Above Your Head

Vol 2. Chapter 18: Great Nations and Small Countries (6)

Zhou Hongyi was definitely a strong man that China could confidently put at the forefront. Within the whole of China, of the countless number of Chinese people who belonged to not just the Zhu Family, but the Three Military Faction and the Supreme Magic Tower, he was an absolute powerhouse that was considered one of the top five. Furthermore, even among all the ability users of the whole world, he would still be within the top ten.

However, at this very moment, there was a boy who seemed to think that the social conventions of the Chinese people, and perhaps the ability users of the whole world, were wrong. It might seem outrageous, but the boy's thoughts were the truth.

'Is it because I haven't seen him in a long time, or has something happened to him? He looks very different,' I thought to myself. Yeong-min-hyung was more beautiful than the average idol, and this was no exaggeration. He had an appearance that could pass off as a beautiful girl with an androgynous style, and I have known that for a fact for a long time now. However, there was now a peculiar mood surrounding him, and it couldn't be justified by his mere beauty. It was so decadent and savage, and was a sight that I couldn't take my eyes off.

Then, hyung took something out of his arms. Krieeeek! It was the weapon that he planned to use against the Earth Dragon God Sword, ranked second among the Three Great Godly Artifacts of the Empire of China. Clack!

"..."

"..."

"..."

Silence instantly swept through Geunjeongjeon Hall. It was a given, because hyung was currently holding onto...

'Ares, that weapon...'

Weapon? How is that a weapon?

That is not a weapon. It is also not battle equipment. If I were to describe it... It's a stationery, Captain-nim.

'No, then why is he bringing that out right now?' I was dumbfounded. I then confirmed the title of the 'thing' that hyung was holding onto.

Daiso

Bought on the way, Cutter Knife

"Kuk, Kuhaha! Kuhahahaha!!!" Zhou Hongyi burst out laughing, his laughter cutting through the heavy silence. It sounded refreshing, seemingly reverberating throughout the entire Gyeongbokgung Palace. However, it did not signify that he was in a good mood. His face, despite his laughter, soon became fiend-like and distorted. "This greenhorn that is wet behind the ears!!"

Griiiackkk--! Have you ever heard the sound of huge cracks on thick ice? That low-pitch, heavy, and horrifying roar…

"Th-That..."

"Oh my God."

The warriors standing behind Zhou Hongyi, as well as the ability users of the Lee Family, all let out a groan. They stared at the thin cutter knife that was facing off against the Earth Dragon God Sword with a look of disbelief.

Booom!

"Uaaackkkk?!"

"Avoid it!"

The Geunjeongjeon Hall was almost half-destroyed, and Zhou Hongyi was blasted out to the Royal Court. The ability users of the Lee Family, who gathered and crowded the door, scattered like a swarm of locusts.

Thuddd. Then, as hyung swiftly jumped down to the center of the Royal Court, Zhou Hongyi's cheeks shook as if he had never expected such a development to occur. "You, you bastard... Why..."

"Agh, why did you have to recklessly take it head-on for no reason?" Clinkk! As hyung's thin and long fingers lightly flicked the ends of the blade, the broken cutter blade spun around and fell on the flat stone that lined the Royal Court. Surprisingly, only one snap of the cutter knife[1] was damaged. "Well, there wasn't any reason in particular." Krieeeek! Hyung slightly loosened his wrists, snapping off another one of the cutter knife's blades. "In case you say some bullshit like you let your guard down and lost."

"You bastard...!" Zhou Hongyi roared, and…

Kwaaaang banggg!! Chwaaangggg!! Then, the clash began along with that ghastly roar. It was a clash so violent that my ears were buzzing, even though I was located quite a far distance away. Needless to say… 'I can't see anything.' All I could feel was something flashy going on, and a load of noises going rampant. However, I did not know how hyung and Zhou Hongyi were fighting at all. I only had national athlete-grade physical ability, and was not able to reach the level of a superhuman. Therefore, how could an ordinary person, who couldn't even make good use of soul power, see the intense battle between Compléter-class warriors?

The current situation was a little different from when I was on board the Gigas. Once I got on board a Gigas, and operated the Avalon System which starts the synchronization with the Iron Heart, the physical capabilities of the pilot were of little meaning. Whether it was a Compléter or a transcendent, the power of a Gigas depended strictly on the capabilities of the pilot. Also, the cognitive ability of a Gigas was basically my cognitive ability, and the soul energy of the Iron Heart was basically my soul energy. I would be able to dodge an incoming photon bomb just by looking at it in space warfare. I would also be able to perceive everything within a radius of tens of kilometers without seeing it with my own eyes.

