Chihaya Aine is a member of the team Zero

The light particles scattered by Ultra Seven and the energy sparks released by Ultraman Leo solidified at a height of one hundred meters, forming an inverted energy matrix.

The two of them shuttled through the dense energy rain, and each dodge

All of this stirred up ripples of energy. When countless raindrops were simultaneously disturbed by the fist wind, the entire matrix suddenly collapsed, transforming into a spiral column of light that pierced the sky and earth, enveloping the battlefield.

Ultra Seven slapped the ground with his right palm, and the rock layers rolled like waves.

The moment Ultraman Leo leaped to dodge, Ultra Seven, who was hiding in the ground, took the opportunity to break out of the ground and used his grappling skills to press his opponent into the ground.

The two men tumbled and clashed within the lava flow. Ultraman Seven's elbow pierced Ultraman Leo's defense, but the Crimson Lion Warrior, leveraging the lava's buoyancy, latched onto Leo's neck. A powerful light from the Earth's core erupted from the cracks, freezing their silhouettes like an ancient mural.

Then the two of them took off into the air again and escaped from the battlefield full of lava.

Ultraman Leo drew a circle with his arms to induce an atmospheric vortex, and the heavy rain was twisted into a kilometer-long water whip.

Ultra Seven charged forward on the waves, his blade slicing through the watery curtain, leaving behind seven afterimages. When the sixth afterimage shattered, his true form had penetrated Ultraman Leo's defenses. His inch punch delivered nine bursts of power at the moment of contact, sending a shockwave that ripped the clouds behind Ultraman Leo into a ring of clear sky.

At the moment of being stunned, Ultra Seven locked Ultraman Leo's right arm with a cross armbar, but was countered by the opponent with a handstand choke.

The two of them spun in midair like a red pinwheel, their centrifugal force sucking the debris within a ten-mile radius into a star ring. When the rotation speed exceeded the critical point, they simultaneously released their grip and launched themselves, the reaction force shattering the star ring into photon dust.

Ultraman Leo launched his attack on a floating meteorite, his speed increasing explosively with each step. Ultraman Seven stepped on the floating debris, leaping between the exploding orbs.

When their bodies crossed, Ultra Seven grabbed Ultraman Leo's ankle and swung him towards the ground of the crimson planet. The red giant like a lion fell on the crimson ground, raising a curtain of dust into the sky.

Volume 1: Chapter 209: The special training you received was not in vain

Ultra Seven used Ultra Telekinesis to search while landing, but he could not find any trace of Ultraman Leo, who was created by the brainwashed alien Viel.

At this moment, the hard ground of the crimson planet broke open, and Ultraman Leo, who had been on standby for a long time, took action.

Ultraman Leo's arms wrapped around Ultra Seven's waist like a giant python, his ten fingers clenching the joints of his spine. Ultra Seven leaned back, clamped his legs around his opponent's neck, and rolled over.

The two transformed into a silver-red whirlwind, rolling across the rock platform, crushing the granite into dust wherever they passed. When their speed reached its peak, Ultra Seven suddenly stomped on the mountain wall, pushing Ultraman Leo back into a crevice in the ground. Lava erupted from the crack in a curtain of crimson gold.

Ultra Seven grabbed Ultraman Leo's wrist and threw him over his shoulder towards the cliff. The Crimson Lion Warrior twisted his waist the moment he touched the ground, his free left leg slashing down like a battle axe. Ultra Seven raised his arm to block the blow, the dull thud of forearm and shin shattering every protruding rock within three kilometers.

Before the flying debris hit the ground, the fight between the two men had already left a bottomless indentation on the surface of the cliff.

Ultraman Leo suddenly leaped behind Ultra Seven and executed a rear-naked choke, locking his legs against his chest. Ultra Seven grasped his opponent's ankles and somersaulted forward, swinging Ultraman Leo overhead. The Red Lion Warrior, bracing himself on one hand before impact, scissor-kicked Ultraman Leo around the throat. The two men tumbled and tangled on the ground, plowing spiral furrows into the granite surface, and a boiling underground spring erupted into a circular water prison.

Ultra Seven's fists blasted away in afterimages, while Leo Ultraman crossed his forearms like a shield, blocking twenty-seven blows. Each powerful punch sent shockwaves through the rock, and with the final blow, the entire platform suddenly collapsed into a bowl-shaped crater. Leo Ultraman seized the opportunity to grab Ultra Seven's wrist and clamp it down, only to see Ultra Seven's thumb suddenly bend backwards as if dislocated, catching his pulse point at an odd angle to counterattack.

