Chapter 22

Chapter 22. On an Ice Satellite (10)

Quaang-!

The man who got off the shuttle, which had supposedly been deserted, was caught in the blast's aftermath, sending me and the broker tumbling to the ground. Each time the ground thumped against my body, it forced the breath out of me.

The security robots beside her were caught in the shuttle debris and plummeted below the rooftop. Had I pulled the broker only a moment later, we would not have avoided falling as well.

"Urgh..."

I let out a faint groan through clenched teeth, feeling a sharp pain in my back. Luckily, the metal parts attached to my suit somewhat served as armor, preventing any part of me from being blown away.

However, the situation was utterly despairing. The shuttle, our only hope for reaching Earth, had exploded in vain right before our eyes, leaving a dreadful and horrifying image emblazoned in my memory.

The broker, pinned beneath me in our accidental fall, looked up, wide-eyed and visibly flustered. In shock, she seemed unaware that her helmet had shattered, exposing her face as she mumbled openly.

"Hijacked...? When did it happen...?!"

"Does that matter right now?!"

Seeing the blood trickling down her torn forehead, I replaced her broken helmet with an extra breathing protector. With the barrier damaged, contaminated air from outside was leaking in. Without a protector, she wouldn't last long.

Fortunately, I still had my previously used breathing protector. Otherwise, we would have been in a bit of a pinch.

'No.'

A pinch? It was beyond troublesome—it was overwhelmingly hopeless. The shuttle that should have been ascending after loading passengers was no longer there.

"Escape route! A way to get out of here! Quickly, tell me! There must be something! You wouldn't have prepared just one, right?"

"... There is an additional shuttle. It could come if I call it."

"Call it right now!"

"Don't expect too much. Like my shuttle was hijacked, it's highly likely that the one in orbit has been hijacked too."

"... Then."

I couldn't finish my sentence, because it indicated there were no more options left.

As the pureblood supremacists resumed their activities, chaos completely engulfed us. Their relentless attacks pounded the central tower, causing the ground to tremble finely.

I heard the sound of the frame, which was supporting the structure, twisting. Although the thought crossed my mind that the tower might collapse, it seemed unnecessary to worry. We were likely to die before that happened.

Seeing the broker gasping for air, I backed away and went to Nadia, who seemed to have collapsed with weakened legs. I sat next to her.

"Are you hurt?"

What a foolish question it was. In a life-or-death situation, what did it matter?

"... No. Carry protected me."

"I'm glad."

I replied, removing the metal fragments lodged in Carry's transport box. Carry examined my face with a sorrowful expression visible in its camera lens. It knew too. That this was the end.

"Hyun-woo, right now, what if we go down and find a tram...?"

"No. We can't get through the pureblood supremacists. Even if by some miracle we find one, it's unlikely there'll be an intact tram. They seemed to hold no thoughts of returning alive."

I hadn't considered the idea, but I abandoned it because it was impossible. Although the gunpowder weapon was an artefact of the past, it remained a highly threatening weapon.

With the worker suit instead of a military suit, one could barely withstand a few shots before being pierced. Even with a more upgraded suit, the result of dying wouldn't change.

Even if, by divine intervention, we did break through, what would we do about the monsters waiting below for our honeycombed bodies?

Nadia hugged her knees. Her tail lost all strength, hanging limply.

"... I wanted to see Earth. I wanted to see the blue sky you showed me, Hyun-woo."

I felt the same. No, even at that moment, I longed for it too. Going to Earth and seeing the blue sky—that was something I could never compromise.

But no solutions came to mind. What I could see was an apocalyptic scene, a devastated residential area.

【Warning. Significant damage detected to the residential area barrier generation device. Barrier restoration halted. Unable to maintain form. Residents are advised not to go outside until the device is restored. Contaminated air is currently seeping in.】

The barrier, barely maintaining its dome shape, started collapsing from above, falling like snow. From the darkened sectors, the unmistakable sounds of monsters emerged.

As if they collectively suffered from space psychosis, the pureblood supremacists fired their gunpowder weapons, causing destruction.

Those on the middle floors of the central tower might have already reached the rooftop. A banging sound emanated from beyond the emergency exit door. The security robots were blocking it with their bodies, but they clearly wouldn't hold for long.

