Two Ultraman Tigas landed before Gijera's massive trunk. They exchanged a glance, nodded in silent agreement, and then charged forward.
Their thunderous steps made the ground quake, and Gijera did not simply wait for them to strike. Countless thick tendrils whipped out in an instant, lashing toward the two Tigas like living whips.
On the ground, Yu Zhou and the others quietly watched the clash. None of them made a move to interfere. They knew that if they stepped in now, the flow of time itself might be disturbed—bringing consequences far worse than any monster.
The two Tigas cut apart the incoming vines with blazing energy and pressed forward, until both giants wrapped their arms tightly around the enormous tree trunk.
"What are they doing?"
Eri frowned in confusion. "Don't tell me they're trying to pull it out by the roots?"
"You'll see soon enough," Yu Zhou said calmly.
Although three million years ago the Ancient Humans already knew of the Giants of Light, Eri was shocked to realize that Yu Zhou seemed familiar even with Tiga's hidden techniques.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the two Tigas.
Both giants clung tightly to Gijera's trunk, and their bodies began to glow with a deep crimson radiance. The surrounding air rippled and twisted under the intense heat. At the points where their arms pressed the trunk, black scorch marks began to spread across the bark.
Gijera tried to resist, launching more and more tendrils from the earth, whipping them desperately toward the Tigas. But before they could reach their targets, the tendrils wilted and collapsed, shrivelling in the unbearable heat.
"So strong!"
Members of the Terra Defence Force gasped. If they had to face such a monster alone, they would stand no chance. Only Tiga's overwhelming power could force Gijera into retreat.
"What ability is this?" Eri asked, her eyes wide as the high heat spread through Gijera's vast form.
"High-Heat Burn," Yu Zhou explained. "Tiga can unleash an extreme thermal energy that spreads through the enemy's entire body."
Eri's breath caught. "Then… even Gijera's roots, buried deep underground…?"
"Exactly," Yu Zhou nodded. "The heat spreads everywhere. No matter how long or deep the roots extend, all of it will be destroyed."
"Unbelievable…" Eri muttered. "I always wondered how something as resilient as Gijera could be completely eradicated. So, this was the technique—Tiga's High-Heat Burn! And here, there are two Tigas using it at once!"
As the blazing aura intensified, Gijera's colossal body released streams of white steam. Sparks burst across its trunk and branches, until the entire giant tree detonated in a thunderous explosion.
The blast shook the ground as far as the eye could see. Not only the visible trunk, but even Gijera's roots underground ruptured and burned.
"Look!"
A soldier pointed upward in shock. Two faint blue figures floated free from the dissipating remains, drifting toward the Tigas.
"It's Luke and his daughter!" Eri gasped, recognizing them immediately.
"They're spirits," Charija observed coolly.
Souls were not unheard of in the world of Ultraman. Legends of demons and vengeful spirits existed, and even Ultraman Tiga had once fought the cursed phantom Suntag. Alien Reiblood had used spirits to possess Belial, and many fusion monsters were formed from the lingering souls of defeated kaiju.
Yu Zhou couldn't help thinking: if he could one day learn the arts of exorcism from some cultivation world, perhaps dealing with souls here would be trivial.
"Too bad," Eri whispered. "We can't save them." She knew Luke and his daughter were already long dead. To intervene now would break history itself.
Yu Zhou sighed. "Unfortunate. If they had stayed in the TPC base, none of this might have happened. But Luke had to pilot his ship into Gijera's roots to collect its sap… and when Tiga unleashed the High-Heat Burn, they perished with it."
"Let's return," Eri said softly. The mission was complete: Gijera's essence had been harvested, a root sample secured, and the monster itself annihilated.
"Agreed. Gather up," Charija ordered. He produced the time-travel case, activated it, and a glowing white wormhole spiralled open before them.
With a rush of light, they were drawn in and vanished.
Inside a laboratory building, the wormhole burst open in midair, spitting everyone out in a heap.
Yu Zhou landed steadily, but Eri and several soldiers hit the floor with groans.
"This wormhole really needs a safer landing spot…" Eri muttered, rubbing his bruised hip.
Charija, ignoring the complaints, stepped up to Eri. "Now then, Eri—when will you provide me with the promised recompense? Where's my Golza?"
Eri nodded. "Come with me."
Yu Zhou, curious, followed as they walked to a control station. At its centre stood a towering cylindrical glass chamber. Inside floated a tiny fragment of tissue.
"See this?" Eri said, pointing. "A piece of Golza's living cells."
Yu Zhou blinked. "Wait—you're not saying you can clone a monster on the spot, are you?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Eri replied with calm pride. "Today, Charija will receive a new Golza."
Yu Zhou was stunned. "This is insane…" Yet, considering the three million years of technological development behind the Terra Civilization, perhaps such miracles weren't so far-fetched after all.
Charija's eyes gleamed. "Then hurry up. I want to see it."
Eri's hands flew across the console. "Cell division rate—maximized! Nutrient infusion—maximum! System power—maximum!"
The cylindrical chamber rumbled as strange fluids and gases pumped inside. The tiny cluster of cells began dividing and growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Split. Grow. Split. Grow.
The cycle repeated, the mass expanding until it began to resemble the form of Golza.
Yu Zhou couldn't help muttering, "If Doctor Otomo saw this, he'd go crazy with excitement."
Within minutes, a fully grown Golza stood inside the chamber.
"Already… finished?" Charija's eyes widened. Something he had schemed and fought for had been delivered to him in just ten minutes.
"Done," Eri said smugly. "Though this Golza lacks an electronic control orb. That would have complicated the process too much."
"No need," Charija sneered. "Those control orbs are unreliable anyway."
But before they could say more, the glass chamber shattered with a deafening crack.
"ROOOAAAR!"
The newly cloned Golza burst free, bellowing in fury. The building shook violently as it stomped forward.
"This is the flaw," Eri warned grimly. "Without control, cloned monsters rampage mindlessly!"
"And you tell us this now?!" Yu Zhou snapped, barely dodging as Golza's colossal foot came crashing down.
He whipped out his Spark Lens, thrust it skyward, and pressed the trigger.
Brilliant light burst forth, forcing Golza back as the laboratory filled with silver, crimson, and violet radiance.
In an instant, Ultraman Tiga stood tall before them.
Eri's eyes went wide. "So, Yu Zhou really is Tiga?! Then what about… back when… there were two of them?!"
His thoughts spun in chaos, but there was no time.
"Purification Beam!"
Rather than destroy Golza outright, Tiga unleashed a golden radiance. The calming light enveloped the monster, stripping away its berserk fury. Slowly, Golza stopped thrashing, its rage dissolving into stillness.
For now, the beast was subdued.