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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 457
｢Any survivors?｣
｢We've confirmed 77 knights and 11 researchers. The rest are still…｣
Hearing the grim report, Jacob clenched his rain-soaked fist.
‘Damn it!’
Everyone Jacob had brought was outfitted with advanced power armor, but not the kind they’d wear marching onto a battlefield.
The plan had simply been to reach the deep-sea base safely. Unless an Outspacer attack was expected, there was no reason to bring their absolute best gear.
Because of that, over a hundred were lost in an instant. The wave that capsized Aqua State a wall of water hundreds of meters high swallowed Jacob’s men along with it.
Jacob and the survivors had only escaped because they’d dashed straight for the transport at the first sight of the wave.
The multipurpose transport was built to support friendlies in all environments. That much saved them, but it was hardly a situation for relief.
Most of the researchers Jacob had brought were dead.
‘Only eleven left…’
These weren’t just any researchers. Everyone lost had been deeply involved in anti-Outspacer weapon development.
He’d brought them to shorten the project timeline instead, the project itself now teetered on the edge of collapse.
‘Why did this happen…? No, the parasite!’
It was too late to question how this disaster came about. More urgent was how to deal with the consequences.
‘At this point, the parasite absolutely must be secured!’
The project was ruined, so his only play was to secure the newly acquired parasite.
With Outspacer incursions suddenly erupting throughout Megacorp’s territory, a parasite sample had become exponentially more valuable. If he could sell it to other families, he’d fetch a fortune in credits.
｢Lord Jacob, shall we return to the ship?｣
｢No. There's something to do first.｣
Jacob activated the transport's detection system. On the hologram, the sinking Aqua State and the debris scattered by the waves marked the locations of various vessels.
｢All knights, your first task is to find the rescue ship. Use the transport's scouting pods, swap out your module packs whatever you need. Just find it. Understood?｣
｢Yes, sir!｣
｢Researchers, remain here and request support from the flagship.｣
｢Understood.｣
Jacob synced the detection data to his power armor, grabbed his gear, and exited the transport.
His suit was designed for operation in outer space; with added jet packs, underwater maneuvering was not an issue.
Slipping into the dark water, Jacob headed toward the signal of the nearest ship. The other knights joined the search.
｢Lord Jacob, we’re picking up distress calls. What should we do?｣
｢Did you not hear my orders? Ignore everything else just find the rescue ship.｣
｢Yes, sir! Understood!｣
He ignored every call for rescue on the way. The rescue ship was sinking deeper as they spoke. He wouldn’t waste time or supplies on replaceable assets.
‘…Tch. So, where exactly is the ship? Supposed to be right here.’
According to the detector, there was a long, oval structure nearby not debris from Aqua State, that much was clear. NOX-02 had no local megafauna this size. The only candidate was the rescue ship.
‘Guess I’ll have to go even deeper.’
Just then, the map display inside his helmet suddenly disappeared.
｢Huh?｣
｢What's going on?｣
He heard his subordinates’ confused voices. It wasn’t just him; everyone was experiencing it.
‘Something’s wrong with the detection system?’
All their helmets were synced with the transport’s system. If the map vanished, there was a transmission issue with the data.
Jacob tried to hail the transport for clarification, but there was no response.
｢Anyone able to reach the transport?｣
｢Sorry, the scouts can’t connect either.｣
｢There must be a problem with the comm network.｣
It seemed only those relatively near Jacob could still communicate.
｢Someone go back to the trans—｣
BZZZT
Just as he started to order a check, a burst of static came from his helmet’s comm.
｢Jo…el… bzzzt… help… me…｣
｢Joel?｣
｢Please… help… bzzt, Joel… it’s me…｣
The mention of Joel made Jacob’s eyes widen. So the rescue ship they’d been searching for was sending a transmission.
｢Joel, is that you? Where are you?｣
｢Down… below… please… bzzt… bzzzt…｣
｢Lord Jacob, what’s that—?｣
Instead of replying, Jacob fired up his jet pack and shot downward, into the depths where the transmission came from. Baffled, his subordinates quickly followed.
How far did they descend?
