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"The great Kaiju of the Meireki era... has been destroyed."
"We won."
Kafka watched the Meireki Great Monster crumble to ash inside the mental space and said it blankly, like he still couldn't quite believe it.
According to Kaiju No. 8, it was supposed to go differently. He was supposed to fully transform into a Kaiju, throw himself into a life-and-death battle against his ancient sworn enemy, fight through hell and back, and only then , after all of that , finally break a four-hundred-year-old grudge.
"Yeah."
"We won."
Kaiju No. 8 stood beside him in that samurai armor, watching the same scene: the Meireki Great Monster, defeated. Effortlessly.
There is always someone stronger. There is always a higher sky.
That saying was as true now as it had ever been. He still couldn't quite wrap his mind around how suddenly it had all ended.
"A giant who emerged from the light."
"Ultraman."
"I will remember that name."
The dark grudge coiled inside the samurai armor was slowly coming apart, dissolving like smoke. Their long-cherished wish had been fulfilled. Their souls could finally rest.
The war was over.
The brutal carnage they had braced for never came. This war, fought in the modern age, had ended far more beautifully than the ancient one ever had.
The being called Ultraman , for the sake of these humans, weaker than any of them , had ended it. Even the Meireki Great Monster, the creature that had embodied the world's destruction, had barely managed a ripple before him. These giants carried power beyond imagination, and they had brought hope to this world.
These grudges no longer had any reason to exist.
"Our time together was short," Kaiju No. 8 said. "But you are a true warrior."
"These powers of ours — in your hands, they will bring a longer peace to this world."
"And being able to meet Ultraman..." A pause. "That was a fortunate thing. Truly."
"Goodbye."
The samurais' grudge dissolved completely after those final words.
Kafka withdrew from the mental space.
He returned to the battlefield , the frozen surface of the ocean.
"Senior!"
"The war... it's over!"
Every Kaiju that had surged up from the seafloor had been wiped out. Reno Ichikawa ran to Kaiju Kafka's side, grinning wide as he shouted.
"Ichikawa..."
Kafka turned at the sound of his voice. He looked at the white-haired youth standing in the wreckage of a battlefield that had finally gone quiet.
His Kaiju face slowly receded, half of his human features surfacing beneath it.
He smiled at the kid.
"Master Natsuki and the others pulled it off," he said. "Even a monster written into history couldn't stop them from making this miracle happen."
---
That night.
Defense Force First Division, Ariake Seaside Base. Underground training room.
"Ten people. Perfect."
Natsuki stood at the entrance in his floral shirt, looking over the line of Travelers assembled before him. He gave a satisfied nod.
Left to right: the former American Defense Force commander, the former Defense Force researcher with the long hair, the two Third Division recruits Lucas and Takayuki Hashimoto, then the Kaiju , Skeletal Dragon, Orochi, Leviathan, Gargoyle, and the Giant Spider.
All of them, human and Kaiju core alike, stood in a row and waited for his next move.
Albert stood off to the side.
Ten Travelers. All ten, captured. Every single one from this world, about to be transferred to the Land of Light's Cosmic Prison.
They were all people the system had already marked for elimination. Prison wasn't exactly a great outcome, but it beat the alternative , and after everything that had happened, not one of them was looking to start trouble.
"I'm going to transport you to the universe where the Land of Light is located," Natsuki said. "Someone will meet you there and escort you to the Cosmic Prison. You'll each receive a sentence based on your individual circumstances." He looked them over. "Any objections?"
"None!"
As if. After everything they'd been through, who in their right mind would mouth off to this Ultraman geezer?
Natsuki nodded. He passed his hand over the bracelet on his right wrist.
Pinpricks of light scattered out from it like stars, weaving together into a space-time channel that pulsed with strange, shifting colors.
He sent them through one by one.
When the last one was gone, he turned back to Albert, still standing there in his white lab coat, waiting.
Same as always. The world's settlement hadn't come yet , if they both left at the same time, odds were good they'd cross paths again in the next world.
"Hikari heard about you," Natsuki said. "He's interested. You've already proven where you stand — if you go to the Land of Light now, you can meet him directly. With any luck, you might even get a foot in the door at the Space Science and Technology Bureau."
Albert had been no small help across these last few missions. And Natsuki knew exactly what the man wanted more than anything.
"Is that... really possible?" Albert's expression shifted. He hesitated. "I should still be able to help in future worlds."
He wanted to be free of the Traveler system. He would give anything for it. But right now, he believed he could still do more , still be useful to Natsuki.
Natsuki shook his head.
"If you don't go now, I can't guarantee you survive."
Albert had already been eliminated down to this world because of mission failures. This time, he at least had a shot at a second chance. But if the system cut him loose entirely in the next round, there would be nothing Natsuki could do in time to save him.
Three mission worlds disrupted in a row. What came next was anyone's guess.
Keeping Albert undercover among the Travelers any longer , the risk had hit its ceiling.
Natsuki needed intelligence. He wasn't going to buy it with someone's life. He'd watched what Albert had done throughout all of this, and he couldn't just look the other way.
"This..."
Albert still hesitated. He didn't think what he'd done was enough to have earned his freedom.
Natsuki's eyebrow went up.
WHAM.
"Get in there!"
He was behind Albert in an instant , one clean kick, footprint stamped square on the seat of that white lab coat , and sent him straight through the space-time channel.
The channel closed.
Natsuki smoothed out his floral shirt and walked out of the training room.
"All taken care of?" Musashi was already waiting in the corridor, blue jacket, easy smile. He'd been there a while. "How'd it go?"
"Yeah." Natsuki glanced over at him. "Sent them all to the Land of Light. Once their connection to the organization behind all this gets cut, we should be able to pull quite a bit of intelligence out of it."
"I really do owe you one for this."
"Once I wrap up this whole run of missions, I'll come visit Planet Juran."
Musashi smiled. "I'll be looking forward to it." He paused. "And if you run into something you can't handle on your own — find me. Anytime."
Every Ultra Warrior had something to protect. Every one of them had their own mission. When things got bad, they helped each other. The rest of the time, they stayed out of each other's way and let every warrior walk their own path.
Musashi had understood from the beginning what this whole series of missions was really about. He would be there when it mattered. He wouldn't overstep.
"Okay." Natsuki nodded, and smiled back.
➤ Next: Where's My House!?
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