Above Your Head

Vol 2. Chapter 124: The Salvation of God (61)

***

The total number of Giants of Doomsday that could appear at one time was limited to five, and the Regen only took place when all five Giants of Doomsday died. While they appeared, the Giants of Doomsday tried to move to one location in the parallel world, to be exact, South America, where Iron Mask sat and proceeded with sculpting. However, no one succeeded. 

Basically, the place where the Giant of Doomsday regenerated was malicious in itself. Of course, it was impossible for them to Regen around Iron Mask, in other words, Dae-ha, but there wasn't a case where they regenerated in a place devoid of people.

The Giants of Doomsday could only Regen around beings who had enough power to stop them. They only appeared in the midst of the force of players who possessed overwhelming power. Needless to say, it was the result of the interference of the Primordial God and not of their own volition. However, even so, they couldn't ignore the players and fly away. 

Emergency. Confirmed the Giants that have begun to fly. 

Proceeding to intercept.

The Albatross ship, floating in the outermost side of the parallel world (the satellite orbit), activated their artillery firing and shot down the flying Giants of Doomsday. 

Even if they were transcendents, there was nothing the Giants of Doomsday could do if they were attacked by a Terra-class battleship from long-distance. The reality was that even transcendents had to get inside the Terra-class battleship to try to take over the ship. 

Eventually, the Giant of Doomsday who was shot down had no choice but to fight the players waiting on the ground. 

Then, just like that, time went by. Whoooong!! Once again, the dimension was torn apart and the Giant of Doomsday appeared. It was accompanied by the tens of millions of players who were standing by. 

The total number of survivors in the Unique World and on Earth was about 800 million combined. Among them, the percentage of players was over 95 percent. Moreover, 80 percent of the 95 percent of players were Gigas pilots, and more than half of them were veterans of over Level 15. 

You might wonder what kind of crazy ratio this was, but... It was an era in which the weak could not survive. In particular, most of the elderly and the weak, who did not have the ability to survive, were killed by the monster whales that invaded during the Level 19 High-difficulty stage. But even for those who survived like that…

Kaboom!!! 

"Damn it! They dug through! Distance! Secure some distance!"

"Shoot the Hardened Bullets! Create a barrage of bombardments!"

"We have to stop their charge first... Uwackkkk!!"

They were dying without fail. Every time the Giant of Doomsday swung its fist, countless Gigas were destroyed and rolled on the floor. An equivalent number of players were killed too. After all, the Giants of Doomsday were monsters that even veteran players who had fought all their lives dare not go up against. Of course, that did not mean that they were being slaughtered one-sidedly.

"Joint Bombardment, begin!"

"Those with Defense Ability casted, take the shield and run!"

As the battlefield was stabilized, the structure of 1 against 1 million was solidified. That crazy difference in numbers… As long as the opponent was not an ordinary person but rather a veteran on a Gigas, even the transcendents, Giants of Doomsday, could not ignore their might.

"And on top of that, The King's Army! In addition to that, Heart of the Battalion!"

Even among the countless players, there were special heroes.

"It's here! So-hyang-nim's Inherent Ability!"

"I heard that the only people who possess that Ability on Earth are Iron Mask and So-hyang-nim, right?"

In actual fact, the talent as a pilot was not that rare, but it was unbelievable to be able to manifest an Inherent Ability on a Gigas without an Iron Heart that was made on Earth. It was common sense to cut down trees with an iron axe, but this was basically akin to cutting down trees with a wooden axe due to not having any iron. So-hyang was a being who possessed the possibility of becoming a Gigant Master, which was rare even in space.

- Uwoarrrrrr---!!!

While roaring, hundreds of Gigas rushed towards the Giant of Doomsday at the gap when the projectiles were all blown away.

Bang! Kabooom!!! Hundreds of Gigas stuck to the Giant of Doomsday. Then, they exploded and shaved off the gray Aura surrounding the Giant of Doomsday. It would have been impossible if this had been done in the beginning of the battle, but the protective guard which had thinned out as it received the bombardment of more than tens of millions of Gigas could no longer withstand the firepower of the explosion. 

Booom!! Then, the shot that was fired penetrated into the gasping mouth and destroyed the Giant of Doomsday's brain. Boom! The giant collapsed. The 10 million players could not even manage to cheer and laid on the floor. 

"How long is the break time?"

"General Bae Jae-seok said that the giant's limbs were cut off to drag for some time."

"Wah… It's already difficult just to kill it, but to be subduing it, huh. Thanks to that, we should be able to get some good sleep."

"Tha-, rumors say that..."

"Ah, I also heard about it. I heard that he's Iron Mask-nim's elder brother."

As they were sharing a conversation like that, So-hyang moved the Human-rank Gigas, Alexander, into a bunker that was prepared on one side. There was no time to spare. They had to rest to keep on fighting. 

"What about the casualties?"

"It's decreased a lot. There are 3,611 casualties."

"It's decreased a lot, but... Whooo. Thank you. Go in and get some rest."

"Have a comfortable rest."

After being greeted by her Adjutant, So-hyang went to wash herself in the shower room located in the bunker. The young child, who once received aid from Seon-ae and hung ribbons on the Tool-rank Gigas, Goblin, was no longer here. 

So-hyang saw her own reflection in the mirror. She was attractively tall and had a resilient body trained in actual battle. Although she had an outer appearance that looked like an idol member or an athlete, she was one of the strongest players of mankind. 