An attack from somewhere caused the central tower to start tilting. The supporting frames of the building were groaning that they couldn't hold on any longer.

Yet not a single person tried to flee. Some acted by instinct, trying to escape, but they soon gave up as well. The entrances leading downwards were already consumed by the pureblood supremacists.

'... Is this truly the end?'

I laughed helplessly as real snow started falling. The security robots blocking the emergency exit door were thrown backward from an impact.

The metal frame twisted, melting the door. Judging by the output, someone was using a tool powered by Blue Crystals to weld through the door.

Even in the face of death, I wanted to struggle till the end, wanted to have some form of revenge on those who created this situation. Grabbing my mining tool, the plasma cutter, I rose to confront them.

That was when it happened.

"... Huh?"

It was Nadia's curious-sounding voice that broke through, gazing endlessly at the residential area without losing hope.

"Nadia, let's go with your plan for now. I'll clear a path in front, so you and Carry together—"

"That's not it, Hyun-woo! Look over there!"

She cut me off and pointed to a certain spot. Wondering what she meant, I looked in the direction she indicated, instinctively narrowing my eyes. It was because there was an object scratching against the residential area ground and shooting up into the sky.

Given its blue shimmer, it was a shuttle. A heavily armed one at that.

I immediately turned to the broker.

"Did you call the shuttle already?"

"What? I did, but I wasn't sure it'd arrive on time. Plus, there's no guarantee it's safe."

"... Then what's that shuttle?"

"A shuttle? There shouldn't be any intact shuttles left."

The broker knitted her brows, puzzled, and when her eyes followed mine, they widened in surprise almost simultaneously.

"... SSTC Caliburn, an armed shuttle for residential areas."

"They're not allies...are they?"

"That's unlikely! Other than where we are, everything else has been swallowed by monsters or pureblood supremacists! If you cherish your life, take cover!"

Immediately after the broker shouted, people began frantically searching for cover. Even those who had lost hope and given up on survival were swept up in the crowd's movement.

Bang!

The emergency exit door inevitably burst open, engulfing the people around it. Out of the red flame devouring lives emerged pureblood supremacists armed with guns.

"Our era will dawn! With this life!"

The leading supremacist laughed maniacally, aiming his gun at us as his finger slowly pulled the trigger.

'There's nowhere to go...!'

We were blocked by the armed shuttle in front and the pureblood supremacists behind us. The situation perfectly embodied the word 'isolated,' and I gritted my teeth in frustration.

The weapons mounted on the armed shuttle clicked, aiming at us. The red laser scanned the rooftop as if picking a target.

"Nadia!"

Immediately, I hugged Nadia tightly and pressed flat against the ground. At that very moment, the shuttle's weapons unleashed fire, not at us, but at the pureblood supremacists who had transformed into monstrous figures.

They were swept away without any chance to resist. As power far exceeding bullets rained down, the already worn emergency exit area crumbled, blocking the entrance.

We prepared ourselves for impending pain but found ourselves looking up in bewildered confusion instead, as the situation unfolded contrary to expectation.

【To the residents on the rooftop! We are not enemies! Repeating once more: we are not enemies!】

Without slowing down, SSTC Caliburn made an emergency landing on the rooftop of the central tower. The screeching sound of metal scraping against the ground briefly irritated our ears, but as the shuttle's side opened, the interior was revealed.

Standing inside was a surprisingly familiar woman.

"Hurry, there's no time!"

A woman with eyes like blue skies appeared. She was the same person I had seen at the mining base, Heaven's tram station.

She wore a bracelet glowing in the color of blood, leaving no room for misremembering.

'A pureblood supremacist!'

I distinctly recalled the symbol on her suit. There was no need to remember it separately because it was still emblazoned as the symbol of the pureblood supremacists. Why were they helping us?

Though I couldn't understand what was going on, we rushed to board the shuttle. Following us, the remaining people hastily moved to grasp this final hope.

Boarding happened swiftly. Everyone knew missing this shuttle meant death, and because their numbers had almost halved since the beginning.

