---o---
The moment Alien Empera descended, the entire infinite multiverse of viewers felt a suffocating pressure.
However, Zoffy's transformation brought a sliver of hope to them all.
If they were honest with themselves, the profound darkness emanating from Alien Empera would strike deep fear into anyone.
Faced with the Emperor's might, they would tremble so much they couldn't even move, let alone fight.
And although Zoffy's power was great, the gap between him and Empera was as vast as that between a speck of dust and a planet.
But... the moment Voice of the Stars Zoffy appeared, the tables seemed to have turned completely. Now... it was Alien Empera's turn to break out in a cold sweat.
Light Curtain Commentary—
[The Horn-Breaking Demon: So this is Empera? Even through the screen, his powerful aura is making it hard for me to breathe...]
Within the Victory Team's base, Daigo looked at Empera, then shifted his gaze back to Zoffy.
As Ultraman Tiga, he could sense the change in Zoffy's power. That astonishing transformation had directly elevated Zoffy's strength to a terrifying realm. Even Destruction-Zero might not necessarily be Zoffy's match at this moment.
[Ultraman Os: This... is this Captain Zoffy's true power? So... so strong, so terrifying! As expected of Captain Zoffy, he's so cool!!!]
Inside Haruki, Zett was incredibly excited. And in the Land of Light, whether they knew Zoffy possessed such a form or not, every Ultra Warrior collectively gasped in awe when they saw Voice of the Stars Zoffy manifest.
"Is this Captain Zoffy? He's never shown this form to us before. That pure light of hope... I'm afraid only the Supreme Commander could contend with it..."
"Heavens! With Captain Zoffy in this state, forget Alien Empera, he could probably even solve the cosmos-shaking Swarm Disaster! The Land of Light is saved!!"
[Universal Emperor Belial: This light... that bastard Zoffy... he's made far too much of himself...]
Even Belial, in his space prison, couldn't help but tremble when he saw the Voice of the Stars manifest.
He was too strong. The current Zoffy was no match for even Ken. It would likely take Ken's full-power state from thirty thousand years ago to fight him.
[Jugglus Juggler: This... seems a bit different from what I imagined. A new form born from directly listening to the will of the Earth and condensing the power of the stars... Ultraman Zoffy... isn't this a bit too exaggerated...]
As one who also possessed the power of darkness, he could feel that the light radiating from Zoffy was off the charts. Aside from a few freaks of nature like Ultraman King, he... was now invincible!
---o---
[On the light curtain, Mirai Hibino stared at the Nii-san who was both unfamiliar and familiar, and he too sucked in a cold breath. "That is... Zoffy-niisan!!"
Unfamiliar, far too unfamiliar.
As the current guardian of Earth, Mirai had reviewed all the past exploits of his brothers through the GUYS historical database.
He knew that Zoffy had his fair share of embarrassing defeats on Earth.
Back then, he was chased and beaten by the volcanic monster Birdon, and even had his head set on fire. During the time of Ultraman Ace's activity on Earth, he was beaten up by various aliens and monsters.
If word of such deeds got out into the universe, Zoffy, the captain of the Space Garrison, would likely become the laughingstock of many aliens.
And yet, who would have known that Zoffy was secretly hiding such terrifying power? Based on this alone, the strongest fighter among the Ultra Brothers was not Taro, but Zoffy.
Seeing this terrifying power, the cape on Alien Empera's back billowed. "Hahahaha, interesting! Is this the power of the current captain of the Space Garrison?"
"Father of Ultra! Since you refuse to show yourself, dead or alive, then... let me start settling the old debt from thirty thousand years ago with Zoffy! People of the Land of Light, people of Earth... witness my terror!!"
Alien Empera caressed the scar on his waist, a wound left by Father of Ultra. This pain and humiliation, he would never forget for the rest of his life!!
As Empera raised his left hand, the high-energy reactions within the sunspots began an incremental fission. Blackness completely eroded the burning fireball.
"Look! The sun is about to burn out! From now on, all light will be blotted out, and the breath of this planet will be severed!!"
Thick, dark clouds obscured the sky, cutting off the light from the stars. The entire planet was severed from the outside world by Alien Empera's power!
