The giant's fist struck the body of The Doombeast, and the immense force directly knocked it backward.
As The Doombeast retreated into the distance, everyone on the starship finally let out a sigh of relief.
Only then did they have the energy to take a closer look at the giant who had just repelled The Doombeast.
The silver body of the giant was patterned with red and black gray ash markings, streams of light flowed around him. At his chest was a crystal-like X shaped radiating blue light, while his deep white eyes glowed with a mysterious, faint brilliance.
No one knew who this giant was. Even the knowledgeable Tingyun, after searching through her memory, could not find an answer.
But one thing was certain, this giant had helped them repel The Doombeast.
"X!" Daichi shouted.
Ultraman X raised his hand and fired a light bullet, which flew straight toward The Doombeast's core.
However, The Doombeast immediately reacted. Its two palms crossed before its chest just as the light bullet approached, forming a defensive barrier around its core.
Flames flared across The Doombeast's palms, leaving clear burn marks at the point of impact.
It seemed to have little effect, though. Ultraman X wasn't discouraged, he charged forward fearlessly closing the distance in an instant.
With his five fingers tightly clenched, X's punch drove straight toward The Doombeast's core.
But The Doombeast refused to yield. Energy surged from its right palm into its left, and both arms, glowing with power, crossed together to block X's strike.
At the moment his attack was blocked, Ultraman X gathered energy in his free hand. His arm shone with blinding light his fingers tightened into a blade-like edge, and with no hesitation, he slashed down at The Doombeast's arm.
X crossed slashed his arm-blade! A flash of white light burst across The Doombeast's body!
Even though The Doombeast's core was incredibly strong, its right arm was still shattered by that single blow.
During the battle, though his five fingers remained intact, his opponent's arm was completely severed.
"Nice hit!" Daichi cheered.
[Don't get cocky, we need to end this quickly! We don't have much time left!]
X's voice echoed through the virtual subspace of the simulation. At this moment, the data streams within the virtual space began flashing red as if sounding an alarm.
Everyone aboard the ship also saw it. the crystal-like timer on Ultraman X's chest had started flashing red!
"So soon?!"
Daichi looked at the color timer on X's chest in disbelief. The light had turned red much faster than expected.
Usually, even during intense battles, the light wouldn't turn red until halfway through a fight. Could it be that the duration of X's transformation in this world was different? Or perhaps his fusion with Ultraman X was so unstable that he couldn't even maintain the three-minute limit?
[Daichi, the energy within my body has been greatly drained. I used up a lot of energy transporting you here. We need to finish this quickly.]
X's voice carried a trace of urgency, he also knew how dire the situation had become.
The flashing red light meant that their remaining time was running out. If they didn't destroy The Doombeast soon, both he and everyone on the ship would be in grave danger.
Daichi's gaze turned toward the core of The Doombeast. That core a dark, glowing sphere was its only weak point and the energy source driving this monstrous weapon of destruction.
If they could destroy it, The Doombeast would lose its energy supply and no longer pose a threat.
But just as Daichi formulated his plan, The Doombeast suddenly began to change.
The dark red core within its chest started to pulse violently. The small, skeletal arms surrounding the core began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye, forming a second pair of massive arms!
At the same time, the glowing core that once floated on its chest sank deep into the monster's body.
"No way... is this its second phase?"
"And it's evolving into a true Overlord Form?"
The unexpected transformation shocked Daichi. After completing its second-stage evolution, The Doombeast spread its new wings wide, and the space around it rippled with tremendous force. it was preparing its strongest attack, a devastating area-of-effect blast.
This was The Doombeast's most powerful form and also the one that had annihilated countless civilizations in the past.
Daichi had seen this move in the game. It was deadly.
After The Doombeast entered its second life stage in the game, it would unleash an enormous area attack during its transition phase.
And right now, that same devastating move was about to happen again but in reality.
Was The Doombeast insane? If it released that attack here, wouldn't the entire commercial fleet nearby be wiped out too?!
Without those ships, how could they possibly escape or fight back?
X gathered his remaining energy between both hands, then formed a radiant shield in front of him. The shield expanded instantly, its twin wings flaring out. In the next second, the shimmering barrier completely enveloped the fleet behind him, protecting them from the blast.
But the pressure from The Doombeast's attack didn't stop there its destructive energy slammed violently against the barrier, though surprisingly it didn't immediately shatter it.
However, as time dragged on, the barrier began to strain. The flashing frequency of X's chest timer grew faster and faster.
Yet, despite the increasing pressure, X held his ground.
[Daichi, we're running out of time!!]
The red light flickered with increasing urgency. At the same time, The Doombeast was already gathering its strongest attack the massive energy wave was about to erupt again.
Seeing this, X maintained the barrier, bracing for impact against The Doombeast's destructive strike.
But Daichi, staring intently at the glowing shield, seemed to realize something.
"X, do you think… this barrier are more hard than our heads?"
[Huh?]
Before X could finish responding, Daichi grabbed the barrier and smashed it against X's head.
In that instant, everyone aboard the ship saw it the massive barrier split into two separate shards! Under Daichi control, he seized the shards.
[What—!?]
Even X was caught off guard by Daichi's sudden action. Before he could react, Daichi had already sent the two barrier shards flying toward The Doombeast's body.
One pierced through The Doombeast's upper chest, while the other plunged straight toward the dark core deep within its torso!
[T-this… how did you—!?]
Even X was astonished. This move splitting the barrier into twin blades and launching them like that wasn't something even X himself could've done.
Daichi just smiled faintly.
