The final match was underway at the Inter-Middle tournament venue.
"Victoria-san!! She's meeting Jeremiah-san's Eraser head-on!!"
"Haaaaaaaaaah!!"
"Tch, iiiah--!!"
Jeremiah was swinging the palm of her Eraser, though she wasn't in her 'Essence of Jeremiah' state. She met a blow that should have vaporized anything it touched with a halberd infused with even greater magical power, deflecting it.
(I'm too slow to get warmed up...)
"Is that all you've got, Sieg?!"
She knew Victoria was a formidable opponent. Although it had been two years since they'd fought directly, Victoria was now incomparably stronger.
In addition, Jeremiah's easy path to victory in the tournament had become a liability.
While Victoria had also won many of her matches easily, she had been momentarily caught off guard in her match against Kirin, and had also gone through a fierce battle with Harry in the semi-finals.
The match between Victoria and Harry was so thrilling it felt like it should have been the final.
Both were fighters who typically ended matches quickly, but this match went the full number of rounds, and still neither of them reached zero life. In the end, it was a match that came down to the judges' decision.
Harry, who had lost, shed a torrent of tears and vowed to take revenge the following year.
Having survived that intense battle, Victoria was now demonstrating a strength that surpassed her full capacity, even with her stamina and magical power not fully recovered.
Just as the two were about to clash again,
"Ah?! What is this...?"
"Eh?"
"Who are you?!"
A figure with a concealed face stood between them. Judging by his build, he was a man. The two girls' powerful attacks had stopped in mid-air before reaching him.
An unrelated person had intruded during the match.
The sudden intruder caused a stir among the audience.
"My apologies for interrupting the match. I'll be done with my business shortly."
The man said lightly, then knelt on one knee—and plunged his arm into the ring.
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
The ring wasn't destroyed; his arm simply sank into it. As if searching through mud, he felt around inside the ring and pulled out "something" that looked like a pocket watch.
(W-what is that...!!)
(How could something like that be here...?!)
Jeremiah and Victoria broke out in a cold sweat upon seeing the object in the man's hand. How could they have been so close to it all this time without feeling anything?
It was clearly storing an immense amount of dangerous energy, different from magic. What was he planning to do with it?
Unconsciously, both girls took up their stances.
But the man simply said,
"My apologies for the commotion. Now, good luck with your match."
He showed by his attitude that he had no interest in their match, or the two of them. Then he leaped away.
---------
The scene shifts to the 'Zoo'.
Ever since their first meeting, Yo, Nana, and Mea had been meeting at this zoo every day. As a result, they had become very close friends in less than a week.
Unfortunately, Momo hadn't come since the first day, so she wasn't part of the group. Instead, she was obligated to listen to Nana's daily recap every night.
"Yo-chan, he went that way!!"
"I got this."
"Hah, hah... Dammit!! These persistent brats...!"
The job was supposed to be just walking around the zoo every day, but today, things were a bit different.
A villain had infiltrated the zoo to smuggle valuable animals or sell their DNA for a high price.
The villain had successfully obtained the DNA but hadn't been careful around the animals. He never would have imagined that there were people who could understand animal languages.
After being alerted to the disturbance on their walk, Yo and her friends immediately began their pursuit. They were in the middle of a chase.
The villain weaved through the crowd to escape. The customers were surprised by the sight, but even more so by the two girls chasing him at an even greater speed.
"Get out of the way!! Get out of the way!!"
The villain shouted and ran, out of breath. He was almost at the exit. Everyone, seeing the obvious suspicious person, simply opened a path for him. If he could just go straight, he'd be outside the building in the parking lot, where his accomplices were waiting in a getaway car.
However, a figure was standing resolutely in front of the door.
"Hey!! You, in the strange clothes!! Move it!!"
He threatened her, but she didn't budge.
"If you won't move—!!"
The man pulled out a knife from his pocket.
"You're gonna get hurt!!"
"Yaah!"
"Gpah!?"
Faster than the knife could reach her, a beam from a tail hit the villain. He was instantly scorched and collapsed on the ground.
"All right! Oh, you two are here~!!"
