Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

"It's okay, just give me your address, someone will come later."

The two walked along the sidewalk, with a road in the distance lined with parking spaces on both sides. The streetlights turned on at set times, and the reflections from the windshields of a dozen or so cars looked like a shimmering river.

“I thought the TPC investigators would get out of armored vehicles like in the movies,” Glasses looked around curiously. “Is this your private car?”

"No, it's just that it was parked a bit far away. I walked a long way to get here." Aiba

You led him, the car's paint reflecting its moving silhouette.

The two walked in the orange-yellow river of light, and Aiba Yu asked some more questions, which Glasses answered without hesitation.

"The final question." Aiba Yu stopped at the end of the sidewalk. Further ahead, a row of empty factory buildings blocked the road. In the middle was a narrow alley, which was where Aiba Yu had come out. It was a blind spot for surveillance cameras.

The communicator beeped, and Aiba Yu answered without hesitation. Sato's voice came through: "I've already sent the nearest patrol to pick you up. What luck! You can just go out and run into an informant who comes looking for you?"

“Because you were wearing the right clothes and standing in the right place,” Aiba Yu replied, then said to Glasses, “The armored vehicles are really coming, you can’t escape. The last question is, what promises did the Kirieloids make to you?”

Glasses was stunned at first, then the shame and anger of being exposed and the fear of being unable to escape surged onto his face like a tide. His face was ferocious, like a wolf with nowhere to run.

"You bunch of useless scum, trash, lackeys! Countries believed that director's nonsense and disarmed, entrusting security to your TPC, but what have you done?! Look at this new development zone, because of the monster incident, the place where new buildings were supposed to be built has become a ghost town! Everyone who can run away has run away, desperately crowding towards your headquarters on the Tokyo Bay, just because of that vague and uncertain security!"

"The most ridiculous thing is that the monster incident was caused by one of your own people at TPC! A researcher named Sanada stole the materials and turned himself into a monster, right?" Glasses pointed to the sea in the distance.

The place used to be a resort hotel, and the TPC observatory was just a few dozen meters away. It was bustling with people all year round. The observatory occasionally took on science education work for students. It was mysterious and impressive in the eyes of the local children. If they were to write about "becoming a scientist in the future" in their essays, they would definitely mention it.

However, with the discovery of Ryosuke Sanada's theft of Ebloon cells, the observatory and its research labs were completely shut down. The news of the Crow People's presence became the final straw that turned the newly developed area into a "ghost town"—the resort hotel closed down, and from there, from the tourism industry that relied on tourists from other places, the lights of the newly developed area gradually dimmed at night.

News reports of monsters being defeated may seem inspiring, but to anyone willing to think about it a little, these news reports are little better than obituaries.

The monster was defeated, but by whom?

What did TPC do? Did it fail to lift the monster, have its supposedly most advanced aircraft shot down, or was it the best spectator in the most dangerous place, personally cheering for the giant?

As the giant's popularity soared, Glasses felt increasingly hopeless. Imagine your own house is on fire, the fire department arrives but is helpless, and the fire is eventually extinguished only by a downpour. How can anyone hold onto hope in such a situation?

He couldn't see TPC's role in the events that had already happened or were about to happen, and what was most disheartening was that TPC truly represented the pinnacle of human technology, and the people working for the Victory Team were indeed the best of the best.

"The monsters lost, the aliens lost, and we're still alive, but did the TPC win? No! Every news item, every piece of information, every word praising the giant says—the TPC lost too!" Glasses roared. "We lost long ago! We're only alive because of the mercy of a giant who appeared out of nowhere!"

"So you believe in the Kirieloids." Aiba Yu looked at him calmly.

"Believe it or not! It's just that the Kirieloids are strong enough to fight against the Titans. You can't rely on a tiger to protect yourself, can you? Even if that tiger doesn't seem interested in you right now."

“So you’d rather rely on a lion,” Aiba Yu said again.

