ZECT's high-ranking executive, Riku Kagami, Arata Kagami's father, was currently in a dimly lit office.
The figure standing next to him appeared to be his assistant, reporting on the recent events.
This left Riku Kagami feeling quite perplexed.
It was one thing for an uncontrollable Kabuto to suddenly appear, but now, there was yet another Rider that ZECT could not control?
Furthermore, the Rider system he was using did not seem to be one developed by ZECT.
Riku asked with a sense of doubt, "Could there be other forces out there developing different Rider Systems?"
"What should our next move be?"
The assistant, Masato Mishima, was a top-level ZECT executive and Riku Kagami's right-hand man. On the surface, he was loyal to the man.
However, his true identity behind the scenes was that of the strongest Native Worm and the series' final antagonist. At the moment, he was still in a state of carefully concealed patience, having yet to expose his ambition.
"First, find a way to investigate his identity." Riku stated.
"Understood." Masato adjusted his glasses and replied respectfully.
…
On the other side, after defeating Tendo and Yaguruma, Raven found a secluded spot, preparing to examine the reward he had just acquired: the Dark Kabuto Zecter.
He retrieved it from his system space and stood on the rooftop of a tall building, fastening the belt around his waist. Immediately, a black and red Kabuto Zecter flew in from the air, circling him merrily.
It seemed quite satisfied with him as its master.
Evidently, this Zecter possessed intelligence, behaving like a genuine living creature.
Seeing this, Raven raised his hand, and the Zecter dropped straight down.
"Henshin." He lightly uttered the word before inserting the Zecter into the Driver on his belt.
The next second, his entire body was covered in thick armor, transforming him into Kamen Rider Dark Kabuto's Masked Form.
"So this is Dark Kabuto…" Raven couldn't help but examine himself.
In terms of power, there was no difference for him; it was merely a new limiter. What concerned him most was not the power itself, but the standard Clock Up ability.
He had already experienced Faiz's Super Acceleration Mode. Now, it was time for this one.
"Cast Off!" Raven shouted, then pushed the Zecter's horn to initiate the explosion of armor.
[Cast Off!]
The sound effect echoed as Dark Kabuto's heavy armor began to separate from his body, flying off and revealing the Rider Form hidden beneath the thick shell!
[Change Beetle!]
With the final raising and combining of the antenna with his head, the transformation was truly complete.
Truthfully, Raven was quite excited. To be able to personally transform into a Kabuto Rider, even if only Dark Kabuto, provided a completely identical experience.
Next, Raven tapped the side of the belt, triggering the Clock Up ability.
[Clock Up!]
In an instant, everything around him completely froze, as if time had stopped.
This was the Clock Up of the Kabuto system. Its principle involves manipulating light particles to accelerate the user's subjective time, so the user experiences their surroundings slowing down.
This is a significant difference compared to Faiz's simple acceleration of his own performance. Moreover, Kabuto also possesses the even more potent Hyper Clock Up, a speed so fast that it allows the user to freely travel through time, visiting the past and the future.
This explains why there is always a Hyper Zecter user watching whenever Tendo fights; it is the future Tendo, having acquired the Hyper Zecter, who can use Hyper Clock Up to travel to the past to give his past self a power-up and protect his sister.
As things stand, Raven could actually achieve a similar ability even without relying on Dark Kabuto. After all, he had already mastered the ability to arbitrarily manipulate time. Accelerating his own time to achieve an effect similar to Clock Up would be effortless.
However, he already possessed the Super Acceleration ability obtained by consuming Kitazaki, so he had never specifically chosen to do so.
After a simple test of the new belt's power, Raven returned home and resumed his carefree life with his black-stockinged, lolita maid, Beroba.
…
A few days later.
Arata Kagami's team, under Shuichi Tadokoro, learned of another incident through the newspaper.
It turned out that the previous Worms had not been entirely eradicated; one still remained.
"It seems the incident is not over yet." Shuichi sat in the command vehicle, sipping his coffee.
Just then, Kagami walked in from outside.
"Good morning."
"What is it? I didn't call you over," Yuzuki Misaki asked curiously, looking at him.
Kagami's eyes were complicated. He stepped forward and spoke to Shuichi Tadokoro, "There's something I need to ask of you."
He had come to request to join Yaguruma's Shadow team.
"What is it?"
"Could you temporarily assign me to Yaguruma's team?"
Ever since Kagami witnessed Yaguruma's perfect harmonization operation, he had been deeply drawn to it, believing it to be the combat style most suited for himself.
This request surprised both of them, especially Misaki, who looked at Kagami with annoyance.
"I want to learn from him."
"Please," Kagami pleaded, bowing his head.
Shuichi looked at Kagami with an extremely complex expression but ultimately agreed to his request.
Thus, having received permission, Kagami immediately rushed to the hospital to visit So Yaguruma, who was still recovering from his injuries.
Inside the hospital room, Yaguruma had just completed his discharge procedures and changed his clothes.
Although he had recovered well after several days of rest, the events of that day still haunted him.
"That damned guy…" Yaguruma felt a deep sense of humiliation. His entire Shadow team had been nearly wiped out by a single person.
"Faiz, I will definitely defeat you."
His internal priority had now shifted from eliminating Kabuto to eliminating Faiz.
Just then, Kagami knocked and entered the room. He saw that Yaguruma had already changed into his suit and was preparing for discharge.
"Kagami? Didn't you already visit me the day before yesterday?" Yaguruma adjusted his composure and addressed Kagami casually.
In front of others, he did not want to expose his true inner feelings. He had to maintain a state of perfect harmonization at all times.
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