Chapter Twenty-Three: Tongkalalin

“That shark monster escaped right here, didn’t it?” Munakata looked at Tetsuya and asked.

“Yes…” Tetsuya nodded, then pointed to a nearby grand building. “At the time, the Commander was inside, meeting with representatives from various countries to discuss the militarization of TPC.”

Following Tetsuya’s gesture, Rina looked over and exclaimed in surprise, “It was that close? That must have been dangerous…”

“So how did you drive the monster away and save the Commander and the others? Tell me about it.”

Tetsuya smiled, glancing at Daigo, who stood silently to the side. “You should ask Daigo. To be honest, I don’t know the details—after Daigo arrived, the monster simply left.”

“Daigo… Daigo…” Rina called out, looking in his direction.

“Huh…?” Startled, Daigo lifted his head as if just waking from a daze. Rina had already walked over, patting him on the shoulder. “What are you daydreaming about?”

“Oh… it’s nothing,” Daigo replied evasively, lowering the hand that had been pressed to his chest, and then walked away.

It was already the second day. Under pressure, the team had come in person to the spot where Gaiozark vanished to investigate the incident. After all, monsters never appeared or vanished for no reason—they always had their motives.

“Horii, any sign of the target?” Munakata inquired. During yesterday’s battle with Gaiozark, Horii had managed to fire a specialized tracker onto the monster’s fin. If they wanted to find Gaiozark, they had to rely on that.

“Uh… well…” Horii hesitated, casting a glance back at them. “About its movements…”

“What’s wrong? Isn’t it working?” Shinjo asked, running over.

“Nonsense, my device can track a monster no matter where it goes!” Horii retorted indignantly.

“Then what’s it telling you?”

“There should be a signal here… it’s strange. Why isn’t it responding?” Horii muttered to himself, walking toward the patch of earth churned up by the monster.

“In that case, let’s expand the search area,” Tetsuya suggested with a smile. “It’s best not to rely entirely on the machine.”

Munakata agreed. “You’re right. Let’s split up and search everywhere.”

Daigo piloted Victory Swallow No. 1 to scout the nearby mountains. Rina and Vice-Captain Munakata flew Victory Swallow No. 2 to search around Mount Aso. Horii and Shinjo drove to search on the ground, while Tetsuya headed for the more distant mountain ranges.

“This is Daigo. All is normal in my sector,” Daigo reported calmly, gazing at the verdant scenery below.

Meanwhile, Horii and Shinjo had driven to an abandoned mine.

“Hey, why did you bring me to this pitch-dark mine?” Shinjo asked, puzzled as he watched Horii stare intently at his tracker.

“The monster went underground—I think there might be a connection,” Horii replied.

“All right, let’s go. That useless device of yours hasn’t helped at all. I don’t want to hang around here,” Shinjo said in exasperation.

“Fine…” Horii’s disappointment was clear as the tracker stayed silent. The two could only drive away.

“Command, there was a report a few days ago of strange sounds coming from near ‘Tongkalarin.’ We’re heading there now,” Horii reported, glancing at his tracker.

“That’s a strange name,” Shinjo remarked as he steered along the road.

“Tongkalarin—it must have some profound meaning.”

But when they found the local forestry supervisor, they learned it was nothing of the sort.

“Tongkalarin is just the name for five connected tunnels. No one really knows when they were built.” As he spoke, the supervisor led them to the entrance and pointed inside. “Here it is. Operations have stopped.”

Horii entered without looking back, while Shinjo muttered, “This tunnel is so narrow, there’s no way a monster could come out of here.”

“Recently, there have been sharp noises coming from the entrance. Residents nearby have been complaining to us,” the supervisor explained.

“Where does this passage lead?” Horii asked.

“It’s confirmed to run from here up to a certain point, but the exact route isn’t clear.”

“How did the name come about?” Shinjo inquired curiously.

“When you throw a rock from the top, it goes ‘tong-ka-la-rin’ as it falls. That’s all there is to it,” the supervisor said.

“So simple?” Horii and Shinjo exchanged glances.

“There are still many undiscovered tunnels beneath Kumamoto,” the supervisor added offhandedly, which seemed to spark an idea in Horii’s mind.

At that moment, Daigo was flying Victory Swallow No. 1 through the mountains when a sudden sensation struck him. He quickly pulled out the Spark Lance from his chest. Just as when he’d first faced Gaiozark, the Spark Lance emitted a faint glow.

“It’s happening again…”

A figure appeared on the cockpit glass before Daigo, its expression fixed in a stiff smile.

“You’re the one who inherited the light…”

Daigo stared in shock at the apparition. “Who are you? Can you communicate telepathically?”

“I have no such trivial power. What I possess is intellect…” The figure paused. “But like you, I possess something else.”

“Come on, show me. I want to see how you become light.”

“Wait…” Daigo called out instinctively as the figure began to fade. In the next instant, having lost control for too long, the jet was plunging toward a bridge below. Daigo hurriedly regained control, retracted the wings, and barely managed to fly through the bridge’s center.

He exhaled heavily in relief. Just then, Rina’s voice came through his headset: “Daigo! Hurry north—the shark monster has appeared!”

The first to arrive was Tetsuya, piloting the White Dragon. Soon after, Victory Swallow No. 2 arrived as well. Vice-Captain Munakata’s voice was urgent: “Hayate, stop the monster immediately! There’s an amusement park ahead—there are many children there!”

“Understood!” Tetsuya guided the White Dragon in a graceful arc through the sky, banking perfectly before heading toward the monster. The Spike Missiles launched mercilessly, striking Gaiozark’s dorsal fin.

“It’s no use! The creature is too fast, and that fin is incredibly tough. The Spike Missiles can’t damage it at all.”

Meanwhile, at the amusement park, Horii and Shinjo had already received Munakata’s orders and were busy evacuating the crowds.

High in the sky, the yellow-painted Victory Swallow No. 1 emerged, piloted by a calm and focused Daigo. He activated the autopilot system.

“Switching to automatic landing system!”

Once the program was set, Daigo drew the Spark Lance from his chest, pulled the ejection lever, and launched himself from the cockpit. As he spun through the air, he raised the Spark Lance high.

“Ultraman Tiga!”