Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider!

Brain's message quickly reached Hoshigaki Sora through the data network.

After reading it, Sora could only sigh in mild astonishment.

You never disappoint, do you?

Ever since discovering Medic's powers within Heart-sama's abilities, he'd wondered what exactly Brain—creator of some of the franchise's most iconic scenes—was up to.

Unexpectedly, the man who could seamlessly infiltrate cyberspace in canon had been hiding in plain sight all along.

"It's exactly like when he confronted Banno at the end," Sora mused aloud.

In the original series, Medic had fallen under Banno's control, forcing Brain to infiltrate the final boss's systems to free her. Yet this time, Brain hadn't feigned allegiance; he'd simply stayed hidden, quietly loyal to his own devotion.

Now, the next step was perfectly clear.

With Brain having erased Serus from cyberspace, only the physical storage of Serus's consciousness remained. Only by destroying this physical core would Serus truly disappear from this world.

Brain mentioned he'd left sufficient clues. But where exactly were these clues?

Extending his tendrils, Sora quickly accessed the planet's network, searching for Brain's hints. Within moments, he located the clue.

"So that's where it is… no wonder no one thought of it," Sora muttered, astonished.

Only an artificial planet could hide something this crucial in such an improbable place. It would never occur to a normal person's logic.

Without further delay, he beckoned Hotaru to follow him.

"You've already found his core?" Hotaru sounded perplexed. Hadn't Serus just threatened them a moment ago?

"I've found where he stored himself," Sora answered, gazing upward.

The sun was already setting slowly on one horizon, while opposite it, a silver-white glow gently emerged.

...

Indeed, Serus's true data core was hidden within the very moon that illuminated the planet at night.

He had quite literally placed himself above all living beings.

Unfortunately for him, the moon regularly endured countless meteor strikes.

Clearly, Serus hadn't survived the barrage unscathed.

The artificial moon silently orbited along Zieltworth's magnetic path.

Sora and Hotaru steadily approached, increasingly awed by its scale. Compared to it, they were merely two tiny insects circling a giant lantern.

And if the moon was this enormous, just imagine how massive the artificial sun—bringing heat and light to the planet—must have been.

Upon reaching the moon, they noticed a fresh breach had appeared on its surface.

Judging carefully, they confirmed it was recent, as if newly torn open.

"Could someone else have arrived here ahead of us?" Hotaru wondered aloud, astonished.

Who else could've deduced Serus's hiding place so quickly?

As they entered the breach, they immediately saw who had gotten there first.

"Such pure, golden radiance, dazzling like the sun itself—I behold the beauty of life in you!"

Indeed, standing ahead of them was none other than Argenti.

At present, however, Argenti was frantically dodging an overwhelming array of defensive lasers. Countless deadly beams crisscrossed chaotically, threatening instant death, yet Argenti skillfully weaved between them.

Clearly, Serus had fortified this moon's defenses far beyond typical measures to protect his true self. With his core safely tucked away behind these automated defenses, approaching him directly had become an immense undertaking.

Yet despite this overwhelming assault, upon noticing Sora's arrival, Argenti still greeted him warmly:

"You remind me greatly of a dear friend of mine."

He gracefully twisted past another scorching laser, continuing serenely, "If I weren't currently preoccupied, I'd have surely invited you both for a pleasant chat."

Argenti swiftly twirled his spear, deflecting another beam. It was evident he was somewhat overwhelmed.

"Argenti, it's you?" Hotaru hadn't expected to encounter him again here.

"Oh?" Hearing this, Argenti finally noticed Hotaru towering behind Sora.

He instantly recognized her as the one who'd thrown the planet into turmoil. Yet after a careful glance, he reaffirmed his initial judgment.

Though she'd marred the planet's beauty, her presence embodied the essence of true beauty itself.

"I know not what misunderstanding has led you astray, but should you accept the grace of Idrila, Aeon of Beauty, all your—"

Before Argenti could finish his sermon, Sora quickly activated the freezing field.

Watching Argenti gracefully dodge attacks while casually conversing made Sora wonder—did Argenti never tire?

Thus, he decided Argenti deserved a break.

Under the freezing force, even the lethal lasers halted mid-air.

Moving Argenti to safety, Sora said calmly, "Rest here for a moment."

Then, floating upward, he destroyed every attacking turret systematically.

Frozen mid-motion, Argenti's expression remained poised, but inwardly, he was shaken.

That voice… if I'm not mistaken, it's Hoshigaki Sora's!

The figure radiating beauty and vitality turned out to be Sora, who'd mysteriously vanished some time ago!

This sudden realization left Argenti in mild disbelief.

Not to mention the overwhelming ability to freeze the surroundings—something he'd never witnessed anywhere else in the galaxy.

Argenti had previously worried such immense power might fall into malicious hands.

Now, however, an inexplicable calm settled over him. If this power was in the righteous hands of Sora, perhaps he no longer had anything to fear.

Sora connected his tendrils to the network again, swiftly identifying every defense mechanism—thousands of attack modules and magnetic barriers that would have taken days to bypass if approached conventionally.

Yet now, without Serus's interference, Sora was practically a digital deity. With little effort, he disabled every defense system and opened a clear path inside.

Having completed this, he withdrew his freezing field and invited Argenti to accompany them deeper inside.

Though surprised by Sora's dazzling golden appearance, Argenti refrained from questioning him further.

As they reached the core chamber, Argenti finally explained his own presence.

"I received an anonymous message instructing me to rescue a woman imprisoned here on the moon," Argenti said with complicated feelings, staring at Robin before him. "Yet I never imagined the imprisoned one would be you, my lady."

"You've caught me at quite an embarrassing moment," Robin replied awkwardly.

Her restraints were already disabled, but upon trying to stand, a sudden weakness overcame her, nearly causing her to collapse.

Sora quickly supported her, gently steadying her body.

"You just had your blood drained—don't push yourself."

From Serus's database, Sora had learned what Robin endured. While he and Hotaru fought, Serus had extracted considerable amounts of blood from Robin.

She needed rest and care even more urgently than he did now.

Hearing this familiar voice, Robin looked up at the armored figure supporting her with disbelief.

"Sora?!" She was already astonished to have seen Nokiribi again, but more shocking was discovering Sora inside this formidable armor.

"It's me. Just relax here—everything's over now."

Using Medic's power, Sora gently stabilized Robin's condition, though her body would still need time to replenish the lost blood naturally.

"Everything's… over?" Robin echoed incredulously.

"Yes, it's all practically finished," Sora confirmed calmly.

He then turned his gaze forward, where massive, intricate modules stored Serus's true consciousness. These were the machines that had preserved him for nearly a thousand years across the galaxy.

Now, facing those modules, Hotaru drew forth her blazing sword.

A blade was the ultimate response to absolute evil; only through such decisive force could these evils truly vanish.

Without further hesitation, Hotaru swung her sword decisively.

Clang—!

With a resonant, sharp ring, the modules split neatly in two.

"Farewell, chains of the past that bound us…"

"From this day forward, my people will stride toward freedom!"

After declaring this, Hotaru turned, preparing to thank the one who'd guided her people toward liberation.

However, she discovered Sora and Robin had swapped positions unexpectedly.

"Sora? Sora! Wake up!"

Sora lay unconscious in Robin's arms, blood trickling from his nose.

Just before losing consciousness, a message echoed clearly in his mind:

[Planetary Library: Connection to 'T▇ta▇ia' complete—Data extraction 100%]

With Serus's death, the planet finally revealed its original name…