Thrown quite hard from their fighting position, and the situation for the Seitengers didn't turn out so good as they dealt with Motross with only the four of them while waiting for Shuichi to finally appear and help them finish the fight.
"I guess this monster's out for blood this time," Eichirou commented with a grunt as he struggled to get up despite the pain he felt from the impact.
The other three followed suit with their blade-extracted Hyakureider as their support. Itsuki was already clutching his left side because of the pain coming from there as he tried standing. "No kidding."
"I think we know the real reason as to why Motross' speed is unbeatable right now," Misae said with a grunt.
"He was drawing someone out to challenge him, using us as bait for that to happen," Erika responded and heaved a sigh as she stood up with the help of her Hyakureider.
Indeed, it was something that they were all worried about at the moment. They did a lot of consecutive attacks to at least weaken Motross, but the Triske Monster seemed to have been just playing with them using his speed. Adding the fact that the motorcycle part of the monster's body could shoot out beams, it was a losing situation for the four Seitengers whose transformations were now disintegrated because of Motross' simultaneous attacks on them.
"How long do you think we'd be able to hold out?"
"We still have to do our best to keep this up, or else we'll all end up dead," Misae uttered with determination despite her small and slightly pained voice. Until her eyes widened and turned to face Motross because of what was about to happen.
The Triske Monster was about to fire a powerful beam towards them that only made the Vessels unable to move to avoid it. Not to mention that their injuries were crippling them at the moment.
"Lion Laser!"
But all of a sudden, they were surprised when an even bigger beam was fired toward Motross and it was powerful enough to at least injure the monster.
"Red beam?"
"No way..."
"Is that...?"
Misae smiled and nodded. "I think it finally is."
When the four warriors turned to the source of the beam, they saw the tip of Shuichi's Hyakureider emanating a red glow. Despite the pain that they were feeling due to their respective injuries, the Vessels raised themselves to approach their teammate who had just arrived.
"Seriously! Do you have to arrive this late?" Eichirou reprimanded as he punched Shuichi in his chest.
And yet, it didn't seem to affect the biker at all. He just smiled.
"In any case, I'm glad you're here now," Itsuki said as he placed a hand on Shuichi's shoulder. The biker could only smile at that.
"Does that mean the placing of the upgrade on your bike was finished already?" Erika asked.
Shuichi nodded. "Yeah, it did. I'm sure you were all aware of that."
"Well, we just wanted to confirm if it was okay with you changing your favorite motorcycle's form like that."
At this point, Shuichi sighed and faced Motross with his eyes narrowed. "I'll dwell on that later. Right now, we got other important things to focus on. One of them is finally defeating Motross."
The others agreed to that without hesitation. With that, all five of them faced the still maniacally laughing Motross with determined expressions.
"Let him laugh all he wants. It's not going to last long, anyway," Eichirou uttered that only made the rest of them smile.
"Spirit Shift, Start!"
Soon after, all five of them donned their suits and dealt with Motross and the Gargonemas that the monster had summoned.
"Heaven's Hundred Blaze, SeitenFire!"
"Heaven's Hundred Outpour, SeitenWater!"
"Heaven's Hundred Tremor, SeitenEarth!"
"Heaven's Hundred Howl, SeitenWind!"
"Heaven's Hundred Shine, SeitenLight!"
"The Hundred Heavens' greatest legends! Reiyouki Sentai Seitenger!"
SeitenFire extracted the blade of his Hyakureider and pointed it towards the Triske Monster. "Let's go! It's time we set up the right stage for this monster!"
Four of the Seitengers decided to deal with the Gargonemas which, of course, had surprised SeitenFire.
"We had enough of dealing with that monster," SeitenWater said as slashed all of the Gargonemas coming after him and SeitenFire.
"Besides," SeitenEarth spoke this time. "You're the one that he wanted to deal with."
"Don't worry, it doesn't mean that we're not going to support you," SeitenLight said as soon as she was done eliminating all the Gargonemas coming after her using a destructive sound spell.
When SeitenFire faced SeitenWind, she just gave him a thumbs-up before destroying her own set of Gargonemas using her Falcon Wind Arrows.
The red warrior could only thank his friends in his mind before heading out to settle the duel he had with Motross for one last time. And he was going to make sure that it would be the monster's last rampaging race.
"Ah, red guy. You've finally arrived. I was getting worried you decided to hide under a rock after that last race we had," Motross mocked with an annoying smirk on the monster's face.
However, SeitenFire remained unfazed by that. Instead, he took his Hyakureider and put the Heaven Lion Medallion into one of the slots without breaking his gaze to Motross. "Hide under a rock? You've underestimated me, Triske Monster. But don't worry. I'll make sure you've never made a mistake about challenging the Fire of the Fang on a death race."
