In the eyes of the audience outside the light curtain, the collapse of the fragile friendship between Belial and Phantylia was already a foregone conclusion.
However, what they hadn't expected was that Belial would be the first one to turn hostile.
To be honest, Old Black Belial didn't seem like a particularly intelligent person, at least not compared to a villain like Phantylia who clearly enjoyed scheming and manipulation.
[Light Curtain Bullet Comments]
Earth's Cancer: "Eh? Was Belial always this smart? I thought he'd be played for a fool by Phantylia until the very end."
Ultraman Belial the Black: "Hmph, what kind of joke is that? Do I look like an idiot to you? Phantylia? If she dares to use this great me, I'll make sure she never returns!"
Phantylia: "Never returns? Don't be ridiculous. You're just a prisoner from some jail. Without me, you'd still be locked up."
Ultraman Belial the Black: "Locked up? Very good, Phantylia. Now I understand why my future self in the video has such a strong killing intent towards you. You absolutely deserve it!"
Ultraman Belial the Black: "Just you wait. If I get the chance, I'll show you what true fear is!"
Father of Ultra: "You won't get that chance, Belial. To prevent another prison break, the Land of Light has already strengthened its security systems. Different Ultra Brothers are on duty at the Space Prison every day. Your ambition will not succeed!"
The Universe's Great Filial Son: "Father... you should just obediently reform yourself in prison. If you repent after a few tens of thousands of years, you might have a chance of getting out."
Galaxy Baseballer: "Repent... looking at his crazed state, I think repenting might be a little difficult."
Detective Conan: "Based on the previous videos and bullet comments, Belial was once a hero of the Land of Light with a meritorious past. Furthermore, his current state is largely due to Alien Rayblood's possession, not his original intent. If he genuinely repents and can expel Rayblood from his body, there's a high probability he could be released."
March 7th: "The prerequisite is that he has to repent! The way he looks now, this girl thinks that's probably not going to happen in this lifetime."
---o---
[Light Curtain Video]
The atmosphere on the desolate planet instantly grew tense.
The Battle Nizer in Belial's grip could strike Phantylia at any moment.
His claws tightened around the weapon, his eyes glowing with a crazed, ferocious light as hot breath vented from his maw.
It was clear that Belial was extremely dangerous at this moment, like an enraged lion—fierce and powerful.
Seeing this, Tartarus silently took a step back, content to watch the good show unfold.
"Hey, Belial, what do you think you're doing? I have a share in the Sacred Light too. Don't forget who freed you from the Space Prison."
Facing Belial, who was radiating an aura of pure tyranny, Phantylia gripped the trident she had stabbed into the ground.
She had considered the possibility that Belial wouldn't be easy to manipulate, but she hadn't expected him to react so quickly.
For Belial, aside from its use in destroying the Land of Light and reviving the one hundred monsters in his Battle Nizer, the Sacred Light held no other value.
That terrifying energy was not something a dark being like him could wield at will.
Even for the Ultramen, who were beings of light energy, utilizing that power was not a simple task.
It was precisely because she knew this that Phantylia had used the Sacred Light as a bargaining chip without consulting Belial beforehand.
But it seemed Belial was quite averse to such actions.
Thinking of this, Phantylia continued, "Belial, if you're annoyed that I took the liberty of using the Sacred Light in a deal, I can apologize. But if you want to communicate like this, then don't blame me for not holding back..."
As a Suiyang, Phantylia herself had no concept of death, which meant she felt no fear when facing the vast majority of enemies.
Of course, if her opponent was a legendary warrior like Ultraman King, or an Aeon, then she could only wait for death. In the presence of such beings, all creatures were equal.
After hearing these words, Belial sneered contemptuously and said bluntly, "Heh heh, who do you think this great me is? I am Belial, the Emperor of the entire universe! Did you really think I couldn't see through your petty little schemes?"
"I only kept you around before because I was simply a little interested in a being like you from another universe. Now... you're really starting to piss this great me off. There's no longer any need to keep you around."
