Moon's Labyrinths

All the Connectors gathered there were tense. However, their minds were resolute. They had left behind a small elite force to defend the stake and Armstrong city, while the rest moved as per the plan. Following the orders, the Connectors got into their Moon Surface Vehicles.

But, the high rank Connectors, including Sungyoon, didn't go to their vehicles as the Mayor had called them.

“Please take these.”

The Mayor gave each of them a black box that had no engravings. The box was as large as someone’s palm, and its appearance was solemn as if it were an urn.

“What's this?”

Sungyoon opened the box, and his gaze fell on several Gems lined up in a row.

‘Gems?’

They weren’t normal Gems. Sungyoon’s eyes widened when he realized what they were.

“Mayor! These are...”

“You guessed correctly, Mr. Sungyoon.”

The Mayor spoke in a solemn voice.

“They are Corpse Gems.”

Corpse Gems were Gems made out of Connector corpses. Everyone’s face stiffened as they looked down at the Gems they held.

“… You guys completed it.”

“We completed it?”

Before the war, the Mayor had handed out a release form to all the Connectors who were participating in the battle. The form stipulated that their body would be donated to the cause if they died in the battle. Their bodies would be used as ingredients for Corpse Gems.

“Many signed the release form, and they passed away bravely fighting in the war. We followed their will to make the Corpse Gems.”

The Mayor spoke with a heavy voice.

Sungyoon raised one of the Corpse Gems. The Gem felt cold and metallic, and he could feel the coldness permeate into his skin. The surprising sensation made Sungyoon wonder how could a Connector’s body be processed to create such an item.

“A lot of you here also signed the release form. Despite signing the same agreement, you might feel guilty or terrible about using these Gems. However, I want you to remember the sense of duty you felt when you signed that form. These people felt the same way, and they still would've willingly given up their bodies if they had been given the choice again.”

“We’ll accept them with thanks.”

Russell closed his eyes, then made a cross on his chest. His sense of righteousness was much stronger than that of the others, and so, the sacrifices of the dead Connectors had deeply moved him.

Everyone followed his action. Those who believed in a religion made gestures to pray for the dead, who had sacrificed themselves to bring peace to humanity. Those who followed no religion paid respect to these heroes.

Since they were about to start their mission, they didn’t have much time to pay their respects. So when everyone finished giving their respects, the Mayor spoke in a solemn tone.

“The creation process of Corpse Gems has a high failure rate. These are all the Corpse Gems we were able to make. Corpse Gems have five different types.”

The Mayor took the box of the Connector nearest to him. He started to raise each Gem as he explained. The first Gem he raised was red, but it wasn’t a Red Gem or a Ruby Gem.

“This is called the Blood Gem. It's made from the blood of a Connector.”

Everyone looked down at the Blood Gem in their own boxes.

“It increases the abilities of a Connector. It’ll allow you to use Gems that you normally can't use and push past your limits as a Connector.”

A few Connectors in the place possessed and used Diamond rank Gems, the highest rank Gems. They wouldn’t have much need for the Blood Gem. However, some Connectors here had hit their ceiling. The Blood Gem would allow them to use higher rank Gems that they previously couldn't use.

“The next one is the Heart Gem.”

The Mayor picked up a pink Gem. Since there were no pink Gems amongst the normal Gems, it was easy to identify that this Gem was different.

“It's made from the heart of a Connector, and it increases the performance of the Gems you possess.”

Sungyoon had a Gold Gem with an ability similar to the Heart Gem's. One of Jungbum’s keepsakes, the Gold Gem had saved his life several times in the past.

“The next one is called a Brave Gem.”

It was a gray-colored Gem.

“It's made from a Connector's brain. Since Corpse Gems are unlike normal Gems, they can escape their users' control. Connectors might get harmed instead. This Gem acts as a control. In some ways, this is the most important Gem. Please take this to heart. Do not use the other Corpse Gems without activating this one.”

When they heard about the dangers associated with using these Gems, a serious expression appeared on everyone's face.

“This is the Bone Gem. It's made out of the bones of a Connector. In a place with very little magical energy like Earth, with this, you can use the full power of a Connector. This Gem is the reason the descendants of Planote could operate with no restriction on Earth.”

“Doesn’t that mean we have no need of this Gem here?”

One of the Connectors asked the question.

“We’ll be fighting this battle on the Moon. Even if a lot of the magical energy here has been transferred to Earth, it isn’t enough to decrease our power.”

“Correct. That's why we thought about excluding this Gem. However, we changed our minds in the end. A lot of unpredictable events are happening in succession right now, so we want you to have it as a precaution.”

After getting the answer to his question, the Connector nodded. He thought that the Mayor's words made sense. They had no idea what would occur in the future, so they had to be prepared for everything.

The Mayor carefully put the Bone Gem back into the box.

“The last is the Flesh Gem.”

It was a yellow Gem. No, it was better to call it a brownish-yellow Gem.

“It's made from the skin of a Connector. Unlike other Corpse Gems, multiple Flesh Gems can be created from one body.”

That was why, unlike the other types of Corpse Gems, there were multiple Flesh Gems in the box.

“A Flesh Gem is a disposable Gem. Its rank doesn't matter. It's capable of copying the ability of any Gem once.”

“Can it be used on a Diamond Gem?”

“It can be used on Diamond Gems and also on special Gems like the Royal Gem. Of course, each of the special Gems has multiple abilities, and you can copy only one of them.”

