Chapter 279: Episode 279

The floor of the Sky Castle split open, revealing a massive cannon from within. It was a state-of-the-art weapon, a fusion of Machinatio’s science, which Albert had been developing, and Earth’s magic technology. A spear of death that was once meant to be aimed at humanity.

Yusin silently flicked his finger.

With a sharp Ping, a flash of light shot out from the cannon in a straight line, striking the city and erupting into a colossal mushroom cloud. The vast expanse of Pyeongtaek’s city center was annihilated in an instant. The ensuing shockwave uprooted trees and brought down mountains.

“Ah…” Yerin covered her mouth, her shoulders trembling.

The transparent barrier of the Cataclysm turned translucent white and began to crack. With a final Shatter, the entire dome broke apart like glass shards. The single attack had successfully destroyed both the boss monster and the Seed of Sealing. After the barrier broke, the lava-filled terrain vanished, gradually returning to the familiar cityscape of Pyeongtaek.

“H-He cleared the disaster…”

“No way.”

The hunters of the attack team muttered in stunned disbelief. Yusin, with his hands on his hips, wore a triumphant smile. From his perspective, a Cataclysm was an easier disaster to handle than most dungeons.

“M-Mister,” Yerin stammered, turning her gaze. “You were controlling that, right?”

“Yep, that’s right.”

“What in the world is it?”

Yusin smiled. “The Sky Castle.”

Here’s what had happened. Five years ago, during his battle with Albert, Yusin had hacked the Sky Castle. Afterward, the castle sank into the sea. Unfortunately, it had settled at the bottom of the Black Sea’s deepest point, tens of thousands of feet down, making any recovery of the massive fortress seem impossible. France had persistently claimed ownership of the sunken castle, but when evidence emerged that they had known about and condoned Albert’s actions, they were expelled from the Global Alliance. France’s claim became meaningless, and in the years that followed, the Sky Castle was forgotten.

Upon waking up five years later, the first thing Yusin did was scheme to use the castle he had hacked. After waking Ea, he confirmed that with Albert dead, control of the Sky Castle still belonged to him. Fortunately, the otherworldly relic and power core in the castle’s basement were still functional. Ea had used Yusin’s mana to remotely pilot it to Korea. Five years ago, it had been his greatest enemy; now, it was a useful vehicle and one of his most powerful weapons.

“Want to go up?”

“Yes!”

Yusin swept Yerin into his arms, enveloped himself in fourth-order Aiolos, and kicked off the ground, soaring into the air. It didn’t take long for them to reach the Sky Castle. Yerin’s eyes widened as she looked around. There was no trace of the grand castle it once was; it was just a ruin covered in moss.

“This is the Sky Castle…? It’s hard to believe.”

“This way.”

Yusin followed Ea’s directions, tapped a stone floor a few times, then placed his palm on it. With a grinding sound, the floor opened, revealing a staircase leading down. They descended into the narrow underground passage.

“From now on, your job is simple.”

“What is it?”

“You’re driving the Sky Castle.”

She jumped in surprise. “Dr-Driving? This huge thing?”

“Yep. Remote piloting takes a huge toll on my concentration. From now on, I need you to pilot it directly.”

“B-But I’ve never driven anything before! I don’t have a license, and I always come in last when I play racing games with my friends…”

“It’s fine. You’re a Child of Mana.”

She pouted. Ignoring Yerin’s muttering about that “darn Child of Mana,” Yusin deactivated the security to the deepest part of the Sky Castle and entered. This was the power room. The heat and humidity were intense. A green-glowing relic rested on a machine, from which countless pipes extended to every part of the castle.

“Alright, let’s make you a driver’s seat.”

Yusin crouched down and drew a magic circle in front of the machine. He then extended the circle’s circuit and connected it directly to the relic. Yerin couldn’t take her eyes off him as he effortlessly completed the circuit with mana.

“There! Done.”

“Is that really all it takes?”

“Yep. It’s almost the same structure as the magic circle on the tablet you controlled. Give it a try.”

“Okay.”

With an incredibly serious expression, she knelt before the magic circle and cautiously placed her palms on it. It felt as if the circle gently took hold of her hands. She closed her eyes and focused. She could feel the magic circle’s circuits connecting to her through her palms.

“Deeper,” Yusin’s voice instructed. “You haven’t reached the Sky Castle yet.”

She pushed her senses further, just as he had taught her. The greatest talent of a Child of Mana was being loved by mana itself. Her senses grew sharper, and the magic circle’s circuits began to feel like a part of her own body. To reach the area the circuits were connected to, she expanded her senses outward. And then—

“Ah…!”

She could feel the wind. She was looking down at the Sky Castle, but she couldn’t feel her own body. It was like watching from an omniscient point of view. A thrill she had never felt before shot through her.

“It’s okay,” Yusin’s voice said.

She couldn’t feel her body, but she knew his hand was covering hers. She could even feel its warmth.

“Can you keep going?”

Ha Yerin nodded. She didn’t know how, but she thought about nodding, and it happened.

Yusin’s voice came again. “Then, let’s go deeper!”

Her senses intensified, and her consciousness was sucked into the Sky Castle. The fortress felt like her own body.

