Bighorn Bull is in charge of leading, and I, Beria, am in charge of raising it.

She is using her own will to fight against the dark energy that Mold has poured into her body.

Every tiny act of resistance was draining her already dwindling willpower.

"Lyme? Lyme! You're still in there, aren't you?!"

Noticing the abnormality in Rem's body, Belial, whose heart was filled with despair and anger, finally felt a glimmer of hope.

With a look of heartache and relief, Belial stared intently at the familiar figure before him. Despite being attacked, his speed increased instead of decreasing, and he opened his arms to embrace his daughter.

Just like when she was a child, it provides her with a safe haven from the wind and rain, giving her a greater sense of security.

"Don't worry, Daddy's here, Daddy's coming to save you... Ugh—!"

Unfortunately, Belial, desperate to save his daughter, had barely reached out his hand when a dark energy ray struck, hitting Belial who was completely unprepared and preoccupied with saving his daughter, sending him flying!

By the time Belial, who had fallen heavily to the ground, struggled to his feet with his hands on the ground, Mold was already laughing wildly and standing next to Lyme again.

"Hahaha! What a touching father-daughter bond! I'm almost moved to tears... You had the chance to kill me and end this crisis, but you chose to give it up for an experimental subject who had nothing to do with you? I must say, you so-called giants of light are truly utterly foolish!"

Mold's laughter carried an undisguised irony and pleasure.

As he spoke, he first looked down at Lym, who was struggling desperately but unable to break free from the shackles of dark energy. Then he raised his head and stared at the Silver Clan warrior in front of him with the eyes of someone sizing up prey. The warrior was covered in wounds from fighting for so long, yet still stood straight, exuding an air of arrogance.

This caused the initial contempt and disdain in Mold's eyes to be replaced by apprehension and vigilance. And, unknowingly, a touch of admiration had even crept in.

After a brief moment of reflection and weighing the pros and cons, he took the initiative to extend an olive branch to Beria.

"However, your strength has exceeded my expectations... Since you care so much about this experimental subject, I'll give you a chance. Kneel down now and swear allegiance to me, and I might consider returning her to you. In fact, if you make enough contributions to the Gua Empire, I might even hand over this planet to you to rule. What do you say?"

"Ha, stop with your wishful thinking! I am Ultraman... Ultraman Belial! How could I possibly submit to a villain like you!"

However, despite his serious injuries, Belial's eyes never showed the fear and despair that Belial expected when Mold recruited him. Only the noble spirit of a warrior, preferring death to surrender, remained!

"Just you wait, I'll tear you to pieces and then rescue my daughter!"

"Belial? Ah, so you're the guy who destroyed a production base of the Gua Empire ten thousand years ago? No wonder this test subject is willing to call you 'Dad.' In that case, there's really nothing to talk about..."

Mold's eyes lit up slightly, and he revealed a cruel yet delighted smile, as if he had finally found a long-lost toy.

Then, in front of Belial, Mold placed his hand on Lyme's head and continuously poured dark energy into her, forcibly suppressing the little self-awareness she had managed to regain and turning her back into an obedient puppet.

Then, looking at Belial, who was furious but hesitant to act because Lem was too close to Mold and could potentially harm Lem's life, he spoke coldly and deliberately.

“I’m just giving you a friendly reminder: I’m crushing this test subject’s consciousness bit by bit. Before long, she’ll become a complete puppet. And as long as she’s around, you can’t possibly defeat me. So, make a choice, Belial.”

"Either you kill this test subject yourself and have a good fight with me, or you cling to that ridiculous familial bond and let her kill you... Which one would you choose? I'm really looking forward to it!"

"...I choose...I choose your mother's ass! I choose option three! I'll blow you up right now—!!!!"

Upon hearing this, Beria shouted a curse, and his hands, which had been trembling, suddenly became steady.

That was the calm demeanor that came after reaching the limit of anger...

Or, to put it more accurately, it's the madness of someone who's been pushed to the edge of a cliff and has no way out, no longer needing to consider any consequences, only wanting to drag the other person down with them!

So the moment he finished speaking, Belial, right in front of Mold, pulled out a small, azure-blue energy cube from his storage space as if by magic, and then threw it forcefully at Mold!

The cube was only the size of a palm, and it was made entirely of crystal and some kind of special alloy. Its surface shimmered with an extremely faint blue-white light.

Mold initially only glanced at the thing, and since he didn't sense any powerful energy fluctuations, he didn't pay it any mind.

He thought it was just Belial's impotent rage, and that he could easily knock him away with a simple swing of his sword.

In fact, that's exactly what he did.

