Seele stared at the silver-haired man standing before her.
Her eyes widened in realization.
Seele: "You're the Serpent! You created that bubble universe!"
Kevin remained silent for a moment.
Then he answered.
Kevin: "It's my memories… and the promises I failed to fulfill."
His gaze drifted toward the empty Sea of Quanta surrounding them.
Kevin: "Memories of my friends, the will I've inherited… and a future that I promised to make…"
Kevin: "These visions haunt me every day."
His expression remained stoic, but his voice carried the weight of centuries.
Kevin: "They remind me of the fact that the Honkai destroyed humanity in my era."
Seele's expression changed.
Seele: 'Humanity… destroyed by the Honkai?'
Before she could ask anything else—
Bronya: "Step away from that man, Seele!"
A roaring engine suddenly tore through the Sea of Quanta.
VRROOOOM!
A motorcycle burst through the space-time fabric, its tires leaving a glowing trail across the unstable terrain.
The rider sharply maneuvered between Seele and Kevin.
Seele immediately recognized her.
Seele: "Ah… Bronya!"
The motorcycle came to a stop.
Bronya looked toward Seele.
Bronya: "The Bronya is glad that Seele is alright."
Then Bronya turned her attention toward the silver-haired man.
Bronya: "Mr. Welt, is this man the Serpent?"
Welt's voice came from the Core of Reason.
Welt: "This is the first time I've seen his true form."
Welt: "But his aura matches what I sensed in the Sea of Quanta."
Kevin looked toward Bronya.
Then toward the Core.
Kevin: "We meet again, Herrscher of Reason. And… your successor."
Welt's surprised that the Serpent know that he's here.
Welt: "He's talking to me… he can sense my presence?"
Kevin calmly continued.
Kevin: "I thought you were an apostle of the Honkai, but the maze revealed to me your past."
Kevin: "Your intentions are true. You did fight for humanity despite being a Herrscher."
Kevin: "So I helped that girl and hoped that she would bring you to me."
Kevin's eyes moved toward Seele.
Kevin: "The Honkai is our common enemy. I do not wish to fight you."
Bronya raised her weapon.
Bronya: "Speak all you want. We will not let you escape this place."
Kevin stared at her.
Kevin: "You think you can stop me?"
The Sea of Quanta suddenly trembled.
A dark tide gushed through the fissures beneath Kevin's feet and rapidly spread across the surrounding space.
The substance engulfed him.
It twisted and writhed like an amorphous monster, forming a massive shadow behind him.
Energy gathered within Kevin's palm.
It condensed into a glowing emerald-like gem.
Bronya's eyes widened.
Bronya: "That's… the Gem of Desire…"
Kevin closed his hand around it.
Kevin: "I've slept in the Sea for 1500 years."
Kevin: "For 15 centuries, the Honkai ravaged my home while I drowned in past memories, powerless to do anything."
The dark tide rose behind him.
Kevin: "But the Serpent shall return."
Kevin: "I shall fulfill my duties whether you accept it or not."
Kevin raised one hand.
The Sea of Quanta responded.
Many Quantum Shadows emerged from the darkness, their distorted forms rushing toward the group.
Bronya immediately raised her weapon.
Bronya: "The Bronya will not allow this."
Azure hover guns materialized around her.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The weapons unleashed a barrage of blue energy.
Quantum Shadows were torn apart one after another, dissolving into fragments of unstable data.
Bronya rode the roiling tide of shadows and charged directly toward Kevin.
But Kevin moved.
A tremendous force struck Bronya.
The impact tore the Core of Reason away from her body.
Her transformation immediately collapsed.
Her hair shortened.
Her Herrscher form disappeared.
Bronya crashed onto the ground.
Kevin calmly reached down and took the Core of Reason into his hand.
Kevin: "Bronya Zaychik…"
Kevin: "You crossed one bubble universe after another…"
Kevin: "Now you're finally here, and all worn out…"
Kevin: "Your body is lagging behind your will…"
Kevin suddenly sensed something.
A figure manifested around the Core.
Welt reconstructed himself through the Herrscher power contained within it.
His body appeared beside Kevin and immediately seized his arm.
He positioned himself between Kevin and Bronya.
Kevin's eyes widened.
Kevin: "…Huh?"
Welt: "Do not hurt her!"
Welt pounced toward the Gem of Desire.
But an invisible force struck him.
BOOM!
Welt was knocked aside.
The enemy remained completely motionless.
Yet crushing blows rained down from every direction.
Welt: "Ugh…"
Kevin looked toward him.
