Chapter Four: The Power of Darkness

"No! No!!!"

Tetsuya screamed desperately, his mind racing. Suddenly, he fumbled frantically in his pocket, pulling out the prismatic crystal and the Remnant Stone of Light. The crystal emanated a milky white glow, beautiful beneath the sunlight. But Tetsuya had no time to admire it. He placed both items in his palm and, with every ounce of strength, shouted:

"Transform!"

"Warning to host: using the power of the Remnant Stone of Light may result in—"

"Transform!!!"

"It's useless... Do you know what that power is? It is the lingering radiance after the Giant of Light fell in battle, unable to return home, trapped within this stone. That power is darkness, forged from the giant's rage, fury, and resentment!"

A voice echoed in Tetsuya's mind, tinged with a mocking undertone.

"Run..."

His grandfather saw Tetsuya, too. Trapped within the village, escape was impossible; he could only shout with all his might, hoping Tetsuya might flee this catastrophe.

"Boom!"

Tetsuya stared at the barrier, ripples spreading across its surface, stained with blood and viscera. His heart suddenly wrenched, and tears flooded down like a breached dam. He collapsed to his knees against the barrier, powerless.

"Grandpa..."

"Tsk, tsk... Such anger and helplessness... It is exquisite, truly delicious..."

Tetsuya lifted his head, eyes shining with tears yet unwavering in resolve. "I will destroy it!"

"You cannot harbor any darkness; all shadows have gathered within me, so you cannot transform using the Remnant Stone of Light..."

"Then do it through you! We are one. My emotions are yours!"

The second persona was silent for a moment, then finally admitted, "Yes... We share everything... I, too, want to kill it!"

"What must I do?"

"Let me take over your body..."

Upon hearing this, Tetsuya clenched his fists tightly but ultimately said, "Take it. It's yours!"

"Warning to host: do not attempt to let the second persona control for the first—"

"Silence!" Tetsuya nearly shouted himself hoarse. "Take it! Destroy it! Fulfill our shared wish!"

Immediately, a strange sensation washed over him. It was as if he were a spectator, watching himself from afar, observing as he raised his hand. The prismatic crystal and Remnant Stone of Light shone brilliantly in his palm.

He watched himself...

Watched himself transform...

Into a giant!

The giant stood over fifty meters tall, blocking out the sun. Pure darkness radiated from his form. He resembled Diga in eight parts, black and red lines tracing his streamlined body. The colorful timer displayed a blue light, same as his eyes—a strange, unsettling hue.

He was...the giant Tetsuya had once transformed into, together with Masaki Keigo.

"Watch me. Watch me accomplish what we both wished for!"

The giant stood outside the barrier, swinging his fist with sudden force, delivering a blow of tens of thousands of tons that shattered the barrier instantly.

Immovable as a mountain, unstoppable as thunder.

The giant strode toward the tentacles. At that moment, the thick tentacles lashed out at the scattered villagers. The giant reached out from midair, firmly grabbing a tentacle.

"Ancient...Ancient God!!!"

Someone cried out, hope lighting their face.

"Look...look at the color!" Another had collapsed to the ground, now propping himself up and pointing fearfully at the giant. "It's the Evil God!!!"

"Run!!!" Someone shouted first.

"It must be a monster brought by the Evil God!!!"

Tetsuya, from his vantage as an observer, watched quietly. Now standing at a god's-eye view, he wondered aloud, "Why is good and evil always defined by the nature of power?"

"Look...there it is, the flaw of humanity you wish to protect. They always deflect, attributing unknown dangers to others. They decide so easily, based on worldly opinion, ignorant and foolish, blindly weak."

"But...even the power of darkness can bring light to humanity!"

Tetsuya sighed, echoing the sentiment Daigo once voiced in 'The Final Holy War.' Perhaps both shared a heart of light, even when forced to wield the power of darkness.

The second persona gave no reply. The giant, gripping the tentacle, pulled hard, and cracks split the village ground. The tentacle straightened, about to snap.

