Chapter 146: Landing

What do I do now? How do I get us to safety?

A young South American boy gritted his teeth, forcing his trembling legs to keep moving as he quickened his pace. His hand clutched tightly to the woman’s behind him, his grip cutting off her circulation, desperate not to lose her.

“Ack. Santos. Santos!”

“…”

He heard her, knew he was hurting her with his grip, but he did not stop.

“Santos! Stop already!”

“No! Hurry!”

The boy urged her onward. But then, there was a heavy thud as she stumbled and fell behind him.

“Argh!”

“Sis?!”

“…Santos.”

“…”

The quiet sound of her voice made him stop at last.

“Sis…”

It was the voice she used only when she was truly angry, far from her usual gentle tone.

“Santos. That’s enough now.”

His sister was solemn. He thought maybe she was upset because he had dragged her so forcefully, or because his grip had hurt her.

Sadly, it was neither.

The boy looked up at her with teary eyes. His sister, wearing dark sunglasses, straightened herself unsteadily.

“Santos.”

Tap. Tap.

His sister tapped the ground with her cane, facing toward him.

“That’s… far enough.”

“Sis…”

She looked in his direction with a weary, warm smile, her unseeing eyes carrying both fear and a fierce determination. She pleaded with her most beloved little brother. ℞ÁΝо₿Ěş

“Santos. Please.”

“…”

“You have to live.”

Santos understood exactly what she meant. She was compelling him to leave her behind in this chaos—his sister, who could not see, who had raised him despite her disability—and survive on his own.

But how could he ever do such a thing?

He choked out a retort.

“I… I could never do that to you, sis.”

“Santos!!”

Her voice cut through the air with uncharacteristic force.

“I… want you to live. Just like I promised our parents.”

The boy was silenced by her unyielding will.

“…”

“Go now! Don’t make my sacrifice meaningless!”

Growl-

Behind his sister, a massive black wolf-like monster prowled closer, saliva dripping from its jaws. It walked slowly, as if savoring the thrill of the hunt.

“Sob…”

“Santos…”

Seeing her brother unwilling to budge, she sighed hollowly.

“Santos. Let’s do this then.”

“…?”

The woman spoke gently to her crying brother. Yes, the way she always did.

“We’ll split up here, and run in opposite directions. This way, won’t at least one of us have a chance to survive?”

“Si—“

“Enough! How long will you cling like a baby?!

“S-sis…”

“I promise, I’ll do my best to survive too. So will you make a promise in return?”

“Wh-what?”

“We won’t look back. And whoever makes it out will live happily, for both of us.”

“Sob.”

Tears spilled down the boy’s cheeks.

“Answer me, quickly! Do you want to see me die here without even the chance to run?”

“N-no.”

“Then Santos.”

“Sob. Sis…. Waaah!”

The woman gently brushed the boy’s head. She could not bring herself to be strict to the end.

“This is your sister’s final request.”

But it seemed time had run out. She gave him a firm push, shouting.

“Santos! Go now!”

Was it the urgency in her voice? Or the understanding that if he hesitated any longer, neither of them would make it? Whatever it was, her words broke through his hesitation.

At her signal, the boy turned and ran in the promised direction, his sobs echoing in the air, praying that the Kaiju would follow him instead.

But a thought seized him mid-stride—even if his blind sister attempted to run… would not the wolf choose her in the end?

N-no!

He skidded to a halt and turned back.

And there she was, standing still despite their promise, tears in her unseeing eyes, and a bittersweet smile on her lips.

No! No!

His hands trembled violently as he finally understood his sister’s intentions.

Ah, ah, ah…

Her smile held no fear, no despair—only a fierce hope that her little brother would survive.

“Siiis!!!!”

Why did God test them so cruelly…? After taking their parents, even her sight… did He need to take her as well? The sibling who had sacrificed everything to raise him?

Did it really have to be this way?

“Siiiis!”

The boy blanked out as he saw the wolf’s wide jaws closing in on his sister. Time seemed to stop.

N-no…

And in that moment.

FLASH-

A blinding light pierced through his closed eyelids, flooding the world around him.

Thud- Boom.

Clank- Boom.

Strange sounds echoed from behind him.

Thud- Boom.

Heavy footsteps.

Gulp-

Seconds later, a shadow loomed over the boy.

Thud-

He looked up, and his legs gave out. Towering above him stood an enormous figure, clad in thick metal armor from head to toe. An instinctive dread surged through him as he felt the overwhelming presence of this unknown giant.

Thud-

He glanced over his shoulder, but the wolf creature had vanished. His sister lay on the ground, still and quiet. That alone was a relief. However…

Thud.

