Gaia

[Are you there? Are you free? I'll give you power, can you come save the world?]

"Give me power? Then I'll arbitrate through all eternity!!"

"BOOM!!!"

A deafening roar instantly shattered the peaceful serenity of Chiba Prefecture, Tokyo.

The teaching building of Sōbu High School shook violently, its glass shattering to pieces amid ear-piercing shrieks.

Yukino Yukinoshita slumped against the corner of the third-floor hallway, surrounded by panicked teachers and students in complete chaos.

Her eyes, which usually held a cold and rational clarity, were now filled with deep fear and powerlessness.

Three kilometers away from the school, a giant beast over sixty meters tall, its entire body covered in dark red rock armor, tilted its head back and let out a roar that shook the clouds!

Ultra-Ancient Monster--Golza!

Every step taken by its mountain-like massive body triggered a small, localized earthquake.

The Chiba Prefecture Disaster Prevention Broadcast shrieked: "Citizens, please immediately follow staff to evacuate. This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!"

Command headquarters.

"Mr. Prime Minister! An unidentified giant creature has appeared in downtown Chiba Prefecture! Over fifty meters tall! It is moving north!"

"What about the Self-Defense Forces?! Have they sortied?!" The Prime Minister's voice had already changed pitch.

"The Self-Defense Forces have arrived! But... airborne missiles are completely ineffective!"

On the huge surveillance screen, Golza swung a massive claw, and an attack helicopter burst into a ball of fire in midair.

Someone in the conference room let out a stifled sob.

"Impossible... This is impossible..."

The Minister of Defense stared fixedly at the screen, lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

Meanwhile, all television stations in Tokyo simultaneously cut off their normal programming.

"Viewers... We are now... We are now interrupting with emergency news..."

The NHK anchor's face was pale, and the manuscript clutched in her hands shook violently.

"A giant creature has appeared in downtown Chiba Prefecture... The government has issued the highest-level evacuation alert..."

Social media exploded completely.

[What the hell is that in Chiba???]

[A monster. It's really a monster. I'm not joking.]

[My family is still in Chiba!!!]

[Where are the Self-Defense Forces? Where is our military?!]

[They were shot down... The helicopter was swatted to pieces by a single slap...]

[It's over. Everything is over.]

Panic spread like a plague.

At Tokyo Station, the crowds surged toward the ticket barriers like a flood. People tripped; people screamed as they trampled over others.

"Let me through!!"

"Don't push! Stop pushing!!"

"Mom!!"

The Shinkansen announcements repeated mechanically: "Due to the Chiba Prefecture state of emergency, some trains will be delayed..."

At the Shibuya crossing, the massive screens also broadcast the same imagery.

Tens of thousands of people stopped in their tracks, tilting their heads up to watch the giant beast destroy everything on screen.

Some covered their faces and wept, while others collapsed onto the ground.

"Is this a movie promotion? It's a promo, right?"

Golza simply waved a massive claw impatiently, and the violent hurricane it kicked up swatted the helicopter out of the air like a fly.

Then, a purple beam gathered from the monster's head and swept directly across the neighborhood.

In an instant, skyscrapers turned into a sea of fire amid the intense heat and shockwave!

"What on earth... kind of monster is this..." Yukino muttered in despair, human civilization looking practically as fragile as a joke in front of this disaster-like giant beast.

Meanwhile, on an overpass several hundred meters away from Golza.

A slender young man stood at the edge of this purgatory-like ruin.

Lin Xiao, an ordinary person who had transmigrated to this mixed-anime everyday world for ten years.

When he first transmigrated, he was very happy. After all, he knew a girl named Eriri, and he could become a plagiarist later on, ideally even developing a relationship with a beautiful girl.

Until one day in a dream, he arrived in a red space and saw that indistinct red giant.

Lin Xiao: "..."

Oh no, it's the filial son of the earth. Won't monsters be coming next, too?

Copying literature while meeting the heroine had to be put aside for now.

Until Golza appeared today, he heard the voice of the earth.

That came from the earth right beneath his feet.

It was the anger and lamentation issued by this planet, which had nurtured countless lives, when facing foreign fierce beasts that wantonly destroyed.

And he resonated with this "Earth's Will" as never before.

Ten years of hard cultivation and development... just waiting for today.

A red light appeared before his eyes, and a voice rang out in his heart.

[Do you want to protect all of this?]

Come on, light! I've been waiting for this day for a long time.

Hum!!!

A red pillar of light, dazzling to the extreme, gushed out from the depths of the earth at Lin Xiao's feet!

This pillar of light soared straight into the clouds, with an unstoppable momentum, instantly dispersing the all-encompassing gloom shrouding the skies over Chiba Prefecture!

Roar?!

The rampaging Golza instinctively felt a fatal threat originating from the depths of its bloodline.

The next second.

Within that crimson pillar of light connecting heaven and earth, a figure so colossal it was breathtaking crashed heavily toward the earth!

Rumble!!!!!

The moment that fifty-meter red-and-silver giant heavily stepped onto the ground, the soil and rubble beneath his feet surged into the sky like a tsunami, kicking up a full hundred meters high!

Ultraman Gaia had descended!

A violent annular shockwave swept outward.

Even from Sōbu High School several kilometers away, Yukino Yukinoshita could clearly feel the earthquake-like, violent tremor coming from the ground.

Yet bizarrely, when that flying dirt and giant boulders fell all over the sky, they were as gentle as feathers, failing to injure anything within the ruins.

It was as if this giant possessed absolute control over this land.

"Is that... a god?"

Yukino stared blankly at the red giant slowly straightening his posture amid the dust and light.

Looking at the giant's back, as heavy as a mountain range, Yukino's heart, which had been beating wildly from fear, miraculously calmed down.

At this moment, everyone who saw this giant had a single name pop into their heads:

"Light Giant—Ultraman Gaia."

At this time, Lin Xiao, standing tall upon the earth, was feeling the vibrant and mighty power within his body.

This is the power of Ultraman...

With every breath he took, he resonated in synchronization with the earth beneath his feet.

[Ding! Host transformation into "Earth's Light" detected, life-form level undergoing a leap!]
[Multiverse Chat Group System activated!]
[Congratulations to the host for automatically becoming the group leader!]
[Dark Knight of Gotham joined the chat group.]
[The Underdog Who Wants to Be Hokage joined the chat group.]
[Smile Under the Wisteria Flowers joined the chat group.]
[Snow Queen of the Service Club joined the chat group.]

Lin Xiao looked at those four extremely familiar nicknames popping up on the virtual panel.

Batman? Naruto? Shinobu? And... Yukino Yukinoshita?

This chat group? It certainly picked a timely moment to arrive.

[This Is Basically a God]: Hello everyone, currently transforming into the Light Giant to fight Golza, going invisible for now.

The chat group could wait.

Right now, he had to use this reckless ultra-ancient monster before him to test what kind of power this body named "Ultraman Gaia" truly contained!

The red giant sharply clenched his hands in front of his chest and strode menacingly toward the roaring Golza.

The earth trembled wildly in his wake!