Chapter Nine: Next

“Ah...”
The clattering of falling debris and the tremendous force of that colossal creature collapsing before her eyes startled Sara Mizuhara, causing her to involuntarily step back. At that moment, the monster’s ferocious head loomed not far above her, its vicious gaze landing squarely upon Sara.

“Roar!”
With a guttural howl, the monster’s massive tail rose beside it, poised to strike down upon Sara.

“Damn it, this troublesome woman!”
Noticing the peril, Tetsuya grew agitated; there was no way he could stand by and watch Sara Mizuhara be crushed by this monster. Without hesitation, as Sara looked on in panic at the tail descending from above, TheNext appeared precisely in the gap, shielding her with his body.

“Bang!”
The strike landed like the lash of a whip, ferociously hitting TheNext across the back. Tetsuya instantly felt a searing pain, so intense it made him gasp. Sara, terrified by the scene, collapsed onto the ground, staring at the silver giant who protected her, emotions swirling in her eyes.

“Ah!”
The monster’s thick tail wound around TheNext’s neck, yanking him up violently, tightening its grip, forcing TheNext to stand upright as it dragged him about the cramped space.

“Damn it... Fighting monsters is never as easy as it seems!”
The tail around his neck felt like a deadly noose, squeezing tighter and tighter until Tetsuya could barely breathe.

“Light!”
A primal memory surfaced in Tetsuya’s mind, sharpening his focus. TheNext extended his right arm, and golden light began to gather along his forearm. Amidst this brilliance, a small reverse blade protruded from TheNext’s arm.

Elbow Cutter!

Grabbing the monster’s tail with his left hand, TheNext suddenly spun, letting the elbow cutter slice swiftly through the tail. Sparks flew as a third of the tail was cleanly severed.

“Roar~”
In agony, the monster staggered back, howling with its gaping maw.

Shaking off the severed tail, TheNext advanced, delivering a forceful right kick that made the monster recoil in pain. Then, grabbing its neck with one hand, he repeatedly drove his knee into the monster’s lower jaw.

“Boom!”
With immense strength, TheNext flipped the monster onto the ground and prepared to press forward. Yet, at that moment, the red “Y”-shaped energy light on his chest began to flash urgently.

“Damn it!”
Tetsuya felt exhaustion flooding his muscles; the cells, empowered by the light’s force, were now weakening, his strength plummeting like a cliff. Unable to endure further, TheNext’s knees buckled and he knelt, the light fading in his eyes.

“Why is it so painful?”

“So, you haven’t fully fused with humanity yet, have you?”
The monster’s words were almost mocking, seizing the opportunity to stride forward and slam its right arm down upon TheNext.

“Damn it... I must teach you a lesson!”
Tetsuya refused to accept defeat, enduring the pain that assaulted every part of him by sheer force of will.

The monster closed in, striking several times, then opened its massive jaws to bite TheNext. At that instant, TheNext suddenly lifted his head, gripping the monster’s jaws with both arms, holding them apart. The elbow cutter on his right arm gleamed with golden light, and with a surge of strength, he pushed the monster away.

TheNext staggered back a step or two, raised his right arm, and the elbow cutter blazed brilliantly, reflecting sunlight like polished metal. Tetsuya felt the intense, burning energy gathered in his arm and involuntarily smiled.

TheNext spun around, releasing a crescent-shaped blade of light from the elbow cutter!

The powerful energy blade slashed through the air and struck the monster’s right leg, causing a small explosion. Blood gushed from the enormous wound.

“Roar~”
The blade had nearly blown away most of the muscle from the monster’s right leg. It howled in pain, finally abandoning the fight and turning to flee from the warehouse.

TheNext intended to pursue, but Tetsuya could no longer withstand the exhaustion overwhelming every cell in his body—a storm threatening to swallow him whole. His consciousness slipped into darkness, and TheNext collapsed, failing to give chase.

Amid the heaps of rubble, Sara Mizuhara gazed at the giant lying on the ground, watching as the blue light gradually faded from its body. The giant’s form shrank beneath the blue glow, becoming that of Tetsuya Naeji, who lay quietly on the floor.

As she watched, a strange feeling arose within Sara. This man had claimed repeatedly that he had no one to protect, that he cared nothing for TheOne’s rampage. Yet, when she pleaded, he immediately changed his tune, promising to kill TheOne. At the time, Sara thought he was joking and dismissed it. She never expected that he would risk everything to protect her just moments ago.

Beneath his almost shameless demeanor and words, there was a profound sincerity to him.

What a peculiar man.

Yet, she had to admit, he was also a remarkably attractive one. Seeing Tetsuya unconscious, Sara suddenly had this thought, and it made her blush with embarrassment. But when she remembered Takefumi, her beautiful eyes filled once more with sorrow and disappointment.

“Takefumi is gone now, and TheOne is nothing but a monster...”

Feeling melancholy, Sara’s tears began to fall. She would never forget the moment when the menacing TheOne raised its massive tail against her. From that instant, she had lost all hope in Takefumi...

“Ah...”
Tetsuya awoke from his dreams, as calm as ever, with not a trace of unease at finding himself in unfamiliar surroundings. Even upon seeing Sara Mizuhara sitting nearby, he instinctively remarked, “To wake from a dream and see you is truly a pleasure.”

Sara heard his voice, turned to him, and hurriedly wiped her tears, not knowing what to say.

Tetsuya paused, dropping his carefree smile, and instead took a pack of tissues from beside the bed and handed it to her.

“A man who makes a woman cry is never worth loving,” he said quietly, after a moment’s silence.

With the crisis temporarily resolved—and remembering how Tetsuya had risked his life to save her—Sara found herself unable to treat him coldly. Her aloofness melted away, and she asked, “You sound so knowledgeable. Have you had many romances?”

Tetsuya was taken aback, then shook his head. “You should have been able to find that out. As for love, I’ve never experienced it even once.”

Sara looked up and softly replied, “It can be a wonderful experience, but it rarely ends well.”

Tetsuya smiled. “You should forget about Yudo Takefumi...”
He paused before continuing, “Actually, I’m a pretty good choice!”

Sara was furious at his shamelessness, glaring at him and about to speak, when Tetsuya, more solemnly, said:

“But that was before...”
He shrugged. “For ordinary women... having a boyfriend who can transform into Ultraman and protect the Earth can be a real ordeal.”

Sara considered this. “Ultraman? Is that what you call TheNext?”

“I call him Ultraman TheNext!”
After giving this answer, Tetsuya flashed a brilliant smile and added,

“So, don’t fall in love with me...”

“Go to hell, you non-human!”