The dangerous tension that SeitenWater initially felt from SeitenFire soon escalated, only making the red warrior charge toward the Triske Monster who was standing up from the attack that was thrown at it earlier.
"You bastard! How dare you hurt my friend?!" SeitenFire growled as he brought out his Lion Fire Blade in twin-blade mode once more and attacked Motross in simultaneous slashing attacks.
SeitenWater could only groan in frustration as he watched the biker attack like that. "I'm seriously not going to try messing with any of Shuichi's friends."
"I told you, it's already expected," SeitenEarth said as soon as he approached the blue warrior. "Amuro-san might be his ultimate rival in racing, but he was also his childhood friend. He had known him even before the hotel fire."
Soon after, the two female Seitengers were done evacuating the victims and the other civilians were still conscious. They approached the other two Seitengers who were just watching SeitenFire attack Motross in a fit of rage.
"We need to help him deal with that monster," SeitenWind suggested that the others only replied with a nod.
But before any of the four warriors could approach SeitenFire and help him, more Gargonemas were summoned and immediately attacked them. This time, SeitenWind and SeitenLight decided to combine their powers to wipe them all out at once using spells from their weapons.
"Sacred Wind Tempest!"
"Sacred Light Driver!"
The two spells that the two female Seitengers cast using an energy arrow from the Wind Falcon Arrow and an energy slash attack coming from the Dove Light Striker, which soon combined to form an even stronger energy attack, were thrown towards the oncoming Gargonemas. In one strike, the Gargonemas were all destroyed just like that.
"Now that is one scary combination attack from both of you," SeitenWater commented. "Let's go. I don't think Shuichi would be able to concentrate properly with him attacking the monster like that for hurting Amuro."
The others agreed to that. But before they could even take a step towards their comrade, they heard SeitenFire's scream who was thrown because of a beam attack from Motross.
"Shuichi!"
"Shuichi-san!"
The attack wasn't enough to bring SeitenFire down and it was easy for him to recover from that. He was supposed to counter that when all of a sudden, the Seitengers saw that the lower part of the Triske Monster's body transformed into something similar to the structure of a motorcycle.
"Seriously, this monster is living up to its name," SeitenWater commented which the others only responded with a sigh.
This guy could create a way to lighten up the moment despite the thick tension. Now they were wondering where could he have gotten that kind of talent.
But at the moment, their main concern was to deal with Motross who was now transformed into something that would be ready to race with anyone. At that moment---
"Red guy, you seem to be someone who could take up a racing challenge, huh? How about a race with me?" Motross challenged in a mocking tone.
SeitenFire didn't say anything as a response, though, even when the other Seitengers helped him recover from that last attack. Soon after, the female Seitengers decided to deal with another group of oncoming Gargonemas on their own as they asked the other two Sseitengers to stay with SeitenFire and help him in any way they could to deal with Motross.
"I think this monster could sense someone with the ability to take up his racing challenge," SeitenEarth concluded as he faced SeitenFire. "What do you want to do, Shuichi-san?"
Once again, the red warrior didn't say anything about that. But before he could even say anything with regards to that, they were surprised to see Motross suddenly speeding up and about to charge towards the three male Seitengers. They prepared themselves for the oncoming attack, but what they had expected to happen didn't occur. When they turned to where they now knew Motross headed to, they were stunned once again---this time, for the reason that Motross attacked both SeitenWind and SeitenLight who were busy dealing with the multiplying number of Gargonemas trying to kill them.
"Misae! Erika!" SeitenFire yelled in shock before getting thrown all of a sudden together with SeitenWater and SeitenEarth. It seemed that Motross also targeted them after dealing with SeitenWind and SeitenLight.
The intensity of the speed attack disabled the Seitengers' transformations, except SeitenFire's. Though he was able to withstand the attack's intensity, it was still enough for him to lose his strength. But he mustn't fall now, especially when this monster just attacked his friends like that.
"Shuichi... Be careful," Eichirou managed to say to SeitenFire, even though the said warrior didn't spare them a glance.
Itsuki tried to stand up to check on Misae and his sister Erika. "Erika! Erika! Wake up!"
The photographer followed suit so that he could still do something to protect their unconscious female comrades. Using a spell to draw up water from underground, Eichirou used that to create a clear ice shield so that they could still manage to check on the situation between SeitenFire and Motross. From the looks of it, the red warrior had already accepted the monster's challenge---albeit forced and done out of rage.
Just as Eichirou thought, SeitenFire had already thought of accepting Motross' racing challenge. He could tell that this monster would only feel satisfied if it found a worthy opponent in one thing it does best. The red warrior spared a glance towards his comrades now hurt, while his female comrades were now unconscious because of this heck of a monster.
