The [Airship Collision] event starts out of nowhere.
There was no foreshadowing, no omen.
Sure, people say Chekhov’s gun and all, but just because it’s there, a perfectly fine airship suddenly keels over and charges us?
Not just that.
From the moment I arrived I’ve been wary of the roof.
That’s where [Evil Ritual] kicks off the instant the cultists gather.
‘I’m certain there was no one there just a few minutes ago.’
And yet out of the blue, black magi pop up and start prepping a summoning.
“Hey, you bastard Nyala! There’s a limit to tossing stuff in—are you really progressing this with zero plausibility?”
A message window pops up as if reacting to my anger.
But it isn’t an explanation for the lack of plausibility.
[Not Nyala.]
“Oh, is that so?”
My apologies to the not-Nyala. Damn it.
[System : Penalty trait ‘Feast’s Offering’ activates.]
Another warning message rolls.
It’s only a hunch, but it feels like at least two abyssal beings are meddling in this event.
[Mobile Parliament Ship].
Sometimes nicknamed the [Parliament Airship], [Skydemocracy (Parliament Airship)] is controlled by cutting-edge AI and monitored 24/7 by an enormous staff.
On top of that, multiple layers of safety systems installed throughout the ship prevent any accident or orbit deviation that might occur.
In other words, unless every person involved in management ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) goes insane at once, an accident is impossible.
“What the hell is going on! Why did it leave the assigned orbit!”
The captain of the Mobile Parliament Ship kicks open the control room door.
“Captain, what brings you here?”
The vice-captain greets him with a guileless face.
“What brings me—what do you think you’re doing!”
The control room staff, grinning at each other, finally speak as if they’ve understood.
“Ah—so the Captain isn’t a religious man?”
“Re...ligious?”
“Yes, religion. Remarkable, really. Aren’t there shocking accidents and surreal deaths every single day around the world? Phenomena that defy reason. A steady rise in prodigies of inhuman ways. This very city is protected by the whims of an unstable monster named Yang Seoho. In a place like this, Captain, how do you live with nothing but the confidence housed in a single human body?”
“What are you talking about? You’re all insane!”
Bright laughter bursts from every side.
Hahahaha! Kekekeke! Wow, he says we’re insane. Wahahahaha!
After laughing for a good while, the vice-captain wipes the tears from his eyes.
“The insane one is you, Captain. God exists. Why do you turn away from a god who is real?”
“Hey now, that’s enough. Come now—Captain. Don’t worry. We have no intention of rejecting those without faith. Our god is generous.”
Let us be martyred together.
Our god desires it.
Horrified by their words, the captain shouts, voice like a scream.
“God? What god! What you worship is a demon! A devil from the Abyss! Whose orders are these!”
The twenty-four night-shift controllers in the room all point in unison.
“Our god has descended into the airship’s central control computer.”
“That’s right. We worship the will of the great machine, the sacred AI, [Tik-Tok Man].”
Thank you for your help.
Think nothing of it. Ah, and Bubble Head recently experienced a very stimulating incident. If you wish, we can fold the Feast’s Offering into this special, provocative narrative Bubble Head is handling solo.
A fascinating offer. But there’s an event in progress—another time, when the opportunity arises.
“Sigh, fine. No point getting mad.”
A short sigh.
Truth is, I expected this kind of problem from the start.
‘This time there’s nothing here to stoke my madness.’
Instead, this venue is crawling with cultists of every stripe.
Through one of them or another, there’d be plenty who could butt in, plausibility be damned.
“Sinhwa, who have you been talking to this whole time! Did you forget I’m at your side!”
Mun Gyeongha yowls from my ribs.
“Ah, I had a brief hallucination. Occupational hazard of mages, you know?”
It’s the answer I use every time this sort of question flies in, but it must sound pretty terrifying to Mun Gyeongha.
“Damn it! Put me down at once!”
“I’d like to, but—let me handle one thing first, then I’ll set you down.”
Some days, everything piles up at once like this.
It happens to anyone in the modern world—not just to mages trying to stave off the end of the world.
All the more reason to keep calm and handle the high-priority, quick-resolve tasks first.
For example?
In my case, right this second the job is dodging the fist of a top-tier master who has perfected skywalk footwork and is flying in.
“Black Gale Bullet Shadow Strike!”
A storming barrage of fists.
[Leap]
“Sir! Is this really the time? The windows! Do you not see what’s happening out there?”
The [Mobile Parliament Ship] is coming straight at us!
No members would be working at this hour, but there will be innocent parliamentary staff aboard!
“I’ll fell you first, then resolve matters one by one!”
Ah, so you’ve got the same plan as me?
But in that gentleman’s head the schedule reads something like “Escape with the VIP.”
Fundamentally different from my position.
[System : Penalty trait ‘Feast’s Offering’ activates.]
Damn it, I’ve got a bad feeling.
I have to clear the crusty elder of the—no, not Martial Alliance—Hunter Mutual Aid Association before I can do anything else.
[Fireball]
[Spell Boost: Multi-Cast]
“Paltry.”
With flowing tai chi movements, Dochul draws in the incoming fireballs and, spinning neatly, sends them back.
Damn. NPCs at this tier all have counters for magic.
[Chains of Dominion]
Shlarararark!
I snare the returning fireballs with chains—and let’s see...
Right, there’s still some idiot not paying attention. Heads up, you clown.
