Chapter 394: with translation of chapter title

"Teacher, why would the Star Disciple disguise himself as Youmu to do something like this?" Ruyue Xian Tairan asked while walking forward, "Could it be that it wants to frame her, but what's the point of that?"

It depends on the purpose behind the disguise; human thoughts are complex, and someone who looks ordinary on the outside may hide a vast ocean in their heart. Behavior can be predicted, but few know what each person is thinking at any given moment.

Jiang Xia sighed, only those who have studied human behavior patterns can know just how heaven-defying the ability of mind-reading is.

Just as they reached the teaching building, they discovered a crowd gathered ahead, seemingly condemning a girl with black long hair, and behind her, the originally white wall had become a messy mess.

On the clean wall, someone had used multicolored paint to draw a huge rocket, inside which were written the large characters "Cosmic Trend"; although it was a rough sketch, one could tell it was drawn by a mischievous student.

"Teacher, is that Youmu?" Ruyue Xian Tairan pointed at the girl surrounded beneath the crude drawing of a spaceship; he couldn't see her very clearly.

"It really is Youmu, and it seems she's gotten into trouble with the school guards." Jiang Xia said.

Knowing the truth, Jiang Xia naturally wouldn't let the real Youmu be blamed.

This drawing is indeed by Chengdao Youmu, no mistake, but it's not the Youmu before us; it's another Chengdao Youmu—a vicious, playful girl who likes to put all her thoughts into action, not knowing right from wrong.

In this world, there cannot be two completely identical individuals, but according to the information Jiang Xia has learned, there will indeed be a special existence within the Twelve Constellations.

Gemini, at the moment of successful Evolution, splits into another self, like a split personality—one representing light, the other darkness; the light-dark Gemini is such an existence.

And because of Gemini's special nature, the switch of Gemini is held by the split-off dark personality, which materializes what was originally just a personality.

Therefore, the one actually using the Gemini switch is the dark Youmu, and this drawing was also made by the evil version of Youmu, representing the desires repressed deep within Youmu herself.

However, everything the dark Youmu does seems to be blamed on the real Youmu.

"Are you okay, Youmu?" Jiang Xia looked at the crowd that had surrounded her to the point of being impenetrable, then walked straight forward.

The surrounding crowd, like flowing water, was forcibly split apart as if encountering a reef on the seabed.

"Teacher, they're all wronging me." Chengdao Youmu looked at Jiang Xia, who had pushed through the crowd to find her, her face full of grievance, like an injured fawn about to cry.

"Who are you?" the guard looked at the person who had suddenly pushed through the crowd, instinctively bending his knees, leaning his body slightly forward, and reaching his hand backward—this was an attempt to grasp the baton at his waist; the familiar rough feel let him relax a little.

This guy seems very dangerous.

Meanwhile, the people who had been forcibly pushed aside became agitated and excited, and they all came from different clubs.

The reason they surrounded Chengdao Youmu is simple: the instruments of the music department were completely covered in various multicolored paints, all depicting spaceship designs.

The same goes for the shogi club's flag; even funnier, some boys' bodies were covered in star patterns painted with paint.

These are what they personally saw Chengdao Youmu paint, and every club here has someone who has seen her figure.

"Hey, Chengdao! How are you going to settle this?"

"Exactly! Do you know how many times I've washed this paint?"

"Hurry up and compensate us with a new one!"

"I'm Chengdao Youmu's teacher; just tell me what's wrong, and your things were indeed not destroyed by Youmu."

Jiang Xia first answered the guard's question, then spoke to the people before him; his voice wasn't loud, but it precisely reached every classmate's ears.

"It's definitely her doing—we all saw it!" someone shouted.

They all knew Chengdao Youmu; that painting figure was indeed her, and although they had been on good terms as classmates, they never expected her to do something like this—it had already gone beyond the realm of pranks.

"Are you sure you saw clearly the face of the person painting? 'You all really saw it?' Jiang Xia looked around with a sharp gaze at everyone present."

The crowd that had just been agitated instantly fell silent; Jiang Xia suppressed everyone present by his own power.

They all fell silent; no one dared to meet the eyes of this sudden intruder, not even having the courage to look up, and that icy gaze even made them forget why they had come here.