Little did anyone know that this seemingly inconspicuous energy cube was actually a portable miniature plasma spark that Belial had once created, storing highly concentrated light power!

It was only because the energy fluctuations were exactly the same as those of the core of the Plasma Spark Tower that, in the Land of Light's home ground, with the entire planet bathed in the light of the Plasma Spark Tower without any blind spots, the energy fluctuations contained in the portable miniature Plasma Spark were mistaken by Mold as being emitted by the Plasma Spark Tower!

And so, almost the instant the axe blade touched the energy cube, the internal balance was disrupted, and the entire energy cube exploded like a lit powder keg. A blinding blue-white orb of light spread wildly at extremely close range, engulfing Mold and his axe!

The fine cracks that had begun to appear on the blade of his giant axe under Belial's series of ferocious attacks were torn apart again in this explosion, and dark energy continued to leak out from the cracks!

Even the arrogant and pretentious Mold was shaken by the shockwave and staggered back more than ten steps before he could barely regain his footing!

Of course, because they were close enough, Lem, who was standing next to Mold, was also blown away.

This made Mold's eyes narrow, and he gradually began to believe that the giant of light in front of him was really so angry that he had lost his mind and wanted to kill him at all costs!

"You've already witnessed its power, so why don't you guess... is this enough to send us all on our way?"

Before Mold could say anything, he merely looked up instinctively at the sound and glanced in Belial's direction, his eyes widening in surprise.

Then, the madman in his eyes suddenly produced a large handful of identical energy cubes, which he then controlled with Ultraman telekinesis, making them float around him.

Judging by a rough count, there are at least a thousand of them! And each one emits the exact same energy fluctuations as the one that just exploded!

Even more alarming, Belial, whose eyes were half-hidden and tinged with a red-eyed effect, was still pulling out energy cubes! It was as if these energy cubes were inexhaustible for Belial!

This made Mold suddenly realize that this madman wasn't bluffing...

He really intended to use this suicide attack to blow up the entire Silver Cross Military District, along with himself, into the sky!

Just to vent his anger on that experimental subject, whom he considered utterly worthless!

Therefore, even Mold, who possessed an immortal body, was so frightened by the sight of such a terrifying scene that he lost control of his expression and couldn't help but scream in shock!

"You! You, you, you, you...Are you insane! Your Land of Light has always been a peace-loving nation! How could there be a madman like you!"

Mold practically roared these words. For the first time, his voice carried a hint of panic that even he himself was unwilling to admit.

Despite his immortality, Mold was certain that even if he were blown up here, he would eventually be resurrected and return.

However, fifty thousand years is a long time enough to change too many things.

Just like before their last death, there was no such strong resistance from the Land of Light to hinder the invasion of their Gua Empire!

Moreover, Mold had no idea whether this energy cube was Belial's exclusive item or a last resort that every Giant of Light could wield to fight the enemy!

If it's the latter...

The giants of light from across the entire planet, all wielding these energy cubes, charged up and blasted the Gua Empire apart...

Just thinking about that scene sent chills down Mold's spine!

Therefore, if given a choice, Mold wouldn't be foolish enough to play the extreme one-for-one game with this madman!

"Didn't you want me to choose? What, are you scared now?"

Belial pushed the spark in his left arm forward, and the blue-white light began to surge again.

And in his eyes, there was not a trace of fear of death.

Instead, he was brimming with excitement at being able to blow up Mold! He was satisfied with the thought that he had made a huge profit!

"I remember you said before that killing you would resolve this invasion crisis, right? So what am I hesitating for?"

"Huh? No... wait a minute, I'll tell you now. I was just joking back then, there's still time..."

"Come with me on my journey, Mold!"

"What? Stop right there! Let's talk this out! Stop right there!"

"Backup hidden power, activate—!"

"...Damn it! You lunatic! You're ruthless! Just you wait—!!!"

Seeing Belial's excited expression, completely ignoring what he was saying, he charged towards Mold with an overwhelming amount of energy cubes, like a self-destructing truck.

After weighing the pros and cons, Mold decided that it was not worth it to trade one for one with Belial. He chose to avoid the limelight for the time being, and quickly swung his giant axe to the side, creating a spatial rift that swallowed him up. He then retreated to his command platform.

Then he faced his sister Gina, who looked surprised and came closer.

With a gloomy expression, Mold had to admit that his sister was right...

He needed to reassess the threat level of the planet, he needed to get Gina to speed up the conversion of the undead army, and he needed to tell his brother, Juda…

On this planet, there are not only energy fluctuations resembling a holy sword, but also a group of madmen who might be carrying strange energy cubes called "backup hidden energy" and are ready to take you down with them at any moment!

