Gijera seemed to understand Yuzhou's mocking words. Instantly, it went berserk. The ground trembled violently, and the plants nearby withered as though their very life force had been drained away.
Meanwhile, Gijera's body stretched taller and taller, swelling in size. Its countless tendrils pierced deep into the earth, transforming into roots that hungrily absorbed nutrients. Before long, it had grown into a colossal world-tree towering into the heavens!
"…What the hell…" Yuzhou muttered, staring blankly at the monster now looming at eye level with him.
Wasn't Gijera supposed to be just a flower? In the original story, Tiga defeated it with relative ease. But now—how in the world had it evolved into a sky-piercing giant tree?
The flower bud still bloomed on the main trunk near the ground. Once Gijera had reached sufficient height, countless branches sprouted, each bearing whipping tendrils that lashed toward Tiga in midair.
"Great, I messed up."
Realising the danger, Yuzhou darted away, circling around the massive tree as the pursuing tentacles trailed close behind. His earlier taunts came back to bite him hard; in provoking Gijera, he had triggered its rampage.
"Go, Gijera!"
"Beautifully done, Gijera!"
"Good! Crush Tiga!"
The humans on the ground, still entranced, erupted into cheers. To their warped minds, Gijera had become a sacred treasure. This was why, thirty million years ago, the Giants of Light had abandoned Earth.
Inside TPC's base, Daigo's expression hardened. Watching the feed of the berserk Gijera on the main screen, he immediately sensed disaster. Without hesitation, he sprinted outside, raised his Spark Lens, and transformed into a beam of light that shot toward the battlefield.
"Two Tigas…?" Ruk, the ancient human, was utterly dumbfounded. His daughter Dina, the cybernetic girl, tilted her head and mimicked his tone, "A Giant of Light who interferes with human choice—Tiga, you're the second."
Ruk: "…"
Meanwhile, Yuzhou struggled. Gijera's tendrils struck from every angle, and though his Sky-Type form's speed was fast, he was eventually ensnared.
Three vines suddenly cut off his path. He crashed headlong into them before more whipped around his limbs, binding him tightly.
Electric shocks surged along the tendrils, golden arcs dancing over his body as sizzling sparks rose from his armour.
"Not again…!" Yuzhou grimaced, smoke rising from his shoulders. First Segme's tentacles, now Gijera's… Why do I always get done in by these things?
"Father, let's abandon Gijera," a boy on the ground tugged at his parent's sleeve. "Look, Tiga's suffering…"
The man froze, staring at the flower clutched in his hand. Doubt flickered across his eyes.
Then—
A blazing beam of white light streaked from the sky, severing the vines constraining Tiga. With a series of cracks, they shattered and fell away.
Everyone turned toward the source, eyes widening.
Another Tiga had appeared!
"Daigo, you finally made it." Yuzhou, still in Tiga form, glanced at the silver-and-red giant descending through the clouds.
"Yuzhou, are you alright?" Daigo asked, lowering his hands after firing a simple Zeperion Ray.
"Barely. This thing's tougher than it looks." Yuzhou shook free the broken tendrils, his gaze locked on the towering Gijera.
"Agreed." Daigo floated beside him, eyes narrowing at the monster's vast trunk.
Yuzhou shifted back into his Multi-Type form. "Air-Type's not cutting it anymore."
The two Tigas descended together, standing side by side before Gijera's main bud. A wall of tendrils instantly coiled around it, shielding the flower from attack.
"Daigo," Yuzhou asked, "what's the thing plants fear most?"
"Plants…?" Daigo thought briefly. "Extreme heat and extreme cold. Fire and ice."
"Right." Yuzhou nodded. Gijera had chosen to bloom in the warmth of spring—proof of its weakness. Fortunately, Tiga had techniques for both: the Freeze Beam and the High-Heat Explosion, akin to Taro's Ultra Bomb.
In the original timeline, Tiga had destroyed Gijera's underground roots with the latter.
Gijera roared, launching fresh waves of vines at them.
"Follow my lead!" Yuzhou shouted, charging forward. Daigo cut through a lash with his hand-blade and followed. Together, they reached the trunk.
"Grab it—Tiga High-Heat Explosion!" Yuzhou wrapped his arms around the thick trunk. Vines whipped mercilessly across his back, forcing a grunt from him. Daigo leapt up and embraced the flower bud, his arms locking around it.
Gijera's tendrils bound them both to the trunk, tightening in desperation.
"Now—release it!" Yuzhou roared.
The two giants glowed, their bodies radiating a searing crimson aura. The air rippled from the rising heat, distorting like molten glass.
Gijera sensed the danger too late.
A catastrophic surge of thermal energy erupted from the twin Tigas, racing through the vines into the monster's body. The colossal world-tree withered in an instant before detonating with a thunderous boom.
From roots to canopy, Gijera exploded into fragments, its entire form annihilated in the twin inferno.
As the dust settled, the two Tigas stood in the sunset. Their Colour Timers blinked red, but they remained upright, magnificent against the fading light.
Yuzhou scanned carefully, confirming even the roots had been obliterated. Only then did he exhale in relief.
Cut the grass but leave the roots, and it'll grow again with the spring wind.
Two faint silhouettes appeared before them—Ruk and Dina.
"Thank you, Tiga," Ruk said with a serene smile. "Thanks to you, we finally understand what true life is. To live fully in a fleeting span, and leave the fruits to one's descendants—that cycle of humanity is truly remarkable."
He waved gently, and he and Dina faded into the sky.
Daigo lowered his head, guilt in his voice. "I didn't want them to die. Without Gijera's essence, they can't survive."
"It's alright, Daigo," Yuzhou said firmly. "Didn't you see their faces? They were free—finally at peace."
"Free…"
"Yes. Free."
"…I understand." Daigo exhaled, his doubts resolved. To live that way must have been a torment to them.
The two Tigas shared a glance, then rose into the clouds together, dissolving into light.
Back at TPC headquarters, the staff had recovered their senses with Gijera's destruction. Gazing at the monitor, their jaws dropped.
"There were two Tigas?!" Horii exclaimed, as though he'd uncovered a new continent.
"Maybe it's some kind of duplication ability," Shinjo suggested, rubbing his chin.
"Possible," Munakata agreed. After all, there had only ever been one stone statue.
But Captain Iruma frowned. She thought of Yuzhou and Daigo, both absent from the base, and of their strange actions before. Watching the two giants fade into the sky, she silently drew her own conclusions.