Ch.350Gravity Bomb (8)

Dock 3 was also a den of monsters. It seemed like they were determined to prevent me from leaving.

However, with the help and sacrifice of the Examiners, I somehow managed to break through. I was able to enter the Rheinland main ship with only two Examiners who insisted on escorting me.

And.

I wasn’t too late.

At the moment when Seti was caught by a horned beast and nearly killed, I barely managed to find and save her. If I had been delayed even a few seconds, my little sister would have been finished off by the monster.

Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.

“Waaaaaah, brotherrr!”

After defeating the two-headed monster and the spider monster, Seti clung to me and cried endlessly.

Normally I would have teased her, but given the situation, I didn’t feel like it.

“Hic, sniff, I really almost died, if you weren’t thereee…”

“…Thank goodness.”

It was fortunate that Seti was safe, and also fortunate that my two daughters weren’t here. Leaving Lucia and Anya with my parents had been a brilliant move.

“Ugh, my leg…”

“Sonia. Please look at Seti’s wound.”

Sonia brought the emergency medical kit. Though not as skilled as Zernya, Sonia could at least perform basic first aid.

Seti’s sobbing subsided along with the blood.

“How is it?”

“Ugh, this hurts like hell.”

“It’s cut pretty deep. Let’s get to a hospital quickly for treatment.”

Seti couldn’t walk properly. With nothing for her to lean on, I decided to carry her to the dock myself.

“Wow, you’re really heavy.”

“Just shut up.”

Seti clutched my collar tightly.

I seated Seti in the spaceship. I didn’t know how many more monsters were on the Rheinland main ship. We needed to escape before encountering more.

“Professor.”

The two Examiners who had accompanied me as escorts came running after clearing the surrounding area. I briefly explained the situation. Both Examiners nodded.

“That was a close call.”

“It’s not safe here either. If a large monster attacks, the ship itself could collapse. Let’s get on board quickly.”

“Where should we go?”

“Let’s return to the Stellarium planetary system. That’s probably the safest place right now.”

Of course, Stellarium was also a monster den. However, since the Academy was a core research facility, the number and quality of soldiers stationed there was overwhelming.

After much hardship, we returned to Stellarium.

No, is “return” the right word?

The Academy wasn’t the Academy I knew. The school gate, the amphitheater, the central fountain that had been a meeting place for couples, even the coffee shop that had taken care of graduate students’ mental and physical well-being—all had collapsed.

“O-our school…”

Seti’s shoulders trembled. I too couldn’t believe my eyes.

My alma mater was half-destroyed.

“Prioritize protecting the researchers!”

Soldiers who spotted us came rushing over. Some professors and researchers were with them. Fortunately, they appeared unharmed.

“Professor Rheinland!”

“What happened here?”

“A monster the size of an apartment building appeared. In the process of defeating it, there was unavoidable damage…”

“What about the professors? Where are the professors?”

At my question, the Examiner’s expression became somber. He shook his head.

“We’re trying our best to confirm identities, but… honestly, we don’t know the extent of casualties. Some have already lost their lives.”

When I heard those words, my heart sank.

I had friendly relationships with most of the Stellarium faculty, especially those in the Physics and Astronomy departments. And now some of them were gone.

“Who? Who died?”

“We haven’t been able to determine that yet…”

My thoughts flickered. It felt as if someone was attaching and detaching my corpus callosum. I couldn’t think straight.

“Eidel!”

“Darling!”

It was my wives’ voices. I turned my head.

“Rustila, Zernya!”

When I shouted, my wives rushed over immediately. Hurried footsteps, bewildered eyes.

“Darling, you’re safe!”

“Zernya. Sorry to ask this right away, but please look at my sister.”

“Huh? What, what is this!”

Zernya checked Seti’s wound and was horrified. It looked terrible even to me. White bone was visible through the wide gash.

“This needs surgery immediately.”

“Here?”

Zernya nodded. She glanced around and sighed.

Groans of pain everywhere.

And Zernya was the only doctor who had just joined us.

“Lay out a mat. I’ll do what I can.”

Zernya had the constellation of healing. As always, I decided to trust her skills this time too.

***

While Zernya treated Seti, I set up a shelter and managed the situation.

As the evacuation center took shape, people began to gather. Forming groups was both the instinct and privilege of the vulnerable.

Among those who gathered were doctors. As soldiers brought supplies from hospitals, doctors immediately began operating.

For now, no monsters were attacking. But the situation was far from good.

“Del!”

Another voice called out. It was Ireh and Cartesia. Cartesia had covered her face with something like a rag to hide her identity.