Belial didn't care about the Sacred Light itself. What disgusted him was Phantylia's arrogant attitude. Phantylia had positioned herself as a partner, or even his superior, which was something Belial could absolutely not accept.
In the entire universe, as Belial saw it, aside from transcendent beings like Ultraman King, the only ones who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him were Ken and Alien Empera.
As for the reason, it traced back to the Great Ultra War thirty thousand years ago.
As someone who had personally experienced that war, and had played a crucial role in it, Belial naturally held himself in extremely high regard and looked down on everyone else.
Even though Phantylia had freed him from the Space Prison, in Belial's eyes, she was nothing more than a buffoon.
Cooperation? Don't be ridiculous. As the Emperor of the universe, how could he possibly cooperate with anyone?
Even his "cooperation" with Alien Empera was something Belial considered a worthless piece of paper, to say nothing of his arrangement with Phantylia.
As the tension on the field grew more and more intense, the two could enter a state of combat at any moment.
One was Alien Empera's trump card, the Dark Armor, controlled by Phantylia. The other was the most powerful dark Ultraman of the Land of Light.
It would be nearly impossible for the two of them to determine a victor in a short amount of time.
"Troublesome. Can I travel to the past to see where Belial put the Sacred Light?"
As the atmosphere grew heated, the Little Golden Man began to have a headache.
His only goal was the Sacred Light, but with the current mood, the moment he mentioned it, those two would start fighting and tear this place apart.
And although Tartarus possessed the power to travel through time, it wasn't something he could use casually.
Unrestricted time travel was a feat that probably not even Ultraman King could achieve. Only the legendary Giant of Light, Noa, could wield such an ability with ease.
In any case, the top priority was to stop them. This was not beneficial to his goal of obtaining the Sacred Light.
With this thought, the Little Golden Man intervened.
Catching Belial and Phantylia off guard, he seized the Battle Nizer with one hand and the Dark Armor's trident with the other.
In a single move, he had them both firmly restrained.
Although he had caught them by surprise, this action alone was enough to prove that the Little Golden Man possessed a strength that surpassed both Belial and Phantylia.
The true worth of an Ultimate Lifeform was on full display.
Temporarily bringing the two under control, the Little Golden Man spoke, "I'm not interested in the grudge between you two."
"I just want to know if our previous deal is still on. If I fulfill my end of the bargain, can I get the Sacred Light?"
The plan to snatch the Sacred Light was probably off the table now. But this wasn't enough to discourage the Little Golden Man. He had another plan. Although it was more troublesome, its success rate was far more reliable than any deal.
"Of course. If it's about eliminating the Ultramen, I don't think Belial would have any objections."
Seeing that the Little Golden Man was still fixated on the previous deal, Phantylia quickly replied.
Notably, her words omitted Alien Empera, instead using the Ultramen, whom Belial hated most, as the new bargaining chip.
Hearing this, the Little Golden Man paid no mind to Phantylia's verbal trickery and turned to look at Belial.
Old Black Belial, his face contorted with rage, increased the force he was exerting, but still couldn't pull the Battle Nizer from the Little Golden Man's grasp.
"Heh heh heh, interesting. If you can take care of the other Ultramen besides Ken, I suppose I wouldn't mind bringing out the Sacred Light."
Realizing he was no match for the Little Golden Man, Belial chose to go along with Phantylia and use him.
In any case, it involved killing Ultramen, so there was no downside for him.
"In that case... we have a deal."
Slowly releasing his grip on their weapons, the Little Golden Man cautiously backed away.
All he needed was for the deal to be established. His second plan was related to the Ultramen on Earth anyway, so fulfilling this deal was just a convenient side task.
After retreating to a safe distance, the Little Golden Man spread his hands.
In the next moment, a golden light appeared between his palms, gradually forming something that resembled a portal.
Without the slightest hesitation, Tartarus stepped into it and vanished from the spot.
