"What's wrong, Big Brother Riku?"
Ellie noticed the almost-teary expression on Riku's face and asked curiously.
"Nothing… Ellie, just run!" Riku took a deep breath and steadied himself.
At that moment, the store owner, Ellie's mother, and grandfather—all inside the warehouse—were roused by the monster's presence.
They rushed to the door, saw the monster approaching, and without another word, joined Yu Zhou and the others in escaping with Ellie.
Yu Zhou ran a few steps, then paused, glancing at the group carrying Ellie, before looking back in the direction Riku had gone.
Toba Laiha noticed Riku running toward the approaching monster and quietly followed him, curious about his intentions.
"Peeking isn't exactly a good habit, you know."
Yu Zhou's voice rang behind her, nearly causing Laiha to draw her sword.
"I just wanted to see what he's planning!" Laiha whispered upon realizing it was Yu Zhou behind her.
Yu Zhou smiled and said nothing, simply joining her in observing Riku's actions.
"When faced with danger, we can't just wait to die!"
Riku shouted and then pulled out an Ultra Capsule.
"You go!"
With a flash, the image of the original Ultraman appeared at his side.
"I go!"
He then activated another Ultra Capsule, and the image of Belial appeared on the other side.
"Here we go!"
Riku grabbed the Fusion Driver, pressed the button, and combined the two capsules' genetic data.
"BAAAAM!"
With a shout, Riku completed the fusion and transformation into Ultraman Geed's primitive form, charging at Skull Gomora.
"So he's…"
Laiha watched the full transformation in awe.
"He's Ultraman. Ultraman Geed," Yu Zhou replied calmly.
Yu Zhou pondered: Orb's Dark-Killer form, using Belial and Zoffy's powers, had gone berserk immediately. Logically, fusing the genes of the original Ultraman and Belial should have caused even greater instability.
But Riku's transformation was smooth. Clear-headed, powerful limbs, no signs of going berserk.
"Maybe he just restored the original form using the fusion driver?" Yu Zhou thought.
"So it wasn't borrowed power like Orb?"
If not, then only one conclusion remained: Belial's and the original Ultraman's fusion is stable; Belial and Zoffy's fusion causes chaos. The evil in Safurin-sama was too strong, and Belial alone couldn't contain it—hence Orb's berserk form.
"So the plan to destroy the Ultra Brothers… was orchestrated by Zoffy," Yu Zhou deduced.
"Wait, how do you know his name?" Laiha interrupted his thoughts.
"He shouted it," Yu Zhou replied, shaking off his musings.
"Huh?" Laiha blinked. "I didn't hear anything."
"Yes," Yu Zhou nodded. "When he grew, he called out Geed."
Geed landed in front of Skull Gomora, charged forward, and slammed into it. Both were pushed back a few steps.
Compared to yesterday, Geed had improved; he was actually causing the monster some trouble.
Geed's claw struck Skull Gomora's head. As the monster staggered, Geed grabbed its head and tried to slam it down.
Skull Gomora was strong, however, and countered with a tail strike.
Remembering yesterday's attack, Geed rolled away and gained distance—the tail strike missed.
Frustrated, Skull Gomora's chest glowed a blood-red light that spread down to its massive feet.
Boom! Its giant feet crushed the ground, lifting flaming boulders into the air.
"Looks like a skill similar to Red King's… some kind of Hell Ball," Yu Zhou observed, analyzing the flying flaming rocks.
Skull Gomora, a fusion of Red King and Gomora, had inherited the powers of both.
Geed activated his colored Ultra Barrier to block the incoming boulders, which collided with it but mostly exploded on nearby buildings, as barriers only neutralize energy attacks, not physical ones.
Yu Zhou shook his head. Geed was still young, but he was defending well.
The explosion created a cloud of smoke. Skull Gomora charged again, unseen by Geed in the haze. Its red horns rammed into Geed's abdomen.
Boom! Geed flew backward, landing on a building and crushing it beneath his weight.
Skull Gomora then shifted focus, heading toward Ellie.
Geed struggled to rise, his chest timer flashing, and intercepted Skull Gomora, holding it back.
The monster's strength pushed Geed forward, destroying roads and buildings in their path.
Finally, Skull Gomora opened its jaws to bite Geed's shoulder.
Yu Zhou recalled that, in the original story, this was roughly where the monster could be defeated. He kept his hand ready in case of emergencies.
"What are you doing with your hand?" Laiha asked, noticing Yu Zhou's movement.
"Just scratching an itch, is that a problem?" Yu Zhou replied, pretending to scratch.
Geed endured Skull Gomora's bite but quickly forced it to release. Its horns glowed crimson as it gathered a blazing energy attack in its mouth.
Simultaneously, Geed glowed dark red with blue eyes, preparing his ultimate attack.
Yellow arcs of electricity intertwined with red energy streams as Geed gripped the monster's shoulders.
Feeling the monster ready to unleash its fire, Geed shoved its jaw upward. The flames shot into the sky, missing him entirely.
Seizing the moment, Geed lay on the ground, hands forming a cross, and released the Cross Shock to Skull Gomora's neck.
Dark red energy swirled around the blue light beams, piercing the monster's neck.
Boom! Skull Gomora's neck was shattered, and its body exploded into pieces.