[Raccoon Man Beginning]
[Raccoon Man Beginning]
Sion quickly identified and informed me of the location of the Dimensional Rift in Yongsan-dong. Even if she hadn't, the closer we got, the louder the noise became.
[A never-before-seen type of Enemy Species has appeared. Its appearance is relatively human-like, but its level is higher than that of a Super-Large Enemy Species!]
"Can we take it down?!"
[I don't believe in the you that believes in yourself. I believe in the suit that I believe in, which you believe in!]
"There's no point in spouting cool-sounding lines here, you know?!"
The Raccoon Man suit's maximum speed is around Mach 10. To put that into perspective, the famous fighter jet known as the F-22 Raptor has a top speed of around Mach 2.25, which doesn't even come close.
Half of this monstrous capability, which allows for circling the Earth in just 3 hours, lies in the Anti-gravity Control Device. If that weren't there, even Sion couldn't achieve that level of speed in a human-sized frame.
It didn't take minutes, let alone seconds, to get from Myeong-dong to Yongsan-dong. And as soon as we arrived, Baek-ri delivered a kick to the one-eyed monster that appeared to be an Enemy Species.
[Void Blaster deployment!]
"Riderrrr! Void Blaster Kiiiiiik!!!"
[For this one, please use 'This body's finishing move, Climax Version!'!!!]
"I told you, I don't know what that is!"
The Void Blasters deployed from various parts of the suit caused a spatial quake, and along with physical force, dealt a blow that wasn't fatal but was effective against the Humanoid Hostile Species. The shoulder part of its exoskeleton-like armor crumbled, revealing the original body inside.
It was filled with red muscle that looked as if human skin had been peeled off. You might think it looked like a human, but there was a nauseating quality to it, like red worms wriggling.
[Even with the Void Blaster, the damage is minimal! That thing also has concept resistance! On top of that, its resistance is much higher than that of a Super-Large Enemy Species!]
"Then what do we do?!"
[With the weapons or technology currently equipped on the suit, we cannot defeat it. We couldn't even install the sub-space transmission device in the first place, so what do you expect?]
The Humanoid Hostile Species rolled its single eye around as if flustered. It trembled slightly at the sight of its shattered left shoulder armor, but soon stepped back guardedly and glared at Baek-ri.
Seeing it move without any separate energy discharge, Sion also became wary.
[Even if the power source uses an Enemy Species core, its movements are not those of a creature affected by gravity. We can do it because we have anti-gravity control technology, but that thing... be careful. It seems the Raf Energy used by the Enemy Species is a power focused on the concept of 'negation'.]
"Is that important right now?! Aaaah! It's coming!"
Baek-ri freaked out and dodged the beam fired by the Humanoid Hostile Species. The beams, fired in rapid succession with an emphasis on quantity rather than power, followed him right to his back even as he swerved to avoid them.
And just as a beam grazed his head and things were getting dangerous, Lee Gyeong-jin swung his sword at the creature's broken shoulder.
"Thanks for drawing its attention! Raccoon Man!"
Kagagagak!!!
Even though he put all his strength into it and imbued it with Force, he couldn't even cut the arm off; the blade only went in halfway. No matter how strong it was, since it was small, the Force Fusion Phenomenon had long since ended, so this meant its pure durability was immense.
The creature tried to fire a beam at Lee Gyeong-jin, but I had no intention of easily letting go of the back I had finally secured.
The long-range attacker also had one weakness. It was that it could only fire beams based on its eye. So, unless its neck was structured like an owl's and could rotate 360 degrees, it had no way to attack someone behind its back!
Even if it wanted to create distance, there were now two people, not one. If it guarded to attack one person, the other could target its back.
"Judging by the fact that it couldn't react to me or Raccoon Man approaching, its detection ability must be terrible!!!"
Otherwise, there's no way it wouldn't be able to guard against us approaching from behind. It seemed to have a fatal weakness: having specialized in long-range attacks and mobility, its detection ability hadn't developed.
The creature tried to fire a beam in irritation at Lee Gyeong-jin, who was pestering it from behind, but all it could hit were his afterimages.
But that wasn't enough. Even though we had taken its back, there was only one way to deal a fatal blow to it.
"Raccoon Man! Even for a moment, please draw its attention!"
