Chapter 28
When the Monster Appears
In a corner of the abandoned construction site, three teenagers were holding a crimson sphere, their fingertips unconsciously tracing the warm lines on its surface.
"It's getting late, we have to go home again." Hiroshi Kashimada kicked the pebbles at his feet, his tone full of frustration. "I really don't want to go home, I'll have to listen to her nagging until midnight again."
"My mom's the same." Kosuke kicked an empty can at his feet, making a clattering sound. "She always says I play games all day and don't do anything productive, that my grades are bad, and that it's annoying to even talk to her. I wish I could just stay out here and not have to go back and get scolded."
"If only I didn't have to go home..."
As soon as the three finished speaking, the red ball in their palms suddenly began to heat up, and the strange patterns on its surface began to pulsate wildly. A faint yet seductive whisper burrowed into their minds through their palms.
Before they could react, the red ball suddenly burst out with a blinding red light, turning the three of them's faces bright red.
The sky was instantly shrouded in thick thunderclouds, and the originally clear afternoon suddenly turned as dark as night. A gale swept by, carrying sand and gravel, and a muffled rumble of thunder came from afar, as if something was falling from the depths of the clouds.
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening explosion rang out, the ground trembled violently, and smoke and debris shot into the sky, blotting out the sun.
A huge black shadow crashed down from the clouds, slamming heavily into the center of the construction site, creating a huge crater in the ground, with cracks spreading in all directions.
As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, a gigantic monster slowly raised its head. Its ferocious head was covered with sharp spikes, and its scarlet eyes, like two lanterns, were fixed on the city before it. A cold, oppressive aura surrounded it, and even the air seemed to freeze.
Hiroshi Kashimada was initially stunned by the loud noise, but upon recognizing the monster's outline, his pupils contracted sharply. His instincts as a seasoned monster enthusiast instantly overwhelmed his fear, and he blurted out, "It's Reijubas! The space sea monster Reijubas! 57 meters tall and weighing 69,000 tons!"
His voice trembled with excitement, completely forgetting that he had summoned the monster in front of him; all that remained was the fervor and excitement of seeing his "idol."
The red ball in his hand had somehow grown larger.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Yun Yu was aimlessly looking for abandoned warehouses when a sudden, rapid tremor came from the Sirius Star Chart on his chest. He looked up sharply in the direction from which the strange phenomenon was coming, and his face instantly darkened when he saw the outline of Reichubas.
"Rechubas? Why did he suddenly appear?"
His heart tightened, and without the slightest hesitation, he immediately turned and disappeared into a dark alleyway nearby. Clutching the burning Syrian compass to his chest, he whispered, "Syrian!"
Although Yun Yu didn't have much strength to shout during this transformation, she had no choice but to do it this way in order to avoid attracting attention.
A pale blue light suddenly shone brightly in the depths of the alley, then vanished in an instant, leaving only a beam of light shooting into the sky, flying towards the construction site where Reijubas had descended.
The people on the street, who were originally in an orderly manner, were startled by the loud noise in the distance. They stopped and looked curiously in the direction from which the sound came.
However, when the thick smoke cleared and Reijubas's enormous body was fully exposed, the curiosity on everyone's faces froze instantly, and was then replaced by extreme terror.
"Th-what is that?!"
"A monster! It's a monster!"
"Run!!"
Screams, cries, and car horns erupted instantly, and the previously peaceful order collapsed completely at that moment.
People scattered and fled like a tide, crying and rushing away from the construction site. Some fell to the ground and were trampled by the panicked crowd, while others were separated from their families, crying out their names. The entire street instantly descended into chaos.
No one could have imagined that the monsters that originally only existed in tokusatsu films would actually descend upon the real world.
Reijubas remained unmoved by the chaos below. His crimson eyes locked onto a residential building not far ahead, and he strode heavily toward it.
It's simple if you don't want to go home, right? Just tear down your house. If you don't have a home, then you don't need to go home.
Each step they took was accompanied by a tremor in the ground, and a huge shadow slowly enveloped the entire residential building. The people inside could even clearly feel the walls shaking, screaming as they ran downstairs.
Just as Reijubas's giant foot was about to crush the residential building, a silver-red light descended from the sky, accompanied by a whistling wind, and landed steadily in front of the monster, forcefully blocking its advance.
Ultraman Sirius has arrived.
But the moment he landed, a piercing pain shot up his spine, causing him to groan involuntarily.
That was an old wound left when he was swatted away by King Orb and smashed into the ruins. Now that he has become Sirius, the wound seems to have been torn open again, and every inch of his muscles is screaming in excruciating pain.
My arms were still sore and weak, and the feeling of exhaustion from being pressed down by the giant hand had not completely subsided. I didn't have time to adjust my state during the transformation intervals as usual.
What pained him even more was that the enhanced hearing he gained from transforming into an Ultraman was now amplifying all the sounds around him without reservation, slamming them into his ears.
Unlike previous battles where there were no ordinary people around, in this battle he could clearly hear the faint cries for help from those trapped under the rubble, the heart-wrenching cries of children calling for "Mom and Dad," the devastating sobs of those who had lost loved ones, and even the rapid breathing and heartbeats of people running.
Every sound was like a sharp knife, stabbing deeply into his heart.
He desperately wanted to help them, but he knew perfectly well that if he didn't resolve the immediate problem of Rechubas, more people would only fall into deeper suffering.
If we get distracted now, the monster's next kick could crush the entire apartment building and take away more innocent lives.
