Seven's son?
With the reveal of Zero's lineage, the audience outside the light curtain, including the many aliens in the Ultra universe who had encountered Ultraman, were all stunned.
No wonder a warrior of Leo's caliber was personally instructing him. So this was a classic case of the son paying for the father's debts.
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage—
Zero: "What!! Seven is my dad?"
On Planet K76, Zero, who had just seen this scene, was thoroughly shocked. Of all the things he could have imagined, he never thought that Seven would be his father.
After all, what kind of biological father sends his own son to a place like this to get beaten up?
Thinking about all the beatings he had endured over the years, Zero had no doubt that if Ultraman King hadn't been watching, Leo would have absolutely beaten him to death.
No... wait a minute.
Zero held his forehead, lost in thought.
He remembered reading in the Land of Light's textbooks that Leo had undergone Seven's inhuman training on Earth to become the renowned King of Combat.
Things like fighting with a jeep and splitting waterfalls—although not in the textbooks, he had heard bits and pieces from Leo himself during their years together.
That level of training was brutal beyond measure; it must have left a painful impression on him.
Connecting that to Leo's training of him—relying on the fact that Ultraman King was there to prevent any lasting injuries, Leo basically left him bruised and exhausted every single time...
Zero looked up, a sudden realization dawning on him. This... could this be a typical case of... the son paying the father's debt!
You've got some nerve, Leo! You have a score to settle, so go find Seven! Why are you taking it out on me so ruthlessly...
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Wait, Zero is Seven's son? Does that mean Ultramen can have children?"
Ruan Mei: "Based on the current information, yes. It makes one curious... would Tayzzyronth's concept of Propagation have any effect on an Ultraman?"
The Overseer: "If what the light curtain says is true, and the Swarm King's will can even influence machines, then a being of light... would naturally not be immune. At the end of the day, Ultramen still possess biological traits."
---o---
Light Curtain Video—
After Ultraman King's words, Zero recalled his own past immaturity and Seven's timely intervention to stop him.
After a moment of silence, he thought of Seven, who was now hovering between life and death.
He had grown up a lot, after all. The Zero of today, although he wouldn't say it out loud, felt a strange sense of gratitude towards Seven.
This gratitude became even stronger after learning that Seven was his father.
Thus, he looked up at the stars, a fierce light shining in his eyes. Then, with a powerful leap, he shot off into the boundless universe.
The heavy Training Armor slid off and fell to the ground, smashing a large crater into the earth.
This showed just how powerful Zero truly was, to be able to fight Leo to a standstill, and even slightly overpower him, while still bound by the armor.
The King watched Zero's departing figure and nodded with satisfaction. After all, this was the child Seven had entrusted to him.
Seeing Zero rush off to fight for the peace of the universe like a rising new star, he naturally felt the gratification of a proud grandfather.
However... although Zero's strength was astonishing and he was very young, his power alone was far from enough to deal with the Swarm.
Not to mention the master behind the compound eye, even the mysterious Swarm King that had defeated Ultraman would be difficult for the current Zero to overcome.
Without his personal intervention, it would likely take the combined might of the entire Land of Light to fight a decisive battle against the Swarm.
"Swoosh—"
As Ultraman King was deep in thought, a ray of light pierced through myriad dimensions and, without him even noticing, streaked towards Planet K76 at an astonishing speed.
What a ray of light it was. A fusion of white and gold, it added a touch of divinity, as vast as a supergiant star plummeting through the dark cosmos.
Its mysterious and powerful energy illuminated every corner and every shadow along its path.
The beam of light was so fast that it couldn't be described by human units of measurement, crossing countless universes in the blink of an eye.
Finally, just as the beam was about to reach Planet K76, Ultraman King noticed it.
The legendary superman, the King of the Ultra race, stared at the ray of light in disbelief. His eyes held not only surprise, but also the joy of meeting a long-lost friend.
"Noa... Ultraman..."
