Your Kaiju — Chapter 317

The transport plane from Monarch's 92nd Outpost lifted off over Siem Reap, Cambodia, banking toward headquarters somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle.

"Relax. The awakened Titans have been dealt with."

"They're all sleeping soundly again."

Natsuki sat against the cabin wall in his floral shirt, Monarch-issue phone in his left hand, chopsticks in his right. He was working through a Cambodian fish amok while a plate of pork rice and spring rolls waited their turn, managing the call with Dr. Ishiro Serizawa between bites.

"I saw. Thank you for your timely assistance." Dr. Ishiro Serizawa's voice carried genuine relief from the other end.

If Godzilla had handled this alone, the result might have been roughly the same , but the casualties in between would've been a different story entirely.

"Burp. Don't mention it. We'll be working together plenty more after this." Natsuki cleared the last of the food he'd pocketed on the way out, let out a long satisfied belch, and rubbed his slightly rounded belly as he spoke.

A few Titans down. The masterminds pulling the strings were still out there.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Natsuki — have you sorted out the time limit problem?" Dr. Ishiro Serizawa asked.

Every battle so far had exposed the same critical issue: the giant couldn't stay active on Earth for more than a few minutes.

Three minutes was enough to work with. But who wouldn't want more?

"More or less."

"Some special training. I've found a way to fully integrate with Earth now." Natsuki looked at his palm and flexed his hand loosely, twice.

The Earth's Protection. It let him move freely across the planet without restriction.

This universe's Earth hadn't developed a conscious will of its own , not yet. But it still granted Natsuki something, fed him a quiet current of energy, as though it had already made its decision. He was Earth's guardian now. Properly. Officially.

To human eyes, nothing about him would look different. But to the Titans? Natsuki read as one of their own. He could let his light shine openly and not a single ancient instinct would flag it. He was native. Earth-born. As far as they were concerned, he'd always been here.

When Godzilla and Mothra had spotted him earlier, both of them had stopped cold. Completely baffled.

The Earth's Protection. Remarkable thing.

If he ever made it back to the Land of Light, and Seven found out...

"I'd kill to see that guy's face, heh..." Just picturing Seven's expression — all that envy he'd try and fail to hide , was enough to pull Natsuki's mouth into a grin without him even trying.

That Alien Babar would never have seen this coming. This wasn't the kind of connection just anyone could build.

My love for this planet puts yours to shame, Seven.

"...Seven is?" Dr. Ishiro Serizawa's puzzled voice came through the line.

Natsuki caught himself. The call was still connected.

"Ahem. Nobody. Just someone I'll be settling a score with eventually." He steered past it quickly. He'd laugh about it properly once the whole mission was wrapped up. For now, patience. It wouldn't be much longer.

While the two of them talked, the other Monarch personnel aboard kept sneaking glances at Natsuki.

So this was the Ultraman. The one who'd saved multiple cities. The one some people were already calling a symbol of hope.

He looked... not quite what they'd expected.

A lot less, actually.

Wasn't a being this mysterious and powerful supposed to carry some kind of gravity? Some sense of presence?

Mr. Natsuki gave off the distinct impression of a man who had absolutely no business being this hard to take seriously.

"Um... could I maybe... that is... a photo..."

A young technician from the 92nd Outpost edged closer, laptop clutched to her chest, voice trailing off uncertainly.

He was an alien. He could probably level everyone on this plane without breaking a sweat. And yet the whole time he'd been sitting here, he'd been so completely, disarmingly relaxed that she'd found the nerve to ask.

"Sure." Natsuki didn't even hesitate. He leaned over, held up a peace sign, and waited for the shot.

She was new , couldn't have been on the job long. Still had that careful, unguarded quality that hadn't quite worn off yet. Black-framed glasses. She looked like she'd just walked out of a university library.

"...Th-thank you!" She nodded quickly, cheeks flushed, voice bright. "Not just for the photo. For saving the city. You're a hero."

It wasn't just her talking. Every Monarch member on that plane felt it, and so did the people in those cities , anyone who had stood in the street and watched a giant step out of the light to stand between them and something that would have killed them all. That didn't leave you. You carried it.

The hero of light had left a mark on this world's story. People who had been barely holding on now had something real to hold on to.

"I'm not a hero."

"I'm just a guy who acts on what he believes in." Natsuki smiled at her as he said it.

A true hero wouldn't have people they couldn't save. He'd lived long enough to know the gap between the word and the reality. He had stopped losing sleep over labels a long time ago. He just wanted to live simply, openly, without dragging too much weight behind him.

The phone rang before she could respond.

He answered. Dr. Ishiro Serizawa came through sharp and clipped: "An unrecorded Titan has appeared in X Port!"

Natsuki's expression settled.

"No — it's not a Titan. It's a mechanical construct." Dr. Ishiro Serizawa stood in the central observation room at headquarters, frowning at the footage: something massive tearing out of the APEX mountain facility in a wall of fire and metal. "Godzilla is already moving toward X Port. This thing is man-made."

"APEX."

It clicked. Natsuki's first battle in this world , that MUTO. APEX had built it.

So they were finally done pretending.

"The last target is probably sitting inside that organization."

"Good. I'll take care of it all at once."

He yanked his seatbelt free, pushed up from his seat, crossed the cabin to the hatch, and raised one arm. Light swallowed him whole. He shot up through the hatch and into open sky, a streak of brightness climbing fast above the clouds.

He'd had a good meal. Time to work it off.

There were always people who reached for power they couldn't control. It never ended differently. The power turned on them, and then something bigger came to finish the job.

With the Earth's Protection settled into him, its light and the bracelet both working through him, his strength had climbed back to roughly ninety percent of his peak. He didn't have the sprawling library of techniques he'd once carried. But what remained was sharper. Cleaner. And especially after pushing through that forbidden move, something in him had cracked open. His Specium Ray was already somewhere it had never been before.

He cut across the sky toward X Port, trailing light.

Time to see what this Mechagodzilla could do.

➤ Next: First Meeting — Clash