When the Aeon of Destruction determined that it could not easily break through the defense granted by Klipoth, it abandoned the idea of entering the Ultra universe by relying on its Path.
On one hand, it was because Klipoth the Preservation would undoubtedly do everything in its power to stop him. On the other hand, it believed that the Swarm of Propagation and the creatures living in the darkness would eventually bring that world to ruin.
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage
Overseer of Schicksal: "So this is Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction? Even revealing just the tip of the iceberg, he possesses such astonishing power?"
Analyzing the Nanook on the screen with the Void Archives, Otto was clearly shocked. Although Nanook's power was far inferior to an existence like Ultraman King, it was still more than enough to easily destroy his world.
Kafka, the Stellaron Hunter: "The Aeon of Destruction is truly persistent. Not only did he send Phantylia over, but he even wanted to spread the aesthetic of [Destruction] there, just like the Swarm King."
Father of Ultra: "These are truly troubled times. It seems that darkness exists in every universe. The path to achieving true peace in the cosmos is still long and arduous…"
Frieren the Slayer: "Darkness… even after the Demon King has been defeated, countless monsters and demons still emerge to kill people. True peace… that was also Hero Himmel's lifelong pursuit…"
Crazy Hambone: "Darkness? Light? What are you talking about? What is darkness, and what is light? And how are they defined? If you don't figure out this problem, then neither darkness nor light will ever disappear…"
---o---
Light Curtain
The scene shifted back to the body of Ultraman Zero, now controlled by Stelle.
A twenty to thirty-meter-long baseball bat was being swung in Zero's hands. With each attack, it generated a white-hot aura.
As the saying goes, an inch longer is an inch stronger. With a weapon in hand, and a bat that was far more comfortable to wield than Zero's head crests, the tide of battle began to turn.
Zetton tried to block, but an attack of Destruction was not something that could be defended against with sheer durability alone.
The scales of victory were already tipping toward Zero and Stelle.
EX Zetton's body was tough, and its various abilities were countless times stronger than those of a normal Zetton.
"Alright, time for the final blow!"
The baseball bat stirred up gusts of wind pressure in Stelle's hands, its invisible momentum spreading outwards like a gale.
Finish this monster quickly, then find a way to contact Zero.
Stelle gripped the bat tightly, still unable to sense any sign of Zero in her mind.
"Wait, Stelle! Don't kill it yet!"
Just as Stelle was about to make her move, Zero's voice suddenly appeared in her ear, causing her to halt the swinging bat in her hands.
"Zero?"
Stelle's voice was uncertain. She sensed within her mind and discovered that her connection with Zero had been restored.
Not only that, but for some unknown reason, their "one mind, one body" bond seemed to have become even stronger.
"I have something to ask this Zetton. Give me back control of the body."
EX Zetton. Why did it appear in this universe, and why was it so hostile towards Stelle?
Zero felt that he was getting closer to the answer. There was almost no dark power present in this Zetton.
Moreover, he wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but Zero sensed a kind of sacred power from Zetton.
"You can understand what I'm saying, can't you, Zetton!"
After regaining control of his body, Zero flexed his wrists. Combined with the ferocity in his eyes, he truly looked like a delinquent.
"Speaking of which, I was too busy fighting to notice before. Your body temperature seems to far exceed that of a normal Zetton."
"Especially the carapace on your back. It's no exaggeration to say it's almost as hot as the surface of the sun."
"An ordinary Zetton wouldn't have such a high body temperature. Who is the master behind you?"
As if interrogating a criminal, Zero's demeanor was grave and fierce.
Zetton, however, was stunned for a moment. The high body temperature was easy to explain. It had lived in the magma of the Valley of Flames for many years, so its body had grown accustomed to such heat.
But the thing hidden within its back shell was a fragment given to it by the King.
This fragment was filled with an ancient aura, and by the looks of it, it was even older than Zetton itself.
"This fragment will guide you to that warrior."
Ultraman King's words echoed in its ear. Zetton carefully looked at the Zero before it.
Silver chest plate, blue indicator light, a red and blue body, and the crests on its head.
As if realizing something, Zetton had a sudden epiphany. This person looked so much like Ultraman King!
Not in terms of facial features, but… a similarity in race?
Oh no, I attacked the wrong person!
Zetton's heart suddenly skipped a beat. It had been so focused on finding the enemy related to the Path of [Destruction] that it had forgotten to use its brain.
It was over now. Ultraman King's eyes could reach any corner of the universe. The King must have seen the entire fight between it and Zero.
This was bad. It was going to die. It was going to be turned into roasted Zetton.
Zetton thought mournfully. Although Ultraman King wouldn't actually do anything to it, Zetton's intelligence was only a tiny bit higher than Red King's.
Before Zetton could do anything, its body reacted subconsciously. A slit slowly opened in the black carapace on its back, and a pale red gem suddenly emerged from within.
The gem's color was a bit dim, but it was crystal clear. Its exterior was like a pale red droplet of water, perfectly smooth.
It was shaped like a 'V', but the two sides of the V were more rounded, not sharp like a spike.
The audience outside the light curtain, seeing this, all showed expressions of curiosity, wanting to know what this item that could carry Zetton across universes was.
To be able to travel between two universes, even if they weren't part of a multiverse, this item could be called a divine artifact.
Just then, sharp-eyed viewers had already recognized what the gem-like object was.
"Noa!"
That's right. Noa's energy core was one of the most recognizable among all Ultramen.
And this gem, apart from being a bit dimmer in color, was almost identical to the energy core on Noa's chest. It was like a miniature version.
"This is the item that brought you to this universe?"
The gem landed steadily in Zero's hand. He looked at the small stone with a puzzled expression.
It was clearly artificially made, but… aside from its shape, it seemed no different from an ordinary gem.
