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"Die, Erik!"
The brutal backbreaker forced Erik out of his transformed state. The IXA belt clattered to the ground.
Faiz tossed him aside like garbage. Erik was still barely breathing—and that made it worse. Keeping him alive just to suffer was the whole point.
"Tsk tsk tsk…"
Faiz shook his head and looked down at Erik with fake pity.
"Erik. The Blade. The Kamen Rider. Look at you now. Where's all that glory? You're no better than a dead dog. What do you think would happen if I tossed your body in front of those humans you've been protecting? And told them your real identity—a vampire?"
"Heheheh... HAHAHAHA!"
Faiz burst out laughing.
"Man, it'd be hilarious. I bet they'd run from you in fear, call you a monster! That's the justice you believe in? That's what you've been fighting for? HAHAHAHA! What a joke!"
Cough cough!
Erik coughed up a mouthful of blood, his spine shattered—but his eyes never lost focus. He glared at Faiz and said:
"You're wrong. I never claimed to be some symbol of justice. I'm just a masked protector. Human, vampire, monster—doesn't matter."
His gaze burned with even more determination.
"But my will to protect humanity will never change."
Somehow, a black device appeared in his hand.
"That's—the Blood Tribe Enhancer?! Why do you have that?!"
"Always prepare for the worst. That's who I am."
Erik clenched the enhancer. Two fang-like needles stabbed into his palm. A surge of immense power exploded from within.
"No way! How can you have such insane potential?!"
Faiz stared in shock.
Erik's muscles bulged. Despite his broken spine, he stood up. Colored patterns spread across his darkened skin.
In a flash of golden light, Erik transformed—his new form had the body of a man and the head of a lion.
Nearby, Dan—now out of Drive mode—stared at Erik in shock.
"No way! Erik turned into a Fangire?! That form... a Lion-type?! Rook?!"
This world's way too messed up. It was already wild enough when Blade turned into Kamen Rider IXA—but now he's become a Fangire too?! And not just any random Fangire—he went straight to being one of the Chess Four, Rook!
If Rook's here already, then… are the other board members gonna show up too? Is the Green-Hatted King making a comeback?
For a moment, Dan's imagination just went off the rails.
"ROAR—!"
A loud lion's roar shook the air.
Erik, now transformed into a monster, charged straight at Faiz. But Faiz didn't flinch at all—he met him head-on.
Faiz slammed his fist into Erik's head, while Erik went for a deadly heart strike. The two clashed with fists and claws, trading blows like hardened warriors in a brutal Hollywood brawl.
"Tch—hahaha! Erik! You really are a freakin' monster now, huh?!"
Faiz laughed like a maniac, watching Erik—now fully a lion-like Fangire—go completely feral.
"ROAR—!"
Erik had totally lost it. No matter how strong his willpower was before using the Enhancer, his injuries and exhaustion made him too weak to resist the berserker strength it unleashed.
"You really think you can kill me like this? A mindless beast? Dream on!"
Faiz punched Erik back hard and morphed his left arm into a sharp blade, slashing at him in one swift motion.
Shing—!
The blade clashed against Erik's beast armor, sparking wildly on impact.
"Just die already!"
Faiz raised his right hand and slashed again. Just when Erik had started to turn the tide, he was forced back into a one-sided beatdown.
"Erik!"
Dan saw what was happening and panicked. He lifted his arm to help, but the moment he took a step, he collapsed straight to the ground.
"Dan, don't push yourself! You've already pushed your body way past the limit!"
Krim warned him.
"But Erik… Belt-san, isn't there anything you can do?"
Krim went silent. At this point, what else could he even do?
"Scream! Come on, keep screaming! Erik, weren't you supposed to be some big badass?! Then roar for me again!"
Faiz's eyes were full of madness, both arms now turned into blades as he slashed at Erik again and again.
But Erik, completely out of control, didn't dodge. He didn't block. He didn't even react. All he could focus on was charging forward and tearing apart the annoying guy in front of him.
"This ends now, Erik! As a monster, just disappear from this world!"
Faiz crossed his arms and unleashed a full-powered slash. Blood sprayed through the air.
Erik's beast armor cracked open, exposing bone-deep gashes across his chest.
"Die!"
Faiz raised a claw, aiming straight for Erik's heart.
Watching his friend about to be killed, Dan was devastated. He reached out helplessly, trying to grab at anything—anything that could help.
"ERIk!"
Vmmm—!
A strange energy shimmered in the air, and suddenly the world slowed down like a movie hitting slow-mo. Everything—absolutely everything—moved at a crawl.
"What the?! That's… Heavy Acceleration?!"
Krim was stunned. But the Drive system hadn't activated an acceleration field!
Erik looked at the now-sluggish Faiz, and without hesitation, stood back up.
"ROARRR—!"
With a furious roar, he lunged, claw after claw after claw tearing through Faiz's body. Flesh was shredded, bones were ripped apart one by one… but the blood that should've been gushing out only oozed in slow motion.
Then—snap—Heavy Acceleration faded. Dan's outstretched hand dropped, and he passed out.
Poor Faiz didn't even know what hit him. By the time it was over, he'd been torn limb from limb by Erik. His body was mangled beyond recognition—organs everywhere. No way he was coming back from that.
"ROAR—!"
Erik howled to the sky, rage still boiling inside him. Then he spotted Dan, unconscious and back in his human form. Slowly, Erik walked over, claws extended.
Standing over Dan, he raised his claw—its sharp edges glinting coldly.
"ERIK! Erik, wake up! That's Dan! He's our friend! That's our teammate!"
Krim shouted, desperate to get through to him. But Erik didn't respond.
"ROARR—!"
With a savage roar, his claw lunged at Dan's throat. Just as it was about to touch him—Erik stopped. It was like something inside him suddenly regained control.
"Huh? What's happening to me…?"
Erik took a few shaky steps back. His body shimmered as he returned to human form, staring blankly at the scene in front of him.
Krim breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know what just happened, but at least it was over.
"Whatever's going on, we need to get out of here first."
Erik nodded, picked up his belt and blaster, then gently carried Dan on his back and walked out.
"....."