Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

"what?"

"It's about your past, about the time when the girl who became Ghost was still alive, and how you chose to help Swartz to protect her."

Just a few words were enough to shock Kakine Teitoku on the spot.

Because these are all facts, and they are all things he kept buried in his heart.

"Why would you... know about this?"

"Isn't that man named Swartz the same? He doesn't have mind-reading abilities, but he can still know about your past."

With that in mind, Yan Ming continued.

"I don't intend to kill you, but in return for this, you must help me with something."

"What...do you intend for me to do?"

“Take me to Swartz.”

Just as Yan Ming himself said, relying on his ability to observe past historical records that he himself was unaware of, he learned about the tragic past of Kakine Teitoku and the girl named Korin Ringo.

So from this moment on, the things he needs to do have changed.

"But first I have to ask you a question."

Yan Ming turned his head and asked Kakine Teitoku in a calm tone.

"What exactly is your reason for working for Swartz?"

What exactly was the reason that I worked for that person?

Even Kakine Teitoku himself fell silent for a while regarding this question.

As he pondered this, countless memories flashed through his mind.

"Then let's ask it like this: are you trying to save that girl, or rather, do you not want her to continue becoming like that under Swartz's control, so you're planning to become his subordinate under the guise of helping him?"

The other person nodded.

"The dead cannot be brought back to life; no one can bring someone who has died back to life."

"...I know this, I know it better than anyone else."

"So stop fantasizing about bringing that dead girl back to life. That's simply impossible right now."

But...nevertheless.

"Although we can't bring her back to life, we can't let her continue to be at that guy's mercy."

The fact that Swartz created the Another Ghost was already intolerable to Yan Ming, not to mention that he also turned a dead person into an Another Knight.

A series of sins have made it impossible for Yan Ming to forgive Swartz.

"If you intend to continue to resist me, that's fine. I'll knock you down again, then go find Swartz's location by myself and settle the score with him properly."

"But if you choose to take me to him and stop working for that guy, I will help you free the girl's dead soul and body."

Looking at Kakine Teitoku before him, Yan Ming put forward the following two proposals.

"How to choose? That's your choice."

"...Would you be willing to help me?"

"You should have investigated what I usually do in Academy City before you attacked someone."

A simple investigation of Yan Ming's personal information within Academy City reveals that while it doesn't show his activities as a Kamen Rider, it does record most of what he does on a daily basis.

Most of them were good deeds.

If Kakine Teitoku had understood this, and had simply told Yan Ming about his situation, then perhaps the two of them wouldn't have needed to fight in the first place.

She was facing a man who had already launched an attack, but instead of pursuing the matter, he intended to help her.

Even Kakine Teitoku was at a loss for words.

"If it were you..."

Looking at Yan Ming like this, Kakine Teitoku couldn't help but have a certain thought.

The tragedy he suffered was just the tip of the iceberg in Academy City. There were many others who were just as miserable as him, or even more miserable, suffering from the darkness within the city.

Kakine Teitoku alone could not fight against this darkness.

but.

If it were this man named Shilun Yanming who made the move—

"If it were you, perhaps you could save this city."

He had come to a final conclusion in his heart.

"it hurts…"

On the other side, Misaka Mikoto quickly emerged from the ruins, still slightly aching from the attack.

"What on earth is that second guy thinking... We have to stop him as soon as possible!"

Thinking this, Misaka Mikoto, worried about the safety of Yan Ming and Woz, hurriedly walked out of the building.

...Huh?

But when she walked out of the building, all she saw was a vast expanse of ruins.

There was no trace of Yan Ming or Kakine Teitoku.

"W-what's going on? Weren't they just here a moment ago? Huh?!"

"Is this Misaka Mikoto?"

As a result, a whole bunch of people suddenly appeared out of nowhere and came looking for her.

Judging from their attire, they were likely security guards, and there were even disciplinary committee members who arrived with them.

Upon seeing Misaka Mikoto standing there, they became serious and handed her a large pile of pens and paper.

