---o---
Light Curtain Commentary
Although Alien Empera was only acting in his own self-interest, it had to be said that he was one of the few powers in this universe capable of halting the Swarm's spread.
Each of his millions of Inpelaizers possessed the combat strength to eliminate tens of thousands of bugs.
As the saying goes, technology changes lives. The efficiency with which Alien Empera was eliminating the Swarm was unmatched by most powers in the entire universe, and that included the Ultramen.
[Father of Ultra]: "Inpelaizers… Empera has secretly built so many. If another Great Ultra War were to break out, the consequences would be unthinkable…"
In the Space Garrison of the Land of Light, Father of Ultra felt a wave of fear as he watched the staggering scene.
Although the Land of Light was a planet with tens of billions of Ultras, not all of them possessed great combat strength. The total number who could actually go out and fight in space was likely just over ten thousand.
Compared to Alien Empera's army of millions of Inpelaizers, even if the Land of Light could ultimately win, the price would be one they absolutely could not bear.
[Universal Emperor Belial]: "Mechanical soldiers feel neither pain nor fear. They are far more useful than monsters. Sooner or later, I will create such a mechanical army. At that time, whether it's bugs or Ultramen, they will all be nothing more than ants."
[Yukino Yukinoshita]: "Though Empera is no hero, his actions this time can be considered cleansing the universe of a scourge. However, can the Swarm's reproductive capabilities truly be defeated by Inpelaizers alone?"
[Himeko of the Astral Express]: "Once, there were those who attempted to use mass-produced mechanical soldiers to resist the spreading Swarm. But… they failed."
[Ruan Mei]: "The power of the Swarm King's Path is purely for propagation. Even machines can be influenced by this concept of 'reproduction.'"
---o---
Light Curtain Footage
The time rewound to one hour earlier, to when Cosmos was trapped in Tartarus's golden domain.
At this moment, traces of large-scale bug activity had appeared in a city in Japan. In less than twenty minutes, the entire metropolis was on the verge of being submerged by insects.
The vast majority of ordinary people had become nutrients in the bugs' stomachs. The few lucky survivors lost themselves in the city's dangerous, sweet-smelling pheromones, gradually transforming into bugs themselves.
"WHOOSH~~~"
In the distance, thirty minutes after the Swarm began to spread, GUYS's Phoenix Nest finally arrived at the epicenter.
"These bastards… have they turned the city into their nest?"
Ryu Aihara was filled with rage, an unprecedented killing intent and fury glinting in his eyes.
The city, once home to at least several million people, had been turned into a living hell by the spreading Swarm.
Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Orthoptera—hundreds of different insect species, following their natural habits, were either spinning silk to build nests or burrowing into the ground.
Together, they had riddled the city with holes. Broken skyscrapers, shopping malls dripping with slime, and residential buildings now used to store insect eggs.
The hellish scene was already making the audience outside the light curtain curse out loud. Some who were afraid of bugs had even fainted from the sight. Without a doubt, many people would be having nightmares tonight.
But for the members of GUYS, their anger had clearly overshadowed their fear. Their expressions were as cold as frost as they awaited orders from the Phoenix Nest's command room.
Transmitting the image back to the base, Ryu Aihara reported to Shingo Sakomizu with an ashen face, "Phoenix Nest… detects no signs of human activity. This city may have already…"
Clenching his fists, Ryu hated himself, hated his own powerlessness.
In the command room, Shingo Sakomizu was stunned for a moment before saying in a heavy voice, "Is that so…"
Hearing Ryu's report, Sakomizu's heart filled with sorrow and grief, but he quickly suppressed his emotions and gave the order: "According to previous intelligence, each small contingent of the Swarm has a corresponding leader. To neutralize these bugs, we must prioritize eliminating the Swarm's command core."
"So, which one is the command bug?" George Ikaruga interjected as the Phoenix Nest circled high above.
Sakomizu thought for a moment before replying, "That has yet to be determined, but… the last invasion's command core was the King-Bug floating in space. Therefore, we can start by clearing out the largest Swarm individuals."
"GIG!!" the team responded.
It was obvious that the Swarm's combat strength was linked to their size. Normal-sized bugs could be easily defeated even by an ordinary person; their size inherently limited their strength.
In this particular swarm, the largest individuals were only about forty meters tall, the level of a typical monster. Due to their species, their strength was likely even lower than that of a common monster.
In the vastness of space, a forty-to-fifty-meter-tall bug wouldn't even count as cannon fodder.
"PEW PEW PEW—!!"
After identifying their targets, the Phoenix Nest quickly launched its attack. Equipped with humanity's most advanced technology, the Phoenix Nest was fully capable of defeating an average monster.
Confirming that there were no human survivors in the entire city, the Phoenix Nest went full-throttle, firing relentlessly at the targets on the ground.
The next moment, all kinds of explosions rocked the ground. An area hundreds of meters wide was razed to the ground by the barrage.
The camera then cut to the ground, where countless bug corpses now littered the area. Some flammable materials had caught fire from the high heat of the Phoenix Nest's laser cannons.
The city became a sea of flames. Countless small bugs were incinerated by the blaze, but many more were being reborn from the fire.
"My children, shoot them down! Eliminate all those who obstruct our [Propagation]!"
Within the sea of flames, a human woman tilted her head back, gazing towards the endless starry sky. She gently picked up one of her children and, without reservation, bestowed upon it the power given to her by [Him].
The next moment, the small bug's body began to grow at a visible rate. A coleopteran bug, a hundred meters tall and imbued with a faint trace of the Swarm King's power, was born.
Its height of nearly one hundred meters was double that of an Ultraman, and it quickly caught the attention of the Phoenix Nest.
"That thing… is it the leader of this batch of Swarm?"
