Chapter 114: "Partner"

The commotion was significant enough to naturally draw the guards' attention. It took only seven seconds for the empty plaza surrounding Hiroyuki to become packed with giants as far as the eye could see.

Looking up, Hiroyuki discovered he was standing in the center of a translucent, hemispherical "dome" fixed to the ground.

The guards were equally surprised. They realized the intruder was a creature less than two meters tall—a "human," a species they had only ever seen in archive footage.

Originally, the intruder had appeared as a streak of light. It emerged at the first planetary defense perimeter, over two thousand kilometers above the surface of the Land of Light, moving at an extremely high initial velocity, as if it had teleported directly from somewhere else.

The streak of light pierced the first defense net at sub-light speed. While the primary function of these nets—originally designed to mitigate meteor impacts, one of the few natural disasters on the planet—was to decelerate incoming objects, the streak punched through it, followed by the second and third.

A total of seven defense nets failed to stop the "streak," only managing to slow it down to a less dangerous velocity before it crashed heavily in front of the Inter Galactic Defense Force headquarters.

Because the alarm had been triggered the moment the first net was breached, the guards had mobilized quickly. By the time the "streak" landed, they had surrounded it, layer upon layer—though the gaps between them were wide enough to gallop a horse through.

Surrounded by giants, Hiroyuki remained calm; after all, "humans" started with a reputation for friendliness in the Land of Light. He was not only unafraid but had the leisure to let his mind wander. Jokes aside, the Land of Light's defense forces were quite capable and reacted with impressive speed. To truly invade, one would likely need to create a distraction elsewhere to lure them away before slipping in during the chaos.

Direct frontal assaults certainly wouldn't work; Belial had already learned that lesson the hard way.

"A human? Why have you come here?"

A voice boomed from above. Simultaneously, the guards surrounding the force field retreated, clearing a path.

Before Hiroyuki could look up at the speaker, his gaze fell upon the giant's feet and the edge of a trailing red cape.

Definitely a big shot.

Hiroyuki knew that in the Land of Light, a red cape was a badge of merit, generally awarded only to high-ranking warriors with distinguished service records.

Determined not to cause a misunderstanding, Hiroyuki rolled up his sleeve to display the bracelet the Captain had given him, hoping the warrior would recognize it. He wasn't an intruder or an enemy; if anything, he was more like... a delivery courier?

As Hiroyuki raised his head, he locked eyes with a very familiar Ultra Warrior.

"…!!"

Hiroyuki’s breath hitched. A rush of overwhelming excitement surged from his heart to his very limbs.

He could explain this reaction to himself: the Ultra Warrior before him was one of his childhood heroes. In his dreams, among the pile of plastic figures on his floor, this one had been there.

Taro was actually puzzled. While he guessed the "intruder" might be human, he also knew that humans could not survive in such a "harsh" environment; they would perish instantly.

Perhaps the force field was protecting him?

The tiny human in the center of the field was looking up at him, but the difference in scale was so vast that Taro could not clearly discern or identify the human's expression.

This human did not seem to be here for the first time. He was steady and calm, just standing there without a hint of curiosity.

He seemed accustomed to it, as if it were only natural.

If Hiroyuki knew of Taro’s confusion, he might have told him there was no need for surprise, as he had seen this place on the big screen many times.

More than curiosity, Hiroyuki felt vigilance and fear—fear of the super-gravity and the lethal Ditas-ray radiation of this planet. Even with the passive skill from the Taiga Spark, which the description claimed allowed adaptation to various extreme planetary environments, he dared not move an inch.

Super-gravity was one thing, but was Ditas-ray radiation considered part of the "planetary environment"? That sounded like an artificial byproduct.

That was exactly what worried Hiroyuki.

"What is happening, Taro?"

"Captain."

As they spoke, Taro, the Chief Instructor of the Defense Force, stepped aside along with the other warriors, clearing the way.

