Camilla gazed at the figure of Tiga within the light screen, lost in thought.
"Light... what a blinding light..."
Failing to catch Camilla's murmur, Yin Xi turned back to her in some confusion.
"Sis, did you say something just now?"
Camilla glanced sideways at Yin Xi and shook her head.
"You heard wrong. Tell me, what's the deal with this Tiga? Do you know?"
"Oh, he was transformed by a human carrying Ultra-Ancient Human genes."
Camilla raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
"Oh? A human? Although faint, I could sense a tiny sliver of consciousness in that Tiga just now."
"That was probably just lingering on the stone statue. Once this battle is over, it'll likely be gone."
Camilla did not reply, continuing to watch the light screen instead.
At that moment, the screen showed Daigo reuniting with the other members of GUTS.
Seeing nothing of interest left, Yin Xi waved a hand, and the light screen vanished.
Camilla said nothing more, as if she would never ask unless Yin Xi spoke first.
Looking around, Camilla could not help frowning.
"Has this place already been reduced to ruins?"
Yin Xi chimed in right on cue.
"Of course. It's been three million years, after all."
Camilla turned to look at Yin Xi.
"Want to get out of here?"
"Huh?"
Over the Pacific Ocean.
A woman skimmed swiftly across the surface of the water, floating.
She was casually lugging a teenager by the collar.
"Come on, sis, can you adjust your grip? You're dragging me like this and my neck is killing me."
"Just bear with it, we're almost ashore."
Yin Xi had assumed Camilla was just making conversation; he never expected her to break out of R'lyeh right in broad daylight.
Though, upon second thought, it made sense.
Didn't Zoegar emerge straight from the ruins in the original story?
As for why the dark trio couldn't escape in the theatrical version, that was simply because Yuzare had slapped an extra layer of seal on them.
After flying a bit further, the two could vaguely make out the coastline.
What they did not expect, however, was that back in the Far East Headquarters, inside the GUTS command room, seven people were watching them through a computer monitor.
"How can a person fly? That's bizarre, and they're flying so fast!"
Horie stared at the screen in utter astonishment and blurted out the question.
"You idiot, that woman obviously isn't human. As for the one she's dragging, could he be a hostage?"
Shinjo patted Horie's shoulder in rebuttal.
"Shinjo's analysis is not without reason. Judging by their current flight path, they should be landing right about here."
Iruma Megumi remotely marked a red dot on the computer map.
"Daigo, Shinjo, take Guts Wing 1 and launch immediately. Intercept them at the shore, and try to keep things friendly if you can. Understood?"
"Understood!"
With that, Daigo and Shinjo left the command room one after the other.
Iruma settled back into her seat, crossing her hands in front of her chest. After a moment of thought, she punched in a number.
On the coastline, Daigo and Shinjo were sitting idly on the beach.
"Ah, this is so nice. Say, Daigo, what do you suppose that giant actually was?"
Unlike the relaxed Shinjo, Daigo clearly had a lot on his mind.
Hearing the question, he instinctively touched his chest.
"Who... who knows?"
Before Shinjo could press further, their communicators buzzed to life.
"The target is about to arrive. Both of you, get ready."
"Understood!"
The two hurriedly scrambled up from the sand, simultaneously drawing their Hyper Guns and standing by for orders.
Meanwhile, Yin Xi, who had been questioning his will to live, was overjoyed the moment he saw solid ground.
The very next second, however, he spotted the two figures waiting on the shore.
"What the—aren't these two the Crash Brothers? They found us this fast?"
"What crash brothers?"
"Uh, well, you'll find out later, sis."
Camilla was also observing the two figures on the shore with keen interest.
Especially Daigo.
She could easily guess that their movements had been detected by the locals, so she was hardly surprised.
The Ultra-Ancient Humans of three million years ago played games far more sophisticated than modern humans ever could.
Camilla landed gracefully on the sand, casually dropping Yin Xi to his feet, and turned to look at the pair who were treating them like an existential threat.
Once on the ground, Yin Xi forgot all about embracing Mother Earth and dashed straight between them, raising both hands high.
"Don't shoot, don't shoot! Friendly fire, we're on the same side!"
Watching Yin Xi block her path, Camilla rubbed her temples in exasperation.
"Who are you people? What is your purpose here?"
Seeing that the pair still had their guns trained on Yin Xi, Camilla's irritation flared.
Yin Xi was having a headache of his own, clueless about what to do next.
With a quiet sigh, he stepped aside, whispering to Camilla under his breath: "Hit 'em lightly."
A minute later...
Yin Xi was happily fiddling with the two Hyper Guns in his hands, while Camilla sat on a nearby boulder with her legs crossed.
"Hehe, we're not bad guys. We only used that little method to get you two to calm down."
With that, he began untying the ropes Camilla had wrapped around Daigo and Shinjo.
Whether they chose to believe the explanation or simply realized they were no match for that terrifying woman, the two officers made no move to retaliate.
"I'd like to meet your captain. Is that possible?"
Yin Xi had his own calculations. As things stood, he was essentially a ghost in the system, without a single penny to his name. Surviving on Earth while keeping a low profile was flat-out impossible.
His only option was to seek help from GUTS.
"This..."
Daigo and Shinjo exchanged glances, unable to make the call on the spot.
"Bzzzt... Bring them over."
A gentle male voice emerged from the communicator.
All three at the scene instantly recognized whose voice it was.
Director Sawai of TPC.
Cutting back to the GUTS command room.
Director Sawai, dressed in a light blue uniform, stood beside Iruma Megumi, watching the screen with a grave expression.
"From the current assessment, the female's abilities are decidedly non-human, while the male's capabilities remain undetermined."
"They haven't made any further moves against Daigo and Shinjo, which temporarily suggests their attitude is amicable, though whether they harbor other motives is anyone's guess."
"Bringing them back to base carries a significant risk, Director. Are you certain?"
Hearing Iruma's question, Sawai did not waver.
Instead, he tapped his own temple.
"Sometimes, one has to trust their own intuition, wouldn't you say? Besides, if we simply let them walk away—if they came in peace, we lose out; but if they harbor malice, bringing them here might at least spare some civilians from getting hurt, don't you think?"
Hearing this, Iruma asked no further questions, and the command room lapsed into silence.
It felt as though everyone was bracing themselves for whatever possibilities lay ahead.
Before long, Daigo and Shinjo escorted Yin Xi and Camilla into the command room.
Sawai and Iruma were seated at one end of the conference table.
Opposite them were chairs and cups of tea, already prepared.
Iruma nodded politely to Yin Xi and Camilla, gesturing for the latter to be seated.
Camilla looked somewhat surprised when she saw Iruma.
"A descendant of Yuzare?"
Iruma didn't catch the words, but the heavy atmosphere in the room kept her from pressing for details.
Though both had taken their seats, neither side spoke first.
As a result, a lone sentence drifted out into the quiet command room:
"Um, can someone get me something to eat? I'm starving."