Chapter 135: Battle Royale
Yet, Yukiryūzawa still could not make sense of it all.
“No matter what, one thing is certain—I have already become prey in their eyes!”
Yukiryūzawa clenched his fists tightly. Being regarded as prey was a deeply unsettling feeling.
The battle between Zero and Belial had reached a stalemate. Zero rapidly shifted between his various forms, employing different powers to counter the ever-strengthening Belial. They were roughly evenly matched, though Zero was slightly on the back foot.
Meanwhile, Yukiryūzawa’s stamina was gradually recovering—slowly, but steadily.
...
After about twenty minutes of intense combat between Zero and Belial, a terrifying aura of malevolence suddenly enveloped the planet, now riddled with rivers of molten lava.
This aura was profoundly evil; even Belial’s dark presence paled in comparison.
Both Zero and Belial instinctively ceased fighting and quickly created distance between themselves.
Belial’s eyes flickered with caution, his entire body tense, revealing his grave seriousness.
Zero retreated swiftly to Yukiryūzawa’s side; both bore heavy hearts.
They had felt this aura before, not long ago...
“Already... it has arrived?” Yukiryūzawa and Zero murmured simultaneously.
The owner of this aura was none other than the cosmic demon—Zoda.
Zero immediately grabbed Yukiryūzawa and dashed away, while Belial, refusing to lose his prey, gave chase without hesitation.
Yukiryūzawa was his quarry—no one would take him away.
Zero and Yukiryūzawa became streaks of light, streaking across the stars and weaving through the cosmos at breathtaking speed. Belial, too, pushed his speed to the limit.
...
“Boom!”
Crimson beams of energy lashed out at Zero and Yukiryūzawa, immensely powerful.
With a sharp brake, Zero and Yukiryūzawa narrowly avoided the devastating blasts.
But this maneuver allowed Belial to catch up from behind, while an ominous and formidable figure appeared before Yukiryūzawa and Zero, blocking their path.
Trapped between front and rear—cornered and trapped.
As Yukiryūzawa had directly suspected, Zoda had manifested a physical form this time.
Clad in dark golden armor that gleamed with an otherworldly sheen, the armor was impenetrably tough, evoking the image of a demonic sovereign from another realm. Twin horns atop his head radiated a dreadful aura of evil, and his crimson eyes burned with unnatural intensity, as if to devour souls.
...
“So we meet again, my prey,” Zoda said with a sinister grin, his tone chilling and bone-chilling.
Belial remained silent. This was a cosmic demon lord.
Zoda’s power was overwhelming—none of them could hope to match him now.
Yet Belial refused to surrender the prey he had claimed without a fight.
“I’d rather not meet you again,” Yukiryūzawa replied, tensing every muscle, prepared to unleash his newly mastered Cosmic Fist instantly.
His Cosmic Fist had now surpassed even that wielded by Ultraman Leo in power.
...
“Come with me. I have no desire to fight,” Zoda said calmly, folding his hands behind his back.
He was supremely confident.
Whether Yukiryūzawa, Zero, or Belial, he feared none.
Even if all three combined forces, they would not be his match.
Moreover, the notion of Belial and Yukiryūzawa uniting was practically unthinkable.
...
“Then come and catch us if you dare!” Yukiryūzawa shouted as Zero, transformed into his Lunar Miracle form, whisked him away once more.
“Hmph!” Zoda’s cold gaze followed them as his entire form turned into a black streak of light, pursuing them at incredible speed.
Zoda was astonishingly fast; even Zero in Lunar Miracle form was barely keeping ahead.
Belial, however, lingered behind, sighing. He understood his limits—he could never outmatch Zoda.
A reckless attempt might even result in Zoda exterminating him outright.
Belial resigned himself and gave up.
...
Yukiryūzawa’s heart pounded with anxiety. Zoda’s speed was terrifying; at this rate, they would be caught soon.
Zero was even more desperate; Yukiryūzawa had been dragged into this mess by him, and he would not let him be harmed.
Zero shifted into his Ultimate form and activated the power of the Palagi Shield to perform spatial jumps.
Zoda possessed similar spatial displacement abilities and matched Zero’s moves without relent.
Together, Zero and Yukiryūzawa darted across the universe, leaping through space with no clear destination.
The cosmos was vast beyond measure. Under Zero’s guidance, Yukiryūzawa fled through countless unknown star systems, visiting innumerable worlds.
They passed desolate planets ravaged by monstrous beasts; frozen worlds buried beneath glaciers and biting cold; planets where rivers of molten lava flowed; and bizarre worlds riddled with spatial rifts...
Yukiryūzawa fled frantically under Ultimate Zero’s lead.
“This... this is truly... exhilarating!” Yukiryūzawa was nearly dazed after traversing so many star systems and planets.
Yet despite Zero pushing his limits, Zoda still caught up.
...
Now, Zoda’s powerful hands gripped the necks of both Yukiryūzawa and Zero, nearly choking them.
Summoning all his strength in this dire moment, Yukiryūzawa’s pure dark energy surged autonomously into his right arm, and his right hand once again formed an energy sword!
“Clang—!”
He slashed at Zoda’s dark golden armored shoulder, sparks flying.
The strike, empowered by the pure dark energy within Yukiryūzawa, was tremendous, causing Zoda to stagger and allowing Yukiryūzawa and Zero to seize the opportunity to flee once more.
Everything happened swiftly; Zoda had not anticipated such a counterattack.
His eyes darkened, but he merely grunted and resumed the chase.
The blow only caused Zoda to stagger briefly—it inflicted no true harm.
Before long, Zoda caught up again.
“It seems we’ve truly run out of options...” Yukiryūzawa prepared to fight with his life.
“No,” Zero interrupted, raising his right hand clad with the Ultimate Zero Sword to block Yukiryūzawa.
He shook his head, his gaze icy as he faced Zoda.
“I will never let him succeed!”
Zoda wasted no words and struck with thunderous force, energy surging.
Yukiryūzawa must be captured!
The silver Ultimate Zero Sword gleamed with strange light, reflecting the flickering intensity in Zero’s eyes.
“Swish!”
With a sweep of his right hand, a swirling, twisting spatial tunnel suddenly opened before them!