"Randel, what happened to you?" Johan stared at his old friend, his hands trembling with emotion.
It had seemed like ages since he'd last seen the man, his fight against Ymir occupying everything. He'd tried his damnedest to pretend that his fellow Jotnar's death hadn't bothered him. A man should never allow his feelings to impede his judgment. The sight of Randel's familiar face returned the guilt Johan had pretended didn't exist, his knees buckling as it washed over him.
"I've been reborn, Johan." Randel's dead, inhuman eyes bored into him. "Brought back to repay every indignity I ever suffered because of you."
Reine smirked as she extended a hand, sending an unheard command to her army. People screamed as the undead creatures charged forward, boxing the outdoor bar's patrons in.
"Henshin!" Yareli charged forward, ready to crush their attackers with her wolfish might.
Rebecca hid under a table while Samuel joined the unarmored Valkyries to fight. Johan's heart lost several beats when he looked into Reine's eyes. She was delighting in the fear her creations were causing. This was the girl he so admired? This creature?
"Stop this, Randel," Johan said, unsure why he was arguing with a monster. "This isn't you."
"Aren't I? You got me killed, Johan. Don't think I'll ever forget it," his late friend replied.
"And you leave our killer free," the Boss said. "Did you even care to avenge us?"
"It wasn't like that!" Samuel said, more distressed that Johan had even seen his friend. "I would never allow your deaths to go unavenged!"
"Likely story," the Boss replied, his tone dismissive.
"And you," Randel said, directing his ire toward Johan. "You didn't even attempt to save me, did you? You fled like the coward you are! Typical Johan, always running with his tail between his legs whenever danger rears its ugly head."
"No!" Johan said, his blood boiling. Nobody called him a coward. Besides, what did this creature know? He'd been dead this entire time! "Terrorize!"
While he hadn't brought his sword, Johan figured his boar form should be enough to destroy this monstrosity that shared his late friend's face.
"It's a Niflhel!" a person screamed in alarm. The bar patrons fled from Johan, mistaking his boar form for the infamous marauders who'd terrorized Bifrost only days earlier.
"I better get serious too." Randel withdrew an Angra Armlet from a coat pocket and attached it to his left arm. Next, he readied an Uhyre key with a wolf and thrust it into the device's key slot.
"Terrorize." Johan's old friend's body jerked, blue flames gathering around him.
Randel's body morphed, his face extending into a grotesque parody of canine features. Mud-colored fur covered him, hiding a thin, almost skeletal frame. His wolf form snarled, showing razor-sharp teeth. His breath was putrid even from this distance, smelling of dead flesh.
For a split second, Johan hesitated. He stared into Randel's glowing orange eyes, finding only malevolence within them. Could he fight an old friend? The sudden lunging snap made Johan's decision for him.
Blood stained his brown fur as Randel's fangs drove into his extended arm, only exciting his old friend's bloodlust. Johan hissed as the fangs sank deeper.
"Off!" A quick jab into Randel's chest drove him back, making the creature release its grip. His arm screamed in agony, but Johan would live.
"Not bad," Randel said, more amused than hurt. "But a boar, though? Figures. You were nothing but prey."
"It seems our weakest member has grown some backbone." The Boss walked up next to his subordinate. He pulled up his sleeve, revealing his own Angra Armlet. "Terrorize."
His former boss's body changed, becoming more feline. His matted hair was straggly, the color of dead leaves, with a white scruff of fur across his chest. Claws extended from his fingers, so sharp they seemed to cut ribbons in the air.
"Another one?" Johan said, his panic growing. "How many have an Angra Armlet?"
"Interesting question, rat," Reine said, amused. "As many as I could steal from that Ymir factory."
Johan's heart skipped a beat as almost all the undead monstrosities pulled out their own Uhyre keys.
This was the final straw. The crowd went hysterical in fear. They charged Reine's army, heedless of the danger. They knew what power these monstrous devices held, deciding to flee despite the risks.
