Chapter 91: This is the Side Effect?!

A/N: The promised Decade omake is here! You can find it at the end of this chapter.

******

"It increased all of my stats to at least 2,000? My mana is in the 7,000-mark?"

Feeling this insane enhancement that brought him to new heights, he could only sigh. Gaining new power slowly might be possible with his power system, but the increases that the Chat Group brings is undeniable.

Though, he never let his realms slow down as he completed quests for Soul Points. The problem of having more Soul Point requirement to rank up is the only problem that he faced.

Just by breaking through the Grand Knight/Magician, he needed millions of Soul Points.

If not for the Chat Group, progression would be slower for others, too. Some of the things that it brought is the mana pool upgrades and Mana Circuit enhancements.

With more mana, they can naturally push the core of his mage/knight system, which is the soul/body, to higher realms. Of course, they didn't do so since it would only increase their life level.

The improvements that they would make will be gone if they do so. Also, it's not like it'll increase their power level much in their worlds. Moreover, their recent increase in power wouldn't hinder their cultivation, thus this benefit remained.

Heck, even a mortal can rival a god with a proper match-up!

Even the strongest servant in Shinji's world got killed after being caught off guard.

"These clothing is strange, alri-"

He suddenly paused as if he heard something isn't right.

"No, even my height became shorter!"

Click-!

Something went to his mind before he realized something. To verify his deductions, he sent out his mental power to sense his appearance. It's the same as 'seeing' with his eyes.

What he saw is a petite figure that would be mistaken as a child - being 130cm tall made it even more evident.

The young girl's tangerine-colored irises and her dark orange pupils widened, as if she got shocked by something. Her hair splits down to her knees, forming a long twintail.

Strange enough, her hair is a mix of white and black. The former took the majority of it, with the dark black color appearing up to the ends of the twintails.

She wore a black and white skinsuit and tights; some pieces of futuristic "armor", a pair of arm bracers and greaves, were worn by her. Then again, they're in the same color as her hair.

She also wore a set of accessories: a pair of metallic ribbons that split her hair into twintails and a black necklace with a golden jewel embedded into it.

Paired with her ultimate cuteness that worked as her charm, everyone who saw her would only have holy thoughts and protect her. Even her enemies might become her allies due to it!

If its the normal time, Shiro would've wondered more about this young girl, but there's a huge problem that he's facing right now.

That young girl... is him.

"WHAT. THE. F*CK." Shiro instinctively said upon seeing his, or rather her new appearance, but it only came off as a cute 10-year old girl swearing.

"This... This is the side effects?! I f*cking knew it!"

Never had he ever thought that this insane enhancements wouldn't have any severe side effects. Only, he got shocked too much by it.

Now, his neutral appearance naturally tilted to the feminine side. Though, it might not cause him much trouble since Shiro only looked like a cute child.

"Why didn't the Chat Group mention about this side effect?!"

Shiro complained as he recalled the information in his mind.

Cancelling the transformation quickly, he found out that he's back to normal. He is still in shock, however, as a cold chill went down his spine upon seeing the bracelet in his wrist.

'This is dangerous.' He thought.

"...Did Shiro just turn into a girl? But it's not possible..." Strea absentmindedly muttered as she remembered what just happened now.

Even Cardinal, the most straight-faced one here, got surprised.

"You must've forgotten about magic. What the norm thinks impossible can be done by it." Cardinal spoke, snapping Shiro back to reality.

While Shiro sat down in the bed once more, he swore that he'll never use it again unless he's in a pinch.

Now, only someone like Goetia or him encountering a god all of a sudden can make him take that form once more.

He's stupid if he doesn't use this power even if he has no other choices. Granted, he has the Time Cards, but he only has 3 of them. If he somehow powers up to an omnipotent god while fighting against a weaker god, he'll only waste that precious chance of his.

"Ahem...Can we keep everything that happened here a secret?" Shiro asked.

"Alright, you can count on me~!"

