Xiao Luuo was shocked inwardly upon hearing this. Two missions at once? What on earth was defeating three Cyriloids? Weren't there supposed to be only one Cyriloid? Could his own appearance have altered the original storyline?
Before Xiao Luuo could figure it out, he saw three figures walking toward him from ahead. They were Cyriloids in normal human size.
"Everyone, be careful, it's the Cyriloid!" Megumi Iruma shouted to the others. However, when she reached for her gun, she realized her Hyper Gun was still back in the building—after being knocked out of her hand earlier, she hadn't had a chance to pick it up.
Rena, Shinjo, and Hori quickly drew their Hyper Guns, aimed at the Cyriloids, and opened fire directly. But Xiao Luuo knew this wouldn't have any effect.
The beams struck the human-shaped Cyriloids, producing nothing more than a few sparks without any real effect at all.
"Damn it! It's not working!" Hori cried out in surprise.
"We'll just have to fight them to the death!" Shinjo cursed under his breath, and with that, he charged forward!
Then Xiao Luuo intercepted him and said, "You three protect the Captain." With that, he took off his GUTS uniform; after all, the clothes were too tight and would restrict his movements. Then he charged straight at the three Cyriloids, knowing this was his only chance to transform into an Ultraman!
Xiao Luuo threw a punch directly at the face of the leading Cyriloid, sending him stumbling back several meters with a single blow. The knocked-back Cyriloid shook his head, pointed a hand at Xiao Luuo and the others, and the remaining two Cyriloids charged straight at Xiao Luuo! Meanwhile, the first one circled around Xiao Luuo's group from behind, staring at them intently like a victor toying with his prey.
Seeing this, Hori and Shinjo rushed forward, shouting, "How can you leave me out of something like this!"
Hori yelled as he ran, "I won't stand for anyone bullying my GUTS brothers!"
Yet the moment they engaged the Cyriloids, they were all knocked flying and lost consciousness. The Cyriloids then turned all their attacks onto Xiao Luuo, who, despite his best efforts, found his two fists no match for four hands and was steadily driven back!
"Hori! Shinjo!" Xiao Luuo shouted anxiously. In the few months he had spent in GUTS, he had gotten along quite well with them.
At that moment, Rena was still providing covering fire for Xiao Luuo with her Hyper Gun.
Meanwhile, Munakata left the GUTS Base, saying as he departed, "I'm going to provide backup!"
Before long, Rena was also knocked to the ground by a palm-blast of energy.
"Rena!" Megumi Iruma cried out anxiously, then checked her breathing and finally let out a sigh of relief.
It was then that Megumi Iruma noticed something strange. Although Xiao Luuo was constantly on the defensive, he was still managing to hold his ground. Why was that?
At that very moment, Ultraman Tiga had transformed into his purple Sky Type, gaining a temporary advantage. With a flying kick, he sent a Cyriloid crashing to the ground. Just as Tiga prepared to follow up with a finishing blow, the Cyriloid spat a blast of fire straight at him, sending him flying backward amid explosions and sparks until he smashed right through a building!
"Kiri-kiri-kiri~" The Cyriloid let out a triumphant, sneering laugh.
Tiga struggled to get back up, but the moment he tried to stand, the Cyriloid kicked him down again, straddled his chest, and began raining down a flurry of punches.
Soon, Tiga's Color Timer began flashing red.
Xiao Luuo was having a terribly difficult time fighting as well, facing three opponents at once. Without transforming into his Reionics form, he couldn't unleash his full power. He glanced over and saw that only Megumi Iruma was left standing.
"Xiao Luuo! Be careful!" Megumi Iruma cried out in concern, considering him one of her subordinates.
Realizing he couldn't win this way, and figuring his identity would be exposed sooner or later anyway, Xiao Luuo turned to Megumi Iruma and asked, "Do you trust me?"
Megumi Iruma paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "Of course."
