An alarm rang throughout Tokyo.
Thanks to the country's frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, and occasional nuclear incidents, Japan's emergency disaster protocols were well-established. However, the Japanese government's disaster relief was notoriously sluggish, as it was bogged down by politicians and capitalists fighting over the spoils.
Despite not knowing the nature of the disaster, citizens who heard the alarm and received evacuation alerts on their phones quickly and orderly made their way to the nearest designated shelters with their valuables.
"Sable, don't run off," Yui Yuigahama said, hugging her dog tightly. Her face was etched with sadness and fear as she ran toward her home.
The last time a monster came ashore in Chiba, it was in the daytime. Most people were either in school or at work. The monster's arrival was unannounced, which led to chaos during the evacuation in areas far from the coast. Stampedes were common.
Yui Yuigahama's father was one of the victims of a stampede. Although they received compensation afterward, Mr. Yuigahama remains in a coma in the hospital to this day.
"X, does your database have a match for the incoming monster?" Taichi asked, piloting Ultraman X on a rapid flight out of the atmosphere.
"No," X replied. "My database... Tch, my memory has no match for it. But... the enemy is much stronger than the last monster! And it's flying incredibly fast! Taichi, here it comes! Be careful!"
Almost as soon as X finished his sentence, Taichi saw the monster's form. It had massive wings, with arms ending in sharp claws underneath them. Its dinosaur-like appearance and keratinized skin allowed it to fly through space with ease. Its flat, duck-like bill held razor-sharp teeth. Its red eyes glowed with an evil light.
It was clearly an inherently evil space monster.
The moment Ultraman X appeared, the monster intentionally changed course and... accelerated! A jarring shriek made Taichi uncomfortable, but X took the brunt of the sonic damage. As the monster charged at him, Taichi piloted X to quickly dodge its frontal attack. He had to find a chance to get behind it and crush its wings. After all, you break the horns of a horned monster and pluck the wings of a winged one; this strategy never fails.
The monster continued to chase him, trying to ram him. After all, it couldn't let a being of a similar size intrude on its hunting grounds without first driving it away. Space monsters may not have a sense of territory, but they definitely have a sense of preserving their food.
"Taichi! We can't keep this up! Its speed is increasing! At this rate, it will catch us!" X warned. Within Earth's atmosphere, X's maximum speed was Mach 9, but the monster's top speed, according to X's calculations, was definitely over Mach 9. It was simple math; they would be caught soon.
Taichi was thoroughly annoyed by monsters with wings that flew faster than he did.
"X Navigation, find an unpopulated mountain range! We'll fight this monster on land!"
Taichi felt an overwhelming sense of danger. Generally, space monsters with wings on their shoulders didn't also have extra arms; at most, they would have claws on the tips of their wings. But this monster did. Its muscular arms looked like they were made for close combat.
"Hey, hey, hey! That guy's bad news!" Mordred, who had been silent by his side, finally spoke. "It's huge, which is creepy, but there's something even worse about it."
"You feel something?" Taichi asked, a little surprised.
"...I've never felt my heart so dark since I was born," Mordred's eyes flashed red. "That thing is drawing out something even darker in the depths of my heart."
"...It's negative energy!" X exclaimed after scanning Mordred. "The way it's drawing energy is very similar to the negative energy in your memory, Taichi! That monster was probably attracted by the overflowing negative energy on Earth!"
The moment X detected the energy signature, he began to clean Mordred's consciousness. He could instantly clear the negative energy from one or two people, but if the negative energy was affecting all of Tokyo, he wouldn't be able to handle it in a short amount of time.
"Damn it! A negative energy monster!" Taichi's face fell.
This was a monster species from the Showa era that was considered the strongest. Taichi was even worried that this species, like Ultraman, could gain a power boost from the negative fluctuations of human hearts. He was even more worried that Yaldabaoth would turn its attention to the monster and discover its potential.
"No, we have to finish this quickly!" Taichi gritted his teeth, then turned to Mordred. "Mordred, it's time to borrow your power!"
"Heh, heh heh!" Mordred's smile was a little evil. "No problem! Take it all! I have one condition! Grind that monster who dared to manipulate my emotions into dust!"
Grinding it into dust was out of the question. Taichi was even worried that if he blew off a chunk of the monster's flesh during the attack, the human task force that would later collect the monster's genes would take it away.
Therefore, the finishing move had to be the Zanadium Ray.
Humans had a morbid interest in destroying themselves. Taichi didn't think those people would pass up such a major project as studying a monster's genetic tissue. Why was Chiba's post-disaster relocation and relief work so efficient? A job that normally took three to four months was completed in just four or five days. The purpose must have been to allow a radiation-proof unit to enter the area to look for residual genetic tissue. That's why they spent a large amount of money and worked with high efficiency to complete the civilian relocation.
Besides the Cabinet, there must have been some major corporations involved. Luckily, Ultraman X's light beam would also collect any remaining genetic tissue after turning the monster into a Spark Doll. Otherwise, if those capitalists and politicians who didn't care about the common people got their way, Taichi would really have to consider moving.
"X, I'm entrusting you with organizing and using Mordred's data power!" Taichi was curious to see what form Mordred's digitized power would take on X's body.