Aaron never really planned for it to go that badly, currently, he was just lying inside a building that was utterly destroyed.
You may be wondering why he was so tired.
The answer to that question was simple.
A flying beast could be seen hovering above the city, its shape resembling some eldritch beast, something the human mind could not comprehend.
Aaron just laid there feeling his guts and bone being mostly destroyed.
His body was burning through his fat storage like crazy to heal him back up.
Though that wouldn't really help against the threat known as Gifu, this man will be able to kill him so quickly right now.
The city was practically destroyed at this point, all that remained was a bunch of debris and a lot of dead bodies.
"Let's play a game human...."Gifu's voice practically roars out from the sky.
"I don't have a choice in this...do I!" Aaron said sounding exhausted.
"To even believe you had a choice would be for you to believe you are relative to me"
"Understandable," Aaron said coughing up some blood.
FUck.....He was semi-winning just a second ago...and now he was puking blood.
He fucking hated fighting reality warper....they were just so fucking annoying.
"What the game" Aaron managed to say as he could feel his bones poking his lungs.
"Human life is precious right....let us see, how many lives you can save," Gifu said with a smile on his face as Aaron watched about the whole population of the town appearing all over the sky and falling to their death.
"You a rider right....save them" Gifu practically mocked.
FUCKKKK.
Thinking of which Rider to choose, the image of a certain innocent boy played in his mind.
"Keiwa....I will be borrowing your suit for a bit" As those words left his mouth.
He placed the card his sister had given him infront of the visor and heard the voice scanning it.
"Ninja General. Ready, fight."
Aaron stood tall, now clad in a suit that screamed both lethality and efficiency. The armor encased him, a metallic sheen of neon green and black covering every inch of his body. It wasn't bulky, nor was it restricting—it felt like a second skin, one built for war.
The helmet snapped into place, its insect-like visor glowing a menacing red as his vision sharpened. The world around him seemed clearer, more vivid. The silver faceplate had a brutal edge, a symbol of the warrior he had become. This wasn't just a suit; it was a weapon.
As he clenched his fists, the armguards hummed with energy, the green circuits pulsing faintly beneath the metallic exterior. Pink, almost ethereal cables wrapped around his chest, securing his form and seemingly feeding energy into him. The shoulder pads, angular and sharp, added to the suit's aggressive look, reinforcing his figure with a subtle but undeniable power.
With every step, the black armored legs moved seamlessly, the suit amplifying his speed without sacrificing strength. Each piece, from the boots to the belt, was designed for maximum mobility—he was a predator, and this city was his hunting ground.
Strapped to his back were two energy-infused blades. Their edges shimmered with a dangerous green glow, hinting at the destructive force they could unleash.
The hilt of each blade sat comfortably within reach, waiting for Aaron to call upon them.
But the real masterpiece was the belt at his waist, a circular mechanism that thrummed with power, its faint glow pulsating like a heartbeat, the core of the suit's abilities.
Aaron barely had time to adjust to the surge of power coursing through him as the suit locked onto his body, and already Gifu's twisted game was in full swing. The population of the town, hundreds of innocent lives, hung suspended in the air above, like toys dangling from a cruel god's hand. They began to fall, plummeting toward the ground in waves of ten at a time.
Aaron's mind sharpened, the visor scanning the trajectories. The teleportation function of the suit buzzed at the edge of his consciousness, urging him to act.
He really hated being forced into situations like these...now he had to choose who to save and who to let die.
He couldn't save them all....he wasn't strong nor fast enough, he was never strong enough, however, that didnt matter to him now.
He would use his mind to its fullest capability.
In a blur, he vanished from his spot on the ruined ground and appeared mid-air next to the first batch of falling civilians.
He reached out his hand and grabbed two of them by their arms while also flipping in mid-air, his leg kicking downward as he kicked away a blade that aimed to slash their neck off.
The next second, they were safe, he had teleported them back to the floor.
That still didnt change the fact that about 98 more civilians were falling from the sky.
Fuck.
"Overdrive...Boost"
This was the most amount of power he could get from the suit, boosting himself into overdrive, he started to teleport around saving people before they hit the floor.
....He wasn't lucky as Gifu did not plan to make this easy for him. As soon as he appeared to save another ground, a gust of razor-sharp wind sliced toward him.
He barely had enough time to react, however he knew if he moved the people behind him would be turned into mince meat.
