Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Two Lines
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Vwoooom—
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted.
A blue aura began to radiate from the body of the Giant God Gaion.
Before long, three support struts shot out from its back.
Klaang— Klaang— Klaang—
The struts drove deep into the ground, firmly anchoring Gaion in place.
Whirrr— Clank.
Then, six cannon barrels materialized from Gaion's arms.
The barrels merged with the Gatling gun, becoming one massive weapon.
“Urgh!”
Alexian’s expression twisted.
“If I get hit by that…”
In the center of the six massive barrels, the Gatling gun’s muzzle began to spin wildly.
Alexian’s eyes flashed with certainty.
“…I will surely die!”
Alexian spread both his wings.
“But…!”
His eyes gleaming, he opened his mouth wide.
“I cannot retreat!”
He shouted.
“If we back down here, we’ll never be able to rise again!”
Gaion’s eyes seemed to curve into a smile.
“Good! That’s more like it!”
The Gatling gun began to spin even faster than before.
Gaion yelled.
“I was about to be disappointed, thinking you’d run away!”
Energy once again condensed in Alexian’s mouth.
His mouth opened even wider.
Contrary to Silver’s expectations, an incomparable amount of energy began to gather.
Pshhhhhh—
A tremendous amount of steam billowed from Alexian’s armor.
The amplifier on his back glowed red-hot, as if on the verge of exploding.
This is the last one.
Alexian muttered to himself.
If I can’t win with this… then it’s over.
A fearsome amount of energy was also condensing in Gaion’s Gatling gun.
A firm resolve to defeat Alexian was palpable.
A mechanical tone signaling the end rang out.
A flash of light glinted in the eyes of Alexian and Gaion.
“Maximum Level!!”
“Shooooot—!!”
Kwwaaaaaaaang—
A multicolored beam cannon fired from the Gatling gun at a ferocious speed.
Kuwaaaaaaaaang—
A massive cosmic storm shot violently from Alexian’s mouth.
In the heart of downtown LA, a flash erupted, so bright it seemed everything would melt in an instant.
Beneath the buildings being engulfed by the light, a black shadow flickered.
Building glass shattered everywhere.
Whoooosh—
From an aerial view, downtown LA unfolded.
Two thin lines of light could be seen hurtling toward each other at incredible speed.
A moment later, the two immense energies collided.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!!!
Gaion and Alexian were engulfed in a white light.
Kwoooooo—
The buildings of LA were also absorbed into the light and vanished.
A blindingly white light covered the entire city for a moment.
As the light gradually subsided.
A single silhouette began to emerge from within.
Pshhhk—
Smoke billowed from the mechanical mask.
The Giant God Gaion stood in a composed posture, holding the slowly spinning Gatling gun.
Before its eyes, where asbestos dust scattered, the pale smoke slowly cleared to reveal the figure of Alexian, collapsed with his eyes rolled back.
Gaion, who had been tensed and wary of what was ahead, finally lowered its weapon.
As the Giant God Gaion placed the Gatling gun on the ground, the weapon transformed back into the Silvergrand.
Crackle, crackle—
Silver pushed himself up, emitting sparks.
“It’s over.”
A moment later, Gaion also separated into three parts, reverting to Big Five, Gogo Arc, and Area87.
Vwoom—
Area87 circled in the air, checking on the condition of the fallen Alexian.
“Combat inability confirmed. No abnormalities in vital signs. He’s completely unconscious.”
Meanwhile, the White Dragon ‘Guts’ and the Black Dragon ‘Ocona’ were silently looking down at the fallen Alexian from the rooftop of a distant skyscraper.
“Keuk! Keck, keck, where am I?”
Next to them, the Yellow Dragon ‘Kodosura,’ who had been unconscious for a while, snapped his eyes open.
Guts glanced at the now-conscious Kodosura, then muttered to the two of them.
“Let’s go… I don’t want to get caught by the cops.”
The three of them spread their wings and took flight.
Area87 looked back at the three dragons flying off into the distance.
“Big Five, what should we do about those three?”
Big Five looked up at the sky and answered.
“Leave them for now. Cleaning up the area is the priority.”
Then he turned to Gogo and Silver.
“It ended safely.”
Thud, thud, thud.
Big Five dragged his heavy body to stand before Silver.
He extended his right hand.
“Thanks for the help.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Silver, despite his injured body, firmly shook Big Five’s hand.
Standing between them, Gogo quietly surveyed the surroundings.
Collapsed buildings, overturned vehicles, and utility poles everywhere.
The trees along the main street were also scattered about.
Gogo glanced around at the completely devastated downtown LA and muttered.
“Well, damn… Looks like I’ll have to file a report.”
* * *.
Sharin, Jekovic, and Shin-ju were walking down a gloomy corridor, led by Katrin.
Along the way, Shin-ju suddenly felt a sense of unease.
For some reason, the corridor walls felt different than before.
He looked up.
The end of the corridor ceiling was out of sight.
What is this? Did the ceiling get higher?
He walked on, feeling the unsettling sensation of the space subtly warping around him.
A moment later, the group rounded a corner.
Shin-ju’s eyes widened.
“No… what is this…”
A vast, dark space, like a giant underground bunker, unfolded before them.
The sense of unease he’d felt earlier wasn’t just his imagination.
Along with the incredibly high ceiling, aliens of all shapes and sizes were displayed in capsules to their right.
“My god…”
Jekovic also stared, mouth agape, at the aliens inside the capsules.
Sharin watched the scene silently with a grave expression.
Shin-ju turned to Katrin.
“Lady Katrin! What in the world is…”
“I don’t know the details either… but they seem to be alien test subjects, abducted from the far reaches of space.”
