"That's not necessarily true. The final Desire God can only be me."
Ukiyo Ace didn't care in the slightest about Azuma Michinaga's words. He simply interlaced his fingers, straightened up, and refuted him with absolute confidence.
"What do you mean?!"
Hearing that answer and tone, Azuma Michinaga frowned. His score had far surpassed Ace's, so there shouldn't have been any way for him to catch up now.
Could it be...
Azuma Michinaga suddenly realized something. He looked at the unknown mech warrior, then turned his gaze to the Jyamato Fortress in the sky.
Could it have something to do with them?
Chapter 9: The Kamen Riders Get Beaten to a Pulp
"Looks like you figured it out too!"
Noticing Azuma Michinaga's reaction, Ukiyo Ace remained perfectly calm, seemingly unconcerned that his objective had been exposed.
"The final condition for clearing this game is to protect this city. If we destroy the final boss, then we'll have protected the city to the greatest extent."
"In other words, destroying the Jyamato Fortress will grant someone the chance to become the Desire God."
Ukiyo Ace stated his objective without a care. It had been his goal from the very beginning. He didn't care about the points for killing foot soldier Jamato or rescuing people.
As long as he took down the biggest boss, he'd be the winner.
That was why he'd appeared at the very end, without any hurry.
He'd been observing the situation all along, waiting for the Jyamato Fortress to show up.
He also wasn't worried about Buffa learning the key to victory from what he'd said. Even if he did know... that bull still wouldn't be able to destroy the massive Jyamato Fortress.
Destroying the Jyamato Fortress wouldn't be easy. That was why he hadn't rushed to act: he'd been searching for its weakness.
The mech warrior who'd appeared out of nowhere had caught him completely by surprise, though.
He had no idea whether it was a bonus surprise arranged by the Desire Grand Prix or something else.
"You bastard..."
Hearing Ukiyo Ace admit it himself, Kamen Rider Buffa couldn't help raising his fist.
He'd considered that possibility too, but destroying the enormous Jyamato Fortress would be too difficult. There was no way he could do it.
But if it was Geats, that guy might actually pull it off.
The realization instantly darkened the expression of the man who'd been so sure of victory.
Had all his hard work been for nothing? Was he supposed to just watch Ace win? No. He'd never allow that.
"I won't let you complete the mission. I'm the only one who'll become the Desire God!!"
Azuma Michinaga hadn't found a way to destroy the Jyamato Fortress yet, but after hearing what Ukiyo Ace had in mind, he didn't care about that anymore.
He couldn't lose to Geats, no matter what. So he had to destroy the Jyamato Fortress before Geats did. Acting on impulse, he charged straight toward it...
"..."
Watching Azuma Michinaga's actions, Ukiyo Ace only smiled like a fox. He had no intention of stopping him.
He turned his gaze to the unknown mech rider. It seemed that their target was the Jyamato Fortress too.
He didn't know whether this was an arrangement by the Desire Grand Prix organizers or an accident, but one thing was clear... if the mech rider destroyed the Jyamato Fortress, this mission would surely fail.
He'd let that stubborn bull keep the mech rider occupied.
He'd claim the final reward of this Desire Grand Prix for himself once again.
Yes, this wasn't Ukiyo Ace's first time participating in the Desire Grand Prix. A wish he'd made when he became the Desire God had earned him the right to compete in every Grand Prix.
Ever since becoming a Kamen Rider and joining the Desire Grand Prix, he'd never lost. He was a true undefeated champion, having become the Desire God every time.
This time would be no different.
Even though the game administrator was already extremely unhappy with him, there was nothing they could do as long as the rules stayed the same!
"Final target: the Jyamato Fortress..."
These points better not disappoint me!
After clearing out all the Jamato nearby, Sam set her sights once again on the Jyamato Fortress in the sky.
Racking up points was fun, but this was the real objective.
Destroying the Jyamato Fortress might bring the Desire Grand Prix to an unsatisfying end, with no Desire God emerging.
But the girl didn't care. Her goal was to destroy the Desire Grand Prix. If that ruined the whole thing, then all the better.
(Though that was probably impossible.)
That was why she wanted to disrupt this game.