He gritted his teeth a bit, using both of his feet at the same time, he kicked the man in the air and kicked the girl down with enough force to get them out of the way.
He then coated his body in that energy once again, the edge of the wind left a deep gash in his armor.
"Hahaha...Dance for me human" Gifu said happily, this was a very fun game for him, a very fun game for him.
Watching the way the human was struggling was fun... how fun.
Aaron gritted his teeth, he didnt have much time to think, he teleported around and made sure to get as many people to safety as possible.
As he aimed to grab a newborn child, Gifu launched a torrent of flames directly at him.
"Faster!" Gifu mocked, his voice ringing out like a twisted melody. "Can't save them all, Rider!"
"Shit!" Aaron hissed, his mind scrambling for an answer, his instincts screaming that this was it.
The child was going to die...without having a say in its fate....not again.
*Crack*
His eyes went toward his viser....the concept of behind teleportation wasn't just movement- it was about manipulating space. So if he could use that concept to just use the space.
Focusing all of his energy on this, he reached deep within the power of the suit, everything, from the mechanics of teleportation to warping of space.
Everything.
What he wanted to achieve right now, was to create a temporary vacuum.
The flames were nearly on top of him, but instead of dodging or teleporting away, Aaron just extended his hand forward. He focuses all of the energy of the suit's spatial manipulation in front of him.
For some unknown reason, it hurt like hell, it was like trying to use something that had been broken beyond belief.
However, he didnt care, his eyes glowing a yellow color as he connected with the core of the suit.
The air itself bent.
With a crackle of energy, the space in front of him folded inward, sucking away the oxygen in a localized bubble. The flames which were roaring with heat and threatening to consume the newborn child just a moment ago, flickered out of existence as they reached the edge of the vacuum. Fire needed oxygen to survive, and in that brief moment, there was none.
The flames vanished, evaporating as if they had never truly existed.
Grabbing the baby, he teleported down, handed the baby to a random person, and teleported back up.
It didnt help that Gifu was throwing rubbles at him nor the fact he had to dodge debris while doing this.
Realizing how much he was being slowed down, his mind started making the logical yet incredibly cold decision of letting some people die.
First up....the old, anyone with a disability, anyone who was less than 30 feet above the ground would be left to meet their fate.
Anyone who tries to push him off.....
With this, he could save about 70% of the civilians...the other 30% would die...it was a cold decision but a very logical one.
Aaron teleported once again, grabbing two more civilians, barely dodging an oncoming piece of falling steel.
As he continued to save more and more people, he started to ignore more and more people, anyone who seemed like they were already at the end of their life, would ignore them.
Just like this, the sound of bodies hitting the ground with no resistance was heard, they died instantly...no pain.
The air grew heavy with the smell of iron in the air. One. Two. Ten. By the time the number blurred, there were about a thousand bodies littered the streets below. Each one of them was one person he couldn't save.
On the good side, he saved around 2350 people.
Gifu's laughter cut through the air like a knife. "Didn't you say you'd save them all, Rider?" His voice dripped with mockery. "What kind of hero are you to let civilians die under your watch? Look at them. Your promises. Your lies. You let them hit the ground, and now their blood stains this broken city."
"Why risk my life for someone who will die in a couple of weeks" He replied coldly
Upon hearing this Gifu laughed, he liked what he heard.
"Ah, there it is! That cold, emotionless heart," Gifu chuckled, the joy in his voice becoming sharper. "What a monster you are, human. You make decisions like a machine. Your humanity—gone. How fun it is to break a Rider!" He grinned, watching the horror below. "Look at your precious civilians. Your 'hero' is not quite what he seems, is he?"
Gifu gestured toward the civilians watching in terror from below. Some of them looked up at Aaron, fear and confusion written on their faces. Their so-called "savior" was just standing there, expressionless, as the people they knew crashed down around them. The first few bystanders began to push away from him, unable to stomach the truth—that their lives meant nothing to this hero who had chosen others over them.
"My grandma.....you let her die!"
Aaron coldly gazed at the woman, his masked face glanced at her before saying "Did you want to take her place...."
As he heard nothing he opened his mouth and said "I could have just let you die....it would be much easier for me to just ignore all of you and just focus on him"
Another body fell to the ground.
This time it was that of someone suffering from lung cancer.