The Connector who had asked the question let out a whistle. From the Mayor's words, he could tell that Flesh Gems could turn the tide of a battle.

“Let me call upon you for a favor later, Mr. Russell.”

“I’ll have to ask Mr. Bruce for his Gem.”

“What about the Princess’s Diamond rank Gem? What ability does it have?”

“Now that I think about it, the Knight’s party members received Diamond rank Gems.”

“He said it's possible to replicate the abilities of the special Gems. We should work to get those abilities first.”

The Connectors crowded around Sungyoon’s party for access to their Gems.

“It's good to copy the abilities of our Gems, but you should get a variety of abilities. You never know what might occur in the battle.”

Russell made the Connectors get in a line.

“Flesh Gems don't care about ranks. Therefore, we also brought low rank Devices where you can slot in the Flesh Gems. You can use one of these Devices if you're out of space for your Gems.”

After the chaotic atmosphere cooled down, everyone acquired the abilities that they wanted to have.

“Are you all done?”

At the Mayor’s question, all the Connectors nodded. After a moment of hesitation, the Mayor looked at each Connector in front of him as if he wanted to remember their faces.

“I wish you Godspeed.”

The Mayor then gave the order, and the Connectors started heading out and into the battle.

***

The heavy wheels moved. The Moon Surface Vehicles carrying the Connectors moved like a caravan as they sped across the Moon's surface. The great number of vehicles and the number of high-rank Connectors inside each vehicle was enough to show how powerful the procession was.

It didn't just end at that. Combat vehicles containing Mana Knight Cannons also traveled alongside the Moon Surface Vehicles. A prototype of a Mana Knight Cannon had been created before Armstrong city fell. Since then, a lot of research and money had been sunk into improving the weapon. All the effort paid off, and the cannons were far more reliable now.

The Connectors within the Moon Surface Vehicles did their best to pass the time. Some read books, some slept, some prayed, and some listened to music. They all had their own ways of passing their time.

Sungyoon was in the same boat, and it was obvious as to how he would pass his time. As always, he stared at a picture of Shinhae. He could look at the picture for days without getting tired of looking at his cute daughter. However, this picture also contained Jimin, who had become a new family member.

The smiling faces of his wife and daughter in the picture were a magical talisman that gave him strength.

Puh-uhng!

Suddenly, he heard cannon fire. It seemed another monster had tried to approach the caravan. However, it wasn't a monster worthy of the Connectors' attention. The Connectors had also become used to this now. They didn’t even look out the window as the cannons took care of the monster.

It was the same for Sungyoon. He continued to stare at his picture.

However, he soon raised his head as if he had remembered something.

‘We should be getting there soon now.’

Their destination was on the other side of the Moon. The stake existed in front of Armstrong city, and the tower they were going to existed in the exact opposite location of the stake. It was located at the backside of the Moon.

The Moon's surface was slightly larger than Africa. Therefore, their journey wasn't a long one. However, this was the case only If one went straight toward their destination. In reality, the Moon had many craters, which were the results of asteroids' collision with the Moon's surface. The front surface of the Moon was clean, but the backside was peppered with craters. It drastically slowed down the Connectors' progress.

Sungyoon calculated the date.

‘I hope we get there soon.’

The Moon was getting fairly close to Earth. He had no idea what kinds of calamities Earth was facing right now.

‘It would have been great if we could have used the space ships.’

The risk of doing that was too high. In the past, they had used the platform on the stake as a landing spot, and Armstrong city had been under the control of humanity. Even then, there had been errors. Some Connectors had landed amongst the monsters and died. If he thought about what could go wrong, the approach from space was too dangerous.

‘I’ve never been there, so the portal is useless.’

In the end, they had to travel through the land route. This was why Sungyoon’s party members were on edge. They didn’t openly express their worries. However, they had gone through life and death situations together; they could tell how each other felt.

Geeek!

At that moment, the Moon Surface Vehicles came to a stop, and everyone paused as well.

- We’ve arrived at our destination.

They heard the words they had been desperately waiting for. Everyone quickly exited their Moon Surface Vehicle. When they got off, they saw a tower standing on top of a structure that looked like an anthill.

For some reason, the structure looked ominous. All of them wanted to dash into the tower and find out if there really was a way to stop the Moon's advances toward Earth.

However, there were too many monsters around the tower, so they couldn't access the tower so easily.

“There are so many!”

Tim let out a sigh.

Everyone had the same thought, but they soon firmed their resolve once again.

At Russell’s signal, the Connectors got into a battleline.

“Is everyone ready?”

Russell yelled. The Connectors either raised their hands or nodded.

“Good. You guys already know the basic plan. Do not do more than what was planned. Do not do less than what was planned. Just follow the plan to the tee. Do you understand?”

“We already know that!”

“I am confident in you all. As you probably know, we don't have much time. We wasted way too much time in getting here. That's why I will speak no further.”

Russell turned his body around and looked at the tall tower.

The monsters had also noticed the Connectors and started rushing toward them.

Russell summoned his weapon, and the other Connectors followed suit. Raising his sword high in the air, Russell yelled.

“Let’s fight those bastards! Kill all the fucking monsters!”

[Ooh-wahhhhhhhhhhh!]

Like a movie scene, the Connectors charged toward the massive army of monsters.

The battle for the fate of Earth had started.