The two men fell into the underground river while entangled in each other's arms, and continued to wrestle in the rapids.

Ultra Seven locked onto Ultraman Leo's legs, twisting and twisting them, but the Red Lion Warrior, using the force of the water, broke free and pressed his opponent's head into the riverbed. They tumbled and fought in the turbulent current, smashing the boulders on the riverbed into a pebbled beach. When they finally broke through the water, the hundred-meter-long water dragon they brought with them transformed into a torrential downpour in the air.

Ultra Seven grabbed Ultraman Leo's left wrist and spun around in a circle, and the two of them turned into a silver-red gyroscope that swept across the red planet.

After a long period of fighting with each other, with punches and kicks coming one after another, Ultra Seven and Ultraman Leo finally separated.

The afterimage of Ultraman Leo was reflected between the rock pillars into seven clones, and Ultraman Seven's head dart drew a cold trajectory to cut through the illusion.

As his true form plummeted overhead, Ultra Seven clasped his palms together and caught the blade with his bare hands. The shockwave tore a thousand-meter-long crack in the ground. Before the dust and mist had cleared, the two had exchanged countless grappling holds and counterattacks, leaving the surface of the rock platform covered in battle scars of varying depths.

Ultra Seven's relentless kicks unleashed a wave of rocky debris, each flying rock transforming into a defensive barrier. Ultraman Leo dodged and dodged within the stone formations, his blade slashing through the rock wall into neat cubes.

When the last stone gate collapsed, Ultra Seven suddenly attacked from the crack in the earth veins, threw the red lion warrior over his shoulder and pierced him into the mantle, and the lava fountain bloomed into red-gold fireworks in the night sky.

However, Ultraman Leo hid his figure in the red-gold fireworks and approached Ultra Seven silently.

Ultraman Leo's cross armbar was countered by Ultra Seven's Mirror Joint Technique. The two men tumbled and tangled on the ground, shattering the rock formations symmetrically wherever they passed. On the ninth rotation, Ultra Seven suddenly used the opponent's momentum to slam his opponent into the mirror-smooth cliff. The echo of the impact echoed back and forth through the valley, lingering for a long time.

The moment the two giants' fists collided, a circular shock wave spread rapidly from the landing point.

Ultraman Seven and Ultraman Leo continued to wrestle in the pure white energy field composed of the light energy bursting out from their bodies. Every step they retreated plowed a long gully in the crystallized ground. When they finally retreated at the same time, the aftershocks shattered the boulders a hundred miles away into pieces.

Ultra Seven's palm strike brought forth a blade, shaped by the vibrations of Ultra Telekinesis. As Ultraman Leo spun to avoid it, the blade's impact rippled across the rock platform, creating a thousand-meter-long crack. The Red Lion Warrior seized Ultra Seven's wrist and, using the momentum to launch him, he tapped the floating stone with his toes, flipping mid-air and breaking free. The two exchanged several kicks amidst the thunderbolts, each collision creating a visible ripple in the surrounding air, sweeping away the surrounding atmosphere.

The slash that Ultra Seven just made, which was condensed with Ultra Telekinesis, seemed insignificant, but in fact it had completely cut off the ground where the two were standing.

Just as Ultra Seven and Ultraman Leo were exerting their strength on each other, the collapsed ground caused the two to fall back into the underground river again.

Ultraman Leo's spin kick stirred up the underground river, creating a waterspout filled with lava fragments. Ultraman Seven plunged into the core of the vortex, his arms stirring the fluid to form a reverse vortex.

When two waterspouts that looked similar but were actually completely different collided with each other, the two huge forces completely canceled each other out, and the waterspouts turned into ordinary river water again.

Just as the water curtain descended, Ultra Seven's blade concentrated its telekinesis, slicing through space. Ultraman Leo's afterimage was frozen in place on the fault line. The Red Lion Warrior flashed through the gap in the attack, kneeing him in the back. Precisely anticipating this, Ultra Seven leaned back, grasped his opponent's ankle, and swung him in a pendulum motion, flinging him away.

Ultraman Leo pushed his legs on the rock surface and rushed towards Ultra Seven with force. Ultra Seven stood still, but he was ready to fight back.

The moment the two palms touched each other, all the battle debris seemed to be suspended and still.

In the end, it was Ultra Seven who, with his powerful telekinesis, was the first to break free from this strange state, and then punched Ultraman Leo.

