"Looks like Girori really is dead."
Nilam, the Game Producer dressed in a white suit, appeared nearby. He did not rush to attack, instead staring at Firefly as he slowly spoke.
The moment he sensed someone visiting the Creation Shrine, he had appeared at once.
What he saw was Firefly transformed into Kamen Rider GlareN.
Looking at the Kamen Rider before him, who was clearly different from Kamen Rider Glare, Nilam already knew that the person beneath the suit was not Girori, even though he could not see her real face.
And she looked more like a woman.
There had been no news of Girori at all these past few days, and now someone else had come to the Creation Shrine using the Vision Driver.
Though Nilam was unwilling to admit it, he understood that Girori had been killed and the Vision Driver had truly fallen into someone else's hands.
"Nilam..."
Firefly looked at the newcomer and recognized him as well.
Perfect. She still needed his Driver if she wanted to make a wish.
If she had the chance to obtain Nilam's Driver, she would not mind trying to make a wish.
But when it came to authority of judgment, Nilam's Driver was even more powerful. After all, the Producer was a senior executive one rank above the Game Master.
He even had the authority to deal with Game Masters who broke the rules.
"You know me?"
"So you're a Future Person too. Who exactly are you? A spectator, or... an illegal immigrant?"
Hearing Firefly call his name right away, Nilam thought it over, wondering whether she might be one of those unruly spectator supporters.
But he could not be sure. She might also be an illegal immigrant even DGP operations knew nothing about.
However, he did not connect the person before him with Sam, even though Girori should have died at the hands of Stellaron Hunter Sam.
Stellaron Hunter Sam's Rider system surpassed even Kamen Rider Glare's, not to mention Sam was a man.
So it was more likely that she was working with Stellaron Hunter Sam, and Sam had handed the Vision Driver over to this woman.
"Sorry, but I'm neither."
Firefly denied it outright.
"Is that so? It doesn't matter. I'll find out eventually."
Seeing that she refused to admit it, Nilam acted unconcerned. Whether she admitted it or not, he would investigate and learn the truth sooner or later.
Compared to that, the Vision Driver in her hands was what mattered most.
Without the Game Master's Driver, the Grand Prix could not continue, much less grant wishes. If the show failed to begin for too long and the audience truly started causing trouble, he would have quite a headache on his hands.
So the Vision Driver had to be taken back.
"You really are bold. You stole the Game Master's Driver, yet you still dared to come here openly."
"I'll give you one chance. Return the Vision Driver to DGP operations."
"Otherwise..."
Nilam's tone brimmed with menace as he fastened his own Driver around his waist. Though the Drivers were of the same rank, Kamen Rider Glare could not defeat Kamen Rider Gazer.
The Gazer system possessed an undefeated mechanism.
"Otherwise what?"
How could Firefly possibly fear Girori's threat?
Even if this Glare suit could not defeat him, she still had other means. She had drawn so many things from cards—were they merely for decoration?
"Then you'll find out soon enough."
"For the truth of this world, you must be erased!"
Nilam stopped wasting words. He raised a hand and pressed his fingerprint against the Driver at his waist. Authentication approved.
Gazer! LogIn! (Gazer! Login!)
Next, Nilam smoothly performed a practiced series of hair-washing motions in front of Firefly, then took out a Fate Card and swiped it across the Driver on his body.
"Transform!"
Gazer, Log In!(...?)×N Install!INNOVATION ＆ CONTROL:GAZER! (Install! Innovation and Control! Gazer!!)
Not Even Worthy of the Masked Fools' Threshold
As Nilam transformed, five golden rings rose from behind him, floating above his head before descending and passing over his entire body.
Immediately afterward, five golden control devices began circling him in irregular patterns!
Golden data light blossomed brilliantly throughout the process.
Kamen Rider Gazer had arrived!
It was worth mentioning that because Gazer and Glare used the same Driver, their styles were incredibly similar, differing only in color.
Gazer was more extravagant, with blue, white, and gold.
"Even if you acquired the Vision Driver, there is still a difference between our systems."
"Now, let me show you that difference!"
Having completed his transformation, Nilam stood with his hands behind his back, looking incomparably arrogant.
Even if his opponent possessed the Game Master's belt, there was only one possible outcome. Anything that threatened the truth of this world had to be erased!
His body moved, and in an instant Nilam appeared beside Firefly, throwing a punch.
With the Gazer system's enhancement, that punch was enough to turn a heavily armored tank into scrap metal in an instant.
Its base stats were several times—dozens of times—those of an ordinary Rider.
Yet faced with this strike, Firefly merely raised her arms and crossed them before herself, blocking his attack perfectly. Glare's base stats were about the same; only the systems they had installed differed.
