Above Your Head

Vol 2. 5: A Transcendent at the Minimum? (5)

Vol 2. Chapter 5: A Transcendent at the Minimum? (5)

Realizing that something had changed, I turned and looked back. "...What the?" The court lady who stood at the entrance to Gyeonghoeru Pavilion disappeared. The location did not change; the walls covered with roof tiles, and floors made up of rough and untidy stones were all still the same. 'But it's different.'

That's right. It looked the same, but it was definitely different. This parallel world existed in a different dimension from the surface world I originally lived in, but this location was different from that in the parallel world. The space itself was as unstable and faint as a bubble.

Captain-nim. I can't observe Captain-nim right now.

'What are you talking about all of a sudden?'

Tremors in the dimension detected! It's dangerous! Captain-nim, you've been forced to move right now, so immediately...

Thudd! However, I could feel something hot penetrating through my chest even before I could hear Genie finish her words. Then, my body flashed and floated into the air without any chance of resistance.

"Tch tch, what a stupid expression."

"That's enough. That was too out of place."

"Yes guys..."

I frowned at the surging pain and turned to look at the two men who were smiling. Obviously, I knew who they were. It had not even been 30 minutes since we went our separate ways.

"I know right."

In an instant, my body was pushed back along with a burning pain.

"You should have cut a finger."

I let out a forced laugh at the sight of the bandage bastard who appeared from below me. Now that I looked at it, it was a part of the bandages wrapped around his body that pierced through my chest and lifted me up in the air. The piece of cloth, seemingly loose and wavy at first glance, hardened like steel and penetrated my body.

"Let's pull this out first." He searched my upper body and snatched away the tiger-shaped jade pendant. It was some sort of Summoning Stone that Kyung-eun handed over to me. "Milady is really naive too. We're the ones who know the conditions to invoke the Summoning Stone better than anyone else."

"To be honest, it's a dangerous...and stupid...and insane...thing to do, but we can't help it. It's a time of upheaval anyway. At a time like this, this guy can't meddle with us recklessly. Even more so because of this kind of commoner."

The evaluation for the gangster trio was raised to another level in my mind. Of course, though Kyung-eun warned them, I didn't think they would put up with it. They seemed to have the human nature to retaliate at all costs. However, I did not expect them to attack me in an ambush so quickly, since I was known as a non-ability user.

Emergency! Emergency situation! With the authority of a control persona, I declare a first-degree emergency situation! Albatross ship, descending! 'Golden Knight Order', all troops to sortie! 'Golden Lion Unit', all troops to sortie! 'R7' Flight Squadron, all units to sortie! Along with a loud warning sound, Genie's crisis cry rang in my head. But, of course, the gangster trio did not hear it. My voice also did not reach her, perhaps due to the distinct characteristics of this space.

'What an uproar.' The Sky-Giant Armoured Brigade and the Steel Cross Flying Brigade, the main forces of Albatross, were no longer around. That was because I was bestowed with a battleship, but I did not employ any of its members. I wanted to settle down in my hometown without any other purposes, so I did not have any intention of wasting the time and life of others. Instead, I was provided with unmanned weapons by the Leonhardt Empire to protect the Albatross ship. Those were the latest and most advanced combat weapons built with the essence of all the technological skills of the Leonhardt Empire and belonged to the Palace Knight Order that existed to protect the Emperor. 'That was literally a waste of money... but...'

The problem was the firepower they possessed. Each of the ten units of the Golden Knight Order had the same fighting prowess as a Human-rank Gigas, and each of the 50 units of the Golden Lion Unit had the same fighting prowess as a Beast-rank Gigas. Lastly, even though the 100 units of the R7 Flight Squadron possessed energy no more than a Tool-rank Gigas, they had cutting-edge weapons as well as bombers to prepare for all kinds of special warfare.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that if Genie's 'interpretation' of the first-degree emergency situation was severe, the native aboriginals of the changed region (from the perspective of the Leonhardt Empire) may have literally turned into ash within an hour.

