DW: Steins;Date

Fictions Mentioned:

Episode 2

OP Song:

MGS3 Snake Eater - Cynthia Harrell [With Lyrics] MGS3 Snake Eater OST

Insert Song: Start

The End of the Day - Date A Live Music Extended

Between the Lines

"...Ahah!"

A beautiful woman gasped as she opened her eyes. She had long pale blue hair and blue eyes. Her name was Reine Murasame... No, Mio Takamiya. But that chapter of her life had come to a tragic end; becoming the woman she is today. The memory of the man she loved was still running from her mind for the past thirty years. She could never find any peace. Her soul was a broken shell as she lost her significant other.

Her hands were stained with the blood of many just for the sake of that one goal. She wanted her lover back. She wanted to see him again. She looks at the closed curtains of her lonely apartment room. Not like this was anything new. She was used to being alone. It reminded her of her ultimate motivation. Even her sleepless nights made her remember that.

She needed to get to work. That seemed to help her focus, even with her sleepless nights.

She looks at the mirror. Now, having tied her hair to a right-sided ponytail, she wears her Ratatoskr office uniform. And putting something in her left breast pocket, there was a small blue stitched teddy bear, the gift that the man she loved gave her, one she treasured and stitched over the years.

"...Shin," Reine muttered softly, touching her bear.

Her bear strengthens her resolve. Even after all of what had passed, she would do whatever it took to bring her lover back, no matter what.

"...Hmm?"

But Reine seems to feel something off. Her eyebrows were scrunched. She felt something. It was subtle yet it was something she felt swept a wave across the world, and even beyond the Solar System. No, too wide-ranging, she thought. She could feel something interacting. Alien. Otherworldly. She could sense something was odd. Her heart grew anxious, for what seemed like the first time in years. She walks towards the window door and slides it open as she looks at the balcony where the ominous air blows her hair.

Even with the beautiful scenery of the morning, she felt the winds, metaphorically speaking, changing.

Ever since the past month or so, she felt something darker secretly hiding behind the shadows. She could feel them, subtly encroaching upon her world. But no matter, for as she does sense these unknown yet darker powers, they were ultimately no match for someone like her. If they threaten her goals to revive her lover, then they would make a terrible enemy out of her.

Present

A peaceful yet heartwarming atmosphere currently engulfed Teitan High School. A reunited family sits on the bench - the husband wrapping his right arm around his wife and his daughter sits on his left leg; all of whom were forming a very long embrace and happy smiles. No, happiness was something that could not do justice to Shidou Itsuka's current state of being — and his Kingstone can attest to it — for this felt like a dream come true. His precious, treasured family; his wife who had always been the queen of his heart and his daughter whom he always treated like a princess; he has them under his embrace once again.

But...

This reunion was unpredictably coincidental. A little too coincidental. This very much changes the timeline in spades. At this point, Shidou had yet to even meet Rinne and Rio, but somehow, they came to him, with all of their memories of him intact. How? Why? He wished he could simply spend time enjoying his family's company, but he knew that he could not indulge in such things, because many things are supposed to happen on this day. This was a very special day for him and for all of the Spirits. Why? This was April 10th, the important date when he would meet the first Spirit that he had encountered in his original life. Tohka Yatogami. Though right now, she had no name, for he had yet to give it to her.

He needed to get Tohka to open up a little. If he gains even a slight opening, he could make use of one of his spiritual powers empowered by the Kingstone — Michael — to restore her memories. He cannot simply force Tohka or any other Spirit to remember him because there's the risk of them resisting the process which may cause their power to unnecessarily go berserk due to the side effect of their feelings being tampered with, or worst case scenario, make them go inverse. It has to be with consent. For what amounted to a millennia of experiences, Shidou now had a clear understanding of how and what each Spirit could be capable of doing, in theory and practice, so he knew that he needed to tread lightly.

"...Shidou...no, papa."

Rinne muttered softly, bringing his attention, missing the old nickname that his wife had given him long ago, in that caressing, nostalgic voice. He looks to the side and asks gently.

"What is it, mama?"

"...We...We don't have much time, don't we?" Rinne smiled a little sadly, her hands clenching over Shidou's shirt. "Because... you're about to meet Tohka-chan again."

"Ah," Shidou nodded, sad yet firm. "By the time the spacequake hits, I would have to head to where she and I first met, that is... if the butterfly effect isn't screwing with me right now."

The butterfly effect refers to a term where a minor change in history could cause large changes to occur. The fact that Shidou was here right now is already a minor change. The way his world works relating to time travel is a cruel one. He remembers the painstaking effort that he experienced when he tried to change one of the Spirits — Origami Tobiichi's fate. The first time he did it, it ended up with Shidou taking part in actual history instead of changing anything. It was only the second time around that he managed to change anything.

"Why...?! Why did you have her face...?! Why...?!"

Shidou twitched within his mind. He remembered that time all too well as if it were only yesterday. He had been through that event twice, first as a man who had lost his family and even his memories of them before those memories came back to haunt him again and lash out, second through the various hellish loops as a side effect of a background war, and third as a man of war who had to play the part of his future self who warns the Spirit — Kurumi Tokisaki — of what she needed to do, while maintaining his cover and not tell her too much.

He wonders how this world's history would play out, either as an ally or as an enemy. Would changing history matter at this point? Not just because of his presence in the current timeline, but rather because of a phenomenon happening in the background, one called the Convergence, caused by an old enemy organization that does not seem to die, no matter how many times he and his allies tried to cut off their heads. Two more shall take its place indeed. It doesn't help that they are the bastards who are indirectly responsible for his original life in a way.

"But..." Rinne showed a concerned expression. "What are we going to do about... our mother?"

Rinne referred to the First Spirit, Mio Takamiya, who had taken a different identity at this time, working on the invisible hovering craft that was in the middle of the skies of Tenguu City. Shidou remembers, and he's more wary of her among the Spirits. One mistake and it's over. Even with his power, he'd rather not engage her in a fight. Personally, he did not want to fight her at all. There was no reason for them to fight. After all, her goal had already been accomplished. But she doesn't know that.

Through Michael, Shidou could show her. She didn't need to fight. The one she longs for is alive and well. It would be a whole lot easier if he managed to convince his mother to stand down and grant her his memories. All of them. Including the man that his mother loved and one who was now acting as his father.

Shidou made a grim face, one that was noticed by Rinne and Rio.

"Papa..." Rio spoke with an innocent and concerned expression. "What is it?"

Shidou smiled a little as he patted his princess' hair. "Hmm, papa's thinking of something very important right now. Ah, wait," Shidou's smile brightened a bit as he thought of something. "There's someone I'd like you both to be introduced to."

"Someone?" Rinne asks, curious.

"That would be me."

"Eh?!" Rinne sported a surprised look, and a similar expression was seen from her daughter as they heard a voice echoing in the depths of Shidou's soul. Then they... sense him. And it was... it was something Rinne could not bear to describe in mere words. It was divine, something that circulates within all of the extradimensional energies swirling within her husband. A pure light, like the brightest star, centers and orbits around these energies, providing balance and equivalency. Its energies were seen to attract and embrace both Rinne and Rio with a wave of protective cosmic force that replenishes their own energies and compliments them.

"Uhm... There's someone inside papa?" Rio spoke with a surprised and curious look, noticing the power of this being, and expressing awe and wonder.

"That is correct, Century Princess," the voice said.

"Century Princess?" Rio tilted her head.

"It is your title as a birthright, for your father is currently known as... the Century King Black Sun, a title that had been bestowed upon him ever since he had been given the power of the Kingstone... that which is my very own identity. And now, he is currently known as the Child of the Sun, having evolved tremendously upon reaching a higher level," the voice explained.

"Kingstone..." Rinne muttered softly, looking curious. "And... what do you mean by that exactly?"

"I will explain, Century Queen," the voice spoke respectfully, addressing Rinne with the rightfully regal title. "Since you have last seen your husband and king, he has fought against the darkness that lay beyond the confines of this very universe. Through a specific surgical operation conducted in secret, we have become united as one, as we both fought in a War Without End, a temporal conflict that raged throughout infinitum. Afterwards, he still continued to fight the darkness and its various shapes and forms. Through my power, the life-gaining energy of the sun that is within him, he allowed it to see the rays shine on everyone, looking to him for hope, showing the love of the universe that gives life to all living things, no matter who you are, human or god, or any other. He is the Century King Black Sun — the Child of the Sun — Kamen Rider Black RX."

"Kamen... Rider..." Rinne widened her eyes a little, looking at Shidou with a bewildered and shocked expression. "It can't be..."

"Ehehehe," Shidou raised his hand to his neck and made an embarrassed chuckle. "Yeah... Kamen Riders are real, Rinne."

Kamen Rider.

Rinne would know of it. After all, she remembered watching the show along with Rio when they were in the living room. Kamen Rider was a fictional show created sometime in the 1970s, being a story about a man who had been turned into a cyborg by an evil organization and became known as Kamen Rider, fighting against evil, becoming a protector of life, even if it was a little flower.

"...H...Hold on, Shidou, how..." Rinne muttered, but then, she noticed her husband's saddened smile. His eyes looked a little worn out and... old... Much older than the last time she saw him. Rinne dreaded to ask, but she could not help but ask anyway, in a mere whispering voice as she caressed his cheek. "...How...How long has been?"

Shidou's saddened smile felt like he was crying a little despite no tears coming out. "...Millenniums."

Rinne widened her eyes, gasping in shock. That long?!

"...Yeah, it's a very, very long story," Shidou explained with a slower tone, never losing its sadness. "If I try to explain them all, I... I won't be able to finish it."

Insert Song: End

Insert Song: Start

Jigoku Shoujo OST 1 -

And then...

"...!"

Shidou widened his eyes a little as he sensed something... familiar. Dark yet not hostile. Rinne and Rio noticed it too. They all turned right and found... someone standing a few meters away, looking from the edge of the rooftop.

Rinne felt something... not evil, yet tragic. Dark, yet miserable — vengeful even. An incarnation of a grudge. A omen of death. A darker power that lurks beneath what appeared to be a beautiful young girl, about thirteen years old, with a delicate and dainty frame. Pale skin, as if no longer of the living. Waist length, jet black hair, with bangs styled with a hime-cut. She sees the girl looking to the side, showcasing her large ruby-red eyes — strange and yet shivering through Rinne's spine, for she felt this coldness and power emanating from within something that was... old... It was very similar to her husband... Much older than how she looks... But unlike her husband's which were gentle and kind, hers was... it was like a furnace burning underneath those red eyes, as if threatening to flash and glow. Her lips were visible light pink colored lips, natural in color and had no need for any aesthetic lipstick. Her clothing was that of a black kimono with dark blue butterfly patterns.

