Six hours later. Night time.
Location: Stocker City. Bifrost Industries. Teslovik's base.
"..."
Complete silence filled the room. With the loss of a member, their usual drive was absent.
Sova sat at the far end, in front of a monitor, and according to her:
"I'm doing everything that can slightly increase our chances against Yulia."
It was pretty understandable for her to do this sort of thing. She wasn't the type to sit still when she could.
Eriri rested nearby, slumped in a chair, her hammer leaning silently against the wall.
Even Reyha, newly initiated and typically the most talkative, hadn't said a word in ten minutes.
Fenr, who walked into the room with a heavy slam of the door, was completely taken aback by the atmosphere.
"Whoa! Whoa! What's with the silence? That's unlike you guys."
While she expected them to be down about the mission failure, this was… something else.
Yet, despite this, none of the higher-ups showed dissatisfaction.
After all, most couldn't even come back like this, succumbing to Yulia's control.
Reyha, who was even expected to show some level of drive, as she had been since day one, was now like the other members.
"…Tch."
Fenr clicked her tongue and turned away. Then she spotted her:
Silver-haired warrior with snowy-white and pale-gray tones, sporting deer-like antennae.
Wearing an outfit featuring a white fur-trimmed cape, a short armored dress, and thigh-high stockings.
She was at the far corner of the room, flanked by a pair of quiet SWAT escorts.
Despite not being restrained, she kept her hands together as if she were being restrained.
"Ca-hng. Anyway." She pointed. "And what about you? Who're you supposed to be?"
Initially, when Sova's squad retreated, Snez had sent an SOS to the higher-ups, which was relayed to the SWAT team positioned in that area.
However, in the middle of going to their rescue, the SWAT team caught her counter-controlling the frenzied mob around their path.
So… they captured her.
"Uhm…. My name is Sui."
Fenriru took a few steps closer. She smiled. That signature, sweet Fenriru smile, one which wasn't quite a smile on its own.
"Mhm. So, Sui, I saw in the report that you were able to counter-control the brainwashed mobs. That's a pretty unusual skill."
Fenriru, much like Reyha, continued with a sweet smile, though it was anything but.
Having put emphasis on her words, her hand rested casually on the grip of the enormous gun slung at her side.
The implication was not subtle. Sui shook her head.
"Forbidden Blue. It was originally a relic that belonged to me… well, it was handed to me."
The moment she said that, Fenriru frowned, her eyes and head darting to the ground for a moment.
A serious expression was plastered on her otherwise unserious face as she contemplated.
Fenr then glanced at the Deer Case.
"You…" Fenriru's voice was quiet now, edged with something uncharacteristical of her. "How are you related to Dyatlov?"
Sui looked up, startled by the question. Then, after a pause, her voice softened.
"Dyatlov is… my father."
Hearing that, Fen almost spat out in surprise; no way was Sui really twelve years old or younger for any matter.
Heck, that mad scientist didn't look like the type to eventually hook up with a woman.
"Well, he saved me from a crystal storm when I was small..." Sui then clarified.
Somehow, Fen really looked proud she was right, yet at the same time…
"... That's something he would do."
Fenriru muttered with a sigh, rubbing her forehead with a hint of melancholy in her expression.
Of course, the rest (Eriri and Reyha) were curious who this Dyatlov person was, given Fenriru's melancholic expression, unbefitting of her.
"Who's Dyatlov, by the way."
Dyatlov.
One of Teslovik's founders, alongside Aiken and Fenriru.
Most current technology and experiments, excluding those from a year ago, are the results of his work.
Neolith technology. Relic research.
Case experiments, though Luceris had abolished the human experiments, and they haven't been conducted in about a year now.
But, all in all… In other words….
Dyatlov was legit a big shot.
Unfortunately, about twelve years ago, he, along with some of the results of his experiments, vanished.
During that period, they searched high and low for him, but to no avail.
The last they heard from him was when Fenriru finally connected to his comms; they only heard the words "Got it!"
