Rikuo and Sakiko separately bought robes, sunglasses, motorcycle helmets, a small round hat, and two storage backpacks (one for before and one for after the disguise, also allowing them to store each other without leaving clues) from multiple stores to conceal their identities.
"This is all we can do for now; buying in batches prevents being traced."
Rikuo bought enough for both and helped Sakiko put on the small round hat.
"Rikuo, is it necessary to go to such lengths?"
"For me, it doesn't matter. But Sakiko, you are an ordinary person. If they find out you are close to me, I'm afraid you'll have to play in many episodes of Ultraseven."
"Are you afraid that Anomalies might share information and take me hostage?"
Rikuo looked into Sakiko's amber eyes and spoke seriously.
"What I fear most are not Anomalies, as they have limitations. What I fear most are people like Wakaba Takafumi. Anomalies harming people still leave traces, but people, sigh. Never mind, we've reached the uninhabited area."
Rikuo took out his fountain pen, activated his Blay Buckle, inserted the Ace of Spades, and summoned the Blue Spader.
"Henshin!"
A phantom of a stag beetle passed through Rikuo, and Kamen Rider Blade appeared.
Rikuo straddled the Blue Spader.
"Get on, I'll take you for a ride. It's still a long way until the Ouma ga Toki, so there's no need to rush."
"Mm."
Sakiko put on her helmet, sat on the back seat, and hugged Rikuo's waist.
"Sakiko, you weren't there at the time, but I encountered a Slit-Mouthed Woman Anomaly. When I saw the message from Nyamuchi, another possibility occurred to me."
"Nyamuchi? Rikuo, how do you know her?"
"That's not important. I used to think Anomalies were aggregations of resentment or ancient legends that absorbed Undead Cards. However, I overlooked the existence of the Slit-Mouthed Woman. The Slit-Mouthed Woman exists as an urban legend, but urban legends initially form from accumulated lies."
"Lies? But, Rikuo, what does that have to do with Anomalies?"
"When lies become the norm, lies become the truth. So, perhaps due to ordinary people's desire for popularity, lies spread by word of mouth, becoming new urban legends?"
"Then, will the existence of Anomalies increase endlessly? But, Rikuo, didn't you say that Anomalies need Undead Cards to truly exist?"
Sakiko felt a chill down her spine upon hearing Rikuo's speculation. Considering the current speed of information dissemination, she thought of the most terrifying answer.
"The existence of Anomalies requires the energy of Undead Cards, but there's no rule that one Undead Card can only support the existence of one Anomaly."
"If an Anomaly that has already obtained an Undead Card provides energy, will it activate new Anomalies? Just as there are only 52 species corresponding to the Undead, but today, the number of Earth's species is already far more than 52."
Thinking of this possibility, Rikuo felt that one person's strength was too small. With the side effects of using his abilities multiple times, it was impossible to guarantee the complete elimination of every Anomaly.
"Then, there's only one answer: become King Form. Whether it's directly eliminating Derivative Anomalies with the power of the corresponding K category, or becoming a complete Joker to defeat the fated terminator of everything. The prerequisite is to become King Form."
At this thought, Rikuo let out a long sigh.
"It's a long and arduous journey."
Sakiko looked at Rikuo's worried expression and hugged his arm tighter.
'Unfortunately, in this regard, I can't help Rikuo at all.'
...
After confirming that the top two hot comments from Nyamu's fans were all about gaining popularity, Rikuo arrived at the third filming location for the humanoid dark cloud. Coincidentally, all these Anomaly-related rumors occurred in Osaka.
"I guess this one will also be a wasted effort. If there really was such a large, gaseous Anomaly, there would be no need to fight it. We'd really have to call in Ultraman."
"Indeed, Rikuo, cumulus clouds can be 2000 to 6000 meters in size. If it were real, even Ultraman would find it difficult to deal with, right?"
"For that level, we'd have to bring out the Ultra Bracelet."
Rikuo had already de-transformed, and Sakiko had also removed her disguise. After all, the next place to explore was a train, and a Kamen Rider riding a train was just too abstract.
Arriving at the vending machine, Rikuo happily picked out a can of black tea for Sakiko. As for himself, of course, it was soda!
"Sigh, as expected of Nyamu's fans, they're not shy about gaining popularity. Unfortunately, I can't just ignore it."
"Rikuo, do you have a big prejudice against Nyamu?"
Seeing Sakiko's appearance, not yet 'persecuted' by Nyamu, Rikuo smiled.
"You'll know soon after you form your band. Although I told her beforehand that she has to listen to the captain, people who seek profit always seem to resort to unscrupulous means. Although, the original intention might be good, if you only look at the goal, basically any villain could be whitewashed."
Rikuo took a sip of soda, thinking about the actions Nyamu could pull off in the first episode of Ave Mujica, which was also the fuse for the entire incident. Although it could and would explode sooner or later...
"Although I can't fully understand what Rikuo is saying. But, I can see that Rikuo has already helped me look for band members, right?"
"Haha, I let it slip, didn't I? Sigh, my mental state is breaking down, it's all Nyamu's doing! The netizens she brought this time are no good!"
...
Osaka is nearly 600 kilometers from Tokyo. After a journey of investigations, the time had also reached 5 PM.
"The Ouma ga Toki has arrived. Sakiko, we must be extra careful now."
The two had already arrived near the train station, and Rikuo could feel the Anomaly aura nearby.
"It seems we can at least confirm that the existence of one Anomaly is real. Most likely, it's the train Anomaly mentioned in the news."
At this moment, the clouds in the sky began to gather, transforming into the humanoid dark cloud captured by netizens.
Rikuo looked up at the sky and could also feel the Anomaly aura within it.
"Could it be? This is the first Derivative Anomaly? Is it actually manifesting right here for me? Talk about speaking of the devil."
Rikuo pulled Sakiko and rushed to the restroom. Of course, Sakiko went to the women's restroom.
"Henshin!"
Kamen Rider Blade and the disguised Sakiko walked out.
"How am I supposed to fight this thing?"
Rikuo looked at the humanoid dark cloud in the sky, feeling it was very tricky.
"Kamen Rider Blade, the opponent also seems unable to directly attack. Is it because it just manifested, or due to insufficient energy supply?"
Sakiko stroked her chin with her small hand, making her own deduction.
"Hmm, that's possible. Then, before it fully forms, I'll destroy its source! You wait for me outside the train, I'll be right back."
Rikuo strode towards the train.
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