Entertainment: You're asked to make a graduation project, but you're asked to film Ultrama

Chapter 311 The Light of Redemption, an Unending Sorrow

"Boom—!"

Violent tremors came from deep underground, as if some ancient beast that had been suppressed for a long time was awakening.

The ground throughout the village began to tremble violently, and large swathes of trees collapsed.

Kondo, who was already severely stimulated by the underground penetrating bullet fired by the defense force, had the remaining artificial bacteria in his body completely out of control at that moment, causing a terrifying mutation.

The swamp, which had already dried up and cracked due to the appearance of the monster, suddenly collapsed downwards.

Immediately afterwards, countless thick, slimy, and foul-smelling mud tentacles, like thorns bursting from the earth, violently tore the ground apart.

A gigantic mud monster, covered in black sludge and emitting a nauseating stench of radioactive contamination, suddenly appeared in the twilight!

Mud Monster Tschkeira!

No, he wasn't some born demon at all; he was a pitiful man, Kondo, who was tormented into a monster by humanity's ruthless war machine and ambition!

"roar--!"

A deafening roar shattered the tranquility of Mingshui Village at dusk.

Completely losing his mind, Kondo's eyes gleamed with a ferocious crimson light as he dragged his massive, hill-like body toward the village inhabited by humans.

No, it's more than just a village...

There is also the site of an old-era biological research institute that has been converted for public display and is now used as evidence of past crimes committed during the invasion of China!

The image gives a close-up here:

[Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit: Former Site of Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army]

The towering trees along the way were easily snapped in half by those thick tentacles, and sturdy houses were crushed like fragile cardboard under the giant feet, turning into ruins.

Kondo is getting closer and closer to the source of evil that brought blood and tears back then!

The live stream chat exploded with comments, and the viewers' emotions were gripped by the sudden outburst.

[Holy crap! How did it suddenly grow so huge and go berserk?! Wasn't it just calmed down by the music box?!]

[Didn't you read the plot carefully? There's a harmful reaction spreading underground! It's radiation contamination left behind by the defense forces firing penetrating bombs underground!]

How ironic! Back then, Kondo was turned into a monster by those utterly depraved high-ranking Japanese military officers using biological weapons. Now, decades later, he's been driven completely berserk by the contamination from a penetrating underground bomb launched by humanity itself!

[What a disaster! In the last episode, they just blew Tiguris out with a missile and beat him to death, and now the radiation contamination in this episode has driven Kondo, who has always been well-behaved and harmless, insane!]

This close-up gave me goosebumps! This monster doesn't actually want to hurt the villagers! What it wants is to destroy the source of its past suffering...

But leaving this source of evil here, so that future generations will remember what happened, is what truly matters.

This monster was also a pitiful victim! What's most disgusting is the time he was forced to do live experiments!

On the screen, the wind howled and dust flew everywhere.

Standing not far away, I dreamt of looking up at the enormous monster that was relentlessly destroying the village, his eyes filled with endless pain and turmoil.

My dream knew the monster's true identity better than anyone else, and it knew even better the terrible torment this poor man had endured.

That was a dark period of history that cannot be described in words.

However, as an Ultra Warrior who protects the Earth and humanity, he could not stand idly by and watch innocent villagers be trampled into mincemeat by this irrational monster.

"Is this... the aftereffects of an underground penetrating bomb...?" I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists tightly.

There was no time to hesitate any longer. I suddenly pulled out the Blue Sapphire Cone and raised it high.

"Light that guides my Earth, please appear!"

A dazzling red light shot into the sky on the twilight earth, dispelling the dust that filled the air!

"Gaia—!"

As the sun set, a giant slowly solidified and walked towards the swamp.

Ultraman Gaia's massive red and silver body stood firmly between the Mud Monster Kondo and the evacuating village.

The blood-red afterglow of the setting sun mercilessly bathed Gaia's body, but this scene did not bring the hope of a hero's appearance as it usually did; instead, it was filled with a deep, suffocating desolation.

Gaia assumed a fighting stance, used Mach Shift to approach the monster, and then kicked Kondo out of the village's vicinity.

His hands trembled slightly as he looked at the fallen monster.

