Woz's voice, filled with deep emotion, echoed through the empty room.
"Kamen Rider, Zi-O..."
It was a name and a form I'd never heard before. The Rider my future self would transform into, but in a slightly more simplified form. This must be the base form.
I could deduce a lot from the name, too. Zi-O, as in 'king' of 'time'.
"And this, too, is a gift from me."
Woz handed me something else. It was the same shape as the 'watch' I was holding. I rotated it, and this time, it showed a familiar image—the face of Kamen Rider Ryuki.
"RYUKI"
I'm not so slow on the uptake that I couldn't figure this out. Putting all the information together, I guessed this Rider had the power to transform into other Kamen Riders, just like Decade.
Kamen Rider Ryuki is a Rider who fights in a world inside mirrors called the Mirror World.
That girl left the keyword 'mirror.' Using this power, I should be able to solve this incident.
I took off the Zi-O watch I was wearing and—
"Hmm? No, that's not right. Attach it to the empty slot on the other side."
"Ah, I see."
Just as Woz said, I attached it to the other side. A standby sound began, and I rotated it.
"ARMOR TIME!"
"ADVENT RYUKI!"
"Oh."
What appeared before me was a patchwork of armor. I could tell it was based on different parts of Ryuki. I was supposed to put this on, but how...?
The moment I touched it with my fingertip, the armor scattered everywhere. It was drawn to my body, attaching to different parts.
When I looked in a nearby mirror, my appearance had changed dramatically. As the name 'Armor Time' suggested, it was a Rider that changed by wearing the Ryuki-themed armor on top of its base form. The word 'RYUKI' was written on the compound eyes.
"Hmm. It seems my part is done for now. Until we meet again, my Overlord."
"Huh? Wait a minute..."
Woz said what he wanted and vanished. There were a ton of questions I wanted to ask, but right now, there was something more important I had to do.
"Alright, let's go."
To the world in the mirror.
When I touched the mirror, my body was sucked in and then expelled. I wasn't in an ordinary world... The letters and objects I saw were reversed in the Mirror World.
The ability to use mirrors—with all this laid out for me, I quickly guessed the enemy's ability was 'Man in the Mirror.'
And if my guess was right, everyone's lives were in danger. It was almost more reassuring to face a formidable foe.
The Mirror World is a dangerous place. There are monsters that prey on humans, and you'll disappear if you stay there for too long in your human form. But the biggest question was whether this Mirror World was the same as the one created by Man in the Mirror.
It wouldn't matter if I entered a world in a mirror if it was a different one.
But that worry quickly proved to be unfounded.
I found them. Ms. Testarossa was having a gun pointed at her by a man I didn't recognize. Blood was flowing from her shoulder, and she wasn't putting up a fight. No, she couldn't.
She was probably a regular person now, unable to use her magic.
The gun was aimed at her, ready to fire at any moment. No, the trigger had already been pulled! The world slowed to a crawl, but...
Damn it! I'm not going to make it in time...!
"JIKAN GIRAIDE! JU!"
As if reading my mind, a weapon flew out of my belt. The word 'JU' was engraved on the weapon itself.
In this slowed-down world, my hand moved fluidly.
CLANK!!
"!!"
It was a bullet-deflecting billiard shot. And it was a super-fast quick draw.
The bullet was beautifully deflected, and the gun was destroyed.
The man was quick. He glanced at me and immediately began to flee.
"Damn it!! This isn't what we agreed on! Wasn't this world supposed to be completely safe!?"
I wanted to catch him, but I couldn't leave the injured Ms. Testarossa here.
"Ms. Fate! Are you alright!?"
"Eh, ah, y-you, could you be, Yotsuki-kun!?"
"Yes. I came to help."
I hesitated for a moment but then undid my transformation to put her at ease. When she saw my face, the tension left her body.
"I'm so glad... Wait! No! Vivio is...!"
"Is Vivio-chan here, too!?"
"I don't know, but that man said he already captured her..."
I laid her down on her side. While listening to her, I started to treat her. I don't have healing abilities, so I had to use the first aid I learned in school.
Should I send her outside... No, since that man escaped, I don't know when he'll attack again. I should have her come with me.
"Just bear with it for a bit, Ms. Fate. I'll get you to a hospital as soon as Takamachi-san and the others arrive. Kuromatsu Dark Shadow, carry her."
"Got it."
"Whoa! Th-thank you."
"Don't expect a smooth ride."
"OI! I'LL BE VERY CAREFUL!"
"You have an ability like this, too..."
We began our search of this world. We had wasted too much time. If the opponent had intended to kill efficiently from the start, there could have been casualties.
If Vivio-chan was captured, the worst-case scenario might not just be an injury.
"Come to think of it, you've changed the way you address me, haven't you?"
"Ah, my apologies..."
Basically, my mind was set on calling her Fate, not Testarossa, so I had blurted it out in a panic. It's not often you call an adult by their first name, even with 'san.'
"It's fine, you know? It's easier to say that way, isn't it?"
"Then, I might just do that."
"Which is it?"
Ms. Fate laughed, sounding amused. Even in this surreal world, I'd gotten used to this much.
