Oh no, he's opening with his ultimate move. This is the prelude to getting wrecked!
Across the infinite multiverse, countless viewers saw this and their hearts sank. They all shook their heads and sighed.
Ultraman Saga was indeed powerful, a legendary Ultra Warrior, a beacon of miracles, but... this move of going all-out from the start was truly a bit too reckless.
As everyone knows, when an Ultraman opens with their ultimate, they are more than likely to get beaten down in the second half. This is an iron law, and almost no Ultraman has ever escaped this rule.
Especially since Ultraman Saga had only just transformed.
---o---
Light Curtain Bullet Chat
"No way, not even an existence as powerful as Ultraman Saga can handle it? Are things from outside the universe really this terrifying?"
"Using a high-energy-consuming ultimate move right at the start is too reckless. Is this really not going to cause problems?"
"A legendary Ultra Warrior like him shouldn't get beaten just because he used his finisher at the start, right?"
On the video's bullet chat, the viewers from the infinite multiverse were all astonished.
Ultraman Saga may have stunned everyone upon his debut, but he was still an Ultraman. He couldn't just ignore the established laws.
"What do you mean, 'opening with a finisher guarantees you'll get wrecked'? Didn't you hear what Ultraman Reiga said? Melee attacks are almost completely useless against the Gray Mist. If he doesn't use a beam technique, what else is there?"
In the My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU world, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but retort after seeing the comments on the light curtain.
Sure, in tokusatsu shows, an Ultraman opening with their ultimate is a precursor to getting beaten, but that's just for filming convenience. The real situation is hardly that simple.
"Sigh, whether he gets wrecked or not is no longer important. What I'm most concerned about now is how they're going to win. This Gray Mist... honestly, it doesn't seem like something that can be easily resolved."
In the Saekano world, Utaha Kasumigaoka sighed, her eyes glued to the light curtain. She truly couldn't accept another disaster happening.
"Three legendary-class Ultra Warriors... if even they can't stop the Gray Mist, then the Ultra Universe and the Honkai: Star Rail universe are truly done for..."
In the world of Detective Conan, Conan, having just solved a case, watched the video and spoke slowly.
Legendary Ultra Warriors were existences that stood at the apex of the universe. If even they couldn't handle it, then Conan couldn't imagine who else possibly could.
---o---
[On the light curtain, as Ultraman Saga and the Gray Mist battled, somewhere in the universe, the figures of Noa and Ultraman King, who had appeared several times before, gradually materialized.]
"Noa... this area is almost cleared, but..." Ultraman King's voice rang out slowly. The Gray Mist's assault had temporarily ceased, and his gaze turned toward the center of the universe.
"Mist has appeared within the universe, and it is continuously expanding."
The light of Ultraman Saga was too brilliant. Even from tens of thousands of light-years away, Ultraman King could still clearly sense his presence.
At the same time, he could also see that Saga's light was contending with the mist, and the struggle was significant, but this newly born legend seemed to be at a disadvantage.
Hearing Ultraman King's voice, Ultraman Noa annihilated all the Gray Mist in his vicinity and looked toward the depths of the cosmos.
"...Its intensity isn't very high. With Ultraman Saga's power, it's nothing to worry about."
With that single sentence, Ultraman Noa transformed into a dazzling light and flew toward a deeper region within the mist.
Unlike the struggling Ultraman Reiga and the disadvantaged Ultraman Saga, Noa demonstrated what it meant to be a true legend.
Even the Gray Mist, capable of annihilating a universe, was merely "a bit troublesome" in Ultraman Noa's eyes. If he had enough time, he had plenty of ways to deal with it.
But unfortunately, as the master of spacetime, the one thing he lacked most right now was time. He had clearly brought the New Generation Ultra Warriors from the future, yet he was unable to accelerate the Gray Mist's retreat.
"Hmm?" As if discovering something, Ultraman King suddenly froze.
