Chapter 145 : Sky and Earth (1)

December 24

Christmas Eve without songs echoing through the streets or a tree set up in the middle of the square.

The streets of European countries were quiet.

Everything except for minimal production activities to maintain basic infrastructure was suspended indefinitely. This directive was only issued after many people died from scattered demons, as they had tried to forcibly continue agricultural and economic activities due to a soft perception of the trials that had been easily overcome so far.

[Demons threatening humanity.]

[The will of stars]

[Destruction]

Words that had been forgotten in the perfect peace brought about by one girl’s words and achieved by the hands of numerous magical girls resurfaced in people’s minds.

This was war.

Stars and humans struggling desperately to survive, with their very existence at stake.

Finally, people realized this was a real war.

Planes stopped by black birds flying in the sky,

Ships dissolved by the poison of snakes floating in the sea,

People dying from lions and horses charging across the land.

Even with magical girls fighting with all their might, they couldn’t stop all the endlessly surging demons. The only way for ordinary people to protect themselves from demons that only magical girls could defeat was to hide at home.

[December 24, Small rift information announced from Elysion. There are a total of 1221 rifts occurring worldwide, and those residing within 5km of danger zones should be especially cautious…]

[The Hamburg No. 2 Emergency Shelter, which has been under urgent repair since last week, issued a notice that it can accommodate an additional 2000 citizens. After this notice was announced, about 30,000 applicants applied…]

[We will inform you of emergency evacuation procedures when encountering demons. First, not passing through areas where rifts have occurred is the first compliance matter, and second…]

Broadcasts and the internet only reported information about rifts and news about nearby shelters day after day, with no one mentioning any congratulatory words or end-of-year atmosphere. Everyone’s attention was focused solely on survival.

[How to survive]

[Making a bunker]

[What to do in case of human extinction]

It was calmer than the nuclear war crisis that had suddenly arisen and shocked everyone, but the scent of fear that had slowly seeped in was coldly rotting and emitting the stench of despair. Everyone was slowly preparing for what came next. Originally, if they were annihilated by the will of stars, there would be no “next”, but still, they prepared something.

Under the red sky where day and night could not be distinguished.

Citizens who heard news of magical girls patrolling around their city. They head to stores to buy groceries that have risen in price more than 20 times, hearing air raid sirens instead of bells celebrating Christmas.

What they put in their bags was not cards but precious metals, and physical items like books or small appliances.

In a reality where trust in the nation and tomorrow was falling, even cash was losing value.

“It’s dangerous, so let’s go together.”

“Damn, to think we have to band together with neighbors just to buy canned food in front of our house. This neighborhood wasn’t like this.”

“What can we do if we encounter robbers? The rumors these days are so ominous.”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

The police and military were overwhelmed just patrolling around shelters where citizens had flocked. Looters gradually appeared on the streets, trying to take advantage of the chaos to steal from the weak.

With all factories simultaneously stopping operations, and most production activities halted for two months due to demon attacks, citizens realized that a threat of a different dimension from the trials they had easily overcome so far was approaching.

Magical girls could lose.

The human world could end.

The military is powerless.

The amount of resources is finite.

Then all that remains is to fend for oneself.

The fierce survival instinct and selfishness that had been covered by a layer in modern society were slowly raising their heads. There were citizens who questioned magical girls about why they couldn’t stop the trials, but they were quickly suppressed under strict national restraints in a situation where humanity’s existence was becoming uncertain.

What remained was helplessness.

Questions arising about whether tomorrow really exists for us.

Lamentations about suddenly occurring unreasonable events.

People who could no longer fully trust magical girls swept up as much food and supplies as possible, and locked themselves in their homes. Luxury items like coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol disappeared from shops within a week, or were traded as if they were precious metals.

Doubt.

Doubt was growing in people’s hearts.

Even though the girl called the goddess of hope supplied enough food to feed tens of thousands of people dozens of times a day to shelters in each country, and distributed numerous supplies with silver ships in cooperation with numerous magical girls. She could not feed and calm the entire human world.

Flap flap!

“Eek?!”

“Duck your heads!!”

Startled by the sound of ominous birds’ wings, citizens hurrying along looked up at the sky.

“I-Is it a demon?!”

“…”

“…Just birds.”

What was flying across the red sky was a flock of ordinary birds.

Not demons.

The citizens sighed in relief that demons had not come over their heads, and hoped that stores selling food would be open.

