Tsumuri handed the Beat Buckle, a Driver, and a Rider Core ID to Neon.
She had long known that Neon's father was their sponsor in this timeline. Tsumuri had assumed he was only arranging for his daughter to participate for a brief experience, but she never expected him to want her to join the new season as well.
Upon touching the Rider Core ID, Neon instantly recovered her memories. She froze for a moment, thinking about everything that had happened to her recently. She had almost... almost been married off to an old man! She shot her mother a furious look, tears of frustration welling up.
She snatched the Driver and Buckle from Tsumuri's hands and stormed out.
"Neon! Where are you going?" Irumi was startled by her daughter's sudden and drastic change in demeanor.
Only Kousei looked satisfied. This was the daughter he desired, not the doll she had been lately.
Tsumuri, seeing the situation, excused herself from Kousei. "I'll be going now." She still had something she needed to tell Neon and had to catch up.
....
Out on the street, Neon was running fiercely in her high heels and beautiful clothes.
"Raven-san... wait for me!"
"I finally remember everything!"
Her first destination was naturally Raven's café.
"She came here, just as I expected." Tsumuri was not surprised to find that Raven's home was Neon's primary destination after recovering her memories.
"Neon-chan!" It was evening, the time for Sara Sakurai's part-time shift. She was instantly overjoyed to see the familiar figure standing at the doorway.
"Sara-nee," Neon greeted her happily. She knew Sara had started working at Raven's shop. The two sat down to chat for a while.
"Are you here for Raven-san, Neon-chan? He's not at the shop right now," Sara replied.
"Oh, really?" Neon nodded, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
Just then, Tsumuri appeared next to her.
"Plater Neon, there's something I didn't get to tell you earlier."
....
Inside the Desire Grand Prix's lounge, the remaining contestants began the second wave of the Flag Protection Game after a night of rest.
The operational staff was still clueless about the mysterious monsters. They had no records of them in any of their databases. Without Niramu's explicit permission, they could only watch helplessly as the Inves interfered with the competition.
In Niramu's view, the appearance of unknown factors in the game actually added an element of authenticity. Wasn't that what made the Desire Grand Prix more interesting? If they intervened over something so minor, the show would lose its sense of realism, which was contrary to Niramu's concept of genuine entertainment.
Meanwhile, the second round of the game began. The Jyamato, having seized eight flags in the previous round, were reinforced and even more ferocious.
Half of the remaining contestants were quickly eliminated, many having their Rider Core IDs destroyed outright. It wasn't until the game entered its second half that the Inves reappeared. Only then was the brutal assault of the reinforced Jyamato somewhat contained.
However, because the Jyamato were reinforced, some of the low-level Inves were no longer a match for them. But Raven, who was secretly controlling everything, wasn't worried. The Jyamato could be reinforced, and so could his Inves.
The low-level Inves began searching for the growing Helheim Forest fruits. After swallowing a fruit whole, they instantly evolved a rank, reaching A-rank!
In an instant, over a dozen A-rank Inves appeared across the field, launching a relentless slaughter against the Jyamato.
"Damn it... why is this happening! Don't hurt my children!" In the Jyamato Garden, a man in a straw hat watched the scene unfold on a virtual screen. Seeing his hard-cultivated Jyamato being killed by the Inves made the old man's heart bleed.
"These new Jyamato of yours are too useless, Archimedel." The black-stockinged beauty Beroba complained, holding him accountable. She had hoped that with the significant power upgrade of the Jyamato this time, they would be able to wipe out the Kamen Riders early in the game, allowing her to revel in their misfortune. But things hadn't gone as planned. Instead, the Jyamato were the ones being annihilated.
"Beroba-sama, you can't blame my children. This is the work of those unidentified monsters," Archimedel complained.
"Hmm, but I suddenly find these monsters more interesting than the Jyamato." Observing the Inves on the screen, who could instantly evolve into more powerful entities by eating the fruit, Beroba's beautiful eyes sparkled with extreme interest. She had a natural curiosity for strange and unusual things.
"That fruit looks quite delicious, too."
....
Back on the battlefield, Raven continued to guard his flag. Just then, a figure flew in from a distance, taking out a few Jyamato.
"Meow~"
The person was Kamen Rider Na-Go, Neon Kurama.
"Raven-san, did you miss me?" Neon, transforming into a sexy cat girl, struck a cute pose in front of Raven.
"Now isn't really the time for that," Raven said. The number of Jyamato around him was unusually high. The reason for this was, of course, the operational staff's intentional small tricks, along with Win Hareruya's attempt to hinder him.
"But I missed you so much," the memory-restored Neon said, becoming even more passionate. After dealing with a few Jyamato, she tried to give Raven a hug. She had experienced the fear of losing her memories and now cherished him even more. After all, she had almost followed her mother's words and married an old man.
Raven didn't refuse and smoothly embraced Na-Go, performing a dance-like battle sequence.
"Hey, hey, hey, this isn't the place for you two to be all lovey-dovey! Also, aren't you too much of a playboy? Isn't Tsumuri enough for you?"
Win Hareruya, watching Neon and Raven fight while locked in an embrace, was intensely jealous.
"Shut up!" Neon yelled back, a rare outburst. That guy had ruined the atmosphere of her reunion with Raven and was speaking ill of the person she loved. So what if Raven-san is a playboy? It won't affect my love for him.
"No way, heavens, this is too unfair!" Win Hareruya exclaimed, then promptly fainted.
Just then, the game ended as all the Jyamato were annihilated. Only seven contestants remained, one of whom was the elderly man.
"I can't believe the game ended so easily." Neon was still unaware of what had happened, thinking the game was simple this time.
The survivors all let out a sigh of relief. Even so, the majority of the participants had been eliminated. The Inves hadn't just attacked the Jyamato; they also participated in the game. In addition to attacking the Jyamato, they also fought for the flags. Although they didn't actively attack the contestants, they would retaliate if attacked. And if they snatched a flag, the operational staff would still count the contestant as eliminated. So, it felt like they were there simply to raise the game's difficulty. To keep up the illusion, Inves continued to harass Raven as well.
"What exactly are these monsters?" After the game, Girori clenched his fists in frustration as the monsters and strange plants vanished. He was the Game Master, but he was deeply invested in the program. He truly believed the Kamen Riders were saving the world by defeating the Jyamato. Now, the monster side was already stronger than expected, and a new enemy had appeared. If the Kamen Riders were all defeated, it would mean the sacrifice of many more people.
He shared his concerns with his superior, Niramu, only to find that Niramu was indifferent. He even thought it was a new selling point for the program. The show needed to be more realistic, forcing the contestants to solve the problem themselves.
Girori lost all hope in Niramu and decided to handle the situation in his own way. If the situation continued to escalate, he planned to personally enter the field to confront these unknown monsters and capture one for research.
Outside, Neon immediately packed her suitcase and left home. She was running away again. After learning that Tsumuri was now living with Raven, she was determined to live at Raven's house no matter what. She needed to start her own offensive and couldn't let Tsumuri monopolize him.
However, when she saw Tsumuri following Raven into his room that night, she couldn't sit still any longer. I wasn't here, but has their relationship already progressed this far?