By the time the late-night meeting of senior officials ended, the sun was already high in the sky. The old men could barely keep going, but they still forced themselves to stay alert as they returned to work.
Staff Officer Minami, who was relatively young, was still full of energy. Early that morning, he went to GUTS to tell them what had been discussed at the meeting the night before.
"The meeting last night decided that the Lightning People posed a threat. For everyone's safety, unnecessary air travel will be reduced. Every plane that takes off will be escorted by aircraft dispatched from the local TPC branch."
The moment Staff Officer Minami said this, Horii, who had been fighting off sleep, immediately perked up.
"Will we be using ships for long-distance travel?" Horii asked.
Staff Officer Minami nodded. "It's a necessary measure to ensure the public's safety."
Ships were far less comfortable and took much longer than planes. As they had already discussed, once people got used to something convenient, being forced to go back to the old ways was bound to draw complaints.
Horii understood that this was only a temporary policy. As taxpayers, people would keep demanding that the Lightning People be wiped out as soon as possible to protect their own interests.
Staff Officer Minami continued, "We can't coexist with the Lightning People. And with TPC's current weapons, we don't have enough firepower to deal with them. To prevent another tragedy like what happened to Dr. Mizuno, we can only keep things at a standstill for now."
The Guts Wing 1's firepower wasn't enough to deal a fatal blow to Gazort. Of the equipment currently available, only the Guts Wing 2's Texas Cannon had sufficient firepower.
Although the Guts Wing 2 was a medium-sized fighter and had been mass-produced, it was still relatively rare worldwide. The same went doubly for its ultimate weapon—the Texas Cannon.
After a night of reflection and preparation, Rena had already braced herself for the answer, but she was still deeply saddened when she heard it.
Kindhearted as she was, she hoped that all living things on Earth could get along peacefully.
Ideals were beautiful, but reality was always cruel.
Rena also knew that the longer the policy restricting electromagnetic waves remained in place, the more people would choose to wipe out the Lightning People, since the restrictions had already seriously affected their lives.
The man currently training like a madman naturally had no idea any of this was happening.
At that moment, he was happily swinging a barbell, pleased with himself for bringing two true lovers together.
Mayumi and Kumo's love was the kind not even death could separate. It was true love, the kind even the FFF wouldn't target.
The fierce gusts of wind made everyone else at the training ground shiver. They couldn't understand why the vice-captain was so excited today.
Still, they were happy to get through the day without being beaten up.
After he punched the patched-up punching bag to pieces once again, it was time to get off work.
To avoid disturbing the public, TPC's Far East Headquarters had been built by the sea. The area around it was quite remote, though, and a long way from the city.
Unlike his job at the construction site, when the workday at TPC ended, Zhou Hong took a transport plane to the transfer station on the shore, then caught a ride home. By the time he got there, it was already dark.
Apart from Grandma's house, the neighborhood had been filled with towering buildings. Streetlights spread their glow, lighting Zhou Hong's way.
Near the house, the lights came to an end. The newly replaced incandescent bulb at the old house shone through the courtyard, leaving only scattered patches of shadow.
He walked past the dimly lit stretch and saw an old woman sitting by the doorstep.
After countless failed attempts to persuade her, Zhou Hong saw the old woman get to her feet.
He scratched his head helplessly. "Grandma, you don't have to wait for me. Eat early and then get some rest."
"At your age, it's important to eat on time."
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm still young!" Grandma said as she set the reheated food on the table. "I haven't been waiting long. You came back just in time."
If the electricity bill he'd paid this month hadn't gone up so much, Zhou Hong might have believed her.
Perhaps she'd considered his tastes when cooking. Grandma had steamed rice to different levels of softness, and most of the dishes were meat—not the sort of food older people usually preferred.
Zhou Hong let out a long sigh inwardly. Every meal made him feel the warmth of family.
And yet, even though Zhou Hong believed Daigo would gather the light and overcome every enemy, he was growing increasingly afraid of what the future held.
What would happen if no miracle came? If they couldn't defeat those enemies?
I have to get stronger! Stronger! Stronger!
He shoveled the rice into his mouth in a few quick bites. The hearty eater finished in no time, then hurried to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
He quickly took care of the chores around the house and rushed back to his room.
Nexus slowly turned around, and Jostar met him with a blast of Over Ray Schtrom.
The surging stream of faith shone brilliantly in this space of light.
The answer to that stream of faith was another stream of faith.
Jostar needed only a brief moment to charge up. The energy waves of their Over Ray Schtroms burst into dazzling light between them.
The surging energy echoed through the entire Space of Light. Golden particles of light danced like sprites, making the whole space shimmer.
As they fought, the two seemed to sense each other's emotions through the light. At the same time, they stopped firing their beams.
"You've mastered all the skills I've taught you so far. It's time to move on to the next stage of training."
Nexus had once transformed into Noa, after all. Even after using Over Ray Schtrom, his Color Timer hadn't flashed.
But Jostar had no time to pay attention to that, because a spinning disc of light came hurtling toward him.
It was a skill he'd seen countless times before.
The Ultra Slash!
He'd considered using a beam to counter the Over Ray Schtrom, but when he saw this skill—one that often seemed to fail but was still terrifyingly vicious—he had no intention of trying to withstand it with his body.
After seeing the terrifying things Ace could do, Jostar knew that even if it didn't hurt him, it would definitely hurt like hell.
His burly body leaped into the air, dodging the Ultra Slash.
"Such a sturdy physique. Looks like I've found a promising trainee." The owner of the Meat Processing Plant appeared behind Nexus.
Well, Ace was only 40 meters tall, so he had to crane his neck to look up at Jostar.
At 77 meters tall, Jostar made the two Ultras look like an adult and a child. That was, if not for Ace's deep, resonant voice.
"You can't call me a promising trainee anymore, Senior Ace."
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