"I think it's slowly coming to an end." She quickly washed up and laid down on the bed. She had been fighting for most of her life, and she was getting tired. The future was gradually becoming uncertain. "Level 20, 5 billion enemies, is it really possible?"

A situation in which victims accumulated endlessly and people were getting tired… She thought about it. "We've only defeated 6,000 monsters so far..." Feeling her exhausted eyelids closing heavily, So-hyang prayed, "Help us. Iron Mask-nim..."

Jae-seok prayed, "Dae-ha, please wake up..."

Min-kyung and Kyung-eun also prayed. 

"Dae-ha-nim..."

"Hahhhh. Dae-ha, my husband is going to die..."

Technicians who were hiding in the bunker and repairing the Gigas, Wizards who couldn't sleep and had to cast their enchantments, pilots who were taking a break, people who were about to have a meal, as well as children who were in their mother's embrace, prayed. Many of them watched Dae-ha by using the Weapon of Justice. And as always, dozens of people gathered around those who were watching to watch the sight of a man carving on a round marble together. 

That scene was just boring to see, since it was unchanging even after a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days. But nevertheless, the people prayed while looking at that scene. And in their eyes… Thuck! They could see a letter engraved on the marble.

***

Kwareukkkkkkk!! I was struck by the outpouring bombardment. I circled in the air and barely stopped upon colliding with a nearby planet. Ridiculously enough, unexpected planets and stars floated in the inner world, which had transformed into space.

"…What's this?" Dekarma, who succeeded in the attack, looked more surprised and suspicious than me, who was assaulted.

At least, I was relieved that no other additional attacks came flying towards me, and I feigned the pain. "Aghh... It hurts. Even if this is an easy fight, it's tiring as I keep trying to stay focused."

"Such sloppiness. We are not humans. Nothing would change from a confrontation of this level even after a hundred or a thousand years. There's a reason why the Ancient Gods could fight for thousands of years."

As Dekarma was spouting sarcastic comments, I focused on my inner self. Then, I felt it… One of my Authorities had been completed. Of course, I tried to spread that Authority to all the devotees. Kiiiing! I failed, along with the feeling as if a glass had shattered. I realized that I could not grant protection to those who did not have enough Faith. 

'A system is needed.' I got a hint from the Blessings of Iron Mask that I had already made. The Blessing of Piloting that allowed one to experience my piloting skills, and the Abilities of the Day that granted me a new Normal Ability every 24 hours. These were benefits that any of my devotees could receive, but they couldn't be used however they liked. After all, the benefits consumed the mental strength and soul power of the user. Moreover, the Blessing of Piloting could only be maintained for a short time and there was also a cooldown time, so it could only be used at important moments. Because of that, I created a new system. 'Ability Book.'

Flap! I focused my consciousness on my body, that was on Earth, after making sure that I continued to fight in moderation in the inner world. After I extracted the characters engraved on Hawa's core, I made them into a book that was neither too big nor too thick. I opened the book and engraved the instructions on the first page.

- The Blessings of Iron Mask is converted to a Common Protection of the Ability Book. This is something that any of the Iron Mask's devotees can obtain. 

- Ability Awakening becomes possible if the level of faith exceeds a certain level. Those who can achieve this are named as Apostles.

- Ability Enhancement becomes possible if the level of faith reaches a point where the power of the faith can be transformed into the essence of the devotee. Those who can achieve this are named as High Apostles. 

- Special Blessing, Untrain, is granted. When using Untrain, one can regain the faith used for Ability Awakening and Ability Enhancement. However, experience points are not returned. 

I calmly refined the Ability Book system. My first Authority, the Ability Book, was not the kind of power that strengthened me, but it did not matter as much now. It was not just about my fighting power.

Crack! Crackkkkk! I could feel that the Carving Knife of Justice was being consumed endlessly. I, who did not produce Justice Points on my own, no, it was a tremendous amount of consumption that no righteous person in the world could dare handle. But it didn't matter.

- 712,234,782 people are admiring you!

- 11,193,441,122 Justice Points have been accumulated!

Because for me, Justice Points were being added endlessly. Then, after consuming so much concentration and strength, the Authority was completed. 

Iron Mask's Ability Book

Common Blessing. 

- Blessing of Piloting. Abilities of the Day.

1. Ability Awakening.

- Ability can be awakened by consuming experience points and faith. Each awakening will double up the amount of faith and experience required for the next awakening.

2. Ability Enhancement.

- Ability can be enhanced by consuming experience points and faith. In the event of successful reinforcement, the effectiveness and efficiency of the Ability will be enhanced, and if it exceeds a fixed number of enhancement, it will evolve into a High-grade Ability of the same type. Each enhancement will double up the amount of faith and experience required for the next awakening.

Special Blessing.

- Untrain. 

Currently Awakened Ability. 

- None. 

Currently Enhanced Ability.

- None.

Current Faith Points(?). Current Experience Point(?).

Boooom!

"Cough!" I spewed out blood while looking at the sample of the completed Ability Book.

'No, Dekarma this bastard!' I realized that Dekarma's aggression had intensified and I hurriedly moved my consciousness to the inner world. The moment all the benefits gained from the long battle after being thoroughly beaten had disappeared… 

'But it doesn't matter. Time is on my side.' Continuing the battle of the inner world, I was turning the power of creation into Authority. As the Ability Book was granted, I feel that the number of casualties among the players significantly decreased. It was an added bonus that an enormous faith was devoted. "Now that the routine is complete..."

Then, just like that, time went by.