A flash of anger crossed Ryu Aihara's eyes as he piloted the Phoenix Nest towards the hundred-meter-tall giant bug.
He then pulled the trigger, and countless missiles and bullets rained down on the giant bug's body, creating intense sparks.
This was firepower capable of leveling an entire city, the most powerful attack the Phoenix Nest could currently unleash.
However… after the smoke cleared, the giant bug appeared before them, completely unscathed.
"How is that possible?" George, sitting behind Ryu, said in shock.
But before he could say anything more, the giant bug unleashed a breath attack from its mandibles, sending several blasts towards the Phoenix Nest.
The unavoidable attack struck the Phoenix Nest's tail wing directly. The fighter jet then fell from the sky like a broken kite.
"Ryu!"
In the command room, Shingo Sakomizu shot up from his seat, his eyes glued to the base's screen.
The audience outside the screen was getting anxious. Wasn't Mebius still around? What was taking him so long?
As if hearing the audience's thoughts, just as the Phoenix Nest was about to crash, a ray of light flashed, and a pair of giant hands caught the falling fighter.
The one who had arrived was none other than Mebius.
---o---
Light Curtain Commentary
Seeing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Although they already knew Mebius was on his way, the fall of an entire city had truly made the audience sweat for the GUYS team.
Though they hadn't had much screen time and weren't main characters, no normal person would want to see people who were still pushing forward in the face of such despair die so easily.
[I Want to Drink Mei's Juice]: "Mebius is finally here! Looks like humanity is saved! Those bugs were giving me the creeps."
[Utaha Kasumigaoka]: "Mebius's height is barely half that of the giant bug. How is he supposed to fight that?"
[Detective Conan]: "The hundred-meter bug isn't the main point. The point is that the Swarm King has bestowed a sliver of its power upon this bug. Otherwise, even if the previous barrage couldn't eliminate it, it would have definitely been severely injured."
[Aizen Sousuke]: "Rather than saying it was given to the bug, it's more accurate to say it was given to that woman. She… is the true master of this swarm."
[The Sage of Youkai]: "So, even if they defeat that giant bug, they can't completely eliminate the Swarm. As long as that madwoman is alive, a second giant bug will appear."
[Ace Pilot of the Death Squad]: "GUYS's life-form detector didn't show any human signals. In other words, that woman has already merged with the Swarm. She's no longer human. Now… we'll see if GUYS can discover that woman's true form."
---o---
Light Curtain Footage
With Mebius's appearance, the GUYS members aboard the Phoenix Nest smiled.
"Mirai…"
Ryu Aihara's eyes welled with tears as he said with excitement, "You're finally here!"
Seeing the tears in his comrade's eyes, Mebius nodded and turned to face the giant bug.
A light sword materialized in his hand. Mebius took a fighting stance. This time… he would not lose.
And within the giant bug's compound eyes, the ghostly female figure looked at the Ultraman who had saved them countless times.
"Devouring an Ultraman's energy should allow my children to multiply and grow larger, shouldn't it?" the woman murmured to herself, then issued an order to the entire swarm. "Kill him. Kill Mebius. Let his energy become the nutrient for your growth."
At her command, countless insects let out a chorus of chirps and screeches, charging towards Mebius.
Although most of them were just low-level common bugs, when they gathered together and followed a single consciousness, the once-sluggish insects now moved with ferocious speed and astonishing combat ability.
The Swarm charged at Mebius, unafraid of death.
Faced with this situation, Mebius scanned the dense swarm of insects, then looked back at his teammates.
Then… a gale erupted. A golden light charged forward. The mere shockwave from his blade sent countless smaller bugs flying.
At the same time, the light symbolizing infinity shimmered with a golden luster on Mebius's blade. This time, Mebius charged towards the Swarm without any hesitation.
Dozens of giant bugs, forty to fifty meters tall, obeyed their leader's will and engaged Mebius in battle.
The next moment, a glorious explosion of light. The radiance from Mebius's body grew more intense. The very ground for hundreds of meters around him cracked under the power of the light.
These bugs were on a completely different level from the swarm led by the King-Bug. They soon all fell under Mebius's sword.
Seeing this, the giant coleopteran with its massive body beat its wings and soared high into the sky.
The hundred-meter giant bug threw the full force of its body towards Mebius.
"HRAAAGH!"
Raising his light sword, Mebius clashed with the giant bug.
His figure was much smaller than the bug's. The difference in size led to a disparity in strength, but Mebius still didn't retreat a single step, using all his might to fight the giant bug.
"Mirai… is doing this to protect us."
Ryu Aihara murmured as he watched the scene. With the surrounding area saturated with Swarm pheromones, they absolutely could not leave the cockpit, even if the Phoenix Nest had crashed.
Otherwise, even with their gas masks, it would be difficult to resist the infiltration of the Swarm's pheromones.
"What do we do now? We can't just watch from the sidelines!"
George, behind Ryu, was burning with anger. Watching Mebius fight, he clenched his fists tightly.
No matter the situation, humanity was always so powerless.
"Let's believe in Mirai. He can definitely do it," Marina's voice rang out. She had always firmly believed in Mebius's power.
"Yeah, we have to believe in him! Leave the giant bug to Mirai! All Phoenix Nest firepower, target the bugs interfering with him!" Even at the end, Ryu Aihara was doing what humanity could do.
[Konomi Amagai]: "Mirai-san, you can do it! Everyone is still waiting for you."
In the command room, Teppei remained silent, but his eyes were also filled with hope.
The voices of his partners echoed in Mebius's ears, breaking through his hesitation. The trust and bond between the GUYS team and Mebius gradually transformed into light.
It was a light and flame that symbolized the phoenix's rebirth from fire, burning fiercely on Mebius's body.
After a flash of intense light, Mebius, in a brand-new form, withstood the giant bug's charge!