Starting with Firefly, Speedrunning the Worlds Part 5

The steel body threw a punch, unleashing unimaginable force. Even space itself seemed unable to bear it, letting out a dull boom.

That Jyamato—and the Jyamato around it—had no ability to resist at all. Under that strike, they turned into streams of data and vanished.

These Jyamato were beneath Sam's notice. Firefly was like a lion among sheep, beginning an indiscriminate sweep.

Watching her points rise steadily, and reveling in the thrill of fighting as Sam, the girl grew excited all over.

Fighting was awesome!

Mowing down enemies like an unstoppable force was even better.

Only the Jyamato kept dying.

But no one cared about the Jyamato. These evil monsters existed to invade worlds for the sake of destruction, attempting to create a world of Jyamato.

Of course, like the Desire-series Kamen Riders, these Jyamato did not appear out of nowhere. They had been artificially cultivated in Jyamato Garden by a man named Archimedel, and were also part of the DGP's operations.

Defeated contestants from previous tournaments were used as fertilizer, while destroyed Rider Core IDs were used to improve their breeds.

Because of this, the Jyamato possessed powerful self-learning abilities and could continuously grow stronger.

They had their own language, but also learned human languages on their own. As the Jyamato grew stronger, they could even mimic human appearances.

Whether Kamen Riders or Jyamato, worlds being destroyed and remade time and again was nothing more than entertainment for the Grand Prix's audience.

"Operation One, execute!"

[BHF—Heavenly Fire!]

Sam bent at the waist, lowered her right hand, and assumed a stance. Terrifying flames erupted from the mech's legs, and she immediately leaped into the air.

Rising more than ten meters into the sky, she kicked out with her right foot. Even more powerful flames blasted forth as she crashed like a meteor into the densest cluster of Jyamato.

The Jyamato collectively assumed defensive stances, trying to block the attack.

But they had clearly overestimated themselves. The instant that kick landed, they could not hold it off for even a second.

A vast area, along with the concrete ground, exploded apart as though a missile had detonated there.

A huge number of Jyamato died instantly.

"So strong, so awesome!!"

Was this the joy of being a Rider—or a mech?

After killing every Jyamato in front of her, Sam stood amid the ruined ground, too exhilarated to stop herself.

Before this, she had only been an ordinary shut-in.

After becoming Firefly, the power of this mech warrior was something she would never have dared dream of!

And this was only the beginning.

Besides these Jyamato, what would it feel like to fight Kamen Riders? Come to think of it, infighting between Riders had always been common.

Especially in the Geats world. These Kamen Riders not only had to deal with the Jyamato, but also had to remain wary of their teammates attacking them at any time.

Moles. Traitors.

They were also an important part of the Rider reality show.

The girl would not feel the slightest guilt over attacking the Riders of this world. After all, none of them were normal people; they were all a bunch of lunatics.

Just as Firefly was preparing to search for Kamen Riders, an even greater commotion suddenly erupted in the distance. Looking toward the source, she discovered an incomparably massive monster fortress.

Sam's unique display analyzed the fortress's data, but due to a lack of relevant information, it yielded few results.

Still, Firefly roughly knew what it was. This enormous Jyamato fortress was a Slug Jyamato Fortress.

The types and strengths of the Jyamato were classified according to chess pieces.

When the DGP first created the villains for the DGP tournament setting, it had drawn inspiration from chess.

Their types and strengths were divided into King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, and Pawn.

Above the chess pieces were the Jyamato God and the Divine Jyamato Apostles.

Beyond that, there were also some special Jyamato whose ranks were not clearly defined, such as the Slug Fortress Jyamato before her and ancient creatures.

Among them, Jyamato called "Last Bosses," regardless of rank, possessed the power to end the world. With absolute strength, they could cause enormous casualties and had even wiped out all the Kamen Riders.

The monster before her was essentially an airborne fortress that transported Jyamato. So long as it existed, endless hordes of Jyamato would keep appearing.

"If I kill it, I should get a huge number of points."

As the final boss of this Grand Prix, its value was undoubtedly extremely high. As for stealing Geats's clear-condition boss and costing him his chance to become a God of Desire?

