Above Your Head

Everyone, welcome to 2021!  2020 has been an absolutely horrid year for many people on many levels, and I think many (most? all?) of us are glad to leave it behind.  With that said, I wanted to give everyone a preview for some of the things that are coming up in the coming few months for Wuxiaworld.

Front-End Site Redesign - This one has been a long time coming!  Historically, we've focused more on incremental changes and feature build-out rather than overhauling the site itself, but for quite a few months now...

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"The bottom line is, I am also not a pure human being, but you just need to know that this is one of the abilities of the power I possess. To be honest, I was annoyed by the fact that I was born with such useless powers, but there's actually some use to it." Celestia's calm voice reminded me of what she had said thus far.

"...Is that why you kept asking? If I am an Earthling? And if I am a human?"

"Yeap. Actually, I've never seen a godly species other than the other royal families. So when I first saw you, I was quite surprised."

Come to think of it, I was someone who was nothing special in the eyes of anyone, but she recognized me at once and spoke to me. It was most probably due to the power of the Lion's Eye she possessed.

"By the way… eh?"

I was about to continue my sentence, but I froze. This was because other than the pork bones we ate and discarded, even the firewood burning below the pig just now had disappeared as though they had been erased by an erase. However, all Celestia did was shrug her shoulders, seemingly implying that it was a scene she had seen many times.

"Ah, it's nothing to be surprised about. It's always been like this."

"What do you mean it's always been like this? What's the principle behind this?"

"What? Haha, there's no such thing as a principle when it comes to power. Power is something that makes something happen just like that. In the first place, it would've been impossible to make a roast whole pig like this without being able to get in touch with the outside world. It was ridiculous to me even though I was the one using it heh."

I squinted my eyes at the sight of Celestia giggling away, "The pork that just entered my stomach won't disappear like that, right?"

"That kind of thing won't happen, so don't worry. Rather, you'll be healthier and full of energy for a while, as if you are on drugs."

"That's certainly true." I nodded in agreement and thought about something else. Power, huh.

Come to think of it, the commanding authority I possess might also be a kind of power that belonged to those fields of abilities. If it was only able to force someone to do something, then it would be some sort of mind control ability, but wasn't it a power that had enough authority to allow someone to do things that were supposedly impossible?

But while I was thinking about that sort of thing, the Legion girl spoke to me again, "You don't need me?"

She said something that was out of the blue, but it was probably a continuation to her 'Do you want me to help?' earlier. Anyway, she was wriggling her way towards me, but I put my palm out and prevented her from approaching.

"Hmm. No, hold on for a bit."

"Hold on for a bit?"

"Wait."

"Okay okay. Me wait." [1]

The Legion girl nodded her head like a good puppy and I was lost in thought for a moment as I watched her. Come to think of it, in a sense, the thought that the Legion was the ultimate artificial intelligence kept coming to my mind.

"Hmm. Can you get us out of this prison? No, I mean, get us out." I spoke casually first, but just in case, I repeated again in an authoritative manner, as if I was clearly giving her an order. However, the Legion girl tilted her head.

"Uhmm uhmm… I can't do that."

"As expected, it's a no go, huh..."

Celestia looked dumbfounded as she saw me being frustrated.

"That's a given, you idiot. Would this girl stay here obediently if she could get out whenever she wanted to?"

"There's nothing to lose anyways, so I just gave it a shot." I glossed over it vaguely. Seems like it probably wouldn't happen so smoothly just like with Ares.

"Try asking her what she can do to help you." Celestia suggested.

"Hmm. Alright then, you said you'd help me. How?"

"I don't know."

"…You don't know?"

"Yeapie yeap. You have to tell me what help you need first." [2]

"…."

I was at a loss for words. It wasn't as if there was any bargaining or pre-bargaining to do in the first place, so what was up with her saying 'You have to tell me what help you need first'? Was she implying that although she wanted to offer help, she wasn't sure of what she could help with?

Celestia was watching everything from the side, and she tapped me on my shoulder. It felt like she didn't expect much and brought my attention to another matter.

"Let's first think about getting out of here, then you can ask her for help afterwards. At the very least, she'll be able to shut down the system just like what she did back on Albatross."

"Got it."

