Ultraman: I am really just a human.

Chapter 380 The Lost Civilization

"Sample number 13 has been collected. Remember to disinfect before leaving..."

A well-equipped camp was set up on an open space beside a forest stream. Several researchers in protective suits carrying sample boxes were only allowed to return after undergoing several rounds of disinfection.

At the end of the passage was a spatial tunnel fixed to a giant tree. On the other side, a person in charge, protected by the members of Team 01, greeted the researchers.

"Be careful, everyone."

"This sample should be effective. Thank you for your hard work."

"Minister, the Heim Forest is encroaching on the world of Gaim. Is it possible to obtain the Driver data?"

"Foundation X has already started taking action. It's said that they only have the experimental prototype, 'Sengoku Driver,' available there right now."

"As expected of the X Group, they were able to find out about 'Gaim' in advance and make arrangements."

"I heard that a big shot from headquarters took over Conglomerate X and provided the coordinates here."

"That sir..."

"What? Kuuga was found in the forest? How is that possible?"

The person in charge, who was about to discuss the next task, suddenly changed his expression. The staff around him, who were still talking about the X Foundation, suddenly felt as if they had been choked, swallowing back all the words they were about to say, leaving only their ears perked up to listen quietly.

They are no strangers to the knight Kuuga.

The first setback the alliance suffered was because of Kuuga, and it seems like things haven't gone smoothly since then.

Last time, RX led a team to challenge the dungeon but failed. I heard they almost perished in the dungeon.

"Impossible!" The person in charge gripped his phone tightly, his expression grim. "How could Kuuga possibly exist in this world? Even if it were Decade, Kuuga couldn't possibly exist! The only spacetime portal is in our hands..."

"It's true, Minister," the liaison officer on the other end of the phone said, his voice trembling, seemingly still shaken. "Everyone saw it; it was Decade Kuga. That red belt is exactly the same as in the latest data. It's definitely that number one on the leaderboard!"

The person in charge's expression changed: "Bring the video over."

"good……"

The liaison officer turned towards the forest scene, where dust and smoke were flying, and his words abruptly stopped.

The place where Kuuga had appeared was now completely empty, as if he had seen a ghost, and there wasn't even a shadow of him.

"It's gone...it's disappeared!"

"call!"

RX arrived at the scene first, braving the dust and smoke.

What I just saw was definitely not an illusion. There were the remains of aliens everywhere, and there were also fiery footprints left by me as I walked along the way.

The recent invasion of the game instance in this world seems to have caused a great upheaval. The Alliance was initially puzzled that the top-ranked knight was not involved, but now it seems that the other party has also come to the new instance world.

"Decade?"

RX looked wearily at the trail of flames that never seemed to go out.

He had dealt with this mysterious knight quite a bit, and was even saved by him once in the "Oz" dungeon.

It was because of that incident, when the other party defeated the agent of the X Foundation, that they became the true Decade.

He was one of the witnesses when he was turned into a Knight Card, but he did not tell the League the specific information.

This is a true knight, a godlike figure.

With that in mind, RX used the fog as cover to completely erase all traces, including the fire trails.

The league needs him to investigate personally, so they shouldn't involve Decade.

……

On the other side of the forest.

Because of the encounter with the Alliance Exploration Team, Natsukawa has not yet deactivated his transformation.

The appearance of this clone is easily reminiscent of "Pallard". There are still many things that the clone needs to handle, so there is no need to reveal it so early.

Although the Rider form increases the intensity of the world's repulsion, his own abilities are also amplified, so he is not like a blind man who can only perceive his surroundings within a few dozen meters.

"Whoosh!"

As he walked through a forest filled with orange-red fallen leaves, accompanied by eerie winds, Natsukawa sensed a vast scene of ruins.

He had been wondering since earlier that the battlefield he saw after crossing time and space didn't look like the Forest of Heim.

Now that I think about it, Heim Forest, like the Magic Gem World, was in a state of temporal and spatial chaos.

Heim Forest is Heim Forest, and this world is this world.

This is actually a post-apocalyptic planet that has been eroded by the Heim Forest.

It could be an alien planet, or it could be a parallel Earth in a different timeline from "Gaim".

"Whoosh!"

Xia Chuan instantly teleported to the edge of the mountain ridge, where a city ruin covered by trees and vines officially came into view.

The magnificent stone buildings, orderly streets, and the royal palace with its towering stone tower in the center of the city seem to evoke the splendor of a once-prosperous civilization.

Now, however, only desolation and loneliness remain. The buildings, covered by vegetation, are all gray and white, silently exuding the aura of time.

The forest vegetation, which should have symbolized vitality, is now nothing but destruction against the backdrop of ruins.

Images buried by time flashed rapidly through Xia Chuan's mind.

That was the last moment before the forest descended, shattering the tranquility of the ancient city. The Forest of Heim spread throughout the city in an instant, like mold.

Forest-specific fruits were everywhere, and many passersby couldn't resist the temptation to snatch and eat them. Soon, the streets were filled with people bursting out of their bodies by vines, only to be completely swallowed up in an instant.

In the end, all the survivors of the city turned into mindless monsters.

A scene of civilization's demise reappeared before Xia Chuan's eyes, only to return to reality in the blink of an eye.

Xia Chuan walked step by step into the ruined city, where he could see the remnants of past destruction everywhere he went.

The collapsed statues and scattered ancient stone tools had long been pierced by vines. They would turn to dust and collapse with a crash at the slightest touch. The pots and pans that could be seen occasionally could not withstand the weathering. They would shatter and raise clouds of dust as soon as Xia Chuan picked them up.

"What a terrifying plant."

Xia Chuan's gaze shifted to the vines and unusual fruits emerging from the cracks in the rocks.

This place is indeed an independent world. He has already read some of the information hidden in the planet's memories, which can be considered as indirectly gaining an understanding of the Heim Forest.

Just like an invasive species, these plants destroyed the ecosystem before ending civilization.

First, the seeds invaded through spatial rifts, possessing overwhelming reproductive power while also polluting the land, resulting in only Heim Forest plants remaining in the end.

Moreover, this forest can also control the natives who eat the fruit, thereby further spreading seeds and expanding the forest's reach.

A terrifying creature.

"rustle."

A powerful alien being, resembling a priest or elder, emerged from the ruins, its pale silver exoskeleton armor and several feathered ribbons hanging from its hooded head.

"Did you come for the forbidden fruit?" The white alien's voice was aged. "This forest only produces one forbidden fruit each time it invades a new world, and as an outsider, you are not qualified to obtain it."

Xia Chuan sensed the appearance of the white alien the moment it appeared and quickly generated a psychic shield in front of him.

Although no threat was felt, the intense pressure emanating from the white alien could not be ignored.

The boss who rules this forest?

"Who are you……"

Xia Chuan's thoughts raced, and he quickly identified the newcomer.

He seems to be the holder of the Golden Fruit in "Gaim," a boss who isn't really a boss.

"The Forbidden Fruit is a reward for challengers of the forest," the white alien seemed oblivious to Xia Chuan's guard, lost in his own memories, "to transcend the fate of destruction and advance to the next round of evolution. This is the glory I once received. Unfortunately, my civilization still perished."

"Whoosh!"

An energy apple radiating brilliant golden light was lifted up by the white alien.

"I will not hand over the power to manipulate the plants of this forest and reshape the world at will to you."

(End of this chapter)