Inside the oval capsules, countless different species were imprisoned, from a giant tentacled monster that looked over ten meters tall to a tiny, fairy-like alien.
They were suspended inside the capsules, connected to equipment that resembled oxygen masks.
As Shin-ju cautiously made his way down the corridor, he glanced at one of the aliens in a capsule.
It was a giant robot that resembled Silver.
Shin-ju’s expression turned serious.
A Frontline Planetarian?
But its appearance was subtly different from them.
It felt like one of their ancestors, perhaps.
“Hey… hey, Park Shin-ju… look over there.”
Beside him, Jekovic nudged him, having spotted something.
“What is it?”
Shin-ju turned his head in the direction Jekovic was pointing.
“Gasp…!”
It was enormous.
It seemed to be about a hundred meters tall.
It was so large that its upper body was obscured by the dark corridor ceiling and wasn't clearly visible.
Shin-ju gathered his courage and moved as close as he could, and he could faintly see strange, tentacle-like things near its face.
To get a better look, Shin-ju opened his mouth slightly and narrowed his eyes.
A moment later, he shuddered.
“Th-This is insane!!”
At Shin-ju’s cry, everyone turned to him.
Sharin approached Shin-ju.
“Hoo… damn it!”
Shin-ju sweated as he looked up at the giant.
“What is it?!”
At Sharin’s shout, Shin-ju turned to her with an agitated expression.
“A ‘Great Old Owner’ is here.”
Sharin flinched at his words.
“What…?”
Shin-ju slowly raised a finger. Sharin looked up in the direction he pointed.
Sharin cried out as if confirming its shape and pulled her head back.
She looked around and shouted in an agitated voice.
“What in the world is this place?”
Sharin turned to Katrin.
“How can something like that be here?”
Meanwhile, Jekovic quietly approached Shin-ju.
“…What’s wrong? What’s a ‘Great Old Owner’?”
Shin-ju sighed once and looked at Jekovic.
He had a troubled expression, wondering how to explain it.
He began to explain, trying his best to find the right words.
“The Great Old Owners… they are beings from before the birth of the universe, vastly more powerful than any other life form.”
Shin-ju swallowed dryly.
“To put it simply, if that being so much as points a finger, an entire galaxy can be annihilated. Just like erasing it with an eraser.”
“…Are you serious?”
Jekovic shook his head with a blank face, as if in disbelief.
Shin-ju paid no mind to his reaction and continued his explanation.
“They’re a higher existence than a Planet Destroyer. You could say a Planet Destroyer is like a grandchild to an Old Owner.”
“No, no, wait a minute… this doesn’t make any sense. Such an unbelievably powerful being… is trapped in a place like this?”
“I have no idea what’s going on either, but…”
Shin-ju briefly lowered his head, racking his brain.
“The primordial beings once started a war before the universe was born…”
Shin-ju lifted his head.
“I heard about it from my father when I was young.”
Shin-ju looked past Jekovic toward Sharin and Katrin.
“And the aftershock of that war was…”
“The Big Bang, known as the birth of the universe.”
Jekovic’s jaw dropped.
Shin-ju turned his head again and looked up at the giant.
“My guess is that being is a remnant of that war.”
Suddenly, the surroundings grew solemn.
Terrified, Jekovic looked around.
“L-Let’s get out of here, quick.”
Suddenly, Sharin placed a hand on Jekovic’s shoulder, her expression fierce as if asking where he thought he was going.
“No. We leave only after we find Furen and our comrades.”
Jekovic turned pale and couldn’t say a word.
Shin-ju composed himself and asked Katrin.
“Have you found any trace of Lady Furen?”
Katrin looked at Shin-ju.
“Rather than finding a trace, I’m finding my way by retracing my last memories with her.”
She turned and started walking again.
“I remember the place where she was very clearly.”
Shin-ju and Jekovic wore anxious expressions.
Sharin asked a question from behind Katrin.
“You said our comrades are also trapped in that lab?”
“Yes, at the very least, everyone who was on the refugee ship is probably there.”
“How many in total?”
“Exactly 242.”
Katrin answered crisply.
Sharin thought for a moment before calling her name.
“Katrin.”
“Yes, Lady Sharin.”
“Do you know how to fight?”
“Yes, to some extent… All of my comrades on the ship, including myself, were trained by Lady Furen.”
“Good.”
Sharin pulled something from her waist and quickly tossed it to Katrin.
Katrin skillfully caught the object.
She looked down at it.
“Th-This is…”
Sharin nodded.
“It’s the dagger I used to use. Keep it. I have a feeling a fight is about to break out.”
“Ah… thank you.”
Katrin held the weapon forward and performed a Bluerobic salute.
Then she turned and took the lead again.
Sharin soon followed behind her.
Shin-ju and Jekovic glanced at each other once, then followed them without a word.
Only the sound of their footsteps echoed quietly down the empty corridor.
After some time had passed.
Katrin raised her fist.
Everyone following her came to a halt.
Katrin pointed diagonally up and to the right.
The three of them turned their heads in unison in the direction Katrin’s finger was pointing.
“What the…”
Before them, the lid of a capsule, about thirty meters long, was broken.
The capsule was completely empty, as if the alien inside had already escaped.
Katrin looked back.
Her demeanor had changed, becoming frighteningly different from before.
She, too, was a proud Bluerobic warrior.
“…Get ready.”
Shk—
Sharin nodded, and Shin-ju and Jekovic also steeled themselves.
Grrrraaaaaaaaar—
From the end of the long, stretching corridor, a horrifying cry echoed.
Soon after, an unidentified light began to flicker.