Purple light surged from beneath Charija, and the small Zoiger he was riding suddenly began to change.
No—this wasn't just a change in form. It was a full-on giant evolution.
Bathed in the glow of transformation, the fledgling Zoiger swelled into its mature form.
Charija still sat astride its back, though now his seat had shifted upward—he was perched on the back of its massive head.
"Zoiger, fire a barrage of Fireballs!"
Eager to test the upgraded power of his beast, Charija gave the command.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Fireballs erupted in rapid succession from the two Zoiger, arcing toward the swarm of Yugg parasites.
"Ouhohohohoho—!"
Charija wobbled comically on top of the monster's head, the recoil from each blast making him dizzy.
But the attacks were dead on. Explosions tore through the white creatures, blasting them out of the sky and into the sea.
Yu Zhou, however, didn't linger to watch the show.
Instead, he focused on charging his power—again, and again, and again—five times in a row. Countless streams of dark energy gathered around his Colour Timer until it pulsed with a deep, ominous light.
Then, with both arms raised in an L-shape, he unleashed it.
The Dark Zeperion Ray poured forth in a thundering cascade, like a waterfall of annihilation.
Crashhh!
The torrent slammed into Ythogtha's massive body. Against something that huge, only such a wide, continuous beam counted as a proper strike.
Energy poured endlessly from Yu Zhou's body, channelled into the ray.
And all the while, the thick black mist spilling from Ythogtha was being sucked directly into his Colour Timer, fuelling him further.
"This feeling… cutting loose like this without restraint—it's incredible!"
For Yu Zhou, it was effortless. He could fire the giant dark Zeperion Ray indefinitely, without fear of running dry.
The more he burned Ythogtha with his power, the angrier the Evil God became. And the angrier it grew, the blacker fog it spewed—feeding him even faster.
Meanwhile, Daigo and the others had landed back on the beach at R'lyeh.
None of them knew what to do, or whether Yu Zhou could even last against such a foe.
That was when Daigo spotted a familiar figure, still seated calmly on a rock, eating popcorn while watching a floating projection.
"You—Kirino?!"
Daigo hadn't forgotten him.
This was the man who had once uncovered his identity as Ultraman Tiga. If not for Yu Zhou's intervention, Kirino would have exposed him to the world.
And Yu Zhou had said himself—Kirino was a psychic. That explained how he knew so much.
"Oh, Daigo." Kirino waved cheerfully, clearly in much better spirits toward the Ultraman now.
"You're… projecting this?" Daigo asked, staring at the floating screen in awe. Was this what psychic power could do?
He remembered Masaki had once done something similar, projecting his image with science and light-based abilities. Daigo glanced at Masaki for confirmation.
Masaki only shrugged, though his eyes softened. After all, back when Gatanozoa had revived, it was Kirino who had helped free him from captivity—otherwise, Daigo would never have been able to fight as the Shadow Tiga.
"It seems your psychic abilities have improved," Masaki remarked, nodding at the screen.
Kirino smiled faintly. "Not bad. But what really matters is Yu Zhou. His strength is still astounding."
The others crowded closer to watch the battle unfold on the screen.
Even Asuka was too puzzled to ask questions—he simply stared, watching the fight like a live broadcast.
Camilla, however, narrowed her eyes. "So, it's true. He's been absorbing dark energy this entire time."
"Absorbing it?" Masaki was startled. "Then… against Ythogtha's darkness, he's completely immune."
And looking at how freely Yu Zhou was unleashing his rays, it was clear—he could endlessly recycle Ythogtha's own attacks back into power.
"Darkness isn't inherently evil," Masaki murmured after a pause. "It depends on who wields it."
ROOOOAAAAARRRRR!
On the screen, a deafening roar shook the scene.
Ythogtha had finally been pushed into a frenzy by Yu Zhou's unending beam.
"Crap!" Yu Zhou cursed, cutting off his attack and dodging aside just in time.
A colossal tentacle—thicker than a skyscraper—slammed down where he'd stood, crashing into the sea with an earthshaking impact.
Boom! The waters split apart into a vast trench, and dead fish floated to the surface by the thousands.
At the same time, the black fog suddenly vanished.
Ythogtha had realized. The mist wasn't harming the giant warrior—it was empowering him. And though it was no fool, Yu Zhou couldn't help thinking it had taken the Evil God long enough to catch on.
It wasn't like Gatanozoa, either. Neither of those ancient beings were truly stupid. If not for the Light of Humanity disrupting things three million years ago, Gatanozoa would have ruled the Earth long ago.
Yu Zhou darted behind Ythogtha, slamming fists and kicks against its body. But compared to its massive form, his blows were barely scratches.
"This is… troublesome."
His powers were born of darkness, the same source as Ythogtha's. Naturally, the damage he could inflict was limited. And now that Ythogtha had retracted the fog, he couldn't just spam beam attacks with impunity.
Zzzt! Zzzt!
Suddenly, streaks of green lasers rained down on Ythogtha's head, sparking against its flesh.
It was the Victory Team's Eagle jet, strafing the giant from above.
But their weapons barely tickled the monster. Against something like this, no human craft could do much.
Boom, boom, boom!
Fireballs detonated against Ythogtha's side, drawing Yu Zhou's eyes to Charija once more.
But even the evolved Zoiger's blasts weren't enough.
ROAR!
Enraged, Ythogtha whipped its massive tentacles upward, swiping furiously at the Zoiger and the Eagle, determined to swat these buzzing pests from the sky.
"Watch out!" Yu Zhou shouted.
His body flared with firelight as he hurled himself forward, ramming headlong into the incoming tentacle.