Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

"Senior, you idiot! The four of us can't come out yet!"

Urtaros and the other two Otherworldly beings quickly pinned Momotaros to the ground. After all, if passersby saw them like this, it would probably only cause another round of chaos.

"Teed summoned new monsters to fight us, but he himself was in a hurry to deal with other things, and he also had to take the magical girl with him."

"Could it be because these two people are so close, almost to the point of becoming a couple?"

"How could that be—hey turtle, why do you always think of things in such a twisted and unrealistic way!"

Close relationship?

After considering what Urtaros had just casually said, and taking into account the current situation between Teed and that magical girl, as well as his actions towards ordinary people today…

There must be something that only that magical girl named Yuzuki Hana can accomplish.

Teedo kept her by his side precisely because of this, and he also needed to establish connections with a large number of other magical girls on this basis... which is why he needed to create more magical girls.

But why doesn't he just look for the magical girls who already exist in this world?

Teedo... is there anything that absolutely requires the use of the concept of "magical girl"?

Considering the warning given to him by Kota Kazuha, Teid possesses unprecedented new power compared to the historical accounts described in the past, and his actions are most likely not aimed at any goal related to the original Kamen Rider world.

At the very least, it shouldn't be as simple as just creating one or two Another Riders.

"..."

The action was too passive. Yan Ming shook his head; this was inconsistent with his usual style.

The four otherworldly gods, at this moment, all showed expressions of amazement.

"Hey, this kid looks really serious."

"I always feel like we don't really click with each other..."

Momotaros and Rontaros spoke first.

Quintalos and Puttalos both nodded.

“Indeed… even when I was with Ryotaro before, he never showed such a deep atmosphere.”

"Zi-O... I feel like I've heard that term before?"

"Huh? Ryuta, you forgot? The grandson of the old man who helped us repair the train last time, Tokiwa Sougo, is the Zi-O."

"Huh—? So they're the same person?!"

"It's not the same person. This Zi-O is a completely new Zi-O. The last one was just the last one."

"Oh dear, this is so troublesome!"

However… Momotaros pondered carefully and then appeared directly at Yan Ming's feet.

"Hey…"

After a series of calls, Yan Ming looked at Momotaros, who had suddenly appeared at his feet.

It cleared its throat slightly.

"Well, we might not be of much help... but if you need anything, you can ask us."

"senior?"

He changed his usual carefree tone.

This time, Momotaros seems quite mature.

"I really like you, kid."

Although being an Otherworldly being made it impossible to discern changes in his expression, Momotaros did indeed appear to be smiling.

"You look completely different from that kid named Tokiwa Sougo... It reminds me of something about that guy from before."

You mean…

"It's nothing, just some unfortunate soul who's already back to normal life."

It wiped its nose slightly and continued speaking.

"But even though you are not the same person, when you try your best to save others, you look exactly the same to me."

and so…

Despite being in a state like sand, Momotaros earnestly extended her hand to Yan Ming.

"So, if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know."

"As long as it's within my power, I will do my best to help you... Leave it to us."

Looking at Momotaros like this, Yan Ming remained silent... but finally nodded.

"Then I'll have to trouble you all... seniors."

"…snort."

At this moment, Momotaros's smile seemed to grow even wider.

————————————————————————

Woz didn't notice one thing.

The book in his arms slowly began to glow with a golden light…

Volume Nine: The Demon King Appears: Chapter 381 The One Who Voluntarily Falls

Homura Akemi was on her way home.

Since it wasn't too late, and we had encountered quite a few passersby along the way, it was as if none of them had seen the violent explosion and aftershocks of the battle that had just occurred in the square.

This must be thanks to Yan Ming, who used his ability to manipulate time.

As Homura Akemi walked, she was thinking about her own things.

What exactly do I want to do...?

She had promised Yan Ming that she would return to the daily life of an ordinary girl.

But when she saw Yan Ming fighting those monsters, she couldn't help but want to intervene and help him.

How strange... What am I thinking? Clearly, that has nothing to do with Xiaoyuan anymore. Theoretically, everything else should be left to Shilun Yanming and the others to handle. It's no longer my responsibility.

"...In a few days, even Mom and Dad will be coming."

She felt her life was changing drastically in a direction she couldn't have predicted.

Homura Akemi has seen and experienced many things, but she keeps repeating the same few days in a loop. The people and things she sees are always just those within that time period, and she never sees or experiences anything new.

So what should I do then?

Should I tell my parents about my health condition? Tell them that I'm all better now, that my heart will never have problems again, and that I'm healthier than anyone else. Then I can go back to my normal school life and continue like today... After school, I can go shopping with Sayaka and the others, and play together as usual.

This should be my own life, this is the life I should live as a normal person...

But... Homura Akemi's hand holding the bag slowly tightened.

The thought that man is still fighting for something in the shadows makes me very uncomfortable.

