[Light Curtain Bullet Comments]
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Yes, when it comes to malice, I have the utmost confidence in humanity."
Feeling the Same Way, Already Feeling the Same Way: "In the apocalypse, it's not just humanity's greatness that shines, but also its filth and depravity."
Hīrukawa Mitsuhiko is a perfect example of this. If it weren't for the apocalypse, with this guy's shamelessness, he probably would have lived a very comfortable life.
It's a pity. Now that he's been exposed directly on the light curtain, he'll probably have to live under the strange gazes of others for the rest of his life.
Detective Conan: "A reporter? Majoring in journalism and communications? No wonder he's so good at fooling so many people."
The Angel Next Door: "Slandering Ultraman is truly unacceptable. They're clearly alive right now under the protection of the Father of Ultra and the others, yet they remain so ungrateful."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Actually, even if they knew it was Ultraman protecting them, people like Hīrukawa wouldn't be grateful. He would just see it as his due."
Ace Pilot of the Death Squad: "One thing that must be admitted is that humans... or rather, the vast majority of humans, are actually very selfish beings, only thinking of their own interests and taking the efforts of Ultraman for granted."
---o---
[Light Curtain Video]
The middle-aged man's scolding voice caused several of the young men in the crowd to subconsciously take a couple of steps back, timidly looking in the direction of the sound.
It was a middle-aged to elderly man wearing a straw hat. The years had carved wrinkles into his handsome face.
Although his hair had streaks of white, his pair of sharp, brilliant eyes revealed a sense of indomitable spirit.
"What are you all doing?"
The moment he appeared, he saw a group of armed men surrounding a girl who seemed to have no strength to even truss a chicken. This made the man furious.
"As able-bodied men, instead of using the weapons in your hands to protect your homes, you're here bullying the weak! How can you face your parents and families!?"
He took off the straw hat on his head, his lion-like pupils staring deadly at the crowd.
This verbal lashing, combined with his piercing gaze, made the men lower their heads in fear, not daring to say another word.
They had been fooled into joining in the first place, and their actions just now were illegal to begin with.
Their opportunistic and cowardly nature made them completely unwilling to say anything when faced with a stronger opponent.
Seeing that the crowd was too scared to move, Stelle also lost the desire to fight such a mob.
Instead, she looked at the kind-hearted man before her with some curiosity. An ordinary person encountering this situation would have probably run away long ago.
Just as Stelle was about to greet him, Zero's voice suddenly spoke up from within her.
"This guy... what a familiar, dense light!"
Inside the little dark room, Zero was uncertain. From the moment he first saw this man, he had felt a strange impulse in his heart.
There's no mistaking it, this feeling is...
"Leo! To think I'd run into him here!" Zero exclaimed in surprise.
Although he had never seen Leo's human form, he had trained with him for so many years that he knew Leo's every move and even his spirit like the back of his hand. Even without relying on sensing his light, he could easily recognize his master.
"Oh, looks like he's an acquaintance of yours."
Stelle put her hands on her hips and said it out loud.
And it was this very sentence that attracted the attention of Leo, or rather, Gen Otori.
He had been angry just a moment ago and hadn't noticed. But when Gen Otori's gaze fell upon Stelle again, he was surprised to find that he couldn't see through this young girl at all.
"An alien?"
In an instant, Gen Otori confirmed Stelle's identity. A human could not possibly possess such immense power.
A faint aura emanated from Stelle, causing Gen Otori's brow to furrow.
He couldn't tell which planet she was from, but the energy emanating from the Stellaron within her body made the legendary "King of Combat" frown. He didn't say anything more, however.
An alien coming to Earth at a time like this was unlikely to be here for an invasion.
Those bugs outside didn't care if you were human or not. Wherever they went, not even a trace of energy would be left behind.
And that kind of creature, whose sole purpose was to propagate, was nearly impossible to control.
"What is your reason for coming to Earth?"
After realizing Stelle was not human, Gen Otori's tone changed slightly, carrying a hint of caution.
He shifted his gaze to Stelle's wrist. The blue bracelet contained immense power, but due to the interference from the Stellaron in her body, Leo couldn't sense Zero's presence for the time being.
