Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

Cui Ming kicked aside a piece of rubble, looked at the battlefield in the distance that had been mostly cleared, and couldn't help but sigh. To be honest, this first operation to deal with an ancient monster was quite a hassle—from the initial search for the Pyramid of Light, to Golza's sneak attack, to the sudden appearance of the Kirieloids to obstruct him, to Melba's temporary defection and subsequent sacrifice, and finally, only thanks to Yu Lian's interference with the Flying Swallow, was Tiga barely able to be revived. This series of twists and turns was more exhausting than when he was dealing with three ordinary monsters at the same time in other parallel universes.

Mainly because I'm tired.

He leaned against the assault vehicle, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the door, calmly assessing the current situation. But then again, there wasn't much to worry about with humanity's current level of technology.

The TPC's anti-monster cannons are powerful enough, and the Nix Assault mechs' mobility and firepower are sufficient to handle conventional threats. With the added support of the behemoth crane-arm mech, Vulga, they are more than capable of dealing with monsters like Golza and Melba, who rely purely on brute force. Even without Tiga's intervention in the previous battle, the sustained pressure from ground forces alone would have slowly whittled down the heavily wounded Melba.

But upon further reflection, Cui Ming couldn't help but frown. Some monsters are "mechanical monsters," such as those capable of manipulating human minds or possessing spatial teleportation abilities. These opponents are simply ineffective against technological weapons alone. No matter how powerful human artillery is, it can't hit targets that can instantly teleport; no matter how agile mechs are, they can't withstand attacks that directly affect the mind. In that case, they would still have to rely on Tiga, or other hidden forces of light. This is why he constantly reminded the troops to remain vigilant—they couldn't rely solely on weapons and equipment; they had to prepare in advance for unforeseen circumstances.

His gaze shifted towards the Pyramid of Light, his thoughts drifting to the two still-standing giant statues. This operation had at least two pieces of good news: the statues were intact, and Tiga had been successfully resurrected. But besides Tiga, there were two other statues. If a way could be found to unlock their powers, having two more giant allies would provide greater protection in the subsequent fight against the dark forces. But soon, Cui Ming shook his head slightly, knowing full well that the chances were slim.

The current situation is quite clear: after Daigo transformed into light and merged into the Tiga statue, humanity and Tiga were essentially bound together again. The future course of events essentially depends on whether humanity, with Tiga's help, can gradually grow and ultimately possess sufficient conviction and strength to confront the darkness slumbering in the depths of the Pacific Ocean—Gatanothor. This is more like a "test" left by an ancient civilization, and it cannot be easily changed by simply finding a way to unseal the other two statues.

Gatanothor: I think you can skip defeating me. I don't want to see that living father.

Of course, if these words were actually spoken to the TPC leadership, they would probably all be speechless—after all, Gatanothor is a threat capable of plunging the entire Earth into darkness, how could it possibly "not be defeated"? But Cui Ming knew in his heart that Gatanothor's terrifying aspect lay not only in its immense power, but also in the "dark erosion" it represented. If humanity and Tiga failed to forge enough conviction in each battle, even if Gatanothor was temporarily repelled, the lurking darkness would inevitably return sooner or later.

He pulled out his binoculars and glanced towards the Pacific Ocean, his expression instantly turning serious. Joking aside, the threats he had to face were unavoidable. The statue was now safe, and Tiga had been successfully resurrected; the first step in the fight against darkness had been firmly established, but the road ahead was long—the Kirieloids would likely not give up easily, Golza, who had escaped, might return, not to mention Gatanothor, the final "boss." For now, he could only proceed cautiously, step by step, remaining vigilant and carefully dealing with every potential crisis.

In the distance, Megumi Kijima was leading the GUTS team members over. Daigo rubbed his throbbing head, his face still showing obvious confusion, clearly not yet fully understanding his connection with Tiga. Cui Ming put away his binoculars, straightened up, and went to meet them, saying, "Don't just stand there, let's get back to base first. Also, we need to find time to discuss those two stone statues."

No matter how slim the hope of unsealing the stone statue may seem, we have to try first to know. After all, more power means more confidence in fighting against the darkness.

Watching the departing figures of Kijima and her group, Cui Ming tapped lightly on his communicator, his understanding of the situation becoming clearer—no matter how much help Tiga's resurrection brought, no matter how advanced human technology became, whether Earth could ultimately be protected still depended on humanity itself. The power of light, however strong, could not make choices for humanity, nor could it forever shield humanity from danger. This was a lesson learned from the ancient civilization, a truth Tiga had always understood.

But then he thought about it again and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile. As an old friend who had dealt with Tiga many times, how could Cui Ming not have noticed the other party's "little scheme" in reviving Tsukasa this time?
But this time it was different. Tiga merged Daigo's consciousness with his own will, retaining the powerful fighting force of light while incorporating human emotions and choices—simply put, making this fighting force "both light and human."

Cui Ming leaned against the assault vehicle, gazing towards the Pyramid of Light, as if he could see Tiga sorting through his consciousness within the stone statue. Tiga had probably long ago figured it out: since light cannot make choices for humanity, why not bind the power of light to the will of humanity, allowing them to participate in the process of "choice" while protected by light? In this way, humanity wouldn't lose its drive to grow due to over-reliance on light, and light wouldn't become cold and empty without humanity.

"That guy, still so cunning." Cui Ming chuckled softly, a hint of understanding in his eyes. He recalled the days when he fought alongside Tiga. Back then, Tiga always said, "The potential of humanity shines brighter than light." Now it seemed that Tiga had truly put those words into practice—not directly solving all threats for humanity, but rather, in a way that was "a union of light and humanity," accompanying humanity to face Gatanothor, finding their own answers together in the battle.

pretty good.

It seems my old friend has found his own path.
Well then, it's time to go back and make preparations.
Cui Ming really wanted to have a chat with his old friend, Ultraman Tiga.

(End of this chapter)