When he heard Yuzare's words, Su Mo paused to think it through carefully.
—To transform into light during a special event and passively transforming into light.
In the original storyline's final act, when the entire world turned into light, that was indeed the case. Those children who became light at that moment only had that one opportunity, and they never manifested that power again.
By that logic, even Daigo was initially someone who had been called upon to become light. It was only to prevent Tiga's stone statue from being destroyed that he was chosen by the light. After that, it was through the Sparklence that he transformed. Masaki Keigo also required both the transformation device and the ancient warrior gene to become light.
So, taking all this into account, there really weren't many beings in the original series who transformed into light by their own willpower. Aside from those three astronauts who became beings of light and suppressed the monsters' consciousness with their own, there were also the original Giants of Light who chose to leave their statues and depart Earth in light form.
From this perspective, someone who could become light purely through their own will truly deserved to be called a hero—or even a saint.
There was just one problem. Neither Yuzare nor Daigo knew that while Su Mo could indeed become light through his own power, the way he did it was entirely different from what they were imagining.
"Hmm…"
After a moment's thought, Su Mo decided not to correct their misunderstanding. After all, explaining how he manipulated photonic elements was too troublesome—and besides, this misunderstanding worked in his favor.
So, he simply put on a calm expression and said, "I see. I didn't realize transforming into light was such a rare thing." His tone was light and nonchalant, as if he truly didn't care for the praise.
Seeing this, both Yuzare and Daigo admired him even more.
As expected of someone capable of willingly becoming light. The fact that he remained so humble in the face of such accolades only made him seem more dignified and noble. Looking at their increasingly awestruck eyes, Su Mo could almost see them mentally elevating him into sainthood. It was a little amusing, honestly.
Shifting his gaze to Daigo, Su Mo asked, "Daigo, I assume you have a lot of questions about the Giants and the monsters, right?"
Daigo nodded. "Yeah."
That was exactly why he'd come to Su Mo—he wanted answers.
"I've more or less understood how the Giant's statue was revived," Daigo continued. "It's because I carry the genes of the ancient warriors that I can become light. But you, Chief Strategist… it's because of your heroic will that you can transform purely on your own, and in doing so, you revived the Giant."
He wasn't a fool. After everything he'd heard, he was starting to piece it together.
"But I still don't get the rest," he said, scratching his head, clearly struggling to follow it all. "Like… the origin of the Giants, the monsters, the ancient civilization—they're all still a mystery to me."
Su Mo nodded thoughtfully. "That's exactly why I called you here. To dig deeper into these things."
He then turned to Yuzare.
"If what Yuzare says is true, then we're talking about a lost civilization, one far more advanced than modern society… and it was completely wiped out."
Yuzare's face twitched slightly, as though a painful memory had resurfaced. But before she could respond, Daigo frowned.
"If that kind of civilization really existed," he asked in confusion, "why did it fall? I mean, just look at modern humanity—we're building bases on the moon! It's hard to imagine a civilization like that being completely destroyed."
"Maybe it was the monsters," Su Mo said casually, then turned to Yuzare.
He knew the real reason, of course, but he couldn't let that show. It was better to let her reveal it herself.
"As the former Commander of Earth Guard, you should know," he said to her.
"It was the monsters," Yuzare nodded.
"Monsters?" Daigo echoed with a puzzled expression.
"The Giant in the pyramid—you had them in your era too, right? If monsters showed up, wouldn't the Giants have taken them down? Or are you saying even the Giants couldn't defeat them?"
A civilization being wiped out by monsters… it wasn't impossible. But for there to be monsters even the Giants of Light couldn't stop—that was something Daigo hadn't expected.
Yuzare quickly shook her head. "In our era, there were far more Giants than today. They stood united, and few monsters could stand against them."
In the ultra-ancient past, there had been hundreds of Giants of Light. Ordinary monsters didn't stand a chance against them.
"Then how?" Daigo asked, now completely lost. "If you had more Giants back then… how could your civilization still fall?"
"Because," Yuzare replied with a sad shake of her head, "those Giants were beings of light… and light does not interfere with humanity's choices."
That cryptic answer left Daigo even more bewildered.
What was that supposed to mean?
He was about to ask for clarification, but Yuzare chose to say no more.
