[Light Curtain Bullet Comments]
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Did Zero and the others win or not? Why did Nexus just disappear? Is he really that fragile?"
With a flash of light, Nexus vanished as if he had been defeated, which came as quite a surprise to the audiences across the infinite multiverse.
This was especially true for those who had some prior knowledge of this particular Ultraman.
Jun Himeya: "While I would also like to see Zero and his team emerge victorious... the Nexus Armed is supposed to be the hardest part of Nexus's body. It's impossible for it to be shattered so easily."
Archbishop of Schicksal: "This was nothing more than a trial bestowed by Noa from the very beginning. In other words, as long as the objective of the trial was met, Noa had no reason to drag it out any further."
He Who Points to the Heavens and Demands to be Trounced: "I see... So that's how it is. I understand now. I see what Noa's true purpose was."
Gazing at the few Ultras in the video, a slight arc formed on the corner of Tendo Souji's lips.
Perhaps the participants themselves hadn't noticed, but as an observer, he had seen everything with perfect clarity.
Ultraman, much like Kamen Rider, is a franchise powered by the heart. Their strength relies on the bonds and faith between people, between Ultras, or between people and Ultras.
During their fight with Nexus, Cosmos and Zero had already developed a remarkably mature sense of synergy.
From nearly hitting each other during close-quarters combat at the start to skillfully executing combination techniques later on, their improvement was nothing short of massive.
And the emergence of the new form was proof of the spiritual bond between Stelle and Zero.
Once that bond was firmly established, the resulting boost in an Ultraman's power would be enormous, making them far more capable when facing the Swarm King.
Yukino Yukinoshita: "The bond between a human and an Ultraman? Come to think of it, Zero's form change was largely because of Stelle."
Ultraman Mebius: "Humans and Ultramen are inseparable. It's just like my Burning Brave Mode; without the help of everyone in GUYS, I could have never entered that state on my own."
March 7th: "Wow, so in that case, Stelle is actually pretty capable! If she can use the Path of Destruction to give Zero a color swap, then if I also become one with an Ultraman, can I get a new color scheme too?!"
Cold-Faced Little Blue Dragon: "Theoretically speaking, given your personality, as long as you don't cause any trouble, it should be possible... but that's likely a very difficult proposition..."
---o---
[Light Curtain Video]
Tick... Tock...Tick... Tock...
It was a sound like a flashing Color Timer, yet also like a beating heart.
The Color Timer on the chest of the Noa stone statue on the cliff began to flash, filled with a sense of mystery and allure, like the very birth of life.
Then, a brilliant white light illuminated the entire planet. It was as dazzling as the sun itself, forcing one to look away.
Even Zero and Cosmos, who were beings of light themselves, couldn't help but shield their eyes with their hands.
"This light... it almost blinded me," Stelle complained inside Zero's mind, but she received no reply from the Ultra.
Then, as the light faded and Stelle raised her head again, she found that she had been transported to another space entirely.
In that endlessly vast expanse, the colossal figure of Noa was gazing down at her.
Stelle glanced around. She couldn't see any sign of Zero or Cosmos, nor could she find that descendant of Alien Rayblood.
"Oh crap, he heard me talking smack just now! Now he's pulled me out alone to give me a lecture!!"
Though her expression remained calm, Stelle's heart was pounding with nervousness. But even so, she didn't forget to keep up her internal commentary.
She had originally thought Noa was unaware of her existence. After all, the little "dark room" inside Zero's consciousness was quite safe, with a gentle light wrapping her up securely.
But no matter what, Noa was an entity on the same level as the Aeons, a legendary Ultraman who even surpassed many of them.
Under his gaze, Stelle had no privacy, no place to hide. Even her thoughts and innermost feelings were laid bare before this legendary warrior.
"Um..." Stelle fiddled with the strands of hair on her shoulder, saying somewhat awkwardly, "Hello there, Ultraman Noa..."
Facing a being on par with an Aeon, it would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous.
Come to think of it, the Swarm Disaster Zero had mentioned was caused by an Aeon, and this universe had no concept of Aeons.
Could it be that Noa wanted to hold her accountable for it? She didn't even know what the Swarm King was; Herta's Simulated Universe hadn't been updated to that point yet!
