D.I.O

Chapter 215

“Perhaps even this situation… was induced by the enemy. To an extent, I thought the Noblesse would block this sort of thing, but on the contrary, I feel like they’re encouraging it.”

Yongno wasn’t doing his best to protect humanity. This was because he thought that humanity was an essential [material] for the Noblesse, so this level of effort would be unnecessary.

Planets where spiritual pathways were blocked, like Earth, were rare even when searching the entire universe. The humans on Earth had been cut off from mana for thousands of years, and they’d greedily crave mana the moment they encountered it. Moreover, under these harsh circumstances, beings would usually show a strong aptitude for magic once they could use it.

DIO’s players saw magic being used in-game, so they weren’t surprised by its applications; however, the way earthlings utilized mana and magic was a remarkable occurrence that didn’t happen anywhere else in the universe.

For the Noblesse with their many transcendents, it took an astronomical investment of money, time, and effort to create a system like DIO. In the end, the results substantiated the cost.

“Hmm. Hey, bro, I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand. So, what you’re saying is… you’re saying that humans shouldn’t develop their tech and science too quickly and that the aliens are encouraging humankind’s rapid advancements in tech and science?”

“Yeah.”

Yongno’s assertive response caused Youngmin to frown. The driver also seemed interested in the conversation as he leaned back in his seat and listened, but Yongno didn’t care.

“I don’t know, bro. Why shouldn’t Earth’s technology develop quickly?”

“Because….”

[Ting!]

Up in the sky, a vast cross-shaped airship appeared. Shocked, the Korean military used the secret weapon, Heavenly Bow, to attack the airship with a beam of light. But, alas, the target effortlessly blocked the attack with the defensive barrier surrounding the vessel.

[What the hell! What is that? Turtle Ship! Retreat immediately-]

Boom!

The airship attacked, landing a direct hit on Turtle Ship, which carried Heavenly Bow, and immediately destroyed it. From the start, it was impossible for a battleship to maneuver and evade an aerial bombardment.

“If Earth’s civilization level rises due to its abnormally quick advancement in science and technology… the tech limitations restricting the Legion will also get lifted. In other words….”

Yongno looked up at the sky with a stiff expression before continuing.

“If the fight is based on science and technology, humanity will never be able to defeat the Legion.”

As soon as he finished speaking, continuous explosions rang out. The sides of the airship had opened and began sending rounds of artillery fire downward.

“Since both bridges have been destroyed, cutting off all evacuation routes, the civilian casualties will be enormous. With the plasma cannon, the military should have prioritized protecting the bridges.”

Yongno’s statement wasn’t intended to criticize the Korean military’s actions. If Yongno really put people’s lives above all else, he would have endured any loss and manifested until he no longer could, just like Arthur.

“What are you going to do? Volunteer to work for free?”

“Hmm… I’m not a hero, though.”

“Then, are we heading back?”

While listening to Youngmin, Yongno scanned the battlefield. He couldn’t find the slightest reason to sacrifice himself for the sake of so many people he didn’t even know.

Instead, Yongno was contemptuous of others, who he saw as ignorant and greedy. However, Yongno soon shook his head to shake off his current line of thinking and spoke up.

“I’ll take care of the ones I can see right in front of me. That mech robot is a bit annoying. Merlin Emrys.”

Crackle!

A noise rang out from Yongno’s body. For an instant, his body blurred like a mirage, and soon, a new figure was overlaid onto his physical body. Yongno had been dressed in an ordinary business suit, but now, he quickly appeared as a mage wearing a red robe and a wide-brimmed hat.

“Phew. I’m getting goosebumps. Bro’s perfection of internal energy and magic power is astounding. It still surprises me, no matter how often I see it.”

“I just developed what I was given. Anyway, since the general civilization level rose, I should try something new.”

The duration of Yongno’s manifestation was one hour. Moreover, humans were constantly dying with every second; Yongno- no, Merlin called for his flying shuttle without hesitation.

“Come out, Vimana.”

Ting!

However, contrary to expectation, a single line of text appeared.

The civilization level of your area does not match the flying shuttle’s level.

“Your creation was so well-made that you can’t even use it.”

Merlin’s flying shuttle, created with a massive investment of gem points, was incomparable to any other user’s flying shuttle. However, because of that, Merlin’s flying shuttle faced restrictions. It couldn’t be summoned and used freely in areas protected by [rules].

“So, you still can’t use it, huh?”

“DIO’s flying shuttle doesn’t reflect a certain scientific civilization development level, so I half expected that it was unusable. Luckily, magic power and other superpowers are free from restrictions; they don’t really face any civilization level limit since they can’t be widely distributed to the masses. Anyway… it’s probably not the right time for me to be so relaxed….”

After Merlin spoke, a red aura rose from his body. The magic power being emitted completed a pre-prepared spell, which soon created a miraculous phenomenon in the material world.

Crackle!

The seawater surged upward and began to freeze.

Merlin could use all types of attribute-type magic, but utilizing water-type magic allowed him to gain the maximum effect with the minimum amount of magic power.

“My God, what is that? Eh, an ice bridge?”

“It’s Merlin! A Master is here!”

After seeing Merlin standing on the other side of the bridge, those gathered began to cheer. Yet, rather than responding and acknowledging them, Merlin continued to build the ice bridge, which connected Yongyu Island and the mainland. After Merlin put his finishing touches on the bridge’s surface, making it somewhat rough to prevent people from slipping, the evacuating people crossed the space without hesitation.

