Chapter Eighteen: War

This gray mist, unlike the formidable immaterial assault of the black fog wielded by the evil god Gatangeje, possessed instead the power to transmute objects into bronze statues.

“Ugh...”
Yue Longze struggled in agony, his body already showing signs of turning to bronze.

“Despicable!”
Battling in the sky, Ultraman Seven was incensed.

With a sharp whistle, Seven hurled his Ice Axe, which fell like a meteor with crushing force, cleaving toward the transparent capsule that imprisoned Yue Longze.

As if anticipating a rescue attempt, the Alien Hipporito instantly pressed both palms together the moment Seven launched his weapon, firing a missile of tremendous destructive power.

As expected, Seven’s head fin was blasted away by Hipporito’s missile.

“Dyna!”
Such powerful strength, yet brought low by the treachery of the cunning Alien Hipporito. Many of the Ultra Warriors felt indignant for Yue Longze. Although they were eager to assist, their own adversaries kept them entangled, leaving them no chance to break free.

“We were just complimenting you earlier! And now look at you!”
With Ice Axe in hand, Zero swept through the sky like a thunderbolt.

A dull crash rang out, and the capsule trapping Yue Longze suddenly shattered.

“As expected of Ultraman Zero!”
The Ultra Warriors who had worried for Dyna now breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“Hey, your luck is something else!” Zero stowed away his Ice Axe and helped Yue Longze up.

“Cough, cough...” Yue Longze was a little embarrassed.

Inside the capsule, Yue Longze had felt utterly stifled. It was as if he were clad in training armor, unable to muster even a fraction of his full strength, and that strange gray mist made him feel dizzy and suffocated.

Rage filled Yue Longze’s heart.

“Alien Hipporito!”
His sharp gaze fixed on the villain above, Yue Longze shouted furiously, his body tensing like a tiger before leaping toward his foe.

“Cowards like you are a blight on the universe!”
Even as he spoke, Yue Longze was already before the Alien Hipporito.

A sudden, immense force struck Hipporito’s chest. Already a match for the Ultra Brothers in strength, Yue Longze now exploded with even greater speed in his fury, catching Hipporito completely off guard.

High above, both the Ultra Brothers and the Dark Five Kings, who had been locked in fierce combat, widened their eyes in shock.

Such speed... It surpassed even their own!

In the sky, Yue Longze gasped for breath; after all, this burst of speed came only from his anger.

“Oh? So you’re just a pretender after all.”
Upon seeing Yue Longze’s labored breathing, Hipporito suddenly understood and relaxed, grinning slyly.

“Hey! Bullying a newcomer—what’s that supposed to prove?”

A scornful voice rang out.

“Zero...”
Yue Longze looked at Zero, who had stepped in on his behalf, his gaze complex. Their relationship was both that of mentor and friend, but often, it was more like... comrades bound by fate.

“When will I finally surpass Zero...?”
The aerodynamic gleam of Zero’s head fin was a thing of beauty, his rebellious eyes tinged with murderous intent. Ultraman Zero radiated a powerful fighting spirit.

“Zero! Your opponent is me!”
From the chaos below, a figure shrouded in intense darkness leaped forth. It was Zero’s nemesis—Dark One-Eyed Zero!

“Hmph, just a defeated foe.”
Zero brushed his nose dismissively, yet inwardly he grew cautious; the aura of Dark Zero was several times more powerful than before.

“Let me show you my brand new strength!”

...

The battlefield in the sky had now split into three fronts.

Dyna—Yue Longze—faced the treacherous Hipporito, one of the Dark Five Kings.

Zero confronted the Dark One-Eyed Zero.

The five Ultra Brothers engaged the remaining Dark Four Kings.

At the moment, there seemed to be some slight advantage.

-----------------------

Deep in the cosmos, a vast and shadowy figure stood in the void, radiating an evil presence.

Eyes filled with malice pierced the emptiness, as if peering across the distance at the Land of Light.

“What pure darkness... That fool Joda may well suffer a great defeat this time.”

With a laugh that defied gender, the figure slowly faded from view.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Light.

Locked in furious battle with Hipporito, Yue Longze suddenly shivered.

“What is this... such a strange sensation.”

He shook his head, but with Hipporito’s merciless assault approaching, he had no time to ponder. Black energy gathered in his palm, shattering every attack Hipporito hurled at him.

Their powers seemed evenly matched; in direct confrontation, neither could gain the upper hand.

“Kid, join us—the Dark Emperor’s camp. Don’t let all that darkness within you go to waste,” Hipporito sneered, his pig-like claws rubbing his ugly elephantine nose.

Yue Longze ignored the villain’s words, maintaining his calm as they exchanged blows.

...

With a sharp whistle, the clash between Zero and Dark Zero raged with brutal intensity, the shockwaves of their battle spilling into nearby fronts.

Energy beams were unleashed with reckless abandon, stirring waves of distortion in the very fabric of space, as though threatening to rend the void itself.

Zero transformed into his formidable Corona Mode, his red body blazing like an inferno, finally forcing pressure upon Dark Zero.

Across the battlefield lay the corpses of countless monsters, limbs and bodies torn asunder.

It wasn’t that no Ultras had fallen; rather, when an Ultra perished, they transformed into particles of light that drifted away, silently guarding their homeland in another form.

——————

There was no night in the Land of Light, thanks to the immense energy of the Plasma Spark Tower. As long as the plasma spark burned, the Ultra Star would remain bathed in eternal radiance.

Bathed in this everlasting light, none could say how long the battle had raged. Monsters and Ultras alike felt exhaustion weigh upon them.

A shattered, dark husk sprawled across the pristine ground.

It was less a corpse than a broken machine. Tiny electrical sparks still danced on the shattered circuit boards of its skull, while the once-brilliant solitary eye, now dulled, seemed to whisper unspoken resentment.

Zero sat on the ground, supporting himself with his fused Ice Axe, fatigue shining through his eyes.

Defeating Dark Zero had taken everything he had.

Having witnessed Zero vanquish their most powerful ally, the Dark Five Kings retreated without a word. The remaining monsters, seeing their leaders flee, likewise withdrew, leaving only the bodies of their fallen behind.

The war, it seemed, was over.

Yet Father of Ultra, who had observed from afar, understood the truth: the war was not over—indeed, it had not even truly begun.

Looking at the battlefield strewn with monster corpses, Yue Longze felt a deep ache within him.

He knew that the price for killing these monsters was the lives of a hundred Ultra Warriors.

“If only I were a little stronger—even just a little!” Yue Longze blamed himself.

He had not slain a single enemy in this war.

The second-generation Kyrieloid had fled, the evenly matched Hipporito had escaped...

“Damn it!”
Yue Longze slammed his fist into the ground, cracking it.

“The real battle hasn’t even begun yet, Long!” Zoffy and the others had already learned Yue Longze’s name from Zero.

“But I...”
Yue Longze, crouched on the ground, looked up at Zoffy.

“If it weren’t for you, the casualties in the Land of Light would have been much worse!” Zoffy bent down and patted him on the shoulder.

Hearing this, Yue Longze slowly stood, staring in a daze at the towering Plasma Spark Tower in the distance...

After a long while, Yue Longze turned around.

“I must become stronger! To defeat the soon-to-be-resurrected Joda!”

In the distance, Zero seemed to smile faintly at his words...