"The device left behind by the Ultra-Ancient Civilization…"
Su Mo immediately recalled it. That was the very artifact left behind by Yuzare, the leader of the Ultra-Ancient Earth Defense Force.
"I see."
He nodded, then walked with Daigo toward the Victory Team's conference room.
As they entered—
"Su Mo, just in time!"
Captain Megumi Iruma's eyes lit up the moment she saw him.
"I was just about to call for you. Although we've managed to decode most of the message from that device, we're still unsure about its authenticity. We need your opinion as Chief Strategist."
When it came to matters involving aliens and kaiju, Su Mo often provided keen and accurate insights. Because of this, everyone on the Victory Team held deep trust in his expertise.
And beyond that, Megumi herself seemed to place a special level of trust in Su Mo—on a more personal level.
"I understand. Leave this to me," Su Mo said with a nod, wasting no words.
"Megumi, send me a copy of the translation."
"Alright!"
She was long accustomed to the way Su Mo addressed her. Without hesitation, she opened the file on her computer and activated the holographic projection.
A semi-transparent image of Yuzare emerged in the projection, followed by a series of garbled audio clips.
After extensive restoration, the chaotic audio had been converted into human language.
"Greetings. I am Yuzare, leader of the Earth Defense Force… Earth will soon undergo a series of catastrophic changes. The first signs will be the resurrection of Golza, the monster that shakes the earth, and Melba, the beast that tears open the sky."
"The only force that can save Earth from destruction is the giant sealed within the pyramid. That giant was once Earth's guardian… And the only way to awaken him is—%…%￥*"
The final line was interrupted by persistent static, completely masking the crucial detail.
"I tried everything, but I just couldn't clean up the last bit of noise," said Norui, the team's tech expert, looking rather apologetic.
"It's fine. You've done an excellent job getting this far," Su Mo reassured him, offering encouragement rather than blame.
As for the last garbled sentence, Su Mo—as a transmigrator—already knew exactly what it was.
—The only way to awaken the giant is to boil Daigo into soup.
No, that's not right. It's—
—Let Daigo become light.
Of course, now Daigo wasn't the only one capable of becoming light.
Even with all their power, the Ultra-Ancient Civilization couldn't have foreseen the arrival of someone like Su Mo—a man from another world.
"So, what do you think we should do?" Megumi asked, clearly relying heavily on Su Mo's judgment.
"The earth-shaking monster, Golza, has already appeared," Su Mo replied after a moment's thought. "If this prophecy is accurate, then another monster will appear soon. If we want to stop the kaiju, we need to find the giant—and the pyramid where he sleeps."
"So… you're saying you believe what the device says?" Megumi looked a bit surprised.
Dr. Kashimura, standing nearby, clearly disagreed.
"If we accept the device's claims, then we're also admitting that a civilization more advanced than ours existed in ancient times."
Hearing that, some of the other team members also seemed uneasy.
The idea that an Ultra-Ancient Civilization was more advanced than modern Earth was difficult for them to accept.
Daigo looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't know how to start.
At that moment, Su Mo spoke again.
"Why is it so hard to accept? Golza has already shown that our conventional weapons are ineffective. If we don't come up with another solution, we're just waiting to die."
"But still, believing that some ancient civilization was more advanced than we are now… that's hard to swallow," Dr. Kashimura retorted, clearly displeased.
As a scientist, she found it hard to admit that her world's scientific achievements could be eclipsed by people from millennia ago.
"Why can't we believe it?" Su Mo let out a quiet sigh.
"Is it really just your dull pride that won't let you accept the possibility that ancient civilizations might have surpassed modern technology? You think that's some kind of insult?"Shaking his head in disappointment, Su Mo scanned the group and said, "Everyone, weakness is not the obstacle to survival—arrogance is!""When we have no way to fight these monsters, we can't just abandon the only hope we have.""So here's my suggestion—mobilize everyone. We're going to find the pyramid, find the giants!"
Su Mo's words hit the group like a hammer, waking them up."Weakness isn't the obstacle to survival, arrogance is…" Dr. Kashimura repeated Su Mo's words slowly, chewing them over, a look of shame appearing on her face."Apologies, Chief Strategist Su Mo. I wasn't calm enough earlier. To dismiss the possibility just because of pride was unscientific."
"Ha ha, I feel the same. If the Chief hadn't shaken me awake, I wouldn't have dared to believe giants exist either," said one of the diggers, rubbing his head with embarrassment.
The others wore similarly sheepish expressions. It seemed that Su Mo's words had truly opened their eyes.Seeing how quickly the group changed their minds after Su Mo's words, Daigo felt happy and even more impressed by him. "No wonder he's a senior—just a few words and he can open people's minds. He's like a life coach."
Megumi smiled warmly, seeing everyone convinced.
"Alright, since we're all on the same page, the next step is to follow Chief Strategist Su Mo's plan. Our mission now is to find the pyramid and find the giants!"
Everyone nodded and began to carry out the task.