Chapter 337
Chapter 337
Even before, everyone had known the Moon was approaching Earth . They also knew the ones behind this were Grenoid and his underlings . However, no one had been worried . After all, at that pace, it would’ve taken the Moon a very long time to reach Earth .
However, the prospect of the Moon falling on Earth was right in front of them now . The calamity was imminent .
The Mayor gathered all the important figures to discuss the future course of action .
Russell spoke up .
“... Something weirdly felt out of place when we fought Udocus . It seems the sensation we felt was the Moon changing its trajectory . ”
“I thought I had been mistaken, but I guess that wasn’t the case . ”
Bruce leaned his head backward as he sighed . He then continued to speak .
“What happens when the Moon falls to Earth?”
“Does the details matter? It won’t change the result . If it falls, all humans will die . At that point, does it matter if other phenomena occur as a consequence?”
Russell bluntly answered Bruce .
“Are you sure everyone will die?”
Bruce wanted a confirmation, so he asked the Mayor this time .
“We can only hypothesize . However, it’s true that Earth will be faced with a catastrophe . One or two people dying will look like child’s play in comparison . No, I feel no need to tiptoe around this subject . Let’s just say everyone will die . ”
Bruce slapped his thigh in anger .
“Of course, Earth won’t be fine since such a large mass would be hitting it . ”
“To be precise, the Moon won’t directly collide with Earth . ”
“Huh? Didn’t you say the Moon is falling toward Earth?”
“Do you know about the Roche limit?”
Bruce shook his head from side to side, then looked at the people around him . Many others also looked puzzled by the question . Since he wasn’t the only one ignorant about the Roche limit, he inwardly sighed in relief . Above all else, it seemed Russell was the same, and this amplified the relief Bruce felt .
“No, I do not . What is it?”
Therefore, Bruce was able to confidently ask the Mayor .
“When a large satellite approaches a primary body, the internal gravity holding the satellite together can’t hold it together anymore within a certain distance from the primary body . That distance is the Roche limit . ”
Most of the Connectors still had a question mark hanging above their heads . Connectors’ jobs were to put their lives on the line to fight monsters; most of them didn’t bother getting an education .
“If I simplify it, the Moon won’t be able to maintain its shape once it reaches a certain distance within Earth . It’ll be obliterated into pieces, and the debris will revolve around Earth like rings . Scientists theorize this is how the ring around Saturn formed . ”
“What? Doesn’t that mean the Moon won’t directly impact Earth?”
As if Bruce had seen hope, excitement entered his voice . The faces of other Connectors also brightened with hope .
However, the Mayor drenched them with cold water .
“It won’t collide with Earth, but that doesn’t mean humanity will survive . When the Moon gets close to Earth, it’ll cause all kinds of natural disasters . The Moon’s gravitational pull will cause changes to the tides . Tsunamis will wipe out civilizations . Moreover, the shattered Moon will form a ring around Earth, but some fragments would still fall toward Earth as if a shotgun pellet were shooting them . It’ll be like being hit by multiple asteroids . ”
Bruce’s face crumpled . He had found hope, but in the end, it turned out to be false hope . At that moment, he heard someone contradict the Mayor’s theory .
“No . The Moon won’t break apart . ”
It was Plu-El .
“Gravitational... pull? Roche... limit? I have no idea what those words mean . However, I’m guessing your researchers did a study and determined the Moon will break apart before crashing into Earth?”
“That’s correct . ”
“That’s under the assumption that the Moon is an ordinary celestial body?”
“... Correct . ”
“The Moon isn’t an ordinary celestial body . It’s a large mechanism created to seal Grenoid . Like many of the Connectors here, I couldn’t comprehend much of the words you said . However, I can say for sure that the Moon won’t break apart so easily . ”
It took a lot of effort for human consciousness to fathom how space worked . That effort paid off, and the humans learned that the laws of physics still governed space . However, there was an exception to the laws of physics: magical energy . Anything related to magical energy went beyond those laws .
‘It’s a possibility . ’
The Mayor thought Plu-El’s words made sense . However, that brought on a host of different problems . If the Moon didn’t break apart and collided with Earth in its original shape . . .
‘Earth itself might be destroyed for good . ’
The despair that the Mayor felt deepened . However, he quickly changed his perspective on the new information .
‘Humanity will be wiped out in both scenarios . ’
If humanity was gone, there was no reason for him to worry about whether Earth existed or not .
Sungyoon then asked the Mayor a question .
“Is there any way we can stop the Moon from falling toward Earth?”
“Every country on Earth is trying to come up with a solution . However . . . ”
“It effectively means that humanity has received a death sentence . ”
It was a provocative statement, but no one disagreed with Sungyoon’s words .
‘Calm down, Woo Sungyoon . ’
Sungyoon inwardly repeated this sentence a couple of times . However, his restless heart refused to calm down . He now knew that humanity might go extinct, and that meant Shinhae and Jimin would die too . Sungyoon could never accept that .
“It’s not like we have zero recourses . ”
Everyone in the room, including Sungyoon, turned toward the voice . Everyone had whipped their head around at the speed of lightning .
