Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

————————————————————————

After they finished talking, the four of them headed home together.

First, they took Madoka and Sayaka home together, and then…

Yan Ming and Xiao Meiyan walked down the street in unusual silence.

"...What exactly do you mean by what you said today?"

"It's just the literal meaning."

Compared to Homura Akemi's somber tone, Yan Ming's was much calmer.

“When a magical girl’s despair level reaches a certain point, she will turn into a witch… If you are going to turn into one, I will turn you back before that happens.”

"Wasn't this just a lie told to comfort Madoka and Sayaka? It was just a white lie..."

"I always keep my word and I don't like to lie."

At this point, Homura Akemi was completely at a loss for words.

She immediately quickened her pace, ignoring Yan Ming's expression, and quickly walked in front of him without looking at him.

"...So that means you already know what I did in my previous reincarnations, right?"

"Including Madoka, Sayaka, Mami Tomoe, and Kyoko Sakura... and Kyubey."

"Really... After reading about my experiences, what would you like to say?"

"Although I really want to comfort you, I feel that just saying it is meaningless... I need to do something practical."

"What are the actual actions...?"

"Eradicate the root of all tragedies."

For a moment, Homura Akemi even felt her heart skip a beat.

"What...what exactly do you want to do?"

"Magical girls and witches are all things that were created because of the negative emotion processing mechanisms of humans in this world. I want to destroy them all."

"To change all of this from the root, as if the Witch's Night had never existed... In this way, we can change the tragedy that has happened so far, and everything that might happen."

"How could such a thing be possible..."

"Believe me, it's possible to do it if you use the power that changed the Witch's Night back then, and now I also have the opportunity to further touch upon that power—"

Just as Yan Ming was speaking, he suddenly saw the girl in front of him turn around.

He drew a pistol from his shield at a very sharp angle.

Homura Akemi picked up the pistol and pointed it directly at Yan Ming, but the hand holding the pistol was trembling violently.

Under the moonlight, the two stood facing each other.

Yan Ming calmly looked at the girl in front of him, while she... had already started to shed tears.

"How could it be possible... how could it be changed so easily! I've tried so many times, witnessed countless unbearable pains, my mind and body are almost numb..."

"The matter of magical girls and witches, and those damned incubators, has been going on since before the birth of humankind! And on one occasion, I even heard from that damned Kyubey that Madoka's karma would overlap with mine through my endless reincarnations, and that she simply... simply couldn't escape the fate of becoming a magical girl... and a witch!!"

That was a memory of blood that had been obtained after countless reincarnations.

For Homura Akemi, her life in Mitakihara... has been completely changed.

She transformed from a weak and sickly girl into the cold and ruthless person she is now, but beneath that icy exterior lies a fragile heart that no one can touch.

She's almost at her limit.

"No one has ever known... these things... I've been endlessly reincarnating, over and over again... just to save Madoka, but I can't even do something as straightforward as this. What will become of me...!"

The gun fell from her hand to the ground, and she grabbed Yan Ming's clothes tightly with both hands, venting her feelings as if she were expressing her innermost thoughts.

This wasn't anger directed at herself—Yan Ming knew very well that it was simply a moment when a young girl, having finally found someone to confide in, was letting loose and venting her emotions.

He made no move, simply letting the other person say everything that was on their mind.

"Oh... so the guy Kyubey was talking about is here?"

The sound came from the air.

In that instant, Homura Akemi immediately composed herself, quickly wiped away her tears, and continued to look back into the distance with a blank expression.

A figure stood on a rooftop not far away.

She was dressed in red, holding a red spear, and had something that looked like a biscuit dangling from her mouth…

“...Sakura Kyoko”.

"Homura Akemi, right? Although this is the first time I've met you, I've already heard of your name from Kyubey."

"What…"

Homura Akemi, who had maintained a cold expression, suddenly showed a hint of surprise, and then—

A hand gripped her collar tightly.

Boom!! Before the attack arrived, Yan Ming pulled Akemi Homura behind him, hugged her in his arms, and instantly backed away.

Sakura Kyoko plummeted from the sky, the gun she had just fired now stuck right where Akemi Homura had been standing.

She drew the long spear.

"You've monopolized and seduced everyone in this city who has the potential to become a magical girl, so that you can have the Seed of Grief all to yourself. Ah, that's a pretty good method, but..."

Sakura Kyoko's expression as she looked at Akemi Homura suddenly became dangerous.

"...I really dislike magical girls who use their power to bewitch ordinary humans!"

Swords clashed.

However, just as Homura Akemi was about to be stabbed—

"Kamen Rider! Zi-O!"

Clang—!

The silver-purple figure immediately caused both of them to show expressions of shock.