"A-An alien?"
"Is she an alien? Are they here to invade us?"
"Quick... run! Hey, don't push me! Hurry up and notify GUYS!"
Now, even the dumbest of the scumbags surrounding Stelle could guess that she and Gen Otori were no ordinary people.
They scattered in a panic, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
Stelle, however, innocently fiddled with a strand of her hair and said to Gen Otori, "Uh, you must be Ultraman Leo, right? I just heard Zero say... you seem to be his master."
"Heard from who?"
Upon hearing Zero's name, Gen Otori's eyes widened in an instant.
Zero? That brat is back?
Stelle held out the blue bracelet on her wrist towards Gen Otori. "Right, this is Zero. He's one with me right now, but for some reason, he seems very reluctant to swap bodies with me."
Sighing helplessly, Stelle had wanted Zero to use her body to communicate directly with Leo, but who knew Zero would be so resistant.
Doesn't he just want to play with an Ultraman's body for a bit? Is it really necessary to be like this?
After hearing Zero's name, Gen Otori also let down his guard and touched the ring on his hand to Stelle's bracelet.
Zing!
A bright light converged on their two summoning devices.
Gen Otori closed his eyes tightly, maintaining this posture for a full half-minute before finally letting out a long sigh.
"I'm truly sorry. I misunderstood you."
After finishing his communication with Zero, Gen Otori gave Stelle a deep bow, nearly catching her off guard.
Compared to the Ultramen from Nebula M78, Leo himself did not rely heavily on the Sacred Light.
Therefore, the reason he felt weak now was purely due to the prolonged period of fighting.
"After rescuing the original Ultraman, Seven, and Jack, the Captain, using Earth's atmosphere as a baseline, gathered all the Ultra Brothers to release a protective barrier."
As he led Stelle to the Ultramen's temporary residence, Leo explained as they walked, "At that time, Astra and I had the most remaining energy, so we were in charge of providing cover."
"It's just as the King said, these bugs are truly troublesome. If it weren't for the Ultra Mantle the King bestowed upon me, I'm afraid I would be like Seven and the others, showing signs of insectification."
Insectification? Those three Ultramen are showing signs of insectification?
Stelle was a little surprised. Her knowledge of the Swarm Disaster was limited to written documents.
Aside from knowing the terror of the Swarm and the nightmare it had once brought to the cosmos, she had no other impression of it.
"Can you explain that in more detail? Master Leo." Stelle asked.
She was now one with Zero, so it wasn't a problem to consider Zero's master her own.
Hearing Stelle's form of address, Gen Otori was stunned for a moment, then sighed and explained:
"The Swarm, according to the research of the Captain and the others, is very similar to the ordinary insects you can find anywhere on Earth."
"They like to move in groups, have no intelligence, and only follow their biological instincts."
"But if that were all, the Swarm wouldn't have reached the point of a rampant disaster."
Gen Otori paused, then continued, "The bodies of those Swarm contain a certain kind of power, a kind of subtle, microscopic power."
"A single bug can't do much, but once their numbers become overwhelming, a quantitative change leads to a qualitative one. Eventually, even the air becomes filled with those microscopic energy crystals."
"And it is these crystals that cause countless monsters and aliens to develop the Swarm's mindset, gradually becoming insectified from thought to body."
"Even the Ultramen are not immune. It's a good thing Ultramen are not purely biological lifeforms, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable."
As Gen Otori finished, he seemed to think of the signs on Seven's body and let out a long sigh.
Fortunately, the rescue was timely. Otherwise, by the time Seven was completely insectified, the universe would have one less warrior to maintain peace, and one more powerful bug.
"If the insectification phenomenon is this severe, then it seems what we'll be facing in the future... won't just be the ordinary Sting-Wing Swarm."
With a grimace, Stelle had clearly anticipated the hardships of the battles to come.
As long as the Swarm King wasn't dead, the Swarm would be infinite. But right now, they didn't even know the King's specific location.
And even if they found it, it was unlikely that Zero's current power would be enough to solve the problem...