Firefly did not care about that.

As for Ukiyo Ace, after watching the later plot, she simply could not bring herself to like him anymore.

Improving her own strength was what mattered.

The original Firefly had merely followed Elio's script. Now, it had become the system's missions and rewards.

Watching the Slug Jyamato Fortress ahead swing its enormous tentacles and destroy everything in the city, Firefly piloted Sam and shot straight into the sky.

Besides Firefly, a red-and-white figure was also approaching the Jyamato Fortress.

It was Kamen Rider Geats.

There were also two people she knew below, trapped in a perilous situation. The building above them had been severed by the Jamato Fortress's tentacles and was about to come crashing down.

Sam hesitated for only a moment when one of the fortress's tentacles seemed to notice her presence and pierced toward her like a spear.

Seeing this, Sam had no choice but to stop advancing. Flames blasted from her mechanical arm as she drove a punch into the tentacle.

The fortress's massive tentacle immediately exploded.

The One Destined, Sam

Beneath a building near the Jamato.

Sakurai Keiwa and Kurama Neon watched the scene before them in helpless terror.

They had nowhere left to run.

The road ahead had collapsed, buildings hemmed them in on both sides, and a large number of Jamato were pursuing them from behind.

Even more terrifying was the enormous monster fortress above them. Countless gigantic tentacles stretched from it, continuously destroying every building around them.

And before long, it would reach them.

"How did this happen?"

"What's wrong with this world? Why did it suddenly become like this?!"

Sakurai Keiwa could not understand. He clutched his head in anguish. Could it be the end of the world? Had aliens invaded Earth?

Everything had been fine just moments ago, yet suddenly the world looked as though it was about to be destroyed.

Earlier, he had lured the Jamato in the ramen shop away.

Fortunately, a strange Rider with a white bear head had appeared and killed those monsters, allowing him to narrowly escape with his life.

But before he could figure out what was going on, before he even had the chance to ask any questions, that strange Rider had died as well.

Then he encountered Kurama Neon!

Because his sister often followed Kurama Neon, he recognized her too.

The two exchanged a few words, then fled from the monsters together until they reached this place... The path ahead had collapsed, Jamato were chasing them from behind, and there was nowhere to run.

What made it even more despairing was that the high-rise building above them had also fractured because of the fortress's tentacles and was about to fall directly onto them.

"A-Are we going to die?"

"I haven't even successfully run away from home yet. Am I going to die here?"

Looking ahead, then back at the Jamato behind them, Kurama Neon was overwhelmed by despair as well.

The sound of the fractured building collapsing above only intensified her fear. She instinctively crouched down, covered her head, and screamed.

Just as the two waited in despair for death, and Geats had stopped approaching the Jamato Fortress but was too late to save them—

A silver mechanical figure appeared, wreathed in bluish-green light and burning flames.

The cool-looking armor smashed the falling gigantic building apart with an unstoppable punch. Then its tall, upright figure shielded the two from above, preventing the rubble from burying them alive.

Only after the dust settled did the still-shaken Kurama Neon and Sakurai Keiwa open their eyes, the fear still lingering on their faces.

They felt over their bodies and found neither wounds nor pain.

"W-We're not dead?!"

"We're still alive... What is this...?"

Sakurai Keiwa pinched himself, and the pain confirmed that he was not dead.

Then he sensed something. Instinctively, he looked up and immediately saw the cool mechanical figure above them.

Had it saved them?

"What a cool armored warrior. It saved us, didn't it?"

Kurama Neon could not help speaking as she looked at the armored warrior who had rescued them. Sam's upright figure in particular gave off an overwhelming sense of security.

That power of Preservation put people at ease.

It was as though, with it there, no danger could ever be frightening again.

"Hello, um... may I ask who you are?!"

"Thank you for helping us."

When they noticed the mechanical warrior above turning to look at them, Sakurai Keiwa and Kurama Neon spoke at the same time.

Especially Kurama Neon—when she looked at the armored warrior before her, that overwhelming sense of security stirred a faint, unfamiliar emotion in her heart.

"Sam. One of the Stellaron Hunters... Sam."