First, we headed to where I had separated from Ms. Megane and Yomi. No one was there, and there was nothing around. As we searched haphazardly from there, we heard a sound that sliced through the air.
"!!"
It was the dry crack of a whip, echoing all the way to us.
"I'm going! Kuromatsu Dark Shadow, I'm counting on you!"
"Be careful!"
I used my Tsumebiki mobility ability to move up to the next floor.
"There you are..."
Ms. Megane, Lutesia, Vivio-chan, Yomi, and Yami. And one unfamiliar dark-skinned beauty. From her appearance, she was likely Azenta the Tyrant, a character from To Love-Ru Darkness. So she was the enemy this time.
Vivio-chan and Lutesia had vacant eyes. They must have been under Azenta's control.
A knife was at Lutesia's throat, and Vivio was holding a tattered Yami. Yami was in a state that was difficult to look at in two ways: her injuries and her torn clothes.
Ms. Megane and Yomi were a little further away. I could tell from a distance that Yomi looked pale.
Azenta was standing in front of them. She had the face of someone with absolute superiority. She looked intimidating, but I could immediately tell it was a bluff. Ms. Megane was desperately shielding Yomi.
"Your timing is always so good!"
But I welcomed it!
"Stop!"
"!! Sho...!"
"Yotsuki Sho... How are you here...?"
"You were with that golden reaper... What is that woman up to...?"
I raised my voice to get everyone's attention.
"It was a gamble, but it seems I'm lucky today. No, if you think of it as being attacked while on vacation, the luck evens out, I guess?"
"...Hmph, but it's still bad luck. I hate to burst your bubble now that you've found your companions, but the situation hasn't changed at all!"
"Man in the Mirror, huh?"
"...!! You know a lot. I think I understand a little bit why that woman was so fixated on you. But if you know that, don't you also understand that you've already lost the moment you stepped in here?"
The supernatural abilities inside their bodies—'Stands,' 'Quirks,' 'Dark Magic,' and other weapons—had all been nullified.
"Not just magic! Superpowers, sorcery, even guns and blades! It's all been cleaned out like the corners of a room! There are no parts that have been left behind! You're just a normal person now!"
Magic, sorcery, superpowers, and even rare skills not included in those, not to mention the new kind of ability, 'Stands,' that Azenta herself possessed—they had all been perfectly excluded.
Communication devices and other gadgets, too.
"Or so you might think."
I didn't enter this world with a Stand. I broke in using Ryuki's power. My abilities weren't restricted at all.
"You should know that, shouldn't you? That you didn't drag me in here."
"!! That's impossible! This world is my world!! I am the absolute rule—I am the king. Do you understand that!?"
"Dual Gashat!"
"The strongest fist, what's the next stage?"
"Maximum Henshin."
"Gachan! Mazaru up!"
"Red fist, strength! Blue puzzle, chain! A cross of red and blue! PERFECT KNOCK OUT!"
I didn't need a weapon. I wouldn't be satisfied unless I punched the person who had tormented everyone to this point with my own hands.
Azenta the Tyrant is a master of telekinesis and whips! From the looks of the situation, that hasn't changed at all!
"S-stay back! I'll kill these kids—"
"Steel!"
Before she could finish, I unleashed the Steel energy system on Vivio and Lutesia. As long as it was active, ordinary knives wouldn't be able to pierce them.
"This is the end!!"
"Urawaza!"
"KNOCK OUT CRITICAL SMASH!"
"G-get out of here! Man in the Mirror! Get him out of here!!"
I ripped through the useless telekinetic restraint and closed in on Azenta.
Azenta put up one last, but most effective, resistance. If I were kicked out of this world, I would never have another chance to rescue everyone.
Like a vacuum cleaner, my body was sucked toward a polished knife that had fallen on the floor. It seemed she could expel people even if they weren't dragged in by her Stand.
This was something I couldn't get through with just guts.
"Extend!"
I used another energy item.
My fist, wreathed in flames, stretched like rubber. My fist, curving in a sharp spiral, smashed through Azenta's cheek. Azenta was slammed into the wall, her eyes completely rolled back in her head as she lost consciousness.
At the same time, the world changed.
When I came to, we were all back in the original world.
There was no one around.
With Azenta passed out, the ability that had been controlling Vivio and the others was broken. They had also fallen unconscious.
"Thanks, Sho. You saved us."
"Looks like you're back to normal."
Yomi, who was so listless just a few seconds ago, was now able to stand on her own.
"Nah, not yet."
"Not yet? Are you hurt somewhere?"
"Yeah. I'm still feeling a bit wobbly. Can you give me a piggyback ride back to everyone?"
"Ms. Megane—"
You say that with such a straight face.
"Sorry, I have Lutesia to carry."
"I'll carry Lutesia."
"Haha, your jokes are a bit much, aren't they?"
I undid my transformation and went to Yami.
"Here, put this on."
"...Okay."
I handed Yami a jacket I had picked up from somewhere. Yami's clothes were in tatters, after all.
Even Yami didn't give her usual sassy response. She accepted it without complaint. She didn't thank me, though. Instead, she hugged the unconscious Vivio and bit her lip. She must have had her own thoughts about what had happened.
Saying anything here would probably be counterproductive.
And so, the attack came to an end.
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