"…."
Daigo finally understood why people hated cryptic speakers. If you're going to say something, say the whole thing! Don't just drop a mysterious sentence and go silent!
Frustrated, he turned to Su Mo in desperation. He hoped the Chief Strategist would press her for more. After all, Yuzare clearly respected him—he might get more answers out of her.
Just as Daigo was about to speak, Su Mo thoughtfully nodded to himself.
"Oh, I see now."
He looked as though he'd just reached a grand revelation.
Wait, what?!
Daigo was stunned.
Chief Strategist… what exactly did you just "see"? Yuzare didn't actually say anything useful just now!
Was it his own comprehension that was lacking?
After already doubting his combat ability in giant form, Daigo was now beginning to question his intelligence.
Why was it that he was the only one who didn't understand anything?
Before Daigo could voice his confusion, Su Mo calmly explained, "Yuzare admitted that the ultra-ancient human civilization was wiped out because of the monsters. But not because the Giants were too weak to defeat them."
"In other words… the Giants could have destroyed the monsters—but they chose not to."
"Combining it with the latter part—'Light does not interfere with human choices.'"
"It becomes easy to deduce that the ones who stopped the giants from slaying the monsters… were humans themselves."
Hearing Su Mo's analysis, Daigo instinctively felt a surge of doubt. "How could humans possibly stop the giants from eliminating monsters?" He simply couldn't imagine such a scenario. Weren't monsters supposed to be humanity's enemy?
But at that moment, Yuzare spoke. She looked at Su Mo with a face full of surprise, clearly not expecting him to arrive at the truth so quickly. "As expected from someone who can become the Light himself!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with admiration. Then, with a slight nod, she confirmed it, "That's right. Back then, it was us humans who rejected the help of the giants."
Her words confirmed that Su Mo's speculation was indeed accurate.
Daigo, who had just been proven wrong in an instant, stood there utterly dumbfounded.
So even that was something the Chief Strategist had already deduced?
Gulp! He nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva. At this moment, he was finally certain of one thing—Chief Strategist Su Mo truly was a living legend.
"It seems the matter has more layers to it than we thought." Su Mo nodded calmly. He already knew the answer and had no intention of prying further. "Humanity bringing about its own downfall… well, that's quite the ironic ending." He sighed lightly, then shifted his gaze back to Daigo. "So now, this is the situation we're dealing with."
"Once human civilization advances beyond a certain point, it inevitably draws the attention of monsters. Only by overcoming these monsters can humanity continue to survive. The downfall of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization was the result of failing to pass that trial. And now, as beings who possess the power of giants, our mission is to defeat these monsters and reclaim the future of mankind!"
In just a few sentences, Su Mo dispelled all of Daigo's confusion and explained not just the reason behind the monsters, but also the purpose of the giants' existence.
"Understood!" Daigo, now fully enlightened and no longer lost, gave a firm nod. He had been completely won over by Su Mo's vision and strength of conviction.
Seeing Daigo's response, Su Mo gave a satisfied nod. It seemed this young warrior had finally been brought into the fold.
"Since we're fighting monsters, the way you've been handling things up till now simply won't cut it." Su Mo said with a faint smile.
"...Yes, sir!" Daigo's face flushed red with embarrassment as he recalled his previous performance. Compared to the Chief Strategist's dazzling achievements, he had basically been getting beaten up the whole time.
"There's no need to feel ashamed. You simply haven't mastered your power yet." Su Mo reassured him gently before continuing, "But, to better wield the power of Ultraman Gaia, starting today, you'll begin intensive training. Ultraman Gaia's red color scheme suggests he's a power-type Ultra. In that case, learning close-combat techniques will greatly enhance your abilities."
Listening to Su Mo's detailed analysis, Daigo's eyes lit up. As expected of the Chief Strategist! Even before he himself had figured out his own abilities, Su Mo had already mapped out the path to becoming stronger. How thoughtful could one person be?
What's more, Daigo himself had always loved martial arts. Being able to train in that area again was like a dream come true. He patted his chest with enthusiasm. "Don't worry! I definitely won't let you down, Chief Strategist!"
The young Daigo made this earnest promise. At the time, he still had no idea—just how grueling Su Mo's so-called "training" was going to be.