Somewhere by a riverbank. At a place like this, people rarely come at night. If someone fell into the water, wouldn't they be left to die with no way to call for help?
But at this moment, by the lakeshore where everything should have been silent except for the sound of the water, a low growl like a beast devouring food could be heard. It was an Amazon!
"Ugh... I'm sorry, Takashiki Sanae. I was just too hungry to hold back. You said we'd be together forever. Now, let yourself become a part of my body forever. I'll miss you. You're the fifth woman who will be with me forever."
An Amazon that looked like a toad was crouching on the ground, eating a person. The one he had killed was his own girlfriend, and the wealthiest woman among all those he had dated—she was sixty-four years old this year.
The Toad Amazon wept while eating Takashiki Sanae's thigh meat. It was simply delicious.
Indeed, the woman he killed was the girlfriend the Toad Amazon had made while in human form. Just moments ago, while they were out shopping, he had brought Takashiki Sanae to the lakeshore to kill and eat her because he was too hungry.
He had already dated four other girlfriends like her before, and none of them lasted more than a month before ending up in his stomach.
Meanwhile, Shiraishi Shin, Okada Yuriko, and Tanzaburo Tojima formed a three-person team. Under Shiraishi Shin's lead as the captain, they arrived near the river.
"It's just ahead."
Shiraishi Shin didn't plan on sneaking over quietly. Even if he alerted the enemy, it didn't matter; he was here to "dynamite the fish" anyway.
Tanzaburo Tojima suppressed his inner excitement and ran forward, saying, "I wonder what kind of Monster it is this time. Is it a Shocker Kaijin, an Amazon, or some other Monster?"
"Amazon? What's that? Have you seen one?"
This was the first time Okada Yuriko had heard the name "Amazon."
Tanzaburo Tojima said, "Shiraishi Shin and I saw one in the woods on Sunday. Shiraishi Shin said they're man-eating Monsters. As for the details... uh, I didn't ask much at the time because I was too shocked by the Monster's appearance. Shiraishi Shin, what exactly is the origin of an Amazon?"
"We'll talk about that later. Because the one appearing this time is also an Amazon."
Shiraishi Shin stopped in his tracks and saw an ugly, toad-like Amazon crouching on the ground, eating a person.
"Is this... an Amazon?"
Although there was no light around, Okada Yuriko's eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. She could see the gruesome scene ahead: the body of an obviously middle-aged or elderly woman was being hideously devoured by the Monster. One could see that the wrinkled, chrysanthemum-like face still bore an expression of extreme terror, her eyes wide open like a vengeful spirit's. She was already dead.
This inhuman scene made her feel extremely nauseated and uncomfortable, nearly causing her to throw up the coffee she had just drunk at the shop.
Even a tough guy like Tanzaburo Tojima felt utterly disgusted by the sight. He couldn't stand it for a second. With a stomp that left a footprint in the ground, he charged forward and threw a punch, shouting in a voice as loud as a bell, "Stop eating, you Monster! Rider... Punch!"
"Hmm?"
The Toad Amazon hadn't expected anyone to come here while he was eating. And not only did someone show up, but they also had the audacity to attack him.
He immediately stood up and raised his right palm, intending to block it. In his eyes, blocking a human's weak attack was child's play.
However, when Tanzaburo Tojima's explosive punch hit the Amazon's palm, he realized he was wrong.
"Bang!"
The punch was incredibly powerful. Even a wall would have been left with a spiderweb of cracks. The Toad Amazon's palm naturally couldn't stop it; the punch struck his face, twisting his flesh and sending him flying three meters back before he hit the ground.
Tanzaburo Tojima's wrathful punch landed a critical hit, dealing true damage to the Toad Amazon.
"Hiss... This guy's punching power is so incredible that he can send a Monster flying with one blow?"
Okada Yuriko's eyes widened. When they encountered the Shocker Combatmen at the convenience store earlier, his punches weren't nearly this powerful. Could it be that this middle-aged man was hiding his strength back then?
"That punch was indeed fierce. Is he Daimon Masaru?"
Shiraishi Shin could faintly see that the punch Tanzaburo Tojima just threw seemed to carry the manifestation of Kamen Rider Ichigo's Martial Soul True Body.
This was an attack purely powered by willpower. Even if he transformed into Eternal and took this iron fist, he would likely be forced back two steps.
"That hurts!"
The Toad Amazon clutched his face as he stood up. He looked at the scruffy, burly man in front of him in disbelief. He couldn't imagine how a human's fist could possess such terrifying force. This completely defied common sense.
"You bastard, who are you?!"
"I am a Kamen Rider. Rider... Henshin!"
Tanzaburo Tojima skillfully performed the Rider Henshin pose he had practiced daily for decades. Then, he immediately turned around and placed a Kamen Rider Ichigo mask on his face. This mask wasn't custom-made; it was just something he had bought at a roadside stall.
"Nani? A Kamen Rider?"
The Toad Amazon was startled. He knew about Kamen Riders, especially since he had seen a video today of someone named Kamen Rider Cronus appearing at a certain school.
"Could it be this guy?"
If it really was him, he'd have to make a run for it. After all, his rank wasn't high—only D-rank. There were plenty of people in the world; he could easily catch someone else for food. There was no need to fight to the death with a Kamen Rider and risk his life for nothing.
But when Tanzaburo Tojima pulled out a mask and claimed he was transforming, the Toad Amazon froze for a moment.
"Ka... Kamen Rider?"
"Swish! Ore wa Kamen Rider... Sanjo!"
After striking a pose, Tanzaburo Tojima stepped forward quickly, shouting as he ran, "Don't run if you've got the guts! Charge at me!"
"Humph! If you were a real Kamen Rider, I might avoid your edge. But you're just a mere human—food!"
The Toad Amazon also charged forward. Although that punch earlier hurt, it wasn't enough to injure him. So what if his strength was great? At the end of the day, he was still human.
After throwing that one punch out of anger, Tanzaburo Tojima's subsequent punching power wasn't as strong. His next punch was caught by the Amazon, who then hit him with a sweep kick that sent him flying sideways.
"What's wrong? Where did that momentum from before go? Just stay here and be my food!"
The Toad Amazon discovered that the aroma emitting from this uncle pretending to be a Kamen Rider was several times stronger than that of an average person, making him hungry again.
After Tanzaburo Tojima stood up, a raging fighting spirit ignited within him. Hadn't he worked hard for this every day for the past few decades during his special training? To fight Monsters and protect those harmed by them!
"Amazon, take my Rider Kick!"
Tanzaburo Tojima, imbued with the Rider Spirit, let out a roar, jumped three meters into the air, and delivered a flying kick.
Seeing the opponent jump up so foolishly, the Toad Amazon immediately opened his mouth and spat out a retractable tongue. It wrapped around Tanzaburo Tojima's ankle and slammed him down behind him.
"Boom!"
Tanzaburo Tojima slammed heavily onto the ground, gritting his teeth in pain. Before he could even recover, he was hoisted up once again.