With a deafening "boom," an explosion rang out. Ultras all around lifted their heads to gaze at the sky as alien monsters like Bemstar, Black King, and Zetton surged forward in a relentless tide. The Ultras immediately rose to meet the enemy.
Down in the streets, Belial shouldered the Giga Battle Nizer and sent an Ultraman who tried to block his path flying with a single strike of his staff.
"Everyone, hurry to a safe place and take cover!" Marie of the Silver Cross Army organized the evacuation.
"Zoffy," Marie called out, trying to stop him as she saw Zoffy attempt to block Belial.
"Belial!"
Belial leaped into the air, swung the Battle Nizer down with brutal force, and sent Zoffy crashing away. The Battle Nizer pressed against Marie's chest like the weight of a mountain. With a loud crash, Marie slammed heavily into the building behind her and slid to the ground.
"Marie, I will trample the Land of Light into dust and become the ruler of the entire galaxy!" Belial growled, his face twisted in a ferocious sneer as he swung the Battle Nizer down toward Marie on the ground.
"Stop right there!" Ken arrived just in time, blocking Belial's attack like a solid iron tower.
"Ken!"
"Bastard!"
"Belial, this is your homeland!" Ken gripped the Battle Nizer tightly, refusing to let go.
"Homeland? What does that have to do with me! I came back here purely to exact my revenge on all of you!" Belial snarled through clenched teeth. Pouring every ounce of his strength into the pull, he jerked the Battle Nizer free. He then engaged Ken in a fierce battle. After trading blows for several rounds, Belial spotted an opening and knocked Ken flying with a single strike of his rod.
Marie and Zoffy rushed to help the heavily injured Ken to his feet, but Belial gave them no time to recover, raising the Battle Nizer to finish them off.
A blinding flash of golden light cut through the air. Marie, Zoffy, and Ken raised their hands to shield their eyes from the dazzling glare.
Unable to withstand this overwhelming power, Belial was sent flying back with tremendous force, the Battle Nizer slipping from his grasp as he soared through the air like a kite with a snapped string.
"Ultrafierce Ultraman King!"
"Belial, you traitor!" Ultraman King raised a hand, using ultra-telekinesis to trap Belial as surrounding buildings hurtled through the air toward him.
"Stop! Let me go—" Belial roared frantically.
"Reflect upon your actions and accept the punishment you deserve." With those solemn, majestic words from Ultraman King, the Cosmic Prison that would imprison Belial took form around him.
Afterward, Ultraman King took the Giga Battle Nizer to the Monster Graveyard and sealed it away in the Valley of Fire.
***
At the Silver Cross Army headquarters, the halls were overflowing with wounded Ultras in the wake of Belial's invasion.
"Arno, could you give me the incubation pod? The little one isn't doing too well." Marie gently stroked the crest of the small silver-and-blue Ultraman who was tightly hugging the incubation pod.
"Sister Marie, where are my sister and Brother Toreka?" Arno handed the pod over to Ultraman Marie, asking the question even though he already knew the heartbreaking answer.
"I'm so sorry." Marie looked at Arno with a gaze full of guilt. His elder sister, Arhi, had been one of the Silver Cross Army's finest warriors, and when Belial attacked, she and her husband Toreka had fought on the very front lines.
"I know, I know. My sister and Brother Toreka protected me and him." Light particles slipped from Arno's shining eye lamps.
"Don't cry. They would surely want you to grow up to be the bravest of Ultras." Marie offered a gentle comfort.
"Does the little one have a name?" Marie pointed to the incubation pod bathing in the plasma rays.
"Yes. Tregear. His name is Tregear, a name for someone who will forever hold curiosity and a thirst for exploring the truth of all things." Arno spoke the name his sister had prepared long ago for the little ball of light.
***
Following Belial's rampage through the Land of Light, Ken officially assumed the post of Commander of the Space Garrison, and Ultraman Marie officially took over as Captain of the Silver Cross Army.
Zoffy, the original Ultraman, Jack, and the others returned from their training on Earth to take up official positions within the Garrison.
Zoffy became the Commander of the Space Garrison; the original Ultraman took charge as the Head of the Galaxy Nebula Department; Jack served as the Earth Section Chief while simultaneously holding the post of Branch Chief for the Land of Light; Ace became the head of the Perseus Nebula Department; and Seven took on the role of Stellar Observer at the Solar System branch of the Space Garrison.
The tiny ball of light that had once rested inside the incubation pod had grown into an unruly toddler who hated waking up and going to school, while the little Ultraman who had wept over the loss of his family was now half-grown into a youth.
Arno balanced his studies with raising his nephew, occasionally taking on missions; with the savings he earned, he eventually moved out of the House of Ultras along with Tregear.
"Tregear, wake up. You're going to be late for school." Arno hoisted the reluctant Tregear straight out of bed without a moment's hesitation. Honestly, why were Ultraman toddlers just as reluctant to get out of bed as human children?
Arno wasn't a pure-blooded Ultraman. He had originally been a human with selective social anxiety who had finally done a good deed and gotten himself sent straight to the afterlife. If anyone asked him now whether he believed in light, he certainly did—because he had turned into light himself, and because he had lost his family to Belial's invasion.
"Uncle, Uncle." Little Tregear wrapped his arms around Arno's neck and nuzzled against his cheek. "Ah! Uncle is the prettiest Ultraman ever!" It was yet another day of little Tregear being struck by the sheer beauty of Arno's face.
