[Light Curtain Video]
The scene shifted to the starry sky of the prime Ultra universe.
A hint of danger permeated the dark cosmos. Crimson stars flickered ominously in the distance.
The scent of death hung in the air, tinged with a chillingly sweet and alluring fragrance.
Suddenly, a blue vortex materialized out of thin air in space. A streak of light shot out from within, gradually taking on a humanoid form.
The newcomers were none other than Zero and Cosmos. And, of course, the Space Pendragon.
Possessing the legendary divine artifact, the Aegis of Palagye, Zero could theoretically traverse countless universes just like Noa, as long as he had sufficient energy.
Calculated by Earth time, only a little over three days had passed from Zero's disappearance to his return.
On a cosmic timescale, this was practically an instant.
However, within that short span, for the most powerful race in the universe, the Ultramen, each day had felt like a year.
First, the core of the Plasma Spark Tower was stolen by Belial, turning the entire Land of Light into a cold, dead planet.
Second, the Great Emperor of the Dark Universe, Alien Empera, had begun preparations to deploy his armies across the cosmos, intending to conquer the universe.
Without the Land of Light to stand in his way, there were very few civilizations or planets left in the universe capable of resisting Alien Empera.
Then, there was the most important point.
The Swarm's infestation had already spread beyond the galaxy. The vibrating wings of the Sting-Wings could now be seen throughout the entire universe.
This was likely a genuine crisis capable of wiping out the cosmos, yet the legendary warriors who had always been celebrated in songs and stories had not appeared, creating an unsettling sense of a conspiracy at play.
In short, the current state of the universe was extremely grim. The devastation wrought upon all life by the Swarm had already surpassed that of any previous disaster...
"This place... it seems abnormally quiet."
Inside Zero, Stelle looked around at the cosmic scenery she had never witnessed before, a sense of doubt rising in her heart.
Weren't they saying the Swarm was running rampant? Why does it look like nothing's wrong?
Beside them, Cosmos picked up a piece of floating space debris and examined it closely. "This isn't something that formed naturally. It's a fragment of machinery. A great battle... took place here before!"
Although he had never seen such mechanical creations, Cosmos quickly deduced what had transpired here.
He raised his head and scanned the surroundings. As far as his eyes could see, similar fragments and wreckage were scattered everywhere. It was clear that the battle had been incredibly intense and brutal.
So... which two sides had been fighting?
To be able to create a mechanical army of such a massive scale, there were only a handful of powers in the universe with that capability.
"It's Alien Empera!"
The voice of Oki, sounding absolutely certain, came through the communications from the Space Pendragon, speaking to Cosmos and Zero in space.
"The database just finished analyzing the metallic materials on the fragments. They're identical to the metal from the advance-force units under Alien Empera that invaded Earth during Ultraman Mebius's time."
"According to the database, it was a machine that once pushed Mebius into a desperate fight. Its name is—the Peerless Iron God: Inpelaizer!!"
As the robotic soldiers belonging to Alien Empera's legions, they served as the emperor's soldiers, scouts, and vanguards.
The very fact that one had given Mebius a bitter struggle was proof that this robot was no simple machine; it was a true weapon of war.
What shocked Oki the most was that, based on the Pendragon's scans of the surrounding area alone, there were wreckage fragments from at least a thousand Inpelaizers.
An army of this scale, without exaggeration, could not be resisted by almost any civilization in the universe.
"What... what was fighting the Inpelaizers?"
To have smashed thousands of Inpelaizers into pieces... what kind of power could achieve such a feat? The only faction Oki could think of was the Land of Light.
However, given the nature of the Land of Light, they wouldn't have dismantled the Inpelaizers in such a violent manner.
"It's the Swarm. The ones fighting Alien Empera... were the Swarm!"
Inhaling the unique wing dust produced by the vibrating wings of the Swarm, a scent that lingered long after the battle, Zero made his confirmation.
He didn't know what an Inpelaizer was, and had only heard passing mentions of the Great Emperor of the Dark Universe, Alien Empera.
But Zero knew what the Swarm was. From the residual wing dust and the silent, empty space, the Swarm's losses must have also been astronomical.