"Nana-chan, you did it!"
"You took all the glory."
Mea and Yo caught up. Nana gave a V-sign.
"I think his accomplices are outside."
"I already contacted the Bureau, so it should be fine."
"We should probably just keep an eye on this guy."
The three of them thought it was all over and didn't notice. Not just Nana, but Mea and Yo couldn't react.
A figure crept up from behind Yo, and
reached a hand toward her back.
"Ah!!??"
"Yo!?"
"Yo-chan!?"
Nana and Mea cried out at the sudden turn of events, but the object the man held—an Another OOO Watch—was already sucked into Yo's body.
"Ugh, ah...!"
Yo felt a distinct foreign object being shoved inside her body. However, its immense power made resistance futile. She desperately tried to hold onto her consciousness, which was about to be swept away, and knelt on the ground.
"W-who are you?!"
"Nana-chan, step back."
Mea calmed Nana, who was about to lunge forward, and stepped in front of her. Her experience told her that the person in front of them was on a different level.
(Who is this person...? What's their goal? What did they just do to Yo-chan? No, more importantly, this person doesn't have any hostility toward us!)
Mea was releasing a considerable amount of killing intent, but the person in front of her didn't even flinch.
He was definitely not an accomplice of the villain lying on the ground.
"Kurosaki Mea and Nana Asta Deviluke. You don't need to be so concerned. I'm just going to have Kasukabe Yo rampage a little. Sho Yozuki will deal with it soon. He'll have to."
"Sho Yozuki...?"
(Why is Sho-kun's name here...? Is Sho-kun involved in this? But Yo-chan is Sho-kun's friend...)
Both Nana and Mea had question marks floating in their minds for different reasons.
"Ugh! Guh, uuuuugh...!"
Their thoughts were interrupted by Yo's pained groans.
"Yo! Are you okay?! Do you feel sick? Uh, what, what do we do, Mea!"
"...Nana-chan, take Yo-chan and get back. Tell someone here to take her to the hospital."
"A wise decision, Kurosaki Mea. What do you plan to do? Stay here? And do what?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm supposed to be a Butei, after all."
She planned to stall him and hand him over to the Bureau agents who were on their way.
"It's not about justice or anything like that. I'm just angry at what you did to my friend."
"...I'll give you a prediction. You won't even be able to touch me. I have no intention of fighting you now. I'd also advise you to get away from Kasukabe Yo. That is, if you don't want to get hurt."
With Nana gone, Mea unleashed her full killing intent—but still, the man showed no hostility.
"Tch! Don't—"
Mea used her transformation trance to turn her arm into a blade and,
"—underestimate me!!"
slashed at him.
"I told you it would be useless."
The blade stopped. Her target was the man's neck. The attack, which was meant to sever his head in one blow, stopped before it reached his neck and didn't budge.
(W-why can't my arm move forward anymore...?!)
She could pull her arm back, but when she tried to cut off his head, it wouldn't go any further.
It wasn't as if a wall was blocking her. Her blade should have been moving forward, but it wasn't reaching the man.
(This is way more dangerous than I thought!! Fighting this person is! Way more!)
"I told you. And—look."
"Ugh, uuuuuaaaaaaaaahhh!!"
In the next moment, Yo's body was enveloped in countless "medals." The medals became flesh, and she transformed into a creature no one had ever seen before.
A hawk, a peacock, a condor, a lion, a tiger, a cheetah, a stag beetle, a praying mantis, a grasshopper, a rhinoceros, a gorilla, an elephant, a killer whale, an eel, an octopus, a cobra, a turtle, a crocodile, a pteranodon, a triceratops, a tyrannosaurus—all kinds of creatures were brought together, forming a single shape, a monster.
Furthermore, they reacted with Yo's Genome Tree, the Catalogue of Life, causing an even greater transformation.
The monster, which had looked like a collection of all life forms on Earth, was now being imbued with characteristics of creatures that didn't exist.
It was quadrupedal, but it had seven wings. It had three tails and multiple faces.
"The overflowing, overflowing desire I've stored up is finally going to be released."
