Above Your Head

Vol 2. Chapter 1: A Transcendent at the Minimum? (1)

I dream. I dream of a story of the past, of the years far beyond my wildest imagination. A dream of an unfathomable, another world.

"Who are you?"

I see a lovely girl. She is more beautiful and lovely than anything else in the world.

Splatter!

Blood.

"Hey~ Don\'t you need a guard or anything like that?"

He is a man with a refreshing smile. A man who gives so many things but wants nothing in return. A bright soul who never loses his smile even though he is persecuted by all.

Splatter!

Blood.

"Keukeuk, are you the so-called Great Wisdom? I guess I\'m in luck! I thought it to be just another rumor until now!"

A rugged man is laughing in front of hundreds of his subordinates. They are trash – those who gave into their carnal desires.

Splatter!

Blood.

"Ahh, isn\'t this quite good too? A duel in a plain under the bright, full moon."

He is a beautiful man with a good-natured, confident voice. A man possessing a nobler soul than anyone else in the world.

"Then let us fight. Boundless Slayer."

Splatter!

"Why are you siding with those monsters!? You are human too, right!?"

"Save him. Save him!!! Give me back my brother!!!"

"We will destroy you in the name of justice."

"Why. Why would you do something like this…!"

"Please let me live. Please, I\'m begging you…"

"I will wait… for you… in… hell…"

Innumerable people pass by at a terrifying pace. Men crying, shedding tears of blood, women wielding swords with burning hatred, troops rushing in like a tidal wave, and white-haired seniors.

"Die."

"Die."

"I\'m going to kill you!!!"

"Nice to meet you."

"I love you."

"You damned… bastard."

"I should never have met you…"

Blood splatters. Blood splatters on my arms. Blood splatters on my chest and my feet. Countless dead bodies and death. Greed, desire, misunderstanding, and resentment culminate into a wheel of blood that rolls without stop. It keeps rolling without stopping at all.

I watched everything unfold as an observer. I was the Administrator of the Great Universe. Even though I had become a human, I could not understand human beings at all. Their greed exceeded the demons when given the opportunity.

I watched as a transcendent being, who possessed little emotion. I experienced joy, sadness, fear, hope, and despair, then finally, anger at his creator whom he never thought to defy…

Actually, the dream was already too long up to this point.

Specific, impactful moments of Father who experienced downfall as a human were unfolding in front of me like a panorama. I had been experiencing nightmares like this for over a month already. If an average person were to dream like this every night, they would not be able to function properly.

Today, my dream did not end there.

As the image of Father desperately crying out slowly faded out, the image of a ruined city took its place. Even though it was just a dream, I felt like groaning at the terrible sight.

Oh, god. A nightmare alone wasn\'t enough apparently. I even got a plus alpha this time around.

Crack!

Just taking a step caused huge cracks to appear on the ground. The scale was truly devastating. The fissures reached tens of kilometers in length. Then, the cracks soared into the sky. It was a stratum. The crowned giant had turned the entire ground upside down just by taking a step! Naturally, the city built on the ground could not withstand the impact as well. Even though the city was protected by all kinds of technology and magic, it was helpless in front of a God\'s punishment.

"Argh! Save me!"

"Why! Why is Ra doing something like this!? Is it on the orders of the Golden Lion?"

"Your Majesty! Please! We don\'t know anything!"

"No! No! Kalina!"

"Mother!"

"Uh…! The city!!!"

The number of victims was beyond counting. Considering that the number of destroyed cities already exceeded three digits, the massive casualties could not be fathomed. Many airships and ships trying to escape were destroyed, and those who boasted their powerful capabilities perished like mere flies. In the face of a God\'s wrath, everyone was equal.

Ah, the empire…

A sigh escaped from Ra at the miserable sight. He was indirectly assisting in the massacre. Although he was an inanimate object born with an Iron Heart, he possessed emotions and self-awareness. His sadness and lament were true.

However.

Just as a gardener did not feel guilty when he pulled out weeds from the garden, and just as farmers sprayed pesticides on rice paddies, uncaring for the pain and death it would inflict on the insects, I had no regrets or guilt.

"It\'s just one duchy."

But my king.

"Ra."

Even though it was definitely my voice, the cold, arrogant tone felt foreign.

-They should be thankful that I did not choose to exterminate the entirety of the arrogant insects.

"…..."

I slowly opened my eyes. The sun silently snuck its way past the window at an angle and gently heated my eyes. I lay in place for a while without moving, then mumbled with a dazed expression.

"…It\'s hot."

It was august.

Good morning, Captain. The current time is 12:37 p.m.

"Is it still lunch time?"

Of course. The dining hours at the mansion are from 11:00 to 1:30, so make sure you get ready and head down to the cafeteria before it closes.

"Your recommendation?"

Based on what the employees are saying, the tuna kimchi stew and hamburg steak[ref] hamburg steak is basically a steak dish that looks like a hamburger. Literally a hamburger steak.[/ref]seem to be the best choice. Well, it is still trifle compared to my cooking.

