Ultraman: The Dark Shadow Mage, Creating a Magic Empire

Chapter 119 Taro returns "safely," and Ace and Tregear meet (4k)

"Leo and Astra have retreated first. Should we continue with the plan?"

Chuck looked at Max.

They remained hidden in the shadows, with Max helping them conceal themselves, and Ace setting up a magic circle given to them by Norman. As long as they didn't move, they wouldn't be discovered by the King of Ultra.

"The plan will definitely continue. Prince Ace injected Taro with a portion of the Dark Clan's genes, planting the seeds of tyranny and fear in him."

"But we want to completely corrupt him, to make him the 'Third Darkness' in our plan, to help us restrain the Kingdom of Light."

Max raised his hand, and the Max Galaxy on his wrist shone brightly.

As he made his move, the power of darkness was once again drawn in, but this time the drawing in was not for attack, but to "eliminate" the darkness on Taro!

Earth.

While working, Higashi Kotaro suddenly saw a blinding flash of light.

When the bright light appeared, he felt a lightness in his body, as if something had been drawn away or suppressed.

They grew increasingly disgusted and hateful of those who plotted against Taro, and they also loathed Belial, who saved him, as well as Leo and Astra, whom they discovered.

"Great, Taro, you're finally awake."

Come on, take a step forward! Take my hand and embrace everything!

Even the King of Ultra felt somewhat tired at this moment.

"What do you want?" Torregia asked, squinting.

The moment Taro saw that darkness, he felt as if his soul was being sucked into it. He felt himself spinning and falling until he plunged into the boundless darkness!

"It's alright, it's alright."

"Directly triggering a secondary personality to replace the power of darkness and corrupt him at all times? That is indeed a rather insidious method... No wonder Prince Ace himself said he didn't want to do it this way, it really is a bit sinister," Chuck remarked.

"This process is slow and covert, and it usually goes unnoticed. By the time the people of the Land of Light become aware of it, our plan will be basically complete."

Max bid farewell to his older brothers and sisters and then began his own trials.

Taro mumbled after him, "King of Ultra...that's it, the King of Ultra can help me...King of Ultra..."

"Taro, wake up, Taro! Don't succumb to darkness, you can resist it! Open your eyes, I am the King of Ultra."

Torregia took it without hesitation and drank it all in one gulp.

In the depths of that boundless darkness, Taro saw the deepest, most hidden, and long-abandoned thoughts in his heart...

"Taro..."

"Actually, Taro has a pretty good personality," Beth said with some regret. "He's also a handsome and powerful guy, but unfortunately, he's on our opposite side, so we have to use some methods against him."

They called him a "great hero," and referred to him as "the blazing sun," "the rising sun!"

This type of liquor is extremely rare and circulates among the residents of the Land of Light. Although it is very expensive, it has always sold very well.

Because this proves that Torregia is not a useless person who gives up and drowns his sorrows in alcohol when faced with setbacks!

"Don't rush, my friend."

Taro soon found his two older brothers.

Everyone was cheering and chanting his name, Taro.

Taro nodded, then detached himself from the Ultra Medal and gave the King of Ultra coordinates to go find Ultraman and Jack.

Taro, engrossed in the moment, didn't realize what was happening until he heard another sunny, gentle voice.

"Then we'll go back and report."

"I'm alright, it was Ultraman King who saved me!"

Taro repeated it over and over again, and finally, his consciousness returned.

Because the connection had to be forcibly established without harming Taro himself, the King of Ultra consumed a huge amount of energy, far exceeding the energy he had lost in the battle with Belial!

"Why refuse? Isn't this what you've always wanted? To be the center of attention, to be watched, to be worshipped, to be admired!"

Its mouth split open and turned upwards, as if it had been torn apart in an instant, revealing a darkness beneath that seemed capable of devouring everything.

"And... hiccup! There's actually... a person, a person who would invite me for a drink... What are you... hiccup person?"

"What's wrong, Higashi?" A coworker waved his hand in front of Higashi Kotaro when he saw him staring blankly.

As the waiter from the Baltan Trading Company brought out fresh brew, Ace, transformed into Ultraman, appeared in the lobby. After paying the bill, he carried two glasses of wine towards Tregear.