"Oh? Now that's new to hear, especially coming from a puny human." Motross ended those words with a cynical laugh.
Sometimes, SeitenFire wished he was born with the same sense of humor that Eichirou had. But that would only make things crazier for the group if that truly happened. Dealing with Eichirou's unbelievable sense of humor even in a dire situation was more than enough for the Vessels.
Pushing a button on his Hyakureider, SeitenFire recited the command right after that.
"Lion Motor, Build Up Start!"
In seconds, the said vehicle in dark red color appeared before him. He couldn't help staring at the finished product in awe. There was indeed an immense change done to his favorite motorcycle, but not in a bad way. He liked it. The most distinctive change was the figure of a griffin in front of the motorcycle. He now knew that it was probably done to remind him of the two Vessel Spirits' powers that made this possible.
SeitenFire couldn't help smiling triumphantly inside his suit and nodded at the thought of thanking the cousins Kanako and Natsume, and even Akira later after this battle. With that, he boarded the said motorcycle and faced Motross with narrowed eyes.
However, around that same moment, a memory from his earlier encounter with Helen appeared in his mind...
xxxxxx
[Flashback]
"Is there something wrong?" It was the only question that Shuichi decided to ask when Helen called out to him as he was about to head out to where Motross was attacking.
Only a grave expression could be seen on Helen's face as she approached him. He saw her sigh before speaking. "You better prepare yourself about the other thing that might happen if Motross pushed your emotions to the limits again."
At that, Shuichi frowned. "The other thing?"
Helen only smiled reassuringly and nodded. "Don't worry, it's not something bad."
"That's not exactly what I'm worried about. But the way you say it..."
"Shuichi-san, every warrior has the chance to evolve or at least gain something as proof of their growth as protectors. Whatever will happen to you in continuation to the previous battle, your heart will eventually give you the answer that you're looking for."
Helen was seriously becoming more cryptic by the minute with the way she was talking to him at the moment. But her eyes only showed the truth. No pretenses.
Around the same time, he finally understood what she had been trying to tell him. Especially when the words "previous battle" came registering in his mind.
"You don't mean..."
But Helen only nodded somberly. "Do whatever you can to grasp that one power lingering around you since that battle. I'm sure if you do that, no one will question your strength in achieving what you want to achieve-as long as it's something that truly belongs to you..."
[End of Flashback]
xxxxxx
It seemed that sighing had been Helen's favorite hobby ever since her mission started in Tsukikage. At least, it was something she had observed over the past few days.
Just like before, Helen was observing the battle from a certain place. But upon remembering what she and Shuichi had talked about before he headed out to deal with Motross, she ended up taking out the unnamed cylindrical item in her possession from her pocket.
Once again, her gaze on it became melancholic upon realizing something. It only made her grip on the item tighten.
Surely, the Tareans had begun making things difficult for the chosen Vessels and there was no doubt about that. She already knew something like this would happen because these Vessels were all unlike those that had preceded them. She looked up to the sky when no answer would appear in her mind at all.
"Mom... is this really how things are supposed to turn out for the Seitengers?"
It might be a foolish thing to do, talking to something or someone who would never answer back. But at the moment, none seemed to matter to Helen as long as she was able to voice those lingering thoughts.
Soon after, she smiled confidently upon remembering the real reason why she was observing the previous battle with Motross through replaying the battle sequence.
"I guess their victory is already assured... as long as Shuichi-san finds a way to convince him to help the Seitengers as a whole," Helen uttered as her smile lingered longer. And with that, she observed the duel between the two racers from her position.
xxxxxx
The death race between SeitenFire and Motross commenced and it was indeed intense. Two motorcycles, both were powerful in their rights, all out to defeat its rider.
The other four Seitengers were able to finish defeating the Gargonemas using another combined spell using the blade-less end of their Hyakureider.
"Hyakurei Laser! Shoot!"
Seconds later, they all destroyed the scattered Gargonemas and even those that tried to approach the two racers just to make the race uneven.
"Now that it's done, I think we better check on Shuichi and that Motross," SeitenWater suggested which earned him a nod from the other Spirit Power Vessels.
"Let's just prepare for whatever's going to happen or what Motross could be planning just for that monster to win," SeitenWind said soon after.
"Can you think of a spell strong enough to break the barrier?" SeitenLight asked her brother.
"You know what? Let's think about that when Motross decided to cheat. For now, we'll let Shuichi-san handle everything on his end."
The rest could only agree to what SeitenEarth said and so they approached the area where the deadly race was happening.
