The three strongest Ultras had assembled.
Noa, Ultraman King, and Saga.
Among all the Ultra Warriors who had appeared, these three were undeniably in the top tier, whether in terms of sheer class or combat prowess.
Adding Ultraman Legend, who existed only in dialogue, made for a total of four legendary Ultra Warriors.
"Three of the four legendary Ultra Warriors have appeared. That alone is enough to prove the severity of this catastrophe. After all, most of the time, only one of the four ever shows up at most."
In the Land of Light, the Super Scientist, Hikari, watched the three legendary Ultra Warriors on the screen and spoke with a sense of wonder.
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Say what you will, but the Ultra universe is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Three legendary-class Ultra Warriors, plus the absent Ultraman Legend, and countless Ultimate Ultras... with a lineup like this, if the Land of Light wanted to rule the universe, I doubt anyone could stop them."
Aizen, the God of Death: "Crouching tigers and hidden dragons? Indeed... It's not just the Ultra Warriors. Among the other races, there are likely powerhouses no weaker than Ultraman King, or even Ultraman Noa. They just haven't revealed themselves yet."
Hachiman Hikigaya: "Are you serious? You're not joking, are you? How can you tell?"
In the My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU world, Hachiman sat up straight upon seeing Aizen's words. In the video, besides the Ultras, the only outrageously powerful being was Hyper Zetton. The others, including Alien Empera, were far from reaching legendary status.
"The Ultras would never try to rule the universe. They are true paragons of goodness, the embodiment of justice. But by the same token... tens of thousands of years have passed, and even with the help of Ultraman King and Noa, the Ultra race still hasn't been able to eliminate all the evil and darkness in the universe..."
In the Soul Society, the shinigami Aizen spoke slowly. Whether it was the Ultra Universe or the Honkai: Star Rail universe, what the light curtain had shown was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Although it was just a theory, it was just as he said. Why were the Mysterious Four so powerful, yet still unable to wipe out the darkness and evil of the universe? Wasn't it because the other side had existences of the same caliber?
The multiverse is full of infinite possibilities and unknowns. Just look at the adjacent Honkai: Star Rail universe; there are already more than ten known Aeons, and the number of other powerhouses is countless.
---o---
[On the light curtain, as Ultraman King's words fell, the camera shifted to Noa.]
He opened his palm, and immediately, a light shield large enough to cover the entire universe manifested.
The mist that had been following Ultraman Saga crashed into the light shield without any hesitation, creating ripples as if on the surface of water.
Then, the surface of the light shield became like a great net, enveloping the entire mass of mist, causing it to drift continuously through the universe like stardust.
"And with that... the first step is complete."
Noa gazed at the Gray Mist that had walked right into his trap and said thoughtfully.
To ensure the safety of the two multiverses, he could no longer continue to clear away the Gray Mist. Doing so would only accelerate the destruction of the two universes.
Of course, he couldn't just let the Gray Mist be, either.
The best solution was to use the energy of the Gray Mist to pull the entire multiverse back onto its proper course.
Noa thought this to himself, but the movements of his hands did not slow in the slightest. He manipulated the misty gas into various forms, then began to compress it.
The mist, so powerful that it could contend with Ultraman Saga head-on, was compressed to an extreme degree like a toy, becoming a small black sphere that floated in the palm of Noa's hand.
"Is this the limit?"
Gazing at the small black sphere in his hand, Noa spoke slowly. Compressed to its absolute limit, the Gray Mist was like a stick of dynamite. One careless move, and the energy it unleashed would be enough to easily destroy the universe.
Across the infinite multiverse, countless evil aliens looked at that black sphere with eyes full of desire.
Just compressing it was enough to destroy an entire universe? Then what was the point of them working so hard to research weapons?
Just grabbing the Gray Mist would fulfill all their military needs.
Of course, among these aliens, there was almost no one who could compress the Gray Mist to such an extreme as Noa did.
Moreover, the energy of the Gray Mist was not weak. Unless they could create a Hyper Zetton or an even stronger monster like Alien Bat, it wouldn't be them catching the Gray Mist, but the Gray Mist annihilating them.
