LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 245
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Chapter 245
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The Experimenter IV
The aerial battleships cast their shadows across the skies above the waters off Busan. Like most Anomalies, their forms were deeply alien.
Clank.
Screeee!
Clink, clank! Clank.
Countless gears and steam engines churned noisily across the hulls of the warships, each one devoid of any crew. This absence of life rendered distinctions like “exoskeleton” or “endoskeleton” irrelevant. Exposed here and there along the keels—essentially their backbones—were vertebrae encased in metal, with gears turning endlessly between the ribs, filling the air with a cacophony of grinding sounds.A true fleet of iron.
Even if Admiral Yi Sun-sin[1] himself had returned to lead a defense, he would have likely remarked with chilling honesty, “This is beyond the capabilities of a mere twelve ships.”
“Hey, mister!”
Upon returning to the National Road Management Corps headquarters, I found only three people on the terrace: Do-hwa, Ah-ryeon, and Dok-seo. Do-hwa was busy giving orders to the units on the front line via radio and didn’t even glance in my direction. And Ah-ryeon...
For a different reason entirely, Ah-ryeon couldn’t look at me. The veil of her Saintess robes hung down like a curtain, completely obscuring her face. She didn’t move a muscle.
“Ugh, you’re totally drenched in blood!” Dok-seo grimaced, tossing me a towel. It was already used—grimy, in fact—but at least it was cleaner than my own skin.
I wiped my face with it, then asked, “Where are the others?”
“They’re all at the front line! Yo-hwa unnie is out there too, but don’t worry, we sent her to the safer areas since she has to survive until the very end.” Dok-seo sent a fleeting glance toward Ah-ryeon, who was kneeling in the middle of the terrace. “Well, not that she looks like she’d die even if we threw her somewhere dangerous—”
“Nya! Undateikeo!”
Just then, a blonde Magical Girl landed gracefully nearby. It was Manyo Neko, an Awakener cursed to end every sentence with “nya” or “nyang.” She was also a prominent pro-Undateikeo faction member in the Magical Girl Association.
“Wha-what in the world is going on here-nya?! I came because Undateikeo called for reinforcements, and the world’s ending!”
“Exactly what it looks like. End of the world. The Japanese archipelago has probably already been blown to smithereens by those aerial battleships, so don’t even think about going back.”
“Ahhhhh! Shi-ba-ru! We’re so screwed-nya...!”
Oddly, the only curse she spat out was shibal, pronounced with a near-perfect Korean accent, courtesy of her time spent around Koreans.[1]
“W-wait! Did you know this would happen and call for us as reinforcements on purpose, Undertaker?”
“Hardly. Pure coincidence. Do you think I could have known that the finale of the world’s end would happen this week?”
“Nya. That sounds suspicious-nya...”
I was lying, of course.
Most Magical Girls had a few screws loose, but they did have a deep-seated sense of loyalty to their homelands. If I had sent a letter saying, “It seems the world will soon end, so why not gather in Busan, the best-defended city, for a final stand?” the Magical Girl Association would have never accepted. In fact, they would likely have chosen to die defending their own lands.
So I changed tactics.
Busan is at risk of falling. Forgive me for asking, but could you send us reinforcements?
Requests like that prompted the loyal Magical Girls to mobilize their forces and come to our aid. Typically, Manyo Neko or Phantom Blade would lead these reinforcements. It might have been just a few dozen fighters, but even a small squad of Magical Girls could hold down an entire front.
“So, what exactly are those things up there-nya?”
“They’re airborne warships, as you can see. You could also call them the remnants of civilization.”
“Remnants of civilization?”
I glared up at the sky. “Just looking at them might make you worry about environmental destruction, but surprisingly, those things are all made from recycled materials.”
“Nyanya?”
“New York, London, La Défense in Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo... The construction materials that once formed the skyscrapers and factories of the world’s great cities are now the raw materials for those aerial warships.”
“...!”
Remnants of civilization. The Fleet of the Void. City-devouring ships.
If the Hollow Anomalies were created from corpses of human beings, then the millions of aerial warships hovering above us were built from the corpses of their cities.
I raised my finger and pointed to the sky. “See that sharp spire on the bow of that one? That’s Tokyo Tower.”
“Wha— What the heck?! Shibaru! Who the hell let them just steal Tokyo Tower like that-nya?!” Manyo Neko’s tail puffed up, and she hissed indignantly—her Korean cursing impressively fluent. “I’ll lead my unit and tear those rusty heaps apart for recycling-nya!”
“No. Wait.” I placed a hand on her shoulder. “You won’t be able to take them down by normal means. You can’t see it from here, but those things number over a million.”