When the pressure was high enough that he needed to raise his shield, the faint outline of a large object loomed in the headlight beam. Only a small part was visible, but Jacob instantly recognized Egerton’s rescue ship.
｢This way… bzzt… please…｣
Yes, the transmissions were coming from there.
｢Those in scouting pods, ready plasma cutters.｣
｢Yes, sir.｣
The scouting pod team moved in on the sinking metal hulk, their pod’s cutter glowing a bright green.
While they watched from a distance, the pod’s lights suddenly swept out and died.
｢?!｣
｢What the—?｣
Shocked, the knights quickly aimed their helmet lights at the last location of the scouting pod.
Only the scars left on the hatch where the pod had tried to cut through remained. There was nothing else to be seen.
｢What happened? Where’s the scouting pod?｣
｢Well, um, we lost all contact with the pod.｣
｢If you can’t make contact, then go check it out directly!｣
｢We’ll… check immediately!｣
Hearing Jacob’s stern command, three knights swam toward the rescue ship’s last known location.
When they arrived where the pod had disappeared, one of them spotted something.
It was the plasma cutter that had been attached to the scouting pod—heavily damaged, ripped apart as if by some tremendous force.
｢Lord Jacob, take a look at this.｣
Holding up the shattered cutter, he spoke—but all eyes were elsewhere.
｢Behind you!｣
｢Huh?｣
Turning around, he realized what drew his comrades’ attention.
In the darkness covering the ship’s hull, eyes glowed. Larger than the lost pod, burning bright like flames.
The moment they met that gaze, the knights froze—not just from fear, but as if an invisible force gripped them tight.
｢Wh-what is that?!｣
｢I… I can’t move!｣
And that strange phenomenon affected everyone nearby.
The chaotic noise rattling inside their helmets soon faded.
As all stood immobilized, the darkened rescue ship began to glow.
Or rather, it wasn’t the ship itself, but something coiling around its hull shining.
They’d assumed only the ship was there, but no the thick, cylindrical tentacles were wrapped around the outer walls. Like lights flickering on in a dim corridor, the large eyes attached to the tentacles gradually lit up one after another.
｢Got them all. Bzzzt, got them all.｣
Joel’s voice came again.
Hearing the recorded, repeating voice, Jacob realized he’d made a grave mistake.
The one sending the message was not Joel. He might never have brought the parasite sample here at all. Their greed for the sample had caused this calamity.
Though regretting it now changed nothing.
The tentacles cut through the knights nearby with ease.
***
Beep.
“Hmm?”
At NEO Third Gateway City’s command center, the interstellar transit monitoring team sat in front of dozens of terminals, watching for movement throughout the system.
One member squinted at a holographic map’s signal.
“Unidentified energy signature at NOX-02? Hey, how many ships were cleared to enter NOX-02 today?”
“Uh, just one? Lord Jacob’s flagship.”
“Really? Then what’s this?”
“What is it?”
Curious, a colleague from another department approached.
“About thirty minutes ago, there was an energy signal that vanished almost immediately.”
“Error maybe? Sometimes planetary volcanic activity causes energy spikes.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s never happened on NOX-02. Plus, this signal’s energy matches what’s generated by a fleet moving. Such enormous energy just disappeared.”
“Hm, that is weird.”
Scratching his horns, Cult scrutinized the hologram and nodded.
“We should report this upstairs.”
“Agreed.”
“Maybe the defense fleet too….”
Beep.
Before they finished talking, an alert sounded on the console.
“Huh?”
Casually checking the hologram, they suddenly stared with wide eyes.
Beep beep beep beep bzzzt beep beep.
“What the heck is this?”
“Huh? What’s going on?”
Moments later, alarms began blaring across other consoles.
“I—this has to be reported right now! You’ve got to see this!”
“On it!”
“Defense team, where are you?!”
“Damn it! This is a monitoring team! Gateway City’s unresponsive….”
A colleague jumped up and rushed out. Chaos spread as the mysterious anomaly unfolded.
Cult stared blankly at the now-empty station beside him, the hologram above glowing ominously.
Countless unidentified signals dotted the miniaturized system map.
And those signals kept multiplying with each passing moment.
“…It’s begun.”
After days of calm, the Outspacer assault had resumed.
That nightmare had returned.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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