Chapter 269: A Giant Mountain
Seven hours later, Sepi was found inside the recovered rocket in the southern ocean, crying. Sepi showed some signs of dizziness and exhaustion but was otherwise unharmed.
After this, the next rocket was launched, and the miracles continued.
***
Inside the lounge on the first floor of the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency, one person sat in the lounge area, which offered a sense of openness with its several floors of full-length glass exposing the interior, yet it didn't seem very spacious to Ion.
'Is it just a feeling, or is it actually not that spacious?'
The reason was the presence of the Ogre intelligence agent, Mando Hwae-Sa, whose triangular physique and shoulder width alone could cover four trolls standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Mando’s appearance prevented them from participating in covert missions for the Intelligence Agency, so they often used Mando as the face of the agency in various promotional materials. Mando's mythical bulk was well known to those who should know.
Ion, having traveled with Mando for months and unable to just pass by without acknowledging them, especially considering Mando's unmistakable size, walked straight over to them.
"Long time no see, Mando."
"Oh, Ion. Good to see you."
"Are you waiting for Ramin?"
"Ah, yes."
"Even as an astronaut, Ramin is busy. Others are overwhelmed from the astronaut training alone..."
At this, Mando scratched their chiseled jaw. "Well, I guess she doesn't have much more to train physically, right? Probably just struggling with studies."
"Is that so?"
"Ramin is much stronger than me."
"Well, I guess because she’s the Chosen One and all."
"Even without that power, she’d be stronger. Of course, I'm not just talking about physical strength."
Ion looked unconvinced, feeling that Mando was being overly modest.
Mando waved their hand lightly. "It's like that with a Vampire who has lived a long time."
"I'm not sure about that. Isn't a Vampire just a Vampire?"
"Vampires start with the first Vampire Queen Shaiven as the first generation, and then each subsequent embrace creates the next generation, up to the fourth generation. Ramin is part of the fourth generation. Typically, the first generation is as strong as an Ogre, but the fourth generation is known to lack the ability to embrace."
"But? Doesn't that mean they're weak?"
"But if they consume a lot of blood, they can regain the strength of the previous generations. It's recent research, not widely known, but they can embrace others, and theoretically, their power may exceed that of the first generation. Famous long-lived Vampires like Hwee-Kyung, for instance, have shown extraordinary abilities that are not simply understood as divine power. It must be similar to that."
Ion assumed that was the case and said, "It's good she’s strong. The engineering team is quite worried, you know."
"The engineering team? You mean the rocket engineering team? Didn’t Sepi survive again this time? Isn’t that amazing? This is confidential, but every time a rocket is launched, people in the Intelligence Agency gather to pray. There are even some who can’t sleep until Sepi is safely returned."
Ion half-jokingly listened and laughed. "We pray too. It could be our fault. If there’s a mistake in calculations or guidance, it could be a death sentence to the rocket. Oh, I came down to get some tea for the astronomy team. I should go back up now."
"Alright, take care... Oh, wait."
Ion, who was turning to leave, looked back at Mando.
Mando said, "There was something I wanted to tell Ramin, but I think I can tell you directly."
"What is it?"
Mando cleared their throat. This Ogre, despite their size, was surprisingly shy at times.
"It's about the Fairies."
"Fairies?"
"Including Lide Oboren."
Ion hadn’t seen Lide for months, yet the mention of her name brought a flutter of excitement. It wasn’t strange, considering that whenever he closed his eyes, memories with her always flashed through his mind. Questions he wanted to ask and answers he wished to hear crisscrossed as he imagined parting and meeting her again, something he had done countless times in his thoughts.
Mando, oblivious to Ion's thoughts, continued, "Some Fairies want to convert."
"...Convert, as in?"
"They want to break away from their god, the evil god. Not all Fairies who have lived their lives in faith think the demands of the evil god are just or are unquestionable. Especially Fairies like them who have to live hidden in society may follow blind faith, but as their imprisonment drags on and the Empire remains intact, their faith wavers.
Of course, we can’t know the exact reasons, but there are definitely those who want to change, thanks to our intelligence agency’s efforts. Many among the Fairies also have family or friends from other species. They can’t just betray everyone."
Ion finally managed to choose one among many things he wanted to say. "So Lide too...?"
"She is one of those wishing to convert."
"Is she coming out? Right away?"
Mando gestured with an open palm, saying, "Not all those wishing to convert can come out immediately. There are quite a few Fairies, and among them, some may still follow the evil god. But they will come out sequentially, with priority given to those who are important. And Lide Oboren, being a rocket engineer, has quite a high priority."
"I see."
"They say good news is on the way."
"Thank you, Mando."
