Chapter 297: The Real Moon-Facing Plan
The monstrous entity, in a final act of defiance, widened its eyes, but even this did not lead to an attack.
Another hand of Sratis’s, holding a divine golden weapon, drove into the monster's eye. What followed was a process of disassembly. The floating crystals crumbled as soon as they were grasped.
The monster, whose number of wings had initially been indeterminable, turned out to have eleven in total, and its eyes numbered nine. Sratis thoroughly dissected the monster, as if refusing to let it remain assembled.
Having been absent since the Unification War, the mythical being’s appearance left the Revolutionary Army breathless. Only Olav managed to regain their composure and spoke into the radio.
"All units...that giant is an ally. Ensure...no friendly fire."
Feeling someone approaching from behind, Olav turned around to see Sung-Woon.
"Thanks."
"Wh...what, what do you mean?"
"Sratis is my creation, it shouldn't be harmed."
Olav glanced at Sratis, who now began breaking the monster into even smaller pieces, showing a well-ordered, controlled kind of rage. It was something not to be meddled with.
Olav, touching their face lightly, asked, "Was that why?"
"What do you mean?"
"Was it because that giant thing was guarding the place that you felt safe?"
"I can’t deny it, and it's not just Sratis."
Olav looked again at the Baustan sanctuary. The forest behind the sanctuary, untouched by light, was dark, but Olav had an intuition.
'There’s something more.'
And their intuition was correct. Sung-Woon, citing humanitarian values, arguing that revealing his creations would pressure secularists and inadvertently increase their numbers, had decided to keep his creations hidden as much as possible.
They could have stayed in the pantheon, but these huge beings, being living creatures, preferred nature over artificial environments. Luckily, Baustan wasn’t very populated, and the creations were incredibly intelligent. Despite their incredible size, they found it easy to detect presence and avoid people.
"Why didn’t you tell me? Did you want to make fun of our insignificant Revolutionary Army? You could have shown us that and just told us to leave."
"No," Sung-Woon replied. “Mortal beings need a place to sleep and eat.”
"Ah, I see..."
"And for all of you, this place is the safest. There's no need for me to selfishly drive you all away for my safety."
“....”
Olav slightly cleared their throat. They struggled to smoothly transition to the next topic, not finding the words to say, and cleared their throat again.
"Oh, but I never thought they would know our location. If I made a mistake..."
Sung-Woon shook his head, saying, "No. The old gods probably knew where we were from the beginning."
"On no! That's a big deal. I know that monster is extraordinary, but shouldn't we move to a safer location now?"
"No, if we've been safe until now, that's enough."
"What do you mean?"
Sung-Woon looked up.
Olav, trying to see what Sung-Woon was looking at, looked up too but saw nothing but the night sky with the first moon, Yonda.
"The final battle is about to start.”
Olav belatedly realized Sung-Woon was looking at the indifferent first moon, Yonda.
***
On gray ground under a black sky, a white dot bounced up and down. Upon closer inspection, the white dot turned out to be a person, and even closer, it was evident they were wearing a white spacesuit, maintaining airtightness in outer space.
This person in the spacesuit was Ramin.
The moment Sung-Woon looked at the moon, Ramin was thinking to herself, 'This is kind of fun.'
While zero gravity environments were usually inconvenient for maintaining proper body posture, the moon's gravity only lightened her weight, causing both her body and mind to feel afloat.
Ramin turned to check how far she had drifted from the spaceship. She could see other astronauts each heading to their assigned posts. There was also a vehicle, which Toolbo was managing, intended to travel to the farthest location.
'He gets to have the most fun by himself... I should ask for a ride next time.’
Ramin had been assigned the most challenging mission, being the team leader and known for her physical strength. But realistically, it was a task difficult for anyone but Ramin.
'Is that it?'
Ramin spotted a distant man-made object, likely crafted from lunar rock. If not for its silhouette, it would’ve blended seamlessly with the moon's gray hue. If it had been said that such a form was created by natural erosion and incredible coincidence, Ramin would have believed it to be truly remarkable.
'Of course, that's not the case.'
Ramin recalled the events of the previous day.
Ramin Solost Muel, speaking into the communicator, asked, "...The moon-facing plan hasn't finished yet?"
"Yes, yes," replied Ion Iolkaf of the Starkeeper's Communication Team. "The High Committee orders you, Captain Ramin, to head towards Yonda, the first moon, with the spaceship."
"But what's the meaning of..."
Ramin, powerless within the spaceship, had to listen to all the news about hidden Loom, the Fall, and the appearance of the old gods. Fortunately, thanks to Toolbo, the spaceship was not only in excellent condition, but had undergone incredible modifications. There was also a way to return to Avartin, which was a relief.