The winds blow towards her direction, creating an ominous atmosphere. Her eyes stared into Rinne's eyes. What was she? Rinne thought with concern as she looked at her husband... who seemed to recognize her.

"...Enma?" Shidou muttered softly, looking in a little surprise to find her here.

The woman, Enma, turns towards him, silent for a bit as she eyes the Itsuka Family. She walks towards them with grace. Rio in the meantime sported a little concerned tone and was shaking a little like a leaf.

"Papa... who is that?" Rio looked at her papa.

Shidou smiled a little as he gently patted her head in reassurance. "Ah, well, she's an old friend of your papa, Rio, don't worry, she won't hurt you."

Enma stops, having drawn near to the family, and looks at them silently for a bit before speaking. "It seems that our current troubles tend to find themselves centered around you this time, Solid Snake."

"Solid Snake?" Rinne noticed the strange term, looking at her husband for an explanation.

"Ah, well," Shidou smiled a little, still weathered by elderly years. "That's something most people usually call me these days, and I also changed my name into Takamiya Shidou instead of Itsuka Shidou."

"You changed your name?" Rinne looked concerned. "Why?

"...Many reasons," Shidou only said with a resigned tone, which Rinne felt concerned about, as Shidou looked at Enma while embracing his family speaking with a grim tone. "If you're somehow here, Enma, then I'd assume that you're aware of the crisis that's going on right about now?"

"Yes, I'm more than aware," Enma confirmed. "In fact, I can say with all certainty that every Hell Lord of my cosmos is fully aware of the crisis, for this affects them most of all, for good or for ill... mostly for ill."

Shidou's horrified expression was subtle and grim. "...Every Hell Lord."

Rinne and Rio both looked at him. Rinne spoke. "Papa, what does she mean? What's a Hell Lord?"

Rinne somehow got at least an answer, judging by the disturbed expression of her husband. "...Depends on who you ask."

"A Hell Lord of course refers to a Lord and Master of Hell," the voice known as the Kingstone spoke within Shidou. "You see, my Century Queen, there exists a loosely divided yet concrete pantheon of mystical, supernatural, and extradimensionally diverse beings of varying powers, most of whom are of the nature of malevolence, all commonly referred to as Hell Lords. They rule and govern their own specific extradimensional realm or realms, commonly referred to as the Arch-Dimensions of Hell. And... this woman standing right in front of you is one such Hell Lord."

Rinne looked at Enma with surprise.

"What the Kingstone explains is the truth," Enma spoke with dignity, something that Rinne noted. "People often referred to me as Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl). I was once a servant of a Hell Lord, at least before his untimely demise. You can ask your husband for more details on that. And now, the current Hell Lord of my former master's realm... belongs by right to me." Her eyes glowed as she introduced herself. "I am Enma Ai, the Hell Lord of Grudges and Vengeance. All those who die with the sins of unforgiveness and unrepentance belong by right to me, and I can definitively state by my authority that you and your daughter are purely innocent of such things, for such is my primary task."

Rinne spoke carefully, now recognizing a dangerous power, relieved at least that at the moment, she was an old friend of her husband's. "...When you say 'every Hell Lord', how... how or what does that mean right now?"

"Correct question," Enma nodded. "It concerns you and your daughter of course, and the rest of the Spirits."

The Itsuka Family became alerted at the answer.

"Or rather, to further flesh out the explanation, every Hell Lord of my cosmos has now become aware of the significance of this universe... and of one other..." Ai looks meaningfully at Shidou, subtly conveying a message that only the latter could understand, with his eyes widening a little.

To his credit, Shidou regained his composure and spoke grimly. "Heard anything from the Yellow-Eyed Demon lately?"

Then the talk turns a little darker as Enma takes a more grim reaction, something Rinne notices. Yellow-Eyed Demon? She looks at Shidou's reaction and what she felt was dread. Whoever this was, it was something that both her husband and his friend would take care to tread lightly.

"Not directly..." Enma carefully spoke with a mere whisper, clear yet soft, as if careful whether someone could hear them. "...But I have encountered a few black-eyed abominations when I visited this world of the past."

"BEDs?" Shidou became cautious, his mood becoming apparent among his family as they felt his hands embrace them a little. "How many did you find?"

"Not that many," Enma reassured in her own cold tone. "A few short stragglers here and there, but I managed to exorcise them out of their possessed hosts and make some of them give me information that I needed."

"What did you find out?" Shidou asks.

"Not all that useful. You know how elusive that Demon is when it comes to his plans to the point where even his own minions do not have a clear picture. The only things that I've managed to discover upon reflecting were that these demons were under orders from the top of their hierarchy to monitor this world and not act openly for the time being," Enma explained.

"What's a BED?" Rinne asks, wanting to take an active part in this conversation. Since this concerns her husband, and by extension, the Spirits, she would want to invest in this conversation.

Shidou looked at her silently, with his own grim expression speaking volumes of understanding for Rinne. Bad news, that's what they are, his expression says.

Enma explained in Shidou's place. "BEDs, or for a longer variation of the name, Black-Eyed Demons, are... well, they were once human, even lived as one once upon a time. But... of course, their final unrepentance upon death after committing sins after sins would signal their own damnation. That is what they are. Damned souls, extensively tortured and twisted in Hell, becoming something else, losing and stripping all of their humanity and turning into terrifying demons. As to their number... well, they are as many as there are countless atoms in existence. The dead have always outnumbered the living. This is no exception."

"Aside from being former humans who have committed heinous evils, they also represent the worst traits of humanity, of a 'What If' choice, of whether this or that choice results in a greater evil the more this affects and reverberates throughout one's life. Many of these damned souls had come from different universes and timelines with a nature of a 'What If'. So these beings can be anyone you know in fact. Humans that you may have met randomly on a street or any other place, you would be sure that they have a darker future counterpart or alternative counterpart from the deepest pits of Hell, tortured into becoming a Black-Eyed Demon, and ultimately serving a being that your husband and I refer to as the Yellow-Eyed Demon, who is another different topic for that matter."

Any human. Anyone. Rinne could not help but think of the students of Raizen High School where, as the 'childhood friend' of Shidou Itsuka, she would go to as a part of her role. Then she thought harder, thinking of the people who pass by and get on with their lives. Any human has a darker future self or an alternative counterpart. That was a Black-Eyed Demon. A soul that was damned for eternity, tortured into becoming a demon.

"...So they're like vengeful ghosts?" Rinne asks, looking concerned and subtly horrified based on the implications. Rio was quiet and silent, understanding the topic despite looking like she was ten years of age, and her heart shook at the details.

"Demon ghost zombies would be what I and others would compare them to sometimes, and that's just the tip of the iceberg," Shidou continued the explanation with a grim tone. "To say how dangerous one of them is would be an understatement. Super strength, super speed, super agility, all things super that one could think of straight out of a shounen manga, that's something that BEDs can do as part of their basic abilities. Usually when they manifest on Earth or the normal reality, they look like black smoke, and one of the main things that they are known for is their potency and tendency to possess people, men, women, and children, whether alive or dead, with no exceptions."

"...Then, if they wanted to, they could start possessing people at random, and anyone that we may know or not know can be possessed by a BED?" Rinne spoke, slowly understanding the threat of these abominations.

"You could say that. Pretty much anyone you know could be a BED hidden in plain sight. It could be someone from our own school, or someone walking down the street, or someone working for Ratatoskr or the DEM, or some children, or anyone. Fortunately, I and Enma can see their true forms within the possessed bodies just fine. You and Rio... would probably be able to see them in their actual forms too," Shidou explained.

"Would these BEDs be capable of possessing Spirits?" Rinne asks.

"Impossible," Enma shakes her head. "If they try to possess any of you, and that's if they somehow manage to succeed if they don't get exorcised out of their host bodies back into hell upon direct physical contact in the most painful manner possible, they would die swiftly. Your kind is... unique, given the circumstances, and I would have to make mention of one factor. Due to this convergence, a new Heaven hierarchy is forming, and the Spirits would be that hierarchy. Naturally, their mere existence warrants the full attention of not just the Hells, but the Heavens. Many of the Heavens, from what I've heard, are keeping a close eye on the Spirits and the potential threat that they may pose to their respective Heaven's autonomy or a threat to Earth and the wider universe."

Enma would then point out with a tone that hinted at a kind of subtle reverence directed at Rinne. "And among the Spirits, it would be you, Sonogami Rinne, who I would say is the closest equivalent that your kind have to an Archangel Michael, in terms of function and role. That would make you a primary target for many Lords of Hell especially."

"They can try," Shidou narrowed his eyes, sparking with a golden hue before proceeding. "They'd have to go through me first if they want my wife or any of my family."

"They would most certainly take the wager, the prideful lot that many of them are," Enma spoke, her cold tone taking a hint of relished derision directed at the prideful Lords of Hell. "And of course, regarding the black-eyed abominations, I would need to inform you of something. Their numbers have increased rapidly at an alarming rate."

"What do you mean?" Shidou asks, concerned.

"Since your universe and respective multiverse are slowly merging with my prime reality and its respective multiverse, there comes benefits and risks, and through that, multiple opportunities. The sudden spike of these abominations' population is but one such after-effect. As your world of the past slowly becomes a part of my world, every human who had ever lived on this Earth, past or future, would now have their own abominable counterpart among the Black-Eyed Demons, as if they were always there in the beginning."

Shidou didn't like it. No, he hated it, if only because he understood what that meant. There would be Black-Eyed Demons who are counterparts or possible what-ifs of the people he knew, or people he doesn't know but others know. And then there was one other implication. The Spirits.

"You understand, of course, Snake," Enma cautioned. "It cannot be denied that the Spirits have caused so much suffering throughout the world. People died at the hands of the Spirits. Now, imagine an entire horde of damned souls who had been killed by the Spirits when they were alive. They would all come to this world of the past and enact a brutal vengeance upon them all."

The vengeful demons, once human, who had been killed by the Spirits in their lifetime, intentionally or not. They demand vengeance and a reckoning. Hell is coming for all of them.

"And of course, that would include the Spirits' counterparts who never became Spirits in their lifetime," Enma said.

"...What other things did you notice from Hell's side of things besides the BEDs?" Shidou asks.

Enma explained. "One of the things that drew my attention to this world of the past was when I was in my Hell Dimension. Somehow, an influx of souls had come to my realm from faraway rivers, like a tidal wave that swept into my domain. Similar occurrences of this phenomenon have occurred in other Hell Dimensions."

"That can't be good," Shidou twitched a bit. "I guess things are more or less chaotic right now in the Hell Dimensions due to too many souls arriving at once."

