Above Your Head

Chapter 62: Rescue Operation Part Two (1)

The connection is disconnected. It's blocked off!

A voice tainted with urgency resonated within the bridge deck through the communicator, but Major General Chun Hyun-il did not even lift an eyebrow. This was because it was something he expected anyways.

"Hmm. I didn't think you'd be able to keep getting in touch with him so easily... Since it's come to this, perhaps there might be a possibility that this is a trap?"

He murmured and easily refracted the soul energy wave that was shot from Great Sky controlled by Arch-Sorcerer Morne.

A fleet battle between transcendents was such arduous hard labour that they couldn't leave the bridge deck even if it's for a while, but it wasn't as if they had to pay full attention to it. Especially for transcendents like them who were used to fighting, it would not be difficult for them to command and pass down order while being engrossed in a fleet battle.

Think of a plan, bear dude!

"Bear dude this, bear dude that, stop calling me that, you bodiless bastard. I'm thinking about it right now."

Hyun-il obtained information of the battlefield through the radar. The war situation was so unfavorable that the word 'despair' came to mind, but thanks to Dae-ha, who controlled Napoleon and decimated most of the demi-humans forces, the battle was unfolding relatively better than before.

'There's really going to be a commotion if the battle information gets relayed to the upper echelons.'

It was true that Napoleon was a powerful Gigas, but even so, Dae-ha's performance broke all common sense. Even if the vast Universe was searched high and low, there would be no more than five people who possessed the level of piloting skills that Dae-ha exhibited, so was there a need to say anything else? It was unbelievable for someone of the human race who had lived less than 30 years to perform at such a level.

'Of course, the number of Inherent Skills he possessed proved that the bloodline he possessed was by no means ordinary.'

Hyun-il was determined to protect Dae-ha's information, but with the way the situation unfolded, it was impossible to hide. The information on the battle was recorded, but still it might be possible to somewhat figure something out, since the Specter of Albatross had already imprinted a very strong impression on the heads of the crew members.

He had the authority to choose not to disclose the battle information, but only if there was no particular problem. It was impossible to silence over thousands of crew members, so stories would eventually leak out. And, if the upper echelons ordered the disclosure of this information, the information on the battle that happened would definitely have to be reported.

'And, if so...'

The Imperial family would surely take interest in Dae-ha. There was a special significance in having a pilot like Dae-ha who could turn the war situation around alone. As a direct example, the present Albatross would have already been destroyed by the demi-humans if it wasn't for Dae-ha. Since that was no different from Dae-ha saving a Terra-class battleship alone, if such a pilot was affiliated with the Leonhardt Empire, could you imagine how much benefits would be generated in the future?

Hey, bear dude!

"Ahh, be quiet! I have to save the Imperial Princess anyway so shut your trap! No, that aside, why are you so restless? He has nothing to do with you, right? He's not even a transcendent… Hmm?"

Hyun-il stopped talking. This was because he realized that Ares, who was not interested in anyone, was paying too much attention and sincereness when it came to Dae-ha.

"Don't tell me, that guy... is the Right Person for you?"

Basically, God-rank Gigas could only be piloted by beings who had reached the realm of transcendence, but there were some exceptions. Although not in this era, the previous Emperor of the Leonhardt Empire was not a transcendent, but he was able to ride on the God-rank Gigas, Ra. In the case of other Gigas, they also occasionally allowed weak beings to pilot them.

And those people were the Right Person with the bloodline associated with the name of the God-rank Gigas.

Oh, maybe?

It was an unconfident answer, but Hyun-il who already had an answer in his mind, nodded. For a while, he had been thinking that Dae-ha was born with a special bloodline that was out of the ordinary.

"The Gods of Olympus… but it's been thousands of years since the fall of the Gods of Olympus, so it's strange that their bloodline appeared after all this while. He didn't even have a speck of talent for warfare, so did he perhaps inherit the blood of one of Ares' brothers?"

Ares was one of the most famous Gods of Olympus, the God of War. For one to be qualified as the Right Person for Ares, that person must of course have the blood of the Gods of Olympus flowing in him. Needless to say, Ares had a slightly different opinion.

'Gods of Olympus my ass.'

Ares knew that Dae-ha had no connection whatsoever with the Gods of Olympus. This strong shiver that sent shock down his heart was the basis of Dae-ha's powers, and it was something that had nothing to do with the Ares' status.

"By the way, what do you plan on doing? Should we go ahead and fire at the coordinates that were relayed the last time they communicated with you?"

"It may be possible if we continued to communicate continuously, but we have to call off that method since we lost contact. Maybe they're trying to harm the Imperial Princess by borrowing our hands. I don't know the exact circumstances, but Cheong Won had a mission, so the demi-humans can't touch a single hair on her."

"But if so, wouldn't it be dangerous to send a rescue team? If it's a trap, we'll be suppressed the moment we enter."

Deputy Captain Natalie was correct. It was not normal for Albatross to be able to communicate with the Imperial Princess, who was taken captive by the enemy, in the first place. But what if that information was deliberately leaked by the demi-humans?

However, Hyun-il shook his head.

"But I still think it would be better to send a rescue team."

"How come?"

"Just because." Hyun-il chuckled with a big smile. "I have a good hunch about this."

"…A gut feeling?"

"It's so vivid to the point that it's rare."

The awakening of transcendence, commonly referred to as the state of transcendence (of course, there were many exceptions to this) was usually completed by acquiring three abilities, which were Basic Mana Control, Absolute Control of Mana, and Synchronization of All Things.

Basic Mana Control referred to the ability to perceive and control the minimum unit of mana; Absolute Mana Control was the ability to control Mana of any attribute with a single thought; and Synchronization of All Things was the ability to express one's will by syncing with the world.

