Above Your Head

Vol 2. Chapter 123: The Salvation of God (60)

Thuuud. As the air split, a man with a robust physique appeared. Thuuud. Next to him, a cute-looking young girl got off.

"Getting off together, huh. Did you go through the stage too?" I asked.

"Uwahhh! How many months do I have to go through this horror special when I came to Earth to rest?! It's been a while since I've seen a person, so it feels great to see Dong-min too!"

"It seems you've gone through the stage."

The man, Dong-min, checked the equipment he was equipped with. He was armed with equipment from Dragonia, referred to as the Home to the Dragons, considered as the purest among the Noblesse. Among them, there were even Transcendence Weapons. However, he couldn't use them on the stage. This was because the special space called the stage did not accept equipment that came from the outside.

"By the way, were you waiting here?"

"I, too, just came here now." 

The cute-looking girl, Bo-ram, nodded at Dong-min's words. Then, she said, "As expected, it was a space with a different timeline, huh. Well, that was the kind of atmosphere I had been keeping my eye on calmly, but... No, but where are we? Didn't we clearly get off in Korea?"

"This is Korea," I said.

"What do you mean by that? There wasn't this kind of terrain in Korea." Bo-ram looked around in bewilderment.

Shwarrrrr! Shrukk! Waves rocked. It was a scenery and sound that could only be heard on a beach, but the problem was that this place wasn't the East Sea, West Sea, or the South Sea. Wiiiiingg! When Bo-ram operated the device she was wearing, the world map unfolded. The place where they were...was Osan, Gyeonggi Province.

"… No, why is there an ocean in Osan?" She widened her eyes. Adding to that, it was not the western sea but rather the northern sea. Seeing that the horizon could be seen in the distance, it was terrifying to think of what the situation would be like down there. She then muttered, "At this rate, Pyeongtaek would be a given, but also... Isn't Chungcheongnam-do Province all gone? Don't tell me, is the surface world like this too?"

"You've seen the situation of the surface world from the outside before coming in, right? This is something that only happened in the parallel world." 

"What happened while I was out for a while…? I think it's something to do with this parallel world or whatever it's called," Bo-ram grumbled and rose to her feet before… 

- The Stage is in progress.

- Level 20. Intermediate-difficulty.

- Eliminate the Giant of Doomsday. 

"… No, wait a minute. I didn't fight at the Level 20 Lower-difficulty stage though. Dong-min, what about you?"

"I only cleared up to the Level 19 Highest-difficulty stage."

"What's with the skip? Besides, seeing that this isn't even the start, but something already in progress, it seems the Level 20 stage is done in the real world..."

Krooooom!!! An explosion was heard at that time. It happened very far away, but both Dong-min and Bo-ram felt it. 

"Gyeongbokgung Palace!"

"Uwackkkk! Don't tell me, did the Level 20 monsters attack the Lee Family?! Hurry up!" As I kicked off the ground and ran, there were wings of light appearing behind Bo-ram's back. However, as she was about to fly off, Dong-min grabbed Bo-ram's ankle. 

"Kyakkk?! What are you trying to do?!"

"We don't have the time to fly," Dong-min stated, and the background changed along with his firm voice. To be exact, they crossed space and arrived at Gyeongbokgung Palace at once. Then, as they arrived at Gyeongbokgung Palace, they saw the sight of a woman who collided head-on with the Giant of Doomsday.

Kroooongggg!!! The Giant of Doomsday, who swung his fist along with the explosive sound, took three steps back.

Then, the woman bounced backwards like a bullet. Boom! Boom! Splattt! She bounced twice on the floor and flew up to the sky. She spread her large wings to slow down her fall. 

"Huckk... Huff... It hurts, it really hurts." Seon-ae scoffed as she felt her broken ribs and right arm, which had turned into a chunk of meat, recovering. "I'm making a fool of myself as I grow old. Cough!"

In fact, there was no reason for Seon-ae to come out here. Since her status in the Unique World was just that of an ordinary citizen, she did not have any special authority nor any special obligations either.

Seon-ae had always wished to live a peaceful life, and Dae-ha fulfilled her wish even though she did not expect it. He did not try to pressure or take advantage of her in any situation. She lived a peaceful life. She took care of the children in the orphanage. She made friends, took care of pets and sent them away. She even got a barista license according to the set curriculum and ran a coffee shop. Yes, just like that, she slowly grew old.

