---o---
Light Curtain Barrage
Musashi Haruno, also known as Ultraman Cosmos.
His first impression on the audience was very positive.
After all, a gentle and compassionate persona is one that will be liked for thousands of years to come.
Yukino Yukinoshita: "A new Ultraman's name appeared, Legend! Is he a companion of Cosmos?"
In the Service Club, the girl sipping her black tea took note of what Musashi had said.
Legend. Although Musashi said he was not as powerful as Noa, he mentioned his name in the same breath as Ultraman King.
In other words, could it be that Legend, like Ultraman King and Noa, was also a legendary Ultra Warrior?
Overseer of Schicksal: "Cosmos is not an Ultraman from the Land of Light, but a light born in the universe. In that case, is it possible that the Ultra Warrior who is on par with Ultraman King and Noa was also a light born in the universe?"
Ace Pilot: "So Ultramen are divided by region, huh? I wonder where Tiga is from… he doesn't seem like he's from the Land of Light. Is he a light born in the universe?"
Haruki Hiruma: "I see. It seems the Ultraman race is widespread throughout the cosmos. In that case, it's normal that there would be Ultramen who are like wild men, difficult for humans to communicate with…"
Justice: "Wild men…? What are you talking about? Although humans don't understand the universal language, isn't using telepathy to communicate with them a basic skill for an Ultraman? How could there be an Ultraman who is difficult to communicate with!"
---o---
Light Curtain
The scene shifted to outer space.
As the Swarm continued to propagate, a single ray of light still moved through the cosmos, reaping their lives.
And from his relaxed expression, it was clear that the ordinary Sting-Wing swarm was no match for him.
"Zero, do you think… Giants of Light have genders?"
In the starry sky, inside the little black room within Zero, Stelle yawned out of boredom and chatted with him.
After all, interstellar travel was always tedious. In the pitch-black universe, there was nothing but darkness and some insects.
"Genders…?"
Zero repeated, a little puzzled. Was his human host from another universe becoming curious about the Ultraman race?
After all, humans were always curious about unknown creatures. Although Stelle wasn't a human, but a… um, Stellaron-person?
After thinking for a moment about how to describe Stelle's origin, Zero replied, "Although our sense of gender is rather faint, we do have them. Why do you ask?"
While flying toward the location indicated by the Aegis of Palagye fragment, Zero kept an eye on his surroundings while chatting with the Stelle inside him.
Although he had practically grown up in the space-prison and hadn't attended much school, he still understood some basic common sense.
"I see."
Stelle propped up her head and nodded thoughtfully.
"So you're saying, I'm currently one with a male?"
"I don't know why, but not only do I not feel shy, I'm actually a little excited."
A deep curiosity shone in her golden eyes. At this moment, Stelle was like a child who had suddenly encountered a fun new toy.
"Zero!"
"What is it…"
"Let me play with your body for a little while longer."
"I refuse! Because what you just said sounded like a pervert."
Zero flatly rejected Stelle's request. Although they were just traveling, there was still a chance they could run into the Swarm King on the way.
It would be dangerous for Stelle to encounter that creature with her abilities. Moreover, the Swarm King, which operated on pure instinct, was very likely to launch a sneak attack.
Under these circumstances, Zero would certainly not hand over control of his body to Stelle.
However, the more important point was the personality of his cheap human host. It was highly likely she would use his body to do some… indescribable things.
For the sake of his chastity—ah, no, for the sake of his privacy, it was better not to hand over his body to Stelle unless absolutely necessary.
"Eh? How am I a pervert? I'm just purely curious about an Ultraman's body."
Stelle defended herself. She just wanted to try out Zero's body, she wasn't a complete pervert.
A fifty-meter-tall giant, and a male one at that, with so many flashy skills. It would be a lot of fun to play with.
Seeing this, Zero pursed his lips, showing that he didn't believe a word of her nonsense.
This quirky girl was definitely planning something outrageous for his body. How could he, Zero, be so easily fooled?
"Don't be like that. At worst, we can take turns. You can be me for a few days?"
Stelle said in a negotiating tone, a smile in her eyes.
"Absolutely not!"
The more Stelle wanted to switch bodies, the more righteously Zero refused, leaving her no room for opportunity.
"Aww, you're no fun. I finally found something more interesting than a trash can."
Seeing Zero righteously reject her request, Stelle sighed, feeling it was a great pity.
"A trash can? What on earth have you been playing with…"
Zero frantically complained to Stelle in his mind, expressing his extreme inability to comprehend her past recreational activities.
And Stelle just continued to ask nonchalantly, "Zero, do you think… the Land of Light has trash cans?"
"…No. The Ultra Warriors of the Land of Light do not produce trash."
After a moment's hesitation, Zero felt that he had really chosen the wrong human host.
How could a cool-headed and beautiful girl have such a personality in reality?
While he was trying to wrap his head around it, Zero and Stelle had already crossed several light-years and arrived at the location indicated by the Aegis of Palagye.
"That's the place. Stop talking, Stelle, we're about to land!"
Zero held the fragment of the Aegis of Palagye, and while flying towards the planet, he spoke to the Stelle inside him.
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage
March 7th: "…As expected of you, Stelle. Even in another world, you can't forget about trash cans."
On the Express, the corner of March 7th's mouth twitched. Zero was right. If he had really given control of his body to Stelle, there was no telling what kind of mischief she would have gotten into.
Perhaps because she was a sentient Stellaron, her way of thinking… was somewhat different from what a normal person could come up with.
Kafka, the Stellaron Hunter: "It looks like the two of them are getting along well. I can relax a little."
