Ultraman: I am really just a human.

Chapter 59 Acknowledging Weakness

coffee shop.

Blue Sky Association President Shima Mamoru frowned as he and the others looked at Akane, who was still lively despite being wrapped in bandages.

He was in a half-dead state before being taken to the hospital.

Are you sure you're alright?

"It's nothing, just a minor injury. I, Lord Kurenai Otoya, won't be defeated so easily, because I'm immortal, haha!"

Hongyin laughed loudly a few times, but out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but glance at Xia Chuan, who was drinking coffee alone.

It hurts.

His first transformation into ixa was so terrifying; it felt like being shocked by 100,000 volts of electricity, and the pain was so intense that he could barely breathe.

How does Kaminaga manage to remain completely expressionless?

Could it be because of facial paralysis?

"How could you be alright?" Aso Yuri grabbed Akane Otoya's arm.

She witnessed Akane being taken to the ambulance, and it's said that she almost convulsed and lost consciousness.

"hiss!"

Akane gasped, feeling as if the skin on her arm had been ripped off, but she forced a smile onto her face.

"Wait a minute, I need to use the restroom. I guess I'm still allergic to coffee..."

"You're not welcome here!" the boss said angrily, wishing he could kick Akane out of the coffee shop as well.

Let's leave him for now.

The second wolf remained by the window with a gloomy face, his mind filled with hatred for ROOK.

"The most important thing now is to find Rook, whether it's to avenge Yuri or to stop that guy from continuing his crimes."

"That's true," Shima said, frowning in thought. "Just now, another victim appeared. Yuri, hurry up and return ixa to Kaminaga..."

Yuri Aso had basically confirmed Otoya Akane's physical condition, and upon hearing this, she looked at Mamoru Shima accusingly.

"Does Mr. Shimama really think the ixa has few side effects? This matter has nothing to do with Mr. Kaminaga; I'll take down ROOK!"

Without waiting for the island's protector's response, Aso Yuri pursed her lips, buried her head, and ran out of the coffee shop.

"This time I will definitely kill him!"

"Yuri!"

The island's protector looked helpless.

"She really is just like her mother. Wolf, could you go take a look? Thank you."

"Of course, no problem. I won't let anything happen to Yuri."

Cilang glanced at Xia Chuan subtly before responding and leaving the coffee shop.

He has abandoned the idea of cooperation and decided to take the ixa himself to transform.

"call!"

The store fell silent for a moment, and even the music stopped playing.

Xia Chuan finished the last sip of his coffee.

Everyone says coffee is a pick-me-up, but it had no effect on him at all; instead, the fatigue he had before returned.

There's a feeling that you might leave this instance at any moment.

"I'll go take a look too," Xia Chuan said, standing up.

"Kaminaga," Shima said seriously, "Yuri is right. You'd better not continue using ixa for the time being. Let Tsujiro handle it."

Xia Chuan did not respond.

Despite his seemingly rough exterior, Jiro is actually quite cunning. He not only conceals his identity but also pretends to be helping Aso Yuri get revenge, and appears to be weak in every way towards him.

How was such a character later "tamed" by Akane?

"Boom!"

Thunder rumbled across the streets under the cover of night, rain clouds grew thicker and thicker, and there was no one to be seen on the road.

Bored to the extreme, ROOK grew increasingly irritable, his gaze menacingly fixed on the surrounding shops.

"I'm so bored, is there anything interesting happening?"

"ROOK!"

Aso Yuri appeared across the street, gritting her teeth as she pulled out her ixa punch, but facing ROOK's familiar leather-clad back, she seemed to have lost even the courage to step forward this time.

With her legs weak, she could only watch in a trembling voice as ROOK stormed into the izakaya and committed the crime.

"I……"

"Bang!"

Before Yuri Aso could think too much, ROOK's strong body was suddenly sent flying backward by the heavy blow, stumbling back several steps before coming to a stop.

"Who is it?!"

ROOK was stunned for a moment, then suddenly flew into a rage and roared fiercely into the store.

"Who is it?!"

"Aren't you bored?"

Xia Chuan took off his suit jacket, unbuttoned his collar, and walked out of the izakaya.

"I'll play with you."

"You bastard..."

ROOK clutched his aching chest, his gaze slightly narrowed.

"Fang-blood demon? Or some other demon race? Don't they know I'm the ROOK of the four executives?!"

"Of course I know."

Xia Chuan rubbed his wrist joints, sidestepped ROOK's angry attack, and instantly raised his left leg, his knee slamming into ROOK's waist and abdomen.

"But I am human, not a demon."

"asshole!"

ROOK's expression changed before he could even launch a counterattack. After clutching his stomach and missing his target again, he raised his hands with a ferocious look on his face.

"Go to hell!"

After a brief charge, a shock beam condensed and shattered the izakaya signboard by grazing Natsukawa's side.

"Bang!"

"Is it Shin'yō?!"

Yuri Aso, startled, snapped out of her daze and, seeing what was happening, cried out in alarm.

"Be careful!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Xia Chuan dodged the light bullets one after another, then clenched his fist and collided head-on with ROOK.

It must be said that even in human form, ROOK's body is by no means weak. Not only does he possess brute strength, but he can also fire energy blasts.

"hehe!"

After a series of close-quarters punches and kicks, ROOK and Natsukawa rolled and landed in the middle of the road, both of them feeling a dull ache in their hands and feet.

Seemingly realizing he wasn't gaining any advantage this way, ROOK's neck revealed a glassy pattern as he turned his body with a sinister grin.

"Kaminaga!"

Yuri Aso finally took a step forward, and as ROOK transformed, she quickly threw out the ixa punch.

