Chapter 22: Ultraman Must Die
Gotham, city center.
"Look, a meteor!"
A girl in a backless halter top held a cup of milk tea, snuggling in her boyfriend's arms as she pointed at a streak cutting through the night sky.
"It really is! Quick, make a wish."
They both closed their eyes and made silent wishes.
The boy: *Please God, I hope I get a young, beautiful, rich woman this year.*
The girl: *Please give me a rich guy who's handsome, wealthy, and treats me well. To Bruce Wayne's standards, preferably. Please, I beg you...*
The couple opened their eyes and smiled at each other.
"What did you wish for?" the girl asked.
"Do you even need to ask?" The boy kissed her affectionately. "I wished that we could grow old together and never be apart, of course."
The girl giggled. "Really? You didn't wish for a rich woman or something?"
The boy's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly swore, "I swear to God, if there's a single false word in the wish I just made, may I be struck dead by a meteor!"
The girl blushed and lowered her head. "Then my wish was the same."
"Darling..."
"My love..."
Just as their heads, as if drawn by magnets, slowly moved closer, the sound of something tearing through the air approached. That burning meteor...
...was coming straight for them.
Boom!
The thunderous crash smashed a giant pit into the ground, sending dirt and debris flying everywhere.
The two of them, pale as sheets, collapsed to the ground. They stared blankly at the giant pit before them, not daring to move, both thinking the same thing.
*Holy crap, are silly oaths really that effective!?*
Then, a charred claw emerged from the giant pit.
A demon spirit, covered in dust and grime and looking like a scorched chicken, struggled to climb out of the pit, black smoke rising from its body.
*I have to escape, escape now...*
There was no mistake; it was that "Ultraman." Although this time he wasn't as big as before and was wearing some kind of man-made armor...
...it could never mistake that Light!
That extremely eerie energy, like some world-destroying magic of light, had already left an indelible mark on the minds of the demon spirits. It was like a calling card signed by Ultraman; impossible to misidentify.
The team of demon spirits that had raided the Sanctuary had been completely annihilated. Even a high-ranking demon spirit like Pittus had been crushed by him like a mosquito.
The despair-inducing footage was transmitted back to the remaining demon spirits via surveillance magic. Upon seeing the suffocating scene, all the demon spirits fell silent.
It was as if they could feel the profound despair of their teammates in the Sanctuary, even through the magical projection.
Therefore, the moment this demon spirit sensed the fluctuation of that Light, it turned and fled without a second thought.
It was absolutely confident.
This opponent... was impossible to defeat.
If only it could... escape to *that* place...
Unfortunately, it seemed escaping would be difficult.
The mobile battle armor's aerial combat performance far outclassed its flight capabilities. After an intense dogfight that lasted about ten seconds, the demon spirit was shot down by a blast from a palm cannon, crashing headfirst into the ground.
At this point, the boy was so terrified by the ferocious monster that his face was ashen. He hurriedly blurted out, "I was wrong! I confess, I was lying just now, but it's not my fault! The doctor said my stomach's weak, so my only option is to be a kept man..."
Before he could finish, a humming of energy was heard from the sky. A beam of blue light shot down from the night sky like a sharp spear, piercing straight through the demon spirit's chest and kicking up another cloud of dust.
The demon spirit let out a wretched howl, collapsed to the ground, and its corpse quickly dissipated into a puff of black smoke that scattered in the wind.
Clad in the Ultraman armor, Orin Vale hovered in mid-air on his propulsion flames. The blue glow from the energy cannon in his open right hand had just faded.
"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Please, continue."
With that, he accelerated his thrusters. The armor shot into the night sky, and after a sonic boom, it vanished without a trace.
The young couple sat dumbfounded on the ground, staring at the giant pit before them. They looked at each other, speechless for a moment.
***
In a dark space, currents flowed in from the outside. They surged and stirred, gradually transforming into a grotesque form, like a standing scorpion with eerie green eyes.
It stood atop a stone pillar. Around this dark space stood several other similar pillars, each with another bizarrely shaped figure at its peak.
After the scorpion appeared, a humanoid figure with an owl's head spoke.
"Is everyone here?"
They were demon spirits.
The leaders among the currently awakened demon spirit groups. This was a space they used exclusively for their gatherings, located in an underground facility in Gotham and protected by a specially cast barrier.
