Chapter 39: Light of the Heavens
Chapter 39: Light of the Heavens
Stars shine, endlessly performing their celestial functions. In that process, they emit heat, radiation, and visible light.
So, what would happen if one were to recreate that on the ground?
I am not talking about Nuclear Fusion, the dream the 20th century eventually gave up on and buried.
A small hammer held in my hand.
The crimson light that symbolizes my name.
An uncontrolled miniature star.
A star in the sky.
The Librarian once told me:
Never use it beyond a certain point.
He said it would become a power that kills its wielder.
Controlling energy with a Pseudo-Otherworld.
Applying pressure with my own immense strength.
Using mana as the flint to spark the flame.
The extreme physical force required to forge a star.
Technically, it was simple Nuclear Fusion, but there was a fatal flaw in the process.
The existence of a threshold where control becomes impossible.
The Hammer, growing infinitely heavy, becomes an overwhelming source of pressure itself.
The heat, unable to escape The Hammer’s confines, causes the process to repeat infinitely.
This results in an endless descent.
A fusion reactor in the palm of my hand, designed to create a focal point—the ultimate destination of physical force.
And the axis...
Let’s toss the tedious theories aside.
It wasn't my specialty to begin with.
Baek Si-hyun or the Librarian might know the details better, but regardless, this was the recreation of a distant star upon the earth.
Though I hadn't reached the final stage due to my own lack of strength, it was the proof of my status as a Hero—a power that exerted sufficient force even in its intermediate phase.
I gripped The Hammer, which had become overwhelmingly heavy through the repeated process.
Holding the weapon that even I could barely swing, I adjusted the direction of the emitted neutrons to the rear of the hammerhead.
The released particles became propulsion, thrusting The Hammer forward.
Whoosh.
I swung.
But the power was not yet unleashed.
One more rotation.
And another.
Centrifugal force gathered, centered on me.
The force trying to pull away was redirected by my will, accelerating The Hammer further, and The Cycle repeated again and again.
—0.5 seconds left!
Un-ho’s telepathy informed me of the remaining time.
The endless energy, the weight of a star combined with terrifying velocity, placed a staggering load on my arm.
I knew by instinct that the moment had come.
It was time to let go.
Just as I was about to release the boundless power gathered in my arm—
Snap.
An ominous sound echoed from my left shoulder.
Had the sutures reached their limit?
Dammit. Nothing for it.
"Un-ho! Left arm damaged! Assist!"
I let go of the handle with my left hand and entered the final rotation.
Immense energy surged into my right arm.
Numerous Magic Circles manifested on the handle and the hammerhead to alleviate the strain, but at this rate, the output would be lower than expected. It was a shame, but I’d have to leave the rest to the others.
As my right arm swung through the arc, I released the seal on the Red Hammer.
Flash!
Light and particles—the byproducts of a star—erupted from The Hammer.
All of it converged to form a colossal hammer of light, massive enough to eclipse the Pacific Ocean.
The symbol of my power, imbued with my will.
It swung in a great, sweeping arc.
And then, nothing happened.
Silence fell over The Sea where the giant hammer of light had passed.
Leaving behind only a momentary flare.
Clank. Clank. Hiss.
The glowing red hammerhead rapidly regained its original color, and the perforated handle was once again covered in steel plates, returning to its normal form.
Clatter.
The sound of the now-lightened hammer hitting the ground rang out.
Strength drained from my body to the point where I momentarily dropped my weapon on the battlefield.
I was exhausted.
As the heat radiating from The Hammer vanished, the seawater that had been evaporating began to pool at my feet again. I leaped onto the barrier before my boots could be submerged.
At that moment, the sky behind me lit up brilliantly.
It wasn't the light from my hammer.
It was the sound of countless weapons detonating.
The reaction of magic, techniques, and espers manifesting.
The people gathered on the barrier had begun their assault.
A simultaneous volley signaling the start of the war.
Countless flowers of fire bloomed upon The Sea.
I had no intention of jumping into the middle of that floral display to swing my hammer, so I sat on the edge of the barrier and watched.
"Un-ho. Communication magic."
"Yes, ma'am."
—Good work, Lee Ha-ram.
