Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

The entire cabin is illuminated by these lights, which are a deep, dark color, like the clear, crystalline blue that reflects in water when artificial nuclear fusion is started.

The monster was quiet, probably asleep forever, as evidenced by its peeling scales and deathly pale skin. Even in its dead state, confined to the cramped engine room by the Reicuran aliens, Shirakawa could easily imagine its former power.

He stared blankly at the creature inside, finding it hard to believe that such a massive… monster could be crammed into the spaceship. If fully extended, it could probably cover four standard playgrounds. It looked like a species that lived in the deep sea, but looking at its “fins” that were wider than a bird’s wings, he thought that perhaps this creature was capable of stirring up storms in the sky.

Like a whale flying in the sky in a fantasy illustration, supporting a city or island with the flat, broad part of its back.

Is this what they call the "energy source for leaping"?

A tingling, dizzy feeling crept over his head. Shirakawa didn't know if it was because he had just suffered a concussion or because of the strong radiation here. He reached for his communicator to inform the stationmaster of his predicament, but only pulled out a useless metal brick. His colleagues collapsed one by one. He heard the dull thuds of their bodies hitting the floor. The last thing he saw was the tightly shut door.

Outside the door, two Reicuran aliens confirmed that the person in the power bay was unconscious before turning and leaving.

"Why not kill them?" one of them asked.

“When our ‘jump energy source’ was still alive, it could easily move mountains and fill seas; rift valleys and cliffs were just a matter of waving a hand,” another Reicuran alien did not answer directly, “but now it’s just fuel. Isn’t that a pity? We all wish that era could return, but now only some remnants of ‘specimens’ remain.”

The Reicuran alien slowly walked away, his voice lingering in the empty cabin, slithering like a snake: "But these Earthlings are different; they possess living gifts from that era."

……

On Kashima Beach, Daigo and Shinjo were holding the Flying Swallow No. 1 firmly in Ligadron's arms.

No one could have imagined that a monster would make such a strange move. Normally, even a monster like Golza, when annoyed, would usually swat down with its claws like a fan, as if swatting away mosquitoes. But Kelgadron pushed off the ground with both legs, tossing itself high into the air, and intercepted the Flying Swallow 1, which was about to ascend, as if playing catch—and held it tightly in its arms.

It was extremely precious because of its incredibly tight force; the outer shell of the Flying Swallow No. 1 emitted a heavy, twisting sound.

"It will crush us!" Xincheng shouted. "Can we escape?"

Sparks were flying from the hatch above Daigo's head onto them, and the anxious calls of Rena and the others came from the PDI.

"No..." The compartment beside Daigo's legs had begun to deform and crumble, and cracks were spreading inwards from the edge of the hatch, like water about to freeze.

It is being invaded by ice flowers.

"Hiss!" Ligadron cheered.

The Flying Swallow No. 1, TPC's most advanced model at the moment, was easily crushed into scrap metal in its hands, just like a shoddy toy from a shady factory. Horii heard the desperate cries of the others, and the mechanical voice of the pan-language translator ringing out again:

[Dad will be happy with the gift.]

Chapter Forty-Three: The Gift

When Daigo first switched from the human perspective to the giant's perspective, he felt excited and curious. He was worried that he hadn't been able to stop the monster's destruction, and he was also confused about "why me"—he thought that any one of his teammates in the GUTS team was much stronger than him, a rookie.

But the heat-generating transformation device in his arms would persistently urge him: "You're the only one here."

He and Shinjo were seated one in front of the other in the cockpit of the Flying Swallow No. 1. Daigo, who was in the back controlling the firing mechanism, could clearly see the hull twisting and the suffocating feeling that came from the pressure as it squeezed close to Shinjo.

"There's no other way," Daigo thought. "If only my driving skills were better, and I could be able to make a greater contribution..."

A blinding light burst forth from the "toy" held by Ligadron. It hissed and was violently pushed away by an overwhelming force. The monster's claws that had been gripping Flying Swallow No. 1 disappeared, replaced by the giant's hands.

Tiga carefully held the most treasured "treasure" in TPC's equipment repair room. It was completely unrecognizable. Its neat and light wings had been snapped off by the rough monster, and the twisted stubble was exposed. The smooth paint was also scratched and smeared. The most shocking thing was the cockpit. Shinjo was completely wrapped inside. If it had been any later, the two of them would probably have turned into minced meat wrapped in iron.

Tiga dared not easily touch the Flying Swallow No. 1. It looked so small and fragile now. A flick of his finger might crush the precarious cockpit, causing the steel skeleton and the pilot's internal organs to stick together intimately.

He found a clearing in the woods on the island and put the Flying Swallow No. 1 down before turning around to look at Ligadron, who had been looking him up and down since earlier.