I nodded in agreement and stood up. It was true that it was a little tacky to call it a power, but even so, the effectiveness of the golden pig was excellent. Previously, my hands were trembling even when I was lying down, but I recovered back to my best condition in a flash. As things stood now, I think I would be able to pilot Napoleon until the end of the battle without any problems.

"We have to make a plan."

"A plan?"

"Yeah. It was fortunate that we were able to get in touch with Albatross, but the situation is still unfavorable for us. Even if they know where we are, it won't be easy for the rescue team to enter this place… and most of all, if they can't break this prison after they came all the way here, it'll be game over for everything. We would obviously be in danger, but even the rescue team would also be in a predicament."

They were all facts. We were inside the stomach of the First-Tier Demon Tribe demon, Hell's Hand and… The demi-humans had enough confidence to lock the Legion in this place without any guards. The demi-humans were not fools, and they would've definitely made speculations in the off chance that the Legion was released free in the middle of their space carrier. They had absolute confidence that we wouldn't be able to escape, and that was why they locked us here with the Legion.

"If Major General Chun Hyun-il comes, we can definitely destroy it, but of course, it'll probably be hard to expect that to happen, right?"

"Just imagine that the bear guy doesn't exist. Because there's no way Morne would stay still. If the bear uselessly pays attention to other random stuff and suddenly loses, then it'd be the end for all of us. In this situation right now, if the bear makes a wrong move, there would literally be no hope left."

There was no one who did not know the absoluteness of the transcendents in hand-to-hand combat. Albatross planned to send their strongest superpower, their Captain, directly to the heart of the enemy, but that was already a strategy that the demi-humans were using. Needless to say, they anticipated it and prepared for it accordingly.

And just like what she had said… If, by the off chance that Major Chun Hyun-il dies? Let alone escaping, the whole situation would literally come to an end. A transcendent was someone who could kill us just by thinking about it. If such a being was near us, then leave aside commanding authority, the Legion girl or whatnot, none of these variables would be of any use.

"Then you'll probably need a Gigas armed with heavy weaponry."

"Or another method would be to just get Albatross to fire their main armament towards this direction. The defensive power of this place isn't ordinary. So…"

We put our heads together and tried figuring out for all kinds of ways. There was probably going to be a strategy planned by Albatross anyway, so we were just going to think of more in-detail ideas to add to that. Fortunately, we had a three-dimensional map of the Great Sky made by the Legion girl. And by the time we finished talking, Ares came back.

We're ready! How's the situation over there?

"We're still safe and sound. We're in good shape too."

I gave a general explanation of the situation we were in. Such as the distinct characteristics of the prison we were locked in right now; the fact that a considerable amount of firepower would be needed to escape this place; as well as the suggestion that firing off the main armament first would be of help.

After hearing our explanation, Ares nodded.

Alright. But if you're going to connect, do it in a place that's as safe as possible. It'll be great if you could go out and run wild, but it'll be a problem if something happens to your body. 

Needless to say, I had already thought about that.

"Cel will protect my body."

Cel? Ah, the Imperial Princess. It's a pet name huh.

"Hmm? That's right."

I see.

"…?"

While I was wondering about the contents of our boring conversation, the connection was completed. Now, the Legion girl would skillfully broaden my senses without me having to ask her for it.

Celestia asked while watching me from the side, "By the way, can't we go outside, just like how you came here? It would be good to know what's going on outside this prison."

…Hmm.

But Ares did not answer and was lost in thought for a while. No, saying he was lost in thought would be putting it in a good way, he was actually just pretending to do so, so I lightly urged him.

"Is it impossible?"

I'm sorry, but it'll be hard to do so. You can't think of it in a physical way. I didn't come here by flying straight. Instead, I used that Legion over there as a repeater. [3] Also, I can't see what she can't see either.

"Is that so?"

Just like what Celestia said, this prison was no different from some kind of Alternate Realm. In addition, we were inside the body of the First-Tier Demon Tribe demon, living in an area that was considered to be part of the spaceship but outside of it and yet connected to the central system. Hence, the Legion's cracking ability was utterly useless.

"Do you want me to help?" But then, the Legion girl spoke again.

I asked with delight, "By any chance, can I see the situation outside?"

