Time was stretched infinitely, and everything seemed frozen as though sealed in amber.
Although Ren could still react slightly within this state of near-frozen time due to his level of existence and special abilities, he was unable to respond.
It was not that his body could not move. He was simply far too slow.
He could only watch as the armored figure, which no longer appeared biological, slowly walked toward him.
Kou was not flying. He walked through the empty air as though climbing an invisible staircase, carrying himself like a true emperor.
Ren could not see his eyes or expression beneath the armor, but every movement radiated an unmistakable pride.
When Kou reached the same height as Ren, he spoke.
"If you hold a grudge against me, then direct all of it toward me. I would have no complaints."
"But you should never have used the lives of an entire city as bargaining chips, nor should you have harmed innocent people."
"Ren, you are no longer a hero. You have abandoned the compassion and kindness that made you human."
Within this frozen domain of time, Ren could neither act nor speak.
He could only stare at the figure before him.
"We were briefly friends, but unfortunately, you chose not to value that friendship."
"Farewell, Ren."
No.
He cannot kill me.
I have already reached the Fourth Rank, and my soul has completely materialized.
According to the original abilities, atomic disintegration should not be enough to kill me.
Ren screamed inside his mind.
Then, accompanied by the sound of a finishing move, Hyper Kabuto raised his leg and delivered a powerful kick.
Afterward, he slowly turned away.
When he came to a stop with his back facing Ren, time resumed its normal flow.
Ren remained frozen in place instead of being sent flying.
He stared blankly at the spot where the kick had landed and murmured,
"What... What kind of power is this?"
"Time."
"Impossible! Kamen Rider Kabuto's finishing attack causes atomic disintegration. Why does it contain the power of time?"
"Because you only believe what you choose to believe."
Ren released an unwilling scream.
Then the power of time swept through his entire body.
Forces from countless timelines pulled at him simultaneously, tearing his body into innumerable fragments and scattering them across infinite points in time.
["What a waste. I thought he might prove useful, but I never expected him to die so quickly, even after I gave him so much energy. Still, I suppose this outcome was inevitable."]
An illusory voice sounded in Ren's ears.
Then his scattered body began to reunite.
The countless temporal forces had unexpectedly failed to carry away every fragment of him.
Just as Ren became overjoyed, he suddenly felt his body begin to mutate.
At the same time, it was gradually slipping beyond his control.
"No! What are you doing? System, save me!"
Sensing what was happening, Ren shouted in terror, hoping his System would save him.
However, the System remained silent, just as it always had.
Ever since he obtained it, the System had done nothing except issue missions without ever interacting with him.
["I don't know how you managed to grow this powerful, but you accepted my strength without the slightest defence and even merged it into the foundation of your existence."]
["You are so foolish that it almost makes me laugh."]
["I will remember you, Ren Kanzaki. As a clown, you possess remarkable talent."]
"Ahhh!"
The final words tore through every one of Ren's mental defences.
His face flushed with rage as he roared, but he could do nothing.
He could only watch helplessly as his body was completely seized and his consciousness was consumed by another existence.
At the very end, he remembered his past.
His former self...
["Who wants to listen to you reminisce about something so boring?"]
The deity clearly had no interest in allowing Ren's fading consciousness to recall anything.
It forcibly seized control of his body and erased every remaining thought.
Then it stretched its limbs, looked toward Hyper Kabuto, who had calmly watched the entire process, and smiled.
"I thought you would try to stop me."
"I needed to save the others first."
Moments earlier, Hyper Kabuto had already transported every defeated hero outside the city.
"Your power is certainly troublesome. Time is always difficult to contend with."
"How about we negotiate?"
"Although that fool was incompetent, he did one intelligent thing during his evolution. He connected his Soul Threads to everyone in the city."
"Originally, he intended to drain enough spiritual energy from them to fuel his growth. He also planned to turn some of them into puppets to delay Saitama if necessary."
"Now, my life is connected to theirs."
"If you kill me completely, those Soul Threads will instantly tear apart the souls of everyone in the city."
"In the most literal sense, I have tied the lives of an entire city to my own."
"You can kill me and bear responsibility for the deaths of everyone here, or you can negotiate with me so we can reach a more suitable outcome for both sides."
Hyper Kabuto shook his head and spoke calmly.
"Negotiating with villains is foolish because people like you have no limits. You are willing to gamble with anything."
"But we cannot do that."
"We have boundaries within our hearts and morals that restrain us."
"You can act without limits, but we cannot."
"I have not lived among humans for very long, but I have learned one thing."
"Never compromise with a criminal, and never negotiate with a monster."
"Then are you truly prepared to bear the guilt of killing an entire city?"
"That will not be necessary."
The moment those words were spoken, the expression on Ren's stolen body suddenly changed.
Time returned to the previous night.
Just as Ren had agreed to accept God's power and was preparing to evolve using the enormous surge of energy, his vision blurred.
Then a figure he never wanted to see appeared before him.
"Hy... Hyper Kabuto!"
Ren screamed in terror.
He finally understood.
Perhaps the following day, or perhaps even farther into the future, his plan had succeeded.
However, it had also forced Kou to awaken his Hyper form.
Then Hyper Kabuto had traveled back through time to find him.
"You can't kill me! You can't do this!"
"It will create a temporal paradox!"
"Because I succeeded, you were able to become Hyper Kabuto. If you stop me now, the continuity of time will collapse, and you will die from the resulting contradiction!"
Ren did not know whether his argument was true.
He could only hope it would stop Kou.
"Trading my life for the lives of an entire city, allowing them to welcome another peaceful and beautiful morning..."
"That sounds like a worthwhile exchange."
"No!"
Ren managed to utter only that single word before Hyper Kabuto's fist shattered the entire structure of his body and soul.
A temporal paradox immediately occurred.
Hyper Kabuto's figure began flickering constantly.
His body became blurred and distorted like a broken television screen, with patches of static appearing across it.
He showed no panic or fear.
Instead, he quietly walked toward the window and looked out over the city, where countless lights continued shining through the night.
Tomorrow, the sun would rise as usual.
Humanity would welcome another ordinary day.
Then his figure shattered like a cluster of bubbles and disappeared.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)