I expected to be connected to Headquarters, but instead, I heard the Librarian’s voice, laced with its usual calm, mechanical tone.
The Librarian must have intercepted the call, anticipating that I would reach out.
Saved me the trouble of asking to be transferred.
"Did you observe the effective range?"
—It skewed further to the right than anticipated. I expected you to incinerate at least half of them.
So that’s how it turned out.
I had planned to sweep away half of them right here, but of all times, my left hand had to give out.
"So, was the swarm heading toward the Oceania sector annihilated?"
—Satellite observations show their advance has halted. Whether they are completely annihilated is still unknown. However, if I may add my personal opinion, I believe you can rest easy.
The strategy was to wipe out the southern hemisphere with the first strike and then focus on the northern hemisphere. It seemed the first stage was successful, one way or another.
Because there was no reaction other than that momentary flash when The Hammer swung, it might have looked weak, but as the symbol of my power, its lethality was more than sufficient.
Pure force, including radiation and overwhelming energy, had radiated outward, tearing every enemy within The Hammer’s range to shreds.
"I could have erased the vanguard too."
Perhaps it was because I prioritized erasing the southern hemisphere. Combined with the issue with my left hand, the overall attack had skewed to the right.
The result was what I saw before my eyes now.
Their flesh was seared and peeling off, and bubbling gray blood oozed over their gray skin, yet they somehow kept moving, lunging toward the barrier.
Bang!
The leading entity was struck by someone's attack. The gray crustacean’s flesh disintegrated instantly, and it vanished into the depths of The Sea.
So I didn't kill them, but they were already hollowed out inside.
"Try taking a shot at that one running in the back."
"Understood."
As Un-ho waved his hand slightly, a small piece of stone tore away from the barrier and flew at high speed.
It wasn't a particularly strong attack.
Even if it was fired by Un-ho, who ranked among the top-tier mages, an attack using such materials couldn't carry much power. At best, it was slightly stronger than a rifle round.
Nevertheless, the small stone embedded itself deep into the gray crustacean's body.
The creature began to spray gray blood from the impact site.
Its claws fell limp, its shell separated from its flesh, and it stopped moving before sinking into the ocean.
"Was it cooked on the inside?"
"It looks like it was barely clinging to life."
Even if my attack missed them directly, they couldn't escape the aftereffects.
I didn't know why, but they had taken the full brunt of the attack instead of minimizing the damage.
"Why didn't they redirect it?"
"What do you mean?"
Right. Un-ho was Un-ho.
I’d told him before, but he’d already forgotten.
"Those things. When you use a wide-area attack to sweep them away in bulk, they usually shift all the energy to a few individuals so the group can survive."
The logic was that it was better to lose 15 to keep a colony of 85 intact than to have 90 out of 100 become useless.
Why not this time?
Why did the entire legion take damage instead of sacrificing a few?
"Isn't it simple?"
"Simple?"
Boom! Boom!
The air was filled with the explosions of countless attacks raining down beyond the barrier. A quick glance showed the Gray Crustaceans being gleefully pulverized.
I had expected to struggle from the start, but thanks to this unexpected turn of events, things were going better than planned.
The original plan was for me to sweep them away with overwhelming power to boost morale, but killing enemies that were already half-dead wasn't a bad alternative.
The allies' morale would rise, thinking the enemies were weaker than expected.
As they say, all roads lead to Rome.
Thanks to that, I had a moment to think.
I grabbed Un-ho, who was perched on my head, and pulled him down in front of my eyes.
"Tell me. What do you mean?"
"Behind you! There's a crab behind you!"
Who cares about a crab? It won't kill me even if it hits me.
I casually swung my hammer at the gray crustacean climbing the barrier, turning it into fragments, and locked eyes with Un-ho.
"This is important. Hurry up."
"Even if they shift the power to others, the total energy doesn't decrease!"
"Simpler."
"It means there's a limit to how much power a single entity can withstand! If it exceeds that, no matter how much they try to transfer the power through Otherworld Erosion, the remaining power has to go somewhere else..."
Flail. Flail.
Un-ho waved his limbs in my grip as he rushed through his explanation.
