Chapter 372: 368 Karimira

Fei Niao and Qi Ming returned to the ground after eliminating the terrorist Uno Kengo and the giant Gomora; Qi Ming pulled out his PDI communicator and learned that the small Gomora he had knocked unconscious had already been loaded onto a transport aircraft bound for the marine base.

Then, Qi Ming received an even more shocking message from Hui Mei.

The Tree of Life has bloomed.

From afar, the flowers on the Tree of Life emitted a blue glow, appearing eerie and captivating.

Over a kilometer away, Shōhei, motionless like a walking corpse, stared at the glowing Tree of Life, his cloudy eyes regaining a flicker of light.

More than ten days ago, relying on his "final sense," he had dragged his wounded body through pain to find Queen Amaterasu, only to discover she had become a different person—she beat him mercilessly and mocked him.

After learning that the former personality of Queen Amaterasu had been erased, Shōhei's heart turned to ash, feeling his life had lost all meaning.

After a stern warning from Minister Yin, he was thrown out of the base.

Since then, his heart had died just like the former Queen Amaterasu, leaving him numb and aimless.

If not for his childhood friend Yui's persistent care, he might have already perished.

But now, seeing the Tree of Life bloom, he felt hope return.

Shōhei screamed in wild excitement:

"It's bloomed! It's bloomed! The Tree of Life has bloomed!"

"Balik and Kuiin will come here soon too."

"Queen Amaterasu's greatest wish was to save Kuiin and forge a prosperous, harmonious world with it—she must appear."

Beside him, Yui could no longer hold back; she shook Shōhei's shoulders and shouted: "That Queen Amaterasu doesn't recognize you anymore—get over the past!"

Shōhei shuddered at those words, trembling as he whispered:

"No, it can't be—Queen Amaterasu will surely change her mind."

"So I can't give up—I must awaken her original ideal!"

The next moment, a gale howled as a ten-meter-tall Balik larva descended from the sky, appearing before him.

"Balik!" Shōhei, who had just been hoping for Balik's arrival, recoiled in terror upon seeing it before him.

Ancient men admired dragons they feared; Shōhei admired insects he feared.

But Balik gave him no chance to flee—it reached out and seized him in its palm.

"Shōhei!" Yui cried out, helplessly watching Balik flap its wings and soar upward, clutching the screaming Shōhei.

"Aaah!" Shōhei, forcibly abducted, screamed in terror; Balik's grip nearly suffocated him.

Nearby, Dr. Saisi, eyes bloodshot, watched this scene and nodded heavily: "Good, good—if we capture this one, Queen Amaterasu will come to rescue him soon!"

As he spoke, he slumped unconsciously to the ground—the lingering effects of prior battle.

The four Galatron units targeting him were terrifyingly powerful; no matter how hard his spaceship and Balik fought back, they couldn't budge them an inch.

Then, when the Galatrons fired a coordinated beam barrage, his spaceship vanished in an instant.

Impenetrable defense and unstoppable offense—such robots could be mass-produced?

In desperation, Dr. Saisi escaped in an escape pod, leaving two adult Baliks and several larvae as rear guards, fleeing to Earth with Kuiin's remnants.

The Galatrons, likely wary of Earth's Ultramen, did not follow them down.

Dr. Saisi understood: those terrifying White Dragon robots were poised to descend at any moment—he had little time left and must complete his plan swiftly.

This time, he would make Kuiin meet the War God, have Kuiin—whose puppet toxin concentration was highest—inject the War God directly with puppet toxin, then unlock a new world controlled by puppet toxin across the universe!

It would begin when the War God came to rescue Shōhei!

"Help!" Shōhei, suspended in midair, screamed desperately, hoping the Queen Amaterasu he loved would come to save him.

But both he and Dr. Saisi's plans collapsed. In the Victory Team's command room, personnel gathered, staring at the screen showing the Balik larva clutching Shōhei.

Fei Niao: "Balik has come—so Dr. Saisi and Kuiin have reached Earth."

Queen Amaterasu's guard, Rikka, asked: "Your Majesty, won't you go rescue him?"

Queen Amaterasu, leaning on her cane, looked puzzled: "It's just a Balik larva—why should I go myself? Just send a fighter jet and be done with it."

Shōhei? (Unconcerned).

By the way, the current Queen Amaterasu, claiming "formal attire hinders mobility," had directly donned Earth casual wear.

She no longer wore her crown—she looked utterly carefree.

Qi Ming nodded: "Wait until Kuiin appears—then make your entrance. Catch them off guard."

Queen Amaterasu clenched her fist: "I'll tear Dr. Saisi into a thousand pieces myself."

Gagura elbowed Red Kai: "After dragging this mission out so long, it's finally coming to an end."

Red Kai stared at the Orb of Victory and nodded.

……………………………………

Meanwhile, in a hair salon in Tokyo's K district.

A woman in black attire, with dark, striking hair, appeared out of thin air—her face pale.

This was Karimira's human form in this world.

When first targeted by a Galatron, she had dismissed it as trivial.

Confidently, she drew her whip and advanced to dismantle the Galatron—only to find her attacks had no effect.

The enemy's defense was astonishing.

Then the Galatron counterattacked—a floating cannon struck her down, rendering her combat-capable.

Karimira, fresh to battle, felt the cruelty of the world in her first fight.

Facing an absolute power gap, Karimira could only humbly accept defeat in her debut battle and fled in disgrace across Earth, hiding in human form.

"Damn it—I'll get revenge on that thing someday!" Karimira swore inwardly.

At that moment, the salon's TV played footage of Ultraman Tregi's recent battle against a 400-meter Galaron.

"A 400-meter robot!" Remembering how even a 50-meter Galatron had left her helpless, Karimira was stunned upon seeing the 400-meter Galaron.

No wonder this planet housed the Eternal Core—it was teeming with powerful beings!

Then she saw the footage of Tregi's aerial form dodging and maneuvering to defeat Galaron.

"That giant's movements are decent, but his face looks too young—weak and fragile," Karimira judged; she wasn't interested—she preferred rugged men.

The next moment, the TV screen changed: the Dark Three Giants from the Ultraman Tregi universe appeared; Karimira from another world extended her whip to bind Qi Ming's Tregi—causing the local Karimira to freeze.

What's going on?

Why is there a giant here who looks exactly like me?

Still, the way she appears with two underlings—that's impressive. That kind of commanding aura is exactly what I want to become.

And from her dialogue, she's trying to win back a former lover?

How utterly pathetic—her charm must be that weak. I'd never be so humiliated.

(End of Chapter)