"I actually...I actually can't let go of these things at all...Is that right?"

Even though she has escaped the nightmare of being a magical girl, and even though a happy and fulfilling future is laid out before her, she still thinks about these dangerous things.

She stopped there.

The night wind made the girl's heart even heavier. She couldn't figure out the answer to her question, and she couldn't understand why she was doing what she was doing.

The person I care about most—Xiaoyuan—is now safe. Even if something happens in the future, as long as I keep a close eye on her, there won't be any problems. She has also recovered, and my parents no longer have to worry about medical expenses like they used to.

But she couldn't let go of something else in her heart; she still couldn't return to the normal life she should have had.

The girl's pretty face was filled with distress.

She shook her head vigorously, forcibly pushing everything to the back of her mind with a pained expression, unwilling to think about it anymore—

A sound came from ahead.

Who fell... and a cacophony of footsteps.

"Can't you get your facts straight? Are you brain-dead? You're in this state, with a huge sum of money on hand, what other reason would I have for getting close to you? You're a complete idiot."

A young man stood deep in the alley.

Beside him stood another group of people, all burly and imposing, a stark contrast to the young man's age... In front of them lay a collapsed pile of garbage and the people lying on it.

A girl who was only about fifteen years old.

"What's going on with you, kid? You're usually doing loan sharking all the time, how come you're so poor this time that you can only rob a little girl with such a small amount of money?"

"Do you think there are idiots sending me money every day? Besides, I'm just earning some extra money for myself. Ah, right, there are actually quite a few people who have done similar things, like those guys who obviously approach these young girls for no reason."

The young man said nonchalantly, completely unconcerned about the injured girl lying on the ground.

"It's like... after the family is destroyed, the parents or older brother leave their daughter with a mountain of debt, and then at this moment of despair, a man suddenly appears and says something like, 'I'll share this with you, it's okay, we'll get through this together.'"

"This guy is obviously a scammer, right? But guess what? A bunch of naive country bumpkins actually believed him, genuinely thinking these guys were dating her because they wanted to weather the storm together! And the result? They just ended up getting swindled out of the money they'd worked so hard to scrape together!"

"Really? There really are such stupid brats in this world...?"

"Isn't this little girl right in front of you an example? These kinds of kids are so easy to fool. They're still young and immature. So when they're at their most desperate, you come and spend a few days with them, and after you find out about their family situation, you pretend you're still willing to accept them. That way, they'll trust you completely. In the end, this kid scraped together a little over ten million yen by borrowing from relatives and loan sharks. Compared to the people I usually scam, that's far too little!"

"You're a loan shark who's always making money, so why would you suddenly target a poor country girl like this? Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

"That's true. Anyway, it was just a novelty, who would have thought that this kid would actually come looking for me now."

"Judging from her trembling appearance, she must be in utter despair, right? You're as wicked as ever."

"Tch... What are you saying? Aren't you bunch of bastards just like me?"

They all laughed heartily, feeling both happy and satisfied.

The girl, who had been kicked to the side of the trash can and became covered in stench, was unable to even stand up.

Her heart died completely amidst these absurd conversations.

My parents died long ago, leaving me with a huge debt. As a child, I had nowhere to run away and could only let them bully me. When I was going through the most difficult time in my life, I met this young man... but I never expected him to be this kind of person.

She was speechless. After learning the truth, she instinctively wailed and begged the other party to return the money... only to suffer this fate instead.

Even if the other party were willing to return the money, what difference would it make? The debt from my parents can never be cleared.

"Let's hurry back to the karaoke bar? I want to try something else."

"It stinks horribly in here. You'd better take a shower later, otherwise the rest of us can't stand this fishy smell."

"You have the nerve to talk back to me? It's rough, burly men like you who smell the most sweaty!"

They are about to leave.

The girl struggled to her feet, trembling, from the garbage heap, but could only see the backs of these people leaving without looking back.

Why? Why? Why did this happen? Why did this have to happen to me?

Why do I have to have parents like these? They have nothing to do with me, so why should I be the one to pay the price? And of all people, I have to encounter people like these—

Is something wrong with this world? Or is it just inherently disgusting and nauseating... Is it really that despairing?

"That's so unfair...!"

Homura Akemi, who was passing by, saw all of this.

She could barely conceal the disgust and anger welling up in her eyes, just as she was about to rush towards the girl—

Om-! !

Then, suddenly the world came to a standstill.

'What... happened?!'

A landscape of iridescent colors enveloped everything around them...including the two girls at that moment.

Everything came to a stop, from the overturned trash can to the scumbags preparing to leave in the distance.

Homura Akemi possesses the ability to stop time... but even she was instantly rendered immobile in this sudden turn of events.

"You experienced the most desperate moment of your life."

The sound came from the other end of the alley.

That was the man who walked through the bodies of scumbags and appeared before the girl like a phantom... Super Time Jacker Teed.