Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

Estend struggled to suppress the urge to turn and leave, his pupils fixed on the red figure.

Taylor.

Many years ago, Grandpa Grudas held himself, who was still called "Little Ed" in their eyes, while gently stroking the virtual projections of Estender's parents and chanting the name of the Ultra Guard.

It was filled with a rare, deep hatred.

He later went to Earth with this hatred and never returned.

Young Ed met the Yapool agents in charge of handling casualties again. They told him that Grandpa Grudas had perished in Taro's Strium Ray. Grandma Sertia held his hand, trying to give him a comforting smile.

It was at Kataslow's place that Estend learned that the Yapool had misled his grandfather Grudas, making him mistakenly believe that his father and mother had been killed by the Space Garrison of the Land of Light.

Grandpa Gurudas's hatred was completely misplaced.

Moreover, even if it were true, his revenge should not extend to innocent Earthlings. His grandfather's actions were commonplace for the Yapools, but in Estend's view, they were wrong.

Estend has no right to hate Taro. He knows very well what Grandpa Grudas did on Earth. It's already beyond expectations that Earthlings can accept his participation in research.

However, he was also unable to calmly face this Ultra Warrior.

"What's wrong, Aiba?" Hosokawa Takumi's attitude towards him had improved a lot, and he was currently looking at the monitor while holding a coffee cup: "You look terrible."

"Hmm, there are a bit too many coffee beans." Estend gripped the cup handle tighter and turned to look for sugar cubes.

Hosokawa Takumi handed over a paper package: "Aoi's coffee is always too strong, so it's common sense to add more sugar—except for Chief Engineer Yamamuro, who prefers bitter coffee."

Estend was a little stunned when he took the candy packet.

Goodwill from Earthlings.

Goodwill toward the descendants of the invaders.

He craves kindness, but when he receives it, he questions whether he truly deserves it.

"Thank you," he said, carefully placing a sugar into the coffee cup and neatly wrapping up the rest.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Shadow of the Moon

The Second Research Institute, a temporary base on the far side of the moon.

The base, hidden beneath a high crater, was filled with unease. Director Kataslo was dead, the vanguard had been wiped out, and even the Impreza, meticulously modified by the director, had failed to achieve anything against the combined forces of Taro and Mebius, reduced to ashes... Now they were at a loss for what to do.

Should we also deploy the last Impreza, the one that hasn't been fully modified yet?

"What about Baksim and Doragri?" the maintenance minister inquired. "They deserted in the face of battle; surely they've regained their courage by now?"

Don't ask why it's a maintenance department manager giving orders now; everything above him has vanished into thin air.

"Minister, Baksim has been confirmed dead. We've begun retrieval at his coordinates in the dimensional space. We can't contact Doragri at all. As for the works of former Director Grudas... the authority is with Director Kataslow." An agent's voice trembled.

"How could you possibly have only set permissions for one device, with a backup one?"

"The spare... is with Lomia."

Having a talented boss is a good thing, but if that boss is always arrogant, it's hard to say whether it's a blessing or a curse.

"Alright, alright, continue preparing Impreza II. Before Taro and Mebius find us, pack up the equipment. We're ready to retreat," the Equipment Department Minister gave the order with a headache.

"But Minister, the energy monitoring data nearby is a bit strange..."

【retreat? 】

Before the words were finished, a calm "greeting" suddenly rang in the ears of the Yabo people in the base.

Like a stone thrown into water creating ripples, the buzzing conversation in the hall grew louder and louder.

"Sizzle, sizzle—bang!"

The light flickered and then fell to the ground with a thud.

The soft white light vanished, and the entire base was enveloped in a red alarm glow. The "ripples" surged, and researchers who had not received military training scattered and fled.

The head of the equipment department took a few steps and noticed something brush past him. The thing rolled a few times and fell to the ground. He used the alarm light to examine it closely: "This is... a signal from the base..."

He turned around abruptly, and his eyes were instantly enveloped in intense blue light.

"The transmitting equipment has been removed."

A crystalline ray vaporized half of the Yapool man who had given the order. The newcomer calmly looked down at the Yapool men who were scattering in all directions and said, "You don't need to try to call for headquarters anymore."

"It's Samuel!"

"What's going on? Is it another Fos-001?"

"I knew the Seventh Research Institute's ragtag team couldn't be trusted!"

Without its high-powered transmitting equipment, the rashly advanced Second Research Institute was unable to contact the Yapool base that was still gathering in the rear. In the chaos, the Yapool people who were slightly more clear-headed activated Impreza II, which was still under modification.

The rumbling of mechanical friction echoed throughout the base. The cover above the hall opened, and a gap appeared in the ground, sliding to both sides to reveal the mechanical monsters stored below.

This Impreza differs from the commonly deployed ones. It has several additional launch ports on its shoulder cannons, and the electron beam emitter on its head is presented as three circles. If it is the fully modified version, there should be an additional missile launch compartment on the forearm, and a heavy cannon should also be added to the chest - a work that exudes the style of the Second Research Institute in every aspect.

That is, they had previously deployed another Impreza. The modifications to Kataslow were so easy to identify that Samuel would not have thought that the Yapool's second research institute would still have some people stationed in space.

Although he appeared relaxed, he was not feeling well at the moment—his vision overlapped between reality and illusion, and whenever he tried to attack the Yapools and their "assets," the "fly" always tried to stop him.

"Om-"

Impreza II's eyelights lit up, and three laser beams pierced directly through Samuel's phantom image, melting a section of the base's perimeter wall.