"You make synthetic dishes that are recipe-based…"

Even so, it\'s clear that I reproduce the best taste in the entire universe. It is an ideal taste outside the realm of spiritual food.

"…Yeah, great job."

What reasonable words, Captain.

I lifted myself up listening to the strangely annoying, bragging voice. As I observed the forest outside the window, I thought back to the events that transpired.

I had experienced a lot. I learned the secrets of my birth, and I was dragged to outer space. I went through a space war and was taken prisoner. I experienced torture and a successful escape from the enemy camp. I even got married and divorced.

And I even…

I was recognized as an emperor of an empire of the vast expanse of the great universe. I was the head honcho of a universal superpower.

"To think all of that happened in only half a year."

It was so ridiculous that I could not help but laugh. Although density was regarded as more important than volume in time, this was just too much.

A voice rang in my head as if grasping my thoughts.

Technically, it\'s not actually half a year.

"Why?"

Time flows differently in the Astral Realm compared to the Physical Realm.

"Well, I guess that could be true."

The Astral Drive was designed to travel through the boundless stretch of the great universe. It operated by moving the entire spacecraft to the Astral Realm, and not the Physical Realm. It exceeded the physical limit of lightspeed by hundreds and thousands of times by leaving the Physical Realm!

The time axis of the Astral Realm differed greatly from the Physical Realm. Although time itself remained constant with the coordination of a magic machine that existed inside the spacecraft, Pendulum, the ratio of time was inevitably different.

Creak.

I opened the window. The window was made of an unknown wood, and it had an antique design. It did not seem like a normal object, as I could feel an enormous flow.

\'Is there a magic circuit that winds the entire building? It\'s completely different from the objects of Leonhardt.\'

Obviously, it wasn\'t better than the things I had seen in Leonhardt Empire. The Leonhardt Empire had already become a Stage III Civilization, and as such, magic and science were combined in an efficient manner to be utilized in everyday living. Plus, in most cases, science tended to be more economical than magic. No one from the Leonhardt Empire would cover an entire building with magic without the use of any mechanical devices as it would be quite ineffective.

Hey, Dae-ha. Ares asked. …Is there a problem? You don\'t look so good.

"Oh."

I whistled in surprise.

"You\'re worried about me, huh? Good boy, Ares."

What, what the hell are you saying, you crazy guy!

I smiled at his flustered reaction and checked my title.

Human Disaster

-In case of death, revival is possible.

- teleportations to humans within a 10km radius possible , able to ignore any disturbances.

-Recharge 1 stack of revival every 1,000 humans saved (Up to 2 times)

-Charge 1 stack of teleportation for killing a wicked (Up to 10 times)

-You killed someone\'s father. You killed a mother as well. You killed a daughter, a son, the elderly, and the children. You massacred indiscriminately. You who slaughtered over a million people, repenting endlessly won\'t nearly be enough.

Do you sleep well at night?

"Who the hell is writing this text…?"

One could attain the title of Slayer by killing certain beings. If one continued to slaughter and killed over 100 of the certain creatures, they could attain the title of Hunter. In the past, I obtained the title of Fly Hunter after killing a hundred flies. I tried killing more than a thousand flies, but nothing changed with my title, so I assumed that no additional titles existed after Hunter.

\'But I was wrong. If one commits more than 10,000 murders, one gets the title of Slaughterer.\'

But even that wasn\'t the end.

10,000, 100,000, and when the number finally reached 1 million, one was given the title of a "Disaster". It seemed that titles for killing were reinforced every time one committed a hundred-fold the number of previous murders.

But.

"Ha… Definitely not just one million."

I laughed bitterly. I knew that I killed more than 10 million people, not just 1 million. When I was drunk on godhood, I was basically the incarnate of the god of disaster. I carried out a massacre without showing any mercy, hatred, nor madness. I had calmly carried out the killing like a farmer spraying pesticide on his crops.

\'Although I did dream of genocidal experiences for a long time…\'

But that was different. The nightmares that flooded my past were always intense and vivid, but they were experiences of others. There was no reason to feel guilty for someone else\'s actions, though the sensation of being swept by the storm of emotions and memories was quite painful.

On the other hand, this was doubtlessly my sin.

I had carried out a massacre by my own will. Of course, I was out of my mind at the time, but… denying responsibility would be no different from a drunk who insisted his innocence after killing a man.

Besides, there was a bigger issue.

\'There\'s no trauma. Even the guilt I feel is faint.\'

When I was a child, I had experienced what happened with my biological father after he was confined to a human body in the form of nightmares. My mind had almost broken down completely.

I cried and screamed every night. Naturally, the time I spent in my dreams was shorter compared to the hundreds of years I skimmed through, but even so, the psychological damage I received was enormous. It was no exaggeration to say that my ego was twisted because of the nightmares.

But… This was different.

I was conscious of the fact that I had just committed a massacre, but I only felt a faint sensation of self-blame. I didn\'t even think about atonement.