The one who spoke was Plu-El once again .
“Do you have any solution?”
The Mayor immediately asked her .
Plu-El’s words were a ray of light shining within the darkness . Everyone felt as if turbulent waters had swept them up, but she had thrown a lifeline toward them .
“If the Moon falls toward Earth, humans won’t be the only ones to die . It won’t be good news for those on Grenoid’s side, right?”
“If someone can find a way to focus the energy created by the collision to wipe out only the humans, that person would win the Nobel Prize . ”
Plu-El frowned a little as she tilted her head in puzzlement .
“Nobel...Prize? What’s that?”
It seemed she felt a bit stressed when others used terms she didn’t understand .
“Mmm . Anyway, you’re saying that they can’t make it so that humans will be the only ones to get wiped out . Am I correct?”
“Yes . ”
“Then it solidifies everything . We have hope . ”
There was a possibility that all living creatures including humans would be wiped off the planet . That was why it was incongruous to use the term hope . Yet, ironically, this piece of information made Plu-El feel hope in the face of the gloomy future .
“Grenoid’s goal is to destroy humanity . It’s motivated by the hate it feels toward humans, who created it . It wants to get rid of humans and rule over Earth . I don’t know why it wants to do that, but we know what Grenoid wants . We also know something that’ll guide its actions . ”
“What is it?”
Russell asked .
“Its own survival . ”
After answering Russell, Plu-El looked toward the Mayor once again .
“If Earth and the Moon collide, the shock generated will be immense, right?”
“I’ll have to get the specifics from the scientists . According to my limited knowledge, we’ll be lucky if Earth doesn’t break in half . ”
“Only attacks using magical energy work on Grenoid, but I don’t think it can survive a collision of that magnitude . Moreover, we have no idea how magical energy will react when faced with that much energy from the collision . I’m guessing magical energy will merge with the energy created by the collision, and would only amplify the destruction . The collision of the Moon and Earth has the potential to kill Grenoid, and Grenoid prioritizes its own survival when it moves . ”
“However, Grenoid is actively pushing everything toward the collision . What if it has its back against the wall? What if it blindly chose to carry out this plan in desperation?”
The Mayor wanted to believe Plu-El’s words of hope, but he had to coldly dissect the situation . He desperately wanted someone other than Plu-El to push back against his assertion .
“No . I don’t think they are desperate enough to accelerate the Moon to cause mutual destruction . ”
The Mayor’s brightened when Sungyoon rebutted his words .
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that our opposition believes that they have won after the unraveling of Grenoid’s seal was hastened . It wasn’t a move to bring about reprieve . The seal will break only if enough magical energy remains on the Moon . If Grenoid destroys the stake as soon as it revives, the transfer of magical energy to Earth will stop . ”
More so than those living on Earth, Plu-El and the other descendants of Planote knew how terrifying Grenoid was, so they nodded .
“They’ve already turned the tide of the war, so why would they accelerate the fall velocity of the Moon? It means they have an ulterior motive . ”
“What do you think that ulterior motive is?”
“What if Grenoid just wants an easier time moving to Earth?”
Plu-El came up with a theory .
“Grenoid itself possesses incredible amounts of magical energy . Our records say that Grenoid had such incredible control over magical energy that its mere movement caused a disturbance in magical energy . I don’t believe a being like that can pass through a portal . The portal will become unstable . Moreover, according to the information our ancestors passed down to us, Grenoid never used portals to move around .
“Are you saying that Grenoid is just trying to decrease the physical distance between the Moon and Earth?”
“I believe so . ”
“Isn’t the scale of its actions too large? Even if it wants to move to Earth, isn’t there a chance that it might kill itself? If the Moon collides with Earth, Earth would most probably be gone . ”
“That means they have a way to prevent the collision . ”
Silence descended in the room once again .
Everyone went over the hopeful words of Plu-El .
“... At the end of the day, it’s merely a possibility . ”
Russell spoke .
“However, we have no choice but to gamble on this possibility . ”
“You’re right . ”
Russell let out a sigh once again as he looked toward the Mayor .
“That’s the only theory we can pin our hopes on . ”
“I think so too . We’ll continue to try and come up with other plans, but we have to find out whether Ms . Plu-El’s theory is correct or not . ”
It was too speculative and optimistic to call it ’hope . ’ However, even if it was flimsy, it gave people something to work toward . It was a testament to how cornered they felt right now .
“I think I know where we can find our answer . ”
“Where would that be?”
While they had some hope now, it didn’t change the fact that they had no idea what the monsters could do to stop the collision . It was all vague . Nevertheless, it seemed the Mayor had his suspicions .
“I’m not sure if it’s the right answer, but it’s one of the reasons I gathered all of you here . Even an incompetent person would get suspicious if something like that suddenly appears out of nowhere . ”
The Mayor switched on the big screen on the wall .
A picture appeared on the screen .
“What’s that?”
“It appeared exactly on the opposite side of the stake . We believe it arose when Udocus carried out his ritual . We believe it belongs to the Grenoid’s side . ”
The picture had been taken from a satellite, so it showed an overhead view . At a glance, one could tell that it was a picture of a large building
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