"Yes. That's right.
This is the Giga Battlenizer."
Yuzhou nodded, admitting it openly.
"It's real?" Ace frowned in disbelief. "But the Giga Battlenizer was destroyed long ago. And why is it in your hands?"
"Don't worry about such minor details," Yuzhou said flatly.
"Let's kill Yapool's Baraba first."
With that, he tightened his grip on the Giga Battlenizer and charged forward.
Mid-sprint, Yuzhou leapt.
The black staff descended from above like a falling star, smashing down hard onto Baraba's head.
Sparks erupted on impact.
Yuzhou had expected the short sword embedded in Baraba's head to shatter instantly—but to his surprise, it remained firmly in place.
No visible external damage.
Instead, the ground beneath Baraba's feet caved in several inches.
Flames burst outward.
Seizing the moment while Yuzhou was in close range, Baraba counterattacked.
Ace moved in from the flank, silver longsword flashing as he slashed repeatedly at Baraba's limbs.
Baraba swung its hammer and scythe in wide arcs, barely managing to fend off Ace's relentless swordplay while continuing to spew flames.
Yuzhou raised one hand.
A freezing beam shot out, instantly extinguishing the flames.
The Giga Battlenizer followed—
—strikes falling like rain.
Again and again, the staff crashed into Baraba's body.
Its defense was terrifyingly high.
But Yuzhou wasn't using an ordinary weapon.
The Giga Battlenizer was nothing short of a divine artifact. When Belial wielded it to storm the Land of Light, countless Ultramen had fallen to this very staff.
Under the combined assault of Yuzhou and Ace, Baraba finally began to falter.
"Careful!" Ace warned.
"It's about to make a last stand!"
"Not a problem."
Yuzhou raised the Giga Battlenizer horizontally before him.
As expected—
Baraba went berserk.
The short sword launched outward, shredding surrounding buildings. Flames followed, engulfing everything nearby.
Yellow lightning burst continuously from its eyes, explosions echoing across the battlefield.
Both Yuzhou and Ace were well within the attack range.
Yet none of it reached them.
With the Giga Battlenizer held firm, every assault was stopped cold.
Ace had been prepared to deploy an Ultra Barrier—but seeing this, he abandoned the idea and pressed the attack instead.
"Arrow Beam!"
Continuous light shots slammed into Baraba's body, detonating in rapid succession.
The damage wasn't obvious—but the attrition was real.
Yuzhou stepped forward.
Pointing the Giga Battlenizer directly at Baraba, he unleashed a surge of blue lightning.
The electric arcs collided head-on with the lightning from Baraba's eyes.
A violent explosion followed.
Baraba's eye-beam attack was forcibly interrupted.
"Indicator Ray!"
Ace soared upward, spreading his body into a cross-like posture.
From the Color Timer on his chest, a beam of light poured down onto Baraba.
Its defense held—but its vitality continued to erode.
"I'll add one too."
Yuzhou retracted the Giga Battlenizer and shifted back into his Multi Type.
"Color Timer Beam!"
Bracing both arms beside his timer, he released a torrent of multi-coloured light.
Ace was about to speak—
"To stop its movement, we need to keep attacking until it—"
He froze.
A thunderous explosion rang out.
The moment Yuzhou's beam ended, Baraba's massive body detonated violently, fire erupting skyward.
After enduring prolonged attrition, the super beast was annihilated in a spectacular blast.
"—until what?" Yuzhou asked, snapping back to reality and looking at Ace.
"Ahem… nothing," Ace said, waving it off.
"As expected of Earth's ancient Ultraman."
"I fought it for so long, and it was still finished just like that."
"That's because of your earlier attacks," Yuzhou replied calmly.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to finish it so easily."
Ace could tell Yuzhou was being sincere.
He nodded silently.
Above them, the fractured dimensional gate began to repair itself on its own.
"…It can self-repair?" Yuzhou pointed at it.
"That's a bit much."
He had half a mind to jump inside and see if any other horrors were lurking—but the opportunity was gone.
"With Yapool's residual will destroyed, the gate naturally disappears," Ace explained.
"In that case, I'll be leaving."
With Yapool—and Baraba—eliminated, Ace saw no reason to remain on Earth.
But Yuzhou stopped him.
"Wait, Ace."
"Yes?" Ace turned back. "Is there something else?"
"Since you're already here," Yuzhou said casually, "why not stay for tea before you go?"
He was sincere.
Z was on this Earth, after all. Ace had yet to see him.
Letting them meet would be… appropriate.
Though Z called Ace his "brother," Ace had played the role of a father far more than anything else.
Z's name was given by Ace.
He had been raised by Ace.
From Ace to Z—the final letter.
Ace once said he hoped Z would become the final warrior, the one who ended all battles.
And when there was no more evil left in the universe—
—heroes would no longer be needed.
"…No," Ace declined gently.
"I should return."
"Don't you want to see Z?" Yuzhou asked directly.
"Z?"
Ace paused.
His interest was unmistakable.
...
Inside a hotel.
Yuzhou, Juggler, Haruki, and Hokuto Seiji sat around a table.
Of the four, only Haruki looked completely lost.
"Um… may I ask who this elderly gentleman is?"
Aside from Yuzhou and Juggler, Hokuto was the only unfamiliar face.
Haruki looked to Yuzhou for answers.
"Your perspective is too small," Yuzhou said, patting Haruki on the shoulder.
Then he reached forward, took the Z Riser from Haruki's arms, and placed it back into his hands.
"Haruki," Yuzhou said calmly, "lend your body to Z for a moment."
"…Huh?"
Before Haruki could react, his arm rose on its own.
The trigger was pulled.
No Gate of Light appeared.
Instead—
Haruki's body shuddered.
When he looked at Hokuto again, his eyes were filled with overwhelming emotion.
"Ace-niisan!!!"
(End of Chapter)