Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

"You don't understand, do you? Gates, sometimes if you try to pretend, you'll only give yourself away. Like our Demon King, revealing the whole situation when necessary is the simplest way to deal with it."

Instead of making up a bunch of lies to fool Misaka Mikoto like Gates did, Yan Ming would rather just tell her that he is leaving Academy City. That would be the best course of action.

"Hmm... then you can wait a moment."

"Ok?"

After Yan Ming finished speaking, Misaka Mikoto took out her cell phone from her pocket.

…It looks like a frog's shell.

"What? Why are you looking at my phone?"

"It's nothing, just an itchy eye."

Yan Ming kept his bizarre thought, "Misaka Mikoto's phone is a frog design," to himself and continued looking at the other person, while Misaka Mikoto pointed her phone at his and his phone at each other.

"Now I've saved my phone number in your phone. Didn't you say you were leaving Academy City? If you ever come back and need any help, remember to contact me anytime. I'm a very strong Level 5 esper in Academy City!"

Even if we encounter some problems, you can't help us... Wozniak and Gates couldn't help but think to themselves.

"Okay, that's all for now, bye-bye~"

"Well... take care then."

And so, the farewell to the third-ranked student in Academy City ended so simply.

Gates and Wozniak witnessed all of this and then came to his side.

"Is there anything else you want to do after this?"

"Yes, I need to talk to a few people before I can leave this world."

"Then Woz and I will wait for you at our old apartment. You can just come find us when you get back."

After the two left, Yan Ming went to take care of the remaining matters in Academy City on his own.

"...First, we need to deal with the most important thing."

————————————————————

"World War III..."

Kakine Teitoku, the second-ranked resident of Academy City, is currently lying on the sofa in his apartment.

The other members of the apartment, Yoshinobu and Yuki Aya, went out to play with Ringo, so only Kakine Teitoku was left in the apartment.

With nothing else to do, he casually browsed the news on his phone, but nothing really interested him.

"What World War III? In the end, no matter how advanced the technology of other countries is, it can't compare to that of Academy City. In the end, won't it still be a one-sided crushing victory for us?"

"That's not necessarily true... Who says that fighting outside is always done using technological means?"

A familiar voice came from inside the apartment.

The sound piqued Kakine Teitoku's interest, and he quickly got up to see a person standing in his living room.

"...It's you."

Upon seeing the visitor, Kakine Teitoku surprisingly adopted a friendly expression.

Because the person who came was Yan Ming, who was as important to him as a savior.

"What wind blew you here this time?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something important, and also, I'm leaving here soon."

"Leaving Academy City...? Where do you plan to go then?"

"I'm going back to where I used to be. I might come back in the future, but not for the time being."

"So you came to say goodbye..."

Kakine Teitoku smiled indifferently, then walked to the small refrigerator next to him and took out two cans of soda.

He handed one can to Yan Ming and opened and drank the other himself.

"Actually, there's no need for excessive small talk. I remember you have my phone number in your phone. Just call me if you need any help, and I'll help you with anything."

"Thank you so much."

Yan Ming picked up the soda and opened the cap to drink it.

However, he continued.

"But as I just said, I'm not just here to say goodbye, I also plan to tell you some important things."

"...What is it?"

Upon hearing Yan Ming's words, Kakine Teitoku's expression gradually became serious.

"Haven't you always wanted to change this Academy City?"

Yan Ming spoke thoughtfully, then took out something that looked like a watch face.

He pressed the button on the dial, and a mercury-like curtain appeared in front of the two of them, allowing them to enter directly into it.

Then, a dimly lit room came into view.

"here it is…"

Kakine Teitoku looked around in surprise; he had a slight recollection of this kind of room.

There's no mistake, this room, with no windows or front door, completely airtight, and with an orange glow inside, is—

And there was the silver-haired human, suspended upside down in the liquid within an enormous culture tank located in the very center.

This is the residence of the overseeing chairman, Aleister Crowley.

Before meeting Yan Ming, Kakine Teitoku's long-held wish was to meet Aleister and have something to say to him face-to-face.

And now he finally has this opportunity; the chairman of Academy City is standing right in front of him.

“I’ve already told this guy that if he dares to do anything outrageous to you, I’ll make him regret it before I leave.”

"Please don't worry, I don't want to encounter any unforeseen events."

Aleister, using his vast intelligence network, has taken everything into account that will happen during World War III.

