As the mixed energy completed its second-stage detonation, accompanied by Aaron's exquisite manipulation, the energy diffused throughout the entire meteorite, instantly annihilating everything within.
Simultaneously with the completion of this energy blast, the Worms inside both the massive meteorite and the smaller fragments were naturally caught in the blast radius.
No, it shouldn't be called 'caught in the blast radius.'
Because these Worms were Aaron's true targets all along.
If he had followed the original plot and allowed these Worms to fall from the sky, Aaron couldn't guarantee that they would all be wiped out upon impact.
But by launching an attack mixed with multiple powers directly targeting them, the situation was completely different.
The defense of a Worms was, after all, nothing special. For Aaron, insta-killing them was a simple task.
Causing such a huge commotion this time was solely to ensure that the enemy was erased directly from the cellular level.
As the meteorite completely exploded, the Worms within turned into balls of green phosphorescent fire one by one.
Watching this spectacle, Aaron simultaneously heard the notification sound from the System.
[Ding! Detected that Tester 233 has completed the mission. Do you wish to initiate the return sequence?]
"Hmm, hearing you say that, I assume the surroundings are safe?"
[That is correct.]
"What about her, seven years from now?"
[Also safe.]
"Very good."
At this moment, Aaron pulled out [Dimensional Formation: Shambhala] and directly activated the Teigu's teleportation ability.
While he was still on Earth seven years in the future, he had recorded several coordinates using Shambhala.
Although Bronya hadn't managed to obtain intelligence on ZECT's upper management on the first day, she seized the opportunity after Aaron snatched the Zecters and transformation devices from the Yamato and Yaguruma duo.
There was nothing wrong with the duo's actions, but the problem was that they never imagined they would continue to be monitored even after their Zecters were stolen.
So, immediately after returning to Earth, Aaron arrived near the coordinates Bronya had given him.
Using Magnetic Field Rotation to scan the surroundings, he successfully found the man he wanted to find.
"Mn, before leaving this place, there is one last thing to do."
Entering ZECT's headquarters directly, Aaron casually knocked out the soldiers inside the base and arrived at a certain room.
Seeing the man whose mind was already unhinged, Aaron strolled up to him. Without giving him a single shred of a chance to explain himself, he directly blew Riku Kagami's head apart with a single punch.
Riku Kagami's actions seven years in the future might have been 'unavoidable' and 'for humanity' in his own self-perception.
But in Aaron's eyes, this behavior was selling out humanity.
Although Aaron had now resolved the two waves of Worms in 1999 and 2007, no one could guarantee whether there would be another Worms invasion in this world's future.
To be honest, if it were him facing such a situation, Aaron didn't know what the correct course of action would be either.
But he could be certain—at the very least, what humanity needed was absolutely not this kind of capitulationist who thought about letting bugs slaughter their way onto Earth.
"System, let's go."
"Ah, no reaction all of a sudden?"
At that moment, as if recalling something, Aaron let out a light chuckle and left the base.
Mn, there was one last thing left undone.
In the time that followed, he found the child who had been adopted by an elderly woman.
Watching the child training his strength indoors, Aaron silently took out the Kabuto Zecter and the Rider Belt, placing them under his pillow.
He didn't intend to leave the other Rider powers here. After all, as long as ZECT operated normally in the future, they would develop those Rider Zecters anyway.
But the Kabuto Zecter was the only one he didn't plan to take away.
On the surface, the Kabuto Zecter was a product manufactured by humanity combining Native technology and mysterious metals found on Earth.
But the actual reality might not be so simple.
Every Rider worldview contains a Rider power known as the [Axis of the World].
And the Axis of the World for a specific world is generally the power used by the main Rider of that worldview.
Aaron didn't know what would happen if he took the Kabuto Zecter, this world's axis, away with him.
Perhaps this world would become like the parallel worlds in *Decade*—after losing the Rider power that served as the world's axis, the world would vanish or merge along with the Rider power.
Perhaps this world would become like *Zi-O*... actually, that side was also about merging, so there wasn't much difference.
Of course, it was also possible he was overthinking it, and the world would be fine, with ZECT simply manufacturing a new Kabuto Zecter.
But the Kabuto Zecter wasn't a necessity for him.
Gambling with a world's future for a not-so-essential power-up item didn't seem appropriate to Aaron.
"I thought you would leave this place with that power."
After Aaron completed all this, he heard a voice.
From a shadowy corner, a Hyper Kabuto slowly walked out and stood before Aaron.
"That isn't something essential for me."
Shaking the Hyper Zecter in his hand, which wanted to struggle but didn't dare, Aaron spoke indifferently.
"Having this thing is more or less enough. But speaking of which, you knew I wasn't from this world?"
"Ah. I cannot see your 'future' within the timeline."
"Hah, no wonder..."
Looking at the Souji Tendou who had appeared before him, Aaron suddenly asked with curiosity.
"You must have been watching this battle the whole time. So, why didn't you stop Issei Kurosaki from the start?"
"Because I believed I would win in the end—of course, a tiny accident occurred at the very end."
"Yeah, a tiny accident. So, appearing before this 'tiny accident,' what does the man who walks the path of heaven intend to do?"
Aaron, having put away the Zecter, looked at the man before him and continued.
"Do you feel that I stole your thunder earlier, so you're unconvinced and want to settle the score?"
"That is not the case."
As an outstanding warrior, Souji Tendou naturally understood clearly how large the gap was between himself and the other party.
After entering the second stage, [Hyper Form], Kamen Rider Kabuto could perceive chaotic timelines and see the time and space of the past and future.