The instant he disappeared, Belial's Battle Nizer and Phantylia's trident smashed into each other.
In a flash, the entire ground was completely torn apart. The shockwave spanned tens of thousands of kilometers, and even distant floating meteorites were pulverized into dust by its force...
---o---
[Light Curtain Bullet Comments]
Yukino Yukinoshita: "So Phantylia and Belial ended up fighting after all. Tartarus, on the other hand, got away quickly."
Stellaron Hunter, Silver Wolf: "His goal has always been just the Sacred Light. It's normal for him not to get involved. But why did Tartarus agree to the deal when he clearly knew it was fake?"
Archbishop of Schicksal: "That has to do with the 'other plan' he mentioned. It's clear that Tartarus deeply distrusts Belial and Phantylia. The only reason he agreed to the deal was simply because he happened to be going to Earth anyway."
Hachiman Hikigaya: "I see. Because Belial and Phantylia can't be trusted, he's preparing to get information from the Ultramen themselves?"
Youkai Sage: "Oh my, the Ultramen's energy is clearly linked to the Plasma Spark's core, so they must know its general location. And with their overly righteous personalities, Tartarus might actually succeed."
Father of Ultra: "Deception? It seems Tartarus doesn't truly understand us. The Ultramen are kind and righteous, but we are not foolish."
Little Golden Man: "Is that so? Hehe... it seems you're not denying that the Ultramen can sense the location of the Plasma Spark's core. That's all I need. I have plenty of ways to make you talk."
---o---
[Light Curtain Video]
After Belial and Phantylia started fighting, the video stopped showing their battle.
This left the audience across the infinite multiverse, who wanted to know the final outcome, feeling a bit disappointed.
The video's focus now returned to Zero and the others.
Earth, in the suburbs of Japan.
A blue light appeared out of thin air, and from it, Zero, Cosmos, and the Space Pendragon quickly emerged.
At this moment, the space outside Earth was swarming with insects. It was nearly impossible to enter the planet through normal means.
Fortunately, Zero's Aegis of Palagye had the ability to travel through spacetime, which allowed them to bypass the endless Swarm and arrive here.
But upon arriving on Earth, the group received no signals of any kind.
Although this planet had not yet been devoured by the Swarm, it was gradually turning into a dead star under the weight of humanity's despair.
Since the areas outside Earth's atmosphere had been almost completely consumed by the Swarm, the satellite systems that humanity prided itself on had all gone silent.
Communication devices, the internet—all things that relied on satellites to function had ceased to work.
Even more seriously, all the satellite-related weaponry that humanity had developed up to this point had also lost their original function.
In other words, the technological level of human society as a whole had regressed by at least thirty years.
Not only that, because of the Swarm, Earth could no longer receive sunlight. It could only rely on the faint light and heat provided by the barrier created by the Father of Ultra and the Ultra Brothers.
"Has it really gotten this bad?"
Aboard the Space Pendragon, Kumano let out a long sigh after discovering the situation.
"Captain, it looks like we'll have to wait for the Pendragon's communication system to actively connect to GUYS. The Pendragon's technology is superior to this planet's; we don't need to rely on their satellites to establish contact."
"Very good. I'm leaving it to you, Kumano!" Captain Hyuga agreed, then turned to look at the two who had just entered the Pendragon.
"You two need to contact the other Ultramen first, right? Do you need our help?"
"That won't be necessary. Although their light is very weak, we can still sense them. The situation outside isn't suitable for moving around right now."
Musashi, the human host of Ultraman Cosmos, politely declined the captain's kind offer.
Beside him, Stelle nodded to the crew while communicating with Zero inside her. "This barrier isn't very strong. It only blocks the ordinary Swarm drones. If a bug on the level of the Swarm King arrives, we'll be in trouble. So we have to be quick."
"Understood. Leave it to us!" Hyuga rolled up his sleeves and agreed.
Stelle and Musashi exchanged a look, then vanished from the Space Pendragon together.
---o---