Another battlefield.
After completing the communication with Shura, the face of Yamato, the ZECT Combat Unit Captain (Ketaros user), became a few degrees more solemn.
"Captain Yamato?"
At this moment, Vice-Captain Yaguruma Sou (TheBee user), who was beside Yamato, immediately asked with great concern after seeing the expression on Yamato's face.
"Is there a situation on Shura's side?"
"Ah. Although that traitor Kazama Daisuke is dead, a new qualified user forcibly seized the Drake Zecter."
"And according to Shura's report, the opponent appeared on the battlefield suddenly. Their instruments didn't detect the opponent's existence in advance at all."
At this moment, when Yamato said this, he suddenly thought of a legendary Rider.
That Rider existed only in legends; coming and going without a trace, he had never revealed his true form in front of others.
"That guy... could it be the Golden Rider?"
When Yaguruma voiced the conjecture in his heart first, Yamato abandoned this idea instead.
"No, that's not right. If it were the Golden Rider, possessing the Caucasus Zecter, he would have no need to seize the Drake Zecter."
"Who that man is doesn't matter anymore. He seized a Zecter belonging to our ZECT, so he is our ZECT's enemy."
"And right now, ZECT is fighting hard for humanity. As long as he stands on the opposite side of ZECT, that guy is an enemy of all humanity. And enemies of all humanity must die!!"
"You are correct."
At this moment, the two on the battlefield moved their minds, each grasping the Zecters that suddenly jumped through space from the air.
How that man who seized the Drake Zecter would act was a matter for later.
Just now, the ZECT traitor Oda Hidenari, after letting that man named Tendou Souji leave, chose to face the two Riders alone.
Compared to targeting that man whose whereabouts were unknown, the two felt it was obviously more important to execute this traitor right now.
"Henshin!" * 2
Seeing the enemies complete their transformations, Oda Hidenari, hiding behind cover, had a drop of cold sweat run down his forehead.
After knowing Shura was the traitor in their Neo-ZECT, Oda Hidenari knew his comrade Kazama Daisuke was likely doomed.
Although he told his new comrade Tendou Souji that he would handle the enemies on the ground, in reality, Oda Hidenari was far less relaxed than he appeared.
Yamato and Yaguruma. He knew the strength of these two old colleagues very well; they were both on par with him.
If fighting for his life, Oda Hidenari could only guarantee a fifty percent win rate in a one-on-one. But now, there were actually two on the opposite side...
Yamato being here meant there were no other Riders around Kagami Arata.
In that case, the probability of Tendou seizing the Sky Ladder was greater.
But at the same time, Oda Hidenari, having to face these two directly, was likely going to die.
*Damn it, from the moment I rebelled against ZECT, I had already disregarded my life.*
*What am I hesitating for at a time like this...*
*I understand. Ultimately, I simply don't want to kill Yamato and Yaguruma.*
*They simply don't know the problems appearing within ZECT and still think that old bastard Kagami Riku is working hard to resist the Worms.*
*Tch, if that guy was working hard to resist Worms, why would we rebel?*
*Before, I thought no one would believe it if I said it, and it might even get them killed.*
*But now, this is the last chance.*
*I must convey this information. Relying on Tendou alone won't work.*
*Even if I die, if I can let Yamato and Yaguruma know this information...*
*Then...*
"Henshin!"
*My death will have meaning!*
The moment he completed his transformation, Oda Hidenari very irrationally activated the trump card, Clock Up.
Clock Up, the trump card of the Rider System, consumed a large amount of the user's stamina after activation.
Precisely for this reason, generally speaking, Riders wouldn't use this ability at the start of a combat engagement unless absolutely necessary.
Therefore, upon sensing that Oda Hidenari actually activated this ability, Yamato and Yaguruma immediately fell into confusion.
*Strange. Oda isn't an idiot; why did he choose to use his trump card at the start?*
Although the two subconsciously activated this ability simultaneously, they were still filled with doubts.
After the Clock Up ability was activated, the three entered the world of Clock Up simultaneously.
In this world where only the three could communicate, Oda Hidenari did not actively launch an offensive against the two.
"If you want to fight or kill, do as you please. But before that, as former comrades, I don't want the two of you to continue making mistakes."
"Mistakes?"
As if hearing a funny joke, Yamato's tone carried a bit more sarcasm.
"Do you, who hinder the Sky Ladder Project, know how scarce water resources are on Earth right now?"
"Just as Captain Yamato says, Oda, right now countless people on Earth have fallen into desperate straits due to a lack of water resources."
Sighing deeply, Yaguruma said with incomparable helplessness:
"We worked together for several years; I don't believe you wouldn't know the importance of this matter to humanity."
"Ah, if the Sky Ladder Project proceeded normally, it would indeed save humanity in the short term."
"But regrettably, I can't trust Kagami Riku."
"You might not be aware, but I once secretly overheard a conversation between Kagami Riku and Mishima Masato. Do you know what those two are planning?"
"Director Kagami and Director Mishima?"
Yamato, who was incomparably loyal to ZECT, now had a tone filled with anger.
"You bastard, before dying, do you still want to shake my loyalty to ZECT?!"
"Hah, look, Yaguruma. He's always like this."
"Captain Yamato's loyalty to the organization has always been so."
After uttering this sentence indifferently, Yaguruma had already assumed a fighting stance.
"And I share the Captain's thoughts in this regard. The words of a traitor seem unnecessary to listen to."
"Knew you wouldn't believe it, that's why I couldn't be bothered to say it before. But now..."
After timely dodging a shot fired by Yamato with his Kunai Gun, Oda Hidenari, who had drawn his own Kunai Gun, helplessly pulled it out.
