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Faust stretched out his arms and laughed.
"Haha! Erik, does this array look familiar?
The Blood God Array… You should remember it well. I've even upgraded it specially for you. These 666 sacrifices? Each one hand-picked from humanity."
"You monster!"
Erik's rage surged. But some part of his mind kept him grounded—he couldn't just rush in. Faust wouldn't show himself unless he had something planned.
Faust noticed Erik holding back and smirked.
"Did you know, Erik? The Blood God Project only succeeded because of your blood. So for today's ritual, I've prepared a special gift just for you."
He clapped his hands.
Dozens of vampires emerged, each holding a baby in their arms.
"Wanna guess who they are?"
"What the hell!? Faust, you son of a—don't tell me…"
Before Erik could finish, Faust interrupted gleefully.
"That's right. They're just like you—half-human, half-vampire! Took my men countless bitten pregnant women to gather these 35 vampire-blooded infants. And now… they're gonna be offerings to our glorious Blood God!"
Dan snapped.
Babies?! That was the last straw. Kids were priceless—sacred.
"You bastard, I'll kill you!"
He twisted the belt's dial—engine roaring—and hit the shift car.
His flaming tire spun wildly.
"Finishing move! Flare Stream!"
Blazing fire burst from his body and shot through the pillar-filled hall toward Faust. Dan leapt into the air, engine roaring, and went for a powerful kick.
"Rider Kick!"
"HEYAAAH!"
Just as his foot was about to land, a dark blur shot out from the side and kicked Dan away midair.
Dan hit the ground hard, slamming his fist in frustration.
"Who the hell was that!?"
A cold voice responded.
"You? You're not even worthy of laying a finger on Lord Faust."
Dan turned to see a monstrous humanoid covered in black fur. Huge and muscular with razor-sharp claws—and three terrifying beast heads. Not quite wolf, not quite dog. Fire spewed from its mouths.
"What the hell—Cerberus!?"
Dan was stunned. Vampires had mythical creatures now!?
"Kamen Rider Drive, huh? You've been a real pain for Lord Faust. Time to pay with your life."
Jonas leapt at Dan with terrifying speed, rivaling even the previous werewolf Fangires.
"You want my life? Try and take it!"
Dan wasn't backing down. He whipped out the Steering Sword and charged in swinging.
Meanwhile, Faust looked over at the chaos with a twisted smile.
"Now that we won't be interrupted, Erik… Shall we have a little chat?"
Erik slowly raised his Cross Spear and aimed it at Faust.
"Faust, I've got nothing to say to you—except one thing. It's time to give your life back to God."
He pulled the trigger. Bullets rained out of the barrel.
Bang bang bang bang!
Sparks exploded as the bullets hit Faust—until a curved blade appeared in a flash and knocked them all away.
Faust finally revealed his true form: a monstrous creature made of white bones and blood-red flesh. In his hands, he held a scythe made from a human spine.
"Erik, you've ruined my plans time and again. It's time to settle the score. Rise, my army of the damned!"
Suddenly, vampires swarmed out from every corner of the palace, completely surrounding Erik. As a kaleidoscopic glow flashed, the vampires transformed into skeletal Fangires.
And Faust… was their hellish commander.
He pointed his scythe at Erik.
"Today's your end, Erik. You're all going to die.
The Kamen Rider's doomsday is here!"
In a heartbeat, the skeletal Fangires all lunged toward Erik like a horde of zombies.
Erik switched his Cross Spear into sword mode and tightened his grip.
"We'll see whose end it really is!"
A whistle appeared in his hand. He slammed it into his belt.
"I-X-A Calibur, Rise Up!"
A burst of intense heat radiated from the Ixa armor, like a miniature sun igniting behind him.
Erik gripped his sword with both hands. As the skeleton Fangires charged in, he swung down.
"Ixa Judgement!"
For a moment, the monsters engulfed him—then a brilliant light erupted from the swarm like a blazing sun. The heat vaporized everything in its path. Within seconds, the entire horde of skeletal Fangires was reduced to ash.
One strike to slay all evil.
Erik, clad in the Ixa armor, sliced down the bothersome Corpse Fang vampire, then charged at Faiz with his cross-shaped lance in hand.
"Faiz! That brat of yours was never a match for me—now die!"
"Hahaha! That's what I like about you, Erik! You're the only one who can push me to go all out!"
Faiz laughed wildly, swinging his scythe head-on.
CLANG!
A thunderous crash rang out as the cross-blade clashed fiercely with the bone scythe.
The impact sent a disturbing rattle through the scythe, like bones grinding against each other—like ghosts howling.
Through the scarlet lenses of the Ixa helmet, Erik locked eyes with the monstrous figure in front of him.
"Faiz! You've got nowhere left to run! This ends now!"
Faiz gritted his teeth, gripping his scythe tightly and laughed like a maniac.
"Haha! You freak, Erik! You really think risking your life for humans means they'll accept you? Never! You were born a vampire—and that's all you'll ever be!"
"Hmph. So that's all you've got left? Cheap talk? Then let's finish this."
Erik declared his final judgment. Steam hissed violently from the vents on the Ixa armor.
"What?!"
With a burst of strength, Erik lifted the cross-lance that was being pinned down by the bone scythe.
"I won't let you win."
With a furious roar, Faiz suddenly sprouted an extra pair of arms from his ribs—bloody and grotesque. Clenching them into fists, he slammed them down onto the scythe.
CRACK!
The scythe was driven down onto Ixa's shoulder armor with full force, sending sparks flying everywhere.
"Hahaha! You've lost!"
But Erik didn't panic. Instead, he let go of the cross-lance, grabbed the bone scythe that was still embedded in his shoulder with one hand, and drew the knuckle blaster from his belt with the other.
He threw a brutal punch right into Faiz's chest and pulled the trigger—unleashing a barrage of special bullets.
BANG BANG BANG!
"....."