Crack… crack… crack…
The sound of shattering echoed from the black giant claw, as fragments scattered backward under the force of the punch.
With a single blow—
the monstrous claw shattered completely.
"He… he turned into a giant!"
Keshiva stared in shock, his eyes wide as he looked up at the fifty-meter-tall figure standing before him. His voice trembled in disbelief.
Even Yuzare and Cain, who had seen Tiga's transformation once before, were still shaken to their cores.
How could a human body, so small and fragile, become such a towering, magnificent giant of light?
"That black crystal rod…"
Yuzare's eyes narrowed sharply. With her keen insight, she noticed the key detail right away. Even after only seeing two transformations, she could tell that the black crystal rod was no ordinary object—
it was the vital key that allowed Yu Zhou to awaken the Giant Tiga Mode.
"The giant has appeared again!"
"One punch shattered the leader's claw—this is the power of the black giant!"
"That's Ultraman Tiga! The god who annihilated the entire Zoiger army!"
"Yeah! Defeating these crab monsters should be nothing for him!"
"Tiga, you saved my life today—when I get home, I'll offer you holy wine!"
"…"
The Earth Defence Force members began to cheer and chatter among themselves.
Seeing the giant appear filled them with renewed hope.
Perhaps it was because back in Zhongdu, Tiga had saved their lives when he destroyed Zoiger—
to them, the sight of Tiga meant safety.
But the black crab-like monster, now missing one of its mighty claws, couldn't believe what had just happened.
Its most powerful weapon—its pride—had been destroyed in a single punch!
It screeched angrily, digging its legs into the sand, spraying mud and seawater as it braced itself.
Then, from its jagged mouth, it spat out a ball of icy energy and hurled it straight at Yu Zhou.
But Yu Zhou simply reached out, catching the ice sphere with one massive hand.
Then, in one swift motion, he rushed forward—
and forced the frozen sphere right back into the monster's mouth.
The second ice orb, still forming, detonated within the creature's jaws.
An explosion of frost erupted, freezing the monster's shell solid in an instant.
Yu Zhou didn't waste the moment—he grabbed the frozen beast, lifted it high over his head, and hurled it down into the oncoming swarm of lesser crab monsters.
Crash!
A thunderous shockwave rippled through the beach as dozens of crab monsters were crushed beneath their leader's body, tumbling and sprawling across the ground.
The black crab monster, supported by its kin, staggered upright. Its remaining claw clanged and sparked with metallic soundwaves—
a resonant, piercing tone that spread across the sea.
Every lesser crab monster immediately stopped its attack.
They turned, one after another, gathering behind their leader.
It was calling for an all-out assault.
"So, you're gathering together?" Yu Zhou muttered, his deep voice calm but cold. "Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."
He didn't retreat—
he simply stood his ground, dark energy radiating faintly from his massive frame.
If one punch could cripple the leader, what threat could the rest possibly pose?
The black leader crab raised its remaining claw again, emitting another metallic pulse.
In response, all the other crab monsters began to channel their freezing energy.
A huge sphere of ice began to form before them—
a fusion of every monster's chilling power, glowing with dangerous intensity.
Yu Zhou could feel the massive energy condensing within it.
"Oh no… can Tiga withstand that?"
Keshiva's voice was tense; he could sense the power building inside the orb.
"I don't know," Yuzare replied, her brows furrowing as her voice hardened.
"Earth Defence Force—support Tiga!"
"Roger that!"
"I'm going too, Sister!"
Cain ran to an unmanned energy cannon, aligning its barrel toward the forming ice sphere.
Meanwhile, Tiga—Yu Zhou—spread his legs apart and crossed his arms before his chest.
His palms opened like claws, drawing the surrounding darkness toward him.
From every direction, the shadows rushed in, swirling around the colourful timer on his chest.
The timer pulsed—
its black energy surging outward, feeding into a massive sphere of condensed darkness forming before him.
When the charge was complete, a fifty-meter-wide orb of black energy floated above his palms—
its power trembling the very air.
Yuzare could feel it.
That energy sphere—matching Tiga's own size—was saturated with overwhelming, furious darkness.
Without hesitation, Yu Zhou thrust his hands forward.
The black energy sphere surged outward—meeting the incoming ice sphere head-on.
The two collided in an instant of silence.
There was no explosion. No blinding flash.
Instead, the black sphere swallowed the ice sphere whole, consuming its energy and growing even larger.
The combined orb floated onward—slowly, eerily—toward the crab horde.
The monsters couldn't move.
It was as if their bodies were locked in place, their instincts screaming danger as the black sphere loomed overhead.
Then—
BOOM!
The world erupted in thunder.
A colossal mushroom cloud tore into the sky, the shockwave blasting across the sea and the island alike.
The ground shook, the air burned.
The Defence Force members clutched their ears and ducked low, shielding their faces from the searing wind.
When the roaring heat finally faded, they stood up again and looked toward the battlefield.
A vast crater had replaced the horde of crab monsters—
not a single creature remained.
All had been reduced to ashes, carried into the heavens with the mushroom cloud.
Yuzare stepped to the edge of the crater, gazing into the swirling darkness that lingered in the soil below.
"So much dark power… yet it helped us," she whispered softly, her voice uncertain.
"Tiga… what are you truly fighting for?"
Yu Zhou looked down at his own glowing hands, satisfied with the outcome.
This attack—this method of destruction—he had only used twice before.
Once against Belial in Ultra Galaxy Legends.
And once when he annihilated Dark Lugiel.
He thought for a moment.
"This move needs a name," he murmured to himself. "Something fitting for its power…"
But naming things was never his strong suit.
"Sigh… naming attacks is such a pain."
He smirked to himself inside his mind. "If my light techniques are called the Ultimate of Light, then maybe this one should belong to the Ultimate of Darkness."