Ion said, "I don't know the details, but, ah, yes. The High Committee asked to check the cargo."
"Cargo?"
Ramin handed over the control to another pilot and floated through the spaceship to the cargo hold. She stopped in front of the confidential cargo, known to be vitally important to protect.
"Is this it?"
As she opened the cargo box, Ramin realized her destiny. Quietly closing the box, she returned to the control room and executed the orders of the Starkeeper’s High Committee. What was interesting was that even the High Committee had no clue what the cargo was, but Ramin recognized it immediately. She knew what she had to do.
"Alright, my fellow astronauts, I'll tell you what we have to do. We're on an adventure.”
The other astronauts, as well as the still-connected Starkeeper, were puzzled by her seemingly out-of-place statement.
"On that moon, there are quite a few ancient relics made by the old gods, evident from direct observations alone."
Ramin didn't know exactly what it meant to discover these ancient relics. What mattered was that Ramin, who had access to the pantheon, knew the knowledge and procedures known to the gods.
"In fact, the moon-facing plan wasn't just about the second moon, Loom, but also the first moon, Yonda. Yes, it's a truly massive trial."
Some members of the High Committee understood what Ramin was getting at. Naturally, the Apostle Madman Toolbo did as well.
"Then this will be a good spot!" Toolbo pointed out a landing spot where they could access as many relics as possible, and Ramin landed the spaceship there.
Thus, Ramin stepped out toward the ancient relics on the moon.
'What was the name of this relic? The Garden of the Gods?'
To Ramin, it seemed too desolate a place to be called a garden. Moreover, the path was too rugged.
Even with the low gravity and Ramin's agility, the stairs built for the size of gods made the traverse essentially rock climbing. Ramin, also with the cargo on her back, had to rest several times while ascending.
'I'm almost there.'
After reaching the top, it still didn't feel like a garden. Huge stone chairs suitable for the size of gods were placed around, and the area was surrounded by stone pillars. There was no roof, only the black sky above. It was a rather unimpressive place.
Ramin, feeling lighter yet utterly exhausted, collapsed on the ground. Sweat soaked the inside of her spacesuit, and she felt as if her blood was drying up.
'No, I can't lose consciousness here.'
Struggling, Ramin reached for the cargo she had been carrying. Inside the cargo box Ramin had found the day before were graceful statues of gods. They depicted gods from the past that were no longer there, and Ramin realized from their elegant form that the statues weren’t simple models, but vassal statues.
'Statues with gods sealed inside. With these, we can awaken gods. There are a few conditions, though...'
The first condition was discovering an ancient relic. Ramin couldn't see the system, but she knew from descriptions found in the past that the power and divinity contained in ancient relics triggered some reaction, serving as a means to score points.
Next was a trial. Ramin hadn’t known that she was given a trial, but she understood everything when she saw the vassal statues. The fact that this cargo had been on the spaceship from the start meant that Ramin was supposed to take on the trial. Its secrecy also meant that it was a matter of utmost confidentiality to be guarded until the very end.
Ramin had fulfilled all these conditions. It was the trial given to her, and she had successfully completed it.
Now, feeling the weight gradually lift off her shoulders, Ramin opened the cargo box.
"Huh?"
Among the sacred ritual tools inside the cargo box, the vassal statues that should have been there were missing.
"...Where are they?"
Panicking, Ramin dropped the empty cargo box and turned halfway around before realizing. A vassal statue itself was a god.
The interior of the cargo box was filled with devices following numerous theological procedures, designed to unseal the god. Thus, if all conditions of the trial were met, the seal of the vassal statues would be broken.
'The moment I set foot here, the trial was already completed.'
Ramin saw three shadows. Three newly awakened gods sat in the previously empty giant stone chairs.
The one on the left wore a gas mask, hiding their face, and was dressed in a yellow hazmat suit. The lenses of the mask were opaque yellow, making it impossible to see their gaze. Even in the almost non-existent atmosphere of the moon, the gas mask moved like the god was inhaling and exhaling something.
The one on the right had a massive pistol for a head, with a steel objet resembling a Human body extending below the neck. It would be mistaken for a statue if still, but this gun-headed god nervously clenched and unclenched their fingers, appearing anxious.
These two gods were unfamiliar to Ramin. However, the god in the middle was familiar to Ramin, having seen them from a distance before.
The heat from their blazing red armor seemed to penetrate Ramin's fully insulated spacesuit. Their horned helmet shone with hostility, and their flaming eyes blazed with anger.
Hegemonia said,
-...You will explain what’s happening if you know what’s good for you, Vampire.
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