"then!"

"Um?"

ROOK glanced back at Aso Yuri, watching with a puzzled expression as the ixa punch arced through the air before being caught by Natsukawa.

This thing was previously used as a weapon by the human woman opposite him. It looked like a handheld gun that could fire electromagnetic shockwaves. Later, it was used by a human to transform, but it didn't seem to pose much of a threat.

Wait, transform?

"Boom!"

Another thunderclap echoed through the night sky, and as lightning flashed, the torrential rain finally poured down, instantly enveloping the streets in layers of rain.

"Ready!"

"Fi-stOn!"

ROOK trembled slightly amidst the electronic sound effects of rain, staring intently at Natsukawa, who had his fists strapped to the white ixa armor.

The misty rain did not affect Ixa's attire at all; on the contrary, it made her appear even more sacred under the lightning, like a divine knight about to judge evil.

"Ha! So what if I transform?!"

ROOK growled and stretched his shoulders, his arms extending their sharp claws, firing once again like a machine gun.

One after another, claw spikes shot out and pierced through, attempting to attack Natsukawa in the same way they had attacked Akane.

"Bang bang bang!"

Xia Chuan slowed his gaze and instantly raised his armored arm to block all the claw spikes.

We did not allow them to attack critical nodes of ixa.

"ixa!"

After inserting the whistle in the rain, Natsukawa snapped open the fully charged ixa fist gun.

The brief exchange had already made him realize that other attacks were not very effective against Rook, and it was better to use a finishing move directly. Even if it didn't kill him, it would severely injure him, making the next battle much easier.

"Sizzle!"

Xia Chuan strode through the torrential rain, the electric current crackling in his fist.

There are two ways to attack with the fist gun: one is to fire energy projectiles, which are relatively easy to dodge; the other is to directly attack the target's body, concentrating all the energy into one point.

This version of the IXA system lacks sufficient attack capabilities and has a limited range of attack methods, making it unsuitable for energy blast attacks.

"asshole!"

ROOK's attack failed, and after slightly lowering its body, it roared and broke through the rain to launch a proactive attack.

He was fighting IXA again, and he didn't believe he couldn't win this time.

"Bang--!"

A loud bang and a flash of electricity exploded on the road during a torrential downpour.

The raindrops burst open in a continuous stream.

Yuri Aso was forced to look away from the blinding light. When she turned around again, only Natsukawa Ixa was left in the rain, while the Lion Fang Vampire Rook was nowhere to be found.

"Killed, killed him?" Aso Yuri stared back at Natsukawa with wide eyes.

This is the real ixa...

"not yet."

Xia Chuan glanced quietly into the depths of the heavy rain, then deactivated his transformation. The IXA armor automatically retracted into a half-cross shape, disappearing along with the belt.

"But he probably can't run far. Even Rook wouldn't feel any better from the injuries he just sustained."

"Feel sorry."

Aso Yuri hesitated, biting her lip with a complicated expression, her face wet with what looked like rain or tears.

"I just..."

"I understand."

Natsukawa shook his head and went to a roadside izakaya with Aso Yuri to take shelter from the rain.

The commotion had sent all the customers away, leaving the shop completely empty; even the owner didn't know where he had gone.

Seeing Aso Yuri curled up with her arms folded, Natsukawa casually handed her the coat hanging on the counter.

"It's normal to be afraid. Don't force yourself. Only by acknowledging your weakness can you become strong."

"Tingyin also said," Aso Yuri asked Natsukawa, wiping her eyes without putting on her coat, "You knew from the beginning that I couldn't transform? Was it so that I could see clearly..."

"I just don't want you to keep bothering me."

Xia Chuan still couldn't find the owner, so he had to pay with a few coins himself.

"Mr. Kaminaga".

"Go back, don't catch a cold..."

Xia Chuan put away his wallet and prepared to find an umbrella to leave, but when he turned around, he was suddenly pulled into Yuri Aso's arms.

"Could I... hold you for a little while?"

Aso Yuri's voice choked with sobs as she leaned against Natsukawa, her body trembling.

For a moment, Xia Chuan was caught between a rock and a hard place, his face tense, and the image of Asami Hiroko gritting her teeth and glaring angrily flashed through his mind.

hiss!

"I'm sorry, I think I acted a bit recklessly because of ixa."

Yuri Aso couldn't control her emotions and burst into tears, tightly hugging Natsukawa with both arms.

"The president is right, Mr. Kaminaga is indeed the best candidate to wear the ixa outfit..."

"Whoosh!"

Xia Chuan opened his mouth, and a faint light suddenly emanated from his body. An even stronger sense of exhaustion surged into his heart again, and Asami Hiroko's continuous shouts echoed in his ears.

"Kaminaga!"

illusion?

Xia Chuan regained consciousness from exhaustion, and only when he raised his hand did he realize that he was gradually becoming ethereal, as if he was about to disappear from this world.

"Mr. Kaminari?"

Yuri Aso also noticed the situation, hurriedly released her hands, and watched in a trembling voice as Natsukawa's body became transparent.

"W-How could this happen?! Mr. Kaminaga—!"

"Bang!"

Ixa's fist rolled to the ground near Yuri Aso's feet.

……

"Kaminaga?"

In this world, Hiroko Asami's shouts rose again from outside the gate.

Xia Chuan suddenly woke up and sat up. After looking around the bedroom, he looked down at the shuttle at his waist.

They actually came back halfway through.

However, the connection with the Kiva instance has not disappeared; the shuttle has simply reported a cooldown period of several days.

It seems this time travel wasn't a complete failure.