Whispering his name softly, the King flicked his cape and vanished from Planet K76 without a trace, leaving Zoffy and Leo staring at each other.
"Was that just..."
"Ultraman Noa?"
They looked at each other, murmuring the name Ultraman King had just whispered.
Ultraman Noa... had appeared? This was huge news. That legendary warrior had also descended?
Leo and Zoffy's eyes held undisguisable shock. Two legendary Ultramen gathering in one place—what on earth was happening to the universe?
Like Ultraman King, Ultraman Noa was a legendary Ultraman. It was said that he was a Giant of Light who had protected the universe since ancient times.
An existence like him had likely been active for longer than the entire history of the Land of Light.
And his power, without exaggeration, was at least on the same level as Ultraman King's, perhaps even slightly above.
Combined with what Ultraman King had said earlier about having something more important to do than deal with the Swarm...
Clearly... the universe had unknowingly fallen into a great crisis, and the Swarm that had spread across the galaxy was perhaps just a precursor.
"This matter must be reported to the Supreme Commander immediately! He must mobilize the entire Space Garrison and enter a state of first-level combat readiness!!" Zoffy said solemnly, a complex mix of emotions in his eyes.
It seemed... that countless more warriors would have to sacrifice their precious lives for this...
"Zoffy, you inform Father of Ultra immediately. Mobilize the Space Garrison to wage war against the Swarm. I will head to Earth to buy you time!"
Leo walked up to Zoffy and spoke in a grave tone. Then, flicking the King's Mantle that Ultraman King had once bestowed upon him, he vanished on the spot.
This cape, gifted by Ultraman King, possessed the power to traverse different dimensions, allowing Leo to appear swiftly in any corner of the universe.
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage—
Ultraman Noa... who was he?
Apart from a small minority, most of the audience outside the video did not know of Noa.
But from the King's attitude and the shocked expressions of Zoffy and Leo, this warrior named Noa was most likely a colossal figure among the Ultramen. His status and position were probably no less than Ultraman King's.
Absolutian Tartarus: "Ultraman Noa, a mysterious existence on par with Ultraman King. An enemy on the same level as the great lord of my race. To conquer the Land of Light, we must find a way to defeat him!"
General Titan: "Noa? A legendary warrior? Nothing to speak of. The golden sword in my hand is enough to slay him!"
Ruan Mei: "Such powerful light. Unlike the restrained aura of Ultraman King, the power contained in this light is like that of an Aeon—incomprehensible, immeasurable."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "A crisis that requires two giants of the Ultraman world to team up against... how terrifying must that be? It won't really affect thousands of universes, will it!"
The Overseer: "For beings of this level to feel a sense of crisis... no matter what, the disaster involved in this viewing is absolutely beyond the touch of mortals."
---o---
Light Curtain Video—
The scene shifted to Ultraman King. After leaving Planet K76, he had rushed to an unknown, massive asteroid.
There, a warrior, entirely silver with a "V"-shaped Color Timer on his chest and wings on his back, had been waiting for a long time.
"It has been a long time, Noa..."
The King's tone was tinged with the沧桑 of ages, his eyes filled with reminiscence. Clearly... it had been a very, very long time since they had last met.
For Ultraman King to perceive a length of time as 'long,' it had to be at least several million years.
Seeing his long-lost old friend, even the perpetually mysterious Noa seemed to be in a pleasant mood.
But he did not speak. Instead, he raised his right hand over his head, and a beam of light passed through his palm, transmitting a message to the Ultraman King before him.
"This is about the annihilation of countless universes? It seems the real problem is far more severe than I imagined."
"If we allow two infinite universes to collide and annihilate each other, then not just this universe, but all known parallel universes, as well as the other unknown universe, will be reduced to nothingness in the collision."
"It is just as I suspected. The Swarm is a product of an unknown multiverse."
Under Noa's power, a scene of boundless gray-white mist and crimson stars of varying distances was presented to Ultraman King.
