Above Your Head

Chapter 64: Rescue Operation Part Two (3)

[Would you like to reseal?]

Was there any need for answers? I turned my wrist without hesitation.

Click.

A metallic sound reverberated in the empty air and the approaching Dong-min collapsed powerlessly like a deflated balloon doll. Bo-ram quickly went to Dong-min's side and checked his condition.

"How is he?"

"He just passed out because he used a lot of physical strength, but he's fine. No, more than that... You can seal the scepter's powers away from a long-distance? You don't have to insert the key in directly for you to seal the powers?"

"Mmmhmm."

"How did you know to do that? Did you talk to it or something?"

It was an interesting assumption, but obviously, that wasn't the case.

"No. I just kind of knew."

Bo-ram groaned and murmured, "Is that how it is?"

Before I knew it, Celestia approached my side with a flabbergasted expression.

"I didn't think it would be a combat-type weapon because of its key shape, but it's quite peculiar huh. It has the power to release the seal of a Godly Artifact? No, perhaps the key was made in this shape with the power to release a seal such that it could also set a sealed demon from the Demon tribe free from their restrictions."

"Is it a unique function?"

Celestia nodded at my question, "Of course. Think about it, why would the title Transcendence Weapon be spread throughout the whole universe? In the first place, Godly Artifacts were basically items that…"

"No, wait a bit." I raised my hand to stop her from continuing because I was starting to get confused on the terms. "What I don't really understand is what's the difference between a Transcendence Weapon and a Godly Artifact? Does it mean the same thing?"

"…"

At that moment, Celestia looked at me, her expression evident that she was thinking how pathetic I sounded.

I was embarrassed and questioned, "Why, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, but even so, you don't know much about this, do you? Though you're from an inferior civilization, you should have been able to get some decent information if you have gone to a library to check it out."

She was right. I would have been able to obtain basic background information at the library. Of course, it would be difficult to find any information that was confidential, not widely available, or commonly known knowledge. However, Albatross had an educational system designed to take into account the existence of inferior civilizations that came to the universe, so I could just go and take lessons there.

'Needless to say, it's not an easy thing to do!'

If a person from the Joseon Era (1392-1910) suddenly came to the modern times, there would be countless vocabulary, words, concepts and even things they wouldn't know. They wouldn't know what a car was, and they also wouldn't know any famous organizations like the WTO (World Trade Organization) or the UN (United Nations). Even if it had been a while since they arrived in the modern times, there would be a high possibility that they would not be able to grasp what a diesel engine or an antimatter bomb was.

No matter who it was, if they were thrown into a whole new environment, it wouldn't be an easy matter to completely understand about the new environment. In fact, weren't there a lot of cases where people who lived abroad for a year didn't know the rough history of the country they were in?

However, Celestia responded heartlessly, "It's been a while since you've come to space, it's not that big of a deal and you don't even know this much. I heard you had a great deal of personal time… What the hell have you been doing during the long time you were here?"

"Ha, haha. If you want to know what I did."

"If?"

I wanted to confuse her and change the topic, but she had a keen eye.

I confessed the truth dejectedly, "I-, I played some games."

"…Ugh, what a loser."

"Be, be quiet! Why can't I play some games!?"

How long would I have to live in space in the first place to have to study about it!? I didn't even really like history on Earth either!

Bo-ram came closer to us and explained, as if she was empathizing with me as a fellow Earthling. As she went to the library everyday to the point that she basically lived there, she was already so well-versed about the Universe that it wasn't an exaggeration to say that she was already as well-informed as an extraterrestrial being(?).

"A Godly Artifact and a Transcendence Weapon are similar but at the same time, they are two different concepts. To put it simply, a Godly Artifact is something that contained the power of God, and a Transcendence Weapon is something that possessed godly powers."

"…Then what's the difference? Something that contained the power of God and something that possessed godly powers?"

"It's just as I said, Sunbae. For example, what I am carrying right now."

Wiiiiingggg-! Chakak!

Bo-ram's steel bracers, or gauntlet, which existed faintly, became vivid and revealed itself. Except for the second joint of her fingers and beyond, the silver metal covered her arms from the back of her hand to her elbow, and it was solid without any gaps in between.

