With a slight push off the ground with his left leg, Isaac's figure, aided by the astonishing jumping power of the Steamhopper Form, appeared before Kasshine in an instant, as if teleporting, and he delivered a powerful side kick with his right leg.
Steam compressed and exploded, and immense power was instantly released as his right leg made contact with Kasshine's side. Kasshine, unable to react in time, was directly kicked away, sliding over ten meters before barely coming to a stop.
Is this the power of Kamen Rider Gotchard?
"Should I also learn from those Kamen Rider seniors and come up with a catchphrase of my own?"
Before Isaac can contemplate a witty one-liner, the Kasshine, recovering, rises. Its metallic head swivels, fixing its gaze on the newly minted Rider. The glowing lines on its armor intensify, and it raises its trident, ready for round two.
"Guess I'll work on that later." Isaac lowers into a combat stance, mimicking what he recalls from old martial arts flicks.
Kasshine charges, trident aimed at Gotchard's chest. Isaac, relying on instinct and the Steamhopper's enhanced reflexes, sidesteps the blow. The trident impales the ground where he once stood.
Gotchard retaliates with a flurry of punches, each one carrying the force of a small explosion. Kasshine blocks most of the blows with its armored arms, but one manages to connect with its head, staggering it back.
The mechanical knight swings its trident in a wide arc. Isaac ducks under it, steam venting from his legs as he propels himself forward. He grabs the trident's shaft, using his momentum to spin around and yank the weapon from Kasshine's grip. The trident clatters to the ground.
"Alright! Now we're talking!"
Kasshine, disarmed, switches tactics, delivering a series of rapid-fire punches and kicks. Isaac, still finding his footing, struggles to keep up. A blow to the gut sends him stumbling backward. Another connects with his helmet, sparks flying.
This thing hits hard!
The mechanical guardian presses its advantage, forcing Gotchard onto the defensive. Isaac parries desperately, the alchemically-forged fists of the Kasshine testing the integrity of his armor. He feels the strength of Steamhopper begin to wane.
Then, Kasshine makes a fatal error, telegraphing a punch, giving Isaac the opportunity to capitalize on the misstep. He ducks under the blow, grabs Kasshine's arm, and executes a perfect judo throw, sending the knight crashing onto its back.
The mechanical knight is flat on its back, unmoving, its glowing lines now dim and flickering.
"Time to finish this!"
Isaac pushes in the lever on his driver. He lifts his leg, and the furnace on his chest burns brightly, and steam starts pouring out of him.
Isaac takes a forceful step, and he is already in front of the Kasshine in a kicking motion.
[Steamhopper! Fever!]
Accompanied by the sound effect of the finishing move, the Rider Kick descending from the sky struck Kasshine's chest. Without any obstruction, it directly passed through his body with an unstoppable momentum.
However, the potential energy from the descent caused Isaac's body to continue sliding forward. In the dazzling firelight, as he frantically tried to slow down, he didn't notice a slightly protruding stone directly in front of him.
A crunching sound of bone dislocation comes from Isaac's right ankle, which was still in the Rider Kick posture. Intense pain instantly spread throughout his nervous system.
"Damn it, why did I sprain my ankle too? I'm clearly not using the 01 Rider System! Is it because we're both locusts?!"
After rolling several times, Isaac's body hit the wall at the end of the alley, finally bringing him to a stop.
Enduring the pain from his sprained ankle, Isaac, still in his transformed state, manages to get up. As he limps toward X Wizard.
Reaching out to gently push the wizard, who had been knocked down, Isaac calls out softly. To distract himself, he even makes a small joke. "Hey, X Wizard, you okay? You didn't break you, did you?"
Perhaps hearing Isaac's words, or sensing his suppressed pain, the card case he had picked up and hung on his waist suddenly opens automatically, and a Chemy card flies into his hand.
A pearly white light emanates from the card depicting a pure white Unicorn, enveloping Isaac and X Wizard. In the light, Isaac feels his pain gradually diminish.
When the white light dissipates, the pain has completely vanished. Isaac gently moves his right ankle and is surprised to find that his injury had fully recovered.
"Hmm~"
With a soft murmur, X Wizard wakes from her peaceful sleep. Subconsciously, she reaches up to rub the back of her head. After lying there blankly for a moment, she slowly sits up.
Her gaze shifts slightly, and X Wizard's eyes are quickly drawn to a certain blue-goggled locust. Seeing him curiously examining a Chemy card, she can't help but be slightly stunned.
"Yo, you're awake, X Wizard. Let's leave now, and we can talk about anything else after we're out."
Noticing X Wizard's gaze fixed on him, Isaac returns the Unicon Chemy card to the card case, then walks back to X Wizard's side and squats down, extending his hand to greet her.
The loud explosion might have attracted attention. Although the police response efficiency here in America wasn't great, it was still time to leave to avoid being cornered later.
"Understood."
Feeling the sincerity conveyed in Isaac's words, X Wizard takes his outstretched hand and uses his strength to stand.
"I remember there's a motorcycle-type Chemy, it's called Gold…"
"Golddash."
Opening the card case on his own, Isaac draws out Ride Chemy Cards, trying to find the Chemy he vaguely remembers.
But to Isaac's surprise, for some unknown reason, many of the Ride Chemy Cards he drew out are grayscale, having lost their original colors.
However, for a moment, Isaac couldn't recall the name of that Chemy, as "Kamen Rider Gotchard" ended quite a while ago.
Looking at Isaac, who was already stuck, X Wizard, who had understood from his words which Chemy he was looking for, speaks up.
And just as X Wizard's words fall, a Ride Chemy Card depicting a golden motorcycle Chemy automatically flies out of the card case and lands steadily in Isaac's hand.
Under X Wizard's guidance, Isaac successfully summons the golden motorcycle Chemy. Riding this Golddash, Isaac and X Wizard leave the alley.
Approximately a few more minutes later, a group of people dressed in black special combat uniforms appears. Under the command of a Black officer, they take out various strange instruments and begin to inspect the area.