Moonlight filtered through ragged clouds, casting the Star Dou Forest clearing in silvery half-light. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and broken leaves, and a hush settled over the four spirit masters as they faced their quarry. Before them crouched the Man-Face Demon Spider—its bulbous, chitinous body mottled with sickly green veins, eight jointed legs tipped in venom-dripping barbs, and an unsettling human visage twisted in a bestial snarl. Even in this paused moment, its grotesque mask seemed to leer, as though daring them to strike.
Li Wei's heart thudded in his chest—a steady beat beneath the swell of spirit power humming at his core. This is it, he thought, his breath slow and measured. The moment whether he able to take this Man Face Demon spider spirit ring or it will escape and then become the spirit ring of Tang San.
If you think about it, it really stupid that a mere 2000+ Man Face Demon spider able to escape from Soul Saint and Soul Douluo but died to Soul Grandmaster. This is the moment of truth. Whether he can influence the outcome. He take a breath and readying himself.
He stood at the edge of the circle, Diendriver in hand, ready to support. He do not transform right now as to not draw the agro toward himself. He is merely Soul Ancestor even if he is stronger than other Soul Ancestor, his defend still weaker than higher rank one. Beside him, Meng Shu's Dragon-Headed Staff shimmered with latent power. Across the clearing, Chao Tianxiang's Serpent Cane coiled around her arm like a living thing, scales gleaming faintly. At the center, Meng Yiran knelt, spear planted, eyes wide with resolve.
The spider's rasping breath echoed through the still night. Then, in a swift, almost simultaneous movement, Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang sprang forward.
"Now!" Meng Shu's deep voice boomed, staff carving a scorching arc of dragon-force through the air.
A torrent of blistering energy erupted, splintering the spider's forelegs with thunderous cracks. Black ichor sprayed like a macabre fountain, but the beast roared on.
Chao Tianxiang's cane whipped upward, releasing a coiling serpent of emerald spirit. It wrapped around two more legs, hissing, squeezing with constricting power. The spider thrashed, its spider mouth gaping in a silent howl.
They continue this dance a few more round with the spider escape barely and trying to counterattack while Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang hit and run tactic trying to make it's weaker.
Even though the Man Face Demon Spider can be said to be not strong enough for them, the poison of the spider can be deadly. They do not want anything to happen toward their only granddaughter.
Li Wei surged ahead, Diendriver looping at his side. He didn't transform yet—instead, he called out to them.
"Senior Meng, Senior Chao, I will hold it off—prepare for the fusion strike."
His voice was calm, but inside, he felt an electric surge of excitement. This is their moment—let me give them the opening. The DienDriver is in fact in the shape of the gun form, so even though it shoot weaker than when he transform it still able to function as a deterrent.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Meng Shu nodded, amber eyes gleaming. He planted his staff firmly, knuckles whitening around its shaft. "Tianxiang—on three. Channel the Fusion Strike."
Chao Tianxiang's eyes met his, calm as still water. She drew in breath, spirit power pooling like quicksilver at her fingertips. "One… two…"
The spider reared, pre-empting their move with a snapping lunge—its serrated legs brandishing venomous stingers, while it's falter every time it want to move. The gun is not the strongest weapon but it is the one that people will know it's existence when shoot. Meng Yiran tensed, ready to intervene, but her grandparents held fast.
He shoot at the place where the spider might move, even it's two to three second he can delay it's enough.
"Three!" they called in unison.
A roar of combined spirit surged from staff and cane. Dragon and serpent forces intertwined in a cyclone of azure flame and jade mist, crashing down upon the spider's abdomen. The ground quaked; the clearing shuddered.
Black bile hissed as the fusion blast cleaved through armored segments. The spider's body convulsed, limbs collapsing inward—but still it writhed, its hunger forcing one last struggle.
Li Wei recognized the danger. Even struck so fiercely, the spider's core still pulsed with spiteful life. It would surely tried to attempt a final, lethal counterattack—spreading every drop of venom in a death-throes explosion.
He stepped out and take out the card. The Diendriver slid into his palm with a soft snap as he load the card.
"Henshin"
Driver Voice (mechanical): [Kamen Ride]
[DIEND!]
With a single, fluid motion, he racked the foregrip and fired upward. A cluster of translucent blue panels descended, snapping around him like falling shards of glass. Armor plates materialized in a blaze of cyan light: sleek greaves, gauntlets, chest plating etched with barcodes, and the iconic visor-helmet.
He flexed his free hand, feeling the power hum through every fiber. All right. Let's keep the pressure on.
Using the time that he got, he inserts one card at a time, loads the barrel out to read it, pulls the barrel back in, inserts another card, and repeats the process before pulling the trigger to summon the Rider. At his command, six summoned Riders burst into existence around him:
Faiz, photon rifle at the ready, eyes glowing scarlet.
The Bee, enveloped in yellow speed-aura, Clock Up thrumming at his wrists.
Sasword, purple handle and it's silver blades glinting.
Zero-One, green and black with gray-lined, circuits flickering across his suit.
ZX, red-white armor poised with Electro Magnet Knife.
PunchHopper, gray fists bristling with charged knuckles.
