Chapter 75: The Unyielding Fist

Kamen Rider emerged from the flames.

Carnelian endlessly pondered how the armor adorning the figure could withstand the might of her flames.

Because—

Kamen Rider had already arrived before her, his fist poised to strike.

The scarlet flames in her palm intensified, shifting to a violent purplish-red. The terrifying heat seemed capable of twisting all reality.

‘A mere Kamen Rider?’

‘He was nothing more than another type of monster!’

‘What right did he have to meddle in the affairs of a Magical Girl?’

‘No matter who you are…’

“Violet Extremity True Flame: Fiery Manifestation!”

Violet flames coalesced into a colossal fist, mirroring her own as she unleashed it. It collided head-on with Kamen Rider’s punch.

Then…

CRACK!

As the violet flames erupted within the scarlet inferno, a tremendous roar echoed through the space. Simultaneously, a faint, almost imperceptible sound of something snapping rang out.

The adult male’s armored fist shattered the Magical Girl Carnelian’s arm. The immense force was unstoppable, striking her right cheek without hesitation.

Carnelian instantly became a projectile, slamming into the Ink Crystal wall.

Her body became directly embedded within the Ink Crystal wall.

The attacks from the monstrous Saint Atrophy Weed had previously failed to shatter the Ink Crystal wall. Yet, this single punch from Kamen Rider nearly broke through the Ink Crystal’s Wall of Despair.

However, this also attested to the incredible resilience of Magical Girl Carnelian’s physical body. She had not been crushed into pulp by that powerful blow.

The flames throughout the entire Coffin of Despair were sustained by Carnelian’s power. Within this confined space, there was nothing left to burn. Moreover, the flames covering the Saint Atrophy Weed were Carnelian’s means of protecting Ye Liuyun, much like she had protected the vice-mayor and principal when Rat Mask attacked.

At this moment, those flames slowly began to extinguish.

Kamen Rider slowly approached Carnelian.

The gigantic Atrophy Weed monster dared not make a move. Despite being a monster, it possessed the instincts and markers of a living creature, clearly understanding that this powerful being would not allow it to attack as Carnelian had.

Its own strength was utterly insufficient to contend with him. Any attempt to strike this entity would undoubtedly lead to its immediate demise.

The monster seemed to transform into a tranquil plant at that moment, albeit a massive one. It appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary ornamental plant.

Carnelian, embedded in the Ink Crystal wall, remained completely still. Kamen Rider simply watched her in silence.

While she wasn’t sure if this counted as being spared, at least for the time being, this terrifying Kamen Rider no longer seemed interested in her.

One could only conclude that Ye Liuyun was truly a filial son. The moment he discovered his mother being brutally beaten, he immediately went silent.

Though the specifics of Ye Liuyun’s family environment remained unclear, it appeared there was no semblance of mother-son affection within it.

Of course, whether Ye Liuyun was filial had no bearing on Ink Crystal. She wouldn’t form any particular opinion of him based on this incident.

After all, they weren’t close; what opinions could she possibly have? Every family had its own troubles. Her own family relationships, before Teacher Lin’s arrival, weren’t exactly harmonious either.

Without Teacher Lin, she might have been even more temperamental than Ye Liuyun. Thus, she could only watch.

But Teacher Lin’s power level was truly astonishing! She had initially believed Carnelian to be a stats-monster, but she never expected Teacher Lin’s stats to be even more formidable.

Teacher Lin’s armor had been partially designed by Ink Crystal, so she knew clearly that it couldn’t truly block Carnelian’s flames. After all, the concrete ground itself seemed to melt within Carnelian’s inferno.

It was simply Teacher Lin using negative energy to form an invisible barrier on the surface of his armor, blocking the flames’ combustion.

She could almost picture Teacher Lin saying with a bewildered expression, “’Stats-monster’? What’s that? I’ve never seen a stats-monster. I win through skill.”

This was simply high damage from the left fist, and even higher damage from the right.

Emerald, standing nearby, appeared utterly dumbfounded. She knew Teacher Lin was powerful, but this level of strength was truly shocking. It seemed his previous evenly matched fights with them had been nothing more than an act.

Yet, upon reflection, it made sense. Why would Teacher Lin normally lay hands on a Magical Girl? It was simply that Carnelian had gone too far this time.

As the steadfast guardian of Clear Sky City, a mentor to generations of Magical Girls, and an idol to all its citizens, she had committed an act that betrayed the responsibilities of a Magical Girl.

Of course, not being a direct participant, Emerald couldn’t fully comprehend Carnelian’s feelings. On one hand, there was her son; on the other, her duty.