"And... more new Hell Lords are starting to either come into existence lately or started moving into our multiverse ever since this convergence started. That meant more extradimensional territories, more damned souls getting sucked in, and therefore more Hell Lords acquiring and establishing their own political power, sovereignty, and kingdoms. Many of the old Hell Lords are not amused at what they see to be new rivals suddenly encroaching on their respective territories, hence..."

"Hell's more divided than ever before," Shidou understood. "Though that doesn't necessarily mean that's a good thing."

"No, it does not, unfortunately," Enma confirmed. "As much as I find it slightly amusing watching some upstart Lords and their petty squabbles, a war between them can be... chaotic, and that's not something we can afford at this time. You and I have already dealt with our fair share of Hell Lords running loose without proper accountability and unchecked ambition. The Arch-Lamias. The Hellpyres. The Baphomets. Imagine all of that running loose."

"It would affect the normal reality. New Hell Lords see a new territory, they'd want to try to expand upon it," Shidou muttered.

"Hence their attraction for this world and its multiverse due to the overabundance of spiritual energy (reiryoku) ripe for the taking as well as souls to add to their collection," Enma continued. "And that reminds me, before I came to this world, I have also been contacted by Caretaker."

"Caretaker?" Shidou recognized the name. "What did she say?"

"She simply informed me of the context behind the crisis which she got from a Time Walker who happened to pay a visit to the Abbey. She also informed me that the time had now come for all of the original Midnight Suns to stand united against this crisis," Enma explained.

"Midnight...Suns?" Rinne asks, curious about the term.

"...My friends, Rinne, or more than that, family even..." Shidou spoke with a smile. Rinne noticed that his smile was a little different, looking a bit brighter compared to before. "I guess you could say that... we're a team of superheroes, and well, Ai's one of them." He indicates to Ai who was standing close to them.

"Eh? Really?" Rio spoke with awe and bright eyes. "Papa is a real superhero?"

"Hmm? Am I not one already to you, Rio?" Shidou teased his daughter a little.

"Hmhm," Rio shakes her head as she embraces her father. "Rio's papa has always been her superhero. Papa is the best, after all."

Shidou misses this deeply. The praises of his daughter and the affections of his wife. How he wishes that he could relish it. But he knew that he needed to be elsewhere.

Then everyone started to notice something. A tremor was felt. Enma would glance towards the edge and narrow her eyes a little. "Snake," she muttered.

"Ah," Shidou muttered softly, narrowing his eyes, as his amber-brown ones temporarily flashed with a golden hue. "It's almost time."

Shidou would look at both Rinne and Rio. "Rinne, Rio, I want both of you to go with Enma, she'll take you some place safe while I go meet up with Tohka again."

"Hmm, I understand," Rinne nodded, not forgetting that part.

"By the way, Snake," Enma draws Shidou's attention. "I brought a few of our comrades along. One of them just so happened to be that woman who is clearly worried for your well-being. You would know who I'm referring to."

Shidou sported a surprised look, followed by a conflicted one.

"That woman?" Rinne spoke with a curious tone, noticing the term that made her husband's expression the way it was.

Shidou glanced at Rinne and sported a grim expression. Right, he thought with a grimace. He really needs to come clean with that part of his life. Long after he lost Rinne and Rio, he... well, loved and married someone else, and even had a child with her. His wife was here in this world of the past. But then, should Shidou be surprised?

"...Can you take both of them to her, please?" Shidou spoke with a serious tone.

"I'll do just that," Ai simply nodded.

"Good," Shidou spoke with a nod. He looks at Rinne with a resolved expression, though there is a little conflicted look, taking her hand. "Rinne, there's... there's a lot of things that I really need to talk about with you. A lot... has happened to me, and... there's one important thing I need to be honest about, with both you and with Rio."

Rinne made a curious yet concerned expression. Does this in fact relate to the 'her' that her husband and his friend were referring to? Her heart felt a little troubled by it. Because there was only one thing that stood out to her in her mind. She and her daughter did die in one sense, leaving Shidou behind. And there's the fact that Shidou had apparently been living for entire millenniums. How long that was, Rinne did not know.

That would only lead her to one conclusion, no matter how much she did not want to think about it.

For the sake of making her husband not worry because he needed to focus on Tohka, she smiled softly, showcasing her trust in him and her support despite some of her suspicions on the matter. "Hmm, I understand, don't worry. We have all the time in the world for us to catch up and talk. Do what you need to do."

Shidou nodded grimly. Though his heart dreads the inevitable conversation, he needs to be honest with his family. Rinne was right. There was a lot that needed to be talked about. He intends to face the future along with his family. All of them.

Shidou looks at Rio. "Rio, papa, needs to get off the bench now."

"Hmm," Rio nodded obediently. She moves her body away from her father's lap, allowing Shidou to slowly stand up from the bench and walk towards the edge. His eyes look down on the road and would spot someone nearby through his enhanced vision. A man somewhere around his 40s with a cruiser motorcycle, one that Shidou recognizes as a Yamaha V-Max. He looked like an American, with strawberry blond hair with grey sides and blue eyes. He wore a biker outfit consisting of a leather jacket, t-shirt, pants, gloves, boots, and a pair of chains hidden from his person. The man, immediately noticing Shidou, saluted him with a simple salute with his two right fingers.

Shidou looks towards Ai and smiles a little. "Of course, you and her brought Blaze with you."

Enma, while looking emotionless, spoke with unintended humor (?). "As this is an infernal affair, this does concern the Spirit of Vengeance himself."

Shidou's smile turns to a smirk before his expression turns serious, looking at the horizon. His clothes were blown a little by the wind as he declared. "Saa, watashtachi no deito hajimemashou."

Insert Song: End

Insert Song: Start

The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World - Opening Full『Dystopia』by Sizuk feat. AYAME from AliA

With a simple crimson portal, Ai Enma transports herself along with Rinne and Rio to another location where someone had been waiting for them. It was a suburban area of Tenguu City, on the upper hill, right back to the recognizable Itsuka Residence, a private two-story house where the Itsuka Family lived.

"...!"

Rinne and Rio would eventually notice a similar yet unfamiliar signature emanating from the beautiful young woman, with arms crossed, who was standing outside of the residence. When Rinne saw her, it was... intimidating, in more ways than one.

She looked to be around somewhere in high school, judging by the uniform. A white long-sleeved, button-down shirt with vertical linings, a black ribbon on the collar, a black shoulder cape and matching button-down corset, and a magenta skirt with a white underskirt beneath it, with brown shoes and white socks covering her feet.

She had black ebon hair that reached the neck, with golden hair clips found on the side, and right-sided bangs. She had a face that would be described as entrancing and mysterious, and her violet eyes locked on to Rinne's brown ones, recognizing the latter just by a movement of her eyes. Her buxom was well hidden underneath all of her clothing, and coupled with her natural, slim figure worthy of a sculpture in a museum, giving an alluring and seductive vibe, despite her modest appearance which does have a certain charm to it.

She was not human, Rinne could already tell. There was something very different about her. A mixture of extradimensional energies similar to that of a Spirit, and yet there was another alien nature associated with her.

Then there was a familiar signature that Rinne could not ignore. It... It resembled what Rinne had. A link. A bond. Something that intermixed between two natures.

"...Ah?" Rio sported a curious, innocent look. "Why does the beautiful onee-chan feel like mama?"

The woman smiled a bit at the question. A small kind of smile. Reserved yet careful. Her violet eyes gaze over to Rinne's eyes.

"...You must have questions," the woman spoke softly.

"...Yes," Rinne sported a careful yet troubled look.

The woman sighed with resignation, sporting an empathetic expression. "Though I have a feeling that you already have some suspicions as to who I am... you could notice it, don't you? We're both the same."

Rinne's heart stung a little, yet the more she thought about it, she was not surprised. What she was face to face with was simply an inevitable part of life. Sometimes, a widowed husband would not stay single forever. They would move on from the hurt and eventually find another form of happiness and a family to build. That's what Rinne was looking at.

It was undeniable from what she could see and sense. There was no need for words. She knows. Her heart knows it.

"...Hmm," Rinne smiled softly and amicably. "...I am Sonogami Rinne. You are..?"

The woman introduced herself with a courteous and formal expression, bowing her head a little. "I am Sona Sitri. I have heard very good things about you from the man we both love, and I hope that we get to know each other more."

Then everyone would feel the very earth tremble before it eventually subsided, one that made the various windows and doors break down a bit. The Spirits instinctively knew that a Spirit, someone they both knew, was causing the phenomenon as they and the other two women with them looked to the east. A siren was roaring across the distance and throughout every street corner. Various crows were now flying high towards the skies, creating an ominous atmosphere. Following the siren, there was a mechanical voice speaking

"—This is not, a drill. This is not, a drill. The foreshock, has been observed. The occurrence, of a spacequake, is predicted. Persons in the vicinity, please move to the nearest shelter, immediately. I repeat—"

"...It's starting," Enma spoke with a matter-of-fact tone. Then she noted something as she glanced towards the west. Everyone else also noticed the sudden visitors who were coming towards them.

"Eh?" Rinne sported a surprised look on her face as she saw two young, beautiful women whom she would recognize. "Mayuri-chan? Ren-neesan?"

Two Spirits. Two sisters of Rinne Sonogami. Mayuri. The youngest sister. Long blond hair with a ponytail tied on her right side, and deep pink eyes. Wearing a white sailor uniform. Ren. The oldest sister. Purple hair that matches her purple snake-like slit eyes which have visible scars resembling the makeup of a clown. Wearing the same high school uniform as Rinne.

"Rinne... you're here too... and..." Mayuri noticed two other people who they didn't know. But she, along with Ren, noticed Sona first and foremost, carrying a very similar signature and imprint that their fellow sister has. A Spirit, if an unorthodox one? And... a connection with the boy — Shidou Itsuka?

"Well, I'll leave the three sisters and the young one to your care, Devil Sorceress," Enma said as she disappeared as swiftly as the wind.

Sona was now alone with the Spirits who were all looking at her. If it were any other circumstance, Sona would probably be a bit self-conscious about the current situation. But she was more focused on something else. No, someone else. Her beloved husband. That helped her to maintain focus on the task at hand. Personal matters would need to come later.

With a snap of her fingers, she summons a magic circle that would allow them to view Shidou Itsuka's current whereabouts. After the lines, shapes, and symbols were seen, carrying a blue color, there appears Shidou who was currently riding on the back of a motorcycle cruiser alongside an American passenger.

"As I said before with Sonogami Rinne-san, you two must have many questions and suspicions regarding me," Sona spoke with a serious, yet soft tone as her eyes looked at her husband. "But right now, I suggest that we concentrate on what's happening right now and focus on Itsuka Shidou."

"And..." Ren, sporting a curious look yet carries some reservations, with scrunching eyebrows and arms crossed. She, like Rinne, also noticed the intimate connection. "...Who exactly is Itsuka Shidou to you?"