"Remember the words I plan to say, you two."
"Those two guys secretly plan to let humans be mimicked and killed by Worms, thereby letting humans 'live' inside the bodies of Worms."
"The Sky Ladder Project will inevitably accelerate the process of those two completing this idea. I will definitely die at your hands today, and when that time comes... Hah, forget it, now is not the time to say discouraging words."
"You talk too much nonsense, traitor!"
Hearing Oda Hidenari insult his respected superior like this, Yamato could no longer contain the anger in his heart.
*Ah, it turned out like this...*
*Forget it, it's all within my calculations anyway.*
Constantly dodging attacks from the enemies, Oda Hidenari's heart was filled with helplessness.
Clearly, both sides were warriors fighting for the Earth, yet they had to kill each other because of the organization's higher-ups.
*What kind of mess is this?*
Facing two old comrades whose strength was on par with his own, Oda Hidenari very straightforwardly didn't last long before being beaten down.
Yamato and Yaguruma had worked together for a considerable time, and there was already a certain tacit understanding between them.
And awkwardly enough, the time Oda Hidenari worked with the two wasn't short either, so his combat habits and the flaws he easily exposed during combat were also very clear to the other two.
It would be fine in a one-on-one; both sides were old colleagues and inevitably knew each other's combat habits and weaknesses.
But if two people who knew his weaknesses attacked at the same time... then there was no helping being beaten down.
Without even having time to use his finishing move [Rider Beat], Oda Hidenari fell to the ground just like that, directly canceling his transformation.
"Hmph, truly unsightly."
Looking at the bruised and battered Oda Hidenari, Yamato sneered at this moment and approached him, preparing to seize the Hercus transformation brace that had fallen to the ground.
"Truly a way to die befitting a traitor, Oda."
"Hah... forget it... Tendou, as long as you exist."
Just at this moment, a figure suddenly fell from the sky, landing in the area between the three.
Sensing a new Rider had joined the battle, Yaguruma and Yamato stepped back vigilantly at the same time.
After the dust settled, the two saw the other party squatting on the ground, picking up Oda Hidenari's transformation brace.
At the same time, his other hand grabbed the Hercus Zecter that was preparing to leave the battlefield.
"Ah, seems like I'm not too late."
"You guy, are you ZECT's enemy too?"
Seeing the other party actually store the Hercus Zecter and transformation brace into a place invisible to him, Yamato immediately roared at Aaron with rage.
"It's already hard enough for humanity to face the Worms; why do you bastards want to hinder our actions at a time like this?!"
"Ah, about that... your desire to fight for humanity isn't bad. The problem lies with... the hearts of those two ZECT higher-ups, Kagami Riku and Mishima Masato."
*This rhetoric again?*
Without too many misgivings, Aaron ignored the sounds Oda Hidenari was making trying to shout something, and continued to speak to the two Riders present.
"It's fine, just wait and see. After the Sky Ladder Project succeeds, you'll know why I said this. However..."
Looking at the two in front of him, Aaron moved his joints, letting out a helpless sigh.
"Even if I say this, you probably won't let me leave easily."
"If you know, why waste words!"
In this instant, the three activated that trump card simultaneously again.
"Clock Up!" * 3
The three, entering the Clock Up state simultaneously, immediately engaged in intense combat on the battlefield... like hell.
Originally, the two chose to use Clock Up immediately only after seeing the man in front of them transform into Drake.
After all, Drake was a shooting-type Rider. If they let the opponent open up enough distance from the two of them, they would be the ones suffering.
So their judgment was that they had to finish off this guy before Drake could open up distance.
Their thinking was essentially correct; Drake was indeed a Rider not good at close combat.
But the problem was, just because the Rider System wasn't good at close combat didn't mean the user couldn't change this defect.
Drake's punching speed was slow and his stats weren't high, but even if Aaron didn't use those special abilities to fight, possessing the Perfect Realm meant he was already a very difficult opponent to deal with just by relying on the Perfect Realm.
Yaguruma and Yamato's attacks were very coordinated, but in Aaron's eyes, these two's attacks... had simply too many flaws.
He didn't even use martial arts like the Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist. Just by relying on seeing through the opponents' detailed flaws and seizing the time they took to recover their breath, he forcefully beat the two to the ground with his fists *crack-crack-crack* before the Clock Up time ended.
"This guy..."
"Where exactly did this monster come from..."
The moment they were beaten down, the two unlucky Riders lying on the ground simply couldn't accept this terrible reality.
As ZECT's combat elites, both possessed impressive strength in close combat.
Moreover, in close combat, a person with a weapon naturally had a huge advantage against an unarmed person.
Legend had it that for an unarmed person to easily win against an armed person, they needed to have several times the opponent's strength.
And now, relying on the Kunai Gun and TheBee Sting in their hands, they actually couldn't beat this empty-handed shooting-type Rider?
*Humiliating.*
*Too humiliating.*
"Your two Zecters... forget it, the equipment is right in front of me; might as well take it."
After cleanly swiping their Zecters, Aaron glanced at Yamato and sighed very subtly.
He didn't know why the plot of the original work had changed.
But since Yamato, who protected Kagami Arata, was here, it explained another thing.
Kagami Riku would definitely guarantee the completion of the Sky Ladder Project. In this situation, to ensure Kagami Arata could execute the plan, there had to be someone beside him to prevent his actions from being interrupted.
With Yamato here now, there was only one Rider left inside ZECT.
If his estimation wasn't wrong...
Tendou Souji, who chased after them, had likely already been beaten on the spot by Kurosaki Issei, who held the Hyper Zecter.
......................