"Bang!"

Another tentacle struck the giant, landing a heavy blow. Yet it only caused the giant's stance to falter slightly, before he seized it firmly with his other hand.

"Ah...Rise!"

Both tentacles were ripped from the earth, demolishing all village buildings. The tentacles stretched straight, extending beyond the village, across the mountain, until finally, with a resounding crack, they were torn apart at the center.

"Gaaargh..."

A monster howled as it emerged from behind the mountain. It was over sixty meters tall, its body covered in ramming horns, a sharp spike protruding from its head. Its mouth resembled a bird's beak, and at the end of each arm were two long, sharp claws. Between them, a broken tentacle writhed.

Tetsuya recognized the monster instantly.

"Gadi!"

The giant ran several steps, then leapt, delivering a flying kick to Gadi's head, knocking the towering creature flat and crushing several small hills behind it.

Mercilessly, as Gadi struggled to rise, the giant delivered another heavy kick to its leg, then followed with a powerful punch to its jaw. Before Gadi could react, the giant pressed its back with his right hand, seized its arm with his left, and with a sudden surge of strength, threw the massive Gadi over his shoulder, slamming it to the ground.

The giant moved with the speed of fire, unleashing a rapid series of blows. As Gadi roared and tried to rise, the giant swung his elbow, then pressed his body against Gadi's softer abdomen with immense force.

Tetsuya watched the sequence, intimately familiar—it was his most ferocious style when transformed into Ultraman, overwhelming monsters before they could resist, stunning them completely.

"Gaaargh..."

A piercing scream burst from Gadi's mouth. The giant grasped its upper and lower jaws, unleashing immense force and tearing its protruding beak apart, blood spraying everywhere.

Such brutality made Tetsuya almost avert his eyes.

"Gaaargh..."

Gadi screeched, energy gathering at the spike atop its head. The gray horn turned yellow, heat surging, about to erupt—only to be met with a powerful punch at its base from the giant.

An explosion followed. The giant instantly conjured a purple-black barrier, his body forced backward by the blast but otherwise unharmed.

"Do you see? This is the darkness you forsook!"

Tetsuya watched silently. Gadi’s head, shattered by its own energy explosion, scattered blood and flesh across thousands of meters. The massive, headless corpse lay silently among the mountains, unusually desolate.

Tetsuya was speechless...from the giant’s appearance to Gadi’s destruction, less than two minutes had passed. The entire process was effortless, the giant never once using any beam attack.

And the B-class Gadi...perished here...

"Evil God! What are you doing!?"

Following the voice, the giant’s gaze—and Tetsuya’s—turned to the summit of the towering mountain, where a man in a black cloak stood.

"Why do you strike so mercilessly against your own kind!? Your enemy should be the Ancient God, those damned Giants of Light!"

"Who are you?" The second persona, through the giant, questioned the man.

"Kiliellod!" the cloaked man boasted arrogantly. "I sent Gadi to investigate the destruction of our followers, and what did I find?"

He shouted furiously, "You! An Evil God! A creation of our Elder Rulers, dare to defy us and act on your own will! Who gave you the courage!?"

"Bang!"

In Tetsuya’s astonished gaze, the giant swung a fist at the man above, crushing him into pulp with overwhelming force.

"I despise anyone who points fingers at me!"

As the purple-black glow faded, Tetsuya’s body landed on the ground, his expression peculiar. At last, he spoke:

"I think we need to make an agreement..."

Unable to transform into the giant, Tetsuya knew he could not survive in this era. Inevitably, he and the second persona, who could transform, needed a pact that both would abide by—to ensure basic cooperation.

"I thought so too," the second persona replied with a smile. "You must rely on my strength, but I cannot remain in your body for long. Though we are opposites, that does not prevent us from cooperating."

"Alright..." Tetsuya was silent for a moment, then asked,

"Can you tell me the giant's name?"

"Ah...he is called...Gilogas!"