Raven immediately tore out Kanato's ID Core and crushed it.
Kanato, seeing this, lay on the ground indifferently and said, "Tch. It doesn't matter anyway... it's meaningless."
"Now two people are going to die with me, so it was worth it." He felt that since he was going to die regardless, dragging both Na-Go and Mary along was a net gain.
But Raven gave a calm smile. He put a foot on Kanato and delivered a fatal psychological blow by revealing the truth:
"Let me tell you a secret: the truth is that as long as the game ends, the zombie toxin in your body naturally disappears."
Hearing this, Kanato's expression twisted sharply.
"W-what did you say?" He had never considered this possibility after being bitten.
"You're lying! I don't believe you!" At this moment, he chose disbelief.
"Don't believe me? Then try biting me." Raven detransformed, fully extended his hand, and offered it to him. A slight curve appeared on his lips.
Seeing Raven dare to do this, Kanato's mental defenses instantly crumbled. He knew then that it must be true.
His face turned incredibly ugly. If he had known this, all he needed to do was hold on until the game ended! Why had he attacked anyone in a panic?
"Ahhh!"
"No... I can't accept this! Ahh!" Kanato suddenly felt a powerful surge of survival instinct.
Seeing his desperation, Raven finally smiled, feeling a sense of satisfaction. He then kicked Kanato unconscious.
"Just let the toxin run its course. You won't be waking up alive now." Raven said to him finally, then walked away.
Having lost his Driver and his ID Core, the zombie toxin in Kanato would only spread faster. He would quickly degenerate into a true zombie. By the time the game ended, he would be judged as dead.
The audience of the Desire Grand Prix, watching this scene unfold, was shocked by the ruthlessness Raven displayed.
"He always pays back debts!"
"As expected of the most authentic reality show! This is too exciting!"
"That guy got what he deserved! Justice served!"
The DGP audience gave Raven overwhelming praise. After all, they had witnessed Kanato's despicable attempt to drag the "cute" Na-Go down with him.
In the VIP seats behind the scenes of the Desire Grand Prix, a few people were also paying special attention to Raven.
In particular, Kousei Kurama, the head of the Kurama Conglomerate and one of the sponsors of this timeline's DGP. He was Neon Kurama's father.
As a father, he had been closely monitoring Neon ever since she entered the DGP. In fact, her participation had been intentional on his part. Unlike his highly controlling wife, he wanted his daughter to pursue her own wishes. However, for certain reasons, he could not openly express this fatherly love to Neon.
Now, seeing Raven not only help Neon overcome her fear but also exact revenge, he couldn't help but pay close attention.
Besides him, someone else who was naturally interested in Raven was the 50-year-old loli in black tights, Beroba.
"Do you also enjoy the misfortune of others?"
Beroba was fascinated by Raven's act of delivering a psychological execution. She had thought she was the one who loved to see others suffer and take pleasure in tormenting them. However, what Raven did to Kanato Sumida was on another level entirely. The sheer ecstasy of crushing someone's will right before their death was exquisite.
"Things are starting to get interesting," Beroba murmured, sitting on a high platform, her eyes fixed on Raven on the screen. Her legs, clad in black tights, swung back and forth. She was utterly delighted, as if she had found a hidden treasure.
She had initially dismissed Raven as just another boring contestant like the other Kamen Riders. She never expected him to hide such a captivating side. Witnessing the misfortune of a person like Raven in the end would surely be even more entertaining.
On the ground, Neon, armed with the Boost Buckle, began fighting ferociously. She quickly cleared out a large wave of the zombies in her area.
Ace, too, had somehow managed to sweet-talk another Rider Core out of Keiwa. To quickly eliminate the surging Zombie Jyamato, he went all out.
However, even after they had all worked together to clear out the Zombie Jyamato, they still didn't hear Girori or Tsumuri announce the end of the round.
"What's going on? There aren't any more zombies around here," Keiwa asked, confused.
"Wait, could it be..." Ace suddenly thought of something and looked in the direction where Raven had dragged Kanato.
A figure was emerging from that direction. It was Kanato Sumida. His expression was completely distorted, and his movements were stiff. He had clearly turned into a zombie.
"You're correct. He has become the final zombie, so the game hasn't ended yet," Raven stated from the side.
"What should we do..." Keiwa was immediately torn.
"Just defeat him, and the game will end, right!" Michinaga said impatiently.
He immediately charged forward and delivered a merciless final blow to the zombified Kanato Sumida.
Sure enough, as Kanato fell, the game clear sound effect rang out.
Simultaneously, the zombie toxin in Neon's body vanished. She breathed a silent sigh of relief and looked at Raven with immense gratitude. Without his encouragement and help, she might not have been able to hold on until the game ended.
"Congratulations, everyone. The third wave of Jyamato has been eliminated, and this round of the game is over." Tsumuri appeared before them and displayed the virtual scoreboard.
Raven remained in first place. He was followed by Ace Ukiyo, then Michinaga Azuma, Keiwa Sakurai, Neon Kurama, Morio Koganeya, and finally, Kanato Sumida, whose avatar had turned gray.
"The eliminated player for this round is Da-Paan." Tsumuri announced the final result.
She then picked up the dropped Desire Driver and walked away in her high heels.
"So... he really died," Keiwa said, still struggling to accept the result. Just a few days had passed, and yet another person had died because of this game.
"Hmph. That guy brought it all on himself," Morio muttered dismissively.