Chapter 48: Gan Q: It's Not Like I Provoked You

Oh no!

By the time Fujimiya realized Gaia was in danger, he could only watch as the entirety of Gaia was sucked into Gaan Q’s eye by its absorption beam. Worse still, Gaan Q’s mocking laughter rang incessantly in his ears.

The more Fujimiya listened, the angrier he became. The azure gem hidden on his wrist flashed brilliantly. “You fool! You’re courting your own death!” he growled.

A burst of blue and white radiance erupted. Agul manifested as a sphere of light, crashing thunderously to the ground!

At the same moment—

Within Gaan Q’s body, Gaia found himself plunged into an orange-hued space, landing with a thud. As he tried to stand, a grotesquely grinning eye opened at his feet.

“What the—!?” Startled, Gaia stumbled backward, instinctively glancing around.

All at once, countless eyes appeared, each emitting strange, jeering laughter.

“Gya gya gya! Hee hee hee!”

A flood of mental interference hammered Gaia’s mind, causing him to clutch his head in agony and collapse, writhing in pain.

Meanwhile, outside—

The dust raised by Agul’s landing plastered Gaan Q’s face. Without pause, Agul sprang up and landed a powerful kick that sent Gaan Q flying.

The sight left the XIG team gaping in astonishment.

“That’s the blue Ultraman!” Kaji’s voice crackled over the comms, uncertain whether to engage.

Fortunately, orders soon came from the command center. “Support the blue Ultraman!” Ishimuro instructed.

“Understood!” Tsuji replied, relaying the command: “Lightning Team, attack Gaan Q! Assist the blue Ultraman!”

“Roger!” came the chorus of responses.

Three fighter jets swooped overhead, targeting Gaan Q with a barrage of laser fire. Multiple beams struck home, bursting into showers of sparks and forcing Gaan Q back to the ground just as it tried to rise.

Agul leapt through the lingering dust.

Seeing this, Kaji and his team immediately ceased fire to avoid any accidental hits.

In that instant, Agul planted himself squarely atop Gaan Q with a heavy thud.

He was clearly furious—his anger toward Jojo now vented upon Gaan Q.

His large blue hands formed a knife-edge, both palms glowing with brilliant white energy, and then, with a fierce thrust, he jabbed straight into Gaan Q’s eye!

With a squelch, Agul’s hands plunged deep into the giant eye atop Gaan Q’s head.

A roar erupted from Agul as he strained, pulling his hands apart with immense force.

Skull-crushing strength!

Gaan Q’s laughter died instantly, replaced by agonized, desperate struggles. But with Agul’s massive weight pinning it down, Gaan Q could not budge an inch.

With a resounding crack, Agul’s hands split Gaan Q’s head in two, eye and all, like a boulder cleaving apart.

Since its body was made of stone, no blood spurted forth, but the spectacle still left the XIG team dumbstruck.

Inside the orange space, Gaia suddenly felt the pain in his mind vanish. Wrought with fury after Gaan Q’s torment, he sprang to his feet and launched his Assault Tactic—spinning at supersonic speed, he became a living drill and burst upward with explosive force!

Outside, Agul was about to finish tearing Gaan Q’s head apart when Gaia, spinning like a drill, crashed headlong into Agul’s face!

“Ugh!” Agul howled, his head snapping back from the impact.

At that very moment, the battered Gaan Q beneath Agul exploded from Gaia’s attack!

Unprepared, Agul was blown away by the explosion’s force, sent tumbling helplessly across the ground.

High above, Gaia’s head was ringing from the impact, and he wondered how Gaan Q’s body could be so hard.

Wait—that was Agul just now, wasn’t it?

Gaia shook his head, turning to look down, and was startled to see Agul lying on the ground, clutching his face.

As clarity returned, Gaia replayed the incident in his mind and was struck by a dreadful realization.

Oh no! I might have hit my teammate by mistake!

Quickly descending, he hurried to Agul’s side. “Are you hurt?” he asked, reaching out to help Agul up.

Agul, still fuming, brusquely shook off Gaia’s hand with a cold snort.

You should know yourself if you’re hurt!

The tension between the two Ultramen made the XIG team uneasy.

Are they going to start fighting again?

Feeling awkward, Gaia tried to explain, “Sorry, I didn’t notice you earlier. My apologies.”

Though Fujimiya had arrived late, he had come to help after all.

“I have some questions for you,” Agul said curtly, then leapt into the sky and disappeared.

Gaia was puzzled, but My Dream still wanted to speak with Fujimiya.

Nodding toward the Peace Bringer, Gaia spread his arms and soared into the sky, vanishing in a streak of light.

Inside Lightning One, Kaji muttered, “It looks like the blue Ultraman and Gaia have patched things up again. I really don’t get them.”

“Lightning Team, return to base,” Tsuji’s voice ordered over the comms.

Believing the monster had been dealt with, the XIG team returned to the airborne base.

But Gaan Q, being a product of sorcery, was not truly destroyed. Unless the vengeful spirit of the demon Kishirou was eliminated, Gaan Q would return.

Previously, Jojo hadn’t told My Dream, but My Dream had rushed off regardless.

No one knew where the demon Kishirou was hiding, and with his descendants’ involvement—whose names escaped Gaia’s memory from watching TV—he left My Dream to handle Gaan Q for now.

Investigating Kishirou’s descendants could be left to XIG, though Jojo hadn’t yet contacted them when Fujimiya arrived.

Meanwhile, by the riverbank—

My Dream had just approached Fujimiya when the latter spoke coldly: “Tell me everything you know about the Crisis—every last detail.”

“And about Jojo as well!” he added, his composure almost slipping. He forced himself to appear calm.

Jojo could be trusted, but only to a point—there was always a chance he was putting on an act.

By now, Fujimiya had begun to see things more clearly.

That golden, life-giving power was likely what had restored Jojo to his former state.

“Fujimiya! Have you finally decided to help protect humanity with me?” My Dream asked excitedly.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Fujimiya replied stiffly, glancing at My Dream. “I have no interest in protecting humanity for its own sake. The only thing I want to protect is the Earth.”

“But your words earlier did give me something to consider. Now, tell me—what’s going on?”

Fujimiya offered no definitive answer—he knew it would take time to see whether humanity could truly change.

“I see...” My Dream was a little disappointed, but it was clear that things were improving.

He wondered what could have made Fujimiya let go of his stubbornness.

The two continued their conversation there.

Elsewhere—

Jojo was studying his own Stand.