"Whew!"
GUTS Wing 1 and GUTS Wing 2 sliced through the air and came to a stop on the island Yazumi had pinpointed.
"How could an island like this possibly have a pyramid big enough to hide giants?"
"Even if our satellites were somehow blocked by a more advanced civilization…"
"There's no way human eyes were blocked too, right?"
"This isn't some deserted island. If there were a pyramid that huge, somebody would have found it by now."
The moment he got off the aircraft, Horii started grumbling again.
"You know how magic tricks work, right?"
"A magician uses suggestion and misdirection so the audience never notices any of the props…"
"Maybe that giant pyramid was covered by the same kind of trick, so everyone who ever saw it forgot the fact that they'd seen it!"
"If that's the case, then wouldn't that explain why a pyramid hiding giants could have been sitting on this island the whole time without anyone ever finding it?"
After stepping off the aircraft, Jovian swept his eyes across the area, picked a direction, and started walking toward it as he spoke.
"That explanation is way too much of a stretch…"
Horii raised a brow after hearing Jovian's reasoning. He found it thoroughly unconvincing.
"Anyway, roads are made by walking. Since we're already on the island, stop complaining and at least look around a little."
Jovian ignored Horii and kept moving forward on his own.
"I never said I was giving up on searching the island!"
"And hey, wait for me a second…"
Seeing Jovian striding ahead, Horii made a bitter face, but he still hurried after him and stuck close behind.
The two of them moved through the forest, and before long they arrived near a small bridge.
"Hey, I think we can head back now, right?"
"This proves there's no pyramid here at all. That machine was just talking nonsense…"
Horii planted one hand on his hip, looking even worse than before.
Originally, he had assumed a researcher like Jovian would not be in very good shape, probably not even as fit as he was. After all, besides spending his time on all kinds of experiments, Horii also went out on field assignments regularly.
The truth, however, was…
Jovian's body seemed like it had been forged from steel. It was as if he had endless stamina. He had shown no intention of stopping, not once taking a break, just moving forward the entire time.
"This is GUTS Wing 2!"
"GUTS Wing 1 team, where are you right now? Have you found the pyramid?"
Just as Horii was starting to feel too tired to keep going, the voice of Munakata and the others, who had landed on the island aboard GUTS Wing 2, came through the headset in his helmet.
"This is the GUTS Wing 1 team. Horii speaking. Dr. Jovian and I are safe at the moment. We haven't observed anything suspicious so far…"
Horii stood on the bridge, looking around as he spoke into the microphone built into his helmet and reported to Munakata, until he noticed a gigantic structure in the distance glowing with golden light.
"Wait…"
"That's…"
"Commander, I found the pyramid. That machine was telling the truth. There really is a pyramid on this island!"
Horii stared at the magnificent structure, a building that surpassed the limits of human architecture, with complete shock on his face.
He could not even begin to understand what kind of material that golden pyramid was made of. At that moment, he finally believed what Yuzare had said…
"You found the pyramid? Good. Stay where you are with Dr. Jovian and share your position. We're heading over right now!"
When Munakata heard Horii's report, he looked equally shocked. He had not expected there to really be a pyramid on the island, and even more absurdly, they had not been able to see a thing from the air.
"Understood, Dr. Jovian and I will wait right here for you…"
"Dr. Jovian? Doctor, where did you go?"
Horii answered readily, a smile on his face, but the moment he started looking around for Jovian, he realized their technical adviser, the brilliant Dr. Jovian, had disappeared without a trace.
"Doctor?!"
Horii shouted loudly, but no matter how hard he looked, he could not find Jovian anywhere.
"Horii, what happened?"
Hearing Horii's tone, Munakata frowned and asked.
"Dr. Jovian is gone. I suspect he went to explore the pyramid on his own."
Horii reached that conclusion with his brilliant brain.
"What?!"
Munakata's expression changed immediately. Before they left, Iruma had specifically warned him that he absolutely had to ensure Jovian's safety, and now in the blink of an eye the man had vanished.
