Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

The white-haired man bowed to Lucifer again: "As you predicted, now is the perfect time to deliver a crushing blow when things seem to be turning around."

Lucifer loosened his grip on the armrest with his left hand. He seemed to be in a better mood and asked softly, "So do you think it's better to shut down the wormhole they opened directly, or to have Klaus locate the wormhole generator and destroy it at a specific point?"

The white-haired man almost blurted out "Klaus," but then he suddenly saw the other man's ambiguous smile and swallowed the words back.

“We need Klaus to pinpoint the location; there might be more than one wormhole generator,” he said cautiously. “Then shut it down… no, shift the wormhole’s true location and link it to the existing M91 tunnel!”

“You’ve finally started to use your brain,” Lucifer said. “Don’t forget, you’ve run out of ‘Ruby’. Every ship you lose is one less you can have. Why not use external forces if you can?”

If Kinoshita Kei were still lucid, he would probably have bluntly exposed his high-sounding answer without any hesitation, saying: "I think you just want to expand the dining table. You're not satisfied with instigating 'future people' to fight with Earthlings, so you want to get space monsters involved too."

But the various people on the command ship were naturally unaware of this; they simply felt that Lucifer's words made perfect sense. They were now an isolated force without logistical support; conditions had changed, and their operational strategy needed to be adapted.

However, they couldn't simply stick to old habits, so they all nodded repeatedly.

Gao Shan could not understand their conversation, but he could peek at the screen.

The transmitted footage came from two angles. One was taken from space, with large clouds obscuring part of the view, only occasionally revealing antenna-like structures. The other showed uniformed staff running past the structure, some of whom greeted the photographer.

He heard those people call him—

"Speaker McCoffee."

Daniel McCoffee.

One of the founders of Alchemy Star, he has consistently supported Takayama Gamu in various monster incidents, and cast a crucial "no" vote in the previous Underground Piercing Bomb incident.

Takayama Gamu's mind went blank for a moment. He looked at Fujimiya Hiroya, who was also looking at him through the transparent wall of the capture machine. Both of them saw the emotion called shock in each other's eyes.

……

"Klaus, Klaus Eckart?"

At the wormhole generator deployment site, Daniel, who appears to be behaving normally, is actually trapped in a world that is both strange and familiar.

In his current vision, the wormhole generators towered into the clouds, emitting a cold metallic gleam beneath the dim clouds. They were the "arms" of Earthlings' counterattack. Through them and wormhole jump missiles, the dilemma of land-based weapons being unable to reach the enemy, while the enemy could use plasma cannons to cross 40,000 kilometers to hit the ground, could be solved.

Indeed, Alchemy Star ultimately proposed two parallel solutions for dealing with Damocles and the Plasma Cannon: proactive attack and in-process defense.

The former refers to creating an opening near the fleet deployed by the "future humans" for a surprise attack; the latter refers to a bombardment after the transfer and charging are completed. Both require the use of a wormhole generator, so after completing the work deployment, Daniel set off for the location closest to the Ariel base.

Its location can be said to be right at the foot of the Ariel base, on an island deep in the Pacific Ocean. The Ariel base is moving towards its vicinity in order to use the wormhole it opened to divert potentially deadly attacks that are heading towards the base.

Everyone was eager to launch a spectacular counterattack, anticipating the wormhole generator's triumphant return. But just as the wormhole opened and was about to be loaded with missiles, the scene before Daniel's eyes suddenly changed—the busy crowd was frozen in time, along with the fallen leaves blown by the wind, all stopped at the frozen point in time.

The only thing moving was himself, and the figure that appeared from the void in front of him, another version of himself?

Daniel was startled and horrified.

Then, the other person's face changed. Although the owner of that face had been missing for many years, Daniel immediately recognized him: "Klaus Eckart! You're back?...No, who are you?!"

“I’m Klaus,” said the owner of the face. “I’m glad you still recognize me after all this time.”

Daniel, being the Speaker of the Alchemy Star, reacted quickly, confirming the other party's identity and immediately saying, "You participated in Kriss's research..."

Klaus nodded and said frankly, "That's right, I did the circuit design, and it's not a big deal to modify the result."

"Why? Didn't we gather together and establish the Alchemy Star to avoid the prophecy of 'destruction'?"

Klaus suddenly laughed. He turned around, spread his arms, and everything was frozen in the illusion of time standing still. His shadow, dressed in a black coat, was projected onto the metal casing of the wormhole generator, stretching out a ferocious beastly shadow.

