Starting with Firefly, Speedrun the World

"That's not certain. The final Desire God can only be me."

Ace Ukiyo paid no mind to Azuma Michinaga's words. He simply interlaced his fingers, straightened his back, and refuted with absolute confidence.

"What do you mean?!"

Hearing that reply and tone, Azuma Michinaga furrowed his brow. His points had clearly surpassed Ace's—there was no way he could catch up now.

Unless...

Azuma Michinaga suddenly thought of something. His gaze shifted to the unknown Mecha warrior, then to the Jyamato Fortress in the sky.

Could it be related to them?

Chapter 9: The Kamen Rider Who Got Beaten Up

"Looks like you've figured it out too!"

Noticing Azuma Michinaga's reaction, Ace Ukiyo remained calm and composed, as if he didn't care that his goal had been exposed.

"The final condition for clearing this game is to protect this city. If the final boss is destroyed, that means the city has been protected to the greatest extent."

"In other words, destroying that Jyamato Fortress will directly grant the chance to become the Desire God."

Ace Ukiyo stated his goal without the slightest concern. This had been his aim from the very beginning—he never cared about killing foot soldier Jyamato or rescuing people for points.

As long as he took down the biggest boss, he would be the winner.

That was why he had appeared last, without any hurry.

He had been observing all along, waiting for the Jyamato Fortress to show itself.

And he wasn't worried about revealing the key to victory to Buffa. Even if he knew... that bull couldn't destroy that massive Jyamato Fortress.

Destroying the Jyamato Fortress was no simple task. That was also why he hadn't acted rashly—he was searching for its weak point.

But that sudden appearance of the Mecha warrior had caught him off guard.

He didn't know if it was an Easter egg from the Grand Prix or some other arrangement.

"You bastard..."

Hearing Ace Ukiyo's admission, Kamen Rider Buffa couldn't help but raise his fist.

He had thought about this too, but destroying that enormous Jyamato Fortress was far too difficult. There was simply no way.

But if it was that Geats guy, it might actually be possible.

This realization made his face, once confident of victory, instantly darken.

Had he worked so hard for nothing? Was he supposed to just watch him win? No, absolutely not.

"I won't let you complete your mission. The one who becomes the Desire God will only be me!!"

Although Azuma Michinaga hadn't yet found a way to destroy the Jyamato Fortress, hearing Ace Ukiyo's plan made him throw caution to the wind.

No matter what, he couldn't lose to that Geats bastard. So he had to destroy the Jyamato Fortress before him. His mind burning with impulse, he charged straight toward the fortress...

"..."

Watching Azuma Michinaga's actions, Ace Ukiyo just smiled like a fox, making no move to stop him.

Then he turned his gaze to that unknown Mecha Rider. His target seemed to be the Jyamato Fortress as well.

He didn't know if this was an arrangement by the DGP Grand Prix organizers or an accident, but one thing was certain... if that guy destroyed the Jyamato Fortress, this mission would surely fail.

Let that brute of a bull tangle with him.

As for the final reward of this DGP Grand Prix—I'll be taking it again.

Yes, this wasn't Ace Ukiyo's first time participating in the DGP Grand Prix. Thanks to a wish he made when he became a Desire God before, he had earned the right to enter every Grand Prix.

And ever since he became a Kamen Rider and joined the DGP Grand Prix, he had never lost. A true undefeated champion—every time, he successfully became the Desire God.

This time was no exception.

Even if the Game Master was already deeply dissatisfied with him, as long as the rules didn't change, there was nothing he could do!

"Final target—the Jyamato Fortress..."

This point reward shouldn't disappoint me, right?

After clearing out all the surrounding Jyamato, Sam set his sights once more on the fortress floating in the sky.

Farming points was satisfying, but this was the real goal.

Even though destroying this Jyamato Fortress might make the DGP Grand Prix end with a whimper, preventing any Desire God from appearing—

The girl didn't care. Her goal was to ruin the DGP Grand Prix. If this ended up sabotaging it, that would be perfect.

(Though that's basically impossible.)

So she was determined to interfere with this game.

As for changing the plot because of her own actions, and stopping Ace Ukiyo from achieving his goal and becoming the Desire God—if she hadn't known the later story, she might have felt guilty. But now? She couldn't be happier.

The DGP Grand Prix.

All the Future People spectators are nothing but a bunch of thrill-seekers—it's a real shame they don't worship delight.

And every single Rider, including the main Rider Ace Ukiyo, is acting like a complete mess.

Double standards, sanctimony, brain-dead logic, split personalities...

I don't even know where to start complaining.

Especially Ace Ukiyo—in the early days he was the perfect undefeated champion, but after being revived, he turned into that abstract Fox God...

Makes you wonder if he got swapped out for a clone.

Shaking off those thoughts, the mecha Sam leaped up and charged straight toward the Jyamato Fortress ahead.

She didn't care what the Future People spectators thought. If she were up against something unreasonable, like Kamen Rider Oma Zi-O, that would be a different story.

Because his abilities are truly absurd.

