Kadoya Tsukasa is a traveler, and also Kamen Rider Decade. He has seen many Kamen Riders on his dimensional journeys. He has also seen warriors who are not Kamen Riders at all, completely different beings.
Even for such a man, Kamen Rider Zi-O was special.
A being who, like himself, possessed the powers of many Kamen Riders and had the potential to become the strongest Rider.
The Kamen Rider Zi-O he had seen before had many possibilities. A possibility where he walked a lonely path to ultimate power, and a possibility where he and his comrades overcame a predetermined future.
"(I'll have to see what kind of being he becomes this time.)"
This time, there was one concern: the new Henshin user was different from the last.
It was a power that could throw the world into chaos if used selfishly. He thought he would have to intervene if there was a malicious intent.
Even without malicious intent, he couldn't allow Zi-O to become a self-righteous overlord. With that in mind, he had been observing Sho.
Sho was a man of action with a strong sense of justice, but he also had a tendency to be overly rational. There were times when he acted without considering those around him. It was a dangerous sign, but...
"Alright. It's fine, as long as the people around you support you."
Tsukasa wasn't looking for perfection.
Yukina, Kokkoro, and from the sound of it, many others were there to support Sho. If he was lacking in some areas, his comrades would make up for it.
After all, Tsukasa himself had traveled with the support of his own comrades.
"Though, it is a little concerning that it's just girls."
Grumbling, he gripped a certain item in his hand. An item infused with about half of his own power.
The appraisal was complete. Now, as a senior Rider, he would lend him just a little bit of his power.
"I'll lend it to you for a little while. Hey, Zi-O—Yozuki Sho!!"
Tsukasa drew back his arm.
"Hey, Zi-O—Yozuki Sho!!"
"Huh?"
Tsukasa's voice was loud.
"Take it!!"
I caught the object Tsukasa threw.
It was...
"A Watch...?"
At first, I was confused. Its shape was different from all the Watches I had collected so far. But...
"DE DE DE DECADE!"
I had no choice but to bet on this one.
"Let's do this!"
"ZI-O!"
I put the Ziku Driver on my waist and inserted the two Watches.
"Henshin!!"
"RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!"
"ARMOR TIME!"
"KAMENRIDE! DECADE! DECADE! —DECADE!"
Just like Decade's Henshin, the Decade Armor appeared and attached itself to me.
My Zi-O form grew one size larger due to the armor. It was much closer to its original form than ever before. The clear difference was the head. It was shaped like a flat screen with a face displayed on it.
"Rejoice!! The king of time who has inherited the power of all Riders and reigns over past and future across dimensions!! His name is Kamen Rider Zi-O, Decade Armor!! This is the moment when he inherits the power of another special Rider!!"
"You're going to say that after all..."
Behind me, I heard Woz's congratulatory words, as if he had been waiting for them.
"Senpai, it's good that you're safe, but..."
"Is this a happy occasion...?"
"Seriously, what's going on..."
I knew Yukina and the others would react this way. Come to think of it, has anyone heard Woz's congratulatory words twice before?
"RIDE HEISEI-BER"
"It even has its own weapon."
I wanted to counterattack right away, but as a side effect of using Baou Zakeruga, my body was starting to disobey me.
Besides, I didn't think I had a better skill than Sherlock just because I was wearing the Decade Armor. If I tried to slash at him with my sword, I'd probably just be easily defeated.
What I needed was overwhelming firepower that could blast through any trick. Enough power to pierce through the defense that the incomplete Baou couldn't.
There was no other way than to use a finishing move from the start.
Before that, there was something I was curious about. The shape of the Decade Watch.
"Could this be—"
The Decade Watch had a different shape from the others. In other words...
"Is this it?"
I activated the OOO Watch and inserted it into the Decade Watch.
"OOO"
"FINAL FORM TIME!"
"O・O・O OOO!"
The Decade Armor changed further.
While the main armor remained the same, each part became that of OOO's Tajador Combo.
"I see, so I can use the power of different Riders this way."
And not just Kamen Riding, but their enhanced forms. As expected of Decade, he's very generous.
"Here I go!!"
I pressed the button on the Decade Watch.
"O・O・O OOO! FINAL ATTACK TIME BREAK!"
With that sound, wings formed on my back. The fiery wings of a phoenix.
"RYUKI"
"FINISH TIME!"
I inserted the Ryuki Watch into the Ride Heisei-ber.
I turned the clock hands on the sword.
"HEY!! RYUKI!"
"SCRAMBLE TIME BREAK!"
A standby sound began to play, and behind me, a Dragranzer appeared from a mirror that formed in the air.
—GYAAAAAAA!!!!
The Dragranzer coiled around me, mixing with the phoenix wings.
"Fire, huh..."
Sherlock's face tightened as the flames compressed around me.
"—!!!"
I brought down the Ride Heisei-ber with all my might. The flames that formed the phoenix wings were compressed and rolled into the shape of three medals.
—GYAAAAAA!!!!
Then the Dragranzer breathed its fire on them.
It was the strongest fire attack, a combination of the powers of the Tajador Combo and Survive.
The fiery medals closed in on Sherlock.
"Hah!!"
This was the first time I'd heard such a forceful voice from Sherlock during this fight.
The surrounding temperature dropped sharply, and frost began to form. It was his freezing superpower, the same one that had frozen the sea earlier. But the temperature that had dropped rose sharply as my attack passed by.
The wall of ice he created melted, and the attack hit Sherlock.
A spectacular explosion occurred.
I couldn't see the result of the attack because of the flames—but then I heard applause.