He spread his hands, and a golden light began to emanate from his body. Then, his body began to expand at a speed visible to the naked eye.
After observing carefully for a while, Ultraman King fell silent, his astonished gaze fixed on another point at the far end of the endless starry sky.
"Noa... can you feel it? The distance is shrinking. Our universe... and their universe."
Noa did not reply, merely gazing at the distant, star-like twinkle of a universe.
Ultraman King was right. The distance was closing. The originally faint figure he could perceive was now gradually becoming clearer.
As the Gray Mist vanished, the gravitational pull of the two universes began to attract each other. If not stopped, the consequences would be unimaginable.
A collision of multiverses...
Even Noa, who had lived for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, had never witnessed such a scene. But now, it was happening.
"A collision of two universes. If we're lucky, they might merge to become an even larger universe. But... if fortune is not on our side..."
Ultraman Noa didn't finish his sentence, but the viewers outside the light curtain knew what he meant.
The laws between universes repel each other. Combined with the pressure generated by a collision, it was more likely that both universes would be annihilated in the impact.
These were two multiverses of comparable status. If they collided, it wouldn't just be the two of them; other, smaller nearby universes would also be affected.
"The existence of the Gray Mist maintains the balance between different worlds and universes. Now, it's continuously pouring into the universe like a gas. That gap must be plugged."
As Noa spoke, his thoughts churned. A ray of light shot from the palm of his hand into deep space, its speed far surpassing that of light.
"Lure this thing to the border of the multiverse? And we can't take the initiative to attack it while we're at it?"
In less than a few seconds after Ultraman Noa sent the message, Ultraman Saga, who was billions of light-years away, received it.
Although he didn't understand why Noa would give such an order, since it was Noa's request, he had no choice but to comply.
With a simple exchange of glances, Stelle, Asuka, and Musashi reached a consensus.
Never mind Noa's status and position, the mere fact that he was indirectly responsible for the birth of Ultraman Saga was enough to earn him their heartfelt respect and adoration.
"Since it's that old charlatan's order, let's just listen. It's not like Ultraman Saga can beat it in a short amount of time anyway. Letting Noa handle it is a pretty good option..." Stelle said to the two beside her, watching the ever-expanding Gray Mist.
"Old charlatan..." Hearing Stelle's nickname, Musashi's mouth twitched.
She really had some nerve. Though Noa himself didn't care, across the entire cosmos, Stelle was probably the first human to dare call him that.
Even his mortal enemy, Dark Zagi, wouldn't be so suicidal as to call Noa by such a name.
But now was not the time to think about such things. Stelle was right. Although he hadn't interacted much with Ultraman Noa, he would never harm the universe. Since he said so, he must have his own profound reasons.
---o---
"Old charlatan... eh? Hahaha, what an interesting way to put it."
On Planet K76, Ultraman King stroked his beard, looking at the Stelle on the screen with a kind and magnanimous expression.
This child was quite something. At such a young age, she had already accomplished the feat of saving the universe. Her way of speaking and her methods were all very interesting, and she possessed a unique charm.
It was not her appearance, but her aura. This faint, indistinct aura would likely attract the admiration of many.
"Youth is a wonderful thing. With Zero by her side, he should be able to learn a lot. It seems I won't have to worry so much about the growth of the younger generation..."
His gaze shifted from the light curtain to Zero, who was currently getting beaten up by Leo. The current Zero was still far from ready. Forget the Swarm King and the Gray Mist, he couldn't even defeat a single Swarm King right now.
---o---
Light Curtain Bullet Chat
March 7th: "The two universes are colliding? I... I don't quite understand. If they crash into each other, does that mean we're all going to die?!"
Dan Heng / Cold-Faced Young Dragon: "Based on universal rationality, the probability of a soft landing is one in ten thousand. We, the Aeons, and the Ultra Warriors will most likely be completely annihilated by the collision of the universes."
Himeko of the Astral Express: "I never thought the ideal of a Star-Crushing Aeon would come so close to success in this manner. How ironic..."