However, I was different as soon as I got off a Gigas. I was just a human being.

Would you like to watch the video again, in slow-motion?

'It's fine. What's the point of seeing it again? I just need to know who has the advantage,' I thought. Even if I could not see the trajectory of the sword, it was very clear. The only thing I could not see was the sword trajectory, but I was able to at least see the face of Zhou Hongyi and hyung, who stopped every now and then, with my eyes.

"You bastard... You fucking bastard...!"

"Ooooh! The sword is really great. But aren't you depending too much on a worldly object?"

"Arrogant!!!!"

Kwaaaang banggg!! Booom boooom boooom! Zhou Hongyi launched an array of attacks wildly, but that was only for a short while. He was slowly getting pushed back. His brownish-red Sword Qi that was in the air slowly turned to a black Sword Qi, and started to disperse like fog.

Clinkkk! Krieeeek! Once again, hyung blew away one snap of the blade and pulled out a new one. Then, Ares spoke in a baffling voice upon witnessing that sight, Wow, crazy. I didn't expect there to be such a freak.

'What? Why is hyung a freak?'

He's a freak because he's using crazy perverse techniques. I've seen my pilots training with that a few times, but I didn't think anyone would actually use it in real practice.

'Your pilots?' I was surprised by what Ares just said. Currently, Ares was in a situation where he would be nagged or suffering under me. However, wasn't he the God of War, Ares, Transcendence Weapon Number 613 that was at the top of the list even among the battle equipment that existed in the vast Great Universe? Needless to say, not just anyone could ride on a God-rank Gigas. Perhaps all of the pilots that Ares was talking about were strong beings who attained the state of transcendence. I asked, 'Hyung is using a skill that even those who attained a state of transcendence found difficult?'

Why are you ignoring the 'freak' modifier, and focusing only on the state of transcendence?

'In any case, that's a high-difficulty skill that is hard to use, even for the state of transcendence, right?'

No, rather, this guy is literally justifying himself in his own world. Although he spoke, I ignored a dumbfounded Ares, and stared at hyung. Are you listening to me? That's not an amazing skill, but a weird and freaky...

Ignoring what Ares was saying again, I looked at hyung again. For some reason, I was happy. It was commendable. Was this how it felt when a family member passed an important exam, passed a good job, or became a celebrity? I thought, 'For hyung to be the strongest-grade on Earth, huh.' Of course, from the perspective of someone who went to the Great Universe, it might not be that great of a level. Just like no one would say 'Even so, aren't you still below a president?' when their family member passed the exam for a fifth-grade civil servant after putting in a great deal of effort, all I could think of was that my brother was admirable.

Then, my excellent hyung finally ended the fight. Chwanggg---!! Blood was spurting like a fountain.

"Kukkk... Keokkk..."

"General-nim!!"

"How dare you...!"

The warriors of the Zhu Family, who were standing back, intervened in the battle between hyung and the Chief District Prosecutor. No, to be exact, they tried to intervene.

As the battle format has been decided as the Captain's War, multiple combat participation is not possible.

"Keukk!"

"This shitty!"

The system that protected them just a few minutes ago held them back this time. Because of that, Zhou Hongyi was dying. The man couldn't receive anyone's help. "Kreuk..." He tried to hold onto his torn neck with his left hand, but it did not work. His face, which turned pale in an instant, indicated that the sickle of the death reaper was cast on his back.

"You look dejected." Hyung approached Zhou Hongyi with a smile gracing his pretty-looking face. If Zhou Hongyi were to reach out his hand, hyung would be in a reachable range, but hyung was not worried about a counterattack at all. "It's unfair, isn't it? Right? It's supposed to be natural for you to just come and swallow up this small country whenever you want. You would have been able to manipulate the rules that us fools made, accomplish a perfectly excellent achievement, and gain the accomplishment of a wise Rule Breaker. Wasn't that so?"

"You bastard…"

"You didn't know." Clinkk! Kriekkkk! One snap of the cutter knife was snapped off and a new one appeared. This was the last blade as it ran out of blade attachments. Hyung then continued, "You probably never thought you'd die like this."

"Sto-Stop. If you hurt me, the Emper-" Thwip! A black line cut across the air. Then, Zhou Hongyi was beheaded and his head rolled on the floor.

'H-He's really determined huh.'

Kyaaa! That's great! Then, is it time for war now? It's war, right?

