Ultraman Any Key: Qiming

Chapter 576, Section 572: The Clash Between True Gods and "True Gods"
However, just as Toregia's hand was about to strike the statue...

"boom!"

The enormous statue suddenly raised its right arm and blocked the attack!
The two enormous forces collided, unleashing a deafening roar and a visible shockwave that sent the crowd in the square flying.

Everyone was horrified.

"The god...the idol has come to life!"

"This is a miracle! It is the god Toregia demonstrating his true power!"

Some fanatical believers, in their horror, tried to decipher this extraordinary scene.

"But...isn't that Kirisaki the real God of Tregear...?"

"He said he was Ultraman Tregear..."

But many more people who are clear-headed feel confused and fearful, completely unable to understand what is happening before their eyes.

“I knew it wouldn’t be that simple…” Looking at the idol that looked exactly like him, Toregia wasn’t particularly surprised: “But, in the end, it’s just a fake.”

"A fake? To the people here, I am the real Toregia, I am the god Toregia!" The statue actually spoke the same voice as the real one.

Many believers were taken aback upon hearing this.

The cardinal immediately realized what was happening and led the shouts: "That's right, you are the true god we revere, and that Kirisaki is just a devil in disguise!"

His power and status are based on the current belief system centered on idols.

To protect a deity's idol is to protect his own interests.

Under his guidance, the fanatical believers immediately became the most steadfast supporters of the idol.

They imitated the cardinals, kneeling and chanting in waves: "Long live the true God! Cast out the devil!"

Under the influence of collective emotions and the shock of "miracles," most ordinary believers' inner confusion was quickly replaced by the ecstasy of "their faith being confirmed."

This deity is the core of the long-term worship of this religious community and a symbol of their group identity.

They knelt down, prayed to the statue, sought protection, and regarded Kirisaki as a "heretic" who threatened their faith and stability.

That's more like it; that's what they've been taught all along...

Amidst the surrounding fervent tide, a few skeptical believers chose silence and conformity.

The Pope remained silent.

"Now, do you still consider yourself Toregia?" The statue's voice boomed like thunder.

"Does that mean I've become a substitute?" Torregia stared at this scene, utterly shocked.

But the many storms he experienced during his time on Earth have made him more composed when facing dramatic changes.

He calmed down and thought it over.

In this situation, what would Taro do...?

No, that won't work. Taro isn't suited to handle this situation.

I need to ask someone else for help.

Then...

If Mr. Qi Ming were in this situation, what would he do?
For Toreccia right now, the two people are the most important.

One is Taro; the two have known each other since childhood and are very close friends.

The warm and cheerful Taro was like the sun to the then-reclusive Tregear, a light he longed for and cherished.

However, regardless of the difference in strength or personality, he felt that he and Taro could only drift further and further apart.

Ultimately, it is something that can only be hoped for but never reached, serving only as a cruel reference point, a standard for the messengers of light—that is, a reference answer.

There's another one, Qi Ming.

If Taro is the ideal he yearns for, then Qi Ming is the "reality" he wants to become.

Although they had only known each other for a short time, he felt that he and Qi Ming were essentially "compatible".

If Seven could only "seek common ground while reserving differences" with Qi Ming's extreme methods, then Torregia almost "fully approves" of Qi Ming.

Perhaps it's because I'm rather "realistic"...

Can sincere words alone move those "troublemakers" who knowingly commit crimes and ruin important matters, and make them repent and change their ways?

He felt that this was too idealistic.

Mr. Qi Ming's approach was the most direct and efficient in those critical moments.

Those who act recklessly should be punished, and the pain should be used to make them remember the price of crossing the line, so that they will never dare to do it again.

Logically speaking, an Ultra Warrior shouldn't have such thoughts...

But I... am a bit weak-willed, and "unconventional," which is why I admire Mr. Qi Ming so much, and why Mr. Qi Ming pays so much attention to me.

But he also envied Qi Ming. Qi Ming's starting point was even lower than his own; he was just a human, yet he often relied on Qi Ming for guidance and help.

I really admire his unwavering will.

Perhaps he is the ultimate form he should strive for.

So now, he calmed down and thought, if Mr. Qi Ming were here, what would he do...?

The answer became clear instantly.

We should first...

Let's take down this guy first. "I've already taken your 'claim,' and next I'll take your power, and then I'll be real." The statue slowly walked towards Toregia.

"What exactly are you?" Torregia asked calmly.

Is it an existence like "Delusional Seven"?
But this guy's IQ is higher than that of the negative energy monster.

