Japan—
It wasn't a large country to begin with, and now nearly every prefecture was under attack by swarms of monsters.
Landing amidst the ruins of a devastated city, Yu Zhou immediately charged toward a massive beast — the monster known as Tyrant — which was demolishing the remaining buildings.
Other monsters were also rampaging nearby, but several of Yu Zhou's clones soon arrived to engage them.
Tyrant — the creature that once nearly wiped out the entire Ultra Brothers — glared at Yu Zhou without fear. With an aura befitting a king among monsters, it swung its colossal hammer, the chains rattling as the weapon flew through the air.
Yu Zhou responded instantly. A small beam blade shot from his hand, meeting the hammer mid-flight and striking it down with a clang, sending it crashing into the ground.
Tyrant tried to reel his weapon back in, but the chain wouldn't move — the shining giant had gripped it tightly.
With a furious roar, Tyrant pulled hard on the chain, but the equal and opposite force yanked him forward instead.
Unmoved, Yu Zhou formed his hand into a blade of light. A bright flash —
Slash!
Sparks burst out as the chain was severed cleanly in two.
Tyrant's eyes widened in disbelief. That weapon was practically part of his body — and now it had been broken. Rage filled his monstrous face.
After a brief charge-up, Tyrant spewed a torrent of blazing fire from his mouth.
Yu Zhou calmly extended a hand, summoning a shimmering Light Barrier in midair. The flames licked against it harmlessly as he stepped forward, unfazed.
When the flames failed, Tyrant tried something else — he unleashed a blast of freezing air from his Bemstar-shaped torso.
But the frost met the same fate as the fire, dissipating harmlessly against Yu Zhou's shining barrier.
Desperate, Tyrant fired twin arrow-shaped energy bolts from his ears.
This time, Yu Zhou lowered the barrier and advanced. The bolts struck the radiant Shining Ring Shield on his body, but failed to leave even a mark.
In the next instant, light flashed again —
And Tyrant's horn and both ear projectors clattered to the ground.
Before Tyrant could even scream, Yu Zhou's flaming fist slammed into his gut. A thunderous explosion echoed across the ruins as the monster's body burst apart, engulfed in flames.
Protected by his radiant shield, Yu Zhou emerged from the smoke unharmed, his glowing figure reappearing amid the fiery haze.
"So cool…"
"Tiga came to Japan!"
"Thank you, Tiga! You saved us!"
"Go, Ultraman!"
"Tiga, let me fight by your side!"
Voices rang out across the rubble. Survivors emerged from shelters and shadows, cheering wildly.
Compared to the people of Huaxia, the Japanese were far more excitable — even dreaming about becoming Tiga's human host themselves.
A foolish fantasy, but an understandable one.
Yu Zhou turned his head slightly toward the gathered survivors, giving them a brief nod before leaping into the air and flying away.
He kept his altitude low, scanning the city below. Despite searching, there was no sign of Dark Lugiel.
He wasn't sure which part of Japan the creature had appeared in.
If he reverted to human form and checked the news on a phone, he might find something — but he wasn't sure if he could still transform back into Shining Tiga afterward.
Still, Japan wasn't that big. His clones were already scattered across the nation, fighting monsters and, hopefully, finding Lugiel's whereabouts.
Then, faintly—
"H… help… help…"
A weak cry drifted from below, carried by the wind.
Yu Zhou frowned. His hearing was incredibly sharp, but even so, picking out that small voice among countless cries of despair was surprising.
All along the way, there had been screams, wails, and pleas for rescue. He couldn't save them all. His mission was to destroy the monsters — after that, rescue teams would come for the survivors.
Some had already begun saving others on their own.
Landing on a cracked highway, Yu Zhou noticed a faint life signal beneath a large overturned truck.
Underneath the truck was a crushed car, inside which several people sat motionless — their bodies battered and lifeless.
Only the driver in the front seat still had a flicker of life.
"...It's him."
Yu Zhou grasped the truck and lifted it with ease. Then, enveloping the wounded man in a cocoon of light energy, he flew away from the ruins.
Finding a quiet hill on the outskirts, Yu Zhou destroyed a few nearby stray monsters and laid the man gently on the ground.
The light around his hands shifted from power to healing. Gradually, the man's wounds began to close, and the faint pulse of life grew stronger.
Moments later, the man stirred. His eyes fluttered open, blurry at first — until they fixed on the enormous, radiant figure before him.
"Tiga…?"
He blinked, dazed. "I… wasn't I evacuating? What happened?"
He remembered driving during the monster attack, ferrying a few injured evacuees to safety.
But now… he was here.
And standing before him — the real Ultraman Tiga.
"Did you… see the people in my car?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Where are they?"
As he brushed the dust from his clothes, something fell from his pocket — a small crystal rod.
"Ah—sorry." He scratched his head awkwardly and picked it up. "This is… my most precious keepsake. It was a gift from Tsuburaya Productions."
He smiled sheepishly at the towering giant of light.
"They didn't make it."
The deep, resonant voice startled him.
Tiga had spoken.
Ever since Tiga appeared in the real world, no one had ever heard him talk — until now.
Hearing those words, the man fell silent. His smile faded as grief clouded his eyes.
He hadn't saved them after all.
"If only…" he murmured, clutching the crystal rod tightly. "If only I had Tiga's power… maybe I could have done something."
He looked up at the radiant warrior before him, admiration and longing reflecting in his gaze.