After absorbing the game gashat, Parado spread his arms wide, lifted his head, and closed his eyes, as if sensing the changes occurring within his body.
A moment later, he opened his eyes. A strange brilliance shimmered within the vortex-like pupils. Turning his head toward Genm, he said, "You were right. After absorbing the game you created, the way I feel now is better than anything I've ever experienced!"
Genm was not surprised at all. He nodded, then pulled a Player Driver out of nowhere and tossed it to Parado. "Give it a try. Use the Player Driver to combine and create your final-level game."
The corners of Parado's mouth curled up slightly. He strapped the Player Driver around his waist and inserted his own dual-spin cartridges into the Game Driver.
Behind him appeared animated screens of Perfect Puzzle and Knock Out Fighter. As Parado pulled the handle on the Player Driver, the two screens representing the games rapidly moved toward the center, overlapping and merging into one.
"Gachan! Mazaru Up! Akai kobushi tsuyosa! Aoi puzzle rensa! Aka to ao no kousa! Perfect Knock Out!"
The sound effects chimed as the announcement rang out.
Parado transformed into a brand-new form. His entire body was clad in red-and-blue interwoven armor, simultaneously incorporating elements from both the boxing game and the puzzle game. His cartoon-like visor lenses were also one blue and one red, and the armor atop his head featured a red-and-blue spiral, resembling a twisted hairstyle.
"By fusing Perfect Puzzle and Knock Out Fighter, two Level 50 games, a brand-new game has been created," Parado introduced to Li Hua, Elena, and Gwen.
"Its name is Perfect Knock Out."
"My current level is LV99."
"Level 99?!" Elena gasped sharply.
Li Hua stared at Parado with extreme vigilance, a deep sense of urgency rising in his heart. Back when Parado was only Level 50, the three of them had already struggled greatly to deal with him.
Although acquiring the Dragon Knight Hunter game cartridge had narrowed the level gap between them, Parado had now directly raised his level to 99—his strength was bound to be even more terrifying.
If they couldn't make up this difference as soon as possible, then in the future they would only be at the mercy of Bugsters like Genm and Parado.
"Let me test the power of this newly unified game," Parado said as he clenched his hand. A gun-axe materialized in his grasp.
With a twist of the axe blade, it switched into gun mode. He pressed the "A" and "B" buttons on the handle, charging energy at the muzzle, then casually opened fire at Li Hua, Elena, and Gwen.
Under the blanket of firepower, aside from Li Hua—who had used the Dragon Knight Hunter game gashat to raise his Rider level to 5—both Gwen and Elena, who were only Level 3, were directly heavily injured. Their Rider gauges dropped to extremely dangerous levels.
Li Hua glanced at Gwen and Elena, who had essentially lost their ability to fight, then checked his own Rider energy gauge, which had fallen to below half. Gritting his teeth, he swung his sword and charged straight at Parado.
Seeing this, Parado switched the gun-axe back into axe form and swung it once, releasing a crescent-shaped energy wave that easily sent Li Hua flying.
After being blasted away by Parado's overwhelmingly powerful strike, Li Hua propped himself up with the Flying Dragon Holy Sword and forced himself to stand. Looking at the seemingly invincible Parado before him, a faint gloom crept into his heart.
He had unleashed all his strength, yet was still effortlessly crushed by his opponent, defeated with casual ease. It was as if they didn't even exist on the same plane—the gap between them was so vast that it inspired an overwhelming sense of despair and helplessness.
At that moment, glowing lines of a teleportation circle lit up on the ground nearby, and Dan Kuroto—transformed as Ex-Aid—appeared at the scene.
"You've already raised your level to 99?!" Dan Kuroto looked at Parado and spoke with a hint of amazement.
"Mr. Dan, as the creator of games, this level of development shouldn't be that shocking to you, should it?" Parado shrugged.
"But since you personally came here, it seems you really value these three Riders highly. Actually, there's no need to be nervous—I'm not going to truly harm them right now."
Parado glanced at Li Hua, Elena, and Gwen, who were filled with wariness and caution toward him, then chuckled lightly. "Genm was completely right. You really are valuable game characters, capable of making the game much more interesting.
"Of course I wouldn't casually let Kamen Riders like you—who can make the game more fun—just disappear. That little exchange earlier was merely to test the power of the Level 99 game I just obtained."
Looking at the three of them with the gaze of a child admiring a beloved toy, Parado continued, "But right now, your levels are a bit behind. From here on, keep getting stronger and raising your levels properly—don't let future games become boring, okay?"
"Damn it!" Li Hua, Elena, and Gwen were all filled with anger upon hearing Parado's words.
If the so-called "games" of the Bugsters were not restrained in time, they would inevitably cause the spread of the Bugster virus, potentially creating a massive number of Game Disease patients and leading to countless casualties.
"Since Mr. Dan has personally arrived, and today's game has already concluded successfully, we'll take our leave now," Genm said.
He waved at Li Hua, Elena, and Gwen, speaking in a teasing tone, "See you in the next game."
With that, both Genm and Parado transformed into particles of light and vanished.
"Let's head back as well," Dan Kuroto said as he looked at the three battered figures and sighed.
At this time, Pierce—who had been pursuing the retreating enemies—left the area. Frank, who had returned after completely losing track of Pierce, arrived nearby.
He happened to see the teleportation circle light up, and then Dan Kuroto and the others vanished from the spot as the light flickered.
"What just happened?" Frank immediately ran to the place where they had disappeared and scanned all surrounding information, but found nothing abnormal.
Filled with confusion and surprise, yet unable to find any useful clues at the scene, he could only give up and leave.
"It seems necessary to ask Nick Fury whether he knows who these people that suddenly appeared actually are."
Dan Kuroto brought Li Hua, Elena, and Gwen back to the underground base of Hospital via the teleportation circle.
"Boss Dan, we need higher-level game gashat," Li Hua said in a low but extremely firm voice after a long silence.
Dan Kuroto looked at the three of them in turn. Seeing the determination in their eyes, he smiled lightly. "Although I didn't expect Genm to directly create a game cartridge that raised Parado to Level 99,
"Ever since you were able to control the power of the Dragon Knight Hunter game cartridge, I've been working on developing higher-level games for you to use."
After a brief pause, his tone grew serious. "During this period, you've already cured quite a few Game Disease patients. Through surgical procedures targeting the Bugster virus infecting these patients, we removed a large amount of Bugster virus from their bodies.
"I collected all of that extracted Bugster virus to create brand-new high-level game cartridges. In fact, the work is basically complete now.
"However, higher-level game cartridges contain far greater power. At the same time, this also means a much heavier burden on your bodies and minds, and the risk of losing control over that power will increase exponentially…"
"To deal with threats like Genm and Parado, these Bugster monsters, we must master the power of higher-level games," Li Hua said.
Hearing this, Li Hua closed his eyes for an instant, then opened them again. "Risk is unavoidable."
"Exactly. If we don't take some risks to raise the level of the Rider system and gain the power to fight Bugsters, then countless ordinary people will be exposed to the danger of the Bugster virus," Elena nodded in agreement.
Gwen also fell silent for a moment before gently nodding to express her stance.
"Since you have this level of resolve, I can rest assured entrusting the new game cartridges to you," Dan Kuroto said with satisfaction as he nodded. "I believe you'll definitely be able to successfully control the power of higher-level games."
(End of Chapter)