Ultraman Gaia.
The name "Gaia" was proposed from name Daigo itself.
The "Ga" came from his own name—Daigo—while "aia" was added to match the naming style of Ultraman Tiga. Daigo seemed rather pleased with the result. (T/N – It supposed to make sense in Chinese)
What confused him, though, was the odd expression on the Chief Strategist's face when he agreed. For a moment, it looked like... he was holding back laughter?
Truthfully, Su Mo was trying not to laugh. Ultraman Gaia—that name brought back memories from his childhood.
He clearly remembered a time when he had bought a bootleg DVD from a street vendor. It claimed to be a new Ultraman series and starred a human-sized warrior who could change forms and defeat all kinds of enemies. It was unlike any of the towering Ultraman shows he'd seen before. No giants, no massive kaiju—just a human-sized hero fighting equally human-sized villains.
He was hooked.
Later, after growing up and browsing the internet, he discovered the truth: what he had seen wasn't Ultraman at all—it was Kamen Rider. But because the bootleg disc had been mistranslated, they'd given it an Ultraman name: "Ultraman Gaia."
The memory made Su Mo chuckle. And now Daigo had chosen that exact name for himself.
He didn't have the heart to correct him.
With the names of the two new Ultramen—Tiga and Gaia—now officially settled, the day's meeting concluded.
As the rest of the Victory Team left, only Su Mo remained in the command room. Five minutes later, Daigo returned, holding his phone in hand.
"Chief Strategist, I'm here."
Su Mo had messaged him privately, asking him to come back after the others left. Daigo would have returned anyway—even without the text. The events of the day had left him shaken. The ancient giant statue, his transformation into light, the battle with the kaiju… it all felt like something out of a dream.
And the one person who might have real answers was standing in front of him. But just as Daigo was about to speak, Su Mo gestured for him to wait. He turned and pressed a button on the ancient time-machine-like device in the corner of the room.
A beam of light shot out, forming the familiar image of a white-haired woman. Her figure was now perfectly clear, and the garbled audio that had plagued them earlier was completely gone.
"There is only one way to awaken the giant," the voice declared.
"That is… for Daigo to become light!" This time, the message was delivered loud and clear.
"What?" Daigo turned to Su Mo in shock. "So that line really was from this message?"
Su Mo remained silent and gestured for him to keep listening. This time, the message didn't cut off. The woman—Yuzare, Commander of Earth's defence forces from the Ultra-Ancient era—continued speaking.
"Daigo, you possess the genetic legacy of the Ultra-Ancient Giants. That's why you can become light—and awaken the giant." Daigo stood frozen. It wasn't just the mention of ancient DNA that surprised him.
It was something else— "Wait, you can talk?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"I thought you were some kind of pre-recorded projection!" Yuzare smiled faintly.
"This is indeed a time-travel communication device, but it also contains a highly advanced AI system. I'm interacting through that." After the explanation, she tried to continue her previous message.
"Daigo, the giant you can transform into—his name is—" But before she could finish, Daigo interrupted excitedly.
"Gaia, right? Of course I know! That's the name Chief Su Mo gave me!"
"The giant's name is T—wait, what?" Yuzare's expression froze. Her eyes twitched slightly, unsure whether she had just misheard him.
"Yes! Gaia!" Daigo beamed. "Chief Su Mo said it suits me well!" Yuzare was completely baffled. She quickly composed herself and asked, "Can you show me your transformation device?"
Daigo reached into his pocket and pulled out the crimson Sparklence. Yuzare took one look and shook her head.
Her voice grew tense. "No… this isn't right, that's not Tiga's transformation device!" Everything was going off-script. At this point, Daigo pointed at Su Mo beside him.
"Are you talking about the Chief? Is he Tiga Ultraman?"
Only then did Yuzare turn to properly observe Su Mo—and the transformation band on his wrist. Her expression froze. Though Su Mo's device didn't look like the Sparklence, the blue gem in the center and the gold pattern around it matched Tiga Ultraman's chest markings perfectly.
