"Huh?"
After being kicked flying by Leon, the Minotaur–Octopus Shadow Creature merely shook its head and crawled back toward him like nothing had happened, obediently prostrating itself before him.
The tentacles that had been severed by the Ebony Blade regenerated within moments.
Such a powerful display—enough to serve as Leon's personal punching bag—made him murmur in surprise, raising his evaluation of Shadow Creatures another notch.
To confirm the guess forming in his mind, he crooked a finger. The Ebony Blade shot out again, instantly slicing off the five legs of a nearby tiger-headed, snake-tailed Shadow Creature at the root.
"Hm?"
"Why aren't you regenerating?"
The crippled Shadow Creature—now resembling a mutilated beast—showed no signs of recovery. Leon asked in confusion.
"Roar…!"
The creature trembled violently, letting out a fearful growl at Leon.
Leon simply frowned.
With a casual gesture, he controlled the Ebony Blade and diced it into a pile of flesh, which quickly dissolved and merged into the endless darkness.
Because…
"…I can't understand what it's saying."
"Looks like not every Shadow Creature has your kind of durability and regeneration."
"But creatures as strong as you—or even stronger—are everywhere in this Shadow Domain, like stray dogs on the roadside."
Leon patted the Minotaur–Octopus creature's body, which had the strange tactile feel of a non-Newtonian shadow mass.
Perhaps because they were beings of shadow, Leon had already noticed something when he kicked it earlier—
The density of these Shadow Creatures was far lighter than he had expected.
His gaze swept across the distance.
Far away, he could see countless gigantic Shadow Creatures lurking at the edge of the domain—some as large as the Minotaur–Octopus creature, others ten or even dozens of times larger.
Creatures that had grown to that size weren't completely mindless beasts anymore. Even their primitive intelligence had evolved somewhat.
They knew better than to provoke Leon, the newly crowned Shadow Lord, directly.
Instead, they let the expendable small fry test the waters.
Originally, the Minotaur–Octopus creature should have been one of those cautious onlookers.
Unfortunately, its intelligence was its fatal flaw.
It insisted on getting close to watch the show, apparently unfamiliar with the wisdom of letting someone else die first.
There was another reason Leon had been experimenting—
He wanted to test the sharpness of the Ebony Blade.
And the result?
It truly lived up to its reputation: sharp enough to slice iron like mud. When it pierced something, there was almost no resistance at all.
Leon recalled the blade and grasped the hilt.
He glanced at his palm, suddenly hardened his expression, and slowly pressed the blade against his own hand.
The sensation was like cutting through thick leather.
With only a few tons of force, the Ebony Blade could leave nothing more than a white scratch on his palm.
It couldn't even break his skin.
But as he gradually increased the force, the blade slowly sank into his flesh, and a faint thread of blood seeped out.
Finally, Leon's defense had been breached.
"Interesting."
"It's slightly sharper than the living Adamantium blade I can form from my bones—but only slightly."
Leon gave an objective assessment.
After all, his body had already been pushed to the "Sacred Atom" level thanks to the combined effects of the Armadam Spirit Stone and his super regeneration.
Not only had his regeneration reached monstrous levels—his physical durability had also been massively enhanced.
Even the Ebony Blade, capable of cutting at the atomic level, could only barely pierce his flesh.
If his body strengthened just a bit more, Leon estimated that he could completely ignore the blade's threat.
"Physical enhancement…"
As if thinking of something, Leon suddenly curled his lips into a smile.
Accompanied by a deep aura of darkness and dangerous arcs of golden lightning, a mysterious belt appeared around his waist as if growing directly from his body.
The belt had a silver base with golden patterns, and in its center was embedded a pitch-black gemstone.
The black gemstone was naturally the Armadam Spirit Stone he had obtained earlier.
And the golden-silver belt was the Arcle Belt that paired with it.
It manifested instantly in response to Leon's will.
His fingertip touched the smooth surface of the Armadam Spirit Stone.
The sensation was strange.
Because the Armadam Spirit Stone had already become one of Leon's organs, connected directly to his nervous system.
So touching it felt like touching part of his own body…
Just much harder.
He glanced around at the surrounding Shadow Creatures and suddenly laughed.
"Heh."
"Question: what best matches the identity of a Shadow Lord?"
"???" × N
The surrounding Shadow Creatures tilted their heads in confusion.
What was this guy talking about?
"The answer, of course, is—"
"Ultimate Darkness!"
"Henshin!"
A faint red glimmer flashed in Leon's eyes.
However, he had no risk of losing control. There was no need for restraint or compassion. The half-formed crimson glow was instantly swallowed by a deeper, more absolute darkness.
At the same time—
Leon's desire to grow stronger was detected by the Armadam Spirit Stone.
Microparticle Manipulation, Physical Enhancement, and Energy Absorption activated simultaneously.
His intangible will was transformed into undeniable reality.
A suit of jet-black exoskeletal armor began to materialize around his body.
Golden vein-like patterns spread across its surface like flowing blood vessels.
Sharp spikes extended from his knees and elbows, radiating ferocity and dominance.
Finally—
Two pairs of golden horned crests rose from his helmet, symbols of power and authority.
A fearsome warrior appeared like thunder itself.
His arrogant stance transcended that of gods, like an emperor who ruled over all creation.
—KAMEN RIDER KUUGA · ULTIMATE FORM!
At the moment Leon completed his transformation, the system even thoughtfully added the iconic transformation sound effect.
"Power…"
"Power is overflowing!"
Leon, now transformed into Kuuga's Ultimate Form, twisted his posture slightly like a beast finally unleashed from its cage and let out a thunderous roar.
His presence was overwhelming.
All the Shadow Creatures around him immediately bowed their heads in submission, not daring to act rashly.
"Again!"
With heroic confidence, Leon swung the Ebony Blade with full force and slashed at his own arm.
BOOM!!!
A terrifying invisible sword pressure—generated purely by raw power—swept outward, instantly shaving the top off a nearby Chibaku Tensei-like sphere of compressed debris.
The dust slowly settled.
Buzz—
The Ebony Blade trembled and hovered beside Leon.
Meanwhile, the arm he had struck showed only a slight crack in the black exoskeletal armor.
A thread of dark red blood appeared—but before it could even flow out, the wound absorbed it back in.
In the blink of an eye—
The 2.5-centimeter slash mark vanished as if it had never existed.
"Hiss…"
Feeling the physical strength of his body after transforming into Ultimate Kuuga, Leon could only think one thing:
Terrifying.
Even without equipment—
He could defeat one hundred versions of his previous self.
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