And in that period just now, he had seen everything Aaron did.
Destroying two massive meteorites with a single physical strike, and incidentally wiping out those Worms completely at the cellular level.
That was simply not something a human could achieve.
Souji Tendou was indeed a self-centered warrior who believed he was the only one who mattered.
But he was a warrior, not a fool or a brute.
Only by understanding the gap between oneself and others could one become a qualified warrior.
Moreover, the man before him had saved the world and left behind Kabuto's power. Emotionally and rationally, there was no need for him to conflict with the other party.
"Hah, true enough. You are very smart, not the kind of person who doesn't know what's what. Well then, before I leave—"
In this instant, Souji Tendou saw the future through the power of Hyper Kabuto.
In that future, this man lost his trace... no, that's not right!
It wasn't that he lost his trace, but that his speed was simply too fast!
One punch.
A punch he could not dodge.
When Aaron's fist stopped steadily right before Souji Tendou's mask, he saw the man before him disappear completely this time.
Just before the other party vanished from his sight, Souji Tendou heard the words he left behind.
[Be careful of Sougo Tokiwa.]
At the same time these words entered his ears, Souji Tendou felt a great deal of knowledge appear in his brain.
When Souji Tendou was young, he had relentlessly honed his strength to kill those bugs that had killed his parents and take revenge.
Over these years, Souji Tendou's combat skills had already reached the peak level of humanity.
At least, that was what he thought.
But in this moment, Souji Tendou, with a flood of combat techniques and fighting moves emerging in his mind, shockingly discovered that his past skills were merely 'human peak' skills.
If he could utilize these techniques passed down by that man reasonably, then his strength would inevitably rise to a higher level...
"But, Sougo Tokiwa... is it because the owner of this name will cause some trouble that the man taught me these fist techniques?"
"I've stayed in this timeline for too long."
"I originally thought... Hah, never mind all that."
"The future has already changed. If it is 'me,' there will definitely be no problem."
"The problem now lies in..."
"Sougo Tokiwa—what kind of future will this person bring about?"
"It seems I won't be able to stop and rest anytime soon in the future."
.......................
After Aaron completed all his actions in this world, he immediately used the System to teleport himself and Bronya back to the Honkai world simultaneously.
[Ding! Detected that Tester 233 has returned normally to the world prior to entering the dungeon. Calculating rewards.]
[Main Mission — Insecticide Chronicles, completed.]
[Detected that in this mission world, Tester 233 and his teammates did not complete the Hidden Mission, so the reward for this mission is only 60%!o(MISSING)f the base reward.]
[Detected Tester 233 possesses 'Compensation Item A'. Do you wish to use the compensation item to change the mission reward from 60%!t(MISSING)o 100%!?(MISSING)]
"Of course I'm using it."
[Usage complete. Old rules, choose one out of four, two times. One of the selection draws will 'significantly increase the drop rate of high-tier items, skills, and templates.' Choosing skill enhancement will directly raise a skill's level by two.]
"Let me think... Magnetic Field Rotation and Perfect Realm probably can't be upgraded this way, right?"
[If you know, why ask this System? Skills with excessively high caps generally cannot be upgraded. The same applies to the Power of Dominance you hold.]
"Mn, so skill upgrades are basically out of the question—isn't this just forcing me to do the lottery?"
[What are you saying? This System respects every choice of the Tester—you can do whatever you want.]
[Even if you are thinking in your heart about killing this System, this System will not actively obliterate you. However, remember, Tester 233, people must ultimately be responsible for their own conduct.]
"Ah, suddenly entered lecture mode? Why do I feel like there's a hidden meaning in your words?"
[Just an illusion.]
"Before the lottery starts, I have a question."
"Since this world is done with, can you reveal what the Hidden Mission actually was?"
[Well...]
"Does this violate the rules too?"
[Talking about it is fine. The problem is, one was to beat up the Time Space Administration Bureau, and the other was to kill Ohma Zi-O. do you think knowing these has any meaning?]
"Let's pretend nothing happened."
"Forget it, lottery time."
"First, a normal one..."
"Forget abilities, my abilities are already complex enough."
"I'll draw two items this time."
[Are you sure?]
"Of course—wait!"
Recalling his past encounters, Aaron suddenly spoke to the System in a grumpy tone.
"Can you give me a normal item this time? Why do I feel like the probability of drawing something that burns my life away has been so high in the previous power-ups you gave me?"
[Illusion, absolutely an illusion. This System's draws have always been purely random in nature.]
[Besides, for a weakling to want to surpass the strong in a short time, paying a little price is perfectly normal—you, of all people, should know this better than anyone.]
"True. I do have more complaints lately."
"Enough nonsense, draw."
[Item drawing in progress... Loading...]
[Ding! Drew item — Hyperbolic Time Chamber Ticket (One Day)!]
[Description: One of the special extension items from the *Dragon Ball* worldview. Allows the holder to enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for one day upon use. One day inside the Time Chamber equals one year of actual time.]
[Note 1: This item is bound and cannot be transferred.]
[Note 2: This item is a consumable and will disappear directly after use.]
[Note 3: This item is a spatial teleportation item. Upon use, you will directly enter the corresponding space. You will be automatically ejected when time is up, so don't think about lingering inside.]
[Note 4: Although this item is a derivative of the Dragon Ball worldview, the user will not encounter any creatures from that worldview upon entering the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, nor can they access the outside world through it.]
[In short, don't think about pulling any tricks—unless you have enough power to break the laws, don't mess around.]
[Don't forget why you are Number 233.]
....................