Hmph, trying to run away?

"Thump..."

Since Telesdon, which had been blocking the eruption vent, bore the brunt of the energy, this volcanic outburst caused almost no damage, save for toppling a few utility poles. A dozen meters away, GUTS Wing 1 remained entirely unaffected, and Shinjoh in the cockpit was still peacefully closing his eyes. Telesdon, however, was in a miserable state; its abdomen was charred black, severely wounded by its ally's flames, and its body twitched uncontrollably.

"Two birds with one stone, how impressive," Megumi whispered in soft admiration.

Nagi Saijo watched Telesdon, now about to be finished off by Tiga, and felt an urge to intervene—to use human strength to destroy the monster before the giant could.

"Ultraman! I have been waiting for you!"

At that moment, the gray-robed man who had appeared in Staff Officer Kiriyama’s office and been scared off by Qi Ming emerged, blocking the path between Tiga and Telesdon.

"Do you intend to act as the guardian deity of this Earth? Don’t you find that ridiculous..."

Qi Ming replied immediately, his voice audible only to the man: "No."

He continued, "If I could, I would leave this place in the next second."

The gray-robed man was left bewildered, silently projecting a metaphorical question mark.

Qi Ming shifted his tone: "But I have made a promise to others. As long as I remain here for a single day, I will not allow you monsters and demons to wreak havoc upon the world!"

With that, he decisively reached out and brought his hand down heavily upon the gray-robed man, as if swatting a fly.

"Slap!" A crater in the shape of a five-fingered mountain was carved into the ground by Tiga’s palm.

Kishida gasped in shock, "What? Ultraman just killed someone!"

Megumi remarked, "That guy clearly wasn't human to begin with."

"Boom!" The earth split open as a rapidly swelling body broke free from Qi Ming’s "Five-Finger Mountain" through giantification. A humanoid form with a mournful face, a gray body, and an eye glowing with an eerie light on its chest appeared.

The first Kyrieloid had arrived.

"Pfft..." No sooner had he appeared than the left side of his head caved in. It was evident that the palm Qi Ming had pressed down with before the giantification had caused significant damage.

"Huh, you look pathetic the moment you show up," Qi Ming chuckled.

"I will kill you! I’ll show you the power of the Kyrieloids!" The first Kyrieloid rushed forward in a fit of rage.

Nagi Saijo was startled, "So that’s it, that is the true form of the Kyrieloids!"

"Before you appeared, the humans of this Earth were waiting for the Kyrieloids to lead them. Your existence is superfluous!"

The Kyrieloid launched into a 360-degree whirlwind sweep, the wide, forceful technique betraying his surging anger. Qi Ming parried with an open hand, grabbed the Kyrieloid's right arm, and struck its face with a "pull-and-punch" maneuver, forcing it to stagger back several steps, nearly falling.

In the original story of *Ultraman Tiga*, the Kyrieloid’s questioning of Tiga sowed doubt in Daigo’s heart, leaving him suppressed while in a state of confusion. But Qi Ming clearly had no interest in questions like "Why was I chosen?" or "Am I human or am I light?" Currently, the only thing that could attract his interest was the "temptation of going home." Thus, he fought with great discipline, steadily maintaining the upper hand.

"Swish!" The Kyrieloid performed a python-like reversal, thrusting its palm directly toward Tiga’s midsection.

"Oh, that looks a bit like Baguazhang?" Qi Ming dodged to the side while using his left hand to deflect and his right hand, shaped into a blade, to strike the Kyrieloid’s chest.

The Palm of Obscuring Heaven!

This strike sent the Kyrieloid stumbling back dozens of meters until it could no longer hold its footing, falling backward and crushing Telesdon, who had just barely managed to stand up.

"What a fragile god," Qi Ming taunted, hoping to use psychological warfare to snap the thread of reason in the Kyrieloid's mind.

"I will show you the true face of a Kyrieloid’s rage!" Clearly, Qi Ming had succeeded. Whether it was possessing the female host or releasing flames to burn down buildings to display divine power, everything was part of the Kyrieloids' "proselytization." But now, in full view of everyone, the Kyrieloid was being soundly beaten by Ultraman. What would ordinary people think? Could they still collect faith like this?

The Kyrieloid countered with a knee strike, a palm blow, and a low sweep, followed by a back-leaning kick. Taking advantage of the moment Tiga stepped back to dodge, he lunged with a piercing palm strike, hoping to knock Tiga down and salvage the situation.

"It seems you really have lost your mind from anger, daring to leave such a wide opening for me."

Qi Ming countered the move with his own, delivering a thrust kick to the Kyrieloid’s exposed waist, knocking him down before unleashing a barrage of Wing Chun "Sun-Character" punches.

"It’s clear he can’t beat this 'Pyramid Ultraman'," Nagi Saijo thought, feeling relieved as the battle was entirely one-sided. She considered using her "Texas Beam" to provide support and finish off the Telesdon on the field, but fearing that "a third might follow a second," she decided to observe a bit longer. After all, the giant on the field was handling things with ease; it was better not to disrupt his rhythm and save her heavy weaponry for the end.

The Kyrieloid was furious. After enduring the barrage, he seized an opportunity to pin Tiga’s arms and threw him with immense force toward Telesdon. He intended to create a pincer attack, using Tiga as a punching bag between the two of them.

But Qi Ming’s reaction was lightning-fast. He pushed off Telesdon’s abdomen with his legs, propelled himself forward, and utilized a "Heaven-Propping Peak" maneuver, striking the Kyrieloid’s head with a flying knee. The latter collapsed heavily once more, a large dent appearing on the right side of his head—making him symmetrically damaged.

"You..." After suffering repeated heavy blows, the Kyrieloid clutched his head and stood up shakily. He did not continue to press the attack; on one hand, his weakened body wouldn't permit it, and on the other, he was terrified. He realized the gap in their strength; while the opponent's power and speed were comparable to his, his techniques for changing and breaking moves were far superior. If this continued, he, a god, might not make it out alive.

The moment this thought took hold, his heart tightened, and he immediately flew upward, fleeing toward the edge of the horizon.

"Hmph, trying to escape!" Qi Ming did not fly in pursuit. Instead, he grabbed Telesdon’s tail, channeled his energy into his hands to amplify his strength, and swung the monster violently, hurling it at the fleeing Kyrieloid.

"Bang!" The target was hit. The Kyrieloid and Telesdon fell from the sky simultaneously, the impact shaking the earth violently and sending dust soaring dozens of meters into the air.

At the same time, Tiga’s Color Timer began to blink. It was not due to a lack of energy or severe injury, but because his ninety seconds were nearly up.

"It’s time to end this." He flew into the air, crossed his wrists, and then extended them outward to gather energy, preparing to release his beam.

"Stop! If you continue, the others from the underground will come to demand justice for us!" the underground woman warned, shouting at Tiga.