If she wasn't mistaken, the one who had transformed into Tiga Ultraman… wasn't Daigo, the only person with ancient giant warrior DNA, but Su Mo—the man she had assumed was an ordinary human.
"How is this possible?" Yuzare asked, stunned. "You don't have the warrior's gene. How could you become Tiga?" That was supposed to be impossible.
Only one person with the right genes could become an Ultraman. Among the three statues found in the pyramid, Tiga's was the most intact, the only one that couldn't be easily destroyed by monsters. She had assumed that Daigo, with his gene, would awaken Tiga. But the facts before her now completely defied her expectations.
Daigo also turned to Su Mo with curiosity. He didn't understand all the details, but one thing was clear: only someone with that ancient gene should be able to transform. So how had the Chief done it?
Meeting their eyes, Su Mo gave a calm smile—he had been waiting for this moment.
"It's true," he said. "Only those with the ancient warrior gene can naturally become light. But… does that mean ordinary humans absolutely can't?" Yuzare was taken aback by the question. She fell into deep thought, searching through her databanks.
"It is theoretically possible," she finally admitted. "But only extremely rare cases—like children with pure, untainted hearts, completely free of selfishness—might manage to become light."
"Generally, adults lack that kind of spirit. It's almost impossible." She paused, then added, "Unless that adult is either… a saint… or a true hero." As the realization struck her, Yuzare turned back to Su Mo, her eyes wide with disbelief—and admiration.
There could be only one explanation. If this man, lacking the ancient gene, could still become an Ultraman… then he must possess the kind of soul that transcended humanity.
This man named Su Mo—his inner light was on par with that of a saint. A true hero. Yuzare had never expected that such a noble figure would appear in Earth's future. And the moment she realized that… everything changed.
The moment she realized the truth, Yuzare immediately acknowledged the new Ultraman Tiga of this era. No one could compare to a human who had become light through sheer strength of will alone. Not even Daigo, who bore the genetic legacy of the Ultra-Ancient Warriors. Before this noble soul, even Daigo's heritage seemed to pale in comparison.
It was no wonder, then, that Ultraman Tiga had not chosen the one with ancient warrior blood. Instead, it had chosen this man—Su Mo. A modern-day saint. A hero born of the present age. Truly, he was worthy of Tiga's power.
Standing beside her, Daigo heard every word of Yuzare's assessment. He had always held deep respect for Su Mo as a commander and mentor. But now, that admiration surged to entirely new heights. Only now did he begin to grasp just how remarkable his superior truly was.
A man whose character could be spoken of in the same breath as saints and heroes—that wasn't a compliment one heard every day. It was a rare, almost sacred recognition.
Daigo's gaze shifted toward Su Mo, his eyes filled with reverence—as if he were looking at a spiritual guide, a lifelong role model. It was admiration, pure and unshakable. Su Mo blinked, visibly caught off guard by the intensity of their stares. He hadn't expected this kind of reaction.
Sure, he'd orchestrated things to some degree—but he never imagined it would lead to such reverence. Wasn't becoming light supposed to be... well, kind of normal? After all, in the original storyline, didn't the entire world become light in the finale? It wasn't that special, was it?
Surely, not everyone who turned into light was automatically a hero or a saint, right?
Besides, he remembered clearly—three astronauts had also turned into beings of light after a tragic accident in the original. Those three had managed to suppress the monsters' instincts using only their own willpower. If anything, calling them heroes wasn't exaggeration—it was perfectly fair.
Sensing Su Mo's inner thoughts, Yuzare quickly clarified, "If someone is passively transformed into light—drawn by circumstance or external forces—then no, they wouldn't be seen this way. But if a person is able to transform of their own volition, purely through the strength of their heart…"
She looked directly at Su Mo, her voice filled with certainty. "Then no matter who they are, they deserve to be called a hero."