Would you look at that? Are they laughing? Zzzzapppp! As I was thinking about that, my right cheek was burning hot. The fools, who had no idea what they had just done a moment ago, were looking at me with revolting eyes.

The bandage bastard said, "I really hate people like you, who lack a sense of reality. Do you think we're kidding? After coming over to a mysterious world that you have no idea about, do you think this is some sort of movie set and you are the main character? No way! You're just a fool who enjoyed peace without any qualifications, and you're living under our protection! Got it?!" It was a gaze of irritation and hostility without any basis. The stick and chunk of mass behind him was also looking at me with a similar look. "Damn it! You bloody dictator bastard! Why do we have to live in hiding when we have this power?"

"...That's enough. You talk too much."

"Hmph! Are you afraid of an old man who is already dead? Look at this bastard's eyes! You really don't realize the situation you're in, huh?"

Kwakkkkk! "Ughhh!" I could feel the bandage that penetrated my chest moving violently, and breaking my rib bones. I had gone to space and was tortured by the demi-humans, so this wasn't a pain that I could not put up with. However, the problem was that, unlike the demi-humans, this guy was causing me pain regardless of whether I died or not. "Hahh." I scoffed as I found it preposterous.

The bandage bastard's spirit became more fierce at that sight. "Hahh? Hahhhhhh? This little bastard, you're laughing again?"

I took a deep breath at the sight of the guy who moved the bandage and dragged my body. 'There's no need to be angry.' It seemed to be the worst, but it would all be solved eventually. As long as they did not hit me in the neck, and kill me immediately, I would eventually be released. I could then exact my revenge on them.

No, rather, I had to worry about something else. It was true that Earth-34 had established some sort of diplomatic ties with the Leonhardt Empire, but that was something that was only known to the top leaders, including the Great Wizards. In fact, even Bo-ram and Dong-min, who were considered fairly powerful ability users, had no knowledge about the extraterrestrial beings. Hence, it was safe to say that almost all beings did not know of the extraterrestrial beings' existence. How would they react when they see the Albatross ship that started its descent? Jokes aside, they would think that it was an alien invasion.

'I have to put up with it...'

At the sight of me trying to somehow get my breath together, the bandage bastard said, "Now that the world has changed, I needed a sacrifice to show the world that it was now different from what it had been, so things turned out well."

"But then again, as long as the old man Zenon died, there wouldn't be as much control and order till now. Even the guardians would be deactivated. They were first contracted to the old man Zenon, weren't they?!"

"That's right! Everything changes now! This is our world! Hah! Kyung-eun that bitch! She was born with a golden spoon in her mouth, and she was being cheeky because she thought she would be set for life! Wait and see. I will..."

‘There is no need to be angry.’ I tried my best to pull myself together. That's right, there was no need to be angry. It was a problem that would be resolved. In the first place, it was impossible to stop the Albatross ship with their strength, so she would eventually find this place. This place was some sort of individual dimension, so it would be hard to spy on it secretly. However, breaking the individual dimension, and coming in, was a simple task for a Gigas that possessed an Iron Heart. So, there was no need to be angry…

Rattle. However, at that moment… Rattle! The door started to tremor.

"...What the?"

"Hooooo~ Do you finally realize the situation right now? Now... huh?" The bandage bastard, who was so excited, stopped as he was blabbering on. His head slowly looked down, and a hole the size of his head entered his sight as his chest was pierced right through.

Before I knew it, there was a black gun in my hand. Shadow Stalker revealed a black body with a fine luster.

"You... ugh. That watch... huh? Gun? Did I get shot by a...gun?" As his voice of disbelief leaked out, the two bastards who finally understood the situation let out a groan.

"Wha-What the hell?! Hyun-jin! Are you alright?"

"...What is this?"

Srrr. The bandage that was rooted in my chest was pushed out of my body. I stopped the bleeding chest with my palm and whispered, "Book."

