Am I the only one in this team who is not Ultraman?

"You're not trying to tell me that the twenty Melba, the seventeen Golza, and the corpse of that Garula are all gone, are you?"

"In fact... it also includes Astromus, which we didn't have time to fully recover, the giant individual Super Gob named Gob last night, as well as Dinozoru and Gadi."

This is a serious matter. Leo almost fainted. Oh my god, he's going to have to work overtime again. How many reports will he have to write this time?!

"Received. Your work will be handed over to SKIP immediately, and I will dispatch the defense team to take over the scene as soon as possible!"

Seeing Leo like this, Gento suddenly felt that he was the real captain of the ESCG defense team. His proficiency and how quickly he got the hang of things were just too much.

However, Leo quickly looked over, since Gento was the captain. Gento nodded and said, "ESCG, move out!"

Although annoyed, Leo still stood up and saluted Gento, just like everyone else. "Roger that!"

"Vice Captain Leo isn't going this time."

"what?"

A question mark popped up above Leo's head. The captain of the String Man looked at him with a gentle gaze, and a little heartache and apology. "You've been too tired these past few days. Your priority now is to get yourself back in shape. We're enough for the front lines."

"Yes, don't worry, Vice Captain. This is just an abnormal phase. We're enough for now. You can come when a real monster appears." Komon nodded in agreement.

"Then it's best if the vice-captain doesn't have to come." Hong Kai, as always, used his own way to ease the atmosphere.

Daigo walked up to Leo and shook his hand. "Vice-Captain, don't leave yourself with any regrets. Learn to take the initiative to communicate with others, especially those who care about you."

Seeing that all four of them had this attitude, Leo thought about it and could only nod. Indeed, what he needed most right now was not to rush to the scene, but to communicate with Miss Jetton.

"Then let's attack!" Stringman picked up his helmet, saluted Leo instead, and then set off immediately.

Leo then took out the Ultimate Fighting Device, pondering how he could get Zetton to come out and see him.

Meanwhile, in the underground hangar, the logistics personnel of the armory were all extremely excited, especially when they heard "ESCG is ready to launch," they burst into tears.

This group of idiots who lost five fighter jets in a week is going to be out in force again. They haven't even finished repairing the plane that crashed last time!

Under the solemn gaze of everyone in the armory, the ESCG members emerged from the emergency exit.

Red Kai, an assault soldier in ESCG, has unparalleled fighting skills.

Lone Ranger, do you want to learn about wildlife, rescue, and combat? He's a walking encyclopedia in that area.

Daigo, a member of the team and an authority in the School of Architecture and Engineering.

"I am Gento Hiruma, the captain of ESCG, and I am now preparing for an emergency strike."

Captain Stringman saluted Hebikura, Ye Hu, and the others. The gazes of the people in the armory made him uneasy, especially since some of them were his former team members. He wondered what was going on.

"Captain Stringman." Ye Hu walked up to Stringman and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Promise me you'll come back safe and sound!"

“Kai.” Hebikura walked up to Kai. The two had been friends for many years. “Promise me, you don’t have to come back alive, but don’t let the plane I’ve worked so hard to repair crash.”

"Don't worry, if it's a fighter jet that you've tuned, its performance will definitely be the best."

Hong Kai and Hebikura exchanged a smile. Although ESCG had a high crash rate, it also proved the severity of the situations they faced. Then, Ye Hu led the Armory crew in a salute, their expressions serious.

"May the soldiers return in triumph!"

Chapter 31 Jaden's Feelings

Over the K region of Kumamoto City, Daigo and Komon flew over in their second unit. The traces of the battle between the GUTS team and Melba from this morning were still visible, but Melba's body was nowhere to be found, only a large crater remained.

"This is ESCG Flying Swallow No. 1. There are no discoveries. Just like before, the monster's corpse has vanished into thin air, and there are no traces of it burrowing underground."

"Unit 2 received. Proceed to the next location for investigation."