Having watched enough, Ligadron pawed at the ground, sending stone chips flying, and lunged forward with a howl. Tiga nimbly dodged to the side, and then began playing a game of "catch and throw"—using its powerful explosive force to launch itself into the air and catch the target in mid-air with a combination of grabbing and biting.

Tiga knew it was quick to react, but he didn't expect its brute strength to be so extraordinary! Ligadron's claws only touched his calf, but he felt as if he had been crushed by a ten-thousand-ton water press. The sensation from his left calf down to his lower leg disappeared instantly. When Tiga landed, he was unsteady on his feet, and the numbness started from his left foot and spread upwards. He looked closely and found that Ligadron was surrounded by a ghostly light.

Delta Space Station.

The reappearance of the giant saving people from danger brought cheers from the staff, and Makoto Nanase couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. With the giant's appearance, Rena's situation should no longer be so dangerous.

He subconsciously glanced at the "friendly alien" beside him, and suddenly his relaxed expression vanished—the body of Ligadron contained the other party's wife and daughter, and this Reicuran alien must be feeling very complicated. He should restrain his emotions and avoid upsetting a husband and father.

but……

The observant Nanase Makoto noticed that the other party's gaze did not seem to be focused on Riggardron.

This Reicuran alien had been staring intently at the giant ever since it appeared, and the light flashing frequently on its cheeks revealed its turbulent inner state.

"If it were Rena who was swallowed by the monster, I would never let Ligadron's every move go by." Nanase Makoto wondered, is it because the culture of the Reijuran aliens is different from that of Earthlings that their reactions are different?

In the blink of an eye, the battle situation on the screen changed again.

Perhaps due to consuming the spaceship's energy, Ligadron exhibited top-notch strength and defense, but the knowledge it "acquired" was not very extensive in combat. After all, its cognitive system was built by the personnel on the logistics ship: a female Rechuran alien and a child.

Its "playful" behavior mostly involves imitating children's actions—Ligadron doesn't understand the emotions between the mother and daughter; it simply acts instinctively based on their urgent desires. This gives Tiga room to maneuver.

The aerial type excels at dealing with enemies who aren't particularly skilled. Its pale blue palms shoot arrows to clear a path, and it can then use its agile hand blades to strike and retreat in an instant. Although its left leg is injured and it can't exert much force, as long as it can fly... none of these are problems.

Throughout this time, he remained wary of the yellow crystal atop Riggardron's head and the spherical crystal embedded in his chest. These two places looked remarkably like the monster's energy sources, and perhaps in its rage, it would unleash beams of unknown power from them.

"Boom—" As expected, the luminous object on its head reacted, blasting a fireball at the spot where Tiga had just been standing hundreds of meters away. The scorching flames scattered like stars, and black smoke rose from the forest on the island.

Before he could even celebrate his successful evasion, Ligadron had already begun its thunderous charge toward the location where Flying Swallow One was positioned! The crystal ball on its chest shimmered with the brilliance of a galaxy, and there, the shadow of a young Reicuran alien could be seen.

Earthlings, a gift!

……

"Dad, here's a gift for you!" The short Rechulan alien raised his hands high. The spotlight outside the cabin swept across the dark starry sky, and the outlines of several meteorites appeared silently, drifting past the round porthole.

"Hmm." The person assembling the machine nodded, his gaze remaining fixed on the parts in his hands.

The diminutive alien shoved the object in his palm in front of his eyes and waved it: "I made a nebula sphere! Look at this big nebula inside, can you recognize it?"

The father glanced at it briefly before returning to his work: "I recognize it, the Nemesis Nebula."

His daughter didn't care about his attitude; the fact that he recognized her was enough to make her happy, at least proving her cooking skills were decent: "That's right! It's our homeland! Dad, why don't we go back to the Nemesis Nebula?"

"It's too far away, we can't go back." The father turned his body to the other side with some impatience, and also moved the machine he was repairing over there, turning his back to the child who was at an age that even people and dogs disliked.

The little Raichuran alien stood on tiptoe and poked her head out from behind him: "Don't we have a giant thing that can jump? Millions of light-years, whoosh~!" She stretched out her hand and "whoosh"ed in front of her father's eyes as well: "A few more times and we'll be home!"

“If you’re really bored, go find your mother on the logistics ship,” her father said, lifting her off his back. “We can’t extract conventional fuel until this part is fixed, and we won’t even be able to go to the next star system. Don’t bother me.”

"Oh." The little Raichuran alien received permission and excitedly carried the nebula ball towards the logistics ship. But halfway there, she turned back and, under her father's annoyed gaze, boldly asked, "You really don't want it?"

She waved her handicrafts, a galaxy of stars swirling within a semi-transparent black sphere simulating the universe: "This is a gift for you."

Her father walked straight up and pushed her out, closing the hatch as he did so: "Go play by yourself. I don't have time to play house with you. Instead of wasting your time fiddling with this useless stuff, you should go and learn about Earth biological research lineages from your uncle. Who knows when we'll be able to connect to the Starlink exchange again? We spent a lot of money to buy this, not just so you can look at it and be done with it. Learning how to use it is the best gift."

