pjbooks Chapter 96 Become Light, Fly Higher
Chapter 96 Become Light, Fly Higher
Inside the cockpit of the Snow White, the air pressure is dropping rapidly.
The piercing alarm sounded like a death knell, beeping incessantly.
The fuselage shook violently, as if it would disintegrate in the high temperature of air friction at any moment.
But Lina's hands remained firmly gripping the control lever, without the slightest loosening.
Daigo sat in the back seat, watching Rena's slender yet tense back, and a strange sense of panic welled up in his heart.
"Lina! What's wrong with you? Tell me!"
Daigo's voice was pleading; he had never seen Lina so frantic.
Her back view looked so frail, yet so resolute.
At this moment, the intro to the background music "Ultraman Forever" begins.
As the electric guitar began to play, Lina's voice finally rang out.
"Why...why didn't you tell me?"
Although it was very soft, it was as clear as thunder amidst the noisy roar, exploding in Daigo's ears.
Daigo was stunned: "What?"
At this moment, the camera zooms in for a close-up.
Lina, played by Xia Youwei, was already in tears.
Her eyes no longer held confusion, but rather a heartbreak born from seeing through everything.
She wanted to ask Daigo countless questions.
Why do you disappear every time a monster appears?
Why are you never there when Ultraman Tiga appears?
Why... is your gaze always so sad?
Lina didn't turn around, but her voice was trembling, filled with suppressed grievances, heartache, and a hint of anger...
But what came out of his mouth was...
Why bear it all alone?
Daigo's pupils suddenly contracted.
At that moment, time seemed to stand still.
The background music suddenly went silent at that moment, leaving only the sound of the wind and heartbeats.
The viewers in front of the screen, whether it was "Seven's reading glasses" or the live streamer Mana Nekomiya, all seemed to be frozen in place.
The barrage of comments refreshed so fast that the server experienced lag.
Everyone held their breath, because they knew that what was about to happen would be the most glorious moment in the entire Ultraman Tiga series.
It's here...it's finally here...
[Did Lina already know that?]
The truth is finally about to be revealed!
[Lina already knew, didn't she? She was just waiting for Daigo to tell her himself.]
I cried while watching it. The acting was truly amazing; the emotions that had been suppressed for so long finally erupted.
My God, the atmosphere is so intense, I'm afraid to breathe.
……
Faced with Lina's questioning.
Daigo opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He couldn't see Lina's tearful eyes...
But his heart trembled at that moment...
All those prepared lies, all those excuses like "I went to evacuate the crowd" and "I was unconscious," were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Lina's voice, choked with sobs, continued to ring out, each word seeming to strike the hearts of the audience:
"Does that mean... Ultraman has an obligation to single-handedly shoulder the responsibility of protecting the Earth?"
These words, accompanied by the background music, instantly brought tears to everyone's eyes.
The moment those words were spoken, the entire internet exploded!
[Holy crap!!! You said it out loud!]
She really knew! She always knew!
[This line...it's so heartbreaking! "Does Ultraman have an obligation to take responsibility alone?"...Daigo is having such a tough time!]
[I'm so moved, I'm really moved to tears. At this moment, Lina isn't questioning me, she's heartbroken!]
Daigo sat in the back seat, his expression frozen on his face.
He always thought he had hidden himself well, and that he only needed to fight silently.
But he forgot that the girl who had always been by his side, sharing life and death with him, how could she not feel it?
"Dagu..."
The audience could already see her face, which was covered in tears.
"You've been fighting this all alone... Don't you think that's a bit unreasonable?"
Daigo looked at Rena, a thousand words stuck in his throat.
Rena did not criticize Daigo for concealing the truth.
However, Lina refused to let Daigo bear the burden alone; the essence of love is sharing and complementing each other!
So she continued to pour out her heart...
"if I could……"
"I also want to become light..."
"Together with you... we'll fly even higher!"
There was no blame or fear in Lina's words.
I feel nothing but heartache.
She felt sorry for him.
It breaks my heart to see him bear such a fate, to see him covered in wounds time and time again, yet still having to pretend to be unaffected in front of everyone.
She wants to be with Daigo!
Together……
Fly higher!
Daigo's body trembled violently.
He looked at Lina, his eyes also reddening.
At this moment, he was no longer the invincible giant of light; he was just an ordinary man who was understood and cared for.
He wanted to explain, to comfort, but in the end, all his emotions turned into relief.
Now that we know, there's nothing left to hide.
The confusion in his eyes disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented firmness and gentleness.
"Lina..."
Daigo called out softly.
"This is not an obligation..."
"Because I am human!"
"I'm just doing what I can!"