"Well that's... no."

"…"

I was starting to wonder if this girl was making fun of me. It was almost like she was playing a prank on me.

However, Celestia had a different opinion as she watched the situation unfold. She said, "Hmm, isn't this what she's trying to say? That she can't help you unless you give her an exact command?"

"You mean like a computer?"

I took a closer look at the Legion girl who was staring back at me. Though she constantly butt into our conversation, she still had chains on her neck like it was a dog collar. Her hands were cuffed with steel and her ebony-like black hair was spread loose on the floor. It felt okay because we didn't care about each other, but it was actually a very awkward scene. But then again, if she didn't seem to show any emotions or signs about her situation, then she probably didn't feel uncomfortable about it.

"But the HELP command didn't work."

The Legion girl said she would help but then when I asked her for help, she didn't know how to. She had enough intelligence to communicate, but then, there were some things she knew nothing about.

Dae-ha, I have conveyed everything you said.

"What's their stand on this?"

They're going to follow your judgement. Since the Imperial Princess had the authority to operate it, they will fire the main armament without hesitation if needed.

"…That's really reliable but scary to hear at the same time." I grumbled and stared at the Legion girl again. As I turned my eyes to look at her, she also lifted up her big eyes to stare at me while blinking.

"Hmm. Cel, is it possible for you to free her from these chains and handcuffs?"

"I'm not sure... well, it's possible with my Golden Lion Aura, but it will take a lot of time. I think it's a specially made item too. It would be different if I had some equipment with me, but I was robbed of everything including my panties right now."

Celestia was whining while calling them "Shameless bastards!"

I suddenly asked her, "But they didn't take the earrings away though?"

"…What? What exactly are…you?"

I froze at the sudden seriousness that Celestia was putting on. Did I make a mistake? But the situation was already too late. Celestia was staring at me with an expression as if she couldn't believe what she just heard.

"Can you see this?"

It was already a crappy situation to deny it, so I meekly admitted, "Ah, yeah. I'm talking about it because I can see it. Aren't you talking about the gold earrings? That cross-shaped earring."

Celestia looked dumbfounded at my words.

"Holy shit. Even Morne couldn't see it, and you're saying you can? Are you a direct descendent of the bloodline of Horus by any chance?"

"…I came to the universe because I don't know that either."

"Wah, this is fascinating. This is a far greater power than the power to summon the pig. If you are able to see this, doesn't it mean you're actually immune to illusions and hallucinations?" Celestia grumbled and fiddled with her earrings. But I didn't know it was an item that had such a strong cognitive distortion ability that even Morne couldn't see through.

"Is it an item of the imperial family?"

"That's right. Though I always had it on, I had never used it, not even once in my entire life. But at any rate, it's something that can be considered a treasure of the imperial family. Anyways." Celestia changed the subject, not wanting to talk about the earrings anymore.

"I also hate seeing this chain and dog collar, but I can't do anything about it immediately. It's not on my body but on someone else's body. So if I were to cut the handcuffs apart, I would need to have more fine control skills than the ability I have right now. And most of all, I'm not equipped with anything right now. If I at least had a cutting device, I could have tried doing something about it."

"Hmm."

Feeling a little regrettable at Celestia's words, I looked at the dog collar, handcuffs and chains that bound the Legion girl. Now that I mentioned it, they had key holes on them.

"Tchh. I thought the same regarding the steel bars, but what are these keyholes doing in a spaceship? The keyholes are… wait, a key?"

I paused all of a sudden. Because, just like Celestia's earring, I also had an item that wasn't taken away by the demi-humans.

Clink.

I untied the necklace I was wearing and grabbed it with my hand. There was a key hanging on it by the end. A key with a unique design that seemed as if it was assembled and weaved with dozens of pieces of metals. It was a keepsake left behind by the man that was said to be my biological father.

---

1. She's speaking in an aegyo-ish tone.

2. Again, it's aegyo time.

3. It's a metaphor on a WiFi repeater, and it's commonly used to extend the coverage of the signal, in this case, Ares used the Legion girl to extend to an area where he could reach

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Woah, that key has actually been thought out since the earlier chapters huh. I almost forgot about the existence of that key 0.0

-Cosy