You remember, don't you? The first Inves you defeated after becoming an Armored Rider.
No... that's...
You found hope from the sacrifice of your former friend.
You're free to abandon it and fall into despair.
Over the lives your actions saved...
And over your own survival...
And this will lure it out?
Our choices aren't merely limited to survival or extinction.
This photo shows that we have a third option available to us.
Yes. It's crafted an implement.
There are sapient Inves in that forest.
Those who transcended their own extinction, and evolved to new heights.
I've chosen to refer to these specimens as "Overlords."
And we are the only members of Yggdrasill who know of them.
After all, the forbidden fruit grants the power of a god. We can't just let anyone have them.
The power of a god...
Got it, move... wow...
Don't say no, just live more!
It's survival, you gotta move
When life's in a warring state
Who's got the strength to win
Now that all the locks are open?
Don't say no, just live more!
Where will you find...
Don't say no, just live more!
And how will you use...
The forbidden fruit?
The wind of the moment has its own message to share
It's blowin' stronger and stronger till it reaches you
Your dreams and future may seem so far away...
When you've got all you can out of life, that's when you can stop
But don't let life get you down
Keep your head held high
Wherever you may go
Never compromise yourself
Follow the path you believe in, and just live more!
Don't say no, just live more!
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23:
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F
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T
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A
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You let him escape again?
He's little more than a husk now.
He won't be bothering us anymore.
Let's hope not.
My apologies about Kazuraba Kouta.
I may have revealed too much to him.
No, it's fine. A harsh dose of reality might make him a bit more understanding.
The bigger problem here is Kumon Kaito.
Oh?
You're using Kaito, an outsider, to further some secret agenda of yours.
Right under Takatora's nose.
You think I plan to betray Takatora?
Of course.
Because he trusts you. Much more than he should.
Oh?
It's a bad habit of his.
He always places his faith in the least trustworthy people.
Where do you think this leads?
Hey!
Yuuya...
Kouta?
Mai!
What are you doing here?
Well, this is where we were meant to meet Yuuya, when he disappeared.
So when I'm nearby, I just like to come look...
Yeah...
So, how's the dancing been going?
Good, yeah. The cross-team dance group's doing really well.
And we're getting more and more people coming to our performances.
That's good...
You know, Kouta... I know you're not our bodyguard anymore, but...
I'd really like it if you came and danced with us sometime.
I don't...
have the right.
Huh?
It's my fault that–!
Kouta!
I've been looking for you!
Mitchy...
I need your advice. Can I have a sec?
That was a close one, huh?
You were going to tell Mai about Yuuya, weren't you?
Mitchy! You...?!
When we first snuck into Yggdrasill,
I saw the video about Yuuya.
Then why the heck didn't you tell me?!
How could I?!
I just wanted you to be happy!
I'd never let myself take that away from you, even if it meant hiding the truth!
And I don't regret it one bit.
I wish you'd never had to find out at all.
Is that fair to Yuuya's memory?!
I should have realized when Hase turned into that beast...
I'm a terrible person...
You saved Mai's life, Kouta!
That monster wasn't Yuuya, not anymore!
But...!
Kouta.
You mustn't tell Mai about this.
I can't keep this from her!
But you fought that monster for her sake, didn't you?
To protect her!
But that's–!
That's how she'll see it.
She'll blame Yuuya's death on herself if you tell her.
But it's my fault Yuuya died!
The truth doesn't matter here!
What matters is what it will do to Mai.
So what we need to do, both of us... is make sure she can keep smiling.
By lying to her?
Some people are happy to let others get hurt.
Who'll sacrifice anyone to realize their own ambitions.
"Truth" is just a weapon...
For those people to use against others...
What am I supposed to do...?
You finally showed up.
You expect a prideful man like me...
...to bother learning...
...your meager language?
Is it talking?
I have no interest in you,
You're no ordinary Inves, are you?
but I will not abide this humiliation!
You're making this simpler than I expected.
Transform.
BANANA
LOCK ON
COME ON!
BANANA ARMS
KNIGHT OF SPEAR
Here you go!
You've suffered enough, Kouta.
You don't have to fight anymore.
So leave dealing with Helheim's invasion and Yggdrasill's plans to me.
I promise I'll protect everyone. Just trust me!
You will regret it for the rest of your days if you turn away from your fate.
But you will not lose everything.
Mai?
If, at long last, you can move past your regret and make peace with yourself...
You will find contentment.
There is hope for you if you retreat.
What are you...
A dream?
Yo! You look down.
How... how long have you been there?
