Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

"No, it's just a matter of the flow of time in the universe... Never mind that. The darkness in the South Pacific is about to awaken again, and there are many aliens eyeing us covetously. Due to the vast changes in the sea and land over such a long period, the statue will either be destroyed or never found again. Your statue, your statue..."

“All the energy is supplied to the pyramid. Even if you repair the statue, you can’t stop this wisp of consciousness from disappearing,” Soruka said with his usual magnanimity. “Daya is still a bit weak, and his statue is not in good condition either. Only Tiga’s is in good condition. Perhaps if he meets a compatible human, he can awaken again.”

At this point, Solka's tone turned serious: "Now that darkness has revived, we should take action. You know the criteria for finding a human host, and Tiga will agree. Also... it might be a bit rushed, but I can help you with my remaining energy."

That's how Soruka is, Aiba Yu thought; even if only a trace of consciousness remains, she won't wallow in the regret of impending disappearance.

Although Aiba Yu wanted to hold onto that warm light, he knew that Solka's energy would be more effective for those searching outside.

"I met a very good person during this period"

"Young man, the elite of the Victory Team... He still has room to grow, but he's resilient and kind. If it weren't for the fact that it's not easy for me to find a human host right now, maybe you wouldn't have gotten there first," he said.

"Then I'll have to trouble you to bring him here."

“He’s right outside,” Aiba Yu said, walking out. “You two have a good chat.”

"Where are you going?"

"The monsters have started to move. There's bound to be chaos outside. If I don't go back soon, I'll have to hand in my resignation."

As he was about to step out of the pyramid, he paused.

"Soruka," he lowered his head, "will we ever see each other again?"

“Answer one, I don’t know,” Soruka replied. “Answer two, I’ve always been by your side.”

"I have passed on the honor of the Light Chaser to another outstanding human host."

A hearty laugh echoed through the pyramid. If Soruka himself were present, he would probably, as is his custom, grab the "great monster" by the neck and slap his head, which was starting to act stubbornly again.

“That was just a prop, like this statue,” Soruka said. “The vessel of light is gone, but what it brought remains—you inherited it and passed it on to the next person, right?”

Aiba Yu was silent for a moment, then continued walking out.

As he finally stepped out, he heard Soruka whisper:

"Don't worry too much about that transformation device. As long as it's someone you approve of, it's okay to give it away... Just between you and me, I made up the name on a whim."

Chapter Fourteen: Guidance

Northwest Pacific Ocean.

Air patrols along the route and the coast guard on standby at sea noticed that Melba had changed direction.

“They really didn’t come to the base…” Fujisawa Sousuke looked nervously at Ralf, who was holding the steering wheel.

The Golza ravaging Akita City was outside their area of ​​responsibility, so what about the Melba that they were originally supposed to intercept outside the base?

Looking in Melba's direction, perhaps it wants to join forces with Golza. The Victory Team is there. Are they going to let the monsters attack TPC's colleagues from both sides?

“I know what you’re thinking! I don’t like having someone watching me!” Ralph seemed to have eyes in the back of his head: “Wait until it flies a little further—if you dare to open fire now to lure it over and cause trouble at the base, I’ll floor the accelerator and ram it!”

"Understood, understood," Fujisawa Sosuke said decisively, "I'd rather die than let my teammates down!"

The light representing Melba flew along the edge of the radar screen toward Akita City. There are giant statues in the mountains nearby, and it can't wait to destroy them... As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot. The giants have all turned into immobile stone blocks, so why not hurry up and settle scores?

The air force watched Melba leave the warning area, then they each turned around and continued circling, awaiting orders from headquarters to stand by or pursue.

Just then, a call came through the channel, which had been quiet for a while.

"Ralph, is Sosuke on your plane?"

It's the captain!

Fujisawa Sousuke instantly found his anchor and hurriedly said, "Ralph is training me! Captain, are you done with your meeting? Any new instructions?"

