Ultraman cubs begin to wreak havoc.

Upon seeing this, Torregia was taken aback at first, then quickly ran outside the spaceship to make preparations.

A few minutes later, Tregear arrived at the cave on the planet Tiga Deyu with his probe. He saw crab-like creatures crawling at his feet and bat-like creatures above him tightly protecting themselves with their wings.

To be honest, this environment made Torregia feel quite uncomfortable, not only because of these strange creatures, but also because of the unique environment of this planet. Finally, in the unbearable humidity and high temperature, Torregia followed Taro's footsteps and finally arrived at the fork in the road that Taro had mentioned. Looking at the narrow passage, Torregia had to abandon the extra equipment and struggle to pass through.

"Wow."

Suddenly, the ground beneath Toregia collapsed.

The soft mud, like a natural water slide, carried Torregia down.

"It hurts..."

After a long while, Torregia finally landed below. While rubbing his body, he looked up and found that he was in a huge dome-shaped space.

This is the place where Taro lost contact!

Realizing this, Torregia immediately took action, and soon he discovered that the walls of this space were engraved with undecipherable ancient cosmic script.

"What does this say?"

Torregia frowned slightly as he scanned the ancient characters on the surface using one of his few personal devices.

But the instant Tregear began his analysis, a gigantic creature burst forth from the earth. It was a colossal creature formed from the fusion of a crab and a bat. And... could this be Tiga Tokusuke's monster, Gagge?

Just as Toregia was surprised, Gagje spat out a viscous substance at Toregia, instantly blocking his vision.

"Hey, can you hear me? This is Taro! Can you hear me?"

Such an attack was too sudden... Well, for other Ultra Warriors, it might not be considered a surprise attack, but for Tregear, such an attack was truly difficult to avoid. However, as Tregear recovered from the attack, in the darkness, the probe he was carrying transmitted Taro's voice. At the same time, Tregear also realized that he was being pulled into the air by the slime fibers.

"Is that Taro? Where are you now?"

Tregear shouted loudly, trying to communicate with Taro, who was guarding the native village outside the cave, confronting Gagge.

After receiving a reply from Tregear, Taro seemed to have started fighting as well. He fought amidst the noise, shouting loudly:

"I was attacked by Gagje in the cave, but I escaped. The monster wants to attack the local village! We must help them! Where are you now?"

"I'm covered in a slimy substance. I don't know what the monster's purpose is. Maybe it's planning to use me as food, or..."

Suddenly, Tregear sensed the presence of another monster around him, which made the blue giant's expression even more grim. He said softly:

"...an even worse purpose"

Upon hearing this, Taro immediately began to furiously punch and kick Gagge, trying to defeat the monster as quickly as possible. However, even with arrow beams fired from his horns and attacks using projectile beams, Gagge's wounds would heal instantly. This caused Taro to almost lose his composure and shout:

"What's going on with these guys?"

Suddenly at that moment, Gagje's crab shell broke open, and pink amorphous substance burst out from it.

"Wow, what is this?"

Don't touch that thing!

At this moment, Tregear appeared not far from Taro. However, Tregear was in a rather disheveled state. But thinking about it, it makes sense. In that critical situation, Tregear had to detonate the small device he was carrying to break free from the restraints and rush to Taro's aid.

At this moment, Torregia said while scanning the pink object with his portable probe:

"These pink substances are amorphous leech-like organisms. They absorb the DNA sequence of their targets. It's also what allows crab-like and bat-like creatures to merge. Now they've set their sights on the DNA of us M78 Nebula people!"

After realizing that Taro was currently unable to deal with this number of 'leeches', Tregear shot the attacking pink leeches with a beam of light. The leeches collapsed for a moment, but new leeches formed the next second. Soon, Tregear's color timer began to flash.

"I'm a member of the Blue Clan, not skilled in combat. I probably won't last much longer."

During the battle with Gagge, Taro fought off the swarm of leeches emerging from the monster's body while shouting to Tregear, who was gradually falling behind due to the fight:

"Torregia, hold on! I'm coming to save you!"

Tregear glanced at the distance between himself and Taro, as well as the number of monsters and leeches in that distance, shook his head, and said softly:

"Save the villagers first!"

Torregia said while fighting the leeches:

"One day, these leeches will absorb all life on this planet. Then they'll use our spaceships to travel to other planets!"

But Taro's roar immediately reached Toregia's ears:

But I can't sacrifice you!

"Taro!"

Torregia calmly said to Taro:

"We are a very powerful race. But we are not gods, and we have our limits. When neither side can be saved, a choice must be made. And the decision must be made before either side dies."

"Do not make jokes!"

Taro roared, and at that moment, his color timer began to flash, reminding him that he had to speed up, as he didn't have much time left.

"So you're saying that to avoid huge sacrifices, we can turn a blind eye to small ones? I can't do that. I need to save both sides!"

As Taro's shout subsided, flames erupted from his body, instantly burning the pink leech lifeform that spewed from Gagge's body to ashes. Gagge then exploded, turning into nothingness.

