Chapter 45: You Think You Can Just Show Off and Leave? Instant Kill

A new figure suddenly appeared in the hospital room. Yusuke Onodera turned toward the unexpected visitor, and froze. Not just him. Hokama Yukio also noticed the newcomer and instinctively glanced over. The moment he saw him, Hokama Yukio's eyes widened in disbelief. That unmistakable S-emblem on the chest. The skintight suit. The cape. This... Wasn't this the legendary Superman?! 『Yusuke Onodera』: Superman? Just moments ago, Yusuke had been urging Hokama Yukio to go look for the enemy together. Now, faced with Carl's sudden appearance, he stood dumbfounded. In their world, the Kamen Rider world, just like the Marvel Universe, Superman existed only in comics and movies. So naturally, both Yusuke and Hokama Yukio immediately associated this man with the Superman of legend. They exchanged glances, clearly seeing the shock mirrored in each other's eyes. It was simply too unbelievable. After all, Superman was supposed to be a fictional character. And yet, here he was, standing before them. Of course, this "Superman" looked a little different from the one they knew. First off, he had East Asian features. And his battle suit wasn't the usual red and blue. Still, aside from a few minor differences, the resemblance was uncanny. The two of them were too stunned to speak. Even Hokama Yukio, who had just posted the mission in the chat group, stared at Carl in disbelief. Carl raised an eyebrow at their silence and decided to speak first. 『Carl』: Hello, Tsukasa Kadoya. I'm Carl. I accepted the mission from the group. 『Yusuke Onodera』: Group? What group? He blinked and looked at Hokama Yukio in confusion. 『Yusuke Onodera』: Tsukasa, you know Superman? Then he shook his head at himself, muttering: 『Yusuke Onodera』: No way, no way... There's no such thing as Superman in real life. Probably just cosplay... Meanwhile, Hokama Yukio, still reeling, looked at Carl and asked: 『Hokama Yukio』: Did you say... the group? The chat group? Carl smiled. 『Carl』: What else could I mean, Passing Kamen Rider? The mention of the chat group, the mission, and the fact that this man knew his in-group username confirmed it for Hokama Yukio, almost completely. 『Hokama Yukio』: So it's really you... the God Among Men? He wasn't 100% sure, of course. After all, Superman standing in front of you was a hard pill to swallow. Carl didn't seem to mind their reaction. He turned his attention to the girl on the hospital bed, Natsumi Tachibana, whose face was still contorted in pain. He stepped forward and said gently: 『Carl』: So it's her, huh? Alright, I'll, But before he could finish his sentence, a sudden fluctuation rippled through the air. At the entrance of the hospital room, another figure materialized. The man looked to be in his mid-forties to early fifties. He wore a fisherman's hat, a beige coat, and glasses. Narutaki. He looked at Natsumi with cold disdain. 『Narutaki』: What a pitiful girl. His voice caught the attention of both Hokama Yukio and Yusuke. 『Yusuke Onodera』: Narutaki... Narutaki's voice was icy: 『Narutaki』: Anyone tied to Decade is destined to disappear. Her, and you too. He pointed a twisted finger at Hokama Yukio, face full of malice. 『Narutaki』: Even you, cosplay Superman! Carl raised an eyebrow. 『Carl』: Me too, huh? Both Hokama Yukio and Yusuke's expressions darkened. 『Narutaki』: Cut ties with Decade, before everything you know is destroyed. With that, he turned and tried to step into a dimensional rift. Except, suddenly, his expression changed. He couldn't teleport. 『Narutaki』: What?! Where was the dimensional rift? His never-failing ability wasn't working?! Narutaki refused to accept it. He tried again, invoking his dimensional power. Nothing happened. And then a voice echoed behind him: 『Carl』: What's wrong? Done showing off already and now you wanna leave? Narutaki turned around reflexively. Only to see the black-haired young man he'd ignored earlier. The one cosplaying as Superman. He was smiling. Amused. Until now, Narutaki hadn't paid him much attention. Just another bystander. A fan doing Superman cosplay. Well, the suit's wrong anyway, he had thought. Not even a proper replica. He hadn't sensed any Rider energy from Carl. So he'd dismissed him entirely. But now, he couldn't use his dimensional ability. Could it be... because of him? Narutaki looked at Carl, brows furrowed. 『Narutaki』: What are you implying? Carl chuckled. 『Carl』: Nothing much. And in a blur, he vanished from his spot and appeared right in front of Narutaki. He stared him down, smiling. 『Carl』: You're pretty good at acting tough and running off. Was it fun? Narutaki blinked, confused. 『Narutaki』: Huh? What are you, He didn't get to finish. A red beam of light shot from Carl's eyes. Heat vision. In an instant, Narutaki's body disintegrated. He never stood a chance. His power level wasn't even high enough to pose a threat to Hokama Yukio. Let alone block Carl's heat vision. 『Carl』: You brought this on yourself. Carl murmured with a light smile. Yeah, he was in a good mood. Back in his previous life, he hated certain characters from Kamen Rider Decade. And Narutaki was right at the top. From episode one, he kept showing up like a broken record: "Decade is the destroyer of worlds!" Always spouting nonsense and manipulating the other Riders. Even turning Natsumi against Tsukasa multiple times. It caused Hokama Yukio no end of trouble. Carl remembered feeling extremely frustrated watching it. So now, seeing that annoying character in real life? He didn't hesitate. He handled it the way it should've been handled all along. Directly. Efficiently. End of chapte