Taro opened his eyes in a daze. "Dark Taro" was gone, and the seemingly endless abyss had also disappeared. He was still standing in the mental space, as if everything that had just happened had never existed.

The moment Taro responded, he suddenly felt the light around him dim, and then a "person" who looked exactly like him appeared in front of him.

"What am I doing?"

The moment Tregear saw the card, a glimmer of hope shone in his eyes. He reached out to snatch the card, but Ace nimbly dodged it.

"If you don't dare to come along, then forget it. Just pretend I was never here."

"Tch, Dad wouldn't be that petty."

Within the mental space, the King of Ultra, who had forcibly connected with Taro using his powerful Ultra psychic abilities, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who is it?"

The two were very excited to see Taro, and finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Taro say that he was alright.

Taro said very seriously.

The voice of "Dark Taro" came from all directions, like the whispers of demons and the seduction of devils.

Upon hearing this, Max, who had a Chinese appearance, shook his head helplessly and said, "Second Brother is no longer in the army, so you don't need to call me General anymore."

The difference was that the person wasn't red; instead, he was entirely black with bloodshot eyes!

As Kotaro Higashi felt lighter, Taro, who was residing in the Ultra Medal, also felt his own dark aura dissipate.

"Does it matter who I am?" Ace handed the glass to Tregear.

"Taro".

"Who am I? I am you."

"Actually, I didn't do anything."

"Very good. You are still that brave warrior full of hope. Your two older brothers have come to pick you up. Go back with them."

Before Taro could figure out what was going on, he suddenly heard someone calling his name.

He sat upright, staring intently at Ace, eagerly awaiting the answer.

Tregear squinted at Ace, speaking haltingly, but his squinted eyes were slightly focused, making it hard to tell whether he was truly drunk or pretending to be waiting for something.

"Dark Taro" reappeared, laughing as if mocking Taro's unwillingness to confront the darkness in his heart and his unwillingness to admit his desires.

"Alright, don't worry, the review court will make the fairest ruling. There will be absolutely no wrongdoing or misjudgment, and you will be cleared of all charges."

"Even if it's Belial who's going to be driven crazy by you."

Whether he was really drunk or not was not important; what mattered was that his current performance greatly satisfied Ace!

……

Meanwhile, Tregear, who had some wealth, left the Land of Light in a daze and then spent his time drowning his sorrows in Balta Zhang Heng's wine shop.

Higashi Kotaro chuckled, made a lighthearted laugh, and continued working.

"Alright, I'm going to start my training now. I wonder what I'll encounter on Earth," Max said.

"The important thing isn't who I am, but how sure you've waited for me?" Ace smiled and waved, signaling the bartender to come over and refill his drink.

"I will grant you the power to conquer the universe! No one can stop you! The entire galaxy will worship you!!"

Tregear, who disappeared from the Land of Light and was deemed to have resigned voluntarily, is currently indulging in a life of debauchery at the Baltan Trading Company in the suburbs.

Ace took out a card with an address written on it, saying, "If you want to know something, you can go here."

After they flew away, Max and his crew, who had been hiding, flew back to Earth.

"Okay, be careful on the road."

As "Dark Taro" continued to whisper, Taro himself began to fall into a strange, dazed state. His mind began to crack, and he not only started to ponder what "Dark Taro" was saying, but also felt that what the other said was not entirely incorrect...

That's why he's praised by everyone.

Seeing such an upright person as Taro, who was willing to take on everything, a pang of sorrow welled up in my heart.

Taro looked at everything before him as if he were witnessing a nightmare.

"Taro! Are you alright?"

……

He made a mistake. The truth can be found out, but he cannot escape or cover it up.

"Yes, I believe in my brother."

This is literally what it means: the clever merchants developed a special wine that would make even a pure energy being of the Light Clan drunk and unconscious after drinking it.

"General, did you just draw out the darkness in Taro's heart?" Scott, who had transformed into a strong, handsome young white man, asked curiously.

"Ultraman...King..."

"Who are you!?"

"The original brother! Brother Jack!"

