Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

Yui, Yui Tsukika? Who is that? Why haven't I known about this after all these years as a magical girl?!

Although Kyoko's face was full of surprise, and Mami Tomoe was also a little confused, she didn't intend to dwell on it too much.

"Tomorrow, I will take the students who are willing to come with me and try to turn everyone into magical girls as well."

"What did you say--"

"That's right. I don't intend to enjoy this feeling all by myself. That's right... If there's someone who also wants to become a magical girl, I will definitely do my best to help her become one too."

Ignoring Kyoko's words and expression, Mami Tomoe turned around completely.

"I'm sorry, Anzu. No matter what I regret, I will never regret what I did today."

"On the contrary, I am truly honored to exist in this world as a magical girl who can protect everyone's peace."

She left.

Sakura Kyoko stood alone, speechless for a long time because of what Tomoe Mami had said.

Magical girl...a heroine of justice?

What a joke... Before those monsters called witches appeared recently, she didn't even understand why she became a magical girl. How could it be that simple!

"Mami... what's wrong with you? Have you been bewitched?"

A magical girl... group.

Kyoko was certain that she had never heard of such an organization before.

Although she herself didn't know why she had become a magical girl, or what she should do with this power, but...

"The truth is definitely not as simple as Mami says."

She left the path, and after sorting out all her thoughts, she decided to go and discuss it with Homura Akemi again.

But before that.

Sakura Kyoko, who was constantly wandering between buildings, saw him from the street.

"...Huh?"

In her own memory, Homura Akemi should be the kind of person who almost never interacts with anyone—

Suddenly, she found herself walking down the street with a man.

"Who...is that man?"

A strange-looking, black-haired man holding a strange watch in his hand.

Behind him followed a man in a coat carrying books…

Volume 9, The Demon King Appears: Chapter 404, A New Despair Unfolds

Yan Ming walked alone on the street.

After resolving the previous incident, he began to think about the more detailed matters to come.

Most importantly... how can we completely defeat Teedo?

Having gained some unknown power, Teed not only became able to create clones, control the minds of others, and move around the globe, but even the location of his original body was unknown.

Although Yan Ming does possess the Time King Second Stage power that allows him to manipulate time freely, this situation is quite tricky, as it is not a problem that can be easily solved by simply manipulating time.

…Or rather, to reverse the entire world's timeline, going back to the state before Teedo arrived?

That would indeed be feasible, but even so, it still wouldn't solve Tee's problem, because no matter how time is reversed, the Time Jacker named Tee will eventually come to this world.

Ultimately, what is the purpose of his plan? What is the reason for creating so many magical girls? These are the questions that need to be addressed most now.

Do you also make that kind of expression?

As Yan Ming pondered all of this, a voice came from beside him.

A familiar voice.

He looked up and, without realizing it, a girl with long, straight black hair was already standing in front of him.

It's Homura Akemi.

"I see. Is it time for you to get out of school?"

"Hmm, but... what's with that expression? Is there a problem you can't solve?"

"Of course there are. Everyone has things they can't solve on their own."

The walk went from one person to two, but because neither of them spoke much, the atmosphere was rather gloomy.

What might seem like a chilly atmosphere to outsiders was perfectly normal for Yan Ming and Homura Akemi.

"...There's something I need to tell you."

"I know, it's about Mami Tomoe, isn't it?"

Homura Akemi couldn't help but look at him, seemingly surprised at how Yan Ming knew.

"It's no big deal, it's been all over the news."

"No way...it spread so quickly?"

"That's just how this era is; don't underestimate the speed at which information spreads online."

Yan Ming then opened his phone and showed Akemi Homura the various contents mentioned in the news.

Well... although it differs from the actual situation, at least many people now know that Mami Tomoe is who she is.

It was inevitable that the people of Mitakihara City would know about this, but even news websites and forums in other countries began to report on the topic.

"I was at school at the time. If I had noticed the witch's intrusion sooner and dealt with it first, maybe Mami Tomoe wouldn't have..."

