Just as Tendo and Yaguruma were battling fiercely, a figure appeared nearby, observing in secret.
It was Raven, who had come to watch the show.
The entire course of the battle unfolded as it did in the original story: Tendo intentionally held back, even managing to save Kagami, who had rushed over to try and stop the fight, during the chaos.
And then, he was defeated by TheBee's Rider Sting.
"Stop! That's enough fighting!" Kagami stepped forward to prevent TheBee from continuing his attack on the downed Tendou.
"My mission is to eliminate Kabuto," Yaguruma said coldly.
"Eliminate?"
Kagami couldn't understand. With the Worms running rampant, they should be overjoyed to have an extra ally, why would they want to eliminate him?
"That order is completely bizarre!"
"The Rider System belongs to ZECT. Move aside," Yaguruma shoved Kagami to the side.
He then walked up, grabbed the defeated Tendo off the ground, and used his other hand to deliver a punch that destroyed the Core of the belt. The force of the punch was just right; he had no intention of killing Tendo.
"I had to destroy the Rider Belt. Don't hold it against me." Yaguruma said, satisfied.
"Who said the Rider System belongs to ZECT?"
At that moment, Raven suddenly stepped out. He felt it was time to make his move. With his invincible power in this world, there was no need to hide his identity.
"It's you?"
Yaguruma looked at the distant Raven. He remembered him as the person who made the mapo tofu that day.
"Raven-san? How are you…?"
Kagami struggled to get up from the distance, looking at Raven in confusion.
Raven merely exposed the Faiz Belt around his waist. He held his phone, dialing the transformation code as he walked.
"You're Faiz!"
Yaguruma was completely taken aback that Raven had proactively appeared before him.
"Perfect timing!" he exclaimed, pleased. He felt lucky today, he could take out two people he resented in a single encounter.
"Henshin!"
With Raven's cry, the red Photon Blood frame covered his body. Accompanied by the red light, he transformed into Kamen Rider Faiz.
But he wasn't finished. He immediately pulled out the Axel Watch and activated it.
"Complete!"
Instantly, Faiz's chest armor opened, revealing the core underneath. Subsequently, the red Photon Blood across his entire body boiled, turning into the same silver as Delta. At the same time, his Compound Eyes turned red.
This was Kamen Rider Faiz Axel Form!
"Startup!"
The moment Axel was activated, the ten-second countdown began. Raven's figure moved like an overloaded machine, friction scorching the ground as he lunged forward.
Seeing this, TheBee also immediately entered Clock Up!
The two began a head-on speed confrontation. This was Raven's first time using Faiz Axel against Clock Up. He didn't use his own innate acceleration ability.
From the current performance, the two acceleration systems appeared to be evenly matched, at least in their visible effects. However, Startup had one critical flaw: it could only be sustained for ten seconds.
Still, ten seconds within the acceleration state was likely equivalent to ten minutes in the outside world, more than enough time to finish a fight.
"You really surprise me. I never expected you to be Faiz," Yaguruma shouted as they fought. "But what you did to us is unforgivable!"
He couldn't possibly let go of the grudge over his entire squadron being hospitalized.
"Is this what you call perfect harmony? It seems you've taken a completely wrong path."
Raven parried TheBee's attack with one hand, then flipped around and kicked him away. Yaguruma crashed violently into an innocent car, completely wrecking it.
Yaguruma got up from the ground and activated his finisher.
"Rider Sting!"
Seeing this, Raven attached the Faiz Shot camera-knuckle to his hand and pressed the confirmation key.
"Exceed Charge!"
The Photon Blood energy immediately injected into the camera-gauntlet. Raven clashed with TheBee in a head-to-head exchange.
Bang!
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted.
The distant Kagami slowly managed to stand up. When the smoke and debris cleared, only one figure remained standing: Faiz, whose Axel Mode had just concluded.
Yaguruma was once again lying on the ground. Having just been discharged from the hospital, he was now severely wounded again. The TheBee Zecter flew away from his hand.
Raven deactivated his transformation.
He kicked Yaguruma aside and then picked up the Rider Bracelet.
"I'll be taking this item for now," Raven said with a slight smile.
"Stop!"
Once Kagami recovered enough, he rushed over to Raven. "Why are you doing this, Raven-san?!"
Honestly, Kagami had a good impression of Raven. Although they hadn't known each other long, he thought he was a very kind person. He never expected Raven to also be a Kamen Rider, one who didn't belong to ZECT and was acting as their enemy.
"Why? I'm looking for the reason too," Raven quipped, borrowing a famous line.
"But you hurt Yaguruma-san and stole the Rider Bracelet!" Kagami continued to demand.
"Is a person like that truly worth your loyalty, Arata?"
Raven pointed a finger at the wall of a building in the distance. Embedded there was Kabuto's Kunai Gun blade.
It was the one Tendo had thrown earlier to intercept and shatter a piece of debris that was falling toward Kagami.
Seeing this, Kagami suddenly realized the truth. Tendo had only been defeated by Yaguruma because he had paused to save Kagami's life.
In comparison, Yaguruma's character appeared utterly base. The difference between the two was clear.
"But… even so…"
The ever-good-natured Kagami immediately fell into internal conflict, unsure of what to do.
Raven, however, couldn't be bothered to explain further. He took the Rider Bracelet and departed.
Ultimately, Kagami had no choice but to take both Tendo and Yaguruma to the hospital.
Tendo was fine. Though he sustained some injuries, the problems were minor. Yaguruma, however, was not so fortunate. He wouldn't recover this time without being laid up for at least two weeks.
…
Elsewhere.
Masato Mishima's face darkened upon learning of the situation. He immediately reported the circumstances to his superior, Riku Kagami.
"To think both Kabuto and TheBee have been taken down now. Just who is this Faiz?" Riku said, his expression grave.
"We must strengthen ZECT's forces as soon as possible," he continued. "How is the search for the other suitable candidates coming along?"
Masato replied, "We have found the suitable candidate for Drake Zecter. It's a make-up artist…"