The wind seemed to freeze, biting at my face like a sharp knife. Glasses opened his mouth to speak, then paused, annoyed, and said, "What else can we do? Continue to believe in the giants' mercy, or believe in the TPC, which has been proven useless? Thank goodness for the Kirieloids; although they're full of lies and love to boast, at least I can see something beyond the propaganda controlled by the TPC..."

At this point, Glasses looked at the TPC logo on Aiba Yu's chest and smiled slightly—a mocking smile, as if he himself were the victor.

“I saw a person grow new hands and new feet, his face became like a snake, and finally he became a monster. It wasn’t a video, it was something I saw with my own eyes, and it happened in less than half a month,” Glasses said. “The Kirieloids claimed it was an experiment by aliens. The poor test subjects were rescued by them, but it was too late. I know they either have more information they haven’t revealed, or they are lying.”

Aiba Yu was moved. Glasses was not as "loyal" as ordinary people would think of a religious person. Even when he embraced the Kirieloids, he examined everything with a suspicious look. He did not believe in the Kirieloid gods, but in a force that could contend with giants, aliens, and monsters.

It doesn't matter who this force is—the Kirieloids, the Nagas, or even the resurrected monsters from mythology—he's willing to worship them as long as they can truly provide security. Whatever the cost, it's better than relying on fate like a fragile mayfly.

He said, "The worst-case scenario is that the test subject was captured by the Kirieloids themselves, but whether they staged it or really rescued it from outside, it all points to one thing."

"The new development zone isn't far from headquarters, and TPC has absolutely no control over it."

"Control," the glasses said, opening its mouth, its words like the lament of a ghost from the underworld, chilling with the aura of the deepest hell: "You've come to investigate, finally you've come, but what good is it? If you come alone, even if I'm not here waiting, there will be others waiting, waiting for you to walk right into their trap."

“Now you’ve walked right into a trap,” Aiba Yu said.

The man with glasses nodded: "Yes, I don't know where I did something wrong that you saw through, but it doesn't matter... I originally planned to use the death of a staff member to remind TPC, but it doesn't matter if I get arrested, TPC will still pay attention to this place again, and I will tell you everything I know."

"Why don't you take off your glasses?" Aiba Yu said something unrelated, still gripping the other's wrist tightly. Even if a monster were in front of him, it would never escape unless the hand was cut off.

Before the glasses could answer, Aiba Yu continued, "You can't take them off; they're fused to your bones."

“Yes, yes! It’s fucking stuck together!” Glasses’ lips trembled as he used his still-movable hand to tear at the thing perched on his nose. It looked perfectly normal, even giving him a refined air, but it was as if it had taken root, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t remove it; every pull caused excruciating pain, even to the bone.

Later he learned that a strange change had occurred to his body as well; not only his glasses, but also the watch he always wore could no longer be removed. His skin was like a conch feeding on algae, greedily eroding everything it could touch.

“I am also an experimental subject, and the Kirieloids and those damned God's Handmaids are all bastards!” he cursed. “Sooner or later I will grow new hands and feet, become neither human nor ghost, and let the new converts see me and make them tremble with fear!”

Glasses took the initiative to reveal information to Aiba Yu, not only because of the TPC uniform he was wearing, but also because of a strange "yearning" that seemed to come from the depths of his soul - the instinct of the alien beast for its mother.

Glasses didn't know why he felt this "longing," but he set a plan that he could complete regardless of success or failure, hoping to see some turning point while he could still move around like a normal person.

A turning point seemed to have arrived, but he was furious. "You bunch of good-for-nothing idiots! Earthlings are being used for experiments, Earthlings are being turned into monsters, Earthlings are worshipping extraterrestrial gods, and what are you all doing? Why did you take so long to arrive? Is it really only the giants who can turn the tide? The TPC is like the police in a superhero movie, always showing up only after everything has settled, doing nothing but selling heads and cleaning up the battlefield?"

Glasses glared angrily, almost spitting fire, but Aiba Yu released his grip instead, his tone softening, no longer as cold as if interrogating a criminal: "We're going back to TPC. There are many life science experts there who are developing a drug that can stop this mutation."

“I’m finished,” Glasses shook his head. “My parrot is still waiting for me at home. If you… if you let me go here, I promise you I will die at home. I just gave you the address. If you need my body, feel free to take it.”