After parting with Mando, Ion spent the day lost in thought.
'It’s not entirely a reason for joy. Lide deceived me, trying to make my research worthless.'
However, Ion couldn't precisely define his feelings or thoughts about Lide until he faced her again. Therefore, Mando's news wasn't just about seeing Lide once more, but it was an opportunity to straighten out his wavering heart.
'Alright.'
Ion comforted himself and devotedly carried out his duties.
***
In the pantheon’s situation room, player Richard, in full plate decorated with gold and silver like a king's ceremonial armor, leaned closely into his screen and muttered, "This is definitely as expected."
The screen showed a clear image of enemies. These enemies came from the deep sea, remaining silent for a long time. But recent movements made it clear that the evil gods would act eventually. The Fairies' conversion was the trigger.
Unlike the restricted Jeolyo and the Fairies bound by causality, it was evident that Sha-Cha, who could still act, would make a move. It was only a matter of when, so players on duty had been repeatedly warned to keep a close watch on Orazen’s seafront.
Richard said, "I said this would happen, didn’t I?"
"Hey, I was the first to say they'd show up today," Lim Chun-Sik, wearing slippers and dangling them on his feet behind Richard, retorted.
Richard soon agreed. "Well, that doesn't matter. What do we do now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Is it okay for us to destroy them?"
Solongos, wearing traditional armor, mumbled from behind, "We should report to hyung-nim."
"Ugh! I want to fight too! If we tell him, he'll just swoop in and destroy them, claiming it’s an important issue!"
Lim Chun-Sik scoffed, "Then do better than Nebula."
"I’m not completely useless. I even ranked within the top 100 last time."
"Kind of weak bragging to someone who has won the most first places."
Among the three grumbling members of the situation team, Solongos was the first to initiate contact. Solongos glanced at the screen and then tilted his head slightly.
"Hm?"
Richard quickly turned around. "What is it?"
"Oh, hung-nim says he's extremely busy right now, and that the situation team should handle it."
"Really? Why is he busy?"
"He says we can use all the attack resources at Orazen, but only up to 5% of the Faith points."
"What?"
Richard raised his hands excitedly and said, "We could conquer the world with that much!"
"He said we're only supposed to defend."
"Right, I know. Defend. Defense." Richard buried his face in his hands. "Finally, a real war-like battle."
"The opponents are barely pirate level."
"Didn't I tell you how I lost to Hegemonia?"
"...Right."
"In comparison, Sha-Cha is a suitable opponent for me. ...Wow, wow, I'm moved. Look at this."
Lim Chun-Sik disparagingly looked at the battle-crazed player, who, despite his elegant armor, behaved like a primary schooler, but after seeing where Richard's fingers pointed, he too felt a bit excited.
"We're in for a spectacular show."
***
At the seafront of the self-reflection city Orazen, the port, rocking with rough waves, saw the return of the Deep One forces armed with spearguns. These priests of the Black Order, gathered from various oceans, were the last of the elite.
The last cardinal of the Deep Ones, Serakto, reorganized their priests and said, "Just a single brigade's worth of troops, but all elite. With the power of the Great Deep Light, they still haven't located us..."
Contrary to Serakto's hopes, a massive explosion sounded from the sky. It was a flare shot from a mortar. The pitch-black sky suddenly turned blue as if the sun had risen, and dozens of small artificial suns illuminated the waters in front of Orazen.
Cardinal Serakto was startled but knew what to do.
"Take cover and move! The hatred of Deep Light is with us!"
Their objective was simple. Destroying Orazen wouldn't mean victory for them. However, if they could destroy the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency, they could delay many things. Their mission was to facilitate the arrival of the second moon on time.
"We shall summon the second moon!"
Right after the flare shot, the initial mortar shells directly struck the harbor. Just as a unit was about to be swept away by the flames, a black tentacle emerged from the deep sea and blocked the bombing.
The surviving Deep Ones shouted, "Hatred! Our hatred has come!"
Then, giant tentacles blocked the artillery, protecting the Deep Ones. It was the last Kraken, believed to have been extinct due to nuclear attacks. The massive tentacles pushed and pulled ships in the harbor, clearing a path for the Deep One forces toward Orazen.
The Kraken began supporting the Deep Ones, squeezing its body along the downstream river. The overflowing water from the Kraken's mass caused sewers to backflow and currents to pour into the low-lying areas.
People’s screams were heard, and the Deep Ones hid among them amidst the chaos.
Far away, a player in armor looked down at Orazen.
"This is all the last Kraken can do?!"
Behind the laughing Richard, a mountain overlooking Orazen trembled. Soon, the giant shadow that seemed like a mountain a moment ago slowly began to crawl down toward the mouth of the river.
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