Sona only responded with a simple reply, yet her eyes carried a hint of warmth and affection. "The man I love."

That made every one of the Spirits pay close attention.

"...Umm," Rio sported a curious look. "...Would that make you my mama too then?"

Sona looked at Rio with a surprised look. Then her expression turns to a hesitant and concerned one. Then it turned into a sad, empathetic smile which was directed towards Rio.

"...I don't know how to answer that... Rio-chan, was it?" she asked.

"Hmm," Rio nodded as she drew near to Sona with no hesitation. "I... I can sense it. Papa's aura. It's mixed with yours, just like mama's. Wouldn't that make you my mama too?"

"You... You don't even know who I am, Rio-chan," Sona spoke softly, yet kindly.

"No, Rio doesn't, but..." Rio looks at Sona with a sure expression as she touches the hem of her skirt. "...Rio feels that you are not a bad person and... you love papa and you have the same connection as mama... wouldn't that make you my mama too?"

Sona looks at Rinne, who could not help but smile a little at Rio's reassuring yet innocent inquiry.

"...Hmm," Rinne nodded with a smile. "I suppose that would be true in this case." Rinne would draw near to Sona and smile at her, though Sona could tell that Rinne still has some reservations, which she could not blame her for. "Sona-chan... was it? You can call me Rinne if you want. I thought we'd establish less formality since we'd both have to talk about a certain something when this is all over."

Sona, after pondering a bit, would nod with a courteous tone. "Then call me Sona instead, Rinne, no honorifics needed."

"Hmm, then I'll do just that, Sona," Rinne nodded with a smile. Then she and Sona would look at the magic circle where their husband and his ally were.

Unbeknownst to most, what the spacequake had done had inadvertently drawn the attention of something else.

That was something that those intimately connected with hell would notice. Such as the ever-elusive Johnny Blaze, also known by the moniker, Ghost Rider. Like Ai Enma, he was also an old comrade of Shidou's.

To provide a brief recap, Johnny Blaze and Ai Enma were two individuals who originated from a universe called DCMK Universe-Prime, a prime nexus reality, the reality where Shidou's world is currently merging and becoming one.

Johnny Blaze was someone who had once been a normal stunt motorcycle rider who worked with his father who was a famed stuntman. When he discovered that his father had lung cancer, he had felt ashamed of his plans for leaving in relation to the love of his life, Roxanne Simpson, but on that very night, there was a mysterious stranger who proposed him to sell his soul in exchange for his father's health.

Even when he's skeptical, Johnny accepts the deal. The next morning, his father was healed from his cancer and gave him his favorite motorcycle, the same one that Shidou was riding on the back with Johnny today, and would give Johnny his blessing to leave with his beloved Roxanne. But then, just as Johnny would begin to leave, he would hear of his father's death in an incident related to a stunt show.

Realizing he was tricked by that stranger, a powerful Hell Lord called Mephistopheles, and discovering the curse of the Ghost Rider, not wanting to let others be affected by his misfortune, leaves everything and everyone behind, including his beloved Roxanne. At that point on, he became the Ghost Rider, the one who seeks vengeance against the guilty who oppressed the innocent.

Over the years, he eventually reunited and married Roxanne, and he would discover the secret of the Ghost Rider, that he was actually a powerful Archangel called Zarathos, who before was created by the Almighty Himself to serve as the Divine Spirit of Justice for the 11th Era of DCMK Universe-Prime, to serve as a protector of the innocent against the foreseen evils of Hell and its respective Hell Lords, the ultimate divine weapon that was specifically designed to fight against them.

But the Hell Lord, Marduk Kurios, a version of Lucifer Morningstar whose infamy is well revered and feared across the Heavens and Hells, captured Zarathos and tortured him extensively, corrupting him and breaking his sanity, turning him into the Ghost of Vengeance that he was today, and at some point, the Hell Lord Mephistopheles had managed to bring him into his servitude as the centuries could attest. With the help of a few old friends and circumstances, Zarathos was purified and became the powerful Archangel he once was, once again serving as the Divine Spirit of Justice, with Johnny Blaze as the main host.

Ai Enma was someone who had led a tragic and misfortunate life. She was born around the Edo period, in the early 1600s, in a small, rural Japanese town known as Mutsumi Village. At a young age, she was frequently teased and bully her, because they believed that she was an evil spirit. They even claimed that she had "special powers" and said they had witnessed her bringing a dead butterfly back to life. Despite this, her cousin, Sentarou Shibata, would always stick up for her and fight with the village children.

When she had reached the age of seven, she was then chosen by the village elders to be a part of the child sacrifices that were meant to appease the mountain god and secure a bountiful harvest. This accursed ritual at the time was known as the "Seven Sending". For every seven years, a seven-year-old girl must be offered up to the mountain. Although her parents immediately defied the village elders, even going as far as secretly arranging for Sentarou to keep her alive in the woods by bringing her food, clothes, and keeping her company, this temporary solution was not to last, for when the village's crops started to fail and wither when they were expecting a bountiful harvest, which some claimed to be a phenomenon. Following this, rumors of Sentarou sneaking off into the woods alone at night began to spread like wildfire. And as soon as when the villagers followed after Sentarou to see where he was going, they eventually found her.

Her fate was sealed.

After a short but brief pursuit in the mountains, in which she was brought back to the village where she was punished, and that she would be buried along with her parents, a forlorn Sentarou was then forced to shovel the first spadefuls of dirt onto his cousin's face.

With that one act of betrayal, she vowed and decreed revenge on both the villagers and the one person who had been by her side before being buried alive. In an impossible feat, she broke out of the grave sometime later in the night, and then she started destroying the whole town by burning it down to the ground, along with the villagers, except for Sentarou, who by then was already leaving.

Having come back to life and exacting her revenge as promised, her act of vengeance had garnered the attention of a powerful Hell Lord called the Master of Hell, who in turn proceeded to punish her for her actions, revealing to her that he held the souls of her parents' hostage and offered to make a pact with her: in exchange for her parents not being sent to Hell, she must act as the messenger of people's hatred and vengeance.

It was par on par a parallel to Blaze's story, despite the opposite circumstances. Though unlike with Blaze, the Master of Hell fulfilled his end of the bargain, but it was not necessarily better as Ai Enma was forced to become this Hell Lord's emissary, the Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl), who would become the mediating influence to bring souls to his Hell.

And she brought scores of tens of thousands, even innocent ones.

It would not be until centuries later when, through the combined efforts of Shidou, Blaze, and some of their future comrades who would eventually form the Midnight Suns in the future, Enma was finally free from the Hell Lord, being shot by a powerful revolver called the Colt, wielded by their future leader of the Midnight Suns, Eugene Thruston, and Enma would take his place as the next Hell Lord, and with that authority, she had set all of the innocent souls free from her realm, at long last free from their eternal torments.

Right now, as these two were the foremost experts in matters of Hell, Shidou could not have asked for better allies and was glad to fight alongside his fellow Midnight Suns comrades once more.

Shidou was currently sitting on the back of the motorcycle while Blaze drove it even amidst the spacequake. Whereas other people were trepid and evacuating to the shelters, both of these men expressed no sign of fear, only a cold resolution and firm determination, for they have witnessed more than their fair share of hell.

"...Why is it that most of the time we all meet like this, Blaze, we always find ourselves in some kind of trouble?" Shidou joked a little.

"...Well, we're Midnight Suns after all, trouble always comes to us instead of us coming to them," Blaze responded with his own humor before turning his face straight ahead with a serious look. "You know, that spacequake that your girl's making is gonna cause a lot of unnecessary attention."

"Ah," Shidou nodded. "All hell may possibly break loose, literally, and I'm counting on that."

"Let's just hope that nothing nasty comes to this reality, but knowing our luck, I wouldn't be surprised if we end up fighting one right now," Blaze spoke with a grim tone.

Somewhere on the advanced ship — Fraxinus — hovering over 15 km away from Tenguu City, there was Commander Kotori Itsuka, now wearing her crimson coat along with her uniform, sitting on her post, while her crew working on finding and monitoring the Spirit responsible for this recent spacequake.

Just recently, there had been a spacequake that had occurred. All of the civilians of Tenguu City were now in the process of evacuating to the shelters for their safety. With a Chupa Chups lolipop in her mouth, Kotori would look at the screen of her phone and notice the signal tracker of her brother's phone moving at a rapid speed that a normal human could never accomplish.

"Check the monitors for my brother's current whereabouts," Kotori commanded.

"Yes, ma'am," the crewmates would all answer with professional courtesy.

And when they open up the main monitor, they would find Shidou riding on the back of a motorcycle cruiser along with an unknown American foreigner wearing a biker outfit. That was something Kotori was not expecting.

"Huh?" Kotori muttered, raising a bewildered eyebrow. "Shidou? What's he doing? And who's that with him?"

And somewhere on the left, there was Reine Murasame who looked bewildered and concerned as she felt something when looking at Shidou and this foreign American. The American was... something of an enigma. He was likened to a large furnace that was sealed tight like an oven. She could sense the rage and the drive for vengeance burning within this man's soul. This man was not normal. And then there was Shidou, who she could not form a proper opinion. On the surface, he seems to be the same, but there is something very different about him. Call it a mother's intuition.

"Ma'am," one of the crew members, a young woman with short, but wavy brunette hair and light brown eyes, Kozue Minowa, spoke with a concerned tone. "He seems to be heading towards Princess' location."

"Huh?" Kotori looks at her subordinate with a bewildered expression.

Just what was her onii-chan doing?

The motorcycle drove fast across the ruins of various toppled-down buildings and cracked-open streets until they finally arrived at their current destination.

"Thanks for the lift, Blaze," Shidou gets off of the bike and looks at his old comrade.

"Don't mention it," Blaze nodded. "Now get going. I'll keep an eye out for anything satanic that may be heading our way."

Shidou nodded. Then, as Blaze drove his motorcycle in another direction, Shidou began to turn straight ahead with a resolute expression, narrowing his eyes as he walked forward. As his feet touched the bare ground, there were various broken items and objects seen throughout the area due to the spacequake. Everything was practically deserted.

His face turns grim as he ponders the kind of destruction that a Spirit could be more than capable of doing if it wanted the entire world gone. Well, recalling memories of the original timeline, he has a pretty good idea, especially when he thought about another Tohka that came from a parallel world where most of humanity got wiped off the face of the earth. Now that he thought of her, he supposed that he may meet her again possibly. She was the last Spirit that he encountered right before the end of the line.

He follows the trail of spiritual energy that he could feel within his own spiritual senses, having been honed after lifetimes of combat. He knew where to find her. Her energy was so obvious yet so painfully familiar.

And then...

