Chapter Fourteen: The Special Training Begins

A hoarse screech echoed overhead. Amidst the sweeping yellow sand, a blurry figure approached. Crimson wings ablaze, the creature’s sharp beak looked capable of piercing a human skull at any moment. Barbed hooks jutted from its knees, and its keen eyes gleamed with a strange, sinister light.

“It’s Melba!” Yue Longze’s heart leapt in alarm. Why did monsters from the world of Tiga keep appearing here?

“No matter who you are, interrupting someone’s conversation so suddenly is downright rude!” Zero removed his ice axe, pushed off fiercely with his foot, and leaped toward the rapidly approaching Melba.

He was met by two blazing beams of light shot from Melba’s eyes. Zero twisted his body ever so slightly, executing a perfect sidestep to slip through the narrow gap between the twin rays.

A sharp crack sounded as Zero and Melba swept past each other. Zero knelt on one knee, ice axes in hand, his back to Melba. Melba too was turned away from Ultraman Zero, motionless.

On that dim, sand-choked planet, the entire scene seemed frozen in time, as if the world itself had halted.

A gust of wind and grit swept past. Zero slowly stood, while Melba began to topple.

With a thunderous crash, Melba’s corpse hit the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Zero casually tossed his ice axe upward; it spun and landed precisely atop his head.

“Two… two seconds?” Yue Longze smacked his lips in disbelief. From the moment Zero launched himself to the moment he landed, killing Melba had taken only two seconds!

“No wonder he’s called the strongest Ultra Warrior in the Land of Light!” Yue Longze was filled with envy, then firmed his resolve. “One day, I’ll be as powerful as Zero!”

“Let’s go. Allow me to escort you to the Land of Light,” Zero stowed his ice axe and strode toward Yue Longze at an unhurried pace.

“Huh? Are we flying straight there or taking a wormhole?” Yue Longze asked.

“We’re flying.” Zero patted Yue Longze’s shoulder. “It’s a good way to train your stamina.”

Before Yue Longze could react, Zero had already soared into the sky, heading forward.

“How long is that going to take…” Yue Longze’s wail of complaint echoed across Planet D2...

——————————

The boundless universe nurtures countless wondrous lives, filling people with mystery and awe. Gazing at the infinite, alluring cosmos, Yue Longze suddenly understood why some astronauts are so passionate about space.

“If I could, I’d love to travel the universe as well!”

Flying alongside him, Zero seemed to sense Yue Longze’s thoughts and laughed heartily. “Kid, you’ve got a long way to go!”

...

They flew past star after star, and exhaustion crept over Yue Longze. Scenes of riding a roller coaster flashed in his mind, the winding tracks making him ever more dizzy. The world began to spin; his body grew heavier and heavier...

“Looks like you’ve reached your limit.” Zero murmured as he watched Yue Longze plummet in a straight line.

But Zero made no move to catch him just yet.

It wasn’t until much later, when Zero mentioned the incident in passing, that Yue Longze realized why he’d been so sore after waking up. In Zero’s words: “It was to toughen up your resilience.”

But that’s a story for another time.

————

He blinked open groggy eyes, adjusting to the planet’s harsh glare. Yue Longze sat up and rubbed his temples, noticing he’d returned to his normal form and was enclosed in something like a light shield—no doubt a protective barrier set up by Zero. Warmth stirred in his heart at the thought.

Surveying his surroundings—dunes and rubble everywhere—he felt the same desolation as on Planet D2.

“You really slept like a log—nearly two full days!” Zero approached, carrying an alien’s severed head.

“I slept that long…?”

“Is that… a Magma Alien?” Yue Longze squinted.

“Yep.” Zero tossed the Magma Alien’s head casually aside. “The disturbances from dark energy in the universe have been getting worse lately,” he remarked.

“What’s a dark energy disturbance?” Yue Longze asked, fingering the Dark Light Rod at his chest.

“When Juda is fully resurrected, that’s when the dark energy will truly erupt,” Zero said, fiddling with his ice axe. “Most monsters that once slumbered in the universe have been corrupted by this dark power and turned berserk.” Zero returned the gleaming axe to his head, pausing before continuing, “Now, the Land of Light has become the primary target for monster attacks, suffering under their onslaught.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get back to the Land of Light!” As soon as the words left his mouth, Yue Longze had already pulled out the Dark Light Rod and transformed into Tiga.

“Eh?” Zero was briefly taken aback. “Didn’t expect you to be so eager. I was only worried you’d be too scared to go!”

With a whoosh—

Ignoring Zero’s continued grumbling, Yue Longze shot off first.

“Hey, do you even know which way to go?” Zero shouted helplessly at Yue Longze’s receding form.

“Then hurry up and catch up, lead the way…” Yue Longze’s voice trailed off.

——————

Nebula M78, the Land of Light.

Crystal structures covered the entire planet. Countless Ultra Warriors were training hard in the arena—honing their combat techniques, refining their light skills, remedying their shortcomings.

On a distant high platform away from the arena, a figure draped in a red cloak watched the scene below with solemn eyes.

His body was marked with blazing red patterns, and unlike other Ultra Warriors, his chest bore no timer.

“I wonder how that boy Zero is doing…” There was no doubt—this was Zero’s father, Ultraman Seven!

“Zero can do it, I’m sure,” said the original Ultraman beside him.

“Haha, of course I believe in my son!” Seven broke into a smile.

“Big brother, how are things at the Monster Graveyard lately?” Seven asked, folding his arms and turning to his elder brother, the original Ultraman.

“It seems rather unstable…”

The two turned back to watch the Ultra Warriors training below, falling silent for a long time.

——————

“Your task is to defeat the demon Juda! Are you going to give up at this level?” Zero barked sternly at Yue Longze, who was struggling to walk.

The pair were on a planet where gravity was a hundred times that of Earth. Rather than taking Yue Longze straight to the Land of Light, Zero had brought him here for special training.

The crushing gravity made each step an ordeal for Yue Longze, while Zero moved with perfect ease.

“This is only the very beginning of special training! How can I fall here?” With a shudder, the giant body pressed on, trudging forward with difficulty.

The planet was very small. Yue Longze forced himself to circle it again and again, gradually adapting to the extreme gravity.

Zero nodded approvingly from the side. “Your potential is far greater than this…”