Just like before, Motross had put up a barrier so that the race would not be interrupted. But it was something that SeitenFire had already anticipated. Though it frustrated the rest of the Seitengers, all they did was watch Motross' movements as the Triske Monster raced with the red warrior. They couldn't help thinking that perhaps SeitenFire looked a lot like a modern knight with all that suit and the griffin-like vehicle.
While driving his motorcycle, there was a point in the race where SeitenFire decided to close his eyes. Even so, he was still able to keep up racing with Motross. In truth, the red warrior chose to concentrate. If what Helen told him was right, then he just needed to release that same emotion once again to prove the novelist's theory about that flash of light from before.
It didn't take long before Motross decided to heat up the race by firing beams once again toward the red warrior. SeitenFire did his best to avoid it and fired Lion Laser on his end. Of course, since he was aware that Motross had gotten stronger than last time, the speed of the beams fired toward him became faster. But to the monster's shock, the Lion Motor was able to withstand the attack, and SeitenFire, despite the surprise and amazement he felt upon observing that, was still driving it. The monster fired beams once again, with each beam that the vehicle had deflected only added frustration to Motross.
But still, it didn't bring down either the Lion Motor or SeitenFire.
"Now I declare that those three Vessel Supports are all hell of geniuses," SeitenWater commented with a chuckle due to their observation about the race.
xxxxxx
It turned out that the reason for SeitenFire to close his eyes while driving was because he was trying to remember something with regards to his first encounter with the Triske Monster, specifically about the part when a red flash of light came from the lotus symbol on his helmet.
"I could lend you my powers, you know..."
Shuichi's eyes within the suit snapped open upon hearing that. Not to mention that he felt like he wasn't in the race anymore. Even so, he remained focused on that voice. Perhaps this was the answer he was looking for.
"How can you even do that?" he couldn't help asking as he concentrated once again.
"You only need to recall the exact feeling you had before that flash of light appeared to you..."
SeitenFire couldn't help laughing in his mind. It was exactly what Helen said to him. But at the moment, he needed to do what he must. Once again, Shuichi closed his eyes and did what the voice had told him so. And much to his surprise, it didn't take him long to figure out the answer.
Though his initial purpose at the time was to defeat the Triske Monster and make it pay for doing those horrible things to the victims and even to his fellow Seitengers, the real driving force he had at the time was his desire to settle it in his way, in a way that he loved the most. His fiery passion for motorcycle racing, over one of his dreams, that he managed to apply to his duel with Motross was his real driving force.
"That's it, isn't it? The answer that you were looking for from me," SeitenFire said soon after realizing all that.
"Way to go, Fire of the Fang." The voice in his head echoed once again, with pride this time.
With that, his helmet flashed an even brighter red light which also distracted Motross. This had only caused the monster to crash on a nearby light post. The other Seitengers were surprised when that bright light soon intensified that it became harder for them to see the situation.
"Woah! What's happening out there?" SeitenWater queried but he remained shielding his eyes with an arm even though he already closed them a while back.
"The light... This is no ordinary light," SeitenEarth commented as he, too, struggled to keep his eyes open because of the brightness around the racing area.
"Since when did anything related to Seitengers and Tareans ever become ordinary?" SeitenLight couldn't help saying that only earned her a glare from her brother and a laugh from both SeitenWater and SeitenWind.
As it was happening, SeitenFire noticed a floating red orb slowly coming down to him and soon stopping in front of him.
"Could this be...?"
Though cautious, he still took it and moments later, that orb of light changed shape. It soon formed a medallion similar to that of his Vessel Medallion. But instead of a lion head, the figure placed on that new medallion was something he soon recognized as the head of a condor.
"Okay... Every moment about this light is getting weirder and weirder."
Even so, it didn't take him long to figure out what this new medallion on his hand was.
"So this is the Guardian Medallion." Though the light hadn't dissipated just yet, for some reason, SeitenFire could still see things around him. At that moment, he didn't hesitate to finally do what he had to.
SeitenFire placed the medallion into its designated slot on the Hyakureider and he soon pushed the green button. He faced the still struggling Motross after that and without hesitation, approached the said Triske Monster. The blade of his Hyakureider emitted a fire-like glow as the red warrior began to charge toward Motross.
"Thriving Fire!" With that spell cried, he continuously struck the monster until he made sure that Motross won't be able to fight anymore. Not long after he laid his final strike on it, the motorcycle part of Motross' body exploded and SeitenFire was able to get away from there before it all happened.
Moments later, he could see that the dome the monster created was also destroyed after that. It was only when SeitenFire finally managed to heave a sigh of relief, even though he knew that it wasn't exactly over. Turned out, he was right because he saw a dark orb starting to converge before exploding, thus soon revealing an Unsealed Motross.
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