It was her at last—the one they had been searching for—Rucia, and with her, the alien invader, the alien Muzan!
"Stop right there!"
Daigo instantly drew his Victory Hyper Gun and fired at the alien Muzan.
Zap!
The alien's horn crackled with energy, releasing a beam, but Daigo's Hyper Gun blast cancelled it out midair with a sharp explosion.
The rest of the GUTS Victory Team quickly rushed forward. Some members shielded Rucia, while the others concentrated fire on the alien Muzan.
The alien wasn't particularly strong. Under the continuous barrage of Hyper Gun fire, its body faltered, and it collapsed onto the ground.
But then—something eerie happened.
From its body rose a ghostly green aura, almost like a soul, and in an instant, it ballooned outward, transforming into a towering monster.
"What?!"
The team froze. They hadn't expected the alien, once defeated, to revive and enlarge itself into a kaiju.
But training kicked in quickly, and the GUTS members refocused, opening fire on the giant Muzan monster.
The creature still carried its alien features, its horn glowing ominously before unleashing another energy ray at the humans.
BOOM! The blast struck the ground before them, scattering dust and rock.
"Spread out and attack!"
Captain Megumi barked the order. She knew that if the squad bunched together, one shot could wipe them all out.
"Roger!"
The team scattered, taking positions to flank the monster.
Watching from the sidelines, Charija squinted up at the beast. "So that's the same alien that attacked us from the ship earlier?"
Yu Zhou nodded grimly. "That's right."
"Then fine. Zoga, let's—"
"Hold it!"
Yu Zhou quickly stopped him before he could unleash his monster partner.
"You said another Tiga would come deal with it. Well? Where is he?!" Charija was impatient, his fury from being hunted by the alien still burning.
Yu Zhou gestured with his chin. "Don't worry. Look—the Victory Team is spreading out. That's his cue."
Charija followed his gaze. One of the men breaking away was Daigo, slipping toward cover. Recognition dawned. "Wait… that's him. He's your old comrade, isn't he?"
Yu Zhou smiled faintly. "Yeah. But right now, he doesn't know me."
As they spoke, light suddenly flared in the sky—silver, crimson, and purple intertwining. Out of the radiance emerged the colossal form of Ultraman Tiga. He descended with force, driving a heavy kick into the monster's skull.
"There! Look!" Yu Zhou pointed upward.
"Good! Beat it down hard! Then maybe I'll forgive you for that whole Yanakargie incident!" Charija shouted with satisfaction.
The alien monster went flying, crashing into the ground, and rolling over itself before struggling upright again.
Tiga was already preparing, hands raised in his signature stance, eyes fixed on the alien's horn—the source of its power.
The monster charged energy, a blue ray lancing from its horn.
But Tiga was ready. He leapt high, twisting midair as the beam exploded against the earth below, blasting out a crater.
With a backflip, Tiga landed behind the beast, stomping its back and pounding a mighty fist into its head.
The creature staggered, its fighting ability clearly crude.
It lashed out with a desperate kick at a massive boulder, sending the rock careening toward Tiga.
Tiga didn't flinch—his hand came down like a blade, shattering the boulder into countless fragments.
The monster roared in rage, then lunged in a clumsy attempt at close combat.
Yu Zhou chuckled. "Heh. Fighters like Daigo—warriors—love getting up close."
The two titans clashed, grappling and striking. But to Yu Zhou's surprise, Tiga took a few hits, knocked back by the beast's raw strength.
Charija cracked sunflower seeds from a bag Yu Zhou had handed him, watching casually. "Honestly, if you stepped in, you'd probably handle it better than he is."
Yu Zhou gave a weary shrug. "Low profile, low profile." He munched a seed himself.
Charija smirked. "If this Tiga fought Belial… I don't like his odds."
Yu Zhou grimaced. "Hah. I wouldn't have great odds soloing Belial either. Don't overhype me."
"But when you turned into that dark form back then… you were ridiculously strong," Charija reminded him.
"That… just kind of happened. Even I don't know how." Yu Zhou waved it off, not wanting his ego puffed up.
Meanwhile, the fight raged on. Tiga hammered the monster's back with knife-hand chops, forcing it down again and again.
This time he didn't let up—he straddled the beast's back, fists raining down on its head before wrenching at its skull as if to rip it free.
Yu Zhou winced. "That's brutal. I've never seen Daigo this vicious before. Usually, he tires the kaiju out, then finishes with a beam. Now he's trying to tear its head clean off!"
He recalled grimly: in the original timeline, Tiga had once destroyed Silvergon by slamming it into the ground and ramming a Burning Dash attack into… well, that spot. Brutal.
The Muzan beast, feeling its life slipping, released a desperate surge of power. Its body shifted, neck elongating grotesquely like a giraffe's, head swaying above Tiga.
From the horn came another sudden beam.
Daigo reacted fast—another leap, narrowly avoiding the strike. But when he touched the creature's strange, long neck, energy surged through him like an electric shock, blasting him away.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong…"
The Colour Timer on Tiga's chest began to flash red.
He looked down—time was running out. This battle had to end.
Charija tilted his head. "You know, I've always wondered—why do so many Ultras only use their finisher once the red light's flashing? What's the point of waiting?"
Yu Zhou thought for a moment, then deadpanned, "Easy. The flashing red means energy is at maximum. That's when they can unleash their strongest beam."
"…Really?" Charija squinted, unconvinced. "Funny. When Yanakargie absorbed Tiga's light energy, he was flashing red too…"
Yu Zhou quickly popped another seed into his mouth, refusing to explain further.