Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

It was so hard, but everything was finally back to normal.

"Dad, Mom."

One of the witches had already come up behind them, a sight that made Homura Akemi's parents look like they were about to die of fright.

"sorry."

boom!!

Then, the witch's head was blown off on the spot.

Gunshots rang out all around.

Almost everyone froze in place, and then—

The next instant, they all appeared behind the iron gate.

The iron gate itself was already locked... and all the witches had disappeared for some unknown reason.

They disappeared together.

And that black-haired girl.

"...Little Flame?"

Homura Akemi's parents stared incredulously at the figure standing on the iron gate in the distance.

————————————————————

I can't keep up the pretense any longer.

Homura Akemi took a deep breath; now, she had to make her move.

Watching the countless witches trying to climb towards her, the girl's expression remained unchanged. Instead, she threw two round objects forward.

In an instant, the sound of explosions echoed all around.

The witches were blown up one after another, and Homura Akemi was also flying back and forth amidst the explosions.

No witch could keep up with her movements, and no one could see what she was doing.

"That means we're not so close anymore..."

After eliminating as many witches as possible near those people, Homura Akemi felt a sharp pain in her head.

"Waaah...!"

Too much magic has been used.

Thanks to Yan Ming's changes, the magical girls who were already in this world no longer affect the Soul Gem when using magic; instead, they consume their own spiritual power to obtain magical energy.

However, excessive mental energy consumption can also affect the magical girl herself.

During the time freeze, Homura Akemi moved everyone there to the back in one go... remaining frozen for almost ten minutes.

Her mental state is severely depleted; now, even walking makes her feel like her head is about to explode.

"We absolutely have to find Xiaoyuan quickly...!"

The battles that had just begun were quite intense, and Homura Akemi knew that Yan Ming and the others were fighting hard.

Therefore, she had to make sure Xiaoyuan was safe, otherwise...

Just then, a huge black shadow attacked her directly.

"Varied--?"

Thump—! It was impossible to see clearly before Homura Akemi's entire body was struck and sent flying backward.

Boom! The asphalt road was scraped open, and the girl's battered body fell to the ground.

"Cough...this, this guy is..."

It was an enormous witch, she looked like a gorilla.

The giant witch stared at Homura Akemi. It harbored no hostility; it simply wanted to kill everything in front of it.

Faced with the girl who had lost all means of resistance, the gorilla raised its arm high and suddenly formed a fist—

"—Tsk!"

We have to... escape quickly...

The excruciating pain in her mind rendered the girl completely unable to use magic. She gritted her teeth, barely managing to maintain her nearly broken spirit—

Something shielded her from it.

Clang—!

Then she heard this sound.

"...Clock Up".

Everything began here, and it also came to an end in an instant.

When Homura Akemi came to her senses, everything in front of her suddenly became completely clean.

"...Huh?"

Not only that, even the sound disappeared.

The noisy voices of the witches disappeared completely, no… the witches themselves disappeared as well.

There was only one figure standing in front of him.

A figure that looked like a beetle stood with its back to her.

"So that's how it is. Is this the state of the world? It's truly disheartening."

"Who are you?"

Upon hearing the girl's call from behind, that person... he simply turned around slowly.

"He's just a man who walks the path of Heaven."

Boom—it vanished.

Without any reason, the man simply vanished from the spot.

So what exactly happened?

Homura Akemi couldn't understand any of this, but—

"I can't fall down yet... I still have to... protect Madoka...!"

Volume Nine: The Demon King Appears: Chapter 433 Come Accompany Me on a Trip

The wind was blowing wildly.

This is an underground shelter, originally prepared by the government for emergencies, but no one could have imagined that today would be the day it would be used.

"Mother."

The spacious shelter is filled with countless children and their parents, as well as people with elderly relatives or young couples. All sorts of people are here.

Near the entrance to the shelter, a child asked his mother a question with a puzzled look.

"Why does everyone have to come down to the ground? It's so stuffy here, I want to go out."

"...Actually, we're all here for a picnic today."

Clang—a few specks of dust fell from the ceiling, and the dim lights flickered a few times. Although they quickly returned to normal, almost everyone in the shelter felt extremely uneasy at that moment.

This shook the entire shelter.

"Everyone actually made plans in advance to surprise each other today, so... everyone, including Xiao Hao, came here to celebrate together."

"Wow! Really? That's great! When can we have cake?"

"Don't worry, in a little while uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters in work uniforms will come and give us delicious food. Then you can eat with Mom."

"Wow... I can't wait any longer, the little cake... my mouth is watering~!"

That was a beautiful fantasy, completely opposite to reality. In contrast, reality was a suffocating darkness.

Xiaoyuan is also staying here.

Through a phone conversation, it was learned that Sayaka was alright, but she was also in some other places.

For her, there was no idea what was happening in the world.

just.

'Sayaka... Homura... Senior Yan Ming...'

She knew that those she cared about might be in danger right now.

But she herself could do nothing.

The girl, left alone in her place, was overwhelmed with sorrow and prayed bitterly for all of this.

————————————————————

boom!!

This is about ten kilometers outside the shelter.

Mami Tomoe single-handedly blasted away an unknown number of witches, then staggered and threw away her flintlock pistol, which was now empty of ammunition.

"Ha ha…"

She was exhausted.

Her magic power was almost depleted, and her mind was extremely tense—this was Mami Tomoe's current situation.

but…

"The shelter is right up ahead...!"

But looking right in front of them—within a range of at least several hundred meters—were all figures of witches.

No matter how determined Mami Tomoe is, she simply cannot withstand such an exaggerated scale.

What's more, she's all alone here.

Where did the other magical girls go?

"..."

Mami Tomoe couldn't help but relax and chuckle softly.

As for Kyoko, in order to protect the other group of people, she went over there to fight the witches... She's been gone for ten minutes and hasn't come back yet.

However, given that she could hear continuous explosions and countless flashes of light from afar, Mami Tomoe basically understood how things would end.

"I... I'm such a fool."

Rainwater washed over the girl's face.

The smile she showed just a second ago was probably a self-mockery.

"Even now, I still naively believe in the identity of a magical girl... Even though he explained it to me so clearly."

Now, there are countless magical girls in this city. If everyone works together, they will surely be able to overcome this difficulty.

However, no one came.

There's no one here. From the start of the battle until now, only Mami Tomoe has been there.

The only place where their numbers increased was on the witch's side.

—The identity of a magical girl has never existed solely to protect peace.

This is the man I met once, the one I only met once, the one who told me the truth.

In such a dire situation, how many people would step forward for the vague and foolish idea of ​​'protecting others'? How many would actually fight in such a dangerous environment?

Magical girls are human too, and they can die if they lose a battle.

No one would willingly entrust their own life to the absurd task of fighting hundreds of thousands of monsters for the sake of someone else's.

But she persevered.

Right now, no one can see Mami Tomoe's battle, no one knows what she did, and those she saved will never know what she did... let alone come out to thank her.

This is a job that has no reward from the very beginning.

The magical girl I've always dreamed of, fighting for justice and peace, protecting others... this is it, a job with no reward.