They fanned out, cutting off the spider's flailing limbs, ensuring that Meng Yiran grandparents' strike would land unhindered.
Li Wei's voice was crisp as he ask them:
"Riders, restrain its legs. No mercy."
One by one, the summoned Riders delivered rapid assaults: Photon Streams, Clock Up punch stinger and blade strike around the spider, Kaban Strash, blade lacerations, and Clock up pounding gauntlet barrages.
Even though the attack effect will be minimal it's enough to restraint it for the true strike from both Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang to land.
The spider's strength ebbed under the unrelenting volley.
But just as the melee reached its crescendo, the forest trembled once more. In the dim ring of torchlight, roots buckled and branches cracked—an ominous prelude to the spider's last gambit.
Meng Yiran braced herself, spirit energy crackling along her spear. 'This is my chance,' she thought, chest hammering. 'Grandfather and grandmother have weakened it, with Li Wei help—now I can finish this.'
She glanced at Li Wei. His Diend armor stood firm beneath the moon, a silent sentinel as he add few shoot in between when he spot a gap. Their eyes met. He offered a brief nod: Trust yourself.
A soft chime echoed from Li Wei's belt. The sigil of the fourth Soul Ring illuminated at his Diendriver's card slot hovering it to gain his attention.
A single card, etched in swirling gold and jade showing the product of this world unlike the usual red bar code.
On it the picture of Meng Yiran in the front and both of her grandparents at the back in the position that scream they will protect their granddaughter to death with carving depicted a coiled dragon and serpent intertwined in harmonious strength.
From this he know. Her trust in him has reach that level… it's time.
Driver Voice (mechanical):
[FinalFormRide: Meng Yiran]
[Unrivaled Dragon Serpent Armor!]
"Meng Yiran will you trust me." He ask seeking confirmation.
"If I cannot trust you with everything you do for me then who should I trust."
Hearing that he felt a smirk form at the corner of his mouth. "All right, this will tickle a bit." He then shoot toward Meng Yiran.
As the words rang out, a wave of golden-jade light swept toward her. Meng Yiran gasped as her attire dissolved into scintillant particles, reforming into resplendent armor. Scale-patterned chestplate, dragon-horned helm, serpentine pauldrons, and a flowing sash of spirit energy that coiled like a living tail. Her halberd flared into an ornate double-blade, each edge rippling with ancestral power.
Meng Yiran staggered, mouth agape. "This... this is almost the same as my granpa and grandma Unrivaled martial fusion appearance!"
As the light from transformation of Meng Yiran shimmer, both Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang took notice toward Meng Yiran and Li Wei.
"What! What is this?" Seeing the familiar appearances on her granddaughter right now shock him.
Chao Tianxiang's eyes widened, tears glimmering in the torch glow. "I do not know what happen but this she has become the embodiment of our legacy."
Meng Yiran felt her heart surge. This is my heritage—our bloodline's strength. She lifted her halberd in both hands, the weapon humming with potential.
The spider, sensing its doom, reared one final time, mandibles quivering in a ravenous snap seemingly tried to intimidated it's predator.
This power elevate her strength to that of her grandparents strength, able to rival a Title Douluo. She felt the power wash inside her body.
She then push toward the Man Face Demon spider and Meng Yiran's voice rang out, clear and unwavering:
"Dragon Serpent's Roar!"
Her halberd swept in a wide arc. Twin roars—one draconic flame, one venomous mist—swept the clearing, scorching foliage and searing venom sacs until only brittle husks remained. The spider tumbled backward, abdomen cracked and leaking dark ichor.
But still it's clung to life. Meng Yiran gritted her teeth. No hesitation to unleash another strike.
"Heavenly Coil Strike!"
The halberd's twin blades spun in a blur, winding around the spider's core in a spiraling bolt of golden-jade energy. A sigil blossomed beneath the creature, then detonated in a radiant blossom that bathed the clearing in blinding light.
When the illumination faded, the spider lay still—its monstrous hunger stilled forever.
A soft click echoed through the clearing as Li Wei let his Diend armor dissolve in rippling panels. The gun gleamed under the moon, its cyan highlights dimming. He held it aloft for a heartbeat, then racked the foregrip with a decisive SNAP.
Blue panels of digital light folded inward, cascading from boot to helmet. The barcode visor dissolved into pixels, and the sleek armour melted away until Li Wei stood once more in his dark robe of Caelus-- he still wondering why people said he had low sense of fashion— the Diendriver folded neatly at his side.
At the same moment, golden-jade light spiraled around Meng Yiran's Unrivaled Dragon Serpent armor. The samurai-inspired pauldrons, the dragon-horned helm, and the serpentine sash shimmered and then faded like mist. Each plate dissolved, drifting skyward until she, too, returned to her clothes.
For a moment the forest held its breath. Only the rustle of leaves resumed as the four spirit masters shared a quiet glance.
Meng Yiran staggered, halberd lowered, tears of triumph and relief glinting on her cheeks as she fall to her back. She had done it.
He crossed to her side, offering his hand. "You were magnificent."
She took it, spirit coursing through her veins. "I… I couldn't have done it without you." Her voice trembled with emotion.