Golza roared in pain, giving Tiga the opening he needed. With a swift move, Yuzhou seized the monster's body, flipped it over his shoulder, and slammed it into the ground.
But there was no time to celebrate. Androza, who had only been knocked away earlier, charged back at him from the air. At the same time, Seagorath swung down its massive spiked club once again.
Yuzhou couldn't dodge both. The two attacks struck true, sending Tiga crashing hard to the ground.
"Yuzhou-kun!" Daichi and Asuna cried out from below, panic etched on their faces.
Just as the two despaired, the emerald stone in Asuna's hands erupted with brilliant light. The gem burst free, glowing red as it shot across the battlefield, slamming into Seagorath and knocking the beast away—then ricocheting into Androza for good measure.
The stone's radiance twisted and expanded, reshaping itself into a familiar giant.
Ultraman. The Original.
"Finally…" Yuzhou, still as Tiga, pulled himself up with relief flooding his chest. "You're here."
Now it wasn't one against three. It was two against three. And when Daichi's X Terminal arrived, it could even the field completely.
The Original turned his gaze on Tiga. His eyes narrowed, scanning the unfamiliar energy signature coursing through Yuzhou's form. This Tiga wasn't exactly the same as the ancient warrior he once knew. But after a brief pause, he nodded—a silent, wordless gesture of recognition.
Caught off guard, Yuzhou blinked, then awkwardly returned the "Ultraman nod."
The two giants raised their arms, adopting ready stances.
Seagorath froze for a moment. That monster remembered. Long ago, it had been these very two who sealed it in the pyramids of antiquity. Rage boiled inside it, crimson sparks erupting from its maw. With a furious roar, it unleashed a torrent of blood-red energy at its old enemies.
Neither Ultraman flinched. Together, they raised their hands, weaving a twin Ultra Barrier.
Yuzhou gritted his teeth. Wait—if I tweak it, I might be able to reflect… He focused his energy, infusing the shield with the same resonance he had learned in the Ultra Eight world.
The blood-red beam slammed into the barrier—only to rebound like light striking a mirror.
Golza, just getting back on its feet, never saw it coming. The reflected blast struck it dead-on.
The monster barely had time to roar before its body exploded into fragments.
On the ground, Daichi, Asuna, and the entire GEO Team gaped.
"...That works?!"
Androza froze mid-air, trembling at the sight of its ally obliterated so casually. Seagorath, however, didn't hesitate. The earth beast barreled forward, spiked arms swinging, while Androza followed with a dive from above.
Now it was two against two.
The Original charged his energy and hurled a slicing Specium Disk. Androza countered with a beam of its own—their attacks clashed mid-air, shattering in a burst of sparks.
That left Seagorath.
"Strong Form—let's go!" Yuzhou shouted, his body shifting into Tiga's crimson-silver Strength Type. With a surge of power, he met Seagorath head-on, seizing the club mid-swing. Muscles tensed, sparks flying, he shoved the beast back a step before thrusting his hand straight into its glowing amber eye.
Seagorath shrieked. The blow blinded one side, and rage exploded from its body.
But Yuzhou had no time to savor the hit. A whip-like appendage shot out of Seagorath's chest, coiling around him in an instant.
"Damn it—this!" His memory flashed back. In the original plot, Seagorath's tendrils had appeared only later—when everyone thought it was finished. They had bound both Tiga and the Original, draining them of light.
And now, it was happening again.
"Too tight!" Yuzhou struggled as the tendril squeezed, his luminous energy bleeding away into the monster. His chest timer began to blink red.
Beep—beep—beep.
The first time. His first red light.
"…No way," he muttered, staring at the blinking gem. "This is the first time I've actually hit red…"
The Original tried to intervene, rushing in to tear the tendril apart—only for a second one to lash out, ensnaring him too.
"Not good…!"
Both Ultramen thrashed, but the bind only grew tighter, siphoning their light faster and faster.
On the ground, Daichi's voice trembled with desperation. "No… no, the energy—they'll be drained completely!"
Inside the red glow of his timer, Yuzhou felt his strength ebbing away. Panic and despair clawed at him. Is this it? My second battle as Tiga, and I'm already finished…?
Beep-beep-beep-beep—
The timer accelerated, each flash louder in his mind. Yet beyond the fading light, something else stirred deep within him. A pulse, black and ancient, hidden in the corners of his being.
"…What… is that?"
But before he could probe the strange energy, twin beams of light sliced through the battlefield, striking Seagorath's tendrils with explosive force.
The whips snapped apart.
Both Tiga and the Original fell free, gasping for breath as the bindings dissolved.
Looking up, Yuzhou's eyes widened. Another giant hovered in the sky, his body lined with armored plates of light.
Ultraman X.
Daichi had arrived.
X unleashed another burst, severing the remnants of the tendrils. Then, extending his arm, he shared his own energy—streams of light pouring into the two fading giants.
Yuzhou felt his timer slow, the frantic red glow easing. Not fully restored, but enough to stand. Enough for one last move.
He looked at X, gave a firm nod, then turned his gaze back to Seagorath.
The battlefield had changed. Now it was three against one.
And for the first time, Yuzhou clenched his fists with genuine hope.