Chapter 4: Akane Shinjo
....
The monster in front of him was clearly not something Kihara could defeat with his bare hands.
So he didn't hesitate.
He pulled the Faiz Belt out of his inventory and strapped it on. With practiced ease, his thumb flipped open the phone and pressed 5-5-5.
"Standing By."
The cold, rhythmic mechanical standby voice echoed through the narrow alley.
Kihara took a deep breath, forcing his pounding heart back under control, and spoke in a low voice:
"Stay away from her."
The monster seemed to lose interest in the girl and began shambling toward him.
Looks like I really have to risk my life…
Yukari better be watching this, or I'm not surviving even my first world…
Of course, he was afraid.
Using the belt could turn him into sand.
But—
Letting a girl die right in front of him?
That was something he absolutely couldn't do.
His grip tightened on the device, knuckles turning pale.
Then, without hesitation, he inserted it into the belt.
"Henshin!"
"Complete."
Crimson photon blood surged out from the belt, forming a skeletal frame around his body.
In the next instant.
A sleek, black-and-red armored Rider stood in his place.
The girl who had been attacked didn't run.
Instead, she stared at him in a daze, eyes sparkling.
"S-so cool…!"
"…Your life was just in danger, and that's what you say?"
Kihara sighed helplessly.
With the enhancement from the armor, his physical abilities skyrocketed.
Even though the monster charged forward at full speed.
To him, it looked as slow as a snail.
He pulled out the device and switched it into gun mode.
Then he fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Red laser shots pierced through the monster like hot needles through wax.
Blasting holes straight through its body.
But.
The creature didn't feel pain.
It let out a distorted roar and continued charging.
Blades extended from its arms, glinting coldly as it tried to tear him apart.
"Tch… figured it wouldn't go down that easily."
Kihara dodged and countered with a spinning kick, knocking it back.
Then—
In one smooth sequence of motions, he removed the Faiz Pointer, inserted the chip, attached it to his leg, and pressed the Enter key.
All of it happened in an instant.(He had practiced this hundreds of times back when he still owned a flip phone.)
"Exceed Charge."
"Crimson Smash."
A red drill-shaped energy projection shot out.
Pinning the monster in place, locking its movement.
Kihara leapt high into the air.
Then—
KICK!!
His body pierced through the monster
alongside the crimson drill.
He landed cleanly behind it.
A glowing "?"-shaped emblem appeared.
Blue flames burst from the monster's body.
And in the next moment, it disintegrated into ash.
The fight was over.
But Kihara didn't move.
Inside—
He was panicking like crazy.
If not for trying to maintain his cool image in front of the girl, his hands would've been shaking uncontrollably by now.
Even though his body still felt powerful.
He knew the truth.
Once he canceled the transformation…
There was a high chance he'd turn into sand and die.
'Should I just stay transformed until I finish this mission…?
…Wait, how would I even eat?'
Just as he was deep in thought—
The girl suddenly jumped at him from behind.
"THAT WAS SO COOL!!!"
Caught off guard, Kihara was knocked to the ground.
The impact sent the transformation device flying out of the belt.
I'm screwed.
He stared at his hands in despair.
But—
The expected "turning into sand" didn't happen.
No pain. No weakness.
Nothing.
"…Wait… did Yukari remove the side effects?"
Praise Yukari!
"Ah-choo!"
Back in Gensokyo, Kaguya suddenly sneezed while gaming.
The girl quickly got up, ran over, picked up the device, and returned to him.
She crouched in front of him.
Her slightly torn black tights, damp from earlier, unintentionally drawing attention.
"Hehe, you beat the monster, but you look more scared than before. Were you just bluffing earlier?"
Don't look… don't look…
Kihara mentally repeated that, while still sneaking a few glances.Then he took the device and stood up.
"Not bluffing. Just… my first time playing the hero. Got a little nervous."
"My name's Akane Shinjo. What about you?"
"Kihara."
"Kihara… got it!"
She nodded firmly, then picked up her bag.
"Thanks for saving me. See you!"
"See you."
After leaving—
Akane didn't head home.
Instead, she turned into another dark alley.
There, a cloaked figure stood.
Flames burning atop its head.
"Looks like your first monster didn't turn out too well, Akane."
Akane frowned.
"Alexis, you said I'd make the monster and you'd bring it to life. If something went wrong, that's clearly your fault, right?"
"…Or maybe the problem is with the monster you made?"
"Are you questioning my ability?"
"No, no. I'm just saying… maybe you didn't put enough emotion into it."
"…Emotion, huh…"
Akane fell into thought.
Then she asked:
"Do monsters have to be big?"
"Interesting question."
Alexis replied calmly.
"Usually, monsters are terrifying because of their size—their ability to destroy cities with ease. That naturally requires a large body."
"You saw what happened in that alley, right?"
At that, the flames atop Alexis's head flared up violently.
"Of course. I didn't expect another outsider in this world. If I weren't already working with you, I might've tried talking to him myself."
"Then I'll try making a smaller monster… and have it fight him."
"Works for me. As long as you keep creating monsters."
"Deal! I'll go make another one. Bye~"
Humming happily, Akane left the alley.
Alexis watched her silently until she disappeared.
Then—
He let out a low chuckle.
"…So it's not Gridman, huh?"
"Good. That means I can safely devour this world's creator."
As an energy-based monster that fed on the human mind.
His goal was simple.
Have Akane continuously create monsters.
Rebuild her inner world.
And slowly—
Turn her power and emotions into his own.
As for that "outsider"?
He wasn't a threat.
If anything—
He had only encouraged Akane to create more monsters.
"Hahaha… at this rate, it won't be long before I devour the creator… and move on to my next target."
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Thank you for reading.