No matter which choice she made, it would be wrong. Faced with such a situation, any decision would be a mistake, a betrayal of Carnelian herself.

The only difference lay in choosing who else she would betray.

Either she would betray Ye Liuyun, or she would betray the people of Clear Sky City. Carnelian likely knew that her own actions had led to her child’s mutation, transforming him into a monster.

Thus, she chose to protect her child while allowing him to brutally assault her. If her resentment had indeed caused this monstrous birth, then allowing her child to vent his inner hatred might cause the monster to dissipate.

Historically, such cases existed, though they were rare. Monsters weren’t always dealt with solely through subjugation. There were indeed instances where monsters had been reawakened.

The most recent example was He Yao reawakening Zhang Xiao. This was achieved by beating her with a stick.

In fact, that giant monster itself was flawed. It existed separately from Zhang Xiao yet maintained a connection to her, possessing powerful detection abilities that sensed the presence of monsters and Magical Girl powers, but inexplicably overlooked He Yao, who was merely an ordinary person at the time.

This allowed He Yao to break Zhang Xiao’s leg with a baseball bat, forcing her submission through intense pain and forcibly interrupting the monster’s manifestation.

Therefore, Carnelian could only resort to this clumsy, humiliating method to minimize harm to her child. After all, forcibly subjugating the monster might inflict unknown damage upon him.

However, now, she was powerless to do so.

She had been punched into the wall by Kamen Rider.

Embedded within the Ink Crystal wall, she felt her body scream in agony. Since becoming a Magical Girl, it had been a long time since she had felt so helpless.

‘This is an opponent I cannot defeat!’

Carnelian was no mere observer.

She struggled to move her body. Half of her face had lost all sensation, and everything before her eyes seemed to sway and ripple, piling into overlapping shadows.

She knew it was a concussion. Magical Girls were inherently miraculous beings; their brains were protected and wouldn’t suffer a concussion from a simple impact.

She felt that if her brain weren’t protected by powerful magic, her head might have been blown apart by that single punch! And the result of this concussion was—

She couldn’t control her own body. It was like a boxer knocked to the ground, clearly aware that the referee was counting down. Even with all their strength, they couldn’t rise before the count of ten; their body simply wouldn’t obey.

This was a condition caused by human physiological structure—she was helpless. Magical Girls, ultimately, had not transcended the human realm; they were still human.

Kamen Rider had already reached Carnelian. He extended his left hand, gripping Carnelian’s neck, and pulled her from the Ink Crystal wall.

Then, he lifted her high.

At this point, one could observe that Carnelian herself was a tall, beautiful woman. Yet, compared to Kamen Rider’s imposing physique, she appeared delicate.

Carnelian began to succumb to oxygen deprivation. But this, ironically, helped her.

The lack of oxygen, the suffocation, forcibly jolted her awake from the state of concussion. Her physical instincts compelled her to regain consciousness, to seek oxygen once more.

She suddenly opened her eyes, flames swirling around her body.

Then, Kamen Rider’s right fist struck. It wasn’t as forceful as before, of course.

Nevertheless, this punch extinguished the flames on Carnelian’s body. Carnelian fell unconscious once again, only to reawaken due to suffocation.

This cycle repeated four or five times. When Carnelian next opened her eyes, there were no longer any flames around her.

“What exactly… are you trying to do?”

She looked utterly disheveled. Magical Girls possessed strong regenerative abilities, which meant Carnelian’s face wasn’t overly swollen, but it was streaked with mottled blood, a stark contrast to her usual image as Clear Sky City’s guardian.

“Are you finally calm enough to have a proper conversation? I learned something in the past—with fanatics, you must first use your fists to beat them to the point where they can talk, and then communicate. Otherwise, words will never reach their hearts. Evidently, this is correct, just like the mad scientist who created me.

No matter what I said to him, he would always speak of his noble ideals, of his arduous struggles, and how he wished to endure humiliation for humanity. But after I beat him, he finally wept in pain, admitting his wrongs, confessing he wasn’t human, apologizing to everyone, and begging me for death.”

Beneath that insect-like yet playfully handsome mask, Carnelian could almost perceive his icy gaze.

“So now, tell me, Magical Girl Carnelian, are you lucid? Do you know what you are doing? And do you understand your mistake?”

‘Of course, I’m not wrong! I just wanted to…’

Carnelian opened her mouth to retort, but before she could, tears flowed forth, preceding her will.

Then, they broke free.

“W-w-what could I do! He’s my child! W-w-I… I just wanted to protect him! If only I had another way… Damn it! I’m not crying! I’m not!”

She sounded like a wronged child.