"Now we know who Ultraman Geed is," Leito said while walking along the street, seemingly speaking into thin air. "But what about the other Ultraman?"
"You mean Tiga, don't you?" came Zero's voice, resonating in Leito's mind.
"Yes, Ultraman Tiga," Leito nodded after a moment of thought.
"As for whether Tiga has also taken on human form, I'm not certain," Zero replied after a pause. "It's possible he's still somewhere out in the universe."
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Leito removed his glasses, his gaze turning sharp as he spun around. "Who's there? You've been following me for a while—what do you want?"
From the shadows, Yu Zhou stepped out, smiling faintly as he looked at the man possessed by Zero.
"Zero, long time no see." With that, he began walking toward him.
"You are…?" Zero froze at his words. This man not only knew his name but even claimed it had been a long time since they'd met? Back in the Land of Light, Zero had never seen Yu Zhou's human form, so he had no idea that this man was in fact Tiga.
"Let's find a quiet place and talk," Yu Zhou said calmly as he drew closer.
In the corner of a quiet park, Yu Zhou and Leito sat across from one another.
"So… you're Tiga!" Zero exclaimed after Yu Zhou introduced himself, realization dawning on his face.
"That's right," Yu Zhou nodded.
"Then you're the very same Tiga I once saw in the Land of Light?" Zero asked, still skeptical.
"Yes, that was me."
There was no need to hide his identity from Zero. After all, the topic he needed to raise involved Belial.
"It really has been a long time then." Zero's expression softened once he was certain of Yu Zhou's identity. "But tell me, why are you here on Earth of all places? Especially this Earth, which has just endured the Impactor crisis?"
"It was by chance, really," Yu Zhou explained. "But since I've found you, there's something important I must discuss."
"What is it?" Zero asked, his voice sharp with anticipation. If Tiga himself had come to talk, it had to be something big.
Yu Zhou's eyes hardened. "Belial is not dead."
"What!?" Zero shot to his feet, visibly shaken.
"Do you know where he is?" he demanded, his tone fierce. Possessing Leito made him seem even cooler somehow.
"From what I know, he's at the far edge of the galaxy," Yu Zhou said gravely. "Inside a crimson-colored dimensional rift."
"Do you have coordinates!?" Zero asked urgently.
"Coordinates?" Yu Zhou faltered. He hadn't exactly memorized that detail. Of course, he could always check the "original plot" at any time, but whipping out a phone in this world was hardly an option.
Still, there was one person who could know.
"There's someone who should be able to tell us," Yu Zhou said after thinking it over.
That person was none other than Asakura Sui—the man who once named Riku "Asakura Riku" when he was still an infant. Sui, now an old man and once the town mayor, had been like half a father to Riku. He happened to possess the Father of Ultra capsule, which somehow allowed him to observe any place in the universe.
Why could the Father of Ultra's capsule see everything, yet the Father himself couldn't find Belial? Yu Zhou had no answer. "What a glaring plot hole," he muttered inwardly. But perhaps the setting was just written that way. After all, ancient Ultraman lore was never airtight.
When Zero heard that Sui might know Belial's location, he immediately wanted to set out. But then reality hit him—his body was still wounded. Even with the coordinates, he wasn't in shape to fight.
"Honestly, Yu Zhou, you might be the better one to go," Zero admitted. "Back in the Land of Light, you were the one who crushed Belial outright."
Yu Zhou: "…"
Why did everyone keep thinking he was that strong? First they asked him to fight, then to kill Belial single-handedly?
"I told you this because right now, I'm not Belial's match!" Yu Zhou said helplessly. "If I could just charge in and wipe him out, don't you think I'd already have done it?"
The truth was, only Geed in his Emperor form could defeat Belial. That form required two capsules: Belial's and the King of Ultra's.
The King's capsule, however, lay dormant within Laiha. Worse, it required the King's personal approval to be used. And Riku—so freshly awakened as Geed—hadn't yet formed the conviction to destroy Belial with his own hands. That kind of resolve took time to mature.
In fact, in the original events, the King of Ultra's voice once stopped Laiha from killing Kei Fukuide. Clearly, the King still had his own say in the script.
Was the King of Ultra… holding the script in his hands?
Yu Zhou sighed. That would explain a lot.
"For now, we'll have to wait," Zero admitted reluctantly. "To be honest, my injuries are still severe. Even if we found Belial, we'd stand no chance."
Yu Zhou agreed. The smart move was to bide their time until they had the power to strike decisively.
"There's no need to throw our lives away now," Yu Zhou said. "First, let's get you healed."
There was, in fact, a way. Somewhere out there was a small monster named Runa, who carried the Ultraman Cosmos capsule. That capsule granted the power of healing. In the original story, Leito and Zero had tried to find this monster for the same reason but never managed to encounter it.
Yu Zhou, however, was keeping his eyes on the news. Runa would eventually appear alongside a comedian, and the media would report on the man's "miraculous healing touch."
"When that happens, we'll make our move," Yu Zhou said with a plan already forming in his mind.
He also remembered that Asakura Sui—Riku's half-father figure—wouldn't live much longer due to illness. If they brought Runa to heal him first, it could both save his life and allow him to use the Father of Ultra capsule to observe Belial's location.
Two birds, one stone.
After discussing further details, Yu Zhou and Leito exchanged contact information before parting ways.
For now, they would wait—wait for Riku to grow into the resolve needed to fight Belial, and for Laiha to seek the King of Ultra's acknowledgment. If they succeeded, Geed's Emperor form could stand a real chance against Belial.
Of course, there was still a darker possibility: Belial wielding the Empera Star capsule and the Dark Lugiel capsule. If he used those, he could evolve into Atrocious Belial.
That Belial was apocalyptic—so powerful that even Emperor Geed had failed against him.
Yu Zhou clenched his fists. The path ahead was steep, but at least now there was a plan.