Above Your Head

Vol 2. Chapter 111: The Salvation of God (48)

As always, Gwanghwamun Square was bustling with people, though it was completely different from just a few months ago. Currently, more than 95 percent of those left on Earth possessed Justice Weapons, and the entire human race consisted of players.

Gwanghwamun Square was full of various Beast-rank and Human-rank gigas. Not only that, but the players were holding gigantic railguns, plasma hammers, laser swords, and other high-tech weapons that humans could not replicate with the current technology. Naturally, all of these weapons were only loaners. The players would have to return the weapons after the stage ended. In order to purchase the weapons outright, they would have to pay an equivalent sum in rare metals and mana stones. However, only a very few players at the top could afford to pay the required amount.

“You’re not going to arm yourself?”

“Why would I bother? What could I possibly do in level 19? I’ll just be a burden to those who are clearing… I’ll just watch it play out in the cradle.”

“But don’t you think it’s a waste? You’re a swordmaster too, right?”

“It’s impossible for a fake swordmaster like me to do anything, whether or not I’m riding on a gigas. I’ll get one-shot by a level 19. Ha… Even though I fought in the stage for more than a decade, I guess I still had my limits.”

People could see numerous gigas standing proudly throughout Gwanghwamun Square. It was truly an overwhelming sight, but… Could any of the players actually clear stage 19 on their own? In fact, clearing the stage was only possible with the help of a mythical hero named Iron Mask, who was helping clear the stage with his clones (which surprisingly reproduced his immense controls!). Moreover, the number of people who could clear the stage with his help was surprisingly small as well. Even if Iron Mask’s clone was strong, its power stemmed from the techniques and skills it possessed. It could not defeat the enemy in a single attack, which meant that a drawn-out battle was inevitable. If the players did not possess the ability to cling onto their lives, it would be impossible to clear the stage.

If the enemy decided to ignore Iron Mask’s clone and killed the player, the stage would end regardless of the clone’s status.

“Oh, it’s time.”

The surroundings slowly became darker as the players conversed. The temperature was also dropping gradually, and the chill could be felt in the air.

The time was almost 7 P.M.

7 o’clock was a significant moment for all of humanity. The players tightened their grip on their weapons and boarded their gigas.

6:59:50.

6:59:51, 52, 53…

Finally, 7:00:00.

“…Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“What the heck?”

Gwanghwamun Square became engulfed in a moment of silence before the crowd began to stir. Unlike what was expected, the people had not been dragged into the stage.

“…What is this?”

Min-kyung had been waiting near Geunjeongjeon Hall, riding on one of the 30 Human-rank gigas on Earth, King Sejong. Her eyebrows wriggled at the unexpected event. The players surrounding her were clearly taken aback as well.

”My queen, the stage.”

“I know.”

Min-kyung checked the device on King Sejong. It was 7:00:13.

‘It’s past the start time, so why hasn’t the stage begun?’

Something like this had never occurred before. But naturally, the stage would not end so easily. Without transporting the players to a separate space, the stage started.

- Stage will be opened!

- Level 19. Difficulty is set at hard.

- Eliminate 20 unstable space monsters within 100 hours.

- Stage will begin in 10 seconds.

- 10. 9. 8. 7…..

A holy sword embedded in the ground suddenly appeared in front of the players. The familiar sight frightened the players.

“What the hell? Why is this appearing here?”

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

The holy sword plucked itself out of the ground.

“It’s coming out of the ground by itself…?”

“No, what kind of nonsense is…!”

- The system will be updated in part.

- Stage abandonment will be deleted. Even if players do not participate in the stage, they will not be given the Death Procession.

- Stage will be integrated with external world!

- All timelines will be unified!

Guwoooh!

Guwwwwoooooo!!!

“My god.”

Min-kyung’s body and King Sejong began to burn brightly. Human-rank and Beast-rank gigas not only differed in their output and equipment, but also the fact that Human-rank gigas possessed one unique ability. Obviously, even a beast-rank gigas might have the same function if it possessed an iron heart, but… Human-rank gigas possessed an ability that was unique to the person it was modelled after.

Min-kyung involved the ability, Korean Manuscript [1]

“We shall not be put out of action!”

The power of True Command combined with the ability covered the players, while tens of millions of cracks appeared in the dark sky.

Gwuoo!

Guowng!

Guooooo!

Ugly monsters resembling whales began to pour down from the cracks. The number was beyond count, but each monster was over 20 meters in size. The entire sky seemed to be filled with monsters.

Moreover,

Gwuoooo--!

Guoo---!

A fluttering gray light began to appear in the mouths of the countless monsters. Min-kyung recalled that they were enemies belonging to level 19 of the stage.

This meant that each of them was on par with the powerful Spector Dragon Raffley.

“No…”

As she groaned, hundreds, thousands… No, millions of monsters breathed down destruction.

***

As soon as the monsters let off rays of destruction, the ground opened up and thousands of huge iron walls soared up to cover the city like a shield. The sudden movement was on a scale that could not even be imitated on Earth. Such wasteful usage of metal was only possible in the Unique World, which was entirely created from metal. The numerous gray beams of destruction collided into the metallic barriers.

Crrrrrrriiiiek!

Kieeek! Kieeek!

“Oh my goodness! What is going on? Let’s get out of here!”

“Underground! There’s an underground shelter! That way!!”

