"Who are you?"
Seeing that Raven had no intention of answering, Kaito pulled out a card and slowly inserted it into the Diendriver.
[KAMEN RIDE]
The transformation standby loop filled the air.
"Henshin!"
With a sharp shout, Daiki Kaito pulled the trigger of the Diendriver.
[DIEND!]
As the transformation sequence concluded, Kamen Rider Diend stood before Raven. Interestingly, Diend's black-and-blue color scheme, accented by gold details, paired remarkably well with the aesthetic of Dark Decade. It was no wonder rumors persisted that the Diendriver was a weapon originally crafted specifically for Decade.
Seeing the transformation complete, Raven calmly stepped forward and threw a straight punch. Diend tried to brace himself for the impact, but what happened next left him utterly stunned.
BOOM!
The unstoppable force of the punch sent Diend crashing through the structure, plummeting from the fifth floor all the way to the ground. He landed right in front of the local Riders and Decade.
"Who's that?"
Kazuma Kendate and the others looked over, only to see Diend scrambling pathetically out of a pile of rubble. Moments later, Raven descended from above, landing firmly nearby.
"Cough... cough..."
Daiki Kaito's expression grew graver than ever before. He immediately pulled out several cards and shoved them into the Diendriver. In a flash, he summoned two Riders to his side: Kamen Rider Knight and Kamen Rider Ixa.
"What on earth is going on now?" Kazuma Kendate was completely lost. How were there suddenly so many Kamen Riders appearing out of nowhere?
Sakuya Hishigata and Mutsuki Kuroha were equally shocked. "Since when did the company have this many Riders?"
Tsukasa, who had just sealed an Undead while transformed as Ryuki, turned his head toward the chaos. "Nani?"
The figure of Diend was unfamiliar, but the person he was fighting… wasn't that the same guy who had been causing trouble for him all along?
"I don't know what's happening, but this might be our chance to take him down!"
Tsukasa switched back to his Decade card, drawing his Ride Booker in sword mode to support the about-to-be-thrashed Diend. Raven, meanwhile, was treating the summoned Riders like children, knocking Knight and Ixa aside with single blows. Just as he was about to finish off Diend, Decade lunged into the fray.
For the first time, two Decades—one black, one magenta—faced off.
"You're definitely the fake me!" Tsukasa pointed his sword at Raven, convinced this was the fraud causing trouble and making him take the blame. "You're the real Destroyer!"
The thought infuriated Tsukasa. He was being hunted for crimes he hadn't committed, and he was certain the man in front of him was the one framing him.
"Today isn't the day to deal with you."
Raven had no interest in Tsukasa for the moment; his focus was entirely on fulfilling the mission by beating Kaito. According to the "defeat" criteria, he needed to force a detransformation at the very least. With a casual strike, he swatted Decade aside.
However, taking advantage of the distraction, Daiki Kaito had already made his escape.
"Tch."
Slightly disappointed, Raven turned his gaze toward Kazuma Kendate.
"You... what do you want?" Kazuma asked nervously, finding himself targeted by this absurdly powerful mysterious Rider.
The only answer he received was a fist to the gut.
THUD!
Blade was sent tumbling. "Why are you attacking me?!" he yelled in anger. "Aren't you someone sent by the company?"
Raven offered no explanation. He inserted a Final Attack Ride card.
Executing a restrained version of the Dimension Kick, Raven leaped into the air. His foot connected squarely with Blade, pinning him to the ground. He controlled the power perfectly—just enough to force the transformation to cancel and leave Kazuma physically weakened.
With Kamen Rider Blade easily defeated, a new set of cards unlocked within Raven's Card Box. It contained all of Blade's forms, including his personal favorite: King Form.
"Dammit..."
Tsukasa watched Raven helplessly, his heart full of resentment. Why was this guy so ridiculously strong? Having obtained the Blade cards, Raven left the scene, satisfied. He hadn't managed to take down Kaito this time, but there would be other opportunities.
Tsukasa cancelled his transformation, revealing his identity to the wounded Kazuma and the others.
"Hey, who are you? What just happened?" Kazuma asked, dragging his bruised body toward Tsukasa.
"I'm just a chef. The chef at your cafeteria," Tsukasa admitted freely.
"So you're a Rider temporarily dispatched by the company? What's your rank?" Sakuya Hishigata asked.
"An 'A,' obviously." Tsukasa's sour mood flipped as he pointed at himself. "Actually, I should be a higher rank. Super A! King Class!"
"Wrong. It's the Two of Spades."
"The lowest possible rank."
Kazuma pointed to the ID badge pinned to Tsukasa's chest, which clearly displayed his name and lowly rank. Caught in his lie, Tsukasa simply muttered, "It's just the darkness before the dawn," and turned to leave.
"You fought well. I'll suggest the General Manager promote you," Sakuya called out.
"No thanks. I have no interest in being a salaryman," Tsukasa waved a hand in refusal.
Of course, the reality of the situation soon changed his mind.
Back at the studio, he had asked Old Man Eijiro to help fix his camera. In response, the old man asked for money, not just for the repairs, but for all the film, developing costs, and room and board he had accrued. With no other choice, Tsukasa was forced back to BOARD.
Meanwhile, in the President's office on the top floor:
"To prevent the destruction of the world, you want to borrow our strength?"
"Did I understand that correctly?"
The man sitting in the executive chair didn't even look up from his paperwork as he spoke. Standing before him were a slightly nervous Natsumi Hikari and Yusuke Onodera.
"Yes," Natsumi replied tentatively.
"Then, what is your budget?"
The man finished signing the last document handed to him by his secretary and finally looked up. He was the President of the company, Hajime Shijyo. He was also the man rumored to be the strongest Kamen Rider in this world: the user of Kamen Rider Chalice.