After exchanging several moves, Nilam saw that the young woman before him was also quite strong and possessed clear combat awareness. He stopped deadlocking with her, merely snorting coldly as he stepped forward.
He raised his right fist and unleashed it after gathering force under the Vision Driver's supply of ultra-high-pressure energy.
Noticing Nilam's movement, Firefly refused to yield and answered with a punch of her own.
Bang!!
A heavy, muffled impact rang out, accompanied by the piercing shriek of an airburst.
But when the recoil struck him, Nilam instinctively staggered back several steps.
"Hm?"
Nilam looked at Kamen Rider Glare before him, inwardly startled. Even he had been affected by the recoil, yet she seemed completely unharmed.
"Is this the difference you were talking about?"
Firefly asked calmly, then threw a punch at his head.
Even with the same Driver, and even if her system was somewhat inferior to his, she could still defeat him.
Did he really think the Path she walked was for show?
With the Destruction Path's blessing, the outcome had long since been decided.
"Hmph!"
Hearing Firefly's calm words, which nevertheless felt like mockery, Nilam said nothing. He simply raised his right leg and swept it out in a kick.
Firefly swung an arm up to block. As she stopped Nilam's attack, her right hand suddenly pulled him closer, then her charged fist slammed forward.
Bang!!
The heavy impact sounded somewhat strange.
Because it was mixed with the sound of a control system disengaging. The control devices on Nilam's body appeared in time, blocking the strike perfectly.
Then the control devices mercilessly launched an assault on Firefly, firing a laser cannon as powerful as a missile in an instant.
Firefly did not lower her guard either. She immediately controlled the devices on Kamen Rider Glare to block the attack, but Glare's defensive devices were far inferior to Gazer's and were clearly at a disadvantage.
At that moment, Nilam pulled away and resumed his calm, unruffled demeanor.
"Our battle has only just begun!"
Patting nonexistent dust from his body, Nilam spoke slowly, displaying absolute confidence.
But then he swept his gaze around the area and voiced a question.
"By the way, where is that Stellaron Hunter Sam? Didn't he appear with you? Are you alone?"
Compared to Kamen Rider GlareN before him, Nilam cared more about that Rider who had repeatedly appeared and sabotaged DGP games.
There was no need to ask. That Stellaron Hunter was definitely allied with the woman before him.
Stellaron Hunter Sam had handed the Vision Driver to her, but had not shown himself?
"You talk too much."
"Are all Future People as long-winded as you?"
With one punch, Firefly blasted away the control device before her. She spread her arms, causing the control devices on Kamen Rider Glare to detach one after another.
She then had them float over her palms, where they formed a vortex before blasting toward Kamen Rider Gazer.
Faced with the attack, Nilam immediately positioned Gazer's control devices before himself. The powerful strike was perfectly blocked by a golden barrier.
That was Kamen Rider Gazer, equipped with a defensive system capable of blocking "any" attack.
"Future People? You make it sound like you aren't one yourself."
Nilam stood in place with his hands behind his back. He did not need to make a single movement; he only needed to control the devices to deal with everything.
As though everything was firmly within his grasp.
Firefly's words also left him puzzled. She had spoken as if she were not a Future Person.
If she was not a Future Person, how could a native of this ancient era possibly possess such technology and power, much less successfully master the Vision Driver?
That was not something a native of this ancient era could accomplish.
"I'm not like you vile Future People. Future People should stay honestly in the future, using more advanced technology to indulge your twisted tastes. It's truly boring."
"It doesn't even qualify as the most basic form of Elation."
These Future People could be considered amusement seekers too, but they used only the most shameless and lowest form of entertainment.
In the Star Rail universe, they did not even meet the threshold to become Masked Fools.
Did they think it was something to be proud of, coming to a past dimension and turning the original world into a stage for their amusement?
"I'll assume what you said is true. But what do you know? The truth behind DGP's existence is something you simply cannot comprehend."
Nilam still did not believe Firefly's words, but his tone remained firm.
The DGP reality show was beloved by countless Future People viewers. The significance behind it was hardly as simple as outsiders imagined.
"That's enough of this topic. Now, I'll reclaim the Driver that does not belong to you."
Nilam said no more. Standing in place, he snapped his fingers sharply. Immediately afterward, the other four control devices on his body began to detach.
Then the five control devices unfolded side by side, all locking onto Firefly before them.
"Eliminate her!"
At Nilam's command, he raised his hand.
All the control devices erupted into motion at once, launching a coordinated assault on Firefly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kamen Rider Gazer's firepower was incredibly terrifying, causing immense destruction even within the Creation Shrine. Fortunately, it would not affect the statue of the Creation Goddess.