Volume One, Chapter 28: Belia

Mrunau swallowed hard, a flicker of hesitation passing through her eyes. To oppose the Ultra Warriors was to invite consequences far beyond her capacity to withstand. And yet… was she truly going to abandon this opportunity?

After a long moment of contemplation, Mrunau finally steeled her resolve and nodded. “I understand. Please… please begin.”

The thought that she would soon regain her youth, and would possess enough power to dominate the entire Golden Galaxy, filled her with impatient anticipation.

Without another word, Mistuki fixed his gaze upon her, unleashing the power of Corruptive Modification to alter her very genes.

Within seconds, waves of black-violet light shimmered over Mrunau’s body. Bathed in that spectral glow, the wrinkles on her aged skin receded at a pace visible to the naked eye, her frame gradually cocooned in a sheath of new skin.

Crack—

The cocoon split open, and a slender, alabaster hand, smooth and lustrous, emerged into the air.

A moment later, the cocoon fell away completely, revealing a figure of enchanting beauty and irresistible allure.

Unhurried, Mistuki erected a barrier, ensuring that the wondrous scene before him would be his alone to enjoy.

Mrunau slowly opened her eyes, her entire focus absorbed by the surge of newfound power within her. She was utterly unaware of her nakedness—or perhaps, even if she knew, what did it matter? She had lived for over a century. Though her appearance was restored to youthful splendor, she had long since discarded any concern for society’s gaze.

After a few breaths, Mrunau finally regained her senses. With a gentle wave of her hand, a cloak of energy materialized, draping elegantly over her body.

“Remember what I told you,” Mistuki reminded her, then turned and departed without delay.

Mrunau wanted to say something, but Mistuki vanished so quickly she had no time to speak.

As the barrier dissolved, a breathtaking beauty appeared in the middle of the street. Passersby cast her suggestive glances, their eyes naked with greed and lust.

“Hmph!” Mrunau snorted coldly. In an instant, a wave of shimmering, prismatic energy erupted from her, expanding outward in all directions.

Crack… crack… crack… crack…

The sound of countless ice crystals forming rang out, and for a moment, a deathly silence descended upon the street.

Crack—

Something seemed to shatter, carried on a gust of icy wind tinged with blood that drifted into Mrunau’s nostrils.

She inhaled deeply, savoring the moment, then turned and strode toward the city that never slept.

Behind her sinuous silhouette, specks of crystalline light sparkled in the darkness, only to splinter into countless fragments and scatter on the wind.

Meanwhile, in another place, Tregear—having resumed his Ultraman form—arrived in a void.

This was another dimensional universe, and also a place he had visited in his previous life.

The space before him writhed in bizarre, erratic patterns. Though you could see it, you could not sense the presence of anything at all.

Such was the wonder of Void Grigio.

Tregear lifted his arm, reaching out with his fingertips to touch that emptiness.

As before, he felt nothing.

Even as the true inheritor of Grimude’s form, he could not make contact.

“It seems only with the complete power of chaos can one touch the void,” Tregear murmured, withdrawing his hand, bored.

He had thought that with his current abilities, he could use Corruptive Modification to control Grigio. But once again, reality proved otherwise.

Grigio’s nature was void, and void represented the primordial chaos—where nothing existed.

With his incomplete chaotic power, he simply could not exert forceful control.

But inability to control did not mean he was powerless in other ways.

Tregear altered the definition of the surrounding space, allowing Grigio to exist outside the interdimensional rift.

His next destination—Lugesite.

———

As Tregear traversed the dimensional universes, the Land of Light had already quelled the turmoil across the major star systems.

It turned out the Dark Galaxy had not been plotting all along. Rather, an Alien Empera had been accidentally revived in the Monster Graveyard, gathering his former minions to seize the weapon sealed in the Valley of Flames.

Fortunately, Mebius and the other Ultras had successfully thwarted the Alien Empera’s scheme and destroyed the Ultimate Battler.

This time, there could be no doubt that Empera was utterly finished.

Yet no one knew that the Ultimate Battler had not been destroyed, but had instead fallen into the hands of an alien who had long lain in wait outside the Monster Graveyard.

He was none other than the king of the Zarabians, Kados.

Thanks to Tregear’s Corruptive Modification, Kados’s hatred now targeted the Land of Light.

And to deal with the Land of Light, his only option was to release his master Reiblood’s strongest Leojinix host—Ultraman Belial.

Bearing the Ultimate Battler, Kados made his way to the Cosmic Prison.

To avoid attracting the Land of Light’s attention, he deliberately changed his appearance, lulling the two Ultra Warriors guarding the prison into a false sense of security.

But evil can never truly disguise itself. Though he mimicked an Ultra Warrior’s form, his outward aura remained sinister.

The two guards immediately sensed something amiss and moved to intercept him, only to be blasted away by Kados in an instant.

In the face of cosmic-level strength, such minor sentries were utterly insignificant.

Kados pressed forward unimpeded, heading straight to the deepest part of the prison.

When he beheld the sealed Belial, his soul trembled for a brief moment.

Not at Belial himself, but at the Reiblood within him.

For an instant, he saw again the sky shrouded by his master’s power, saw evil spreading unchecked throughout the cosmos.

“Belial, the dark Ultra Warrior sealed for tens of thousands of years—today, I will awaken you from your slumber!” Kados raised the Ultimate Battler and, without hesitation, poured energy into it, blasting the wall where the seal lay.

Boom—

The dark red wall collapsed in an instant, unleashing a surge of scorching light.

From the flames, a figure emerged, moving stiffly.

A trace of confusion flickered in his eyes, but understanding soon dawned.

He… had been released!

“Ah—!” Freed at last, Belial roared uncontrollably.

As he flexed his body, the crisp sound of bones cracking resounded from every joint.

A wave of evil, overwhelming power began to spread through the prison.

“Belial! Ultraman Belial!” Kados approached in excitement, extending the Ultimate Battler. “This is the Ultimate Battler that was sealed in the Valley of Flames when you were imprisoned!”

At the mention of the Ultimate Battler, Belial—lost in his own intoxication—finally responded.

He jerked his head around and snatched the weapon.

“Excellent!” Kados laughed heartily. “Now, the entire universe will be ours!”

He burst into laughter, as if reliving the days of conquest alongside Reiblood.

The very next moment, however, he saw his new master—Belial—swing the Ultimate Battler directly at him.

The attack was so sudden that he had no chance to react. He was smashed against the wall and exploded in agony.

Belial, meanwhile, paid him no further mind, staring at the weapon in his hand with a murmured, “It seems to be the real thing.”

He could hardly believe it. After all, the Ultimate Battler had been sealed away by the hand of the King of Ultra himself.

That overwhelming power had defeated even Belial at his peak. How could a mere Zarabian steal it from under the King’s nose?

But now, he believed it.

The familiar weight, the surge of energy just now—everything confirmed it was indeed the Ultimate Battler he remembered.

The Ultimate Battler: crafted in ancient times by the Kusia people to combat their planet’s AI, Gilbaris, it was ultimately seized by Reiblood and transformed into the ultimate monster-controlling weapon.