"There's nothing here. Could the sensing have been wrong?"
"Impossible, Sharuru. Ah, over there!"
A black figure slowly emerged from where Sharuru was pointing. It was Ash, holding a mass of pitch-black flames in his hand.
"So you really came."
Crushing the small amount of Evil Thought Energy he had wrung from Ira as an advance payment, Ash wore an expression of utter certainty.
[Absorbing Dark Echo...]
Just as expected, this world's dark energy—Evil Thought Energy—also contained what he needed.
"Ash-sensei—" Before Ai could finish speaking in delighted surprise, Makoto pulled her aside. She had clearly seen that what Ash had been holding was Evil Thought Energy, used by the Selfish Organization.
"That's Evil Thought Energy!" Whenever the Selfish Organization was involved, Makoto immediately became serious.
"Why do you have that? Don't tell me you're actually a new executive of the Selfish Organization?!"
The moment she said that, the other girls were all shocked. They had never considered that the man before them could have any connection to the Selfish Organization.
"Is that true?"
"Hey, hey, don't casually strip someone of their humanity." Ash spread his hands, looking utterly innocent. "I'm a genuine human being."
Hearing Ash say so himself, the girls couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. But then he added—
"But you'd be wrong if you thought I was an ordinary human."
Pulling aside the edge of his clothes, he revealed the belt already fastened around his waist.
"Henshin."
His reflection in a mirror on the ground showed the figure of Kamen Rider Ryuga.
Knowing yourself and your enemy meant winning every battle.
It was a simple truth everyone understood, yet not everyone acted on it. After all, truly understanding another person was an extremely difficult thing. But if one merely said the words