"..."
Faced with a slightly fearful and nervous Stelle, Noa said nothing, maintaining his profound and inscrutable demeanor.
This left Stelle at a bit of a loss. In the Simulated Universe, all the Aeons except for IX of The Nihility had at least a few lines of dialogue. But Noa, just like the Aeon of Nihility, simply stood there watching, silent and unmoving.
Finally, under Stelle's expectant gaze, Noa moved.
He gently extended his palm, as if welcoming her, and bestowed a wisp of light into Stelle's body.
Then, with a slight nod, he vanished from the spot.
The scene returned to the outside world. The light radiating from the Noa statue had disappeared.
No... not just the light. The statue itself had vanished, leaving only a vast, empty, unnaturally formed crater in its place.
"What's going on? What happened? The statue of Noa... it's gone?"
Inside the Space Pendragon, Oki hurriedly replayed the footage captured by the ship's external cameras.
But even with the brightness turned down to its lowest setting, he still couldn't see how the Noa statue had disappeared.
"B-Boss! Look! The Pendragon's radar is detecting a massive number of life signs in space!"
Kumano handed the radar display to Captain Hyuga, his voice laced with urgency.
There was no doubt... it was the Swarm. A sky-blotting, overwhelming tide of insects. It was a swarm of Sting-Wings large enough to engulf the entire planet!
A massive number of Swarm life signs... how many exactly?
The Pendragon's measuring instruments couldn't even begin to calculate the number of individual life forms. The sheer scale of it absolutely exceeded the maximum detection limit of their systems!
"How could this be? The swarm that was chasing us before wasn't this large! Where did so many of them suddenly come from? And... they're all rushing straight for us!"
Captain Hyuga's expression was grim. The probability of the Pendragon breaking through such a dense swarm was virtually zero. Even with the advanced weaponry installed by the Alien Pedan, it would be like trying to put out a forest fire with a cup of water.
"Wait... Captain, look! The Ultramen, and Rei and Gomora!"
Haruna's voice drew the attention of the captain and the rest of the crew.
In the now-empty valley, a brilliant light flashed, bathing the entire canyon in a rainbow of colors.
When Zero and Cosmos reappeared before the Pendragon, the changes they had undergone were unprecedented.
Zero's body had returned to its original form, but it was now clad in something resembling a suit of armor.
The armor was a shimmering silver, somewhat reminiscent of Noa's "chicken wings" and the "V"-shaped Color Timer on his chest. It also came with a longsword attached to his right forearm.
Overall, the armor's color scheme matched Zero's chest perfectly, and it gave off a feeling of being lightweight and agile, encasing his upper body without hindering his movements in the slightest.
That's right, this was the Aegis of Palagye, formed from the fragments of the shield Zero held!
It was a piece of weaponized equipment that had been activated by Noa after Zero had passed his trial.
As for Cosmos, while his external appearance hadn't changed as dramatically as Zero's, the aura he now exuded from within indicated that his own power had taken a qualitative leap forward.
As one of the two "fusion materials" for a legendary light, Noa hadn't done much to alter his body. He had simply awakened the infinite potential hidden within him, granting him an unparalleled boost in strength.
"ROOAARR—!!!"
Gomora's excited roar echoed as it appeared before the light curtain's audience, carrying Rei on its back.
Its skin had hardened to the consistency of armor, its tail could now extend and retract freely for attacks, and even its Super Oscillatory Wave had been greatly enhanced.
EX Gomora. Although this wasn't the first time Rei had pushed Gomora into this state... this time, Gomora was stronger than it had ever been in any of its previous forms!
With this, the light Noa had left behind in this place had completely dissipated, transforming into power that surged into the bodies of the two Ultras and one monster.
---o---
[Light Curtain Bullet Comments]
At this moment, the audience across the infinite multiverse couldn't be more excited.
The debut of Zero's Aegis of Palagye and the appearance of EX Gomora provided a massive visual treat for everyone watching.
To describe it in a single word: "Cool!"
It was absolutely breathtakingly cool.
The only slight imperfection was that Cosmos didn't get a new form. Noa had mentioned he was connected to two legendary Ultramen; perhaps that was the reason he didn't receive one.