These were great powers even if they were standalone powers. But when these three abilities achieved a trinity, the Basic Mana Control granted Divinity that allowed the soul to be free from the laws of the lower realms; the Absolute Mana Control offered the Status of God capable of bringing all powers under their wings; and finally, the Synchronization of All Things imprinted the existence of a transcendent in the world and completed the Divine Spirit.

Of course, all three of them were the powers of lower-rank gods, so the Divinity, Status of God and Divine Spirit were weak beyond measure, but by obtaining these three powers, one would be reborn as a transcendent, not a mortal man.

And those who had reached the realm of transcendence were able to instinctively sense the flow of cause and effect that were related to themselves due to their Synchronization of All Things ability that could synchronize with the world. Of course, it may not be as specific and concrete as a full-fledged Foresight ability, but it was often surprisingly sharp and it could predict the situation that would be encountered as well as the coming future.

"As you already know, intuition is not a perfectly reliable power, as is often the case with Foresight."

"I know. Besides, just like the intuition that I'm sensing right now, Morne will also most probably be able to sense it… But since it's something we have to do at the end of the day anyways, it's better to just do it when we have the chance to."

Natalie sighed quietly at the sight of Hyun-il who seemed to have made up his mind. It wasn't as if there was nothing to be concerned about, but since such a decision was already expected, she operated the display to mark at one spot.

"The rescue team is standing by nearby Great Sky in stealth mode."

"Already? This is why I love you."

"…Enough with the jokes. What would you like to do?"

"'Well, that's of course..."

Hyun-il laughed as he was surrounded by a blue Aura as if he was burning up.

"Charge in."

*

Krieeekkk!

Along with a loud boom, a huge bullet with a diameter of more than three meters was embedded into the barrier that enveloped Great Sky. The barrier, which was protected by a strong soul energy, endured the hit, but immediately after that, dozens of blades popped out from inside of the bullet and began to spin.

Tatatatatatak!!!

The surrounding barrier was sucked into the center of the fiercely spinning bullets which were spreading a special wavelength. And after a while, the bullet penetrated the barrier and even destroyed the deck of Great Sky and pierced within. Of course, the barrier which had self-restoration abilities soon rippled and tried to regenerate back to its original state, but—

Wiiiiingggg!

Aiming for the gap that appeared in that one moment, a sleekly-shaped transport ship and five or six Gigas invaded the inside of Great Sky. If it was under usual circumstances, the demi-humans would have gone face-to-face with the crowd of enemies that rushed in at the same time as the barrier was attacked. But, the demi-humans did not have that sort of leeway as they were swept away by the First-Tier Demon, Hell's Hand's rampage.

Boom! Boom!

The Gigas that overtook the transport ship were vigilant in all directions and as the transport ship made a landing, the infantry troops got out of the ship in record time. Spearheading the group was a woman donned in tight leather clothes and holding a huge greatsword as big her body. That woman led the rescue team and she was a Swordsmanship Compléter, Shin Mi-young -- a strong being that handled the sword freely.

"Hooo. I was uneasy about this, but as the Captain-nim said, something must have happened. I thought there would be artillery fire as soon as we arrived, but it's already in ruins."

To save Dae-ha, Bo-ram participated in the rescue team and she asked Mi-young, who marveled as she looked around.

"Does that bear ahjusshi [1] have a Foresight ability?"

"I'm not so sure myself, but I heard that all the transcendents possess a little bit of foresight."

As Bo-ram listened to Mi-young, she checked her equipment -- whether her gauntlet was materialized, and if the safety lock of the laser pistol that was provided to her was unlocked. And while doing that, she asked Dong-min who was standing next to her.

"Did you sense anything, sunbae?"

At Bo-ram's question, Dong-min closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again.

"…For starters, there is no one within a one kilometer radius. But, I can sense explosions and tremors going off from the northwest direction."

"Is a rebellion or something happening?"

Mi-young shook her head at Bo-ram's fresh and original question.

"That sort of thing won't happen on a Space Carrier with Morne as its Captain. Besides, seeing that there were facilities that did not explode and were physically destroyed... It looks like some kind of powerful monster or Gigas is running amok out there."

"Running amok…Certainly, it's a word that fits the terrible scene right now. There are a lot of buildings that seemed like they were destroyed deliberately in the process of a fight."

"Maybe something like a monster they caught was released free. I don't think they would just carelessly lock away a monster who could make the surroundings turn into a wasteland, but that's the only thing that comes to my mind for now."

While they were engrossed in the conversation, all the troops on board the transport ship disembarked and were completely armed. The transport ships that landed on the ground deployed a barrier to ward off artillery fires, and a few Gigas hid among the buildings that had moderately collapsed and stood guard.

"Aaron! Where is the Imperial Princess' location?"

"We're searching for her."

Mi-young's adjutant, who had Detection abilities, closed his eyes and concentrated on his consciousness. Needless to say, he followed along because it was impossible to find their target with a simple search in Great Sky which was bigger than a decent-sized city.

"Hmm?"

Dong-min was looking around, however, at that time, his expression changed.

"What's wrong, sunbae?"

"Holy shit! Bo-ram! Get the communicator!"

"Ehh? I'm carrying it with me, but why---"

Shiiingggg!

The space seemed to be distorted in an instant and Dong-min and Bo-ram's figure disappeared. And…

"Wow… They-, they're really here. This effect is really amazing…"

In front of them, Dae-ha was standing aloof with a torn talisman in his hands.

1. Ahjusshi is uncle in Korean. Can be used to address an older man even without blood relations.