"This Golden Princess is a Godly Artifact imbued with the power of the Golden Dragon God. So it's not a Transcendence Weapon. This is, so to speak… A vessel that brings out the power of the Golden Dragon God, but it doesn't contain the power of a Battleship-grade by itself."

It was a slightly spiteful explanation, but I roughly understood it and attempted to confirm my understanding, "A Godly Artifact refers to everything that God has made, but Transcendence Weapons are items that have the power to be a threat to God?"

"That's correct. It's true that there were some Godly Artifacts that could be called a Transcendence Weapon, but not all Transcendence Weapons are Godly Artifacts. All in all, the history books stated that the Gods had not been able to create a Godly Artifact great enough to threaten God's existence… And among the Godly Artifacts, there were many that only possessed really trivial and jumbled powers. For example, Another Plane, which could be considered a parallel world to Earth, has Godly Artifacts, but there aren't any weapons that are classified as Transcendence Weapons."

I sorted out my thoughts at her explanation, "So in the end, what you're trying to say is that this key possessed a power that is rare even among the Transcendence Weapons, and its power is probably one that's able to release the seal on Godly Artifacts?"

Celestia nodded in agreement at my words, "Yes, and if that's the case, there's a high chance that it's made by a God. It's not like it can only unseal certain seals. Its ability to release seals is extremely versatile, and such an ability is something that is hard to materialize in a regular Transcendence Weapon crafted by a combination of civilization and resources. It's safe to say it's a Godly Artifact that contained the power of authority."

"Hmm." I silently stared at the key I was holding in my hand.

In hibernation, Key

It was a simple, in fact, too simple a title and name that it felt strange. Even if I used classification on this damn key, nothing popped out. If I used classification on a freshly made bungeoppang [1] for an hour, a text of more than 1,000 characters would pop out, but nothing came out of this key to the point that it was odd. It was already impossible to see the material it was made of, let alone the creator or its origin. So it was obvious to anyone's eyes that my ability was somehow blocked.

'I'll put it to good use for now, but...I really don't know anything about it.' I was grumbling inwardly. While I was doing so, Bo-ram shook the unconscious Dong-min lightly, but she soon gave up and stood up.

I sighed and approached them at the scene that looked similar to a small rabbit supporting a tiger, "I'll hold him."

"Ahh, Sunbae? But..."

"I can't fight anyways, so I'll have to at least carry some luggage… huh?!"

But when I tried to take Dong-min from Bo-ram, his body slipped past my finger. Fortunately, Bo-ram held on to Dong-min again, but things almost went wrong, and he nearly rolled over.

"Wha-, what is this? Why is he so heavy?"

An unconscious person would be heavier than usual, but what I just felt was not something that could be explained by just that. It was not just plain heavy, it was so heavy to the point that I felt a threat to my life, as if a large refrigerator or a grand piano was placed on my body in an instant.

I stared at Bo-ram in surprise and I could see her sighing while holding on to Dong-min.

"Dong-min Sunbae has a peculiar constitution, so he weighs close to a ton. Usually, he would be able to control it himself, but he can't do that right now since he has passed out."

"…But, you're holding him up with just one hand?"

Bo-ram blushed slightly at the sight of me groaning with astonishment.

"Well, it's because of the close-combat circuit, my physical strength is not that strong, alright!"

"I'm not teasing you, it's because I'm envious. I'm envious alright. Ah! Come to think of it, can't I also install and equip that circuit?"

Without riding on a Gigas, it would be hard to even beat a neighbourhood bully with my fighting skills and it was difficult to stay alive. If just one of the massacred demi-humans were to charge at me, I wouldn't be able to survive because I was so weak, so I couldn't wander around thoughtlessly.

But unfortunately, Bo-ram shook her head, "I'm sorry, but this is a concept that needs to be adapted and the procedure also takes a lot of time. Also, don't feel burdened with everything just because of something like this. Dong-min Sunbae and I are here as your escorts, so this is originally my job."

