The strength of Ouja was naturally not comparable to that of an average Rider, even one like Tycoon who possessed a dedicated Raise Buckle. Furthermore, Ouja had the aid of his Contract Monster in his attacks.
"He's too strong!"
Having to evade the sneak attacks of the Contract Monster while simultaneously facing Ouja's fierce offensive was pushing Ninja Tycoon to his absolute limit.
Meanwhile, in the sealed-off former DGP VIP Lounge.
Geats's sponsor, Ziin, and Kekera were in the same room. Kekera, who was normally a frog statue, had transformed into his human form—a middle-aged man who looked like a total troll, sitting there with one hand propping up his head.
"When exactly are we going to get out of here?" Ziin sat nearby, extremely impatient.
Currently, it was only him and Kekera left in this area, and they had been trapped for several days. As VIP-level audience members, they had traveled all the way from the future to this era to witness the competition firsthand. Yet, the entire Desire Grand Prix had been hijacked. Not only was the contest changed to the Golden Fruit Grand Prix, but they were also effectively confined to this place.
"What's wrong with the management? I haven't seen anyone come to deal with this situation. When I get back, I'm definitely filing a major complaint."
"Rushing won't help anything now. Why don't you just relax?"
Kekera remained relatively composed.
Then, the virtual screen in front of them finally displayed a picture.
"The new program has finally started!" Kekera's eyes lit up, clearly stunned by the sight of hundreds of contestants on the screen.
"This new show looks quite interesting."
Kekera quickly found his consistently supported participant in the footage: Keiwa Sakurai.
"You still have the mood for that?" Ziin sat beside him, completely frazzled.
He was a massive fan of the DGP, and now, being inexplicably locked up here made it difficult for him to enjoy the program. Currently, only he and Kekera were trapped in the VIP seats.
"I should have gone back with Kyuun earlier."
Kyuun, who originally supported Neon Kurama, had returned to the future early for some unknown reason and had thus managed to escape this predicament.
"Oh, man, Keiwa Sakurai, what are you doing?! Eliminate him!"
Kekera was following Keiwa's perspective closely on the screen and had witnessed his battle with the Spider Rider. It was supposed to be a beautiful counterattack, but the kill was stolen by the suddenly intervening Ouja.
"Where did these Riders come from?"
Seeing the appearance of Riders with noticeably different Drivers, Ziin couldn't help but look over out of curiosity.
"I don't know, maybe the new production team is behind it," Kekera said, his anxiety growing as he watched the screen.
Tycoon was being severely beaten by Ouja in the footage. The difference in their power was substantial.
"Damn it, their strength levels are completely different! If only I could tip him some points right now!"
Watching Keiwa being continuously pounded by Ouja, Kekera desperately wished he could instantly gift Keiwa a Boost Buckle to turn the tide.
"My apologies, I almost forgot about your existence."
Just then, Raven's figure suddenly appeared before Ziin and Kekera.
Ever since he sealed off this pocket of space-time, he knew two people were still trapped in the VIP Lounge. He just hadn't bothered with them until now. He took advantage of the start of the competition to check on them.
"It's you!"
"Kamen Rider Shiryu!"
Ziin's emotions surged upon seeing Raven appear, and he immediately shouted out the name. After all, Raven was the one who had ended his idol Geats's winning streak, so he had paid special attention to him.
"How did you get in here?" Ziin then asked.
This area was usually restricted, and contestants weren't permitted access, let alone now that it was sealed.
"Raven-san is the producer of the Golden Fruit Grand Prix. Naturally, he has all the access permissions here."
Tsumuri also walked in, her high heels clicking, appearing by Raven's side like a secretary.
"Tsumuri? Quick, tell me what's going on…" Ziin said, his eyes lighting up.
After Tsumuri's explanation, Ziin finally understood what had happened. The look in his eyes when he regarded Raven was now mixed with much awe.
Given his power, it was no wonder he had been able to end Geats's winning streak before.
Ziin then asked, "So, what do you plan to do with us next? Do we go back, or…?"
Raven replied, "I have an interesting proposal. You two should also participate in this game."
…
On the other side, Keiwa was facing a dire threat under Ouja's fierce attack.
At the crucial moment, the sound of a Magnum gunshot rang out, temporarily interrupting Takeshi's assault.
Keiwa looked up and saw a familiar face: Ace Ukiyo.
"Come with me first!"
Ace fired his gun, sweeping the area ahead and kicking up a huge cloud of smoke on the ground. By the time Takeshi reacted, the two Riders were gone.
"Running already?"
Takeshi looked utterly disappointed, and his agitation returned.
Just then, several figures suddenly rushed out from behind him. They were Riders who had forged a cooperation, intending to team up and eliminate anyone who looked threatening early on. Seeing that Takeshi was alone, they were delighted by the prospect of a successful hunt. They figured there was no way they could lose with five people against one.
However, Takeshi, irritated by Keiwa's escape, turned and looked at them. The expression hidden beneath his mask curved into an extremely cruel smile.
"Hello, gentlemen."
…
Meanwhile, Keiwa, having escaped danger, was profusely grateful to Ace for saving him. He hadn't expected the other Rider to proactively save him, especially in a Rider Battle Royale.
"At least in this round of the game, we aren't opponents yet," Ace proactively explained.
The rule stipulated that only 20 people would be left, meaning they could indeed team up with others to eliminate the rest of the participants. While Ace didn't necessarily need to team up to survive the first round, he didn't want the difficulty of the game to increase. This was crucial for him to learn about his mother from Raven. There was no room for error.
After all, many people had already tacitly started forming teams.