— — — — — —
"Renzo?! What the hell are you doing here? You think you can handle this kind of fight?!"
That was Ultraseven's first reaction the moment he saw his son, Renzo, join the battlefield.
To be fair, before, Renzo's strength was nothing to write home about — maybe just barely an Elite-level warrior. But now they were up against Belial, a full-blown Legendary-class threat. This wasn't a playground brawl.
"Relax, relax! I'm not the same guy I used to be," Renzo grinned, clenching his fist. "I've got some new tricks up my sleeve — and I'm confident I can take him down!"
"You…"
Seven clearly wasn't convinced and looked like he was about to lecture him again — but the Original Ultraman raised a hand to stop him.
"Let's give Renzo a chance. We do need every ounce of strength we can get to fight Belial. And he is the same level as us."
"Wait, what?!" Ultraseven blinked. "Seriously?"
He looked Renzo over again — and sure enough, once he focused, he could sense it too. The aura radiating off his son was completely different now.
But before Ultraseven could say another word…
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Belial, who had just been blasted away moments earlier, came roaring back with fury. He didn't even hesitate — he locked onto Renzo and charged, murder in his eyes.
That sneak attack had hurt. Badly. And Belial wasn't about to let it slide.
His mind was spinning. "Who the hell is this kid? Where did he even come from? And why is he so damn strong?!"
BOOM! BOOM! BAM!
Renzo didn't back down. He met Belial head-on, fists clashing, shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.
And while they fought, Renzo took the opportunity to test and refine the powers he'd recently gained — mastering them on the fly. His moves became sharper, cleaner, and more unpredictable with every second.
Belial could feel the pressure mounting.
"What the hell is this brat doing?! Is he using ME to practice?! And where are all these weird-ass powers coming from?!"
Frustrated and enraged, Belial unleashed a barrage of attacks, trying to suppress Renzo. But nothing was working.
In fact — the longer the fight went on, the more Renzo was pushing him back.
"Tch. This isn't working. I need to grab the Plasma Spark and get out of here."
Seeing the tide turning against him, Belial made a sudden move — using a clash with Renzo to launch himself backward, then darted straight toward the Plasma Spark Tower at full speed.
"Crap!"
"He's going after the Plasma Spark — stop him!"
"Renzo!"
The moment the veterans realized what was happening, their expressions changed. They immediately shot after him.
Ultraseven shouted to Renzo, signaling for him to chase too.
After watching the earlier fight, even he had to admit — his son really had reached Belial's level. He had no idea how or when that had happened, and he had a lot of questions… but now wasn't the time.
Stopping Belial came first.
"Heh… Run? In my territory? Yeah, not happening."
Renzo let out a cold laugh. The moment Belial bolted for the tower, he vanished from his spot — and in the blink of an eye, reappeared right in front of him.
CRACK!!
A lightning-fast kick smashed directly into Belial's face, sending him flying backward like a ragdoll.
Renzo didn't waste a second — in a flash, he was already beside Belial again.
"Takamagahara Domain."
Suddenly, a massive field materialized — the Takamagahara domain descended, trapping Belial inside like a sealed arena.
"Dimensional Slash!"
With a swing of his hand, a spatial blade tore through the air — slicing off Belial's arms and ripping the Ultimate Bracelet right out of his hands.
"Seal."
And just like that, Renzo invoked the authority of Takamagahara — completely sealing off Belial's power.
Then, a brilliant rainbow-colored energy beam began forming in Renzo's palm.
"Converging Ray!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
BOOM!!
The blast landed dead-center on Belial. With his power sealed and his weapon stolen, his energy level plummeted — he couldn't even defend himself properly.
All he could do was scream as the beam engulfed him, blasting his body apart in a brilliant explosion of light.
"Hmm?"
Right at the moment Belial was shattered into pieces, Renzo's brows suddenly furrowed.
"He escaped...?"
He had clearly sensed it—at the very moment Belial was struck, a small crack had appeared in Takamagahara. Through that gap, Belial's soul slipped away.
Renzo also caught a fleeting trace of a strange, foreign power.
"Tartarus…? The Ultimate Life Form?" He narrowed his eyes. "So that guy was involved. Great. Guess I'll have to watch my back from now on."
He could vaguely tell who was behind it from the energy signature just now, and that knowledge sat heavy in his heart.
Looks like there are still plenty of enemies out there.
Still, for now at least, the crisis Belial brought with him was over—and the Land of Light hadn't been frozen this time. That alone was good news.
And honestly, as long as the Land of Light stays stable… Renzo can keep enjoying his peaceful life.
"Also… after pulling this off, I should be able to get into the Science Division to study all kinds of tech, right?"
Smiling to himself, Renzo dispersed Takamagahara and reappeared in front of the other Ultras—bringing with him the remains of Belial.
"Huh?"
"Whoa… is that… did you really defeat Belial?"
"That's incredible!"
"Renzo, you…"
Everyone's eyes widened when they saw the remnants of Belial and the Ultimate Device in Renzo's hands. The shock quickly gave way to joy, and one by one, they gave him a big thumbs up.
"Nice job!"
No one had expected that this entire crisis—one that nearly engulfed the whole Land of Light—would end up being resolved by Renzo, who until recently was pretty much unknown.
It was a complete surprise.
Later, the remains of Belial were collected by the First Ultra and the others.
As for the Ultimate Bracelet?
After some discussion, everyone agreed that it would be safest to leave it with Renzo. So he held onto it.
Renzo had no complaints, of course—he'd been meaning to study the thing anyway.
Hopefully he'd be able to figure out how it worked soon.
And as the hero who saved the Land of Light and defeated Belial, Renzo was awarded the Ultra Medal. His status and authority skyrocketed, and the Father of Ultra even personally met with him to award the honor.
...
A few days later, Ultraseven made time to meet with Renzo privately.
Looking at his son, Ultraseven felt a strange mix of unfamiliarity and pride.
He placed a firm hand on Renzo's shoulder.
"I won't ask where this new power came from. If the Plasma Spark and even the Father of Ultra say you're fine, then I trust them."
"I know I've been distant all these years—haven't really been there for you or your brother. But watching how you've grown… you've far surpassed anything I ever expected."
"I don't have much more to say. Just—keep going, Renzo. As your father, I'm proud of you."
Seeing how far his son had come—and how powerful he'd become—filled Ultraseven with deep emotions.
"This kid… he must've been through a lot over the years, huh?" he thought to himself.
If Renzo knew what his father was thinking, he'd probably just shrug and say. "Not really. I was just trash before. The Renzos crew's been doing all the heavy lifting."
---
Meanwhile, in a strange and unfamiliar space...
"Who are you? Why did you save me?"
Belial—now reduced to just a soul—stared warily at the dark golden being in front of him: the Ultimate Life Form.
"I'm Tartarus," the being replied, casually. "Why did I save you? Eh, I thought it'd be fun."
He chuckled darkly. "I like your strength and your mindset. Would've been a shame for you to just die like that. Tell me—do you want revenge?"
Tartarus grinned as he looked at Belial.
"Of course I do."
Belial's face twisted with rage.
He never thought he'd fall into the hands of some rookie.
And worse, he didn't even understand the move that finished him off.
It stung.
He chalked it up to being careless.
"Haha! That's all I needed to hear," Tartarus said. "I'll give you that chance."
.
.
.