"Using fire despite the ICBMs around... If it had caused a chain reaction, we would have all been annihilated."
It was Sherlock's voice. He said it with a hint of irony.
"But, it was truly splendid."
He was standing. His clothes were tattered, but he was standing.
"I do believe this is my defeat."
He looked at his own right hand. The suit from his right shoulder down was gone, and his exposed arm was horribly burned.
"You're perfectly fine, what are you talking about?"
I was starting to feel the fatigue now. If an attack like that only did this much damage, it was a little disheartening.
"The fact that I took this much damage, even though I knew what kind of attack was coming, means it's my complete defeat. You've brilliantly broken my deduction."
Sherlock climbed into the ICBM.
"Also, I apologize for killing you. I was planning on bringing you back to life somehow, but I see that was not necessary."
"You kill a person once and give such a light apology, you bastard!!"
And bringing me back to life with such a light tone!
"Hahaha, I truly am sorry. I was really going to make every effort for Aria's sake."
"Huh?! For me!?"
"Yes. For now, that's enough. You can slowly come to understand it later... Well, I don't know if the world will wait for that..."
Sherlock smiled at Aria, who was flustered by the sudden mention.
"Jagras-kun. I have used you quite conveniently. I am truly sorry. And thank you."
"Are you sure you want to leave me at large? I know where 'Hidan' is right now, you know? I can go and get it whenever I want."
"If you act on my 'A Study in Scarlet,' then so be it. Whether you succeed... that's not for me to say."
"...Tch."
Jagras turned his face away.
"Don't sulk so much. I hope you make good use of the position I gave you."
"..."
The position he gave me? What's he talking about? ...Well, I'll think about that later.
"You're being so honest, are you planning on dying now?"
"'Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.' I have taught you everything I can. Now it's time for the graduation ceremony. Let's decorate it with fireworks."
Sherlock laughed and closed the ICBM's door.
"Great-Grandfather!!"
"Aria-sama, stop!!"
Ignoring Kokkoro's warning, Aria ran toward the ICBM.
"Aria-kun, it was a short time, but I had fun. I'd like to give you a memento, but I'm afraid I no longer have anything to give you."
Sherlock's voice came from inside.
"So I'll give you a name. I have the two names, 'Hidan no Sherlock.' I'll give that name to you."
Sherlock spoke his last words.
"Farewell, 'Hidan no Aria'."
The ICBM slowly began to rise.
"Aria, it's dangerous!!"
I forced my body to move and went to Aria, who was clinging to the rising ICBM.
"You have to let go now!"
"No! My great-grandfather is going to go somewhere...!"
Tears welled up in Aria's eyes. Aria had said that Sherlock was like a god to her. For Aria, Sherlock was not an enemy.
"Sho-kun"
"Great-Grandfather!?"
It was from the hangar's speaker.
"Please take good care of Aria-kun. And try not to be too distracted by other women."
That's none of your business.
"Is that so? My deduction is that you will have many more troubles with women in the future... Well, I expect you to overturn my deduction this time, just as you did before."
"No, that's a deduction that will definitely hit the mark."
"Yes. There is no mistake about it."
"Yukina-san? Kokkoro-san?"
"Hahaha, do your best, young man. Now then—get away from there."
I forcibly pulled Aria away.
"—!!"
Aria was shouting something, but I couldn't hear her.
The missile, which had suddenly accelerated, ascended at an incredible speed.
"Kurokage Dark Shadow! Protect us!"
Together with Aria, Yukina, and Kokkoro, we were enveloped by the winged Kurokage Dark Shadow. The heat of the rocket engine passed by in an instant.
"Great-Grandfather..."
The ICBM, leaving a trail of white smoke, rose higher and higher. Aria watched it blankly.
His exit was flashy, but was this the end?
"Senpai, is it over...?"
"Or perhaps it's the beginning?"
"Honestly, Senpai..."
Yukina looked troubled.
"Haha."
I hadn't meant it as a joke at all.
I canceled my Henshin.
"Oh, that's right."
The Decade Watch in my hand. He gave it to me in the heat of battle, but I should thank him again.
"Tsukasa! ...Tsukasa?"
Tsukasa was gone. Woz, too. I guess their work was done.
If so, then...
"Jagras."
"What is it?"
"Thanks for your help this time."
Even though he was a member of I-U, there was no doubt that we wouldn't have been able to get here without his information.
"My objective wasn't achieved at all, but... well..."
Jagras glanced at Aria.
"If you ever lay a hand on Aria, you know what will happen, right?"
"In that case, would we have to fight? ...Hah, ridiculous. I'm not going to fight a guy who can screw up the professor's deduction."
Jagras turned his back.
"How are you getting back? Should I take you to Gakuenjima?"
"We can't just leave this thing in the middle of the ocean."
It was a nuclear submarine, after all. There might be evidence of I-U's crimes left behind, so I had to contact Section 6 and have them come.
"How diligent of you. Well then. See you later."
"Let's be on the same side next time."
"I hope so."
With that, Jagras also disappeared.
"Hey? Come to think of it, weren't Patra and Tohyama Kinichi on their ship?"
After Jagras was gone, Aria said, as if she had just remembered.
"Ah, I guess so..."
I had completely forgotten about them, too. Well, they probably got away.
"Whatever. I'll definitely catch them someday to clear my mom's name."
"I'll help you with that."
"Of course you will!"
Aria said with a laugh.
"You're my partner!!"
"Of course."
I replied in kind.
"Of course, Senpai is my senpai too, right?"
"He is also my master, you know?"
"O-Oh, of course."
Yukina and Kokkoro also said with smiles.
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