The Sorrowful Warrior

Having gauged the enemy's strength, the Male Snake Lord's attacks grew increasingly fierce, forcing Ryo Ashihara into a continuous retreat.

Finally, Ryo Ashihara was sent flying once more. Crashing to the ground, he scrambled up, threw his head back, and let out a wild roar as his body underwent another transformation.

His muscles grew more savage, and a pair of green horns extended from his head, as if he had just undergone an evolution.

Following this transformation, Ryo's strength and speed surged. He stepped forward, unleashing a few punches that knocked back the charging Male Snake Lord. Instantly, the short golden claws on his hands extended, turning into blade-like talons.

Ryo displayed absolute savagery, letting out inhuman roars throughout the fight as the tide of battle instantly turned.

With his right arm injury still unhealed and realizing he was outmatched, the Male Snake Lord immediately felt the urge to retreat.

But Ryo had already resolved to finish it today. How could he let it escape so easily?

The Male Snake Lord didn't dare turn its back on Ryo, only able to fight while retreating.

Before long, the two reached a small mound. The Male Snake Lord swung its staff in a wide arc, intending to temporarily force Ryo back and create an opening to flee.

But to its surprise, Ryo swung both of his talons at the middle of the staff. Combining their mutual force with the sharpness of his claws, he cleanly sliced the staff in two.

The impact rattled the Male Snake Lord's hands, leaving it momentarily paralyzed. Seizing the opportunity, Ryo tackled it straight to the ground.

At this moment, Ryo seemed to have turned into a mindless beast. Opening his sharp fangs, he bit hard into the right side of the Male Snake Lord's neck.

This savage display terrified the Male Snake Lord. It shoved him away with all its might, but a large chunk of flesh was torn away in Ryo's mouth.

Enduring the pain, the Male Snake Lord struggled to its feet and stumbled away to escape.

Ryo stood up, spat out the shredded flesh, and roared wildly toward the sky once more. Curved claws extended from his heels as he charged at the retreating Male Snake Lord.

Mid-charge, Ryo leaped high into the air. At the peak of his jump, he raised his right leg and brought it down like a battleaxe.

The heel drop slammed heavily onto the Male Snake Lord's left shoulder, the claw on his heel piercing deep into its left chest.

With the strike successful, Ryo let out another wild roar. Keeping his right foot planted, he swung his left leg, kicking the Male Snake Lord's body to propel himself backward.

After landing, Ryo raised his head to look at the Male Snake Lord.

At this moment, the Male Snake Lord turned around, clutching its wounded left chest as its body trembled violently.

In the next instant, a halo of white light appeared above the Male Snake Lord's head. Letting out a resentful shriek, its body exploded with a loud bang, and the fragmented remains quickly dissolved into nothingness.

With the battle over, Ryo reverted to his human form. Enduring his physical discomfort, he quietly followed Mayumi Katahira, who was leaving not far away.

On the other side, Yusuke Godai and Shoichi Tsugami, having joined forces to defeat the Female Snake Lord, quickly left the scene. They canceled their transformations in an isolated spot and rushed over.

On the train platform, Mayumi Katahira was saying her goodbyes. After parting with Shoichi Tsugami, Yusuke Godai, and Mana Kazaya, she suddenly seemed to sense something and looked toward the opposite platform, but saw nothing.

Boarding the train, Mayumi Katahira vanished into the crowd.

Once the train pulled away, a man stepped out from behind a pillar on the opposite platform where Mayumi had just looked.

It was Mayumi Katahira's ex-boyfriend, Ryo Ashihara.

Ryo watched the departing train with a bleak expression, then turned and walked away.

Mayumi, live a good life.

In the dark of night, Ryo's figure appeared incredibly lonely.

He had been in a car accident, which awakened his body's mutation ability. Filled with extreme anxiety, he had withdrawn from the North Tokyo University swim team.

His coach, who was usually very close to him and held high expectations, had come to advise him, saying he was being too distant and that no matter what happened, he was willing to share the burden.

Ryo chose to trust him, but after showing his inhuman form, the coach had fled in terror and avoided him ever since.

Ryo didn't blame the coach. Let alone others, even he was terrified of his own appearance when looking in the mirror after transforming.

Furthermore, although the coach was terrified and avoided him, he hadn't told anyone else about his condition. That was already good enough.

He had said these exact words during his last conversation with Mayumi Katahira.

This is good enough.

With his dyed blonde hair and delinquent attire, Ryo looked rebellious and difficult to get along with, but in reality, he possessed an extremely gentle heart.

His body grew increasingly weak. Walking on the overpass, Ryo had to lean heavily on the railing just to keep from collapsing.

Because his transformations consumed a massive amount of his life force, he was showing severe signs of aging, and his vision began to blur.

Before collapsing, he caught a blurry glimpse of a child clad in black walking straight toward him. Before he could even distinguish if it was a boy or a girl, his eyes closed, and he blacked out...

North Tokyo University Pool.

"Hello, I'm a friend of Ryo Ashihara. Since I finally had a chance to visit Tokyo, I thought I'd drop by to see him. Is he here?"

Hozer keenly caught a flash of panic on the swim coach's face, confirming his suspicions.

The coach lowered his head, avoiding Hozer's gaze, and muttered, "He left the swim team and dropped out of school. I have no idea where he is now."

With that, the coach stood up and walked quickly toward the pool without looking back.

"Excuse me, I have work to do. Make yourself at home."

It seemed highly likely that Ryo Ashihara had awakened as Agito.

From visual appearance alone, just like Kuuga and the Gurongi before, they were virtually indistinguishable to the untrained eye. Anyone seeing him for the first time would mistake him for an ally of the Gurongi.

Similarly, to those who didn't know the truth, Agito and the Lords would seem no different, both viewed as monsters attacking humans.

Since the coach was unwilling to talk, Hozer could only ask some students from the swim team. One student who was relatively close to Ryo gave him Ryo's address.

However, when Hozer arrived, he found the place completely empty. The furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust, indicating no one had lived there for a long time.

With another lead dead, Hozer returned to the G3 Unit office at the police station in slight frustration, where he ran into Makoto Hikawa.

"Mr. Hozer, is something troubling you? If there's any way I can help, please let me know."

Faced with Hikawa's enthusiasm, Hozer smiled and waved his hand.

"No, it's fine. I'm just looking for someone I can't seem to find."

"What's his name? Maybe I've run into him."

Since the conversation had reached this point...

"He's a student named Ryo Ashihara."

"Oh... Ryo Ashihara... I know him!"

"Huh? You know where he is?"

"No, I just heard Ms. Katahira mention that her boyfriend's name is Ryo Ashihara, and that he's a student at North Tokyo University."

"That's him. Who is Ms. Katahira?"

Makoto Hikawa then explained everything he knew regarding Mayumi Katahira and Ryo Ashihara.

Hearing Hikawa say he had met Ryo not long ago, Hozer couldn't help but facepalm.

He hadn't expected the answer to be right under his nose.

Mayumi Katahira was the target of the attack, yet Shoichi Tsugami and his allies had only defeated the Female Snake Lord in their last battle, with the Male Snake Lord nowhere to be seen. This was clearly unusual.

Combined with the possibility that Ryo had awakened as Agito, could he have transformed in an isolated spot, defeated the Male Snake Lord, and thereby protected Mayumi Katahira?

Wasting no time, Hozer asked Hikawa for the location of that day's battle and immediately left the office.