Ultraman: I Really Didn't Want to Rule the World

"I understand. Now tell me your request. Do you crave power, or assistance?"

"roar~"

"Oh? The wrath of the gods? Even if it comes at a great cost, is it worth doing?"

"roar~"

"Then so be it!"

Chapter 118 The Forgotten Promise

Long, long ago, at the bottom of the Natsu River lived the village's guardian spirit, the Summer Watcher Dragon.

But one day, a dispute arose among the villagers, which polluted the village's forest and lake. The dragon became angry and attacked the village.

Later, the village heroes built this shrine and, amidst the seven-colored light, sealed the dragon away.

The villagers vowed never to damage the environment again and to worship the Summer Guardian Dragon for generations to come.

This was an ancient promise passed down through generations in Natsugawa Village, but the villagers have gradually forgotten the tragedy of the past and have come to regard it as just an old story.

Even the old village chief, who still believed in that promise, clung to a sliver of hope, praying that the Summer Guardian Dragon had never truly existed.

Unfortunately, the Dragon God has already become angry.

Hong Tu reappeared silently by the lake. No one noticed that the young man had just disappeared. After a long time, he reappeared. They seemed not to notice him at all, busy with their own things, joking, chatting, looking forward to the bonfire party that night, or perhaps hoping to see the legendary dragon with a sense of excitement.

Hong Tu started walking back. He had already seen the dragon that lived here, so he had achieved his goal. The only pity was that, after his assessment, he could not directly turn it into a card and take it away.

So, let's hurry up and leave, after all, this place will soon be burned down by that Dragon God.

Unexpectedly, when he came out, he saw Kaito and Mizuki standing in front of the village chief, talking to each other.

"You're just stupid to have fallen for it!" The man who seemed to be the village chief's son stood up excitedly, showing no fear of the two men, and said righteously.

"Stop talking nonsense!" The village chief pulled his son behind him, looking at the two people in front of him with a mix of helplessness, guilt, and fear.

He knew his son was doing it for the good of the village, wanting it to develop, and he knew it might be wrong, but... he really had no other choice. As the village chief, he had to be responsible for the village's development.

The man angrily shook off the village chief's hand and left.

“I’m sorry,” the village chief looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before turning to the two of them, “There’s an annual bonfire party tonight, and a lot of tourists have come from Tokyo, so if they find out the dragon is fake…” those tourists will leave, and the village will be completely unable to function.

Tourists passed by him one by one, and the village chief looked at this bustling scene as if he had seen hope.

This really is their village's last hope.

Hong Tu glanced at the sky; it was already getting dark, and night was approaching. The Dragon God's patience was also running out.

But the first to lose patience was the village chief's son. He angrily went to the dragon's shrine and tore down the rope.

The dragon at the bottom of the lake sensed the damage to the ancestral hall and its anger intensified. A column of water shot into the sky from the lake, frightening the surrounding tourists.

Hong Tu tilted his head slightly and could hear the dragon's roar, the tourists' panicked cries, and a girl's ethereal voice with a soothing quality.

"Summer's Watch, I'm sorry, please wait a moment. I've already told someone, and he will help us."

The dragon seemed to be comforted by the girl, and it lay back down at the bottom of the lake, calming down once more.

Hong Tu was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected that the girl could actually appease the god's anger. It seemed that the dragon truly cared about her.

But that had nothing to do with him. The girl's light was indeed very beautiful, somewhat like Mami's light, but it couldn't be kept. No matter how beautiful it was, it was useless.

The young man didn't linger and walked towards Kaito and Mizuki, who had already seen him.

"How about it?"

“That video is fake. Ellie has already analyzed it and found that the things in the video are man-made,” Reese explained. “Besides, there are no signs of large creatures moving around at the bottom of the lake.”

"Shall we go back now?" Hong Tu already knew they wouldn't find them, so she wasn't surprised.

"Hmm..." Kaito nodded, and the three of them walked towards the parking area.

Suddenly, they heard a commotion.

"Really! I'm not lying to you!"

"Something really big emerged from the lake!"

"Yes, yes, yes! It's that big!"

"Believe us, we really saw it!"

Kaito rushed there quickly, Mizuki followed behind him, and only Kurenai continued walking at a leisurely pace.

When they arrived, they saw a group of people surrounding a police officer, discussing the matter animatedly.

"What happened?" Kaito asked as he approached.

The officer turned around, saw them, and recognized his uniform: "Hello, thank you for your hard work."

"That's right, they said they saw a dragon leap out of the lake."

"Dragon?" Kaito remembered the legend the girl he met during the day had told him.

Do dragons really exist?

Kaito had some doubts in his mind. He was inexplicably concerned about what the girl had said, but they had indeed not found any trace of the dragon, and even the village chief had admitted that the dragon was fake.