"Even if they diverted this attack to a few, most of the colony would have died anyway. So maybe they chose this to maintain their numerical advantage..."
I understood.
If each entity could withstand 100 units of energy and there were 100 entities, when 1,500 units of energy were applied, they wouldn't distribute 15 to each; they would dump 100 units into 15 entities to negate the damage to the rest.
However, this time, nearly 8,000 units of energy had hit them. Rather than sacrificing 80 out of 100 entities, they chose to have each entity shoulder 80 units.
"Wait, no. That’s strange. If they can move it that freely..."
Even with my stiff brain, a solution came to mind immediately.
"Couldn't they just distribute the power among every single entity that invaded?"
There must be millions of those crustaceans. If that number shared all the energy...
The impact would be nothing more than a scratch.
"You know how it is if you've experienced Otherworld Erosion! The effects of Otherworld Erosion are..."
"Dependent on the will and interpretation of the one accepting the sentence."
I continued to bash the crustaceans climbing over the barrier with my hammer, keeping my eyes fixed on Un-ho.
"Do those unappetizing-looking crabs look like they have that kind of will or knowledge? Except for the leader Type S, they can probably only transfer energy within a narrow range!"
I see.
Conversely, that meant a leader-class entity would be able to transfer damage to every single unit.
Wait... if that’s the case.
"Un-ho. Take care of these guys for a second."
I tossed my partner toward the Gray Host swarming The Wall.
"Poyooooo!"
I looked away from Un-ho as he flew toward the Gray Crustaceans and placed my hand on the white Magic Circle remaining by my ear.
"Commander Macbeth, respond."
—Make it brief. We are busy here as well.
Crunch. Crack. Snap.
The sound of shells being crushed echoed through the communication magic.
It wasn't just here; other sectors had entered combat as well.
"Requesting a change in plans. I've obtained additional information on the target."
—Speak.
"I request the battle be moved onto Japanese soil, rather than the Tsushima Line."
—Denied. There is no time to establish a defensive line.
Ignoring Commander Macbeth’s words, I continued.
"Furthermore, I request the use of thermonuclear weapons."
—...
Whether it was because he hadn't expected those words from me, Commander Macbeth fell silent.
"Poyooooo! Save the ferret!"
My partner was screaming for his life behind me, but seeing the swirling magic, I didn't need to help him just yet.
—Your reasoning?
"It'll take too long to explain verbally. I'll drop my consciousness in five seconds."
—Confirmed.
Thump.
I detonated the mental algorithm installed in my head, evaporating all consciousness.
Leaving only the information to be transferred in my brain.
A throbbing headache flared as the mental manipulation magic invaded my mind.
It was a dangerous spell that stole information from the brain, but with my consciousness already gone, I had no way to stop it. The Mental Magic took all the necessary information and left my brain.
"Gah... cough."
As my consciousness returned, I was immediately hit by a horrific headache and nausea.
It was a data transfer method that could only be used if one was willing to risk their brain momentarily dying.
I thought I’d gotten used to it from frequent use in the past, but the nausea I felt after so long was even more revolting than I remembered.
—Confirmed. I will authorize it. I will notify you of the timing for the operation later, so until then, reduce their numbers as much as possible.
"Understood."
I cut off the communication magic and gripped my hammer again. Now that the operation was approved, I had to thin out those crustaceans as much as possible for the new plan.
"The ferret's dying!"
I spotted Un-ho, who had wreathed both hands in wind to push the swarming crustaceans off the barrier. I leaped into the fray and swung my hammer.
Feeling the satisfying sensation of something hard being cleanly shattered travel up the weapon, I caught my airborne partner and returned him to the top of my head.
"I thought I was a goner!"
Un-ho expressed his dissatisfaction by tapping my head vigorously with his short arms.
"The plan has changed."
"Poyo?"
"We're going to reduce their numbers as much as possible, even if we have to push ourselves."
I vaulted over the railing and dove off the barrier. Toward the crustaceans that had reached the base of The Wall through the barrage of explosions.
"You're killing the ferreeeet!"
Un-ho tore at my hair as if trying to change my mind.
I ignored him and threw myself into The Sea of Gray Crustaceans.
My partner's complaints weren't a particularly important issue.