"Who are you?!"
Ultraman Zero raised his guard, pointing at the silver-and-red figure as he shouted.
After Zero called out, the silver-and-red figure paused, then came to a halt.
"You're… Belial!"
Once the figure stopped, Zero immediately recognized him.
Belial.
But not the former "Black Belial"—this was Belial restored to his original state.
"Ultraman Zero," Belial said calmly as he looked at him. "You're heading to help my son, aren't you? In that case, I won't start a conflict with you."
Although he had returned to his "White" state, seeing Zero still triggered an instinctive urge to fight within Belial.
Even though his evolution had partly involved Zero, this influence had not appeared overnight. It would take time to fade completely.
"If I weren't busy today, I'd definitely spar with you," Zero shot back, pride evident in his tone.
"Zero, the barrier is expanding. If we don't go now, it'll be too late!"
Suddenly, Mirror Knight pointed at the red data rapidly enveloping Earth—the virtual Planet Kushia—and warned Zero.
"Damn it—then watch this!"
Zero reacted instantly, loosening his joints before launching himself toward Earth at extreme speed.
He broke through just before the planet was fully sealed by the red data.
"Well, if that kid's gone in, Geed should be fine."
Seeing Earth completely encased by the data, Belial abandoned the idea of joining the fight.
He knew Zero's strength well after years of rivalry.
With Zero helping, Geed would not be in serious danger.
Still, the one who left the deepest impression on Belial was Tiga.
The one who had once blown him apart in the Land of Light.
…
The battle on Earth raged on.
Geed and Orb continuously switched their borrowed powers, transforming into one form after another.
However, the Trinity Orb form that appeared in the original storyline did not manifest here.
Because of Yuzhou's earlier involvement in Orb's movie, Orb had never obtained the powers of X, Ginga, or Victory.
As a result, that form no longer existed.
At present, Geed was using his Solid Burning Form—a fusion of Seven's and Leo's powers—while Orb had assumed the Emerium Slugger form, combining the powers of Seven and Zero, father and son.
The battle was fierce.
Galactron no longer passively endured their attacks and began counterattacking aggressively.
Detaching the black crest from the back of its head and using it as a massive blade, Galactron launched a relentless assault.
Geed and Orb were not foolish. After each exchange, they quickly pulled back to avoid being cleaved by the blade.
But unexpectedly, Galactron hurled the blade straight at them.
This move caught both of them off guard. With no time to defend, they could only watch as the weapon flew toward them.
Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky.
With a sharp clash, the blade was knocked away.
It was Zero.
Once Zero joined the fight, the tempo accelerated dramatically.
Under Zero's lead, the three transformed once more—Zero into Luna Miracle, Orb into Hurricane Slash, and Geed into Aurora Form.
"Oh? Geed's using the Tiga and Dyna Capsules."
Yuzhou raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
Aurora Form was the result of Geed fusing the Tiga and Dyna Capsules.
After transforming, Geed crossed his arms over his forehead, shifting into the Sky Miracle variant of Aurora Form.
The three Ultramen moved at extreme speed, launching slicing attacks against Galactron, sparks bursting from its body with every hit.
Zero then shifted the momentum again, transforming into Strong Corona.
Orb followed by drawing on the powers of Taro and Mebius, becoming Burnmite.
Geed crossed his arms downward, transforming into the silver-and-red Strong Power Form.
Heavy, flame-wreathed punches slammed into Galactron again and again, steadily increasing the damage it sustained.
At that moment, however, the buildings and humans on the ground suddenly turned into red data, rising upward and merging into the red data net that covered the planet.
Watching this, Yuzhou wanted to intervene but had no immediate means to stop it.
Still, he knew that once Gillvalis was destroyed, the people would return.
So he was not overly concerned.
"What's going on? The people on the streets are disappearing!"
A female voice rang out from the far end of the plaza. Yuzhou found it familiar and turned toward the sound.
"Laiha?"
The speaker was Toba Laiha—one of the female leads of Ultraman Geed, and Geed's partner.
Behind her stood several others.
Pega, Riku's alien friend.
Moa and Zenna from the AIB.
And Gai Kurenai's close associate—Jugglus Juggler.
There was also a woman Yuzhou had never seen before, dressed in unfamiliar ethnic clothing and quite striking in appearance.
"That should be Airu Higa—the sole survivor of Planet Kushia."
Based on the original storyline, Yuzhou quickly deduced her identity.
Airu was directly connected to Red Steel, a weapon on par with the Giga Battlenizer.
In the original plot, it was through Airu's forced plot intervention that Riku earned Red Steel's recognition.
Once all the humans in the plaza had been digitized and absorbed into the red data net, Laiha's group noticed Yuzhou.
"That's…"
Pega stared at him, completely speechless.
Laiha, however, called out his name:
"Yuzhou—Tiga!"
"Long time no see, everyone."
With a smile, Yuzhou slowly walked toward them.
Moa and Zenna recognized him as well and nodded politely upon seeing him again.
"It's you?"
Juggler looked genuinely surprised. During Orb's movie, he had crossed paths with Yuzhou.
Yuzhou had even told him that he believed in him.
That alone had earned Yuzhou a measure of Juggler's goodwill—though nothing more.
"Juggler, I didn't expect you to remember me," Yuzhou said with a light smile.
Juggler was not a bad person—quite the opposite.
In Ultraman Z, he even served as the captain of Earth's Armament Department.
It was simply that some of his methods were difficult for certain Ultramen to understand—or accept.
Dyna, for instance.
Asuka's words had truly wounded Juggler.
Talk of a "warrior's way of fighting" had left him both furious and deeply hurt.
"By the way, I forgot to ask you last time," Juggler said, his usual arrogance showing as he looked at Yuzhou. "That guy Dyna… he's your junior, right?"