Battles inside dreams were always absurd and unpredictable.
Streams of golden light collided endlessly with waves of dark purple corruption, annihilating each other in bursts of dazzling, deadly fireworks. The already chaotic space was thrown into even greater turmoil.
Under the relentless impact of such powerful energies, the dream itself began to groan under the strain. The scenery twisted into abstract oil paintings one moment, then collapsed into vast stretches of nothingness the next.
"Oh my God, Merlin's iron underpants!" Lina was well protected, but even the glimpses she caught through the gaps between her fingers were enough to make her heart pound.
Yes, she was terrified. But she still couldn't resist peeking. And that one glance showed her a style of combat completely unlike anything she had ever seen from wizards or warriors.
Her worldview shattered and rebuilt itself over and over again.
She watched Tiga punch straight through a gigantic scorpion-like monster with seven tails, each ending in a screaming human face. She saw him follow with a spinning kick, the golden arc of force sweeping through an entire swarm of moth-like shadows.
Then she saw Ian draw a stream of pure light from the energy core on his chest, forming a barrier that blocked a massive psychic storm made of countless overlapping whispers.
How was this still a battle between wizards? This was more like an ancient myth where a Titan descended into the Abyss to slaughter monsters! And somehow, the Titan seemed to be enjoying himself?!
"The energy node, there!"
Tiga's milky-white eyes locked onto a distant point.
Deep within a cluster of distorted phantom buildings was a pulsing dark purple vortex. Countless purple-black threads radiated from it, connecting it to the monsters constantly spawning throughout the surrounding area.
Tiga immediately stopped wasting time on the small fry. He crossed his hands in front of his chest, then thrust them forward.
"Spacium Ray - Ian Version!"
A thick beam of blazing blue-white light erupted from his joined hands.
It was nowhere near as powerful as the real thing, of course, but the pure light energy and intense heat contained within it were the perfect counter to these corrupted creatures. More importantly, Ian's will and imagination had given the beam precisely those properties.
'BZZZT, BOOM!!'
The beam struck the dark purple vortex dead center. Blinding blue-white light swallowed it instantly, and the violent clash of energies triggered an explosion.
'BOOOOM!'
The phantom buildings surrounding the vortex vanished along with several nearby monsters. Once the node was destroyed, the rate at which new monsters appeared throughout the area noticeably slowed.
"It worked!"
Ian-Tiga's spirits rose. He immediately began searching for the next energy node.
But just as he prepared to move, something changed.
Deep within the dream, the will of Cthulhu, which had been temporarily forced back by Tiga's light but never truly disappeared, seemed to have finally been enraged by the repeated destruction and Ian's completely unreasonable fighting style. An even deeper, older, purer malice erupted from the very bottom of the dream like a volcano awakening.
"AAAAAAARRRRGHHHHH...!!"
This time, the roar wasn't silent. The entire dream space trembled.
Every shattered patch of color, every fragment of knowledge, even the monsters that had been fighting moments earlier seemed to answer an invisible summons. They rushed toward a single point, merging together in a frenzy.
A shadow of indescribable size and horror rapidly took shape.
This was no longer a scattered torrent of consciousness or some crude amalgamation of monsters. It was Cthulhu's immense power over dreams, compressed into a single point and driven by rage until it manifested as something tangible, a Dream Incarnation.
Its arrival was overwhelming.
The first things to appear were countless tentacles, each as thick as a mountain and coated in slime and suckers. They emerged from every direction, reaching out from every corner of the void until they filled every inch of space around Tiga, sealing off all possible escape routes.
Blasphemous runes flickered across their surfaces, radiating intense mental corruption and a force that seemed to lock down the surrounding space itself.
"ROOOOOAAAAARRRR!"
Then, at the center of the forest of tentacles, an even larger, more indistinct silhouette slowly emerged. It vaguely resembled an enormous humanoid figure crouching in the darkness. But where its head should have been was a constantly rotating vortex of shattered stars and countless maddened eyes.
Behind it stretched enormous shadowy wings resembling the rotting wings of a bat, blotting out everything behind them.
Its mere presence was enough to make the already fragile dream space collapse and evaporate across vast areas.
"W-What... what kind of monster is that?!"
Even protected within Tiga's palm, Lina felt terror freeze her very soul. It was as though that pure, incomprehensible malice would swallow her whole at any moment.
"Finally... something decent."
Tiga's milky-white eyes remained fixed on the terrifying incarnation taking shape before him. His voice was still calm, but there was now a hint of seriousness in it.