As for changing the story and preventing Ukiyo Ace from achieving his goal of becoming the Desire God, she might've felt bad about it if she didn't know what happened later. But now, she was all for it.
The Desire Grand Prix.
The future human spectators were all a bunch of thrill-seekers. It was a shame they didn't worship Elation.
And every Rider, including the main Rider, Ukiyo Ace, was completely out of their minds.
Hypocrites, do-gooders, idiots, and split personalities...
She didn't even know where to start.
Especially Ukiyo Ace. Early on, he'd been a flawless undefeated champion, but after being resurrected, he'd turned into that bizarre Fox God...
She wondered if he'd been replaced by a clone.
Without thinking any further, Mecha Sam leaped up and charged toward the Jyamato Fortress ahead.
She didn't care how the future human spectators would react. If she were up against some unreasonable being, like Kamen Rider Ohma Zi-O, then it would be a different story.
That guy's powers were truly ridiculous.
But these data-lifeforms from the future in this world... they were people who'd chosen to digitally transcend after Earth ran into trouble. There really wasn't much to fear from them.
Even if their technology was indeed impressive, it was nothing special in the Star Rail Universe.
However, just as Sam was about to reach the Jyamato Fortress, a purple figure suddenly appeared and attacked her.
They were trying to stop Sam from approaching the Jyamato Fortress.
"I'm the one who's going to destroy the fortress. Don't even think about getting near it!"
"I'm the only one who'll become the Desire God."
Azuma Michinaga wielded his weapon and attacked Mecha Sam. Kamen Riders were naturally strong, and the Zombie Buckle had greatly increased his strength.
The Zombie Breaker in his hands slammed down viciously.
He had no idea what this mech rider was, but since the Jyamato Fortress was clearly the key, he couldn't let them steal his target.
Even though he had no way to destroy the fortress himself.
Buffa's sudden appearance made Sam pause in her approach to the Jyamato Fortress. Instead of continuing forward, she first dodged his attack.
At the same time, she punched him in the body.
Buffa, who was known for his strength, was sent flying by Sam's punch.
If Sam hadn't held back, and if Buffa hadn't been protected by his Kamen Rider suit, he'd have been reduced to a bloody pulp.
Even so, he was in rough shape.
The punch sent him crashing into a nearby building, bringing it down.
But Buffa's vitality really was impressive. Even after all that, he still crawled out of the rubble and got back to his feet.
Chapter 10: Leave Now, and No One Gets Hurt!
Enduring the pain, Azuma Michinaga used the Zombie Breaker in his hand to help himself stand.
He hadn't expected this unknown opponent to be so strong. Just one punch had nearly taken him out. But he hadn't fallen, and he had no intention of giving up.
The chance to become the Desire God was right in front of him. No one could stop him.
Looking at Buffa's defiant stance, Sam descended from the air and landed a short distance away.
Her tall, powerful mech frame gave off an intimidating aura...
"One Kamen Rider, and a fox hiding in the shadows."
Through Sam's mech, Firefly scanned the Kamen Rider Buffa in front of her, then swept her gaze around and spotted Ukiyo Ace up above in the distance.
Sam's voice was calm. She didn't attack right away, instead issuing a warning.
"Leave now, and no one gets hurt!"
"Otherwise, you'll all die."
In the Desire Grand Prix, if they were merely eliminated from the game, the Kamen Riders wouldn't come to any harm. They just had to wait for the world to be remade, and they'd lose their memories of the Kamen Riders and the Desire Grand Prix.
But if they were eliminated by being killed, then because of the special nature of this world, they wouldn't exactly die in the literal sense. However, the Grand Prix organizers would use them to cultivate Jamato or as nourishment.
Hearing Sam's icy, sharp warning.
Ukiyo Ace's expression in the shadows barely changed. He wasn't surprised that she'd spotted him.
He merely took a close look at Sam, then fixed his gaze on the Jyamato Fortress. No one knew what he was thinking.
Azuma Michinaga, however, looked furious. He was fed up with the way she was completely ignoring him.
"Don't look down on me!"
The Zombie Buckle had given him tremendous strength as well as impressive vitality. Once he felt a little better, Azuma Michinaga immediately activated the Zombie Buckle.
As he moved, the distinctive Kamen Rider sound effect rang out.
Before you continue