On the light curtain, after capturing the Gray Mist, Ultraman Noa arrived at the dying boundary of the universe, a place that was gradually vanishing because of the mist.
"Noa... you intend to..."
As the one most familiar with Ultraman Noa, Ultraman King saw through his intentions at a glance.
"What..."
The three human hosts within Ultraman Saga looked at the black sphere in Noa's hand with incomprehensible expressions.
Isn't there a solution for the Gray Mist? Why did he bring a black sphere? Could this black sphere possibly eliminate the Gray Mist?
"Saga... this is for you."
Noa tossed the sphere casually, as if he couldn't care less about the power it contained.
Never mind the two Ultras in the video, the audience outside the light curtain was scared witless.
This was something that could blow up a universe. It might not be a multiverse, but it was still extremely dangerous. Could he really just toss it around so casually without causing any problems?
Fortunately, Ultraman Saga caught it, allowing the audience outside the video to let out a sigh of relief.
Saga looked at the black sphere in his hand with a bewildered expression. "What am I supposed to do? Noa... this pitch-black thing, it's not some treasure you found in a dumpster, is it?"
Without a doubt, although there were three human hosts in his body, Musashi and Asuka had tacitly given primary control to the strongest fighter, Stelle.
Although Stelle could tell that this black sphere was no simple thing, she couldn't see that it was the very same Gray Mist that Saga had lured here earlier.
"This is not trash. I need you to throw it out at the right time."
Although he didn't know why Stelle would think this black sphere was trash, Ultraman Noa still explained.
"It might cause a small commotion for the Ultra Universe and the Honkai: Star Rail universe, but it's the only way. Besides a bit of a disturbance, it's beneficial to both universes."
"The right time? When is that?" Hearing Ultraman Noa's explanation, Stelle asked curiously.
Noa then exchanged a look with Ultraman King and said, "Pik and I will create the trigger for you. The rest... is up to you."
With that, the wings on Noa's back—no, the Noa Wings—unleashed an astonishingly vast energy. The purity of this energy faintly surpassed even that of the Land of Light's sacred artifact, the core of the Plasma Spark Tower.
Seeing this, Ultraman King also shook the cape on his back. His entire body turned golden, as if he had entered a Shining Form, filled with divinity.
Then, the two Ultras exchanged a knowing glance and unleashed their respective strongest beam techniques.
Noa The Final and the King Shot. Two golden rays of light tore through the universe, unleashing a terrifying wave of energy.
With almost no resistance, they tore apart the cosmic wall of this so-called Ultra Multiverse.
After tearing a large hole, the Gray Mist from outside the universe began to surge into the Ultra Universe, one after another.
"Ultraman Saga, throw it into the densest part of the mist."
Though still unclear, Ultraman Saga followed Ultraman Noa's instructions. With a single teleportation, he flew above the two beams of light and then threw the black sphere in his hand towards the area he believed to be the densest with mist.
"..."
The instant the black sphere fell into the mist, a violent roar, like a sonic boom, resounded in his ears. In fact, the sound was so immense that there was no roar at all, only a deafening, eardrum-shattering noise.
"Just as expected."
Unlike the clearly uncomfortable Ultraman Saga, Noa was barely affected. He took a deep breath and activated the hidden trigger he had placed within the small black sphere.
A golden light shot out like a game of hopscotch towards the endless starry sky beyond the universe.
Immediately after, a chain reaction occurred. Countless sonic booms rang out from beyond the universe, and the piercing roars began to reverberate throughout the cosmos, deafeningly loud.
"Pik!"
Seeing their goal accomplished, Ultraman Noa called out to Ultraman King. Then... the two of them almost simultaneously transformed their attack beams into repair beams.
The large hole they had just torn in the universe's boundary was quickly restored with the help of the repair beams.
And it was in the moment of restoration that the chain explosion caused by the Gray Mist arrived, as if it wanted to blow up the entire universe.
The shockwave it released directly caused ripples on the universe's barrier. But fortunately, the barrier between multiverses was tough enough, which was why the explosion did not truly threaten the universe itself.