"Horii, no matter what it takes, find Dr. Jovian. You must guarantee his safety!"
Munakata shouted into the communicator.
"I know. I'm already running toward the pyramid!"
"Leave the doctor to me!"
Pumping his short little legs, Horii kept charging toward the pyramid.
"Good! Once you find him, keep him under control for the time being and don't let him run around again. As for us…"
"We'll be there soon!"
After hearing Horii's response, Munakata knew he had been a little too anxious. He understood perfectly well that rushing never solved anything.
"Got it!"
Horii shut off the microphone immediately.
"Dr. Jovian, please don't let anything happen to you…"
He muttered to himself as he sprinted toward the pyramid, churning those short legs as fast as he could. It actually was not a bad pace.
Meanwhile…
Jovian, still wearing his white lab coat, had already entered the pyramid.
"Interesting…"
Jovian looked up at the three petrified statues above him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Three giants?"
"A shame. I don't need that many."
Jovian walked up to Tiga's statue and reached out his hand toward it.
Boom!
The instant his hand touched Tiga's body, endless black lightning erupted, and Jovian's figure vanished completely from in front of the stone statue…
In that instant, the power of darkness flooded through Tiga's entire body…
Elsewhere, just as Horii arrived beneath the pyramid, his helmet crackled to life again.
"Attention all personnel, attention all personnel!"
"Satellite observation confirms that Melba, the monster that rends the sky, and Golza, the monster that tears the earth apart, are both heading for the mysterious island. They are expected to arrive in approximately five minutes. If our prediction is correct, their target is the pyramid!"
"For safety reasons, all personnel are to return to the aircraft and await further orders!"
Yazumi's voice came through Horii's communicator.
"What?!" Horii's face changed at once when he heard Yazumi's report. "Give me one more minute. Once I find Dr. Jovian, I'll go right back to the aircraft!"
"No, there's no time!"
"Horii, I'm ordering you to return to the aircraft immediately!"
Just as Horii was about to beg for a little more time, Munakata's voice rang out in his ear.
"But Dr. Jovian…"
Horii looked miserable. He could not bring himself to leave Jovian alone in such a dangerous place.
"That's an order!"
Munakata stared forward with stern authority and made it clear there was no room for discussion.
"…Understood."
Horii frowned as he looked at the pyramid, which was now less than a hundred meters away. His heart was full of frustration, but even so, once Munakata had given the order, all he could do was let out a helpless sigh and turn back. The first rule of GUTS was obedience, follow orders and listen to your commander.
"Everyone, get to the aircraft!"
After receiving the answer he wanted, Munakata clenched his fists and addressed the others around him seriously.
It was not that he did not want to save Jovian.
But as the vice-captain of GUTS, he had to take responsibility for every team member's life.
"Understood…"
Every member of GUTS fell silent after hearing Munakata's order. With furrowed brows and grim expressions, they all ran toward the aircraft.
Roar!!
Before they could make it back, a piercing shriek descended from above, sharp enough to make their heads ache.
An enormous winged monster was flying toward the island…
"It's Melba!"
The moment Munakata and the others saw the flying beast, they instinctively drew the pistols at their waists and went on guard.
Roar!!
Melba had no intention of paying them any attention at all. With a beat of its wings, it flew straight to the pyramid.
Boom!
And the moment Melba reached the front of the pyramid, the island suddenly began to shake. Dirt exploded into the air as another giant monster burst up from underground.
"That's…"
"The monster we saw in Mongolia!"
The moment Rena saw the creature emerge from below, she shouted at once.
"It's Golza!"
Shinjoh stared at the monster, anger flashing in his face.
"While the monsters are focused on the pyramid, get to the aircraft!"
Looking at the towering monsters, Munakata felt powerless. He knew the pistols in their hands could never do meaningful damage to creatures of that size. All they could do now was board the aircraft and wait to see what happened.
"Right!"
"I'll pilot the aircraft!"
As the ace pilot, Shinjoh volunteered at once to take the controls himself.