Empera waved his cape, extinguishing the burning flames, his eyes fixed on the final source of light.
Under the illumination of Zoffy's white light, Alien Empera's cape was whipped about by a howling wind.
"Ultra Warrior, Ultraman Zoffy, descend into a hellish darkness along with the lifeforms who made their choice, and perish!!"
As Alien Empera's words fell, lightning instantly flashed and rolled within the thick, dark clouds. The oppressive force emanating from Empera under the dome of the sky was almost enough to make one suffocate.
"Since I have descended upon this place, this planet has no future to speak of!!"
Lightning, endless red lightning, struck towards Zoffy's yet-unformed Voice of the Stars.
That terrifying power, if left unchecked, would be enough to destroy the entire surface of the Earth in an instant.
This was Alien Empera, the strongest emperor who had once plunged even the Land of Light into darkness.
Seeing this, a trace of blue light flashed in Zoffy's eyes. He then raised both hands, forming a blue, rectangular barrier.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The red lightning crashed and thundered across the Earth's sky. Countless aliens who witnessed this scene couldn't help but tremble. Those who had originally harbored rebellious thoughts towards Empera's alliance now didn't have a single shred of such an idea left.
Absolute power could crush everything. Empera's terrifying strength was more than enough to easily destroy all of their home planets.
A few seconds later, the lightning ceased its assault. A cloud of dust dissipated, and Zoffy's unharmed body reappeared before Alien Empera, causing the Dark Emperor to narrow his eyes.
His body radiating light, Zoffy proposed to the Alien Empera before him, "Alien Empera, don't you think this planet is too small a stage for our battle? If you truly want to kill me, then follow me to space and we'll settle it there!"
The Earth simply could not withstand the aftershocks of a battle between him and Alien Empera. Zoffy's meaning couldn't be clearer: he wanted to spare the Earth from the fires of war.
And evidently, Alien Empera also understood his thoughts. "I refuse. Those warships parked around the Earth are for the decisive battle against the Swarm Empress's kin. If they are accidentally destroyed, the crusade against the Swarm Empress cannot proceed."
Compared to a planet that amounted to nothing, the vast fleet was clearly more precious. Although Empera didn't much care for the lives of his subordinates... it didn't mean he was brainless and would allow his forces to be drastically reduced.
"If that's the case, then let us go to where the Swarm is and settle this thirty-thousand-year-old grudge."
Zoffy's body glittered, the light continuously provoking Empera's hatred for it.
"That is my desire. I hope this form of yours can last a while. Do not disappoint me..."
Alien Empera's majestic voice rang out. Those insects were annoying, but their lives were clearly worthless. It didn't matter how many of them died.
Moreover, he could already see that, unlike the True Power of Father of Ultra, the Voice of the Stars was not entirely Zoffy's own power. Therefore, although this form of Zoffy was powerful, how long it could be maintained was another question.]
The Voice of the Stars Zoffy could not be sustained for long. Seeing this, the audience across the multiverse immediately felt their hearts leap into their throats.
The last time this happened was when Tartarus said the same thing to Zero.
And the result of that battle was plain to see. Zero lost. If Leo hadn't been there to rescue him, the light curtain projection probably would have ended early.
Light Curtain Commentary—
[Super Scientist Ah Guang: Captain Zoffy's form can't be maintained for long? Alien Empera is clearly fearless. It seems he's certain he can win.]
Inside the laboratory, Hikari couldn't help but worry. After all, back in the day, Alien Empera had defeated the combined forces of the Supreme Commander and Belial.
Even when the Supreme Commander finally used his True Power, he only managed to fight to a draw. This darkness was not to be underestimated.
[Yukino Yukinoshita: Alien Empera... is he trying to drag it out? I don't know how long Zoffy can maintain this form. If Empera gets his way...]
Inside the Service Club, the twists and turns of the light curtain's projection made Yukino Yukinoshita sigh deeply.
It had to be said, none of the Ultramen's enemies were easy to deal with. Although Zoffy's Voice of the Stars was powerful, Empera was being compared to Father of Ultra in his prime.
