What a scene it was. In the silent universe, a colossal insect roamed.
Its body was covered in spikes and scales, its massive wings large enough to blot out the sun. Its two antennae were coated in a hard substance, a stark contrast to the previous insects.
In both species and size, this nameless giant insect was superior to the Sting-Wings Mebius had fought before.
Judging by the aura emanating from the giant insect, this new enemy was far beyond what Mebius could handle.
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage—
Yukinoshita Yukino: "This... this is just too exaggerated. That insect's body has to be at least several hundred meters long. Even an Ultraman's size is nothing in front of it."
In the My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU world, Yukinoshita Yukino's expression was grave, her mouth slightly agape, and a few drops of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, revealing her shock.
She wasn't being dramatic. Before such a creature, humanity was simply too insignificant. A bug that massive could probably devour the Earth itself.
Ultraman Zero: "Hmph, a useless thing that just looks big. It's only larger in size. In terms of strength, you're 20,000 years too early!"
On Planet K76, the arrogant Zero stared at the screen. At this stage of his life, apart from Ultraman King, there was no one in the entire universe who could make him feel fear.
Romani Archaman: "This is insane! How can a monster of this size even move in space? It completely violates the principles of biology!"
Detective Conan: "The principles of biology... one can only say that's how the light curtain is. It has never been scientific."
The Overseer: "The Swarm will soon sweep into the Solar System. When that time comes... Earth will be in danger. With the current combat strength of Earth's defense forces, they will be no match for the Swarm."
---o---
Light Curtain Video—
The giant insect approached at high speed. A purple liquid, which looked extremely disturbing, dripped from its body. And in this starry sky, it was not alone.
Behind the giant insect, countless adult Sting-Wings were flying this way, vibrating their wings and shaking off red, powder-like crystals.
It was like a fantasy. Any creature that inhaled the wing dust would involuntarily fall into a nightmare woven by the Swarm, never to wake again.
Previously, the insects creating the illusion were just small larvae, so the GUYS team members' lives were not in danger.
But this time was different. Hundreds of thousands of Sting-Wings vibrating their wings in unison created an effect of immense scope. Combined with the unknown giant insect in their midst, this single swarm could rampage across the vast majority of planets in the universe.
"What's happening? When did such a massive swarm of insects appear in space!"
Mebius's expression was one of shock. He had truly never seen such a spectacle. Even when Emperor Alien Empera attacked the Land of Light, it wasn't on this scale.
No, this is not the time to worry about that. With his current power, Mebius was no match for the swarm before him.
They could wear him down and kill him through a battle of attrition alone. Not to mention, his teammates were still here. The best solution right now was to run.
As the saying goes, of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is the best. When facing an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, it is wise to first avoid its main thrust.
Mebius's plan was to take the corpses of the insects he had defeated back for research and then discuss their next move.
Through his many battles on Earth, Mebius had gradually formed a bond with humanity.
Without the help of human technology, some monsters were impossible to defeat, even for Ultraman Mebius.
Therefore, although the enemy was powerful, Mebius firmly believed that the members of GUYS could overcome this difficulty.
But...
"BZZZZZZZZ—!!"
Perhaps sensing Mebius's intention to retreat, the Swarm instantly became frenzied.
Without another word, they charged at him.
This is bad! Ryu-san and the others are still in the Phoenix Nest! While carrying the ship, Mebius's movement speed was no match for these crazed insects.
Instinctively, as an Ultra Warrior, Mebius could not allow the Swarm to overwhelm the Phoenix Nest. He charged straight towards the insect tide.
The light blade on his wrist materialized. The first and fastest wave of Sting-Wings began to clash with Mebius.
They opened their ferocious maws, revealing the spikes within. Their wings, like sharp blades, flew in from all directions, attacking Mebius's body.
Mebius swiftly dodged, and with every swing of his light blade, dozens of insects were killed.
The sound of the blade tearing through carapaces rang out—a clean, crisp crunch. With just the swings of his longsword, ordinary Sting-Wings were nothing more than common bugs to Mebius.
But this was no ordinary situation. Gradually surrounded by the Swarm, even if Mebius could kill hundreds of Sting-Wings with a single swipe, it was futile.
Kill one, and two more would pop up. The dead insects became new nutrients for the Swarm, their bodies instantly devoured. Before the endless tide, Mebius's attacks were but a drop in the ocean, meaningless.
Time passed, second by second. Perhaps it was an illusion, or perhaps Mebius himself had fallen under the influence of the Sting-Wings' buzzing.
As the battle raged on, he was shocked to discover that the Swarm's blood was multicolored. Unlike the single colors from before, the parts of the insects pierced or slashed by his light blade now bled a rainbow of hues.
A strange sense of dread filled Mebius's heart, causing the young Warrior of Light to feel agitated, even giving him an impulse to succumb to darkness.
If one looked closely at Mebius, surrounded by the Swarm, they would notice something was wrong with his state. The piercing sound of the insects' wings was beginning to interfere with his judgment.
While he didn't fall directly into an illusion or slumber like the other GUYS members, it was undeniable that if Mebius's conviction as an Ultra Warrior wavered even for a moment, he would instantly fall into boundless darkness.
He didn't know how many times he had swung his blade, nor how much of his energy he had consumed. Mebius only felt that if this continued, he would surely die from energy exhaustion.
"Diton... diton..."
As expected, the Color Timer on Mebius's chest began to flash. In space, a flashing timer meant that his own power was nearing its limit.