Yu Aiba thought about it for a moment, and after finishing the meeting with Solka... there's nothing wrong with that, it's not a lie.

He responded with a clear conscience: "Yes, new orders. The monster has headed towards the giant's pyramid. The air force will continue to be on guard and provide support for the city."

Fujisawa Sosuke's gloomy mood immediately brightened, and he excitedly said, "Yes! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

"Fight beyond visual range. Intercept the monsters with missiles when they get close to the city. Always keep your distance." Aiba Yu knew what this guy was thinking from the sudden rise in his voice. Did he really think that the air force's conventional fighter jets could fight the monsters?

Even the Victory Team's Hien was in grave danger in its presence, let alone this thing that was at the end of the last generation, much older in terms of speed, firepower and electronic equipment!

Will they crash into the monster's line of sight and get themselves killed, or will the GUTS team come to their rescue instead?

"Once the monster leaves the city, it will remain on standby. The rest is up to the GUTS team. If they can't handle it, getting involved will only cause trouble for them," the order coming through the channel was somewhat ruthless: "That thing can fly at Mach 6. Don't linger!"

Fujisawa Sousuke responded with a crisp and clear "Understood." As long as he wasn't left standing there watching the monster run rampant, that was fine. Even if it was like an egg hitting a rock, foolish as it may be, maybe if he pressed the fire button... he could save the people who were about to be in danger?

“Captain, don’t worry, keeping my distance and evading big oafs is my forte,” Ralf said. “Sou-suke, you can only move your finger when I tell you to fire!”

"I understand, I understand. If you tell me to go east, I dare not go west."

……

Akita City.

After confirming Golza's route, the two Victory Team Flying Swallows tried the same tactic again, attempting to lure it away with signal flares.

Two plumes of ammunition, trailing trails of smoke, struck the monster's thick hide. Lina watched its movements intently, hoping that she could achieve the same success as she had "scared it away" on the Mongolian plains.

But Golza's obsession seemed more real than its thick-skinned appearance. It ignored the noisy crowd, and even when flares hit its face, it just blinked. The fly-like airplanes and ant-like humans, no matter how high they jumped, could not anger it as much as the distant giant statue.

"I really don't know who signed the regulation back then, 'The Peace Organization's Abnormal Events Investigation Team doesn't need weapons,'" While the Flying Swallow II wasn't as agile as the First during high-speed maneuvers, its G-forces were still considerable.

Horii felt extremely uncomfortable: "Now all we can do is 'guide,' and we hope that more signal flares will be useful."

Thanks to the Flying Swallow's exceptional speed and maneuverability, as long as Lina performs normally, the monsters can't do anything to them if they only swing their claws and tails.

Golza approached the city step by step, about to wade through the rows of buildings and rush toward the location of the giant statue.

"We can't let you get away like this!" Lina, piloting the Flying Swallow No. 1, and Shinjo, operating the Flying Swallow No. 2, fired signal flares at the same time, but the ethereal smoke was powerless against the monster. The huge shadow walked out through the smoke, looking incredibly determined.

"Boom boom boom——!"

An even larger cloud of smoke exploded over Golza, and Golza's steps finally came to a halt. At the same time, the whistling sound of bullets tearing through the air suddenly came.

“Victory Team, this is the Air Force under the Police Department. We are here to assist in the defense of Akita City as ordered by headquarters,” Ralf said as he connected to the Victory Team’s communications channel. “Our mobility is not good enough. You will have to draw its attention. Air and ground forces will provide long-range firepower… No matter where it wants to go, at least make it change course!”

"Ammunition with gunpowder and shrapnel hurts more when it hits," Golza roared in his throat.

It couldn't detect the source of these attacks launched beyond visual range, while the most annoying aircraft in front of it moved like alert mosquitoes.

Two more missiles hit his legs. Golza was so annoyed that he finally moved a few steps and chose a route with less resistance to continue forward.