Kevin: "You reconstructed your body with your Herrscher powers to protect the girl. You've grown stronger."
Kevin tightened his grip.
Kevin: "But what can you do with your broken body?"
Bronya struggled to move.
Her body was battered and exhausted.
But her hand slowly reached toward the blue crystal necklace around her neck.
She poured a small fragment of her remaining will into it.
The crystal began to glow.
Kevin continued speaking.
Kevin: "I see great potential in you and the two girls."
Kevin: "The World Serpent needs people like you."
Welt steadied himself.
Welt: "We will never agree with your ideals."
Kevin looked at him calmly.
Kevin: "I don't need an answer now. You'll come around one day."
He looked toward Bronya and Seele.
Kevin: "You have my respect. I'm glad to know that there are heroes and visionaries fighting for humanity in this era."
Kevin's expression hardened.
Kevin: "But you are like naive children unaware that your ideals will kill you."
He raised his head.
Kevin: "You know nothing about the Hon…"
BOOM!
Kevin's sentence was interrupted by a fist smashing directly into his face.
His body was launched several feet through the Sea of Quanta.
Kevin recovered in midair.
His eyes widened.
Standing between him and the others was a transparent blue warrior.
Kamen Rider Super-1.
Welt stared in disbelief.
Welt: "Kouga?"
But Super-1 wasn't alone.
Four more transparent figures materialized behind him.
Kamen Rider Ichigo.
Kamen Rider X.
Kamen Rider V3.
Kamen Rider ZX.
Five legendary warriors stood together.
Without hesitation, they rushed Kevin.
Super-1 struck first.
Kevin raised his arm to block.
BOOM!
The Rider's fist smashed through his guard.
Kevin retaliated with a punch of his own.
But Ichigo intercepted it with the palm of his hand.
CRACK!
The force of the impact was enormous.
Kevin was driven backward.
V3 appeared at his flank.
BAM!
X attacked from above.
His Ridol Stick struck Kevin with brutal precision.
ZX followed immediately.
The five Riders moved with perfect coordination.
Every time Kevin threw a punch, one of the Riders intercepted it.
Every attempt to counter was met with another attack.
They didn't simply overpower him.
They dismantled his defense.
A Rider's fist slammed into his jaw.
Another strike sent him spinning.
X's Ridol Stick hammered into his body.
V3 struck from behind.
ZX drove him across the battlefield.
Kevin's regeneration struggled to keep up.
His jaw was torn apart by one devastating blow, his flesh reconstructing almost instantly.
Had his regenerative abilities not been extraordinary, the assault would have reduced him to little more than a pile of mangled flesh scattered across the ground.
Kevin staggered backward.
For the first time, genuine confusion appeared in his eyes.
He had fought countless battles.
He had faced Herrschers.
He had survived the end of an entire civilization.
But never had he encountered beings like these.
Kevin tried another tactic.
The Gem of Desire glowed.
The surrounding wind began to twist violently.
But Ichigo stepped forward.
He placed his hand against his belt.
A strange energy began to gather around him.
The wind Kevin had summoned changed direction.
It was being absorbed by Ichigo and empowering him.
Kevin's eyes widened.
Kevin: 'What are these being?'
Never in Kevin's life had he seen anything like this.
Were they a new type of Honkai?
Then Kevin noticed something.
The blue crystal necklace around Bronya's neck was glowing brightly.
Bronya was holding it tightly.
Kevin's eyes narrowed.
Kevin: 'It's from that necklace?'
Kevin saw that this isn't a battle he could win.
Kevin unleashed his MANTIS abilities.
The temperature plummeted.
Ice erupted across the battlefield.
A gargantuan glacier rapidly formed surging toward the Riders, Welt, Bronya, and Seele.
Welt immediately moved in front of the two girls.
He spread his reconstructed body outward, shielding them from the incoming attack.
Super-1 stepped forward.
His hands shifted.
The Super Hands transformed into the Thermal Hands.
Energy gathered around his arms.
Then—
WHOOSH!
Flames erupted from Super-1's hands.
The fire collided with the approaching glacier.
BOOOOOOM!
Ice and fire collided.
A massive cloud of white smoke engulfed the battlefield.
For several seconds, nothing could be seen.
Then the smoke slowly began to dissipate.
And Kevin was gone.
So was the Gem of Desire.
Only his voice remained, echoing through the Sea of Quanta.
Kevin: "I shall lead humanity to fulfill the true destiny of the Pioneers."
The voice grew fainter.
Kevin: "We shall meet again in the real world."