Volume One, Chapter Ninety-One: The Sage

Yuukou clearly did not agree with his senior’s words.

Still, the mission had already been accepted, so he could only go along and see for himself.

“Take care on the way.” Kana smiled brighter than any flower, practically radiant with delight.

The deposit alone was a full ten million; that was nearly two years of their company’s earnings.

When they reached the scene, Yuukou finally saw the target.

Blond-haired, dressed like a polished gentleman, yet he gave off the impression of a thug.

Then, a swarm of reporters burst in.

“President!”

“The president is here!”

“President, is the threatening video you received real?”

“President, please say something!”

The reporters surged forward in a flood, and Yuukou and Yuka could not stop them.

With no choice, the president was forced to accept the interview.

But before he could even speak, a scream rang out from the crowd.

Following the direction of his gaze, they saw that on the right side, a person dressed in blue was standing there, his face twisted with resentment.

The instant everyone saw him, they froze.

“That person...”

“It’s Kuzu Rento!”

The whole scene exploded at once.

“What is going on? Wasn’t he dead?”

“My God, Kuzu Rento is actually alive!”

“The video was real!”

“He really is alive!”

Now that they had confirmed it was truly him, how could the reporters possibly restrain themselves? They hurried over, determined to get the full story.

But Kuzu pulled out an energy gun, his voice cold and grim. “I am going to kill you here with my own hands!”

The reporters stood dumbstruck for a moment, then scattered in all directions.

No one noticed a silhouette watching from an upper floor above.

His head tilted at a full ninety degrees, and a slow smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

“Revenge is about to begin.”

Seeing Kuzu draw a dangerous weapon, Yuukou rushed forward at once, trying to stop him.

But he had underestimated the man’s strength. Before long, after only a couple of exchanges, he was kicked hard to the ground.

Even so, he did not give up, shouting, “Stop this! I hate that president too, but killing someone for revenge is wrong!”

“What do you know!” Kuzu raised the energy gun and shouted back, “The pain of losing someone like that—how could a person like you possibly understand it!”

He and his wife had dreamed of going into space and contributing to humanity.

And what they received in return was a disaster created by others merely for entertainment.

How could people like that deserve to live in this world?

“I...” Kuzu’s eyes burst with blood as every word dripped with hatred. “I am going to kill the man who took Nana away from me!”

“To carry out my plan of revenge, I obtained power beyond ordinary humans!”

Kuzu raised the energy gun and pulled the trigger.

The next second, a white energy circle appeared above his head.

Then the circle washed over his body and slowly vanished.

“Wait!” Yuukou ran to where Kuzu had been, but could not find any trace of him at all.

“I can understand him.”

At that moment, Taiga’s voice suddenly sounded.

“Because I, too, lost an important companion.”

“You, Yuukou, are the same—you hate the one who took Little One away.”

As the image of Torregia surfaced in his mind, Yuukou clenched his teeth.

Yes, that damned bastard had killed Little One!

The human and the Ultra, both grinding their teeth in fury, failed to notice that the one they hated was watching them from nearby.

“Heh, heh, heh.” Hozaki smiled with satisfaction. “Exactly. Hate away. I’d like to see whether an Ultraman with light in his heart will also lose himself to darkness.”

Crash—

At that moment, the roof was suddenly smashed open.

Yuukou jumped in shock and looked up, only to see a gigantic silver-white robot.

“Power beyond ordinary humans... so that’s what it meant!”

The president was terrified, screaming wildly, “Get me out of here now! I paid for this!”

Giving him a sidelong glance, Yuka said coldly, “Follow me.”

Yuukou, meanwhile, ran in another direction to transform.

With a flash of light, Taiga made his dazzling entrance.

One look was enough for him to blurt out the robot’s name: “It’s Galactron!”

Galactron had once served under Gilbaris, the foe defeated by Geed, and its power was formidable indeed.

Taiga dared not be careless. He raised his fist, ready to strike.

But Yuukou suddenly shouted, “Wait! Mr. Kuzu seems to be inside it. If you do that, you’ll hurt him.”

While they were talking, Galactron’s second blow was already coming down.

Crash—

In the deafening roar, sparks flew from Taiga’s chest as he was sent flying sideways and smashed into a tall building.

“That hurts!”

Taiga drew in a sharp breath, only feeling a searing pain across his chest.

That sensation was even more intense than when Torregia had blasted his body apart directly.

But it still was not over. Taiga had only just gotten back to his feet when Galactron’s next attack came racing in.

Crash—

Taiga had no time to react and took the blow full on once more.

Then Galactron raised its arm, an energy array appearing instantly as it fired several beams of devastating power.

Taiga cried out in misery, utterly unable to fight back.

On the other side, Hozaki was sitting lazily in a seat at the venue, casually munching on popcorn.

Before him was the battle between Taiga and Galactron.

“Heh, heh, heh.” Watching Taiga beaten like a dog, Hozaki’s smile grew wider and wider until he could hardly close his mouth.

“That’s right, just like that. Give that Ultraman who claims to be the embodiment of light a proper lesson.”

Suddenly, as if he sensed something, Hozaki’s expression changed slightly.

He looked up toward the sky, where a streak of yellow light fell, passing straight through Galactron’s body and pulling Kuzu Rento out of the machine.

And when they landed, a woman was there as well.

Seeing her, Kuzu’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Nana!”

“It’s me.” Holding his hand, the woman explained through tears, “Your hatred summoned a demon, and my prayers summoned a sage.”

“The kind-hearted sage granted my small wish.”

“And that wish was to stop your revenge!”

A fierce struggle broke out in Kuzu’s eyes.

To kill and pay with one’s life was only natural.

He was not wrong!

“No.” Perhaps hearing his thoughts, the woman shook her head. “Let us return to space together, to the place where life fades away.”

“How laughable. Humans really are ignorant creatures.” Seeing that woman had already been brainwashed by an Ultraman, Hozaki grew displeased.

False light—if someone killed your entire family, would you still comfort yourself and tell yourself not to seek revenge?

Would you simply let those who ought to die live on peacefully?

What twisted logic was that?

“Let us protect Earth from space,” the woman said, embracing Kuzu with a bright smile. “We will always stay together.”

Kuzu seemed moved, nodding with a choked sob. “Yes... all right!”

The woman raised her head and looked toward the yellow light.

“Thank you, sage.”

“You’re welcome,” came a hard, unyielding voice from within the light.

Hearing that voice, Taiga, who had still been dazed a moment before, suddenly lit up.

“It’s Titas!”

Seeing Kuzu and his wife disappear, Hozaki could finally hold back no longer. His expression darkened as he took out his transformation device.

And that yellow light flew into Taiga’s body.