The statue said, "I am the 'Tregear God,' I embody all the beliefs of this civilization, I am the rules and truth of their world. And you... what are you?"

"What am I?" Toregia glanced at the monster head he had once slain in the plaza: "I am a warrior who fights for the freedom and happiness of life... a fighting scientist."

"You are just a strange outsider, a destroyer of this sacred narrative, die!" The next moment, the statue attacked Toregia.

The enormous fist, like a meteor, carried immense force and struck directly at Toregia's face.

Faced with this powerful and heavy attack, Torregia slightly slid to the side to dodge.

With his right hand, his five fingers were held together like a knife, and he swiftly chopped the statue's wrist joint!

Logically, this would be enough to instantly cause any living being that can feel pain to feel numbness and weakness in their arm.

However, the statue's movements did not falter or change in the slightest.

The enormous fist seemed unaffected, its trajectory unchanged, still slamming down with tremendous force.

Torregia was startled. Although he retreated in time, the force of the punch still grazed his chest, exploding into a cluster of dazzling sparks.

"I can't feel any pain. Is it some kind of super beast? I miscalculated." Torregia thought to himself, feeling the burning pain in his chest.

"You are no match for me." The statue continued its charge, like a moving mountain, launching a second assault on Toregia via the most direct route!

Having learned his lesson once, Torregia's eyes narrowed slightly as he changed his strategy.

He stood there dumbfounded, as if overwhelmed by the terrifying aura.

Just as the statue rushed towards him, its massive arms about to seize him, Toregia ducked down and lunged forward into the statue's embrace, using his waist and abdomen to leverage its force against it!

The statue's massive body immediately lost its balance and was flung away like a giant spinning top.

“After all, it’s a stone statue without a ‘heart’ and no brains. A skillless charge is less of a threat to me than a jeep,” Torregia said.

The effects of Dan Moroboshi's grueling training were becoming apparent; he was completely unafraid of this reckless opponent.

These words seemed to enrage the statue, which slammed its foot on the ground again, causing the entire plaza to tremble and sending out even more violent energy shockwaves.

The surrounding buildings were affected, and a clock tower that was already teetering on the brink of collapse began to crumble with a piercing cracking sound.

The huge boulder crashed down on the heads of several believers who had just been fanatically cursing Toregia as a "heretic" and cheering for the idol!

"Help!"

"God! Save us!"

Desperate cries for help echoed across the square. However, the stone statues on which they placed their hopes remained deaf to them.

With so many believers, the death of a few is no big deal.

At this critical moment, Toregia's blue figure flashed like lightning, swiftly pulling several terrified believers from the brink of death and carrying them safely to a distant safe zone.

Almost the instant he lowered his hand, the statue's long-planned and ferocious attack roared in, striking his back, which had been wide open while he was saving people.

"You think you can win people's hearts like this? They won't appreciate or thank you!" the statue laughed maniacally.

With a strong gust of wind hitting him, Torregia narrowly avoided the fatal blow by maneuvering around the jeep and using the agility honed through combat training.

He steadied himself, his tone so calm it was unreadable: "I'm not fighting for recognition and praise."

After saying that, he gathered electric-like energy in his hands, combined them into a cross shape, and released a purple destructive ray.

This is his ultimate move—the Torreishum Ray!

However, the stone statue spread its arms in the exact same pose, and a dark red light was released.

Stone statues can even emit light!

Purple and dark red light collided and clashed in mid-air!

However, the balance lasted only a moment.

Amid the fervent prayers of the believers, the crimson light visibly crushed the purple light stream, advancing step by step.

This guy's beam is even stronger than mine!

Torregia grunted. Seeing that his beam had been suppressed to a dangerous distance, he abruptly cut off the beam output and dodged to the side at an extreme angle, narrowly avoiding the devastating dark red beam!

After a few probing moves, he had a pretty good idea of ​​his opponent's fighting strength.

It's probably "normal grade B", a level higher than my "weak grade B".

Specifically, the opponent's energy and physique are stronger than mine, but their fighting skills are inferior. Although they are tricky, I still have a chance of winning.

What's absurd is that the light is a perfect one-to-one replica.

"Where did this thing come from? It couldn't have been created by you." He looked at the Pope.

The Pope kept his head down and remained silent.

“Even if you didn’t say it, I could have guessed it,” Tregear said. “This kind of evil thing must have been done by Dark Tregear.”

"Oh my, as expected of my other self, you guessed right." The next moment, a huge, dark figure appeared in the sky above Torregia and the stone statue.

It is Dark Toregia!

(End of this chapter)