Chapter 281: Proxy of Our Will
Ramin blinked at the subtle tone in the long stayer's voice.
Then a few rockets behind the spacecraft began to accelerate.
‘Although we can't communicate with the control panel, they can still see what's happening. Maybe at least transmission is possible.’
The rockets that had overtaken the spacecraft advanced toward the center where the Mayflies were coming.
The long-term stayer said, "To avoid being swept up, we need to move a bit."
“I’ll do that right now.”
Ramin sat at the controls to check.
As the long stayer came up to her to help, Ramin said, "You should sit in the back. Fasten your safety belt..."
"I don't need anything to hold me down. I stand alone.”
"Hey, no, what are you talking about? It’s dangerous."
The long stayer just laughed and said, "I'm really fine. Focus on the task. The explosion is about to happen."
Ramin felt out of place each time the long stayer spoke as if prophesying, but before she could dwell on the feeling, one of the screens filled with light. It was a nuclear explosion.
Each of the Empire's rockets following the spacecraft was armed with a nuclear weapon. Though the shock of a nuclear explosion couldn't be transmitted in space, the energy from nuclear fission didn't just disappear. The immense blast engulfed the Mayflies.
‘One, two, and three... Good. They’re all annihilated.’
The light from the nuclear fission acted as a kind of shield, partially protecting the spacecraft, which was then able to navigate through the wide gaps between the explosions toward Loom.
‘But this isn't the end.’
As Ramin controlled the spacecraft and they escaped through the gaps, she realized her premonition was becoming reality. The second beam of the Lightbeam flashed, already charged.
"...Damn it!”
The beam was powerful but narrow, offering a chance to avoid a direct hit on the entire spacecraft.
‘If only we can avoid it!’
Ramin thought it was unfortunate they had lost the upper propulsion unit earlier.
Then, a voice came through the internal communication system, "It's all fixed!"
With those words, the dim red lights inside the spacecraft brightened significantly.
The long stayer replied, “Good work, Toolbo.”
Ramin, doubting her ears, quickly maneuvered the spacecraft. As the spacecraft twisted, the attack from the Lightbeam barely missed it.
‘We dodged it!’
Immediately after avoiding the Lightbeam, she turned around and asked, "Toolbo? Did you just say Toolbo?"
The long stayer nodded.
Ramin questioned further, "Madman Toolbo?"
"Yes, that's right. Who else but that Platy could fix this spacecraft?"
Madman Toolbo continued speaking from somewhere within the spacecraft, "I'll also fix the communications."
"...What? But the communication devices are here, aren’t they?”
"I've fixed it!"
Suddenly, the control panel came through, "Spacecraft! Spacecraft! Respond!"
Amid the chaos in the spacecraft, Ramin briefly summarized the current status to the control panel.
“Pardon, Toolbo?"
"The control panel didn't know?"
"Neither did the high committee. It was top-secret. Even the approvals were directly overseen by the gods, who descended to certify the miracle. No one would have known everything."
Given the approvals, it could only be seen that it was the work of the gods as no one had noticed anything during the extensive procedure to bring Toolbo to the space station.
"...To that extent?” asked Ramin.
"It seems the gods themselves intervened.”
"Hmm.”
“By the way, if one of them is Toolbo, then who is the other?"
Ramin looked at the long stayer, who still wore a helmet and stood with arms crossed, looking at the screen.
'It's not my job to know who this person is.'
Instead, Ramin realized precisely what her mission was. It was to bring these two people to Loom. She knew that was his duty.
The long stayer turned around, "Any problems?"
"Not at all... Oh, it's information from the control panel. Five projectiles, this won't be easy,” Ramin replied.
Toolbo said through the intercom, "...I've added additional propulsion units! It'll move more smoothly now!"
Ramin, trusting his words despite all the questions flooding her head, operated the buttons originally meant for spare parts and confirmed the newly added propulsion units.
As Ramin, with the help of the control panel and Toolbo, intercepted the projectiles and created weapons capable of intercepting them, the spacecraft got closer to Loom.
Another group of Mayflies came, and the Lightbeam was fired two more times. The spacecraft's hull shuddered violently. That was a bad sign.
‘But we're almost there...!'
Loom now seemed larger than ever. More than half of it had been exposed, certainly.
‘What about the Pulverizer at the center...?’
Then Ramin saw it with her eyes. A large, empty, massive hole was situated in the center of Loom, surrounded by indecipherable modules that seemed preoccupied with some preparation and operation of mechanical devices.
The long stayer said, "It seems this is as far as we go."
“What?”
"It looks like the Pulverizer is almost ready. I guess that makes sense since they would have started preparing for its use as soon as the exposure rate exceeded 53 percent, considering the speed at which Loom moves."
"How do you know that?"
"I can see it with my eyes."
Ramin had doubts.
'What is with this person?'
The long stayer tapped on their helmet and said, "I have good eyesight."
But good eyesight wouldn't allow one to see beyond the resolution of the screens attached to the outside of the spacecraft.
