"Golza, return!"
Seeing the two enraged Golzas ready to tear his monster apart, Charija had no choice but to recall his own Golza back into its capsule.
Judging by the furious expressions on the pair that had just emerged from the volcano, if he didn't withdraw his Golza now, he might never get the chance again.
With no target left to attack, the two wild Golzas slowly turned their gaze toward Charija and Yu Zhou.
"Golza, do you still remember me?!"
Taking the opportunity, Charija waved both arms energetically and called out to them.
He had no idea which one was the Golza he'd lost long ago—but shouting now was better than not trying at all.
"Rrrh?"
One of the Golzas tilted its head, looking at Charija in confusion, then turned toward its partner.
The other one, however, fell silent and thoughtful.
It was obvious—the one lost in thought was the Golza Charija had once owned.
"Grrr…"
That Golza let out a low, rumbling growl, as if hesitating.
Sure, that black, chubby human had once been its master—but now it had a mate, a family, and soon enough, there would be baby Golzas.
If it left with Charija… what would happen to them?
"It's alright. I can take care of both of you," Charija said gently, clearly seeing the monster's concern.
At that, the Golza slowly raised its head, a flicker of interest appearing in its molten eyes.
Seeing that his words worked, Charija continued eagerly,
"I can take you to a planet full of volcanoes, rich with food and lava energy—a perfect home for you to live peacefully."
"Rrrh?"
Charija's offer made not just the thoughtful Golza perk up, but even its mate turned to look at him curiously.
A world filled with volcanoes meant abundant magma energy—and, most importantly, food.
On Earth, finding something to eat was nearly impossible for a Golza. Large animals were rare, and even when they existed, they weren't enough to fill a creature of its size.
Unless they found another monster to hunt, they were often left starving.
But an entire planet full of food? A place where they could eat every day without worry? That was a dream too good to believe.
"I'm not lying," Charija assured them, spreading his hands. "Really! I can take you there right now to see for yourselves."
The two Golzas exchanged uncertain growls, clearly still cautious.
Just then, a flash of light burst from Charija's chest, landing on the ground.
It was the Golza he had just recalled into the capsule.
The creature immediately ran to Charija, growling and gesturing wildly, pointing to its mouth and then to its belly.
"Yes, yes, I get it," Charija sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You want to live there too."
"Rrhh?!"
But the two wild Golzas, seeing that particular Golza appear again, instantly flew into another rage, roaring as they raised their claws.
It was as if they were saying, 'We're not sleeping tonight until we beat up this perverted old voyeur!'
"Back! Get back in!" Charija shouted quickly, hurriedly recalling the embarrassed Golza once more.
With their target gone, the two wild Golzas finally calmed down again.
"Wait a second, Charija," Yu Zhou said from beside him. "If you keep them on another planet, does that even count as 'capturing' them?"
If Charija released them to live freely on some distant volcanic world, then technically, they wouldn't be under his control.
Wasn't that basically the same as not catching them at all?
"Of course it counts," Charija said matter-of-factly. "I'm not like you, always needing to fight. For me, raising monsters freely is a common hobby."
"Fair enough," Yu Zhou admitted, realizing he was still thinking in terms of another world—like some kind of Pokémon trainer.
Charija wasn't constantly battling; he simply enjoyed collecting monsters. That was his thing.
"Rrhh… rrh rrh rrhh…"
The two Golzas by the crater seemed to communicate with each other for a while. Then, after a short pause, they both nodded toward Charija, agreeing.
"Excellent!" Charija cheered, pulling out two Ultra Capsules. "Then let me officially make you part of my collection!"
He threw both capsules toward the monsters.
Pop! Pop!
Two beams of light shot out, enveloping the Golzas. In moments, both were transformed into streams of energy and absorbed into the capsules.
The capsules trembled briefly in midair before falling silent, floating gently back into Charija's hands.
"Congratulations—you've caught two Golzas," Yu Zhou said with a smile.
Charija grinned proudly, tucking the capsules away.
However, the volcano beneath them was still erupting violently. There wasn't much either of them could do about it.
Yu Zhou didn't bother interfering. Volcanic eruptions were a natural phenomenon, after all.
Charija, though, intended to keep his promise—to take the two new Golzas to that volcanic world he'd mentioned.
To do that, he needed to borrow Yu Zhou's small spacecraft, the one he'd purchased on a terraformed planet.
Yu Zhou agreed without hesitation, and decided to tag along to see this so-called "Volcano Star" for himself.
"Wait a moment."
As the ship approached their destination, Yu Zhou frowned. Something about this region of space felt… familiar.
He had travelled across many worlds by now, enough to recognize parts of the universe by sight.
If he didn't, what kind of Ultraman would he be?
"Charija," he said, turning to him, "haven't I been here before?"
"Of course you have," Charija replied with a nod. "Remember when we brought King Guesra here to hunt? Right next to it is the Ocean Star."
"Ohhh, so that's it." Yu Zhou nodded in realization.
Charija smiled. "And the one we're heading to now is called—Volcano Star."
"Volcano Star?" Yu Zhou repeated, blinking.
Ocean Star, Volcano Star…
Not only did the names sound ridiculously straightforward, but Yu Zhou also vaguely recalled a game that had planets with those same names.
Soon, the ship landed, and the two stepped out.
Yu Zhou wrapped himself in a thin aura of light energy, allowing him to move around despite the lack of oxygen.
Still, the ground felt scorching under his boots.
The entire landscape stretched out barren and red-hot—rivers of molten lava crisscrossing the ground, and dozens of volcanoes belching dark smoke into the sky.
"It really is a Volcano Star," Yu Zhou muttered, impressed. "The name couldn't be more accurate."
Charija released the two newly caught Golzas from their capsules.
As they appeared, both monsters immediately let out excited roars.
They could feel it—the heat, the magma, the familiar energy that felt just like home.
"Rrhh rrhh!"
One of them rumbled something to Charija, who nodded knowingly.
"The food here," Charija translated, "is inside the lava rivers."
As if on cue, several fiery-red bubbles rose from the molten stream nearby.
Then—SPLASH!
Out crawled massive red crab-like monsters, each more than twenty meters tall, emerging from the lava one after another.