Chapter Twenty-Seven: Go, Da Gu!

“What was that sudden tremor?” As soon as Eri entered the Saidik Technology Company with Munakata and Horii, they immediately felt a brief but intense shaking.

“Lina, stand by in the air!” Shinjou was the first to notify Lina, who was piloting Victory Swallow II.

Shortly after entering the company, Horii felt his tracker vibrating.

“The same wave pattern… just like the sealed box.” Realizing this, Horii hurried after Eri, explaining as he went, “This pattern matches the sealed box—Dr. Tango has moved it here!”

“Then let’s split up and search!” Munakata was the first to decide. Captain Eri chose to head to the basement, Munakata continued searching within the company, while Horii went to pursue Dr. Tango.

“Tick… tick…” Following the tracker's display, Horii moved through the factory, finally stopping in front of a laboratory.

“So this place is actually a factory… What are they making here?”

As he spoke, he pushed open the door—only to trigger an infrared alarm. The blaring noise forced him to clutch his head and fall to the ground, where he saw Dr. Tango standing among various scientific instruments, watching him.

“Dr. Tango… what are you doing here?”

“Look around you… This is my castle!” Dr. Tango waved his hand with a smile. “Only Mr. Masaki Keigo truly appreciates my genius!”

“What exactly are you doing here?”

With a proud smile, Dr. Tango replied, “I am going to recombine the sand from the sealed box and then mass-produce it…”

“What are you talking about?” Horii asked in astonishment. “And why?”

Dr. Tango looked at him with disdain, pacing before him.

“Of course, it’s to replicate that giant statue.”

“What a monumental endeavor… This way, we can create countless Ultramen!”

Horii didn’t believe him. In fact, none of them did—everyone thought it was impossible to manufacture an Ultraman. Such power was not meant for humans to wield.

“You honestly think something so foolish is possible?”

“Foolish!?” Dr. Tango spun around, his face twisted in a snarl. Enraged, he shouted, “You call me foolish? Then let me show you my achievements!”

He turned to the control panel, operating it before looking back at Horii, arrogance in his eyes. “Look! My masterpiece!”

Horii approached in shock, asking, “What is this glowing Diga?!”

Meanwhile, inside the cavern, Daigo stared in disbelief at the radiant giant. “How can this be possible?!”

The giant slowly lowered its head. Above it, the cave’s ceiling opened wide, letting in beams of light. It became clear that Masaki Keigo had transformed the cavern into a secret base, allowing the giant to exit directly into the human world.

As the exit opened, Captain Eri, making her way through the basement, felt a powerful tremor. She grabbed the wall to steady herself, narrowly avoiding a fall.

The giant ascended through the opening, soaring into the sky. At that moment, it appeared right before Victory Swallow II. Lina, startled by the sudden appearance, blurted out almost instinctively, “Diga!”

“What?” Shinjou, seated at the weapons console, craned his neck to see.

“…Wait… something isn’t right.”

Daigo gritted his teeth, desperate to try again. He had to retrieve the Spark Lance to prevent things from spiraling further out of control.

“Why… why can Captain Hayate do it, but I can’t?”

Summoning his courage, he stepped into the arc once more. But in the next instant, blue electricity struck him, and the searing pain hurled him back to the ground.

“Am I… truly unfit to become the light?”

Lost in thought, his gaze landed on the little dog’s body lying peacefully ahead. Daigo crawled over, gently stroking its fur.

“I’m nothing… I’m just a useless person…”

But in the next moment, a golden glow blossomed from within the dog’s body, as if something had awakened it. In Daigo’s astonished eyes, the dog’s remains transformed into light particles, which slowly floated into the monster statue, lighting up its colorful timer on the chest.

“So you were the giant’s companion… Please, I beg you—go stop it!”

In the laboratory, Captain Munakata finally arrived. The first thing he saw was Horii, and behind him, Dr. Tango, still rambling on about his grand achievements.

“Even ancient humans, though they had Ultraman, were destroyed. Ultraman couldn’t prevent their doom… so…”

“So! We must not let the same fate befall us!” Horii turned to glare at Dr. Tango, furious. “Dr. Tango, is this what you call science? So shallow? How can you rely on powers you do not understand!?”

“Shut your mouth!” Dr. Tango could not tolerate anyone belittling his accomplishments. Enraged, he retorted, “One day, someone in TPC will understand—will pursue Ultraman’s power, just as I do!”

“Where… is this place?”

Elsewhere, Captain Eri followed the basement passage into the cavern. Still reeling from shock, she found Daigo collapsed on the ground.

“Daigo, are you alright? It looks like something just flew out of here.” She quickly helped him up, but her communicator buzzed at that moment.

“In Kumamoto City, an Ultraman and a monster have appeared. But this Ultraman seems strange, not like Diga. So far, neither side has caused any destruction. Captain, please advise!”

“That monster… it’s searching for its master, whose heart has gone astray.” As Eri hesitated, Daigo spoke softly.

“It wants to bring back its lost master…”

After a moment’s thought, Captain Eri issued her orders: “Do not engage for now. Let’s observe the situation first.”

With that, she helped Daigo to his feet. “In any case, we must leave here quickly!”

“Wait!”

“I want to stay!” Daigo looked back at the Spark Lance on the altar, his resolve unwavering. “There’s still something I must do!”

Captain Eri looked at him in confusion but said nothing.

“Please… just go ahead and leave!” she heard as she watched Daigo. In that moment, he seemed almost unfamiliar to her. After a hesitant step closer, she finally relented. “Alright… but you must come back!”

“I promise.”

Captain Eri nodded solemnly, drew something from her belt, and handed it to Daigo. “This… is from Hayate.”

Daigo gazed at the cube in his hand—the Alexander Star he’d once seen, the very one Tetsuya had last been turning. Now, only one step remained to complete it.

He made that final twist, and from the Alexander Star, Tetsuya’s voice emerged.

“Daigo, we are not the same as other people, just as Masaki Keigo is different. Some people are born with a calling. Both he and I have envied you—so useless, yet granted such immense power. Do you understand? It’s as if fate is toying with us, gifting that to you. So please, don’t blame us for trying to take it. We’re only fighting against destiny.”

“I don’t know what I’ll become. I can already feel my heart losing its way. I want power like yours, to protect the Earth alongside you, but in a different form. My first attempt failed… but there will be a second. I, Hayate, never give up, and I know you don’t either. If, in the end, I obtain the light but lose myself—if I bring disaster to this world—then destroy me, in another form.”

“Go, Daigo—don’t hesitate any longer. Accepting this power means accepting responsibility. I know you’re not yet ready; you haven’t had the time to grow into it. But he and I can wait no longer. He’s waited over twenty years… I’ve waited nearly ten. So, Daigo, you must grow up at this moment. Walk through the arc—go, reclaim your power!”

Daigo put away the Alexander Star, gazing silently at the Spark Lance on the altar…

“I must do what I can—as a human, to do what only a human can.”