The factor of Nike, which constantly instigated Seon-ae, disappeared as it was suppressed by the peace. Thanks to that, Seon-ae was able to control Nike's power at her own discretion. But even so... She did not intend to use that power. Her mind only changed when the whale-like Magical Beasts invaded the Unique World when the Level 19 stage started and half of the children who visited her kid's cafe died. 

"I said I wanted to just die of old age, didn't I?"

Groooooarrr----!! Needless to say, the gacha machine was summoned even after the Level 19 stage ended. Seon-ae consumed 500 pills of Daehwandan there. 

"Why! Why won't you just leave me alone!!!"

Booooom!!!! She flew forward like a bullet and collided with the Doomsday Magical Beasts, which charged forward. She pushed them back as her body was literally squashed. 

In terms of the magnitude of power possessed, Seon-ae's power was definitely not behind the Doomsday Magical Beasts, but there was a difference in the quality of the power possessed.  The Giant of Doomsday which possessed a transcendental power was by no means an enemy that Seon-ae could handle. 

Kwaaaaaang! Seon-ae, who was hit again, bounced back into Gyeongbokgung Palace. After that, the Giant of Doomsday went in there after her. There was no one in Gyeongbokgung Palace, which had already activated the Emergency Command, so it was basically no different from a huge trap. 

Kwagagang!!! An indiscriminate bombardment was blasted off towards the direction of the Giant of Doomsday, who entered Gwanghwamun Gate. Then… Boom boom!!! As the ground exploded, an outrageously strong explosion and shrapnels poured out.

Wiiiingggg---!! Biyiiiiiiinggg!!! In fact, Particle Cannons were fired from the center of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Hundreds and thousands of talismans that were prepared beforehand simultaneously burned. The curse was unleashed from the countless offerings hanging here and there. It was literally a convergence of science, magic, spellcraft, and black magic!

But at that moment… 

-Uwoarrrrrrrrr---!!!

All the attacks that flew in along with the roar of the giant were shattered and scattered everywhere. It was not as if there wasn't any attack that penetrated through the roar, but it was blocked by a gray barrier surrounding the Giant of Doomsday. 

Kwaaaangggg! Kwaangggg! Swangg! The dozens of layers of barriers that enveloped Gyeongbokgung Palace were shattered, and buildings as well as the castle wall cracked and collapsed down. Although the One-way Traffic that still covered the entire Gyeongbokgung Palace was maintained, it was useless as long as the enemy entered through Gwanghwamun Gate. 

Kiinggg! And in that kind of critical situation, the Last Guardians sealed in Gyeongbokgung Palace opened their eyes. 

- Who woke us up!

- The covenant is calling for me, huh!

The Imoogis, Black and White, who were asleep deep in the Gyeonghoeru Pond, opened their eyes. They were beings who amassed achievements to become a dragon. These mysterious creatures, who were among the Highest-rank even among the Spiritual Beasts, opened their eyes and awakened their grand divine power that was filled in their Soul Dantians. Then, they saw the Giant of Doomsday who was swinging its fist. 

Boom! Baaaaam!

- Kuockkkk?!

- Kwerghhhhh?!

The two Imoogis, which had ascended above Gyeonghoeru Pond, crashed against the building in a mess and rolled around the floor. It was fortunate that they did not die from a single blow. If it wasn't for their divine power, which had been honed to the peak while they were in a slumber, their bodies would have been shattered in a single blow. 

- W-What the hell is this?! It's a monster! Hyung! We have to run!

- Uwahhh! White! Isn't that a transcendent? What is this out of a sudden... Uwackkkk! My back is broken! Argh!

- I think my stomach exploded... Ugh...

Born in a Holy Land, controlled due to the influence of the Great Wizard, the sibling snakes crawled on the floor and let out a groan at the scene that unfolded before their eyes. It was as if the scene was of a different dimension to what they had expected before going into a slumber. 

They were the guardian deities of the Lee Family. Originally, they would have displayed dignity befitting of their role, since their level had reached Level 15. If it was Earth a while ago, it was a level where no one could even raise their head against. Even the strongest warriors of mankind wouldn't dare stand up to them. But now, it was different. Earth-34 had become a planet where the average soldier would be over Level 15 if they rode on a Gigas. To explain in words, the two Imoogis were victims of the crazy power inflation. 

- Uwoarrrrrr---!!!

- Uwahhhh! We have to run away!