"Got it!"
Baek-ri headed to the creature's front. And he deliberately fired the Void Blaster threateningly, making it wary of him.
Even though it was strong, its intelligence itself wasn't much different from a beast. It cared more about the danger in front of its eyes than the danger behind its back. If it had known how to use its head even a little, it would have taken down Baek-ri first and then attacked Lee Gyeong-jin from a distance, but it glared at Baek-ri, who was firing attacks that, while not fatal, couldn't be ignored, and fired a beam.
"Hey, you bastard! Over here!!!"
[Let's hit it with a big one! Right hand Void Blaster maximum output! Maximum Drive!]
"Drive? I know that one!"
[No, that's not it! Oh, seriously! At least you know Double, right?!]
Kiiiiiiing!!!
He extended his right hand, which was vibrating with a threatening intensity, and aimed it at the creature. Sensing that something was unusual, the thing gathered its power to use a beam on the level of what it had fired at the fighter jet squadron. Raf Energy, clearly visible even to Baek-ri's eyes, writhed and condensed in the creature's eye.
The air trembled.
But that wasn't because of Baek-ri's Void Blaster or the Humanoid Hostile Species' beam.
Uwoong!!
"......It's rare to have it deployed this perfectly."
Lee Gyeong-jin's Gray Resonance Sword is still incomplete. However, the Gray Resonance Sword is, in itself, an ultimate technique that can counter anyone among Master Users, regardless of who the opponent is.
Furthermore, among the Colored Resonance Swords, gray signifies competitive spirit. Its effect is 'amplification'.
The power, which could already slice a skyscraper in half, was amplified and swung as a lethal sword.
Jjeojeojeojeok!!!
From the shoulder blade to the pelvis, he sliced the creature in half in one stroke. And following that, as a final confirmation kill, Baek-ri's maximum output Void Blaster was fired.
Kiiing!!!
With a strange tremor, the creature's body was torn to shreds. It was still clinging to life, but conversely, since it was only just barely alive, its concept resistance dropped, allowing the Void Blaster to hit accurately.
The creature's crumbling corpse fell to the ground.
Korea's last Dimensional Rift was closed just like that.
"I-it's over... I thought I was going to die."
The two people who descended to the ground were relieved that the situation was over. And they also mourned for the people who had been sacrificed.
Once the Dimensional Rift closed, the situation became busy with cleanup. People who still had energy set out to clear the debris of the destroyed buildings or for any potential rescue operations, and
"By the way, who are you?"
"Yes?"
"Raccoon Man went to the United States at my request. So, you're not the Raccoon Man I know, but someone else, aren't you?"
"Ah... I'm No. 2."
"What, there was something like a No. 2?!"
[To think he doesn't know the original Kamen Rider even though he's a middle-aged man who's lived a bit; I don't know what the world is coming to.]
"First, drop the expectation that everyone knows every Rider, sister-in-law."
As a rule, among Tokusatsu enthusiasts, there are the Kamen Rider faction, the Ultraman faction, the monster movie faction like Godzilla, and the Sentai faction like Power Rangers.
Among them, the Kamen Rider faction is further divided into Showa and Heisei. Leaving aside the recently changed Reiwa, which hasn't had many releases yet, the most popular faction in the current generation is the Heisei faction.
But Sion likes all Riders, regardless of whether it's Showa, Heisei, or Reiwa! As a rule, that's only natural for a Kamen Rider enthusiast!
"And that suit... no, never mind. I won't say anything more."
"Uh..."
[He said that guy is an inflexible old man. He said if he hadn't fought and won himself, he would have cut off a limb and dragged him to the police station.]
"........."
Baek-ri also knew well that Lee Gyeong-jin was inflexible. Anyone with even a little interest in Force Users couldn't possibly not know about Master Users. They would have heard of the achievements of their country's Master User.
A recent story was the Assemblyman Jeong slush fund scandal from two years ago.
At the time of that incident, there were many people involved, including conglomerate chairmen and other assemblymen, so it was a case where people were constantly going in and out of the prosecutor's office, and among them was a high-ranking official of the KFU who was also Lee Gyeong-jin's friend of nearly 20 years.
It wasn't a friend of 1 or 2 years, but a friend he had known since almost the Great Depression era, yet he personally caught him and dragged him to the prosecutor's office.
