The fading sunset filtered through Tiga's massive fingers, casting warm gold across the face of the girl sitting safely in his palm
Mikasa Ackerman.
She whispered, "Th… thank you…"
Tiga didn't speak.
He simply gave her a classic Ultraman nod.
Before she could say more, the last remaining Titan charged toward them.
It was only eight meters tall
barely reaching Tiga's chest
far weaker than the female Titan from earlier.
But Evan Cross had no intention of letting it get close.
These man-eating monsters were far too disgusting.
He clenched his massive fist
the air warped from the force
and punched straight toward its skull.
BOOM!!
Followed by
SPLAT!!
The Titan fell in two pieces.
"Successfully killed two Pure Titans. Reward: Synchronization +0.2%."
"Current Synchronization: 1.4%."
A small grin touched Evan's thoughts.
At this rate, maybe increasing his power wasn't as slow as he feared.
Pure Titans were basically walking XP
one punch, one level-up snack.
"At this pace, I could just stroll outside the walls and farm a few dozen…"
Until
"DING! DING! DING! DING…!"
The blue crystal on Tiga's chest turned red, blinking rhythmically.
At the same time
Evan felt a wave of dizziness.
Then a crushing weakness
starting from his legs
dragging him downward like drowning in mud.
"What the…?"
The sky darkened rapidly
far too fast to be natural.
Tiga instinctively grabbed his head
and collapsed to one knee.
From Mikasa's perspective, the Giant of Light suddenly wilted.
"What's wrong with him…?"
Tiga didn't answer.
He could only clutch his head, trembling.
"Mikasa! We have to go! More Titans are coming!"
Hannes swooped in using ODM gear, landing behind her on Tiga's hand.
Mikasa frowned deeply.
"Hannes… I think he's in trouble."
"That's not our problem!"
"But… but he's helping humans! He saved my life!"
"He could be a strange Titan for all we know! Look behind us
More than ten Titans are approaching!
If we don't run now, we'll die!
Eren and Carla are waiting for you on the ship!"
Mikasa opened her mouth
but Hannes didn't wait for her answer.
He hoisted her over his shoulder
fired a grappling line
and shot into the sky, carrying her away.
Mikasa stared back as they flew
her eyes filled with guilt and conflict.
"Are we really… leaving him…?"
Meanwhile
Evan Cross was very, VERY annoyed.
He'd just learned something from the system:
**Tiga has a time limit.
The classic three minutes.**
After three minutes
his Ultraman body weakens drastically.
After six minutes
he loses his light entirely
and becomes a lifeless stone forever.
Just like Daigo in the movie.
The realization crushed him.
Even with 100% Tiga strength
he'd only get three minutes of true battle time.
With a timer ticking down, every fight would be a gamble.
"How the hell do I fight like this…?"
His frustration built.
He wanted to find some way
any way
to extend the time limit.
But right now…
He noticed dozens of Titans closing in from all directions.
He might have wanted to farm experience points
but his body wouldn't allow it anymore.
Escape was his only choice.
His mind dimmed.
His consciousness blurred.
But he still couldn't revert to human form
Not surrounded like this.
No gear.
No mobility.
No escape.
If he reverted
he would be dead on the spot.
He forced Tiga to stand.
He needed to break out of the encirclement first
then transform back somewhere safe.
He also tried something stupid:
Can Ultraman fly?
Sadly
Nope.
The system listed only one skill:
Basic Combat Technique.
Meaning
flight counted as a skill too.
So he was grounded.
No flight.
No beams.
Just punches, kicks, and a weakening body.
Evan gritted his teeth.
No choice.
These Titans were slow.
He wasn't some tiny human anymore.
He still had Titan-sized legs.
And he could run.
He stumbled forward
almost collapsing once or twice
dodged two lunging Titans
and barely, barely
escaped the encirclement.
But his time…
was running out.