Uneasy daily life

Bai Ying: "..."

Angelina: "..."

It's okay! Just speed up in this situation!

The stage is not limited to a place built of wooden planks!

"Hey! Let's go!"

The others backstage were chatting and resting when suddenly they saw the huge thing in the corner start to move—dense tentacles supported the massive body, the two pincers wobbled and swung, and the body, stacked with layers of shells, swayed from side to side.

"Holy crap! It's alive?!"

One person instinctively gasped and jumped back.

Gatanothor swayed, then accelerated and rushed out of the backstage area towards the stage, leaving a group of people in the backstage area looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What is this...high technology?"

"Oh! I know! This must be lion dancing, right? It's a Chinese performance where two people hold up a lion costume and jump around to perform!"

"The White Shadow changed the lion costume to Gatanothor? That's really his style... Sigh, where are you going?"

"Watch the show, anyway, the performances are all over."

A group of people, eager for some excitement, slipped out from backstage.

The group of performers, who were about to put on a show, exchanged bewildered glances—wait a minute! Is this how the opening is supposed to go?!

Hachiman Hikigaya, holding the Ultraman Tiga suit, was bewildered in the wind.

"Don't panic! Just keep up with Uncle Bai's pace!" Chitanda Eru said. "Since Uncle Bai asked me to participate temporarily, he must be hinting at our chance to appear on stage!"

Is it possible that the added scenes were deliberately kept from the president and had nothing to do with him?

Hachiman Hikigaya looked at Houtarou Oreki with a strange expression.

Houtarou Oreki looked up at the ceiling.

I didn't mislead Chitanda; she just misunderstood.

……

The show on stage had ended, but the curtain had not yet been drawn, and the audience was discussing it during their downtime.

In the lighting control room, Yukino Yukinoshita checks the time, preparing to pick up the microphone to introduce the next program and give the signal for the performers to take the stage at the right moment...

boom!

A dull thud suddenly rang out, silencing the entire audience as they instinctively searched for the source of the sound.

Blah blah blah...blah blah blah...

Something seemed to be stirring the seawater, creating a series of damp and irregular splashes.

Thump, thump, thump... splash...

The stage seemed to shake, as if some enormous creature was rising from the waves and slowly climbing onto the stage...

"Opening ceremony is about to begin! Don't turn on the lights yet!"

Yukino Yukinoshita reacted quickly and immediately issued instructions.

It's highly likely that Bai Jun started the performance on his own.

Angelina even had herself direct the lighting and music to match their sudden script change, but before they could even make the changes, Bai Jun started improvising. It felt like trying to disrupt Bai Jun's script through premeditated additions was unlikely to succeed.

Forget it, I'll just take care of the on-the-spot reactions for things like lighting.

Yukino Yukinoshita is fully focused on her work.

On stage, the curtain slowly rose, and the stage lights dimly illuminated the empty stage.

Until the curtain was almost at its edge, a terrifying and enormous creature was revealed. It stood in the corner of the stage, as if it were just a rather large shadow.

Before the audience could even react, the curtain was fully drawn back, and the dimly lit stage was eerily quiet.

"hold head high--!"

Two red lights appeared on the shadow, and a roar as powerful and heavy as an elephant, with a hint of ferocity, suddenly exploded.

A beam of light shone on the shadow, two pincers were raised high, and beneath the grotesque and terrifying body, a bunch of tentacles trembled and waved. The upside-down head opened its mouth wide and let out a long, high-pitched roar!

"hold head high--!!"

After the monster roared, two male voices began to speak, seemingly out of nowhere.

"It's your turn. Go and solve it, and save the world!"

"I'm fighting Gatanothor? Really?"

"Otherwise what? Are you expecting just the two of us humans to rely on? You're Ultraman Tiga!"

"I'm not Ultraman Tiga! I just wished for a Sparkle, and Santa Claus gave me a real one?!"

"When I first saw Ultraman actually appear, I thought I had seen God, and that He could guide humanity onto the right path. Later I realized that Ultraman is a lonely, timid, and cowardly human, but He is still the light! So Hachiman, you can definitely win, you can defeat it!"

"You're guaranteed to win? I don't understand! I'm just a dark human being, I don't have the brilliance of Ultraman Tiga!"

"Yes, I stopped believing in light too... But you can believe in the story, believe that Santa Claus guided you with the Spark Lens! Gatanothor will be defeated by Tiga, you can believe that!"

"really?"

"Go! Ultraman Tiga, you will win!"

"Ugh—ugh... Oh oh oh oh oh oh!!"

Amidst fear, and more like a shout to bolster one's courage than a battle cry, a figure leaped out and slammed heavily onto the floor.

As the lights shone down, Ultraman Tiga stood on the earth, his arms slowly assuming a fighting stance towards Gatanothor.

That's right, according to the plot, as long as Ultraman Tiga gets the children's light, he will definitely win! He just needs to hold on until then!

The Dark Ruler slowly took a step towards Ultraman Tiga.

Tiga subconsciously took a half step back, then felt ashamed of his retreat. Suddenly, he leaped up and launched a flying kick at his powerful enemy, accompanied by a threatening battle roar.

"scare!"

boom!

In the dull impact, the Dark Ruler did not retreat an inch, but Tiga was thrown to the ground by the recoil.

"ah!"

Tiga steadied himself and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks at his opponent with all his might, as if to release all his emotions, yet he was like an ant trying to shake a mountain.

"A faint light..."

Suddenly, the ruler of darkness let out a sneer-like, murmured whisper.

