---o---
Light Curtain Barrage
After the Phoenix Nest, the audience hadn't seen any other humans.
After all, in the grand scheme of the Ultra universe, humanity's status and combat power were not very high.
Although some powerful black-box technology occasionally emerged, they were, on the whole, far inferior to aliens and Ultramen.
Frieren: "Are those humans being harassed by the insects bred by the Swarm King? But what's with that human who wanted to lure the insects away? From the way he spoke, it sounds like he could have dealt with those pursuing Sting-Wings if they weren't in space?"
During her journey, Frieren wore a blank expression. An ordinary adult Sting-Wing was probably already comparable to some weaker monsters. When they moved in swarms, entire civilizations could be wiped out, let alone a spaceship with only a few people.
The Ultraman with Big Pectorals: "Is that boy? Reimon? Why would he appear there? Is it a space-time rift?"
In the Land of Light, the original Ultraman looked at the familiar boy on the screen with a shocked expression.
The Reionics of Earth, and the only one to overcome the bloodthirsty, warlike lineage of Rayblood. In both character and strength, that young man was worthy of respect.
Asahi Kujo: "The monsters in Rei's Battle Nizer are not suited for space combat, which is why they're being hunted by the Swarm. To have been entangled with them for so long, it seems his teammates on that ship are quite excellent."
Overseer of Schicksal: "Reionics? A new term? More than that, I'm more interested in the blue light that came to their rescue. It's that Ultraman."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "What? A blue light? Isn't that Zero? The place the Aegis of Palagye fragment was pointing to, isn't it this place?"
Detective Conan: "No… it's a bit different. We've seen Zero fly several times. This blue light was not emitted by him. It's highly likely another, unknown Ultraman!"
Umaru Doma: "Is another awesome Ultraman making an appearance? Yay!!"
---o---
Light Curtain
Just as the Pendragon was on the brink of destruction, a blue light enveloped its hull.
A gentle power instantly filled the Pendragon's cockpit.
"This is… light?"
Vice-Captain Haruna, in the pilot's seat, felt this warm light and was momentarily at a loss.
"The Pendragon's engines are back to normal! We can use them!!"
Kumano shouted excitedly from the repair room. Although he didn't know what had happened, this light was clearly helping them!
"W-w-woah… th-that… Captain, that!"
Next, in the command room adjacent to the cockpit, Oki, the monster expert, had an extremely exaggerated expression, stammering as if he had encountered something incredible.
It wasn't just him. Captain Hyuga, Vice-Captain Haruna, and Rei in the co-pilot's seat were all staring at this completely unfamiliar Ultraman.
"An Ultra Warrior…"
Although this wasn't the first time he had encountered an Ultra Warrior, Rei was still very surprised.
His journey to this day was inextricably linked to the Ultra Warriors. In a sense, the Ultramen had helped him a great deal.
If it weren't for them, he would have long since become a tool for Rayblood's revival.
Beside them, Captain Hyuga was observing the blue warrior before them, the amazement in his eyes difficult to hide.
The azure body of the blue warrior was like a calm sea. Had there ever been such an Ultraman on Earth?
To this day, a purely blue Ultraman had never appeared on Earth.
The captain thought to himself, then turned to ask Oki, the team's foremost expert on Ultramen and monsters.
"Oki, do you know which Ultraman this is?"
But even Oki, the monster and Ultraman fanatic and scholar, shook his head vigorously.
"I don't know. Among all the Ultramen who have appeared on Earth, very few have had blue bodies. There is no record of such an Ultra Warrior in the archives."
Oki replied while entering the face of the blue warrior before them into the Pendragon's data system.
"This Ultraman's appearance… is so gentle."
As Oki entered the data, Haruna in the cockpit faced the Ultraman's body up close, feeling a sense of gentleness.
Unlike the Ultramen she had had some contact with in the past, Haruna now felt a comfort as if she were bathing in a spring breeze.
The moment she saw the blue Ultraman, her previously chaotic heart became as calm as a lake after the waves have subsided.
Outside the Pendragon, the benevolent-looking Ultra Warrior slowly extended his right hand, forming a protective shield-like object with blue light, enveloping the spaceship.
He was an Ultra Warrior whose body color was primarily blue, accented with silver lines. Compared to Ultraman Agul, a blue Ultraman with a somewhat cool and ruthless style, his appearance fully embodied the "kindness" and "compassion" of an Ultraman, as gentle as moonlight.
After repairing the Pendragon's engines, Cosmos stopped his movements and turned his attention to the swarm of Sting-Wings that was gradually surrounding them.
The buzzing sound of their vibrating wings caused a hint of coldness to appear on the face of this compassionate warrior.
Without hesitation, the blue warrior swept his right hand over his head, and his whole body erupted in crimson flames.
"Hyaah—"
A red flame like a solar corona appeared behind him, illuminating his figure.
The blue warrior's body was also rapidly changing. The most obvious change was the pattern on his body, which gradually shifted from blue to red.
His face also transformed from its original compassionate look to the face of a warrior with a hint of sharpness.
After changing from his reasoning mode to his reasoning (physical) mode, Ultraman Cosmos's speed and power were both significantly enhanced.
Cosmos struck a pose similar to a great roc spreading its wings, gathering the Corona energy from his entire body. He then waved his hands, shaping and compressing the energy into a sphere of light.
Then, Cosmos pushed the light sphere forward, and the instantly released energy transformed into a beam like a fiery heatwave.
The heatwave struck the swarm, instantly igniting countless Sting-Wings, which sizzled in the scorching heat.
Clearly, this was not the first time Cosmos had encountered these insects. Since arriving in this universe, he had been constantly exterminating these annoying pests.
Yet, for some reason, the number of these pests grew larger each time, making it impossible to keep up.
