Haruki was inexplicably ordered to step out of Windom, and even Yoko was called down by Juggler from King Joe to help evacuate civilians.
"But the surrounding civilians have already—"
Yoko had just begun to speak when Juggler cut her off.
"There are still some thrill-seekers hanging around. Clear them out first."
"Understood!"
"Roger!"
Yet after Haruki and Yoko left, Yuzhou and Juggler waited for a long time—far longer than expected. Nothing happened at all.
"…Enough waiting."
Patience had its limits. Yuzhou had reached his.
The Yapool was taking far too long to show itself, and the delay was irritating.
He took out the Sparklence and pressed the transformation trigger.
Amid rippling halos of light and the clear chime of silver bells, Yuzhou transformed into Ultraman Tiga, trailing particles of light as he flew straight toward the still-unbroken interdimensional rift.
"…Figures."
Juggler stared blankly at the scene and muttered those two words.
So this was what it meant to be strong enough to hunt monsters at will.
"An Ultraman appeared!"
"It's the silver–purple–red one!"
"He looks amazing!"
"Yeah, cold, stylish, and obviously powerful!"
"I've only seen him fight monsters a few times, but he never even struggles!"
"..."
Tiga's appearance instantly exposed him to public view.
Defense Force members, civilians, Yoko, Yuka—everyone began discussing this Ultraman in excited voices.
As always, no matter the world, the first thing people noticed about Tiga was his appearance.
Still, his actions puzzled everyone.
"Is he… planning to enter the interdimensional space directly?"
Yoko looked up at the sky in confusion.
"Ultraman Tiga—ah, I mean, Ultraman… he's probably planning to eliminate the threat at its source," Haruki said beside her.
"Tiga?" Yoko paused. "Is that his name?"
"…Yes."
Sweat formed on Haruki's forehead as he answered.
"How do you know that?" Yoko asked suspiciously.
"Uh… I named him myself!"
A slip of the tongue. Since humanity didn't officially know Tiga's name yet, Haruki had no choice but to improvise.
"…It actually sounds pretty good."
"Yeah!"
Yuzhou clenched his fist as he stopped in front of the rift, which looked like shattered glass suspended in the sky.
If Yapool refused to come out, then he would force the issue.
He threw a punch.
Boom!
The sky erupted with violent energy waves that spread outward in all directions. Yuzhou remained unmoved, floating calmly as the cracks expanded—until the rift completely shattered.
Scorching flames burst out from within the interdimensional space and slammed into the ground.
Before the fire could spread, it compressed inward, condensing into a single form.
A monster.
No—
A Choju.
Baraba.
"So you finally came out."
Yuzhou descended slowly, eyes fixed on the super beast.
Fangs filled its mouth, orange-yellow eyes gleamed with savage hostility, and thick scales covered its body. A short sword protruded from its head.
One arm wielded a massive hammer, the other a scythe—both weapons radiating lethality.
"Ace! Ace! Ace! AAAAAACE!!!"
As thin smoke dispersed from Baraba's body, Yuzhou saw it clearly—its crimson tongue flicked in and out as it screamed Ultraman Ace's name.
The dominant consciousness was unmistakable.
Yapool.
It was here for revenge.
Yuzhou raised his stance calmly, but to his surprise, Baraba suddenly charged toward Windom instead.
With a single hammer blow, it smashed the robot to the ground, still screaming Ace's name.
"…Has it lost its mind?"
Yuzhou immediately realized the problem.
Baraba—no, Yapool—had mistaken Windom for Ultraman Ace.
To be fair… Windom's face did resemble Ace's slightly.
But mistaking the two entirely?
"That's beyond face blindness. That's medical."
Yuzhou briefly felt like donating a box of eye drops to the Choju.
"Why is it attacking Windom?!" Haruki stared in disbelief.
He had clearly heard the name Baraba was shouting.
Ace.
The same Ace he and Z had just discussed.
"It probably thinks Windom is Ace-niisan," Z's voice echoed through the Z Riser.
Haruki was speechless.
Windom isn't Ace—it's me, ossu…
This repair bill was going to hurt.
Yuzhou didn't allow the attack to continue.
He grabbed the short sword on Baraba's head and yanked the super beast away from Windom.
Enraged, Baraba spun around wildly, swinging hammer and scythe in a frenzy, attempting to pulverize Yuzhou.
Yuzhou responded with a kick, forcing distance between them.
"Ace! I'll have my revenge! Ace—I'll kill you!"
Baraba's rant intensified, once again mistaking Yuzhou for Ace.
Yuzhou shook his head.
Not just face-blind—color-blind too.
The kick earlier confirmed it: Baraba's durability was exceptional.
Compared to Choju from Ace's original era, this one possessed far greater defensive power.
"…Let's have some fun."
Tiga's body shifted into Sky Type, silver and purple light intertwining.
A freezing beam struck Baraba's head, detonating into icy mist that rapidly encased its entire body.
A frozen statue.
But only briefly.
Cracks spread, and the ice shattered.
Baraba broke free.
Before it could react, another beam fired.
Golden light bindings wrapped around Baraba's body, immobilizing it completely.
Only for a few seconds.
With a roar, Baraba shattered the restraints, lowered its head, and fired the short sword—now trailing blue energy—straight at Yuzhou.
If Sky Type Tiga couldn't evade this, there'd be no point in using the form.
The attack was fast.
Yuzhou was faster.
With a sharp flash, he vanished.
The sword pierced a nearby building, detonating it into rubble.
A purple afterimage flickered.
Baraba's vision blurred—
—and a silver fist rapidly filled its field of view.
(End of Chapter)