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Quote of the Chapter:
"The sky calls me! The Earth calls me! Humanity calls me! They call on me to defeat evil! Listen, evildoers, I am the warrior of justice!"
— Shigeru Jo. (Kamen Rider: Stronger).
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"EEENNNOOOUUUGGGHHH!!!!!"
The sound blasted through the hallway and was immediately followed by a violent burst of force. A blinding white glow erupted from Ox's body, forcing Lorenzo to shut his eyes as the shockwave pushed him back two full steps. Loose debris skidded across the floor, cracks spreading outward beneath Ox's feet as the air itself seemed to vibrate.
The chains hanging from his pant legs rattled violently as the light grew even brighter. Lorenzo raised an arm over his face as his mind raced. 'What the hell is going on...did we get reborn in an anime world?' The glow thickened around Ox like a cocoon as his body began to change.
His already massive frame grew larger, wider, denser, muscles swelling beneath layers of shifting armor-like skin. The sound sounded like a sickening mix of scraping metal and snapping bones.
His shoulders expanded, ballooning outward into enormous, plated masses of metallic muscle. Heavy grooves lined the armor, layered in overlapping ridges. Then the shape of his head began to distort. Bone and plated material pushed outward as two enormous horns curved from either side of his skull, arching upward, thick at the base and sharpened near the tips.
The white glow began to dim just enough that Lorenzo could finally see him clearly as his face began to go through a metamorphosis as well, barely resembling anything human. His features morphed into a monstrous, bull-like mask fused directly into his flesh. Grooved lines ran across the surface like exposed musculature cast in steel, while narrow slits formed along the mouth.
The red glow of his eyes intensified, growing both sharper and deeper. His torso thickened further, layered plating forming over his chest and abdomen like overlapping ribs forged from metal, and at the center of his waist rested a circular crest that resembled an Ox.
Chains began to extend from his shoulders that were connected directly into massive, weighted gauntlets hanging from his sides next to his arms, dense, brutal weapons shaped like oversized iron fists.
His legs had also changed, as armor plating wrapped around them in segmented layers, reinforcing the already monstrous muscle beneath. Every slight movement produced a grinding sound, as though his body were made of steel. Then, as quickly as the transformation began, it ended just as fast, with the white glow disappearing completely as Ox stood before Lorenzo in all his glory.
Ox lowered his head slightly and once more, inhaling deeply before letting out a savage roar. It echoed through the corridor like metal grinding against metal, completely inhuman. The walls trembled from the sheer force of it, dust falling from the ceiling as the vibration rolled through the hallway.
"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
Lorenzo instinctively began to take a step back as he swallowed his saliva nervously; however, without any warning, he felt a blast of air go towards his head as his body began to react instinctively.
Ox had simply taken a single step forward, with the floor instantly cracking beneath him as he dashed towards Lorenzo with a sudden burst of speed that even Lorenzo couldn't keep up with without his senses warning him.
Lorenzo's eyes began to widen as his senses continued to warn him mid-dodge, as he realized the issue immediately as the giant gauntlet flew forward with terrifying speed, which caught Lorenzo directly in the chest.
[BBOOOOMMMM!!!]
The impact detonated through his body, and his eyes widened immediately as all the air left his lungs instantly.
"…GHHK—!"
His body folded around the hit before he flew straight through a wall, concrete exploding outward as Lorenzo smashed through it without slowing down, one wall, two walls, three walls, then another and another. Each collision sent debris erupting into the air as his body tore through the structure like a human cannonball.
[BANG!!]
[CRASH!!]
[BOOOOM!!]
He finally slammed hard into the far end of another hallway, skidding violently across the floor before crashing into another wall and sliding down it into a slump. The entire corridor shook, and dust began to fill the air, which was immediately followed by a heavy silence before it was interrupted by Lorenzo coughing violently.
"I...regret...everything..." he wheezed out as he slowly lifted his head, pain flowing through his chest like fire. Ox, in the other corridor, hadn't taken his eyes off Lorenzo. He clenched his fist once more, then he walked through the holes towards the boy with murder in his crimson eyes.
The sound of metal grinding and concrete under the feet of Ox as he moved through the holes Lorenzo's body had carved through the walls could be heard clearly as the chains from his shoulders rattled with each step.
Lorenzo stayed slumped against the wall for a second longer, breathing unevenly. Every breath stung, and his ribs felt like shattered glass grinding together beneath his skin. "Yeah...I think I like the human form more..." he muttered weakly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
A shadow began to loom over Lorenzo as he slowly looked up, just as Ox emerged through the broken wall. His towering frame filled the hallway almost entirely. The crimson glow in his eyes burned brighter now, no trace of calm remaining behind them.
He stopped just a few meters away as the floor groaned under his weight, and steam began to rise faintly from his body. Lorenzo stared upward as he let out a weak chuckle. "…I really should stop talking shit if this is the result every time..."
Ox said nothing and simply raised one of the massive, weighted gauntlets; the chain rattled as it was lifted slowly. Lorenzo's instincts screamed at him as he forced his body to move, rolling sideways, and immediately afterward, the gauntlet came down.
[BBAAAAMMMM!!!]
The floor exploded where Lorenzo had been sitting, and concrete erupted upward like a detonation. The impact cratered the ground several feet deep, and fragments slammed against the walls.
Lorenzo stumbled back onto his feet, exhaling shakily as he raised his hands again, forcing his body into a stance despite the pain still screaming through his chest. "…Okay, maximum effort," he muttered, wiping more blood from his lip.
Ox slowly turned toward him, the heavy bio armor across his body shifted with a grinding sound as steam drifted faintly from the gaps in his plated frame. The crimson glow in his eyes remained locked onto Lorenzo without wavering.
Once more, Ox raised one of his gauntlets, the chain rattling loudly as he spun it, as it quickly began to gain momentum, tearing through the air. Ox planted one foot forward and hurled the gauntlet as it shot forward like a cannonball.
[BWOOOOM!!!]
The pressure alone shattered parts of the hallway as it traveled, chunks of concrete breaking apart around the path of the gauntlet as it came directly toward Lorenzo.
Lorenzo reacted instantly, twisting sideways, narrowly avoiding the direct strike; however, the force behind it still hit him, the pressure slamming into his body like a truck.
"…GH—!"
He was sent flying sideways down the corridor, his body spun violently before he reached outward on instinct, reaching out toward the nearest wall to try to stop himself. However, as his hand touched the concrete, his momentum was halted immediately, making his body jolt from the sudden stop.
His eyes widened, confusion plastered all over his face. "…What the hell?" His fingers remained pressed against the wall like an anchor in the sea. Suddenly, his senses began to warn him once more as his head shot upwards.
He saw that Ox had pulled the chain back towards himself, the gauntlet arced through the air, swinging around in a deadly curve directly toward his position.
"OH SHIT!!"
He reacted immediately, launching himself off the wall as he flipped in the air, dodging the gauntlet as it tore through the spot where he had been originally.
[BBAAAAMMMM!!!]
Lorenzo landed awkwardly several feet away in the classic superhero landing pose; however, there was a slight problem as he looked down at the chunk of the wall still stuck on his fingertips.
He stood as he began to shake his hand as fast as he could to get it off, and then tried to pull it off with his other hand, yet it stayed stuck no matter what he did. "What the hell is going on now..."