"Ha…" I sighed as I raised my body and put on my clothes.

I had already changed.

After so many incidents, I had finally returned to Earth, but I returned home a stranger. I was no longer that Kwan Dae-ha from the past. I was a vague being, neither a God nor a human.

"I wish this was just growth."

I opened the door with a bitter smile and left the room provided by Kyung-eun\'s family. As I passed through the wooden hallway, a court lady near the stairs bowed her head. Her hairstyle and clothing were something you would only see in historical dramas.

\'A court lady in the modern world. This is like a palace… Well, no, I guess it is an actual palace.\'

The court lady was a considerable beauty, and she was silent as always. I tilted my head at the sight.

\'Huh?\'

She maintained a calm expression as per usual, but her title was telling a different story.

Lee Family

Level 3

Nervous, Jin Young-hwa

\'Nervous?\'

I was confused at the incomprehensible title. Obviously, she couldn\'t have been nervous by seeing me. I was just a normal person with no background, a person invited by Kyung-eun, who once caused me to break down mentally after seeing her title of Human Hunter.

Bow.

I waved my hand to the court lady as she bowed towards me. The building I was staying at was 5 stories high and had 13 floors deep underground. Since the cafeteria was located on the ground floor, I had to climb down first. However, there was something unusual about the building. There was no elevator.

\'I can\'t believe the entire building is made of wood. Does the word \'convenience\' exist in their dictionary?\'

I grumbled as I walked down the wooden stairs and finally arrived at Gangnyeongjeon Hall[1], which could be called the center of the accommodation. What was amazing was that even though I had climbed down from the third floor, only a single-story building could be seen at the ground floor.

After looking around Gangnyeongjeong Hall for a while, I exited the building to the courtyard, which was covered with gravel. I moved past an antique gate and headed towards Gyeonghoeru Pavilion[2]. I could see the pavilion on the other side of a nice pond.

I encountered eight court ladies until now, and every one of them possessed the title "Nervous".

\'Something\'s not right. Genie, do you have any information about the unusual situation?\'

There are insufficient keywords even though remote monitoring is in progress. However…

Genie was able to grasp everything about the mansion with her amazing information-gathering ability, but it wasn\'t perfect. On Earth, magic civilization was more advanced than the technical civilization, and paramount data was rarely stored on the internet or on computers.

However, Genie was one of the latest Control Persona developed by the Leonhardt Empire. She was able to think and speculate on her own.

The atmosphere is definitely weird.

The atmosphere was definitely strange as I arrived at Gyeonghoeru Pavilion.

\'There\'s a stir.\'

The same peaceful silence that I experienced the last few days greeted me, but I could clearly feel that the people of the mansion were shaken by something. It was a whirlpool of emotions containing fear, tension, excitement, and expectation.

"I would like a hamburg steak please."

"You\'re… Ah, you\'re the one that the lady brought in a few days ago. It\'s good to meet you. I will prepare something for you that\'s incomparable to the food you had in your room, so wait for a little bit."

The food lady smiled nicely and placed a steaming hamburg steak on a plate and drenched it with brown sauce. Considering that court ladies were walking around the place, the entire atmosphere of the mansion was quite oriental and traditional. It was quite out of place to have non-traditional, western-oriented food, but I didn\'t really care.

The pleasant aroma attacked my senses. The lady\'s cooking skills must have been quite unusual. However, there was an issue. The identity of the lady was abnormal.

Lee family

Level 12

Gluttonous Evil Spirit, Sky Mouth

I was able to subtly classify her title and check out the details, and I was able to see her race.

\'To think she was a demon.\'

It was rather ridiculous, but the fat lady in charge of the cafeteria was not a human, but a demon. However, she did not seem like a spy or anything like that. When I specified her classification...

Great Wizard Zenon

Level 12

Captured, Sky Mouth

This was what was stated. According to her title, she seemed to have been captured by the humans.

\'An evil spirit… Come to think of it, the strongest demon I saw was also an evil spirit.\'

I was laughing hard on the inside. That demon had also been defeated by Morne, then used as a mere prison to keep prisoners.

Perhaps the Evil Spirits were strong, but it seemed they did not possess a good head, seeing as they were being taken advantage of so frequently.

1. An actual royal palace with this name existed in ancient Korea. It was built in 1395 and destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. Doesn\'t exist anymore. In ancient Chinese characters, gang = calm, nyeong = also calm LOL, and jeon = big house.

2. Gyeonheoru is a type of building used for social gatherings and such. https://terms.naver.com/imageDetail.nhn?docId=566485&imageUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fdbscthumb-phinf.pstatic.net%2F2644_000_4%2F20190815011106215_581TOF54M.jpg%2Fc9ac1860-3dea-4a.jpg%3Ftype%3Dm935_fst_nce%26wm%3DY&mode=entry&clickArea=relatedImage&cid=46656&categoryId=46656 This is what it looks like. However, in the novel, it seems to be a mass hall/cafeteria.