A sudden crack split the air.
From Mei's trembling frame, a surge of violet energy erupted, sweeping across the battlefield in a violent shockwave. The ground scorched black, the air crackled, and for an instant it felt as if the sky itself bowed under the pressure.
Kiana froze, eyes wide. "M-Mei-senpai…?"
But the girl who turned toward her was no longer Mei. Her eyes glowed with cold indifference, her aura pulsing with raw destruction—the Herrscher of Thunder had awakened once more. She didn't even glance at Kiana's plea.
With a single gesture, a torrent of lightning gathered in her palm. Then, in a blinding flash, it unleashed. The massive Honkai beast that had nearly ended them was obliterated in an instant, reduced to nothing but charred dust in the storm's wake.
The Herrscher floated serenely amidst the static, holding Kiana in her grasp.
"Give Mei back!" Kiana struggled, her voice breaking, but the Herrscher ignored her thrashing completely.
Her gaze shifted instead to Kouga. The rider, blood still dripping from his wounded shoulder, stood firm even as the earth smoldered around him.
"Don't you dare die, insect," she spat, though her voice wavered with a memory she couldn't suppress. "You still owe me… for the humiliation you gave me."
Her cheeks tinted faintly pink at the thought of that kiss—the moment that still haunted her pride.
Kouga tightened his stance despite the pain, forcing his body upright. His hand moved toward his Driver. Even in this state, I'll fight you if I have to.
But before the clash could ignite, the world darkened.
A massive shadow spread across the ruined city. All heads turned upward.
A colossal airship loomed above them, its sleek black armor reflecting the glow of city fires. The insignia was unmistakable—the Hyperion.
Kouga's eyes widened. "Where did that come from…?"
Panels shifted open along its underside. A volley of heavy miniguns descended, locking in place with a metallic clack. The weapons swiveled down, their barrels spinning—aimed directly at Mei and Kiana.
Kouga's heart sank. "They're targeting… them?!"
But before he could even react—
"Annoying insects… who dares look down on me from above?"
The Herrscher's voice dripped with fury.
Bolts of purple lightning arced violently from her body, lashing into the sky. In seconds, the storm engulfed the Hyperion. Electricity ripped across its hull, explosions sparking along its surface as the great ship groaned from the sudden assault.
The Herrscher still hovered in the storming sky, violet arcs rippling outward as if she commanded the heavens themselves.
Then—hissss. The bay doors of the Hyperion groaned open. From the light within, a figure emerged, her presence commanding and impossible to ignore.
A voluptuous red-haired woman strode forth, clad in a crimson skin-tight suit that gleamed against the fire-lit clouds. In her hands, she wielded an immense claymore, its edge glowing faintly with restrained power.
The Herrscher's eyes narrowed, fury sparking."YOU DARE TO RAISE YOUR BLADE AGAINST ME? YOU RECKLESS STINK BUG!"
With a furious motion, she unleashed a torrent of condensed purple energy. The beam roared across the sky like a lightning storm condensed into a single strike.
But the red-haired warrior did not flinch. With a single sweep of her claymore, she answered, releasing a crimson wave that split the air. The two forces collided midair, the clash shaking the earth below. The resulting shockwave tore through the streets, rattling shattered windows and blasting rubble aside.
Seizing that moment, Kouga grit his teeth and use kamen rider's chalice innate ability. Immortal energy coursed through him, knitting flesh back together as his wound sealed shut.
After only seconds, the slash was gone—but the toll remained. His body wavered, dizziness clawing at his senses. The blood he had already lost left him weak, his vision hazy.
Still, Kouga forced himself upright, refusing to falter as the duel above raged on.
Kouga's eyes widened as the storm of light above them finally broke. Through the fading clash, he caught sight of Kiana.
Still clutched in the Herrscher's grip, Kiana had reached with trembling, bleeding hands toward the crystalline wing on Mei's back. With a desperate cry and one final wrenching pull—CRACK!—the wing shattered like fragile glass.
The Herrscher's aura flickered, then collapsed entirely. In her place, Mei's body returned to normal, her unconscious form limp against Kiana's hold.
But there was no time to breathe. Both girls were still high above, suspended only because the Herrscher had been flying. Now, stripped of that power, they began plummeting toward the ground.
Kiana screamed as they fell.
Kouga clenched his fists, shoving aside his dizziness and the weight of exhaustion. "Not on my watch!"
His form shifted into Kamen Rider Ghost Newton Damashii, energy blazing around him. With the Newton Gloves, he sprinted forward, leaping into the air to meet them mid-fall.
The Repulsion Gauntlets glowed as he manipulated gravity itself. The crushing speed of their descent slowed, their fall softening until Kouga reached them—catching both Mei and Kiana securely in his arms before they could hit the ground.
Kouga landed lightly, detranforming from Newton Damashii. The Rider armor dissolved into motes of ghostly light, leaving him standing with Mei still unconscious in one arm and Kiana clutched tight in the other.
He glanced between them, voice steady but heavy with concern."Are you two… okay?"
Kiana took a shaky breath, still clinging to Mei before nodding."We're okay, I think." Her eyes then flicked up at him, narrowing in worry. "But what about you, senpai? Didn't you block a giant sword bare-handed?"
Her gaze trailed to his shoulder where the massive wound should've been. All that remained now was a torn, bloodstained shirt and faint red smears.
Kouga gave a lopsided shrug, forcing a calm smile."I heal fast."
What he didn't let slip was the wave of dizziness still rolling through him from blood loss. His legs felt heavy, but he refused to falter in front of them.
Gently, he lowered Kiana and Mei back onto solid ground. Once they were safe, his expression hardened. Slowly, Kouga raised his head to glare at the massive battleship looming overhead.