"According to the relevant records in the Space Station's archives, wherever the Swarm goes, everything is devoured clean. These Inpelaizers are no exception; there's hardly a single complete part left."
Stelle took a deep breath and spoke to Zero from within his consciousness.
It was true. So far, they hadn't seen a single intact Inpelaizer corpse. It was likely that even their steel shells had been devoured by the ravenous Swarm.
But... for even this dark faction to get involved... it seems the Propagation of the Swarm has finally infringed upon the interests of those dark creatures.
After all, the Swarm's sole motivation was to propagate. For the simple sake of propagation, it had no other purpose.
It was just that in the process of propagating, the Swarm often hindered the normal survival of many other civilizations.
---o---
[Light Curtain Bullet Comments]
What Tartarus had said before had come true.
The boundless Propagation of the Swarm had indeed made Alien Empera restless, to the point where he had dispatched his legions to exterminate them.
One had to remember, these were the Peerless Iron Gods he had prepared in advance for his assault on the Land of Light.
Now, they were all being used to fight the Swarm...
This fact alone demonstrated the immense danger the Swarm posed to the universe itself.
Great Emperor of the Dark Universe: "Like monsters, creatures that can only roar and possess no intelligence dare to make an enemy of Us. The only price for that is death."
Hachiman Hikigaya: "A mechanical army versus a Zerg-like race? Why does this feel like StarCraft?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Belial robbed the Land of Light blind, and now Alien Empera can use all his forces to deal with the bugs. What a joyous occasion."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Didn't Yapool want to control the Swarm before? Why is Alien Empera trying to exterminate them?"
The Short Grand Diviner of the Luofu, Fu Xuan: "Hmph, laughable. Do you think the progeny of the Voracity is so easily controlled? Though the Voracity is an insect of low intelligence, it is still an Aeon. Its children all follow the Path of Propagation and can hardly be influenced by external factors."
Genius Society, Ruan Mei: "Propagation... in a sense, it is also an Aeon that symbolizes life. Its mysteries are something that even a genius can hardly fathom..."
Galaxy Baseballer: "We're doomed! The Swarm is starting to rampage across the universe! Don't tell me Earth is gone."
The Land of Light's Loiterer, Zero: "Don't say that! As long as the Land of Light is around, Earth will definitely be fine... probably."
Archbishop of Schicksal: "The de-powered Ultra Brothers and Father of Ultra against a nearly endless Swarm... the outcome is... hard to say. Let's keep watching. The fate of Earth... what will it be?"
---o---
[Light Curtain Video]
On Earth, at this moment, darkness shrouded the sky. The sun was completely obscured by the elytra of the Swarm.
Every household had sealed their doors. The streets were dead silent, without a single soul in sight, without a single sound to be heard.
Ultraman had been defeated...
For humanity, the defeat of Ultraman meant the arrival of the apocalypse.
Neither Mebius nor the Ultra Brothers were a match for the sky-blotting Swarm.
Even the father of the Ultramen, the legendary Father of Ultra, had been defeated.
Under such circumstances, it was pointless to place any hope in the GUYS team.
Thanks to the irresponsible media, most humans believed that GUYS only fought by relying on Ultraman.
Until now, almost all monsters had been handled by Mebius alone. Therefore, in the eyes of the people, the entire GUYS team was nothing but useless.
Voices of despair and indulgence gradually drowned out the populace.
"Ultraman is gone, there's no hope for humanity..."
"The end of the world for humanity is here! Instead of waiting to die in despair, we might as well revel in a final carnival before the end..."
As if the Gijera flower had bloomed, some humans... lost the ability to think for themselves.
They gathered in mobs, broke into empty shopping malls, and smashed expensive merchandise to vent their fear of the impending doom.
Some went even further, breaking into shuttered homes to commit arson and robbery, carrying out crimes that would warrant the death penalty.
The ugliness of humanity was laid bare in the face of the apocalypse.
Inside the Phoenix Nest, the members of the GUYS team were still desperately trying to find a way to save humanity.
