Tyrant roared and spewed blazing flames straight at Yu Zhou.
With a sharp swoosh, Yu Zhou shot into the sky, narrowly dodging the fiery torrent.
The monster wasn't done. Tyrant swung its chained weapon like a reaper's hook, hurling it toward Yu Zhou as if dragging him to the underworld.
"Not today." Yu Zhou raised both hands and fired twin Light Arrows, blasting the chain aside in midair.
He then dove down from the sky, body crashing onto Tyrant, pinning it to the ground. Fists rained down on the monster's head—one, two, three heavy blows.
Tyrant howled in rage. Suddenly, a hidden opening in its abdomen yawned wide, spewing icy frost that spread like a blizzard across Yu Zhou's legs.
"Damn it!" Yu Zhou hissed as a wave of cold gnawed into his thigh. He flipped backward, breaking free just in time. This thing's too sneaky—it even spits cold air out of its stomach?
Anger flared. Yu Zhou switched into his silver-and-purple Sky Type form, charging a Freezing Beam and firing straight at Tyrant's head.
But the monster countered with astonishing speed. Its maw erupted with fire, swallowing the freezing ray whole until nothing remained.
Yu Zhou narrowed his eyes. Without pause, he summoned the Sky Type's ultimate—Rampart Beam—launching a blazing streak of light.
Tyrant's abdomen split open again, sucking the entire beam into the void.
"So it's just like in Ultraman Ginga," Yu Zhou muttered under his breath. "When Hikaru fought Tyrant as Tiga, his Zeperion Ray got devoured the exact same way…"
At the foothills of Mt. Kousei, another battle raged.
Riku had already ascended into his Burning Steel form—Ultraman Geed—and was trading furious blows with Skull Gomora. Each punch and kick landed with brutal force, steam bursting from Geed's back as he fought harder than ever.
He knew now—this monster wasn't just any foe. Skull Gomora was Fukude Kei himself.
Nearby, Laiha glanced at her scanner. "There's no trace of the Little Star's light in this area!"
"Then what the hell is Kei planning?" Zero frowned. "If the Star isn't here, why transform into a monster here of all places?"
Laiha's expression darkened, her voice trembling. "…Because this is the place. The very place where this monster killed my parents."
The words hung heavy. Tears welled in Laiha's eyes—tears few had ever seen from her.
"Laiha…" Zero faltered, unable to find the right words.
Her grip tightened around her blade. "When I was a child, the Little Star's light was inside me. But the moment I watched my parents die right here before my eyes, that light disappeared."
Her eyes burned with fury. "So when Fukude Kei shows himself… I'll kill him with my own hands. I'll avenge my family with blood!"
Meanwhile, Yu Zhou clasped both hands at the crystal on his forehead, slicing them down to his sides. His body shifted, crimson and silver—Tiga's Power Type.
"If light attacks won't work…" Yu Zhou growled, stomping forward, "then taste my fists instead!"
His punch crashed into Tyrant's jaw with an echoing BOOM! The monster's head nearly snapped sideways.
Tyrant shrieked, swinging its remaining weapon.
Yu Zhou countered with another thunderous punch, sending the monster flying, body smashing into the earth with a quake that shook the ground. Dirt and dust billowed into the air.
The beast rose, shaking itself like a wet dog. Chains rattled as it hurled the jagged weapon again.
Yu Zhou's eyes locked onto the incoming strike. At the perfect instant, he grabbed the weapon midair and yanked hard.
Tyrant stumbled forward, its balance broken.
Yu Zhou's hand glowed red like a blade. With a swift slash—CRACK! Sparks burst as the chain snapped apart. One of Tyrant's weapons clattered uselessly to the ground.
Not stopping, Yu Zhou tugged the remaining chain, dragging the monster closer.
"Special move! Lu Zhishen Pulls Up the Willow Tree!" he bellowed.
Summoning the brute strength of Power Type, Yu Zhou hoisted Tyrant upside down, then SLAMMED the beast headfirst into the ground.
BOOM! The earth split as Tyrant's skull buried deep, smoke and debris exploding outward.
Yu Zhou leapt back, shifting to Tiga's Multi Type. His arms swept wide, gathering light into his core, then shaped into an L-shape before his chest.
"Zeperion Ray!!"
The torrent of energy struck Tyrant square in the back. Its body convulsed violently before detonating in a massive explosion.
Yu Zhou exhaled. He'd originally wanted to mimic the move Tiga once used against Sphinx—slamming the enemy into the ground, then finishing with Heat Burning Dash.
But in Tyrant's upside-down position… that attack would have been, well, inappropriate.
He remembered: in the original Tiga series, Daigo had killed Sphinx with that very move. The mental image alone made Yu Zhou shudder.
So instead, he chose the Zeperion Ray—a way to avenge the humiliation of Ginga Tiga's lost beam.
Tyrant was no more. Yu Zhou soared into the clouds, vanishing into the sky.
When he returned to Nebula House, he learned that another monster had appeared.
It was Skull Gomora—Fukude Kei again.
Yu Zhou clenched his fists. "What the hell is Kei scheming? If there's no Little Star, why keep showing up to fight Geed?"
He thought for a moment. Maybe he's testing Geed's power? But even that didn't feel right.
"Whatever the reason…" Yu Zhou muttered, stepping into the elevator, "if he dares show up again, he's dead."
In the back of his mind, Yu Zhou recalled something from the original story. When Laiha once had Kei at sword's edge, wasn't it the King of Ultra who suddenly spoke—ordering her to stop?
Saying this wasn't her battle?
Yu Zhou's lips curled wryly. Sword already at Kei's throat, and the King says stop? Why?
If the King of Ultra knew Kei's true identity—and Belial's grand plan—why not just have him executed right then and there? That would shatter Belial's scheme at its root.
So why spare him? Why let Kei live?
Yu Zhou considered three possibilities.
First: The King of Ultra wanted Belial to revive—so he could personally crush him, maybe to train Geed and Zero through real combat.
Second: Belial was acting under the King's orders all along. The exile, the betrayal, gathering dark forces—it was all staged. By drawing evil together, Belial was ultimately feeding enemies to the Space Garrison.
Of course, Yu Zhou admitted, this one was a wild stretch.
Third: The King of Ultra was literally holding the script. Working hand-in-hand with the writers, ensuring Kei couldn't be killed too soon… so Belial's revival—and the story itself—could continue.