Volume 6, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Chapter 254 Thoughts in the Heart of a Girl at Night

In that instant, Yan Ming timely blocked the opponent's attack for Homura Akemi.

Clang—!! The Time Limit Sword swiftly deflected the opponent's weapon.

Following the other person's movement, Sakura Kyoko was thrown out of the air by being flung around.

Whoosh—!

She used her spear to anchor herself to the ground, causing her to come to a stop.

"...A person wearing armor?"

She had met someone similar not long ago.

Although Sakura Kyoko had only just arrived in this city, she had already seen many strange and unusual things, indicating that this city was even more magical than she had imagined.

"Hey, so it seems you two are in cahoots?"

"...Why did you attack me? Just because of something that guy Kyubey said offhand?"

"Perhaps that's true, but now I'm even more curious about the relationship between the two of you!"

As she spoke, Sakura Kyoko raised her spear again and twirled it in a beautiful flourish.

"let me."

Yan Ming didn't say anything more and stood directly in front of Homura Akemi.

He and Sakura Kyoko, who was facing each other, stood in a standoff.

Then, in an instant—

The two rushed toward each other at extreme speeds.

At first glance, Yan Ming appears to be the one who is quick on the surface.

But it seems that Sakura Kyoko's gun-swinging motion is faster.

As Yan Ming's body reached mid-air, Sakura Kyoko swung her spear vigorously, causing the tip of the handle to split open instantly.

In one fell swoop, the spear transformed into a chain spear with split joints.

With a smile on her lips, she swung the chain gun like a whip towards Yan Ming.

"Take this!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! As the chain guns repeatedly struck the nearby streets and walls, a series of shockwaves caused countless piles of rubble to explode.

While leaping through the air to dodge, Yan Ming used the Time Limit Sword in his hand to easily cut through all the flying debris.

At the same time, the moment he landed, his speed instantly broke through to the speed of sound level.

"Huh—?!"

The sudden acceleration startled Sakura Kyoko.

Coming to his senses, Yan Ming had already moved directly to Sakura Kyoko's right side.

"Oops!"

Sakura Kyoko was startled. She quickly used her toes to propel herself up and leaped into the air, but she was still shocked by the violent impact of Yan Ming's sword hitting the ground.

boom--!

The immense force shook an area with a radius of tens of meters. The invisible shockwave caused Sakura Kyoko to quickly raise her hands to shield herself, and her body fell to the ground.

In the critical moment, Sakura Kyoko directly thrust her spear behind her.

Clang!

Just as the spear was about to hit the ground, a longsword intercepted its tip.

Before he knew it, Yan Ming had returned to his body.

Thus, Sakura Kyoko struggled to support herself on the street with her spear, while Yan Ming used the tip of his sword to restrain the front of her weapon.

"Hey...you're pretty capable, buddy. You managed to disable my weapon so easily!"

"She's so young and she's already mastered such impressive marksmanship...?" Yan Ming couldn't help but admire Sakura Kyoko's combat skills.

Then he looked up at Sakura Kyoko, who was propped up on her spear.

"You actually have no intention of fighting us, do you?"

"Eh...?"

Yan Ming's words surprised Homura Akemi, who was standing not far away.

Kyoko Sakura, on the other hand, burst into laughter.

"Interesting! I didn't expect you to see through my thoughts so easily... That's right, I didn't attack Homura Akemi for that stupid reason just now."

"So what is your motive...?"

"There's no particular reason, I just wanted to test that guy's strength as a magical girl."

In fact, if you look closely, you'll find that Sakura Kyoko's initial attack would not have hit Akemi Homura at all. Even if she hadn't dodged, she would have only been shaken by the impact and taken a slight fall.

"I did learn about what happened earlier from Kyubey, but I won't let a few words from others influence my thinking, so—"

"so…?"

"I'd like to have a little spar with you, to see what you're really thinking through this sparring session, hmm... but it seems like I've completely chosen the wrong person to spar with."

Originally, Kyoko planned to have a little fight with Homura Akemi to test her strength... but she never expected to end up fighting with a freak like Yan Ming.

"In short, I admit defeat. After fighting you like this, I can confirm that I am no match for you."

"...So direct?"

"Because you didn't even use your full strength, did you?"

As Sakura Kyoko spoke with displeasure, she jumped off the spear.

"Although I don't know exactly how strong your full strength is, I can at least tell that you haven't used your full strength. Well, although I haven't gone all out either, I've already been so easily suppressed by you at this level. Even if I were to use my true skills, I definitely wouldn't gain any advantage."

Yan Ming didn't speak, but instead pulled out the tip of his sword, causing Sakura Kyoko's spear to fall to the ground.