The Earth Is Vast, Embracing All Things; the Earth Is Small, Unable to Hold Two Peoples in Harmony

Gazort was a variant of the Lightning People. It had formed when countless Lightning People merged and transformed under the influence of electromagnetic waves.

The attack of the layered beam hadn't completely destroyed it. Amid the scattering particles of light, a few lucky survivors struggled to swim toward their homes.

But compared with Gazort's enormous body, these Lightning People were remarkably few.

Swimming through the scattering particles of light did give them a sort of filter effect. The few who had just arrived, and were practically blind, called them angels.

Anyway, Zhou Hong didn't think they looked like angels at all. If they'd said Zog was an angel, he could've agreed—at least that would prove everyone's eyes were working.

No matter how he looked at the Lightning People, they just looked like, well, that thing.

Jostar had appeared so quickly that Gazort was already dead before Horii could come up with a way for the two sides to communicate.

Still, Horii didn't want Dr. Mizuno's research to go to waste. While sorting through the materials, he discovered that the Lightning People had their own language.

With the help of the black-tech language translator, Horii translated the Lightning People's voices from the recorded footage and finally understood.

The Lightning People could communicate, but they couldn't understand one another. There was no reconciling the relationship between humanity and the Lightning People.

"Since the Lightning People have descended to the ground once already, could there be other cases like this among the many Lightning People around the world? Or could they be scaring planes right out of the sky?"

After safely returning to headquarters in the Sky Hopper 1, Zhou Hong muttered these words. In an instant, he jolted nearly everyone awake.

The matter was immediately reported to Director Sawai, who was away on a business trip. This kind of major issue was far more important than some "trivial matters."

Director Sawai summoned Obiko in the middle of the night and had him transport him back to TPC headquarters. Though it was already well past midnight, he promptly called together the members of GUTS.

Being woken in the dead of night by a bald, elderly monster was a pretty awful experience. Everyone's drowsiness vanished in an instant.

When Director Sawai saw them arrive in the GUTS Command Room, bright-eyed and alert, he nodded slightly.

"I've read all the analysis reports concerning the Lightning People." Director Sawai paused to think, then continued, "The Lightning People's descent from the ionosphere to the ground is no longer an isolated occurrence, in my opinion."

"Modern society simply can't function without electrical appliances, so there's no way we can stop electromagnetic waves from being produced."

The logic was simple. Once you got used to cooking rice in a rice cooker every day, burning firewood wouldn't be a practical choice anymore, even if the rice did taste a little better that way.

And then there were the cars people used to get around. No one could expect them to walk the several miles to work every day.

Or imagine imposing a one-hour daily limit on adults' phone use. There'd be plenty of people ready to bring down the Lightning People.

Some people might think the Lightning People's presence in the ionosphere would serve as Earth's best line of defense or something. That was just wishful thinking.

Without undergoing electromagnetic-wave-induced mutations, the Lightning People couldn't transform into Gazort. The idea that they could protect Earth was nothing but a joke.

And reducing the use of electromagnetic waves would mean giving up most of our weapons.

"But, Director, wasn't Gazort created by the electromagnetic waves we use?" Rena immediately challenged him.

Director Sawai understood how Rena felt. He wasn't like Director Yoshioka, whose mind was consumed by defense. If it were possible, coexisting with the Lightning People would be an excellent choice.

"Coexistence is what I want, too. But we have no other choice. Humanity can't give up using electromagnetic waves, and the Lightning People will keep falling to Earth."

"As the times change, electromagnetic waves will inevitably reach one peak after another. The Lightning People, unable to endure them, won't just sit back and accept their fate."

Having witnessed the changes in the world, the old man had long considered the issue from every angle. The more he thought about it, the more he saw the tense relationship between humanity and the Lightning People.

"This time it was Dr. Mizuno's research plane. What about next time?"

Director Sawai's expression was grave. Even an old man who had always yearned for peace couldn't accept the threat of monsters descending from the sky and attacking his family at any moment.

The ionosphere surrounded the Earth, which meant the Lightning People were spread across the entire planet.

That meant as long as the Lightning People existed and nothing changed about how we used electromagnetic waves, they would keep descending and causing destruction.

From now on, every passenger plane that took off would have a sword of Damocles hanging over it. The ground wouldn't be safe, either.

After weighing all the possibilities, Director Sawai understood that only one could remain: humanity or the Lightning People.

To Director Sawai, protecting humanity weighed more heavily than protecting other living things.

Rena was clearly at a loss for words.

She didn't really agree, but reality was right there in front of her.

"The threat from the Lightning People is right before us. GUTS needs to remain on wartime footing and be ready to deploy against monsters at any time."

"Yes!" they answered in unison, their voices echoing through the Command Room.

Obiko's voice rang out especially loudly from beneath the table, startling everyone.

Director Sawai was about to leave to hold a meeting. Just as he reached the door, he suddenly turned back. "Oh, and the final decision regarding the Lightning People will be made by the senior leadership at their meeting."

After saying that, Director Sawai didn't linger.

In truth, he had already given Rena the answer. But this was also a small comfort he could offer her.

Daigo gently patted Rena's shoulder. She met his gaze and gave a slight shake of her head.

"Rena, Daigo, you two should go home and get some rest. Shinjoh and Horii can take tonight's shift." Megumi Iruma smiled warmly at the pair.

Shinjoh and Horii stared wide-eyed at their captain. They raised their hands, then fell silent, unable to say a word.

The two of them left the Command Room together, looking close. A sour, lovey-dovey atmosphere soon spread through the room.

"All right, don't look so miserable, you two." Megumi Iruma smiled at the pair, who looked ready to cry. "There's still plenty of work to do tonight."

"If you're bored, you two can go repair the first plane," Munakata said, as expressionless as ever.

Neither of them moved. Their backs were practically glued to their chairs as they began organizing the files on the computer, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

"Yazumi, sorry to trouble you. Please ask the Space Development Bureau to keep a close eye on changes in the ionosphere."

"Understood." Yazumi, the night owl, was even more energetic after dark.

The starry night was still long.