Kiana: "What a cool girl! I like her so much! I want to be one with Stelle too…"
Raiden Mei: "Ki—a—na!"
Kiana: "Ahhh, Mei, don't! Mei, I was wrong, I'll never do it again…"
---o---
Light Curtain
Zero landed on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"This is the destination." Zero looked around and then sensed the Aegis fragment in his hand.
Hmm, it doesn't seem like there's anything special here. It's just an ordinary planet.
"The third chosen one has arrived."
As Zero surveyed his surroundings, Musashi Haruno and the members of the Pendragon crew looked at the Ultraman who had descended from the sky.
It was only then that Zero suddenly noticed that there were a lot of people inexplicably at his feet.
"There are so many people here," Stelle's expression was a little strange.
After all, this planet didn't look like it had an intelligent race. The Pendragon crew and Musashi were clearly outsiders.
And… the third chosen one. Does that mean there are two chosen ones among them?
Although Stelle had no idea what a "chosen one" was.
"Wow, wow, wow, what a… cool Ultraman!"
Just like when he first saw Cosmos, upon seeing the descending Zero, Oki was so excited his mouth couldn't close.
Zero's looks were quite striking, and his fierce eyes were a perfect contrast to Cosmos's compassionate ones.
Glancing at the excited Oki, Zero had no reaction, but his gaze fell upon another member of the Pendragon crew.
"Zero, what's with that guy?" Stelle noticed this and asked him.
Zero shook his head. "There's a very evil power in that human. It seems to come from the former Ultimate Lifeform, Alien Rayblood."
"Alien Rayblood, what a weird name."
Stelle retorted, while at the same time a hint of vigilance towards Rei rose in her heart.
After all, he might be related to some Ultimate Lifeform, and he didn't look like a good person.
"…"
Before the two sides could continue their conversation, a mysterious sound suddenly came from the distant rift valley.
"What's that…?" Rei looked into the valley with confusion.
Cosmos, on the other hand, nodded as if he understood something, then looked at Zero and Rei. "Noa says there's still one person missing, but he can't come for now, so he wants us to go in first."
"In any case, since a legendary warrior is inviting us, let's go and see."
Musashi took out his transformation device and transformed back into Cosmos in front of everyone.
Rei, standing to the side, nodded. "Okay."
Of all the people present, only Zero was the most confused.
Stelle: "Zero, who is Noa? Do you know him?"
Scratching the back of his head, Zero thought for a moment and said with certainty, "I don't know. There's no such person in the Land of Light. The old man never mentioned him either."
"Then… are we going in?" Stelle continued to ask.
"Let's go and see. It seems the Aegis of Palagye fragment is pointing there."
After a brief exchange with Stelle, Zero followed closely behind Cosmos and arrived at the depths of the rift valley.
And then… a huge stone statue stood before them.
It was a statue carved along a cliff several hundred meters high. Its upper body alone was over a hundred meters tall.
The two Ultramen, Zero and Cosmos, were barely taller than the timer on the statue's chest.
Looking at the timer on the statue's chest, Zero took out the Aegis fragment and carefully compared them.
"They're almost identical. It seems this fragment was indeed meant to guide me here."
Zero said in a low voice, looking up at the huge stone statue.
Beside him, Cosmos stretched out his hand to touch and feel the divine power on the statue.
Behind them, the Pendragon arrived late, landing on the ground. Rei came out and looked at the statue of Noa in astonishment.
He could clearly feel that the moment he saw the statue, the Alien Rayblood bloodline within his body seemed to be suppressed, unable to move.
"So this is… Noa?"
Haruna muttered, her voice full of disbelief.
And when everyone had gathered and turned their gazes to Noa, the unexpected… happened.
The timer on the chest of the Noa statue suddenly flashed, and then… a phantom image appeared.
It was Noa. He said nothing, but transformed into light particles and re-formed into a humanoid shape.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, a silver-gray warrior slowly materialized.
"Nexus?"
The well-informed Cosmos quickly recognized this Ultraman and said in surprise.
After all, Nexus's reputation in the Ultraman world was on par with that of the legendary warriors.
To appear in this way now would naturally be extremely surprising.
Rei and Zero at the side also looked at the suddenly appearing Nexus, a little baffled.
Weren't they talking about Noa? How did it become Nexus? And the difference in appearance between this Nexus and the statue was quite large…
Before anyone could discuss their confusion, Nexus waved the Nexus Armed on his arms.
Golden light particles instantly filled the entire canyon, sucking everyone into them.
The statue and the cliff disappeared from their sight, replaced by an endless wasteland.
The Meta Field, a subspace for combat created by Nexus using his special ability.
In this field, Nexus's abilities would be slightly enhanced, while his fellow light warriors, Cosmos and Zero, would be weakened.
With this, Nexus's intention was clear. He wanted to fight.
Right now, he intended to take on two Ultramen and one Reionics at the same time.
And if it weren't for an accident, there should have been three Ultra Warriors standing before Nexus right now.
"I see. You want to test our strength?" Cosmos assumed a Tai Chi starting stance, clearly preparing for battle.
Zero, on the other hand, wiped his nose disdainfully. "You want to fight? Just in time. This young master has just recovered a bit. My energy is still plentiful. Let's treat this as a warm-up before the battle with the Swarm King."
Seeing that the two Ultramen were about to fight, Rei at the side also took out his Battle Nizer and pointed it at the sky. "Gomora, I choose you!"
A golden light flashed, and the ancient monster Gomora appeared in the video, standing together with Zero and Cosmos.
At this moment, the audience outside the light curtain did not yet know that this seemingly one-sided battle was, in fact… just Nexus's one-man show.
---o---