Chapter 282: End to the Apocalypse
Ramin Solost Muel, watching the screen of the exterior of the spaceship, worried if the hull would break apart when Lakrak leaped.
Toolbo broadcasted, "It's okay! I fixed it!"
Now, the voice was more trustworthy than absurd.
"Control panel, did you check the screen?"
"...Confirmed. Wishing starlight to accompany the Great Thunder Dragon Emperor, let's do our job."
Ramin nodded. "...Alright, looks like we should start slowing down."
"Wait, the movement of the Pulverizer is confirmed. I'll catch its attention,” replied Lakrak.
"Okay."
While the spaceship maneuvered to avoid, Lakrak advanced toward Loom at a terrifying speed.
'It's clearer now.'
Loom's structure became distinctly visible, and the embodiment of Loom's hostility, the Pulverizer, was increasing its output.
'Only a few seconds left.'
Lakrak, slicing through starlight, twisted his body and threw his spear. Thrown into space, the spear appeared almost stationary from the side. There was no atmosphere to traverse, and no other relative benchmark to measure speed with. It didn’t seem like a threat, just existing. But that was not the case.
The second moon, Loom, and its controller Dide, saw it as a clear threat.
-Pulverizer, activate.
At Dide's command, Loom's largest weapon moved.
The Empire hadn’t realized yet, but the Pulverizer was a gravity particle launcher. The Pulverizer consisted of 332 modules in total, and even if only 12 core processing units were needed for its operation, Loom had to stop all other operations. But such a tradeoff was acceptable. The Pulverizer could completely disintegrate a target from a safe distance, as far as the moon.
-...Precisely, it should be able to.
From what looked like the giant pupil of Loom, cylindrical bulkheads suddenly rose. Invisible gravitons struck Lakrak at the speed of light. All eyes on Loom turned toward Lakrak at once.
Suddenly, the golden spear oxidized into a gold color, and Lakrak's body seemed to turn into white dust.
-...?
But Dide looked more closely. What turned into white dust was only Lakrak's spacesuit. Piercing through the dust, a sharp blue streak of lightning shot up.
"Anakse!"
Dide saw the lightning in the shape of a rider on a mount, rushing forward.
Lakrak wrapped his armor around his body and mounted his similarly armed monstrous bird, Anakse, crossing through space. Anakse flew through the void as if running across its favorite Prairie of Beginnings.
It wasn’t like Dide had never seen such mythical sights in old wars.
-But...is it to that extent...
Dide admitted that their predictions were off. The monster following this new god was much stronger than they had anticipated.
-But it's just one...
Loom had many weapons and had only revealed half of its form. Dide belatedly noticed the spaceships following, but did not pay it much attention. It was the Lizardman, who had the system's power depending on him, that had to be dropped.
-Loom, approve activation of the defense system.
The defense systems of the lower bulkhead, quickly arranged without reaching the surface, were activated.
-Discontinue Mayfly production. Shift all aircraft manufacturing processes to Bee Swarm production.
While the Mayflies functioned as an attack aircraft to Avartin, the Bee Swarm was a defense machine. It could only fly in zero gravity, but its output and functions were superior.
-Add production of third Lightbeam.
The effectiveness of Lightbeam as a strike force had already been confirmed.
-Defense army, to your positions.
Finally, Dide controlled their old children. If that being reached the surface of Loom, they would have to defend against him directly.
After completing the internal commands, Dide regained control of Loom's offensive and defensive systems.
-Come, monster.
***
The second moon, Loom, appeared from behind the first moon, Yonda.
In front of it, light and explosions were observed from Starkeeper. The control panel was unusually busy in their effort to grasp the situation. Communication with the spaceship, remaining nuclear rockets, and even Simo's electron cannons were still available.
"We all worked for the first apostle!"
At someone's call of admiration, Saijin slammed her fist on the desk.
"Of course! The whole Empire, all of Avartin, staked their lives, it would be problematic if the Pantheon didn't put forth that much!"
Everyone had noted Saijin's expression when Lakrak was seen on the screen, but they didn't mention it.
Saijin said, "Observations?"
Ion of the Observation Team replied, "...Uh, it's difficult. There's too much light, and the Analysis Team can't determine what weapons are being used."
High Commissioner Talay said, "A good sign."
"A good sign?" Simo asked furiously.
Talay nodded.
"That light under the moon is not the struggle of the first apostle."
"Then what?"
Talay said with a smile, "It's the struggle of the evil god against the first apostle."
***
Lakrak intercepted projectiles with his bow.
'Lightbeam!'
Lakrak accurately captured Loom's movements with his eyes. Hidden in a passage leading inside Loom, the presence of Lightbeam was clearly visible even from a shadowed spot.
'Create confusion and launch a surprise attack... How straightforward!'
Lakrak momentarily forgot about saving the world, purely delighted at the fact that he was fighting a challengingly large opponent.
To Lakrak, the second moon was a worthy foe.
‘They lack tricks.’
Lakrak created a spear and shouted from on top of Anakse, “Pzzt!”
Electricity in the shape of an Electric Stingray appeared above Lakrak's hand.
-Longtime friend! Do you need my help?
"We need to destroy that hidden coward."
-Hah, already done that once!
Lakrak threw the spear. The very Demonic Spirit of Electricity itself wrapped around the spear. It accelerated on its own, crossing Loom's offensive and being sucked into it. Inside Loom's passage, it precisely hit the Lightbeam that was newly created and targeting Lakrak's vulnerability.
Boom...!
The explosion inside Loom shook its surface slightly.
At the center of Loom, Dide tried to calm down.
-No, not yet...