The latter moved with incredible speed behind Impreza's head, wielding a light blade in each hand. One hand was held out to block the attack, while the other was used to slash straight down. However, the light blade only penetrated halfway into the armor before it was on the verge of exploding due to the obstruction caused by the sturdy outer shell.

Just as Samuel was about to regroup, Impreza spun around and fired both shoulder cannons simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of shells that swept across the area, even penetrating the temporary base's structural components and damaging the rock face of the crater.

Samuel's hastily erected barrier shattered after only one breath, but he did not try to dodge. Instead, he approached again as he erected the barrier, detonating the light blades left on Impreza while his body was engulfed in silver flames to withstand the impact of the exploding shells. A flying kick destroyed the laser emission port on the back of Impreza's head that had not yet closed.

The current scene matches the illusion perfectly.

A pitch-black sky, red light, ruined buildings, and... mechanical monsters.

On Earth, he always had to restrain himself from falling into illusions, imagining intact cities beneath his feet instead of scorched earth, and healthy people around him instead of corpses.

But not anymore. At this temporary base on the far side of the moon, there are only enemies.

Samuel conjured a light blade in his hand once more—not a quick-made product like a bursting light blade, which was closer to a light spike, but a truly solidified lightsaber.

A storm is sweeping in.

Silver flames roared as Samuel wielded his lightsaber with a peculiar rhythm, countless rays of light weaving into a cage that instantly enveloped Impreza. The dense metallic scraping sound was like a sudden spring thunderstorm, and the scattered sparks were like raindrops striking the boiling surface of water.

If Estender were there, he would have immediately recognized that this was not Samuel's technique, but Fos-001's.

Under the skies of Pasifica, Fos-001 once destroyed more than a dozen "works" from the Fourth Research Institute with such a swift and fierce attack.

But this Impreza was clearly not a mass-produced model. As the storm subsided, its true form was revealed. The armor was crisscrossed with wounds, but the interior remained unaffected. Half of the firing port of the shoulder cannon on the left side had been cut off, and one of the electron beam emitters on the head was split open, crackling with electricity.

Samuel paid a price for his forceful attack. A burning sensation spread throughout his body, his left shoulder was hit by an electron beam and almost lost all feeling, and his chest felt stuffy from the shockwave.

Upon seeing this scene, the Yapools, who had taken refuge in their underground bunkers, immediately ordered Impreza to continue the attack and not give the enemy a chance to catch their breath.

Samuel suddenly chuckled, grabbed the Exploding Light Blade, and charged forward again.

He may not have the opportunity to calmly gather his strength to use his light, but if he sets up his attack properly, he can unleash an attack no less powerful than Palerity's Light Stream.

The battered mechanical armor dutifully provided considerable defense and became the best carrier for the Exploding Light Blade.

A light blade embedded itself in the wound, and Samuel immediately conjured another. If he wasn't quick, given Impreza's self-healing speed, these wounds would be repaired in no time. Despite enduring several counterattacks, a total of twelve explosive light blades from six groups gleamed with a blinding white light on Impreza's body.

By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late. Before the Yapo people could even give the order, their hard work in modifying Impreza II had already been blown into a pile of scrap metal scattered everywhere with a deafening roar, so much so that even recycling it was too much trouble.

Immediately afterwards, a figure enveloped in light appeared before them.

Golden glints scattered like fluttering butterflies.

A whip of light extended from the silver-black giant's right arm.

With a flick of the light whip, the last trace of man-made structures at the temporary base on the far side of the moon crumbled and melted into scorched earth.

Where was the last time you did this?

At that time, there were creatures called "Werteans" who looked up at him, whom they mistook for a "god," hoping that he could dispel the darkness, but instead they were met with a merciless attack.

Now… Samuel looked down, his feet still on scorched earth, but looking around, there was no longer any fear, hatred, or bewilderment in his eyes.

Turning around, Impreza's last two remaining legs relentlessly made their way toward him.

He dispersed the light whip, and stardust seemed to flow faintly within the timer. After a brief charge, a stream of silver-blue light mixed with faint black smoke engulfed it.

The timer flashed red, and Samuel flew away from the far side of the moon, but did not head straight for Earth. Instead, on the near side of the moon, in a sunlit spot, he transformed back into the form of "Aiba Yu".

After walking only a few steps, the rescue team's blue uniform was stained with specks of blood, but he didn't care. He simply found a sunny rock to lean against and closed his eyes.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Swifts

Not long after leaving the hospital, Hibino Mirai was admitted to a ward again.

This time it was just because he was too tired, and he seemed to be in a good mood, so the others weren't as worried as they were after the last battle with Kataslo.

The hero of flames, with the mindset of a farewell battle, revealed himself as Mebius to his teammates and defeated Impreza 1 together with Taro.

Seeing his disciple's growth, Taro felt somewhat relieved and agreed to Mebius's request to stay on Earth, while he himself went into space to investigate any clues about the Yapool.

The GUYS members returned to the control room and discussed for a while, agreeing to treat their "newly acquainted" companion—Mebius, no, Hibino Mirai—as usual.

When Estend arrived at the control room, he found several people whispering among themselves.

"What's going on here?" Estend asked curiously. When he saw Amamiya Kinomi, he raised his hand and shook the capsule in his hand: "Come on, the enhanced Mikulas, the fusion of Eleking's and Insectas's abilities has been successful. Want to try a simulation?"