"But I don't like learning things from Earth. Why do all those strange-looking 'people' have two holes in their faces to plug their eyes, two holes for breathing, and two holes for hearing? Why do they have to pour food into their faces to eat? Can't energy liquid be absorbed through the skin?"

Her father slammed his fist on the hatch, clearly exasperated by her uninformed questions. She looked at the handicraft in her hand and decided to return to her secret base—a warehouse on the logistics ship.

That was her own little world, a place that could hold her greatest imagination. Having grown up on the spaceship, the little Raichuran alien was already used to the boredom of the universe. The sky was always pitch black, and she could count the "fireballs that were farther away," the "fireballs that were closer," the black rocks in the distance, the black rocks nearby... and the drifting island beneath her feet.

The happiest time is when the Reicuran aliens find a planet to resupply on. Occasionally, their spaceships will follow the trajectory of the terminator, with the ever-burning parent star ahead. Only then can they see a different, colorful sky.

My father had mentioned going to Earth countless times, but due to limitations in power and fuel, their spaceship was very slow and could only initiate short-range jumps after a long time.

"Why go to Earth?" she once asked her father. "I've looked at the star map carefully. Going there is the opposite direction from our return to the Nemesis Nebula." She had been instilled with the idea that "the Reicuran people will return to Reicuran sooner or later," but her great-great-grandfather had drifted away in the universe... They were getting further and further away from their home planet, which was really puzzling.

“There are more important things than going back to Rechulan,” the father replied. “There are ‘resources’ on Earth that we need. If we can get them, we will never have to wander again.”

In Rejuran's dictionary, if you want something, just take it; there's no need for any moral self-reflection.

"Great! We're sure we can get it!" Little Raichulan laughed heartily.

Chapter Forty-Four: Rescue

A faint glow.

The eerie blue light emanating from the screen reflected on everyone's faces. At that moment, the cabin lights went out, and the screen became the only source of illumination.

Makoto Nanase sighed in the darkness: "Reicuran aliens, my researchers have been invited to your spaceship. If communications are lost, the base will have to enter a state of emergency."

The Reicuran alien turned to look at the door that had been closed at some point: "You're being too sensitive. The energy fluctuations from the power reactor will disrupt the electrical signals. Of course, that's understandable; I'm just suggesting..."

“But now our communication signal with the ground is very good,” Nanase Makoto removed the small earpiece, raised the flashing machine in his hand, and a flat mechanical voice came from it: “Horie doesn’t understand that the pan-language translator can translate your language. I… don’t understand whether your wife and daughter are really in Ligadron’s belly.”

The mechanical sound comes from a general language translator.

The Victory Team obtained the crucial information and immediately packaged it up and sent it to Delta Force. A mechanical voice then relayed the response to the stationmaster via earpiece.

That was Ligadron's plaintext signal. Not only could the GUTS team receive it, but the Reicuran aliens, who followed it all the way to Earth, should have discovered it long ago. Plaintext isn't just targeted at Earthlings.

Help me, I don't want to go on like this.

The mechanical voice uttered each word clearly. The Raichuran alien turned its head, which was flashing with light on both sides. Nanase Makoto couldn't analyze its expression, but through the flashing lights...

By observing the frequency of the flashes, he could sense the turbulent emotions raging within the other person's heart.

"Daddy, save me!"

Nanase Makoto clenched his fists: "Didn't you receive it? It kept calling out like that, in the language of Reichuran... from Jupiter to Earth, a distance of hundreds of millions of kilometers, or are you telling me that your spaceship is so old that it can no longer receive signals? A Reichuran alien who sent a communication request for help to Gypsy III!"

The Reicuru alien was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Does it make sense?"

"significance?"

“It is their honor to sacrifice themselves for Rechulan,” he said. “If I were in their shoes and they were the ones negotiating with you here, they would also say without hesitation, ‘Kill the monster’—that’s the necessary awareness, you naive earthlings.”

“But they were calling for help from you! You didn’t deny it… You received the signal from Ligadron while you were in Jupiter’s orbit, right?” Nanase Makoto said solemnly, “Your behavior doesn’t match what you’ve said. I’m asking you, where are my five researchers now?”

"Of course, it's on my spaceship."

"Raichulan!"

“They were ‘guests’ on my ship,” Rechulan said, looking at the tightly closed hatch. “You’ve closed this door, but it’s not you who’s trapped me; it’s me who’s trapped you.”

He raised his hand, pointing at Nanase Makoto, red light swirling around his arm. The Delta Force, while negotiating with the aliens, had fallen into a mindset of not all relying on firearms. They released the Reicuran aliens after confirming they were unarmed, unaware that for some aliens, they themselves were weapons.