Chapter 144 'Sir'

“Let’s start with that Sparklence in your hand. It belongs to Ultraman Tiga. About thirty million years ago, humanity already existed and had built an incredibly glorious civilization. In modern terms, you’d call it an ultra-ancient civilization. They had many beings like Ultraman Tiga hanging around. They fought kaiju, repelled alien invasions, and protected Earth. However, once those giants teamed up and defeated their common enemies, a massive civil war broke out over their different factions and interests.”

“Tiga and three other Ultramen who had fallen to the dark side won that war. Later on, Tiga was moved by Yuzare, the captain of the Earth Defense Force. He chose to seal away the three Dark Giants, converted his dark energy into the power of Light, and took up the mantle of Earth’s guardian once again.”

“Unfortunately, right after the giants’ civil war ended, the plant kaiju Gijera appeared. It released a pollen that heavily hallucinated humans, trapping the ancient people in an illusion of blissful euphoria, leading them to make the choice to abandon the giants. The Giants of Light couldn’t interfere with humanity’s own choices. They had no choice but to leave their combat bodies behind, turn back into light, and return to their home world.”

“Without the Giants of Light to protect them, Gatanothor, the Ruler of Darkness, descended. He brought apocalyptic darkness and completely wiped out the ultra-ancient civilization. And now, history is about to repeat itself. Those four kaiju you fought were here to destroy the giant bodies left behind, leaving Earth defenseless so the Ruler of Darkness could obliterate the entire world.”

Vane laid out the brutal truth in the simplest terms possible.

Daigo’s expression shifted wildly. He stared at the Sparklence in his hand, then back at Vane, struggling to process the massive lore drop. “Are you saying… the world is going to be destroyed soon?”

Vane nodded. “Yup. Once Gatanothor pops out, Earth is pretty much cooked. So, you might want to use whatever time you have left to hang out with your family and kids.”

“There has to be a way to stop this!” Daigo clenched his fists, refusing to give up.

“Then go give it a shot.” Vane shrugged dismissively. “It doesn’t hurt to try, anyway.”

“What about you, Sir?” Daigo locked eyes with Vane. “You’re so strong. Can you help us defeat the plant kaiju Gijera and the Ruler of Darkness?”

“Wow, you’re actually calling me ‘Sir’ just to get some help!” Vane rubbed his chin, pretending to think it over. “But honestly, even if you call me Sir, I’m just not that motivated to do a thankless, grueling job like that.”

“Sir, name your terms. What do I have to do to get you to help me protect this world?” Daigo bowed deeply. “As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

A wicked grin crept onto Vane’s face. Honest guys are way too easy to play.

“Well, since you put it that way, I guess I’ll do you a solid. I haven’t figured out what I want from you yet, though, so you just owe me a massive favor for now.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Daigo let out a massive sigh of relief. “What’s our move? Should I alert TPC headquarters so they can prepare weapons for the Ruler of Darkness?”

“Nope.” Vane shook his head. “Daigo, now is not the time to start a war. Absolutely do not take action on your own, and whatever you do, do not leak this secret. If you wake up the Ruler of Darkness early, before we’re strong enough to fight back, all we’ll be able to do is watch human civilization burn to the ground. Head back to your squad for now. I’ll track you down in a few days and give you a foolproof plan.”

Vane took two steps backward and, along with Big E, vanished completely from sight.

“Sir!” Daigo lunged forward, searching the immediate area, but found absolutely nothing.

Right then, the grief-stricken shouts of Rena, Munakata, and the rest of his squad echoed through the woods in the distance. They had all assumed Daigo was dead and were combing the area for his remains.

Forget it. I better go find Rena and the others. They must be worried sick.

Unable to locate Vane and Big E, Daigo turned and bolted toward the sound of his teammates’ voices.

“Daigo, are you a man or a ghost?!”

Horii’s legs practically turned to jelly when Daigo came sprinting out of the tree line and nearly bowled him over.

“I’m definitely human! I managed to bail out right before the kaiju wrecked my cruiser,” Daigo quickly explained.

Munakata, Shinjo, and the others swarmed him, patting him down to make sure he was actually real. Once they confirmed he was alive, the relief was palpable.

“You bastard, you scared the hell out of us!”

“Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again!”

–

After a loud, chaotic round of concerned scolding, the GUTS squad piled back into GUTS Wing 1 and 2 and headed back to base. As for the kaiju remains left at the battle site, specialized cleanup crews would handle the mess.

During their internal debriefing back at headquarters, Daigo suggested they name the giant “Ultraman Tiga” and dub the sword-wielding kaiju “Godzilla.”

With a little push from the top brass, news of Tiga and Godzilla teaming up to wipe out four kaiju dominated every TV network and online platform. The hype was off the charts, and the public quickly hailed both of them as guardians.

This development absolutely infuriated the Kyrieloids, an alien race secretly embedded within human society. They already viewed Earth as their personal property. To them, Tiga and Godzilla were wrecking their grand design, an offense that was completely unforgivable.

While GUTS Captain Megumi Iruma was live on a television broadcast introducing Tiga and Godzilla to the public, the Kyrieloids hijacked the broadcast. Possessing the TV host’s body, they issued a global declaration.

“Listen to me! Earth is on the verge of rebirth! The Sacred Fire will burn away all impurities and misunderstandings. The Kyrieloids will rule this planet, and there is absolutely nothing that can stop it!”

—

Over in Kumamoto City, Vane and Big E were busy tinkering with a conversion device when they caught the Kyrieloids’ live broadcast.

“A filthy xenos dares to act this arrogant? We need to issue an Exterminatus on them immediately.” Big E was so pissed off he literally punched a hole straight through the TV. Seeing these aliens act so brazen on Earth, practically standing on humanity’s neck while spewing this garbage, made his blood boil uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the moment the Kyrieloids dropped their declaration, Vane got a brand-new quest notification.

[Quest Notification: Defeat the Kyrieloids on Earth. The Kyrieloids are extra-dimensional spiritual entities hiding on Earth. They consider themselves superior to humanity and believe humans should bow down and worship them as their one true god. However, they have never once lifted a finger to help humanity during its darkest hours, only choosing to intervene when their own status is threatened. Rewards: Dimensional Pickaxe x1, Lucky Block x1, EMC Points +1000, Enchanted Golden Apple x20, Completion Progress +1%, Title: “God? Just Another Defeated Chump.”]