Even though magical girls were clearly doing their best, even though complete destruction had not yet come.

The flame of hope was disappearing too quickly.

The flame of despair was burning too quickly.

* * *

“There are more demons that look like birds. It’s the first time I’ve seen only one type of demon like this.”

“Did the Romulus Project leak?”

“If the will of stars is watching from the moon, it can’t be unaware.”

As Laura, the Magical Girl of [Unity], and Ella, the Magical Girl of [Heavy Armor], said, small rifts that had mainly opened where humans lived until now were appearing in the sky since we started preparing the Romulus Project.

■■■■■!!

■■■■■!!

Flocks of black birds attacking Elysion in real-time and gathering like dark clouds.

‘It’s rather fortunate that they’re attacking here.’

It was fortunate that as attacks were concentrated on Elysion, other countries had some leeway and could give rest to other magical girls.

Because this is a space guarded by the most powerful among all magical girls.

“Iris! We’ll take the west, so please handle the east!”

“Okay! Leave it to me!”

“Daphne! Sylph! Protect the people!”

“Got it.”

Even now, golden magical girls showing dazzling skills were intercepting demons invading the goddess’s land from the sky, with golden wings on their backs.

“Dorim.”

“Yeah, I know. We need to hurry, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“To create such a huge structure in an instant, the Magical Girls of [Hope] and [Cyberbrain] are really amazing.”

“Ah, I completely agree. Looking from below, it’s truly an overwhelming size.”

While Dorim and I were preparing the massive projectile above Elysion, Laura and Ella were chasing away demons coming down to interfere with us until now. And they were resting beside us, alternating with the golden magical girls.

A white streamlined projectile far larger than Sirius, which was already as long as a 20-story building.

Created on the premise of a single battle and return, an aircraft investing everything only in transport capacity, to safely carry the magical girls participating in the battle 380,000 km round trip.

The largest means of transportation we have created.

Perhaps the last miracle we will ever create.

I was grateful that the plan, which I had prepared for possibly taking several months or more, was progressing faster than imagined. Even now, in the world of humans that magical girls were protecting by mobilizing every miracle, damage was increasing through the gaps that were leaking out.

“It’s fortunate that it’s being built faster than expected.”

“Yeah, a ship going to and from the moon is nonsensical by common sense… but maybe that’s why people dream about it more. It’s extremely easy to implement in the cyberbrain world. Instead, it’s consuming an enormous amount of starlight, so I don’t have the leeway to pay attention elsewhere… How much of your starlight have we used so far?”

“Enough to wrap the Earth five times with new fate threads.”

“We’re really using an astronomical amount.”

The Moon.

The first place humans see when looking at space.

The dream of reaching there.

It’s a dream humans have already achieved on their own, but because of that, they know how difficult it is to go beyond that. The starlight going into the aircraft that had to perform a role beyond simply reaching there was enormous.

‘The greatest dream pursued by humans…’

Silver ships flying in the sky carrying thousands of people.

Fate threads encircling the Earth like a huge belt.

All of these things were bound to Earth, so despite their dreamlike appearance, they didn’t require such enormous consumption as now. The dream of humanity transcending this star for the first time required an enormous amount of starlight that could shake even divinity just to reach the moon, its first step.

The power for humanity, not humans, to go to a place equal to gods.

From the perspective of the will of stars on the moon, would we look like Icarus trying to arrogantly climb up from the bottom?

Unlike the father who escaped from the truth called fate, would it look like the wingbeats of Icarus who prepared his own foolish challenge?

■■■■■!!

■■■■■!!

The sound of those ominous wings could be heard slipping through the interception of the golden magical girls, from flocks of birds surging like dark clouds from far across the red sky.

“Another huge swarm coming.”

“We’ll drive them away.”

“Sorry! Please do!”

“Yes, Magical Girl of [Cyberbrain].”

Laura smiled gently at Dorim, who was creating the aircraft while moving her short limbs, and climbed onto the shoulder of Ella, the Magical Girl of [Heavy Armor], who had grown gigantic.

Boom!!

The two people moved away with one leap of the dull yellow giant.

“Let’s hurry.”

“Yeah.”

We were thus creating wings to rise to a sky equal to gods.

Like Icarus who was not satisfied with escaping fate and tried to challenge the sky.

Icarus’s wings melted and he fell, but we will be different.

That’s what we believed.