At the areas of Sky Island where aircraft such as planes and helicopters approached—that is, around the entrances and exits of runways and helipads—retractable multi-layer composite glass domes composed of “Neophonic Shield” had been installed, with additional energy fields formed over them.
These were energy fields of powerful waves made from Ether Core energy, which allowed permitted planes and helicopters to pass through while repelling unauthorized ones, and could even disassemble aircraft attempting illegal forced entry depending on the circumstance.
Beyond the energy fields, “bidirectional airlock gates” were installed at the airport entrances and exits, with facilities equipped to maintain internal air pressure and temperature via the airlock whenever objects entered or exited from outside.
In other words, when a plane passed through the energy field and then the outer door of the airlock in sequence, the outer door would close, and after the interior of the airlock matched the environment inside the dome, the inner door would open.
Such airlock gates were installed at both the entrance and exit of the runway, and were sizable enough for large passenger aircraft to pass through.
Tzzzzzaang──
[Access confirmed. Welcome, Master Jeong Su-ho, permanently authorized access personnel. Deactivating energy field.]
[Opening airlock outer gate.]
Shhhhhhiiick───
Though not an aircraft, Su-ho, who had approached Sky Island via the Tempest Bane Wing, likewise could only enter through this passage.
“So this is how it feels… It’s definitely different building it versus actually using it.”
Once the air pressure, oxygen concentration, and temperature inside the airlock were regulated, the outer gate closed and the inner gate allowing entry into the dome opened.
Normally the dome remained completely closed, with only the upper runway section opening via a sliding method, filtering through the energy field, while maintaining internal atmospheric stability to allow aircraft passage—the Sky Island entrance employing this “partial retractable dome structure + energy field + bidirectional airlock gate” method proved quite satisfying to experience firsthand.
[Additional entrants confirmed. Elysium Heights-issued Octocopters Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, and Unit 5 entry permitted. Deactivating energy field.]
Turning around at the new announcement, Su-ho saw the octocopters following behind him alongside a clearly displayed message.
“Get ready to be surprised.”
Smiling brightly, Su-ho strode into Sky Island.
* * *
“This is a breaking news report. Unidentified footage captured from a civilian aircraft this morning is shocking the entire world. A giant island floating in the air at an altitude of approximately ten kilometers above the East Sea has been discovered. The island appears to be floating above the clouds and is estimated to be several kilometers in diameter, astonishing all who see it. Experts are unanimous that with current Earth technology, levitating a structure of this scale is impossible…”
In the news footage, a massive dome-shaped island floated above the clouds emitting a faint light. A giant shadow was cast upon the sea below the island, and several news drones attempting to approach were seen crashing after hitting something unseen.
“The exact function and structure of Sky Island remain unconfirmed, and no information whatsoever regarding it has been released to date. With external access being strongly blocked, who built this island and for what purpose remains unknown…”
“While the world is in shock, government and military officials have responded with unusual calm to the existence of the giant aerial island floating at an altitude of approximately ten kilometers above the East Sea, raising suspicions that they may have already known about the island’s existence. A government official issued a brief statement saying ‘There is nothing to mention at present,’ dismissing demands for additional investigation. Military authorities have also offered only a perfunctory response that they ‘are aware of the aerial structure in that area and are prepared to guarantee safety,’ drawing criticism that such reactions are far from a normal response…”
“Questions are mounting in the international community as well. A UN expert panel pointed out that ‘while this structure appears to be a technological achievement of a specific nation, its scale and complexity are difficult to explain with modern science.’ In particular, the silence of the government and military is heightening the possibility that the island is not a simple civilian project but rather a facility with national or military purposes…”
“It has been confirmed that Sky Island’s dome structure emits special jamming signals, neutralizing the detection systems of satellites and aircraft passing overhead. While it can only be observed with the naked eye from a distance…”
Breaking Headline: “Island in the Sky: A Simple Scientific Wonder or the Birth of a World-Shaking Super-Technology?”
Breaking Headline: “Dome Blocking Even Satellite Signals, Can Only Be Seen as Military Technology. The Secret Weapon Hidden by the South Korean Government.”