Thanks to that, assemblymen who are thinking about improving their image never associate with Lee Gyeong-jin. If they make a mistake and get caught in even one corruption case, they get personally caught and handed over to the prosecutor's office. Leaving aside other things, the act of being dragged away itself ruins their prestige, making them unable to run for election ever again.
"Mister, I still did a good thing, can't you let it slide just this once......?"
Baek-ri backed away slowly. No matter how much of a Master User he was, he couldn't catch him if he ran away at Mach 10, but it was a question of whether he could dodge his sword right in front of his nose or not.
The Humanoid Hostile Species had concept resistance and good inherent durability, but what about Baek-ri? It was certainly scary to rely only on the suit's defense.
Especially after seeing the Gray Resonance Sword that had sliced the Humanoid Hostile Species in half.
However, Lee Gyeong-jin laughed heartily and waved his hand.
"Haha! I know I'm inflexible, but I'm not without a conscience. The Raccoon Man I know went all the way to the United States to protect my daughter. So what would I be if I caught someone associated with him?"
"Ah, that's right!"
"However, even if the purpose is good, the act shouldn't be illegal. This will be the only time I let it slide. I'll just tell the higher-ups that I was too exhausted to catch you."
This time, a never-before-seen form of Enemy Species called a Humanoid Hostile Species had appeared, and a Super-Large Enemy Species had also come out. Since Lee Gyeong-jin had also used the Gray Resonance Sword twice, it was honestly true that he was exhausted.
But he didn't think that excuse would work next time. Raccoon Man... so, No. 1, Choi Ak, fought and lost, so that's one thing, but if he said he let No. 2, Baek-ri, go on purpose, he didn't know what kind of schemes they might come up with.
Furthermore, the functions of the suit Baek-ri was wearing were.......
"Go on. If you stay here any longer, I won't be able to defend you either."
"Thank you! Mister!"
The reason Lee Gyeong-jin let Baek-ri go was partly because Choi Ak had gone to the United States in his place, but also because he thought well of Baek-ri as an individual.
No matter how much you wear a suit like that, not just anyone can fight while risking their life.
Just like how not many people can hunt wild beasts even if you hand them a gun right away, the ability one possesses and their courage are not proportional.
In that respect, Baek-ri could be called a rare, honest, and good person. Just having that kind of character in an increasingly harsh society is enough value for Lee Gyeong-jin to turn a blind eye.
Baek-ri quickly flew up and flew back to where he came from, and reporters flocked in afterward.
There were many reporters surrounding him, asking about this fight and about Raccoon Man, but he didn't pay attention to the questions and followed Baek-ri's retreating figure.
Although the voice was modulated, he could tell he was young. Perhaps at most, he was around his daughter's age.
"I wonder if that child is doing well......"
And it was after that that a call came from Choi Ak saying the job was done.
Returning to Choi Ak's house, Baek-ri deactivated the suit. But once the work was done, it was inevitable that his legs would give way on their own.
When he went in, Sion was boiling warm soup. Because it takes a long time, she couldn't make it from scratch, but since most commercial products come in powder form, it doesn't take long to make.
"You've worked hard. Your tension is releasing and you must be tired, so it's best to eat something warm and soft first."
"It was really scary, but... still, it was manageable."
"That's probably because the opponent is a definite enemy. In this situation, you can fight with a light heart, so it's not bad for a first real battle."
If it were a war where they were fighting over each other's right to survive, he wouldn't be able to be this relaxed. But Enemy Species are monsters that try to kill humans. Even if he killed hundreds or thousands, there's no reason to feel guilty.
As Baek-ri smelled the soup, he suddenly realized he was hungry. He hadn't even known the state of his own body due to the tension of the real battle.
"No matter how much the suit does for you, it's you who is moving your body. You must have had a lot of activity, so it's good to eat well. Here, have some soup."
"Ah... thank you, sister-in-law."
Baek-ri scooped the soup from the bowl Sion handed him and put it in his mouth. He thought it would be hot since it hadn't been long since it was boiled, but it wasn't as hot as he thought. It had cooled down just enough to be perfect for eating, and there were moist bread pieces in it, as if she had torn bread and put it in, with the soup soaked in.
