Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider! [34]

Sora was momentarily stunned.

Because latched onto his wrist—was the last creature he'd expected.

The Doomsday Beast, still dazed from his earlier assault, hadn't recovered yet. One more shot from HeatTrigger, and this planet's final Doomsday Beast would be history.

But the silver-white raptor biting his wrist wouldn't let him pull the trigger.

The Fang Memory.

Wasn't this thing supposed to be inside the system's storage space?

When did it get out?

More importantly—why was Fang stopping him from finishing off the Doomsday Beast?

It wasn't biting hard. Just holding on gently, as if to stop his hand.

"…What the hell are you thinking?"

Sora looked down, exasperated.

The Fang Memory was one of the few with a will of its own—originally, it had gone to any lengths to protect Philip. And because it could only pair with Shotaro's Joker-compatible body, its only known form was FangJoker—Philip as the central node, with Shotaro as the physical host.

When Sora had pulled Kamen Rider W from the Random Rider System, Fang had come along with the rest of the Memories.

But ever since it showed up, it had been… weirdly obsessed with his pants leg.

And now—now it was stopping him from striking down a Doomsday Beast.

RAWR!

When Sora pulled the gun away, Fang let out a sharp cry, like it was trying to say something.

He went quiet for a moment.

Because just now… he understood it.

Wait. Did I just—understand what it said?

Yeah. He had.

Is this part of the system's language-conversion functions?

For the first time, Sora felt impressed by the translation capabilities the system had granted him.

In the original series, Fang had only ever roared like a tiny dinosaur—no one had ever understood it.

But now, he did.

That roar just now had meant: "Wait."

Which only confused Sora more.

"…Wait for what?" he asked aloud, turning to Fang.

Now it was Fang's turn to be stunned. Its jaw dropped open in shock, clearly startled.

It hadn't expected him to understand.

Rawr-rawr-rawr-rawr! (You—you—you—!)

"Yeah, I can hear you just fine. So? What do you want me to wait for?"

Sora didn't have time for nonsense. He asked directly.

Fang, recovering from its surprise, quickly got serious.

Rawr rawr rawr! (It feels… familiar.)

Sora froze. Familiar?

Rawr rawr rawr! (Like Philip.)

…Hold up. Who?!

He stared at the fallen Doomsday Beast lying beside him.

Images of the boy he'd seen during the planet's memory stream surfaced in his mind.

How the hell do you see any similarity there? They're not even the same species!

Rawr. (It's… a strange feeling.)

Rawr rawr rawr rawr. (And—it never once went berserk.)

That hit differently.

Fang was the embodiment of wild instinct—fangs and fury, pure aggression. Gaia Memories resonated with emotion, after all.

The stronger the emotional match, the higher the synchronicity.

And for Fang to say this Doomsday Beast never once lost control…?

If anyone else said that, they'd be laughed off as delusional.

But coming from Fang—it carried weight.

Combine that with how the Beast had retreated during the War Foundry raid… how it had fled rather than fight… how it had holed up here instead of continuing destruction…

There was something off.

Sora wasn't ready to jump to conclusions—it was still a Doomsday Beast, after all. Its threat couldn't be ignored.

But the signs planted a seed of doubt in his mind.

Before he could decide, a voice called from a distance.

"Sora!"

Robin and Anna, seeing the Beast fall, had rushed over to regroup and head to the royal palace.

As they approached, they quickly surrounded him with concern.

"Are you okay? That fight—did you get hurt?"

The Doomsday Beast might have been on its last legs, but it was still a planetary siege engine. No one could face one lightly.

Robin had trusted him—but she'd still feared something might've gone wrong.

"I'm fine. Really."

He waved off their worry.

But what came next… was the hard part.

Anna walked up beside the fallen Beast. Against its mountain-sized body, her figure looked like that of a child—insignificant.

Her expression was complicated.

This was the first time she had ever been so close to one of the monsters that had destroyed her world.

And she didn't know what to feel.

But then—the Beast stirred.

A shudder ran through its body.

Sora immediately raised his weapon, sights trained on its head.

"If it attacks, I won't hesitate."

Robin blinked. She didn't know who he was talking to.

Fang, now perched on his shoulder, let out a small confirming growl.

Startled by the motion, Anna slipped and fell backward. Robin quickly helped her retreat a few steps.

The Beast, now conscious, didn't roar. Didn't lunge.

It simply… looked at Sora.

Then—it did something none of them expected.

It lowered itself.

That massive body slowly bowed.

Then, the claw that once brought ruin reached out—not toward Sora, but toward Anna.

Gently.

Cautiously.

Its cracked, battle-worn talon stretched past Sora without hostility and stopped at the silver bullet around Anna's neck.

Despite its immense size, it moved with almost delicate precision. No ordinary giant could manage such fine motor control.

Another sign: it wasn't berserk.

Rrrhh…

A low, guttural sound escaped its throat.

No one understood what it meant.

No one—except Sora.

His eyes widened.

Among the garbled, layered noise… two words stood out with perfect clarity:

"…Don't… be… afraid…"