"Sure."

Hearing their responses, Shiro became rest assured and integrated with the rest of URs before he slept through the whole night.

*****

"Mn..."

The moment his consciousness woke up, a clear view of what's happening in more than ten kilometers popped up in his mind. Even with his eyes closed, he couldn't prevent it.

"I thought my control stat is enough..."

With his max-level control stat, he thought that he can control this [Six Eyes] perfectly, but he only managed to weaken its effects utmost. In its uncontrolled state, it allowed Shiro to 'see' the 360-degree view of more than 400 kilometers away. It came with the cost of exhausting his mind.

Shiro's organs are strong enough as a peak Aura Knight, but the mental exhaustion can catch up to him, something that can prove disadvantageous in a sudden battle.

Thankfully, he got a [Special Sunglasses (SR)] and [Blindfold (SSR)] to deal with it. Simply put, it restricted his [Six Eyes] further and made it so that he can have a normal vision, saving him from mental exhaustion.

As for his perception that got messed up after he integrated with it, he managed to control it using his max-level control stat.

If he wasn't able to do that, he'll only think that his control stat is just for a show. Maybe, he'll see each person as a bunch of cells combined if he didn't do so...

When he opened his eyes, it revealed the boundless stars within it; somehow, it's the same with his Fenrir form, yet different.

If that showed the vastness of the celestial bodies, this showed the 'all-seeing' eyes that can see through the essence of everything.

"Yawn... There's an intruder, alright."

With his vision, he immediately saw a businesswoman lock-picking his way through this room. Clearly, he came for the safe that Shiro saw yesterday.

"Well, I'll just kill her once she enters."

Unsurprisingly, she managed to open the high-tech door by attaching a device on the lockpad. It guessed the passcode in a very fast way, thus it didn't take her 3 minutes to open it.

The intruder silently entered the room before she closed the door. She carried a gun hidden on her waist, and only now did she use it.

She then looked at the man lying in the bed, staring straight at her.

"Bye."

With his Originum Arts, it only took a moment before she turned into ashes. She didn't even have any time to react before she died.

"Studying science paid off..."

Since his Arts Affinity consisted of Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon, he read some technical books containing knowledge in advanced biology. With it, he managed to create an Art called "Disintegration".

Shiro first manipulated the hydrogen bonds present in her body, stopping her cells from renewing. Then, he made the hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon atoms in her DNA strands disappear. This has the similar effect to 'molecular disintegration', but done easier.

It all happened suddenly, thus her body couldn't 'adapt' to the change and simply died. Though, she'll have a mutation even if she managed to live...

...something that she definitely wouldn't want to have.

Of course, this can be countered by other people with stronger body than him, such as the Demigods who integrated concepts within their body.

In the end, it's something that can only be used on those weaker than him.

"It's definitely convenient. I don't even have to clean it."

Opening the smartphone besides his pillow, he saw Strea 'sleeping' on the screen. She wore a set of pyjama with a cartoon-ish rabbit pattern all over it.

Thankfully, he predicted everything happening just before he slept. That's why he asked Cardinal to overlay the surveillance cameras in this hotel with the one from a few minutes ago. This made it so that the feed was delayed, allowing her to delete some part of it if the need arises.

"Thanks, Cardinal."

[No problem.] She used the messaging app to reply, which then showed up in the notifications.

This didn't disturb Strea's sleep as a result.

Seeing her being considerate, Shiro could only smile. She's a far cry from what she's like a year ago. It might be due to her gaining society's common sense and their knowledge - something that she couldn't do before as SAO's operating system.

*****

Omake: Destroyer of Worlds, Decade

(A/N: This is non-canon; a 'what if' of Shiro acquiring Decadriver in this draw.)

"That which heals all wounds and grudges... Our glorious homeland, manifest yourself..!"

In contrast to the lights produced by the Deployment of Third Noble Phantasm, Ars Almadel Salomonis, a bright white light flashed from the ground.

