Chapter 23: Breaking the Crash Curse
If it were the Victory Swallow, or if Daigu were piloting the fighter, they would probably have chosen to crash the jet by now. But this was the EX, equipped with an anti-gravity system, and many situations could be salvaged. Yumeng was not someone who would deliberately crash a plane, either. Just as the nose of the fighter was about to touch the ground, the entire craft adjusted itself to a ninety-degree angle! The EX's underside skimmed parallel to the earth, raising a cloud of dust before swiftly ascending back into the sky.
Once more soaring above, Yumeng quickly grew accustomed to piloting, and the EX stabilized. The three Lightning Team fighters flanked her on either side. In the squadron’s communication channel, Kajio’s voice came through: “Now that you’re airborne too, you’d better do your job properly!”
“I understand!” Yumeng, no longer daring to be careless, focused fully on piloting the EX. Lightning One and Lightning Two moved in to cover the EX from the sides. Despite going into battle against orders, not only was she not reprimanded, her teammates came to support her instead. If Leo saw this, he would be the first to claim it was an illusion—no way such teammates could exist.
Once again taking aim at Meizade, Yumeng pressed the fire button hard. “The game of hide-and-seek is over!”
A green energy wave burst from the EX’s nose, spreading in undulating waves that engulfed the area where Meizade hid. As the fan-shaped beam swept over, transparent jellyfish appeared one after another, then were all drawn together by the green energy. Only a single jellyfish remained afloat now, Meizade’s true form clearly visible—finally made solid!
Yumeng cried out in delight, “It worked!”
“Well done!” Kajio’s praise rang out over the comms. “Attack!”
The three Lightning fighters and the EX hovered in the air. After smoothly pulling back and stabilizing, all locked onto Meizade.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of heat-seeking missiles launched, streaking through the air and slamming into Meizade!
Boom! Boom!
Explosions blossomed across the jellyfish-like monster, flames erupting over its entire body. Engulfed in fire, Meizade could no longer remain airborne and plummeted to the ground, a burst of flame exploding on impact. The earth roared as sand and soil were hurled skyward, smoke billowing everywhere.
It seemed the crisis was over, and in the sky base, “champagne” was being popped.
“EX has shot down the target!” Atsuko’s face was flushed with joy.
“That’s wonderful!” Staff Officer Chiba was visibly excited, then hesitated. “Is the enemy really defeated this time?”
“Stay alert,” Command Room Chief Ishi said sternly, remembering the last battle. “I suspect this monster hasn’t been eliminated.”
When fighting the metallic life form before, it had played dead once. Ishi knew the enemy was cunning.
On the battlefield, as the smoke from the explosions began to clear, Meizade shed its jellyfish form—the monster sloughed off its “makeup.” Its body was a mass of brown tentacles, a thick, elongated neck craned upward, and its head was hideous and grotesque.
Lightning One’s backup missiles automatically reloaded; Kajio immediately pressed the fire button. “You’re finished this time!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
More heat-seeking missiles struck Meizade, sparks erupting on impact. Lightning Two and Lightning Three launched their assault as well, red-tailed missiles streaking toward Meizade, bombarding its body, though they seemed to do little damage.
In its monstrous form, Meizade’s defenses had clearly increased, but it still felt the pain from the bombardment.
“Zakhrooo!”
A strange, guttural cry burst from the monster’s mouth, and it unleashed a series of purple energy blasts!
Its target was Lightning Three, which was banking in a wide arc overhead—once again, Okawara was fated for a crash.
But as the purple bolts hurtled toward Lightning Three, a thunderous sound suddenly erupted from the sky!
A silvery-white barrier descended!
Every purple blast Meizade fired was blocked, leaving Lightning Three untouched.
Okawara, for once, escaped the curse of crashing.
The light screen slowly dissipated, revealing the towering form of a silver giant.
For once, JOJO stood with uncharacteristic composure, not in his usual flamboyant pose.
From the Peacekeeper far off, acting field commander Teisei voiced his surprise, “Ultraman JOJO? Cease fire!”
“JOJO,” Kajio narrowed his eyes, ceasing fire to avoid friendly fire.
Lightning One and Lightning Two pulled back, giving the battlefield to the giant.
In the EX, Yumeng had just pulled out the Sapphire Cone—now unsure whether to transform or not.
When it comes to transforming, whoever goes first takes the field.
After a moment’s thought, he restrained himself, pulled the EX back, and decided to wait and see.
“Atsuko, it’s Ultraman JOJO!” In the base’s communications channel, Qiao Ji’s voice brimmed with excitement.
Meanwhile, Atsuko, her arm being shaken, could only sigh helplessly. “Enough, I see him.”
What puzzled her was—where was Ultraman Gaia? Why hadn’t he appeared?
At that moment, Gaia was lurking at the edge of the battlefield.
Amid the ruined sands, the silver giant stood rooted to the earth, facing the menacing monster in the distance.
“Zakhrooo!”
Meizade let out a savage roar; perhaps strained by the silent tension, it immediately fired another sequence of purple energy blasts!
The bolts, released from its back, spread in a wave pattern, their power even greater now!
But JOJO did not dodge—he strode forward as if taking a leisurely walk, energy gathering at his wrists.
The purple bolts struck him, detonating in quick succession. Yet, not even a spark flew from JOJO’s body.
His defense was naturally immense.
Even the progenitor Otherworld Beast could not break through his armor; to JOJO, Meizade’s attacks were little more than a tickle.
The rest did not know this.
Seeing JOJO take the blasts head-on, the people of XIG felt their hearts leap into their throats.
Onboard the Peacekeeper, Teisei’s brows furrowed in worry. “What is JOJO doing?”
“Why isn’t he dodging?” Kajio asked, baffled.
It took a genius scientist like Yumeng to notice something. He said in surprise, “His defense is astonishing—he’s completely ignoring the monster’s attacks!”
Meizade, too, now realized that its purple energy couldn’t harm this Ultraman at all.
As JOJO advanced, a palpable pressure seemed to envelop Meizade. Its brown tentacles writhed in panic, the monster instinctively trying to retreat.
Sensing that Meizade wanted to flee, JOJO halted, his body crouching slightly. His right arm raised in an L-shape, his left arm extended straight, palms and wrists brimming with energy.
Suddenly, his left palm struck his right in a cross formation!
The Spacium Ray erupted forth!
A ripple-edged white beam shot out, instantly striking Meizade!
The continuous force of the ray drove the monster to the ground, blue arcs of electricity beginning to dance over its entire body.