└ No matter how you look at it, there are so many satellites—how does it make sense that not one can properly photograph an aerial island? Did the discoverers and the news conspire together?
└ Wow, awesome… Did the Korean government make some kind of secret weapon?
└ No matter how you look at it, it’s military… Countries near the East Sea must be tense right now.
└ My chest swells with pride.
└ Why does it have to be Korea? It could be Japan or somewhere else.
└ The Korean government is keeping quiet, which means they know something. It was just accidentally exposed by a civilian aircraft.
└ No, does that even make sense physically… It’s just a fake video… With AI video tools, even an elementary schooler could make that in five minutes… Has the news gone crazy, airing stuff like this?
└ So anti-gravity technology really exists…
└ It’s obviously aliens. Clearly a giant spaceship. It’s Armageddon! The end of the world!!
└ Yes, next patient please.
└ I don’t know about all that, I just want to go @__@ want to go want to go want to go…
└ Isn’t it a new Tower? It appeared in the sky, after all.
└ Oh, it could be a Tower… An SSS-rank Tower?
└ Don’t say such ominous shit.
Suji, who had been enjoying and sightseeing in every corner of Sky Island, came scampering over and showed Su-ho her phone, displaying the news trending in real time.
As expected, it was all about Sky Island.
It had been a project quietly disclosed only to the government, but rumors had spread faster than anticipated.
Su-ho furrowed his brows as if weary and clicked his tongue.
“Sure enough…”
Handing the phone back to Suji, Su-ho muttered.
“Everyone’s getting unnecessarily worked up over one more playground being added…”
“Playground? Hey, what kind of playground is on this scale?”
Seong-sik approached, clicking his tongue, having arrived at some point.
“I was really surprised when I first saw the artificial island too… but this… hey… I’m speechless… this… Su-ho, you bastard, what the hell… wow…”
“The scenery is killer, right?”
“No… it’s not the scenery… this… wow… this, wow… Are you a god? No, that blockhead Su-ho can’t be a god… then it’s the end of the world…”
Watching Seong-sik absentmindedly looking around with a foolish expression while exclaiming repeatedly as he walked off toward another area, Su-ho giggled.
“By the way, oppa, are you going to hold a naming contest for this Sky Island too? For our Elysium family?”
“Ah, a name?”
“Now that I think about it, the name Elysium really seems perfect for this place. But we’re already using that for our home… Anyway! I think I can win first place this time. I’ve prepared a totally awesome name!”
“What is it?”
“Ah, that’s a secret! When are you holding the contest? When you open it, that’s when I’ll reveal it!”
“I’m not holding a contest. I already have a name in mind.”
“…Huh? Wh-what is it? Whatever it is, mine’s probably better?”
“What did you pick?”
“Sigh… I was really going to reveal this when the naming contest opened… Oppa, if you end up using this, the copyright belongs to me, okay?”
“Got it, so tell me.”
“Celestara Heliosphere!”
“…What is that…”
“It’s a combination of Latin and Greek! It means sky and stars, sun and celestial sphere! Awesome, right!?”
“Yeah, awesomely long.”
“Damn it!”
“Cel… what…? Ha, I can’t even remember it.”
“Hmph! Then what did you think of!?”
“Hmm… Laputa.”
“Laputa? The one from Gulliver’s Travels?”
“Right. The floating island from Gulliver’s Travels. It’s a bit of a common name, but I like it because it’s simple. So I’m going with that. Laputa. It’s nice, isn’t it?”
“Laputa… Hmm… Laputa…”
After chewing on the word, her face briefly took on an expression of “that’s pretty nice,” before soon twisting into a frustrated look of defeat. Finding the sulking Suji cute, Su-ho ruffled her hair.
“Argh, am I a kid!? Even though I’m a…!”
“You’re my little sister, after all.”
“Ugh…!”
Though she was the representative of a company in her own right, to Su-ho she was always nothing more than a beloved younger sister.
Even her huffing and puffing was adorable, and he laughed heartily for a moment.
“By the way, Suji, see that old-fashioned-looking building in the center over there?”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“That’s the main hall built for various ceremonies.”
“Ceremony hall?”