“Wh-what...?”
“Dok-seo, did you call Seo-rin?”
“Oh, yeah! I called her before you even got here, so she should be on her way. I think she’s wrapping things up on the front line. Should I call her again?”
“No need. She’ll come. You join us soon, too.”
“O-okay!”
I took a deep breath. A faint wave of fatigue washed over me.
Not surprising—I’d been fighting non-stop on the battlefield for nearly 60 hours. On top of that, I had only been intervening at the most critical front lines. One could say the burden I bore was somewhat heavier than that of the other Awakeners. But compared to the fight that lay ahead, this was nothing.
‘All right, come at me, city-devourers.’
The regressor was ready to face them.
Ooooooo.
Ooooooo.
As if answering my silent challenge, the aerial battleships began to radiate a blood-red, ominous light. The scarlet glow spread like an electric current or a bloody fluid along the spines of the lead ships.
One, two, three, four...
Five of the ships at the forefront of the grand fleet lit up in crimson as the gears ground and squealed.
Weeeeeoooooo.
And then came the beams of annihilation.
The moment I saw the beams charging from the warships’ bows, I dashed in their direction. I timed it perfectly, moving as fast as possible. Just as the five beams converged, about to crash down on Yeongdo in Busan, I reached them.
BOOM!
Channeling all my strength, I swung Do-hwa, deflecting the beams. A weighty tremor reverberated through my hand.
‘The first time I encountered these things, all I felt was utter despair.’
I took a step forward.
‘Now, they feel unbelievably light.’
With all my strength, I redirected the beams. The deadly rays of red light veered off course and plunged into the sea, sending a towering column of water into the air, shrouding all of Yeongdo in a mist of steam.
Drip, drip, drip.
Rain poured down around me, though my body was already drenched in sweat. The downpour washed over me, bringing with it a brief, welcome coolness.
I raised my sword toward the aerial battleships above.
“That’s one strike dealt.”
-................
The attack those warships had just unleashed would have easily obliterated an entire city district. In fact, they had already reduced countless cities to ruins with similar attacks.
But look—the Final Defense Line remained intact.
A small tsunami swept over the harbor, but we had evacuated all civilians from the coastal areas. The aerial battleships’ attack had been utterly neutralized.
For this Anomaly, it was a first.
Ooooooo.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Ooooooo.
The gaze of the “beast” turned sharply toward me.
Its appearance might have been that of an inert mass of junk, but the fleet of over a million warships was a single Anomaly. This was the first time any human had survived an assault from it, let alone deflected one with ease.
Those countless, machine-like eyes focused on me.
Weeooo-weeooo.
Weeeeeoooooo.
A strange wail filled the air, screeching like the blare of an air raid siren as the metal spine of the aerial battleships twisted.
Long, loud, and unrelenting, the sirens rang out over Haeundae’s sandy shore.
“Hm.”
I had their attention.
This time, not just five, but a thousand times that number—five thousand aerial battleships—all began to glow crimson, charging their beams.
I landed on Haeundae beach. Countless gun barrels on the fleet turned to face me.
Standing alone on the shore beneath the mass of Anomalies, I took a deep breath. Just as I exhaled, five thousand beams of scarlet light shot toward me.
SHOOM!
I swung Do-hwa to intercept.
The combined weight of five thousand beams could have wiped out all of Haeundae Beach, not to mention everything within miles. To match that, I flared my Aura out wide from my sword, creating a massive shield in front of me.
“Haaah!”
The muscles in my arms burned, threatening to tear. Even though only a fraction of the millions-strong fleet had attacked, the sheer force pressing into my hands was almost unbearable.
Tsss! Tsst-tssst!
The muscles of my arm were fraying. The nerves and joints screamed in agony, and tiny capillaries burst in my eyes.
But I didn’t falter.
Every Awakener across the battlefield was watching me live on the hologram, each one relying on my strength to keep going.
“Aaaaagh!”
With a final shout, I swung my sword to deflect the entire onslaught of five thousand beams.
KABOOM!
The redirected beams skidded across the sea, brushing the water’s surface before continuing out beyond the horizon.
Once again, the Grand Fleet’s attack had been deflected.
“Haa... Haa... Haaa...”
My breathing grew labored.
My once seemingly limitless Aura had been severely depleted after sixty hours of continuous fighting and this latest confrontation.
But I wasn’t alone.
Shhhhh.
From the torn muscles in my arms, green leaves sprouted, wrapping around the wounds. Vines as delicate as veins coiled up my arm—a gentle touch from Ah-ryeon mending my injuries. Flowers bloomed briefly on the vines and then drifted away. In that quiet fall of petals, I felt as if I could hear Ah-ryeon’s whisper.