"No!" Yareli said, but her warning came too late. The undead monstrosities awaited the fleeing, panicked people with evil glee.
The screams would haunt Johan's nightmares until the end of his days. Bones snapped underfoot as the monsters stomped forward, heedless of whatever they crushed in their charge toward Yareli. People tried rushing past toward safety, but many were either smacked aside or barreled over. Dear God, it was a bloodbath.
"You!" Losing all sense of herself, Yareli charged Reine with abandon.
"You can't reach a queen that easily," Reine said, still in her civilian form. She snapped her fingers. Two monsters engaged Fenrir, barreling her off course from the side.
Yareli snarled like a feral animal and slashed back at her attackers. They circled around her, cutting off any escape. Her first attacker, an untransformed zombie, lost their head to a slash across the throat. A fox creature snapped at Yareli's head from behind with its fangs. She pivoted around, Fenrir's claws severing its torso. The creature refused to die—its remaining half grabbing Fenrir's legs. The untransformed joined the dogpile, restraining Yareli, so their monstrous fellows could tear her apart.
Black blood splattered against Yareli's armor as her claws ripped apart anything that got close, barely noticing whether the target of her wrath was even human. Her ferocity and violence turned Johan's stomach. He'd forgotten how terrifying his friend could be. Reine watched from the sidelines with interest, playing with the Rangadriver in her hand.
"Is this new your best friend, Johan?" Randel said, his tone mocking. "And I'm supposed to be the monster here?" The Boss watched him in silence, his feline eyes disapproving. Johan froze on the spot, unable to do anything but watch.
"Johan!"
He jerked as somebody called his name, glancing in that direction. Much to Johan's surprise, it was Abbey. The Valkyrie spoke with authority. "Fenrir can take care of herself. We need to guide these civvies to safety!"
Even armorless, the Valkyries hadn't been idle in this conflict. While Abbey aided the injured, Pihu fought off Reine's monstrous undead horde. They fought with courage, using their fists and feet to surprising effectiveness.
A monster—a fly-like creature—bounded toward Pihu. The Valkyrie ducked under a vicious swipe, delivering several blows into its stomach. While they inflicted little damage, the distraction allowed a frightened young woman with a bloody gash across her head to escape. Gunfire boomed through the night sky as Samuel backed them up, shooting into the zombie horde from behind.
"Fenrir is ours! Your interference will be your death!" the zombie howled, its decayed lips twisted into a snarl. It opened its mouth wide, exposing blackened, rotted teeth.
It lunged forward, snapping at Abbey's exposed neck. Blood spattered her casual dress as a bullet exploded a hole in its head. After the Valkyrie gave Samuel a polite nod for the assistance, she returned her attention to their attackers.
"Pull yourself together, Johan! Your friends need you," Johan thought before roaring a challenge. "Get out of my way!"
"Finally showing some backbone, eh?" Randel said, unimpressed. Johan ignored him, charging forward with his tusks extended.
Blood trickled down his shaggy fur as claws met flesh—a slight slash across his arm. Compared to his previous battles, this was nothing. Observers scattered, confused why a monster would fight its own. Randel staggered back as a punch drove into his chest, but Johan howled when claws raked across his face in retaliation.
"They can't feel pain?" Johan struck his former friend even harder, the pavement cracking as Randel hit the ground. But his former friend recovered quickly, leaping forward to gut Johan. He sidestepped away, but agony bit into his side. It had been a distraction—the Boss's razor-sharp claws tearing deep into his flesh.
From the corner of Johan's eye, he watched Yareli rip herself free of the monsters grasping at her. A sudden boom thundered through the scene, and Yareli staggered back. A scorch mark scarred her armor as Reine's energy bolts scored direct hits.
This only drove Fenrir further into a total frenzy. The dogpile's numbers dwindled, shredded by Yareli's claws.