“Yeah, so when you and Mr. Kim get married, you should definitely hold it there. Wouldn’t it be awesome?”
“What? Mr. Kim and marriage already? How long have we even been dating? Ah, seriously! Last time too, you kept embarrassing me after drinking!”
“Why worry so much. He’s a good person. Hurry up and get married and give me lots of nephews and…”
“Shit—! Kyaa!”
Her face flushing red, Suji kicked Su-ho in the shin, then grabbed her own foot and rolled on the ground.
She had forgotten Su-ho was wearing powered armor.
Su-ho, who had taken a blow to the shin, had to urgently check the condition of Suji’s toes.
The people who had briefly come up to Laputa to sightsee—that is, the residents of Elysium Heights, including the Ultimate Line and their families—ate and drank luxurious food there,
and in family units, as couples, or with friends in groups of threes and fives, they stayed overnight in accommodations.
A day spent at an altitude of ten kilometers.
Thanks to the thin upper atmosphere, the sunset with sunlight passing through the air beyond the horizon was majestic like an endlessly unfolding canvas, giving a surreal feeling.
Soon the sun completely disappeared and the sky turned dark purple; in the upper atmosphere where the atmospheric layer was thin, stars were visible as clearly as if within reach.
Because there was almost no atmospheric distortion, the starlight shone clearly and distinctly without twinkling, evoking awe, while the giant Milky Way spread like a flowing river, countless stars scattered like diamonds.
And again at dawn, the golden light rising from the horizon along the edge of the clouds gave a feeling completely different from a sunrise seen on the ground. It was as if in the realm of the gods.
Though the Elysium residents who had suddenly come up to Laputa were a diverse group with busy individual schedules, those who set foot on Sky Island Laputa for the first time postponed all their affairs, refused to return home, and everyone spent a night above the sky.
Looking back on all the days they had lived in their lives,
nothing seemed greater than this.
* * *
About a week after fully enjoying Sky Island Laputa, heavy news arrived.
“Retreat?”
It was an urgent call from the Tower Administration. It was Director Kim Gyu-sik.
— That’s correct. The S-rank European Union team raiding the Tower that appeared in Switzerland has suffered heavy injuries and made an emergency retreat. It should be considered an escape, truth be told… Only fifteen reportedly made it out.
“Huk… What in the world happened…”
— Even S-rank climbers have a maximum limit of the 100th floor, so the initial plan was to complete the raid up to the 100th floor, retreat, and then use Tower Break on the remaining three floors to handle them from outside, but…
“Indeed… That seems like the only way. So did they complete the raid up to the 100th floor?”
— No. They hit a wall on the 98th floor and all made an emergency escape… Several were sacrificed in the process of fleeing.
“Goodness… But they had enhanced androids with them…”
— Yes. They mentioned that. They said they were only able to escape to the extent they did because they had super enhanced androids and Android Ascends. The enhanced androids seem to have bought time against the monsters on the 98th floor.
“…Which means…”
— I’m afraid the enhanced androids lent to them have all likely been destroyed…
“Ah…”
Su-ho unconsciously placed a hand on his forehead.
How had he made those… His head throbbed.
He had lent twenty super enhanced androids and eighteen enhanced Android Ascends for a mere 300 trillion won, but if they were completely destroyed, that changed things.
According to the contract, for each destroyed unit they would have to pay Su-ho a value corresponding to 100 trillion won.
Even if the Ascends were slightly cheaper, the European Union had fallen into a swamp of enormous debt amounting to nearly 3,000 trillion won.
But money was a secondary issue. The real problem was that all the enhanced androids were destroyed. That meant equally powerful monsters would be unleashed.
With all S-rank Admittis having made a retreat tantamount to escape, a Tower Break would occur before long and all the monsters from floors 98 to 103 would flood out, yet outside, Admittis could only exert 15 percent of their power. For monsters around the 98th floor level, modern firearms mostly wouldn’t be able to deal damage…
Overall, this was a super-catastrophe.
Not just Switzerland—perhaps enough to erase Europe from the map.
No matter how large the debt, Europe had to exist first for them to pay it back.
Su-ho let out a sigh and gripped the receiver.
“We will head there immediately.”