The hall of the Earth Federation Organization fell into an uneasy silence.
Representatives from every nation stared at the images on the main screen, momentarily at a loss for words.
Displayed at the centre was footage captured by satellites deep in space.
The Moon.
Upon its surface, an enormous structure had risen.
A colossal tower—constructed entirely of green crystal—soaring skyward in a tapering, spire-like form.
At its summit, an intense light radiated outward.
The Plasma Spark Tower.
Even though most had only ever seen it in films and recordings, its iconic silhouette was unmistakable. Everyone recognized it at a glance.
No one had expected that a Plasma Spark Tower would suddenly rise from the lunar surface.
Although this was not the true Plasma Spark, the representatives had no way of knowing that.
The moment they saw it, a single thought surfaced in everyone's mind—
Mass evolution.
"If humanity were to land on the Moon now, perhaps we could evolve into Ultramen!"
The representative of the United States was the most excited, openly proposing a manned lunar mission on the spot.
"This technology was developed by our Cold nation several years ago. Who would have thought that after being lost, it would reappear on the Moon?"
The representative of Cold Nation shamelessly attempted to claim ownership the moment he spoke.
"Disgusting."
The representative of England could not stand it and immediately fired back.
"With territory the size of a postage stamp, you still have the nerve to say something like that."
Canada's representative, seeing through the Cold nation attempt to monopolize the Plasma Spark, also joined in and mocked Cold Nation.
"The Plasma Spark… can it really allow humans to evolve?"
The representative of the island nation was clearly tempted, though he restrained himself from being too direct.
"If the Plasma Spark shines, our Y nation must have a share!"
The representative of Y nation spoke with absolute confidence, insisting that their country deserved a place no matter what.
The Huaxia representative remained silent.
In such a situation, saying nothing was the wisest course of action.
If this Plasma Spark truly possessed the power to evolve humanity, Huaxia would never sit by and allow other nations to produce entire armies of Ultramen.
Their own elite soldiers would certainly be sent to receive the baptism of light.
Of course, that was assuming evolution was even possible.
The Plasma Spark Tower on the Moon was, naturally, Belial's handiwork.
He had been constructing a base on the Moon for some time now. As for the Plasma Spark itself, it was Masaki who had provided Belial with the method for creating a miniature Plasma Spark.
The crystals came from the last time Yuzhou had brought materials back from the Land of Light.
It did not take long before Belial completed the tower.
From the moment it was activated, half of the Moon was bathed in eternal light.
Because it was not a genuine Plasma Spark, it lacked the power to illuminate the entire Moon.
Naturally, it was also incapable of evolving humans.
"Next, it's time to build the headquarters of the Space Garrison."
Belial glanced at the radiant glow atop the tower and nodded to himself before returning to work.
From time to time, a few Ultramen would come to the Moon to help out. After all, it was unreasonable to leave everything to Belial alone.
Yuzhou returned to his parents' new home, spent some time checking on them, and then patrolled the village.
The two suspicious figures were still lurking around as usual.
Yuzhou ignored them.
He could already guess who they were.
Investigators sent by Huaxia's upper echelons.
They had long suspected a connection between the village and Ultramen. Naturally, the higher-ups would not simply let it go.
Investigation was inevitable—only conducted under the condition of avoiding direct conflict with Ultramen.
Otherwise, those two would have already resorted to violent door-to-door interrogations.
Opening a spatial vortex at will, Yuzhou stepped through and entered the New Domain World.
It was time to return the suitcase to Charija. He could always borrow it again for the next crossing.
However, the moment Yuzhou emerged from the vortex, he was stunned by what lay before him.
The sky was pitch-black—not the ordinary darkness of night, but a suffocating blackness that seemed ready to swallow everything at a glance.
It wasn't just the sky.
Along the familiar shoreline where Yuzhou often appeared, black mist drifted aimlessly through the air.
The entire world felt lifeless, steeped in deathly silence.
"What happened? Where are Daigo and Masaki?"
Frowning, Yuzhou transformed into a streak of light and left the beach, flying toward the inner city of R'lyeh.
Judging by the situation, the New Domain World had encountered a serious threat.
But Daigo and Masaki had already returned earlier. Logically speaking, any troublemaker should have been handled by the two of them.
And if that still wasn't enough, Charija would occasionally lend a hand.
After all, the Five King in his possession was no joke.
Yuzhou landed in front of a house and knocked on the door.
"Daigo? Daigo, are you there?"
This was Daigo and Rena's residence in R'lyeh.
Under normal circumstances, Rena would be living here with their daughter, Hikari.
Yet no matter how long Yuzhou knocked, there was no response.
With no other choice, he headed toward the Crystal Palace.
He had originally planned to look for Charija first, but the palace was closer—and he wanted to see how the other residents of R'lyeh were doing.
Walking through the streets, Yuzhou was met with scenes of devastation.
Objects of all kinds lay scattered in chaos.
Not a single person was in sight.
He knocked on several doors at random, but none were answered.
It was likely that no one was inside.
"Where did everyone go?"
Filled with questions, Yuzhou finally arrived at the only place still illuminated in R'lyeh—the Crystal Palace.
In the gloomy darkness, only the palace, powered by a miniature Plasma Spark, emitted a faint glow.
The moment Yuzhou stepped inside, he froze.
The palace was packed.
People of all races and appearances crowded the interior, as if they had gathered here to take refuge.
As Yuzhou entered through the main gate, he immediately drew countless gazes.
Before long, a familiar figure squeezed through the crowd and hurried over.
"Lord Yuzhou! I'm terribly sorry… I was the one who let them in to seek shelter!"
The person before him was Himala, the alien who had taken the form of a middle-aged man.
Once captured by Camearra and forced to serve as a palace cleaner, he had since risen to become the sole—indeed, the only—butler of the Crystal Palace.
"Himala?"
Yuzhou was slightly surprised to see him, then asked calmly, "That's not a problem. First, tell me exactly what happened."
To be honest, Yuzhou had never expected an alien like Himala—once openly aggressive—to develop sympathy for humans.
Yet now, in the face of disaster, he had chosen to protect them.