Ultra Seven's fist brushed past Leo

As Turman's ears pierced the rock wall behind him, a sonic boom ripped a spiderweb of cracks. Ultraman Leo seized the vacant arm and, twisting his waist, hurled Ultra Seven into the air. Ultra Seven curled up and rolled in mid-fall, his toes tapping onto suspended meteorite fragments. Using the momentum, he swooped down like a crimson meteor. The moment their fists collided, the rubble within a fifty-meter radius instantly vaporized, and the boiling steam engulfed both figures into hazy silhouettes.

Twelve muffled clashes of fists and feet echoed from the steam curtain, and shockwaves spread out one after another. As countless gusts of air spread, Ultraman Leo suddenly broke through the fog barrier and flew backwards, his back plowing a hundred-meter gully in the rock face. The rock platform peeled away layer by layer during the struggle, revealing the lava river flowing below.

Ultra Seven grabbed Leo's ankle and spun, his crimson body hammering down on the rock like a warhammer. With his fifth blow, the entire lava lake exploded, the splattering streams forming a web of fire in the air. But on his tenth strike, Ultraman Leo suddenly curled up, his free left leg swung like a scorpion's tail, and his heel struck Ultra Seven's elbow.

The moment they let go, they both fell into the lava, and dozens of boiling bubbles exploded in the dark golden slurry.

A blinding light erupted from the depths of the lava, and two figures emerged from the magma. Ultra Seven crossed his arms into a shield, and used his telekinesis to condense the scorching lava clinging to his body into a rain of arrows.

Ultraman Leo spun around, unleashing a tornado of crimson flames, completely devouring the rain of lava arrows at a temperature of thousands of degrees Celsius. Before the steam had even dissipated, Ultraman Seven had already pierced through the wall of fog, the trail of his ice axe leaving a chilling glint that chilled one's very being.

Ultraman Leo dodged the fatal blow, grabbed Ultraman Seven's wrist, and pulled him along. As Ultraman Seven lost his balance and lunged forward, Red Knee rammed into his opponent's ribs. Ultraman, however, twisted his hips at an unnatural angle, unleashing an uncontrolled left fist that pierced his opponent's temple. The muffled sound of the double strikes combined into a shockwave, creating a circular depression in the lava lake's surface.

Ultra Seven's elbow missed, piercing the rock pillar. Leo followed with a sweeping kick. Ultra Seven dodged with a single palm, then scissored his legs against the Red Lion Warrior's neck. Leo, in a backwards stance, countered with a backwards kick from his hands. The two completed nine rounds of attack and defense in a single inch of space, and the ground, a hundred meters in radius, collapsed into a perfect circular pit.

The edge of the circular pit suddenly collapsed, and Ultra Seven grabbed the falling rock and hurled it at his opponent. Ultraman Leo spun around, kicking away the falling rock, only to see three more rocks descend in a triangular formation. The Red Lion Warrior leaped onto the first rock, using the second as a stepping stone, and the third as a meteor hammer. The rocks shattered into dust on impact, and from the dust emerged Ultra Seven's piercing thrusts.

Ultraman Leo clasped his palms together to clamp the incoming blade, sparks cascading from his fingers. Ultraman Seven suddenly curled his fingers into a hook, twisting his opponent's wrist and launching him into a spin. The crimson figure crashed through seven layers of rock, only to break free before the eighth impact. The returning figure exchanged a mid-air kick with its pursuer, the recoil sending both of them careening towards the cliff in opposite directions.

Ultra Seven ripped apart stalactites in his backward flight, his twenty-meter-long rock spear whistling through the air. Ultraman Leo dodged the fatal thrust, but the rock spear pierced the mountain, triggering a chain reaction. The Red Lion Warrior charged forward, stepping on falling boulders, each leap leaving a flaming footprint in the air.

When he moved for the third time, a red figure suddenly appeared from the smoke and dust of the collapse.

Fists collided within the smokescreen, a circular vacuum clearing the dust a thousand meters into the air. In the pristine core of the battlefield, the two engaged in a final attack and defense, the afterimages of their fists and kicks weaving into a silver-red storm. As the thousandth collision occurred, the falling rubble was shaken by the fierce battle between Ultraman Seven and Ultraman Leo.