“Human life is too short, and I have been fortunate enough to encounter ‘eternity’,” Klaus looked up at the sky and exclaimed in praise: “We call it ‘destruction’, but that is just a name given out of fear because we have not seen the whole picture—don’t you think our evolution is too slow and too forced?”

“You know, evolution is not actually the ‘optimal solution’ but the ‘minimum solution’ that is usable after elimination. We have too many defects, useless degenerative organs, and bodies that weaken after the reproductive period. These shackle us. Even geniuses from the Alchemy Star have to spend ten or twenty years learning the theories of their predecessors, let alone ordinary people.”

Klaus lowered his hand, his voice low and carrying a deep worry in Daniel's ears: "Our disciplines are becoming increasingly specialized. Even you can't delve into the areas I study. Similarly, I can't take over other projects that Fujimiya is researching... So I have a question: when we delve into a certain field to a certain limit, when ordinary people, after basic education and further studies, reach the age of declining energy and mental capacity, and are no longer able to inherit the knowledge of their predecessors, does it mean that we will inevitably head towards true 'destruction'?"

“It’s called ‘stagnation,’ a perpetual standstill, a complete halt to progress,” Klaus said. “It’s a predictable, hopeless future.”

Daniel was stunned. When Klaus said "eternity," he thought the other man was a madman who had developed the idea of ​​immortality. He never expected him to say such a thing.

Klaus's concerns were not unfounded. Daniel wanted to talk about human biology research on lifespan breakthroughs or his ideas on memory storage, but Klaus didn't wait for him to explain and continued loudly:

"Therefore, we need a new life form! I threw myself into experiments on it, and I succeeded! Daniel, you should join us, along with the geniuses of the Alchemy Star. The longer we live, the more outstanding our contributions will be!"

Gram

Rolls reached out his hand to him, his eyes burning with passion. Daniel had seen him before when he was developing the quantum computer Crisis. Back then, he was full of energy, hoping to crush all difficulties. The diligent researcher was like a believer whose cheek was brushed by angel wings, the downy feathers weaving divine light. All sorts of novel ideas collided in his mind, sparking brilliant inspiration.

"Then what... what are you doing now?" Daniel could hear the sound of his jaw opening and the fascia and bone rubbing together. "The 'future humans' fleet is in full battle array. The subterranean monsters are fighting to protect this planet. We're about to deploy the key weapons. Klaus, humanity is facing a crisis of extinction. What are you doing now?"

“I am offering a brighter path,” Klaus said. “The new life form, called ‘Bizom,’ has been given by my Lord the ability to absorb negative energy and grow stronger. In other words, it can evolve and no longer depends on random life evolution, but is in its own hands.”

“Bizom?” Daniel noticed his reflection projected onto the metal casing.

It was covered in a white bony shell, interspersed with black skin, with a golden, luminous crystalline structure in the middle. There were no eyes or nose, and apart from its humanoid limbs, there was no trace of a human.

"You mean turn into a monster?!"

“It’s a new life form. Monster is just a general term,” Klaus replied. “I didn’t expect you to be so fixated on appearance. Look at me now. Even if I were to become a Bizom, I could still mimic a human form. If I miss my own appearance, I can certainly keep it.”

Daniel was now convinced he had truly gone mad: "You're saying turning all humans into monsters... is that the solution to the crisis?"

"Isn't that good? We will have extremely long lifespans and individual combat power that is difficult for humans to match, just like real monsters. The 'future people' fleet that you are worried about is not a problem at all. Besides... the so-called 'future people', that command ship is almost entirely made up of Bizom."

Klaus said something that almost made Daniel's heart stop: "I made a deal with them. I will provide some assistance in exchange for them not being allowed to lay a hand on the newborn Bizom. I secured the opportunity. You can be brave."

Daniel did not answer.

Klaus stepped forward, bringing the two within an arm's length of each other; they could see their reflections in each other's eyes.

Klaus stared straight at him: “We can’t beat them now, but we can accumulate strength after becoming Bizom and then make a comeback… Bizom strengthens itself by absorbing negative energy. They are nothing but a bunch of rotten old things. They don’t have our genius minds. My Lord will not interfere with our actions. He prefers those who are capable.”

Daniel stared at the other man's composed expression, then suddenly said, "You're crazy."

But Klaus wasn't angry. He displayed the camaraderie and tolerance of former colleagues: "It's okay. It's hard to make a decision until the very end. It's a common human failing. I understand."

"Then please continue to persevere, for the doors of my Lord are always open to you."