But even so, the shockwave was not something that could be completely resisted.
"BOOM!!!"
This time, it was not outside the universe, but within it. As if a switch had been flipped, the stars released a violent energy under the force of the shockwave.
But under Noa's control, it quickly returned to calm.
Gradually, the roaring sound continued for a long time. By the time it disappeared, the mist outside the universe had been blasted into scattered clumps, unable to gather together.
More importantly, because of the force of the impact, the Ultra Universe and the Honkai: Star Rail universe had stopped attracting each other. The distance between them had not only not shrunk, but had actually grown larger.
---o---
Across the infinite multiverse, the commotion caused by the Gray Mist's explosion attracted the gazes of countless viewers outside the video.
After all, this was no ordinary explosion. If one had to describe it, it was like the Big Bang at the birth of the universe, complete with a chain reaction and ferocious power.
---o---
Light Curtain Bullet Chat
"Ha! Yes, this is it! It seems the light curtain agrees with my aesthetic! Art is an explosion!!!"
In the Naruto world, Deidara excitedly pulled at Sasori, pointing at the Big Bang-like explosion in the video, proclaiming his own philosophy of explosive art.
"So that's how it is. Using physical means to forcefully stop the convergence of two universes. This is a method that only someone of his level could achieve."
In the Honkai world, Otto wore a bitter smile. He had thought Noa had some brilliant plan. Looking at it now, it was essentially a case of one force breaking ten thousand techniques.
Though the physical method was a bit brutal, it was also the best solution.
Just like if he were strong enough, why would he need to scheme so much and even be a villain? He could just smash through space and go to the Sea of Quanta to create a new future for Kallen.
"Brute force may seem simple, but it's not easy at all. If Noa hadn't controlled the shockwaves throughout the entire universe, the cosmos wouldn't have just been shaken a couple of times and then been done with it."
In the Land of Light's laboratory, the Super Scientist Hikari sucked in a cold breath. To control the affected range of the entire cosmos with his own power... that level of control... was terrifying!
---o---
[As the viewers outside the light curtain were discussing, the video's screen shifted to another location.]
It was a deep, dark corner of the starry sky, where a strange shadow floated in the air.
A shadow?
No, if you looked closely, it seemed to not exist at all. But between the realms of perception, there it stood.
Bizarre... a very bizarre feeling.
Is it a living thing? Or is it some higher-level existence?
Across the infinite multiverse, countless viewers, for some unknown reason, felt a sense of dissonance in their hearts.
It was as if... as if they had suddenly had an epiphany about something.
All things in the universe are meaningless. Existence is nihility. All things resist nothingness, all things rush toward nothingness, all things are reduced to nothingness.
You may gaze upon the brilliant stars, but you must never stare into the abyss of nihility... That black mist is empty of all things. A single glance is enough to make a mortal abandon all reason.
An Aeon. Yes... what appeared this time, an existence like a black mist, was none other than the Aeon of Nihility—IX!!!
The Gray Mist had not only swept through the Ultra Universe, but even the Honkai: Star Rail universe was not immune. But unlike the Amber King, whose giant hammer was a blur of afterimages, the Aeon of Nihility had no interest in any of this.
What Gray Mist, what other universe—to it, these were all meaningless existences.
However, this time, the explosion of the Gray Mist and the resulting cosmic vibration had awakened this Aeon, who had been in a daze for who knows how long.
"0.o"
Above a formless black mist, IX opened its eyes, which had been closed for who knows how many years. It glanced in the direction of the Ultra Universe, then closed its eyes again, as if nothing had happened.
The destruction of the universe had nothing to do with it. The Amber King, the Ultras, none of it had any meaning. But the explosion of the Gray Mist had woken it from its rot.
The cosmic vibration made this ultimate master of lazing about turn over, and then continue to rot.
The sound of the Amber King's giant hammer, the laughter of Aha, had echoed in its ears for countless years. It was used to it by now, and those noises were not enough to wake it. But this...
---o---
author ps: I lost the 50/50 on Acheron, damn it. Even though I got her with the guarantee, I'm not happy at all.
---o---