He naturally knew what had happened while he was with Yan Ming.

He had also witnessed how those incredibly powerful beings all fought around Yan Ming.

To put it simply, if Aleister really intends to target Yan Ming, or to be his enemy, those incredibly powerful beings... will very likely also turn their attention to him.

Although Aleister himself has unexpected trump cards, he is not a fool and would never choose to create a large number of powerful enemies for such a reason.

"Tell him everything you want to say. I've already talked to him. He will listen to whatever you want to say and will try his best to make changes."

"...Is this the important thing you wanted to tell me?"

What Kakine Teitoku has always wanted to do most is to confront Aleister directly and have a proper talk about the dark side of this city.

Now, with Yan Ming's help, this wish has finally been fulfilled.

Kakine Teitoku took a deep breath. He didn't know what to say. He was already very grateful that the other party had helped him save the person he needed to protect, and now... he had done this again.

"I can't stand mushy talk. You should talk to him quickly, and he'll take you out afterward."

Yan Ming unfurled another aurora curtain and walked directly into it.

“Then I’m off… I’ll have a chance to come back later, so get ready, Aleister.”

"We await your return, a being from another world."

—Does another world exist...?

Upon hearing this title, Kakine Teitoku seemed to suddenly understand, and all the actions the other party had taken so far, and the various powers that did not belong to Academy City, seemed to be explained in his mind.

The man had disappeared from this space, leaving only himself... with the chairman of Academy City.

"So, it's just you and me left."

Aleister calmly gazed at the young man before him.

"So what exactly do you want to say to me, the second-ranked person in Academy City?"

"I will listen attentively... partly because of what that person asked of me."

--------------------------

Everything that needed to be done has been done.

Although there is still a lot to say, Yan Ming is not the kind of person who likes small talk.

He stood on the rooftop of a tall building, taking one last good look at the city before him.

"Got to go?"

Suddenly, a white figure appeared behind him.

Even without looking, one can tell that the white-haired, red-eyed being is a mystery.

"Back during the Third World War in this world, you helped me hold off some powerful beings that I couldn't handle at the time, right?"

"Maybe, but I was busy drinking canned coffee at the time."

Even now, Accelerator casually sipped his coffee and spoke nonchalantly.

"Since you're about to leave this world, I'll give you one last piece of advice."

He said this.

"In later periods, not everyone will have the capacity to help you."

"Whether it's me or that guy in black and gold who came to help, none of us can help you all the time. Since you've identified yourself as the Demon King, you have to be prepared to face some powerful enemies."

"Because this is ultimately your story, and people like us shouldn't steal the spotlight."

The words fell.

When Yan Ming looked back again, the figure had already disappeared.

He took one last thoughtful look at the world before him, and then... turned and left.

————————————————————

When Yan Ming returned to the apartment entrance, Gates and Wozniak were already waiting for him.

however…

What are all these things you've brought?

Seeing Gates and Woz carrying large bags and small packages, Yan Ming couldn't help but ask them questions.

"Well... it's rare to come to a world with such high-tech development, so I'll use the money here to buy some souvenirs to take with me..."

"It's not like we're never coming back, and we're not here for tourism, so why make such a fuss?"

Saying this somewhat speechlessly, Yan Ming then approached Woz.

Woz nodded and took the opportunity to open the Oma Zi-O Calendar: KT in his arms.

Om-! !

In an instant, three beams of light flew directly into the hands of the two.

Two of them flew into Yan Ming's hands, while the other one... came into Gates's hands.

"Huh...?"

Gates looked at the watch face on his hand with some surprise. He had one too?

"Cross-Z!"

"Ryuki! Fourze!"

The two dials in Yan Ming's hands are Dragon Knight, which fights using the power of the monster in the mirror, and Fourze, which is based on the power of the universe.

What Gates holds is... Cross-Z, whose main power is the power of dragons.

"Why did these specific watch faces end up in our hands? And why do I have one too?"

"I think... it's probably related to our actions too."

Seeing this, Woz could only think carefully and then offer an explanation.

"My Demon King used the power of Zi-O II over the Mirror World many times during this journey, so it's normal that he obtained the Ryuki Ridewatch. As for Geiz-kun... when you obtained the Ridewatch of Resurrected Geiz, you didn't intend to give up for a while. I'm afraid it was this spirit that moved the power of the Rider in your hand."