After hearing Mold's description, Gina was dumbfounded.

What happened to the Land of Light's supposed love of peace?

Why do you have such terrifying weapons, and in such large quantities!

Are you really not some ultimate evil force that's secretly developing under the guise of peace, waiting to unify the universe?!

Chapter 32 The Doting Father

"...Phew, at least I scared that bastard away. Otherwise, in my current state, I would have had no choice but to fight him to the death."

Belial watched Mold's figure disappear into the spatial rift, showing no sign of annoyance or resentment. Instead, he visibly relaxed and let out a long sigh of relief.

Even the madness and excitement that Mold had been so wary of in his eyes vanished completely in that instant.

Without a doubt, everything he just did was just an act.

Well, of course, if Mold chooses to be stubborn and refuses to run no matter what...

Beria had no other choice but to make the charade real and explode at Mold!

Of course, Belial knew that after revealing such a powerful trump card as the portable mini plasma spark, Mold, who had temporarily retreated, would not be long before returning with an even more ferocious offensive.

Therefore, Belial did not dare to delay any longer. After confirming that Mold had really left, and was not hiding in some corner nearby waiting to ambush him, Belial put the portable mini plasma spark that was floating beside him back into the four-dimensional storage device.

Then he turned around and rushed to Lyme's side as fast as he could.

It's worth mentioning that when Belial threw the first portable mini plasma spark, he seemed to be reckless, blowing up Lym as well.

But in reality, Belial, being a top student, had already meticulously calculated the angle of his attack to ensure that most of the damage from the explosion would be absorbed by the unfortunate Morde.

As for Lyme standing next to him...

Rather than being blown away, it would be more accurate to say that he was knocked away by Mold.

In the instant the shockwave from the explosion knocked Mold off his feet, his massive body collided with Lyme beside him, pulling her to the ground as well.

In this way, the impact that Lem suffered was not enough to cause her any real harm. Compared to Mold, who took the full force of the explosion head-on, it was negligible.

Well, of course, even so, Belial was heartbroken when he saw Rem fly away, and he almost couldn't continue acting.

And now, with Mold's departure...

Lyme lay there stiffly like a walking corpse, showing no intention of getting up.

Clearly, just like ten thousand years ago when Belial dealt with those modified monsters...

Although her control over her body was forcibly taken away, as long as no one gave Lyme any orders, she would remain in a standby state.

This allowed Belial to easily approach Lyme, kneel down on one knee, and carefully lift her from the cold crystal floor. His right hand steadily supported the back of her neck, while his left hand circled around her knees, gently embracing his daughter's entire body.

Then, Belial lowered his head and gently pressed his forehead against hers, his entire body beginning to radiate a dazzling light.

That was the most essential light within Belial's body.

It is the purest, most unreserved light belonging to an old father who feels heartbroken for his daughter's plight.

Warm, bright, soft...

It was exactly the same as ten thousand years ago, when he carried her out of the isolation chamber from that filthy and disgusting underground laboratory and patiently comforted this extremely nervous and insecure little one.

The light flowed continuously from Belial's body, slowly entering Rem's body along the point where their foreheads touched.

They gently but firmly advanced along the energy pathways that had been eroded by dark energy, peeling away, purifying, and dispelling the dark energy that entangled her soul layer by layer.

But this is not enough.

While transmitting light energy, Belial pushed his perception to the limit, tracing the receding dark energy in reverse, all the way to the deepest part of Lym's soul.

There, he found an extremely well-hidden node...

That was a mind control backdoor that the perverted king secretly left when he performed the modification surgery on Lyme back then.

It was hidden so well that even when Belial and Lem were one, they didn't notice anything unusual.

It was through this back door that Mold was able to so easily suppress Lyme's consciousness and force her to attack her most beloved father.

Thinking of this, Belial's emotions surged violently once again.

But when he noticed the slight tremor in Lym's body and realized that he had accidentally hurt her, Belial immediately suppressed his anger and condensed his light into an extremely compressed beam to gradually cut and separate the threat until it was completely vaporized in the intense heat of the light.

Then, Belial filled all the gaps left after the back door was cleared with his own light, building a solid barrier for Lym's heart.

From this very moment on, anyone attempting to control Lyme will be repelled by Belial's protective mechanism the instant they come into contact with this layer, immediately alerting Belial. This allows Belial to arrive in time to protect his daughter and completely eliminate the possibility of Lyme being controlled by treacherous individuals again!

After Belial finished doing all this, Rem's body began to tremble violently.