The drumbeats of "Ultraman Forever" reached their climax at this moment, perfectly matching the rhythm of their heartbeats!
Daigo unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward slightly.
"I can't turn back now..."
"So...you should change!"
Lina's eyes were already blurred with tears.
But she couldn't stop!
She will fight too!
Daigo had already sensed Rena's burning emotions and no longer hesitated.
"You too can become light!"
Daigo's voice was soft, but powerful: "You can do it too."
The volume of the background music began to gradually increase.
"Become light, fly higher."
Daigo reached into his robes and pulled out the sacred Spark Prism.
After a long silence, he finally raised his head and revealed a relieved yet incredibly determined smile.
"This is not an obligation."
Daigo looked at the Spark Lens in his hand, then at Rena's back, his eyes clear and bright.
He wanted to put that statement into practice:
Because I am human.
I'm just doing what I can do.
It's not for some grand justice, not to be some savior, it's simply because—I am human, and I am doing what I can do.
[This background music is absolutely divine!]
Oh my god, seeing Lina made my tears fall uncontrollably...
This is Ultraman Tiga! This is the real Ultraman Tiga!
[Daigo's greatest quality is that he acknowledged he was human, not a god!]
[Ahhh! Is he about to transform? Right in front of Lina?!]
With the line "You too can become light," countless people were reminded of the lyrics from the chorus of the first season's theme song:
"Wanna take you, baby, take me higher!"
I want to take you with me and fly even higher!
I will take you with me, and become light! We will fly higher!
Daigo picked up the Spark Lens!
A dazzling light instantly filled the entire cramped cockpit.
The light was warm and dazzling, illuminating the cabin in a pure white glow.
Lina didn't close her eyes, and she couldn't see.
However, she sensed that the person she deeply loved had transformed into light within the radiance.
[It gave me goosebumps!]
[This transformation! This storyboard! This background music! I would call it the pinnacle of tokusatsu history!]
[Transforming in front of his wife! Daigo, you finally showed some manliness!]
The background music was perfectly timed!
A beam of light burst through the canopy of the Snow White.
A massive beam of light burst forth from ten thousand meters in the sky!
Ultraman Tiga, here he comes!
This time, Tiga completed the form switch directly in mid-air.
The purple and silver aerial Tiga, cradling the Snowship, soared higher and higher like a purple lightning bolt...
He looked at Lina inside through the cockpit glass.
Lina looked at the enormous giant and a relieved smile appeared on her face.
She nodded slightly.
Tiga nodded, then suddenly turned around and charged towards the arrogant Zoga.
At this moment, a fierce air battle began!
This time, the aerial combat version of Tiga completely overwhelmed Zoga in terms of speed.
He performed various physics-defying maneuvers in the air, including rolls, sudden stops, and dives.
Even while carrying the Snow White, he handled it with ease!
He will face this monster with Lina!
Let's face this together!
Every attack landed precisely on Zoga.
This battle didn't seem like a desperate struggle; it was more like a magnificent aerial dance.
Snow White was nestled in Tiga's arms. Lina watched the figure soaring through the air and murmured to herself:
"Thank you... Daigo."
Finally, Lina seized the opportunity and fired a piercing bullet, severing one of Zoga's wings.
Zoga cried out as it plummeted to the ground, crashing heavily onto the desolate landscape.
Immediately afterwards, Tiga landed on the grass, carrying the Snow White.
……
But the battle is not over yet!
The Zoga that fell on the Mongolian steppe was even more ferocious!
It is the highest-ranking vanguard in the Zoga clan! And the first powerful one to awaken.
Even in the ancient times, its combat power was among the best.
Therefore, its combat intelligence is naturally unmatched by other monsters.
Fighting on the ground, Zoga had to maintain his balance!
It actually tore off the other wing!
Then, the cunning Zoga unleashed a deadly fireball at the Snowsnow.
"Danger!"
Tiga instantly stepped in front of Rena, blocking the attack with his body.
The firelight reflected off his silver mask, making him appear incredibly sacred.
This is... Daigo.
As Lina watched this scene, tears blurred her vision once again.
Has he been enduring this pain all along?
Faced with Zoga's frenzied attack, his indicator light began to flash and emitted a rapid "ding-dong" sound.
"Dagu!"
Lina exclaimed.
That call seemed to give Ultraman Tiga boundless power.
In an instant, a scorching red light burst forth from Tiga's body, and his figure blurred as he switched to his powerful form.
He slammed his fists down on Zoga with tremendous force, followed by a series of knee and elbow strikes!
Zoga was forced to retreat repeatedly, but he couldn't even find a chance to fight back, and soon he was powerless to resist.
On the verge of death, Zoga mustered his last bit of strength and launched two fireballs burning with eerie blue flames straight at Tiga's face.