He stopped towards the familiar location where there was a street that had been scraped into a shallow bowl. He looks to find a large gilded throne where the young woman he had been looking for was standing. She was somewhere around the physical age of a high school student. She wore a strange mystical dress, almost otherworldly in design, radiating a mysterious glow of light. Like metal, yet also like cloth, made of a strange, eye-catching material. Colors sets of black, cream, and pink color scheme and a set of purple-and-cream plated armor which adorned her shoulders and waist. Her long black hair, like a plume of smoke, weaved around her shoulders and waist, one that would make the hearts of men fall faint to unconsciousness.

"...Tohka," Shidou muttered softly, with mixed feelings of happiness and sadness.

Then the young woman would notice him looking in her direction. They were separated by about a few meters, so she did not hear him call her by a name that she would have been known for in the future. Thinking of course that the man was hostile, with a swaying motion, she grabbed something that was growing out of the back of the throne and was slowly pulling it out.

A large broadsword. It gave off the familiar illusory shine like that of a rainbow, or of a star.

"Partner," BK spoke from within the depths of Shidou's soul.

"Ah," Shidou muttered, knowing what he must do.

The woman began to face Shidou, and with a boom, swung the sword hard horizontally. Shidou remembered the first time this had happened. He was understandably afraid and confused, not knowing what had just happened. However, this time, with all of the memories that he has, and all of the pain and suffering that he had endured, and the lost of his family which he held dearly, his fear became his ultimate weapon and resolve. Never again.

And so... he reaches his hand, just like before. His right hand opens to receive the strong winds that come from the sword. As the winds came towards his direction, he... much to the woman's shock... managed to stop it from its tracks by absorbing all of its impact into himself. And his body would slowly glow with a different kind of aura. A bright white sparkling light found on the center of the chest, followed by a covered yellowish taint, a combination of divine and hellish energies empowering his reiryoku potency, appeared to trace the lines of his body from head to toe.

Then he would materialize something out of that right hand and form...

"...Sandalphon," Shidou muttered, with the feelings of respect and sorrow that he could muster, for coming out from that voice was a man who lost too much, and has now found it again. His eyes flashed with a golden color, replacing his amber-brown eyes.

As the winds gently blew across his direction, there was a materialized broadsword that came out. The same one that the young woman had, much to her shock.

"Wha-Wha-What the hell?!"

Kotori sported a shocked expression as she jumped out of her seat. Before that, she dropped her lollipop towards the floor, not believing what had just happened. Everyone on the bridge was also in a state of shock, having not expected something like this to occur.

Reine, for what felt like the first time in years, widened her eyes in shock as she felt the emanating power within Shidou.

"Wow! Papa's amazing!"

While Rio cheered on for her beloved father, Rinne and her other sisters were sporting expressions of shock as they saw the simple display of confidence and power within Shidou. They look towards Sona who makes a simple, trusting smile, having expected nothing less from the man she loves. Rinne makes a little conflicted expression as she sees it. Just what had happened with Shidou

"I've got your attention now!" Shidou declared with a solemn tone, spoken with authority. "Come down... and let's talk!"

The woman did not know what to think. Here was this man who just... casually deflected... no, not deflected, it was almost like he absorbed her entire attack and incorporated it into his own reiryoku. Nothing could do that. Not even those women with flying machines could ever pull off something like this, she thought. Just... Just who was he...? And... why does her heart feel like it hurts when she sees this young man whom she does not know?

She did not know why... but her instincts were telling him to trust him...

The throne dematerializes as the woman jumps straight toward Shidou, landing in a perfect position. But Shidou did not flinch, but rather faced her with a subtle expression. Yet those eyes, the woman noted, were looking at her in a very foreign (kindness) manner. And her heart soared as she felt like flinching. Really, who was this man?

The man dematerialized his sword as easily as flicking his wrist, lowering his right arm, and the aura was slowly receding back into himself, disappearing from sight, returning to normal.

The woman scrunched her eyebrows a little, as if trying to decipher the man that was right in front of him. He... He didn't seem to feel like an enemy, unlike the women with mechs who were trying to shoot her down. No, it was more than that. This man felt very strangely familiar to him, but she could not remember from where. It was like a part of her was at war with herself. Meanwhile, the man was silent as he looked in another direction.

"...Who...are you?" she asks, carefully.

Shidou simply smiled, if only sadly. "...Someone who would not want to kill you, ever."

And the woman somehow believed him. She did not know why, but she believed him. Then she sees the man looking toward the horizon with a grim expression.

"Looks like you haven't lost the ones who are pursuing you," Shidou muttered softly.

From the skies, there was the presence of multiple young women wearing what appeared to be advanced mobile suits of dark-green armor, and among them was the familiar short silver-haired girl whom Shidou also knew from the original timeline.

Origami, Shidou thought with a grim tone.

What can he do? At this time, the young woman known as Origami Tobiichi has a.) yet to become a Spirit and b.) still hates the Spirits after what the latter had done to her family; or rather what will be done to her family as twisted as it was. This was relatively speaking before Shidou changed the timeline to one where Origami's parents were alive and well. So what can he do in this situation? He cannot convince her to stand down at this time, even if he were to convince the rest of the women who, along with Origami, are all grouped together as the Anti-Spirit Team (AST), a special unit within the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) that was created to suppress and ultimately eliminate the threat posed by Spirits.

Mostly composed of women, they utilized what is called Combat Realizer Units (CR-Units) layered on top of combat wiring suits to enhance normal human capabilities while providing offensive and defensive combat capabilities. They are a kind of tactical equipment that utilizes miraculous technology, taking results calculated by computers, and distorting the laws of physics, manifesting them in the real world. In short, although there are some restrictions, it is a technology that turns imagination into reality. It had been called a system that produces so-called 'magic' through scientific means. At the same time, it was the only way for humans to fight against the Spirits, however that helped as the AST in general never had a good track record of handling Spirits.

Many Anti-Spirit Teams exist throughout the world who, while they are all members of their own country's respective military, nevertheless form a unified set of units that would mobilize in case of potential threats against the Spirits.

The only thing Shidou could do right now was a tactical retreat; send himself and Tohka as far away from here as possible. He needed to have this talk with her. She was right here. He was not going to go through the motions of enacting the exact events all over again. The butterfly effect was already affecting things in some way. First was him even being here in his younger body. Second were his wife and daughter and how he met them much earlier. Third was the presence of his comrades from the Midnight Suns.

There were already too many changes. Whose to say the events would play out the exact same?

...And his fears were realized unfortunately further when...

"RAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHH!"

Red ominous cracks began to appear throughout the skies, making the AST women and Origami stop in their tracks as they were surprised at the sudden intrusion. Then there were pouring out what appeared to be goat-like demonic creatures with black skin and fourfold bat-like wings, with yellow dilated eyes and sharp teeth, with flaming swords.

"Death to God! Long live Baphomet!"

These demonic creatures called out in praise of their god while swarming the skies, forcing the AST to perform evasive maneuvers and engage the new threat that suddenly appeared to attack them, and much to their credit, they were handling themselves just fine as they dodged and attack them with ferocious tenacity, through slashing and shooting with their weapons.

As far as Shidou was concerned, if this didn't concern the Spirits, most wouldn't be able to handle the AST at all, being a spec-ops unit after all. It's just that the Spirits aren't the normal kind of threat and the AST are ill-equipped to handle such threats. A spacequake was subtly occurring, as the ground was shaking at the moment when these creatures were pouring out in droves.

Now this incident's done it, Shidou thought dryly. The butterfly effect just got bigger and worse.

"Wha-" the woman beside Shidou looked shaken as she felt the remnants of her very own spacequake being used and hijacked against her as something beyond was trying to get inside their world.

Things just couldn't get any weirder for Kotori. First was her brother somehow absorbing the attack of a Spirit like it was nothing. Then all of a sudden, monsters from the skies were appearing from these strange cracks that were now turning the heavens into pure crimson red. It almost seems to be straight out of an apocalyptic B-movie.

"Commander," one of the crew members, a middle-aged man with black and white hair and brown eyes, Kyouji Kawagoe, sported a shocked and spooked expression as he noticed something from the screen. " We've got spacequake disturbances detected right now! It's... It's not coming from Princess, it's coming from those cracks!"

"What?!" Kotori exclaimed.

Not the Spirits?! A spacequake not caused by the Spirits?! What the hell were they dealing with right now?

On the other side, there was Reine, who was wondering if she would directly intervene in this situation compared to before. Judging by this new threat, if it's not stopped, then her plans would be ruined. Whatever lay on the other side was trying to break through and enter into the normal plane of existence. Her expression did not change that much, still carrying that professional demeanor, but hidden underneath was someone conflicted, who would debate on whether to intervene.

If things reached a point where this "something" would almost fully enter her world, she'd have no other option but to step in and destroy this abomination with her own two hands. She's killed plenty of innocents before. What's an actual monster going to do to break her resolve?

"What in the world..." Mayuri spoke with a shocked expression as she felt the seismic tremors, subtle they may be, occurring because of the cracks. "A spacequake, now?"

"And it's not coming from our youngest sister either," Ren spoke with knitted eyebrows, concerned.

"...Hmm," Sona sported a grimaced expression. "I was really hoping that it wasn't that kind of Hell Lord."

"Sona, do you know something about this?" Rinne spoke with a concerned expression.

"Unfortunately, I do," Sona spoke with a soft, cautious mutter. "What we are dealing with is a Hell Lord called a Baphomet."

"Baphomet?" Rinne asks.

"Hell Lords of great power whose ultimate goal is to submerge entire universes into their own respective Hell Dimension and add it to their own. Yatogami Tohka's spacequake activity had just attracted a Hell Lord of that caliber, and now, he's coming for your world and has now been taking advantage of the little opening that Tohka-san's spacequake had provided," Sona spoke grimly.

All of the Spirits were looking at her in shock. Entire universes?! That's what they were up against?!

"How can we stop it?" Rinne asks, sporting a serious expression.

"Don't worry," Sona spoke softly as she touched the center edge of her glasses whose reflective lenses flashed, her tone of voice not shaken by these events, instead a silent confidence and resolve was present as her violet eyes glowed with steel. "The Midnight Suns have handled worse threats than abominations who tried to take entire universes as their very own."

"Midnight... Suns...?" Mayuri and Ren spoke the name with curious expressions.

Captain Ryouko Kusakabe of the AST was having a bad day right now. No, maybe this is what one would call a worst day.

Here she and her team were just trying to eliminate a Spirit that was causing problems for everyone. It was just a simple (not really) job. Then all of a sudden, they were dealing with goat-like beings who came pouring out from the reddish cracks that were turning the skies blood red. A shudder was felt shivering throughout her spine. She could feel not just the earth but the very skies themselves tremble. And these goat-like beings were even crying out like blood-raging religious fanatics. If these things were Spirits, then this type of encounter is something that was completely new for her. She's never heard of Spirits crying out things like "Death to God" or "Long live Baphomet".

