"Me?" Yuzhou shook his head slightly as he replied to Zero.
"I'm just a traveller passing through this universe."
While the two were speaking, a sudden anomaly occurred.
A massive black wormhole opened in the sky. Immediately afterward, an enormous black disc-shaped structure emerged before Yuzhou and Zero.
The centre of the disc was hollow, yet within it floated a blue energy sphere. Inside that sphere, Yuzhou could clearly see numerous white, web-like flying objects.
Spheres.
At the very top of the blue sphere, a fighter aircraft was lodged in place. Inside the cockpit lay an unconscious man dressed in a uniform.
"That's Alien Bat's disc-shaped spaceship," Yuzhou said, pointing at the black disc above as he spoke to Zero.
"So that's it!"
Zero looked up, fury flashing across his face. Without hesitation, he leapt into the air and charged straight toward the black disc.
The disc was unimaginably massive—its scale rivalled even Etelgar's Time Castle.
As Zero rushed forward, dozens of combat mechanical units flew out from within the disc, immediately engaging him in battle.
At the same time, a beam fired from the disc's main cannon toward Yuzhou's position, seemingly intent on erasing this last remaining "human."
With a thunderous explosion, the rooftop was obliterated.
Yuzhou, however, casually leapt to the rooftop of a lower adjacent building, avoiding the blast with ease.
"So this guy isn't an ordinary human either!"
Zero had initially been worried that the disc's attack would kill Yuzhou and was about to turn back to help—but then he saw Yuzhou calmly jumping between buildings.
There was no time to dwell on it. The priority now was dealing with the combat units swarming around him.
Zero became entangled in fierce combat with the mechanical units, the battle growing increasingly intense.
Meanwhile, within the blue energy sphere, the man inside the fighter jet slowly regained consciousness.
Yuzhou knew exactly who he was.
Taiga Nozomu.
A member of the Super GUTS from the world of Ultraman Tiga & Dyna, fifteen years after Dyna had entered the Sphere Black Hole.
In that era, Captain Hibiki had become the TPC Director, and Ryo had taken command of Super GUTS. Technological development had advanced significantly.
Taiga Nozomu possessed a personality very similar to Asuka Shin in his youth—impulsive, hot-blooded, and eager to prove himself.
It was precisely because of that impulsiveness that, while Alien Bat was capturing Spheres, Taiga was caught as well and dragged into this world.
"Ultraman…?"
Upon awakening, Taiga immediately saw Zero engaged in intense combat.
Without hesitation, he activated the Alpha Fighter, bursting out of the blue energy sphere.
Zero, however, did not notice this at first. He continued firing beams nonstop at the combat units drifting around him.
The results were obvious.
One mechanical unit after another exploded under Zero's attacks, fragments raining down toward the ground.
Using these units to stall Zero, Alien Bat's black disc slipped back into the black hole and vanished.
Yuzhou had originally planned to transform and intercept it—but the disc disappeared too quickly. He halted the transformation.
"Let's see just how strong you really are, Ultraman."
Inside the cockpit, Taiga switched the Alpha Fighter to autopilot, casually eating a pouch of jelly while watching the battle as if it were a show.
It was obvious—he seemed to hold some kind of grudge against Ultramen.
Zero continued firing beams without restraint. Soon, only one combat unit remained.
A final Emerium Beam shot from the green jewel on Zero's forehead, striking the last unit directly.
The hit connected—but this unit was unusually durable.
It erupted in flames and thick black smoke, yet did not completely disintegrate. Trailing fire, it plummeted toward the ground.
At that exact moment, a small child appeared below—standing directly beneath the falling wreckage.
Seeing this, Taiga spat out his jelly in shock. He immediately seized control of the Alpha Fighter, charging forward while firing continuously.
Unfortunately, the mechanical unit was absurdly tough. Even after enduring heavy fire, it refused to explode.
Zero froze for a split second.
By the time he reacted—it was already too late.
Then suddenly, a flash of purple light appeared on the ground.
The child vanished from the spot and reappeared in a safe area—together with the man who had been standing on the rooftop earlier.
Taiga noticed none of this.
Seeing that his attacks were ineffective, he made a reckless decision—
He rammed the Alpha Fighter straight into the mechanical unit.
"Damn it—at least eject before you crash!"
Yuzhou could not help commenting.
He had to admit it—this younger generation was truly reckless.
Even Asuka had the sense to eject when his ship was destroyed in space. And this kid didn't even think of that?
A deafening explosion followed.
Flames filled the sky as the Alpha Fighter collided with the mechanical unit, detonating in a massive blast.
At that moment, a yellow crystalline barrier enveloped Taiga's unconscious body, gently lowering him to the ground, protecting him.
Zero withdrew his hand, the glow fading, and shook his head.
"This guy is really careless and reckless…"
Though another human had appeared out of nowhere, Zero's first impression of Taiga was simple: reckless—yet burning with passion.
After all, this human had been willing to sacrifice his own life to save a child.
That deeply moved Zero.
"A human like this… has a powerful sense of justice."
After judging Taiga—and acknowledging him—Zero decided that this human was worthy of becoming one with him, to investigate what had truly happened to this Earth.
That said, Zero was still speechless.
The child had already been saved—couldn't he have checked first?
Then he wouldn't have died so needlessly.
Yes.
Taiga Nozomu had already died in the explosion.
However, Zero had preserved his last trace of life force.
At this moment, Taiga was in a near-death state.
If they did not merge immediately, he would truly perish.
Taiga slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly at the sky.
…He wasn't dead?
How had he survived such a massive explosion?
"You're awake, young successor."
A voice drew his attention.
Pushing himself up from the ground, Taiga looked at the man standing before him, confusion written all over his face.
Who was this guy?
He looked young too—so why was he calling him successor?
Was he taking advantage of him?
"I'm not taking advantage of you."
Noticing Taiga's suspicious look, Yuzhou coughed lightly and explained, "Are you from TPC?"
"Yes," Taiga nodded instinctively. Then, after glancing around at the surroundings, he asked, "…Is this still my original world?"