Ultraman Leo burst forward from the rubble, his jab sparking a spark on Ultra Seven's cheek. Ultra Seven countered with a left hook, but the moment Ultra Seven ducked, the Red Lion Warrior's uppercut pierced his jaw. Ultra Seven's stumbling backwards crushed the rock, and he suddenly seized the moment Ultra Seven's fist recoiled, grabbing his wrist and twisting it in the opposite direction. Before the crack of dislocation had faded, Ultraman Leo's kick had already struck him in the lower body.

Ultra Seven jumped up to avoid the sweeping kick and delivered a mid-air knee strike to the face.

Ultraman Leo folded his palms to defend against the impact, his heels sinking deep into the ground made of magma.

Before the force of the knee could dissipate, the Red Lion Warrior suddenly pulled away and dodged. Losing his target, Ultra Seven couldn't recover in time, and his knee ripped the ledge apart, creating radial cracks. Ultraman Leo seized the opportunity to choke him, but was met with a counter-elbow to the ribs.

The two men tumbled and grappled on the crumbling rock. Ultraman Leo's joint lock was broken by Ultraman Seven's joint lock. The Red Lion Warrior attempted a ground slam, but Ultraman Seven's knee found his throat. As they wrestled, the rock beneath them collapsed. They continued their attack and defense throughout their fall, their fists and feet colliding with precision seven hundred and seventy-seven times in free fall.

The moment he touched the ground, Ultra Seven turned and pressed, his punches falling like pile drivers. Ultraman Leo rolled to avoid the blow, a deep, beaded crater blasting out from where he had been lying. As the seventh punch landed, the Red Lion Warrior suddenly entangled the swinging arm with his legs, using his waist to sling the oppressor towards the dome. Ultra Seven swooped down from the rocky wall of the cave, his kick and uppercut colliding in mid-air.

After who knows how many rounds of fighting, Ultra Seven looked at his familiar "beloved disciple" Ultraman Leo in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh at the power of the illusion space created by the brainwashed alien Viel.

"Although I don't know which stage of Leo the brainwashed alien Viel copied, I certainly didn't expect that guy to be so difficult to deal with after becoming an enemy."

Ultra Seven's telekinesis was firmly locked onto the warrior in front of him who looked like a red lion.

"Was Mr. Leo very weak before? Mr. Seven?"

Goto Ichiri in his body also understood the hidden meaning in Ultra Seven's words.

"Yeah, before, he would be defeated by any enemy, and only after I trained him could he defeat them."

There was inevitably a hint of reminiscence in Ultra Seven's tone.

"Does special training mean: jeeps, boomerangs, pointed logs, crutches, etc.?!!!"

The corresponding special training scenes naturally appeared in Goto Ichiri's mind.

"Ahem, that was my first time taking on an apprentice, and he was the only immature warrior capable of protecting the Earth, so it was inevitable that my methods were a bit drastic..."

Although his combat body did not have saliva, Ultra Seven almost experienced the feeling of being choked to death by his own saliva.

"Let's not talk about this for now. Now that we've figured out the other side's background and fully consumed the energy of the brainwashed alien, the Viel people, the next step is to completely bomb this space."

After several fights just now, Ultra Seven could vaguely feel that the brainwashed alien Viel was almost out of energy to maintain the illusion space of this high-intensity combat.

In other words, as long as Ultra Seven can launch an attack that exceeds the remaining energy of the brainwashed alien Viel, he will be able to break the illusion space that is trapping himself and Goto Ichiri at this moment.

"I understand, Mr. Seven, just go ahead and do it!"

Goto Ichiri's blue eyes were filled with determination.

Volume 1: Chapter 210: The Steadfast Protector of Humanity

In order to release the full force of the concentrated light beam, Ultra Seven raised his fists to the sky. The rectangular blocks in the energy armor covering his chest and shoulders madly absorbed the surrounding energy and converted it into Ultra Seven's energy.

Ultra Seven gathers strength by crossing his arms and then quickly unfolding them. His right forearm is vertical, and his left hand holds his right wrist, forming a signature "L" shape. The light emission range is from the fingertips of his right palm to his right elbow, and then bursts out from the front of his right arm.

It emits dazzling golden light.

This action is accompanied by a strong energy fluctuation, and the light hits the enemy like a torrent, and high-energy particles form a magnificent rain of light in the air.

The illusion of Ultraman Leo created by the brainwashed alien Viel has its limits after all. Although Ultraman Leo made a gesture to launch the L77 beam, he failed in the end.

The warrior, as majestic and powerful as a red lion, was swallowed up by the golden rain of light launched by Ultra Seven.