"Don't think about it so much."

Seeing Akemi Homura say such things, Yan Ming said to her decisively.

"Even if you secretly eliminate the troublemaking witch or resolve all unexpected factors, Mami Tomoe will eventually choose to expose her identity."

"You should know her personality too. She's always been like this, ever since a long time ago."

Yan Ming and Akemi Homura share the same memories, so they both know exactly what kind of personality Mami Tomoe has.

She is someone who can't stand being alone.

Even without a witch attack or similar incident, Mami Tomoe would have eventually revealed her identity to some extent, let alone in an environment where magical girls are exposed globally like this.

Homura Akemi then fell silent.

After walking a few steps with Yan Ming, she raised her head again.

"What do you think will happen to Mami Tomoe after this?"

“In this era, it is very dangerous to expose one’s unusual identity. Mami Tomoe will definitely encounter some bad things afterward... but it is her own choice, so it is an experience she is bound to have.”

Yan Ming's expression paused slightly at this point.

Perhaps he can help her out later... but that's the situation for now.

For Mami Tomoe, this was something like an obsession, and she would never give up until she figured it out herself.

Having witnessed everything, Homura Akemi did not continue talking about Mami Tomoe.

Just then.

The two were just walking normally on the street... when suddenly something happened.

hum-

A crack instantly appeared in front of them.

Then two people just fell out of there.

Almost the instant he realized this, Yan Ming grabbed Akemi Homura's hand and pulled her behind him.

"Whoa—!"

Of the two people who fell out of the crack, one landed with a slight stumble, while the other landed very smoothly.

"Eh?"

Homura Akemi blinked in surprise.

There were a large crowd of passersby around, and when they saw this scene, they were all dumbfounded.

"I mean... why not just use the Time Demon to land directly? Why do you have to teleport to the ground like this!"

"Doing that will only cause bigger unrest... Mr. Gates, you should know that very well."

"So this is your reason for throwing me down from more than two meters above the ground!"

"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes."

Wozniak and Gates, one of them looked indifferent, while the other was about to get angry.

"It's them...?"

At that moment, Homura Akemi also walked over from behind Yan Ming.

Looking at these two... who seemed about to start fighting, the girl was at a loss for words.

"Is this... alright?"

"This has always been how they interact."

Yan Ming, on the other hand, acted decisively.

He walked directly between the two who were about to fight, separated them, and then looked around.

Fortunately, there's a small restaurant on the street to the right.

"How's the investigation going with what I asked you to do?"

"Things are going very smoothly, my Demon King. Gates and I have investigated a lot of information together this time."

"No, no... now is not the time to talk about this kind of thing, is it?"

Gates waved his hand and quickly looked at Yan Ming.

"Listen to me, right now... that thing called the God Train seems to be on the outermost edge of our spacetime!"

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

It was evening.

Most working people and students have already gone home, and families have started preparing dinner.

"Xiao Xian, dinner will be ready in a little while! Go wash your hands!"

A young girl is hiding in her room.

Mingming, her mother was calling her to eat from outside the door, but she acted as if she hadn't heard and remained lying on the ground, motionless.

That's right.

She didn't lie on the bed, nor did she sit in a chair... she just lay face down on the floor.

And this girl is one of the magical girls who rode the ghost train today.

"So...tired."

She didn't want to just lie there on the floor; she simply couldn't get up.

I feel weak all over and sweat profusely, but my body temperature is always normal no matter how I measure it; I don't have a fever at all.

…No.

Ultimately, as a magical girl, it wouldn't be a problem for her to get sick.

Everything happened gradually after Tide rescued me from that train.

Why…?

The girl struggled with all her might and finally managed to get up from the floor, leaning against the edge of the bed.

With the dim light of the desk lamp, she slowly raised her hand.

--ah.

"Huh...? Am I... hallucinating?"

Under the girl's gaze, something pitch black slowly emerged from her hand.