Faced with those Root Destruction entities that attempt to invade Earth, or those brutal cosmic monsters, Gaia can strike without hesitation and tear them to shreds.

But faced with this kind scientist who should have been upholding his principles, yet was tortured into a monster by the demons of his own country, Gaia was filled with reluctance. How could he bring himself to kill him?

Viewers in the live chat could also see Gaia's helplessness.

Gaia hesitated! I bet he can't bring himself to do it either.

How do we fight this battle? Just kill him? Kondo has been tortured by humans for decades, what did he do wrong?

He deserves to live! He should tell the Japanese people that this is the consequence of their past misdeeds!

But if we don't fight it, the villagers will suffer. The main problem is that it's a huge, living pollutant; it's a completely unsolvable dead end.

[I'm guessing Meng is feeling worse than anyone else right now; she doesn't know whether to fight or not.]

However, Gaia's hesitation did not bring peace.

Kondo, the Mud Monster, had completely lost his mind; his mind was filled only with endless rage and destructive desire.

He suddenly swung several huge tentacles, bringing with them a nauseating stench, and lashed them fiercely at Gaia in front of him!

"Bang--!"

Sparks fly!

Gaia barely managed to raise her arms to block, but was forced back dozens of steps by the extremely violent force.

Kondo roared and pounced, his countless tentacles dancing wildly like a madman, quickly surrounding Gaia and tightly binding her limbs and neck.

The powerful tightening force caused Gaia to let out a painful groan, and the color timer on his chest quickly began to flash rapidly red.

Gaia struggled fiercely, but he still held onto his ultimate move tightly, daring not to use any destructive beam attacks for fear of causing irreparable and fatal damage to Kondo.

He could only rely on his physical strength to struggle against the endless stream of tentacles.

As a result, Gaia was constantly at a disadvantage, suffering repeated defeats and having no chance to fight back.

[Sigh, if only Gaia could restore light to its cells.]

[The person opposite me is a pitiful soul being subjected to live experiments by these beasts; how could I possibly kill him?]

This battle was so frustrating to watch, and so heartbreaking; everyone involved suffered a tragic fate.

Just as Gaia was locked in a fierce battle, on the other side, with the rapid arrival of support from the XIG forces and the Lightning Squad, human fighter jets began to circle in the air to keep watch.

On the ground, the armed forces had also arrived, all pointing their guns intently at the mud monsters that were wreaking havoc ahead.

Just at this time.

"Stop! Don't shoot!"

A heart-wrenching scream, filled with endless despair, abruptly interrupted the troops about to open fire.

It's Hirano!

The white-haired old man suddenly unleashed an astonishing strength, managing to rush to Wei Weike's side.

He stumbled and ran there, spread his arms, and used his thin body to shield himself from the gun barrels.

I beg you!

Tears streamed down Hirano's face as he looked at the soldiers preparing to launch an attack. In a daze, he seemed to see again the ruthless Japanese high-ranking officers who had forced them to conduct live experiments decades ago.

But the refugees in those villages reminded him of the innocent ordinary people of Xia Kingdom decades ago…

He was hallucinating...

History repeating itself completely broke the old man.

His legs buckled, and without any dignity, he knelt heavily on the sandy and muddy ground, kowtowing desperately.

"Please, he's still alive! Please forgive him! I'm begging you on my knees!"

The old man's forehead slammed heavily against the stone, drawing blood instantly.

Crimson blood mingled with murky mud flowed down, and the heart-wrenching cries for help sounded so small, yet so terrifying, amidst the rumbling of fighter jet engines and the roars of monsters.

The audience's defenses were completely breached at that moment.

The scene of the old man kneeling and kowtowing brought tears to my eyes.

He had guarded his old friend by the swamp his entire life; how could he bear to watch his friend be cruelly murdered again by human weapons?

He wasn't begging the Lightning Team; he was atoning for the sins of the demons who committed evil decades ago!

Wei Weike looked at the old man kneeling on the ground, his head bleeding from kowtowing, and tried to help him up: "What's wrong with you, Mr. Hirano! He's completely lost his mind, he doesn't recognize you at all! Hurry up and leave! Hurry up and leave!"

The other two immediately rushed forward, grabbing Mr. Hirano from both sides and trying to forcibly drag him away from this dangerous position.

