For a moment, Camilla found herself fighting Mitsuo Itabashi and Beniko Oda simultaneously.
To begin with, they were elite members of the Gijera.
Now, having evolved into second-generation Gijera, their strength was no longer what it used to be.
Muscles bulged across Mitsuo Itabashi's entire body. That was the Enhanced Enma Warrior form.
Behind Beniko Oda, a pair of wings sprouted. That was the Speed Enma Warrior form.
Mitsuo Itabashi curled his body inward, and the muscles beneath his skin began to ripple violently. A barrage of red beams erupted from within his body, locking onto Camilla as if guided by a targeting system.
Light whips danced through the air as a spherical barrier materialized around Camilla, constantly deflecting the onslaught of incoming attacks.
Beniko Oda hovered in the air above, her eyes locked dead on Camilla's position, waiting for the right opening to deliver a fatal strike.
At that exact moment, just as the spherical barrier vanished, a black-and-gold beam carrying terrifying energy blasted toward Beniko Oda.
Caught completely off guard, Beniko Oda had no time to react and could only throw her wings around herself for protection.
However, her opponents were still two against one.
An Enma Burst Bomb was unleashed from Mitsuo Itabashi's hands. With her field of vision blocked by the glare of the beams, Camilla failed to notice it in time, taking the full brunt of the blast straight to her abdomen.
Glancing at her tattered and ruined wings, Beniko Oda was consumed by a surge of furious rage.
"You damned woman, I'm going to kill you today!!!" Shouting these words, she plummeted rapidly from the sky, extending her claws directly toward Camilla.
Just then, a roar echoed from the edge of the horizon.
"Gaia!!!"
A red figure plunged swiftly down from the sky, its feet wreathed in crimson flames. With a flying kick, it struck Beniko Oda square in the face, sending her flying away and leaving her all but unconscious.
"Damn it, nobody touches my sister and lives."
As he spoke, the red figure instantly shifted to blue, shooting two freeze rays straight from his waist to trap Mitsuo Itabashi, who had attempted to rush forward and provide backup.
Camilla finally managed to get a clear look at the newcomer. Sure enough, the figure was Ultraman—but an Ultraman transformed by Yin Xi.
The return of Ultraman to the battlefield was completely unexpected to everyone.
Mitsuo Itabashi was utterly dumbfounded, because he distinctly remembered beating Daigo back into his human form. Who, then, was the Ultraman standing before him?
Of course, aside from Camilla, there was someone else on the scene who recognized the identity of this Ultraman. Beniko Oda touched her bruised face.
*(I'd recognize this familiar feeling anywhere, even if he turned to ash.)*
Without giving the enemy time to think, Yin Xi gathered his energy once more, attempting to shatter Mitsuo Itabashi.
Realizing Yin Xi's intent, Camilla fired a beam as well.
Yet, unexpectedly, a fierce red light flared across Mitsuo Itabashi's body, and he managed to break free under his own power, leaping away from the spot.
Yin Xi wanted to pursue him further, but the mere completion of these actions caused the color timer on his chest to begin flashing.
The power of Ultraman he was able to wield was indeed far greater than Daigo's. The side effect, however, was that Yin Xi could only sustain his transformation for a minute—or perhaps even less.
Without wasting a single second, his body dissolved into a blue afterimage. He materialized directly behind Mitsuo Itabashi, his form shifting gradually from blue back to red along the way. With a heavy, devastating whip kick, he struck Mitsuo Itabashi squarely on the head, sending him hurtling away.
Yin Xi then whipped around, instantly gathering energy again to unleash the Derasium Photon Stream directly toward Beniko Oda, who was just pulling herself up.
The second-generation Gijera form assumed by Beniko Oda was truly formidable. She raised her arms to block the Derasium Photon Stream head-on.
The red light on Yin Xi's chest flashed faster and faster. He could feel his consciousness growing increasingly hazy.
Hesitating no longer, he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
A blinding white light momentarily blinded everyone on the battlefield. Dazzled and disoriented, Camilla felt someone wrap an arm around her waist.
After a dizzying blur, when she looked around again, Camilla realized she and Yin Xi had left the battlefield entirely.