‘I’ll have to rush in and attack immediately.’

Of course, since defensive barriers were based on blocking external magic from penetrating within, it was nearly impossible for Merlin to teleport directly into the enemy’s airship. Therefore, Merlin teleported directly above the barrier and raised his right hand.

Bam!

The defensive barrier, which even blocked a plasma cannon attack, was shattered with a single blow, and soon, Merlin entered the airship.

However, he found that no one was inside.

[Intruder alert! Intruder alert!]

“Hmm. Since it’s a Legion airship, it runs on an automated system. Well, the airship is a mech machine in and of itself. It would be a bit odd and humorous if a mech robot were piloting a mech aircraft.”

Crackle!

A jolt of electricity shot toward Merli after he had triggered the airship’s intruder alert system. However, he converted the electrical energy into impact energy as he lightly deflected the attack onto the airship’s inner wall. Though the airship was fully automated, Yongno could move around and avoid injury since there was a wide-open space within the vessel.

“Are they dumb? Electrical energy is easier to convert than any other type of energy.”

[Remove the intruder! Eliminate the intruder!]

“It’s so annoying that I can’t converse with such a rigid automated system. Since the airship’s objective is for terrorism, I guess the producers didn’t feel the need to include a conversation function.”

The moment he stepped forward while muttering, Merlin crossed space and entered the core of the airship. Unsurprisingly, the core was also protected by a defensive barrier, but Merlin easily shattered it with a simple attack and went inside the core area.

Bang!

After witnessing Lancelot’s stab and realizing the true meaning of ‘striking,’ Merlin developed the Irrational Hand Strike. This was the synthesis and final product of all of Merlin’s known skills.

It was a penetrating attack that bypassed defenses, a killing technique that inflicted a critical blow on an enemy, and a bombing technique that exploded to inflict AOE damage.

The Irrational Hand Strike contained all of Merlin’s martial arts knowledge, so it was, in some way, everything and nothing at the same time. Even the Great Strength Vajra Hand and Great Tantra Hand only made up a small part of the Irrational Hand Strike, and those two skills were said to be the strongest hand strike techniques in Buddhist literature.

Woong!

The internal energy that supported the power behind the Irrational Hand Strike was also beyond imagination. Merlin’s internal energy capacity was only 20 years, but that internal energy was amplified to 40 years through Mercury and 160 years after passing through Venus and Earth. In an instant, Merlin could output nearly three cycles of internal energy.

“And….”

The internal energy of 160 years was amplified to 320 years through Mars, the last planet within his No Living World system. As a result, his original power was doubled five times, adding up to more than five cycles in the end; literally, his amplification and power output seemed like works from the heavens. Moreover, Merlin could output all this energy in one blow. Even for a Master, the sole fact that Merlin could emit the maximum internal energy capacity in one blow defied all existing martial arts theory and logic.

Boom!josei

A single Irrational Hand Strike broke through the airship’s defense systems and destroyed the mainframe. The power of the Irrational Hand Strike was so immense that the aftershock waves spreading from the airship were visible from the outside.

Creek!

The airship, which possessed enough firepower to destroy a modern army’s entire defense system, started to fall from the sky. There was no damage to the airship itself, but it crashed because it didn’t have a system controlling it.

“Unfold. Veil of Darkness.”

After Merlin quietly completed a spell’s chant, a huge swath of darkness hid the airship, and immediately after that, the airship disappeared completely.

Merlin floated alone in the sky with his red robe fluttering about him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Silver short spears flew out from within Merlin’s robe, which he shot towards the other alien aircraft flying in the sky and the mech robot soldiers on the ground.

The sheer speed of the rapid fire was quite incredible; it seemed as though water droplets were splashing outward from a wet, spinning top. However, what was more surprising was that even amid the spears being sent out faster than a submachine gun’s fire rate, Merlin didn’t miss a single shot.

“… Overwhelming.”

Countless eyes watched Merlin as he shot out attack after attack. Many of the observers were agents belonging to the NIS, not military officials or war correspondents who recorded the battle situation whenever the enemy invaded.

[Didn’t you say that the firepower of the Heavenly Bow was overwhelmingly more powerful than a Master?]

“That’s right. But… Merlin is different from ordinary Masters.”

Min Seung-Cheol was a general NIS agent, having quickly gained recognition for his abilities once he became a Master. This allowed him to experience an unprecedented promotion to become a managing director in one stroke.

Being a Master, he knew all too well just how terrifying a being like Merlin was. Merlin had reached such a high level that he only needed a single blow to kill a decent Master.

[Heaven above the Heavens… Are you using that childish phrase too?]

“I’m sorry.”

Seung-Cheol hastily apologized after sensing the person on the other side of the line voicing his displeasure.

He was a Master, but because he was a Master, Seung-Cheol knew that he couldn’t do anything alone.

Against the existing weapon systems on Earth, a Master was powerful enough to contend against an entire country, but that was only for an hour, as manifestation only allowed one to become superhuman within that time. For that one hour, Masters were omnipotent, but what would happen once the manifestation ended?

Only in the state of manifestation was it okay for a Master to be hit by missiles, but after that, one pistol shot could kill them.

‘Also, the requirement of 10,000 gem points is too restrictive.’

The 10,000 gem points required to manifest was a truly fatal penalty.

Even the Level 11 Seung-Cheol could barely earn 10,000 gem points after working hard for about a month in real-time.