathered on them, they still couldn't destroy the power that had been accumulated for millennia since antiquity.

The gale howled past, scattering the leaves scattered on the ground into a whirlwind that danced across the sky.

The ground began to tremble, and a blue pillar of light shot upward like a dazzling volcanic eruption, while at the same time stone columns of varying colors rose in the east, south, west, and north, each etched with different symbols.

Jiang Xia followed the wave of the energy burst upward, gazing at the white‑moon‑like void at Kyoto's center. He extended his hand; the power in his hand turned into a filament that instantly pierced the void, like fishing. The cosmic force that had been bound within the barrier was drawn out along the line—far more potent than ordinary energy! This is the source of the Constellation Switch; keeping all this power for the Twelve Constellations would indeed be a waste!

Jiang Xia gulped down the power in large mouthfuls; his lifespan began to rise again, but before he could savor it, the energy flow ended. "What a pity, but the goal is achieved; the remaining barriers are left to them," Jiang Xia said, reeling in his fishing rod.

The power here was sufficient for the remaining Constellations to be born.

Although he didn't want to be the sixth, the energy was within reach, so he accepted it without hesitation.

Speaking, the cosmic force he had just absorbed formed an astronomical switch on his hand.

Now he can craft Knight gear by hand, and transform however he wishes.

Equipping a Fourze belt should produce a very interesting form.

As Lord Wang said, a huge amount of energy can trigger the barrier. Libra looked at the stone pillar rising from the ground, the staff in his hand burst out a powerful electric arc, and he swung it hard at it.

Crack.

The stone pillar instantly shattered into fragments, and the barrier that had been blocking the sky shattered in response.

One down, three to go. Libra looked at the knight climbing up from the ground, turned, and left through the torii gate.

But before he could finish passing through the torii gate, he collided head-on with an ordinary person.

What surprised him was that this human, facing his current appearance, wasn't afraid at all but seemed to outright ignore him.

What's going on with this person? I didn't use any illusion concealment, so why isn't he afraid of me? Or is he blind? That doesn't seem right either—his gaze is clearly fixed on me, and Libra can see that clearly.

Could there be beings like us in Kyoto too? I should test it.

Kyoto, like the Heavenly River, has a void; if Kyoto also has knights, it will surely cause trouble for Lord Wang's plan.

It's time to show my worth; if I can clear obstacles for Lord Wang, I'll regain his favor.

What are you? Libra pointed his staff at the young man before him, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Afraid of you? Are you brain‑damaged, Jiang Xia? You look dazed—you finished your mission but didn't leave; why are you staying here? Waiting to get hit? "Being afraid of you is out of the question; Libra, one of the Twelve Palaces, is here not to destroy the barrier, is he?" Jiang Xia rubbed his forehead.

You know the Twelve Constellations? Wait! Why do you have such tremendous power?

When Libra heard 'Twelve Constellations,' he already felt something was off, but his own perception revealed that the cosmic energy lingering in this guy's body far exceeded ordinary limits.

Could it be another Twelve Constellations about to awaken? Or did Lord Wang find other Twelve Constellations ahead of time, without relying on his own Laplace's Eye?

This guy knows about the barrier, and our plan to destroy it is known to only a few—could he be Lord Wang's confidant, sent to monitor my movements!

No, I need to check what zodiac sign this guy is, to see which of the Twelve Palaces has awakened early.

He activated a supernova, using his eyes that can see the constellations to look at the person before him.

Just then, his body suddenly shuddered, and countless thoughts flooded his mind, all expressing the same idea.

Can't look!

Close your eyes!

Seeing it could get you killed!

Quickly shut it down!

……

But it was already too late; it had seen it, and the thoughts welling up from his subconscious couldn't stop its gaze.

At that moment, Libra's body instantly froze, his whole body unable to move.

A pitch‑black shadow instantly spread inside the body of the white‑clad person before him; the shadow, like water, permeated everywhere and gradually engulfed his body.

After that, he knew nothing at all.

Why do you always try to pry into me whenever we meet? Jiang Xia looked at Hayami Kohei, who had fallen to the ground and was forced to drop his Libra stance, shaking his head.

Zodiac Apostles do indeed attract each other, but there's no need to always do this; they're just forgetful.

Randomly looking can get people killed.

What was I just about to do?

Hayami Kohei suddenly opened his eyes; his whole person seemed like he'd been fished out of water, as if he'd had a terribly frightening nightmare.

He got up from the ground, blankly reaching out; his arm trembled unconsciously, gooseflesh stood up—he didn't know what he was afraid of, but his body's reaction couldn't lie to himself.

That person has come! He suddenly realized something—damn, why can't I remember what that person looks like at all?

Why no matter where he goes, that person is like a ghost, relentlessly pursuing him.

Hayami Kohei looked toward the sky; at this point, the barrier controlling cosmic energy had already been destroyed in three places.

Scorpio and Leo have already succeeded; only one remains.

But now the sky has completely darkened.

Damn! That guy will indeed interfere with Lord Wang's plan.

Libra, what did you do this afternoon?

Just returned Hayami Kohei, as soon as he pushed the door open, he saw a strong man in black clothes, with long hair tied back behind, sitting at the table, still holding a cup of whiskey, questioning him.

What's up, Leo, or should I call you Standing God Roar? Hayami Kohei asked.

This man with an impatient look and dangerous expression is exactly Leo's switcher, Standing God Roar.

This afternoon, those knights somehow got the news and desperately protected the energy barrier; coincidentally, you seemed to have gone missing this afternoon. Standing God Roar raised an eyebrow.

(End of chapter)