Flap flap-! A book appeared in front of my eyes and flipped open by itself. There weren't any letters on the cover, so even the title was unknown. However, the flipped opened page had the subheading Napoleon. I recited one of the three sentences that was written in the book. "."

Wooooom! In an instant, a protective shield rose around my body and the wound in my chest began to heal at a terrifying pace. However, it was too late.

Rattle rattle!

"Nooo!"

Rattle rattle rattle!

"This crazy fu-..."

A tremendous amount of power surged forth from the depths of my heart. However, it was definitely not a good thing. No, rather, it was something that should never have happened. I concentrated my mind. I struggled to pull myself together and calm down. However, it was all for naught. My petty ego melted like sugar cubes in front of the Divine Spirit that was raging like a tidal wave.

"This..."

Then, an anger akin to an active volcano was brewing in me. YOU INSECTS! The Divine Spirit burst forth.

Shiinngggg! Everything within a radius of hundreds of meters, centering around my body, turned into dust and dispersed around. There wasn't a single trace of the gangster trio to be found. Their existence and their souls were decimated by the huge blast of the raging Divine Spirit.

'Noooo!' I screamed. However, it was useless. I had already lost control of my body. 'What happened?! Why did the Divine Spirit I left with Ra appear here? It's even gotten worse?! No, perhaps not? Should I say it's become better?'

In the past, when I was drunk on the Divine Spirit, I was not even aware that I had changed myself. I committed all sorts of huge incidents, just like someone who thought they were normal after being drunk. I did crazy things I would usually never do. However, now that my ego was isolated from my body, I was looking at the outside situation from the inside. At the very least, an environment had been set up for me to realize that I was not in a normal state.

"Pheww." 'I' completely regained back the Divine Spirit, and I looked around with cold eyes. Gyeongbokgung Palace had been destroyed, but it was not really destroyed in the parallel world. This was a kind of individual dimension. It was a bubble-like place that was modelled after reality.

'...Wait a minute. No! Hey! Stop!' In an instant, I noticed what the current 'me' was thinking of doing and screamed wildly. This crazy bastard. 'What do you mean cleaning up again!! Please stop the massacre!!'

In the past, there was a precedent. I was drunk on the Divine Spirit and I annihilated the entire Howard's Duchy, who conspired to kill me. The Howard's Duchy had countless battleships, Gigas, as well as the Duke who had reached the realm of transcendence, but no one was able to stop me.

As a result, Duke Howard as well as more than 10 million members of the Duke Household died. Like a farmer spraying pesticide over a field, I destroyed everyone who was hostile to me. Needless to say...the forces of Earth-34, which did not even have a single transcendent, was not able to stop me. As if it was a matter of course, my stats now were...

Name: ????

Class: ????

Title: ???? Level ??

Strength: 100 Stamina: 100 Health: 100 Agility: 100

Mana: 1054 Magical Power: 900 Magic Resistance: 1025

Regeneration: 100 Mana Regeneration: 1050 Luck: 900

Condition: ??, ????, ???, ???, ????

'Crazy, what kind of stat...! Wasn't 999 the max?!' I couldn't help but let out a groan. All the stats related to Mana were elevated to a crazy level. It was no wonder that Howard's Duchy, which was considered one of the pillars of the Leonhardt Empire, was annihilated. This was literally a transcendent power that was no different from a God's! However, unlike me…

"Hmm? What's this? Why..." 'I', who took over my body, gave a completely different reaction. "Why is there a seal on the Divine Spirit... Moreover, the power of All-knowing is also gone."

I could feel that he was flustered. It seemed that the stats that I was astonished by was not his complete condition. However, that truth did not provide even a speck of consolation. It was because 'I' continued to speak, as if he did not find this a problem, "I'm going to have to summon it in."

'What did you say?' I was taken aback and focused my mind, but 'I' looked up as if he couldn't hear my thoughts. "Ra, I command you now." However, at the moment the command was about to be invoked…

"Wait! Wait a minute!" The only being on Earth who could stop the current me revealed herself.