Hearing that, Xiao Luuo smiled and said, "Then please keep my secret!"
With that, a flash of white light erupted from his body. As the light faded, Xiao Luuo stood before Megumi Iruma in his Reionics form.
"So! That person was you all along!" Megumi Iruma exclaimed in shock, clearly realizing that everything before her had completely shattered her worldview!
Just then, one of the Cyriloids rushed straight at Xiao Luuo, only to be knocked flat by a single punch, followed by a flurry of combo strikes that blew the creature to pieces!
"Good heavens!" Megumi Iruma gasped, her mouth dropping open in astonishment.
At that exact moment, Shinjo staggered to his feet. Staring at the Reionics form before him with shock in his eyes, he pointed an accusing finger and shouted, "It's you! The guy who shot down my plane!"
Xiao Luuo spread his hands and said, "I couldn't help it. You attacked me first, and you fired two missiles at me!" He held up two fingers to emphasize his point.
Taking advantage of the opening, the other Cyriloid rushed forward and threw a punch at Xiao Luuo, but Xiao Luuo easily ducked out of the way and spun around to knock him back with a single strike.
He reached to his waist, pulled out a Gomora Monster card, and directly inserted it into the Battle Niser.
"Battle Niser! Activate, Ancient Monster—Gomora!"
Before their astonished eyes, the figure of Gomora materialized, crushing the remaining two Cyriloids underfoot with a single stomp.
"Ding! Mission complete. Reward: one hundred points, and one Ultraman draw chance."
"Gomora, get him!" Xiao Luuo pointed at the Cyriloid.
Gomora understood instantly, charging forward and sending the Cyriloid flying with a brutal tackle, successfully freeing Tiga.
Tiga looked at Gomora and nodded; after all, this fellow had saved him twice now.
However, right at that moment, a wisp of black Qi merged into the Cyriloid's body. Instantly, the Cyriloid's eyes flashed with red light, and the Color Timer-like organ on the left side of its chest turned a dark purple.
Meanwhile, Xiao Luuo was still basking in his victory, looking at the holographic projection of the Spark Prism on his virtual screen. What made him happiest was that the system told him Tiga would become his bonded Ultraman. The transformation could last for about ten minutes, but it would only operate at sixty percent of its power; to unleash one hundred percent strength, he would need to lift the restriction, though doing so would limit his activity time to just one minute.
"Roar!" Gomora's agonizing cry yanked Xiao Luuo back to reality.
Looking at Ultraman Tiga, who was struggling to stand up from the ground, and Gomora, who was being held in the Cyriloid's arms and pummeled mercilessly, anger surged in Xiao Luuo's chest.
"Fine then, I'll use you to test out my power!" With that, he leaped straight up into the air, pulled out the Spark Prism in a secluded spot, and as a flash of light illuminated the area, a gigantic figure emerged.
Megumi Iruma and Shinjo stared at the newly appeared giant in utter astonishment and confusion. Where did this giant come from?
The figure was almost identical to the Tiga transformed by Daigo, except that the patterns on its body featured subtle touches of gold and black, its head bore a crystal-like horn, and the Color Timer on its chest was diamond-shaped rather than oval.
"Captain! A strong life-form reaction has been detected at the scene!" Muzui reported through his communicator.
"A giant... it's another Ultraman Tiga!" Megumi Iruma said in shock.
"This Tiga looks so cool!" Shinjo exclaimed in admiration.
Xiao Luuo channeled a stream of light from the Color Timer on his own forehead and transmitted it directly to Ultraman Tiga. Upon receiving this energy, Tiga's flashing Color Timer stopped pulsing and returned to a steady blue.
Seeing yet another Ultraman Tiga appear before them, the Cyriloids hastily halted their attacks. The creature pointed at the newly arrived Tiga, then looked back at the Ultraman it had been fighting all along, glancing back and forth between them several times before letting out a bewildered sound.
"Kiri?" it muttered, scratching its head in confusion.