Empty, mysterious, blurry, and hazy. It was an existence that even the legendary warriors could hardly cross—the boundary between two infinite universes.
Ultraman King's thoughts quickly settled as he gazed at the other side of that endless cosmos.
His divine consciousness could traverse endless universes, but it could not cross to the other side of that unknown one.
Now, the edge of the universe was shrouded in a gray, hazy mist. The dreamlike scenery, adorned with the stars of two multiverses, was exquisitely beautiful.
It was as if crystal flowers were constantly blooming, shattering, and then being reborn.
But the reborn flower was no longer the same as before. The mist would reset everything to its starting point, returning all to nothingness.
All life that had ever existed on that 'flower' was forcibly returned to '0'—the power of rules, an existence that even they could barely resist.
I see. Is this why Noa came to find me personally?
With Noa's power alone, let alone stopping the spread of the gray mist, just saving the endless universes within would be a big enough headache.
"The other universe, is there any movement? Why did the Swarm, which doesn't belong to our universe, pass through that gray-white mist to reach our world?"
Spreading his hands, Ultraman King's royal cape shimmered with golden light particles, as if about to pierce through countless universes.
Noa, however, regretfully shook his head. After a moment of silence, he said, "The insects did not come through the mist."
"That mist does not allow us to cross at will, but it does allow certain specific existences to travel through it."
"And although I cannot cross it, I can still faintly see that unknown and boundless universe."
"A mysterious figure wields a giant hammer. With every fall of ITS hammer, IT slows the universe's assimilation by the mist, though the effect is not significant."
"And beside IT, an existence woven from a thousand laughs unleashes ITS power wantonly, trying to cross the boundless white mist to reach our world."
Noa's voice was ethereal and mysterious. The ancient-sounding tone seemed to travel from the endless starry sky to Ultraman King's ears.
The King was stunned. Following Noa's words, his divine consciousness stood at the boundary of the universe.
The gray-white mist was like a demon, devouring all things, even trying to swallow the King's divine consciousness.
But the King paid it no mind, instead hovering at the edge of the mist. He was waiting... waiting for a 'message' from the other side.
It was getting closer. Faintly, the King heard it. He heard the voice from the other universe.
"Oh, my friend, Aha feels so sorry for you. Klipoth's great hammer cannot stop the gray mist's spread."
"Of course, Aha's laughter can't either. The universe is going to be destroyed. This isn't fun at all."
A voice that was neither laughing nor crying rang in his ear. ITS power crossed the constraints of the multiverse and was heard by Ultraman King.
I see. The being using a giant hammer to block the gray mist is called Klipoth?
It seems he is one of the pinnacle existences in that universe, currently fighting to prevent the gray mist from devouring it.
As for the being named Aha next to him, it seems IT has no intention of helping. Instead, IT keeps trying to cross the barrier of the gray mist to reach their universe.
Ultraman King wanted to say something, but the gray-white mist accelerated its expansion like a raging flood, obstructing his divine consciousness.
"How was it?"
Seeing Ultraman King return to his senses, Noa asked. As the saying goes, every master has his specialty. Although Noa had the special ability to traverse time and space, in terms of overall supernatural power, he was far inferior to the Ultraman King before him.
In other words, they were both legendary warriors, but compared to Noa, the King was more like a mage, possessing many abilities that Noa could not perform, or could only perform with great difficulty.
The King shook his head, explaining the difficulty of establishing contact.
"I see. Even you find it difficult?" Noa's tone was a bit low, clearly finding this incredible.
But Ultraman King said to Noa in a grave voice, "Now is not the time for negotiations, Noa. If we don't stop the gray mist's spread, the entire universe is at risk of annihilation."
Author's Note:
PS: I was picking my classes today, and the university's academic affairs website was stuck for two hours. I sat there for two hours unable to get into the interface. I'm so pissed off!!