Ian could sense that the power contained within this Dream Incarnation was on an entirely different level from everything Cthulhu had thrown at him so far. It had reached the point where it could genuinely threaten the body he had created through imagination.
Worse still, with the incarnation's arrival, the entire dream had become far more hostile toward him. Its rejection and aggression had been pushed to the limit.
New monsters, stronger ones, continued spawning throughout the dream, pouring toward him like an endless tide. Together with the mountain-sized tentacles and the colossal shadow incarnation, they formed an inescapable killing net.
"You think a cheap little trick like this can impress the Mad Demon of Broken Horns?"
A Giant of Light against the manifested nightmare of an eldritch god and its endless army of maddened servants, a grand battle fought across consciousness, imagination, and the very rules of the dream itself erupted within this rapidly collapsing world.
Facing Cthulhu's Dream Incarnation as it rose from the deepest layers of the dream, tentacles covering the heavens, wings drowning the world in shadow, its entire being radiating pure malice, the blue energy core on Tiga's chest began flashing rapidly, blazing like a newly ignited star.
"Lina, hold on tight. Things might get a little bumpy."
Ian's calm voice echoed directly through Lina's consciousness, and then he attacked.
There was nothing beneath his feet but empty dream space, yet his imagination anchored him firmly enough to move as though he stood on solid ground.
Instead of charging straight toward the enormous incarnation at the center, Tiga kicked off violently. His gigantic body displayed impossible agility as he transformed into a streak of golden lightning, plunging directly into the dense forest of tentacles surrounding him.
"Cha!"
Tiga crossed his arms over his chest, then swept them outward. Two golden blades of light shot out like crescent moons.
'SHRIIIP! SHRIIIP! SHRIIIP!'
The massive tentacles, covered in foul-smelling slime and blasphemous runes, were sliced apart in waves. Against blades infused with pure light and purification, they offered about as much resistance as butter before a hot knife. Dark purple fluid, resembling rotten blood and pus, sprayed from the severed limbs.
The tentacles released piercing shrieks as golden light consumed them, rapidly withering their flesh. They blackened, crumbled, and finally dissolved into ash.
Even without sound, the pain radiating from them was unmistakable. The entire mass of tentacles faltered for a moment, and Tiga immediately seized the opening. His enormous body shot forward, weaving through the gaps between the tentacles. Every punch and kick erupted with brilliant golden light, blasting anything in his path to pieces.
The Shadow Incarnation at the center reacted almost instantly. The chaotic vortex serving as its head, made from fragments of stars and countless maddened eyes, suddenly began spinning faster. Dark purple beams shot from its eyes, carrying a chill capable of freezing both the soul and space itself.
At the same time, the enormous rotting, bat-like wings on its back beat violently, unleashing a massive Dark Storm filled with maddening whispers and blasphemous knowledge. It swept toward Tiga like an apocalyptic tide.
"I already told you! Tiga is the natural counter to you Cthulhu freaks! Beating up Cthulhu is exactly what I'm here for!"
Light flashed through Tiga's milky-white eyes. He raised both palms before his chest, and a hexagonal, honeycomb-patterned Ultra Barrier made entirely of pure light instantly unfolded before him.
'BOOOOM!!'
The Dark Storm and Gazing Beams slammed into the Barrier of Light. The resulting collision shook the entire dream. The barrier flickered violently, tiny cracks even spreading along its edges, but it held.
The devastating area attack failed to break through.
"My turn!"
The instant the barrier neutralized the attack, Tiga seized the opening. He crossed his wrists before the diamond-shaped crystal on his forehead, then sharply swept his arms down to either side. The crystal erupted with golden brilliance brighter than the sun.
"Zepellion Ray - ready!"
A tremendous amount of light energy surged through Tiga's body and gathered in his arms. He brought them into the classic L-shaped firing stance, right arm extended forward, left arm held horizontally beneath the right elbow. A stream of blazing white light edged in gold rapidly formed along his right arm, packed with terrifying heat and purifying power.
The Shadow Incarnation clearly sensed the danger. It released another furious, soundless roar as every remaining tentacle twisted together and fused into an enormous barrier in front of it, a Shield of Flesh and Madness. Its surface dripped with slime, while countless agonized faces writhed within the flesh.
At the same time, the chaotic vortex forming the creature's head began condensing an extremely unstable, dark purple sphere of energy that radiated an aura of annihilation.
"Tch." Ian scoffed. A beam struggle? Who was afraid of that? He was standing on the side that 'always' won beam struggles!