He heard everyone's voices through his earphones. Leo took them off and put them in his pocket. He sat alone on the rooftop of the 25th floor. K District was still abandoned at the moment, and no one would notice that someone was sitting on the 25th floor.

Before the mission, Captain Stringman forcibly gave Leo a half-day off, and said that he was not allowed to return to the team unless he was in an emergency, so that he could rest well and take care of his personal matters before returning to work.

"Zetton, Miss Zetton, come out and say something." Leo took out the Ultimate Fighting Device and poked it. He could still sense Dimaga's emotions. She was speechless but not anxious, which proved that Zetton's problem was emotional rather than a real injury. Otherwise, Leo would probably have to crawl into the Fighting Device.

There was no response, and the screen remained unresponsive. To be honest, Leo still didn't quite understand why Zetton had suddenly become so agitated. He realized that he and Zetton had been communicating far too little.

"If you don't come out, I'm going to jump off here," Leo said helplessly.

There was still no response, and he couldn't sense Jetton's emotions. Leo scratched his head helplessly. As a man of his word, his choice was simple: he would actually stand up and jump off the 25th floor.

In fact, Leo had done similar things before; rather, he always enjoyed the feeling of falling from a height, taking advantage of his physical strength, and feeling the wind rushing past him. Time seemed to slow down at that moment, like a revolving lantern.

However, this is the first time I've tried jumping directly from such a high place as the 25th floor. Well, if I land on the ground, it will probably hurt a lot.

The premise is that it actually falls to the ground...

Leo felt someone hug him, and the sound of the wind stopped for a moment. The next moment, he was back in the position where he had been standing, being hugged by Miss Jetton. But why was it a princess carry again?

"Please don't do such a dangerous thing." Zetton's calm voice trembled slightly. She didn't expect Leo to actually dare to jump. The 25th floor was nothing to a monster, but Leo... Zetton was really frightened by him.

“Because I believe you will catch me, Zetton.” Leo’s face showed no fear whatsoever. “Besides, you just won’t listen to me no matter what, Zetton. I have no choice but to put me down.”

Following Leo's instructions, Zetton silently put him down and then tried to return to the Fighting Device, only to find that she couldn't go back because Leo, as the Fighting Device user, had higher authority than her.

“Zetton, can you answer one question for me first?” Leo reached out and placed his hand on Zetton’s shoulder, staring into her beautiful amber-gold eyes.

An inexplicable instinct made Zetton's gaze want to drift in another direction, but she could feel Leo looking at her with a very firm gaze.

"Jetton, do you really hate me?"

Unprepared for this question, Jaden didn't even realize what Leo was talking about for a moment, but quickly shook his head, "No, I don't dislike you at all."

"So you really hate Ren?" Leo pondered what everyone had told him before.

“…No.” This time, Zetton hesitated for a moment before answering, but she didn’t lie; she wouldn’t lie to Leo.

Zetton didn't really like Renlong, but she definitely didn't hate him, because Leo relied on Renlong's protection during his growth, and in that respect, she was even grateful to Renlong.

"Jerton, can you tell me what you're afraid of?"

At that time, Leo could sense Zetton's unease, anxiety, and fear. He didn't know what Zetton was thinking, nor did he understand why Zetton suddenly had such emotions, so he wanted to ask him to find out.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me." Seeing that Jaden was still unwilling to speak, Leo exhaled, cupped her face in his hands, and forced her to look into his eyes.

Leo used very little force, but Zetton did not resist at all. Looking at the seriousness and determination in Leo's eyes, she moved her lips slightly, "I am... afraid that Leo is growing too fast, craving more power, and afraid that I will lose my value as a weapon."

"That guy said that even if I team up with those Ultramen, we still can't defeat that enemy; my strength isn't enough."

"At the same time, I also... dislike the part of myself that is afraid of these things. Zetton is a weapon, and weapons should consider how to eliminate enemies more effectively, not have such thoughts."

"The greater power, does that refer to King Joe and the several times I asked about the Fighting Device having any new monsters?" Leo finally realized. He had always known that Zetton was hiding something from him, but he never expected Zetton to have such thoughts.