From its angle, the main body of the pyramid could already be seen. Melba was stretching out its claws and scraping the outer wall of the pyramid—the wall that Daigo had easily passed through was as solid as a whole piece of cast steel under Melba's feet. With each claw strike, sparks flew and several deep marks were left.

Golza opened its massive maw, full of fangs, and roared. Melba responded in kind, and the two monsters reached a pleasant consensus on smashing the stone statue.

Inside the pyramid, Daigo heard the earth shaking above his head.

As Soruka said, he transformed his remaining energy into the pyramid that preserved the statues; when the pyramid was destroyed, he naturally could not remain.

As if to prove this point, the statues of Soruka continued to crumble, and the moment the pyramid completely disappeared, the voices that had been conversing with Daigo also ceased completely.

The Victory Team, which was monitoring Operation Golza, finally discovered the anomaly under the statue.

"Hey, is there someone under the monster's feet?" Shinjo shouted.

"Did Daigo chase the tourists into the pyramid?!" Zongfang didn't have time to reprimand him for his recklessness, so he could only order the more agile Flying Swallow No. 1 to take the lead, while Flying Swallow No. 2 would seize the opportunity to rescue the people.

The person in question stood there without reacting. Xincheng only saw him with his head down, as if he had been terrified by the monster.

Daigo did indeed make a foolish mistake—before Solka's voice completely disappeared, a beam of light suddenly rushed from his stone statue and merged into his body before he could react.

He couldn't tell if he was given a pot of hot water or had undergone open-chest surgery, but the doctor put a hot water bottle in his upper abdomen. In any case, the heat and stuffiness almost made him vomit.

Then, the best-preserved stone statue in front of him, named Tiga, began to glow, like a pharaoh coming back to life. Daigo recalled the "don't believe everything" principle in the abnormal event handling guidelines, and wondered if he had been tricked by ancient ghosts and agreed to become their physical body without thinking.

He looked down and felt something extra in his breast pocket. He pulled it out and discovered it was a weapon he'd never seen before…

"Magic wand?"

Immediately afterwards, a thunderous roar sounded from behind, and a thick, massive shadow covered an area of ​​more than ten meters in radius.

Before he could look up, Daigo only saw a shadow in front of him—like a dinosaur raising its thick claws, and he was right below those claws.

Chapter Fifteen: Dragon's Roar Over the Vast Sea

light.

The moment Golza stepped down, dust and gravel rose into the air, and countless fragments of light exploded from within.

The muddy water was turbid yet the clear water shone brightly, like fireworks in the night sky, or the rosy clouds reflected in the river at dusk.

In an instant, a galaxy of stars burst forth from the earth.

Everyone on the Flying Swallow had their mouths slightly agape. Lina kept calling out to Daigo. If she were piloting the Flying Swallow No. 1, that fighter jet would be rushing into the sky above the Milky Way without regard for the danger—but she was holding the steering stick of the Flying Swallow No. 2. Her life was tied to that of her teammates.

The mountainside, unable to withstand the impact, tilted and collapsed, with mud, rocks, and fallen trees tumbling down, only to be separated by Golza's strong, rough claws.

Two giant stone statues stand there, silently gazing into the distance for millennia.

Many years ago, this was a high cliff. The wind swept through the city, bringing with it a dreamlike blend of prosperity and flowers. The lights were dazzling, and the city was filled with a glittering array of stars.

If it weren't for that dream, perhaps some fine young people would have wandered through the streets and alleys, running up the mountain, their passion more intense than the hottest magma—the giants would have learned about humanity through them, and humanity would have grown closer to the giants through them.

For both sides, it would be an adventure that cannot be described in words.

But there are never any "what ifs".

...Fortunately, there is still a future.

Countless stardust rose, like dragons leaping from the water, surging towards the chests of the foremost stone statues. Like many young people who had once been human, the flow of light, carrying their life force, poured into the gray stone statues.