It was a barrier created through the joint research of several leaders. Each demon spirit had their own area of expertise; some were skilled in illusions to erase their tracks, some in concealing auras, and others in spatial shielding.
Furthermore, they discovered that Gotham was a natural Magic Treasure Land. The Sewer Area concealed a great deal of dense magical power, the source of which was unknown even to them. They had specifically found such a magical node to strengthen the effects of their barrier. This way, it would be difficult for either humans or a weakened Wizard to discover their hiding place.
"More of our brethren have been eliminated," the owl-headed demon spirit said in a grave tone. "It was that guy again."
All the demon spirits were silent.
Of course, they knew who "that guy" was. That strange being who had appeared out of nowhere, called "Ultraman." His power was absurdly strong, and he had even thwarted their long-planned key operation: the raid on the Rock of Eternity.
The entire force of demon spirits who participated in the operation was wiped out, and even Pittus, the strongest among them, was killed in an instant.
The scorpion-like demon spirit gritted its teeth. "After so many years, we finally waited for the Wizard's weakest moment, and now this monster appears from out of nowhere..."
"Too arrogant!" a demon spirit cursed. "Does he really think we can't do anything to him?"
The demon spirit next to him shot a sideways glance. "Well, can we?"
That demon spirit immediately fell silent.
"We can't let this go on," a demon spirit said in a deep voice. "If we wait until That Lord arrives and he learns that we've handled things poorly, losing so many subordinates..."
The demon spirits all nodded in agreement.
"Makes sense."
"He's got a point, to be fair."
"Let's teach him a lesson!"
"Let him know what despair is!"
"Let him fall into the abyss!"
The demon spirits quickly reached a consensus, united by a common hatred, looking as if they were eager to immediately go and grind that detestable enemy into the dirt.
The owl-headed demon spirit nodded slightly. "Very good. The main reason I've gathered everyone this time is precisely to organize an operation to exterminate that enemy. The codename is 'Ultraman Must Die.'
"Now, which of our cadres is willing to lead the charge and be the executor of this plan?"
The demon spirits all shut up, suddenly going silent.
After a moment, one demon spirit said, "I think Usark's strength is the most outstanding among us. He is best suited for this mission."
The demon spirit called Usark instantly bristled. "Are you trying to get me killed?"
But he immediately realized his loss of composure, so he coughed and changed his tune. "This opponent is extraordinary; his strength is plain for all to see. I think we need to outsmart him, not fight him head-on, and I feel Ulick's mind is very sharp. He is the strategist among us. I think Ulick is stronger than me..."
"Nonsense! That's just petty cleverness, how could I take on such a great responsibility? I think Pittasus is better..."
After a round of noisy arguments, the demon spirits looked at each other, once again at a stalemate.
The owl-headed demon spirit mused for a moment, then suddenly said, "I sense that Amenhotep seems to have arrived. Usark, go open the gate."
Amenhotep was another high-ranking demon spirit who was rarely seen, appearing and disappearing like a phantom.
When their demon spirit barrier was active, it was like a deadbolted lock that could only be opened from the inside, not the outside. Even if one of their own arrived, someone had to go and briefly disable the entrance.
Usark was instantly displeased. "Why me..."
The owl-headed demon spirit stared at him expressionlessly.
"...Fine, I'll go."
Usark mumbled in agreement, his form turning into a cloud of black mist that flowed into the darkness below, quickly disappearing from the stone pillar.
After less than a minute, the black mist quickly returned, re-forming into Usark's shape on the pillar.
"I just went to look. There's no one outside."
"Hm, then I must have been mistaken."
The owl-headed demon spirit nodded slightly, then continued.
"However, the group has just discussed and decided that you will lead the execution of the 'Ultraman Must Die' plan. It was passed by a unanimous vote."
Usark: "I f*cking... @#%&"
***
Erm... it seems some readers feel the protagonist's Ultraman form isn't appearing enough. Actually, it's only been about ten chapters since the last time... that's okay, right? (Not sure)
My thinking is, if he has to transform to solve every little enemy he encounters, doing it too frequently will make it feel cheap...
Of course, that's just my personal opinion, and the book is written for everyone to read. Besides, the number of times I've planned for the Ultraman form to appear won't be too few; I just want to make each transformation as reasonable as possible.
If my fellow readers don't agree with my thinking, I can also make adjustments within the scope of my future outline~
And once again, asking for Consistent Readership! For Consistent Readership! For Consistent Readership!
(end of chapter)