[PoweredTime!]
[RE·V·I·VE Stout! Stout!]
Gates switched from the speed-type Resurgent Blast form to the strength-focused Staunch form. With a roar, he took the brunt of the attack from the another Zi-O, then launched a powerful kick that sent the creature flying toward Sougo.
"Zi-O, finish him now!" Gates shouted.
"Got it!" Sougo replied, drawing his absurdly oversized sword—nearly forty meters long.
"The Strongest Time Limit Slash!"
[FinishTime!]
[Saikyo!]
[King! GiriGiriSlash!]
—King's Limit Slash!
At that moment, Ryuga opened a dimensional portal. Through it, he caught a glimpse of Sougo's finishing move, as the another Zi-O exploded in a flash of energy. Coincidentally, the force of the blow had sent the enemy flying straight toward the portal Ryuga had opened.
"Shit!" Ryuga exclaimed as the twisted face of the another Zi-O barreled toward him. He instinctively sidestepped.
The alien flew through the time-space portal—just as it closed.
Sougo: "..."
Gates: "..."
They exchanged awkward glances.
"Why does this feel… familiar?" Gates muttered. "Wasn't this exactly what happened to the last guy who fell into your time portal?"
"If someone actually put up a grave for him," Sougo murmured, "the grass over it would already be waist-high."
But this time, it was worse. Last time, White Woz had merely fallen into space—transforming mid-fall might've saved him. But the another Zi-O? This time the portal opened into raw temporal turbulence, not outer space.
Even Ryuga had to be careful traveling that path. For an enemy already on the brink of death, falling in was practically a death sentence.
Ryuga turned and yelled angrily, "Sougo! Did you do that on purpose?! Trying to scare me to death?!"
"It wasn't me!" Sougo quickly deflected. "Don't make wild accusations! Gates kicked him over from that angle. I just happened to slash him toward your direction!"
"You—!" Gates nearly choked. He actually coughed up blood.
And no—it wasn't metaphorical. The side effects of the Re-Vive Watch were catching up.
Every time Gates used the form, the watch compressed his own time to release power—at the cost of physical strain. Bleeding from the seven orifices wasn't uncommon.
Luckily, Ryuga simply waved his hand and sent a white light over Gates, the healing power of the Golden Fruit.
Gates, blushing and embarrassed, sat up again. He had lost a lot of blood, but with a few wipes, he was more or less fine.
Sougo sighed in relief. "Every time I see him bleeding like that, it freaks me out. I can't sleep afterwards."
"By the way, Ryuga," he added, "any chance you can pull Hiryu Kakogawa back out?"
After all, when they said, "Kill him," they didn't mean literally. They just wanted to defeat him.
"Nope," Ryuga shook his head. "This time, he's completely out of reach." He explained the turbulence beyond the portal.
"Well, then he's as good as dead," Gates sneered.
"You're the one who kicked him!" Sougo shouted, although he was clearly the one who had slashed the enemy into the portal.
"Alright, forget it," Ryuga interrupted. "How long have I been gone?"
Sougo thought for a moment. "About two weeks? You didn't show up for dinner last time."
Ryuga nodded. That aligned with his calculations. The alien Zi-O had been handled, and it was the perfect time to return.
"Speaking of dinner," he said, smiling, "I've missed your uncle's cooking. Let's go back."
In the Gaim world, all he had eaten were fruit mousse from Uncle Bando's shop and cakes from Yggdrasill's bakery. His tongue was overloaded with sweets—he needed something savory.
"It's still early, though," Sougo muttered. "And you need to call Ora. She hasn't visited much since you left."
"Oh?" Ryuga's eyes lit up. "Then I'll head to her first. I'll catch up with you guys at dinner!"
And with that, he vanished through another portal—off to rekindle his newlywed passion.
The Next Morning – Kujigojido
"Morning!" Sougo yawned as he descended the stairs.
"You call this morning?" Gates grumbled. "We've been waiting forever."
Around the breakfast table sat Gates, Tsukuyomi, and Woz.
With the final battle approaching, Woz had taken residence in Kujigojido to provide closer support. It was the first time the four of them shared breakfast.
Come to think of it, Sougo thought, did the old Demon King secretly install space expansion tech in this house? There were way too many people living here now.
"Well, I'm a graduate now," Sougo smirked, proudly pointing to his graduation photo and diploma.
"Barely passed because of cheating," Gates grunted.
"Now that you've graduated, what's next?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"I want to be king," Sougo said without hesitation.
"..."
Even Woz fell silent. Becoming king was a result, not a career plan. Was this guy really planning to just eat and wait for fate?
"Well, now that we're all here, let's eat," Woz said, moving to break the awkward silence.
The four of them clasped their hands. "Let's dig in."
"Gates, pass the soy sauce."
Gates complied, grumbling.
"Gates, could you serve me a bowl of rice?"
Reluctantly, Gates obeyed.
"Gates, add some natto to it."
"..."
"And just a pinch of salt."
"..."
"Oh, and pass me the morning paper while you're at it."
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!" Gates exploded, standing up with his face red. "You've only just moved in and you're already treating me like your personal butler!"
"Calm down," Woz said coolly. "Getting worked up this early will give you high blood pressure."
"I'm not a damn horse!!" Gates roared.
"Speaking of which," Sougo interjected, "isn't breakfast unusually fancy today?"
"I'm glad you noticed~" A cheerful voice rang out from the kitchen.
A young man in an apron stepped out. "I made breakfast. Please enjoy!"
He removed the apron, revealing a pristine white coat underneath, and walked off with elegance.
"...Who the hell was that?" Gates blinked.
"I have no idea," Tsukuyomi replied.
"Wait… I think I recognize him," Woz narrowed his eyes.
"Didn't Ryuga mention someone like that before? Named… Madam?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"AH!!!" Sougo suddenly jumped up, pointing toward the coffee table.
The others followed his gaze.
Their Knight Watch display pedestal—where they stored their hard-earned Ride Watches—was empty.
Completely empty.
"THE WATCHES ARE GONE!!" Sougo shouted.
Gates sprinted out of the house.
Sougo followed, hastily changing out of his pajamas on the way.
Woz, sighing, chased after them as well. Someone had to recover the stolen Watches—and it should've been his job.
Only Tsukuyomi remained seated.
Just then, Ryuga stepped out from a new portal, casually entered the kitchen, and grabbed a plate.
Unfazed, he sat down at the table.
Ora, unsurprisingly, had not come downstairs yet. After all, she and Ryuga had... a very eventful reunion last night.
"Mmm... this is really good," Ryuga mumbled. "Mrs. Haidou's cooking could give Uncle a run for his money. I wonder if he learned this to impress Tsukasa…"