---o---
[Light Curtain Video]
Ryu Aihara: "Insectification, speaking of which... we've had similar phenomena before. Those people from GUYS, it seems like insectification appeared on their bodies. That Aihara Ryu even started to think he was a bug."
Minami Anri: "Not only do we have to fight the bugs, but we also have to be careful not to become bugs ourselves? This is too disgusting, it's simply hell!"
Absolutian Tartarus: "Although it's said that their energy is depleted, is the insectification something that even the bodies of the Ultra race cannot resist? At this rate... the bugs will only multiply as they fight, without end."
The Grand Diviner Who Won't Grow Tall: "Without end, indeed without end. It has already been several Amber Eras since the Voracity's passing, yet one can still see the wandering figures of the Swarm in the cosmos. Bugs, just like the Abominations of Abundance, are simply unkillable."
Hachiman Hikigaya: "Looking at it this way, the reason that Great Emperor of the Dark Universe named Empera is having a headache is quite clear. He wants to rule the universe, but that doesn't mean he wants to rule a universe made entirely of bugs."
Ace Pilot of the Death Squad: "Although Alien Empera doesn't seem like a good guy, objectively speaking, his fight against the Swarm can be considered a good thing for both humanity and the Ultramen."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "But the premise is that he can actually face the Swarm King. Otherwise, killing ordinary bugs, no matter how many, is meaningless."
Alien Mephilas: "The Swarm King? So what of the Swarm King? His Majesty the Emperor is wise and powerful. He will surely find a way to defeat a lifeform that doesn't even possess a sense of self."
---o---
[Light Curtain Video]
As Stelle followed Leo out of the park, the light curtain's screen shifted to another location.
"Phew..."
"That was... that was terrifying. I can't believe that woman was an evil alien. Good thing I ran fast. That old man is probably already dead at that woman's hands."
Pinning the label of "evil" directly onto Stelle's head, Hīrukawa Mitsuhiko felt not the slightest bit of impropriety.
Little did he know, if it weren't for the fact that Stelle happened to be a good person, he would have been dead and reduced to dust by now.
"There's no other way. In the end, I still have to rely on myself."
Looking at his surroundings and seeing that no one had followed him, Hīrukawa Mitsuhiko was furious.
The people he had worked so hard to gather, meant for handling supplies and building a new survival base underground, were all gone now.
"It's all because of that alien!"
Staggering into a house, Hīrukawa Mitsuhiko clutched his abdomen, his voice laced with venomous resentment.
If it weren't for Stelle, he would have already started preparing his plan by now.
But now, it was back to square one. He had to start planning all over again.
"It's too inefficient to find people on the streets. It's more practical to break directly into residential houses."
Walking into the courtyard of a house, Hīrukawa Mitsuhiko actually intended to pry open the lock and force his way into the private residence.
Humans are social animals. If he wanted to build an underground base, supplies could be obtained through looting, but people themselves were a very difficult resource to acquire.
The people he had managed to persuade with just a bit of rhetoric before were all useless. Now, Hīrukawa Mitsuhiko was preparing to use force.
In any case, in the world as it was now, there wouldn't be any police to care about such things.
As a reporter, Hīrukawa Mitsuhiko was quite skilled at picking locks. Although not as good as Stelle, he was still an old hand at it.
However... a strange feeling on his body kept making his hands slip.
"Bzz bzz bzz..."
The buzzing of flies was hindering Hīrukawa, seemingly trying to drive him away from this place.
"Stop bothering me!"
Sh swatting away the fly by his ear, Hīrukawa Mitsuhiko seemed completely unaware that he was already within the compound eyes of a swarm.
"Dammit, why won't it open!"
Growing more and more frantic at his lack of progress, Hīrukawa started to kick the door fiercely.
Once, twice.
The loud noise echoed through the residential area, but there was no reaction from inside the house.
"Is no one home? Hmph, what a waste of effort!"
Realizing the situation inside the house, Hīrukawa said with contempt.
As he turned to leave, he failed to notice that in the crack of the door he had just kicked open, there were countless compound eyes, and the eyes of a human woman...
---o---