An artery of East Tokyo, a three-lane metropolitan road was engulfed in flames. The office district was crowded with onlookers in the middle of the day on a weekday.

「I heard a crazy noise, what was it? A gas explosion?」

「Oh my God, what’s happening! That car is overturned!」

「Hey hey, isn’t it blocking the road. Give me a break.」

The mysterious beings who disregard human life would never have imagined that a hero would attack in a place like this. Therefore, it can be safely said that the surprise attack was a complete success.

Minato narrowly escaped from the overturned taxi, but two shadows loomed over her.

「HEY, look, Will. Is that the target?」

「Oh yeah Lamar, I swear to God and the President there is no doubt about it.」

「I see, so the credibility is about 50%.」

「Which one do you not believe in?」

「「HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA！！！！」」

Loud laughter drowned out the murmurs of the onlookers. Two large men, one green and the other red, were looking down at Minato, holding up their weapons, which were not heroic in any way.

The V emblem shining on their chests was indeed that of Victory Sentai Victor Rangers. But like American comic book heroes, their muscles could be seen even through their suits.

「Yo- You guys are public safety-…… V-V-V-Victor Rangers!?」

Even for Minato, she has already understood the situation. But whether or not she can accept the reality is another matter.

Will and Lamar grinned under their masks when they saw the panicked Minato, The Sword Mountain Mysterious Being, Swordminas.

「I don’t think we need to introduce ourself anymore at this point. There’s only a romance of life-and-death between us」

「Now then dear customer, how would you like your TODAY to be done? Now you can choose between Well-done and Beehive.」

「How about some fries with that?」

「「HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA！！！！」」

As soon as the two men laughed loudly at each other, rocket launchers and assault rifles simultaneously opened fire.

「Hiiiiiiihh!!?」

A pillar of fire erupted behind Minato, who screamed and cowered, a bullet grazes the collar of her coat and burst on the asphalt. The firearms they use are far more powerful than any off-the-shelf weapon, and no matter how tough the mysterious being’s body is, a direct hit would be more than enough to kill them.

But through the thick smoke, she was unharmed. The two men had deliberately missed the target in order to scare and torment Minato.

「Hmm, I’ll praise you for not running away at this time.」

「Go to hell and get a bunch of Hanamaru from the sensei, BABY!」

The thought of wanting to run away right now ran through Minato’s head. But she couldn’t just leave the fainted driver mysterious being behind and run away alone.

Above all, she could not remain weak forever. At that moment, Rintaro’s face came to Minato’s mind.

「I will do it…… Even if it’s me, I can do it！」

Minato, knees shaking, held her sword in both hands.

――However.

Dan! Dan!

「Piii!!?」

A bullet fired from Lamar’s gun accurately hit the blade of her sword. Two swords were flung from Minato’s hands and skidded on the asphalt illuminated by the flames.

「HAHAHA! Didn’t you learn in history class that swords can’t beat guns?」

「OH! It’s called the Battle of Nagashino. Although this person is much more powerful than Tanegashima.」

It was a warning that “If we try to hit it, we can hit it anytime.”

Minato’s will to fight was shattered by the overwhelming difference in strength. The men’s talk, as if they were enjoying the hunt, brought back memories of a nearly forgotten horror.

「What? We are done? You are so boring.」

「No, no, no, not my life.……!」

「HAHAHA！ Even if you beg for your life, no one will come to help you.」

「That was an easier job than I thought it would be. Looks like I’ll be going home early today.」

「H- Help…… Rintaro……」

Will and Lamar set their sights on Minato’s head with condescending smiles. And then just as they were about to pull the trigger.

――Vuoon!!

「「OH MY GOD!!!???」」

With an engine that sounded like a thunderbolt roared, and a black American motorcycle ran over Will and Lamar. The red and green suits spin like a boomerang, drawing arcs in the air.

「W-…… Wha……?」

A large motorcycle with a sidecar came to a stop in front of Minato, who is stunned by the suddenness of the scene, carving black tire tracks. A rider in a black jacket took off her helmet, her shiny silver-white hair spilling out.

「You’re still breathing. What are you going to do, senpai, run them over again?」

In response to the woman’s question, the man in the sidecar and the girl sitting on his lap followed by taking off their helmets.

「Wait wait Mayuzumi, the bike will break down. Oh my headache…」

「Is aniki fine, ssuka? Isn’t it better to stay in bed, ssuka?」

「I would have stayed in bed if it weren’t for the idiots who set off the fireworks with such flamboyance!」

The man, who looked even paler than usual, was the savior of the mysterious beings and a great up-and-coming mysterious being. He was Rintaro Kuriyama, the heinous mysterious Death Green.

「Rin, taro……?」

「Yo Minato, is there anyone injured?」

「A……Ah……」

Unable to speak in response to Rintaro’s question, Minato silently pointed her finger. Minato choked up, not with joy that help had appeared, but with regret that she had to be saved again.

Rintaro, like a general, gave precise instructions to his colleagues, regardless of their feelings.