"Please sign these documents."

"What, what is this..."

"It is an investigation report on this act of vandalism. Only after it is signed can we conduct a comprehensive investigation into you and the scene of the vandalism."

"Disrupting the crime scene? Wait, wait a minute! I wasn't the one who caused this destruction, those two guys were!"

"Those two guys? Who are they?"

"It's just...it's just..."

The guards exchanged puzzled glances. Misaka Mikoto suddenly realized that with Yan Ming and Kakine Teitoku gone, she had no witnesses at all!

With all those guys gone, only Misaka Mikoto remains at the scene of the crime, so the suspect naturally falls on her.

"Please rest assured, the investigation will only take about two or three hours. If you are truly innocent, then we will allow you to leave our branch safely."

"Two, two or three hours..."

With no other options available, Misaka Mikoto could only sigh in frustration.

"...I hate you guys!"

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

This is the location near the school city of Kaikou.

Although the city itself is located in the interior of Japan, small areas of artificial sea have still been developed.

Swartz stood in front of such a port.

He calmly turned around, waiting for the other party to bring the person to his side.

"I see."

Approaching him were Kakine Teitoku and Tokirin Enmei.

The two of them stood together like that.

Swartz clapped his hands and couldn't help but laugh.

"Well done, Kakine Teitoku, you brought that guy right in front of me perfectly..."

"If I were to say that, I would be rather foolish."

Following that, both Kakine Teitoku and Yan Ming...

They each assumed a fighting stance, either fastening their belts around their waists or raising their pure white wings from behind.

Swartz stared coldly at the two of them.

"Is this alright? Abandoning your original wishes just so you can turn your sword against me?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Kakine Teitoku looked at him with an even colder gaze.

"I never intended to be your subordinate from the beginning, you old fool, don't flatter yourself."

"I see... then everything is much easier to discuss."

then.

Swartz took a deep breath and raised his hand.

"—You shall all vanish into the darkness forever."

Volume 5, A Certain Magical Index: Chapter 193 The Darkness Hidden Within Academy City

For an instant.

Before the two could even react, something far more profound emerged from their shadows.

It is something darker than a shadow.

It spread out in all directions like a barrier, and in one breath it turned into a circle, directly absorbing Yan Ming and Kakine Teitoku's legs.

"Varied--?"

Kakine Teitoku couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, while Yan Ming narrowed his eyes and immediately raised his hand.

Time seemed to flow backward with his actions.

But—despite the reversal of time, the things clinging to their feet remained firmly in place.

"It's no use! Even if you turn back time, that thing will still be clinging to you tightly and will never let go!"

As time rewinds, the black, shadow-like thing rapidly shrinks, but neither Yan Ming nor Kakine Teitoku can escape from it.

Before they could react, the darkness engulfed them completely.

"Hmph... Hahaha!! Success, success!"

Swartz was in a very good mood.

He never intended to rely on that second-ranked student in Academy City to defeat Yan Ming. That guy was just a pawn, or to put it bluntly, bait.

He knew that, given Tokiwa Enmei's meddlesome nature, he would definitely come after him because of Kakine Teitoku's matter.

So he meticulously planned this scheme. When Yan Ming came to him, the demon who was cooperating with him would use its power to form an absolutely unbreakable barrier and devour him.

From the demon, Swartz learned that once someone fell in, there was no way anyone could escape from his barrier.

This is truly wonderful news!

"My Demon King!"

Woz arrived at the scene almost instantly, only to witness the final moment when Yan Ming and the other man were swallowed.

"You're too late, you little tagalong."

"Swartz...!"

Woz glared at the Time Jacker with hostility.

"Do you think you can trap my Demon King with such a weak barrier?"

"You don't understand anything at all. Listen carefully, Shi Lun Yan Ming is dead. He's been dead since the moment he arrived here. Blame it on his meddling!"

The most troublesome person for Swartz was actually this Shilun Yanming; he never expected the new Demon King to be so powerful.

But it doesn't matter, now that obstacle has been completely removed by him.