Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

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It's the same Daihasei Festival, and it's also during a wonderful time of year.

The other person, however, did not want to enjoy such a wonderful time.

A man walked alone on the street, his hands casually in his pockets, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

This is a young man.

He was dressed in dark clothes and had brown hair.

At first glance, one might mistake him for a model, but the expression on his face was somewhat gloomy, like someone who had long walked in the shadows of society.

The young man walked slowly through the darkness; the existence or non-existence of the Great Star Festival was completely irrelevant to him.

until a certain moment.

"…Hey."

Kakine Teitoku, the young man who ranked second among the seven Level 5 espers in Academy City, stopped in his tracks.

He spoke softly to the surrounding air.

"I thought at least some people weren't that stupid."

boom--!!!

In the next instant, an unparalleled and immense power erupted from behind him.

That invisible force manifested as an impact, blowing away roadside guardrails and robotic vacuum cleaners in some form, and even streetlights were shaken off.

Kakine Teitoku calmly turned around.

“I’ve given you hints several times to get lost, but you won’t listen to my advice and instead you’ve deliberately come looking for me.”

As soon as these words were spoken, applause-like sounds came from the front.

A middle-aged man emerged from somewhere.

He was dressed in purple and had an expression of admiration on his face.

"As expected of the second-ranked Ability User in Academy City's legends, his insight is truly remarkable."

The visitor was none other than Swartz.

"who are you?"

"Who I am is not important; what's important is that you should be looking for the right person."

"ah…?"

Faced with Swartz's incomprehensible words, Kakine Teitoku looked completely bewildered.

But then he was stunned.

From behind Swartz... another figure emerged.

"...Could it be..."

"That's right, if possible, I hope we can have a proper talk."

Swartz smiled and approached the other person.

"As long as you do what I ask, then... I will help you resolve her issue."

"As for what needs to be done..."

"Kill a guy named Shilun Yanming, that's all you need to do, that's all the job you have to do."

Volume 5 of A Certain Magical Index: Chapter 188 The Ability to Read the Past...?

The Daihasei Festival is now over.

Over this long period of time, both those living in Academy City and those who came from outside enjoyed the very interesting living environment of this city.

For Yan Ming, the most important thing was to resolve a series of conspiracies by various people during the Great Star Festival.

Now we've returned to a more harmonious life.

"Is buying all of this enough, my Demon King?"

"...Didn't I say that all we need to buy are a few scallions?"

As Woz walked out of the supermarket, Yan Ming looked at him with some surprise at the large bag he was carrying.

He just told Woz to go buy him some green onions, but what did he buy...?

"Let me see, all you've bought are instant noodles and self-heating foods."

"Is there anything wrong with this? I think these are all very appealing foods."

Woz, on the other hand, still had a somewhat expectant expression.

"Because you see, in the future timeline I lived in before, it was very difficult to find food like this! Even canned food was rare, let alone this kind of delicious food that can be enjoyed simply by adding some water!"

You've never even eaten instant noodles before...?

Although Yan Ming had some complaints in his heart, he didn't say anything. Anyway, Aleister had transferred enough money to their account, so he could buy whatever he wanted.

"Then, my Demon King, what's next..."

Is there anything else you'd like to buy?

"No... I mean, it's about time to take stock of what's going on with this book now."

Yan Ming's expression then became somewhat serious.

Wozniacki opened the book with one hand while carrying the bag.

"First, there's the information recorded about this world. A large portion has already been recorded, and it should be completed soon. Then you'll be able to get the new Rider's Watch."

"What kind of watch face will I get then?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know either, because what kind of power you will gain depends on what you do or your state of mind at the time."

All the Rider Watches acquired so far have come into Yan Ming's possession only after Yan Ming had, to some extent, agreed with his philosophy.

Including Decade and other Rider Rider Watches, there are a total of nine; if we only count the main Heisei Riders, then there are seven.

"You mainly need to collect nineteen watch faces, and you currently have nine left."

"Of course, the remaining knights are also a very important force for you. However, only after you have gathered the power of all nineteen main knights from the first Heisei era can it be considered a milestone on your path to becoming the Demon King."

Is it just a milestone...?

