"Ultramen—why must you interfere?!"
"Why do you insist on siding with humans?!"
"Humans are meaningless creatures!"
Alien Bat's furious voice echoed as Hyper Zetton lost its limbs, filled with unwilling rage.
"Sorry," Yuzhou surged forward and drove the Giga Battlenizer straight into Hyper Zetton's abdomen.
"I don't speak for others."
"But I am both light—and human!"
A Deracium Beam Torrent detonated directly into Zetton's wound.
BOOM!
Hyper Zetton's abdomen was blasted clean through, the explosion tearing open a massive cavity.
Unlike the original timeline, Alien Bat had already fused with Hyper Zetton, fighting from within.
As a result, every injury Zetton suffered was directly reflected upon him.
Moreover, with the black disk already destroyed, Hyper Zetton's mature form should have been impossible to achieve at this stage.
"Damn it… I refuse to accept this! I refuse!!"
Alien Bat roared in despair as death closed in.
His carefully cultivated Zetton—his Hyper Zetton—was about to perish before even reaching maturity.
And worse still—
He himself was about to die here.
Suddenly—
A golden wormhole tore open beside Hyper Zetton.
From it emerged a massive golden figure, streams of powerful energy rapidly flowing into Zetton's body.
The gaping wound in its abdomen began to regenerate.
A dark crimson storm spiralled around Hyper Zetton as its aura surged violently.
Its form began to change.
"Who are you?!"
Cosmos, Zero, and Dyna—all on high alert—shouted in unison.
Victory had been within reach, yet this unknown being had intervened at the final moment.
"I am an Ultimate Lifeform."
"A warrior of the Absolutians."
"Absolute Tartarus."
The golden figure spread his arms slightly, delivering his introduction with chilling composure.
"Ultimate Lifeform…?"
Zero's expression hardened immediately. Anyone bearing that title could not be ordinary.
"Tartarus…?"
Cosmos recalled Yuzhou's earlier words—this was the one he had been waiting for.
"Abso… Abu… Absolu—what?"
Dyna stumbled over the name, utterly failing to pronounce it.
"It's Absolutian," Tartarus corrected flatly.
"Oh. Asoljet?"
Tartarus: "..."
"Tartarus…"
Yuzhou narrowed his eyes. He had not expected Tartarus to appear now, let alone rescue Alien Bat and Hyper Zetton.
"Hmph. Tiga," Tartarus sneered as he turned his attention to Yuzhou.
"I don't know why you interfere with my plans, but—"
"I'll let Hyper Zetton's mature form entertain you."
As his words fell—
The crimson storm dispersed.
Hyper Zetton completed its evolution.
Mature Hyper Zetton.
Its massive body stood upright, humanoid in form.
Though still bearing black-and-yellow insectoid patterns, it now possessed arms, legs, and a terrifyingly stable stance.
Two razor-sharp yellow bone blades protruded from its back, a black tail trailing behind.
"I don't care why you helped me," Alien Bat's voice rang out triumphantly from within Zetton.
"With mature Hyper Zetton, these Ultramen are already dead!"
"Enjoy yourselves," Tartarus said indifferently.
He made no move to intervene further.
In the next instant—
Hyper Zetton vanished.
Not charged—vanished.
Like a phantom, it reappeared behind Cosmos and struck him down with a single blow.
Before anyone could react, it vanished again—
Reappearing behind Dyna, its conical arm stabbing into his back and sending him crashing to the ground.
Zero attempted a flying kick, but his speed failed him.
His strike hit nothing.
Hyper Zetton appeared behind him and stomped him down mercilessly.
After felling all three Ultramen, Hyper Zetton turned its gaze toward Yuzhou—the one holding the Giga Battlenizer.
The weapon vanished from Yuzhou's hand.
He crossed his arms before the crystal on his forehead and swept them downward.
His body shifted into silver and purple.
So fast… then let's try Sky Type.
When Hyper Zetton disappeared again without warning, Yuzhou reacted instantly.
Light gathered in his palm as he spun and slashed backward.
BANG!
The light blade struck true, perfectly predicting Hyper Zetton's position.
Yet in the next second, it vanished again.
Yuzhou turned once more—
Another clean strike landed.
Though the damage was minimal, landing hits on a creature capable of instantaneous teleportation was already remarkable.
"How does he know where I'll appear?!"
Alien Bat snarled in disbelief.
"Then I'll do the opposite!"
Hyper Zetton vanished again—this time reappearing directly in front of Yuzhou, ready to attack.
Instead—
A Lightning Fist slammed into its abdomen.
BOOM! BOOM!
Hyper Zetton staggered back two steps.
"Damn it!"
Alien Bat cursed furiously.
Was this Ultraman predicting the future?!
"I can anticipate its movements," Yuzhou assessed calmly, reverting to Power Type, "but Sky Type lacks the firepower to threaten it."
If prediction was the key, striking earlier with greater force would suffice.
However—
Hyper Zetton suddenly shifted targets.
It teleported beside the fallen Zero, Dyna, and Cosmos.
Its yellow conical arms pressed together as energy condensed.
A devastating beam fired straight at them.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The light engulfed all three Ultramen.
At the same moment, Tartarus raised his hand—
A golden lightning bolt crashed down, merging with the attack.
This was annihilation.
"—!"
Yuzhou's expression changed sharply.
He had not expected Hyper Zetton to prioritize them.
Nor had he expected Tartarus to personally add the finishing blow.
Everything happened far too fast.
Yet—
Within the overwhelming light—
Blue.
Azure.
Gold.
Three distinct radiances began to emerge.
Intertwining.
Resonating.
A presence of overwhelming power slowly rose from within the beam.