What does it mean that the group members have given me back the light?

Chapter 62 Kirieloid: Holy crap, light! (4k1)

Inside the TLT command center, the light was dim, with only the flickering light of the news interview on the large screen illuminating the solemn profile of Megumi Kijima.

She stood alone in front of the control panel, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the rim of her coffee cup, her gaze fixed on the elderly woman being interviewed on the screen.

"I saw it; that angel was shining with light."

The old woman spoke into the microphone, her wrinkled face kind, yet also radiating an almost naive certainty:

"I believe that angels are protecting us in secret."

Megumi's fingertips tightened slightly.

The old woman on the screen was none other than her mother-in-law.

Angel?

As the captain of the Victory Team, Megumi Kijima instinctively takes a cautious approach to such supernatural concepts.

Scientific basis, verifiable evidence, and rigorous logical deduction—these are the fundamental principles she has trusted and adhered to for many years. In her view, the concept of "angels," which is full of theological connotations, even if it really exists, is very likely to be some kind of extraterrestrial life form that humans have not yet recognized.

After all, she knew better than anyone the undeniable fact that extraterrestrial life does exist in the universe.

But when she saw her mother-in-law speak of the existence of angels with such certainty, a complex emotion spread through her heart, mixed with a few unspeakable feelings of guilt.

She spends too little time with her family.

Since joining TPC, her focused work has caused her to miss too many opportunities to spend time with her family. In particular, when her husband passed away, she was on a secret mission in Brazil and couldn't even see him one last time. Since then, her relationship with her mother-in-law and son, Zhishu, has been as if separated by an invisible barrier.

Now, her mother-in-law is superstitious about so-called angels. Izayoi believes this is related to her long-term absence from the family. Perhaps the elderly are just looking for a spiritual sustenance, a way to explain the unpredictability of fate.

"However, we still need to investigate thoroughly first..."

Megumi murmured to herself, her fingers tracing the photo of her son, Tomoki, on the table.

The boy in the photo was smiling brightly, but it stung her heart. She quickly rallied, her professional instincts overriding her personal emotional turmoil.

Within just a few days, news of the angel's existence swept across the entire Japanese region. Even if it was partly due to the rapid development of the modern internet, it was enough to raise her alarm.

Ever since Daigo and Komon brought back the prophecy of the self-proclaimed psychic, Makio Kirino, Megumi has been on high alert.

She kept urging her superiors to prepare for a possible crisis. Although Director Sawai believed in her judgment and tried to persuade the various factions, apart from Director Yoshitsuna expressing some support, many high-ranking officials remained skeptical.

“We have the technology provided by our visitors, and elite forces like the Night Raid Team. Why waste our precious resources and manpower on a vague prophecy?” a senior official once retorted at a meeting.

Now, the appearance of this so-called "angel" has set off alarm bells for Megumi Kijima. She is almost certain that this is one of the omens mentioned in the prophecy.

Just as she was about to press the communication button to call the team to a meeting, a soft laugh suddenly sounded behind her, making her freeze.

"Who?!" Megumi turned around abruptly, her hand already on the pistol at her waist.

"Don't be so tense,"

She saw a man sitting casually in a conference chair, his posture so relaxed that it was as if this were his private study:

“I’m here just to have a few words.” He paused, then added, “I am a prophet, a prophet responsible for delivering messages.”

"Prophet?"

Megumi narrowed her eyes, warily eyeing the uninvited guest.

The man in front of me was wearing a loose khaki blouse. His face was so ordinary that he was almost unrecognizable, but his eyes were unusually deep.

How did he get here?

As a top-secret military organization jointly established by multiple countries to specifically deal with the threat of alien beasts, the TLT base has an impenetrable security system, and it also has a "precognizer" with extraordinary precognitive abilities as the most powerful link in the vigilance system.

Normally, even an unauthorized moth would have difficulty sneaking in, let alone a living person.

“Such a few simple words hardly qualify as a self-introduction. As an uninvited guest, I think you should have at least basic manners, shouldn’t you?” said Megumi Kijima.

"As expected of the current head of TLT, you have a great sense of humor."

The man chuckled softly, seemingly unconcerned by her sharp tone. He slowly stood up, his movements elegant to the point of being affected.

"Then, please, on behalf of humanity, first express the respect due to our great Kyrielords."

"Kiriai...Lod people?"

As Izayoi repeated the unfamiliar word, she reached for a spot on the conference table and quietly pressed the emergency alarm button underneath.

"Let me be frank, your time is running out, and we Kirieloids are here to save humanity!"

The man spoke earnestly, his tone filled with utmost reverence:

"This planet will soon face ultimate darkness. Only by following our god Kirieloid away from Earth can you humans possibly be saved."

He approached Megumi, who warily kept her distance.

The man's gaze fell on the photograph on the table, and he reached out to gently stroke the frame: "What an adorable child..."

"You wouldn't want him to become one of the countless specks of dust swallowed by darkness soon, would you?"

Megumi's expression changed instantly: "What are you talking about?"

What does ultimate darkness refer to? Leaving? Can humanity only be saved by leaving Earth?

A series of questions flashed through her mind. She quickly recalled the prophecy of the superpowered individuals and the message left by the mysterious woman in the time machine.

The man smiled slightly, a smile tinged with pity:

"A much bigger storm is coming, more terrifying than alien beasts, dark giants, or any threat you can imagine. Earth will become the battlefield, and humanity... will be nothing more than the first pawn to be affected in this war."

He took a step forward, and Megumi instinctively stepped back, her hand gripping her sidearm tightly.

"Ultraman, Ultraman is the source of all calamities."

The man's gaze was condescending:

"He is not a guardian at all; He is the source of all calamities. His light has attracted deeper darkness, and His very existence has brought about the fate of destruction!"