What are you hesitating for?
What do you want to do?
What happened to your zeal to defend the city?
I...
I've been fighting because I couldn't live with what Yggdrasill was doing.
But I did exactly the same thing.
I claimed I was protecting people, but I had to sacrifice others to do it.
Yep, that's gotta be embarrassing.
Then what was I fighting for?
Just to decide who would be saved, and who would have to go?
Can you call that protecting at all?
Fighting to protect is an oxymoron from the start.
The only thing power is good for is destroying.
But... there's nothing I want to destroy.
I don't need the power to do that.
You still don't get it?
What you're opposing isn't Helheim or Yggdrasill.
It's the iron rule that says the world demands sacrifice in exchange for hope.
Destroy that rule itself.
Destroy it and change the world.
Change... the world?
Yep.
Me?
Yeah.
You know why Yggdrasill's really doing what they're doing?
Because they're weak.
Because they can only fight within the rules.
They submit to the cold cruelty of reality.
So... you know that Kumon Kaito kid?
He's a much stronger person than they are.
Kaito?
Yep.
He refuses to even entertain the concept of weakness.
He's given up everything except his quest for power.
There's only two ways an idiot like him can finish, though.
COME ON!
BANANA SQUASH
Either he'll fall in disgrace...
or he'll get his hands on some really dangerous power.
MANGO
MANGO ARMS
While you're wasting away over here, Kaito's looking for the power to change the world.
FIGHT OF HAMMER
What's Kaito after?
The rulers of Helheim.
What?
The human-like people of that world weren't just destroyed.
A select few of them instead gained transcendent power.
Those are the Overlords.
They can control the plants of the forest at will.
They're the ones trying to take over our world?
Nah. They don't care about humanity.
Helheim is simply reaching out to other worlds while they neglect it.
They're pretty lazy rulers as they go.
Yggdrasill doesn't know about this?
The first person in there that found out kept it under his hat.
He cares more about his own ambition than Yggdrasill's agenda to save humanity, you see.
He's the one manipulating Kumon Kaito, too.
Sengoku Ryoma...
Now there's some fire in those eyes!
If we find these Overlord things before Ryoma, they can stop Helheim's invasion?
It may not be that easy, but that's up to you and Kaito, isn't it?
Why are you...
Because you'll need the most help.
Huh?
Whoa! Kouta, what's the matter?
You look like you've seen a ghost.
Take this, Mr. Bandou. Keep the change.
He's never paid before...
His tab's still 12,000 yen.
If this power is for destroying, not protecting...
Any way forward requires sacrifice.
But if I can erase that rule itself...
If I can smash apart that despair and hopelessness...!
Transform!
ORANGE
LOCK ON
ORANGE ARMS
THE PATH OF BLOSSOMS! TO THE STAGE!
The first thing to break is the thing holding the city in despair!
Overseer! There's a flying object approaching the tower!
Does your foolishness know no bounds?
You never learn!
Yuuya... I'm going to move on.
Please, watch over me!
TRIUMPH
LOCK ON
TRIUMPH ARMS
TAKE THE FIELD! HIP, HIP, HURRAH!
What is that?
A Lockseed I didn't know about?
A previously unknown transformation?
Absurd... unbelievable!
Why do you do this?
Why didn't you just shut up and do as I say?
Why did you drive him back into the battle?
Because you're so obsessed with the boy, Woman of the Beginning.
I can't see the future.
But I do know who you are.
And what it means to be chosen by you.
It is not your place to choose.
I'm just keeping an eye on things.
I want to see who grasps the forbidden fruit.
What have you returned for?
You lost the meaning of your battle!
Actually, you're the ones who helped me see...
What I should really be fighting against!
So you still intend to fight...
knowing you do so by your own friend's sacrifice.
I won't deny I've committed some sins.
That's why I won't let anyone else make the same mistakes!
I'll never give up!
If sacrifices are necessary, I'll fight the world that demands them!
He's trying to destroy the scalar weapons!
Anti-air measures!
You can't torch the evidence anymore!
If you want to keep your secrets, get serious about protecting the city from the Inves!
Curse you...
Mitsuzane.
I have another very important assignment for you.
I need you to thoroughly investigate Kazuraba Kouta.
Find out who's helping him from the shadows.
Kamen Rider Gaim is a work of fiction.
Kamen Rider Gaim!
What is Sagara, really...?
Jinba Peach!
Whoa!
I've found a goal truly worth pursuing.
Episode 24: A New Threat - The Overlords
Time to play my trump card.
Sunday mornings at 8:00!