Kwoaaaaang!
“Aaagh!”
A fixer’s scream—the one who was about to ambush the unguarded Mun Gyeongmin.
“You depraved demon-path cur! Yet again you butcher innocents!”
But Dochul roars even louder, swallowed by a bigger misunderstanding.
“Man, if you’re going to call me a villain no matter what I do, I might as well be one. Director, you asked me to put you down earlier, right?”
As I say it, I layer a few spells onto Mun Gyeongha’s body.
“Sinhwa? W-what are you doing to me?”
“Getting you ready to be put down!”
Mun Gyeongha turns chalk-white, after begging to be set down just minutes ago.
[Invisible Hand]
Bwoooong!
“Gyaaah!”
Hm, did I throw him a bit hard? He’ll endure it.
[System : If Mun Gyeongha is left unattended for 3 minutes or more, he runs to Mun Taeik.]
An irrelevant warning.
I’ll retrieve him within three minutes anyway.
“You craven wretch! Haaap!”
Dochul barely snags Mun Gyeongha. Good—nice catch.
At the same time, the trigger I set on that spell resolves.
[Auto Cast: Phase Lock]
[Auto Cast: Leap]
[Phase Lock] pins Mun Gyeongha’s body in midair. [Leap] forcibly makes Dochul jump.
These are, system-wise, beneficial effects, not attacks—so Dochul’s abilities can’t defend against them.
“Wha—!?”
He caroms straight toward the [Mobile Parliament Ship].
Whirrrrrp!
“Do you think to insult this seat with such trifling tricks!”
Dochul rights himself in midair and twists his body—yes. Just as I expected, he plans to kick off that big front window and dive at me.
I time my cast for the instant his foot touches glass.
[Vibration Wave]
Pachachachachang!
The window can’t withstand the razor vibration and bursts.
Shards of glass rain down over the streets of Sejong City.
And Dochul, who meant to use the pane as a foothold—
“Gyaaaaah! Kim Sinhwa! Coward!”
“Come back with a fortuitous encounter from down there!”
No, this is no time for jokes.
The airship is now right in our faces. That massive bulk throws off terrifying pressure.
‘Impact is imminent.’
Damn it, where is Yang Seoho and what is he doing! Must the heinous, cold-blooded wanted man Kim Sinhwa save Sejong City?
“Wow, what now?”
First thought: Smashing it would be easy.
But...
My senses tell me there are still triple-digit humanoid intelligences aboard.
Second thought: Aren’t the passengers mostly cultists anyway?
I can’t tell that by sense alone, but experience says most aboard right now probably have wicked, cultish minds.
And I’ve got other problems to solve immediately.
On the far side of the airship hangs the end of the world.
‘Great, it’s the trolley problem now.’
A handful of plans surface in tandem. A few choices.
‘Tch, no helping it. Decided.’
I stretch my right hand toward the airship and cast.
[Phase Lock] [Invisible Hand] [Elastic Field]
[Gale-Thunder Trust] [Gravity Field] [Protection Circle] [Shield Generator]
[Distortion Field] [Grand Cyclone] [Giant’s Grasp]
[Spell Boost: Maximize]
Spells detonate all at once.
Vrooooooooooom!!
An absurd, gut-punching roar.
A shock that feels like my body will slingshot away any second.
And gasps from the people behind me.
“Oh, my god!”
“He... stopped the airship!?”
“P-preposterous!”
“Kim Sinhwa—rumors did not do you justice!”
[System : Some of those present are moved by your heroic act.]
The fact only some are moved tells you how many rotten souls are gathered here.
‘There are still ones who can’t drop their black hearts. Incredible.’
If it were merely a case of losing direction and falling, [Phase Lock] or [Gravity Inversion] would have helped a lot—
Viiiiiiiiiiiin!!
But this airship isn’t falling.
It’s using every ounce of available power to “advance” this way.
Which means I can’t solve this by shoving it for a few seconds.
I’m stuck in a raw contest of strength against that colossal mass.
‘And this is probably the setup they wanted, isn’t it?’
Fine. I’ll play along with their storyboard for now.
But it won’t all go according to plan.
[Kind Whisper]
I add a spell that boosts magical persuasiveness and warmth, and call out to the crowd.
Specifically—
“Heirs of the Yeonam Group!”
You—the handsomest, most gifted scions here—children of the king who will rule this world!
“I will help you escape this place! If you trust me, please come a little closer this way!”
A heartfelt, earnest cry.
It even includes the exact information they currently yearn to hear.
No matter how arrogant the villains, they won’t easily brush off a magically persuasive appeal like this.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll gladly comply.”
“I misjudged you.”
“You... would save me?”
The Mun heirs stir and edge closer.
Including Mun Gyeongha, eight in total? I couldn’t pull all of them.
The rest must be the unmoved ones.
“Good. Now then, everyone...”
I extend my left hand toward the heirs who trusted me and came close.
“Take this!”
Shlararararak!
My left hand’s tentacles explode outward, branching like mad.
“T-tentacles!?”
A blindside strike.
They approached me defenselessly—because they believed me.
“S-stop! Don’t coil around me!”
“What is this—!? Why are you doing this!?”
Third-generation chaebol brats squirm, wrapped in my tentacles.
Excellent. All according to plan.
You brats—now I’ll puppeteer your bodies and minds as I please!