“If you really thought it was all over, you wouldn’t have come to me on your own initiative, let alone said ‘I hope TPC will pay attention to this place again.’ And if you really expected to ‘remind TPC with the death of a staff member,’ then why did you take the initiative to tell me that you were being followed?” Aiba Yu said, “You’re telling me about the danger ahead, that you don’t really want anyone to die.”

“I just said,” Glasses’ voice lowered, looking extremely tired, “I can’t find any hope, and I’m going to be finished myself. What else can I do? The Defense Force will be disbanded, and there will be no other TPC on Earth.”

……

A residence less than 20 kilometers away.

Number Twelve, "Paladia," ended her call with "Father." The call was pointless, merely focusing on her missionary progress, the number of believers, and the movements of TPC.

She opened the sliding door, and a cold breeze rushed in, bringing with it the scent of earth and moss from the courtyard.

Night had fallen. She looked up, and the moon and clouds drifted through the gaps between the tall buildings. There should have been three other people gazing at the moon: her, Number Eight Amui, and Number Sixteen Fujisawa Sosuke.

Sosuke was taken away by the tomb keeper. She was both disappointed and delighted. Disappointed that she would never find a "tomb keeper" who could take her away as well, but delighted that Sosuke had finally escaped the den of demons. Amui was left at headquarters by her "father." She could never guess her "father's" plans. Those eyes that could see through the fog could not see through thoughts and people's hearts.

"Is it right or wrong?" The voice was thrown into the air, like a pebble sinking into the darkness, without echo or trace.

“Paladia, kind Palatine, I know you will be reluctant,” Father’s words still echoed in my ears: “What happened to the sixteenth is not your fault, but the believers you have developed… whether it’s mixed into communion, incense, or even drinking water, whatever the method, you must pour these potions in.”

“But Father, Cang… Number Sixteen suffered a lot during those days,” she hesitated, “You asked me to create more and more people like him, I…”

“This is unavoidable, Paradia. What you are doing now is to save more people in the future when darkness descends,” Father replied. “Humans are too fragile. Even a single Golza almost wiped out the elite teams. So we are helping them… helping them create the strongest warriors. They will fight against the Dark Ruler.”

Their minions fight as both pawns and sacrifices, favored by the ruler; their death allows many more to live.

Number Twelve didn't answer, but her shifting gaze betrayed her emotions. How could her "father," who had been caring for her since she was an embryo, not know what she was thinking? So he patiently advised, "Paladia is a good girl who is willing to sacrifice herself to save others. You are Paradia. You must save more people, and they, these believers... you can tell them that it is the mission I have conveyed to you."

Number Twelve raised her head: "No! If I really did that, I would never pass the buck to anyone else!"

"Father" laughed: "See, I knew you would say that, Paradia. Even gods have things they can't do... 'Kirieloid is omnipotent,' that's a paradox. So they can hate you and curse you, but they are necessary sacrifices. God will take them to heaven."

Number Twelve stretched out his hand, and a cool breeze slipped through his fingers.

Will the lives of these "necessary sacrifices," their lives, their ideals, everything they have experienced and will experience, vanish like this wisp of wind that cannot be grasped?

Sosuke said that he wanted to find a girl named "Kamimura Aya". It would be best if he could return to the air force. The captain, Ralf, and many others would be happy for him to go back.

Number Twelve thought, he's so young, yet so many people are waiting for him. These "necessary sacrifices" include both the old and the young. Are there many more "Sousuke" and even more people waiting for them?

She felt increasingly uneasy as she thought about what she had done the day before.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong!" Finally unable to bear it any longer, she got up and ran towards the entrance, her heavy footsteps echoing in the empty room.

Chapter 173 The Sunrise I Long For (6K)

"Father, what exactly do we need to do to spread our doctrines?"

“I understand your concerns. It does take courage to speak freely and confidently in front of many people, but there’s no need to be afraid, Paradia—why don’t you memorize the script I gave you?”

"But is it just reciting a script? I heard that people will come and ask a lot of questions."

