Chapter 3: The Silver Shooting Star

Sensing the changes in his body, Qiao Zhe was immediately startled. When he opened his consciousness to check the panel, he saw that the Light Factor had already risen to 91%.

Almost instinctively, he became aware of a new ability—his body could transform into light. But why had it suddenly increased? Qiao Zhe suspected it might be related to his earlier thoughts, which was undoubtedly a good thing. However, after trying to will it a few more times, the Light Factor showed no further change.

As he pondered this, he suddenly felt someone tugging at his clothes. Looking down, he saw the little girl in the red plaid skirt gazing up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

“Big brother, will that silver giant win?” she asked, her tone filled with worry.

Qiao Zhe’s recent surge had clearly released a trace of radiant energy. The little girl, standing close by, instinctively felt reassured, especially after being saved, and so she asked her question without thinking.

“He will definitely win,” Qiao Zhe replied with absolute certainty, pressing down his thoughts for the moment as he turned his gaze to the battle growing ever more intense.

On the distant battlefield, the Progenitor Aberrant Beast, locked in close combat with Next, suddenly unleashed a devastating fireball!

The two fought fiercely, as true warriors would, but the Progenitor Aberrant Beast had no sense of honor. Caught off guard, Next took a direct hit to the chest and was sent flying!

With a crash, he hit the ground, his body carving a deep crater as earth and stone flew in all directions. Half-crouched, slightly dazed from the blow, Next quickly shook off the confusion, rose, and assumed a fighting stance once more.

But the Progenitor Aberrant Beast clearly had no intention of engaging in more close combat. Its beastly maw glowed with blue energy, and it spat out another tremendous fireball!

A roaring explosion ignited a wave of searing flames on the ground!

Next rolled swiftly aside, dodging the attack, then crouched, realizing the enemy was now fighting from a distance. In a sudden burst, he leapt skyward!

Again, the fireball came for him, but Next, rather than landing, twisted through the air, narrowly avoiding the blasts as he hovered and darted above.

At this point, it was impossible to tell whether the Adapted One was controlling the body, or if Next himself held sway, or perhaps both. Regardless, growing ever more adept at flying, he shot upward like a silver comet!

A furious roar erupted from the Progenitor Aberrant Beast as it watched, jaws wide in a howl. The sound carried a strange resonance, a wave that rippled outward without end.

Countless crows across the Shinjuku district turned their heads, staring at the beast. In the next instant, an unending flock took wing, flying straight toward it!

The sky darkened under a rolling storm of birds.

Meanwhile, on the Progenitor Aberrant Beast’s back, two massive horns glowed blue. The crows surged forward, merging with those horns in a frenzied mass. Black wings began to emerge, and soon, from the beast’s shoulders, the writhing head of a crow pushed its way out.

A harsh, croaking call burst from the crow’s beak.

With a thunderous roar, the Progenitor Aberrant Beast unfurled its enormous wings, stretching hundreds of meters across, blotting out the sky like some demon from the depths.

A violent wind swept the land as the beast beat its wings, stirring a gale that sent dust and debris swirling through the city. Rising into the sky, the Progenitor Aberrant Beast soared after Next, transferring the battle to the heavens.

Freed from the worry of damaging the human city, Next fired several crescent-shaped blades of light into the air! The Progenitor Aberrant Beast, swift as well, dodged the attacks and retaliated with a barrage of fireballs.

The two figures chased and battled among the clouds.

On the ground, the people could no longer see what was happening. Even with Qiao Zhe’s keen eyesight, he could only make out a silver streak and the demonic form of the Progenitor Aberrant Beast, occasionally breaking through the clouds before vanishing once more.

Since the battle began, three minutes had already passed. With any other Ultraman, the energy timer would have been flashing red, then gone dark, and the hero would have long since fallen, unable to rise.

But Next was different.

His fighting time depended entirely on the Adapted One’s physical strength and willpower. Even if the timer went dark, he could still stand and fight on, though at the cost of the human host’s life.

Of course, as an Ultraman, he would never let humanity pay such a price. Looking back at all previous hosts, each had gone on to live well after their ordeal.

The first host, Shunichi Maki, was a fighter pilot and thus particularly skilled in aerial combat.

Sensing the tide turning against it, the Progenitor Aberrant Beast decided not to continue the fight. Bursting through the clouds, it hovered above Shinjuku, gathering energy in its jaws.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several fireballs shot out in rapid succession, blue orbs streaking through the sky and plummeting into the city below.

Explosions shook the air, several skyscrapers erupting into flames and crumbling into ruins!

This apocalyptic scene sent thousands fleeing in terror.

“Run! The demon is coming!”

“Ah! What kind of monster is this?!”

“Help!”

Panic swept the crowd as fear took hold, and a torrent of negative emotion surged through the city—exactly what the Aberrant Beast fed upon.

High above, the beast gathered energy in its mouth and let out a manic laugh. “Burn! Burn, all you humans! Hahaha—burn!”

Another fireball shot from its jaws.

The blue orb, trailed by a plume of flame, plummeted toward the city below.

But in that instant, a silver figure streaked through the sky like a meteor, intercepting the fireball.

A thunderous explosion filled the air, a cry of pain ringing out.

Next, lacking any shielding ability, was forced to take the blow with his own body—a tactic that played right into the Aberrant Beast’s hands.

Two more fireballs rocketed out in different directions.

Boom! Boom!

They struck Next’s body, sending jolts of searing pain through him.

“Hahaha!” the Progenitor Aberrant Beast laughed triumphantly, floating opposite him. “Looks like you’ve reached your limit!”

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

A sound like a heartbeat echoed—the timer on Next’s chest warning that the host’s body was near its breaking point.

Another fireball tore through the air!

Next tried to dodge, but his body was wracked with weakness, too slow to react.

The blue blast struck his chest, detonating in a burst of flames, leaving him wavering in the sky, as if he might fall at any moment.

Shunichi Maki’s heart burned with unwillingness. “There’s still strength left! Why?!”

The Aberrant Beast would not let this chance slip by. It fired several more fireballs, jeering as it attacked: “You try to assimilate in an incomplete form—how much better to consume humanity as I have!”

“You fool! Hahaha!”

A volley of blue fireballs struck Next, flames erupting as his body plummeted toward the earth.

If nothing changed, Next would soon have no choice but to risk everything, burning through the host’s life in a final desperate attack.

But now—there was still another choice...