Looking around, seeing the red skies, and what appeared to be growling, guttural sounds that were echoing throughout vast distances. Something beyond was coming through, or trying to. She dodges swiftly with ease as she slashes through each of these abominations that are coming at her from all sides. Her JGSDF and AST training kicking in. As ten more of the abominations were closing in, they were suddenly all burned to ashes as hellish fire consumed them, along with multiple numbers of these creatures who screamed the name of their 'god' as they died from being automatically burned.

"What?!" Kusakabe spoke with bewilderment and shock, not that she was complaining as these creatures were becoming a bit of a pain in her butt.

"Do you want you and your troops to live?"

Kusakabe would instinctively aim her sword towards something and the sword's edge would be held in place by the pale left hand of something... someone who liked a thirteen-year-old girl wearing a black butterfly-style kimono, floating in mid-air.

"Wha-"

"Listen, child, and listen well," the woman — Ai Enma — spoke with an ominous edge and tone of authority, as her red eyes were glowing. "I am no mere Spirit that you and your kind would hunt, so I would ask if you were to let go of that blinded, unimaginative mentality of a soldier and use your own capacity for thought. What you see before you are demonic creatures who served a Lord of Hell who is trying to break through your world."

Her face drew closer to Kusakabe, making her feel on edge, but she could not attack this woman, who was striking her dead on the spot. It almost felt like... literal Hell when seeing her eyes. Kusakabe was receiving something from her mind as she flinched a bit. Information relating to the current threat that she and her troops were dealing with. They... much to her shock, were not Spirits. Something in her heart, despite feeling some instinctive denial coming from her heart, told her that it was the truth, that whatever this woman was talking about was the truth.

"Tell your troops to make a proper unified formation in order to break the lines of these creatures and eliminate any stragglers that are trying to spread towards the city. Do not let any of them escape your sight, and make sure to keep your potentially irritating Sergeant in check," Enma spoke with authority. "Do not stand in our way if you want your world to survive the burning wrath of a Satan and not suffer eternal damnation."

Then the woman would disappear as if she were an illusion, leaving Kusakabe to her thoughts.

"Captain?!"

Some of her fellow AST members were drawing near towards her, sporting looks of concern as they were on edge.

"What are your current orders?!" One of them would ask.

Kusakabe did not know why, but she felt that she had been the only one who had seen the woman from earlier, as her own women were more focused on her. In one sense, the woman was an illusion. No, it would be more accurate to say that it was a projection of someone who had been communicating with her.

She did not know what was going on, but from what she had been provided, and if this was the truth, she needed to act quickly, unless she and her women would still be able to see tomorrow.

"Let's engage these demonic bastards!" she muttered, with a tone of steel. "All of you, with me!"

Then she and some of the other women of the AST were now taking to the skies and launching their missiles against the demonic abominations. Summoning her minigun firearm, Kusakabe decided to bring in the hurt against these demonic goats, slaughtering the lot of them.

"Origami, can you hear me?!" Kusakabe muttered from her communications piece.

"Hai, I can hear you, Captain," Origami spoke.

"Listen to me, change of plans, we've got bigger problems, ignore the Spirit for now and help us fight off these monsters!" Kusakabe spoke as she dodges a flaming sword that was thrown against her, and shot down the demon who tried that trick on her.

"But-"

"No buts, Origami, do as I say, unless you want to be responsible for our world literally going to hell in a handbasket, you come over to my position and regroup, right now!" Kusakabe commanded, not taking a no for an answer.

Origami became a bit hesitant. The Spirit was right there, in her line of sight. Her eternal grudge against the Spirits urged her to continue the fight. But...

Something inside her felt conflicted. First was the fact that she saw Shidou transformed into something... Then there were these two strange people who were with him who carried their own brand of abilities. Then this madness suddenly sprang up where demonic creatures were literally pouring out in droves across the skies.

Origami bit her lip. Then she performed a back maneuvering slash as she sensed the presence of multiple demons converging on her while her back was turned.

"Alright..." she muttered.

Explosions rocked the area. A war zone between the goat-like demons who kept shouting incessant praise to their god and the AST who were firing and slashing through multiple numbers of these creatures.

Many of the goat-like demons were now flying towards Shidou and the woman who was with him. While the woman had the urge to attack, she heard the young man's voice.

"Tohka."

The woman's eyes widened a little as she felt something in her heart clench. She turns towards Shidou who keeps looking at the skies with a determined expression, with eyes narrowing and glowing gold.

"Wait a little..." He muttered.

Then as the demons drew closer, they were suddenly engulfed by balls of flames and chains that sprouted from another direction. The woman would see a foreign American biker who was driving his motorcycle... whose tires were now carrying what appeared to be flames that sprouted from its tail end.

"...Vengeance is ours, saith the Lord!" the man spoke as his tone became more guttural and intimidating. His handsome face was now transforming into an orange flaming skull. He aims at what appeared to be silver chains that he used as powerful whips, where a thousand and one names were muttering from within, demanding vengeance. With his bike, he encircles and forms endless flames that would engulf multiple goat-like demons and turn them into ash and slashing through multiple numbers of the enemy with his chains.

He drove straight towards Shidou's and the woman's location, stopping just near Shidou. The woman could even smell the burning sulfurous odor that leaked from the bike. The extradimensional energy that she felt was something... pure, raw, exhibiting the traits of divine vengeance.

"...Hell's breaking through," the man who had now become Ghost Rider spoke towards Shidou, but something else was speaking through him. The Archangel Zarathos himself. "I can feel it in my bones. We must stop these creatures and their false god from breaking through."

"That is the idea," Shidou muttered.

Then at the same time, Ai Enma would appear towards Shidou's right side, much to the woman, Tohka's, surprise, and look coldly at the skies. Many of the abominations were still coming through, and they instantly recognized the three that gathered on the ground.

"Midnight Suns!" they declared as they flew straight towards them. "Usurpers of all that is good, you will not defy our lord's will!"

Enma only responded with an ominous tone and glowing red eyes. "Ippen... shinde miru? (Care to give death a try?)"

Then all of a sudden, multiple numbers of these demons burned to ashes through her hellfire that engulfed them on the spot, their ashes scattered across the wind. Shidou knew that it was time.

"BK," Shidou muttered.

"Ah, it's time, Black Sun," the Kingstone replied.

Shidou would begin to bring both of his hands together to the right side and clench them both, tightening them hard. His eyes were glowing, sparkling with yellowish gold. And then, he would quickly lower his right hand down before bringing up his left arm and straightening it to the right. Then he would move his left arm a few 150 degrees before eventually putting both of his arms straight forward to the right.

"Hen...shin!"

And then, his belt appeared and materialized around his waist, containing the Kingstone. Bright lights would engulf him. Lights flash from the red center of the belt, a weird mechanical pitch coming out. Green energy surrounds Shidou, morphing him into his monstrous Grasshopper Mutant form. But then, just as quickly, the body shifts into its armored appearance, and the partial infinity symbol can be seen from his left pectoral area. There were noticeable muscle areas on the arms, legs, and neck. His helmet had red compound eyes and resembled a Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper. Steam would rise from his body, mainly from the fleshly points around his joints.

The woman, Tohka, had her eyes widen in shock as she felt an overflowing amount of divine power emanating from within Shidou. On the skies, there was the short-haired Origami Tobiichi, who, after slashing through multiple demons, noticed something as well, having bore witness to Shidou's transformation.

"Shidou..." Origami muttered softly, sporting a shocked expression.

"Papa henshin'ed!" Rio spoke with an excited tone.

"...Umm, he did," Mayuri spoke with a shocked expression.

"...What's...What's with this power that I'm sensing?" Ren spoke with a shocked expression.

The Spirits all feel something when they see Shidou's current armored form. A circulating amount of reiryoku embedded with various energies. And... something holy coming out from it?

"Rinne, everyone," Sona spoke with a firm expression, drawing everyone's attention. "What you see is Shidou now having transformed into a form before his current evolved one... in this form... he is known as... Kamen Rider Black."

"Kamen Rider... Black..." Rinne spoke with awe and concern as she saw her beloved husband along with their comrades and Tohka.

On the bridge of Ratatoskr, everyone, including Kotori and Reine, was in shock.

For Kotori, things started to flow from her mind. A Kamen Rider?! Onii-chan transformed into a Kamen Rider?! But... How? When?

For Reine, it was more than that. She felt something circulating within Shidou. A power that was indescribable and mysterious.

"Tohka," Shidou... Kamen Rider Black spoke as he looked towards the woman. "You should probably leave."

"Nun?" Tohka muttered, bewildered.

"The people who have been hunting you are preoccupied right now. This is your chance to escape while they are distracted. Leave this mess to me and to my allies. Go!" Shidou spoke, with a tone of pleading interlaced with a command.

Tohka slowly nodded as she realized the opportunity that she had been given to her. However, a part of her felt conflicted that she was running away from this chaotic battle. With a single jump, she would take her leave while Black and his allies remained.

Black smiled sadly underneath, promising to himself that he and Tohka were gonna have this talk. He looks forward with a stern look and declares while the demonic goats spam in multiple numbers. Then he spoke the old declaration that had been spoken whenever the Midnight Suns gathered together, raising his right arm as he swayed it from the left.

"Midnight Suns, assemble!"

And then there came a day unlike any other... when Earth's mightiest heroes and the multiverse's greatest defenders stand united against a common threat.

They are... the Midnight Suns.

They would scatter across multiple directions. Black would launch into the air as he began to make use of his power, materializing Sandalphon and calling out its name as he would slash through multiple numbers of these demons. Enma would materialize from several places in the skies, surprising the AST women, and with quick reflexes, raises her hand a little and hell fire engulfed the goats. Ghost Rider would lift the front of his bike as he drove across the ground, launching multiple bouts of hellfire and chain attacks that managed to send the goats burning and crashing to the ground. His bike would eventually hover from the ground, as if it were a mechanical Pegasus, as it scours the skies and burns a trail that demanded its vengeance.

"Eden!"

Black declared with all his might while slashing through two demonic goats. He summoned his beloved wife's Spirit power. And with that came multiple guardians that materialized across the battlefield and provided aid to the AST. The guardians took the form of cloaked beings with humanoid forms and six wings that wore either a red, white, or black cloak. Materializing pinkish lights, they would fire across the skies and shoot down multiple hordes of the abominations that were coming out continuously.

Somewhere in the Itsuka Residence, Rinne mutters with a surprised look. "My power..."

Using Sandalphon, Black would perform spinning maneuvers likened to a tornado which sends many of the demons crashing into each other and getting slashed by him.

The woman named Tohka never left.

She hid, but never left.