“An underground shelter? We have something like… Uaagh!”

Even though the metallic barriers could withstand a shower of nuclear bombs, they began to tear apart in less than a minute. Some people managed to escape to a safe place during the one minute with Genie guiding the players to the emergency shelters. However, the shelters were not properly placed throughout the world. Dae-ha had designed the shelter to prepare for the worst case scenario, to drag the enemy into the Unique World if he ever faced someone he could not face. As such, most people fled to familiar places, including shopping centers, restaurants, or their own homes. Many simply stared with blank expressions as their walls and ceilings broke apart.

The result was devastating.

Kwaaaarrrrrck!

The gray light finally penetrated the iron walls and struck the people. The gray light stuck to people’s bodies like squirming, living liquid and instantly vaporized them.

People were dying. All of them were talented people who would be recognized even in the Great Universe, but they were dying in vain. Everyone was dying except those who were riding in high-ranked gigas, those who had achieved a certain level of skill, or those who were quick to grasp the situation and were lucky.

Guwwwekk!!

Guwek!

Space monsters remained floating in the sky, only daring to use their breaths. It was odd, considering that the space monsters usually devoured living creatures. They were acting like biological weapons or well-trained soldiers rather than mindless monsters.

If the situation continued at this pace, 90% of humanity would die within 5 minutes. All 3.5 billion humans could disappear in 10 minutes. Unfortunately for the End Project, however, there were unexpected three variables on Earth 34.

“For re~al~!? I’m going to kill you, you bitch! There’s a line that you shouldn’t cross!!”

Firstly, Earth 34 had an environment where the Primordial God could interfere,

“How dare you! How dare you do this to mankind!!”

There was a half-crazy Untouchable Unnamed who was obsessed with a mission that was given to him.

Most importantly,

“Come!!”

There was a transcendent hero who was hundreds of times stronger in reality than in the stage.

“Come, Ares!!”

***

I became flustered for a moment.

Both locations were under attack at the same time. The space monsters were spewing out breaths in both of the worlds. Both my body in the real world, which was in the Star-rank gigas Warlord, and my body in the Unique World, which was just fooling around, were both put under attack.

‘Where do I start?’

I had no choice but to hesitate for a moment. Who wouldn’t? Earth 34 could be considered my hometown, and the Unique World was my world. Both places were too important to be disregarded lightly. But I only hesitated for a short moment. I decided to defend the worlds to the best of my abilities.

“Genie!! Control Warlord and attack those whales!”

But it will be difficult for me to defeat even one of those monsters with my abilities.

“I’m going to get all the artillery out here to the real world, so keep them in check using maximum firepower!”

I quickly touched the artilleries in my workshop and transported them into reality. I ran out of the biggest, sturdiest building in Center City, the Steel Castle.

Click!

As I fell from the building, I turned Shadow Stalker into a pistol and aimed it towards the sky.

“Six strongest shots!”

- Loading Extreme Extinction Bullets… Complete.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

I pulled the trigger without hesitation. Large explosive sounds were emitted as bullets left behind a trail of void that sucked in air. The projectiles shot into the air and hit their targets.

Kuaaahhh!

A whale hit by the red photosphere was pulled into the center like crumpled paper. It wasn’t just one either. The creatures were densely crowded in the sky, and dozens of whales around the shot were sucked into the distorted space as well.

Pop!

The whales disappeared with a sound. The Extreme Extinction Bullets had absorbed all the matter around them before extinguishing them. The same scene occurred simultaneously in six different places.

- Cool down. 37 minutes and 44 seconds… Producing Extreme Extinction Bullets… 31 days 22 hours 30 minutes expected to create one shot… 12 remaining shots…

I could shoot six rounds of Extreme Extinction Bullets at intervals of about 40 minutes. I returned Shadow Stalker to a watch before shouting.

“Come, Ares!!”

Ares had been firing artillery at the sky from the central square. At my calling, he flew towards me before snatching me out of the air and throwing me into the cockpit. I had been falling from the top of the Steel Castle.

Ares sighed in amazement.

Wow! Not that I’m too familiar with the End Project, but I didn’t expect it to go this far. It’s basically completely disregarding the setting and doing whatever it wants.

I looked down at Center City as he spoke.

People were dying.

They were dying like insects. People had been living in a peaceful world before they were forcefully taken to a hellish being by an unknown being, and now they were dying like bugs. These were the same people who enchanted my gigas, those who gathered and praised me incessantly, and those who practiced their controls every day while dreaming of becoming a gigas pilot. All of them were dying.

Those who I met and played games with in the Unique World were dying. Those who reported me after seeing my score were dying. Those who had been struggling and gritting their teeth to gain power in the stage were dying. All of them were dying.

“Ah.”

I could feel something boiling from deep inside my heart.

I was angry.

I never valued human lives as being precious or dignified. If I had felt such things, I would have gone crazy with the guilt of killing more than 10 million people in the past.

But nevertheless, I was so angry that I could not stand it.

Kiiing---!

I could feel Ares’ Iron Heart going crazy. An enormous amount of energy covered Ares. The energy was so dense that it formed a thick, almost opaque cloud around Ares’ body.

“All of you.”

I activated all of my abilities and the transcendence skill.

“Die.”

Ares flew into a cloud of whales.

1. King Sejong was the one who invented Korean alphabet.