As a hero of the Great Ultra War thirty thousand years ago, and the Land of Light's strongest warrior in the truest sense, the Father of Ultra's power was undoubtedly far superior to that of the Ultra Brothers.
If not for the old injury on his waist, Belial in his normal state wouldn't even have the right to fight him.
One could only say that Alien Empera's sword strike had been too vicious. Even with a scientist like Ultraman Hikari and the Mother of Ultra's care spanning tens of thousands of years, the Father of Ultra's waist injury remained unhealed.
This had directly caused a significant reduction in his power. An Ultraman's physical structure is quite similar to a human's, and the waist is the core of the entire body, responsible for stabilizing the body and generating force. For a warrior, it is of paramount importance.
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "This is making me more and more curious. How on earth did the Father of Ultra defeat Alien Empera with his own power back then? Just how strong was he at his peak? It's a shame that even after being resurrected, his back couldn't be healed."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Could it be a wound on a conceptual or rule-based level? Something that even Ultraman King cannot restore?"
Ultraman Hikari: "That's exactly it. Forget the King; even the legendary warrior Noa would probably find it extremely difficult to fix."
Doraemon: "A wound with conceptual and rule-based significance? That would be incredibly difficult to heal even with future technology. The Father of Ultra... has really been through a lot."
Ace Pilot of the Death Squad: "But even if he can't fully return to his state from thirty thousand years ago when he fought Alien Empera, the Father of Ultra can definitely defeat Belial!"
Ultraman Taiga: "Of course! Grandpa... I mean, the Great Captain is invincible!"
---o---
[At that moment in the light curtain, Litra used the last of its strength to carry Rei to the human forms of the Ultra Brothers on the ground.
"Rei, are you alright!?"
Dan Moroboshi caught Rei's body, while Hayata and the others rushed to help treat him.
"That is... the Father of Ultra?"
Although his body was exhausted, Rei kept his eyes half-open, wanting to see the battle between the Father of Ultra and Belial.
"Yes, that's right... That is our father. Rei, you should rest for now. Leave everything here to the Great Captain with peace of mind!" Seiji Hokuto said from the side, then turned his gaze to the Father of Ultra.
He was the figure revered as a father by all Ultramen. As long as he was here, evil and darkness would never be allowed to spread further.
At the same time, upon seeing the Father of Ultra's great horns grow large once more, and his power reach the level it was thirty thousand years ago, Belial calmed down in an instant.
As a witness to that battle back then, he knew just how terrifying the Father of Ultra was at this moment.
"What a surprise, Ken... Your injuries still haven't healed. Is it really okay to fight so recklessly?"
Atop Belyudra's head, Belial's expression was incredibly complex. Beyond the resentment in his eyes, there was also a deep wariness of the Father of Ultra before him.
Facing his former friend, the Father of Ultra's expression was solemn. "For the sake of the Earth and the entire universe, no matter the consequences, I must defeat you here, Belial."
After the defeat of Alien Empera, the Swarm in the cosmos wouldn't be able to reach Earth for a short time. The Belial of today... was the final threat to the planet.
Therefore, even though the Father of Ultra still held onto old feelings for Belial, he had to sever those ties.
It wasn't just for the peace of the universe, but also for the mistakes Belial had committed. He had indirectly caused the devastation of life across the cosmos; his sins were unforgivable.
After defeating Belial, he would reclaim the Sacred Light, then use all the power of the Land of Light to launch a final, decisive war against the Swarm, completely restoring peace and tranquility to the universe.
Thinking of this, the Father of Ultra would no longer show any mercy or hesitation. He would bring this feud of tens of thousands of years to a complete end!
"Come, Belial! Let me put an end to your ambition!"
The Father of Ultra's voice echoed, and what answered him was a hand formed from dozens of monsters, swung by Belyudra!
Although the Father of Ultra possessed the True Power, Belial had the aid of Rayblood and over a hundred monsters. This battle would not be the same one-sided failure it was back then.
As the battle began, the Father of Ultra remained unhurried. With just his two hands, he blocked the full force of dozens of monsters.
The monsters attached to the arm began to gather energy for their beam techniques, aiming their attacks at the Father of Ultra's waist.
It seemed that under Belial's influence, all one hundred monsters on Belyudra's body knew that the waist was the Father of Ultra's weak point.
However, the Father of Ultra had clearly anticipated their intentions. With a precautionary measure in place, he unleashed his Father's Ray, not only canceling out all the incoming beams but also launching a counterattack.
Seeing this, Belyudra released a flame as if from the depths of hell from its demon-like maw, enveloping the Father of Ultra's entire body.
However, an attack of this level was completely ineffective against the Father of Ultra. He dispelled it with a simple Ultra Barrier.
With such a massive difference in size, the two fought to a standstill, evenly matched for a moment.
As old friends, they were all too familiar with each other's fighting styles.
"You can't win with just this, Ken."
After the Father of Ultra's Crescent Shots were instantly blasted apart by Belyudra, Belial looked down on him and laughed with contempt.
The Father of Ultra's face remained impassive, his voice grim. "Belial! You've... gotten weaker..."
He crossed his hands, and a sacred light emanated from them!
It was a sword... a blade forged from golden light.
Thirty thousand years ago, the Mother of Ultra had bestowed this weapon upon him, but because the power it contained was too terrifying, the Father of Ultra rarely used it.
However, they were inside a barrier now. He didn't need to worry about causing harm to innocent people.
After summoning the Sacred Sword, the Father of Ultra's speed and power increased dramatically. The longsword flashed, slicing off one of Belyudra's horns.
Seeing this, Belial let out a cold snort and controlled Belyudra's body to engage in close combat. The sword clashed with Belyudra's fists, and the force released from the impacts caused the surrounding space to show faint signs of collapse!