"Especially now, facing multiple enemies, you urgently need to acquire new power... Although the power of Zi-O II is already enough to put you in the strongest position above all the Riders, that's not enough. You need to obtain even more power."

"That's true, but the methods for gathering power can only be done gradually, can't they?"

Since the only way to obtain watch faces is from books, and given the current situation of traveling back and forth between worlds to acquire them, it will take quite some time to collect all nine remaining watch faces.

"...But there are other enhancement paths available for you to choose from."

Wozniak's words suddenly took a turn.

Yan Ming looked at him with some confusion. Woz turned the pages of the book and showed Yan Ming a page in front of him.

"Besides choosing the path of the Heisei Kamen Rider power, you have another option to obtain the power without delay."

The image shows the three knights in their respective battles.

Zi-O, Geiz, and the green knight I haven't seen yet.

And the Miracle Warriors were born from the merging of the three of them...

"Ah! I've run into you guys again!"

Just as the two saw the key information, a familiar voice came from beside them.

Yan Ming looked up and saw Misaka Mikoto appear in front of them.

"I'm not letting you get away today! I always felt like something was missing during the Daihasei Festival, and now I remember—I really need a duel with you to satisfy me!"

"...Your friend seems to have a special fondness for you, my Demon King."

"Actually, she and I don't have much of a relationship, and I don't want to be chased around every day just to fight with someone."

While it's more likely that Yan Ming is afraid of scaring Misaka Mikoto if he actually gets physical, he certainly won't grant Misaka Mikoto's wish.

"And are you really okay with fighting me in front of your friends?"

"Huh? Me, my friend?"

She blinked, and then Misaka Mikoto heard footsteps behind her.

"Hello, Misaka-senpai!!"

"Huh?! Haru and... Saten-kun?!"

"Hehehe~ We just happened to see you while we were shopping around here. By the way, Misaka-san, who are these two...?"

"Oh, well, well, haha, we're just friends I met by chance!"

"Huh, is that so? But we think we just heard you say something about fighting or not fighting..."

"An illusion! That's just an illusion! We were actually talking about the competition when playing arcade games, don't you think?!"

Seeing Misaka Mikoto's pleading eyes, Yan Ming and Woz were at a loss for words.

"It was just a coincidence! They're all close friends of mine, so there's no need to dwell on it..."

"Huh? I feel like I've seen them somewhere before..."

"I already told you it was just my imagination! Okay everyone, come over here, I'll treat you all to drinks!"

Misaka Mikoto, without a second thought, pulled everyone together and walked towards a nearby bubble tea shop.

Although they were forcibly dragged along, Woz and Yan Ming still exchanged a glance.

"My Demon King, should we consider stopping time and running away?"

"...Never mind, that would be too inhumane. Let's wait until they leave before we go."

Anyway, it was just hanging out with a few girls, so Yan Ming didn't take it seriously. Besides, he didn't have anything important to do right now, so going shopping with them wouldn't be a bad idea...

…What?

Suddenly, Yan Ming stopped in his tracks.

Even as the other girls continued walking toward the milk tea shop not far away, Yan Ming stood still, as if he had sensed something.

What's wrong with you?

Woz noticed Yan Ming's condition and looked at him as well.

However, Yan Ming couldn't focus his attention on him right now.

Something else kept flashing before his eyes.

—A black and white image.

A young girl, in a closed room, watched as someone was killed because of her powers going berserk. After this memory, the girl died in someone's arms without any regrets.

"My Demon King?!"

It was Woz's voice that finally brought Yan Ming back to his senses.

He blinked, realizing that not even a second had passed since then.

Misaka Mikoto and the others all looked at her with somewhat surprised expressions.

"...What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just thought of something."

Yan Ming immediately waved his hand to dispel the girls' confusion, and then continued walking with Woz.

Of course, Woz had already noticed Yan Ming's unusual state.

"Did you sense something?"

"...I saw some memories that didn't belong to me."

That shouldn't be called someone else's memory; it should be called... a "record" of what happened in the past.

It wasn't about predicting the "future," but rather about reading "records" from the past.

Woz's expression shifted slightly, and then Misaka Mikoto walked over to his side.