"Ah, monsters!"
She suddenly jolted upright, her hand accidentally brushing the Rider Core ID still attached to Keiwa's waist.
"Eh?"
Upon touching the ID Core, a flood of memories rushed back to Sara. She remembered an incident when she was a high school girl in her JK uniform, out with her parents. They were separated by a red curtain that descended from the sky, and inside, her parents were attacked and killed by the very monsters she had just encountered. It hadn't been a traffic accident at all.
"Onee-chan, what's wrong?" Keiwa, seeing her reaction, felt something was seriously wrong.
"Keiwa, those monsters... it was those monsters that killed Mom and Dad!" Sara said, her eyes red-rimmed.
"What did you say?" Keiwa froze, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"How could that be..." Keiwa felt like he'd been struck by lightning. He couldn't process it immediately. He had always believed his parents died in an accident, but it turned out to be related to the Jyamato? And the killer was likely the Boss from the current game!
After all, people sacrificed by the Jyamato who were not resurrected meant that all the Kamen Riders in that game were wiped out! No one became the Dezashin, and the world couldn't be reconstructed! Wasn't that exactly the accident Girori had described?
Raven, seeing Keiwa's shock, didn't say much. He thought to himself that the person Keiwa should truly hate the most was the DGP's production staff. The entire Desire Grand Prix was just an entertainment program for them. The loss of human lives meant nothing to them. They did this simply to highlight the cruelty and realism of their reality show.
Raven mused that he should probably cultivate his future brother-in-law into a true fighter against the DGP. After all, in the original series, Keiwa was too indecisive, and his later 'dark' phase was completely manipulated by Kekera, who merely pointed him at targets. Keiwa didn't even understand who his real enemy was, making him look like a clown in the eyes of the audience, which wasted an otherwise cool final form. Therefore, Raven felt it necessary to properly guide Keiwa Sakurai.
Just then, a new summon order was issued to the Riders by the DGP. The Saboten Knight Jyamato Boss had appeared in another location.
"Onee-chan, I have to go," Keiwa said the moment he recovered from the shock.
He rushed out the door without waiting for Sara to say anything. Having learned the truth about his parents' deaths, his desire to resurrect all the victims of the Desire Grand Prix was now stronger than ever.
"Keiwa! Where are you going?"
"Don't worry about him, Sara-san. You just rest," Raven comforted the worried Sara.
"I don't know what's going on, but I'm counting on you for Keiwa, Raven-san." Sara suddenly grabbed Raven's hand. She looked at him with an imploring expression. That expression, coupled with her glistening tears, made her truly pitiful.
Raven was momentarily shaken.
"Don't worry," Raven firmly nodded. With him around, Keiwa Sakurai certainly wouldn't be harmed.
It was time to go and deal with this Boss. Raven turned and left, teleporting to the game site.
The Saboten Knight Jyamato Boss had consumed more life force this time, growing larger once again. This significantly increased the difficulty of the game. Furthermore, the Riders present all had their own agendas and were focused on kicking the can. There was no concept of fighting together.
Raven appeared, holding the Boost Buckle, and mounted his small motorcycle. He drove straight toward the Boss from the front.
"What is he doing?"
"Isn't that what Tycoon did before?" Michinaga watched Raven charge head-on and was extremely confused.
Ace was equally perplexed. He couldn't figure out the plan of the one rival who actually posed a threat to him.
"We can't just stand by and do nothing! If we lose, all the sacrifice victims will never be revived!" Keiwa shouted to the others.
Neon hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded. She couldn't just watch Raven face the Boss alone.
Only Michinaga and Ace remained unmoved. Both had their own powerful desires they intended to realize.
"Raven-san!"
"We're here to help!"
With Tycoon and Na-Go joining the fray, some of the Boss's attention was diverted from Raven.
However, Raven never intended to rely on them to win. Given the current situation, conventional strength wouldn't be enough. He would have to cheat a little, but without letting the DGP notice any anomalies.
As he closed in on the soda can, Raven inserted the Hammer Buckle into his Driver. He combined the forms: Boost + Hammer. The typically small Hammer suddenly became enormous.
Raven's objective was clearly to use the power of this form to smash the soda can away with a single blow.
"He's probably going to fail," Ace observed from a distance. With the Boss's strength, even if Raven successfully hit the can, the Boss would just block it.
However, the next second, Ace was left speechless.
Raven's target wasn't the can; it was the Saboten Knight Jyamato Boss's leg! With the power boost from the Boost Buckle, the massive Hammer instantly knocked the Boss to the ground.
Following up immediately, Raven swung the Hammer again.
Bang!
In one strike, the soda can was sent flying into the air, piercing through the Jyamato Zone!
"No... that can't be right?" Ace was dumbfounded. Can Boost + Hammer really possess that much power?
His suspicion was correct. Raven had indeed used a 'private stock' of power in that attack. He used not only the Buckle's power but also his own latent strength. Only this allowed him to so successfully defeat the Boss.
"Mission Complete!" Tsumuri's voice appeared in everyone's ears.
Her expression was extremely grim. Among everyone present, she was undoubtedly the one who least wanted Raven to win the final game.
Michinaga's face was filled with disappointment. He plopped down onto the ground. He would once again have to go back to being a miserable day laborer.