On the plateau, a giant bathed in silver, violet, and crimson light clashed with Gijera's true body.
This giant was none other than Yu Zhou of this era—transformed into Ultraman Tiga.
Two gleaming hand blades slashed down upon Gijera's central bud, sparks scattering with each strike.
Gijera, who had been focusing its power underground, was jolted in agony. The sudden strike to its vital flower bud drew forth a pained, earth-shaking roar.
The cry reverberated below, and at once the battle in the cavern grew more frenzied.
A swarm of roots and tendrils whipped violently toward Yu Zhou, Charija, and the others. At Charija's command, Golza spat violet energy beams one after another, blasting away the lashing vines.
"What's happening?"
Eri frowned. Just moments ago, Gijera's attacks had been steady, almost sluggish—but now they surged with renewed fury.
"Did it suddenly… lose control of its hormones?"
"Report!" A Land Defence Trooper rushed to his side. "Gijera's main body has engaged the Giant of Light—Ultraman Tiga—on the surface!"
"So… Tiga has arrived at this time point."
Eri rubbed his chin, then glanced sideways at Yu Zhou.
By now, he had already pieced the truth together. Yu Zhou was Tiga. The Tiga fighting outside could only be him.
And since Yu Zhou still stood here, calm but alert, he must also know that his other self was already locked in battle above.
Inside the cavern, the troopers fought hard—plasma blades slicing, flamethrowers spewing jets of fire against the encroaching roots.
Above ground, the clash of titans raged on. Gijera lashed its monstrous vines, one whip cracking hard across Tiga's thigh. Tiga staggered but quickly shifted into his Sky Type form, wings of light carrying him aloft into the air.
"Huh? Why's Tiga flying?"
Some younger Land Defence members watching from afar were bewildered. Gijera was rooted to the ground—what good would taking to the skies do? Could Tiga even strike from that distance?
Their doubts shattered in the next instant.
From high above, Tiga hurled down gleaming hand blades, each strike cutting into Gijera's body.
Gijera retaliated, hurling its tendrils skyward. But the vines soon reached their limit, withering mid-air and collapsing back to earth. Again and again, they tried, only to fall short of the soaring giant.
"This Giant of Light… he's clever."
The young trooper's image of Tiga had always been that of a brute force giant—mighty, but perhaps not nimble or cunning. Yet now, as he watched Tiga dart and feint, luring Gijera into overextending itself, that impression shattered.
And what came next widened his eyes even more.
Tiga danced through the skies, baiting Gijera's futile strikes, each dodge widening the gap between monster and man of light.
"Burn them all!"
Back underground, Charija barked an order. Golza unleashed beam after beam, turning waves of roots into fiery blossoms.
Frustrated at failing to strike Tiga in the skies, Gijera turned its wrath below. Massive tendrils now sprouted thick blossoms, exploding when cut apart, filling the cavern with choking pollen.
Yu Zhou's eyes narrowed. "Not good!"
Though the pollen had no effect on him as a Giant of Light, the others would not be so lucky. To breathe it in was to fall into blissful delusion—forever trapped in a false paradise.
Eri and the Land troopers swiftly donned protective suits from their dimensional packs.
"Hey—don't I get one?" Charija stretched a hand toward them—only to double over coughing, already choking on the pollen cloud.
"Out!"
Yu Zhou pinched his nose and dragged him clear. Even if the pollen couldn't enthrall Charija, it was enough to suffocate him.
"Why am I always the unlucky one?" Charija groaned. "Last time I nearly drowned taming King Guesra, and now I'm choking to death on flower dust. This job is cursed!"
Eri tossed over spare suits for Yu Zhou and Charija. Though they weren't truly affected, they pulled them on for practicality—no one wanted to choke every other breath.
Suddenly, Golza roared. Something was wrong.
"Golza, return!" Charija shouted, holding up the electronic sphere.
Three seconds… nothing.
Three minutes… still nothing.
"Ten minutes… still nothing?!" Charija gawked. "Where's my Golza?!"
Peering toward the tunnel's mouth, he caught sight of Golza digging furiously into the earth, vanishing deeper by the second.
"Why won't it return?!" He shook the sphere in frustration.
Eri stepped forward. "Let me try."
Catching the device, he called, "Golza—return!"
But the monster ignored him, digging faster, muscles straining as it burrowed down.
Yu Zhou watched quietly, then spoke. "It's not a malfunction of the device. It's Gijera's pollen. Golza has been influenced."
"What?!" Charija's face twisted. "But it's a monster! How could—"
"Monsters think differently, but not without thought. That pollen can twist instincts, and Golza… is trying to escape."
Eri aimed the electronic sphere again. A blue beam engulfed Golza, forcing its body to stiffen, trembling as though two wills battled inside it—one urging it back into the sphere, the other crying out for freedom.
With a roar, its eyes flared crimson. It tore free of the beam's hold and plunged into the earth, vanishing without a trace.
"Congratulations, Charija," Yu Zhou said dryly, patting his shoulder. "The duck you had in hand just flew away."
"I'll congratulate your—!" Charija exploded, spewing curses. "My Land Monster Golza—gone!"
Yu Zhou sighed at his theatrics. Where had this alien learned such colourful language?
But then a thought struck him.
"Wait… this Golza…" He remembered its unusually muscular build. Ordinary Golzas were never like this. There was only one other—one from Ultraman Dyna's world, notorious for seizing Dyna by the throat.
"Could it be… this Golza is the very one that will appear in the future?"
The realization stunned him. A monster from the future, matured here in the past?
He thought back to the dark invasion years later. Many monsters had stirred, yet Golza had not joined them. Was it waiting? Planning? Could it truly possess intelligence beyond the norm?
"Perhaps Gijera and this electronic sphere… were the catalysts that sharpened its mind," Yu Zhou murmured.
Eri nodded slowly. "Then maybe using the electronic sphere was a mistake. If monsters have true thought, forcing control only risks rebellion."
Yu Zhou offered Charija a small smile. "Don't worry. When we return to Earth—our Earth, our time—I'll help you catch it again."
"…Fine." Charija sighed. Golza couldn't fly. As long as it was still on Earth, he could hunt it down.
But before he could sulk further, the earth shook violently.
On the surface, Gijera, enraged and driven by Tiga's relentless feints, evolved in a burst of terrifying growth.
In mere moments it became a colossal sky-piercing tree. Its immense branches lashed out, binding Tiga tight, dark smoke rising from the giant's battered form.
"This… this isn't right…"
The watching Land troopers paled. History said Tiga would triumph, but here and now, he was bound, overwhelmed, battered black by Gijera's relentless strikes.
If no aid came, history itself might change—Tiga could fall, and mankind's future would end in a painless, eternal sleep beneath Gijera's pollen.
"…Looks like I'd better give him a hand."
One trooper gritted his teeth, hefting a rocket launcher to his shoulder.