Tiga was startled: "Huh?"

In a split second, several tentacle whips lashed out like a tangled mess, striking Tiga repeatedly. In the ensuing chaos, he staggered backward, trying to create distance, but several whips entangled him and pulled him sharply in front of the Dark Ruler.

A hand suddenly shot out of the monster's mouth, precisely grabbing Tiga's timer and snapping it off. Another hand followed suit, transforming into a palm and pushing against Tiga's chest.

Tiga staggered back a distance, looked down, and found that his blue timer had turned into a timer that kept flashing red!

"Poor, poor, poor..."

The blue light timer fell from his hand and into his open mouth, where it crunched and broke apart.

The head that peeked out from the Dark Ruler's mouth swallowed, then cast a playful glance at Tiga: "What's so surprising? You can wish to become Tiga, so why can't I wish to become the Dark Ruler? This power is unmatched, this absolute power is number one in the world, this power can smash everything to pieces! Hehehe—!"

Ultraman Tiga was panting, seemingly incredulous.

"I won't give you any chances. Once you're defeated and turned into a stone statue, I'll crush you into dust. What about light conquering darkness, justice conquering evil, and all those foolish lies about everyone becoming light? Let me expose them!"

“Just as you are not the real Tiga, I am not that foolish and powerful Gatanothor—I am both human and darkness.”

"I am Gattambeer!"

"hold head high--!!"

Accompanied by his joyful and excited shouts, the monster let out a powerful roar, its two pincers waving, its dense tentacles supporting its enormous body, and bursts of black mist spewing out from the holes in its shell, turning into a chaotic darkness.

An invincible monster swung its limbs in the darkness.

"Strength is the reason for victory!"

Gatanboer roared, its tentacles instantly turning Tiga into a spinning top. With a powerful blow from the giant pincers, Tiga staggered backward and fell to the ground.

'Are we going to lose? What a joke! I'm not Ultraman Tiga, I don't have that kind of power. Gatanothor is far more terrifying and cruel than Gatanothor… This plot has been seriously flawed from the very beginning!'

Hachiman muttered to himself, 'That's right. Someone as dark, negative, and withdrawn as me, who isn't sunny or cheerful at all, could never become the light that can defeat the Great Evil God…'

"Then let me lend you my light."

A golden flash suddenly appeared in front of Hachiman!

"It's you—the ultimate normie, Hayato Hayama?!"

Hachiman exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, I am the ultimate example of a popular person. I have many friends and I can get a lot of attention wherever I go. I am also very popular with many girls." Hayama Hayato smiled and recited a sentence at lightning speed before reaching out his hand to Hachiman. "You can become a popular person too."

Hachiman couldn't believe it: "Me?"

“That’s right! Becoming a popular person isn’t difficult, Hachiman!” Hayato Hayama smiled gently. “Strive forward, and you can change yourself; control your anger, and you won’t be controlled by your emotions; care about others, and you will be cared for in return; be positive, and you will be full of motivation; be cheerful and honest, and you can mediate disputes; be enthusiastic, and you will become popular; be considerate and caring, and you will win over girls; love your friends, and you will have a fulfilling life…”

As he earnestly imparted his knowledge, he reached out and removed the timer from Tiga's chest, replacing it with a new blue light timer.

Hachiman exclaimed in disbelief, "How is this even possible?!"

“I’ve heard that being a ‘real-life person’ means having a fulfilling real life,” Hayato Hayama said. “Virtual life can be enriched by mental activities, but a person’s joys and sorrows are all loneliness—real life can only be enriched by action, so don’t be afraid, take action… Your wish to become light is proof that you yearn to become a real-life person.”

"Keep working hard, and one day you'll become a super popular person."

Hayato Hayama transformed into golden light and departed.

Hachiman had a vague feeling that his fighting spirit was rising.

Ultraman Tiga stood up again!

Gatanbae gazed at Tiga without any expression of joy or sorrow.

"scare!!"

A powerful chop was blocked by the raised pliers, unable to fall even an inch.

Hachiman: "Impossible!"

"What a hypocritical light..."

Gatanbeer scoffed, “Foolish! There may be people in the world who are suited to being a social butterfly, but do you think you are? Are others like that? Are they everywhere in the world? The reasons you use to convince yourself to fight are ridiculously absurd!”

Hachiman: "?!"

"If you don't stop, there's no way forward; if you don't indulge in anger, you'll be hypocritical and have no real likes or dislikes."

"Don't distance yourself, for rumors and gossip will sting; don't be pessimistic, for the ebb and flow of joy and sorrow will be difficult to overcome."

"Do not become numb, lest you be imprisoned in sorrow and distress; do not become indifferent, for even close and distant relationships are as fleeting as lightning and mist."

"Without speaking the truth, everything is a mistake; without loneliness, how can one find peace of mind!"

While beating up Hachiman Tiga with terrifying agility, Gatanothor loudly proclaimed the true meaning of darkness, inflicting mental damage, creating a horrific scene.

"Have you ever convinced yourself of the lies you borrowed?!"

boom!

With a single strike from the giant pincers, Tiga was sent flying, and the timer was instantly separated and fell to the ground.

"Damn it——!"

Hachiman retorted, "Hayama Hayato, your light is the most useless thing ever!"

As if he had exhausted his strength, Tiga's movements slowly stiffened, and the light surrounding him gradually faded.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

Gatanothor walked step by step toward Tiga, attempting to destroy him completely.

"Diga!"

"Here we come!"