The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1331: All Five of Them

The tactical unit moved in tight formation through the pressurized airlock, their boots ringing softly against the metal plating of the orbital outpost responsible for gathering and reporting data throughout the Caldris system.

Hand signals quickly passed down the line, directing the squad forward while their terminals flickered with real-time updates. So far, the preliminary drone scans hadn’t detected anything unusual inside the facility aside from the expected number of life forms.

Admittedly, the soldiers who’d been hastily pulled from the nearest military garrisons found the entire mission rather bizarre.

Their respective posts had never encountered any problems with the five-person team stationed at the Caldris Central Outpost. If anything, the crew had always been remarkably quiet and seemed to flourish being left alone in the middle of that social void.

The Caldris system wasn’t exactly top-tier when it came to interesting sights or people to talk to. However, since personnel assigned to remote monitoring outposts generally preferred that sort of arrangement anyway, the five stationed here had always done remarkably well, a stark contrast to the other soldiers who couldn’t wait to be reassigned somewhere closer to the capital, where they could allegedly regain some semblance of a social life.

So one could imagine their sheer surprise upon learning that a terrorist attack was currently unfolding on Caldris Minor-7, a training ground for those who would usually go on to join the Empire’s finest.

That alone felt like one massive prank.

But then came the next set of directives, informing them that one of the first places they’d been ordered to investigate for potential leads was the Caldris Central Outpost!

If those five were any good at fighting, they probably would’ve volunteered for an even more remote planet just to avoid people altogether.

Still, orders were orders, and with the lives of cadets on the line, even if they’d been asked to investigate the most unbelievable lead imaginable, they’d still check it.

Whatever mild disbelief the responding soldiers might’ve felt disappeared the moment they reviewed the internal surveillance footage.

The same five people they knew were still there.

But they weren’t moving.

Each member of the outpost crew had either been standing or sitting in the exact same position for several hours now, even though the facility logs showed perfectly normal activity right up until yesterday.

There were no unfamiliar external communications on record.

No one had entered or left, and the five of them barely even interacted despite sharing the same space.

Just like usual.

Yet now, not a single one of them was even attempting to move?

The soldiers could’ve simply tried calling out to the crew over the internal communication system. However, the sheer abnormality of what they were seeing made the squad leader decide on a much more covert approach.

If something truly was wrong, the last thing they wanted was to alert whoever might be responsible and give them a chance to flee before Military HQ could completely lock down the facility.

Thus, even when the perimeter alarms, which shouldn’t have been disarmed in the first place, were quietly disabled under Military HQ’s authority, there was still no reaction from within.

Muffled footsteps moved through corridors that normally only ever heard the same five pairs of feet, yet the figures inside the primary control room remained perfectly still.

The squad leader eventually raised one hand, immediately bringing the entire formation to a halt.

Two soldiers moved forward and swept the main hatchway with heavy-duty sensors. Only after confirming there were no hidden explosives, thermal traps, or other obvious threats did the lead breach soldier reach for the control panel.

The heavy door hissed open.

Imperial soldiers immediately flooded the room, high-caliber rifles raised and ready to fire.

Still, there was no reaction.

All five members of the outpost staff remained frozen in front of their assigned consoles, almost as though they hadn’t even noticed that an armed tactical unit had just stormed into the room.

With his weapon still raised, the lead soldier cautiously approached the nearest operator.

One step.

Then another.

It wasn’t until he finally moved close enough to see the staff member’s face clearly that a cold spike of fright drove straight through his chest.

__

"What?! Say that again?!"

The Vice Principal, who, in truth, was currently being considered a potential suspect just like everyone else present, suddenly felt lightheaded and nauseous at the same time as he listened to the grim report coming in from the tactical team.

"Sir, all five staff members were found alive," the squad leader’s voice crackled through the communication line, heavy with barely suppressed horror. "They were still at their stations, maintaining the exact same positions they’d apparently been in for hours. But... there’s something the surveillance cameras couldn’t capture because all five of them had their heads lowered toward the ground."

The Vice Principal’s stomach tightened.

"Their eyes, sir. All five of them have black tears streaming down their faces, yet they’re completely unresponsive."

"..."

For several seconds, no one inside the control hub seemed to know what to say.

The Marshal had personally ordered that, until further notice, no one aside from the specialized team being dispatched by Military HQ was to approach the five staff members or anything else inside the primary control room. As a result, the tactical team hadn’t been permitted to move them or even examine them more closely.

The entire facility had also been placed under strict quarantine while HQ began combing through every available piece of internal surveillance footage and system data.

If anything, the discovery left the Vice Principal with even more questions than before!

However, unbeknownst to most of the Academy personnel anxiously waiting for answers, far more influential figures were already working behind the scenes.

Shortly after the initial findings were relayed to the administrators, a much more detailed breakdown was delivered directly to Marshal Julian and, by extension, everyone currently gathered inside the dungeon space.

"The signal jammers have been deployed as ordered, Marshal," an officer reported sharply. "We’re now ready to block any blind transmissions originating from both the local terminals and the outpost itself. The tactical unit is maintaining a secure perimeter while we wait for the specialized team and additional reinforcements."

Marshal Julian acknowledged the report with a slight, unreadable nod.

"Mn. Continue monitoring the five staff members. If there’s even the slightest change in their condition, I want to know immediately."

"Yes, Marshal."

The connection terminated.

Julian remained silent for a moment, a flicker of dark contemplation passing through his eyes as he prepared to contact Minister Kordell.

He couldn’t help wondering whether sending particular team to investigate was really such a good idea.

Then again...

Who else could they possibly send?

If what happened to those five people really was the result of some nasty and potentially terrifying bloodline ability, then there were very few individuals in the Empire better suited to deal with it than those esteemed beings.

But when he finally managed to contact the Minister, who was probably already drowning in work, Julian was surprised to hear an exasperated yet oddly pleased voice on the other end.

"Julian. Apparently, I’m staying grounded."

"What? I thought you said you were—"

"It’s Killian. He’s going."

"He’s going?" Even the Marshal sounded surprised.

"Yeah. Said he’s ready for insubordination and all." The Minister sounded strangely resigned. "He’s going, so let him handle the Elders."

"I see."

Well, what else was he supposed to say to that?

So in response, he simply said, "The jammers are in place. Give the signal, and we’ll activate them."