After hurling a Zetton aside, Taiga turned his head and warned Z not to rush in recklessly.
Z, however, didn't listen.
Fuelled by confidence he didn't know where it came from, he charged straight into the centre of the Zetton formation.
Reality, unfortunately, did not bend to willpower.
After a thorough beating, Z was kicked clean out of the fight.
The Zetton Legion was then taken over by the four Ultra guards.
"I can still do better!"
Z refused to give up. Shouting that, he tried to rush back into the Zetton army again.
At that moment, a voice suddenly echoed from the sky.
"With skills like that, you still want to be my disciple? Come back in another twenty thousand years!"
Boom!
Seven figures landed atop a jagged rocky cliff.
"That voice—!"
Z looked up, and at the front of the group stood his so-called "master"—
Ultraman Zero.
Beside him were Ultraman Titas, Ultraman Joneus, Ultraman Ribut, Ultraman Grigio, Ultraman Fuma, and the legendary space hero Andro Melos.
"Move out!"
Zero gave the order.
The seven warriors leapt down from the cliff and charged straight into the Zetton Legion.
The battle escalated instantly.
With their arrival, the situation became completely one-sided.
Each of the seven displayed their own specialty, tearing through the Zetton forces.
The legion collapsed like a landslide, beaten into total disarray.
Z naturally refused to stay out of it and rushed back into battle.
Unfortunately, his strength was still lacking—after only a few exchanges, he was knocked out again.
If not for Zero landing two consecutive spinning kicks and sending the Zettons in front of Z flying, Z would have been overwhelmed yet again.
"Master!"
Seeing Zero save him, Z shouted excitedly.
"I don't remember officially taking you as my disciple," Zero replied flatly, eyes still on the battlefield. Then he turned to Z.
"Listen carefully, Z."
"When you think you can do everything by yourself, that's proof you still don't understand the fundamentals.
Stand there and watch."
With that, Zero charged back into the fight.
"Master…"
This time, Z actually listened, standing still and watching Zero's movements without acting rashly.
As the battle progressed, one Zetton after another was destroyed by beams of light.
"Princess, I'll protect you!"
At that moment, Grigio rushed to Yullian's side, engaging several Zettons that were closing in.
"It's Grigio."
Yullian nodded calmly, then stepped forward and eliminated the Zettons in front of her with just a few swift blows.
Grigio froze, speechless.
"So… the princess is actually this strong?!"
Clenching her fists, Grigio seemed to make up her mind.
"I want to become as strong as Princess Yullian!"
Suddenly—
A golden wormhole opened behind Yullian.
A massive golden figure emerged from it, locking one arm around Yullian's neck while firing a golden energy blast with the other hand—sending Grigio flying.
"Princess!"
Grigio shouted as she looked toward the restrained Yullian.
"What?!"
Everyone turned in shock, staring at Yullian and the towering golden figure behind her.
"You are—"
Z stretched out a hand, eyes wide.
"I am the Ultimate Lifeform."
"A warrior of the Absolutians!"
"Absolute Tartarus!"
As if Z's words triggered something, the golden giant threw his arms wide and announced himself dramatically.
"So you're Tartarus!"
The Ultras who had never seen him before were stunned.
They had heard the name countless times—now they finally faced him.
"…Um, do you really need to stop restraining me?"
Yullian said awkwardly, glancing at Tartarus' now-raised arms.
Tartarus froze, equally confused.
In the excitement of his introduction, he had unconsciously loosened his grip.
What he didn't expect—was that Yullian hadn't even tried to escape.
"Come on, let's redo the hostage thing."
Yullian spoke casually, grabbing Tartarus' arm and positioning it across her front, posing like a proper hostage.
All the Ultras: "..."
Andro Melos: "..."
Tartarus: "..."
"Princess Yullian—are you being controlled by Tartarus?!"
Grigio cried out in disbelief.
"Nonsense! I'm not!"
Tartarus snapped back, glaring at her.
"But since Princess Yullian wants to be taken hostage… that works for me."
He laughed.
"Yes, Tartarus."
Yullian suddenly hugged Tartarus' massive torso.
"Princess Yull—Yullian?! W-What are you doing?!"
Tartarus stammered.
Even as an Ultimate Lifeform, even as an Absolutian warrior—
this was too much.
The princess of the Land of Light—his hostage—was hugging him in front of everyone.
Tartarus could feel his eight-pack abs heating up.
"Princess Yullian?!"
The Ultras were completely stunned—especially Grigio, who stood closest.
It was painfully obvious that Yullian's hands were resting on Tartarus' sculpted abdomen.
No one expected the princess to have this kind of taste.
"Tartarus~"
Yullian laughed softly, leaning close to his ear.
"So… what do you think I'm doing?"
"What—?!"
A sudden pain exploded in Tartarus' abdomen.
The next instant, he was blasted backward by a burst of golden light, crashing violently into a shattered mountain.
As he flew through the air, Tartarus stared in disbelief—at Yullian, now extending one glowing hand.
Dense Light energy coiled around her palm.
Light engulfed her entire body, her form beginning to change.
Brilliant radiance erupted—
And Ultraman Tiga, surrounded by golden light particles, appeared before everyone.
"Seems my acting was pretty decent."
Praising himself casually, Yuzhou gave Grigio an Ultra-style nod.
"Ah—?!"
Grigio was completely stunned.
"Y-You… you're Senior Tiga?!"
"Yes, that's right," Yuzhou nodded again.
"Hikari's appearance-simulation cards are surprisingly useful."
A Yullian card appeared in his hand.
Moments later, it dissolved into particles of light and vanished.
"Unfortunately," Yuzhou said calmly, "it's single-use."