Sparks flew passionately through the air as light and darkness were locked in an even struggle! For a moment, the scene was a blur of motion! The two combatants' attacks constantly collided, pressed, and exploded!
The once-stable barrier even began to crack under such an onslaught. With each collision, the cracks grew larger!
"I'm enjoying this! Ken!! How long... How long has it been since I last fought with you!!!"
As a wielder of Rayblood's genes, Belial was now getting high on Rayblood's power, his eyes filled with nothing but the fight.
"Enjoying this...? I am not enjoying this at all, Belial."
Even as the battle raged so fiercely, the Father of Ultra's expression remained unchanged, his tone exceptionally calm.
War never brought an Ultra Warrior enjoyment, especially a battle against an old friend. It only brought him pain.
As time went on, the two's attack speed grew faster and faster. A terrifying hurricane of energy swept out in all directions, kicking up sand and stones in an instant!! It caused the barrier to become completely distorted, unable to maintain its original shape!!
If this continued, the battle between Belial and the Father of Ultra would spill out and affect the ordinary people outside the barrier.
"It's time to end this, Belial."
The Father of Ultra identified a flaw in Belyudra's defense. He retreated a step, and the Ultimate Longsword in his hand flashed, completely severing Belyudra's massive wings and arms.
Then, without giving Belial a moment to breathe, the Father of Ultra tightened his grip on the longsword and thrust it directly through the chest of Belial, who stood atop Belyudra's head!!
"With this... it's over..."
---o---
With the longsword piercing Belial's chest, some in the audience began to hiss.
The rest of the events were a foregone conclusion.
If Belial could play dead before, it was because Alien Rayblood and his own constitution were lucky and tough enough. But now, impaled by the Sacred Sword, Belial had absolutely no chance of survival.
If Belial could survive this, then the reputation of the Ultimate Blade, this divine sword of the Land of Light, could be thrown away.
Detective Conan: "He said he wouldn't show mercy, but wasn't he actually holding back from the very beginning? In this state, even with his waist injury unhealed, the Father of Ultra could have insta-killed Belyudra..."
Naruto Uzumaki: "The Father of Ultra... I don't know why, but I feel... he's so pitiful."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Yes, his final words contained no joy of victory, only a sense of relief and release."
Captain Maple: "Belial was, after all, a good friend who lived alongside the Father of Ultra for over a hundred thousand years. Now that he has fallen to darkness and was finally killed by his own hand... for the inherently kind and just Ultra race, this is far too cruel."
Suicide Bomber Prince: "His own close friend fell to darkness... Perhaps I can understand my father's feelings, that sense of powerlessness."
Universal Emperor Belial: "That guy Ken is such a meddler. We only lived together for a hundred thousand years or so..."
Dark Universe Great Emperor: "The two Ultra Warriors who stopped us back then have now ended up like this. Hmph, it is truly delightful to see."
Stelle / Galaxy Baseballer: "...You're already dead. How they ended up has nothing to do with you, does it...?"
Dark Universe Great Emperor: "...We shall not die. As long as darkness exists, we are eternal!"
---o---
[In the light curtain, amid Belial's unwilling roar, the spatial barrier completely dissolved into foam, vanishing without a trace.
The souls of the hundred monsters, under the control of the awakened Rei, returned to the Giga Battle Nizer, with no chance to harm humanity again.
With Belial's death, the danger to Earth should have temporarily come to an end. All the enemies who could be called a threat had been eliminated.
However... after personally witnessing Belial's demise, that Follower of Destruction began to stir once more.
"The Father of Ultra can easily slay Belial, and there's also Mebius Infinity and Phoenix Brave. Any one of them is beyond what I can handle at present."
A spherical lifeform muttered to itself in the air.
That's right, it was Phantylia, who had been hunted all the way to Earth by Belial.
Speaking of which, this Lord Reaver was truly pathetic.
As an Emanator of an Aeon, even if she was no match for Belial, she shouldn't have been chased to such a state.
If it had been her peers, Fenghuang or Xingxiao, they could have fought Belial to a standstill with their raw power. Even killing Belial wouldn't have been out of the question for them.
But because her true form was that of a Suiyang, Phantylia was heavily reliant on a physical body, and she was no match for the Rayblood within Belial. Thus, she could only be hunted down.
But it didn't matter. Direct combat was never her forte anyway.
Compared to instantaneous destruction, Phantylia was more passionate about "spiritual" destruction. By inciting conflict within a planet, collapsing its spiritual pillars, and promoting the breakdown of trust within a civilization, she made people abandon hope completely.
This was Phantylia's specialty. However... this was almost impossible to achieve in the Land of Light.
That world, as perfect and flawless as a utopia, would never fall into a so-called crisis of faith.
"But... Earth is a different story," Phantylia muttered.
Compared to the Ultramen, humans were much easier to deal with. The history of this planet was a history of internal strife. She had ten thousand ways to make humanity turn on itself. Even if humanity had just trusted the Ultramen completely and fought alongside them to defeat Alien Empera, she could still tear that trust to shreds.
"If Earth, your so-called second home, completely abandons you, will you continue to fight, Ultra Warriors?"
Destruction was the sole directive given to Phantylia by the Aeon Nanook for her journey to this universe.
As an Emanator of Destruction, a devotee of the aesthetics of destruction, she would see Nanook's will through to the end.
Alien Empera had tried to destroy this planet with brute force, but he had lost to the ridiculous bond between the Ultramen and humans.
But if it were her, Phantylia, that ridiculous bond would cease to exist from the very beginning.
"Just you wait, Lord Nanook. I will ensure the word 'Destruction' is forever engraved in the history of this universe... if they still have a history to speak of."
---o---