However, the long stayer seemed confident, and they said without further need to prove their point, "So, I'm going to jump."
"...What do you mean?"
"I'm going to propel myself. You know, what was it...action and reaction."
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean I'm going to use the spacecraft as a foothold to leap onto the second moon."
“What?”
The long stayer, apparently dead serious, moved to the central corridor of the spacecraft, "By doing so, the spacecraft can survive. If the Loom has eyes, it will target me."
“Wait, hold on...!”
However, Ramin couldn’t grab the long stayer. The long stayer avoided Ramin’s hand and moved through zero gravity with such elegance and skill, as if they had been born in space.
'...Haven’t they been here for just a few months?'
Ramin had never been outmatched in terms of physical abilities in the current days, which was why she was taken aback.
The long stayer glided skillfully along the central corridor of the spacecraft. Ramin, initially attempting to give chase, soon realized that she couldn't give up on the spacecraft.
'Alright, let’em do as they wish.'
Ramin decided not to spend more time on things beyond her comprehension. While one of her objectives had deviated, Toolbo was still on the spacecraft. Therefore, Ramin's remaining goal was to safely land the spacecraft on Loom.
'Whatever role they are to play, the spacecraft carries confidential cargo like the long stayer and Toolbo. Everything must have its purpose, even though it is unknown to me.'
Ramin was about to change the spacecraft's trajectory, then glanced at the screen on the upper hull. Indeed, the long stayer was outside the spacecraft.
‘Absurd, really.’
Ramin glanced at the screen and subtly adjusted the spacecraft's angle so the long stayer could truly use it as a stepping stone. The person, noticing this, made a thumbs-up at a nearby camera.
‘Really?’
Ramin then asked through the communication system, "How's the outside air?"
"Stuffy. I think it’ll be better to take off my helmet."
"What?"
Ramin thought it was a joke, but the long stayer really played with their helmet and opened it.
“Oh.”
As soon as Ramin saw the person’s face, she immediately recognized it and finally understood everything. The well-known figure Ramin had only seen from a distance was a black-scaled Lizardman.
Holding the spacecraft's external ladder with one hand, he slowly straightened his back, slightly wrapped his tail around the ladder, and crouched down. The Lizardman was actually planning to jump.
***
Sung-Woon looked up at the sky.
He believed that the simpler the solution to a problem, the better. This also applied to the moon-facing plan as well.
‘The issue is that the system's power cannot reach outside Avartin's atmosphere.’
Meaning, if a player went beyond Avartin's atmosphere, they would lose their divinity. The power of gods was also limited to within Avartin.
While their power would still allow them to defend against the second moon to some degree, it would be too passive, and there would be hardly any opportunity for counterattack.
‘We can't just spend time getting beaten up.’
There were always multiple solutions. Sung-Woon believed that different approaches could lead to answers, but they seemed poor and boring, and there were other problems as well. The best solution, close to the right answer in Sung-Woon's mind, was his moon-facing plan.
‘If the system only reaches the atmosphere...’
Sung-Woong thought simply.
‘...Then we just need to extend it further.’
It wasn't a ridiculous or impossible idea. In the past, the system's influence had reached the first moon, Yonda, allowing for the secret construction of the second moon, Loom, behind it. And the solution involved finding the location where the system existed, entering the Demon World.
‘The hacking was successful.’
Sung-Woon didn’t immediately expand the system's range. Doing so would create a problem. Loom, which had been waiting outside causality, would be able to activate instantly upon entering the system's range. Moreover, he wanted to avoid detection while modifying the system.
‘It needs to be fast yet slow, visible yet hidden.’
Thus, Sung-Woon enabled a one-time hacking to freely set the system's range.
The default setting was:
[Range Setting Value: 552 kilometers above ground.]
Then Sung-Woon modified it to:
[Range Setting Value: Up to where man can reach.]
However, with this modification, someone needed to go to the farthest reaches of Avartin’s civilization. Despite the constant interventions from the evil gods, the Empire had the capability to go into space.
Sung-Woon still had faith in the ordinary people of the Empire, but he couldn't ignore the worst-case scenario. Someone reliable, more than anyone else, needed to assist them.
In the Sanctuary, Sung-Woon asked the apostle in charge, Kyle Lak Orazen, and Mazdari the question:
"Who would be the best choice?"
Mazdari suggested,
-Night Sky, just one person, who can be the standard, will suffice.
Kyle added,
-But they must be stronger than anyone else.
The answer was already decided. Both named one person.
-Someone who can survive even in the worst circumstances.
-Someone who never gives up until the very end.
-Someone who stands unbroken in the face of any terror.
-Someone who scoffs at the impossible.
-The God Killer.
-The one who grants miracles to gods.
-Proxy of our will.
-Spear of the Pantheon.
***
Apostle Lakrak, holding a golden spear on the spacecraft, glared at the second moon.
"I've come to capture you.”
Lakrak then took a step on the spacecraft and leaped toward the moon.
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