For some reason, she felt that she needed to stay and watch. And watched, she did as she saw the mysterious boy using her own power against the monsters and powerful allies of the boy also provided their own spectacle of power.

Not only that, but she felt other spiritual powers being used alongside her very own.

Who... Who was this boy...?

Then all of a sudden, the cracks would break like a broken window as something appeared from the other side.

"RrrrrrrrAAAAGGGGGH!"

A gigantic creature was seen from the other side of the reddish cracks. Taller than even the Empire State Building in New York. Accompanying him were the sounds of terrible storms and red crimson lightning.

It had multiple AST members in shock and terror as they saw this terrifying demonic foe. All of the Spirits from several locations sensed its power and its laws slowly embedding themselves into their world. The Spirits were instinctively disgusted in the most natural sense of the word and felt a cold shiver run down their spines. The beast itself felt anathema to them all, as if this thing should never have existed, a mockery of the very idea of God.

It had the appearance of a Sabbatic Goat, which was envisioned as an image by the late occultist and esotericist Éliphas Lévi Zahed. Composed of binary elements representing the symbolization of the equilibrium of opposites. Half-human and half-animal, male and female, and good and evil. A distortion of the natural laws of the universe. It had the dark face of a goat, with a pinkish-colored inverted pentagram seen on its black forehead.

The inverted pentagram was a sigil found in many satanic religions, representing perversion, evil, and chaos. The face of a goat was seen inside the pentagram, representing fertility, sexuality, lust, and debauchery, the God of Broken and Divided Families. Symbols of the Hebrew word 'Leviathan' were seen in the concentric circles of the inverted pentagram in a counterclockwise direction, denoting this monster's status as the center of evil and the dragon of the abyss.

It had two slant goat horns sticking out of its head, where there was a hovering, flaming trident. Its teeth were as sharp as a lion. It had four dark dove-like wings that flapped open, yet also revealed sharp-edged bones embedded within its wings, looking like the distorted image of a bat and dove's wings. It had four human-like four arms reminiscent of the Vitruvian Man drawn by artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, with sharp claws that could cut down the tallest structures and mow down entire countries. It had two hooves for its feet, typical of a goat. Its bloodshot pale yellow and reddish slit eyes were seen glowing ominously, as its background dimension offered a kind of subtle yet horrific implications. Its aura was enveloped with a red-tainted color, representing an extradimensional energy naturally occurring within its nature.

A Baphomet.

A powerful type of Hell Lord, one of its many species of Baphomet. The Baphomet was something that was known and feared since the times of the Crusades. Within the native cosmos of Ai Enma and Johnny Blaze, there were the Baphomet, Hell Lords who, in a variety of ways, tried to conquer the universe and make it their own. But they were of course opposed by organizations such as the Knights Templar and heroes who lived from that time. This time was no different.

The Baphomet draws itself out from the cracked dimension, stepping through. And yet...

"Kingstone Flash!"

Kamen Rider Black declared with all of his might and exclaimed. He raises both of his arms and brings his hands to a clench, putting them both down together at the center of his waist. His Vital Changer was glowing red and sparkled with white lights, of pure energy, and was now directing its rays towards the beast which was screeching as it felt its natural energy depleting much from within its system.

"GrrrAAgg!"

A Hell Lord naturally emanates an extradimensional form of energy called Hell Energy. This type of energy is common among all Lords of Hell and is a natural kind of energy found and commonly associated with darker dimensions and realms of damnation, hence many of them are considered anathema for living souls as the energy itself is inherently corruptive. Another way to get this type of energy is through the use of extensive torture of the souls of mortals, either those whom were evil, corrupt, or tainted by sin, or from innocent souls whose worlds were conquered and dragged into Hell itself. Once these souls are harvested, the husks of Hell's victims in some cases would undergo transformation into demons.

"Raaagh!" the Baphomet screamed in defiance as its red-yellowish slit eyes were directed at Black and his allies. It begins to draw Hell Energy from its own dimension to replenish itself as red clouds cover him, forming a kind of counterbalance between him and Black. Even then, the Kingstone, as it continued to absorb whatever Hell Energy was embedded within this Hell Lord, allowed his user, Shidou Itsuka, to power up tremendously, and also managed to incapacitate the monster's ability to absorb this universe.

"You will not defy my order - Midnight Suns!" the Baphomet declared with a roaring rage and gut-wrenching tone that intimidated even seasoned AST members like Ryouko Kusakabe and Origami Tobiichi. The Hell Lord recognized the interlopers who tried to prevent his conquest. "The Order and Balance of the Baphomet is divine and unshakeable! My gospel will spread and overlay the foundations of this very world, and make it unto my own image and forever bask in my glory."

"False god!" Ghost Rider declared with vehemence as he drove his bike near towards Black and stuck to the latter's right side, with Ai Enma following close and drawing near to Shidou's other side. Ghost Rider pointed at the Hell Lord with defiance. "Your mere existence is an abomination to His hallowed commandments! Judgment shall be swift on this day!"

"We shall see, Archangel!" the Baphomet addressed the Archangel behind Ghost Rider's power as he materialized two swords from his upper hands. He raised it forward. Cries of his countless demonic hordes of goat-like creatures with bat-like wings and flaming swords that were sprouting out from the large, open cracks that overlayed the skies red. The scenery itself evoked apocalyptic imagery and explicit details.

"Girls, back them up!"

Captain Ryouko Kusakabe commanded, steeling herself with gritted teeth, as she and the rest of the AST drew a hard line near the Midnight Suns, forming an impenetrable wall, as they drew out their automatic weapons, opening fire at long range. The sounds of magical energy, transformed into projectiles, were seen and overlayed multiple strikes and explosions, causing the deaths of multiple numbers of goat-like demons.

Black took this opportunity to charge headfast, bursting at lightning speed and pulverizing through countless hordes of demons before he eventually found himself near the presence of their master, who drew one of his swords to form an opening strike from the left. With a slice, it tried to kill its opponent with its dimensional distortive sword, only for Black to parry it with his broadsword, Sandalphon.

Then with each movement, they began their parrying and exchange of swords. With each hit, the other blocks. The earth quakes beneath the boots of the Hell Lord as it tried to strike down this interloper who prevents him from conquering and acquiring this world. The guardians of Eden were providing their own barrage of firepower and impenetrable wall as they wiped out multiple goat-like demons.

"Kerubiel!"

Black declared. He summoned Mayuri's spiritual power. Materializing above was a black sphere with many red eyes, which glared and bore holes at the Hell Lord. Its' divine gaze made the Hell Lord flinched a bit as he missed his target when he swayed one of his swords towards the latter. Unfortunately, it recovered enough to block a strike from his target in the other direction. Its golden-silver wings spread out as its multiple eyes glowed and opened a barrage of projectiles that hit and wounded the Hell Lord as it roared in pain before healing instantly from its wounds.

Somewhere in the Itsuka Residence, Mayuri mutters with a surprised look. "My power..."

And then, the figures of both Black and the Hell Lord became a blur as they became faster than the blink of a human eye. But with each after image, it can be discerned that they were performing strikes and swift openings with their respective swords. Sounds of clashes echoed throughout the ruins of the city. Explosions occurred throughout their battle, carrying taints of red and pink.

The man, Shidou Itsuka, fights with everything he has.

"I won't let anyone take my world again!" He shouted, as Kamen Rider Black, exclaiming as he performed a parry strike through the Hell Lord's dimensional sword, sending him moving off a few meters and breaking down several buildings upon impact.

As the Hell Lord growled, Ai Enma took advantage of the distraction as she performed a mystical spell — part of her Authority as a Hell Lord.

"I am the pure soul who breeds vengeance.

Darkness overshadowed me from my very youth.

I breed revenge upon those who have wronged me.

I bore an everlasting grudge against the man I loved.

I bear my task as the ferryman who traverses the rivers of perdition.

Accursed be those who drown in the flames of hell.

Come forth, as I pray, Hundred Thousand Lives!"

Then something happened. Ai Enma's aura would turn into a sickly red as Hell Energy began pouring out from her, representing all of the lives that she had taken in her time as the servant of her former master. Innocent or guilty, forced by the services of the client to undergo and enact the task of bringing people to her former master's domain. She remembers her relish in punishing the guilty while mourning for the loss of innocents forced into Hell. Free, she may be, from her master's grasp, but as she took his throne as Master of Hell, she is reminded of that guilt, every day.

Through that guilt, it allowed her to draw forth the energies of the past and of the future, of all of the souls that Ai Enma, the Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl), would be forced to send to Hell. Now, their energies come to her aid, in an epitome of pure irony.

Her hell fire spreads out, with orange now turning into a bluish potency and color, spreading around the Baphomet in a concentric circular fashion before sticking it down and burning it, making it scream.

"RAAAAAAAAGgghhhhhh!"

Then multiple blasts of another extradimensional energy would strike the Hell Lord down further. Ghost Rider enters the fray, with his hands now sporting what appeared to be bluish balls of pure, potent energy. It is called Sentinel Energy. This type of extradimensional energy is commonly associated with divinity and otherworldy; found in places related to heavenly or sky realms where the characteristics of holiness and light, and their respective gods and other beings who reside in these dimensions. It is also related to the realms of the afterlife, occupying those who have passed on, the deceased who have parted from the living world and are enjoying everlasting bliss. And it was also a naturally occurring element commonly found within mortal and human souls.

The energy would hit the Baphomet and caused it pain. Ghost Rider would use its bike's tires to provide more of the hurt, driving quickly across its skin and making it feel the burn of holy fire.

"RAAAAAAAAGgghhhhhh!"

The Baphomet began to make use of its wings and flew at tremendous speeds, before he somehow got blocked from exiting the atmosphere, making him grunt at the impenetrable shield. It made him fly into a rage as red lightning covered his entire body.

"Samael!"

Black declared. He summoned Ren's spiritual power as a way to prevent the monster from escaping Earth. Then multiple poisonous chains began to materialize and wrap around the Hell Lord, which screamed in agony as it felt the sheer poison covering its entire body. Then with a tremendous push, Black forced the Hell Lord to crash towards the ruins of Tenguu City, causing a large, explosive crater to occur.

Somewhere in the Itsuka Residence, Ren mutters with a surprised look. "My power..."

The Hell Lord was not backing down as it was drawing more power from its own dimension as it began to try to break free from its chains. Some of it was already trying to come off.

"I don't think so!" Black declared with vigor. "Sandalphon!"

Then, multiple broadswords would suddenly materialize and begin to hit the Hell Lord in multiple directions. It roared as it struck through each part.

As the battles raged on, from a maintainable distance, multiple people from various corners were making use of their respective devices, cameras, cellphones, and others, to record the battle that was raging, and sending it to social media for everyone in the whole world to watch and see.

But...