Then, Taro transformed into a fireball and rushed into the area where Tregear was. He fired Taro Barrier at Tregear to protect him, and then fired the Strom Ray at another Gagge, defeating him.

"Are you OK?"

"Taro...it's a close call."

"That's wonderful. It's really wonderful..."

Seeing that his friend was unharmed, Taro smiled from the bottom of his heart, and then, having exhausted all his strength, he collapsed on the spot.

Taro, you are a true hero.

Tregear carried Taro on his back and headed towards the spaceship, but at that moment, a shadow fell over Tregear's heart—

Then what am I? Do I, who need to be saved by you, who believe that only by sacrificing one side can the other be saved, have the qualifications to become a hero?

As Tregear asked and answered himself, he gripped the control stick of the spaceship and began preparing to head towards the Land of Light.

Meanwhile, Taro had already woken up. It seemed that he had just been too stunned to catch his breath because he hadn't recovered from the attack. This was perfectly normal. Tregear wouldn't recognize him now. But did Gen Subaru know that the move Taro had just used was the prototype of the Ultra Bomb?

Upon waking, Taro stared blankly at the ceiling and whispered:

"What exactly are those leech-like creatures?"

Torregia knew Taro was just making conversation, but he still turned around seriously and said:

"I don't know either. Maybe it was a creature that inhabited that planet long ago, during the chaotic era when the universe was formed. Creating a breeding ground for primitive life would be quite easy..."

Ok? !

This answer suddenly made Toregia think deeply. A primordial culture pool? When, where, and in what form was life born? Possessing protein information interwoven with DNA and RNA, transmitting genetic messages, linking to the next generation. Life, from birth to death, in a continuous cycle.

We Ultraman appear to other beings as having near-infinite life, sometimes even transcending dimensional barriers. We can solidify life forms to regenerate ourselves and others, and even superimpose several individuals into one, merging their lives. Haven't the people of the Land of Light strayed far from the concept of life? Have we truly merged into the cycle of the universe?

"Alright, let's hurry back to the Land of Light."

Taro's words brought Toregia back to his senses.

The spaceship sped up towards the Land of Light.

Then... youth will eventually come to an end. Taro and Tregear's training time at the Ultra Intelligence Center is running out, and their future lies in the vast universe. It can also be said to be a vast and boundless unease.

As graduation approached, during a casual conversation between the two old friends, Taro said, "My dream is to become a member of the Space Garrison and work as a guardian of light."

Torregia thought that was only natural.

"Could I become a Guardian of Light alongside you in the future?"

Torregia murmured as he looked at Taro's profile.

Taro still smiled brightly:

"Of course, as long as you don't give up on your dreams."

So, upon graduation, both Taro and Tregear took the exam to prepare for joining the Space Garrison.

The Space Guardians are super elites with sharp minds, great physical strength, and a wide range of skills. Out of 18 billion people in the M78 Nebula, only one million can become them, making it a highly competitive and extremely competitive process.

Torregia is a member of the Blue race, a race that produces many scientists, historians, philosophers, engineers, and other clerical professionals, and who are not particularly suited to physical fitness. Torregia trains on his own every day; this lifestyle has become ingrained in him.

Meanwhile, in the Ultra Arena, the Red Tribe and the Silver Tribe are engaged in a one-on-one duel, while in the training room, Ultraman needs to accurately hit the target's phantom image using beam techniques. For Tregear, who is exhausted, this is hellish training. Despite this, Tregear, as a devout believer of the Land of Light, continues to strive relentlessly. No, perhaps he simply doesn't want to say goodbye to Taro.

And then... the exam ended...

In the distance from Silver Plaza, you can see the Second Ultra Tower. Right under that Second Ultra Tower, Taro stands there, wearing the emblem of the Space Garrison on his chest.

Congratulations, Taro!

Taro turned around at the sound of the voice. Tregear had appeared there at some point, clapping and sincerely wishing Taro well, but his tone was also filled with bitterness:

"I didn't make it into the Space Garrison."

In the final qualification review, Tregear was just one step away from passing, but that tiny difference prevented him from becoming a member of the Space Garrison. This was the first setback he had ever experienced. For the proud and outstanding Tregear, this was hard to accept.

Taro paused. He knew his friend's obsession with joining the Space Garrison and the efforts he had made for it, but there was nothing more to say now. Taro could only comfort Tregear based on the current situation, saying:

"The Guardian Force isn't the only way to contribute to the Land of Light. Aren't there other ways—contributing to the universe through science, such as conducting research, analysis, and development?"

Torregia understood that Taro meant to persuade him to join the Space Science and Technology Bureau.

Yes, this is the only way. As expected, I'm different from heroes like you. I lack the power to transcend limits. In other words, our adventures together have come to an end, Taro.

At this moment, the light from the plasma spark tower shone on the two of them, but their shadows had unknowingly shifted to two different directions.