As Ultraman Leo disappeared in Ultra Seven's concentrated light beam, the illusion space based on the crimson planet also disappeared completely.

Instead, there was endless darkness.

"Mr. Seven? Mr. Seven?!"

In the pitch-black darkness, Goto Ichiri called out to the figure who always gave him a sense of security.

Soon, something else emerged from the boundless darkness.

That was Goto Ichiri's past experience.

When I was a child, I unknowingly became a person who could only play with my teacher.

This also led to Goto Ichiri's extreme social phobia. Later, she was unable to look people in the eye, and even did not dare to refuse other people's requests. This personality trait resulted in her having almost no friends at school.

The homophony of her name "Ichiri" (pronounced "hitori" in Japanese) and "alone" (ひとりぼっち) seems to foreshadow the background of her life - she is always alone, used to hiding in the corners of the classroom or in dark places, covering herself with long hair to avoid contact with the outside world.

Even after moving to a new school, she was often ignored by her classmates due to her lack of presence. Even when someone tried to communicate with her, she was too nervous to respond. She was even misunderstood as a weirdo for her "strange remarks" or "delusions." This vicious cycle led her to gradually withdraw into herself, and she turned to guitar as her only outlet.

"Yeah, that's right... All of this has led to me practicing guitar for six hours every day, regardless of the heat of summer or the cold of winter!"

Goto Ichiri has been able to use these negative memories of the past as spiritual food.

The scene changes, and Goto Ichiri, who practices guitar every day, soon acquires superb skills.

She posted performance videos online under the name "Guitar Hero," attracting tens of thousands of followers. However, this success did not alleviate her loneliness; instead, it became a safe haven for her to escape reality. She gained recognition in the virtual world, but was unable to translate this confidence into reality. She even feared being discovered for her true identity, fearing her fans would be disappointed if they learned that the "Guitar Hero" was someone like Goto Ichiri.

Then, a beam of light appeared from the darkness.

After joining the "End Band," her loneliness faced new challenges. Despite her desire to collaborate with others, her long history of solitary practice left her at a loss in a group setting. Unable to adapt to the rhythm of the group, she frequently made mistakes, even earning the description of her teammates as "utterly terrible." This frustration intensified her self-doubt, leading her to a period of despair, a "goodbye, world."

"While I'm a guitar hero playing alone at home, I'm just a plankton when I'm in a band."

Goto Ichiri looked at himself hiding in the ripe mango armor, and his tone couldn't help but carry a hint of self-mockery.

Goto Ichiri often develops exaggerated delusions driven by excessive expectations or fears. For example, he fantasizes about being the center of attention at a sports festival, only to collapse when he fails to fit in; or he covers himself with cardboard boxes to avoid the public's gaze. These behaviors are full of ambiguity, yet they also reflect his inner desire for acceptance and fear of failure.

"Despite all that...Nijiga-chan also gave me unparalleled tolerance and encouragement. Ryo-senpai even gave me the nickname 'Pochi-chan'. Kita-chan, who is as cheerful as a little sun, always cares about me. All this kindness and support has made me who I am today!"

In the darkness that seemed to have no end, a dazzling and brilliant light suddenly appeared.

"That's right! Your loneliness isn't a passive suffering, but your unique way of interacting with the world. You long for connection but fear hurt, you pursue perfection but are trapped in self-denial. However, your growth proves that loneliness can be a source of strength—through music, you transform loneliness into the driving force for creation and performance!"

Ultra Seven's voice appeared in Goto Ichiri's ears.

"Transform, Ichiri!"

Warm light took shape in Goto Ichiri's hands, and a pair of crimson Ultraman glasses appeared in Goto Ichiri's hands.

Goto Ichiri's hand that held up the Ultra Glasses was trembling at first, but as the Ultra Glasses got closer, Goto Ichiri's hand became more and more steady.

"shua!"

When Goto Ichiri raises the Ultra Glasses to his eyes, the frames instantly burst out with dazzling red light, forming a spiral beam of light that wraps around his entire body.

After the light shrank, Ultra Seven's red body gradually appeared, and the emerald light of the breastplate and the head beam light lit up synchronously.

This is the first time that Goto Ichiri transforms into Ultra Seven with his own consciousness, and it also symbolizes that Goto Ichiri has truly taken a step forward.

The light broke through the endless darkness, and a crimson giant like a god stood on the earth.

There is no doubt that Ultra Seven has returned to reality at this time.