Chapter 170 Speedrunning the Ultraman Universe—Here Come the Maniacs! (1)

Vane pulled his Dimensional Pickaxe out of his inventory.

After a few swings, space itself shattered like glass, breaking apart into individual blocks that were promptly collected by his inventory.

“Let’s go.”

Vane stepped through the opening, followed closely by the Emperor, Daigo, Ibuki Mitsuishi, and Ultraman King.

Everyone else remained behind to help the Land of Light clean up the battlefield.

Following the directions of his Item Locator Compass, Vane easily tracked down the timeline containing the Perfect Life Form, If.

But when they emerged from the dimensional tunnel he’d dug, they found themselves staring at a world that had already been destroyed.

The ground was scorched and shattered. Cities had been reduced to ruins. Corpses littered the landscape, while countless surviving inhabitants had been forced to their knees.

Hovering in the planet’s orbit was an unimaginably massive mothership.

It resembled an entire continent made of silver metal, suspended above the devastated world.

The ship’s surface was covered in countless metallic tendrils, each ending in a small circular disk that continuously scanned the planet below.

Thousands of windows glowed with an eerie green light, making the entire vessel resemble a gigantic jellyfish floating through space.

A massive transport ship was currently towing a smooth white sphere back toward the mothership, escorted by several fighter craft.

“Alien Zarab.”

Ultraman King immediately recognized the race responsible for the enormous vessel.

“They’re retrieving If. Judging by the state of this planet, they’re probably responsible for its destruction as well. That biological weapon is simply too dangerous. We can no longer allow it to roam freely.”

“A biological weapon?”

Daigo turned toward him, looking curious.

“If is an Ultimate Life Form, and one of the most terrifying biological weapons in existence.”

Ultraman King began explaining the creature’s origins.

The Ultraman multiverse contained countless timelines.

While the events of those timelines often resembled one another, each had its own unique history.

And in one of those timelines, a powerful civilization had created the Ultimate Life Form known as If.

Their goal had been to develop an indestructible biological weapon, one capable of adapting to any attack and perfectly reflecting it back at the attacker.

Thus, If was born.

The creature possessed no consciousness of its own, but it responded to the hearts and emotions of the living beings around it.

A heart filled with pure kindness could turn it into something useful.

But a heart filled with pure evil could transform it into a terrifying weapon.

“That sounds a lot like Pucchi,” Ibuki remarked, immediately reminded of the little monster.

“Indeed.”

Ultraman King nodded.

“Many biological weapons share this characteristic. Their fate depends entirely on the choices of those around them—whether they become useful tools or instruments of destruction.”

“So what happened to the civilization that created it?” Daigo asked calmly, bringing the conversation back on track.

“That civilization…”

Ultraman King continued his explanation.

Using If’s unique abilities, the civilization conquered numerous worlds and eventually became an unrivaled galactic power.

Unfortunately, their ultimate weapon proved far more difficult to control than they had imagined.

During one invasion, If was developed to an unimaginable level of power.

It destroyed the planet they had intended to conquer.

And then…

It destroyed the ambitious civilization that had created it.

Ultraman Max had also encountered this creature during his journey as an Ultra Warrior.

Even his strongest finishing move had failed to inflict the slightest injury on it.

In the end, it was the pure love of music expressed by a blind little girl that transformed If into something resembling a musical instrument.

Only then had Max managed to send it away from Earth.

“So it looks like Alien Zarab has gotten his hands on this weapon now,” the Emperor observed, studying the enormous mothership.

The Zarab aliens had acquired If and were using their pure, malicious intentions to control the biological weapon.

They had been invading planet after planet, forcing innocent civilizations to submit to their rule.

Man, the Ultraman universe is almost as dark as Warhammer 40K!

Vane couldn’t help complaining internally as he listened to Ultraman King’s explanation.

Peaceful coexistence? Yeah, right.

Most of these civilizations spend their time fighting for supremacy and slaughtering one another.

The only reason things haven’t gotten as completely screwed up as Warhammer is that this universe doesn’t have the Warp causing all kinds of extra nonsense.

“Master, should we make our move?”

Daigo had already pulled out his Spark Lens, clearly eager to get started.

“First, let’s get inside the Zarab mothership.”

Vane glanced at the Emperor.

“Big E, open us a portal.”

The Emperor: “…”

Not even the slightest respect for the Master of Mankind!

Of course, complaining was one thing.

Actually refusing was another.

Despite his irritation, the Emperor obediently teleported everyone into the Zarab mothership.

—

The interior corridors of the mothership were circular and incredibly complicated, forming a maze of interconnected passageways that made finding the correct route almost impossible.

The walls were constructed from some kind of biological metal.

Vein-like structures covered their surfaces, slowly pulsing as though the entire ship were alive.

An acidic smell hung in the air, accompanied by the faint, low-frequency hum of machinery.

The moment Vane and his companions arrived, they found themselves standing before an entire section filled with prison cells.

A Zarab prison guard was patrolling nearby.

His skin was gray and heavily wrinkled, while his enormous black eyes bulged outward like those of an insect.

“Intruders—”

The guard barely managed to get the word out.

Before he could sound the alarm, the Emperor crushed his brain with a burst of psychic power.

His body immediately went limp and collapsed onto the floor, completely lifeless.

The other prison guards suffered exactly the same fate.

The moment they encountered Vane’s group, they were killed instantly, without even getting a chance to raise the alarm.

“Looks like we’ve found the prison section.”

Ibuki glanced at the aliens locked inside the surrounding cells.

“Please! Save us!”

“Help us!”

Seeing their brutal jailers suddenly killed, the imprisoned aliens became excited and began shouting desperately for help.

Daigo approached one of the cells and asked why they had been imprisoned.

After speaking with several captives, he finally learned the truth.

These aliens came from worlds that had been conquered by the Zarab civilization.

After their home planets fell, they had been enslaved and brought aboard the mothership.

Some of them even belonged to civilizations with extremely advanced technology.

Unfortunately, If’s combat abilities were simply too terrifying.

The more powerful their weapons became, the stronger If grew in response.

Eventually, the creature had overwhelmed their defenses and completely destroyed their civilizations.

Ultraman King opened the prison cells, freeing the captives and encouraging them to join the rebellion against their Zarab oppressors.

Naturally, the mass release of prisoners quickly attracted the attention of the mothership’s security forces.

Armed troops were immediately dispatched to suppress the uprising.

The Zarab soldiers wore dark silver combat suits and carried strange rifles that fired dark green energy beams.

The moment their commanding officer spotted Vane’s group, he issued an immediate order.

“Kill the intruders!”

Ultraman King casually raised his hand.

Every incoming energy beam was blocked.

At the same time, the Emperor unleashed another wave of psychic power, crushing the brains of every Zarab soldier present.

Vane continued walking deeper into the ship, stepping past the corpses scattered across the floor.

None of the bodies showed any external injuries.

More and more Zarab soldiers appeared along the way, desperately attempting to eliminate the intruders.

Unfortunately for them, the outcome never changed.

Every squad was effortlessly wiped out by the Emperor and Ultraman King, leaving behind nothing but lifeless bodies.

As they advanced, Vane and his companions continued freeing every prisoner they encountered.

The growing rebellion soon plunged the entire mothership into chaos.

The sounds of fighting echoed through its corridors as liberated captives clashed with their former captors.

And amid all that chaos…

Vane’s group finally discovered the Ultimate Life Form, If, which had recently been brought aboard the ship.

The Zarab guards assigned to protect it instinctively raised their weapons when they spotted the intruders.

But before they could even pull their triggers, Ultraman King and the Emperor executed them.