"Before you've seen the culprit's face, you'd better not jump to conclusions; many people share similar backs and builds, but in the end it's only similarity."

Jiang Xia looked at the students bowing their heads toward him; his tone was as calm as an undisturbed sea, yet the mood of the surrounding crowd sank to the bottom of a valley.

He's too strong—not because his words make sense, but because of the aura he exudes.

Even if such a person spouts nonsense or even contradicts common sense, they wouldn't dare to refute him at all.

This isn't a matter of right or wrong; it's fear.

Jiang Xia turned his head to see Chengdao Youmu trembling behind him out of fear, and softly said, "Don't be afraid; I believe none of this was done by you. Let's go, we're returning to the Kamen Rider Club."

"Oh, I..." Chengdao Youmu stared for a long time, but when she saw the classmates who had come to condemn her now acting like ostriches burying their heads in sand, her formerly embarrassed face suddenly broke into a smile; she lightly nodded at Jiang Xia, grabbed his arm, and followed him out of the crowd.

"Ruyue, I already know what's going on." Jiang Xia, pulling Chengdao Youmu out of the crowd, whispered to Ruyue Xian Tairan.

"Is it the Star Disciple impersonating?"

"Yeah, it's Gemini, but it's not an impersonation; it's the evil version of Youmu doing it."

"Evil Youmu?"

"Yeah, it's one of Gemini's traits." Jiang Xia suddenly stopped walking, "It seems it can't hold back anymore." Before the three of them, a girl's back appeared: her disheveled black hair hung down to her waist, a reddish-brown outfit, a white undershirt, black knee-high socks, and over the undershirt she wore a sky-blue Heavenly River uniform; that back was extremely familiar, because the real one stood beside Jiang Xia.

"Youmu!" Ruyue Xian Tairan exclaimed.

"Hey there, little Xian." she said, then turned around—but what was shocking was that her appearance was exactly the same as Chengdao Youmu's, except her face wore a pale-colored mask.

The Youmu who suddenly appeared had the same body, but they shared only one face.

"Ah!" Ruyue Xian Tairan shouted, seeing those black void-like eyes, and stumbled back a few steps.

Under the mask there were no pupils at all, just a sheet of black; the moment she fixed her gaze on someone, it felt like being bitten by a poisonous snake.

However, the evil version of Youmu merely greeted Ruyue Xian Tairan; her gaze was entirely focused on Jiang Xia, because his choice was crucial.

"Hey! Teacher, I'm also Youmu—why don't you choose me? Clearly, as long as she receives humanity's judgment, I can replace her, and then I could live in the sunlight and become a member of the Kamen Rider Club." Evil Youmu looked at Jiang Xia, tilting her head inquisitively.

"Because your existence would cause trouble for others." Jiang Xia stepped forward, "If you were truly Chengdao Youmu herself, you'd understand my personality better. I have no prejudice against those with split personalities; on the contrary, I don't see the condition that must be cured as a disease, but rather as a special talent. I regard any being with self-awareness as an independent entity, just like two completely different souls sharing the same body."

After all he's been through, Jiang Xia knows that souls do exist in this world, but he cannot be certain whether a dissociative identity disorder patient actually has two souls; however, he generally would not kill a personality.

"But since you were born, you've always done things that make everyone dislike you; now it's just pranks, but later you'll start harming others, and you and the original Chengdao Youmu are in a zero-sum relationship—once you become a complete entity, the original Chengdao Youmu will disappear, which I absolutely will not allow. If you're willing to stop now, I might let you be reborn as a new life." Jiang Xia stared into those dark eye sockets and spoke slowly.

He doesn't usually make promises lightly, but any promise he utters is something he can actually fulfill within his abilities, so he still gave Evil Youmu a chance to live.

At the moment of birth, the light and dark personalities immediately enter a state of mutual competition, and the way they compete is by replacing the original image people have in their minds; Evil Youmu's method is to punish those who are disliked.

These malicious thoughts are fleeting ideas that originally appeared in Chengdao Youmu's mind but were never acted upon—drawing a spaceship on the wall, tearing up Ge Xing Xian Wu's application—these are things Chengdao Youmu as an individual once contemplated, ranging from murder to tearing up others' books.