However, instead of retreating, Tiga advanced, precisely grabbing the fireball with both hands and forcefully stopping its momentum. Then, he flipped his wrists and bounced the fireball back intact!
"boom!"
Two muffled thuds, and the fireball exploded on Zoga's body!
The moment the thick smoke rose, Tiga gathered power in his arms, and red energy condensed into a blazing stream of light in front of his chest—
Diracium Light Stream!
The red orb of light, like a small sun, slammed into Zoga.
"boom--!!!"
A violent explosion resounded through the sky, and the once arrogant demon bird was finally reduced to ashes in the flames.
The battle is over.
Tiga stood in the sunset, slowly turned around, and looked at the Snow White ship parked not far away.
He didn't fly away, but stood there quietly, as if waiting for something.
At this moment, the barrage of comments erupted like a flood bursting its banks!
We won! We finally won!
This episode was perfect! This is the Ultraman Tiga I've been waiting for!
Even though we won, why do I still want to cry?
Because this is the final moment of peace...
Just as the audience was basking in the joy of victory, the scene did not end.
Tiga transformed into specks of light, shrank in front of Rena, and transformed into Daigo, who emerged from the grassland.
Lina ran over.
Without saying a word, the two simply stared at each other in silence.
Welcome back.
Lina said softly, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.
"I'm back."
Daigo flashed his signature憨厚 (honest and simple) smile.
Warm and comforting.
But the camera slowly zooms out, focusing on the sky.
The sky, which should have been a clear blue, was still shrouded in a lingering gloom.
The dark clouds did not dissipate because of Zorga's death; instead, they became thicker and more oppressive.
At that moment, Daigo's communicator on his waist rang.
"Return to base immediately! The Zoga Group has invaded Jinghai!"
"How is that possible? Didn't he just die?"
Lina was incredulous.
Inside the Victory team's headquarters, on the screen, countless red dots are spreading across the world.
"The Dolphin is not responding!"
"Zoga is now attacking all over the world!"
"Zoga is trying to paint the world's sky with dark clouds!"
The battle must continue...
No matter how wronged they feel, no matter how desperate they are, as long as the monster continues to wreak havoc, the GUTS team must be dispatched...
The audience, who were just immersed in the emotion, were instantly doused with a bucket of cold water.
This scene was heartbreaking for countless viewers.
Is this the destiny of heroes?
There wasn't even time to hug your loved one, or a chance to explain the misunderstanding.
What do you mean? You just fought a small monster?
[Zoga Group? There's a whole group of these monsters?!]
[Damn it, how are we supposed to fight this? Even if Ultraman Tiga worked himself to death, he still couldn't finish it!]
[The Dolphin isn't responding... Could Horii and the others have died?]
The scene then shifted to the deep sea.
The colossal ancient ruins—the Ruins of R'lyeh—have finally come to light.
At the very center of those ruins, a massive, suffocating black shadow is slowly rising.
That's not a monster, that's a god.
That is a dark, evil god.
The narrator's voice then rang out, carrying a cold, judgmental tone:
"The battle between Gatanothor, the ruler of darkness, and Ultraman Tiga."
The screen went black, and a preview for the next episode appeared.
That was a scene that filled one with despair.
Tiga was entangled by tentacles, his light was stolen, and he turned into a gray stone statue, sinking into the cold seabed.
The subtitles slowly appeared:
[Next Episode: The Ruler of Darkness]
At that moment, whether it was China or Japan, all the viewers felt their hearts stop.
[The stone statue... Tiga has turned back into a stone statue?]
[They lost? Even Ultraman Tiga lost?]
"No! Daigo!"
[You old scoundrel Gu! If you dare kill off Ultraman Tiga, I'll send you razor blades until you go bankrupt!]
Neon lights, in that rented room.
Seven's reading glasses were removed, his hands trembling.
He had lived for over sixty years and watched countless tokusatsu dramas, but none of them had ever brought him such a strong sense of shock and despair.
"Is this... the final darkness?"
The old man muttered to himself, "Can Guang... still win?"
Those who were cheering were now deathly silent.
Everyone stared at Ultraman Tiga, who had turned to stone, on the screen, unsure of what to say...
This is not just the death of a character; it is as if the light in their hearts has been extinguished.
Meanwhile, in Gu Nan's studio.
Looking at the overwhelming cries of despair online, Chen Bo asked with some concern.
"Brother Nan, isn't this... a bit too cruel? Releasing the trailer so early, and there's still a week... oh no, two weeks until everyone knows the ending, I'm afraid the audience won't be able to handle it."
Gu Nan simply said:
"Only after experiencing the deepest despair will the light shine brightly enough when it does."