The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1358: Just in Time?

All things considered, they’d been making rather good progress up until that moment.

Following the Elders’ recommendations, official orders had already been issued to quarantine the Central Outpost and begin investigating possible Aerun activity, with the evidence increasingly pointing toward several other Luxastra siblings who seemed to have been involved in their own equally shady dealings.

That alone was already a significant step forward, especially since Marquise Julienne, who was practically seething with anger at those responsible, had assured them that the Astreas would take care of investigating the matter further.

See? Progress!

But when reports confirmed that the rescued captives were heavily contaminated and still carrying traces of the dangerous materials they’d been forced to handle, Killian’s party had been dispatched to assist.

And they were perfectly fine with that. In fact, if Killian were being perfectly honest, anything that would get him closer to CM-7 was an assignment he was more than willing to take.

Besides, the young cadets had already done enough by getting the captives out safely, and with Killian’s unit being the closest available force capable of handling such a sensitive situation without drawing unnecessary attention or raising too many questions, there was no reason to expose them to any further danger.

Not to mention, there was also the matter of the cadets’ battleships.

It had actually been Noah who brought up the issue after successfully leading his group back to their vessel when one of the seniors questioned how they’d managed to retain so much energy while the rest of them had practically drained their own battleships dry.

In fact, even if they hadn’t been forced to scatter and go into hiding, most of them wouldn’t have been able to evacuate using those vessels anyway.

Right.

Considering how the exercise had been structured, with the cadets having to reallocate their battleships’ energy reserves to sustain their mechas, it was hardly surprising that most of their vessels were no longer fit for interstellar travel.

Which meant they now had to reorganize the evacuating cadets and redistribute them among the few vessels that were still capable of making the journey.

Like, perhaps, gathering several of them aboard B10’s rather energy-rich battleship.

Killian could’ve headed straight to B10’s location, but he still had a job to do. So despite desperately wishing to go there, he continued helping the reunited members of B9 board their transport, many of whom were shedding tears upon seeing someone as familiar as Killian Nox.

Some even hailed him as their savior after everything they’d been through.

Of course, Killian hardly thought he deserved such praise, considering he’d been operating with a less-than-selfless mindset all along.

Then again, perhaps the sight of Princess Kira’s head haphazardly covered in bandages she’d forgotten to take off had initially frightened them so badly that they simply needed a plausible excuse to cry.

"..."

"..."

Still, with Noah and the Orc Princess’ help, all they needed to do was sort through everyone and discreetly assess who required assistance with contamination.

But it was right in the middle of doing that when the eldest heir of House Nox suddenly felt his stomach drop.

It was such an abrupt sensation, coming seemingly out of nowhere when he’d been focused on his work all along, that he almost dismissed it as his usual discomfort.

But that was before.

Since forming that unique bond with Jax and having Izzie, he’d learned to pay particular attention to those sudden gut feelings. After all, while the sensation might not necessarily be his own, there was always the possibility that it was coming from either of those two.

And much to his dismay, he was right.

Something Izzie all but confirmed when the little one suddenly began showing signs of being extremely sick.

"!"

He didn’t even need the Elders to tell him what it meant for a spiritual beast like her to end up in such a condition.

No, because Killian himself already felt like he couldn’t breathe!

And then, to receive that foreboding communication on top of everything else?

Best believe the Chief of Staff was already initiating every possible bypass to get to that damned place, all while internally begging every deity willing to listen that they wouldn’t be too late.

__

And for all intents and purposes, they weren’t.

In fact, they’d managed to arrive just in time to scare the bejeezus out of B10’s battleship staff, especially with how threateningly their vessel had suddenly appeared!

And if not for its unmistakably Imperial design, who knew how many of the already anxious staff and cadets might’ve opened fire just to be safe? After all, hadn’t enough of them already been fooled by terrorists practically impersonating the CREX hostiles?

Fortunately, once those aboard B10 realized who their unexpected visitors were, the relief was so overwhelming that some practically felt their spines tremble!

"Look! Look! We’re saved!"

"Finally!"

Similar exclamations erupted across the bridge, with several people practically collapsing as the tension finally left their bodies.

And considering the severe limitations in communication that had left those responsible for the cadets practically helpless throughout the ordeal, who could blame them for reacting that way?

"Phew!"

Even the Captain couldn’t help letting out a long breath as he watched the imposing Imperial vessel hovering just outside their primary viewport.

Still, he had a job to do.

"Establish contact immediately," he ordered, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead before turning his attention back to his staff. "At this close range, we should be able to set up a direct line with barely any interference."

Then, remembering the matter of the ancient sensor that had caused such a commotion earlier, he switched back to the comms channel linked to the maintenance deck.

"Cadet Wrenner, you can turn that ADS off now. It seems it was simply detecting the spatial distortion from that unexpected jump."

With the alarm finally taken care of, the Captain even found himself chuckling lightly as a rather amusing thought crossed his mind.

And as if to further reassure him that everything was finally under control, the main screen blinked to life, revealing the stern, incredibly worried face of none other than the Chief of Staff of the Solaris Empire!

Huh?

Well, that was most definitely unexpected, especially since he was practically the last person anyone would’ve expected to see on a decommissioned mining planet.

Still, despite being momentarily flustered, the Captain straightened his posture almost on instinct, preparing to greet the high-ranking official.

Only to be interrupted before he could utter a single word as static suddenly crackled over the internal maintenance line, followed by Finn’s hesitant voice.

"Uh, Captain? The sensor... we already turned it off, but for some reason, it started right back up again?"

"Huh?!"

The Captain frowned, wanting nothing more than to silence that unbearable screeching, especially now that he was face-to-face with someone who practically held the power of life and death over him.

"If it’s still blaring, just pull the plu—"

"Captain! Look!"

Someone on the bridge suddenly screamed, pointing outside in absolute horror!

"!"

Startled, the Captain immediately snapped his head in that direction, only to find himself staring at something that made his blood run cold.

Because right outside their viewport, clearly visible against the familiar sky, were several dark, jagged formations that looked like massive, bleeding tears in the very fabric of space!

And the worst part?

They were getting bigger.

Much, much bigger by the second—

All while the entire bridge was once again engulfed by the desperate warnings of a certain ancient sensor.