Just as Sufume was about to reach the floating base, a beam of light suddenly burst out from within and slammed hard against its body.
The collision of force made Sufume's head spin. Dazed, it shook off the dizziness and looked ahead—standing in front of the base was a towering giant, silver and crimson with streaks of violet, blocking its path.
"So fast?" Sufume froze. That giant had just been battling Reicubas in the distance—how could it have rushed here so quickly?
"No… something's wrong!"
From the information passed along by Reicubas, Sufume knew clearly that two giants were fighting in Antarctica at this very moment.
Then the one standing here, identical in appearance… could it be—
"Another giant of light… exactly the same!?"
The realization unsettled Sufume. Its intellect was among the highest in the universe, yet when it came to combat, it was far from skilled. If it were truly forced into a fight with this giant, the outcome would be grim.
Thinking this, Sufume abruptly veered away and darted toward the ocean's surface.
If it couldn't win, then it would flee. As the Earthlings said—a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years.
"—Tiga!"
Inside the base, Mai's face lit up with relief as the monitors showed the familiar figure.
With Tiga present, there was no need to fear this colossal squid breaking into the floating base.
In fact, Mai had just pulled up the satellite feed—Tiga and Dyna were clearly fighting Reicubas in Antarctica. And now another Tiga had appeared here. That meant this time, two Tigas were active at once!
The existence of "two Tigas" was known to the Super Victory Team, though very few had actually seen it with their own eyes.
After transforming into light and bursting from the base, Daigo as Tiga knocked the squid flying. He struck a stance, his body shifting into Power Type to prepare for a serious underwater battle.
But to his surprise, the squid showed cowardice—hit once, it immediately turned tail and bolted for the surface.
Helpless, Daigo gave chase, surging upward after the panicked monster. Yet Power Type was slower; by the time he burst through the waves into the sky, the squid was already climbing high into the atmosphere, nearly breaking free into space.
Daigo felt a pang of regret. Power Type was strong but slow. Still—he could handle it. Crossing his arms before the forehead crystal and sweeping them outward, he shifted into Sky Type.
With new speed, Tiga streaked after Sufume.
"I won't fight them directly. They'll never expect this—because the artificial sun is already under my control!"
As Sufume fled upward, it sensed the massive artificial sun drifting off its orbit, plummeting toward Earth. A surge of glee filled its mind.
Once the artificial sun struck Antarctica, the glaciers would melt, flooding the Earth completely. Humanity could not escape its fate.
But sensing the giant of light rapidly closing behind, Sufume panicked and pushed harder toward space.
The artificial sun was falling earthward. Sufume rushed spaceward. Inevitably, they drew closer.
And then—Sufume screeched to a halt.
"What is that!?"
Beside the artificial sun floated yet another giant—silver, red, and black interwoven, calmly pacing alongside the star as it drifted toward Earth.
"Why are there so many Giants of Light on this planet!?"
Sufume was dumbfounded. Earth had seemed such an easy target. Yet all it had done was shift the artificial sun toward Antarctica, and suddenly a whole crowd of giants appeared to oppose it!
At that moment, Daigo closed in from behind. He too noticed the giant beside the artificial sun and faltered for a moment.
"Yu Zhou? Or… Daigo?"
The giant by the sun—Masaki's Cain—raised a hand in greeting.
"I'm Daigo," Tiga answered, returning the wave. "Masaki, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, Yu Zhou asked me to keep an eye on the artificial sun," Masaki replied. "Didn't expect it to go haywire, heading straight for Antarctica."
"I see…" Daigo nodded.
"Was it this squid's doing?" Masaki pointed at the monster caught between them.
"Most likely."
Daigo gave another nod.
Sufume: "…"
It couldn't believe it. A being of supreme cosmic intelligence—dismissed as nothing more than an Earthly squid.
As humans said: a warrior can be slain, but never insulted!
Meanwhile, in Antarctica.
Yu Zhou and Asuka together pressed Reicubas hard, the battle almost effortless.
Though Yu Zhou remained in Sky Type, he calmly tapped into the Power Type energy he had stored earlier, and with one devastating punch, hammered Reicubas.
BOOM!
The beast's charged Heat Ray misfired, blasting harmlessly into the sky.
Out in orbit, Sufume tried to escape—only for the stray Heat Ray to slice across one of its tentacles. With a sizzling crack, the appendage charred instantly into a giant slab of takoyaki.
Cursing, Sufume tore off the burned limb and fled again.
On the ice below, Yu Zhou and Asuka pressed their assault.
Asuka pinned Reicubas, while Yu Zhou crouched at its head, pounding mercilessly with his fists.
The beast could not endure such abuse. Its eyes flared to an icy blue, preparing to release freezing mist to encase both giants in ice.
But Yu Zhou noticed the change instantly. Grabbing a massive chunk of ice, he shoved it straight into the monster's maw.
The chilling mist was forced back down into its own body.
Enraged and humiliated, Reicubas roared. Summoning its last strength, it shoved Asuka's Strong Type form off its body.
"It actually broke free…" Yu Zhou muttered, stepping back into a guarded stance.
Asuka climbed back to his feet, raising his hands into a fighting pose once more.
"Let's end this quickly."
With those words, Yu Zhou gathered energy into Sky Type's finisher—Rampart Beam—and unleashed it in a brilliant stream.
The blast was too swift for Reicubas to dodge. The impact wrapped its body in crackling arcs of lightning.
At the same time, Dyna surged forward, channelling light into his fists, and drove a punch straight into the monster's chest.
The combined assault engulfed Reicubas in light.
(End of Chapter)