"Daigo, there's something I need to tell you."
After bidding farewell to Director Tsuburaya, Yuzhou and Daigo walked along the quiet road. Yuzhou's tone carried a rare hesitation.
"What is it?" Daigo turned his head, frowning slightly.
"We… might not be able to go back." Yuzhou sighed, the words heavy.
In the original story, Daigo had somehow returned to his own time—but the script never explained how. Now, with the plot twisted by their presence, both he and Daigo were stranded in 1965.
Charija had vanished. His time machine—the suitcase—was nowhere to be found. Yuzhou clearly remembered: during the Yanagaki battle, Charija had only been holding a cane, his umbrella transformed. The suitcase wasn't with him then.
"So he must've left it somewhere else," Yuzhou muttered.
"Charija disappeared as smoke," Daigo recalled. "You think he dropped it?"
"Most likely." Yuzhou nodded. "That case is our best chance. Without it, we're stuck."
"Then what do we do?" Daigo's voice was edged with anxiety.
Yuzhou raised three fingers. "Option one—find Charija's suitcase. Option two—wait for time itself to carry us forward until our original timeline reclaims us."
Daigo paled. "Wait until then? We'd be old men before that happened. Please tell me there's another way."
"Option three." Yuzhou's gaze lifted to the stars. "Head for the Land of Light in Nebula M78, and ask the Ultras for help."
"M78 Nebula!" Daigo's eyes brightened. "That could work."
"Maybe. But we don't even know the route there." Yuzhou spread his hands helplessly.
Daigo frowned, thinking. "Then… why not use the Ultra Star to summon that Ultraman again?"
Yuzhou shook his head. "He just left. Dragging him back so soon would be rude. Let's try to find the case first. If all else fails, then we call him."
Daigo agreed reluctantly.
"Stay here a moment," Yuzhou said suddenly. "I need to… step aside."
He ducked behind a boulder, slipped out his hidden smartphone from the dimensional bracelet, and scrolled through his saved files.
"Episode 49… Ultra Star."
He pulled it up and skimmed. "Got to find out exactly when Charija lost that suitcase…"
Rewinding and fast-forwarding, Yuzhou tracked the details. From the moment of time travel until eavesdropping at Ryusen Lake, Charija had the case. But after reviving Yanagaki at the lake, the suitcase was gone.
"Ryusen Lake!"
Snapping the phone shut, Yuzhou sprinted back. "Daigo, the case is at the lake! Hurry!"
They bolted through the night under the silver moon.
At the same time, a puff of smoke burst on the rocky shore of Ryusen Lake. Out stepped Charija, dressed in his black tailcoat and top hat, umbrella in hand, muttering as he searched.
"The case, the case, where is it…"
Finally, he spotted it resting on a slab of stone. His eyes gleamed. "Found it—"
"Hold it right there, Charija!"
He froze. Two young men sprinted toward him: Yuzhou and Daigo.
Charija paused, curious. He hadn't realized these two were the very same Tigas who had fought him earlier.
"Charija," Yuzhou said firmly, "I need to borrow that suitcase."
Charija smirked. "And why would I lend it to you?"
"I'm not asking for free," Yuzhou countered smoothly. "I'll give you information in return."
"Information?" Charija scoffed. "Not interested."
"Ah, but this information is about monsters." Yuzhou smiled knowingly. "I know you're a monster broker. Would I waste your time with useless chatter?"
Charija's eyes narrowed with sudden interest. "Where are these monsters?"
"You'll know—once we borrow the case." Yuzhou pointed at the suitcase.
Charija hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. One use for one lead. Fair deal."
He opened the case and began calibrating its dials. A vortex of light blossomed from within, spiraling outward.
"Take us back to your entry point," Yuzhou instructed. "We were sucked in by your wormhole."
Charija barely blinked, as though this was no surprise. He finished the adjustments, and the three of them stepped together into the shimmering tunnel.
Moments later, they emerged onto a bustling modern street by Ryusen Lake—now transformed into a cityscape of traffic and lights.
"We're back…" Daigo whispered, relief flooding him.
Charija snapped the case shut. "Now, the information. Where are the monsters?"
"Of course." Yuzhou nodded gravely. "In the Monster Graveyard of the M78 Nebula. Tens of thousands of monsters lie there."
Charija froze. "Graveyard? You mean they're all dead?"
"Not necessarily." Yuzhou wagged a finger. "With a device called the Giga Battle Nizer, they can all be revived."
"Revived?!" Charija's eyes bulged. Tens of thousands of monsters, brought back to life—an unimaginable fortune!
"Exactly." Yuzhou nodded solemnly.
"Then where is this Giga Battle Nizer?" Charija demanded eagerly.
"Last I heard," Yuzhou said smoothly, "the Reiblood aliens may possess one."
Charija trembled with excitement. "Reiblood… the Giga Battle Nizer…"
As he began fantasizing about his newfound fortune, Yuzhou suppressed a smirk. Tricking Charija wasn't easy—but dangling a treasure that existed out there in the cosmos? That was bait too tempting for him to resist.