"Seems I need to get serious." Reine pulled out the Uhyre key and inserted it into her Rangadriver. "Henshin."
Sparks flew as claws raked against Reine's metal shell. A barrel pressed against Yareli's head, firing a bolt of energy at point-blank range. Fenrir staggered and howled, but it only drove her forward. Reine cried in pain as claws slashed into her.
"It's like rage gives her power." Johan suppressed a shudder, watching as the fly monster lost its head when it tried attacking Yareli from behind. More monsters redirected their attention from their potential victims toward Fenrir, who fended them off with savage fury. But their lack of pain made them disregard their safety, attacking with animal ferocity, heedless of the danger to themselves.
"You really are a beast, aren't you?" While still calm, a note of tension crept into Reine's voice. While their blows hurt Fenrir, they only seemed to incense her further. With a click, she pulled out and reinserted her Uhyre key. "Hold her still. I'll blast her to pieces from here."
"No!" Johan leapt forward, but the forms of the Boss and Randel blocked his path. "Dammit."
"Grave Bolter!"
The intensity of the blast temporarily turned the starry night sky to day, almost blinding Johan. A line of melted street appeared where the shot had struck, leaving a hole in a nearby building—wide enough to see clean through.
"That was close," Yareli said, panting. She'd avoided the attack by a hair, but the monster beside her wasn't so lucky—one was missing its entire torso. Another stumbled a few steps before collapsing.
Sirens filled the night as police cars charged forward in their direction. Officers rushed from their vehicles, guns pointed toward the crowd of monsters.
"Freeze!" a sergeant cried, a tremble in his voice. The sight of Reine's zombies and monstrous horde proved a fearsome sight.
"Great, that's all that we need." But the brave officers proved more capable than expected.
Several monsters charged toward the newcomers, and the officers opened fire. A fox monster staggered back as energy bolts crashed into its chest. Johan blinked, realizing the officers weren't carrying normal sidearms. Instead, they used strange futuristic weapons, lights blinking from panels. Still, the shots only annoyed the monsters.
A police car flew across the open-air bar as a bear monster threw it toward a gathered group of officers. While most scattered away from the oncoming projectile, others weren't as lucky. The sound of breaking bone sickened Johan's stomach as it crushed a poor man to death. The monstrous horde abandoned their attack on civilians and focused their violent rampage on the police.
"Concentrate your fire!"
They fired on a walrus monster that gloated over the dead body of a female officer beneath it, blood staining its tusks. The creature staggered back, flinching more in reflex than pain as bolts blasted into its face. Annoyed, the monster charged forward eagerly, intending to gut its attackers—but it never reached its quarry, as a chunk of its head exploded. It stood momentarily stunned, half of its face burned off, before collapsing and returning to its human form.
"It worked." Johan stared, amazed. Where had they gotten such a weapon? Ilma's father?
The officers worked next to destroy the other monsters assailing them. But Johan had little time to worry about the officers fighting for their lives. Fangs dug deeply into his arms as Randel grabbed him. It gave the Boss plenty of freedom to slash his chest to pieces.
Johan allowed his fury to boil to the surface, channeling it into power. How dare Reine do this? Why hadn't he seen the idol for the monster she was?
Time seemed to slow as he focused everything on this fight. The claws trying to vivisect him moved in slow motion. Johan anticipated every twitch of the Boss's muscles as he slashed toward him. His body twisted out of the way, kicking down hard into the cat monster's knee. Bone shattered as the blow struck, and the Boss toppled onto one knee.
In retaliation, Randel gripped his fangs tighter and slashed toward an already bloody wound on Johan's side. He might as well have been a toddler trying to fight a professional MMA fighter. Johan slapped the blow aside, already seeing its trajectory miles ahead.
"This isn't over!" Was it his imagination, or was that fear in Randel's eyes?
