Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

Seeing the thoughtful look on Gates' face, Wozniak quickly waved his hand in front of him.

"Could it be that you couldn't stand the loneliness after my Demon King had only been gone for a few minutes?"

"You're the one who can't stand loneliness, what kind of nonsense is that?"

Speechless, Gates rolled his eyes at Woz in front of him and walked straight towards the other half.

Now... the only people who know that Woz is very different from the old Woz are Gates and the White Woz who once appeared in their minds.

He didn't want to reveal this for the time being, because doing so would be tantamount to tearing off the mask of civility. He also didn't know what this so-called 'Woz' would do if he really told him.

There's a saying that goes, "As the tide rises, so does every boat."

"Let's just let things take their course..."

Unsure of how the future would unfold, Gates stood by the window, sighed softly, and took a sip of the hot water he had just poured.

…yet he never noticed that Woz was secretly observing all his actions.

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

I'm back at school.

Although Yan Ming has always been a very calm and composed person, the feeling of returning to his native world after visiting so many complex and diverse other worlds was still quite subtle for him.

Especially now, when I'm back at this school and taking classes again.

There are certainly some feelings of regret, but more than anything, there are the troubles that I have to deal with myself.

As soon as he entered the campus, Yan Ming saw a large group of people staring at him. At first, he thought it was just the same phenomenon as before, but he soon realized that no matter where he went, he attracted the attention of these students.

"Look, it's Yan Mingjun!"

"Is it really him? Wasn't there a rumor that he hadn't been to school for a long time?"

"He only skipped a few days of class, but isn't it a bit strange for such a good student to do this?"

"Some people even said he committed suicide because he couldn't bear the bullying at school, which is going too far..."

"Are you kidding me? How could someone like that do something like that!"

"So, what exactly is the reason he hasn't come to school for several days...?"

A series of words flashed through his ears, but Yan Ming ignored them and slowly walked towards his classroom—

He saw a figure standing across the corridor.

"...Homura Akemi?"

Yan Ming whispered the other person's name, and then saw that Homura Akemi was checking the attention of the people around her, then secretly took out her phone and left the floor.

At that moment, Yan Ming's phone also vibrated.

He took out his phone and saw a text message from Homura Akemi.

"Speaking directly to you would easily attract attention, and I don't like being the center of attention, so let's communicate like this via text messages, except when necessary."

Is this guy overly nervous? Yan Ming thought to himself, casually replied to the other person, and then went straight into the classroom.

Once inside the classroom, the previously noisy students immediately quieted down.

"...Yan Ming, sir?"

"Is it...is it Shilun Yanming?"

The students stared at him in astonishment, but Yan Ming ignored them and walked straight to the equally shocked homeroom teacher.

"I'm sorry, teacher, I've had some things to take care of at home these past few days, so I haven't been to school yet."

"...Oh, well, but even so, why didn't you call and inform the teachers beforehand?"

"The situation was urgent, so I haven't been able to find the time. I'm sorry."

"I see…"

Although the homeroom teacher was very curious about what had happened to Yan Ming, he had been trying his best to contact him for the past few days, but he still couldn't reach Yan Ming.

Now look what's happened, this kid has shown up in front of them himself, but... judging from what he said, he's probably encountered some serious trouble.

Considering Yan Ming's current family situation and his relatives, the homeroom teacher subconsciously assumed it was a problem similar to a property dispute, and that his relatives were probably harassing him because they wanted to divide up the inheritance left by his parents.

"...Yan Ming, if you encounter any problems that you cannot solve on your own in the future, I hope you will try to communicate with your teacher as much as possible."

"It's alright, the problem has been solved. Thank you for your concern."

Okay, I guess I've managed to get away with it.

Yan Ming went straight back to his seat. As always, no one dared to talk to him. But after the drama of disappearing for several days, everyone in the class, and even the whole school, had become very curious about Yan Ming.

What has he been doing these past few days? Has he really met with some misfortune? All sorts of rumors are circulating around the school, and now the name Shi Lun Yan Ming has become a hot topic.

"Well, now that Yan Ming is back, let's just start with the new material for today's lessons and stop reviewing..."

"After that, Yan Ming, I will arrange your homework and review for the previous courses. Come to my office when you come back."

I don't have time for all this. Thinking this, Yan Ming simultaneously began to consider how to accomplish his tasks in this world.

Classes officially started in the morning, but Yan Ming's mind wasn't on the lessons.

Taking advantage of everyone's inattention, he directly grabbed an orange-black watch face in his hand.

"Ghost!"

Because it was completely enclosed, only Yan Ming could hear the sound effects from the watch face.

I borrowed the Ghost watch face from Gates, with the purpose of…

Buzz—! Then, he felt a light, floating sensation in his body and mind.

Spirit-body separation... Using the power of Ghost to achieve an out-of-body state, so that the body can continue to go out and investigate while the soul is at school.

Moreover, Yan Ming's extraordinary control over the dial allows him to manipulate the activities of his spirit while his physical body is active. It's similar to the state of daydreaming in class, where at least no one will notice anything amiss.

