Chapter 22: The Ultimate Point of Light

The light technique itself is fundamentally the manipulation of one's own light; no matter how it changes, it is simply a matter of gathering this light together or altering its nature. Yet when that dazzling, peerless radiance appeared in the sky, even if the essence of the light remained unchanged, it was terrifying beyond words.

Half the sky was illuminated by this brilliance—a pale gold laced with crimson—surging madly from Xie Jing toward that nearly solid beam of light. The black mist pouring from the Gate of Hell was utterly dispelled. Diga shook the rubble from his body, stood upright, and looked up at the heavens.

“Fujii Yuta… what immense power!” The beam concentrated to its utmost, and it felt as if all the world’s light was drawn into it, gathering ceaselessly.

“Go!” With a gentle flick from Xie Jing, everything happened in a single instant—the beam shrank to a tiny point and appeared, in a flash, upon the body of the Kirieloid.

A few soft sounds—swish, swish, swish—the enormous form of the Kirieloid seemed to be divided into countless pieces: ten meters, five meters, one meter, one centimeter, one micron...

Light streamed from the cracks in its body; even in death, the Kirieloid still writhed on the ground, lowering its head to stare at its form, now riddled with fissures.

“This… this is impossible…”

Each tiny particle was wreathed in light, and in the next second, they all dissolved into multicolored motes, drifting away into the air.

No explosion, no deafening roar—the Kirieloid, who had just defeated Diga, vanished into the sky without a sound.

Only those motes of iridescent light remained, proof that it had once existed.

On the ground, a long sigh of relief escaped the officials of the Neon Government. In past urban battles, no matter how Diga controlled his beams, the resulting explosions would always devastate the surrounding buildings.

It seemed, this Ultraman’s methods were truly extraordinary.

Xie Jing paid no attention to the people below. He looked up at the closed Gate of Hell.

From the stardust left by the Kirieloid, a point of pure, dazzling light emerged. It circled around Xie Jing.

With a leap, Xie Jing effortlessly ascended to the clouds. Amidst everyone’s terrified gaze, he slowly opened the Gate of Hell.

“What is he doing? What is Fujii Yuta trying to do? Stop him!” Rina cried out in alarm, wanting to get out of the car to halt Xie Jing, but was stopped by Jun Miwa.

“Rina! Don’t panic!”

“But…”

“At this point, we can only trust him! I believe in Daigu’s judgment. Even though Fujii’s thinking is different from ours, Daigu has said that Fujii’s heart is with the Earth.” Jun Miwa spoke gently, persuading Rina.

Rina fell silent. Having always harbored feelings for Daigu, she could not refute Jun Miwa’s words, yet the restless twisting of her hands betrayed her inner turmoil.

Xie Jing, in truth, had no grand plans.

He had always wanted to be a laidback drifter in the world of Diga, letting Daigu handle any monsters—after all, the plot guaranteed victory, so what was there to worry about?

But this time, the Kirieloid had even managed to deceive Akane Teraji, which truly angered him. Then, when ordinary people died before him due to the Kirieloid’s rampage, a powerful sense of guilt ignited his fury to its peak.

So, he set aside the idea of just blending into the story and took action!

In his presence, the Kirieloid was not strong. Diga’s defeat was largely due to underestimating the enemy—not expecting the foe could also change forms, and ultimately suffering from the hellish miasma.

If not for Captain Jun Miwa in the original story, leading everyone to light up the darkness, Diga might have truly perished there.

Xie Jing had no need to worry about such things. He was light itself, with no three-minute limit, unafraid of darkness, and his light naturally dispelled it.

He defeated the Kirieloid, and then, gazing at the Gate of Hell, he wondered:

What would be inside? Devils? Ghosts?

Judging by the aura seeping from it, nothing good.

So, he opened the gate and cast in that concentrated point of light.

No one knew what happened. That night, only the shifting colors of the Gate of Hell could be seen in the sky, and there were hideous, agonized shrieks. Then, the gate vanished.

Years later, when humanity once again learned of the Gate of Hell, a lowly spirit in the underworld recorded the following account on a stone tablet:

That day, the wind howled and gloom reigned—a perfect day. The Ghost Emperor of Eplos from the Northern Shadow and our great overlord, Hahasanko the Soul Devourer, gathered at the Gate of Hell, the highest place in the underworld, to discuss invading the human world. It had been over fifty thousand years since they last tasted tender human flesh, and just the thought made their mouths water.

Both kings brought their followers. The eighteen Shadow Lords, the most powerful in the underworld, discussed how to deal with the power of the human world’s sun. As creatures of the underworld, light is what we most fear and dread—it is our greatest obstacle in attacking humanity.

The meeting lasted long; more than ten cups of blood-wine were drunk. Finally, it was decided: since the sun reigns during the day, we would strike at night.

The kings were delighted, convinced that, with every preparation made, they would finally feast on delicious human flesh once more. They held a great banquet. Unfortunately, my stomach was unsettled—the recent supply of mandrakes had been old—and I hid in my room with a stomachache.

The banquet was set outside the Gate of Hell, beneath the blood moon, with the kings and warriors celebrating their anticipated victory.

But then, tragedy struck. The Gate of Hell suddenly opened, and a point of light drifted in. Before everyone’s eyes, it exploded!

Sun-like radiance bathed all souls near the gate. The kings and warriors, caught off guard, were struck by sunlight at close range.

I felt the light too, but luckily I had hidden in my room…

When I returned to the Gate of Hell, there remained only the food and utensils from the feast. The kings and warriors… were gone.

My king! My king!

With the kings gone, chaos swept the underworld. No one was allowed near the Gate of Hell thereafter. As for humans… they are too terrifying…

My king, I long for your return—please grant me the strength to survive!

...

Of course, the stone tablet would not be discovered for many, many years. For now, as the Gate of Hell vanished and the sky returned to its former state, moonlight bathed the world in peace.

Everyone cheered, exulting for Diga and Xie Jing.

Seeing the fervent crowd, Xie Jing turned and soared to the other side of the sky.

As for Daigu, when Diga vanished into a point of light and his human form reappeared, the TPC personnel immediately protected him, keeping everyone at bay.

This battle had left him badly wounded; it seemed he would need many days of recuperation in the infirmary.

P.S. Dear readers, I have read all your comments! Also, I have revised many earlier chapters—if anything was unclear, feel free to go back and reread. And, if you would, please give a recommendation vote—the number of favorites has stalled.