Yukino Yukinoshita: "As... as expected of a legendary Ultraman. That was a very generous power-up! Zero and the others' strength must have increased exponentially now."
Zero: "This Aegis of Palagye... it's like it was tailor-made for this young master! I wonder what abilities it has. Can it help this young master hurry up and get rid of these disgusting bugs?!"
Archbishop of Schicksal: "I see. He gave them all the residual power from his stone statue, which is why the statue disappeared. This in turn caused the planet's barrier to drop completely, attracting the attention of the Swarm."
Phantylia: "Hmph, what's so special about some new forms? This is utterly laughable. If Noa had acted himself, then maybe it would be a different story. But a few wet-behind-the-ears brats think they can defeat the Swarm King and me, a subordinate of Lord Nanook? Hahahaha, how amusing."
March 7th: "Ptooey! What are you so arrogant about? The ones who are actually strong are the Swarm King and the Aeon of Destruction! You're just a dog borrowing its master's power! Noa didn't even spare you a single glance, so stop trying to make yourself the center of attention all day! You nasty thing!"
Cold-Faced Little Blue Dragon: "Well said, March. She's just a petty villain without even a physical body of her own. In the presence of beings on the level of an Aeon, she is nothing."
---o---
[Light Curtain Video]
With the rebirth of Zero and his allies, the planet itself had reached a critical juncture of life and death.
Although no intelligent species had evolved on its surface, given the nature of the Ultramen, they would still not abandon it.
"Hmph. We just finished one fight, and now we have to start another one already?"
Zero turned his head, gazing at the distant galaxy where a dense, tide-like swarm of insects was surging toward them.
What was even more terrifying was that, perhaps because he himself was here, the Star-Shattering Swarm King, Skaracabaz, was positioned right in the center of the Swarm.
"That guy... he's gotten even bigger," Zero said in a low voice, clenching his fists.
The resources consumed to propagate such a vast number of insects were immeasurable. That, combined with the change in the Swarm King's physical size...
Just how many planets had it destroyed to achieve such astonishing growth and transformation?
"Zero, let's fight together. If we don't deal with these bugs, we won't be able to return to our original universe."
Cosmos flew into the air and spread his hands. Before, he hadn't been very confident, but things were different now.
Even without Justice here, by relying on Zero, the two of them were more than enough to quell a Swarm Disaster of this magnitude.
"Leave the ground to me. Even as EX Gomora, he still can't fly and isn't used to fighting in space."
Rei gripped his Battle Nizer as power surged from his body. "Both the Pendragon and Gomora will do everything possible to protect the life on this planet!"
Knowing he would only slow them down in space, Rei decisively summoned Litora from his Battle Nizer as well.
Although Litora's combat strength was lacking, its high mobility was a major asset, and it could handle cleaning up ordinary Swarm drones without any issue.
Combined with the equally agile Space Pendragon and the secret weapons from Alien Pedan installed on it, they were fully confident they could defend this planet.
Zero glanced at Rei, then stroked the Aegis of Palagye on his body, unable to put it down. He eagerly replied, "Alright, we're leaving this to you, Rei."
He then shot past Cosmos, soaring powerfully toward the sky.
"Stelle, this young master is back at full power! Let me show you my true strength!"
He spoke excitedly to Stelle within him as he began to spin rapidly in the air. The friction between his body and the surrounding atmosphere generated intense flames.
Like a blazing meteor, he plunged straight into the heart of the Swarm...
"Calm down! It's just a new suit of armor. Don't forget that the light in this universe can't replenish your energy. Relying solely on the Stellaron will make it hard to keep up with your consumption rate!"
A small smile touched the corners of Stelle's lips as she reminded him from within.
She slowly extended her palm, recalling Noa's gaze from before.
What was that mysterious power Noa released into her body at the very end?
Stelle couldn't figure it out. In the end, she could only put the thought aside, deciding to ponder it further after the battle was over.
"Zero, deal with the normal bugs quickly. That Emanator Swarm King is still over there, watching your every move!"
As Stelle's voice faded, Zero tightened his grip on the blade on his arm and let out a cold snort. "I know. If I don't defeat that bastard, I won't have the face to go back and see my father!"
---o---