Are... Are you alright?
‘Yes, Guild Leader is still holding strong.’
A faint smile crossed my lips.
Feeling my strength return, I lifted my arm and aimed my sword once more at the aerial warships in the sky.
“That’s two strikes.”
-..........
The red sky burned even brighter.
Five thousand beams, then ten thousand, then thirty thousand, fifty thousand.
The aerial fleet continued its relentless barrage, one beam after the other. Though I couldn’t completely block every attack, each time a wave hit the coast, it crashed harmlessly, thanks to the strength of the Final Defense Line.
But my own body couldn’t withstand it forever.
My right arm, my legs, my side, and even my right eye had all suffered. With each blast of red light laser-focused on me, another piece of my flesh was torn away.
Yet I continued forward, swinging my sword with unwavering determination.
Humanity’s final city stood behind me. I knew every pair of eyes on the battlefield was watching me.
One step forward.
-......
I refused to cry out in pain.
For those who had survived this apocalyptic cycle and others, those who had managed to remain human even in a time when humanity was trampled underfoot, I would show them that I, too, was still standing.
One more step.
-......
Even though I knew that this cycle, like all others, would end in failure, it didn’t matter. After all, humanity has always known its days were numbered and yet chose to live.
With each step I took on the sand, blood pooled at my feet. But a certain someone scattered flower petals in its wake, reminding me that life was still worth cherishing.
My grief could wait an eternity.
One more step.
-......, .........!
-..........
My ears rang, almost as if I’d gone deaf, yet I could still feel the Awakeners’ cheers echoing through me from that distant battlefield. Even though they were miles away, each of us fighting on separate fronts, my stride and their cheers resonated as one unified heartbeat.
-............
In contrast, the monstrous fleet in the sky seemed to grow more discordant. At last, it appeared they realized that weaker attacks could never bring me down.
The entire armada—three million ships in total—began to glow, each one emitting a piercing, ominous siren.
The city-devourers. The very ships that had destroyed countless cities across the world were now gathering their full power, preparing to deliver a final, decisive blow.
“Haa... haa...”
My breath came heavy, nearly ragged.
Ah-ryeon’s plants wrapped around my body, healing me as best they could, but they couldn’t keep up with the damage. Blood trickled down the vines.
I was already on the brink.
‘There’s no way I can block this next attack.’
Honestly, the fact that I’d lasted this long was a miracle.
‘This next blow... won’t just obliterate Busan. It could wipe out what little remains of humanity itself.’
My vision blurred. Briefly, everything blinked in and out as if my brain was running out of oxygen.
But before I could fall, something kept me standing.
Someone grasped my left arm in a firm grip, and someone else took hold of my right, each one bracing me up.
A flash of red hair on one side, dark hair on the other. Two people held me, keeping me upright.
It was Oh Dok-seo and Dang Seo-rin.
“Sorry we’re late,” Dang Seo-rin said first.
“Things got dicey when you left, so I had to rush through my part. Still, we weren’t too late, right?” Oh Dok-seo added, grinning. “From here on, leave it to us, mister! Wow, I’ve always wanted to say that line! Bucket list, checked!”
I managed a faint smile.
The attention of the monstrous fleet was focused solely on me, the lone regressor. They were preparing to unleash their entire arsenal.
This was exactly the moment we’d been waiting for.
Weeeooooo...
The aerial battleships disregarded the city of Busan and the defense line entirely, zeroing in on me alone as they fired millions of beams.
The sky and the sea reflected each other in crimson light as a deadly brilliance raced toward us.
“Dok-seo.”
“Got it.”
Dok-seo took off her cap. With a determined stride, she stepped forward, placing herself in front of me, spreading her arms wide to shield me.
“Absolute Defense.”
A barrier, redder than the beams of annihilation, unfolded around her like wings.
Absolute Defense. The so-called “AT Field.”
Dok-seo’s unique Awakener ability.
According to the Infinite Metagame, the very Outer God that had chosen her as his priestess, the power of her ability was simple:
AT Field (S-Rank): A power that rejects any external interference.
It grants an absolute barrier against all physical forces attempting to harm or impact you. However, it can only be used once per day, with a one-minute time limit.
No matter how powerful the attack, the AT Field would nullify anything it deemed an “inferior existence.”
Dok-seo’s translucent shield spread across the entirety of Haeundae, like wings unfurling in preparation for humanity’s final stand. And then...
KABOOM!
The deadly red beams clashed against her shield, a wall of annihilation colliding with her field of absolute defense.
Footnotes:
[1] Shibal is the Korean word for “fuck” or “shit.”
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