"Greetings, everyone!"
"I am the Game Navigator, Tsumuri."
"Welcome to the Desire Grand Prix!"
"Our world is currently exposed to the threat of the Jyamato..."
In the Game Lobby, Tsumuri delivered the opening speech that had been repeated countless times to the new contestants. Raven briefly glanced around at the people present. The only familiar faces were Michinaga and Ace; the rest were mostly cannon fodder.
"Woah-oh!"
"Desire!"
A piercing sound suddenly erupted. It was from a man holding an electric guitar in the crowd—Win Hareruya. He was the previous Kamen Rider PunkJack.
"Tsumuri, I've fallen in love with you at first sight, babe!" Win Hareruya walked up to Tsumuri, playing his guitar as he went.
Raven, seeing his sudden outburst, stepped in front of him. "Where did this idiot come from?"
"What are you doing, stopping me from confessing to Tsumuri!" Win Hareruya said irritably to Raven. As someone from the game operations side, he naturally knew what wish Raven had made. This gave him, who had a long-standing crush on Tsumuri, plenty of resentment.
"She's my woman now. What do you think I'm doing? Take one more step closer, and you'll face the consequences," Raven said with a smile.
"Tch."
Win Hareruya saw that Raven's attitude was firm and knew he was not someone to provoke. He gave Raven a deep look, then turned and walked away. After all, he was here on a mission: to eliminate both Raven and Ace Ukiyo.
I'll let you run around for a little while longer.
Meanwhile, the Game Master in the shadows had his eyes fixed on both Raven and Ace Ukiyo. Ace Ukiyo was always a thorn in their side. The reason for wanting to eliminate Raven was primarily his wish.
Tsumuri was the Game Navigator for the DGP, and her identity was somewhat special. She was vital to the Desire Grand Prix.
Now that Raven was participating in the new season, if they could eliminate him, he would lose his memories, which meant his previous wish would be erased. Tsumuri would then be free. This was a "small maneuver" they, the operational staff, had discussed in a meeting and deemed a perfectly reasonable approach.
Raven read the subtle hostility in Win Hareruya's expression and sensed a different meaning. It seems the staff wants to eliminate me this time, too. They're already planning to discard me so soon after I served my purpose?
Raven smiled calmly.
Soon, the game officially began. Everyone was transported to the target location.
"The round that decides your fate!"
"The Pirate Game has begun!"
"You must work in teams to protect the flags scattered throughout the city!"
"Those flags are lost Jyamato items. If they recover the flags, the Jyamato will become much more ferocious!"
"You absolutely must not let them succeed!"
This was a flag protection game, and all players were randomly grouped. Some were in teams of two, others in teams of three. Raven was paired with PunkJack.
PunkJack's purpose was self-evident: to cause trouble.
"Yo, I never expected us to be on the same team," Win Hareruya said mockingly to Raven. He had already formed his plan of action.
"Since we're teamed up, I hope you manage to stay alive." Raven's words held a hidden meaning, delivered with gravity. He patted PunkJack's shoulder and walked away with a smile.
"What's with that guy?" Win Hareruya said, extremely annoyed.
On the other side, Ace Ukiyo was also a prime target for the operational staff. He was paired with an elderly gentleman in his seventies and a woman who looked pitifully weak. This was clearly intended to increase the difficulty of his game.
As the starting treasure chests were distributed, each contestant received a Rider Buckle. What they received was a matter of luck. Raven's luck was decent this time; he received the Magnum Buckle. Ace Ukiyo started with the Boost Buckle. Even Michinaga got the Zombie Buckle he wanted. It was clear the operational staff took this game seriously and expected a high level of difficulty.
Just then, Jyamato began to emerge from all directions.
Not long after the game started, a large number of contestants fell. Many of them didn't even have time to Henshin before they were taken out. Furthermore, the strength of the Jyamato was far beyond expectation. Even Buffa, a veteran of several rounds, struggled. Newcomers were, needless to say, dropping in rapid succession.
Girori looked solemn in the hidden room, watching the names of the contestants rapidly disappearing from the screen.
"This batch of Jyamato seems different." As a Game Master, he was surprised.
"Ooh! Jyamato, now feel my love!"
Win Hareruya, or PunkJack, who was teamed with Raven, transformed and started running around like a wild horse, constantly shouting and making noise. He was incredibly loud. Raven finally understood why the operational staff had banned him from talking during his last run.
However, although Win Hareruya appeared to be fighting the Jyamato fiercely, he wasn't really using lethal force. He intentionally attracted a significant number of Jyamato toward Raven, planning to divert their firepower.
As expected, at a critical moment, he feigned a stomachache and simply ran away, abandoning the flag he was supposed to protect.
Raven understood his intent and decided to spice up the game.
"The real game is about to begin."
Cracks to the Helheim Forest instantly appeared throughout the entire Jyamato Zone. Plants began to spread rapidly. A large number of Inves walked out of the cracks.
Right behind Win Hareruya, an A-rank Byakko Inves (White Tiger Inves) appeared. Under Raven's instruction, it immediately struck Win Hareruya with its sharp claws.
"Aargh!"
Win Hareruya was instantly sent flying by the claw strike, rolling away miserably. He landed right in front of Raven.
"What the heck is this Jyamato? It actually ambushed me!" Win Hareruya immediately got up and looked warily at the Byakko Inves. He clearly mistook it for a type of Jyamato.
At that moment, the Jyamato that Win Hareruya had attracted toward Raven also turned their attention to the Byakko Inves. They seemed to be discussing among themselves in their own language.
"How come we've never seen this guy?"
"Doesn't look like an ally."