Chapter Six: Darkness

“What’s happening?!” Long Ze Yue exclaimed in shock.

“Don’t tell me even our combined power can’t defeat the Evil God?!” Da Gu drew in a sharp breath.

Beep—beep.

The special communicator for the Victory Team signaled an incoming message. The two exchanged glances and opened the screen.

“According to the energy monitoring system, three immense energy sources have appeared on R’lyeh Island!” Captain Megumi Juujian’s expression was grave as she spoke from the communicator.

“This is bad, the three Dark Ultramen have been resurrected!”

So this was the butterfly effect brought on by his arrival. Now, he and Da Gu had only just finished a battle; their strength hadn’t fully recovered. If they faced Camilla, now empowered by dark energy and the Evil God’s resentment, there would be little hope of victory.

The island began to tremble violently. Already unstable rocks collapsed once more, and from a giant pitch-black cavern, three colossal figures emerged side by side, as if dark lords had descended... Their evil eyes glistened with a cold, ghostly light.

“Thirty million years of imprisonment and resentment… I’ll destroy the entire world!” Sitra’s voice, filled with unwillingness and exhilaration, echoed across the island.

A black mist engulfed the surroundings, crushing everything in its path, drawing inexorably closer to Da Gu and Long Ze Yue. Swarms of Zoga larvae filled the dark skies again. The two were plunged into peril.

“There’s no other way!”

“Haa—Diga!” With a loud shout, Long Ze Yue brandished the Black Divine Light Rod and transformed. Da Gu followed suit.

The two gigantic figures levitated above the Pacific Ocean—it was Da Gu and Long Ze Yue. Opposite them stood the three Dark Ultramen: Daram, Sitra, and Camilla.

“My, what a heroic sight, my old friend,” Sitra sneered at Long Ze Yue, whose body was now covered in black patterns.

“How amusing, two Digas,” Camilla crossed her arms, gazing at Long Ze Yue. “Thanks to you and the dark energy your transformation unleashed, we’ve broken free from Yulian’s shackles.”

So that’s it—he finally understood why the Black Divine Light Rod appeared on him. His acquisition had enabled Camilla and the others to escape their prison.

“It’s nothing, Long,” Da Gu, sensing Long Ze Yue’s guilt, offered quiet comfort.

Long Ze Yue’s eyes grew resolute. “No more wasting time. Let’s go!”

The two shot into the sky, clashing with the dark trio midair. In an instant, multiple figures tangled together, beams of light lanced through the sky, and thunderous sounds echoed.

Suddenly, one figure plummeted into the ocean like a severed kite.

“Da Gu!”

Locked in battle with Camilla, Long Ze Yue watched as Da Gu was pummeled into the sea by Daram and Sitra’s combined assault. Rage flared within him; he swung an elbow into Camilla’s chest, but Sitra and Daram, now freed, attacked him from behind with a burst of energy, sending him crashing into the waves as well.

In the shelter, the people’s faces filled with despair. No sooner had the old darkness been vanquished than a new one descended.

“It’s useless. Before true darkness, all efforts are futile,” someone sighed, voice tinged with hopelessness.

“In the end, the world can’t escape destruction.”

“Hey, don’t give up, everyone!” A girl of about fifteen or sixteen spoke up, encouraging them. The others looked up at her in surprise.

“Ultraman is still fighting for the world. How can we, as humans, give up?” she declared with conviction.

“That’s right, Diga hasn’t given up! How can we?” A bespectacled man, once despondent, leapt to his feet. “You must win, Ultraman!”

The people exchanged glances, their eyes kindling with determination. One by one, those who had despaired found hope rekindled. The light in their hearts began to shine once more.

“Go, Long!” The girl who had spoken earlier now stood in a corner, eyes closed and hands clasped in prayer. She was Xiaoxiang, Long Ze Yue’s beloved.

On the night before his departure, Long Ze Yue had revealed his identity to her; if he loved her, there would be no secrets between them.

——

“Hyah!”

Two colossal figures erupted from the sea, slamming fiercely into Daram and Sitra.

“Zeperion Ray!”

Twin beams of energy shot towards Daram and Sitra, sending the two Dark Ultramen flying.

“Hmph, not bad. No wonder I was once obsessed with you,” Camilla sneered, cracking the Dark Divine Whip. The whip, charged with devastating power, lashed unerringly at both Da Gu and Long Ze Yue.

Where the whip struck, brilliance flickered and energy drained away.

“Tsk tsk, thirty million years ago, you weren’t nearly this weak,” Camilla taunted Long Ze Yue, who was clutching his arm.

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m not that weak!” Long Ze Yue glanced at his chest, where his timer began to blink. With a roar of defiance, he surged towards Camilla, iron fists pounding at her face, then spun upward with a kick, launching her higher into the sky. Crossing his arms, he summoned another Zeperion Ray.

“Hyah!” The full force of the beam struck Camilla.

——

But the expected explosion never came. Camilla hovered in the air, brushing off imaginary dust.

“How foolish. Darkness is my nourishment!”

Feeling Camilla’s power growing, Long Ze Yue turned to Da Gu. “There’s no choice. Let’s fuse!”

Da Gu nodded.

“Let’s show them the strength of our bond!”

The diamond crystals on the giants’ foreheads began to glow with a strange light. Their bodies merged once more, becoming chaos—fusion power, the embodiment of justice. Fusion Diga reappeared!

“Camilla, give up your obstinance! The light will never fade!”

The fused Diga hurled an energy sphere at Camilla.

“Hmph—perhaps I underestimated you. But don’t forget, darkness is the eternal ruler!” Camilla’s body trembled as countless waves of dark energy and the resentments of monsters once defeated by Diga were drawn into her—including the vengeful spirit of the Evil God Gatanothor, recently vanquished.

“Ugh! Darkness, cover the world!”

A monster resembling the Evil God Gatanothor took shape above the South Pacific Ocean—a monstrous face with inverted features, crimson eyes, monstrous pincers protruding from its mouth, and not just tentacles, but arms from every defeated monster before, all joined together. Camilla stood atop the beast, controlling it all.

“Sitra, Daram, lend me your power as well!”

“Camilla… why—”

Before they could react, Camilla absorbed them both into the monster, making their strength her own.

“Dimogeor… A Dimogeor dozens of times stronger than the one in the original story…” Long Ze Yue was stunned.