-----
-----
Another brutal punch sent Erik flying across the hall and out of the room.
Tony's face paled. "That punch sent him flying... He's not dead, is he?!"
[R-e-a-d-y]"Henshin!"[Fist On][Ixa Save Mode]
As mechanical sounds rang out, a white figure shot forward.
"He-YAAH!"
With a leap, he landed a crushing punch to the monster's chest.
"What the hell?!"
The monster staggered—who the hell was this guy? And where did Erik go?
"Who are you?!"
Erik shook off the pain in his right hand.
"Ixa. Kamen Rider Ixa. Now go return your life to God, vampire!"
With that over-the-top line, Erik charged again.
"Cool! A humanoid exo-suit! Not a bad concept. But it looks thin—where's the power source?"
Off to the side, Tony had already gone into inventor-mode, analyzing Ixa like a curious kid.
"There he is! That's Tony Stark!"
Before Tony could think any deeper, a horde of vampires rushed at him. Their goal hadn't changed from the start—take Tony Stark with them.
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"You guys… you're just normal vampires, right?"
He shook his briefcase again—another light orb flew out.
You had to admit, Stark's brain really was top-tier. Against enemies with obvious weaknesses, he was practically invincible.
He was like a high-tech Doraemon, pulling out one handy invention after another.
"Damn you, Kamen Rider!"
The jellyfish monster screeched and attacked wildly.
But now that Erik had transformed into Kamen Rider, none of it worked.
"It's useless. Time to end this!"
He blocked and countered every move, then landed a crushing blow that knocked the monster to the ground.
Erik pulled out a whistle-like device from the case at his waist and loaded it into his gauntlet.
"I-x-a Kn-u-ck-le R-i-se U-p!"
The system activated, golden light pulsing through the armor.
[Broken Fang]
He threw a glowing golden punch—energy burst from the gauntlet's muzzle like a cannon.
"BOOM!"
Dust flew everywhere—but from within the smoke, another shape leapt out.
"SWISH!"
A claw slashed across Ixa's chest, sending sparks flying.
"What?!"
A new Fangire had appeared—this one blue, wolf-shaped, and far more dangerous.
"Uh-oh…"
Even Tony was starting to worry now. Two-on-one didn't look good for the white-armored guy.
"Clawlon, go grab Stark. Leave this guy to me."
The wolf Fangire cracked his knuckles, eyes glowing with bloodlust.
Clawlon hesitated, clearly pissed, but still followed orders and started toward Stark.
"Hey! Back off! I'm allergic to jellyfish!"
The wolf Fangire turned to Erik.
"So, they call you Kamen Rider?"
"That's right. Kamen Rider Ixa."
"Heh. Cool name. So where's your horse or bike, 'Rider'?"
Erik blinked. "Is this really the time to talk about—"
Before he could finish, the wolf Fangire pounced, catching him off guard.
"Don't space out in a fight!"
A heavy claw slammed into Ixa's chest, sending Erik flying again.
"So strong!"
Erik climbed out of the rubble, but the wolf was already coming at him again.
"CLANG!"
Their fists collided—claw against gauntlet.
"Nice hit... but not quite enough!"
The wolf Fangire sneered, then launched into a furious combo of attacks like a storm.
Meanwhile, Clawlon was closing in on Tony.
"I told you, Stark—cooperate and none of this would've happened!"
Tony ran, throwing gadgets from his case as he went.
"Yeah, well, teaming up with freaks like you? Hard pass!"
"Then die!"
Clawlon waved his hand—tentacles burst from nowhere and shot toward Tony.
Tony opened his case, looking for the right tool to counterattack, but a tentacle snagged it.
"My case! Hey! Stealing is rude, you know!"
"Too bad. Become a blood slave!"
Dozens of tentacles came crashing down.
"BOOM!"
The hallway shattered under the impact—but Stark had vanished.
From the smoke, a pair of glowing red eyes lit up. Not eyes—compound eyes, like headlights.
A red figure emerged from the dust, standing next to the very-much-alive Stark.
Tony clutched his chest, gasping for breath.
"Thanks… but maybe next time give me a heads-up before yanking me outta nowhere, huh?"
The newcomer, Dan, said nothing—he just calmly walked toward Clawlon.
"Damn it… who the hell are you now?!"
Dan slowly turned the dial on his belt.
"I'm just a passing-through Kamen Rider. Remember that."
While speaking, Dan hit the gear shift on his wristband.
[Finisher! Full Throttle! Speed!]
A projection of the Tridoron appeared as Dan jumped high and kicked out.
"Houliyaa~!"
"Damn you, Kamen Rider!"
Crawlen growled, spitting out the classic villain line before falling backward.
BOOM—!
With a loud explosion, he shattered into pieces.
Everyone watching from the side—including Tony Stark—was completely stunned.
"Hey, this doesn't make any sense. How the hell did you do that? And where's your bike, Kamen Rider?"
Dan turned his head to glance at the overly talkative guy with the goatee.
"Huh? Tony Stark? What are you doing here?"
Dan was caught off guard. What the hell was Iron Man doing here?
This time, it was Stark's turn to be surprised.
"You know who I am? Wait—don't tell me… you guys came to rescue me?"
Dan chuckled. Typical Tony Stark—his ego was as big as advertised.
"The vampires outside are all taken care of. You should get out of here while you still can."
With that, Dan turned and headed deeper into the building. Seeing Stark was a surprise, sure—but he had more important things to handle. Eric's transformation time was about to run out.
Stark stared at Dan's retreating back.
"Humanoid armor, huh? Interesting stuff. Maybe I should make one for myself too… That car-themed armor of his is kinda stylish."
"IXA!"
Dan smashed straight through a wall into the main hall—just in time to see Eric's Ixa form getting wrecked by a wolf-shaped Fangire.
"Drive! This thing's not like the usual Fangires!"
The wolf Fangire saw someone else arrive, and immediately kicked Eric hard, sending him flying and creating some distance.
"You're another Kamen Rider?"
The wolf-shaped vampire looked at Dan with interest.
Dan didn't say a word—he just pulled out his Shift Car Sword.
"Heh… later, Kamen Riders."
Before Dan could make a move, the Fangire leapt through the window and vanished into the night.
"....."