Welt Yang: "In any case, the best way for multiverses to coexist is to never come into contact, not even in the slightest."
Sister Justice: "A collision of two universes... The impact force from that would be something not even Legend could withstand."
Little Golden Man: "The Will of the Great Universe, the legendary warrior Ultraman Legend? Speaking of which... he's supposed to be a legendary warrior just like Ultraman King, so why hasn't he shown his face yet?"
Water-Skiing King Cosmos: "This... If you want Legend to appear, I'd probably have to split my light in half."
The Strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer: "Splitting it in half... is not out of the question. To allow the fourth legendary Ultra Warrior to appear is quite worth it, isn't it? As long as Legend appears, victory is assured..."
Universal Loiterer Zero: "Hmph... even without that what's-his-name Legend, we still have Saga. Three legendary Ultra Warriors, I refuse to believe we can't win!"
---o---
[On the light curtain, after reaching a consensus, Ultraman Saga began to drive the energy of space, continuously traversing the cosmos.]
At the same time, the lured Gray Mist followed in Ultraman Saga's footsteps, crossing countless star systems.
"This level of intelligence seems to be even lower than the Swarm King's."
On the way to their destination, Stelle looked at the relentlessly pursuing Gray Mist and spoke with a sigh.
The Swarm King may have been mindless, but it was only interested in Propagation. Luring it out required some effort. But the Gray Mist, once it entered a combat state, would latch onto its opponent and not let go.
Once entangled, it would cling on desperately, regardless of the power gap between them, until its opponent was annihilated. Then it would continue to roam, destroying every region it passed through, until it encountered another person who tried to stop it, repeating the cycle.
As time went on, Ultraman Saga maintained superluminal flight and intermittent spatial jumps for a full four to five hours before finally, barely, reaching the border region.
And when Ultraman Saga set foot there, the three human hosts, who had never seen the edge of the universe before, all dropped their jaws, unable to even blink.
How to describe it?
The edge of the universe was completely different from the void they had imagined. On the contrary... it was more brilliant and magnificent than they could have ever conceived.
Countless trillions of stars, each one shining with a unique light. Each one of them was a different universe.
"You've come..."
Before Stelle, Musashi, and Asuka could recover from their shock, Ultraman King appeared before them.
And behind him, Noa, exuding a mysterious aura, walked over slowly.
"Is this... Noa's true form?"
Gazing at the light and aura emanating from Noa's body, Asuka couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Among the three human hosts, he was the least familiar with Noa. He had never even seen his phantom image. To see his true form directly this time was naturally a pleasant surprise.
Noa simply looked at them and nodded in satisfaction, sensing the light within their bodies.
"The Gray Mist. Is it still behind you?" Ultraman Noa spoke, and his words gave Stelle and Musashi a start.
After all, Noa had always communicated through his thoughts before. This was the first time he had actually spoken.
"Mhm, that's right. It seems to have trouble keeping up its advantage towards the end, but thankfully, the mission was completed successfully," Stelle said, her hands on her hips, looking at Noa before her.
Ultraman Noa acknowledged this, then vanished, apparently going to deal with the Gray Mist.
"Old man, what do we need to do now?"
After the mission was complete, Ultraman Zero's voice rang out from within Ultraman Saga's body.
Seeing Ultraman King again, Zero was clearly very excited.
If one had to say which Ultraman Zero was most familiar with, besides Leo, it would be Ultraman King.
Even his own father, Seven, was not as familiar to Zero as Ultraman King was.
In a sense, Ultraman King could be considered Zero's father. Because of this, even though Zero was now powerful enough to fear nothing in heaven or on earth, as long as it was Ultraman King who spoke, he would instantly retract all his aggression, as if nothing had happened.
Looking at the warrior he had raised with his own hands, Ultraman King stroked his beard and slowly uttered a single word: "Wait."
"Ultraman Noa has his own way. And the most important thing for us now... is to wait."
---o---