"Max, don't mind him."
Yu Zhou waved his hand, signalling Max not to take Charija's attitude personally.
He guessed Charija probably once had one of his monsters destroyed by Max in the past — maybe just by accident — and that's why he held a grudge against him.
As far as Yu Zhou knew, not every Ultraman from the Land of Light was even aware of Charija's existence. Otherwise, Charija wouldn't have been so clueless about Belial back then.
Max simply nodded, indicating that he didn't care much either.
Then, together with Yu Zhou and Gaia, he rushed into the Time-Space Fortress.
Inside the fortress, the air was thick with a dark crimson hue. The entire space glowed dimly red, and the floor of the first level was covered with rows of jagged, thorn-like grey stone pillars.
The three Ultramen stepped cautiously onto the first layer and moved forward a few paces — when suddenly, black-and-red mist began to pour out from the shadows.
Within moments, the mist coalesced into a towering, dark giant.
One of Etelgar's puppets — Dark Mephistopheles.
Mephistopheles — originally created by the great dark being Dark Zagi as a warrior of shadow to challenge the light itself — was none other than the archenemy of Ultraman Nexus.
But right now, Nexus was still sealed within the Magic Mirror, having only been briefly restored by Arena moments earlier before being locked away again.
So, the task of dealing with this puppet fell squarely on Yu Zhou, Max, and Gaia.
"Same as before — finish it fast!" Yu Zhou shouted.
Every puppet Etelgar created was far weaker than its original. Just like before, the plan was to take it down quickly and head straight for Etelgar at the top level.
"No problem!"
"Got it!"
Max and Gaia both agreed. Without wasting another second, they charged toward Dark Mephistopheles.
"Gaia, we'll pin him down! Max, get your finisher ready!" Yu Zhou called out mid-flight.
Dark Mephistopheles didn't flinch — instead, he roared and charged right back toward them.
Yu Zhou, still in his Power Type, grabbed one of the dark giant's arms tightly upon impact.
At the same time, Gaia caught the other arm and crossed both hands over his chest, locking Mephistopheles firmly in place.
The dark puppet thrashed violently, but against the combined strength of two Ultramen, he couldn't break free.
"Maxium Cannon!"
Max raised his right hand, gathering green energy — then unleashed a powerful beam that slammed directly into Dark Mephistopheles's chest.
Yu Zhou and Gaia immediately released their grips, letting the puppet be hurled backward by the impact.
Boom!
The blast sent the dark giant flying before erupting into a massive explosion.
Just like the puppet Dark Lugiel, he didn't even have a chance to counterattack — instantly obliterated.
Yu Zhou and Gaia returned to Max's side. With a flash of light, the three Ultramen ascended together, flying toward the upper layers of the fortress.
"By the way, Max," Yu Zhou suddenly asked as they flew upward, "is Kaito still inside you?"
Kaito Touma, Max's human host — a brave Earthling who once fought side by side with him in another dimension.
"No," Max replied after a moment's thought. "Kaito should still be on Earth right now."
He wasn't sure why Yu Zhou was asking, but he answered honestly nonetheless.
"I see," Yu Zhou nodded.
So, Max was now operating entirely under his own consciousness — no human co-pilot this time.
"Wait, didn't we just fly past the second layer?" Gaia suddenly said.
Come to think of it, they had zipped past another floor. Gaia thought he saw an insect alien standing there, but since Tiga and Max had been talking, he didn't stop to check.
"Did we?" Yu Zhou blinked, puzzled. "I was just talking to Max, and somehow the second floor's already behind us?"
If he remembered correctly, the boss of the second layer should've been a Baltan, right?
"Whoa—what the heck is that huge dung beetle?!"
Yu Zhou looked down and exclaimed in surprise.
"Huh?"
Gaia — or rather, Gamu — turned around to look as well.
Sure enough, following right behind them was the same bug-like alien from the second floor they had just ignored.
"It's a Baltan!" Max immediately recognized the creature.
The Baltan was one of the aliens Max had fought — and defeated — in the past. You could even call it one of his old nemeses.
"Oh, a Baltan, huh? I thought it was just a giant dung beetle from somewhere," Yu Zhou said casually.
Max: "..."
Gaia: "..."
"I think its speed's increasing," Gaia observed, glancing back again — the Baltan was indeed closing in fast.
"Oh, trying to out-speed me, are you?"
Yu Zhou came to a sudden stop in midair, crossing his hands at his forehead, then sweeping them downward.
His body transformed — shifting into his Sky Form, a sleek mix of silver and violet light.
"Wait—" Max began, raising a hand as if to say he could handle this one himself. But before he could finish, Yu Zhou had already rocketed forward at high speed, ignoring him completely.
"…Alright then," Max sighed helplessly. "Guess that grudge match will have to wait."
"Freezing Beam!"
Yu Zhou unleashed a beam of icy light as he streaked toward the oncoming Baltan.
But the alien's speed truly was impressive — it dodged the beam with a swift side roll, the freezing ray missing by inches.
"Not bad, beetle boy," Yu Zhou smirked, flashing a universal hand gesture that clearly wasn't a compliment.
"!?"
Though merely a puppet under Etelgar's control, the Baltan still retained some semblance of awareness — and that mocking gesture infuriated it.
It pointed both claws toward Yu Zhou and fired a barrage of Destruction Bolts.
Yu Zhou took a few hits head-on, then closed the distance instantly, pressing his palm against the alien's chest.
"Binding Ray!"
Golden electric arcs spiralled out from Yu Zhou's hand, wrapping around the Baltan's body like chains.
The alien froze — its entire form paralyzed as if struck by lightning — then plummeted downward toward the second layer.
Boom!
The Baltan crashed into the floor below, sending dust and rubble flying.
Without hesitation, Yu Zhou raised his hand and charged a glowing blue sphere.
"Rampart Bomb!"
He hurled the orb downward — and in the blink of an eye, a massive explosion erupted where the alien had fallen.
Flames burst outward, consuming the dust cloud.
The Baltan puppet was completely destroyed.
"Nice work!"
As Yu Zhou rejoined Max and Gaia above, both of them gave him the Ultraman thumbs-up — their own version of a salute.
Yu Zhou, keeping his cool, simply nodded in return — the trademark stoic Ultraman nod — and together, the three continued soaring upward toward the fortress's higher floors.