When he faced the monster once more, he caught a glance at his favorite motorcycle---the one he received as a gift from his deceased father.
'I could use that. But then...' Damn it! Does he have to hesitate now? Besides, SeitenFire would only feel satisfaction in doing the race when he used the motorcycle that only made him feel as if his father was still near him and alive in his heart. If he used that, would his father also feel satisfaction, knowing that SeitenFire would use it to defeat the enemy that was trashing down the racers' dreams and passion?
xxxxxx
Inside SeitenFire's suit, it can be seen that Shuichi's eyes were closed before they snapped open once he finally made a decision. In a hurry, he ran in the direction of the parked motorcycle before jumping to avoid Motross' beams firing at him. When he was able to ride the vehicle and started its engine, he took out his bladeless HyakuReiDer and pointed it towards Motross now coming at him. The said device emanated a red glow surrounding the silhouette of a lion's head that came out of it.
"Lion Laser!"
A red laser attack with the silhouette of a lion's head was soon fired toward Motross and soon after, he began riding the motorcycle. This time, he was able to catch up with the monster who also started the race.
"Racing was something that Shuichi-san was proud of, even before," Itsuki commented before noticing that his sister was regaining consciousness. "Erika!"
Misae was also regaining consciousness and was able to stand up with the help of Eichirou. "So it's a bad idea for this monster to use racing as a device to create chaos. It ended up gaining a formidable enemy in Shuichi because of that."
"But he still shouldn't let his guard down," Erika said right after that. "Motross is also serious when it comes to racing. Even if it means destroying everything that got in its way."
"That means all we can do for now is to watch how the events will unfold, huh?"
The others nodded in agreement. It would be a mistake for them to disturb the duel between two racers like that.
But dealing with Motross' speed was something that Shuichi would never consider a piece of cake, especially when the lower part---the motorcycle part---of the monster was sending out beams towards him so that he would be defeated and beaten. Even though he was able to send out beams using his HyakuReiDer, it wasn't enough.
'Does this monster call itself a great racer when it's cheating like this?' SeitenFire could only think of that as he continued firing Lion Laser just to block the beams coming towards him while driving the motorcycle.
Before he could even think about how to attack the monster again, another beam was sent toward him. He was supposed to fire another laser attack, bigger than the last to block it. But all of a sudden, the red warrior got distracted by a sudden flash of red light coming from the lotus symbol on his helmet.
"What?!"
It wasn't just him who was surprised by that flash. Even the other Vessels couldn't hide the shock they felt because of that. From their far position, both Kanako and Helen had also felt the same thing as it was happening.
"What is that light?" Kanako couldn't help asking.
"Could that be...?" Helen only muttered with a frown.
The sudden event caused too much distraction, not just for SeitenFire but also for Motross. The said monster fired an even larger beam after the previous one toward the red warrior once more.
"Die!"
Though he tried to veer away from the oncoming beam, the sharp turn done just to avoid the oncoming attack had only made SeitenFire lose his balance and topple down together with the motorcycle. When he got up, his eyes widened upon seeing the beam about to hit him. He was able to cast a larger fire spell using his HyakuReiDer to block it somehow. But the intensity of the attack made him unable to hold out much longer. Not to mention that he was already weak because of the previous attacks that the monster did on him. In the end, the beam hit both him and his motorcycle, despite his efforts to protect it.
"Shuichi!"
"Shuichi-san!"
The other Vessels dashed towards the injured Shuichi whose transformation was now disabled and was only forcing himself to get up but to no avail. He lost consciousness soon after.
"We need to retreat for now," Misae suggested as he cradled Shuichi's unconscious body.
The others nodded since it would be impossible for them to deal with Motross at the moment in their current state. They needed to think of a counterattack for them to end this. But Itsuki sensed something weird from the ground as soon as he touched it. When he turned to the source of the strange sensation, his eyes widened at the sight of Motross about to fire a beam attack towards them.
The composer firmly hit his hand to the ground and soon after, vines came out from it. After that, he faced Eichirou. "You think you can do that spell again? We can't let Motross create any more damage to this place or Shuichi-san."
The photographer immediately understood what Itsuki meant by those words. Using the same way that Itsuki cast his spell, Eichirou also hit his hand to the ground and allowed the spell he was able to think of to travel towards Motross. The resulting ice barrier erected from one part of it had blocked the monster's beam. It was followed by two large icicles stabbing the motorcycle-like body of the Triske Monster. The attack made Motross scream in pain before retreating almost immediately that the Vessels felt that the events went like a blur to them.
The Vessels could only heave a sigh of relief for now after the two Vessels allowed their spells to dissipate.
However, the damage seen that was done to Shuichi and his motorcycle, even to the stadium, was enough proof that everything that had happened was real.