"What kind of person do you consider a hero?"
The person wearing crimson insect-like armor asked the question. Although his voice was slightly muffled by the helmet, it was clearly that of a young man.
Fubuki snapped back to reality and realized that the person before her was asking her a question. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "Someone with enough power to overcome any danger can be considered a true hero."
That was what Fubuki currently believed. If she were not so weak, if she were as powerful as her sister, she would never face threats like this and could easily resolve most problems.
Furthermore, the reason she had formed the Blizzard Group and remained at Rank 1 of B-Class instead of advancing was that she believed she was not strong enough. She felt that even if she advanced to A-Class, she would never achieve a high ranking. Therefore, she planned to recruit more people from B-Class to increase her overall strength.
"So, someone with enough power to overcome any difficulty can be considered a true hero? In other words, as long as someone possesses enough strength, they can become a hero."
The man in the crimson insect-like armor spoke thoughtfully. Then, as though he had noticed something, he raised his head. The sky-blue compound lenses on his helmet turned toward a distant high-rise building as if they were real eyes observing the surroundings.
The moment the crimson figure looked in his direction, Ren Kanzaki vanished, every hair on his body standing on end.
"Damn it! Is that really Kamen Rider Kabuto? Am I going to have to fight a Kamen Rider?"
The calm and aloof expression Ren had maintained vanished, and his face darkened.
"This is bad. Of all the Kamen Riders, it had to be Kabuto, who possesses time-based abilities! Although the armor resembles the S.I.C. design, there is no doubt that it is Kamen Rider Kabuto!"
"I don't know whether this guy has obtained the power of Hyper Kabuto. If he really has that ability, how am I supposed to fight him? I could defeat one version of him, only for another to appear from the past or future a second later. That's an unbeatable opponent. It's completely unfair!"
"The Hyper Zecter can even send information from the future back into the past. What is this, some kind of time-traveling save point? Damn it!"
For a moment, Ren felt completely numb.
The power system he followed revolved around souls, Zanpakuto, and spiritual power. Although some Zanpakuto possessed abilities related to time, none allowed their wielders to move freely between different points in history like Kamen Rider Kabuto.
"How am I supposed to fight that? It's impossible!"
"Calm down. He might not be capable of transforming directly into Hyper Kabuto. If he could, he would have already come over and eliminated me."
Ren could only comfort himself with those words. Otherwise, if he truly had to fight a Hyper Kabuto capable of moving freely between different points in time, he might as well kill himself now.
"My existence must have already been exposed. The news has reported my appearance as the newest S-Class Hero, but he hasn't come after me immediately. I need to use the time before he does to gather information about him. I have to determine whether he can actually transform into Kamen Rider Kabuto or if the armor merely looks similar. More importantly, I need to find out whether Hyper Kabuto exists."
Ren no longer felt the same ease or desire to enjoy himself in this world. The sudden appearance of Kamen Rider Kabuto had completely unsettled him.
So, where had the figure resembling Kamen Rider Kabuto come from?
The answer was simple. At the System's suggestion, Caelus had remodeled Carnage Kabuto into this form, although he did not understand why the System had laughed like a villain afterward.
["Hahahaha!"]
"Why do you have to laugh like such a villain? Even your voice changed into some kind of synthesized recording."
Caelus rubbed his ears. The sound that had just echoed inside his head came from the System. It resembled a middle-aged man's voice mixed with an artificial electronic tone. No matter how he listened to it, it did not sound like the voice of a good person.
["That guy who was watching from a distance looked so terrified that his hair nearly stood on end! You should have seen his expression. It was like he'd seen a ghost. It seems he knows what the appearance I had you create represents. Watching him go from completely composed to having a mental breakdown was hilarious!"]
"What exactly does this appearance represent?"
["Simply put, an existence known as Kamen Rider Kabuto wears this armor and can travel through different timelines."]
After hearing the explanation, Caelus thought for a moment before saying, "In that case, should we make the transformation more authentic and give him a portion of Finality's power? Then the one I created would also be capable of traveling through time."
"There's no need to recreate it that accurately. This is already good enough."
The crimson figure withdrew his gaze. He had sensed someone watching him from that location.
"Hello. I am Fubuki, B-Class Rank 1 and leader of the Blizzard Group. Thank you for..."
Before Fubuki could finish speaking, the crimson figure shook his head. Without saying anything else, he disappeared from the spot in an instant.
His sudden departure prevented Fubuki from finishing her thanks or making an attempt to recruit him.
In the end, she sighed and hurriedly took the injured members of the Blizzard Group to the hospital for treatment.
The crimson figure reappeared beside a river.
The crimson armor covering his body gradually began to shift and retract until it completely disappeared, revealing a man wearing a brown trench coat and khaki trousers.
The man crouched beside the river and stared at his reflection in the water, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Who am I? Why did I appear in this world? Why do I want to become a hero? What is a hero? Where did my power come from?"
The man could not remember who he had been before. He only knew that when he awakened, he had already appeared in a corner of the city.
He could not remember his name or anything about his past. The only thing left in his mind was a single conviction.
He had to become a hero.
But what was a hero?
Was it truly as that woman had said? Was a hero simply someone with enough power to resolve any crisis? Did possessing that kind of strength automatically make someone a hero?
The man was deeply confused.
He looked at the slightly delicate face reflected in the water and reached out to touch it. His fingers disturbed the surface, sending ripples across the river and blurring the reflection, just like his memories.
"Instead of worrying about all this, I should find something to eat first. I'm getting hungry."
The man finally stood up. He pushed those confusing questions aside and decided to solve his hunger first.
However, the moment he thought about finding food, a new problem arose.
He had no money.
The man fell into deep thought.
After a long while, he saw a monster composed of various pieces of garbage rise from the river.
"I am Trash Monster! I was born from the resentment created by you humans carelessly producing and discarding endless amounts of garbage! I will bury humanity beneath its own waste!"
The moment Trash Monster finished his declaration, a gust of wind swept past him.
Then he lost consciousness.
After returning to his human form, the man looked at the pile of garbage scattered across the ground.
A sudden idea came to him.
"I can collect this garbage and sell it. Then I'll have money for food!"
The man found several usable bags among the scattered trash and began filling them.
(To be continued.)
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)