- What the hell is that! I'm scared!

According to their nature, the two Imoogis crawled on the floor while escaping from the enemy. Of course, the Giant of Doomsday did not sit by and watch that happen. The Giant of Doomsday reached out its hand like lightning to grab the two tails! Schlooook! Kwakkkkk! However, its hand could not grab the tails. 

"Phew, fortunately, the surprise attack went well."

"Hey! The snake ahjusshis there, are the two of you all right?"

A metal spear emitting a frosty air of extreme low temperature was embedded in the head of the Giant of Doomsday. And the girl, wearing armor glowing in gold, burned the shadow of the Giant of Doomsday.

- What do you mean a snake?! That's insulting!

- Wait a minute Hyung! Why are you being like this to the people who saved our lives?

- That's true, but they called us snakes!

Watching the Imoogis talking to each other, Dong-min looked at the state of the Transcendence Weapon, Matt Special. Fortunately, it was fine. 'I'm exhausted.' He had experienced all kinds of battles, but it was his first time killing an enemy who was in the realm of transcendence. He muttered, "Wow, even so, I never thought I'd kill a transcendent as soon as I got to Earth."

When the transformation was released, the golden armor disappeared and Bo-ram returned to her original appearance.

As a matter of fact, they were lucky. Neither Bo-ram nor Dong-min could overcome the wall of transcendence. Under usual circumstances, the situation would have been difficult to confront, let alone kill the Giant of Doomsday. However, they had Transcendence Weapons, given as a gift by the dragon tribes of Dragonian.

'As expected of Noblesses, huh? To think they have a Transcendence Weapon as a gift.'

Of course, it was a low-grade item that was not even included in the Numbering, but a Transcendence Weapon was still a Transcendence Weapon. Transcendence Weapons were weapons that allowed one to fight 10 against 1 when going up against transcendents of the same rank!

Originally, the difference in the power of the Giant of Doomsday and Dong-min was akin to the difference between an elementary school student who was good at fighting and a professional martial arts fighter.  Whether he fought 100 times or 1,000 times, he wouldn't be able to win, and if he went head-on against it, he wouldn't even be able to land a single effective hit. 

But what if an elementary school student had a very sharp knife in his hand? What if that knife was an excellent blade that could even cut a rock? If the surprise attack was done well, it was entirely possible to kill the enemy in a single blow. 

"Hi." Bo-ram greeted Seon-ae, who appeared after pushing her way through the rubbles of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

"Huh? Ahh! You're the one who was blocking that monster earlier! Hello!"  Seon-ae laughed, "Long time no see, Dong-min."

"Hmm? Is she someone you know?" Bo-ram looked back at Dong-min.

Dong-min also saw the woman, who had a graceful impression. If he was to infer her age, she looked to be around middle-aged, but the air around her allowed him to know that she was much older than what her appearance seemed to be. But somehow, her appearance looked familiar to him. 'Have I ever seen anyone like that?'

Seon-ae laughed at his confused expression. "You, you seem to have come back from somewhere far away, huh?" An awkward but weak smile.

Dong-min's expression stiffened. "You... Don't tell me, are you Seon-ae?"

Dong-min and Seon-ae could be said to be friends of the same age. They were both experiment subjects of the Black Wizard Group, Romance. They weren't that close. They were just acquaintances. They went their separate ways when Dong-min disbanded Romance after raising a rebellion and met again as classmates. Even if they were not best friends, they knew each other enough to exchange silent greetings. 

"It's really been a long time."

"No... This... What in the world. You, what have you been through? What happened on Earth?" 

But unfortunately they didn't have time to catch up. Boom! In the distance, the space was torn apart and the Giant of Doomsday descended.

Bo-ram, who saw that scene, frowned. "What the hell is that? Will it continue to come out?"

"That's right."

"For how long?"

"Since it's the Level 20 Intermediate-difficulty stage, five each. Since there's one billion survivors, it will be a total of five billion."

"..."

"..."

The two warriors, who traveled in the Great Universe and experienced the Empire, as well as cultivating themselves in the heartland of the Noblesse, Dragonian, had a ridiculous expression despite experiencing first-hand the vastness of the Great Universe. 'What the hell did that mean? Five billion Level 20 transcendents???'

"Thi-, I don't think this is the Earth I know of.  I think I'm in the wrong place." 

"..." Regardless of whether they were baffled or not, the Giant of Doomsday was approaching.