The Voice of the Stars, as strong as it was, had not completely reached the level of beings like Ultraman King and Noa. It certainly couldn't be maintained for long.
[Flame-Head Captain: Phew... So this is the kind of being the Supreme Commander used to fight? I can feel it. This form is my final trump card, yet Alien Empera shows no signs of backing down.]
Zoffy focused his gaze on the projection. Perhaps many people had forgotten, but Empera's true peak form was not when he invaded the Land of Light thirty thousand years ago, but after he donned the Darkness Armor. In that state, his power would increase exponentially.
At that time, Empera would probably be even more terrifying than the Swarm Disaster. The entire Ultra Multiverse would be in peril.
Even if the Supreme Commander used his True Power again, he would be no match for him.
But thankfully, that thing was now in Phantylia's hands. With Phantylia's twisted mind, Empera probably wouldn't get a chance to wear it.
Thinking about it this way, he had to thank Phantylia. Otherwise, the Ultra race truly wouldn't stand a chance.
---o---
[The light curtain's screen returned to the Swarm-infested cosmos.
Countless dense swarms of insects flew through the starry sky. This was territory occupied by the Swarm. Two-thirds of the living space in the universe had already fallen to the endless insect tide.
The alliance formed by Empera had retaken a portion of the territory, but the active area of the Swarm was still more than half.
Vast clouds of pheromones danced in the sky, dyeing the pitch-black universe with a seven-colored hue, adding a hazy quality to it.
At that moment, two terrifying beams of light cut through the void, colliding from several light-years apart.
With a single clash, several planet-sized hives were blasted into dust, and a swarm of insects large enough to fill hundreds of millions of planets was annihilated into nothingness.
It was the M87 Ray!! And... the Reizorium Ray!!!
Finally, with no more restraints, Zoffy, for the first time before the audience of the infinite multiverse, used the full-power release of the M87 Ray.
Even the M87 Ray from Zoffy's normal state could destroy a star with a full-power shot, let alone Zoffy in his Voice of the Stars state.
And Alien Empera's Reizorium Ray was no slouch either.
This was a beam specifically created by Alien Empera to target light. When it hit an ordinary Ultraman, it could directly disintegrate them.
It had a clear targeting and restraining effect against light.
The two beams collided, completely twisting the surrounding space and directly forming several spatial wormholes that tore at the cosmos.
In a place where countless wormholes intersected, Empera summoned the longsword he had used during the Great Ultra War thirty thousand years ago and battled with Voice of the Stars Zoffy.
Back then, with a single slash of this sword, Empera had cut tens of thousands of Ultra Warriors in half at the waist, and had beaten Belial and Father of Ultra so badly they couldn't tell north from south.
If it weren't for Marie arriving at the last moment with a village-blessed sword and Father of Ultra awakening his True Power, the Land of Light would have ceased to exist long ago.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"
The Ultra Sword condensed on Zoffy's arm clashed with the blade in Empera's hand, creating a sound like crashing thunder.
The figures of the two of them, surrounded by countless wormholes, flickered about like phantoms.
If one were to use a planet as a reference, one would discover that their bodies were no longer at their previous height of around fifty meters on Earth, but had reached a staggering height of several hundred meters.
"Hmph, since Ken, I have never encountered an Ultra Warrior as powerful as this!"
Alien Empera's skin rippled in the wind, and behind him was an endless darkness that could swallow everything.
Zoffy did not answer him. The light from his body grew more intense, illuminating everything around them.
Time itself seemed to stop at this moment. Empera's darkness and Zoffy's light continuously collided, tore at each other, and held each other in a stalemate, creating an iconic tableau.
However... just as stated before, Zoffy could not maintain this form for long. Therefore... this confrontation was only temporary...
---o---
Author's PS: Because Voice of the Stars has never appeared in the official canon, and the settings in Ultraman manga and novels often conflict with the main canon, the Voice of the Stars here can be understood as an Ultimate Ultra. It's a bit stronger than a standard New Generation Ultimate Ultra, and it has a time limit. Otherwise, Zoffy would be too overpowered, and there would be no need for Super Taro or Reiga Mebius to exist.
---o---