"Hello, it's me. Got it—I'll head over right away."
Moa suddenly stood up, answering a call with a serious look on her face.
Yu Zhou already had a guess: it must be about that monster.
This particular monster had gone through heartbreak, and in its grief, refused to return to space. That was why Tomoko—an alien from Planet Soberuta, who could read minds—had been summoned. Her task was to understand the monster's feelings.
All in all, it wasn't a crisis that required Yu Zhou himself to act. Geed would be enough to handle it.
"Sorry, I've got work to do." Moa apologized earnestly to Riku.
After that, the two parted ways.
When Laiha left with Moa, Yu Zhou sat down beside Riku, giving him a look that carried hidden meaning.
"Riku, let me ask you something." Yu Zhou spoke in a calm but deliberate tone.
"Hm? What is it?" Riku tilted his head, confused by Yu Zhou's seriousness.
"Do you know that Moa has always liked you?"
Riku blinked. "Of course. Moa's like an older sister to me—we've always liked each other."
"I'm not talking about family affection," Yu Zhou pressed, raising a brow. "I mean the kind of liking between a man and a woman."
"Between a man and a woman?" Riku froze.
Of course, he'd always been aware of Moa's feelings. He wasn't oblivious—her reaction earlier, when she learned he lived with Laiha, was proof enough.
"…Actually, I do know." Riku admitted at last, rubbing his neck a little sheepishly.
"Then do you like her back?" Yu Zhou asked directly.
Riku let out a slow breath. "I do like her, but it's more like the way I like an older sister. There is some of that… man-to-woman kind of affection too, but I don't dare to show it."
"Why not?" Yu Zhou frowned. To him, if two people liked each other, there was no problem—why hold back?
"Because I'm only nineteen," Riku said honestly. "I don't have a stable job that could support us. I just barely make ends meet working part-time for the manager here. I can't give her the life she deserves."
"Ah… so that's it." Yu Zhou nodded, thoughtful.
But he knew Riku had other concerns too—like the truth of his identity. Riku wasn't just Ultraman Geed. He was Belial's son, an alien. Could a human and an alien really have a future together? And worse, his father's name carried a stain that might never be washed away.
"Riku, the monster that disappeared earlier—it's back again!"
Pega's voice suddenly came through the Fusion Rise device.
Yu Zhou perked up slightly. The monster had shown itself once before, but at that time he had been asleep, unaware. Later, when it burrowed underground, Tomoko and Moa had been forced to pause their mission—right when they ran into Yu Zhou outside.
"I'm on my way." Riku replied to Pega. He glanced at Yu Zhou. "You coming too?"
Yu Zhou waved his hand. "No need. That monster isn't here to cause destruction."
"Not… a bad one?" Riku was stunned. Monsters always meant danger, didn't they?
"Right. Just try to resolve it with words, not fists. Less effort that way." Yu Zhou leaned back lazily, as though this wasn't anything serious.
"But… I can't understand monster-speech." Riku scratched his cheek, troubled.
"Tomoko can, can't she?" Yu Zhou stretched with a yawn.
"Tomoko? But didn't she just leave with Moa?" Riku frowned, remembering.
"You'll find out when you get there. Now go." Yu Zhou waved him off like it was no big deal.
"…Fine." Riku sighed, heading to a deserted corner. Summoning the elevator, he transported himself away.
As soon as he was gone, Yu Zhou raised his hand. "Leito, come over. I want to talk about something."
Leito walked up, pushing his glasses up onto his head. "About what?"
"Tell me—how do we get Fukude Kei to help us restore Belial?" Yu Zhou asked, watching him closely.
"Uh… I'm not really good at schemes. You should probably ask Zero." Leito sat down with a sheepish grin, taking off his glasses.
In an instant, his posture changed—back straight, eyes sharp. Zero was awake.
"So? Got any ideas?" Yu Zhou asked.
Zero rubbed his chin. "Hmm… how about we just capture Kei and force him to cooperate?"
Yu Zhou pinched his forehead. "Honestly, I think Leito might have better ideas than you."
"What?! You saying I'm dumber than him?" Zero scowled. "Fine, then let's hear your brilliant plan."
Yu Zhou leaned back. "Do you even know why Fukude Kei serves Belial?"
"No clue. He's Belial's lackey, that's reason enough. Why else?"
Yu Zhou shook his head. "It's not that simple. Kei works for Belial because Belial once saved him from certain death."
Zero stared. "I don't buy it. Belial—saving someone?"
"It happened. Probably because Belial saw potential in Kei's abilities." Yu Zhou explained.
Kei was a Strum alien, born with a special organ capable of phase inversion—flipping the properties of energy itself.
But here was the strange part: when Belial rescued Kei, he didn't even have Ultra Capsules yet. Which meant he had no way of using Kei's ability for his plans.
And yet, Belial had still saved him.
"Wait… maybe Belial already knew about the Ultra Capsules in the Land of Light," Zero muttered. "So he saved Kei just to have someone reckless enough to steal them later."
It was possible. Sending a Strum alien into the Land of Light to steal Capsules was basically suicide. But Belial couldn't go himself—so instead, he bought loyalty.
That someone was Kei.
"Zero, think about it. Why would such an important invention—the Ultra Capsules—be stolen by someone who, by all appearances, was just a nobody? Didn't the Land of Light notice?" Yu Zhou asked.
Zero scratched his head. "…You'll have to ask Hikari about that."
At that, Yu Zhou suddenly remembered. Back in the "Ultra Galaxy Legends" world, he had seen Hikari's lab—where Ultra Capsules were laid out openly on a desk, even though at the time only a couple had been made.
"See? That's the problem. Hikari trusted the security of the Land of Light too much." Yu Zhou smirked. "And your vaunted Space Garrison dropped the ball."
Zero groaned, throwing up his hands. "Ugh, fine, fine. You've got a point. Security was lax, that's on us."
"Anyway, there's something I want to test." Yu Zhou leaned forward, his eyes thoughtful. "Ultra Capsules—can any Ultraman use them? If I found another Capsule, could Tiga himself undergo Fusion Rise?"