"The Father of Ultra, the one with the big bull horns that the satellite captured, he was the one who led the Ultra Brothers to release a beam at Earth, forming a thin film in the upper atmosphere. That's the only reason the Swarm hasn't completely overrun the planet."
After the tragedy, Teppei had extremely dark circles under his eyes. The high-intensity work and sleepless nights spent in front of his instruments had pushed his body to its absolute limit.
But there was no other way. The general public and the media had already decided that Earth was doomed, but they could not just give up so easily.
Even if the final outcome was extinction, they had to fight until the very last moment.
Captain Sakomizu placed a freshly brewed cup of coffee in front of Teppei, his expression as calm as ever.
"Then... has the satellite detected where the Ultramen went?" George Ikaruga asked from the side, his eyes drifting toward Mirai.
He had truly been an idiot. He had never noticed how Mirai always made mistakes on very basic, common-sense things.
Judging by Captain Sakomizu's complete lack of surprise after learning Mirai was Mebius, he must have guessed it long ago.
"..."
Mirai said nothing, his gaze fixed on Captain Shingo Sakomizu.
To be precise, it was fixed on the Ultraman hidden within Shingo Sakomizu.
"Stop talking about Ultraman!" Assistant Inspector Toriyama, who was standing to the side, suddenly burst out in anger. "They probably abandoned Earth and went back home long ago!"
"Hey, you bastard!"
As Toriyama's words fell, the hot-tempered Ryu Aihara shot up from his seat, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him against the wall of the Phoenix Nest.
"Ryu-san! Stop!"
Mirai and the other team members hurriedly pulled the two apart, preventing the conflict from escalating.
"Assistant Inspector Toriyama, is that what you really think? Do you believe Ultraman has abandoned Earth?"
Shingo Sakomizu's eyes gradually changed, a hint of disappointment showing through, but his tone remained calm as he spoke to him.
He had always firmly believed that Ultraman had not given up on humanity. As for the evidence, it was naturally the Ultraman residing within his own body.
"Assistant Inspector, my brothers and the Captain would never flee in the face of battle! They are..."
Halfway through his sentence, Mebius suddenly froze.
His expression as he looked at Sakomizu changed slightly. It was a look of incomprehension and grievance.
"Enough, Mebius. Don't say any more. It's pointless."
The figure of Zoffy appeared in Shingo Sakomizu's mind's eye. It was he who stopped Mebius from explaining further.
"But, Zoffy-niisan!"
Little Mebius looked aggrieved. Assistant Inspector Toriyama was usually such a cheerful and kind person, yet he held such a misunderstanding about the Ultramen.
"You are Mebius now, not Hibino Mirai. You cannot interfere with humanity's perception of us."
The light on Zoffy's chest flashed as he shook his head at Mebius.
"Mebius, Zero was sucked into another universe by a spatial wormhole. Your other brothers and I are all severely injured. Right now... only you and the Leo brothers who came as reinforcements have the strength to fight."
"The barrier that the Captain created by gathering all the Ultra Warriors will not last for long. You must find a way to protect everything here."
"...I understand, Zoffy-niisan!"
Mebius nodded, took a deep breath, and said no more. Under the concerned gazes of the others, he left the base.
"Assistant Inspector Toriyama, no matter what, what you just said was way out of line."
Shingo Sakomizu waited until Mirai had left, first reprimanding Toriyama for his words and actions, then turning to the other members.
"This is a critical moment where humanity faces life and death. To be honest, without Ultraman... there is very little we in GUYS can do. The chances of victory are slim..."
Shingo Sakomizu's tone was subdued, causing everyone around him to lower their heads.
"But..." Captain Sakomizu's voice suddenly rose.
"If we humans give up on ourselves, then regardless of whether we have Ultraman's help or not, humanity will inevitably meet its end."
"Although Ultraman was defeated, he left us with a hope for victory. Even if it's just a tiny flame, we of the GUYS team must seize this faint light and become the hope for survival! Understand!?"
"GIG!!"
Shingo Sakomizu's words reignited the fighting spirit of the team members, causing the Zoffy hidden within him to nod in approval.
"As long as humanity has not given up, there will come a day of victory..."