Chapter 163: The Jun-ge Law: Out of Energy Right Upon Arrival

Kamon likewise believed that they should save the people. He looked toward Kira Sawa Yū and said, "Captain, I'm staying behind to help rescue them!"

With those words, he turned and ran toward the overturned car.

Only Sempu Ren and Saijō Nagi remained standing beside Kira Sawa Yū.

A hesitant look flickered across Sempu Ren's face. He desperately wanted to go and help, but doing so would put his friend in an awkward position.

To everyone's surprise, after a brief moment of silence, Kira Sawa Yū's face broke into a relieved smile.

He had instinctively tried to formulate tactics using the rigid, habitual mindset of the old Night Raiders, forgetting that they were now part of the Next Team.

Kira Sawa Yū exchanged glances with Sempu Ren, both understanding each other's thoughts.

Sempu Ren nodded affirmatively, a sense of joy blooming in his chest; Yū was no longer as lifeless as he used to be.

"Nagi, are you staying?" Kira Sawa Yū asked, turning to Saijō Nagi.

Her expression flickered with surprise at the question, but she quickly smoothed her features and said calmly, "Give the order."

Whether to save people or not, she would execute the command regardless.

"First, rescue the victims!" Accompanied by Sempu Ren and Saijō Nagi, Kira Sawa Yū immediately broke into a run toward the overturned vehicle.

Kamon was tugging desperately at the car door, trying to force it open so the occupants could escape, but the metal had buckled and jammed shut.

The roof was pressed flat against the ground, causing further cave-ins, yet somehow the door remained miraculously uncrushed—a blessing and a curse all at once.

This only added to the difficulty of the rescue.

"Damn it! Why won't this thing open?!"

Takagi's situation was identical to the dilemma Kamon was facing.

At that moment, Kira Sawa Yū stepped up beside them. He switched the Berret Communicator on his wrist to weapon mode and said to Kamon, "Let me handle this."

Kamon looked up, startled. "Captain."

A beam of red-and-white shockwave laser shot from the Berret Communicator, instantly slicing the jammed car door wide open.

"Pull him out first."

Glancing at Kamon, Kira Sawa Yū urged, "What are you standing around for? Come and help!"

"Oh—oh! Right!" Recovering his senses with a joyful expression, Kamon hurried over to drag Saida Satoru out.

Using the same method, Sempu Ren popped open the rear door and, working alongside Takagi, rescued Saida Takashi from the interior.

Meanwhile, Saijō Nagi cooperated with Shiori to pull Saida Noriko out from the passenger seat.

Through his senses, Kira Sawa Yū could feel that the Space Beast had already revived.

"Fall back! Quickly!"

A low, rumbling vibration shook the ground, and seeing this, the group immediately began to retreat.

With Sempu Ren carrying Saida Takashi on his back, his exceptional physical conditioning and mastery of the Ripple technique allowed him to sprint at the very front while bearing a passenger.

Although Saijō Nagi was a woman, her superb physical prowess meant she lost no speed carrying Saida Noriko.

Only Kamon, who had joined just a month ago, lagged far behind, panting heavily as he carried his prospective father-in-law.

***

Boom!

The earth behind them rumbled violently, and hearing the sound, Kamon looked back as he ran.

A massive head emerged from the ground!

The giant Nosferu poked its rat-like head out of the soil and fixed its gaze upon Kira Sawa Yū and the others.

It instantly perceived their intentions.

Space Beasts preyed upon humans, specifically feeding on the waves of despair generated at the moment of death.

Now that the ducks ready to be cooked had flown away, Nosferu was naturally unwilling to let the matter rest.

A beam of purple light flashed from its forehead, unleashed directly toward the fleeing group.

However, because they were moving at a high speed, the purple light missed its mark and failed to hit them squarely.

Even so, Kamon, who was lagging at the very back, was unfortunately caught in the periphery of the blast.

"Gah!"

Kamon tried to keep running, but he suddenly felt his body being pulled backward!

"What on earth is this?!"

Realizing that a barrier of some kind was rapidly solidifying around him, Kamon mustered every ounce of strength in his body and hurled the burden on his back—Saida Satoru—outside the perimeter of the purple light.