Before Kaito could think any further, the officer continued.

“But they were unharmed. They weren’t attacked…” That’s why the officers didn’t want to believe it.

"No, it's true! Please believe us!"

Please, trust us!

The tourists were about to explode. "Are you a police officer from Nazugawa?! Shouldn't you be the one who knows best whether there are dragons here?! Why don't you believe us?!"

The police officer pushed through the crowd, pulled Kaito and Mizuki aside, and whispered something to each other.

Hong Tu's lips twitched slightly. He heard it clearly: the police officer was saying that these people were drunk and were talking nonsense.

That makes sense, since these guys definitely reeked of alcohol. It's just unclear what Kaito will think.

To believe, or not to believe.

When the girl said she "told someone," she meant she told Kaito.

But it seems that Kaito doesn't completely believe it; he's probably hesitant.

Hong Tu slightly turned her head, looking at Kaito who was surrounded by the crowd, her expression inscrutable.

Suddenly, he felt a gaze filled with greed and hatred behind him, but the young man did not turn around immediately.

That gaze belongs to that guy, the guy who spied on him last time.

Hong Tu subtly shifted his posture, and in the sunlight, the young man's figure seemed to blur for a moment.

At the edge of the crowd, a strangely dressed man in a black robe stood there casually, but strangely, the people around him seemed not to see him, and no one cast any strange glances at him.

Suddenly, a wisp of black mist appeared from the shadows behind him. The next moment, a large amount of black mist gathered, and a person shrouded in black mist appeared in the shadows.

The man in black robes seemed to have sensed something was amiss. As soon as the figure behind him materialized, he quickly transformed into a wisp of black smoke and disappeared into the woods behind him.

The black mist surrounding Hong Tu dissipated slightly, vaguely revealing his figure. He watched the black mist disappear into the forest, showing no hurry; instead, a maniacal, bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face: "Found you..."

The next moment, he transformed into a streak of black light and darted into the forest at incredible speed.

The black mist fled ahead as if it had no substance, crashing into a tree blocking its path. It was scattered into wisps of black fog, then gathered again behind the tree and continued its escape.

But the black light clung tightly to his back, moving incredibly fast, yet deliberately not catching up to him immediately, like a cat playing with a mouse.

Chapter 119 Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

The black mist that was fleeing ahead was scattered by the tree branches, but quickly gathered again and continued to flee.

The black light followed closely, deftly avoiding various obstacles.

In the chase, they passed through the woods and ran to some unknown place.

Perhaps feeling it had run far enough, the black mist finally stopped, revealing a figure shrouded in black robes. Black light followed closely behind, landing in front of him and revealing the figure of Hong Tu.

"Aren't you going to run away anymore?" Although Hong Tu was smiling, his dark, almost black red eyes betrayed his emotions.

The man in black robes did not answer, but simply stared at the dangerous young man opposite him without uttering a word.

The dark ring sensed the turbulent emotions of the bound person and flickered, emitting a slight tremor.

Hong Tu didn't care about the other party's silence. He took a step forward and began to approach the man in black robes. A rare look of greed appeared in his eyes.

Eat him! Eat him! Eat him...

This sentence kept lingering in his mind, and for a moment, the young man even felt that he might just pounce on it.

But he restrained himself. Even though his heart was screaming with desire for the person in front of him, he was still soberly aware that his state was not right.

What is it about the other person that attracts him, or perhaps the other person themselves possesses a fatal attraction for him?

Black mist emanated from his body, gradually spreading out and enveloping the entire area, blocking satellite detection from the sky and hindering the opponent's escape route.

Hong Tu keenly sensed something was wrong, because the person opposite him was completely still. Whether Hong Tu approached or the black mist spread, the other party remained silent and just watched.

It's like... a puppet that has lost control.

Hong Tu stopped in his tracks. He was already very close to the other person. If he reached out, he could completely grab this person, devour his power, and figure out what was attracting him.

But he hesitated to make a move, instead carefully examining the person shrouded in black robes with his dark, almost black red eyes.

"Heh!" After a long pause, he let out a soft laugh, reached out and lifted the hood covering the man's face. The next moment, the black robe was gone and fell to the ground, leaving only a wisp of black mist floating in mid-air, trembling gently like a candle flame.

"A puppet? Or rather, an avatar?" Hong Tu didn't care about the black robe on the ground, looking at the wisp of black mist as thick as a finger floating in front of her chest. "Is this a greeting gift?"

His fingertips touched the wisp of black mist, which trembled slightly, its color darkening further before quickly merging into his fingertips.

Hong Tu tilted his head slightly. As the black mist merged into him, he felt a strange sensation, like the joy and pleasure of something lost and found again. At the same time, a fleeting image appeared in his mind.

It was a pair of hands, a woman's hands, palms facing up, as if reaching out to him...

who is it?