"Haha! What an incredible power!"
Swartz's laughter echoed with madness.
"As long as I wield this power, I'll surpass my sister—and finally inherit the throne as the true king!"
But just as he basked in his ecstasy, a sudden burst of flames erupted around him. The absorption of the Demon King's power abruptly ceased.
"What's happening?!" Swartz exclaimed, startled.
At last, Sougo, who had watched silently, opened his mouth.
"Did you really think you could absorb all of my power?"
His tone was calm, yet heavy with judgment.
"My power is the culmination of every Rider!"
With a single thought, hundreds of Rider Watches materialized around him—then shot into his body in a blinding surge.
They weren't just the righteous Riders—main and secondary alike—but even villainous Riders were absorbed.
"Give it to me!" Swartz roared.
He snapped his fingers, and the five villainous generals lunged at Sougo.
"Hmph." Sougo sneered.
He slammed his fist into the charging Utopia Dopant, then backhanded the E Chief with mechanical precision.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Both foes exploded on impact, disintegrated into ash.
In the blink of an eye, he summoned a swarm of energy bats to clear the horde of airborne monsters. Spinning on his heel, he launched a flying kick at DaKuva, erupting it in flames beneath the symbol of Kuuga's might.
Another punch shattered Sagittarius Zodiarts.
His clock-like cloak wings rotated once, and a golden sphere expanded outward—engulfing Gamedeus Bugster and launching it into the sky, where it detonated beside the sun.
Then, with one final punch, the last villain was obliterated.
All five generals—reduced to nothing in the blink of an eye, crushed under the overwhelming A-A finisher of the Demon King.
"Such terrifying power..." Swartz gasped as he tried to suppress the flames consuming his body.
"You underestimated Rider history," Sougo said coldly.
"But I've still absorbed a portion of your power! I'll return to my world and become the strongest king!" Swartz shouted.
With a wave, he opened a dimensional portal and stepped toward it.
"Not so fast!"
Tsukuyomi appeared, blocking his path. The very one whom Sougo had spared when he accepted his role as the Demon King now stood firm, determined to stop Swartz.
But the power Swartz had stolen allowed him to break free with ease. With a single punch, he struck her down.
She fell—powerless. Following Gates in death.
Perhaps even without her intervention, Swartz could never have escaped the current Sougo. But she charged forward anyway, offering her life to ignite Sougo's wrath.
Ryuga did not interfere this time. The outcome had already been decided. With Sougo now the Demon King, resurrection was merely a matter of will. One more or one less—it no longer mattered.
"YUEEEEDUUUU!!"
Sougo's roar shook the skies. His anger exploded.
Clenching his fist, he pressed both sides of his belt.
[The Final Moment!]
Sougo took flight. Behind him, massive clock hands extended outward, launching him into a devastating Rider Kick.
[The King Will Destroy Every Demon!]
Bathed in golden light, Sougo slammed into Swartz—and in less than a second...
Swartz was annihilated. Instantly.
The "left-side curse" of Riders—obliterated. Sougo had kicked him from the left and still won effortlessly.
Swartz didn't even have time to feel pain. He was reduced to golden dust, scattered into the world.
Just like the kick that once felled Kamen Rider Aqua, the shockwave from Sougo's final attack tore across the sky—eradicating every last monster in existence.
A global-scale finisher. A Rider map wipe.
"Magnificent, Your Majesty!" Woz appeared, bowing with reverence.
"You've saved the world. I renew my oath of loyalty!"
He knelt.
"You shall rule forever."
But Sougo only shook his head.
"I won't."
Woz blinked.
"Why not? You are the strongest king now!"
Sougo's eyes were heavy with conviction.
"Because I will soon destroy this world."
"What?!"
Suddenly, Sougo's consciousness was pulled into a dark, empty void. A familiar presence awaited him.
The "Chat Room of Demon Kings"—a metaphysical realm shared by all previous Kings of Demons.
A voice spoke from the shadows.
"You've earned the right to rule. You saved the world. Why throw it away?"
The former Demon King sat on a simple throne, ancient and serene.
"No," Sougo said quietly.
"It was Gates, Tsukuyomi, and the other Riders who saved the world."
"In a world without them, there's no meaning in becoming king!"
The old king paused.
"So, you abandon dominion and choose the path of the true king?"
Sougo asked:
"Is the power of the Demon King only destruction?"
The old king replied:
"To create, one must first destroy."
Sougo smiled.
"Then let me be the one who creates. I will rewrite history!"
"You realize you'll never become king again."
"That's fine. The hands of the clock keep moving forward—even if they loop, they still progress."
The old king laughed heartily.
"Ah, youth. What a joy to meet you, younger me."
With that, he transformed into a golden sphere and vanished.
Back in the real world, Sougo raised his hands. A golden light burst from his body, quickly spreading across the entire world.
It was the light of destruction—and rebirth.
Far above, Kaitou watched as the world disappeared beneath the light.
"Incredible. He's really recreating time and space..."
Tsukasa smiled.
"Time for a new journey, huh?"
Ryuga stood beside them, Ora in his arms.
"The first Reiwa Rider, Zero-One, awaits."
Tsukasa turned, surprised.
"You know what comes after Heisei?"
"Barely." Ryuga waved dismissively.
"I just know the name."
"Then why mention it?"
"To give you something to do. Otherwise, you'll keep interfering while I steal the spotlight!"
"...Tch."
Just then, a dark-gold energy surged through time and space—landing in front of Ryuga.
He smirked and absorbed it into his body.
"What the hell was that?!" Tsukasa shouted.
"The last remnant of the old Demon King's power," Ryuga said coolly.
"Why did he give it to you?!"
Then Tsukasa paused.
"...Ah. With history rewritten, the Demon King himself will vanish. No point holding on to that power anymore."
"Exactly!" Ryuga clapped.
"Nice deduction, old friend!"
"Damn it... I should've asked for it too!"
"Please." Ryuga rolled his eyes.
"With your personality, the Demon King would've punched you before handing you anything!"
"Just go home and sleep, dreamer."
He waved goodbye and vanished with Aura into a starry portal.
As the golden light faded, the entire world dissolved—only to be reconstructed anew.
This time, twenty-one parallel worlds emerged simultaneously:
Twenty for the Heisei RidersOne for Tsukuyomi
Sougo's world was reset a year earlier. Apparently, he was generous enough to repeat his final year of high school...
Strangely, new faces now existed in his class—like Gates, Tsukuyomi, and Heure.
They had all perished in the original world.
As for Minato Miharu?
Sougo: "Excuse me… who?"
In this new reality, only Woz retained his memories of the past world.
Even Sougo had chosen to erase his own memory.
In the end, the one who suffered most…
...was Woz.