"Send word to all the cities! Dispatch every available airship to reinforce the royal capital!"
"We have to hold the line!"
"Bring down those monstrous birds!"
"...!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed endlessly across the capital as Zoiger's fireballs tore through the night sky, striking buildings one after another. Flames consumed rooftops and towers alike. Within moments, the screams of the wounded filled the air as the number of dead climbed higher and higher.
The royal airships, with no prior experience fighting monsters, were quickly overwhelmed. Many were shot down, while only a few of the Zoiger were destroyed.
Seeing this, Yuzare leapt out the shattered window, landing lightly atop the roof.
The patrol that had surrounded her chambers moments ago had already joined the defence effort, leaving the area around the castle empty.
Yu Zhou and the prince followed her up, Yu Zhou watching curiously, wondering what she planned to do.
Yuzare closed her eyes and began to chant softly. One after another, spheres of light materialized behind her, floating in a slow orbit.
With a graceful sweep of her slender hands, the light orbs shot into the sky toward the swarming Zoiger.
"Look at those lights!"
"It's Princess Yuzare!"
"The princess has entered the battle—we'll surely win now!"
The soldiers below cheered in renewed hope. Everyone in the capital knew that those radiant orbs were the signature power of Princess Yuzare, the strongest warrior of the royal city.
"Didn't expect you to be this popular," Yu Zhou said with a faint smile, half in jest.
"My sister is the strongest in the entire capital!" the prince chimed in proudly, as if he'd completely forgotten that Yu Zhou was supposed to be an assassin.
"This isn't the time for small talk," Yuzare said firmly, her brows knitted as she focused on the sky above.
Her light spheres exploded among the Zoiger swarm, turning the dark night into brief flashes of brilliant white.
One Zoiger was blown to pieces midair; several others had their wings torn apart and plummeted to the ground, where soldiers immediately rushed to attack them.
Most of the army fought on the ground, with few ships left in the air.
But the explosions drew the attention of several Zoiger toward Yu Zhou and the others.
Moments later, a group of Zoiger dove toward the castle rooftop, intent on killing whoever had unleashed the light.
A few more light spheres shot out and struck one of them, knocking it off course before it could crash into the tower.
But the remaining Zoiger continued their dive, aiming directly for the trio.
Yu Zhou grabbed Yuzare and the prince and jumped, landing on a lower rooftop just as a deafening impact shook the spot where they had stood. Shattered stone and debris scattered into the night.
"That was close!"
The prince exhaled shakily. "If you hadn't pulled me away, I'd be dead by now…"
Then, as the realization hit him— "Wait… aren't you supposed to be an assassin?"
"Thank you," Yuzare said quietly, ignoring the confusion. Her tone was calm but sincere.
The reprieve didn't last. The Zoiger, spotting their prey still alive, unleashed another volley of blazing fireballs.
"Damn it!" Yuzare gasped. Her face turned pale. With her strength alone, there was no way she could withstand such an onslaught.
Even so, she extended her trembling hands, summoning the last of her power to form a shimmering barrier around them.
Boom!
The shield shattered instantly under the first hit. The shockwave threw Yuzare backward—her strength was spent. She collapsed, barely conscious.
Yu Zhou caught her before she hit the ground and passed her to the prince, then turned to face the incoming flames.
"So, this is how it ends," Yuzare murmured weakly, watching the fireballs draw nearer. "Never thought I'd die alongside an assassin…"
"I still have so much left undone…"
She let out a soft, rueful laugh. "By the way, since we're both about to die, mind telling me your name?"
Her eyes softened with curiosity. "And that black cloak… take it off, won't you? I'd like to see your face before the end."
Yu Zhou turned toward her. The cloak fluttered in the wind, revealing a pair of bright, unwavering eyes.
"Don't worry," he said quietly. "You won't die."
The only small pity was that, in this form, he still looked like Daigo—and the synthetic hair didn't move with the wind at all.
"The assassin is… actually kind of handsome?" Yuzare murmured in surprise, momentarily forgetting her fear.
"And my name…" Yu Zhou said, holding the Dark Sparklence across his chest as the fireballs neared.
"...is Tiga."
Darkness surged from all directions, swallowing the light itself. Purple lightning crackled through the air as the fireballs shattered in mid-flight.
Then, towering above the royal castle, a giant emerged.
A massive silver-and-black figure, eyes glowing white, emanating a cold, overwhelming aura.
"A giant…?!"
Yuzare and the prince stared up in shock. Every movement of the colossal being sent waves of wind sweeping across the rooftop.
"This is the giant from Fuhuo City—the one code-named Tiga!" the prince exclaimed. They had both seen sketches of the mysterious saviour before.
Now it was unmistakable—the black-cloaked man had become that very same giant.
"And his name… Tiga… or rather, Diga," Yuzare whispered, confusion flashing in her eyes.
Why would someone named Diga be searching for Diga?
Yu Zhou had made his decision the moment before transforming. The Zoiger's attack would have been fatal—and if Yuzare died here, everything that followed would unravel. The future itself would collapse.
As the commander of the Earth Defence Force, she could not be allowed to die in her youth.
Since she did not yet know who Tiga truly was… Yu Zhou would take that name upon himself, for now.
If darkness existed in this world, then surely—so did Dark Tiga.
And once he uncovered the source of that darkness, he would find his true target.
The giant's sudden appearance silenced the battlefield.
No one in the royal capital had ever seen such a being before.
"Is that… the same giant who protected Fuhuo City from the monster codenamed Melba?" the soldiers murmured.
The answer was obvious. The code name was the same—Tiga.
"Cha!"
With a sharp battle cry, Yu Zhou—now as Tiga—launched himself into the sky, colliding head-on with the incoming Zoiger.
The three monsters shrieked and dove to meet him, unafraid of the towering silver-black figure that had risen against the darkness.