Above Your Head

Chapter 81: Advent of the God of War (12)

…

…

…

Silence descended upon the whole battlefield. Then, I smirked and said…

"All troops, charge!" [1]

At my orders, the gray giants dashed forward in unison. The Gigas and fighter jets deployed from Rising Storm immediately launched a counterattack, but it was to no avail.

Kwakkkkk! Boom! Boom!

They were all subdued. The fighter jets either had their wings cut off or their engines ceased to function, and the Gigas got their limbs mutilated; all they could do was float in space. It also didn't take a long time. Everything was over by the time the swords collided and the artillery fires were fired.

The gray giants weren't just clones. Each of the 1,000 Beast-rank Gigas had the combat power of a Beast-rank Gigas under my piloting, and the same applied for the 10 Human-rank Gigas too. In other words, there were 10 Napoleons piloted by me and 1,000 Thunder Dragons piloted by me on the battlefield.

The enemies had a numerical disadvantage. The soul power of each Gigas overwhelmed them as well, so the enemy didn't have a glimmer of hope in winning at all.

Skriekkk-!

The Gigas and fighter jets were subdued in a matter of minutes and immediately after that, I stormed into Rising Storm after giving a separate order. The huge battleship, Rising Storm, naturally had a sturdy barrier, but I tore apart the barrier like it was a piece of cloth and landed on top of the deck.

It literally took a moment, as if I was naturally opening a door and walking right through it. Ares was stunned.

No, wait a minute. What did you just do? Did you just tear apart the battleship's barrier and enter just like that? Did you have this kind of Ability?

"It's not an Ability, it's the Transcendence Skill , you idiot."

It was more of a passive Ability rather than an active-prompt skill. The Ability was capable of spreading a kind of Aura within a fifty meters radius centering around the Iron Heart; the Aura could permeate through barriers and either strengthen defenses or cut the connection between the barrier and the enemy's soul energy. If desired, the Aura could also be injected into weapons to increase their offensive capabilities.

Setting your powers aside, what's with this God of War skill… Your Transcendence Skill suits me very well.

"Of course it suits you, It's your Transcendence Skill after all."

…The only Transcendence Skill I have is the and the though?

'The rest of your Abilities,' I muttered under my breath in response to Ares' words.

"I'll explain it to you later."

Kwakkk!

I stretched out my hand and tore off Rising Storm's armor, and broke in. I knew the structure of Rising Storm all too well.

Boooooom! Kwakkkkkk!

Bang!

I moved in a straight line. If a wall was in the way, I would break it down, and when there was room to move, I crossed over in an instant. Obviously, there were some guys blocking my way, but...

"Stop him! He's moving to the power plant!"

"But the attacks aren't working at all!"

"What the hell! It's a God-rank Gigas!! Where the hell did that thing come from!!"

They were just making a lot of noise, but they couldn't stop me in my tracks. The barrier of Ares, a God-rank Gigas, was on the same level as the defense of a Terra-class battleship. The only way for Rising Storm to pierce through that barrier was to fire at it with their Main Armament.

'But there's no way they can use that kind of firepower within the battleship.'

The moment I thought so, I invoked Foresight.

Kwareukkkk!

I raised my right hand and blocked the incoming spear. It might seem strange to raise my hand to block a spear the mere size of a toothpick when Ares was as big as a decent-sized building. However, the instant I blocked the spear, thunder struck and the surrounding space was distorted. Ares shouted.

Dae-ha! Be careful! He's a Numbering just like me!

Numberings referred to the powerful Godly Artifacts that ranked in the top 1,000 among Transcendence Weapons in the universe. Numberings were hard to come by that even the worth of five or six decent-size planets couldn't exchange for a Numbering. Numberings were extremely powerful weapons, and if wielded by a transcendent, the transcendent would be able to go against ten other transcendents of the same level.

In fact, Transcendence Weapons and Numberings didn't come in a specific form or with a specific effect. It could come in the shape of a gun, a knife, or a weapon specialized in destroying enemies. It could also have healing effects or even create Warp Zones.

In general, a Transcendence Weapon's shape would match its titles but that wasn't necessarily the case for all of them. Among the battleships that roamed in space, there were special masterpieces that joined the ranks of the Numberings. Also, there were God-rank Gigas like Ares that also joined the ranks of the Numberings as a Transcendence Weapon. Even items that didn't take the form of a weapon and weren't considered as one, such as the Refrigerator that Produces Food Infinitely, was also one of the Numberings, so that's that.

In other words, it was safe to assume that there was fundamentally not much difference between Ares and the spear thrown by the enemy. The only difference was that I was riding in a Numbering, and the enemy had a Numbering in his hand.

If the spear were to be a problem...

"The spear's a Numbering just like you... So what?"

As with all weapons, the important thing that mattered was the capability of the user.

Kriekkkk---!!

"Keucckkkk…! This, what the hell is this…"

An ancient-looking old man standing at nearly two meters tall was surrounded by the Aura formed by . He was brought to his knees.

I lightly gestured, "Get some sleep."

Plop.

The old man lost consciousness and collapsed while the Numbering in his hand was devoured by the crevice that had opened up in the air. It went into the .

...That's ridiculous. This is basically equivalent to the power of a high-rank God.

Ares mumbled in bewilderment, and I shrugged.

"It only lasts for a short time."

A short time?

"Yeah. And that's why I'm working so hard."

Kwakkkkk! Kwakkk!

I broke down the wall and advanced forward. Since the person whom I presumed to be the Captain of Rising Storm was so easily overpowered by me, there probably wouldn't be anyone who could stop my advancement. Hence, I reached the power unit without any problem.

