"So that Tartarus fellow has appeared? Perfect—let me have a go at him!"
Hearing the name slip from Yuzhou's lips, Belial immediately cracked his knuckles, clearly eager for a fight.
However, after a short while of adjusting the machine, Yuzhou received no response at all.
He could not lock onto that fleeting spacetime fluctuation.
"It seems Tartarus has taken thorough precautions this time," Yuzhou said with a slight frown. "The question is—what exactly is he doing here?"
In the original events of Ultraman Z, Tartarus never appeared at all.
He was not even mentioned.
"Can't you find him, Yuzhou-san?"
Riku was already gripping the Geed Riser, prepared to transform into Royal Mega Master and take Tartarus head-on.
With Belial accompanying him, Riku had not damaged the Geed Riser during the pursuit of Gillvalis.
"I can't locate him," Yuzhou shook his head. "Still, we should remain cautious."
"Yes. Being careful is the right call," Riku agreed with a nod.
The three continued eating their instant noodles, but their attention remained sharply focused on their surroundings.
...
After Hebikura was possessed by the Celebro alien, the Gillvalis fragments he had been collecting naturally fell into Celebro's hands.
Among them was a piece of orange crystal in particular.
A Devil Splinter—
the cells of Dark Belial.
"Belial's power…"
Inside a dim, hidden space, Hebikura held the Devil Splinter and inserted it into a device in front of him.
He turned the external crank several times.
Clatter.
A black medal dropped out of the machine.
Engraved upon it was none other than Dark Belial.
Yet in less than five seconds—
Crack.
The medal shattered into particles and vanished into the air.
"As expected… Belial's medal is not so easily obtained."
Hebikura tilted his head unnaturally, one eye flashing red as he spoke.
Moments later, his fingers began moving rapidly through the air.
A virtual keyboard materialized, followed by a floating holographic screen.
Displayed on it were three figures:
Riku.
Belial.
Yuzhou.
"Belial's genes… no—Dark Belial's genes…"
Hebikura muttered to himself, his body twitching violently.
The targeting reticle on the screen locked onto Riku.
Belial himself had already been purified.
Only Riku still carried Dark Belial's genetic data.
After all—
Riku was a clone of Dark Belial.
...
Outside the convenience store.
Yuzhou had already finished his noodles, yet Riku and Belial showed no sign of stopping.
One cup finished—another was opened.
Then another.
Before long, the massive pile of instant noodles had been completely annihilated.
"Your appetites are at least ten times mine," Yuzhou said, speechless.
Father and son indeed—
identical in appearance, and identical in their love for instant noodles.
"Once you've digested all that, I'll take you out for a proper meal," Yuzhou added.
Now that they were full, there was no rush. They needed time to digest before anything else.
Just as Riku finished clearing the table of trash, another man approached.
This man wore a gray uniform—
clearly official personnel.
"Uh… h-hello?"
Riku said awkwardly.
"Well, well. It hasn't been that long, and you've already forgotten me?"
The man's smile was even more unsettling than Celebro's.
"…Juggler?!"
After a closer look, Riku realized it really was Juggler.
But what was with that gray uniform?
"Stop staring. I didn't pick this up off the street," Juggler said.
"I'm the captain of Earth's STORAGE force now."
"What?!"
Riku was utterly stunned.
Long ago, Juggler had been a warrior of light.
Then fate twisted, and he fell into darkness, becoming the demon Juggler.
Even during the previous battle with Gillvalis, he had still walked a fine line between good and evil.
After Yuzhou turned Juggler into an Ultraman, Riku had lost track of what happened next.
He never imagined Juggler would end up on this Earth as the captain of its defense force.
"That's incredible," Riku said sincerely. He was genuinely happy to see Juggler change for the better.
"So, if I say I've turned over a new leaf… you believe me?"
Juggler asked with his trademark grin.
"I do," Yuzhou replied, nodding.
"Juggler… I don't recall much about him," Belial muttered, searching his memory in vain.
"Ultraman Belial—long time no see," Juggler said, momentarily surprised, before extending his hand.
Their encounters had been rare, the most recent being the Gillvalis incident on Geed's Earth.
Belial paused briefly, then shook Juggler's hand.
The atmosphere eased.
Just as the four were chatting—
A group of black-and-white humanoid AI robots appeared before them.
"These are… Gillvalis's subordinates?!"
Riku reacted instantly, clenching his fists.
The Snake-Heart Sword materialized in Juggler's hand, its blade gleaming.
"Didn't Gillvalis just get destroyed?"
Belial said, puzzled—yet still kicked one of the robots aside.
The robot crashed to the ground, completely disabled.
"Pretty weak," Belial remarked, losing interest.
Yuzhou fired blades of light from his hand, cutting down large numbers of the AI units in seconds.
The remaining robots swarmed toward Riku.
Although Juggler cut down several, sheer numbers overwhelmed them, and Riku was soon surrounded.
"You dare target my son?!"
Belial roared, tearing into the crowd with clawed hands.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four…
Robot after robot fell—but Riku had already been buried at the bottom of a human pyramid.
"Why is Riku still their target?"
Yuzhou frowned deeply.
This made no sense.
Celebro had already been eliminated by him.
Hebikura should have had no reason—or ability—to continue researching Belial medals.
Yet what was unfolding before his eyes contradicted everything he knew.
Unless…
Unless something has gone very wrong.