And after that, he was no more…
"So, Forbidden blue was handed over to you?"
"Yes. That alonside another device he built for me, meant to override it—just counteract the amplification."
Saying that, she grabbed her staff from her side.
It resembled a branch with mechanical parts, with its ends curling like a twing, then from it, hung a bell.
"So… that bell lessens its effects?" Reyha asked.
"Mhm. Father built it to stabilize dopamine reactions. In the forest where we lived, he tested it on wildlife first."
"Dopamine levels?" Eriri repeated, clearly trying to keep up.
"Mid test. If an animal's brain chemistry spiked—anger, panic, aggression—my job was to regulate it. Use the device to restore equilibrium."
Fenriru folded her arms, resting her chin on one hand in thought.
As though realizing what Fenriru was thinking about, Sui shook her head slowly.
"Bad news though, I can't use it too much."
"Why is that?"
"Well, if I force it, it may result in one of the following. Brain damage or loss of memory. Would you want that?"
Eriri, hearing this with much thought yet none at the same time, slowly raised her head.
"I'll prefer Snez with memory loss."
"That in itself is a scary thought of its own."
Reyha flinched at Eriri's seemingly casual, borderline sociopathic comment.
Fenriru, predictably, just shook her head.
"Honestly?" she muttered, gently patting her vibration arms by her side. "I'd rather just punch a hole in Yulia's head."
By punch, she meant shoot.
Sui, still sitting quietly in the corner, hands folded in her lap, watched the exchange with widening eyes.
…Are all Bifrost soldiers like this?
She'd already witnessed the SWAT team's "tactical crusade" at the border.
Even though they claimed to be going easy on the civilians, most were still hauled off in ambulances afterward.
And that was going easy? She wasn't a stranger to combat.
But Bifrost seemed to be something else entirely.
Instinctively, Sui shrank back further into her corner, quietly questioning her life decisions.
It was then—
"Everybody, come! Quick!"
Sova's voice snapped through the room. She hadn't moved from her monitor station since they got back for valid reasons.
They had left her to be, and she had done so.
However, when flipping through affected and settled routes, she received an encrypted transmission which in it contained a video.
Clicking on it, her face morphed entirely.
Same with the rest by the time they saw its content.
"Yulia… that b*tch!"
Fenrir scowled, as did the rest, with varying expressions, their eyes glued to the screen.
The only reason she misbehaved was that Bifrost's full team was unavailable.
Minister of Defence Lindel and Rhaina were on a mission guarding the deep at the Pacific, where a servant of an Ancient One lay:
Randolph the Deep One.
Aiken and Zineda were deep in the Abyssal dive elsewhere. From there, most other summonable personnel were squad captains at best.
Even Luceris's people from the Dark Road were investigating Rasparta without leads, which was harder as they rarely left traces to begin with.
However, their recent movements around its borders have spurred them to action.
"Tsk. This might be really bad…"
Fenriru muttered, no more was her playful expression, and it was then—
BAM!
The command room doors swung open.
A cold gust of air followed a man in casual black attire, coat flaring behind him, ponytail swaying.
"I take it you've seen the transmission too."
Sova stood. "Supreme General, that is…"
"Yeah," he cut in with a shrug. "She's completely lost it."
He didn't look worried, if anything, he looked mildly amused.
To the rest, it was normal for him not to be worried. If anything, he walked straight up to Reyha.
She blinked.
Other than that first meeting at here at the command room in which he was accompanied by Niz, this was only the second time she'd seen him in person.
"…Anyways, Reyha."
"Hm?" She lifted her gaze, startled.
"If you do well on this mission," he said with a grin, "I've got a gift for you."
Hearing that, Reyha could feel piercing glares from all sides directed at her, and she didn't know tje reason why.
Even Fenriru narrowed her eyes like she was being personally insulted by the laws of favoritism.
