"Just put this on..."

"Become a monster with powers beyond those of a human."

"I don't like rainy days, do you?"

"A person stripped of everything, with only their bones left..."

"Of course I want to live!"

"Please..."

"Look at me."

"Pity me."

"...kill me."

"Just let me die."

It was a rainy day five years ago, in the darkness, pouring rain falling on muddy ground.

It is the story of a monster with a skeletal body wrapped in machinery, suppressing its female form.

The empty eye sockets of the skeleton glow with a reddish light; it is a person who died in an accident, with everything taken away from them--name, address, organs, muscles, skin--leaving only the brain and bones.

Becoming a monster with a power core, but lacking the characteristics of a monster.

The woman who is pressed against the ground by the skeletal creature, hand around her neck, as raindrops create dirty water splashes all around her. She also has a power core in her chest, similar yet slightly different from the one in the skeleton. Her face, body, and limbs seem to be a swarm of bees constantly changing and struggling, trying to break free of her own body.

"Death is the greatest mercy to me," she said, and the mechanical skeleton opened its mouth, letting out a silent scream due to the lack of vocal cords.

Like cutting off all memories, it swung its iron fist, causing blood to splatter.

"...huh?"

The young man sat up in bed, his bleary eyes scanning his room, with its antique design, wooden floors, and old-fashioned windows. The sound of the sea tide and the sunlight coming through the window reminded him that it was morning.

When was the last time he dreamed about that rainy night?

He scratched his head, trying to recall the starting point of how he became the person he is now.

He looked at his right fist, as if it was coated in red blood and light blue mechanical oil.

Do you regret it now? No way.

The young man got up from his bed and slowly changed into the clothes he needed for the store. He always wore black and white, a white shirt with a black vest, and if he were in the store, he would tie a bow tie. He always wore straight, ironed suit pants and leather shoes, and he would put on an apron if he was working in the cafe.

He moved to his current house three years ago, but the past five years of his life were too complicated, and he could only use a small portion of this mansion's rooms. He never hired anyone to clean, and only used a small portion of the room himself. Even his bedroom, which he lived in, would feel unsettling if the room was relatively big.

Finally changed, he left the room in the corner of the second floor, going past the stairs and out of the main entrance of the mansion. The young man yawned and looked at the sun slowly rising from the horizon far away.

So, let's go to the store.

He thought so lazily, stretched and walked towards the seafront commercial street.

"Oh, you're opening the store this morning?"

The auntie who was buying groceries saw the young man who had just bought clams and greeted him warmly.

"Yes, I don't have classes today."

The young man smiled and nodded.

"Then come by when there are fewer people, and try our seafood pasta."

"Okay."

With a slight nod, the young man turned and continued on his way to his shop.

He had been running the shop on the old commercial street in the seaside city for three years. Although it was just reopening his adoptive father's shop, he had been able to continue because of the warmth of the neighbors.

Without realizing it, he arrived at the shop's door on the road facing the sea, and just like the old mansion where he lived, the shop had similar antique design of European style.

Walking to the shuttered door of the shop, the young man put the food and coffee beans he was holding on the two tables under the umbrella beside the door. After unlocking the floor lock, he lifted the entire shutter with his hands, making a creaking sound.

The storefront appeared as the shutter slowly rose, revealing a wooden door with windows and a transparent storefront made of lattice windows.Through the transparent barred window, you can see neatly arranged tables and chairs, and a long bar inside. Next to the bar is an unused display board.

"That guy still hasn't woken up." The young man thought to himself as he opened the door and picked up the ingredients placed on the table outside before heading inside.

"Mew~" A black and white striped ball of fur, Lisa, came over and rubbed against the young man's leg as soon as he stepped inside.

"Good morning, Lisa." The young man placed the ingredients on the bar and crouched down to pet the noticeably overweight mother cat.

"Mew~" The cat perked up and enjoyed the young man's touch, ears folded back and eyes closed.

But it quickly became distracted by the plastic bags on the bar that contained a variety of food items, including its favorite seafood. The cat jumped up on the bar and began sniffing the bags.

"No, you have to wait to eat." The young man picked up the cat by the nape of its neck and put it back down on the ground before picking up the ingredients and walking towards the kitchen.

Generally, a coffee shop that serves food should not have a cat, but Lisa was unexpectedly clean and did not shed. Customers also did not seem to mind the ball of fur that often walked around on the bar and brushed up against them.

However, the persistent furball followed the young man's footsteps, hoping to get a bite of today's ingredients.

At that moment, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs that led to the roof warehouse next to the kitchen. It was a person walking barefoot on the wooden ladder, and then their bare feet stepped on the icy ground.

"Ah, Manager, you're up early today." A red-haired girl with messy hair greeted the young man energetically.

She slept in just a tank top and camouflage shorts – it had been three years since they first met, and the once thin delinquent girl had put on a bit of weight on her chest and hips.