「I see. Samechi, I will leave the driver uncle to you.」

「Aye Aye, ssu！」

「Mayuzumi, go support Minato.」

「Leave it to me.」

Rintaro slapped his cheeks and blew away the headache with his own determination, then turned to face his “enemy. Will and Lamar, who had been hit by a large motorcycle traveling at 150 kilometers per hour, were barely able to stand up, their legs shaking like newborn fawns.

「It’s…… Not Retto. They are quite Western……」

「HAHAHA…… You’ve done me pretty good, Ouch, Damn it!」

「What the hell! Isn’t it too early for the prince to arrive!?」

「Then you should do it more quietly. I am already in a bad mood because of the hangover and was woken up in a scramble. Besides……」

Rintaro, in quiet anger, took out and prepared his “Death Green Transformation Gear”. The V emblem rotated at high speed and emitted a green light.

「That cosplay is offensive. Victory change!!」

Rintaro’s entire body was enveloped in a green light. The built-in suit instantly enveloped him as the gears spun at high speed.

「Ah, please wait, senpai! If you use that now……!」

Kirika noticed something and shouted to stop him. But her voice was in vain, and his villainous appearance was exposed before her eyes.

A green mask reminiscent of a vicious dragon.

A large, gaudy cape that flutters in the wind.

Gloves to protect his fists, boots that dramatically improve his jumping ability.

And a belt with built-in transformation gear.　

Not only Will and Lamar, but even the onlookers instantly froze at the evil appearance.

「Well, let’s do it. Which one of you two is going to play with me?　I don’t care if it’s both of you at the same time.」

Rintarō raised his hands to the sky and slowly approaches the two enemies. Will and Lamar couldn’t control their trembling due to the overwhelming “intimidation”.

「This guy is an outrageous… he’s an outrageous bastard…」

「……OH……COOL…… UNBELIEVABLE……」

「Oi oi, what happened to the power you had just now……or――

–Are you scared?」

At these words, Will and Lamar looked at each other. What they saw on each other’s faces was instinctive fear.

That shouldn’t be a surprise.

Rintaro looked around and saw Minato and Samechi covering their reddened faces with their hands. Holding her head in her hand, Kirika stared at Rintarō as if she were looking at the vomit that had been strewn on the platform just before the last train of the weekend.

「Rintaro… Well… now is not the time to do that……」

「Aniki, it feels cold just by looking, ssu.」

「Senpai… that’s why I told you to wait…」

The onlookers, who had been quiet as if water had been poured over them, began to murmur as if a dam had been broken.

「Yike…………Yikes……！ Amazi……」

「Wow…… I’ve never seen anything like that in person before……」

「Oh man, this is going to get about a million views when it’s uploaded, isn’t it?」

Feared by enemies, shunned by allies, and being pointed by spectators’ camera.

Unable to comprehend the situation, Rintaro looked around at his appearance once again and exclaimed in astonishment.

A mask reminiscent of a dragon, a large cape, gloves, boots, and a belt. Despite the many sinister parts, Rintaro’s body was covered only with them.

In short, the delicate zone is in a full burst state from the neck to the shin.

It is still fresh in his mind that his suit was torn to shreds just the other day when he used it as a restraint to block his special Aka Punch in a battle against Aka Justice. And no matter how many special fibers the Hero Headquarters has developed, they do not have a convenient function that automatically regenerates them.

The area of cloth that should have wrapped Rintarō’s body was almost zero, and the rate at which society’s windows were fully open exceeded 1000 percent.

It is no longer something that can be described with cute onomatopoeia like “Boron”.

「Ho-Hogyah…… What the hell is thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissss!!!!!!!!!!」

Rintaro’s moderately toned body shivered in the midwinter city wind. He was almost completely naked and wearing a masked cloak, which in a sense was even more insane than his nudity, and his appearance was truly appropriate for a “mysterious being”.

In this state, he said “Are you scare?”. Well, that would scare anyone.

「Jesus…the opponent is bad! Let’s Retreat for now, Lamar!」

「D- Doo- Don’t leave me here, Wiiillll!」

The red and green heroes ran like rabbits, and the onlookers, caught in their wake, fled like spiders.

All that was left was the heinous mysterious being, wrapped in a cloak and weeping quietly, and his friends surrounding him somewhat distantly.

「Aniki, Let’s go home for today, ssuyo…… Is aniki crying, ssuka……？」

「Un…… Un……」

「Let’s have aniki’s favorite curry tonight, ssu. Have lots of second helpings, ssuyo.」

「Un…… Un……」

Death Green’s “heroic figure” was reported daily on the Internet and television, and the “weapon” he carried was seen by billions of people around the world.

The “Are you scared?” became an internet meme around the world in less than three days.

For a week after the incident, Rintaro never came out of his room.

………………

…………

……

At the temporary Hero Headquarters in Asagaya, Komorodo Utako, Chief of the General Staff, was reporting on the progress of the operation to Director Kazami.

「It seems that Death Green’s activities have subsided since then.」

「E- Everything went according to my plan, desuwa! Ohho, Ohohohohoho…… Ohoh!」

Utako’s face turned bright red, and she let out an awkward high-pitched laugh.

---

<94: So Close Yet So Far, Touchable Yet Unreachable
96: Tightening of Discipline>