Chapter Four: The Clash of Light and Shadow

"It's been a long time... Noah."

The battle between fated rivals did not unfold as many Ultramen had expected. Zagi’s gaze was complex as he looked at Noah, yet his tone was almost that of an old friend reminiscing.

And indeed, they were old friends—friends who had pursued and fought each other since the dawn of their existence. Through the endless stretches of the cosmos, from ancient times to the present, every encounter between them inevitably ended in combat, ceasing only when one was forced to flee in defeat.

After a moment’s silence, Noah spoke. “It has indeed been a long time. But today, I will destroy you.”

“Destroy me? Such an unrealistic notion…” Zagi laughed heartily, as if it were a mere joke.

“Unrealistic?”

“Exactly, because it’s impossible! I am a weapon created by the very beings of the planet you once saved!”

“A weapon?”

“The M80 Scorpius Globular Nebula…” Zagi seemed to be recounting his own story.

Noah’s eyes widened in shock, his voice trembling. “The Star of the Visitors? The supernova was your doing?!”

Zagi’s laughter was wild and unrestrained. “Yes, I exist as the ultimate weapon ‘Ultinoid Zagi,’ built by the inhabitants of that planet to fight the Alien Beasts. My form, my powers—everything was modeled after you. But there was one thing they could not copy: your heart of justice, already decaying. So I destroyed their planet.”

In ancient times, the Star of the Visitors in the M80 Scorpius Globular Nebula had been attacked by Alien Beasts. On the brink of annihilation, the Visitors were saved by Noah. In gratitude, the original ‘Visitors’ fashioned their own ultimate weapon based on the giant of light who rescued them: Zagi. However, Zagi’s awakening to evil led him to run amok, evolving independently, and even reviving the Alien Beasts that were meant to be destroyed. To stop the threat of Dark Zagi, the Visitors ultimately chose to destroy their own homeworld.

“You thought you saved them, but the truth is, you brought them utter annihilation!”

“What?!”

Noah’s fury was absolute. Infinite light gathered in his hands, a vast and pure energy swirling around him. The spectacle was so overwhelming that even the assembled Ultramen felt a chill of awe.

“When I was created, they implanted a program: if you die, I die. In other words, as long as you live, I will continue to exist!”

Kain listened in silence, shaken to his core. So this was the true origin of Zagi? But then, what of the legend that Zagi was the darkness born with the universe’s first light? How did such a myth arise?

Moreover, there was a glaring flaw in Zagi’s words. How could the Visitors have implanted such a program? No matter how advanced their technology, they could not have captured the very first light or affected Noah through such means. Was the program truly two-way? Zagi’s life was tied to Noah’s, but why, and how could it be that if Noah lived, Zagi could not die? Logically, it should be one-way: if Noah died, then Zagi would die, but if Zagi died, Noah would remain unaffected. (The author admits some difficulty explaining this logic, as Zagi’s statement in the original work is quite contradictory. For example, if A poisons B in such a way that if A dies, B dies, then why can’t A just kill B? Clearly, it’s possible... Thus, Zagi’s understanding must be flawed. In this book, the author will make some adjustments to this logic.)

After a moment’s contemplation, Noah seemed to grasp this truth as well. His voice grew cold. “Is that so? Then I’ll send you to hell myself!”

“Hmph!”

Without hesitation, Zagi lunged forward, his right foot aiming a fierce kick at Noah. Even nearby, Seven felt as if a mountain of gravity was pressing down on his shoulders, rendering him almost immobile.

“Zagi Kick!”

The Zagi Kick unleashed a wave of dark gravity. To a peer such as Noah, it was a mere standard attack, but to Seven and the others, even this simple kick could inflict grave injury.

Thus, Kain immediately pulled Seven out of the combat zone. Noah stood at the pinnacle of light, Zagi at the peak of darkness. If anyone else were caught in their battle, the consequences would be disastrous.

“All Ultramen, clear the area! Let’s eliminate the monsters invading our home!” Zoffy was the first to react, his shout rallying the others as he charged into the fray.