But in this world, these data-life Future People... humans who chose spiritual ascension into data because Earth went wrong—there's nothing to fear from them.

Even if their technology is impressive, in the Star Rail universe, that's about all it amounts to.

However, just as Sam was about to close in on the Jyamato Fortress, a purple figure suddenly appeared and struck at her.

Trying to stop Sam from getting near the Jyamato Fortress.

"The one who will destroy the fortress is me—don't you dare get close to it!"

"The one who becomes the Desire God will only be me."

Azuma Michinaga swung his weapon at the mecha Sam. As a Rider naturally strong in power, the Zombie Buckle's boost massively amplified his strength.

The Zombie Breaker in his hand came crashing down viciously.

He didn't know what this mecha Rider was all about, but since the Jyamato Fortress was the key, he couldn't let it steal his goal.

Even if he didn't actually have a way to destroy the fortress.

Because of Buffa's appearance, Sam's advance toward the Jyamato Fortress halted. Instead of pressing forward, she prioritized dodging the attack.

At the same time, she punched him square in the body.

Buffa, known for his strength, was sent flying by that single punch from Sam.

If Sam hadn't held back, and if Buffa's Rider suit hadn't provided protection, he would have been turned into paste.

But even so, he was far from comfortable.

He was smashed into a nearby building, collapsing the structure.

Still, Buffa's vitality was incredibly strong—even after that, he crawled out of the rubble and stood back up.

Chapter 10: Leave Now, and No One Gets Hurt!

Enduring the pain in his body, Azuma Michinaga used the Zombie Breaker in his hand to push himself upright.

He hadn't expected this unknown opponent to be so strong—one punch had nearly crippled him. But he didn't fall, and he didn't give up.

The chance to become the Desire God was right in front of him—no one was going to stop him.

Seeing Buffa's attitude, Sam descended from the air and landed not far from him.

Her towering mecha frame exuded an intimidating aura...

"A Rider, and a fox hiding in the shadows."

Through Sam's mecha, Firefly scanned the Rider Buffa in front of her, then swept her gaze across the surroundings, spotting Ace Ukiyo's figure on a higher vantage point not far away.

Sam's tone was flat. She didn't attack immediately but issued a warning instead.

"Leave now, and no one gets hurt!"

"Otherwise, you'll both die."

In the DGP Grand Prix, if it's just elimination through the game, the Riders won't actually die. After the world is remade, they'll just lose their memories of the Riders and the DGP Grand Prix.

But if they're eliminated by being killed, due to this world's special nature, it's not true death either. Still, the Grand Prix organizers use them to cultivate Jyamato or as nutrients.

Hearing Sam's cold, sharp warning voice...

Ace Ukiyo, hidden in the shadows, didn't react much. He wasn't surprised to have been found.

He just gave Sam a serious look, then fixed his gaze on the Jyamato Fortress, lost in thought.

As for Azuma Michinaga, his expression was extremely sour. Being completely disregarded like this pissed him off.

"Don't look down on me!"

The Zombie Buckle gave him immense power along with solid vitality. Feeling much better, Azuma Michinaga immediately activated the "Zombie Buckle."

With his movement, the Rider's signature sound effect rang out.

[Zombie Strike]

At that moment, the armor on Azuma Michinaga's upper body gathered energy from the "BerserClaw" on his left hand and struck the ground. The next second, countless claw-like "BerserClaw" energy bodies erupted from underground, surging toward Sam.

But...

Firefly looked at the swarm of terrifying claws beneath her feet and felt nothing at all. She didn't even need to move—they couldn't breach her defenses.

"How is this possible!"

Watching his attack have no effect, Azuma Michinaga was stunned.

How could it have absolutely no effect at all.

"Since this is your choice... then, Action One, execute."

Accompanied by Sam's cold voice, the leg mecha immediately spewed flames downward.

Then, with the mecha's single hand lowering, he leaped. Sam's body rose several meters off the ground, scorching flames surging from his raised right foot, kicking toward Azuma Michinaga like a meteor.

Azuma Michinaga's expression shifted. Not daring to be careless, he hastily raised the Zombie Breaker in his hands, attempting to block Sam's strike.

Yet he clearly still underestimated the power of this blow. Even though Sam still wasn't serious, it was beyond what he could resist.

The Kamen Rider armor on Azuma Michinaga's body directly cracked, shattering piece by piece, while his body was once again embedded into the ground.

His entire form turned into something like a lump of charcoal, yet he still clung to his last breath.

Firefly no longer paid him any attention, nor did she prepare to finish him off—there was no need. Instead, her gaze locked onto another Kamen Rider.

The moment Azuma Michinaga and Sam clashed, Ace Ukiyo decisively transformed, riding his motorcycle and charging toward the Destruction Jyamato Fortress.

He already had a way to destroy the Destruction Jyamato Fortress. From the outside, it was impossible. The only option was to charge straight into its interior and destroy it from within.

That was also the Destruction Jyamato Fortress's sole weakness.

Though it was still very dangerous, it was the only chance.

That unknown Rider was incredibly strong. He had no surefire way to deal with him, so the priority now was to complete the mission.