"Good!"
Munakata trusted Shinjoh's piloting skills completely. After all, Shinjoh was the ace pilot of GUTS.
Boom!
With a roar of engines, GUTS Wing 2 slowly lifted off.
"Those monsters are huge…"
"From this angle they've got to be at least sixty meters tall!"
Standing beside GUTS Wing 1, Horii looked at the two gigantic monsters advancing toward the pyramid and could not help shaking his head. At the same time, his little brain was working furiously, trying to figure out what class of weapon would be needed to destroy creatures that large.
"Horii, has GUTS Wing 1 taken off yet?"
Just as Horii was admiring the scale of those prehistoric monsters, Munakata's voice came through the communicator.
"Commander, I've decided to wait here a little longer."
"Maybe Dr. Jovian will show up."
Horii decided to make one last effort. What if Jovian came back?
"All right…"
"Make sure you stay safe!"
Munakata thought it over for a moment and decided that waiting from a safe distance for Jovian's return was acceptable.
"Understood!"
Only after hearing Munakata approve did Horii finally ease up and calm the anxiety in his chest.
At the same time, the two Ultra-Ancient monsters finally began to act.
Roaring, Golza and Melba unleashed beams of energy at the golden pyramid!
Their immense power slammed into it, easily shattering the barrier of light around the outer shell and exposing what lay inside…
"The monsters are destroying the pyramid?"
"So their goal really is to destroy the giants within…"
"But right now we have no way to stop the monsters, or to awaken the giants!"
Watching the pyramid being destroyed piece by piece, Munakata frowned, his expression full of urgency, yet also helplessness.
"We'll just have to wait and see…"
After thinking for a moment, Munakata let out a weary sigh. In front of those Ultra-Ancient monsters, the strength of ordinary humans meant nothing.
Boom!
Just as Munakata was thinking that, the golden pyramid gave a final light sound and dissolved completely into particles, vanishing between heaven and earth.
And at last, everyone could see what had been hidden inside…
Three stone giants stood exposed before them.
Two of the stone giants stood guard on either side, like protectors flanking the central giant, while the giant in the middle sat on a throne between them like a king, gazing out at everyone with a supreme, invincible aura, looking down on the two roaring monsters with utter contempt.
Roar!!
When Golza and Melba saw the giant now revealed before them, they roared and advanced toward him.
"This is bad! The monsters are going to destroy the giant!"
"Yazumi, have you still not deciphered the last part of that message from the machine?"
Watching everything unfold from a distance, Horii looked anxious as he grabbed his communicator and called Yazumi back at base.
"I'm really trying, but no matter what I do, I can't get rid of the static in the message!"
Yazumi sounded helpless. He truly was doing everything he could, but the interference kept disrupting the translation.
"Damn it!"
"Then I guess I'll have to come up with a way to hold those monsters off myself!"
Thinking that, Horii turned to activate GUTS Wing 1 behind him.
"Wait!"
"The giant, the giant's alive!"
Just as Horii was about to move, his communicator crackled again.
"The giant woke up…"
Hearing those words, Horii froze. They had not done anything at all, so how had the giant awakened? With that question in mind, he turned and looked into the distance.
There, beneath the terrified gaze of Golza and Melba, the giant who had been sitting on the throne, his body pitch-black, suddenly rose to his feet.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time…"
The giant tilted his head as he looked at Golza and Melba.
Roar…
As Golza and Melba stared at the dark giant before them, the fear buried deep in their genes was awakened once again.
"Go fuck yourselves!"
Without waiting for either monster to make a move, the dark giant crossed his arms and fired a beam straight at Golza.
Crackling black lightning blazed as the terrifying beam struck Golza's broad body head-on.
Boom!
The next second, Golza exploded in a thunderous blast, blown apart into countless chunks of flesh.
?
Melba stared wide-eyed at the black giant, who had opened the fight with a beam attack. If Melba could have spoken, it definitely would have screamed, "You start with a beam move? What, you can't fight fair?!"
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