"Let me go! Kondo!"

Old man Hirano struggled violently, and with his muddy hands, he pulled out the old music box and an old photograph with yellowed and curled edges from his bosom.

The photo shows the young and handsome Kondo, his gentle and beautiful wife, and their daughter Chie, who is wearing a kimono and has a bright smile.

That was the happiest moment for the family of three.

The old man suddenly broke free from the soldiers' restraints, unleashing his last bit of strength, and charged recklessly toward the most dangerous core of the battlefield at the monster's feet!

"Mr. Hirano! Danger! Come back quickly!" XIG's team members shouted anxiously from behind.

But the old man ignored the shouts behind him.

He struggled through the flying rocks and raging air currents until he reached a high slope closest to the Mud Monster.

A powerful gale, carrying foul-smelling mud, nearly blew his thin body away, but he remained standing ramrod straight.

With trembling hands, he wound up the music box and held it high above his head.

A crisp, sorrowful, yet incredibly familiar music box melody suddenly and clearly rang out on this chaotic battlefield filled with the aura of death.

This piece of music accompanied Kondo, who was hiding at the bottom of a dark lake, for decades. It was the only remaining bond of humanity between him and his deceased daughter.

"Kondo——!"

Old man Hirano's voice pierced through the smoke of battle, carrying a power that penetrated to the very soul, "Wait! Kondo—!"

The mud monster, which was tightly strangling Gaia's neck with its tentacles and preparing to kill him, suddenly stiffened its massive body.

A flicker of confusion and clarity seemed to suddenly appear in those ferocious and chaotic eyes.

"Kondo! Become the person you used to be!" Old man Hirano cried out hoarsely, holding up the family photo of the three of them. "I know it's all our fault! Please forgive us! Become the person you used to be!"

The old man's call was like a sharp sword piercing through endless darkness, striking the deepest part of Kondo's heart, the soul that had been sealed away.

The melody of the music box echoed in the air, as if telling a story of an irreparable regret.

The video interspersed several brief yet impactful flashbacks of heartwarming memories.

Beneath a tree where cherry blossoms were fluttering in the air, a little girl named Chie, dressed in a kimono, was running happily among the petals.

Young Kondo and his wife stood side by side under the tree, their faces beaming with the purest and happiest smiles in the world.

"dad……"

A faint, childlike voice called out softly in Kondo's mind, which was filled with madness.

The mud monster's enormous and ugly body began to tremble violently.

The tentacles that had been wrapped around Gaia's limbs and neck slowly loosened as if they had lost their power, and hung limply on the ravine-strewn ground.

He regained consciousness.

On the screen, the camera slowly zoomed in, giving a huge close-up of the Mud Monster's twisted and hideous face.

In those huge, bloodshot eyes, a single, turbid, heavy tear, brimming with endless sorrow, slowly slid down.

The tear fell heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The monster is crying.

The screen was filled with a frenzy of emotion and indignation at that moment.

I'm completely overwhelmed. Tears are streaming down my face.

The monster wept! Though he had been transformed into a disfigured monster, deep down, he was still his human father!

[The music from this music box is absolutely amazing! The melody gives me goosebumps the moment it starts.]

He thought of his daughter, Ji-hye, and of his home, utterly destroyed by the evil war.

[What an amazing dramatic scene! It brought me to tears with its incredibly powerful emotional tension!]

Ultraman Gaia knelt on the ground, clutching his chest and panting heavily.

Looking at the monster that had stopped attacking and was just standing there weeping, I also heard the sad music carried on the wind.

Those at the distant air base also witnessed this scene...

"The monster... is crying..."

Li Muzi's eyes also reddened.

"Such sad music..."

Georgie stared blankly at the scene.

However, inside the swamp, even if Kondo regained some consciousness due to the severe poisoning, it was to no avail; his tentacles continued to attack Gaia.

However, the intensity this time is much less than before!

I slowly stood up. He knew it was time to end all this suffering that had lasted for decades.

But it's not about erasing through destruction, but about redeeming and transcending.

Gaia gathered power in both hands and transformed into the Supreme One!

Then, he struck a pose with the same skill animation as the Photon Stream.