'Ah, shut up.' I ignored Ares, who kept making a fuss, and stared at hyung's face. At first glance, he looked relaxed, but his tightly clasped lips showed that he did not think the current situation was a joke. I have looked at hyung for a long time, ever since before, so I knew that his current attack was not just done on impulse. This was a resolute decision made with a firm determination. 'He decided to throw himself into the flow of history…'

I did not have a patriotic heart. Perhaps I didn't even have a sense of belonging to mankind. Therefore, whether China invaded Korea, or Korea was humiliated by China, I had no interest in it whatsoever. Even if I had prevented China's invasion, it would not have been because of patriotism towards the country Korea, but because I was annoyed by the harm that would be inflicted on me.

In the end, I was a bystander. Perhaps this was meant to be a natural sequence the moment I awakened the Godly bloodline, and escaped from the frame of a human. 'But, Yeong-min-hyung is different.' Hyung chose a different path from me. He had a patriotic heart, and he chose to resist the forces invading the country. He did not choose to stand by and watch.

The Lee Family's Captain has won!

Progress: 0/1, 1/3

"You bastard! How dare you! How dare you do that to the Chief District Prosecutor of the Zhu Imperial Household!!"

"Ah, you're the next opponent? Captain's War resume!"

The Captain's War has resumed!

Progress: 0/1, 1/3

"…!!" The faces of the Zhu Family's warriors turned pale. This was because they were well aware that they did not dare to be hyung's opponent, seeing that the Chief District Prosecutor had already lost. The Zhu Family still had two more chances, unlike the Lee Family who would become the loser as soon as they lost one time. However, it just meant that there were two more chances of earning themselves two more dead bodies in this situation.

"Quickly get onto it. There is only a five-minute time limit anyway."

"You bastard… You fucker…!"

"Ah, come to think of it, is the Lee Family 'capturing' the Zhu Family right now?" Hyung's words caused the ability users of Lee Family to stir up a fuss, albeit the fact that they had been watching the battle unfold while keeping a deadly silence.

"Well, come to think of it… This is an Occupation War, isn't it?"

"Don't tell me… This means we're capturing the Zhu Family?"

"Oh my God. Is that really possible?"

It was a shocking development that no one had ever imagined. Even the ability users of the Lee Family, who were the winners, were flustered. Then, how would the warriors of the Zhu Family even feel?

"Three minutes left. Quickly send out the next opponent."

"… I want to use the Forced Right of Command! Invalidate the Captain's War!"

The Zhu Family used the Forced Right of Command! Two remaining uses.

The use of Forced Command is not allowed to invalidate the Captain's War!

Forced Right of Command. The Invalidation of the Captain's War has ranked down. Temporary suspension will be executed!

Flashhh! In an instant, all the members of the Zhu Family disappeared along with a dazzling light. Due to such a ridiculous ending, the ability users of the Lee Family had blank looks on their faces. They stared at the place where the warriors of the Zhu Family were standing at just a while ago.

"Hmph. As expected, they're a bunch of dishonorable guys."

"Well, I knew they would have a contingency method in case of an emergency. It was surprising that it was the Right of Command, but… Man, what do you mean Forced Right of Command? Is there such a thing for the Lee Family?"

"At the very least, this is the first time I've heard of it."

The conversation between the Student Council President and hyung, who stood side-by-side with each other, as if they shared an unordinary relationship, played out. Then, a new text appeared following that.

Temporarily suspended. Occupation War resumes in 71 hours and 59 minutes.

"Ha, hahaha! What's this? It wasn't invalidated though?"

"Hahaha! Those Chinese bastards! No, I can't believe things turned out this way. Kuhaha!"

"Oh my God! This is insane! Uwahhh!!"

The ability users of the Lee Family, who were immersed in the unimaginable development, finally burst out in cheers. Of course, not all the members of the Lee Family shared the same feelings.

"What happened..."

"It's war. The Zhu Imperial Household will not let us off."

"Those fools who are rejoicing, they don't even know that a disaster is coming."

"Where did that mongrel bastard come from?"

I ended Udjat's video after looking around at the images of the Zhu Family, who ran away without acknowledging their defeat, and the displeased expression of some ability users of the Lee Family despite their win. I also looked at the senior members of the Lee Family, who were wary of the sudden appearance of a strong being despite being delighted.

"For starters." My mind was in chaos due to many things happening in a short time, but when I think about it, the situation was simple. "I need to meet hyung." Thinking that I could no longer be a bystander, I slowly moved.

1. This is the Cutter Knife that kids used to use during art lessons. Check this for reference, https://5.imimg.com/data5/UQ/MW/MY-4114712/18mm-cutter-knife-0425-500x500.jpg. As you may already know, the ends of the blade can be snapped off if the blade turned dull.