Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

Why is that? What is it that keeps someone like him able to keep moving?

The Lloyds could neither understand nor see through Yan Ming's thoughts.

However, in their sight...

That back view that looked no different from any other person's.

Without realizing it, it has grown incredibly tall...

"...May you succeed."

Joel clenched his fists tightly, and seeing this, Lloyd also began to pray earnestly from the bottom of his heart.

"Mr. Yan Ming...you can definitely save us...you definitely can!"

Volume 4: Knights' War: Chapter 114 Offering You a Prayer of Hope and Success

"The location has been determined."

After receiving the cell phone signal from Anya via the Faiz watch face, even the location coordinates were confirmed.

In this way, the group no longer needed to rely on the Time Demon to move around.

If you use the aurora curtain directly, you can reach your destination in an instant.

Yan Ming looked at the group of people in front of him.

"There's no need to wait any longer. Finnis sent someone to tell us that this will be the 'final battle.'"

"Hmph, that guy finally couldn't hold back anymore, huh?"

Gates snorted and said, while Denji and Kusaka Masato both looked at Yan Ming.

"Should we send everyone out together, Mr. Yan Ming?"

"of course."

"If that's the case, what if this village is attacked again?"

"That possibility is no longer valid."

When faced with Masato Kusaka's question, Yan Ming gave a direct response.

"Before I came here, I checked the surrounding area and couldn't detect a single monster or Kamen Rider within hundreds of kilometers. Those guys can't possibly be near this village anymore."

"Moreover, Finnis told me through someone that this is the final battle, and there's no point in doing anything else underhanded... She should know this better than anyone else."

Both sides will commit their full strength to this final battle, holding nothing back whatsoever.

Having realized this, Yan Ming planned to send everyone out together to attack Phineas.

"That guy has to pay for this."

He had seen the world as it originally was—beautiful and prosperous.

and so--

To restore the world to its original peaceful and tranquil state, Yan Ming will show absolutely no mercy.

He was determined to defeat Phineas completely, this time—giving her no chance to escape or be resurrected.

It's either her or me.

That profound realization made the already strong consciousness even more resilient.

"I understand."

Gates understood Yan Ming's meaning and nodded immediately.

"We'll make preparations in advance. You can go and rest for a bit."

“That’s right, Mr. Yan Ming. We’ll just need to make some adjustments. It won’t take long.”

"I'll come find you once everything is ready. Until then, you should rest and recuperate, General."

"That's quite an honor for me... I understand."

Hearing Kusaka Masato's somewhat teasing way of addressing him, even Yan Ming couldn't help but chuckle.

"Woz, wait for me to return, and then we'll officially head to the designated coordinates."

"Yes, my Demon King."

Woz bowed respectfully as always, and then Yan Ming walked directly out of their shelter.

He arrived at the village street.

The surrounding houses were almost all in a dilapidated state, as the village had been completely destroyed in the previous battle with the Alien Dragon Fang.

Yan Ming walked to the front and saw countless villagers standing there.

"What are you doing here...?"

He looked at the villagers with some confusion.

And the people at the very front were some of the people he knew quite well.

They were the young men I had encountered more than once before, and that blue-haired girl.

The girl stood to one side, and the one leading the group was the young man wearing a hat.

This person seems to have always had a problem with the Kamen Riders...

Yan Ming stared at him, but the other man, unfazed by Yan Ming's gaze, stepped out of the group.

He stood there in front of Yan Ming.

"This village is no longer a place where people can live."

The young man turned his head and looked at the destroyed village.

“If it were just houses that were damaged, we could rebuild them no matter how many, but… those guys have already found our location.”

"Staying here is just waiting to die, so we have to find a new place to live."

"...Then, what about Naju?"

In response to the young man's words, Yan Ming asked him directly.

"She's been captured by the enemy, so... are you just going to abandon her like this?"

When this issue was brought up, the villagers' expressions became somewhat complicated.

The young man then looked directly at Yan Ming.

"...If it weren't for her, our village wouldn't be in this state now."

What do you mean by that?