There was something strange about these people. Their eyes flashed, revealing the glow of Black Eyes.

The Black-Eyed Demons have made their move. Some even made an ominous smirk while doing so.

Somewhere in the underground shelters, multiple people were already watching from their respective television screens, cellphones, tablets, and other means of social communication. Their expressions were one of shock and awe as they saw a battlefield of endless chaos, with terrifying demons scouring through the skies and being engaged by women with flying machines of war. Among the chaos, they noted the gigantic demon that was being engaged by at least three people, with powers that bordered on the spectacular and mindboggling.

Among those watching were the students of Raizen High School who watched in awe and wonder. Among the students, there was one particular high school girl who was watching the battle, with her main interest being in Kamen Rider Black.

She had soft black hair that reached to her back and her eyes were brown in color, covered with glasses. Overall, she looked ordinary and not have any kind of worth. One could even say that she was a background character. But looks can be deceiving...

She mused a little, smiling in affection at Kamen Rider Black... or rather, Shidou Itsuka, her beloved childhood friend.

"...Hell's been pretty uppity lately, but then, that doesn't make it any less interesting the second time around, right, darling?"

Somewhere on the other side of the world, there was a man named Sir Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott who was just casually sitting on his office chair watching the news feed of this terrible battle happening within the Land of the Rising Sun.

He wore a formal jet-black suit. His hair is dark ash blond, and he has a pair of sharp eyes, as if a knife was used to cut slits on his face. The color of his eyes are dull blue and gives off a lifeless look that is only strengthened when complemented by his extremely pale skin.

His mouth forms a little smirk while pondering of this new turn of events.

"Hmm. Now this is rather interesting. Looks like the secrecy of the AST had been compromised just from the way things are going. I may as well contact Ellen about what she may know about this situation."

Kotori had enough. She could not just stand by and watch while her onii-chan is literally fighting against this... this thing.

Clenching her fists, radiating a wave of anger born out of worry, she commanded her entire bridge and sported the image of a subtle yet fiery commander.

"All hands, power up the Mystletainn and lock on to that giant behemoth, shoot that thing down!" Kotori spoke, raising her right arm and open-palm hand.

The Fraxinus began to charge up the Mystletainn, the main weapon of the ship that could fire a high-energy Maryoku laser. It began to charge up and open fire at the monster that was engaging against Black and his allies.

With a straight open shot of pure energy, it launched violently against the Hell Lord Baphomet, who felt its pure energy, striking him in a continuous barrage...

...And yet.

"Hehehehehahahahaha!"

The demon lord was simply laughing in guttural and terrible laughter as it embraced the maryoku energy to slowly replenish its weakened state. A slowly reddish taint was now engulfing its entire body.

"Oh, hell no," Black muttered in slight exasperation. Ai Enma and Ghost Rider, in their own way, also had their own exasperated feelings on the matter.

"Commander!" one of the crew members, a young woman with long black hair that reaches beyond her shoulders, with frontal bangs that cover the majority of her forehead and eyes, Hinako Shiizaki, sported a shocked and alarmed expression. "The thing... it's not taking any damage, it's... it's absorbing the blast!"

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Kotori cried out in frustration. "Cut off the power, now!"

"Right," Shiizaki nodded.

"The monster can absorb maryoku!" Kyouhei Kannazuki, the Vice Commander of Fraxinus, a tall man with long blonde hair and light brown eyes, muttered in shock. "The Mystletainn was designed to destroy even Territories conjured up by the Realizers, and this... thing managed to absorb all of that power and incorporate it into its own."

Kotori turns to Reine who was silent the entire time, watching the feed.

"Kotori," Reine spoke, sporting a concerned, grim expression. "It seems our problems have just escalated."

She said while showing a couple of social media platforms and images where there was news coverage of the battle going on. Seeing all of this made Kotori even more irritated as she wanted to stomp and kick something while tearing her hair out.

"Shidou," Rinne spoke her husband's name in worry, her heart clenching.

"Papa," Rio muttered her papa's name in worry, her heart clenching as her hands were clenching the hem of Sona's skirt.

Sona in turn gently provided the girl some comfort by patting her head while focusing on the battle that was happening.

"Partner!" the Kingstone spoke to Black. "We need to end this now!"

"Ah!" Black agreed.

The fight was already being prolonged as it was. They needed to finish this Hell Lord before he gains enough of his power to suck their universe dry. The more this goes on, the more dangerous the threat this Hell Lord becomes.

"Sandalphon! Eden! Kerubiel! Samael!"

The Angels of the Four Spirits that Black knew were now being summoned all at once. Large broadswords and energy beams of variety graced the skies as they hit the Hell Lord grievously. Ai Enma provided her own assistance and barrage the Hell Lord with a tornado of infernal fire that was tall enough to reach the very heavens and burn the Hell Lord down. Ghost Rider unleashed a wave of chains that managed to keep the Hell Lord in place and his bike sprouted bluish holy flames that managed to burn the Hell Lord.

Then Black transported instantly across the skies, up above, and performed a kicking maneuver, with his right foot touching the helm of the giant broadsword materializing at the same time as he began to perform a powerful kick, pushing it by force towards the Hell Lord who was stunned to do anything.

"Sandalphon...Rider Kick!"

As he performed the diving kick, the sword would hit the Hell Lord directly in the face.

"RAAAGGGGGGGGGGGH!"

It screamed in pain as the blade was now sticking to the center of its head. With enough exertion, Black eventually manages to penetrate through the head of the Baphomet and is now painfully giving it the most excruciating death it has ever experienced. Slowly but surely, Black manages to cleave the beast in half as a burst of Hell Energy spreads out of its body, with Black absorbing its energy to prevent it from exploding violently across the city.

The body had been cut down. The Hell Lord Baphomet had been defeated. As Kamen Rider Black lands on the ground and slowly rose up from the ground after striking the devil down with Sandalphon, which dematerialized after its job is done, disappearing along with the other Angels.

As the Hell Lord dies, so too do his countless minions as they suddenly disappear like ashes, with the AST pilots looking on as their enemies fall to the ground. The red cracks in the sky would slowly vanish as the normal bluish colors returned. And then...

"Huh?"

"What?"

Multiple people would suddenly appear from the ruins of the city, bewildered as they had no idea where they were. Many of them were not Japanese but of different ethnicities and nationalities. It was not just that, but throughout the world, people were appearing in droves. These people were from universes that Baphomet had consumed. Without the Hell Lord maintaining its hell, something happened as the discarded universes would merge with the universe of Itsuka Shidou. And appearing in the sky were other Earths, about six in total, that were hovering in the clear skies.

The Earth itself was starting to change a little, with its original size increasing a little, and this extent. Multiple displaced humans from various universes were now wandering about this subtly merged world.

Ai Enma and Ghost Rider were right beside Black as the three noticed the sudden influx of peoples that started to appear with bewildered expressions along with the Earths that appeared in the sky. The three look at each other.

"...Okay, this one is new," Ghost Rider slowly transformed back into Johnny Blaze, looking around to see multiple people appearing out of nowhere. "Whenever we beat a Baphomet, people don't just start appearing randomly out of nowhere, and not even mentioning all of those Earths that we're all seeing in the sky."

"It must be because of the convergence," Enma explained. "I can fully sense this Hell Lord's dimension ceasing to be and its extradimensional energies are now permeating within this universe. Normally, these souls would end up somewhere in Heaven by now for them to be sorted over, but it appears that they are here to stay among the living for the time being."

Then Enma would start to conjure up bluish flames that burst forth from the corpse of the deceased Hell Lord, both as a way to cover their natural escape since the AST would no doubt try to find them and to prevent the corpse of a Hell Lord from falling into the hands of those who would like to make use of it.

No trace.

There was not a trace of the three individuals who had managed to keep their world... no, more like their entire universe alive and well.

Though, the aftermath did leave something of a testament to remember this battle by as Ryouko Kusakabe can attest, looking to the skies and seeing all of those Earth-like planets that were just hovering in perfect formation.

But of course, the icing on the cake...

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHH!"

She just recently found out that she and her squad had been seen fighting against the monsters on live television somehow. Where one problem comes, another follows. What was once a simple day at work became something of an important event in the history of mankind.

Kamen Rider Black, Ghost Rider, and Ai Enma would appear before Rinne, Rio, Mayuri, Ren, and Sona, walking towards them.

"Ah, papa!" Rio, excited, would start running towards her beloved papa, who was now detransforming back into plain old Shidou Itsuka who eagerly carried Rio into an embrace.

"Hello, Rio," Shidou spoke with a smile. "Kept you and your mother waiting, didn't I?"

"Hmhm," Rio shakes her head. "You're just in time as always, papa."

Shidou would look to find Rinne heading towards him and embracing him with a warm, welcoming hug.

"I'm glad... you're safe," Rinne spoke softly.

Shidou's eyes softened as he embraced his wife. "I'm sorry for making you worry, mama." Then his eyes turned towards Sona, recognizing the latter. Sona nodded as her eyes sported a softer look of 'Welcome back' and smiled a little. His eyes would turn towards Mayuri and Ren who were walking towards him.

"...I must say," Ren spoke with a softer tone, looking curious. "I did not expect our reunion to be something like this."

"And I never expected you to wield my power as well as you did, Shidou," Mayuri spoke with a curious expression and with arms crossed.

Shidou could only smile softly, if not tremble a little, with his eyes threatening to fall a few tears. This was something he never expected either. First was his wife and daughter, and now Mayuri and Ren.

"...Hi, Mayuri, Ren... it's good to see you both.." Shidou spoke softly.

"...Shidou," Mayuri spoke as she and Ren noticed the way Shidou looked at them. They, in their own way, showed concern for the man as they looked at Rinne for an answer. Rinne smiled sadly a little in silence, but that silence spoke volumes for both Mayuri and Ren.

"Umm," Blaze would walk slowly towards them and speak. "As much as I hate to break up this reunion, Snake, I think it's best if we talked somewhere else."

"...Hmm, right," Shidou nodded. "Let's...continue this in my...no, our house." Shidou looked at both Rinne and Rio who smiled at him. He then looked at both Enma and Blaze and said. "You guys wouldn't mind if I cooked a decent meal for you guys to chow on."

"Well, don't mind if I do," Blaze smiled a little.

"It's acceptable," Enma spoke, her emotionless expression remained. "It would be reminiscent of all the times when you would act as the cook of the team along with Griselda."

"Yeah, well, Griselda was the better cook among the Midnight Suns by a fair margin," Shidou smiled a little out of humor as he walked towards the house.

"Hmm? Whose Griselda?" Rinne asks, curious.

And so, the family now all heads inside the house as they talk.

Insert Song: End

ED Song:

Sins of The Father · Donna Burke · Ludvig Forssell · Akihiro Honda