Haruki arrived at the scene shortly after, raising his firearm and continuously firing at Peguila, which was spewing freezing mist.
"Haruki, stop shooting. Even Sevenger's attacks were useless—this kind of weapon won't make a difference," Yuzhou said as he stepped beside him.
"Ultraman Tiga—no, Yuzhou-senpai!"
Seeing Yuzhou, Haruki immediately ceased fire and bowed deeply.
"There's no need to be so formal," Yuzhou replied with a hint of resignation. Haruki really did take etiquette too seriously.
"For a monster like this, just transform and deal with it directly."
"Roger!"
Haruki nodded, put down his weapon, and took out the Z Riser.
Pulling the trigger, the gate to the Space of Light appeared before him. Without hesitation, Haruki charged inside.
Moments later, Ultraman Z Alpha Edge lunged straight at Peguila.
A blazing flying kick interrupted Peguila's frost breath mid-release.
With its attack disrupted, Peguila roared in anger and redirected its assault toward Z. However, instead of fighting on the ground, it kicked off hard with both feet, beat its wings, and shot up into the sky.
Z immediately took flight in pursuit.
They plunged into the pitch-black clouds, and an intense aerial battle erupted.
Z accelerated first, overtaking Peguila and positioning himself above it. One after another, his head-slashers spiraled downward, slicing toward Peguila.
Yet Peguila's movements were incredibly nimble. As a monster that had lived for tens of thousands of years, its aerial agility was exceptional. It swerved left and right mid-flight, deftly evading several of Z's head-slasher attacks.
Z did not relent. He brought both hands together above his head and released Emerium Slashes from the green jewel on his forehead.
Thin green beams swept through the sky like a swinging laser blade, repeatedly striking Peguila with sharp cracking sounds.
But the attacks dealt little effective damage. Peguila continued flying energetically, showing no signs of serious injury.
As the battle raged on, their altitude kept increasing.
Before long, they burst through the dark cloud layer and emerged into bright white clouds.
Peguila flew ahead, Z in pursuit.
One monster, one Ultraman—cutting through the white clouds in succession, leaving long streaks behind them.
After clearing the cloud layer, Peguila exploited Z's lack of forward visibility. It abruptly adjusted its posture, flipped downward, and halted its forward momentum, hovering directly beneath the sun.
Z emerged moments later—only to be met head-on by Peguila's freezing breath.
The attack struck Z squarely in the chest.
Instantly destabilized by the icy blast, Z lost balance, spinning uncontrollably as he plummeted toward the ground.
Boom!
Z slammed into the earth, carving out a massive crater.
The road shattered into chunks of concrete, debris flying in all directions.
"…That was a nasty fall."
Watching from below, Yuzhou inhaled sharply and shook his head.
Despite the heavy impact, the Z-shaped color timer on Z's chest remained a clear blue, showing no red warning.
It seemed the damage was not severe.
"Hm?"
At that moment, a short mud-covered rod flew up above Z's head. Seeing this, Yuzhou paused in surprise.
"So that's the rod I used back then to seal Peguila."
Realization dawned on him. Z's Lance Arrow—was actually the very object he had discarded long ago.
Radiant light burst forth from the rod. Wrapped in earthen fragments, it transformed within the glow into a blue spear-like weapon, its tip shaped like a bowgun.
Z reached out and firmly grasped the shaft of the Lance Arrow.
"Whoa—what is this thing?"
Inside Z, Haruki exclaimed in astonishment.
"I can feel the power of an Ultraman," Z replied, sensing the weapon.
"Power that has crossed tens of thousands of years."
"Does that mean… there were Ultramen on Earth long ago?"
Haruki was even more shocked. He had believed Z to be the first Ultraman to appear on Earth.
"I don't know," Z answered honestly.
"But I know exactly how to use this!"
The moment he touched the weapon, its operating data transmitted directly into Z—almost instinctively.
After all, it was a technological artifact from Planet Kushia. Embedded information transfer was nothing unusual.
Gripping the Lance Arrow, Z faced the descending Peguila, his fighting spirit surging.
Peguila had been arrogant moments earlier, roaring defiantly after landing.
But the instant it saw the weapon in Z's hands, its composure shattered.
Tens of thousands of years ago, it had been defeated and sealed by this very weapon.
That endless, grounded existence—unable to soar through the skies—was something Peguila never wanted to experience again.
It was worse than death.
Z, unaware of Peguila's inner terror, calmly pulled a handle near the front of the weapon. Flames immediately ignited along the spearhead.
Swinging the weapon, Z traced a blazing Z-shaped symbol in the air before him.
Then, with a powerful thrust, he hurled the fiery Z toward Peguila.
The flaming sigil slammed into the monster.
BOOM!
Peguila failed to withstand the blow and exploded on the spot.
"Lucky bastard."
From the ground, Yuzhou muttered under his breath.
Had he wanted Peguila dead, he could have killed it long ago.
It was precisely because the monster had been so arrogant that Yuzhou had chosen to seal it instead.
"Speaking of which… I've still got plenty of those things. They just take up space."
With a casual wave of his hand, piles of short rods appeared on the ground.
Every single one was a weapon brought back from Planet Kushia.
And all of them were high-quality products—crafted during the development of Red Steel, meaning their performance only improved over time.
"Looks like Juggler won't be making an appearance this time."
After putting the rods away, Yuzhou watched as Z flew off into the sky, leaving behind a Z-shaped trail of light.
In the original timeline, after Z defeated Peguila, Juggler would transform into Zeppandon, briefly fight Z, and test the thrill of wielding overwhelming power—partly to clash with Haruki.
But now, Juggler had already become an Ultraman himself.
There was no need for such theatrics.
He no longer possessed a copied Z Riser, nor any monster medals.
"No… this won't do."
Inside STORAGE's command room, Juggler watched Z on the monitor and slowly shook his head.
"Gaining power too easily like this—Haruki won't truly grow."