……

Klaus is gone, and the world in Daniel's eyes returns to normal.

The staff, who had been at a standstill, continued to move around, resuming what they had just uttered as if nothing had happened.

The wormhole generator tore open a dark vortex. As expected, the opposite side should be near the moon. Opening a short wormhole is not difficult. Its landing point will be precisely behind the "future human" fleet. The wormhole jump missile will blow the forward troops commanded by Mirati into a pile of space debris.

Even if they have a particle defense barrier, it cannot be activated instantly. Even if it is successfully activated, the missile's strength is at least enough to tear apart the weakest cruiser-class ship.

Remembering Klaus's suggestion to "provide some assistance," Daniel immediately shouted, "Stop! Don't continue!"

The staff were stunned by his rare outburst. He ran to the equipment like a madman, yelling, "Stop! Stop everything! Where's the evaporation program? Stop the startup and evaporate this wormhole!!!"

But it's too late.

The other end of the wormhole was artificially altered, and the location of the opening was intersected with the remnants of a passage that the enemy had previously opened in M91.

There live Gob and Bats, monsters who once brought disaster to the earth.

The box containing the wishing ball lay quietly in the heart of GUARD's office, while Klaus, who considered himself a "pioneer," opened the door to becoming Bizom.

Subterranean monsters emerged from the ground one after another, some heading to the location ravaged by the three modified machines, while others remained near their habitat, looking up and waiting for the arrival of the "future human" fleet.

The wormhole was suspended six thousand meters in the air. The generator cut off the power supply, but it could not shut it down immediately. Two pairs of ferocious claws had already emerged from inside.

They were covered in thick scales, and Daniel's heart nearly jumped out of his throat. He regretted agreeing to the proposal to retaliate with wormhole jump missiles. Now he could hear the monsters roaring, their roars thundering.

One monster was entirely black, with flickering purple lightning crackling around its body; another monster had dark brown skin, like solid leather, with only a few white patches visible on the inside of its arms.

When they arrived, the rain boiled the seawater.

The monster lowered its head, its golden and crimson eyes gleaming from beneath the black sun-like wormhole, burning fiercely, like something out of a myth.

The servants of evil spirits, destined to bring death.

Gao Shan dreamt that everyone in the command center was laughing. Lucifer's earlier gloom vanished, and he regained his composure.

On the screen, Gob and Bats look down at humanity, their scorching breath evaporating raindrops, which then merge into a snow-white ribbon.

They raised their heads and roared angrily, their long, distant cries sweeping across all directions, passing through the waves and extending into the clouds.

Alarms blared throughout the Ariel base.

Two monsters, wielding their sharp claws and long tails, accompanied by howling winds, pounced on the aerial fortress like arrows released from a bow!

Chapter 188 Standing Side by Side with Me

Gob and Bats were not so much "flying" as they were "thrown" by an invisible force.

They plummeted in a long arc from the wormhole, landing directly on the platform of the Ariel base.

In this situation where the clouds are as dark as ink, the rain is pouring down, and day and night are indistinguishable, the appearance of the two monsters is like a heavy stone hitting the heart of everyone.

"How many more launch units can we call up?" Akio Ishimuro asked. The damage to the Ariel base in the previous attack was not optimistic. Even without a direct attack, the launch units that had been used too frequently to defend against the demonic insects were in dire need of rest.

“There are eleven close-in weapon systems currently available. The long-range units are overheating, but two more can be activated in ten minutes. The ammunition reserves can support four basic loads,” Atsuko Sasaki replied. “We have requested allocations from the Geo base.”

"We should stockpile as much as possible before the enemy launches a general offensive, as this window of opportunity is very short."

Perhaps Gob and Bats are just the prelude to a full-scale offensive? He thought to himself, the enemy's goal is simple: to thwart the wormhole jump missile counterattack plan and destroy the Ariel base. Such a blow to humanity would be fatal—both in terms of the strength of resistance and the will to fight back.

"Commander! Their posture is a bit strange!" Georgie shouted, craning her neck slightly as she watched the energy reaction intensity, as if that would allow her to see the screen more clearly.

They had witnessed Bats's abilities firsthand, and everyone vividly remembered its skill in controlling lightning. In such a stormy weather, it was truly at its zenith.

Logically, it could trigger a lightning strike at any time to clear a path, and the sudden surge in charge might cause the remaining base turrets to be scrapped prematurely.

But it didn't do that. It turned its head left and right, its bright red round eyes scanning back and forth, as if searching for something.