The transparent, invisible spirit then floated out of the building. After confirming that there was no problem with Suwa Aoi, he began to search for the location on the second floor.

'Kaname Madoka and Miki Sayaka...'

According to Homura Akemi's memories, both girls have become magical girls in countless past reincarnations, and once they become magical girls, an unimaginable tragic fate awaits them.

Let's start by investigating from their side.

The spirit then drifted to the second floor and, after some searching, arrived at Xiaoyuan's class.

I saw Madoka in the front row, and Sayaka was behind her... Even Homura Akemi was in their class.

So far, there haven't been any problems.

Just as Homura Akemi said, Yan Ming needs to keep a close eye on Madoka and Sayaka at all times, because Kyubey and the others' biggest goal is to turn these two girls into magical girls...

'…Um?'

Suddenly, the spirit floating in mid-air sensed that something was wrong.

There seemed to be a very dark... mood permeating the entire teaching building.

'This feeling… is it a witch?'

Even Homura Akemi couldn't realize that it was in a very, very far place outside the school building.

The reason Yan Ming noticed this was because he was currently using the power of Ghost... a knight who was very sensitive to emotions, so he could naturally feel such sensitive emotional fluctuations.

Controlling his spirit body, Yan Ming flew directly in that direction.

Sure enough... a distinct black mark appeared on the wall outside the teaching building not far away... that was the symbol of the witch's barrier.

So what should be done? Yan Ming began to think about his next move.

Should I deal with that witch myself? Or should I ask Gates or Woz to handle it?

boom--!!

Gunshots echoed through the corridor.

'what? '

The spirit turned its head slightly. That gunshot just now... came from the school?

However, strangely, no one noticed the sound of the gunshots.

At the same time, Yan Ming also saw... black shadows constantly emerging from the vicinity.

Boom! Boom!

Gunshots rang out one after another, and then those darting figures were crushed to pieces.

"What a pity... I was supposed to be on sick leave today, and I was just thinking of coming back to school to pick up some things, but I ended up running into you guys."

A blonde girl.

She appeared to be around the age of a junior high school student. She stood slowly in place, dressed in a white and gold outfit, holding a weapon that resembled a flintlock pistol.

She chased after the black monsters, cornering them.

Yan Ming, on the other hand, knew who the girl in front of him was.

He had seen the other person's presence in Homura Akemi's past records.

'Magical Girl Mami Tomoe...'

Watching the blonde magical girl fight, Yan Ming decided to continue following behind her.

He wanted to observe for a while to see what this magical girl he had never seen before would do.

Volume 6, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Chapter 244 Kyubey with No Shame

Mami Tomoe, a blonde magical girl.

She slowly stepped into the witch's barrier before her, and Yan Ming's spirit followed closely behind her.

The entire interior of the witch's barrier appeared extremely abnormal, but that wasn't Yan Ming's focus.

"It's about to start!"

As she reached out into the air, a flintlock pistol instantly appeared in Mami Tomoe's hand, and countless flintlock pistols appeared behind her at the same time.

Each flintlock musket shot was aimed directly at the witch in the deepest part of the space.

The witch raised her head and noticed Mami Tomoe's actions, but it was too late.

Bang--!!

Mami Tomoe pulled the trigger, and as soon as her flintlock pistol fired, all the flintlock pistols behind her also started firing at the witch.

Gunpowder kept exploding on the witch's body.

An ordinary musket shouldn't have been able to inflict such severe damage on a witch, but Mami Tomoe did manage to do just that.

She can do that because she's a magical girl.

"Oh dear, are you trying to escape...?"

The witch's movements became incredibly exaggerated in an instant. She immediately recognized Mami Tomoe's formidable strength, so she desperately fled towards the deepest part of the witch's barrier.

Mami Tomoe gave a sly smile and lightly touched the corner of her mouth with her finger.

"That won't do. Eliminating witches is, after all, our job as magical girls."

boom!!

Then, in an instant, countless yellow ribbons suddenly appeared from all directions.

The ribbons wrapped around the witch's body, fixing her in place.

It looks fragile, but the ribbon is actually much stronger than it appears. Once entangled, even the witch in front of her would not be able to break free easily.

The witch's familiars were terrified. They scattered in all directions, forgetting that they were the witch's familiars, and desperately tried to escape this unknown danger.

However, Mami Tomoe wouldn't let them get away with it. With a gentle wave of her hand, she swept the excess ribbons to the left and right, slamming all the familiars against the wall.

'She looks like a very powerful magical girl.'

As a spirit, Yan Ming floated to the side, witnessing the entire battle firsthand.

He read the powerful levels of various magical girls from Homura Akemi's memories. Among them, apart from the magical girl Madoka transformed into, the strongest magical girl in his memories was probably Mami Tomoe standing in front of him.

The opponent's ability is simple manipulation of ribbons. It seems simple, but in Mami Tomoe's hands, it has a very powerful effect. Even Homura Akemi, who can manipulate time and stop it, would find it difficult to defeat Mami Tomoe to some extent.

This is not just a difference in ability, but more so a difference in experience.