Chapter 280: Even Gods Hope for Miracles
In the absence of gravity and atmospheric friction, the hidden weapon, a spear, sliced through space, heading toward the second moon. However, in the cosmic scale, it was too miniscule to be properly observed, not only for the moon destined to be struck by the spear, but also for the Empire that launched it. Only the gods could truly witness this event.
‘The weapon of an apostle follows their current Divinity level.’
Lakrak's current XP was higher than those of many lower-level gods, Though system-imposed limitations kept apostles at a lower level cap than gods...
‘Even with these constraints, physical laws become untouchable domains.’
Sung-Woon confirmed that the Lightbeam shot from the second moon to deflect the spear was immediately torn apart by divine power before it could even reach Lakrak's spear.
'It’s done.’
Lakrak's spear pierced right through the center of the Lightbeam.
***
"Hit,” Ramin Solost Muel heard a voice from beyond the coupling corridor.
Two people were present. One was of a smaller stature species, seemingly chubby, identifiable by the shape of the helmet.
‘That's a Platy.’
The other required more thought.
'This one must be the famous long stayer...'
The presence of a tail was certain, and the hair seemed somewhat long, but such traits were common among many species.
Ramin asked, "What hit?"
"The spear launched from Starkeeping hit the Lightbeam.”
“What? You can see that?"
The long stayer shrugged nonchalantly.
The Observation Team communicated, "Lightbeam silenced! Move quickly as there can be another Lightbeam. The exposure level is now at 41%."
Ramin wanted to continue the conversation, but there was an urgent need to rush the fuel supply and other resupply operations. The Lightbeam's attack being overcome did not mean the end. The attacks from the moon continued, and both the coupled spacecraft and the station had to perform aerobatic flights. Although not as potent as Lakrak's Divine Spear, the projectiles launched with the help of the electron cannon were also used to counter the attacks.
During the final phase of decoupling the spacecraft from the station, Con muttered, "There were at least ten instances where the success rate of the operation was below 10 percent."
"I know,” Ramin replied.
Then she assumed that even in the midst of the unnoticed operations, the gods' power must have intervened.
'Come to think of it, there were said to be spaces inside the space station and spacecraft's internal partitions that are architecturally worthless.'
The space station itself served as a massive temple. Created by the command of the Pantheon with the Central Temple and priests involved, the spaces that were likely to house shrines of the Pantheon were something scientists with secular tendencies wouldn’t appreciate, yet they enabled the gods to directly empower the spacecraft without having to do so through mortals.
'But that miracle must ends here,’
Ramin realized that the truly challenging part was about to begin.
As they moved further away from the space station, the probability of success for operations, which had been artificially heightened, would start to align with their original odds.
Ramin recalled something she heard during the interrogation of Fairies at the Intelligence Agency,
'Even the gods of the Pantheon hope for a miracle?'
The idea that those capable of creating miracles would themselves hope for one was somewhat frightening.
'But we've come this far.'
Ramin gathered herself again. However, she also needed to focus on something else at the moment.
"Quack!"
The 'undeniable Platy' next to the 'long stayer' had failed to swim in zero gravity and slammed into the wall.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, fine!"
It was apparent that the Platy was not okay. Ramin tried to grab them, but the Platy's floundering made it difficult. Moreover, Ramin was not used to the zero-gravity state either. The fact that nothing physically supported and stabilized them, affecting not just their physicality but also their psyche, was unsettling.
"I'll do it."
The long stayer skillfully grabbed the Platy's tail, slowed them down with a kick, then used their own tail to anchor themself and pressed the Platy down with both hands.
"I told you to be careful, friend."
Even with the helmet on, the Platy, who appeared squished, replied, "Ah, oh my, thank you."
The long stayer said, “Let’s get going.”
Ramin nodded and took the lead. "You're quite skilled, aren't you?"
"I've been here a long time."
"Is your body okay?"
"Well, my body is fine, but the food is terrible. And the toilet."
"Yeah, it's dreadful, really."
"But sometimes, undergoing hardship can be helpful. It serves as a turning point to the soul, so to speak."
Ramin believed that the optimistic attitude of this long stayer was what enabled them to endure the isolation. For several months, while many astronauts passed through the space station, this individual spent time alone, even during incidents like rocket malfunctions, space station accidents, and supply errors.
'They must have risked their life dozens of times.'
Initially, the space station consisted of only one module, a confined space. While Vampires found comfort in confined spaces, benefiting them during astronaut selection, Ramin knew that most species didn't share this feeling.
‘This person truly is strong.'
After the coupling was released, the spacecraft began to accelerate again.
Then Ramin's worries soon came true.
"Three projectiles incoming! They'll reach in 11 seconds!"
"We can't dodge them all. We need to decide where to take the hit."
"The high committee is trying to make a decision..."
"I'm the captain here, and you're too slow."