[You have reached a new level in the state of perfect unity with mana.]

[Your Magic Power has increased by 30.]

[Your Concentration has increased by 20.]

Completely immersed, she gasped for breath.

Yusin’s voice reached her. “Perfect. Now, let’s try moving. Okay, tilt the castle from port to starboard!”

Before she could even think, ’How do I do that?’ her body—the castle—reacted. The Sky Castle tilted to the right just as she had thought, and she couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Now, the other way!”

The Sky Castle moved exactly as she willed it. A thrill of excitement began to build. Going beyond Yusin’s commands, she began to rotate it freely, even flipping it completely upside down. ’I’m really moving this giant castle!’ The feeling was intoxicating. With every movement, a new sensation was born, and player messages announcing stat increases flooded her vision.

“Yerin, please stop flipping it over. I just hit my head.”

“Sorry, I was just so excited… Ah!” She apologized, then realized with a start that she could speak even in this state.

“As I said before, we’re going on a tour to smash every Cataclysm disaster across the country.”

“Yes! Yes! I love it!”

“Our next destination is Jeonju. Head straight there.”

“You can count on me.”

There didn’t seem to be any more support she needed. Yusin stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m just going up for a bit,” Yusin said, turning his back. “Looks like some leeches have latched on.”

* * *

Yusin climbed the stairs, passed through the narrow passage, and emerged outside the Sky Castle. There were intruders. Four of them. Dressed in gray robes that covered their entire bodies, they surrounded him, radiating undisguised killing intent. Yusin casually closed the entrance Yerin was behind.

“What’s your business in my castle?”

The intruders remained silent.

One of the four, a particularly large man, stepped forward. Beneath his hood, he wore a metal mask. “…To move the Sky Castle is unbelievable. Who are you?”

Yusin shrugged. “Isn’t it customary in this business to reveal your own identity first?”

The man raised an arm. Countless blades were embedded in the skin of the arm that emerged from his robe. “If you won’t talk…”

Yusin’s foot connected with the man’s face before he could finish his sentence. The last thing he saw was the black sole of a shoe.

“You’ll find out by force?”

The back of the man’s head hit the floor. Yusin landed lightly to the side.

Seeing their comrade fall, the man behind him moved. As thorny tentacles shot out from under his hood, Yusin sidestepped them with a smile.

“So you’re demonkin, huh?”

As Yusin aimed his palm, magic circles spread across the man’s body like spots. The startled demonkin tried to erase them, but Yusin was faster.

<Flame Taurus>

With an explosion, the demonkin’s body was engulfed in smoke.

“How dare you!”

This time, the demonkin on the right moved. Its hood was thrown back, and its chest suddenly tore open, revealing something resembling an arthropod bursting forth.

“Wow, scary,” Yusin deadpanned.

A colossal monster, nearly a thousand feet long, emerged. Horrifying legs on each segment of its body twitched and squirmed. The centipede-like monster raised its head high, looking down on the Sky Castle, before descending toward Yusin at a terrifying speed.

Yusin took a single step back, and the centipede monster’s head fell powerlessly with a thud right where he had been standing. In the blink of an eye, the demonkin’s head and torso had been cleanly severed. Yusin extended his right arm, and the greatsword Specter flew back to his hand like a boomerang.

“Alright, next.”

The last remaining demonkin was stunned. Three of its comrades had been taken down before they could even put up a proper fight.

“Demonkin roaming around in broad daylight… the world must have gotten soft. Back in my day,” Yusin said, approaching the demonkin with a trail of black smoke, and grabbed the back of its head. “Demonkin crawled on the ground with their heads bowed.”

The ground shook as the demonkin’s head was smashed through the floor. Yusin stood up and looked at the thick green blood with a disgusted expression, wiping the fluid from his hand on the ground.

’Tch, cleaning this up is going to take all day.’

Just then, his earpiece crackled to life.

“Mister! Is something going on outside? I heard explosions.”

“It’s nothing,” Yusin said, getting to his feet and looking up at the sky. “…For now.”

Fighter jets were flying above the Sky Castle, breaking through the clouds. The main fleet of the Republic of Korea Air Force.

’They look ready to attack at any moment.’

It was to be expected. He had trespassed in their airspace with this massive thing without any warning. And they must have seen the demonkin, too.

“Warning! This is a warning!”

A magic-powered helicopter approached, broadcasting a warning.

“You have violated our nation’s airspace and trespassed in an active operational zone! Depart from the operational zone immediately! If you do not comply with our instructions, we will open fire!”

“Ea, are you ready?”

-Yes, of course.

There was a reason Ea had been quiet. It had taken her some time to adapt to the updated security firewalls after waking up, but she had finally succeeded. Yusin took out the phone linked to his earpiece, downloaded Ea’s data, and switched channels. After a brief connection tone, a man’s voice came through.

“This is the Disaster Emergency Countermeasure Committee headquarters channel. Sir!”

“Can you hear me clearly?”

The man was silent for a moment, seemingly flustered.

“P-Please state your affiliation and identity.”

Yusin waved at the helicopter and smiled. “I’m the person you’re looking at through that helicopter right now.”

* * *

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