The desire to win from the athletes participating in the Inter-Middle. When they win a match, the desire to win the next one is born. If they lose, the desire to win next year is born.
Desire was also collected from the spectators and the secondaries. The desire for their favorite athlete to win, and also the vague feeling of "I want to see a good match."
The desire, stored up until it was about to burst, was now being unleashed.
"This is Another OOO."
—GYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
When the monster roared, all the reinforced glass in the exhibits shattered into pieces. Not only that, but the animals nearby fainted.
"Yo, turned into a monster...?"
"Tch!! Nana-chan!"
"Wah!? Mea!?"
Yo had transformed into an enormous something. The transformation was still in its early stages. With every pulse, her body swelled.
"Nana-chan! We have to get away!"
"B-but! But Yo!!"
Mea tried to pull Nana away, but Nana struggled in her arms. Yo, who had been with her just a moment ago, had turned into a monster. Even without a way to help her, Nana was struggling to do something. Because she was her friend.
The mysterious man had already floated into the air.
"Hmm, I see. It wants to go to the place that was the source of its desires. Is that its habit? Is it because of the original desire? Oh well. I'll help it."
When the man flicked his finger, Another OOO rose into the air.
"Yo!!"
Nana's scream didn't reach the mysterious man.
"What...!"
Nana muttered blankly.
"What's going on...!!"
Nana looked up to see a massive hole in the ceiling of the building.
The man and Another OOO, who had been there moments ago, were gone without a trace.
---------
And now, back at the Inter-Middle venue.
The match, which had been suspended when the mysterious man appeared in the ring, was about to resume.
"Honestly, what a rude fellow."
"Just who was that, I wonder?"
Victoria was indignant, and Edgar kept the conversation going to maintain their focus on the match.
"Champion, you're fine! The point difference isn't that big! Let's stay calm when the match resumes!"
"Mm, thanks~"
Jeremiah smiled at Elusu's encouragement, but in her heart, she was thinking about the person who had just interrupted their match.
(I couldn't sense him at all... I bet Victor couldn't either. To not be able to react until he's right in front of us...)
He was no ordinary person. Frankly, she was worried about what he was going to do with the object he'd taken from the ring, and if it was okay for them to just continue the match as if nothing happened.
However, the spectators who had come to see the final match wanted it to resume as soon as possible.
"When is the match going to start, I wonder..."
"Yes, I know..."
Miura and Einhart murmured quietly.
Miura had defeated Vivio, but she had used up all her strength and lost in the next match. Unfortunately, she hadn't made it to the main tournament, but she was certainly a player to watch out for in the next one.
"Well, nothing was done to them, so it'll resume soon. Let's wait patiently."
"But the athletes must be furious. It's a truly malicious prank."
The adults, Nove and Mikaya, were calm, but they were internally angry at the man who had intruded.
"A prank, huh..."
Something about it just didn't sit right with Kuro.
It was clearly an abnormal situation. Based on her experience, she had a feeling it was a prelude to some sort of incident.
And, unfortunately, her premonition was correct.
A monstrous object crashed through the venue's ceiling.
"Ah!!??"
It was a monster that looked like a mixture of every kind of living creature—Another OOO.
"..."
The man who had dropped it into the venue was watching from high in the sky. Looking in another direction, he saw a building where a sphinx had been attached.
"Well, I hope you can handle this."
While the man who had intruded in the ring was the same, a man and a monster were completely different. The venue was in chaos as spectators tried to get as far away from the monster as possible.
"Honestly, I can't believe it has grown this much."
From a transparent aurora, a man with a magenta toy camera around his neck—Kadoya Tsukasa—appeared.
He attached a belt and loaded a card.
"Henshin."
He transformed into a rider with a characteristic magenta and black vertical barcode-like mask—Kamen Rider Decade.
"It looks like he's not here—no, he's here."
Decade looked up at the large hole in the ceiling made when the monster descended.
"Henshin!!"
Sho, who had transformed into Zi-O, landed in the ring.
"Decade..."
"It seems like the worst has happened... Can you handle this, Zi-O?"
"Of course...!"
Facing the massive Another OOO, the two riders took their stances.
--------------------------------------------
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