"Why can you still become a Giant of Light without a transformation device?!"
Overwhelmed with shock, Cthulhu roared the question at Yuzhou.
"Because," Yuzhou replied calmly, "I am Tiga to begin with."
As he spoke, boundless radiance erupted from his body, and he drove himself downward like a falling star, smashing straight toward Cthulhu's octopus-like head.
Cthulhu hurriedly gathered his tentacles to block the blow. Yet the moment they came into contact with the light, the tentacles melted away one after another. In the end, Yuzhou's fist struck squarely against Cthulhu's forehead.
With a thunderous boom, Cthulhu's massive body was knocked backward and slammed into the depths of the sea.
The seawater churned violently. Amid the turbulence, the Sparklence that had fallen into the ocean earlier drifted aimlessly before landing directly atop the colour timer of a giant stone statue.
In an instant, the Sparklence fused into the statue.
Light burst forth from the stone body. Amid a clear, ringing chime, the statue was enveloped in radiance, its grey surface restoring to its original colours.
Daigo had revived.
Cthulhu watched this scene unfold with his own eyes as he lay in the water.
But soon, he rose again, summoning towering waves that surged toward Yuzhou like a raging wall.
"As expected of Cthulhu," Yuzhou remarked coolly. "To possess such power."
As he spoke, light gathered in his hand, forming a blue-coloured riser.
Activating the riser, Yuzhou swiftly inserted the Ultra Medals of Hikari, Agul, and Cosmos, instantly entering an Ascended Form.
A silver-blue Tiga Ultraman appeared before Cthulhu.
Facing the oncoming tidal wave, Yuzhou summoned the Giga Battlenizer, blue energy coiling tightly around it.
With a flick of his arm, he hurled it toward the advancing waves.
"Freeze."
At that moment, the Giga Battlenizer stood firm before the tsunami like a divine pillar anchoring the seas.
Agul's power radiated outward from it. The once-ferocious waves, roaring like wild beasts, suddenly froze in midair—as though time itself had stopped.
"How… is this possible?!"
Cthulhu stared upward at the suspended ocean in disbelief.
The colossal waves he had summoned had been halted by a single word from Tiga.
"It's that power!"
Cthulhu quickly noticed the blue aura emanating from the Giga Battlenizer.
The power of the ocean.
"Fall."
Yuzhou drew his finger downward through the air.
Instantly, the frozen waves crashed down from the sky, slamming brutally into Cthulhu and completely engulfing him.
The Giga Battlenizer flew back into Yuzhou's hand and vanished at his will.
"Agul truly is the Light of the Ocean," Yuzhou said as he rolled his wrist and shook out his hand. "Against this kind of attack, it's effortless."
Two blades of light then materialized in his hands.
"Let me test the combined power of Hikari and Agul's light blades."
As the waves settled back into the sea, Cthulhu's massive form emerged once more. Despite being struck by such overwhelming force, he appeared largely unharmed.
Just as Yuzhou prepared to attack again, two figures suddenly shot up from the ocean.
Halting his charge, Yuzhou focused his gaze and saw that it was Daigo and Masaki.
He did not know how the two had regained their light, but he simply nodded toward them in acknowledgment.
Daigo had intended to greet Yuzhou, but upon noticing Yuzhou's silver-blue coloration, he froze.
"Is that… Yuzhou's new form?" Daigo murmured in confusion.
"Probably," Masaki nodded beside him. "Anything happening to him feels normal at this point."
Masaki's own revival had only been possible because Daigo, after reviving, had shared his light with him. Otherwise, he would still be nothing more than a stone statue.
After a brief exchange, the two prepared to move in and assist Yuzhou.
An enemy this powerful was unlike anything they had ever faced before.
Cthulhu—the self-proclaimed Dark King—far surpassed any monster they had previously encountered.
After nodding once more to Daigo and Masaki, Yuzhou vanished with a sharp whoosh.
Though many of the tentacles atop Cthulhu's head had already been burned away, their numbers were still immense.
As Yuzhou charged forward at extreme speed, countless tentacles lashed out toward him.
Yet amid flashing blades and streaks of light, the tentacles were sliced into segments, raining down into the sea like hailstones.
Upon touching the water, they dissolved into wisps of black mist.
Boom!
Suddenly, a purple beam erupted from Cthulhu's mouth, striking Yuzhou directly as he cut through the tentacles.
Yuzhou reacted instantly, crossing his twin light blades in front of him to block the attack, retreating continuously under the pressure.
When the beam ceased, the light blades in Yuzhou's hands had already dissipated.
Daigo and Masaki moved to opposite flanks of Cthulhu and simultaneously unleashed their finishing beams.
Against such an overwhelming foe, beam attacks were all they could manage—dealing little more than superficial damage.
As his light blades vanished, Yuzhou immediately cancelled his Ascended Form, reverting to his original Multi-Type.
At that moment, Cthulhu burst into laughter.
"Tiga, do you still dare to use the power of darkness? Hahahaha!"
"Thirty million years ago, you devoured my darkness to defeat me—but it also corrupted your mind."
"And now, you still dare?"
"If you absorb it again, there will be no stellar seal to restrain you. Even without me, you would destroy this world yourself."
Cthulhu's tone was arrogant, yet beneath it lay a hint of apprehension. His words were meant to provoke—to bait Yuzhou into assuming a Dark Form.
"You think I'm still the same as I was thirty million years ago?" Yuzhou replied coldly.
"Even if I were to absorb your power again, I would not repeat the same mistake."
"But right now," Yuzhou continued as light flared across his body, "I have no intention of devouring anything."
"I will destroy you—using light alone!"
"Glitter Tiga!"
Daigo cried out in shock as Yuzhou directly entered his Glitter Form.
Turning to Masaki, he said calmly, "Masaki, we can withdraw. This battle no longer concerns us."
"That seems to be the case," Masaki agreed, nodding.
Their attacks would amount to nothing more than scratching the surface. It was better to leave—and perhaps even prepare a victory celebration for when Yuzhou returned.
As Daigo and Masaki departed the battlefield, Yuzhou made no attempt to stop them.
Instead, he dissolved into light and vanished.
In the next instant, radiance reappeared behind Cthulhu.
With one hand, Yuzhou seized Cthulhu's massive, western-dragon-like tail. Raising his hand like a blade, light flashed—
And he chopped downward.
RIIIP—!
Sparks flew as Cthulhu let out a piercing scream and twisted his head around.
A charred, searing gash had been carved across his tail.
Fortunately for him, it had not been severed outright.
"So tough?" Yuzhou muttered, surprised that a single strike had failed to cut it off.
He raised his hand blade once more, light surging—
And struck down again.