"Beating every Rider, of course. Now, only a few of you are left."
As Raven spoke, he produced a collection of Advent Cards and Contract Cards. They were his trophies, spoils of war from his recent victories.
Ren Haguro's eyes widened. He spotted one specific card among the pile: Odin's Time Vent.
"That's..."
Ren had entered the Rider Battle specifically for this. He needed that card to return to the past, to find out exactly what Chief Editor Momoi wanted to tell him before she was murdered.
"You... who are you supposed to be?" Abyss asked, his voice laced with confusion.
"You're the one who framed Natsumi, aren't you?" Raven said flatly. "I'm here to take you down."
"I don't know what garbage you're spewing, but no Rider can defeat me," Kamata declared with arrogant confidence.
"The deputy editor is the killer? That's impossible," Shinji Tatsumi was the first to protest, unable to wrap his head around it.
"If you want the answer, use this."
Raven flicked his wrist, tossing the Time Vent card toward Shinji. Ren Haguro watched in disbelief; he couldn't imagine anyone just giving up such a powerful card so easily.
"Dammit! I won't let you!"
Seeing this, Abyss grew desperate. He immediately commanded his Contract Monsters to launch an attack on Shinji.
"Shinji, I'll hold him off!" Knight stepped in front of Shinji, shielding him.
Touched by the gesture, Shinji didn't hesitate. He thrust the Time Vent card into his Dragvisor.
[TIME VENT]
In an instant, the world began to spin in reverse. Time itself unspooled. For most people, the memories of the day vanished as they were pulled back to the morning. However, Shinji (as the user), Raven, and Tsukasa remained unaffected.
They materialized simultaneously in the Journal office—the exact moment before Chief Editor Momoi was attacked.
"Huh?"
Momoi and Natsumi Hikari were startled by Shinji's sudden appearance. A second later, Raven materialized as well. As if by design, he landed directly on top of Natsumi, pinning her down.
"Raven-san? Why... why are you here?" Natsumi asked, blinking in confusion. Strangely, she didn't seem to mind their current position at all.
"It's a long story."
Raven knew Natsumi had lost her memories of the future timeline. He reached out, touching her temple to restore them.
"Urgh..." Natsumi winced as a sharp pain throbbed in her head. The memories of the trial and the battles came rushing back. "I... wasn't I just being judged in court?"
Suddenly, an energy blast streaked through the office window, aimed directly at Chief Editor Momoi.
Shinji, sensing the danger, lunged forward and shoved her out of harm's way. Tsukasa, seeing the attack, immediately sprinted toward the door to find the source.
"So, does this mean I'm officially innocent now?" Natsumi asked.
"Well... it would probably help if you let go of my arms and legs..."
Raven noted that Natsumi, while pinned under him, had instinctively wrapped her limbs around him in a tight hug, making it impossible for him to get up.
"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Natsumi blushed furiously, realizing others were in the room, even if their attention was currently elsewhere.
Just then, Ren Haguro burst in, having heard the commotion.
"This is the weapon used to kill the Chief Editor." Shinji pointed to the back of the sofa, where a sharp, jagged puncture mark remained from the missed attack.
"What's going on here?" Ren asked, looking at Shinji in shock.
"Ren, Shinji, I'm glad you're both here..." Momoi began, as if she had something vital to share.
But Shinji, focused on catching the culprit, had already dashed out. Raven and Natsumi followed closely behind.
Outside, Natsumi clung tightly to Raven's arm, her head still spinning. "What is happening? Why is it morning again?"
"Explaining it is complicated. Just act like nothing happened," Raven told her.
Elsewhere, Tsukasa had cornered the Kamata of this time period. It was Kamata who had launched the long-range attack from street level, attempting to silence Momoi before she could expose his true identity.
"Who are you? How do you know about my plan?" Kamata demanded.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that? An attack like that isn't something a human can do," Tsukasa remarked, glancing up at the high floor of the office.
Kamata grew visibly agitated. He hadn't expected anyone to see through his disguise so quickly. He weighed the option of killing Tsukasa on the spot to keep his secret.
Suddenly, a silhouette appeared behind Tsukasa, grabbing him and locking his arms.
The past Kamata froze in shock. Is that... me?
The newcomer was the Kamata from the future.
"So, you saw it," the future Kamata hissed. Somehow, he had bypassed the laws of time to exist alongside his past self. Usually, a Time Vent resets individuals, but much like Raven and Tsukasa, this Kamata had maintained his existence through the shift.
"You came back too?" Tsukasa said, strained but not entirely surprised.
"I infiltrated this world disguised as a human, but Momoi started getting suspicious. I had to kill her, and in the other timeline, I succeeded," the future Kamata said with bitter resentment.
"Who are you...?" The past Kamata asked, staring at his double.
"I am you."
The future Kamata shoved Tsukasa aside and walked toward his past self. Since their true form was the Paradoxa Undead, the two Kamatas began to merge into a single, empowered entity.
"The past and future Kamata have fused..." Tsukasa watched, wide-eyed.
"Henshin!"
Kamata summoned the Abyss Deck and transformed instantly. He wasted no time inserting a card.
[ADVENT]
Two Contract Monsters materialized: the Abysslasher and the Abysshammer.
Tsukasa, yet to transform, was forced to dodge a barrage of strikes. He held out just long enough for Shinji to arrive.
"This isn't the Mirror World," Kamata shouted at the two men, who were currently fighting his sharks with their bare hands. "If you lose here, you die! Do you really think you can win a fight like this?"