The Ultraman transformed by Yin Xi vanished before Camilla's eyes amidst a rapid sequence of chimes.
Camilla immediately canceled her transformation and found Yin Xi collapsed on the ground. At that moment, Yin Xi was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily in deep, ragged gasps.
Camilla looked down at Yin Xi with a mixture of heartbreak and mild reproach.
"I'm fine, just a little exhausted. I'll recover in a moment."
Though Camilla harbored many questions about how Yin Xi was able to transform into Ultraman, seeing his current state, she kept her questions to herself.
"Next time, don't be so reckless."
Hearing Camilla's words, Yin Xi's expression turned dead serious.
"If it meant just standing by and watching you get bullied, I couldn't do it."
Camilla, who had been on the verge of scolding him further, was instantly left speechless.
"What did you say?"
Yin Xi instantly realized he had spoken out of turn and scrambled to cover his tracks.
"N-no, nothing at all."
Seeing Yin Xi like this, Camilla could only offer a helpless smile as she tapped him lightly on the forehead.
Recalling Yin Xi's words just now, an involuntary warmth bloomed in the depths of her heart. She reached out and ruffled Yin Xi's hair.
"Thank you for this time."
With that, she channeled a portion of her own energy into him to help him recover his stamina.
"Tch, this Spark Lens just isn't suited for me. I can't even fight for very long."
The duration for which Daigo could maintain his transformation was simply incomparable to his own. This prompted Yin Xi to inwardly complain about Ultraman's bias.
"And we both possess Ultra-Ancient genes, too."
Meanwhile, back in the city, the two second-generation Gijera had recovered from Yin Xi's ferocious assault. Seeing the two figures vanish before them, they let out a breath of relief.
The Ultraman transformed by Yin Xi possessed a terrifying destructive power that they simply could not withstand. Fortunately, however, he could not maintain the form for long.
Looking around, aside from the two of them, not a single Gijera remained. Still, they had managed to achieve their objective.
Mitsuo Itabashi gave a grand wave of his hand, and divine light blossomed across the sky. Shortly thereafter, an angelic phantom materialized in the air.
"Behold, humans! Ultraman is not your salvation—the Gijera are. The holy Angel is."
"TPC cannot protect you, nor can Ultraman. Submit to us."
With those words, the Angel opened its arms, showering the earth in light. The scarred and devastated landscape was rapidly restored. The raging fires were swiftly extinguished. Whether injured or on the verge of death, everyone bathed in the light was restored to health.
Having finished all this, Beniko Oda and Mitsuo Itabashi ceased maintaining their Gijera forms, reverting instead to their original human appearances as they floated in mid-air, as if waiting for something.
Amidst the crowd, a mother emerged clutching her child. Her clothes were covered in dust, and her eyes were filled with exhaustion and despair. In her arms, she held a child who had already lost all signs of life.
As she looked up toward the Angel in the sky, a glimmer of hope flickered once more within her dimming gaze.
"Great... Angel, I am willing to become your most loyal follower. Please, save my child!"
With that, she dropped directly to her knees and began kowtowing repeatedly.
Seeing this, Beniko Oda, floating in the sky, smiled triumphantly.
*(In the end, this round belongs to us.)*
The holy Angel raised its hands high, its pristine white wings unfurling behind its back. Holy light rained down, enveloping the body of the deceased child. The light was gentle and warm, as if capable of healing all ailments.
Once the light sank completely into the child's body, the lifeless girl abruptly sat up, looking around in bewilderment.
Seeing that her dead daughter had truly come back to life, the woman could no longer hold back her tears, pulling her child into a tight embrace.
Everyone witnessing this scene on the scene was left utterly stunned.
Caught completely unprepared by this sudden battle, some had lost their wives, while others had lost their parents. Everyone had someone they wished to bring back. Even knowing these beings were the culprits behind the catastrophe, the moment they saw hope, none of that mattered anymore.
Every single person present dropped to their knees, weeping and praying to the Angel high above.
Watching all this unfold through the system's light screen, Yin Xi experienced a kaleidoscope of complicated emotions. He could find no words to blame these people.
He also realized that this confrontation with the Gijera was, indeed, a defeat.