The Transmigrator Who Came Knocking

It was dinnertime.

Raleigh entered the cafeteria, filled his tray, and was about to find somewhere to sit.

When he turned around, he saw countless pairs of eyes staring at him.

Eureka Striker's pilot team... Crimson Typhoon's pilot team... Cherno Alpha's pilot team... They watched him without saying a word.

But at that moment, he could already hear what they were thinking.

He knew that, to most of them, Gipsy Danger's mistake had been far more than a simple technical error. They had nearly died in this base.

He was no longer welcome. Their eyes said it all.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and find a seat." Just then, a familiar voice rang out beside him.

He looked toward the voice.

Dressed in a floral shirt, Natsuki held two trays in his hands, with another six floating behind him. He was waiting for Raleigh to find somewhere to sit first.

Nobody in the base seemed particularly surprised by Natsuki's casual use of psychokinesis. They had grown somewhat accustomed to having an eccentric alien around. He had saved their lives during the afternoon's test, and that was enough.

"I..." Raleigh hesitated.

Honestly, he no longer felt like eating in the cafeteria.

He knew he had made a mistake, and he understood why they didn't welcome him.

But the atmosphere made him deeply uncomfortable. He wanted somewhere to hide, at least for a little while.

"Or should we go outside?" Seeing his discomfort, Natsuki made the suggestion before he could speak. "Sometimes a change of scenery makes the food taste even better."

"It's the novelty."

With that, Natsuki headed outside first, six floating trays trailing behind him.

Raleigh froze for a moment at those words.

A tangle of emotions weighed on his heart. Unable to put them into words, all he could say was, "Thank you."

Even after witnessing his mistake firsthand, this guy hadn't turned his back on him.

He followed Natsuki out of the cafeteria, leaving its oppressive atmosphere behind.

On a steel walkway in the Jaeger bay.

The two set their trays on the floor and chatted as they ate.

"So... the marshal decided to have Shaolin Rogue take Gipsy Danger's place."

"That's a reasonable decision." The news left Raleigh deeply disappointed, but he also understood that it was the best choice they could make right now.

"From here on out, we'll have to count on you. With your strength, I'm sure you'll finish the fight quickly. Maybe by noon tomorrow, I'll hear that it's all over."

Raleigh looked at Natsuki and forced a smile as he spoke.

"Or maybe things won't go that smoothly."

"My primary mission on Earth is to investigate the cause of the abnormal spacetime fluctuations."

"As things stand, I'll have to venture deep into the Precursors' territory," Natsuki said, holding his tray as he considered his mission.

The only intelligence he currently had was that the Leatherback connected to the abnormal spacetime fluctuations had come from the Precursors' world.

The environment over there was certainly worse than Earth's. Honestly, if not for his mission, Natsuki really wouldn't have wanted to go.

"Marshal Stacker's rushing things a little too much. If you ask me, we should wait another two days before carrying out this plan."

"One night isn't even enough for me to pack up all the Earth food I want."

The Kaiju in this world weren't all that strong. They couldn't compare to the Kaiju he had fought before. He had already decided how he would beat answers out of those creatures once he reached the Precursors' world.

"Even if I can't take part in this operation, as long as we can end the apocalypse, that's the best ending anyone could ask for." Raleigh raised a can of beer toward Natsuki. "Here's hoping everything goes smoothly."

"Thanks." Natsuki raised his beer as well.

He couldn't get drunk, but sampling flavored drinks now and then was still pretty nice.

Twelve years had changed countless things. Countless people had lost their homes, and countless people had endured untold suffering.

The Kaiju and the Precursors had ravaged this world, leaving it riddled with scars. If this apocalypse truly ended, everyone would cry out in relief.

Tomorrow, they would set out carrying those hopes, staking their lives on one desperate battle to end the apocalypse, even if no one believed they could succeed.

At midnight.

Natsuki lay on the bed in his lounge, his left arm tucked behind his head and his right arm raised.

The Bracelet on his wrist glimmered in the artificial moonlight.

[Two choice missions settled]

[Current hell-level mind space training duration: 8 hours]

[Begin training? Yes/No]

Natsuki looked at the words on the Bracelet's translucent screen.

One corner of Natsuki’s mouth curled up.

"You fooled me last time. I'm not making that mistake again."

"Training? To hell with training!"

"This time, I won't even sleep. Let's see what you can do to me!"

For every trick, there was a better counter. Today, Natsuki was going to have a proper showdown with Hikari.

If I don't even sleep, can you drag me into training all the way from the Land of Light?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

Going without sleep for a day wouldn't affect him much.

Let's see what else you've got this time.

Natsuki stared at the Bracelet without so much as blinking, his expression full of defiance toward Hikari.

"Oh, right. I should show you something good I learned on Earth."

As he spoke, Natsuki pulled his other hand out from behind his head and flipped the Bracelet the middle finger, making his contempt unmistakable.

And so, Natsuki locked himself into a standoff with the Bracelet. If the moon stayed up, so would he. Even if the moon went to sleep, he wouldn't.

"I told you, you don't need to help me anymore, Hikari..."

The long night passed, moment by moment.

Late that night.

Wearing a white lab coat, Albert left his laboratory.

As he walked through the empty steel corridor, his face beneath his silver-rimmed glasses was exceptionally grave.

The sound of his boots striking the steel floor rang out clearly. He passed through one corridor after another, steadily advancing toward his destination.

"Ultraman... just like us, he's a being who was never supposed to appear in this world."

"Perhaps he appeared right after us precisely because we came here," he murmured to himself.

He was still analyzing the identity of this uninvited guest.

"No matter what... this is my last chance."

At last, he arrived in front of a door.

This was one of the lounges in the Shatterdome Base.

Natsuki's lounge.