Even the few remaining security robots boarded the shuttle before its thrusters shone brightly, beginning to pull away from the central tower.

"Executing emergency withdrawal!"

We all lurched to one side, seemingly due to an inertial damping system failure. My shoulders felt crushed by the force; my teeth gritted tightly as I held on to the auxiliary handle attached to the wall to stay upright.

Inside the shuttle, there were familiar faces from when Nadia and I last witnessed them. They were the individuals accompanying the woman with blue eyes. Despite enduring hardships, not all of them were present, and even those there were in shambles, albeit to a lesser extent than us.

The man, who looked like a former soldier, was sweating as he maneuvered the controls. Warning alerts blared, and a powerful shock hit the shuttle, causing it to spin wildly.

"Kyahhhh!"

Thinking it was Nadia, I instinctively grabbed her hand, but belatedly realized it was the broker's scream I heard.

【Warning. Thruster 3 severely damaged. Unable to maintain maximum output.】

"Lady Celestia! The altitude is decreasing...!"

"Maintain balance, somehow!"

"We can't! With decreased output, at this rate—!"

We're crashing. The word slipped through the cracks of screams when one of the selected men among the broker's chosen sprang forward. Unable to bear it any longer, he harshly shoved the person at the helm aside.

"Move! I'll pilot it! With skills like that, we won't survive even after a hundred tries!"

"What? Do you think this is a joke?!"

"Enough. Step away from the cockpit, Eric. He must be confident if he sprang forward."

Under Celestia's, the blue-eyed woman's, instruction, the man at the helm stifled his dissatisfaction and immediately vacated the seat.

In the dire situation of the shuttle crashing, the man who took over the controls opened his mouth as Celestia addressed him.

"I believe you won't kill the one who saved your life."

"Ha, thanks for believing! I don't forget my debts, so go sit over there! It's going to shake quite a bit!"

Clearing all warning messages on the hologram screen, the man extended the auxiliary armor. The wide-open front of the shuttle became obscured by the auxiliary armor, revealing its view, which was soon replaced by an external camera.

The man sharply turned the controls. Consequently, the shuttle that had been relentlessly shaking now tilted completely, eliciting cries all around. Having taken on excess passengers meant there weren't many handholds available, causing some to lose their balance and fall.

"Eeek...!"

"Come on, just come here! There's no need to stick to your robot even in this situation!"

Protecting Nadia and Carry, I yanked the broker who nearly got crushed under a security robot and handed her off to Nadia. Just a few days ago, she was a picture of perfection, but her image now appeared altered.

Thud...!

An impact struck from the shuttle's floor. The tumultuous shockwave quickly transformed into the screech of scraping metal.

'Rails...!'

What I presumed was a crash turned out to be the shuttle barely maintaining balance by scraping along the tram rails laid out in the residential area. Though tilted to one side, being spared from falling was fortunate given the circumstances.

"Done! This is the best scenario!"

"Get us out of the residential area!"

The broker shouted, though her words were immediately cut short as a thought flashed in my mind.

"Exit 5! Head towards exit 5! There's an orbital vehicle there!"

"Orbital vehicle? Okay, got it!"

The man at the controls reacted to my words. Despite the helm having shifted from the blue-eyed woman to us, she remained poised without displaying any significant reaction.

【Caution. Attack detected. Emergency evasive maneuvers are advised.】

"Evading? That's for sissies! I'm sticking to this course!"

Attacks rained down around the shuttle racing along the rails. It wobbled precariously each time an explosion occurred, yet due to the man's seemingly inspired piloting, it did not fall off the rails. That was nothing short of well-executed daredevilry.

The man at the helm chortled as though finding the situation thrilling. In that moment, I wondered if it was wise to entrust the controls to someone seemingly out of his mind, but any comment remained locked within my lips.

There was no other choice for now. After all, our current survival was entirely due to that man's piloting prowess. Disrupting him now was tantamount to asking for death.

Then it happened. A piercing roar harshly assaulted our eardrums.

【Kyaaaarrrgh!】

A monster tram, drawn by the noise of scraping against the tracks, emerged into view. It began pursuing us, splitting its maw grotesquely to shoot down the shuttle running along the rails.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

The monster tram came back.