Chapter 24: Rising Fame

Yes, when Kaito Haruno finally regained his senses thanks to Damian pulling him back, he felt terrible. His fists were covered in blood, and Obik lay sprawled out before him, blood pouring from his mouth like it was free. The area around his eyes was a gruesome mess, and he looked like he was barely managing to breathe. Kaito felt his legs give out, and if Damian hadn't reacted quickly to support him, he would have collapsed to the ground.

Suddenly, an uncomfortable feeling churned in Kaito's stomach. Ignoring the blood on his hands, he rushed to the nearby restroom and threw up. He had really gone too far this time. After all, he was still just an ordinary person and couldn't shake off that mentality. The sight of Obik's mangled form overwhelmed him, and he couldn't hold back.

"Do you have to look so pathetic?" Damian said, watching Kaito vomit in the restroom. It was Kaito who had gotten heated and dealt the most punishment, so why was he the one suffering now?

"Ugh~ I've never done that to someone before! Don't you have any sympathy? Ugh~~"

Kaito couldn't control the violent upheaval in his stomach and kept battling with the toilet. Damian shook his head, a bit speechless. "Don't worry, this guy is still alive. Thank goodness he's an enhanced individual; his strong physique means you won't have to bear the guilt of killing him. But it's hard to say what condition he'll be in now."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, let me check." Damian crouched in front of Obik, poking at his face with a stick. "Hmm, shattered jaw, left eyeball popped out, that's a lost cause; both arms are shattered, three ribs broken, and one even pierced a kidney. Looks like he'll need a kidney removal. The knee joint is shattered. Congratulations, you've turned this guy into a Grade Three cripple."

Hearing Damian's professional assessment, Kaito's mouth twitched. With those injuries, the guy was basically dead, yet Damian still claimed he was just a Grade Three cripple. Was he joking?

"Come on, your opponent is an enhanced individual, one with a mutated body type. The biggest characteristic of such enhanced humans is their incredible vitality. Wounds that would be fatal to a normal person would barely affect them. The worst injuries you inflicted are just to his eye and kidney. With current medical technology and his physique, a full recovery is still possible."

Damian shrugged, suggesting Kaito was overreacting. He had dealt with enough enhanced individuals in Gotham alongside his father, Batman, and he understood just how tough these guys were. Usually, they focused on incapacitating them rather than just pummeling them like punching bags. That required some equipment; you couldn't just charge in like Kaito did.

As Damian explained, the discomfort Kaito felt about taking a life began to fade. He splashed some water on his face and put his mask back on, walking over. He looked at Damian with mixed feelings; how could someone so young be so unaffected by such bloody scenes and even critique him? Kaito didn't know how to react, especially since he knew Damian still had feelings of violence simmering inside him.

"What's with that look?" Damian frowned, annoyed by Kaito's stare.

"Nothing, just wondering if we're just going to leave this guy here?" Kaito pointed at the barely-conscious Obik on the ground.

"Relax, he's still alive. But it wouldn't be right to leave him with just one blind eye. I think we should teach him a lesson." Damian rubbed his chin thoughtfully, picking up a long knife and aiming it at Obik's groin.

Kaito quickly stopped him. "I'll handle this. You're only 15; stop thinking about these dark things. Try to be a little more positive, okay?"

Sighing in resignation, Kaito took the knife from Damian and, despite his discomfort, stabbed it straight into Obik's groin. Even in his semi-conscious state, Obik let out a sound that wasn't quite human and fainted again. After doing this, Kaito instinctively ran to the side to throw up again. This time, Damian kindly walked over to pat his back.

"Just let it out. You'll get used to it."

Kaito: Ugh~

Soon after, Kaito and Damian cleaned up the scene. Aside from the women who had been summoned fleeing, all the members of Obik's gang remained. After deleting Obik's name from their phones, the two vanished into the night. Meanwhile, the police who arrived after Kaito and Damian found the damning evidence in Midel's office. Claire wisely made a backup of it before taking it out, only to hear gunshots coming from three blocks away.

When they arrived, they could only see Obik lying there, rendered helpless, with a knife still sticking out of his mangled groin. The others were also in bad shape. This time, Claire didn't show any disgust towards Kaito and Damian's actions; instead, she feigned indifference and kicked Obik's wound, saying with mild disdain, "Alright, guys, take these guys away. Bob, take two men to carry this guy down and call an ambulance. If he can be saved, do it; if not, give him a quick end so he doesn't gross us out any longer."

"Yes, Officer!" Officer Bob and another colleague treated the helpless Obik like a dead dog. They moved him without any hint of kindness. Everyone was well aware of Obik's crimes and knew he was part of that chain of evil.

They felt deep hatred for what Obik had done! Who doesn't have a child? The things he did ruined the hopes of families. At the scene, several colleagues were in tears, as Bob knew their children had been abducted years ago. Back then, Midland City wasn't as peaceful as it was now, and even police officers' children could go missing.

Bob himself had a daughter, so he could naturally understand that kind of pain. As for Obik, who was partly responsible for this entire tragedy, Bob showed no mercy. He grabbed Obik by the collar and pants, and with a grunt, he threw him against the nearby door before cuffing him.

"Enjoy the rest of your life, scum!" Bob spat at Obik before storming off in anger.

Meanwhile, Kaito Haruno and Damian quickly parted ways, heading home to their respective families. Kaito returned to his house while Damian went to Dick's place. After a few twists and turns, Kaito finally made it back home, collapsing onto his bed. The scene of his earlier rage against Obik replayed in his mind, leaving him feeling a bit dazed. When did he become this ruthless? He had literally turned Obik into a punching bag. While lying on his bed, Kaito suddenly remembered something and whispered urgently.

"System, what did you say when I was confronting that guy?"

"Host, your G3 armor has sustained 50% damage. Automatic recall initiated. 20,000 points will be deducted for repairs, which will take 24 hours."

Hearing the system's repeated prompt made Kaito's heart ache to the point of breathlessness. He had been saving up points to unlock the main rider and had finally accumulated 100,000 points after a month, only to spend 20,000 just like that. Indeed, once a person's emotions took over, their intelligence and rationality seemed to vanish.

"This G3 armor has the worst stats in the Heisei series, and you're charging me 20,000 points for it? Are you sure you're not scamming me, System?"

"Ha ha."

Once again defeated by the system's reply, Kaito decided not to engage further. Cursing under his breath, he went to wash up before collapsing back onto his bed, succumbing to the exhaustion of both body and mind. All he wanted was to sleep soundly.

As Kaito drifted off, Damian returned to Dick's place. Dick, who had been the overall commander and had taken a backseat during the chaos, came home late to find Damian asleep on the sofa. He couldn't help but smile wryly as he approached, gently pulling a blanket over him.

To the outside world, the events of the night were far from over. The police, having obtained the transaction records and list from Middle, were shocked to discover such a dark underbelly hidden within the city. As law enforcement, their sole duty now was to bring these criminals to justice. Despite the officers' fervor, the police chief understood the gravity of the situation; too many people were involved, and he needed to report to the mayor.

Meanwhile, citizens watching the live news coverage of Kaito and Damian teaming up to crush the thugs in the hospital knew only one thing: their city had its own superheroes. When Damian, in his role as Robin, shouted "Kamen Rider" into the air, they also learned the name of their city's superhero.

Kamen Rider? What about his motorcycle? Who cares? That name sounds cool, everyone thought.

(End of Chapter)