Zero tried to infuse a sliver of light energy into it. Then, the originally dim gem showed a hint of luster.
"Hmm?"
The gem, having absorbed Zero's energy, flickered a few times, like a beating heart.
Then… a pale red beam of light shot out, heading toward a certain point in the universe.
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage
Father of Ultra: "That… was likely not created by the King, but by Noa, an Ultraman who was born in the same ancient era as the King."
The Horn-Breaking Demon: "Ancient… how long ago is that, thirty million years? Is there any connection between the Ultramen of the Land of Light and the ancient giants of Tiga's era?"
Asahi Kujo: "I don't know. Thirty million years isn't very long on a cosmic scale. Perhaps in the eyes of the King and that legendary warrior, thirty million years is but a fleeting moment."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Is Noa going to help Zero return to his original universe? The light curtain said before that he can freely roam the entire Ultra multiverse with the wings on his back. So is he helping Zero get back now?"
Detective Conan: "Ultraman Noa should be considered the true strongest being in the Ultra universe, right? After all, even Ultraman King shows a kind of respect towards him…"
---o---
Light Curtain
After giving EX Zetton a thorough beating, Zero and Stelle finally left the barren planet, heading in the direction indicated by the light from the Aegis of Palagye fragment.
At that moment, the light curtain's view shifted, arriving at a green planet.
This was a planet extremely similar to Earth, in terms of volume, vegetation, and the distribution of oceans.
If there was one major difference between it and Earth, it would be the humans.
On this lush green planet, there were no traces of human or alien life. It was a scene of pure, untouched nature.
Clearly, this was the destination the Aegis fragment wanted Zero to go to.
On this planet, although there were no intelligent beings, all the animals and plants could live without a care.
The reason for all this, in the end, was the aura emanating from a mysterious ruin.
Its faint but powerful presence made almost all space monsters steer clear of this planet.
And on this planet, no creature dared to step even half a foot into those ruins.
This peaceful life continued for an unknown amount of time, until a swarm of insects in the starry sky began chasing a battle-scarred spaceship.
"Bzzzzzzz!"
In the cosmos, a dense swarm of insects pursued a spaceship at an incredible speed.
An Emanator!
The tentacles of the Swarm King Tayzzyronth had not yet reached this far, so the true master of these insects was obvious.
The Star-Shattering Swarm King, Skaracabaz. Like Zero, it had crossed universes through the spatial wormhole created by the energy wave collision.
"It's no good! The Swarm is too fast! The Pendragon's engines are damaged, we can't outrun them!!"
During the chase, the young man in charge of checking the ship's equipment said anxiously, his eyes filled with fear of the Swarm.
They had been entangled with the Swarm for a long time. They had even used the weapon systems modified by the Alien Pedans, but they still couldn't kill these insects.
"Captain, let me go! I'll draw them away!"
The young man in the co-pilot's seat, holding a gold and blue device, pleaded with the middle-aged man before him.
Although the monsters in his Battle Nizer weren't suited for space combat, if this continued, the Pendragon would be shot down in space.
"No way! Rei is our comrade! How could we leave you behind alone!" the woman in the pilot's seat shouted sternly, pushing the throttle forward again, frantically burning the Pendragon's fuel.
"But, Vice-Captain, this is all because of me…"
The young man named Rei wanted to say something, but he was cut off by the captain beside him.
"Rei, I know what you're thinking. You can relax. The Pendragon has weathered so many storms over the years. How could it fall at the hands of a bunch of insects?"
Then, the captain turned to the woman in the pilot's seat. "Haruna, there's no need to conserve the Pendragon's fuel. Shake them off!"
"Roger!"
Unleashing the true ability of an ace pilot to its fullest, the Pendragon truly streaked through space like a swimming dragon.
Flying at a speed of Mach five or six, already at the level of an Ultra Warrior, Haruna was using her piloting skills to shake off the relentlessly pursuing Swarm.
However… in the dark and unfamiliar universe, even the best ace pilot couldn't keep an eye on everything around them.
"Wait… hey, hey, Vice-Captain! Ahead, ahead! There are more insects up ahead!"
In the starry sky, another swarm of insects came vibrating their wings. They had their eyes on the Pendragon's energy source, which was enough for them to breed countless more individuals.
An ambush from the front and back? Was this a coincidence, or did these insects have a unique way of communicating?
Haruna forcefully pulled the control stick, trying to fly upwards, but in the end, she couldn't outmatch the Swarm's desperate charge.
Colliding with the insects while flying at high speed, even if they avoided the Pendragon's vital parts, the consequences were still dire.
Several large holes were torn through the Pendragon. The external pressure of space was constantly crushing the ship, trying to completely destroy it!
"Not good! Captain, the Pendragon's engines are damaged! We can't fly!"
The ship's instrument panel was covered in malfunction indicators, making Haruna, the pilot, feel exceptionally powerless.
A ship malfunction in space… the final outcome was easy to imagine, not to mention they were surrounded by a horde of annoying insects.
Although she was an ace pilot, Haruna was still a girl. Even though the Swarm looked much cooler than ordinary insects, she still had a subconscious psychological aversion to them.
All we can do is wait for death. This was Haruna's final thought. In space, Rei's few monsters would have a hard time protecting them while fighting so many insects. Moreover, the Pendragon's life support system had been damaged, and the air was gradually thinning. This was a truly desperate situation.
"Damn it, this is all because of me…"
Rei slammed his fist on the console in the cockpit, blood seeping from his knuckles.
If he hadn't been drawn in by that strange summoning voice, he wouldn't have brought the Pendragon near the spatial wormhole and ended up getting sucked in here.
It could be said that this was all his fault.
Just then, in the dark universe, a blue light streaked across the night sky, hurtling toward the Pendragon.
---o---