The room Camearra arranged for Daigo and his family was, of course, not small. After all, it needed to comfortably house Daigo, Rena, and their child, with space to spare.
The palace chambers, built entirely of crystal, glittered like frozen light. When Daigo and Rena stepped inside, both were struck with awe. Little Hikari, still a child, could hardly contain his excitement. The moment he realized he would be living in such a dazzling room, he hopped up and down with delight.
Once the family had settled, Rena and Hikari wanted to rest in the crystal room. Daigo, however, said he would go watch Yu Zhou fight against Hudra and Darramb.
Yu Zhou didn't mind. He was confident—against Hudra and Darramb, he could handle himself. There was no way Daigo would witness him being thrashed.
"Hudra! Darramb! I'm coming!"
In the gladiator arena, Hudra and Darramb were still locked in combat when Yu Zhou called out to them from the edge of the battlefield.
"Come on then!"
Both warriors stopped mid-fight, turning toward Yu Zhou with a beckoning gesture.
Yu Zhou smirked, raising the Spark Lens across his chest and pressing the transformation trigger.
A flash of dazzling light—silver, crimson, and violet intertwined. Ultraman Tiga descended into the arena, standing tall before Hudra and Darramb.
"You two, come at me together."
Yu Zhou's voice was calm, his stance relaxed yet ready. He mirrored their gesture, beckoning with his hand.
"Haah!"
Darramb, the more hot-blooded of the two, lunged first. Fists clenched, he charged at Yu Zhou with brute force.
Hudra, though less reckless, kicked off the ground, soaring into the air. A violet glow flickered on his wrist, forming a bow-like weapon, from which he loosed bolts of light straight toward Yu Zhou.
Yu Zhou shifted slightly, dodging Darramb's punch. At the same time, he released two streaks of light from his palms, intercepting Hudra's incoming arrows. The blasts collided midair with a sharp explosion, dispersing both attacks.
"Haah!!"
Darramb roared again, this time swinging his open hand like a blade, slicing toward Yu Zhou's waist.
"You're aiming for my kidney?!"
Yu Zhou almost cursed aloud, caught off guard by the underhanded strike. But he reacted instantly, driving his fist against Darramb's hand-blade.
Fist and blade clashed with a shower of sparks. Though Yu Zhou managed to deflect the strike, Darramb's chop still glanced off course, slamming into Yu Zhou's thigh.
Darramb was indeed a warrior of raw strength. Even through Tiga's armour, Yu Zhou felt the sting.
"Hmph. Seems Darramb's training really has boosted his power."
Yu Zhou gritted his teeth. But he wasn't about to back down. Instead, he lifted his leg and swung it hard toward Darramb's side—squarely targeting his kidney.
"?!!"
Darramb panicked. He hadn't expected Yu Zhou to repay him in kind. Hastily twisting his body, he shifted his waist out of the way.
WHAM!
Yu Zhou's kick landed instead on Darramb's backside, sending him staggering forward, nearly face-planting. He barely managed to recover his balance before eating dirt.
From above, Hudra dove like a hawk. Yu Zhou sensed danger at his back and blasted upward into the sky.
The crystal on his forehead gleamed. Mid-flight, his body shifted into Tiga's Sky Type, silver and violet shining brighter.
Against an aerial opponent, it was best to fight in the air.
Hudra, too fast to stop, smashed into the crystal ground with bone-jarring force.
BOOM!!!
The supposedly unbreakable crystal floor cracked and splintered under the impact, shards scattering across the arena.
"Such raw power…" Yu Zhou muttered, impressed even as he hovered above. Crystal from the Land of Light was known to be tougher than steel—yet Hudra's failed dive had fractured it.
From the sidelines, Daigo watched intently. "Impressive… as expected of Yu Zhou."
He had always known Yu Zhou's strength, but seeing him dominate both Hudra and Darramb at once was shocking. Darramb embodied raw power, while Hudra specialized in speed—yet Yu Zhou could counter them both. Even now, he was only using Tiga's Balanced Type, not relying on Power or Sky Type until necessary.
Daigo realized that if it were him in Yu Zhou's place, he'd likely have been overwhelmed.
Now in Sky Type, Yu Zhou fired a freezing beam toward Hudra.
Reacting faster than before, Hudra shot back into the sky, narrowly avoiding the blast. The frost exploded outward, and the chill enveloped Darramb below.
"???"
Darramb blinked, baffled. Yu Zhou's ice attack had ended up striking him.
Red shields of light flared across his body, crackling with flames that burned away the frost before it could freeze him solid.
"You're not done yet, are you?"
Yu Zhou smirked, shifting his hands. An orange arc of binding energy shot toward Hudra.
Hudra's eyes widened. He remembered this move—last time, it had paralyzed him midair, leaving him helpless.
Not this time. With sharp reflexes, Hudra conjured a blade of light and slashed it straight into the binding beam.
CRACK!
The two attacks collided, bursting into sparks. The energy restraint fizzled away.
"Better. Much faster than before." Yu Zhou nodded with approval. Hudra had improved.
"Shield Bash!"
On the ground, Darramb had recovered. He launched himself skyward, his massive red shield leading the charge.
At the same time, Hudra fired another rain of violet arrows from above.
"Tch. Again?"
Yu Zhou grinned and shifted—his form glowing as he transformed into Power Type.
Retaining a burst of Sky Type's speed, he clenched his fists and rocketed straight at Hudra instead of bracing against Darramb.
In a flash, he evaded both Darramb's shield rush and the barrage of arrows, appearing right in front of Hudra.
"What?!"
Hudra froze. It shouldn't have been possible—Power Type was slower than Balanced, much less Sky Type. Yet Yu Zhou was suddenly on him, fist cocked.
BAM!!
The blow connected cleanly, sending Hudra hurtling down in a blazing arc before crashing into the arena floor.
Darramb, still charging with his shield, roared and slammed into Yu Zhou.
But Yu Zhou was ready. Turning swiftly, he brought both fists down onto the crimson shield.
KRAAACK!!!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface. The shield shattered into fragments of scarlet light, dispersing into the air.
Yu Zhou's fists ached from the force. "Heh. This shield is stronger than last time."
Panting, Darramb admitted, "I fused several shields together into one. It's tougher than before."
"No wonder." Yu Zhou rubbed his knuckles. "It held up well. If I'd stayed in Balanced Type, I might not have broken it."
Darramb grinned despite himself. "Then my training wasn't in vain."
From below, Daigo's eyes widened. "To shatter that shield with raw strength… incredible. Even if I became Power Type, I doubt I could break it."
As Daigo thought this, Hudra struggled back to his feet, shaking his head clear. Looking at Daigo, he called out with a smirk:
"Hey, want to join in?"
Daigo hesitated. His blood boiled watching the battle, but he knew his own limits. Compared to Yu Zhou, he might just end up as a punching bag.
"Don't hold back! Come on!" Hudra urged.
Finally, Daigo nodded. Pulling out the Sparklence, he pressed the trigger.
A burst of white light enveloped him, and Ultraman Tiga once again stood tall—this time, Daigo at the core.
Yu Zhou and Darramb turned to watch.
"Daigo's joining in now?" Yu Zhou mused with interest, cancelling his transformation to sit on the sidelines. "Good. I'd like to see how he fares against Hudra."