"Ah, of course there will be problems. However, their desire to confide is often greater than their desire to find answers. Even if you don't say a word, you can just listen to them with a smile and they will get the answer themselves. Even if they don't get the answer, they will come up with a plausible explanation on their own. That's what believers are like."

"Is it enough to just listen with a smile?"

"Of course, if you feel too embarrassed, you can add, 'God knows everything, and suffering will become the stepping stone to heaven.' I've said this many times, and I think you should remember one or two of these lines."

Number twelve, "Paladia," only vaguely understood "father's" answer, but considering herself inept at handling large crowds, she had no choice but to comply. Earlier in the church, she could keep her heart racing in front of a dozen or so people, but when she arrived at the crowded small square, facing countless dark heads that looked like a dark cloud, even the hand holding the microphone trembled.

And the microphone is malfunctioning! Not a single sound is coming through!

Fortunately, this meant that her first two trembling words were not heard by anyone, and when she had to shout out her speech, her strong voice made her seem quite righteous. The believers were extremely cautious when facing the "servant of God," and their silence made the speech of the 12th seem quite convincing. This was probably the scene where the loudest voice prevailed.

After reciting the script flawlessly, Number Twelve let out a long sigh of relief. Looking back at the microphone, she realized she hadn't even turned it on. She mentally berated herself for being an idiot.

The person in charge of the preparations was also a believer. He was probably intimidated by the fancy and nonsensical script and didn't even notice that the "servant of God" didn't know how to use a microphone. As the crowd dispersed in twos and threes, he immediately came up excitedly to serve tea and water, and took the opportunity to legitimately follow Number Twelve all the way to the church.

“I want to hear the will of God, Kirieloid!” He actually listened attentively to the speech and pondered deeply: “You said that God will save the world from the torment of Satan. People often say that Satan is temptation, desire, and self-indulgence, but in your words, it seems to return to the purest essence—darkness as the opposite of light, evil as the opposite of good. May I ask if God has truly seen ‘Satan’? Not the abstract desires and human heart, but Satan in the real sense!”

Number Twelve was speechless. She had no idea what the god Kirieloid had seen! She had even heard the name "god Kirieloid" from her "father"!

"Father" said their god was omniscient and omnipotent, but later said that "omniscience and omnipotence" was a paradox. Number Twelve didn't quite understand, only knowing that their god was very powerful—powerful to a certain extent, so it wouldn't be incongruous to say he was "omniscient and omnipotent." This was from his own perspective, a relative sense of "omniscience and omnipotence," not an absolute sense, which is why "Father" made contradictory statements.

The "Father" said that their God needs faith, and only the call of hundreds of millions of people can bring Him down. At that time, He will sweep away all injustice and anger and bring peace to the world.

To be honest, number 12 thought of detergent at the time.

She brazenly imagined the god Kirieloid as a detergent bottle, and couldn't help but laugh. Her "father" punished her by making her feed the noisy demon fish in the river for not paying attention in class.

Then she developed a project to bully the demon fish and recruited Sosuke into the group.

In short, this incompetent "handmaid," who could infuriate even the gods, delivered a speech that was revered by the believers. Before Number Twelve could even formulate his own words, the believer had already convinced himself.

"Ah, God must have seen it all! Those monsters and aliens are nothing but the incarnations of Satan!" He suddenly realized, his face filled with tears of gratitude. "What a magnificent feat it would be if we could wipe them all out! God has blessed us, God has blessed the world! I must go back and tell them, tell my parents, that I am saved!"

Number Twelve thought he was crazy.

She was only impressed by a few kind-looking elderly believers and some seemingly timid fellows; anyone who deceived them would inevitably feel a pang of guilt. Like how she always tricked Sosuke into getting injections, even when she practically implied "this stuff is unreliable," Sosuke would still go, seemingly selectively blind. Watching his retreating figure, Number Twelve thought to herself, if she had any debts, she'd be a billionaire by now.

...No one says she has to obey her "father" without question, right?

Why has she never objected? Her heart is in turmoil, yet she acts as obedient as a lamb. When did she become like this?