"The strongest shall deliver the verdict. Your fate has already been decided. I hereby sentence you both to death!"
Kamata looked at the two with the smug gaze of a man who already held victory in his hands.
"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?"
A dissonant voice cut through the air. Raven was walking toward them, with Natsumi Hikari following closely by his side. She held onto his arm tightly, looking for all the world like a devoted young bride.
"It's still up in the air as to who the 'strongest' really is," Raven remarked.
The Neo Amazon Driver was already fixed around his waist. He leaned down and whispered to Natsumi, "Get back a safe distance."
"Okay!" Natsumi looked at him with a sweet, adoring smile before letting go and running to safety.
"Arrogant brat!"
Kamata didn't spare Raven a second glance. He possessed a delusional confidence, believing himself to be the absolute apex predator of this world.
"Let's go together!" Tsukasa signaled to Shinji Tatsumi.
The two transformed simultaneously and engaged Abyss's two Contract Monsters. Meanwhile, Raven stood perfectly still, not making a move.
Abyss let out a cold laugh at Raven's perceived hesitation. He charged forward, intending to end it in one strike. "Die!" Seeing his opponent so overconfident that he hadn't even transformed, Kamata aimed for a lethal blow.
"SIGMA."
Just as Abyss was about to reach him, Raven calmly twisted the grip of his Driver.
"Amazon."
BOOM—!
A violent aura of pressurized steam and energy erupted from Raven, sweeping outward like a shockwave. Abyss was sent tumbling backward, flying dozens of meters through the air.
The sheer scale of the transformation energy left Tsukasa and Shinji stunned.
"This guy... even his transformation is a massive spectacle," Tsukasa couldn't help but comment.
On the other side of the battlefield, Abyss's two Contract Monsters merged to form the Abyssodon. Its power was immense and terrifying.
"We can't let him outshine us," Tsukasa said. His Advent Deck clicked open, and three Ryuki cards flew out—it seemed his power in this world had been fully restored.
"This might tickle a bit," Tsukasa said, suddenly appearing behind Ryuki.
"Eh?" Shinji was baffled.
Tsukasa slid a Final Form Ride card into his belt. Shinji's body twisted uncontrollably, transforming into a massive red dragon—the Ryuki Dragreder.
"What... what is this?!" Shinji was horrified to find himself turned into his own Contract Monster.
"Don't think about it too much!"
Decade initiated the Final Attack Ride. He went through the motions of a Rider Kick, executing a devastating joint finisher alongside the Ryuki Dragreder. The target: the Abyssodon!
Meanwhile, Raven was systematically dismantling Abyss. It wasn't a fight; it was a one-sided slaughter. Raven fought with one hand behind his back, yet he still dominated every exchange.
"Dammit!"
Kamata couldn't believe someone could be this much stronger than him. It was absurd. This was nothing like what that man, Narutaki, had promised. Hadn't he said that he was the strongest Rider in this world?
While Kamata was being beaten into the dirt, his Abyssodon was blown to pieces by the combined Rider Kick of Decade and Ryuki.
Finally, Raven landed a blow so powerful it forced Kamata out of his transformation. He rolled across the ground, gasping for air. As he lay there, his human disguise flickered, revealing his Undead traits: the Undead belt and green blood.
"What is that guy?" Tsukasa looked on, intrigued.
"His name is the King of Hearts, also known as the Paradoxa Undead."
A middle-aged man wearing a trench coat and a fisherman's hat walked out of the shadows. It was Narutaki, Decade's omnipresent hater.
"An Undead? And who are you supposed to be?" Tsukasa turned his gaze toward him.
"The experiment in this world is over. It's time to leave." Narutaki glanced at Tsukasa and Raven. "Decade... this world, too, will be destroyed because of you."
He laughed as he opened a Dimensional Wall, taking Kamata with him and vanishing.
Raven let out a yawn. He didn't bother to intervene. While Narutaki acted like a grand antagonist now, Raven knew that due to the chaotic nature of the "writers," he would eventually devolve into a comic relief character. He wasn't even worth considering a real threat.
Raven walked back toward Natsumi. She immediately threw herself into his arms, unable to contain her joy at their victory.
And so, the story of the Parallel Ryuki World came to a close. However, for some, the experience hadn't even begun yet.
…
Inside Hikari Studio.
Yusuke Onodera stepped out of his room, looking full of energy. "Today is the start of the Ryuki World! Alright, time to work hard!"
He sounded incredibly excited, only to see Raven and the others returning from outside.
"You guys are up so early? Why didn't you wake me?" Yusuke was confused.
"It's already over. Get ready for the next world," Tsukasa said, patting him on the shoulder. He handed Yusuke a commemorative photo that Shinji Tatsumi had taken of them earlier.
"Eh? When was this taken? I don't remember this!" Yusuke stared at the photo in his hand. Because of the Time Vent, he had lost his memories of the "future" day and had been reset to the point before they ever left the studio.
Natsumi came over to catch him up on the details.
"What?! The Ryuki World is finished already?!" Yusuke looked like he'd seen a ghost.
Seeing him like this, Raven felt a wave of pity. In Yusuke's hands, the legendary Kuuga had truly become a gag character. His transformations throughout the journey were few and far between, and most of them were only to fight Tsukasa. Truly, he was a "forgotten" Rider.
"But we haven't even done anything yet!" Yusuke complained.
"Everything that needed to be done is finished," Tsukasa said dismissively.
Just then, the little bat Kivala fluttered over. She circled Yusuke, letting out a mocking giggle. Clearly, she had retained her memories as well. In the entire house, the only ones who had lost a day of their lives were Yusuke and the old man, Eijiro.
"I wonder what the next world will be?" Natsumi looked toward the studio's hanging backdrop.
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