Yu Zhou had fought Zaigorg once before. That battle was unbelievably difficult—he had nearly been drained of all his light energy.
The easiest place to injure Zaigorg, of course, was its eyes.
But this time Yu Zhou wanted to test something. He wanted to see if his current strength could break through Zaigorg's defenses.
Clenching his fist, Yu Zhou charged straight at the monster.
His punch slammed into Zaigorg's body, sending the creature staggering back with a roar. It regained its footing quickly, swinging its spiked club-like weapon down at Yu Zhou.
This time, Yu Zhou did not cower as he once did in the world of Ultraman X. Instead, he met the attack head-on, throwing another punch to collide with the incoming strike.
Bang!
Fist and club clashed violently. In the past, Yu Zhou would have been blown away instantly. But now, he stood firm, not retreating a single step.
Instead, the monster's club was forced slightly backward by the impact.
"Looks like… even without transforming into Power Type, I can go toe-to-toe with Zaigorg in raw strength." Yu Zhou muttered, seeing that his punch had actually gained the upper hand.
Naturally, Zaigorg wasn't going to stop after a single strike. It swung its weapon again and again, hammering toward Yu Zhou.
Yu Zhou flipped backward, creating some distance, and fired two or three light arrows from his palms.
Crack, crack! Zaigorg's spiked club batted them aside with ease.
This was to be expected—after all, Zaigorg was a monster that once required both the original Ultraman and Tiga working together to seal away. A few light arrows would never be enough to hurt it.
Taking advantage of the distance, Yu Zhou crossed his arms before the forehead crystal, then swept them down to both sides. His body shifted into the silver-and-red Power Type form.
Zaigorg roared, charging forward with its weapon raised.
Yu Zhou pulled his right arm back, waiting until the monster was right in front of him before slamming a charged punch straight into its chest gem—the spot that resembled a timer.
Boom!
The impact sent Zaigorg flying backward, crashing through a skyscraper with an earth-shaking roar.
Yu Zhou winced. He hadn't controlled the direction of that punch well, and the monster had crushed the building beneath it.
But there was no time to dwell. Yu Zhou rushed forward, grabbed Zaigorg as it tried to rise, and hauled it into the air before slamming it down into the ground with all his strength.
Crash! Zaigorg landed directly in front of the Galaxy Supermarket.
"Whoa—!" The store manager, whose body was currently controlled by Zero, leapt out of the way just in time.
"My supermarket nearly got wrecked again!"
Yu Zhou hadn't meant to throw the monster there—he'd only been aiming for open ground, but from above he hadn't noticed the supermarket was right beneath.
Zaigorg rose from the ground, growling. Yu Zhou landed in front of it once more.
Suddenly, red arcs of energy crackled across the monster's back spines. A storm of destructive energy surged from its mouth, blasting straight toward Yu Zhou.
Yu Zhou quickly raised an Ultra Barrier. The beam slammed against it, but the shield shattered, and the energy engulfed his body completely.
He crossed his arms in front of him, bracing himself to take the full force of the attack.
"Not good—Tiga is in danger!" the store manager cried, watching the wave of power swallow Yu Zhou whole.
Laiha frowned, the energy looked far too overwhelming. Could Yu Zhou endure it?
"Zero, aren't you going to help?" the man asked into the air, adjusting his glasses nervously.
"No need," Zero's voice replied calmly, as he fully took control. "Yu Zhou can handle this."
In the world of Ultraman X, even X himself had been struck by Zaigorg's energy and forced back into human form.
When the attack finally ended, Yu Zhou's figure reappeared. His arms smoked faintly, but otherwise he stood unharmed.
Only he could feel it—the burning pain searing through his arms.
"He's okay!" the manager cheered, eyes shining.
Yu Zhou turned his head slightly and gave him an Ultra nod.
"Tiga… Tiga nodded at me!" The manager's excitement burst out. He waved both arms, shouting, "Tiga! Please, I'm counting on you—defeat that monster and protect my supermarket!"
Yu Zhou faced Zaigorg again, lifting his hands into a battle stance.
At that moment, the manager's chest glowed. A small light emerged from within him, floating into Yu Zhou's body.
"The Star of Litru has left him…" Laiha whispered.
"Huh?" the manager blinked, confused. "That's just like what happened to Aili. Her light flew into Geed, and afterward she lost her fire-breathing power."
Laiha explained, "That light is called the Star of Litru. When one prays to an Ultra Warrior, the star leaves the host's body and lends its strength to them."
The manager looked at her in surprise. "Wait, how do you know all that?"
"…Because I once carried the Star of Litru myself." Laiha sighed.
"I see." The manager gave a wry smile. "So that means… my superpowers are gone too, huh?"
He peeled off his jacket, only to find his muscular build shrinking back into chubby flesh. Then he tried telekinetically moving an object—nothing. The ability had vanished.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhou, now empowered by the light, didn't hesitate. He charged at Zaigorg once more.
The monster met him with its weapon raised high.
"Perfect timing!" Yu Zhou leapt into the air, clenched both fists together, and smashed them down onto Zaigorg's head.
The monster howled in pain.
Ignoring its roar, Yu Zhou crouched low, grabbed the beast in his arms, and lifted it.
Zaigorg thrashed, clubbing Yu Zhou's back repeatedly, but in Power Type form, he simply endured the blows.
With a roar, Yu Zhou hurled the monster across the battlefield.
Crash! Zaigorg hit the ground hard, sprawling on its back.
It struggled to rise—but all it saw was a stream of fiery red light hurtling toward it.
Yu Zhou had already taken the Delasium Light Stream stance, and the beam struck Zaigorg's head dead-on.
He had aimed there on purpose—the eyes were Zaigorg's greatest weakness.
The monster convulsed violently, yellow arcs racing across its body before it finally exploded in a thunderous blast.
Yu Zhou let out a long breath.
Even weakened, this was still a monster that once took three Ultras working together to defeat. Facing it alone made him tense the entire time.
But this Zaigorg didn't seem quite as ferocious as the one from Ultraman X's world.
That one's maw had been filled with bloody crimson; this one looked far less savage.
"Maybe it's because this Zaigorg was summoned by a capsule. It isn't as strong as the original… and it seems it doesn't have the ability to generate more monsters from its spines either."
Yu Zhou's thoughts settled as the battlefield grew quiet once more.