"Cha...!"
Tiga fired without hesitation. The blazing white Zepellion Ray tore through the gloomy dream space like a divine sword splitting heaven and earth, surging toward the Shadow Incarnation with unstoppable force.
Almost simultaneously, the Shadow Incarnation launched its dark purple energy sphere, packed with an immense concentration of madness.
White and purple. Two torrents of utterly incompatible power collided head-on in the crumbling void of the dream.
'BOOOOOOOOM...!!!!'
An indescribable explosion of light and force erupted.
This was no ordinary physical explosion. It was the violent collision and mutual annihilation of two opposing rules, two fundamentally incompatible concepts. With the point of impact at the center, hundreds of meters of the surrounding dream structure instantly evaporated like fragile soap bubbles, exposing an even more chaotic, primitive Information Underlayer beneath.
"AAAAAHHH!"
Countless dream monsters caught in the blast didn't even have time to scream before the energy storm ripped them apart into the most basic particles of thought. Blazing white and dark purple light twisted together, devouring and annihilating each other until the entire region became a storm of destruction.
"I can do this all day! I'm Captain Britain Ultraman!"
Tiga maintained his firing stance as the energy core on his chest flashed so rapidly that the pulses almost merged into one continuous light.
Ian could feel the immense pressure coming from the other side, as though an entire ocean of madness were pouring down on him. The energy reserves of this incarnation were far greater than he'd expected.
Still... there was no way he was going to admit that out loud.
"My imagination has no limits!"
God only knew how many Ultraman lines Ian had shamelessly stolen by now.
'Light, give me more light!' Ian roared inwardly.
This time, he wasn't merely drawing upon the strength of his imagined body. He poured in the cold, powerful will belonging to the Raven, along with his absolute conviction that light would triumph in the end. He held nothing back.
As though responding to that unwavering determination, the gold, red, and purple patterns covering Tiga's body suddenly shone even brighter. For a brief moment, the energy core on his chest turned a blazing orange-red, as though it had caught fire.
"HRAAAAH!!"
With another fierce battle cry, the output of the Zepellion Ray surged again. The blazing white beam expanded dramatically, its purification and destructive power reaching an entirely new level.
'Crack...'
The first thing to give way was the Shield of Flesh and Madness protecting the Shadow Incarnation. Under the overwhelming light, the agonized faces embedded in the shield screamed soundlessly. One after another, they melted away until the entire barrier began collapsing.
And once the shield was gone, the strengthened Zepellion Ray became the final straw. It slammed directly into the already unstable dark purple energy sphere.
'BOOOOM...!!'
The sphere finally reached its limit and exploded. The shockwave from the explosion deflected and reflected part of the Zepellion Ray, creating a chaotic torrent of energy around the battlefield, but the remaining impact wave, and the still-overwhelming Zepellion Ray, continued straight through the aftermath and smashed into the Shadow Incarnation's enormous body.
"SKRREEEEEE...!!!"
A soundless shriek filled with pain, fury, and disbelief erupted from the chaotic vortex forming the creature's head, piercing straight into the soul. The blazing white beam burned into its body like a red-hot branding iron. Wherever the light passed, shadows melted like snow beneath the sun, while the madness composing its body was forcibly purified and evaporated.
Its rotting bat-like wings were pierced and torn apart. Its enormous body was driven backward again and again beneath the relentless beam, clouds of dark purple smoke continuously exploding from its surface.
"It's over!"
Tiga's milky-white eyes blazed as Ian poured every last bit of power into the attack.
'BOOOOOOM!!!!'
The Shadow Incarnation finally disappeared beneath an overwhelming explosion of light. Its remaining tentacles and the surrounding Dark Storm were swallowed along with it. Countless dark purple fragments scattered through the blazing white radiance, dissolving one after another until... nothing remained.
'"Beep, beep, beep, beep!"'
The energy light on Ian's chest was still flashing.
Well... it wasn't as though he was actually running low on energy. The main reason was much simpler: as far as Ian remembered, the faster an Ultraman's warning light flashed, the stronger the Ultraman became. That was why his had been flashing so quickly earlier that it had practically turned into one continuous glow.
After all, he wasn't a 'real' Ultraman. And under the unstoppable power of Ian's '"I reckon that's how it works"' logic, reality apparently agreed with him.
He'd made his light start flashing, and then he'd blown up the enemy.
Perfectly consistent with Ian's understanding of how Ultraman fights monsters.
(End of Chapter)
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