Ramin quickly made decisions when danger approached. Despite the destruction of the upper propulsion, the fuel line was intact, maintaining acceleration. The control panel worried over the loss of maneuverability due to the missing upper propulsion, but Ramin ignored them.
"Exposure at 48%! The second Lightbeam!"
"What about the electron cannon?"
"It's already firing! Projecting artifacts now. But don't expect the same impact as the Divine Spear!"
Artifacts from the Empire, Union Kingdom, and Ronante-Oroban Alliance, including those of gods and apostles, along with sacred items discovered from ancient ruins, were launched from Itimo Group’s electron cannon. Unlike with the first Lightbeam, these artifacts were noticeably slower, even visible to Ramin.
"Brace for impact. And pray," Ramin said as she saw the flash of Lightbeam.
A massive shock swept through the spacecraft, causing her to lose consciousness, only to quickly regain it.
‘Shit.’
This wasn’t good. The toughest person on board was her, and if she was knocked out, the others would have suffered more. Looking around, she indeed saw others unconscious in their seats. The interior was flashing red, signaling problems. She needed to act quickly, but they were short on people.
"Control panel?"
Only silence remained. The communication device was also dead.
Confirming that the acceleration continued, Ramin unbuckled and stood up.
At that moment, the two individuals who had transferred from the space station stood up.
The long stayer reported, "Oxygen levels are dropping. It seems there's a leak in the fuel. Is there a fire?"
The Platy resplied, "I...I think I can handle that."
"First, we need permission from the captain."
"Oh, right."
The Platy turned around, and Ramin nodded in approval.
"I'm counting on you."
Ramin awkwardly smiled. Although she had agreed to resolve the issue, the spacecraft's current equipment made it challenging. Moreover, with the rest of the crew unconscious, it was nearly impossible to handle alone.
'But first...'
Ramin looked at the Platy with concern. The Platy, bouncing around as usual, hit their head on the ceiling.
The long stayer, anticipating this, caught the Platy's legs and gave them a gentle spin before releasing them, saying, "Good luck."
"Woooaaah!"
The Platy shot down the central corridor of the spacecraft.
The long stayer asked, "Any other issues?"
"Our communications are down,” replied Ramin.
"What about the acceleration?"
"The speed hasn't dropped."
"Do you think we'll arrive on time?"
Ramin wondered if she should ask when ‘on time’ was. While the goal was to arrive as soon as possible, both the astronauts and the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency had agreed on a deadline.
"It'll be close,” said Ramin.
The estimated exposure was 53 percent. The most powerful weapon of the second moon, known as the Pulverizer in ancient ruins, was located in its core. It was a force beyond the current scientific capabilities of the Empire and was believed to have devastating destructive power, capable of annihilating a city with a single shot. The Pulverizer was the weapon that had once brought apocalypse to the world.
'The Pulverizer will be revealed at around 53 percent of exposure. We need to reach it before then.’
If it could destroy a city, it could easily obliterate the spacecraft, space station, and even the Sky Castle’s base, Starkeeper, in an instant. If that happened, the Empire would lose any chance of counterattacking the moon.
The long stayer, checking the screen, said, "Hm, well, it certainly won't be easy."
Ramin's gaze followed.
Something was pouring out from around the moon.
‘Mass-projectiles?’
Ramin first thought they were shot from the moon, but they were much slower than that.
"Are they enemy ships?"
"...Aircrafts?"
"Yes. Enemy spacecrafts. We should have expected them to appear."
Ramin certainly knew this. The moon was a vast place, housing factories within. Though the moon itself could destroy a planet, direct offensive weapons were necessary for conquest.
The moon operated unmanned spacecrafts known as Mayflies.
'Each one flies more elegantly than this spacecraft.'
Although unmanned and equipped with simple weapons, without additional fuel supply, they would crash to the ground. They possessed simple mass-projectile weapons and ultimately could self-destruct as the final resort.
To a civilization just beginning to launch rockets beyond gravity, these were formidable enemies. Ramin had simply hoped that the Mayflies wouldn’t be ready due to the moon's incomplete preparations.
'But we still have to do what we can.'
Believing that transmission, if not reception, was still possible, Ramin spoke into the communicator, "Control panel? Visually confirmed...dozens of Mayflies. Our spacecraft lacks defensive capabilities against them."
The long stayer said, "We can stop the immediate Mayflies."
"How?"
The long stayer pointed to the screen showing the spacecraft's rear. "We're not alone here."
In addition to the spacecraft launched from the Starkeeper, there were rockets launched earlier from the ground, mostly belonging to the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency and the Imperial Army.
Ramin squinted. "But aren't those meant for a direct strike on Loom?"
"If we don't use them, we're dead."
"Isn't defeating Loom more important?"
The long stayer chuckled. "We're on our way to do just that, aren't we?"
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