Halt---!! Halt now---!!! If you approach any further, I will follow the Code of War and activate self-destruct mode!!

As I entered the power plant, a woman's sharp voice resonated in my head. I got too close to the power plant that the control persona of the Rising Storm, Luna, finally made contact.

"Nice to meet you."

If these were under ordinary circumstances, I would've first opened the hatch and disembark from Ares. My command would only work if I transmitted my voice face-to-face, so it was meaningless to contact with the target through communication devices.

However, things were completely different in the current situation. I only came here because I had something to do. Also, in my present state, I could give an order even from outside of the power plant.

I'm telling you once again. Halt now. If you approach any further, I will follow the Code of War and activate self-destruct…

"Luna."

I called out her name. Then, the loud warning stopped immediately. I called her again.

"Luna."

Yes... Master.

I laughed at the polite voice. The war was over.

*

Thud.

Standing as tall as a ten-storey apartment, Ares landed on the deck with a soft thud which was unbefitting of his size. I felt the power coursing through my body was slowly fading away as I headed towards the inner deck of Albatross. I wanted to completely capture Rising Storm and drag it here, but I couldn't because I was running out of time.

Dae-ha, your power is...

"I know."

The omnipotent sensation as though I could do anything was gradually diminishing. All the various knowledge and futures that filled my mind began to vanish.

The current state I was in was similar to an omnipotent being. However, my original intelligence was mediocre at best. I would probably lose more than half of this infinite knowledge in my head. Just like how everything in my mind would be erased like it was all a delusion after waking up from an absurdly long dream, I couldn't remember the majority of the knowledge that was in my head, less for a few extremely important keywords.

'And that's why I want to at least see my own future…'

I laughed in vain as I tried searching through all the information and futures in my head.

'I really can't glance into my future.'

To my surprise, despite being close to an All-knowing being, I was only shown darkness when I tried to glance into my future. I didn't really pay any heed to it when the transcendents, Cheong Won included, said that their Foresight ability was cranky whenever I was involved. However, I didn't expect that it would be the same for me as well.

That wasn't all.

'Why is Cheong Won going to die?'

I searched for a future where I was able to catch Cheong Won and deal with any future troubles, but the only thing I could see was his death and nothing else. I had no idea why he died or who killed him.

'Was it Hawa?'

I couldn't read any existence that was equal or a higher rank than me with my Absolute Authority. I felt like I possessed all knowledge in the world with my All-knowing power. Yet, even that power couldn't work on transcendents who had obtained a High-rank Status of God.

'But why would she do that?'

I was puzzled about the incomprehensible situation, but I didn't have the time to think about it any further.

Wiiiiingggg--!

I opened Ares' hatch and went out

I said, "Standby and wait. Just don't go too far."

Wouldn't it be better to rest inside me instead?

"Why would I rest inside you? I can't even imagine how many months I would be out for."

I was dozing off; it felt as though I was going to faint immediately. The awakened Divine Spirit inside me began to fade, and my eyelids were getting heavier and heavier.

"I still have something to do... what else do I have to do again?"

I had to deal with everything now as I didn't know what would become of the almighty knowledge that was imparted to me. If I missed this moment and turned back into a lowly human, I would no longer be able to do the things I could do right now. Even if I had to suffer for a bit, it was better than regretting later on because I didn't know what would happen in the future.

'The war is over, I also silenced Rising Storm, and I sent out all the clones to take care of the dinosaur bastard…'

I desperately hung on to my flickering consciousness and headed for the dormitory. Just then, I clapped as something came to mind.

"That's right. I almost fucked up… That was a close call."

I flicked my right hand.

Splattt!

The liquid metal circulating inside my body was sprayed on the floor. The torturous liquid had suppressed and tormented me this whole time, but it didn't pose any huge problems as the transcendental Divine Spirit was protecting my body.

"And, and..."

I frantically racked my brain. My eyelids were unbearably heavy and it was gradually getting hard to walk. I thought I was moving as fast as I could, but I could no longer walk to the dormitory.

Just then, I saw Celestia running towards me from over the hallway.

"Dae-ha!"

The moment I heard her voice, I finally plopped down on the ground. The Divine Spirit was almost all gone, and a listless feeling was surging in me. I was washed-out. I asked her for a favor because I felt like I was going to lose my consciousness right this instant.

"Cel, I'm sorry, but please bring me to..."

However, even before I could complete my sentence, Celestia called my name with a flushed face.

"Hey, Dae-ha, Kwan Dae-ha."

"…What's wrong?"

I frowned at the way she looked with her eyes glistening. I didn't know why she was so exhilarated. If it was just a moment ago, I would've found out by asking her. No, to be frank, I would've already known why due to the Divine Spirit but I couldn't now that it was fading. Most of the knowledge in my head was disappearing, and I forgot everything except for a few particularly important things.

Celestia said, "Won't you marry me?"

Her whispers felt like a dream. It might be an idle thought, but… For a moment, I was distracted by thoughts of the countless people in the universe who would've longed to hear this from her.

She was an renowned idol in the entire universe, a woman of incredible beauty, as well as a member of the Imperial family that possessed a great deal of power and authority. I wasn't sure, but the men who couldn't fall asleep because of her could probably fill up a decent-sized country.

However…

"This…"

My preference and perspective was different from those men. So of course, I wouldn't be able to say nice words.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

"…"

I finally lost consciousness.

1. Am so close to writing this as "All troops, assemble!" Anyone got the reference? xD