The Hipporit Alien was still reeling in shock that its supposedly unbreakable glass prison had been shattered. Before it could recover, Tiga—now in his Power Type form—landed a thunderous punch that sent the alien hurtling across the ground, nearly half-dead from the impact.
"Let's end this quickly," Yuzhou muttered.
Seeing how weak the Hipporit Alien looked, he had no intention of dragging out the fight. The longer it lasted, the more dangerous it could become.
What worried him most was the possibility that this place might turn out like the Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey or Ultra Eight Brothers world—where new monsters kept appearing one after another.
Silvergon and Hipporit had both appeared in that world, after all.
If the fused monster Giga Chimera were to appear next, Yuzhou knew that fighting it alone would be an almost impossible challenge.
He was about to unleash his Delacium Light Stream, when the Hipporit Alien suddenly sprang up from the ground.
Sensing that Yuzhou was about to use a finishing move, the alien immediately took off into the sky, fleeing at full speed.
"Trying to escape?"
Crossing his arms before his forehead, Yuzhou's body shifted colours—from red and silver to silver and violet.
In the next instant, he shot upward in a flash of light, pursuing the fleeing Hipporit Alien.
"So fast!"
"Look, Tiga's chasing it!"
"That was the Power Type earlier—now it's the Sky Type!"
"Yeah, I saw the transformation clearly!"
"His flight speed is incredible!"
"Of course! The Sky Type is Tiga's best form for aerial combat!"
As the people below watched, the two luminous figures became distant dots in the sky.
They were thrilled—this was the first time they had ever witnessed Tiga's form changes in real life.
The red-and-silver Power Type, the silver-and-violet Sky Type—these were forms they'd seen countless times on TV, but to see them in person was almost overwhelming.
The Hipporit Alien was fast, but Yuzhou was faster.
Turning into a violet streak of light, he closed in rapidly from behind. As he pierced through the clouds, he left a long, shimmering purple trail across the sky—a breathtaking sight that drew countless gazes from the ground below.
Firing multiple light blades and energy shots, Yuzhou aimed to force the alien down.
Several missed, but one struck true—hitting the Hipporit Alien squarely in the back.
That one hit was enough to send it spiralling downward, falling toward the earth in a steep diagonal descent.
"Now!"
Yuzhou gathered his energy and formed a Lampart Light Bullet, hurling it at lightning speed toward the falling alien.
The projectile struck dead-on. Blue electrical arcs crackled violently over the Hipporit Alien's body before it exploded into a massive fireball midair.
Hovering in the sky, Yuzhou watched as the alien disintegrated into dust and nodded with satisfaction.
"That's one less menace to worry about."
But then—something large flew out of the explosion, hurtling straight toward him.
Reacting instinctively, Yuzhou reached out and caught it.
The moment he looked at what he was holding, he froze—then cursed.
"Oh, come on…"
It was the Hipporit Alien's trunk—that disgusting appendage from its face.
"Everything else blew up, but this survived?"
Without hesitation, Yuzhou tossed it away, grimacing.
Just then, the distant sound of fighter jets echoed from behind him. They were Japanese Air Force units dispatched to attack the monster—but they had arrived too late.
The jets circled, seeing only drifting ashes where the alien had been.
Inside one of the cockpits, a young pilot let out a frustrated sigh. "Tiga already took it down… we didn't even get a shot in."
They had been instructed to collect any monster remains for research—but it seemed there would be none left this time.
Still, flying so close to Ultraman Tiga filled the pilot with awe and nostalgia.
Tiga Ultraman… the hero from my childhood.
He remembered watching the show's finale years ago—how he had even grabbed a flashlight and shone it at the TV, trying to "revive" Tiga when he turned to stone.
A soft laugh escaped him. "I really was a kid back then…"
Their current orders were simple: if any monster fragments remained, retrieve them for analysis. Otherwise, avoid conflict with Tiga.
In truth, Japan's high command held great respect for Ultraman. The Ultraman legacy was deeply woven into their culture—and with monsters now appearing for real, many saw Tiga as a true protector of Earth.
To the Japanese people, Ultraman was practically a national treasure.
The pilot himself had been a fan since childhood.
As his jet passed near Tiga, he noticed something strange—Tiga was holding something in his hand.
"That's… the Hipporit Alien's nose!"
His heart leapt. If he could bring that back, it would be a major discovery.
"Ultraman Tiga! Ultraman Tiga! Can you hear me?"
Switching to drone mode, the pilot waved from the cockpit and called out over the comms.
Even through the jet's glass, Yuzhou could see the man gesturing at him. He nodded once in acknowledgment.
"Yes! He heard me!" the pilot said excitedly. "Tiga, could you give me that… that nose you're holding?"
Yuzhou blinked. So that's what this guy wanted? He thought they were trying to communicate about something important.
Still, if that was all—fine. He didn't want to keep holding the gross thing anyway.
Pointing toward the ground, Yuzhou slowly descended back to Yokohama.
Setting the alien's trunk carefully on the ground, he watched as several jets landed nearby. The pilots disembarked, clearly overwhelmed to be this close to Tiga in person.
Without another word, Yuzhou turned, launching himself skyward again. His body began to dissolve into shimmering light particles, ready to return home.
But just as he was about to vanish into the sky—
Camearra's voice echoed suddenly in his mind.
The shock nearly made Yuzhou fall out of the air.