A gift from him meant something, even though Niz was close to him, he'd never… Fenrir paused, 'Hold up… don't tell me…'
On the other hand,
What… did I do? Reyha thought, glancing at everyone. Luceris just smiled.
But still, she was curious. Or had he finally found a way to help her sister?
Thinking that, she leaned closer, "What is it?"
However, unlike what she expected, from seemingly nowhere, an object materialized in his hand.
White and gold. Sleek. Compact. About the size of a pencil case but slightly bigger, lined with glowing gold circuitry.
"World Driver."
Reyha blinked again. "World… Driver?"
"Yes. A weapon that allows you to become a Kamen Rider! Made by yours truly by fusing the concept of Neolith, Soul Neolith, and Relics."
Luceris said that pointing at her with his finger like a proclamation from on high, and Reyha too couldn't help but sparkle at it.
"Oooohhh! A kamen Rider! …wait, what's a Kamen Rider?"
Fenrir, initially hearing the words "Kamen Rider," knew…
So she's the next test subject, huh? Of course it had to be; what was she expecting?
But just as she thought that—
"Basically, you become very strong, but only if your physical and mental strength can handle the power."
"You become armed with the [World Fall] armor, which would give you the capability of fighting even the world's strongest."
He paused, then added, completely deadpan: "…Aside from me, of course."
With such a declaration, Fenriru's initial thought paused, as she couldn't help but choke on air.
Did Niz approve of this? Was this… was this legal?
"Oooooh! I want to be a Kamen Rider! I want to be a Kamen Rider!"
She raised her hand enthusiastically. One thing she lamented was her powerlessness before Wadjet, now Yulia.
Though she needed to get stronger to use the suite, that was now another goal to work toward, and this one was closer to her.
She just knew it.
"Listen up then."
"Sir yes sir!" She saluted on the spot.
"You have one mission alone." Luceris swiped across his neck with his thumb. "Teach that fool a lesson."
"Roger that!!"
Reyha was hyped up.
'Well… I can't exactly admit I stole most of the foundational schematics from Zineda now, can I?'
Luceris stood near the edge of the command platform, hands clasped behind his back, watching Reyha dash off in starry-eyed excitement.
"World Driver."
Of course, he didn't technically "steal" anything.
Not when most of the material was already archived in Teslovik's shared research repository.
This was a tech long in development under Aiken's laboratory, classified under the name:
Tactical Suit – Skyfort Armor.
There were many blueprints for it, as well as relics in the form of suits and gears, like the Phecda Engine and Starpath.
Well, it's not the same anymore, after having been infused with a lot of power through the use of adaptive materials and quantum crystals and multicores Matrix.
In truth, if Aiken had two more years, Skyfort Armor would've been finalized. But Luceris didn't see the point in waiting.
Zineda indulged in ancient relics, so using her knowledge of them, along with data from Aiken's labs.
Voilà.
[World Driver – Planar Armament: World Fall Armor].
Not a "Kamen Rider" suit per se—but hey, with the right material sculpting… It looked the part.
Liquid metal, as its name implies, is also capable of solidification.
Adaptable Material, on the other hand, was a fluid originally used, rather fed to Elementals to make them stronger.
'However, who said such highly technical material can't be fused into one?'
There is a problem, however. Skyfort Armor is gone. Following this logic, 'Niz and Aiken would crash out, wouldn't they?'
Luceris now thought with extreme clarity.
"General, what have you done?"
Fenrir skipped over to his side after Reyha had practically dashed off in preparation.
She might be an explosion maniac; however, anything that came from him was undoubtedly not good, not to mention if it were a gift to others…
It reminded them of the time they "accidentally" launched a tactical weapon because of him, truly.
Naturally, the next day, all delegations from other continents came knocking.
"Mhm. I am now thinking over my actions."
"You used the Tactical Set Relics, didn't you?"
"I did." Luceris retruned with a smile. Not sheepishly. Just… Lucerisly.
Fenriru stared for three whole seconds. Then turned away. "Hahaha… sh*t."