Shifting his gaze to the distant starry sky, around the giant Swarm King, a dense mass of Sting-Wings was vibrating their wings.
He alone could not stop the Swarm King's advance.
But fortunately, before encountering the Swarm King, he had already reached his destination.
Retracting his gaze, Cosmos reverted to his original blue Luna Mode. Like a loving mother embracing her child, he flew toward the lush green planet.
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage
The appearance of Cosmos was a surprise to the audience.
It was clear that although Cosmos was an Ultraman, he was most likely not an Ultra Warrior from the Land of Light.
This could be easily seen from the subtle details of his body. Cosmos was very recognizable.
Not only that, Cosmos did not belong to this universe, and… he had come here with a clear purpose.
Combined with the direction the Aegis of Palagye fragment in Zero's hand was pointing, the audience would never believe there wasn't a connection.
Overseer of Schicksal: "Ultraman Cosmos. Did Ultraman Noa specifically draw him here? Is there some deeper meaning to this?"
It was worth noting that both Cosmos and Zero had come to the planet indicated by the Aegis of Palagye for a specific purpose. This meant that the mastermind behind all this was clearly Noa.
But what puzzled Otto was that there was almost no interaction between Cosmos and Zero. They weren't even from the same home world. Why would Noa specifically bring the two of them together?
And there was also the ordinary human called a Reionics. He claimed to have been drawn by a certain voice, which was obviously Noa's.
A human and two completely unrelated Ultramen… even Otto found it difficult to guess Noa's intentions.
Kafka: "Perhaps it's to deal with the Swarm King. The legendary warriors over there are like the Aeons here. Their intentions are unfathomable."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "So he's a riddle-maker? But when you think about it, Noa probably doesn't have it easy either. One wrong move and two universes could be gone."
Director of the Land of Light Meat Processing Plant: "An Ultra Warrior from another universe… could it be… that he's going to fuse his light with Zero's? Just like our fusion into Glitter Taro!"
Justice: "Fusion? What a joke. Isn't Cosmos's light already fused with mine? How can it be fused again? Does Noa think that even the power of Legend is not enough to defeat the Swarm Disaster?"
---o---
Light Curtain
On the planet protected by Noa, Cosmos, carrying the Pendragon, landed in an open space. His steps were light, not kicking up a single speck of dust.
This earned him a 0-point rating from a certain Ultraman of the Earth next door.
"Is this the place? Noa…"
Beside the clearing, in a rift valley, a quiet sound echoed.
Cosmos stood in silence, hesitating whether to step into it.
Just then, after confirming that the planet had oxygen conditions suitable for human survival, the crew of the Pendragon disembarked from the ship.
"U-U-Ultraman! P-please, may I ask if you are an Ultraman from the Land of Light? What is your name? Ahem, um… my name is Oki Koichi. Is it possible for me to have the honor of meeting you…"
The moment he got off the ship, Oki, who had just been immersed in an atmosphere of death, suddenly seemed to be injected with chicken blood. He strode up to Cosmos's feet and stammered.
Looking at the fly-sized figure at his feet, Cosmos willed it, and his body, enveloped in a gentle blue light, shrank from a fifty-meter giant to the size of an ordinary human at a visible rate.
As the figure within the light gradually emerged, the human form of Ultraman Cosmos—Musashi Haruno—slowly appeared.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Oki, but I am not an Ultraman from the Land of Light, but an Ultra Warrior from space."
Musashi's voice was gentle and calm, his kind demeanor instantly captivating everyone's ears.
"My name is Musashi Haruno. You can also call me… Ultraman Cosmos. I am an Ultra Warrior who came here, summoned by the light of Noa!"
"Noa?"
Captain Hyuga repeated. Although Musashi's voice was gentle, as the captain of the Pendragon, Hyuga's first priority was to understand the current situation.
"Um, Mr. Haruno, may I ask… who is Noa?"
"You don't know? Among you… isn't there someone who was guided by him?"
Hearing Captain Hyuga's question, Musashi seemed a little surprised. To appear at this time, right outside the planet where Noa's ruins were located—how could this possibly be a coincidence?
As Musashi's voice fell, everyone's gaze quickly fell upon Rei.
"Vmm, Vmm!"
Suddenly, a golden light flashed from Rei's chest, shining brightly through his uniform.
Taking out the Battle Nizer hidden in his chest, Rei looked at the change in the device with amazement.
The golden light swirled around the Battle Nizer once before flying off toward the depths of the rift valley.
"What is that…?" Rei asked, a look of confusion on his face.
"It is the guidance of Ultraman Noa. It seems you are the one he has chosen."
Musashi replied, a gentle smile on his face.
"Noa… Ultraman…"
Rei muttered. Although he didn't know who Noa was, he must be a very powerful being to have made him travel across universes from his own.
"He is a legendary warrior."
Seemingly noticing Rei's confusion, Musashi slowly explained.
"It is said that he is a warrior who existed in ancient times, on par with Legend and Ultraman King… no, to be precise, he is a warrior even more powerful than Legend!"
"In many universes, people call him a god, hoping that Noa's brilliance will protect them."
After briefly introducing Noa, Musashi found a clean rock and sat down on it, as if waiting for something.
Rei and the other crew members stood to the side, puzzled. "Since he is a legendary Ultraman, why are we still sitting here? Shouldn't we go and see him?"
"Hmm… there's no need." Musashi sat unhurriedly on the rock.
This place was protected by Noa, so there was almost no danger. Neither monsters nor evil aliens could get close.
This allowed him to relax a lot. After all, staying on high alert all the time was a very tiring thing.
Musashi looked into the depths of the rift valley and explained, "The area ahead is not yet open to us. Probably because… there are other warriors summoned by Noa who haven't arrived yet…"
---o---