“I brought the professor!”

“Professor?”

I stopped what I was doing and stood up. Cartesia was dragging a medical cart. Professor Feynman was lying on it.

“Professor? Professor!”

“Urrrgh.”

“Please wake up, Professor!”

Professor Feynman was far from fine. His arms and face were wrapped in bandages, and his clothes were sticky with blood and dust. He let out continuous groans of pain.

“He was collapsed. I picked… no, I brought him.”

Cartesia said flatly. Ireh sat down on a pile of rubble, holding her forehead. Sighs spread like a plague from all directions.

“Professor.”

Looking down at the unconscious Professor Feynman, I felt an indescribable emotion.

Anger.

Rage welled up.

Aurore, Stern, Renatus.

“…These bastards.”

Did this happen because I was trying to create a graviton bomb?

No.

It’s because the outer gods are doing this that we’re trying to create a graviton bomb.

They were absolutely unforgivable.

“Eidel.”

“Rustila, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. But you…”

“I’m fine too.”

Rustila was lying. Her appearance was visibly haggard. There were multiple scratch marks all over her enhancement suit. Her hair was matted with sweat and blood.

I hadn’t seen how hard Rustila had worked. But I could tell. Behind the scenes, she had done her best to fend off the monster invasion.

Now was not the time to be angry. I needed to repay her efforts.

“…Director.”

“Eidel?”

“Director Rheinland.”

“Ah.”

Rustila nodded. She drew her Plasma Sword and fired a signal flare.

[— <Sacred Gathering>]

A cluster of stars aligned in a straight line, emitting intense light. The signal flare provided a minimal level of healing and stress relief to people within range.

At the same time.

“Assemble!”

It also served to attract people’s attention.

Tap-tap-tap!

Well-trained Examiners gathered like clouds at Rustila’s command. However, their eyes showed clear signs of fatigue.

“We were attacked without warning.”

Rustila began.

“The result is what you all see now. So I won’t explain further. Instead, I’ll tell you about our future plans.”

Rustila gently pushed my back. As I stepped forward, the soldiers’ eyes lit up with interest. The attention of civilians also gathered one by one.

“Oh, that person…!”

“It’s Dr. Rheinland. It’s Dr. Rheinland!”

“Wasn’t he in Iryuel?”

“When did he get here?”

Just a few years ago.

I was nothing but a third-rate villain with no power.

No, I wasn’t even a villain. I was just a graduate student who had transmigrated as an ill-mannered ruffian.

But now it’s different.

From a space ruffian to a professor.

Having clawed my way up, it was time to put the final period on my plan. I slowly began to speak.

“The fact that the outer gods have raided this planetary system means they fear humanity’s graviton bomb research. They must be quite desperate.”

Scientists and engineers who had been sighing gathered one by one. Some with casts on their arms, others leaning on crutches.

“I have good news for everyone. One graviton turret has been completed.”

“Completed, you say?”

“One has been made, and the other three are under construction. The outer gods seem too stupid to know where the southern turret is located.”

The location of the turrets?

I had encrypted all location information so they couldn’t easily find out.

Humanity isn’t foolish enough not to have anticipated this situation.

“You might be wondering why you hardly see any Great Omega class Examiners. They are still dedicated to protecting the technicians who are building the turrets.”

“S-so that’s what it was…”

“Yes. Since we’ve already made one, the remaining three will be completed soon. All that’s left is to attach the gun barrels and pinpoint the location of the enemy outer gods’ black holes.”

It was time to conclude my speech.

“Let’s hold on just a little longer.”

The fiercer their resistance, the stronger our determination will become.

“Because the end of this battle is in sight.”

***

In the harsh environment, Seti had just finished surgery. Zernya wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“It’s not life-threatening, but be careful for a while. The wound could reopen if you’re not careful.”

“Thanks, sister-in-law.”

Seti got up using a crutch. She quickly checked the stock market first by touching the screen.

“…Damn it.”

She was losing money in real time.

The one fortunate thing was that she had already converted a significant portion of her capital into physical assets. Seti was now rich in asteroids and satellites.

Especially asteroids composed of a single mineral like gold or iron were skyrocketing in price.

‘Now these…’

Seti looked up. A little distance away, Eidel was giving an encouraging speech.

Saying the end of this war was in sight.

Asking everyone to hold on a little longer.

“…”

Seti had received a great shock today.

Not only her brother, but now outer gods targeting her as well. She deeply realized that graviton bombs were absolutely necessary to survive against them.

‘Since I’ve come this far.’

She had no choice but to go all-in on Eidel.