Since there's no way such a thing would be in a commercial product, she must have put the bread in on purpose.
"Ah, I had some leftover baguette, so I put a little in."
"Isn't sister-in-law too good for my brother?"
"He always thinks so too. And thank you for the compliment."
As the cream soup with bread pieces went into his hungry stomach, it tasted good even though it was a commercial product. Having emptied three or four bowls in one go, Baek-ri finally sighed in relief, as if he was finally full.
Although he chose what happened today, the responsibility is too great.
"It's possible to get away with it once, but it doesn't work twice. So, at the very least, it's best not to do it from next time."
"I wouldn't have stepped up either if it hadn't caused damage to our shop."
"Isn't that a bit too lacking in credibility for an excuse?"
"......."
Honestly, if you ask whether a building is important or a person is important, the latter is obviously the case. However, Baek-ri took the risk and stepped up.
He might push it off to a future with no promise of a 'next time', but if something like this happens again, it's obvious that Baek-ri will step up as Raccoon Man No. 2 again.
"Ah, I'll return the transformation belt."
"Keep it for now. I'll just help you with repairs or modifications from time to time."
"What?! But isn't this expensive?! It doesn't seem like something you should just hand over carelessly!"
"It is an expensive item, but it's not the functions that are expensive, it's the power source. A Soul Driver made with natural Spirit Particles, not Spirit Particles obtained from souls, has a crazy market price. So, if nothing else, make sure to secure the power source."
"......Isn't this bulky too? I can't put it in my pocket, and it's too noticeable to wear as a belt."
Sion took the transformation belt from Baek-ri, placed it on his left wrist, and pressed the button again. Then, the belt shrank and transformed into the shape of a wristwatch.
"Wow! That's awesome!"
"When you want to transform, if you turn the watch bezel here counterclockwise, it will return to its original state."
"It has more functions than I thought."
"Isn't it awesome? I'm proud of the fact that I wasted the capacity that could have fit one more weapon just to add trivial functions."
"No, put in a weapon instead!"
At that moment, Sion's phone started to vibrate and ring. The name that appeared on the screen was, naturally, Choi Ak.
[Uh, you finished there too, right? I heard from the CIA guy here. Is Baek-ri okay?]
"He's fine. How is it over there?"
[It finished well here too. It doesn't look like I'll be able to return within today, but I think I can go within a day or two.]
It was mostly greetings, but they exchanged information occasionally and hung up the phone.
Sion made a slightly serious expression. Because her face is so expressionless, it's hard to tell, but even Baek-ri, who doesn't know her well, could realize that something was up from the way she frowned and seemed to be thinking about something.
"What's wrong, sister-in-law?"
"The situation seems more serious than I thought."
"Huh? What is? Didn't we take down all the Enemy Species well?"
"We did take them all down, but......"
Sion also secretly searched for information on Japan and China. Both countries also had damage, but they successfully repelled the Enemy Species. However, Japan's Master User, Hibiki, is in a state of unconsciousness.
What she is trying to grasp is not the victory or defeat of the battle, but the information on the Humanoid Hostile Species that appeared there.
"The Humanoid Hostile Species that appeared in Korea was a long-range combat-oriented type."
"Uh... and so?"
"And Korea's Master User, Lee Gyeong-jin, was vulnerable to long-range attacks."
"........"
The Humanoid Hostile Species in the United States that she heard about from Choi Ak is the same.
"The one that appeared in the United States was specialized for close-range combat. However, the American Master User is specialized for long-range, so if they can't keep their distance, their combat power is halved."
"Couldn't it be seen as a coincidence up to twice?"
"The one that appeared in Japan was also speed-specialized, which is a bad match for Hibiki-ssi, who has a strong tanker temperament."
"Uh......?"
If it goes that far, it gets a bit strange.
"And finally, the one that appeared in China was specialized in durability, specifically impact defense. The Chinese Master User is generally an all-rounder, but because they are a bare-handed fighter, it's a level that Lee Gyeong-jin wouldn't have struggled with, but she barely managed to catch it."
"If it goes that far, it's blatant."
"Yes, there is definitely something going on."
Some say that the Dimensional Rifts and Enemy Species are monsters from other dimensions crossing over.
But with this incident, it became certain.
That the opponent is crossing over with clear malice and information about this world.