Captain Zoffy walked up with a steady gait. He looked down at Hiroyuki inside the force field and issued two orders. First, he commanded the warriors to return to their posts.

Though curious, the crowd immediately obeyed. They scattered and flew off in all directions, and soon the area became empty and spacious again.

The second order was issued via Ultra Sign.

Having completed these tasks, Zoffy, the Captain of the Defense Force, introduced him to Taro: "This is Hiroyuki Kudo, Taiga's partner."

Taro froze, then realized the implication.

"Partner."

In this specific context, the word held a special meaning.

A human "partner" to an Ultra Warrior.

And, specifically, Taiga’s...

Zoffy walked to the edge of the force field and crouched down, tossing his cape behind him. He realized that even while crouching, he was still too tall for Hiroyuki. The next second, the giant's body was enveloped in golden light, which gradually condensed inward until it formed a human figure of similar height to Hiroyuki.

As the light faded, a human male was revealed, dressed in intricate white robes that looked complex and formal, much like a high priest presiding over a ritual. Instead of a cape, he wore a matching white shawl. He had long, black, wavy hair draped over his shoulders and pale, perhaps grey, eyes. His facial features were firm, and he looked at Hiroyuki with a faint smile. His overall appearance made Hiroyuki feel as if he were looking at a figure stepping out of a classical oil painting or a Homeric epic.

Seeing the Captain assume a human form, Taro followed suit. Hiroyuki noticed that Taro chose the likeness of his human host, Kotaro Higashi—a very young, clear-faced man who seemed as bright as the morning sun.

Taro had originally come to deliver a report, not expecting to encounter this.

Seeing Zoffy stop outside the "force field," Hiroyuki bowed in greeting: "Captain."

The Captain returned the gesture: "Hiroyuki, please stay where you are for a moment."

"Yes."

After a while, perhaps sensing that letting Hiroyuki stand there idly was boring, Zoffy looked at the "dome" enclosing him and struck up a casual conversation. "You may not have noticed, but the space within this shield simulates Earth's environment—air pressure, temperature, and gravity—while blocking Ditas-ray radiation."

Zoffy smiled as he continued, "Because you informed Sako that you possessed the ability to transmit via the network, he guessed that one day in the future, you might use the network path on your bracelet to transmit here. So, in his final communication, he had us set this up in advance."

There was an identical shield at the Star Port, though much larger, covering the entire facility to prevent non-Ultra travelers from perishing the moment they stepped off their ships.

"This force field is usually invisible. Do you know why it is visible now?"

Hiroyuki examined the dome. He didn't move an inch; since the Captain told him to stay put, he would stay put.

"I guess," Hiroyuki thought for a moment, then said with some uncertainty, "Usually, 'becoming visible' means an object has started to emit light or formed a reflective surface. The light it emits or reflects is received by the eyes, and thus it 'appears'."

The Captain nodded and helped Hiroyuki eliminate a wrong answer: "This shield has no light-emitting properties. It is normally invisible."

"In other words, it’s not the shield itself that is emitting light, but something else..." Hiroyuki continued to think. He felt this was a test from the Captain. Whether it was this Captain or that one, they seemed to prefer guiding him to an answer rather than giving it to him directly.

Something else... could it be?

"Something is striking the shield, and the impact itself excites that 'something,' causing it to glow."

Countless tiny "objects" were densely striking the shield from all directions, glowing upon impact, thereby "outlining" the force field.

Much like Brownian motion, the field was like a suspended particle undergoing irregular movement due to molecular collisions under a high-powered microscope.

The particles were glowing, not the shield.

So, what was constantly emitting these particles?

The prime suspect was the Devil Splinter Hiroyuki held in his hand—a large piece, though light; Hiroyuki suspected it would float if thrown in water.

Was there some kind of radiation?

It was too late for fear now. Hiroyuki could only hope that the radiation wasn't highly penetrative and remember to check his blood count once he returned.