With so many Giants of Light present, everyone felt much more at ease.
Even though the crisis of world destruction loomed once more, the mood among the group remained lively. They continued chatting, their voices carrying through the sea breeze.
Just as the conversation flowed, Yu Zhou's eyes suddenly caught sight of a figure standing on the distant beach.
A shadowy man—wearing a black suit, a black bowler hat, and holding a black umbrella.
Charija.
"What's that guy doing here?" Yu Zhou muttered.
Curiosity stirring, he excused himself from the others and started walking toward Charija.
"Monster!"
Captain Munakata, noticing the direction Yu Zhou was headed, immediately raised his Victory Hyper gun and shouted in alarm.
Everyone turned to look. At the edge of the shore, two identical monsters lay silently in the sand.
Their enormous eyes glowed like lanterns, their jaws spread wide—wide enough to swallow a dozen sharks in a single bite.
"Don't panic, Captain," Daigo quickly said. "Those monsters belong to Charija."
"Charija?"
Not only Munakata, but all the Super Victory Team members looked puzzled.
They had never even heard the name.
With a sigh, Daigo had no choice but to explain. He told them how he and Yu Zhou had first encountered Charija, and how Yu Zhou had occasionally shared more about him afterward.
Even the fact that Charija controlled monsters was something Yu Zhou had mentioned earlier—warning Daigo in case he saw one and instinctively picked a fight.
"A… monster merchant?"
Everyone was stunned. Who would have thought that Yu Zhou, a Giant of Light, would have ties with someone like that?
"Well," Munakata finally said, lowering his weapon, "if Yu Zhou and Daigo say he's not a threat, that's enough for me."
He holstered the Hyper gun and nodded to the others.
"Charija, what are you doing here?"
As Yu Zhou approached, he called out.
"Oh, it's you," Charija said, turning with a grin. He lifted a small paper bag. "I'm eating sunflower seeds. Want some?"
Yu Zhou blinked, speechless. "...I'll pass."
Charija shrugged.
"By the way," Yu Zhou asked, his tone sharpening, "do you know anything about this darkness—the so-called Evil God descending?"
"How would I know?" Charija replied with a careless shrug. "If you Giants of Light don't understand it, how could I?
"But I did hear something," he added thoughtfully. "After I left Earth last time, wasn't there already another Evil God incident? I heard you guys and the Ultras from the Land of Light took care of it."
"That's right."
Yu Zhou nodded. It was surprising Charija kept up with these things.
"Well, then you can do it again." Charija smirked, waving his umbrella lazily. "I'll just sit back and enjoy the show."
Yu Zhou: "…"
"Goodbye." He turned away, refusing to waste more time.
The battle was about to begin.
The Super Victory Team took to the air in the Victory Swallow to provide support from above.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhou and the others lined up on the shoreline, each drawing out their transformation devices.
In a burst of radiant light, seven Giants of Light appeared together on the beach.
The brilliance radiating from their colossal forms was so intense that even the black mist choking the sea began to disperse.
Yu Zhou and Hudra were the first to take off, streaking toward the skies over the dark ocean. Behind them, Camearra, Darramb, Daigo, and Masaki rose into the air, flying in formation.
Soon they reached the same stretch of sea where Yu Zhou had previously scouted the abyssal depths. Now, they hovered silently above, waiting for the next move.
Below, the entire ocean surface seethed with black fog. Touching it would cause bursts of sparks, making it nearly impossible for the Giants of Light to push through and reach the seafloor.
"This black mist… is troublesome," Yu Zhou muttered, studying it grimly.
He himself could dive down as Dark Tiga, but the others? That was another story.
Should he go alone and break the seal around the Evil God, drawing it out?
No. Impossible.
The seal needed reinforcing, not undoing. Voluntarily unleashing it would be suicide.
"Let me try."
Camearra's calm voice cut through the tension. She raised her hand, and in it appeared a golden whip. With a sharp snap, she lashed it down onto the fog.
Crack!
Instantly, the black sea split apart, a deep gash tearing open as the mist recoiled in two directions.
"Damn…"
Yu Zhou nearly gave her a thumbs up right then.
No wonder she had once overwhelmed even Daigo in the "Final Odyssey." Even turned into a Giant of Light, Camearra's power was still monstrous.
But the mist was relentless. After retreating for a moment, it rolled back together, filling the gap once more.
"This stuff really is a pain," Yu Zhou muttered, frowning.
He held out both hands, pulling arcs of red lightning between his palms before pressing them down.
Blades of crimson energy surged outward, slashing into the black fog.
It was a technique Daigo had once used against the electromagnetic wave monster, and Yu Zhou himself had used it to deal with that interdimensional beast that hunted couples.
Now, the light blades tore through the darkness, and with Camearra's golden whip striking in rhythm, the mist was forced back.
Gradually, a passage to the ocean depths opened before them.
"Go," Yu Zhou ordered.
The path wouldn't last long—if they hesitated, the mist would close in again.
Everyone nodded, diving swiftly into the sea.
Even underwater, the black fog lingered in thick currents. Camearra took the lead, slashing her golden whip to clear the path. Yu Zhou swam close beside her, guiding the direction and blasting away the fog whenever needed.
"Camearra, that whip of yours is ridiculously useful," Yu Zhou remarked as they cut their way through. "Where'd you get it?"
"It was a gift from you," she replied, glancing back with a faint smile. "Forgot already?"
Yu Zhou: "…"
Fine. No winning this argument.
Behind them, Shin Asuka—who had been following with Masaki—felt like he was choking on dog food. He hadn't eaten breakfast this morning, but this was enough to make him full.
Daigo, being a father now, was unfazed.
As for Hudra and Darramb, they were already used to this. After all, they'd endured three million years of Camearra and Yu Zhou's dynamic. A little flirting in the middle of a crisis barely registered anymore.
Before long, the group reached the rim of the undersea abyss.
Peering down into the pitch-black chasm, every one of them could feel it—the immense, oppressive force of darkness radiating from below.
From the depths, tiny particles of light drifted upward, shimmering like dying embers.
Yu Zhou's expression hardened.
Something was very wrong.