Zetton's feelings were complicated. Ren's words this morning made her realize that her power was not enough, and perhaps even if she stopped hiding her strength, it would still not be enough. Leo's idea of ​​sending out Dimaga when facing Garula made her even more nervous, which is why she was eager to volunteer for battle, wanting to show her strength and let Leo know that she was fine.

But conversely, it proved his own shortcomings and flaws. At that time, not hiding his power could have directly defeated Garula, but having to use his full strength against such an enemy was a sign of his inadequacy.

"The meaning of its existence as a weapon is something that doesn't exist in the first place." Leo let go of her hand, looked at the unease in her eyes, and then grabbed Jetton's hand again to prevent her from disappearing again.

“I said from the very beginning that I hope to be your equal comrade-in-arms. You are not my weapon, but an important partner and family member.”

"I'm sorry, I didn't explain it clearly to you, Zetton. I have more power, but it's not because I'm worried that you're not strong enough. I just... Zetton, can you feel my feelings?"

Emotionally, Zetton had closed off its emotional channels to Leo, but she could always feel Leo's feelings for her. Rather, it was precisely because of the existence of such a channel, allowing her to feel everything about Leo, that Zetton, as a weapon, also developed emotions.

“Uneasy?” Zetton understood the meaning of Leo’s current feelings and nodded in affirmation. “Yes, I am uneasy because I don’t want to rely on your strength alone, and I don’t want you to fight alone, even though you are very strong… I am still afraid that you will get hurt.”

Releasing his grip, Leo rubbed his already disheveled hair, took a deep breath, and stared intently into Zetton's eyes. "Zetton, I'm afraid of losing you."

Having already lost the most important person in his life, Leo wants to hold on tightly to and protect everything he still has.

As he himself said, he protects the Earth because he and his grandmother both love this planet, but in reality, what he cherishes most are the people on that street, and now he has Jaden and his teammates.

“Your strength is undeniable, but Zetton, I don’t want to just be your commander. I want to fight alongside you, which is why I hope King Joe can be renovated quickly so I can provide more assistance. That way, I can help you more, and…”

Before he could finish speaking, Leo was embraced by Zetton, and he could feel Zetton's heart churning like a turbulent sea, filled with complex emotions, unease and anxiety, yet also a unique joy.

“I don’t want to lose you, Zetton.” Leo hugged Zetton for the first time. “So I promise you, I will never abandon you, and please promise me, you will never leave my side.”

Now, Leo can perceive Jaden's emotions more clearly.

"Oh, and also, given that you ignored me this time, Zetton," Leo pushed Zetton away slightly and pointed to a large bag of snacks on the side, "I've decided to punish you by making you finish all of this."

Despite being a girl with no income, no job, and no savings, Miss Jetton is more obsessed with snacks than many children, to the point that she can eat them as a meal.

Zetton thought for a moment, then teleported over, grabbed a bag of cotton candy, stuffed it into Leo's hand, and then pointed to his own mouth.

"Why do we have to feed her?" Leo couldn't help but laugh. He and Zetton found a place to sit, tore open the packaging, took out a marshmallow and put it in her mouth. But it didn't feel like enough, so he simply poured the whole bag into Zetton's mouth.

Seeing Zetton's face puff up like a hamster, Leo couldn't help but laugh. Who would have thought that Zetton, who could pin down and beat other monsters, would have such a cute side?

Sure enough, whether it's from Planet Baltan or Planet Zetton, his Zetton is the number one in the universe, well, at least in terms of cuteness.

“Power too.” Zetton nodded very seriously. “With Leo around, I can definitely become stronger.”

"You can tell what I'm thinking?" Leo was genuinely surprised. Jaden nodded.

“A little bit, I feel closer to Leo, right here…” Jaden clutched his chest. “It used to hurt here, but now it’s warm.”

