Fukude Kei was tightly bound, roped to a chair inside Nebula House.
Now, all they had to do was wait for him to wake up—then try persuading him, almost like brainwashing, with sheer talk-no-jutsu.
"How's he doing?"
At that moment, Leito stepped out of the elevator into Nebula House, removing his glasses as he spoke.
"He's still out cold."
Yu Zhou shrugged.
It looked like Kei would be unconscious for a while longer. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At least while asleep, he wouldn't be struggling.
Because once Kei woke up and realized he'd been tied up, he'd definitely start making a scene.
So, Yu Zhou took the time to prepare. How should he convince Fukude Kei? How could he plant the idea of restoring Belial back to his true self?
"Actually, I spoke to him about this once already," Riku said quietly. "After listening, he didn't argue—he just went silent."
"I see…"
Yu Zhou thought about it. Clearly, Kei had already considered this question before.
…
"I'll play K!"
"I'll play A!"
"Two!"
"Bomb!"
"…"
When Fukude Kei finally stirred, the first thing he heard were noisy voices.
Blinking his blurry eyes open, he gradually made out the scene before him.
Yu Zhou, Riku, and Leito were huddled together at the table, holding playing cards and deeply engrossed in a poker game.
"Let me go!"
Kei suddenly thrashed, trying to break free of the ropes wrapped around him.
"Eh? He's awake," Pega perked up at Kei's outburst, turning to see him struggling.
And disturbingly—the ropes really were loosening under his effort.
"Not good, he's going to break free!" Riku panicked.
"Relax. I came prepared."
Yu Zhou casually reached into his dimensional bracelet, pulling out a bundle of heavy iron chains. He walked over and wrapped Kei up layer by layer.
"Fukude Kei, don't bother struggling," Yu Zhou said, standing beside him.
"You people—why won't you just kill me?!" Kei bared his teeth in a twisted snarl. "If you kill me, at least it would count as loyalty to Lord Belial!"
"Why shout so loud?" Yu Zhou replied calmly. "Even if you scream until your throat breaks, I'm not going to kill you. Not now."
"Tiga, what exactly do you want from me?!"
Kei glared at him with bloodshot eyes. Captured but not executed—besides the converted energy in his body, what else could they possibly want?
"Fukude Kei, Riku told you this before: Belial only became like this after the Alien Reiblood invaded his body."
Yu Zhou didn't waste time. He went straight for the core issue, starting his verbal assault.
"Have you ever considered restoring Belial to his true self—driving the Reiblood's soul out of his body?"
"You'll never lay a hand on Lord Belial!"
Kei roared in defiance, his chains rattling loudly as he struggled.
"No, no, no." Yu Zhou raised a finger and wagged it. "You need to think clearly. Who is your faith truly in? Lord Belial—or the Reiblood?"
"They… they're the same! One and the same!"
For a moment, Kei faltered, his voice unsure. A crack of doubt spread through his devotion.
"They are not the same!" Yu Zhou snapped. "Belial is Belial. Reiblood is Reiblood. They are not one entity!"
"You lie!" Kei shouted back. "It was Reiblood's soul that bestowed power upon Lord Belial!"
"Then tell me this—are you certain that Lord Belial wanted Reiblood to invade his body?"
Yu Zhou's words hit like a blade to the heart.
"O-of course! Belial wanted that power willingly!" Kei blustered, but even he no longer sounded convinced.
Doubt gnawed at him.
Had Lord Belial truly accepted Reiblood willingly?
Or had Belial been tormented by Reiblood's soul all this time?
Was it possible… that Belial had always wanted to be free of it?
"Fukude Kei, look at this."
Yu Zhou handed a storage card to RE.M.. "Play the footage."
The card contained a cut of the memory sequence from Ultra Galaxy Legends—the moment when Mebius recalled Belial being corrupted by Reiblood's invasion.
Soon, the footage flickered onto the screen.
There was Belial—before his fall. His body was wreathed in black smoke, the Color Timer on his chest flashing red as he crawled weakly across an asteroid, clearly in agony.
"Do you hate the Land of Light?"
A voice echoed. Belial looked up slowly.
"Who are you?!"
Suspicion filled Belial's eyes as he glared at the dark red shadow floating above him.
"I am Reiblood," the phantom declared, its voice like a whispering soul. "The ruler of all worlds."
Belial staggered to his feet, chest heaving as he stared at the apparition.
"Allow me to grant you my power."
The Reiblood soul dove straight into Belial's chest.
"STOP!!!!!!"
Belial's weakened body couldn't resist. His desperate cry echoed uselessly in the void as the spirit forced its way inside him.
Purple light engulfed Belial, reshaping him into a black-and-red form with piercing scarlet eyes and a cruel, twisted mouth.
The footage ended there.
The room fell into silence. Even Riku said nothing—after all, Belial was his father.
"Fukude Kei." Riku stepped forward, his expression heavy. "Please… help us restore my father to his true self."
"…Is this video real?" Kei finally asked, turning his eyes toward Yu Zhou.
"I am Ultraman Tiga," Yu Zhou said, arms crossed. "I swear on thirty million years of reputation—there's no reason for me to deceive you."
"Lord Belial…" Kei muttered, falling into deep silence again.
"Belial…"
Riku urged RE.M. to replay the footage. Once more, Belial's face twisted in pain, his voice crying out in refusal. It was clear he had never accepted the Reiblood willingly.
"…What do you want me to do?" Kei finally asked.
"The Strum alien's phase-reversal organ can invert energy," Yu Zhou explained carefully. He could tell Kei was finally thinking straight.
"When Belial and Reiblood's soul appear, we'll need you to capture the Reiblood's essence and reverse it."
Souls, after all, were a form of energy too. If Kei's organ could reverse ordinary power, then theoretically, it could purify the Reiblood's soul as well.
"That evil energy—once reversed—should be cleansed."
"…I understand."
Kei exhaled deeply and nodded.
Seeing his resolve, Yu Zhou released the chains and let him stretch his stiff limbs.
"When the time comes," Yu Zhou continued, "while Geed, Zero, and I unleash the purification light, you'll target the Reiblood's soul and draw it into your phase-reversal organ."
Kei was essential to this plan. Without him, it couldn't work.
But there was still one problem—his organ was currently filled with corrupted Ultra Capsule energy, converted into dark power.
That would need to be dealt with. Otherwise, the next step would be impossible.
Not to mention, Kei was still gravely injured from forcing so many capsules through his body. He needed treatment.
Surprisingly, Kei himself unlocked Nebula House's encrypted settings and brought up the medical equipment for his own healing.