The instant the purple light blade struck the parasitic creature—
Splurt.
The organism split apart, spraying foul liquid.
Losing its grip, it fell limply from Kaburagi's face and hit the floor.
Kaburagi stared at the green fluid oozing across the ground.
His stomach churned violently.
Moments later, he turned aside and vomited.
"That thing really is disgusting."
Yuzhou stepped out from the shadows, frowning as he looked at the dying organism.
Celebro.
A parasitic alien lifeform—worm-like, fragile in body, yet extremely intelligent.
It treated the destruction of civilizations as a game.
Being consumed by—or hiding within—Genegarg had been part of its plan.
Celebro's true hobby was guiding intelligent civilizations into creating weapons powerful enough to destroy themselves.
It knew the Ultras of the Land of Light would never interfere in self-inflicted extinction.
That was how it had survived until now.
It just hadn't expected to run into Yuzhou at the very start of its new scheme.
"Is it… dead?"
Kaburagi asked shakily.
"Yes," Yuzhou replied calmly. "Dead."
Celebro was eliminated before it could even begin.
No chaos. No disasters. No twisted experiments.
Yuzhou glanced into the fallen container.
Inside were two notable items:
A blue Z-Riser.
And a fragment glowing with an orange-yellow light.
Suppressing his disgust, Yuzhou retrieved both.
"So this is a Devil Fragment…"
The fragment faintly resembled Belial's corrupted eye, but in truth, it was merely a cluster of Belial's cells.
When Belial had invaded the Land of Light, Taro's Strium Beam had grazed him, scattering fragments.
Had they not contained the power of Reiblood, these fragments would never have been so dangerous.
After all—
Reiblood had spread his genes across the universe, creating countless Reionics, all meant to battle until a single strongest host remained.
That host had ultimately been Belial.
"Wait—who are you?"
Kaburagi suddenly realized something.
This was a restricted warehouse.
And the man before him wore no ID.
"I was just passing by," Yuzhou replied casually. "You almost got possessed by an alien lifeform. I helped."
"Oh—then thank you so much!"
Without Celebro's influence, Kaburagi looked genuinely simple-minded and earnest.
"I owe you my life. What's your name?"
"Yuzhou."
Yuzhou handed him an Ultra Medal.
"If you find more of these, give them to STORAGE's captain."
"I understand!"
No wonder this man could enter the facility freely—he clearly had ties to Captain Hebikura.
After that, Yuzhou left.
He knew more medals existed, but didn't bother chasing them down.
The ones obtained from Genegarg were enough.
Taro. Ultraman. Ace. Gaia. Tiga.
Some were duplicates.
Tiga's medal, however, was one Yuzhou had created himself.
And now, it had returned to him.
Soon, he arrived at STORAGE.
Without an identity in this world, even staying at a hotel was impossible.
So he needed Juggler's "help."
Sitting casually in STORAGE's main hall, Yuzhou smiled.
"Being a captain isn't easy, is it?"
"No," Juggler admitted. "It really isn't."
Yuzhou had not expected Juggler to truly settle into this role.
But Juggler had always walked the line between light and darkness—yet his actions consistently protected the world.
"I never imagined I'd become a captain on Earth."
Juggler looked up, saw only the ceiling, and sighed.
Becoming Tiga—becoming a Giant of Light—had once been his deepest wish.
Now that wish had been fulfilled.
And with it came responsibility.
That responsibility had changed him.
Juggler had never truly been evil.
Everything had begun when his disciple died before his eyes.
That loss had broken him.
Before that, he had been Gai's most reliable partner.
Without Juggler, Gai might never have completed O-50's trial.
"Being an Ultraman," Juggler said softly, "really isn't bad at all."
—
(End of Chapter)