Dide was about to activate the third Pulverizer they had been waiting for. However, Lakrak had already begun to dodge the trajectory of the Pulverizer. Since the Pulverizer was a fixed turret at the center of Loom, to adjust its angle, the entire moon, Loom itself, had to be moved. It wasn’t very difficult, but moving Loom's massive mass would consume tremendous energy.
-....
There was another option. Scorching with attacks, forcing the monster to only approach in front of the Pulverizer.
-....
However, Dide knew there were other problems to address before that. The weapons on Loom's surface were not yet ready. It wasn’t enough to make a scorching attack. There was a terrifying lack of time.
-...I'll find another way.
But not even Dide was convinced of those words. The enemy's apostle reaching Loom's surface was a failure in every aspect.
-...However, I accept it.
As Dide changed their plan, Lakrak immediately leaped toward the second moon. No, he struck down.
Though Loom had no atmosphere,
...Thud!
Loom's ground vibrated. More accurately, it was not so much a vibration, but a shudder. As soon as Lakrak, surrounded by lightning and riding on Anakse, touched Loom's surface, a massive wave of current engulfed the surroundings. Any defensive systems attempting to activate were burned and twisted by the overheating at thousands of degrees. Gravity and air, even when replicated by systems, were useless against Loom's hostile environment to life.
'It’s a dark and...'
Lakrak looked around on Loom's surface.
'A sad place.'
The ground was black plastic. On this slippery surface, it would be hard for any life to survive. Surrounding structures were all weapons or devices to maintain them, and the outskirts, other than the center, were just empty.
To Lakrak's right, the first moon, Yonda, looked down on Loom and Lakrak, shining in a grayish-white light, as if all these events were unrelated to it.
'That wouldn't be so.'
But there was no time for sentimental feelings.
Aircrafts started to appear—the familiar entities he had heard of, the Bee Swarm. The Bee Swarm, with electromagnetic field wings fluttering, revealed needle-shaped guns at the ends of their streamlined bodies. They did not seem threatening alone, but they were incredibly fast and numerous. As if waiting for Lakrak's arrival, they emerged from behind various modules, filling the sky in a dense pack.
Lakrak clicked his tongue.
"Trying to surround me? They must have thought I was the only one to fight. What a lack of imagination."
Lakrak irritably thrust his spear into the ground. Then he blew the horn at his waist.
However, the Swarm didn't wait for Lakrak to make a move. They all flew toward Lakrak at once.
Lakrak knew these machines could also perform fierce suicide attacks, but he didn’t dodge. There was no need. Arrows and spears, the cold weapons of an older era, pierced through the Bee Swarm targeting Lakrak. Without any chemical alteration, the Bee Swarm fell at Lakrak's feet, simply from physical impacts.
From the horizon Lakrak had his back to, a legion walked forth. Lakrak's longtime Lizardman warriors advanced, indiscriminately demolishing the Bee Swarm.
"Any trouble?" The one-eyed warrior Tatar, riding a Cockatoo, approached Lakrak.
Lakrak smiled. "The trouble is with this moon."
"It’s as you said."
"Rampage as much as you wish." Lakrak then spoke somewhat coldly, "Bring an end to the apocalypse."
At Lakrak's words, the warriors let out a battle cry and advanced. Their target was the center of Loom, the place known as the factory and control room. Lakrak intended to face a god once more.
Loom's surface fizzled with electricity as the Bee Swarm fell to the ground. The attack modules were sliced and dismantled by the Lizardmen's swords and spears.
"The way is being opened slowly!"
As Lakrak threw his spear, a fixed turret targeting the Lizardmen was torn apart and blown up with its warhead.
Then, next to Lakrak, a black shadow tumbled and fell. Despite the immense impact, the shadow quickly stood up.
"How embarrassing!" The elite warrior Yur blew out their nosebleed and wiped it. "There's an ugly one over there."
Lakrak looked up. Clear in their view, a giant Walking Armor had crawled up from the center. About 300 meters in size, its bulk towered over hundreds of Lizardmen warriors. Despite its large head and large and heavy proportions, it didn’t stop moving under the barrage of the Lizardmen's attacks.
Lakrak turned his head. "We missed one of our friends."
"A friend, you say?"
Lakrak shouted toward Avartin, "Come here, Manun!"
***
At the Empire, in the self-reflection city of Orazen, everyone looked anxiously at the sky.
The execution of the moon-facing plan and its processes were being broadcast worldwide, within the limits of security.
Everyone's prayers were reaching the moon. Among them, the pride of Orazen, a giant monster, did the same. The monster intently stared at the moon, then, for some reason, scratched its ear and lightly shook its head as if it felt ticklish.
-..., ...!
The monster blinked.
A voice was calling to it.
-...Come, ...!
The voice was very familiar, but it had been a long time since they had seen each other. Though the owner of the voice occasionally visited to see its face, they had not played to its satisfaction like in the old days. Recently, there had been an occasion to use its strength, but that was not satisfying either. The monster felt unfulfilled.
-Come here, ...!"
The monster knew for certain that the voice was calling to it. An old friend it missed was calling from that moon.
The monster hurriedly got up.
'But isn't it too far?'
The monster blinked. It wasn't. Orazen and the people of the Empire knew the great Manun had been with the mighty warrior Lakrak, and they also knew, whenever Lakrak needed help from an old friend, his friend would always be there for him.
[Orazen’s Guardian Dragon, Manun, Summoning: Summon Manun (from anywhere).]
Manun, excited, slightly shivered and wagged its tail.
-Come here, Manun!"
The monster—or rather the miraculous entity, the Dragon Manun—leapt toward the moon. Piercing the distance of about 400,000 kilometers, Manun struck the second moon.
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