He forced himself to block out those sounds, took a deep breath, endured the tearing pain in his back, and slowly raised his still sore arm, assuming a fighting stance towards Reijubas in front of him.
"It's getting late, we have to go home again." Hiroshi Kashimada kicked the pebbles at his feet, his tone full of frustration. "I really don't want to go home, I'll have to listen to her nagging until midnight again."
"My mom's the same." Kosuke kicked an empty can at his feet, making a clattering sound. "She always says I play games all day and don't do anything productive, that my grades are bad, and that it's annoying to even talk to her. I wish I could just stay out here and not have to go back and get scolded."
"If only I didn't have to go home..."
As soon as the three finished speaking, the red ball in their palms suddenly began to heat up, and the strange patterns on its surface began to pulsate wildly. A faint yet seductive whisper burrowed into their minds through their palms.
Before they could react, the red ball suddenly burst out with a blinding red light, turning the three of them's faces bright red.
The sky was instantly shrouded in thick thunderclouds, and the originally clear afternoon suddenly turned as dark as night. A gale swept by, carrying sand and gravel, and a muffled rumble of thunder came from afar, as if something was falling from the depths of the clouds.
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening explosion rang out, the ground trembled violently, and smoke and debris shot into the sky, blotting out the sun.
A huge black shadow crashed down from the clouds, slamming heavily into the center of the construction site, creating a huge crater in the ground, with cracks spreading in all directions.
As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, a gigantic monster slowly raised its head. Its ferocious head was covered with sharp spikes, and its scarlet eyes, like two lanterns, were fixed on the city before it. A cold, oppressive aura surrounded it, and even the air seemed to freeze.
Hiroshi Kashimada was initially stunned by the loud noise, but upon recognizing the monster's outline, his pupils contracted sharply. His instincts as a seasoned monster enthusiast instantly overwhelmed his fear, and he blurted out, "It's Reijubas! The space sea monster Reijubas! 57 meters tall and weighing 69,000 tons!"
His voice trembled with excitement, completely forgetting that he had summoned the monster in front of him; all that remained was the fervor and excitement of seeing his "idol."
The red ball in his hand had somehow grown larger.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Yun Yu was aimlessly looking for abandoned warehouses when a sudden, rapid tremor came from the Sirius Star Chart on his chest. He looked up sharply in the direction from which the strange phenomenon was coming, and his face instantly darkened when he saw the outline of Reichubas.
"Rechubas? Why did he suddenly appear?"
His heart tightened, and without the slightest hesitation, he immediately turned and disappeared into a dark alleyway nearby. Clutching the burning Syrian compass to his chest, he whispered, "Syrian!"
Although Yun Yu didn't have much strength to shout during this transformation, she had no choice but to do it this way in order to avoid attracting attention.
A pale blue light suddenly shone brightly in the depths of the alley, then vanished in an instant, leaving only a beam of light shooting into the sky, flying towards the construction site where Reijubas had descended.
The people on the street, who were originally in an orderly manner, were startled by the loud noise in the distance. They stopped and looked curiously in the direction from which the sound came.
However, when the thick smoke cleared and Reijubas's enormous body was fully exposed, the curiosity on everyone's faces froze instantly, and was then replaced by extreme terror.
"Th-what is that?!"
"A monster! It's a monster!"
"Run!!"
Screams, cries, and car horns erupted instantly, and the previously peaceful order collapsed completely at that moment.
People scattered and fled like a tide, crying and rushing away from the construction site. Some fell to the ground and were trampled by the panicked crowd, while others were separated from their families, crying out their names. The entire street instantly descended into chaos.
No one could have imagined that the monsters that originally only existed in tokusatsu films would actually descend upon the real world.
Reijubas remained unmoved by the chaos below. His crimson eyes locked onto a residential building not far ahead, and he strode heavily toward it.
It's simple if you don't want to go home, right? Just tear down your house. If you don't have a home, then you don't need to go home.
Each step they took was accompanied by a tremor in the ground, and a huge shadow slowly enveloped the entire residential building. The people inside could even clearly feel the walls shaking, screaming as they ran downstairs.
Just as Reijubas's giant foot was about to crush the residential building, a silver-red light descended from the sky, accompanied by a whistling wind, and landed steadily in front of the monster, forcefully blocking its advance.
Ultraman Sirius has arrived.
But the moment he landed, a piercing pain shot up his spine, causing him to groan involuntarily.
That was an old wound left when he was swatted away by King Orb and smashed into the ruins. Now that he has become Sirius, the wound seems to have been torn open again, and every inch of his muscles is screaming in excruciating pain.
My arms were still sore and weak, and the feeling of exhaustion from being pressed down by the giant hand had not completely subsided. I didn't have time to adjust my state during the transformation intervals as usual.
What pained him even more was that the enhanced hearing he gained from transforming into an Ultraman was now amplifying all the sounds around him without reservation, slamming them into his ears.
Unlike previous battles where there were no ordinary people around, in this battle he could clearly hear the faint cries for help from those trapped under the rubble, the heart-wrenching cries of children calling for "Mom and Dad," the devastating sobs of those who had lost loved ones, and even the rapid breathing and heartbeats of people running.
Every sound was like a sharp knife, stabbing deeply into his heart.
He desperately wanted to help them, but he knew perfectly well that if he didn't resolve the immediate problem of Rechubas, more people would only fall into deeper suffering.
If we get distracted now, the monster's next kick could crush the entire apartment building and take away more innocent lives.
He forced himself to block out those sounds, took a deep breath, endured the tearing pain in his back, and slowly raised his still sore arm, assuming a fighting stance towards Reijubas in front of him.