Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider!

"So that's how it is… close combat was actually that simple?"

"As expected of Sora-senpai, you explained everything so clearly!"

"I never realized throwing a proper punch had so many layers. At most, I reached only the second level. I thought Sora-san was at the first, but it turns out he's already at the fifth!"

On an open training field, Sora couldn't help coughing lightly as the reserve squad's chatter buzzed excitedly around him.

At his quiet cough, the previously noisy group immediately fell silent, standing at attention as they waited for him to speak.

"Well, that's enough guidance for today. I might be staying on this planet for a while longer, though."

Hearing this, a member of the reserve squad eagerly raised her eyes, shining brightly. "Then can we seek your advice again over the next few days?"

Under Sora's instructions, they could already feel their abilities improving by leaps and bounds. It was an incredibly exciting feeling.

"If I don't have anything else to do, sure."

Right now, Sora indeed had little else planned. At least this would pass the time.

Entertainment options on this planet were scarce—frankly even fewer than Promia.

But that was understandable. After all, Zieltworth was a dedicated medical planet; its main purpose was developing advanced medical technology, not recreation.

Moreover, these girls sincerely wanted to become stronger to protect this planet. Though Sora felt something suspicious lingered beneath the surface here, he couldn't possibly deny such genuine intentions.

"Oh, right. After spending so much time together, I still don't even know your names," he said casually to the dozen or so members of the reserve squad.

Naturally, they didn't hesitate to answer.

"I'm Xiyi. This here is Kōbu, and she's Shunka…"

The girl who first approached him, Xiyi, cheerfully introduced the others. Each named girl shyly smiled in response.

"Our surname is Talos, but please just call us by our given names."

Talos, huh? Sora nodded, committing their surname to memory.

After briefly chatting and confirming plans for the next couple of days, he left.

...

Xiyi and the rest of the squad happily returned to their quarters.

Today's training session with Sora had been particularly rewarding. They were now confident they'd surpass squads one and two in no time.

"Soon, we'll finally be frontline guards too!" Xiyi said, daydreaming about the future as they reached their dormitory.

All the guards lived together in a tall residential building, each apartment clearly labeled by number.

Xiyi's room was numbered 9527.

She wasn't sure why she'd received this particular number, nor did she really care.

After all, she had a name—who bothered with mere room numbers?

However, today the residence felt unusually empty.

When Xiyi and her squad returned, they found nearly everyone else gone.

"How odd…" she murmured.

Besides frontline squads, other off-duty guards usually remained around, totaling several hundred people.

How could everyone vanish simultaneously?

Xiyi couldn't wrap her head around the mystery. Eventually, she shrugged it off.

"Oh well, probably nothing important."

Why waste energy worrying? This was Zieltworth, a perfectly peaceful medical planet.

Nothing big could possibly happen here, right?

...

"Though your righteous radiance momentarily dimmed, today it shall once again shine brilliantly!"

"Even if your brilliance was momentarily clouded, under Idrila's divine beauty, you'll undoubtedly shine brighter than ever!"

Even after spending days with Argenti, Sora still felt the man spoke cryptically at times. However, he clearly understood the encouragement in his words.

"I appreciate your good wishes, but are you really not coming along?"

"Not today—I've yet to complete my praises to Idrila. I'll remain in my room to continue my prayers."

Fine, fine.

After bidding farewell to Argenti, Sora departed for his scheduled treatment—for an illness he didn't even believe he had.

Still, he wondered: What exactly does this treatment involve?

For Sora, this was his very first medical treatment of any kind.

"You seem even more nervous than Hotaru," Robin teased lightly, noticing his expression.

"Can you blame me? I never imagined my 'first time' would end up like this," Sora replied helplessly.

Holding that official medical diagnosis, he couldn't avoid this treatment no matter how much he protested.

Hotaru, who'd been lost in thought, noticed his discomfort and hurriedly reassured him through sign language.

Sora gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder, choosing to let go of his worries for now.

Since he'd likely just enter the medical pod, fall asleep, and wake up healed, there probably wasn't much to worry about.

But there was just one critical point he had to confirm.

"This absolutely won't affect healthy individuals negatively, right?" Sora insisted.

If he ended up getting sick from a fake treatment, that would be disastrous.

"Relax," Robin assured him. "I specifically confirmed this with Mr. Serus."

With Robin's guarantee, Sora finally allowed himself to relax slightly.

Yet he soon noticed something else—

The timer on his powers refresh was counting down, coincidentally aligning exactly with today's treatment date.

What a strange coincidence…

If his treatment finished quickly, he might return in time to welcome his newly refreshed power.

Only Hotaru, seated quietly nearby, watched the scenery flash by with increasingly anxious eyes.

Thanks to the shuttle's speed, they soon arrived at their destination.

This was Zieltworth's largest structure, known as the Cradle of Life.

The very top housed Serus' office, while Entropy Loss Syndrome treatment was conducted on a different floor below.

As soon as Sora arrived, he overheard other patients quietly gossiping nearby:

"It's strange. The guards who usually patrol here are all absent today."

"Yeah, it's weirdly empty without them around."

"Whatever—maybe they're just busy elsewhere."

Nobody paid much attention to this conversation; it seemed insignificant enough.

Only Hotaru, noticing the faint crimson glow emanating from the bracelet on her wrist, felt her heart tense sharply.

It's about to begin.