"Ah, it hurts!" Saida Satoru hit the ground hard, letting out a cry of pain.

When he suddenly looked back, the strike team member who had just saved him was now being swallowed up by a thick mass of flesh.

"Come back! Go back and save him!" Saida Satoru shouted frantically to the others.

Kira Sawa Yū and his team had already noticed Kamon's predicament.

Before they could react, however, Nosferu drew back the purple light, and the fleshy sphere containing Kamon flew upward, landing right on the monster's forehead.

Trapped inside, Kamon had now been taken hostage by Nosferu.

The beast fully hauled its gargantuan body out from underground, looking down condescendingly at the members of the Next Team.

Kira Sawa Yū glanced back at the fighters; they were still some distance away.

Besides, with Kamon being used as a human hostage, even if they switched back to heavy weaponry, they could not afford to attack blindly.

"Damn it! The Space Beast saw us rescuing people and took Kamon hostage!"

He turned his gaze back to Saida Satoru, toward whom Nosferu was currently creeping closer.

If they turned back now to rescue that civilian, the entire squad would undoubtedly be wiped out.

At the same time, witnessing these events, Qiao Zhe felt a slight shift in his thoughts.

Himizu Jun, sensing the acute danger, was about to call Kōrogi over to transform.

The previous training session with the Jeep had sent Kōrogi running far away the moment he managed to crawl back up, his eyes fixed warily on any movement of the vehicle.

However, before Himizu Jun could even shout out, the Evoltruster in his hand automatically slipped out of its sheath and leaped into the air.

"?"

Looking down at the transformation device, Himizu Jun had not yet processed what was happening before the Evoltruster was already resting firmly in his palm!

A brilliant silver radiance suddenly erupted!

Himizu Jun transformed into a sphere of light, instantly materializing as the giant of silver!

In the distance, Kōrogi, who was standing on guard, stood dumbfounded at the sight.

He hurriedly patted his own body; sure enough, the Evoltruster was gone!

"Damn it! Himizu Jun, you bastard!"

Kōrogi cursed aloud in fury. He had only just experienced the power of that light once, and now it had been snatched away by Himizu Jun in the blink of an eye!

Under Kōrogi's intensely heartbroken gaze, the silver giant radiated a faint, glowing light.

Jojo executed a teleportation technique, instantly shifting position right in front of Nosferu!

The abrupt appearance of the silver giant startled Nosferu, and before it could react, a massive silver foot loomed large within its vision.

"Tch!"

Accompanied by an Ultraman battle cry, Jojo pivoted and delivered a powerful sidekick!

Nosferu instinctively threw its head back to dodge, but the blow landed squarely on its chest with a heavy impact.

The massive beast was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the earth with mud and dirt splashing in all directions.

Himizu Jun still felt somewhat dazed; he hadn't consciously willed the movement just then, and he lowered his gaze to stare at his own hands.

Only then did he suddenly realize that he had transformed into Ultraman Jojo.

Turning his gaze toward the opposing Nosferu, the giant's expression hardened instantly.

Win the fight first, no matter what—besides, Kamon was still trapped inside the enemy!

Glancing back at the Next Team members down below, Jojo pivoted his attention back to Nosferu and whipped his hand forward, unleashing a binding beam of light!

The blue-and-white beam coiled tightly around Nosferu, dragging the creature across the ground, but a moment later, the beam was violently severed!

"Roar!" Nosferu swung its claws, tearing away the remaining traces of the light bonds.

Seeing this, Himizu Jun began racking his brain for a solution, but a sudden wave of weakness washed over his body. The distance he had teleported from the training grounds had already consumed the vast majority of his energy.

Ding-dong—Ding-dong—Ding-dong—

The sound resembling a racing heartbeat echoed through the air. Perhaps whenever Himizu Jun transformed for battle, he could never escape the ironclad law of insufficient energy.

The Y-shaped red color timer blinked persistently, warning the Dynamis that his stamina was severely depleted.

With two heavy heaves of his chest, Himizu Jun fought through the overwhelming weakness, channeling what little energy remained into his palms.

*'I cannot give up yet. I must rescue Kamon; I don't want to watch anyone else perish!'*