Meanwhile, Noah deftly blocked Zagi’s kick with a hand chop, then followed with a punch that sent Zagi flying. Immense light gathered in Noah’s palm; his left hand braced his right fist, and a burst of pure white radiance erupted forth, dazzling and potent.

“Noah Shoot!”

“Zagi Shoot!”

Not to be outdone, Zagi’s fist fired a beam of violet-red energy, clashing head-on with Noah’s white light. The two beams—pure manifestations of light and darkness—collided in midair, the resulting shockwave rippling outward and obliterating nearby buildings.

“Damn it!” Zagi’s eyes burned with fury. Noah’s attack was clearly superior, amplified by the Land of Light, where the power of light was magnified many times over. Overwhelmed, Zagi found himself struggling.

“This is not our battlefield!” Zagi’s violet-red ray suddenly flared, and, seizing the brief moment of reprieve, he shot into the sky above the Land of Light.

Noah pursued without hesitation. Their struggle had lasted too long; with Zagi finally in his grasp, he could not allow him to escape again, lest their next encounter be lost to the ages.

As the two figures soared upward, vanishing from sight, Kain let out a deep sigh. These two beings were simply too dangerous for them; their departure was the best outcome for the Land of Light.

His gaze shifted to the monstrous horde battling the Ultramen. Without hesitation, he joined the fray.

“It’s time to settle the catastrophe you’ve brought upon the Land of Light!”

With a powerful chop, Kain struck down the monster before him, felling it with overwhelming force.

Zagi, as a vessel of overwhelming darkness, had empowered his monsters to fight above their natural strength. Thus, they had been able to suppress the Ultramen. But now, with Zagi forced to flee by Noah, the monsters became disorganized, their power waning, and they were quickly surrounded and slain by the Ultramen.

A searing light welled up at Kain’s fingertips—the Father Ray slashed through a cluster of monsters, incinerating them in burning brilliance. The thunderous explosion echoed forth. Against Zagi, the M87 Ray and Father Ray had been easily deflected, but now their true power was unleashed. And as captain of the Intergalactic Defense Force, Kain’s might was finally on display.

A furious roar erupted behind him. A colossal monster charged, its bladed tail scythe stabbing straight for Kain’s back.

High in the air, a blue Ultraman punched a monster skyward, then extended his five fingers, gathering light at their tips.

With a tearing sound, his fingers pierced clean through the beast’s abdomen. The monster shrieked in agony, blood streaming down the blue warrior’s arm.

Nearby, a red Ultra hesitated, as if wanting to speak, but ultimately turned away to engage another monster.

The blue Ultraman braced his fist against the monster’s body and slowly tore his hand free from the wound, his gaze sweeping around with savage arrogance.

His name was Jack. Though a blue Ultra, he possessed power surpassing most of the red warriors, and held a status beyond that of most blue Ultras.

He was Kain’s brother—not by blood, but the title alone was enough to set him above most of his peers.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a certain spot.

Yet Jack did not move; though he was nearby and could have intervened, he simply watched as the monster charged toward Kain, its scythe poised for a lethal strike at Kain’s unguarded back.

“Jack! What are you doing?!”

Mary’s voice rang out, urgent and anxious. She was not a combat-type Ultraman; against monsters, she stood little chance.

Her cry snapped Jack from his stupor, guilt flooding him. That was his brother—how could he stand by and watch him attacked?

Even if Kain was a red Ultra, even if...

Even if Kain had taken the position of Defense Force Captain that should have been his...

Without hesitation, Jack leapt at the monster, his five sharp fingers plunging into its back, splattering his blue form with blood.

(Author’s note on this chapter:
1. Concerning Jack the Ultraman: He is not an invented character but one that exists in the darker corners of Ultraman’s official history. Officially, he is Kain’s biological older brother, though the author finds this awkward. If Jack and Kain are true brothers but belong to different Ultra clans, it raises questions about their lineage.
2. This chapter was revised on 10/23.)