"LORD CAMELOT!"

A massive blue shield manifested from the pseudo-servant's Noble Phantasm. White castle walls emerged from the ground, giving a sense of protection and security.

Bzzzt-!

It didn't take long before millions of A-Rank lasers came in contact with it. The castle walls disintegrated upon contact, but the blue shield remained in its place, as if it wanted to protect something; nay, someone.

The entire space shook along with the light that would incinerate humanity. The shaking even reached Chaldea, their headquarters that isn't in the same dimension as Ars Paulina.

Hopelessness struck Ritsuka at the sight of his kouhai protecting himself. He hated himself for not being able to do anything - for not being able to fight at her side at this moment.

"Mash!"

"I'm glad. This should open up an opportunity for you, Master... Thank you for everything... I wanted to pay you back for everything you gave me."

Memories of them clearing up one singularities after another flashed in Mash's mind.

"That's why I was able to put my own weakness aside and push ahead, Senpai."

During the beginning of their journey, she is someone with no purposes, a doll.

"And now, finally, I really feel like my life has value!"

Against the attack gathered from Humanity's remains, for 3000 years no less, she stood firmly even if it pushed her back, bit by bit.

"But I do regret one thing... I was always the one who was protected." She said.

"Mash..."

Tears began welling up in Ritsuka's eyes. In this final singularity, he felt powerless. Even when he faced against Altera in Septem and other god-like entities, he didn't feel as pathetic as this!

"So at least once... I wanted to be useful to you, senpai."

"Mash..!"

Just as everything is heading to its pre-destined ending, a bright aurora wall appeared before sweeping them both. In that instant, they were yoinked back to Chaldea's headquarters.

The moment they opened their eyes, they were dumbfounded.

How?

What?

When?

Under Roman's watchful gaze on the screen, Ars Almadel Salomonis stopped. What remained is the scorched ground of the Temple, with flames crackling here and there.

"Strange..." Goetia murmured as it didn't see anything nor anyone present. His Clairvoyance EX informed him of the future already, yet what he saw is a different scene instead.

Snap-!

The sound of a camera taking pictures rang out in this place.

"Tsk tsk. How come this ability came with having blurry pictures..."

It glanced at what was supposed to be an empty space. There, the man who has a magenta camera sat on his [Machine Decader]. His appearance is eerily similar to those androgynous gods, except that he takes every single attention with his charm.

His eyes seem to have something special in it, as if he can see through everything.

The man's black overcoat fluttered before he got off his ride. With his red long-sleeves, it suited him well.

"Who... Who are you?"

The raspy voice rang out in all directions, yet the man, Shiro, is unfazed by it. He took out a Rider Card from the Ride Booker while he pulled a side of his Neo Decadriver.

[KAMEN RIDE...]

"Just a Kamen Rider passing by..."

Inserting the card on it and pushing a side of his driver, his transformation sequence began. An armor without any colors manifested in his before seven cards attached on his face. Colors soon engulfed his whole being, revealing the pin- no, magenta colors.

[DECADE!]

"But you don't have to remember that." Shiro added.

The Destroyer of Worlds, Decade, enters the stage.

*****

A/N: Ritsuka's future self enters the stage, albeit on an omake! Jokes aside, here's the fact of the day, and its something about Decade this time! It's not like I can't think of any Arknights fun fact today, really!

Fact #47: While Decade lost against Ohma Zi-Oh (The last boss of Kamen Riders, basically) even when the former used his lame-ass Complete 21 Form (Y'know, the one with cards on the cape that gave him every powers of existing Heisei Riders), Decade is just as strong as him. The only reason why Decade got rekted so bad that he couldn't scratch Ohma Zi-Oh with his final attack is because of three reasons:

1. He lost more than 50% of his power at that time.

2. He got severely injured in his last fight prior to the movie where they fought.

3. The said injury worsened when he fought Ohma Zi-Oh, to the point that he's about to die by himself when they fought.