"Tiga?!"
Achilles and Herau froze the moment Yu Zhou spoke his name.
Tiga—that was the name of the silver-and-black Giant of Light, wasn't it?
But the friend of Captain Yuzare actually introduced himself as Tiga… Was that just a coincidence—or something more?
Before they could even ask, the ground beneath them suddenly flared with dark red sigils. A flash of black light erupted—and in an instant, everyone vanished, leaving behind only the silent, empty stone forest.
When Yu Zhou's vision cleared, he found himself standing on a barren wasteland.
"So, this is the teleportation hidden inside the stone forest, huh?" he muttered.
He hadn't expected to be transported so abruptly, but at least Camearra and the others were still beside him. They hadn't been scattered elsewhere.
Achilles and Herau walked up, explaining,
"That was the same kind of teleportation circle that scattered us from our team earlier."
"Don't worry," Yu Zhou assured them after checking to make sure Camearra was unharmed. "Your teammates should be fine."
Even so, this was exactly the kind of situation Yu Zhou had hoped for—they were now deep within enemy territory.
The only problem was the swarming presence of dark monsters roaming the wasteland around them.
And now, having sensed fresh life energy, the creatures began to converge on their position.
"This doesn't look good," Achilles muttered, drawing his weapon and taking a defensive stance beside Herau.
Hudra and Darramb immediately moved to protect Camearra, forming a guard around their lady.
"So many monsters…" Yu Zhou sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really shouldn't have cancelled my transformation. In a place like this, danger's constant—it's annoying having to transform over and over again."
Left with no other choice, Yu Zhou raised the Dark Sparklence. Black sparks flared across his body—and in the blink of an eye, he transformed once again into the fifty-meter-tall Dark Giant—Tiga.
This time, Achilles and Herau saw the transformation with their own eyes.
Their suspicions were confirmed.
This man who called himself Tiga… was Tiga—the very Giant of Light himself.
"Tiga… really is Tiga…"
"He turned into the giant?! He's human—and he can transform?!"
The two stood in awe, while Camearra, Hudra, and Darramb looked on calmly, their faces unchanged—they were long used to such sights.
With a thunderous shout, Yu Zhou drove his fist into the chest of the first monster that charged him.
The blow sent the creature hurtling backward, smashing into several others in its path. A whole cluster of beasts collapsed in a tangled heap.
Yu Zhou casually tossed a ball of black energy toward them, then turned away to face the next wave without looking back.
The explosion boomed across the plain, but the oncoming monsters didn't falter.
Yu Zhou leapt high into the air, hands forming a blade. From his chest timer, he drew out a surge of energy—then, with a sharp motion, unleashed it downward.
A massive rift tore open across the wasteland, and the monsters caught along its line erupted in fiery bursts one after another—like a chain of exploding fireworks.
"So strong…!"
"This is the power of a Giant!"
Achilles and Herau could hardly believe what they were seeing—Yu Zhou annihilated dozens of monsters with a single motion, his every gesture brimming with overwhelming might.
Hudra and Darramb exchanged a glance and shook their heads.
Rookies.
They, after all, had fought Tiga before—and survived.
And in all of Tiga's battles, how many enemies had ever lived to tell the tale?
The two glanced at each other again, a spark of pride rising unbidden.
We're the only two who've ever survived a fight with Tiga.
There isn't a third.
High in the air, Yu Zhou crossed his arms forward, then pulled them back three times. Finally, he formed his hands into an L-shape and aimed downward.
From his palms burst a torrent of energy—the Dark Zeperion Ray.
Halfway through its flight, the ray widened drastically, spreading like a massive waterfall of destructive light that engulfed everything below.
Yu Zhou had used a similar technique once before on Planet Dais, when he helped them fend off invading monsters—but that had been in his light form.
Now, even in his dark form, the attack's devastating power was the same.
The energy cascaded across the battlefield like a storm of light and shadow. The wasteland quaked beneath its force. One by one, the monsters were vaporized, collapsing under the unstoppable torrent.
When the blast finally faded, only two monsters remained standing—staggering, wounded, but alive.
"Leave those two to us!" Achilles shouted.
He and Herau stepped forward, eager to prove their worth.
From their belts, they drew sleek, high-tech handguns humming with visible currents of energy. Channelling power from every direction, they synchronized their weapons and took aim.
"Plasma Convergent Blasters—fire!"
Two bright blue energy beams struck the remaining monsters dead-on.
The creatures froze mid-roar—then toppled over, exploding in twin fireballs.
"Direct hit!"
"We did it!"
The two men grinned, exchanging an enthusiastic high-five, pride shining in their eyes.
"Tch. They stole our kill," Hudra muttered, clicking his tongue.
"Yeah," Darramb added sourly. "And here I was hoping to test the new weapons Lord Keshiva built for us."
Yu Zhou watched their teamwork from above and nodded approvingly.
"Those are Plasma Convergent Blasters, right?" Camearra asked as she approached Achilles and Herau, her gaze lingering on the futuristic weapons.
"That's right," Herau confirmed with a smile. "They were designed by Mr. Keshiva himself. The energy they use is almost identical to the power of light."
"As I thought…" Camearra nodded softly. "Father's latest invention."
So, the Earth Defence Force's new weapons were the work of her father, Keshiva—the very same man who once sought to harness the power of light through science.
Camearra was quietly amazed. Something as mysterious as light energy—something beyond logic—her father had found a way to replicate with technology.
She had once asked him how the power of light could be obtained, but even now, she still had no real understanding.
"You two are pretty quick on the trigger," Hudra said as he and Darramb approached, folding their arms with an air of challenge.
"Thanks for the compliment," Achilles replied politely, smiling as both he and Herau bowed slightly.
As members of the Earth Defence Force, they were disciplined—and even in victory, they carried themselves with respect.