Kageyama, standing among the Worms, rushed forward, eager to attack Tendo. He was out of options. Only by defeating Kabuto could he secure his identity as TheBee.
With the Worms providing cover, Kageyama seized the opportunity to use his finisher, the Rider Sting!
The attack caught Tendo completely off guard, forcing his figure to stagger backward repeatedly. However, Tendo did not cancel his transformation despite taking a direct hit from the finisher. It was as if he had been stung by a bee, enduring the attack head-on.
Even facing such a crisis, he remained unruffled. He knew that his future self would not sit idly by. The fact that the future Hyper Kabuto hadn't intervened yet meant that this crisis could be resolved.
Indeed, just as Kageyama was about to deliver the final blow to Kabuto, Rena Mamiya interrupted him.
"Let me take this." Rena Mamiya thought Tendo was certain to die; it would be more meaningful if he died by her hand.
"Then hurry up and do it," Kageyama said resentfully, having been shoved aside.
Chh—!
Just as she was about to move, a discordant, sharp sound suddenly came from the distance.
A man in a leather coat was walking toward them. The heels of his boots were covered with metal spikes, emitting a heavy clanking sound with every step. His entire demeanor was a mixture of wildness and decadence.
"It's you!" Kageyama recognized the mysterious figure. He exclaimed in surprise. It was his former commander, So Yaguruma!
Yaguruma easily suppressed the nearby un-molted young Worms with a few steps. His entire presence and fighting style were drastically different from before, now focusing primarily on kicks.
"What happened to the perfect harmony you believed in?" Kageyama couldn't help but ask.
"There is no more perfect harmony." Yaguruma kicked over a Worm. He flipped open his leather coat, revealing a belt on his waist. "Someone like me just doesn't deserve it anyway." The trauma of being abandoned had left Yaguruma utterly broken, leading him to willingly fall into ruin.
Just then, a grasshopper-like Zecter leaped from a distance and landed in Yaguruma's hand.
"Henshin." Yaguruma inserted the KickHopper Zecter into the belt's Driver.
A sigh was heard.
"Haaa..."
His figure was quickly covered in a suit of armor.
[KICK HOPPER]
Kamen Rider KickHopper made his entrance.
"Impossible..." Kageyama was filled with disbelief. Yaguruma had been kicked out of ZECT; where did he get a Driver? And he had become a new Rider!
"Was someone laughing at me just now?"
After transforming, KickHopper charged into the swarm of Worms. Perfectly utilizing his newbie protection period, he faced Rena Mamiya and another molted Worm alone, showing no signs of being overwhelmed.
Rena Mamiya, seeing this, chose to retreat. She clearly understood that this was an opponent currently in a powerful temporary state and should not be challenged directly. She only left behind a mass of foot soldiers to tie up KickHopper.
"Rider Jump." Yaguruma activated his finisher, leaping high into the air. He then activated the second stage of his finisher.
"Rider Kick!"
Instantly, KickHopper unleashed a continuous series of Rider Kicks, bouncing around like a grasshopper and destroying numerous young Worms.
BOOM!
Seeing KickHopper defeat all the Worms so decisively, Kageyama felt extremely conflicted. He quickly pointed at Tendo and said, "He's an enemy of ZECT! Go defeat him!"
KickHopper turned to look at Kageyama. He walked toward him and said, "Kageyama, join me in falling into hell."
He then activated his final attack, a Rider Jump followed by a Rider Kick.
"RIDER KICK!"
TheBee had no time to react and could only shield himself with both hands.
BANG!
KickHopper savagely kicked TheBee, causing Kageyama's transformation to break. The TheBee Zecter flew directly into Tendo's hand.
"Bastard! Give it back!" Kageyama lay on the ground, roaring at Tendou.
"I will obtain all the Zecters," Tendo said. He then looked at Yaguruma and reached out his hand. "Hand over yours, too..."
"HA, HA, HA..."
Yaguruma threw his head back and laughed.
"Tendo, I envy you. Someone like me just doesn't deserve it." Yaguruma's tone was utterly defeatist.
He then charged at Kabuto, and the two began to fight fiercely.
Facing Yaguruma, who was in his "newbie protection period," even Tendo had to tread carefully, actually falling into a defensive position.
Yaguruma cleanly repelled Kabuto and prepared to activate his finisher.
But at that moment, Shun Kageyama rushed forward and grabbed Kabuto's leg, pleading, "I beg you, give me back the TheBee Zecter!"
Tendo flinched, directly tossing Kageyama away. He then decided to leave.
KickHopper, seeing this, stopped his attack and cancelled his transformation.
"My tears ran dry a long time ago," he said to Kageyama.
On the other side, Tendo asked Jyuka to temporarily return home from Raven's care because he was preparing a grand meal. The cooking skills he had honed while training in the mountains hadn't been put to use since Ichiro Ikesu was defeated by Raven. Now, he wanted to show off his abilities to his sister.
And so, Raven accompanied Jyuka. She had been staying with him for a while and was almost forgetting her home, as she could freely express herself and didn't have Tendo micromanaging her all the time.
"Commander Tendo, who is this...?" Renge Takatori, who came out to greet them, looked at Raven, who was with Jyuka. She was instantly stunned by his handsomeness. She thought Tendo was handsome enough, but this man was even better-looking.
This Jyuka is so lucky, to be doted on by two such handsome men.
"That is Raven," Tendo said, openly revealing Raven's identity. Raven's information was already in ZECT's database, but no one had dared to provoke him.
"So that's him..." Renge Takatori looked at Raven in surprise, thinking to herself: This Faiz is the guy who gives Mishima a massive headache, more intimidating than the uncontrollable TheBee was.