The boy struggled to his feet, trying to withstand the beast-like aura radiating from the giant, incomparably more terrifying than that of the wolf.

“G-get away from…!”

The boy spread his arms to block the giant’s path, quivering in fear.

The armored figure tilted its head, its gaze settling on him. The weight of that stare was too much for the little one. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to bear it.

Then—

Tap.

A heavy but careful hand rested on his head, metal fingers brushing gently.

“?”

As the boy cautiously opened his eyes, a voice spoke from the giant’s shadow.

“You did well.”

Something in those words broke the boy’s composure. Tears poured down his cheeks.

Zing- Click-

Thud- Boom.

The clanking of metal and strange mechanical sounds filled the air as the man—donning a power suit that was like something out of a video game—walked past the boy, striding into the alley he and his sister had escaped from.

Ah… there’s still a bunch of monsters…

The boy did not get the chance to call out a warning..

FLASH- BOOM-

Light exploded at the mouth of the alley, followed by a fierce gust that whipped past him.

Thud.

The boy hurried after the man… only to find the fallen corpses of a wolf monster horde, torn to shreds and burned to ashes.

His legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground beside his sister, listening to her soft, steady breaths.

***

ㄴshit yo! wut is happening?

ㄴworship!

ㄴGALACTIC! GALACTIC! GALACTIC!

ㄴWelcome the Galactic Empire!

ㄴis this a fking dream or what?

ㄴHey this is insane. Did you guys see?

ㄴye

ㄴspace battleships? spaceships? I saw dozens

ㄴLooks like they appeared worldwide but how many in total?

ㄴdunno. how tf am i supposed to kno

ㄴDare not measure the Galactic Empire! HUEHUEHUE!

ㄴHe wasn’t… a hidden boss!

ㄴbro’s the great galactic boss

ㄴSF for real?

ㄴDid yall see the marines?

ㄴya… I saw them briefly but they seemed like regular soldiers?

ㄴthot they generals at first

ㄴthey look awesome

ㄴeven S-rank Hunters be scared

ㄴS-rank hunters overwhelmed by SF soldiers

ㄴI JIZZED

ㄴwadafeks goin on

Unsurprisingly, the internet erupted in chaos and disbelief.

ㄴFrom tower climbing to sudden apocalypse and now this sci-fi shet rofl

ㄴWe survived, right?

ㄴuhuh… thanks to the invincible galactic empire.

ㄴfr they were like sweeping the floor with them monster ass

This simultaneous outbreak of Kaiju was named the Gate Incident.

The first wave took 24 hours to contain. But just two days later, before the damage from the first attack could even be repaired, the second wave hit. After that, all of humanity fought under a state of emergency, but they were reaching the limits of their strength as the 12th wave approached. Civilian casualties had mounted as early as the 8th wave.

People could do little but watch the world crumble.

[Welcome the Galactic Empire.]

But then, a man’s face appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Karlstein… Babylon?

And with that, the world turned upside down. As thousands of portals opened, spaceships flooded in, and the Galactic Empire’s forces landed on Earth.

What followed was massacre, slaughter, and more massacre. The Kaiju were blown apart like dust.

ㄴdamn yo! r we also empire people now?

ㄴfuck! Invasion my ass this is salvation!

ㄴisn’t it like charity work at this point?

People could not help but feel hopeful about the Galactic Empire’s arrival. Especially because…

ㄴso uh… kemonomimi android babes aren’t just a dream anymore?

ㄴTOTALLY possible. did u see those portals? their tech is outta this world man

ㄴWoaah. Please conquer Earth!

ㄴWelcome the Galactic Empire!!

ㄴI wanna ride a spaceship once…

ㄴREEE… MAH HEART IS SWELLING

ㄴWow… all those Hunters amazing us all, turns out they was just Civilian #1.

ㄴWe shouldn’t think of them as the same humans LOL

ㄴfr lol

ㄴso all the cutting-edge future tech we only saw in movies will come true?

ㄴWhat future tech. From their perspective, we’re just primitives. It’s not the future, it’s just their present.

ㄴrather than that did u bros see? I just came from a temporary medical center and it’s a whole new world…@@novelbin@@

ㄴreally?

ㄴyea… like one pill is better than any elixir

ㄴthey even made new arms for people

ㄴlmfao I’m looking forward to the future srsly.

Science-fiction, did they call it?

A power had descended, one that would bring dreams into reality. Naturally, Earth’s six billion people rejoiced madly, as if they had won the lottery.

And they all burned one name into their minds: Karlstein Babylon. The man who had once seemed like a lunatic full of hot air now appeared as nothing less than a god.