At that moment, Xiao Luuo also noticed the Guts Wing 2 behind him and couldn't help muttering in surprise, "So fast!"
Suddenly, Xiao Luuo saw the muzzle at the front of Guts Wing 2 slowly opening and instantly felt a surge of danger. That was the weapon that had blown Gagula to pieces with a single shot; he didn't dare take it head-on. He hurriedly patted Melba beneath him and shouted, "Straight down! Fast!"
Just as Melba dived downward, a laser beam grazed right over Xiao Luuo's head. Feeling the searing heat right above him, his heart skipped a beat!
Fortunately, he had dodged it by a hair's breadth. A second later, and he would have been done for.
"Damn it, they're playing for real!"
Afterwards, he patted Melba to signal it to stay right beside Guts Wing 2.
"Damn it, he dodged it!" Shinjo slammed his fist against the control stick in frustration.
"It! It's right beside me!" Hori cried out in alarm!
Xiao Luuo was flying tightly alongside Guts Wing 2, ensuring they couldn't fire at him from this angle.
"Damn it! He knows how to use our blind spot, huh?" Shinjo cursed.
"It doesn't seem to have any intention of attacking us," Daigo said, observing Melba. After all, he had fought Melba before, and right now he felt no hostility from it.
At that moment, Xiao Luuo tapped his forehead with two fingers toward the people inside Guts Wing 2 as a farewell gesture.
In an instant, Melba vanished from the sight of Guts Wing 2.
"Oh my god! If it wanted to attack us, we probably would have crashed long ago!" Hori exclaimed in disbelief.
Meanwhile, on Kyurajima Island, Rena was piloting Guts Wing 1 in a fierce dogfight with Gagula!
Rena fired a laser beam from Guts Wing 1 straight at Gagula, but it merely sparked against the monster's hide without causing any substantial damage.
"Damn it, its skin is too thick!" Vice Captain Munakata said.
Down below, Director Sawai watched the battle unfold, breaking out in a cold sweat for the two of them.
Gagula, having been struck, refused to back down. It raised its front paw and lashed out at Guts Wing 1, but Rena executed a brilliant evasive turn just in time!
"Circle around behind it!"
"Understood!" Rena piloted the Guts Wing to flank the monster from behind.
To her surprise, Gagula suddenly reared up its front legs. Before Rena could dodge, Guts Wing 1 slammed directly into Gagula's dorsal fin!
Black smoke billowed instantly as the craft plummeted straight toward the ground!
At the brink of disaster, a bird-like cry echoed through the air, followed by a fierce gust of wind sweeping over everyone's heads!
"What is that?" several guards asked anxiously.
"Could it be Guts Wing 2?" Director Sawai couldn't help asking. But he dismissed the thought almost immediately—GUTS's technology simply didn't support that kind of high-speed flight.
Suddenly, a deafening crash shook the earth! Melba descended steadily, cradling Guts Wing 1 in its arms, and landed safely. Then it gently took flight again, approached Director Sawai, and carefully laid Guts Wing 1 on the ground.
"It's a monster!" someone screamed in terror!
"What? A monster?"
"Wait, look! That monster saved GUTS!"
The two occupants of Guts Wing 1 emerged onto the ground, staring in utter disbelief at the behemoth before them.
"It's a monster! A monster saved us?" Rena stared at the scene, unable to believe her eyes.
Vice Captain Munakata also kept his gaze locked on the giant creature, his eyes filled with shock.
"Wait! Vice Captain Munakata, look at Melba's shoulder! There's a person standing there!" Rena cried out, pointing at Melba.
Hearing this, everyone turned to look in the direction Rena was pointing!
"There really is a person up there!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Xiao Luuo in his Reionics form leaped straight down from Melba's shoulder and landed solidly on the ground.
At that very moment, a roaring sound echoed from the distance as Guts Wing 2 finally arrived fashionably late. From Daigo and the others' perspective, Gagula was lowering its head while a human petted it.
Melba stood quietly to one side.
Right then, the ground began to tremble again as another Gagula crawled out from beneath the earth.
"Prepare to attack!" Daigo shouted.
Guts Wing 2's nose slowly opened to reveal the cannon muzzle inside, and a beam of light shot straight out!
A massive explosion rang out!
As the smoke slowly cleared, a new figure stood in its place, flickering with a faint yellow light.
"Zet-ton!"
Xiao Luuo stepped out from behind Zetton and shouted to Melba, "Take it down! Damn it, they've blasted me twice already!"
Upon receiving the attack order, Melba lunged directly toward Guts Wing 2, keeping in mind Xiao Luuo's specific instruction to target only the engines.
Melba fired an energy beam straight from its eyes, striking Guts Wing 2's rear engine dead-on.
Left with no choice, Shinjo and the others were forced into an emergency landing, though the impact knocked both Hori and Shinjo unconscious.
Seeing that the two were merely knocked out, Daigo didn't waste any more time and transformed directly into Ultraman Tiga!
Amid a flash of brilliant white light, Tiga materialized before everyone!
Without a second word, Tiga charged straight toward the four monsters.
Xiao Luuo shook his head helplessly, leaped away from his spot, and landed right in front of Vice Captain Munakata's group.
Shaking his head, he said softly, "Zetton, keep him busy! Melba, calm down the Gagula family."
A dramatic scene unfolded before their eyes.
Zetton and Tiga locked in a fierce brawl, while Melba used its small claws to gently pat the heads of both Gagula monsters, guiding them away from the area step by step.
"Why are you protecting monsters?!" a worker demanded, unable to watch any longer.
Hearing this, Xiao Luuo slowly turned around and replied, "Why? They've been living here peacefully without ever doing a single bad thing. It's you people who encroached on their food source—they are divine beasts that feed on stone. You tell me why!"
The worker lowered his head in silence.
Rena and her companion looked on in utter confusion and asked, "Who are you? Why can you control monsters? And was it you who made Melba destroy the giant stone statue earlier?"
"Who I am doesn't matter. I didn't order it to destroy anything either—Melba is just a monster I tamed recently."
"Whoever you are, thank you. Thank you for saving us," Vice Captain Munakata said, bowing slightly to Xiao Luuo.
Xiao Luuo raised a hand to dismiss the courtesy, then turned his gaze toward Tiga, who was still locked in combat with Zetton. "Zetton, that's enough."
He looked over at Tiga and called out, "Giant of Light! Gagula didn't do anything wrong; humanity is the one that destroyed their habitat. There's no need to hunt them to extinction. How about we take them to a place where they can actually survive?"
Tiga paused his movements, turned to look at Xiao Luuo, and slowly nodded.
To everyone's astonishment, Zetton dissolved into particles of light and flew back into the Battle Niser in Xiao Luuo's hand, where a Zetton card automatically popped out.
"Such an amazing device!" Rena gasped in wonder.
Afterward, Melba escorted one Gagula while Tiga hoisted the other, and with Xiao Luuo riding on Melba's back, the duo transported the two Gagulas to a rocky island. Once they were settled, Tiga flew off directly.
"Ding, congratulations on completing the mission. Reward: 100 points."
Having finished the mission, Xiao Luuo rode Melba straight back to the base.
Meanwhile, Daigo carried the two unconscious crew members out, and a GUTS helicopter soon arrived to pick them up.
Back at the GUTS Base:
"A massive lifeform is approaching the base!" Muzui shouted.
"Wait! It vanished!"
At that moment, Xiao Luuo had already slipped into the restroom, stored Melba away, and calmly returned to the GUTS Command Center.