As Bo-ram elaborated, she lifted Dong-min's body with one arm and put it on her shoulder like he was a bag of rice. I felt a subtle sense of difference which was hard to wrap my head around when she put the sturdy Dong-min on her shoulder despite her small build. But, there was no way for me to help anyway.

Whooooosh---!

Just then , there was a loud bang from far, far, far and there was a tremor that coursed through the ground as if there had been an earthquake. There was no way there would be an earthquake inside a spaceship, so obviously it was the sound of Hell's Hand running amok.

"…Holy crap."

But when Celestia heard that sound, her expression turned stiff like a stone.

"What's wrong?"

"That demon was beaten."

"...Holy shit."

As a First-Tier Demon Tribe demon, Hell's Hand seemed to possess an indescribably strong fighting power, but even so, this place was Great Sky, the Space Carrier of the demi-humans, and the number of demi-humans in here was impossible to measure. Despite being in the middle of the enemy camp, he was able to cause a huge mess. Yet even then, he was defeated in the end.

"We have to hurry."

"That's right. That demon was defeated, so obviously they'll be coming for us next." Celestia took the lead with her assault rifle on hand. I also followed after her, and Bo-ram carried Dong-min and followed behind me.

"Ah ah, this is the Imperial Princess. What's the location?"

Celestia confirmed that there was no one around and spoke on the communicator. After a while, there was a blinking light on the communicator.

We're engaged in a battle with the enemy right now, so please stand by where you are! It will be dangerous if you run into another group of demi-humans!

Did she say her name was Mi-young? Anyway, there was a constant sound of explosions behind the Squadron Leader's voice. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be a critical situation, and it seems that they could figure out where we are.

But Celestia shook her head, "I'm sorry to say, but it's going to be tough to stay still here because the enemy knows where we are. Are we moving in the correct direction now?"

Yes! Move 700 meters along the current corridor you are in, then climb up the side building and move 300 meters to the right!

According to what I heard, it wasn't too far of a distance. Of course, it was hard to believe that we had to travel this distance indoors, but we were in Great Sky, which was close to the size of a city, so we were probably only moving a little from the corners of the ship.

The problem was that there would be enemies blocking the path.

"Okay. Then I'll get a move on, and it'll be great if you can come and pick us up."

That's of course, Imperial Princess-nim! Come on now, you bastards, make haste!

Along with Mi-young's voice, the communication was cut off.

Looking at Celestia who was holding an assault rifle, I asked, "I think the demi-human fuckers are flocking towards us, so wouldn't it be better to stay here and fight it out?"

"It'll be troublesome if we do that and more enemies gather. The worst thing about this situation right now is that we're separated from the rescue team."

"Then?"

"What do you mean then?"

Celestia laughed with a chilly expression in response to my question, "I'm going to jump in and make a mess of the demi-humans battle lines. Because they can't hurt me."

The environment in the middle of the enemy's camp was too unfavorable for us, but there was a strong handicap against them since they couldn't harm Celestia. If Celestia had been an ordinary and helpless girl, it would be the end if she was caught. However, she was a powerful ability holder and at the same time, a soldier; it wouldn't be easy at all to subdue her without hurting her.

"…If that's your judgment, I'll follow through, but be careful. If you're captured, then it's all over."

"Hmph. None of the demi-humans can catch the armed me without hurting me." Celestia answered confidently.

But then a new voice interrupted from the front, "That's quite a hasty judgement."

"…!"

"What?"

"Holy fuck...!"

Celestia and I froze at the same time. Bo-ram was so surprised that she dropped Dong-min and activated the Golden Princess.

"You're being too wild just because this is a situation we have to be careful about. You bitch…"

'Despair' was standing right there.

Boooom!

As he took one step, the ground shook lightly. A creature was looking down at us. He was so large that his head even touched the ceiling of the corridors of Great Sky, which was basically so high up beyond that of a human's spacecraft.

"Mo-, Morne..."

Yes. It was him. The mighty transcendent, the Arch-Sorcerer Morne and Captain of Great Sky, was before us.

1. It's a Korean dessert, typically also called carp bread. And it's filled with a sweet filling like red bean or cream, and shaped like a carp as the name implies.