Aaron didnt really care much, he gazed at Gifu, he could feel his lungs being on fire.
"Isn't it fun, Aaron? Isn't it liberating?" Gifu's voice echoed through the ruins. "You know what you are now, don't you? You're just as cold as me. Just as monstrous. And the best part? You're doing this in the name of 'heroism.' Hahaha!"
"I never fucking said I was a hero..."
Gifu's eyes gleamed, his grin widening. "Oh? Then why, human? Why are you saving them if you're not a hero?"
Aaron's gaze drifted down to his hands, bloodstained and battered from the relentless fight. His jaw tightened as he muttered quietly, almost to himself, "Because... it's the right thing to do."
Gifu's mocking laughter rang out once again. "Do you honestly believe that?"
Aaron stayed silent, refusing to dignify Gifu with a response. Deep down, he wasn't sure if he did believe it. His mind raced, calculating his next move. His suit's systems were flashing critical warnings. He glanced at his HUD—15% power remaining. Enough to cause some damage, but not enough to finish this.
Gifu's grin grew darker. "Even if you manage to defeat me, what then? The humans will still need someone to blame for all this destruction. How funny. You'll be their scapegoat again, won't you? The monster. The outsider."
Aaron ignored the taunts, his mind still running cold calculations, but Gifu's words struck a chord—he'd been in that position before. Blamed for things beyond his control. Hated.
Gifu, sensing Aaron's silence, leaned forward, his voice almost seductive. "Why don't you just join us, Human? After all, you already feel nothing for life in general. You're numb to it. You would fit right in. Why fight for these weaklings when you can stand above them?"
Aaron's eyes narrowed behind his visor, and without missing a beat, he flipped Gifu off with a gloved hand, his middle finger raised defiantly.
"Go suck a dick," Aaron spat, his voice laced with venom.
Gifu's grin only widened, his laughter shaking the ruined buildings around them. "Oh, I like you, human. You're fun." He glanced around at the destruction, the thousand dead bodies, and the terrified survivors. "But I wonder, how long until even you break? After all, a machine can only take so much before it falls apart."
Aaron cursed under his breath, teleporting to snatch two more people from certain death, but Gifu didn't relent. A massive bolt of lightning crackled through the sky, aimed directly at him. He twisted his body mid-air, teleporting again just in time, but the shockwave still sent him flying backward, smashing through the remains of a building.
Blood dripped from his mouth as he crawled back to his feet, barely holding onto consciousness. His visor flashed warnings, his systems were overheating, and his energy reserves were dropping fast. But he couldn't stop. More people were falling, and there was no one else who could save them.
Gifu laughed, watching Aaron struggle. "How long before you break, Rider? How long before you realize you can't save them all?"
Aaron gritted his teeth, pushing through the pain as he teleported again, this time appearing in rapid bursts—flash-stepping between groups of civilians, grabbing as many as he could with each teleport. His hands burned as he yanked them out of the air, saving them mere inches from the ground, but every time he stopped to breathe, Gifu was there, throwing another attack his way.
A massive boulder flew toward him, and Aaron had no choice but to take the hit. The impact sent him crashing into the ground, his armor denting from the force. He could feel his ribs crack, and his vision blurred for a moment, but he forced himself to stand.
There wasn't any time to feel the pain. He teleported again, ignoring the taste of blood in his mouth, reaching the next group of civilians before Gifu could kill them. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up—every second was agony, every teleport a strain on his body and the suit's systems. But he couldn't stop. Not yet.
He felt his bones scream in protest as he teleported one last time, appearing just below the final group of people. He caught them, teleporting them safely to the ground, his body moving on pure adrenaline now. But Gifu was ready. The sky darkened as Gifu summoned an enormous wave of fire, so hot it distorted the air around it.
Aaron, panting and barely holding onto consciousness, teleported one last time, trying to dodge, but this time he was too slow. The flames engulfed him, and he felt his armor start to melt, the heat searing his skin.
But he didn't stop. Even as his body burned, he pushed himself forward, forcing his mind to think outside the box. The cables of the suit, which had been feeding him energy, sparked wildly.
Aaron teleported into the heart of the flames, using the blades strapped to his back to slice through the fire as he leaped toward Gifu. Even though the pain was unbearable, he focused on one thing—taking the fight to Gifu and saving as many lives as he could, even if it cost him his own.