"It's you... I don't know the exact identity of that strange black man, but it definitely came here because of you, right?"

If Yan Ming and others hadn't intervened, this village could have held on for at least several more years.

The target of the alien dragon tooth is Anya, and even if it doesn't choose to capture Anya, the mere presence of Yan Ming and the others is enough to make them its target.

Therefore, Yan Ming had nothing to refute.

“If it weren’t for you, our village wouldn’t have been attacked. The reason you’re here is entirely because that girl Naju allowed you to stay here… She should have realized long ago that she shouldn’t have let you Kamen Riders stay in our village.”

Yan Ming let the other party finish speaking.

He did not refute it.

All of this... is correct. If it weren't for Yan Ming and the others, this village would never have been attacked. It would have been more than enough to maintain a peaceful life for several years, or even decades, by relying on the satellite debris from outside.

They broke this peace without authorization.

It was Naju who agreed to let them stay here. As the village chief, Naju also had to take responsibility for the attack on the village.

Therefore, Yan Ming couldn't say anything and couldn't blame them for it.

"...However, this was just our initial idea."

However, the conversation then took a turn.

The young man sighed softly, and the somber, indifferent expression on his face instantly transformed into a completely new state.

—He seems to have come to terms with some things.

"Even if you complain... what's the use? It was Naju who let you move in, it was you Kamen Riders who brought those monsters in."

"But if it weren't for you Kamen Riders, we... would probably have died in the first monster attack long ago."

It was only then that Yan Ming remembered that Tsugami Shoichi was the first knight to enter the village.

At that time, the village was attacked by countless monsters and Kamen Riders. It was Tsugami Shoichi who came to the rescue in time and saved the lives of these villagers.

“The fault does not lie with Naju. She was just trying her best to accept those children. You should not be blamed for the mistakes.”

"This isn't anyone's fault, neither Naju's nor yours, if I had to say..."

The young man pondered deeply.

"...Perhaps, in this world that has long lost the concept of justice and evil, this is no longer a question that can be answered."

What is justice? What is evil?

Are they the Kamen Riders who destroy entire cities in order to defeat evil monsters? Or are they the monsters who recklessly cause massive destruction of the natural environment in order to oppose so-called justice?

Once war breaks out, the only ones who will ultimately suffer are the innocent.

Whether it's a person, the environment, an animal, or anything else.

"Even so...we still want to live."

These are the thoughts and wishes of everyone in the village.

“We can’t live without Naju anymore. She’s been with us for far too long. Without her, we’d probably be dead in the ruins of some unknown city by now…”

The young man gripped Yan Ming's hand tightly.

There was no hatred whatsoever, nor any resentment as before.

Looking back at what Yan Ming and the others, along with Na Zhu and the others, had done so far, the young man before him had come to understand.

"Perhaps I don't hate Kamen Rider."

The young man said this from the bottom of his heart.

“I’m simply afraid of people with power, afraid that they will destroy our lives again, afraid that the people around me will die again…that’s why I should say this.”

He looked at Yan Ming with an extremely serious and sincere gaze.

"please."

"Please help us... rescue Naju and that girl who was kidnapped!!"

It's not just the young man who's pleading with himself.

Before him, countless villagers bowed their heads earnestly and spoke loudly to him.

In those faces and pairs of eyes, all Yan Ming could see was pure sincerity.

They are humans who have been forced to the brink by this era.

However... in such an era, they did not completely give up on themselves because of fate.

“We humans have no chance against those guys, so... only you can rescue Naju.”

Yan Ming grabbed the other person's hand, and then let go.

A bright light also flashed in his eyes.

"I promise you."

Faced with the trust and expectations that humanity places in us at this final juncture.

Yan Ming accepted this expectation without hesitation.

"I made a promise with you, I will definitely rescue Anya and Naju."

"And then... we will definitely save this unreasonable world!"

The villagers all smiled with delight.

Now, they have come to a complete understanding of one thing.

Kamen Riders may not be... simply embodiments of destruction and disaster, as they have always believed.