"That's the heart. It's normal to feel heartache and warmth." Leo smiled and ruffled Zetton's hair, thinking to himself that he needed to control his thoughts in the future. He couldn't let Miss Zetton hear all his inner thoughts, like... cough cough, he couldn't think about it.

"Does Leo want me to wear white stockings next time?"

"There's no such thing!"

Meanwhile, inside the fighting device, Demacia watched the two people outside chatting and laughing, and tears of envy streamed down his face. "What about me?"

Chapter 32 Uneasy feeling

"Report, this is SKIP's first search team. We have arrived at the target location and have not yet found any traces of a meteorite impact."

SKIP, short for Monster Disaster Prevention Scientific Research Institute, is under the jurisdiction of TPC. Its function is to investigate abnormal phenomena. Once a monster disaster risk is confirmed, it will contact the defense force for handling and carry out personnel evacuation. It is a very dangerous job.

"This is the second search team, and they haven't found anything either."

Nothing was found, which was unsettling, since a normal meteorite should be easy to find.

"Be careful, and remember to report any unusual activity immediately." Captain Megumi of the GUTS team frowned as she looked at the screen.

Last night, SKIP received a call from a camping couple who saw a red and black meteor crash into the mountain. They also heard a terrifying sound and felt like they could hardly breathe.

This matches the fourth flying object reported by the Space Observation Center, so SKIP started searching the mountain early in the morning, but found nothing. Unfortunately, things didn't go smoothly today either. If it comes again today, it will be really bad.

ESCG is investigating the mass disappearance of monster corpses, and GUTS is on high alert, ready to fight at any time. However, they still haven't found the fallen objects by the afternoon.

"Report, a crater has been discovered, but... there are no meteorites inside. What... what is this?"

"Ye Rui, switch the camera to Search Team One."

With a command from Megumi Kijima, the scene on the big screen switched to the search team. In the dense forest, there was a pit that didn't look too deep, with wisps of smoke still rising. But what was in the center of the pit was not a meteorite, but a sword.

The pitch-black background was marked with faint cracks, and the hilt was inlaid with dark red gems. Just looking at it gave people a dark feeling, which made even the battle-hardened Iruma Megumi feel a little scared.

If any knowledgeable alien were standing here, they would recognize the origin of this sword and be amazed at what kind of fierce battle could have caused such cracks in the dark fabric of the Empera aliens, and how it could have ended up here.

If even Megumi Kijima was so uneasy through the screen, the search team members present were even more anxious, their voices trembling slightly as they asked, "Captain Megumi Kijima, should we retrieve it?"

"The recovery work will be handed over to the Special Investigations Division. You confirm the coordinates and do not touch this thing."

Although she didn't know what it was, Megumi instinctively sensed that it contained a considerable amount of evil power. This was not something to be touched casually and needed to be treated with caution.

Meanwhile, after resolving Zetton's anxiety and restlessness, Leo, who was being carried back to the ESCG command room by Zetton, looked at the message sent by Megumi with some confusion.

"A sword?" Compared to the other flying objects that Renlong identified as dangerous, a sword seemed much more ordinary, but when Leo saw it, he realized that it was not something simple.

"Yes, the Special Investigation Division has already begun the recovery operation, but this shouldn't be something that exists on Earth."

"It doesn't look like anything good. Let the science department take a look at it later."

"Okay, so what's the latest on the missing monster corpse?" Megumi asked, addressing the issue she was most concerned about. Leo shook his head. "Captain Stringman and the others are still investigating. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Victory Team is ready to strike at any time."

Leo bowed to Megumi to show his respect, then ended the call and accepted the tea that Zetton brought him. Hmm, Zetton?

"Zetton, didn't you go back into the combat device?"

“Leo told me not to leave your side,” Zetton replied righteously. It was indeed Leo who had said that, just half an hour ago.

"But this is ESCG's base. It would be terrible if someone saw us."

"It's alright, I'll go back into the combat device when someone comes." Zetton was quite confident about this. Not just anyone could come to the ESCG base, and even in human form, she could sense all biological signals within a four-kilometer radius.