Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Ruins of Tongkalaring

A wide road lay blanketed in white snow, where groups of lively children reveled in snowball fights. The world was filled with the laughter and shouts of young voices. Strolling along this snowy avenue, Ryuze Yue and Keigo Masaki had already come to an agreement about their cooperation.

“I look forward to working with you, Mr. Ryuze,” Keigo Masaki said with a gentle smile, extending his right hand.

“Let’s hope so,” Ryuze Yue replied, matching the smile and offering his own hand. Their broad palms clasped firmly, the atmosphere warm and congenial. No one would guess that only moments before, the two had been at odds.

Keigo Masaki had discovered the so-called “Tonkara Bell” giant’s ruins in Kumamoto City far earlier than in the original story. Ryuze Yue had agreed to help him realize his ambition to become a giant, but with one condition: that Masaki grant him a request—a simple, easy favor that would not compromise any of Masaki’s principles. Yet Ryuze Yue withheld the specifics, offering only a mysterious smile and promising to reveal it after Masaki achieved his transformation.

Even someone as proud and aloof as Masaki couldn’t help but feel a twinge of curiosity about Ryuze’s condition.

“So, when do we depart?” Masaki asked.

As he spoke, Ryuze bent to scoop up a handful of shimmering snow, shaping it into a ball in his palm before hurling it with force. Under the blue sky, the snowball traced a perfect arc, striking a distant tree and sending a cascade of powder tumbling down from its branches.

Masaki glanced at Ryuze in surprise, taken aback by the man’s strength—the fact that he could throw a snowball more than a hundred meters was nothing short of astonishing. Even with his own well-trained body, Masaki doubted he could match such a feat.

“Right now,” Ryuze replied, pulling Masaki’s attention back.

“Very well,” Ryuze answered simply, though inwardly he pondered how he might ensure the appearance of all three Ultramen at once. If he and Masaki transformed but Daigu did not, they would be unable to combine the power of the three Ultramen, and his plan to leave this world would be in vain.

Suddenly, Masaki took Ryuze by the arm and led him to the right, where a gray Toyota was parked.

So he drove here after all!...

...

Inside the TPC Pacific Base, a multitude of dismantled Steel Mask Men, previously scrapped and recovered, inexplicably sprang back to life.

A dense mass of dark brown robots stomped heavily through the base, their metallic fists swinging wildly, smashing equipment and spreading terror. The workers screamed, panicked, scrambling and crawling in desperate retreat—the resurrected machines filled them with paralyzing fear.

This was a working area, and almost no one was armed. The few who carried handguns were swiftly and mercilessly dispatched by the machines. Sparks flew as equipment succumbed to the rampage, injured and fallen bodies scattered across the floor. The air was thick with groans of pain.

The Steel Mask Men marched steadily toward the F4 hangar, where the Artedis awaited...

Not long before, Shinjo had piloted the test craft Snowbird for a Max Power System trial when he discovered a floating island in space. The island unleashed constant bolts of blue lightning—violent, destructive energy that repeatedly struck Earth, ravaging buildings below. The island itself stood as a fortress, its defenses impenetrable to ordinary weaponry.

After urgent deliberation, TPC’s leadership resolved to send the Victory Team in the Artedis to counterattack. Such wanton destruction of Earth would not be tolerated.

But just as the team prepared to board the vessel, these previously decommissioned robots returned to life.

“Commander, I’ll hold them off!” Daigu called out, firing the Victory Hyper Gun as he backed away from the advancing robots.

Commander Munakata regarded Daigu for a moment, then tossed him his own ammunition belt. “I’m counting on you, Daigu!”

“Can Daigu handle this alone?...” Rina’s beautiful eyes brimmed with worry—she could not trust Daigu to face so many machines by himself.

“Rina, your task is to pilot the Artedis!” Daigu replied with a reassuring smile—a smile that always seemed to bring a sense of safety.

“I understand!” Rina nodded gravely, then hurried off with Munakata, Shinjo, and the others toward the F4 hangar.

Another crash echoed as more equipment succumbed to the robots’ devastation. Daigu glanced at the ruined machinery, his heart aching—these were the base’s assets, and never since its establishment had such an attack occurred.

The robots continued their rampage, smashing buildings as they advanced on the hangar.

With sharp, precise shots, Daigu steadily retreated, never missing his mark. Each bullet dropped a Steel Mask Man.

After the Artedis took off, the swarming small robots merged into a giant Steel Mask Man, dozens of meters tall, though its appearance changed little. The giant robot drove its pointed head straight through the base’s reinforced walls.

At once, briny seawater poured into the base.

Beneath the flood, Daigu held his breath, struggling underwater as he fumbled for his Spark Lance.

A flash of light—and Dyna appeared.

Events unfolded just as they had in the original tale.

...

Elsewhere, Keigo Masaki sped down the highway in his gray Toyota, the corners of his mouth curled in a satisfied grin—his good mood echoed by the steady hum of the engine. The world seemed to rush past in a blur.

“Hey, slow down! Safety first!” Ryuze Yue exclaimed, clinging nervously to the passenger seat. Though he was an Ultraman, free to soar the skies, there was something about this reckless speed that awakened very human fears.

“What, even Ultramen get scared?” Masaki scoffed, pressing the accelerator further. The car surged faster.

“Damn it, Masaki!” Ryuze fumed. They were partners now—was this any way to treat an ally?

But anger aside, there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t very well transform into Dark Dyna over a car ride...

So, with his nerves frayed and heart pounding, Ryuze was “delighted” to finally reach their destination with Masaki: the ruins of the Tonkara Bell in Kumamoto City.