"It's Ultra Imagination, X!"
let's Just hope that after this, Arc won't come knocking later to demand copyright fees.
"Let's finish this X!"
[Got it!]
The Doombeast's core, already critically damaged, froze in place for a brief instant. Seizing the opportunity, the timer on X's chest began to flash with a brilliant golden light followed by a blue glow as energy gathered in his right arm. He drew power into his left leg and kicked the barrier shard that was still embedded in the Doombeast's core.
The impact caused another massive shock within the core. Using the force of the recoil, Daichi spun backward through the void, putting some distance between himself and The Doombeast.
Then, X crossed his arms.
["Xanadium Beam"]
An X-shaped beam of light burst from X's crossed hands, striking The Doombeast's body dead-on.
Streams of blue data poured violently out of The Doombeast's form. Under the overwhelming power of the Xanadium Beam, its body erupted in a massive explosion. From the center of the blast, torrents of data gathered together, condensing into a single streak of light that shot out from the explosion and flew into X's color timer.
"This is…"
Inside X's inner dimension, Daichi caught the glowing stream with his hand. Looking closely, he realized it had turned into a miniature version of The Doombeast itself.
He was stunned.
Wait… even The Doombeast can be turned into a Spark Doll by the Xanadium Beam?
[Daichi, time's up.]
Before Daichi could examine whether the Spark Doll in his hand should be labeled "Bandai" or "HoYoverse," he heard X's weak voice echoing in the virtual subspace.
Moments later, X's giant body dissolved into shimmering particles of light, flowing back into the star raft's control room, and eventually reverting to Daichi's human form.
"Benefactor? Is that you?"
As the light faded, Tingyun looked closely and saw that the radiant giant had turned back into Daichi, the one who'd been resting in the lounge before. Even she couldn't help being astonished. But when she noticed Daichi's unsteady movements, she quickly rushed forward and caught him before he could fall.
The moment Daichi's transformation ended, a wave of exhaustion surged through his body. His legs gave out, and he collapsed backward straight into a soft embrace.
"Benefactor? are you all right?"
Tingyun gently supported him, letting him rest against her.
"…Just… a little tired…"
X's energy reserves had already been nearly depleted when he'd expanded the barrier to protect the Starship. The Xanadium Beam had completely drained the last of Daichi's power.
Resting in Tingyun's embrace, Daichi felt the soft sensation pressing gently against the back of his head. A faint, almost elusive fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose a hazy sweetness, delicate yet refined, wrapping around him like a calm, elegant dream.
The scent was pleasant, yet Daichi paid it no mind—because…
Gurgle~
Tingyun instinctively looked down at the sound, only to see Daichi awkwardly pressing his hand against his stomach.
"Sorry… I burned through a lot of energy. I'm starving."
"In that case, please allow me to escort you to dine, my benefactor. You've once again saved our Whistling Flame Merchant Caravan of course we must treat you properly. Though, I must apologize… our provisions on the road aren't as lavish as those in Luofu. I hope you won't mind. Once we return, this humble girl will prepare a proper feast for you."
"As long as it's edible, I'm not picky," Daichi said with a smile.
"Then I hope our food suits your taste."
Supporting the weary Daichi by the arm, Tingyun led him to the caravan's dining hall.
Though she had said their meals weren't particularly luxurious, perhaps their standards of "simple" differed. As Tingyun began setting out dish after dish before him, Daichi finally understood what she meant by "not lavish."
There were far more dishes than anything his university cafeteria ever served each vibrant in color, rich in aroma, and mouthwatering in appearance.
It seemed the Whistling Flame Caravan's meals were truly top-tier.
Famished beyond reason, Daichi began devouring the food while Tingyun watched with an amused smile.
However, as the stack of empty plates beside him grew higher and higher, Tingyun's expression shifted subtly.
"My benefactor certainly has… quite the appetite."
She looked in awe at the small mountain of plates, while Daichi leaned back, patting his slightly bulging stomach and letting out a satisfied burp.
Even he seemed shocked by how much he'd eaten.
Since when I could eat this much?
[Energy restored at last… gah, it's so dark! Daichi! Where are you!?]
The sudden cry from the X Terminal in Daichi's pocket snapped him out of his daze. He quickly pulled it out.
"Oh right… I forgot he hates the dark."
[Daichi, please don't put me in your pocket again!]
As soon as the device was exposed to light, X let out a clearly relieved sigh.
"Alright, alright, I won't do it again," Daichi chuckled. "But seriously, why is a Giant of Light afraid of the dark?"
[W–What do you mean afraid of the dark?! I'm not afraid!]
X's voice rose defensively. He immediately went on a ramble about how a being of light can't possibly be afraid of darkness, how it's actually a heightened awareness of sensory deprivation, and so on prompting Daichi to burst into laughter.
Across the table, Tingyun watched their exchange with curious amusement. When Daichi finally settled down, she tilted her head slightly and asked
"My benefactor, have you paired your jade communication device with an artificial intelligence? How fascinating."
A talking jade terminal with emotions that was far more advanced than any of the mechanical intelligences used in Luofu. Could it possibly host a sentient AI consciousness?
"Artificial intelligence? Nope."
Daichi turned the phone screen toward her.
"His name's X. You've met him before, actually."
"Met him?" Tingyun blinked, puzzled, as she looked at the glowing figure on the screen half-bodied, outlined in faint light.
Just an hour ago, she had indeed seen this same image.
"This… this is the giant you transformed into?" she murmured.
The device's design particularly the headphone-like structure around the head was unmistakably familiar.
At that moment, X greeted her politely
[My name is X. Pleased to meet you, Miss Tingyun.]