Chap 139: Sparks of light
"Greetings, Takumi of another earth." The woman said.
She has a slim yet curvy figure and a calm, self-assured expression, her green eyes framed by soft lashes and a faint smile gracing her lips. Silver hair falls neatly to her shoulders, parted to one side in a smooth, elegant style that complements her composed demeanor.
She wears a white, vertically striped blouse with long, slightly puffy sleeves beneath a deep red, sleeveless dress that fits snugly around her waist and hips. The dress features shoulder and side cutouts, a belt with a small chain accent, and a short skirt that falls just above the mid-thigh. A red tie fastened neatly at her collar is adorned with a blue gemstone. Completing her outfit are sleek silver high heels.
"You may address me in my human name, Shin, or if you like, Ultrawoman would do as well." She spoke as the two of them were walking side by side.
"That's so....what about your real name, the one you were called back on your home planet?" Takumi asked.
"I doubt the human tongue could replicate the sound to pronounce that name."
"It's Laplas. Or what I think it would be said in your language."
"I see, then, it is nice to finally meet you. Laplas."
The two sat across from each other, a table in between them. On the table are two cups of coffee and two slices of cake for each of them.
"What are your goals for meeting me, Takumi?"
"Straight to the point huh? Well, as of right now, I'm here to assist you in protecting this planet."
Laplas stared at him for a long time, she didn't touch the cake at all. Takumi, for his part, didn't mind the attention; he casually took a bite from the cake on his plate while waiting for a response.
This isn't their first talk, the handful of times Takumi meets her start out with the same question, it was short though, this is the first time where they are on their free time.
'This is to be expected. She would have some trust issues with me.' He thought, to Laplas, he is something human but also not, at the same time.
And as for the help he offered, the way in which he can provide it is simply too restricted. He can't give information or his technology away, so it'll just be fighting that he could assist her with.
"Speaking of which, how's your work? I heard you were just finished dealing with an extraterrestrial being named Mafilas."
"Yes, I have to thank you for saving my co-worker, it would have been a lot of trouble for me to show my true identity to everyone."
"I'm just happy to be able to help, and I guess you are here with some other request ?"
"Yes, as you are aware." Her eyes leave him for the first time since their chat.
He follows her gaze towards the sky, beyond the clouds, further than the atmosphere of this planet, a dark giant creature floats menacingly.
An enormous, geometric being that takes the form of a vast, glowing, polygonal structure that fills space above Earth, resembling a dark cosmic sphere surrounded by a lattice of radiant orange and golden hexagonal patterns. The form constantly shifts and pulses with energy.
It was Zetton.
From what the system let him know, this thing is a war machine, and is here to destroy humans out of fear that they would soon use the technology of Ultraman as weapons.
"I doubt my tools can do anything to it." He was quite helpless to do anything against that.
"No, I'm not asking you to fight it."
"If you're here to ask me to do something while you go and sacrifice yourself, then forget it, I won't be here for long."
"That's....what I was intent to do."
"But ?"
"But, I'll have to learn something new. The humans, I have learn of their concept of love, bravery, and courage."
"Congrats, you found a romance partner."
"Thank you, and I want to ask you to do something while I go up there. I fear someone might try to stop my attempt, can you hold them off for me ?"
Considering any enemy of the ultras can be weighed in the thousand tons class and each of them has special abilities that could solo his whole verse, Takumi can't just agree. But that is if he doesn't have any means to fight, the request was to just stall for a time, in which he can absolutely do.
"Sure, you go do your hero thing, I'll stay back."
*clink*
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"Shuwatch!" Appearing after a bright red light, Ultrwoman flew outside the atmosphere to engage with Shin Zetton. The small human figure of Takumi looked even smaller when she turned around.
But this isn't the time, with conviction, she sped up more, into the darkness that is space.
Confronting in orbit, Zetton’s faceless form turns, scanning. Ultrawoman raises her arms into a battle stance.
Suddenly, Zetton fires. It unleashes waves of overwhelmingly powerful artillery and fire-beams. Particles of light slowly shot out in mass quantities, so much that it looked like she was being blasted by a rain.
The scene instilled a deep fear in Humanity, and also in Takumi, who was closer to seeing their fight.
"Well, time for you to show yourself, Zõffy."
"You have been aware of me?" A golden light shone a short distance from Takumi's floating body. Another ultrawoman, she has a gold and silver glow to herself, unlike Laplas.
"You are the one to send Zetton out, so I did make the connection with the given clues."
"Rest assured, I have no intention of trying to stop her, though-" she paused. Zetton is easily overwhelming Ultrawoman, she conjures up a forcefield wall, but it is slowly eaten away by each row of laser chipping at it.
"It seems my presence is unnecessary."
"I wouldn't count on it. Laplas is quite a brave human after all."
"Half human, and going so far for your species, I can hardly call this act bravery."
"No? I think sacrificing one for a cause greater than themself is very brave."
"She is going to die." Ultrawoman, desperate to stop Zetton, flew directly into its main cannon.
"You're wrong, she is going to live. Not because she seeks life."
*beep* in the one small moment, before the shot was made. Her hand held a cylinder object, her beta capsule, the device in which she used to transform and activate it with a press.
"But because she has accepted death."
*Boom!*
They both witnessed an explosion that engulfed everything; both Zetton and Ultrawoman were trapped in it, as the destructive power of that one act had created a black hole.
Takumi was blinded by the explosion and was unable to maintain his elevation. It lasted for less than a second but he didn't bother to stay and check. He got what was needed.
[Questline completed[2/2]]