Scott laughed, "It's a habit, a habit. Propriety is essential. Don't worry about the details. Explain to us what you just did!"

Chuck, who had transformed into a handsome middle-aged man, and Beth, who had transformed into a blonde beauty, were also very curious.

Tregear stood up, nearly falling over due to dizziness. He steadied himself before taking a step to catch up with Ace.

The "Dark Taro" opposite him laughed, literally.

Beth laughed as she spoke, "But if he really falls into darkness, maybe I'll take the initiative to pursue him."

The bartender stepped forward, then wisely left the room after drinking, and activated the room's privacy settings to ensure that their conversation would not be overheard by outsiders, even though there were no "outsiders" in the Baltan Trading Company.

"There is no child. You did nothing wrong. It's all an enemy's scheme and has nothing to do with you."

He saw himself, and saw himself wearing the Ultraman cape, standing at the highest point of Ultraman Plaza, receiving the worship of the entire Ultraman race!

Taro smiled and nodded, and then the three of them set off together, flying towards the Land of Light.

"You will have all of this if you can let go of that useless and hypocritical pretense!"

"Oh, oh... it's nothing, I just suddenly thought of something."

The King of Ultra gently comforted Taro and tactfully told him about the Father of Ultra's decision.

The outskirts of the Land of Light.

"No, isn't it important?"

"This can't be true! I abandoned that idea a long time ago!"

That is selfless, fighting purely for justice and love, a great ideal that one can fight for throughout one's life and carry out to the ends of the universe, and it is the direction that the entire Ultra race is moving towards!

"One more, give me another one... *burp*!"

"clear."

It is well known that when you start to question whether what a madman says is right or wrong, you are not far from becoming a madman yourself.

"Brothers, I must stand with you for the Land of Light. In any case, this measure was indeed forged by my own hands. I am willing to go back and undergo a rigorous mental examination, and I will accept whatever the result may be."

"Tch, what's there to be afraid of!"

Torregia lay there, feeling dizzy and almost passed out from drunkenness, but he still remembered to ask the front desk for a refill.

"It's simple, just do one thing for me."

Ace laughed and said, "You have to give something to get something. I'll give you my address and my information, but what will you give me in return?"

After falling to Earth, the four of them transformed into their human forms.

But through battles and trials, he gradually came to understand the true meaning behind the Land of Light's choice of path!

Upon realizing that the privacy feature was enabled, Torregia sobered up instantly!

Taro cried out in alarm. The moment he saw the other person, he saw a sea of ​​fire, the result of the crime he had committed not long ago, the nightmare that haunted him for the rest of his life!

He once studied and worked hard, all for the sake of gaining people's praise.

Max laughed and said, "It's just that we used the contingency plan left by Prince Ace to split Taro's mind ahead of time. In other words, from now on, there are two personalities in Taro's body."

After understanding the true meaning, Taro abandoned his vanity and devoted himself to fighting for this cause and ideal.

But now, the other party has stripped away all the secrets hidden in his heart, and even reflected all his past fantasies...

"That dark alternate personality won't fight Taro for control of the body, so it won't attract anyone's attention."

"This one's on me."

"What am I doing...?"

"But this alternate personality will constantly tempt, corrupt, and interfere with some of Taro's decisions and ideas, gradually distorting his thoughts and behaviors."

"Come with me, we'll talk when we get there." Ace said, getting up and opening a portal out of thin air.

Just as Taro was sliding towards the abyss, the "Dark Taro" that was about to succeed suddenly stopped and disappeared at an extremely fast speed, diving into the deeper darkness.

Upon hearing Father of Ultra's decision, Taro was neither angry nor resentful; on the contrary, he felt it was the best decision.

"I'm not sure either, but I know you're waiting for someone. I'm a middleman who specializes in introducing these kinds of people."

After Ace arrived, he changed his form and hid.

"King of Ultra?" Taro exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing here? Did I just do something wrong again...?"

"No, no!"

"What is it?"

On the contrary, the clever man had been waiting for something!

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Interesting, very interesting... I'm not sure if I've met the person I've been waiting for, but now that you mention it, it does seem like it. So, are you the person I've been waiting for?"

(End of this chapter)