Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

Could this person have been a Peking Opera face-changing performer before?

"However, speaking of which, your reasons for fighting and your past are somewhat similar to those of my Demon King."

"Huh? You mean Mr. Yan Ming has the same past as me?!"

"It is."

But not as badly as you. Yan Ming couldn't help but think to himself.

"No matter what, now that you've come to this world, you should try to resolve the issues here before considering anything else."

"Okay, okay! I'll try my best!"

Surprisingly, he was a good person… Dian Si couldn’t help but think to himself.

When he first met Yan Ming, he felt that the other party had a very imposing personality, and just standing next to him made him feel the air was cold.

But now it seems that this gentleman... appears to be a very kind person.

And I am very willing to spend time with people who are willing to fight against evil.

The thought of working with the other party to protect those children and even save more people made Dian Si feel a surge of excitement.

"Okay... then I'll have to work hard too!"

"Huh?! Hey! What's wrong with you, kid? Why are you suddenly accelerating the car?!"

"Oh, sorry! I got a little carried away just now and unconsciously sped up the motorcycle..."

"Even if you're hot-blooded, you shouldn't have run me over with your car! Look ahead carefully to see if there's anyone there. Who taught you to drive?!"

This is what Kusaka Masato said, because Denji unconsciously grabbed the handlebars, causing the motorcycle to accelerate forward and then he was hit.

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

Somewhere in the world.

The people who survive here live an extremely dangerous life day and night.

Today, this kind of life will come to an end.

"Are you... are you kidding me?!"

Some armed men did their best to block the last corner.

There were about a dozen men and women behind them, but only a few of them were armed.

The youths immediately pointed their guns forward and began firing repeatedly.

It doesn't work.

The monsters and Kamen Riders that were attacked only suffered a few sparks flashing across their bodies; they were all completely unharmed.

The person leading the way at the very front.

He was dressed in black mechanical armor with strange patterns and had yellow compound eyes.

Its head resembles that of a rhinoceros beetle.

Image: "Illustration", Location: "Images/1652815802-100312401-108785018.jpg"

"Why...why did you do this? Why did you have to exterminate us? Isn't killing so many people enough? Don't you have any humanity at all?!"

"You've made a mistake."

What... The young man at the front looked at the other party in astonishment.

"No one has been killed here."

"It's not about transforming you into beings stronger than humans."

He stretched out his finger and pointed forward.

"Go, capture them all alive."

After a few gunshots rang out in the night, silence returned.

A figure resembling a rhinoceros beetle stood atop the house, while a black rhinoceros beetle at its waist flew away.

The appearance of a handsome young man was revealed.

He gazed at the moon and unconsciously stretched out his fingertips.

"Following the Way of Heaven... I don't want to become that kind of guy."

Volume 4, Knights' War: Chapter 79 - Test Your Strength?

thump--

About a dozen humans were pinned to the floor, while several Leo cavalrymen and players stood on the left and right sides respectively.

As the leader, Tendou Souji stood in front of Phineas.

"Thank you for your hard work in bringing us so much material."

"It's just a small-scale operation, and besides, there aren't many humans left."

Tendou Souji kicked the young man in front of him, and the Kamen Riders led all of them into the room.

"Then let's get started as soon as possible. The number of people will be randomly assigned. It doesn't matter which person you want to use as material for Kamen Riders or monsters, but the final product must be of equal quantity."

"No...no!"

"Why would you do something like this?! No! We barely survived...we don't want to die!!"

"I already said it's not death... it's just being turned into material for knights and monsters. Wouldn't it be better to become stronger?"

Tendou Souji calmly watched as these people were dragged into the room.

Then again, he wasn't human to begin with.

"That should work, right?"

"Yes, we can just keep increasing the number of knights and monsters. The goal is to create even greater chaos in the world."

"It doesn't matter, as long as you can fulfill my wish when the time comes."

"of course can."

Watching Finis leave, Shinji Kido walked out with a sullen face.

Why did you help that woman?

He walked step by step to the side of the Heavenly Path Chief, looking at him with some confusion.

"This woman is disgusting. Even we Dark Knights don't want to get involved with her. Why are you so willing to help her?"

"You can't understand what I'm thinking, Dragon Fang."

"If you don't speak up, who will understand you..."

Tendou Souji slowly raised his head and glanced at him.

In that instant, his body transformed into some kind of green, grotesque shape.

"What, you want to fight?"

Shinji Kido immediately stared at him with a dangerous look, but Tendou Souji transformed back into a human in the next second.

"This is not how I used to be."

"I know, you were always in that weirdo-like state, just like before..."

"My original race... was also human."

Shinji Kido's words were on the tip of his tongue.

"Even now, I have no choice but to live under this skin called 'Tendou Souji,' and I've even forgotten what my original name was."

"...So what?"

Shinji Kido doesn't feel any sympathy because of such rhetoric.

"We are Dark Knights. We have seen far too much darkness and sorrow in the human world. What is this compared to that?"

"No, I didn't mean for you to feel sorry for me."

Tendou Souji shook his head.

"I'm just answering your question about why I helped that woman."

"..."

"After everything is over, she is willing to help me fulfill my wish."

"What is your wish?"

"To become an independent being, instead of a bug that can only live in the shadow of others for the rest of its life, I can experience my future life like a normal human being, and no longer be controlled by anyone."

"Fighting for such a trivial reason? That's really pathetic."

Thinking it was some grand goal, Shinji Kido immediately launched into a sarcastic remark.

"...Yes, it might not be a big goal for you."

Tendou Souji walked to the window and looked at the world outside the tower.

He couldn't help but smile.

"But I just want to experience that kind of life."

“I don’t want to live as such a monster anymore. I just want to live as an independent being, as a living person with their own rights… instead of living as someone’s shadow.”

"I'm truly fed up with this kind of life, having to live under someone else's skin until the very end..."

To live as someone's shadow...?

Shinji Kido was vaguely watching Souji Tendou.

For some reason, he seemed to have a desire to acknowledge him.

Why is this happening?

I shouldn't... I'm the Dark Knight, I shouldn't care about such trivial things.

Even if one's true self is merely a reflection of Shinji Kido in the mirror world, so what?

"You're really naive."

"Yeah, it's just naiveté."

Tendou Souji's smile was like that of a teenager.

He did not deny Shinji Kido's assessment of him at all, because his mind... was perhaps just like that of a teenager.

He simply wanted to have a life of his own.

He just wanted to gain recognition from others.

Shinji Kido ignored him, gave him a deep look, and then left.

"So what if I live as someone else's shadow? I won't be lost."

——————————————————————————————

It was around 8 p.m.

The group arrived at a clearing deep in the forest and chose it as the location for their shelter.

"This place may not be a long-term refuge. We have found many places far from human habitation so far, but they are always interrupted by the war between knights and monsters."

Although Lloyd said that, Yan Ming still went to check the surrounding environment carefully.

"There is a stream about 100 meters away. We can get drinking water from there, which will ensure our normal life for the time being."

"Then...where does the food come from?"

"We didn't find any animals nearby, but we did find some edible wild vegetables."

In such a world, animals are extremely hard to find; finding a forest like this is already quite an achievement.

Yan Ming casually tossed a large handful of wild vegetables over.

"It's enough for making soup and dishes. When we get back, we'll look for some fruit nearby so we can help the kids get their vitamins."

"That's enough! Thank you so much!"

Lloyd quickly grabbed the wild vegetables and firewood and ran off to start a fire.