"You... " The young man approached her with the ingredients, teasingly scratching her strikingly bright red hair. "Didn't sleep well again last night?"

"I couldn't help it, the new version of the online game is super interesting."

"I told you to open shop early on weekends."

The young man looked back at the display board next to the bar. "Have you not written the menu yet?"

"Um... what are we serving today?"

"Pasta with seafood and Kilimanjaro."

"I know." The girl drawled, deliberately prolonging her tone, before walking over to the display board to grab chalk and an eraser from the bar.

This girl has a good attitude in the morning. Compared to how she normally is with me, it's like night and day. Wait a minute, we've run this shop together for three years and we're still not clicking, what's wrong?

The young man shook his head and carried the food and coffee beans into the kitchen. After putting the fresh clams and scallops in fresh water to spit out sand, he wiped his hands and poured out the fresh coffee beans.

The man grabbed a handful of beans that had been roasted late last night and took a deep breath of the fresh, aromatic scent. He couldn't seem to break the habit of warming up the taste first before actually drinking it.

He picked up the prawns next and planned to remove the sand line and head shells before preparing them according to the customers' preferences. In this coastal city, prawns were considered a delicacy.

As he was cutting open a big prawn, the red-haired girl walked into the kitchen with a mug and toothbrush in hand.

"If you're going to brush your teeth, go do it in the bathroom."

"But there's hot water here too..."

"Even if that's the case, the kitchen is too small."

Ignoring the young man's words completely, she came to his side and started brushing her teeth. Even though she was pressed up against him, she acted as if it was no big deal.

Oh well... he thought to himself as he continued to prepare the food. Soon, many customers came into the shop, including middle-aged men and women who frequented the commercial street. Even the red-haired girl who was usually cold towards the manager changed into a neat blouse and a narrow skirt and warmly entertained the supportive customers that had been coming to their coffee shop for so long.This coffee shop was originally frequented primarily by elderly residents from the neighborhood. However, gradually, many young customers have also become regulars here. For example, there is a woman with mysterious aristocratic charm who always sits at the bar and orders a black mixed coffee with long black hair. There is also a playwright who constantly orders coffee refills while burying himself in writing scripts, always sitting in the corner table.

With such a variety of customers, it always feels like being busy is valuable. Unconsciously, it is already deep into the night and many regular customers have come to take care of business. However, at this point, customers gradually leave the coffee shop, and even the playwright who always stays until the latest has already put away his manuscripts and ink and gone back to his nearby apartment. Unconsciously, only one customer is left in the shop.

The young man leans on the bar, starting to think about tomorrow's menu and recommended coffee. "Manager?" "Hmm?" A red-haired girl comes over holding a tray, with an unusual worried expression. "That customer over there…" she points to a customer near the door who has been sitting with his back to the bar for a long time. "I have already refilled his coffee three times...his complexion is not very good, most importantly..." She points to the location on his arm. "There is a strange emblem on his arm." "Emblem?" "Yes, it's an eagle spreading its wings...underneath the eagle is the emblem of a 'school alumni association'." "..."

The young man hears the name of the organization that he is against, he walks out of the bar and takes off his apron, handing it to the red-haired girl. "I'll go over there and take a look." "Hmm." The red-haired girl nods and takes the apron. The young man walks slowly towards the customer and the closer he gets, the more he realizes that something is not right. This back is very familiar...

He thinks so, putting his hand on his belt. This is a belt with a strange switch. "Senior, it's been a long time." Hearing the customer suddenly greet him, the young man couldn't help but grit his teeth. "I thought...they would spare you..." "Haha, have you been to my grave, senior? Have you met with Ruri and the others?" "...I did meet them." "Kiritake didn't recognize you, right?" "She probably didn't." "I don't think so." Saying that, the customer stands up and turns around, looking at the young man with a familiar look full of fighting spirit.

So it's really you... The young man clenches his teeth harder, as if he is going to break them. "The other guys have already come to bother you before, right?" The customer puts his hand on his belt, just like the position where the young man is holding his. "Yes, they're all dead on the top of Ankon-uma Mountain." "Then, it's my turn to learn from you." Saying that, the customer twists the switch on his belt, and at the same time, the young man does the same thing.

"Evolution and --"

【【Ethics!】】

The two belts answered in unison with mechanical voices, and then the appearance of the two people exploded like a puzzle, splashing red and blue hexagonal transparent machines in the air. The machines of different colors collided fiercely with each other, sparking fierce sparks between the broken pieces of machines of different colors. Then the machine fragments flew towards the respective owners and relied on their bodies to construct different but similar structures, armor that began to cover their bodies, covering their skin.

Finally, the intense spark that erupted in the coffee shop disappeared. The coffee shop owner and the young man in casual clothes disappeared, and two monsters covered in armor of different colors stood in their place.

【Red·Raven】

【Red·Reaper】

This is neither day nor night, neither human nor demon. It is the battle between the former senior and his junior.