Arno's entire body was covered in interwoven patterns of deep blue, light blue, and silver. The color timer stretching from his shoulders to his chest was encased in gleaming silver armor, making him look like a cluster of brilliant stars. The delicate head crest upon his head resembled a silver crown, sparkling with an enchanting radiance under the illumination of the Plasma Spark. Little wonder that Tregear praised his beauty day in and day out.
"All right, all right. You're acting just like a cosmic cat." Arno set Tregear down on the floor and took his small hand. "Come on, let's go eat."
***
"Uncle, are you having your assessment today? Can I go watch you?" Tregear's eye lamps were filled with excitement.
"Then aren't you going to school?" Arno countered.
"But I want to watch your assessment," Tregear mumbled discontentedly.
"Tregear! Uncle Arno!" A small red Ultraman came bounding excitedly toward the two of them.
"Stop." Arno caught Taro by his horns with one hand, halting the red cannonball in his tracks. "Where are your elders?"
"Brother Zoffy and Brother Ultraman are working overtime, so I'm going to school by myself today." With that, Taro turned his shining eye lamps toward Tregear.
Intimidated by Taro's overwhelming enthusiasm, Tregear shrank back behind Arno.
"Wonderful," Arno praised insincerely. "Then why are you here?"
"Well... Uncle Arno, I came to walk to school with Tregear." Taro rubbed his horns sheepishly.
"Then I'll drop you two off at the Ultra Academy."
"Thank you, Uncle Arno!" Taro happily took Arno's hand.
"Alright, Tregear, don't be upset. I'll have someone record the assessment for you," Arno said, giving Tregear's hand a reassuring shake.
"Hey! Uncle Arno's assessment footage? I want to watch too!"
"Fine, come over to my place later."
"Thank you, Uncle (Uncle Arno)!"
The two little Ultras bickered back and forth the entire way, chattering until Arno's head was spinning. Just as he was reaching the point of despair, the gates of the Ultra Academy finally came into view.
"Goodbye, Uncle (Uncle Arno)!" Hand in hand, the two little ones scampered through the academy gates.
"Phew!" Watching the pair finally disappear inside, Arno felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
He then turned and headed toward the senior division of the Ultra Academy.
"Arno."
"Teacher Hikari." Arno looked over at the blue Ultraman who had called out to him.
"Arno, take this." Hikari handed an access card for the Science Research Bureau laboratory to Arno.
"Teacher Hikari, is this the lab access card for the Science Research Bureau?" Arno took the card, his eye lamps widening in excitement. A laboratory pass for the Science Research Bureau!
"Arno, you have extraordinary potential. I hope you'll join the Science Research Bureau and contribute to galactic peace." Hikari's gaze drifted toward the bracelet on Arno's wrist.
Guilt washed over Arno, and he hastily tucked his hand behind his back. He had simply used some items from the school lab to cobble together a low-spec weapon with decent firepower; he never expected to get caught.
"All right, go on to class." A warm smile filled Hikari's eye lamps as he watched Arno's guilty reflex.
"Yes."
***
Ultra Arena
Today was the combat assessment for the senior students of the Ultra Academy, and cries of despair echoed across the grounds.
"No, I don't want to be assessed!"
"By the Ultraman King, please let me pass this assessment safely."
"Arno, you're here." Roga slung an arm around Arno's neck with a look of utter despair.
"Yeah. Oh, right, could you help me record a video during my assessment later?" Arno handed a small sphere to Roga.
"What is this?" Roga poked it curiously.
"A prototype recording sphere I made. There's still plenty of room for upgrades. Will you record it for me?"
"No way," Roga refused flatly and firmly.
"Instructors Zoffy and Ultraman have arrived!" someone with sharp eyes shouted, pointing up at the incoming Ultras flying through the sky.
Zoffy and the original Ultraman landed on the arena stage, raising their hands to signal the students below for silence.
"Attention, senior students of the Ultra Academy. Today is your combat assessment. The evaluation will be divided into close combat and beam techniques. For combat, students will be paired up in groups of two, and a half-hour survival time constitutes a passing grade. For beam attacks, twenty thousand degrees is the passing mark. The assessment begins!" As Zoffy's voice faded, the students below spontaneously paired up and flew onto the stage to begin their trials.
"Arno, our battle power is pretty evenly matched. Let's team up!" Roga suggested.
"Alright." The two of them flew onto the stage together.
"Here I come!" Roga released the recording sphere into the air and called out to Arno. Arno nodded. The recording sphere faithfully began capturing the entire process of Arno's test.
...
"Aileen and Mina, failed close combat."
"Bella, failed beam attack."
"Galin and Izor, failed close combat."
...
The arena broadcast echoed with the names of the students who had failed. Those who didn't pass began discussing extra training, determined to clear the next evaluation.
"Arno, you really didn't hold back," Roga complained, clutching his waist.
"I *was* holding back, otherwise you would've been knocked off the stage in under three minutes," Arno replied calmly as he retrieved his recording sphere.
"Wait, really? We're both blue Ultras—how is your combat power so absurdly high?" Roga began to seriously question his existence.
"I often venture outside the Land of Light to forage for experimental materials. You have to be able to protect yourself out there."
"You're a beast," Roga said, giving him a thumbs-up.