Chapter Twenty-Four: The Final Severance (Part Two)

When Yue Longze arrived at the scene, sword in hand, he caught sight of Daigu and Shinjou being abducted by Abbas. The night sky glittered with stars, calm as flowing water.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Katsura, who had not been taken by Abbas, stared wide-eyed at the suddenly-appearing Yue Longze.

"Why shouldn't I be here?" Yue Longze replied, his lips curling into a half-smile as he hefted the sword. Legally speaking, the sword he carried was stolen property, but he felt no fear of it being recognized—after all, none of the Victory Squad had ever seen it back on Mount Suna. Besides, theft wasn’t exactly the Victory Squad’s jurisdiction.

"Uh... well, you have a point," Katsura stammered, opening his mouth as if to argue further, but finding himself at a loss for words. Only Munakata, standing nearby, regarded Yue Longze with a suspicious gaze for several seconds.

"Relax, I’m here to help you, more or less," Yue Longze said with a helpless shake of his head, noticing Munakata’s skepticism. He folded his arms around his sword and leaned lazily against a large tree.

"What a strange guy," Rina muttered uncertainly, tightening her scarf as she walked over to stand by her teammates, casting a puzzled glance at Yue Longze in the distance. Yet she couldn’t shake the sense that, despite his oddity, he meant no harm.

A dazzling streak of light flashed across the night sky, seeming to illuminate the entire city. Ultraman Tiga descended like a savior to the earth, facing off against his towering adversary—the gigantic alien Standel, Abbas.

"Let’s hope nothing goes wrong," murmured Yue Longze, watching Tiga’s desperate battle from beneath the tree. His thoughts drifted back to a time when he had fought alongside another Daigu in a different world.

"How nostalgic..." Yue Longze drew a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with practiced ease, and took a deep drag. He exhaled a smoke ring and gazed blankly toward the distant battle. Within his dark eyes, longing and confusion mingled, their depth enough to ensnare the heart of any maiden who might have passed by.

"Tiga!"

The name was spat from a figure approaching on Yue Longze’s left, venom and hatred thick in every syllable. His eyes were pitch black, a crimson malevolent light glowed at his left breast, and his arms bulged with muscle.

"So you really are in this world!"

Yue Longze tensed. The thing he had most feared had finally come to pass, but perhaps it was better this way—to finish it now and spare himself further worry.

At that moment, the third-generation Kirieloid had assumed human size, advancing toward Yue Longze step by deliberate step, each movement radiating an ominous aura.

"What is that?" Munakata and the others cried out in alarm, instantly drawing their concealed Hyper Victory Guns and aiming at the third Kirieloid, while reporting the situation to headquarters.

"It looks like... a Kirieloid!" Rina said uncertainly.

"Hey, kid, run for it!" Katsura shouted, seeing Yue Longze standing between the Kirieloid and the Victory Squad.

Yue Longze nodded in gratitude but remained rooted to the spot.

"Does he have a death wish?" Munakata dashed over and pulled Yue Longze out of harm’s way, a gesture that filled Yue Longze with a brief warmth.

"No matter what world you’re from, your kindness never changes," Yue Longze seemed to smile.

Blazing violet beams erupted from the muzzles of the Hyper Victory Guns as Rina and Katsura fired, covering Munakata and Yue Longze’s retreat.

"Today, let’s end this!" Yue Longze resolved. Once safely behind cover, he slipped away unnoticed.

Finding a secluded spot and confirming no one was watching, he gripped his sword in his left hand and drew the Dark Scepter from his right, holding it to his chest. In a flash, he transformed into the human-sized Dark Tiga.

This time, his chest armor bore the original black markings, not the golden ones that had appeared when Camilla’s power had influenced him before.

"So, that power isn’t something I can summon at will..." Yue Longze glanced at his chest plate, then drew the sword.

Holding the sword now, he felt its immense power thrumming within—its snowy blade a stark contrast to Dark Tiga’s black form. The sword quivered, resonating with Yue Longze’s transformed state. Silver light shrouded the blade, masking its original appearance; at a glance, one could never tell it was the same sword.

"A fitting name—the Heavenly Cloud Sword."

Time pressed; he set off at once toward the third Kirieloid.

The Kirieloid advanced relentlessly, forcing Rina and her companions to retreat step by step, their Hyper Victory Guns useless—each shot against him merely sparked harmlessly, failing to inflict any damage.

With a casual gesture, the Kirieloid unleashed a wave of molten energy, shooting toward Rina and the others like a bullet.

Meanwhile, Tiga was still locked in battle with Abbas, but the tide had clearly turned in Tiga’s favor. The end was near.

The energy shot shrieked toward them—mere mortals, the three had no hope of evading it.

"Is this how it ends..." Rina thought in despair, closing her eyes.

At that critical moment, Yue Longze cleaved the deadly blast in two with his sword.

"He’s gotten stronger again!" Yue Longze marveled, unable to fathom how his enemy’s power kept increasing. The force in that last attack was much greater than before.

The Kirieloid’s pupils narrowed—the sword radiated a deadly threat.

...

"A black Ultraman Tiga?"

Rina and her companions looked from the Tiga still fighting Abbas to the smaller, humanoid, black Tiga before them, momentarily unable to process what they were seeing.

"I know!" Katsura smacked his forehead, as if struck by sudden enlightenment.

Munakata and Rina turned to him, eyes questioning.

"One’s huge, one’s tiny—other than color, they look almost identical. That must mean this black Tiga with the sword is the son of the big Tiga we saw earlier!"

He almost shouted his theory, clearly proud of his deduction.

Yue Longze, in the midst of fighting, nearly fainted with exasperation.

"Katsura... it seems you’re hopeless in every world," he thought.

Yet Rina and Munakata, blank-faced, nodded in earnest agreement, convinced by Katsura’s logic.

Even the Kirieloid looked momentarily astonished.

"Oh? So you’re that guy’s son? Your father is pitifully weak!"

...

"Katsura! I’ll deal with you later!" Yue Longze shouted.