Starting with Firefly, Speedrunning Through Worlds — Part 19

In any case, there was a high chance that this Stellaron Hunter was a Rider from another dimension.

"If that Stellaron Hunter, Sam, appears again and interferes with the contestants' game..."

"We, the management, will not stand idly by."

"Of course, if any contestant can defeat or capture him, the organizers will offer an additional reward."

"As for any other information, sorry, but we do not know for the time being either."

Girori's words answered the contestants' questions while also explaining the situation to the future audience watching this Rider reality show.

Heavenly Fire, Execute

After hearing Girori's explanation, the Riders present all reacted differently.

Kurama Neon and Sakurai Keiwa were somewhat worried. They were still grateful to the Rider who had saved them, but they had never expected him not to belong to the Desire Grand Prix and to possibly become an opponent—an enemy.

Ukiyo Ace, meanwhile, remained calm on the surface, though he was considering how he could win if he faced him again.

Last time, even with both the Magnum Buckle and the Boost Buckle, he had still been defeated. Now, he had no better Buckles available.

Unless...

After thinking it over, Ukiyo Ace gave up on the idea.

It was unlikely. How could there be so many outstanding Buckles for him to use? In the previous round, he had even tricked Sakurai Keiwa into giving him the Boost Buckle.

Hmm, Sakurai Keiwa...

Come to think of it, that Tycoon really was lucky. He had obtained such an excellent Buckle in his very first match. Ace himself had only gotten the Boost Buckle during the final showdown of the previous round.

If that luck kept up, it might not be impossible for him to surpass Ace.

It seemed he needed to get along well with Tycoon.

At that moment, Sakurai Keiwa suddenly felt a chill run through him. Noticing Ukiyo Ace's gaze, he immediately became wary.

What is that fox planning now?

"Beep, beep, beep!"

Just then, the telephone on the lounge counter rang. Girori, who had been leisurely drinking coffee, immediately set down his cup and picked up the landline in front of him.

"Hello."

Only a few seconds after connecting the call, he hung up and looked up at the Riders before him.

"Everyone! We've just received word—the Jamato have appeared."

"So, the second round of the Desire Grand Prix, the Zombie Horde Survival Final Battle, has begun!"

Elsewhere, Firefly was also ready.

"More or less prepared."

I hope they won't disappoint me too much.

After all, data was not her specialty. Without a key item, it was difficult to travel back and forth through the endless world of data.

Still, even if she could not obtain the Vision Driver, this round would be enough for her to farm quite a few points.

Through the Curio she had given Kurama Neon, Firefly sensed her current location and began looking forward to it.

"Transform!"

Taking out Sam's transformation device, Firefly transformed directly into the Stellaron Hunter. Then, after locking onto the location, she swiftly flew toward the Desire Grand Prix.

Before long, Firefly had reached the edge of the Jamato territory.

Looking at the area before her, likewise separated by a barrier, the girl entered it with ease!

The moment she entered, she saw countless zombie Jamato.

It was clearly a live-action game modeled after a biohazard outbreak, with an entire city chosen as the stage.

It was completely different from the nearly deserted forest of the first round.

Neither the Desire Grand Prix organizers nor the audience cared about the lives of the humans in this world. To them, everyone was merely material for entertainment.

From the audience and management down to most of the Riders, they all treated everyone else like nameless NPCs.

Toying with lives!

How vile.

Although she knew she was not a good person either, she would never do something like this.

"Heavenly Fire, execute."

Watching the zombie Jamato hunting down ordinary people ahead, Sam descended from the sky and stomped directly into the middle of the zombie Jamato horde.

In an instant, every zombie Jamato in the area was wiped out.

Only then did Sam turn toward the survivors, his mature mechanical male voice ringing out.

"Go that way. It's safe there for now. Then find somewhere to hide."

"The crisis will be over soon."

Sam pointed to a safe area. She had scanned it; there were no Jamato zombies there, and there were plenty of secure hiding places.

They should be safe as long as they hid there.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you so much."

Hearing Sam's voice, although many of them were still terrified, they hurriedly thanked her after sensing her goodwill, then ran toward the direction she had pointed.

Only after watching them leave safely did Sam continue clearing out the Jamato while rescuing the remaining survivors.

She was essentially taking the tasks of those dgp contestants.

But did that matter?

Those Riders could not spare attention for so much. Most of them were playing the game; only Sakurai Keiwa and a handful of others were truly trying to save people.

As far as the other Riders were concerned, all that mattered was their match points.

While Sam racked up points and saved people, she soon... encountered the dgp contestants as well.

"It's him!"

"He showed up again!"

The other dgp contestants might not have recognized the suddenly appearing Stellaron Hunter Sam, but Ukiyo Ace, Azuma Michinaga, and the others recognized him at once.

Their expressions did not look too good. They had not expected to run into him again so quickly.

Especially Ukiyo Ace. His equipment was not even as good as it had been last time.

Even if he stayed on guard, it would be difficult to win!

Azuma Michinaga, on the other hand, was not thinking about any of that. The moment he saw the guy who had beaten him flat last time, the anger in his heart surged up once more.

"Buffa, don't get angry! You're no match for him."

Noticing Azuma Michinaga's reaction, Ukiyo Ace walked to his side and seemed to advise him.

But Azuma Michinaga did not appreciate it at all.

"None of your business."

"Geats, you're not any better. Once I beat him, you're next!"

He glared viciously at Geats. His dislike for Geats ran even deeper than his dislike for this Stellaron Hunter, but for now, all his resentment was focused on Sam.

"I'll make every Kamen Rider die!"

With that, Azuma Michinaga stopped wasting words and charged at the Stellaron Hunter before him like a raging bull. His previous defeat had not made him feel even the slightest fear or compromise.

"...He really hasn't changed at all!"

Ukiyo Ace shook his head. This was Buffa!

He really was a bull—he had learned nothing and still had that bullheaded temper.

Charging in now was nothing more than suicide.

"Geats, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

At that moment, Kamen Rider Panda walked over to Ukiyo Ace and said sarcastically.

"How could I?"

Ukiyo Ace immediately denied it.

By then, Kamen Rider Buffa had already charged in front of the Stellaron Hunter Sam. His luck was pretty good this round too; he had obtained his exclusive Zombie Buckle right at the start.

This greatly boosted Azuma Michinaga's strength.

After all, it was his core Buckle.

He slid the "Deadly Pomp" of the "Zombie Breaker" to the top.

After the sound effect [Poison Charge![!]] rang out, he released it, allowing the "Deadly Pomp" to return to its original position. Once the standby sound effect played, he pulled the trigger.

The move activated alongside the sound effect [Tactical Break!].

At that instant, purple energy gathered on the saw blade. He swung it directly, sending an energy blade flying toward Sam in a long-range slash.

"Hm?"

Sam was also taken aback when she saw Kamen Rider Buffa suddenly charging at her.

This guy not only was not afraid when he saw her, but actually dared to attack first? Was he really that brave?

Who exactly had given him that courage?