The hype around Oga Ultraman was off the charts—but what exactly was Oga doing at the moment?
Why hadn't he spoken up about the plagiarism controversy?
Was it really a coincidence... or something deliberate?
As outside speculation kept growing, Barrry couldn't be bothered to argue. The truth speaks for itself.
Everything he did was for the sake of protecting humanity—not for clout or fame. Anyone who really knew him knew he had a big heart.
From behind his screen, Barrry watched as his legend spread online. The new "Crystal Lake Monster" story was taking on a life of its own, and seeing that made him grin from ear to ear.
Sure, most people were just jumping on the trend—but when the crowd gets big enough, a few real fans always show up.
Real Fan Comment: "He fought so hard to protect everyone, and you people still hate on him? Seriously—get a life!" 😤
Fame comes fast when you chase trends or stir controversy—but that shortcut always comes with backlash. And borrowing Tiga Ultraman's iconic face? Yeah, that was basically asking for war with his fandom.
Barrry's response: "So what? I'd do it again."
When he was a kid, he'd watched Tiga Ultraman vs. Gatanothor on TV. He remembered lending Tiga his "light," helping him win the final round and save the world.
But when Barrry grew up… Tiga never gave that light back. That had to be the reason Barrry's adult life was such a struggle!
So what's wrong with borrowing that face now? Totally fair game.
Before doing it, he even asked Tiga in his heart—and since Tiga didn't say no, that counted as permission.
To show respect for the original, Barrry even gave himself a backstory: he was Tiga's older twin brother, Oga Ultraman. That way, the glory of defeating a serial killer and saving the town wouldn't belong to him alone.
And if people still kept shouting, "You're just riding the hype!"— Barrry had a simple solution: use Maria's allowance to hire some internet shills.
Anyone standing in the way of his "great cause" had to be dealt with. Hard. 💪
The short-lived ghost story trend worked perfectly for him. As the "origin" of the tale, Barrry not only absorbed the belief of his new "followers," but the story itself became a spiritual anchor in the real world.
The more famous and widely spread the tale became, the stronger that anchor grew—and the more of his true power he could release into the human world.
Because to be truly forgotten... was the only real death.
An anchor gave him direction—a spiritual gravity that pulled him back toward life. Without it, returning to the human world would've been impossible.
Right now, Barrry was on the right path. He needed to keep gathering followers and stage big "events" every now and then. The bigger the base, the stronger he'd grow—and with that power, he could better protect humanity and spread his legend even further.
It was a perfect cycle—strength through belief, belief through action. Even if the world misunderstood him, he'd bear that burden proudly.
"Heroes always fade into the background once evil is gone," Barrry sighed dramatically, feeling moved by his own greatness.
After transferring another payment to his hired "supporters," he made sure to tell them: "Keep the hype alive. Don't let it die down."
Then he spent another half hour arguing with internet trolls before finally getting back to work.
It had been over a week since the Crystal Lake incident. Maria's house was empty—she was at school, her dad was still recovering in the hospital, and her mom was by his side.
Sitting cross-legged on the tiled floor, Barrry's straw body now shimmered with a golden glow, looking oddly… expensive.
Jason's fragmented soul—the one trapped inside his hockey mask—was nearly absorbed.
Life energy surged through his straw frame, his golden heart beating in rhythm as new roots grew throughout his body, reinforcing him from within.
With his endless vitality, Barrry could easily rebuild his straw body into a full-sized human form again.
He felt like he'd ascended back into high-definition mode.
But that wasn't all he'd gained. Jason's hard-earned endurance—his ability to recover again and again after being smashed, shot, and blown up—was now Barrry's too.
In the silent room, his heart pounded faster and faster, echoing like gunfire. The golden stalks secreted small white granules, which fused together to form bone fragments.
Piece by piece, a skeletal structure emerged: ribs, spine, skull—everything.
A complete skeleton.
But Barrry wasn't satisfied. He wanted more.
The tailbone stretched longer, the skull reshaped, until a bony tail and sharp white helm took form.
He looked in the mirror and nodded. "Not bad… strong and stylish."
But then he frowned. "Ugh. Why do I look like a villain again? That's not gonna work."
The bones shifted, smoothing away their more monstrous features.
Then a thought struck him—if bones could regenerate from fragments, could flesh do the same?
His body still had traces of burnt muscle and blood clinging to it...
The idea thrilled him.
"Alright, let's do this."
Channeling his regenerative power, his straw heart thumped wildly.
"Come on! Flesh—grow!" he shouted, focusing every ounce of willpower.
His form rippled like water, straw and bone erupting and twisting beneath the surface.
For a moment, it looked like he'd lost control—spikes and bones bristled out like a living porcupine.
Then, suddenly, his body inflated—then deflated again. The spikes receded, the wrinkles smoothed out.
He stared into the mirror, expecting failure.
But what stared back... was a man's face—his own, restored and human once more.
A slow, disbelieving smile spread across his lips.