But it wasn't a photon stream; instead, it was a soft, warm light full of life!

Gaia slowly extended both palms, releasing a strange stream of light filled with purifying and soothing power.

The warm light, like a gentle spring breeze and soft rain, gently enveloped Kondo's enormous mud monster body.

Under the illumination of this sacred light, the radioactive contaminants caused by the underground penetrating bomb, and the biochemical artificial bacteria that had tormented him for decades, began to melt and disintegrate rapidly, like ice and snow under the scorching sun.

Kondo's ugly body gradually shed its muddy appearance in the light, becoming translucent.

He was no longer that terrifying mud monster.

In the dazzling yet soft light, a semi-transparent human silhouette dressed in a white lab coat slowly emerged in mid-air.

That was Kondo's original self, the kind, principled, and unyielding young scientist who would rather die than submit.

The pain of torture and the rage of mutation were gone from his face; only endless calm and a sense of relief at having seen through everything remained.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Ultraman Gaia standing in the sunset.

"Thank you, Ultraman, for being willing to save me... this sinner..."

Kondo's gentle and grateful voice echoed softly across the empty battlefield.

Then, he turned his gaze down to the old man Hirano, who was standing on the high slope, his face already wet with tears and sobbing uncontrollably.

Two close friends from decades ago, after more than half a century of inhuman torture and separation by life and death, finally meet again as human beings, separated by space.

"Thank you, Hirano."

Kondo smiled, his eyes filled with deep gratitude and longing, "Because you've always been by my side, I haven't lost my heart."

Old man Hirano's dry lips trembled, and he clutched the photo tightly in his hands. He was crying so hard that he couldn't say a word, but he kept nodding, as if he wanted to etch this last look into his mind forever.

Kondo's phantom image was about to dissipate.

"Now……"

Kondo slowly raised his head, looking at the clouds in the sky dyed red by the sunset, his eyes filled with endless tenderness and anticipation. "I'm going to Chie's place now."

"Thank you, Hirano. Thank you..."

With a final, heartfelt thank you, Kondo's phantom transformed into countless dazzling, multicolored points of light.

These points of light, like the brightest fireflies on a summer night, slowly rose into the sky under the gentle caress of the breeze, eventually merging completely into the magnificent sunset.

This human tragedy, which had troubled Kondo for most of his life and tormented Hirano for most of his life, finally found its most complete release in Gaia's gentle light.

The battlefield returned to its former tranquility.

Only a gentle breeze swept across the wilderness, rustling up wisps of sand.

The viewers' comments also became uniform at this moment.

May you rest in peace, Mr. Kondo.

[Finally free. Go to heaven to be with your daughter, Chie. There, there is no communism, no war, and no biological experiments.]

[Gaia's purifying light not only cleansed the pollution but also liberated the souls of the departed, elevating the entire theme.]

The moment I saw him transform back into his human form, I completely broke down in tears and sobbed uncontrollably.

This is true redemption! How daring is Gu Nan to film this? Such profound anti-war sentiment!

The scene slowly zooms out, and the camera's perspective begins to rise.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire devastated land a desolate yet magnificent golden hue.

Old man Hirano sat alone on the now calm swamp bank. His head was slightly bowed, and in his calloused hands, he tightly clutched the yellowed photograph.

In the photo, the smiles of the family of three are as bright as they were decades ago, as if time has never left any cruel marks on them.

On the soil next to the old man, the old music box had completely stopped turning and lay there quietly, having completed its life's mission.

The old man sat quietly on the shore, like a weathered statue that had witnessed the vicissitudes of time, lonely and sorrowful.

A cool evening breeze blew by, ruffling the old man's snow-white hair.

The old man slowly raised his head, his cloudy eyes looking at the empty swamp before him, as if piercing through the screen and watching all the viewers of this era.

With boundless sorrow, grief, and a heavy sigh for history, he slowly uttered the line that had been hidden for decades, the very core of the entire story:

"As long as people are unaware of their mistakes, war... will not stop."

The image freezes at this moment.

The stirring yet deeply sorrowful end credits song suddenly rang out during this scene.

Episode 39 of Ultraman Gaia, The Swamp of Sorrow, marks the official end of the main story.