Hearing this, Keiji frowned deeply.

Just then, the door to the command room was suddenly pushed open, and a group of Night Raid Team members and Daigo Madoka rushed in.

"Stay away from the captain!" Yuan Daigu shouted, pointing his Hyper gun directly at the other man's head.

The man seemed unsurprised. He glanced contemptuously at everyone in the room, then gracefully retreated: "Think it over carefully, Captain Megumi. For your son, for all of humanity."

After saying this, his body began to become transparent, and he quickly dissipated into the air like mist.

"Captain, who is that?"

Daigo Madoka asked anxiously, "How did he get in?"

Izumi did not answer immediately. She walked to the control panel, pulled up the surveillance footage, and found that all the recordings from that period were just static.

"...The surveillance footage appears to have been compromised."

Mitsuhiko Ishibori approached the control panel at the opportune moment and quickly made a judgment.

His disguise was perfect until there was any need to reveal his identity. Even though the woman in front of him, named Megumi Kijima, was indeed not simple, she failed to notice his flaws.

Meanwhile, Megumi stared at the snowflakes on the monitor screen, her brow furrowed.

Kirieloids, angels, ultimate darkness… these fragments are gradually piecing together a disturbing picture. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Then, her gaze inadvertently fell on the photo frame on the table, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck her.

“Member Ishibori,”

Megumi immediately turned around: "Scan the fingerprints on this photo frame immediately and compare them with the database."

Mitsuhiko Ishibori was visibly taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized what he meant: "You mean that man from earlier..."

“He touched the picture frame,” Megumi Kijima nodded firmly, “right when he was speaking.”

Mitsuhiko Ishibori quickly retrieved a portable scanning device and carefully collected fingerprints from the photo frame. The device emitted a slight buzzing sound, and blue scanning light moved back and forth across the surface of the photo frame.

"Fingerprint matching is in progress..."

Mitsuhiko Ishibori stared at the progress bar on the screen:

"Match found! The database shows that the fingerprint belongs to a man named Mitsuo Itabashi, 32 years old, who lives in the K3 old town area..."

As more information was retrieved, the man's detailed information was displayed on the big screen: his address, workplace, and even recent surveillance footage of him appearing on nearby roads were all found.

The K3 area is not far from the TLT base, and it is located on the edge of the city in a sparsely populated area.

Megumi immediately turned around and gave the order:

"Team Leader Daigo, immediately lead a team to this address for investigation. Team Leader Komon, notify the police station to cooperate in the operation and seal off the surrounding area. Team Leader Ishibori, now please immediately monitor the energy fluctuations in this area."

"understand!"

Everyone sensed the urgency, responded in unison, and sprang into action.

However, just as all the team members were preparing to set off...

"Hmm?" Mitsuhiko Ishibori suddenly made a sound.

"What happened?" Megumi asked immediately.

"We've brought up the surveillance system, but..."

Mitsuhiko Ishibori looked surprised. "An unusual energy reaction has occurred! It's near the K3 region!"

The images on the large screen suddenly switched, showing real-time surveillance footage of the K3 area.

In the scene, the eerie humanoid creature with a grayish-white, skeletal shell suddenly bursts into the sky from a crack in the ground, kicking up countless pebbles and dust. Its movements are violent and chaotic, like a wild beast that has been thoroughly enraged.

It crouched down, baring its teeth and claws as it stared at something, its expression full of anger.

"This is……?"

Megumi's heart sank. She had just issued the investigation order, and the enemy had already made a public appearance. Was this a show of force to intimidate her side after their attempt to persuade the enemy to surrender failed?

“This guy… is neither a monster nor a dark giant…” Komon Kazuki clenched his fists tightly.

He remembered the prophecy of the superpowered.

But then, something even more shocking happened.

The moment the Kirieloid appeared, a beam of light shot up from below, landing precisely opposite the Kirieloid. As the light faded, a massive, silver-black body appeared before them, its familiar and majestic form revealed.

"Ultraman?" Megumi couldn't help but type out a question mark.

This reaction speed was beyond reason, as if Ultraman had anticipated the appearance of the Kirieloids.

Before she could fully react, the black and silver giant, almost without hesitation, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and golden light instantly burst forth from the weapons at his wrists—

Meita field!

A massive golden energy field rapidly expanded around Ultraman, enveloping the Kirieloid. In the surveillance footage, the two giant humanoid figures began to blur and disappear, as if they were being pulled into another dimension.

……

……

Two minutes ago...

The man, whose real name is Itabashi Mitsuo and who now calls himself a "prophet," has quietly returned to the streets of the K3 district.

He stepped onto the desolate street, seemingly strolling casually, but actually observing his surroundings warily.

That's enough.

The prophet pondered in his heart.

If we can make that woman waver, buying the great Kirieloids a few days, the plan can be carried out smoothly. Before the darkness that ends everything descends, we can take away the chosen portion of humanity...

As the prophet thought this, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up. But he suddenly turned around alertly and found that there was a figure behind him who had appeared out of nowhere.

? ! ! !

As soon as he turned around, the prophet felt as if his eyes had been almost blinded by the light.

The "blinding light" here does not refer to physical blindness, but rather to the pure light emanating from the other party, a light belonging to the Giant of Light. That light was so intense that it almost burned his senses as a Kirieloid.

Why...why is this light here?

The prophet was in a panic.

The Kirieloids, who had been quietly observing this planet, were well aware of the outrageous achievements of the light before them.

Just the fact that the opponent managed to single-handedly defeat the so-called strongest alien beast on this planet that was being invaded by alien beasts right from the start is terrifying enough.

Stay calm, you must stay calm.