But even so, Mebius did not give up fighting the Swarm. After all, standing behind him were his dear friends from GUYS.
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage—
The Swarm's powerful hallucinogenic ability was once again displayed to the audience.
Previously, the wing dust from a single larva small enough for a human to crush had been enough to plunge the elite members of the Phoenix Nest into an illusion.
They had thought this was merely a cleanup weapon evolved by the Swarm to deal with low-level civilizations, with limited effect on non-biological beings like Ultraman. But now, it seemed that was not the case.
The audience didn't know much about Ultraman Mebius, but from his performance so far, although he was a bit green compared to characters like the Ultra Brothers or the Father and Mother of Ultra, he was still a battle-hardened warrior.
And yet, even such a resolute warrior could be affected by the wing dust after being submerged in the Swarm?
From this, it could be deduced that the Swarm didn't just grow in numbers. The individual combat power and abilities of the insects also increased with the number of their kin nearby.
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "Mebius is in a desperate situation. What's he going to do? Haven't the reinforcements from the Land of Light arrived yet?"
Alien Empera: "A swarm of insects that devours light. Hmph, if they are worthy of negotiation, perhaps I could bring them under my command to become a blade against the Land of Light."
Absolutian Tartarus: "The light of an Ultraman will not dim over something so simple. The real battle is only just beginning."
Boros: "A swarm of insects? Excellent! This is a true battle! Only a fight of this level is worthy of using my full power!"
Ryu Aihara: "Mebius won't lose! How could he lose to a bunch of bugs? He's an Ultra Warrior!"
---o---
Light Curtain Video—
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
A brilliant light erupted from within the impenetrable tide of insects, sending countless nearby Sting-Wings flying.
As the fight dragged on, Mebius gradually forgot the fighting techniques Taro had taught him, resorting to using the most primitive brute force.
The price for doing so was a rapid loss of stamina. Although Mebius tried his best to fight back, some things are impossible no matter how hard you try. His energy was gradually depleted, and his body grew weary.
"Mebius!!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!
Just as Mebius was gradually losing his ability to resist, the Phoenix Nest, which had been idle until now, finally came to life.
The ship split into two fighters in space, each firing at the Swarm surrounding Mebius.
"What the hell are these ugly things? Why are there so many? Is there no end to them?"
In the cockpit, the awakened Ryu Aihara was like a mad lion, cursing the Swarm while frantically maneuvering his fighter for a good angle.
"Don't get too close! The powder from those insects has a hallucinogenic effect. Although the Phoenix Nest's auto-purification system is on, there are a few too many of them," Marina Kazama calmly stated from the other fighter. To think that they had all fallen for it at the same time. Thank goodness for Mebius, otherwise, the Phoenix Nest would have been completely wiped out this time.
"Everyone!"
Mebius was deeply moved by the support from GUYS, and his spirit was greatly restored.
"Alright! Let's press the advantage and blow these ugly things to bits!!"
After clearing the insects around Mebius, Ryu pushed the engines to their maximum, firing a continuous and reckless barrage of missiles.
In an instant, the Swarm suffered heavy casualties. Countless insects lost their ability to fight due to the explosions. In terms of clearing mobs, the Phoenix Nest was much faster than Mebius.
But... the most dangerous enemy had yet to make its move.
The several-hundred-meter-long purple insect, like a demon from hell, was covered in a purple liquid. The liquid was highly corrosive; if it landed on Mebius or the Phoenix Nest, it could instantly burn a hole through them.
Seeing that its swarm was at a disadvantage, the giant insect began to move its massive body, charging towards the Phoenix Nest and Mebius.
"This is bad! What the hell is this thing? A monster?"
"Teppei, have you found any information on this guy?"
Sending the data on the Swarm to headquarters, Ryu tried to find information on a similar species.
"No, nothing at all! There are no records of this creature in the database!"
Teppei sounded frantic on the other end of the comms, clearly not expecting a monster that wasn't in their records.
"What," Ryu said in disbelief, but he quickly had no time to worry about that.
The giant insect opened its mouth wide, as if to swallow everything around it.
A purple breath attack shot through the starry sky, rushing towards the Phoenix Nest with absolute power.
This insect... had a ranged attack!
The crew of the Phoenix Nest and Mebius had never expected the giant purple insect to be a ranged attacker rather than a frontline vanguard.
The power of its breath, its speed and force, far exceeded their expectations as it came at them with unstoppable momentum.
"Oh no! Ryu-san!! Everyone!!!" Mebius cried out. But at his current speed, with the surrounding Swarm interfering, he couldn't possibly intercept the attack for them in time.
Just then, another beam of light shot out, colliding with the purple breath.
"Zzzzzzz—!"
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted in space. The Phoenix Nest took the opportunity to escape its position.
What was that just now? The members of the crew were confused, but some of the viewers outside the light curtain instantly widened their eyes.
There was no mistake. That was the Wide Shot, a ray with a temperature of 400,000 degrees, and Seven's most powerful beam technique.
"Brother Seven!"
Seeing this beam, Mebius became ecstatic, like a drowning child finding a lifeguard. That's right. The only one in the entire universe who used that ray and would appear at this time...
It was none other than one of the Ultra Brothers of the Land of Light's Space Garrison, one of Mebius's own older brothers, Ultraman Seven!
"Mebius, are you alright!"
On the distant edge of space, three Ultramen gradually materialized. They wore red capes and had rushed here from the Land of Light without stopping.