Much to Johan's surprise, his late friend bolted, the Boss in tow. Johan stood there, conflicted. Should he pursue the perverse corruption of his former friends, or help Yareli and the others?
Johan's heart turned black as he looked at the woman he'd so admired, the girl who'd charmed his heart with her angelic voice. There was no question what he'd do.
Distracted by her feud with Fenrir, Reine howled as Johan's tusks slashed her from behind.
"Insect!" Reine said, her tone venomous. Sparks flew from Johan's face as she unloaded a volley of bolts into him. He fought through the pain to charge at her, but Hel danced away like a leaf, laughing at his impotence.
More monsters died as the cops focused on taking them down from their various cover positions. Their new weapons were no joke. But Reine's zombie creations weren't willing to allow themselves to die easily.
Like Randel and the Boss, a fox monster abandoned the battlefield and slipped into a nearby alley. Many of its fellows followed suit, forcing the officers to give chase. It proved for naught—some already escaped into the downtown area. Johan cursed, knowing they'd soon enough become a problem for everyone.
"Get back here!" a female cop yelled futilely, trying to shoot the legs from under a beetle monster fleeing toward a nearby office building. Much to the officer's shock, the creature flew from the open doorway a moment later. A figure emerged from where the monster had tried to flee.
"Ilma, thank goodness you're here," Pihu said, clutching a bloody gash across her arm.
"Finally!" Reine said, her voice filled with malevolence. "All the players are here. Now the fun can start!"
With purposeful steps, ID-01 walked from the parking lot. Her expression was flat, her eyes scanning the chaotic scene with a glance. Her gaze settled on Yareli first before turning to the traitor, her mouth tightening in a frown.
"Look out!" Abbey said, her tone frightful.
The beetle monster swung its horn toward ID-01's exposed head, smiling in murderous delight.
Like a dancer, the Valkyrie pivoted away with preternatural grace. The monster's horn missed her by centimeters. With ruthless efficiency, ID-01 retaliated. An elbow into the creature's head made it stagger back with incredible force.
"What incredible power."
And the doppelgänger wasn't even wearing her Valkyrie armor. Johan noticed a sleek device hanging around her waist. It was raven black with gleaming golden trim. The belt had a stylized hawk, wings folded together like it was ready to give flight. The other Ilma held a blocky item tight in her hand, but Johan couldn't decipher its identity from this distance.
"You're dead!" the beetle monster snarled, raising a fist to smash ID-01's head to pieces.
The robot pressed a button on the object in her hand. It slid open, revealing glowing runes beneath. They sprawled across its surface, each roughly carved into the key's metal face.
What was this? It wasn't a Uhyre key.
"Henshin."
ID-01 slid the key into her belt. The bird's wings extended wide, revealing a gleaming red gem beneath them. Light consumed her as her belt activated. Silver body armor appeared around her body—similar to her old Valkyrie armor, but sleeker, with gold trim running across her arms and legs. Metallic wings sprouted from her back, formed from jagged pieces of metal.
"Get out of my way."
"Gah!" The creature howled, clutching a stump that had once been its arm. Johan marveled. He hadn't even seen her move.
ID-01 ignored the howling monster, focusing all her attention on the rogue Valkyrie. The steel weapon in her grip radiated power, emitting a blue haze around the blade's tip.
"You little…!" The beetle creature attacked from behind, thinking ID-01 distracted. He didn't even finish the sentence, eyes wide in terror as his body slid apart.
Metal wings glinted in the moonlight, each feather sharp as a dagger. ID-01 continued her purposeful walk forward.
"Remarkable," Reine said, watching the Valkyrie dispatch several of her monsters with ID-01's trademark ruthless efficiency. "Halvorsen is a true genius."
ID-01 paused several paces before her foe, sword pointed toward Hel's heart.
"This is the Valkyrie Mk. 2. Call me Kamen Rider Valkyrie. My father's greatest creation will be the death of Ymir's mistakes. Including you, Reine."