Human thoughts are indeed varied, but most of them remain mere imaginings; however, the shadow personality will actually carry out these evil thoughts.

"Hahaha! Everything I've done is something Chengdao Youmu wouldn't dare do; now all I need is victory." Evil Youmu let out a sharp laugh, "Watch, Teacher! I too have become one of the Twelve Constellations, just like you now, and I can join your battles."

Evil Youmu took out the Constellation Switch, pressed it hard, the dazzling Gemini stars suddenly lit up, and the Gemini Star Disciple broke through the dark air mass and appeared before Jiang Xia.

His body was black and white intertwined, the patterns on his body like a clown in a circus, he wore a crown-like ornament on his head, and his black-and-white hands held two differently colored playing cards, his style symbolizing the joker in a deck of cards.

"Teacher, be careful!" Ruyue Xian Tairan shouted at the Gemini up close, leapt up, instantly transformed and tackled the Gemini to the ground; after listening for so long, he also understood that this impostor and the real Youmu can only have one survive.

"Xiao Xian, do you also want me to die?" the Gemini said sadly, looking at Ruyue Xian Tairan before him.

"You are not the real Youmu; the real Youmu would not do this." Ruyue Xian Tairan clenched his fist.

"Then don't blame me, Xiao Xian; you really are annoying sometimes, so annoying that I sometimes wish I could kill you." The Gemini laughed, swinging the complex-patterned card in his hand; the card emitted a cyan light in midair and instantly sliced the air.

"Ruyue, be careful, this card can explode." Jiang Xia had the real Youmu dodge to the side, he himself took over command of the battle; Ge Xing Xian Wu is still in the Jade Rabbit Cabin and hasn't arrived yet, so now he commands these.

"Use cosmic form to avoid the explosion, seize the time to defeat her."

The moment of switching forms is like transformation, both have similar protective shields; relying solely on the Star Disciple's attack cannot break them.

Switching form grants invincibility; this is actually common knowledge among Knights.

"OK."

Ruyue Xian Tairan took out Switch 40, his finger lightly pressing that red switch.

In an instant, all the previous Switch 39 appeared, and the vast cosmic energy gathered at that moment onto Fourze.

Coincidentally, the two red cards exploded with a bang; the intense fire light instantly engulfed Ruyue, and the deep blue cosmic energy shot upward, pushing away all the flames produced by the explosion.

When the explosion completely subsided, the appearance of Fourze in cosmic form was revealed: his whole body shone bright blue, and his chest bore all the switches from One to Forty.

This is somewhat like a touchscreen keypad; each number is like a phone app—just press the button to command the power of the corresponding astronomical switch.

Ruyue Xian Tairan swung the Balisong Holy Sword in his hand, leaving several bright sparks on Gemini's body; but as someone who, like me, hopes for light, and as one who can hear the voice of the cosmos, even though he is now only an incomplete form, his strength is still far above that of an ordinary Constellation Apostle.

"Xiao Xian, your attacks are so weak, so weak!" the Gemini laughed cheerfully at the sword marks on his body; whether his movements or fighting style, he played like an innocent child.

Following that force, it leapt into the air, jumped to a distance, flipped its wrist, and five blue cards appeared out of nowhere in its palm, which it then launched.

"Ruyue, these blue cards allow Gemini to freely choose the explosion time to avoid it."

Ruyue Xian Tairan's reaction was not slow either; he rolled his body to avoid two of them, then prepared to swing the Balisong Holy Sword in his hand to deflect the rest.

But what he didn't expect was that these blue cards were not only not split apart, but instead stuck to the sword in his hand and his chest.

"Doomed."

Three stacked blue cards exploded with a bang as Gemini snapped his fingers; Ruyue Xian Tairan fell to the ground, the strong impact leaving him unable to rise.

"Teacher, your hint was a bit late, aren't you trying to let me win?" the Gemini, wearing a happy expression, circled around the fallen Ruyue Xian Tairan while humming a cheerful tune, looking toward Jiang Xia.

Evil Youmu never intended to harm that teacher who exists in his memory all along; she merely felt some resentment, resenting why she herself hadn't come forward earlier, so that the one now standing in the midst of the Kamen Rider Corps should have been herself.

(End of Chapter)