Ch.64Celestine Incident – Ship No. 1 (1)

[Warning. Hull damage detected.]

The window shatters and air rushes out. Wind blows.

[Abnormal acceleration detected. The vessel is malfunctioning due to unknown causes.]

[Switching to manual operation mode.]

[Unable to switch!]

Having escaped AI control, the ship sounded its siren as a last resort. The blaring siren spewed red light.

Whoosh!

My body tilted backward. Acceleration counteracting gravity. I couldn’t control my body at all.

“Young master!”

Sonia and Bella shouted simultaneously. I reached out my hand, but only grasped empty air.

I was already too late.

I had been too close to the window while dealing with the foreign god possessing Seti. Even the slightest acceleration was enough to separate me from the ship’s system.

“Instructor!”

I shouted toward Naiere.

“Please take care of Seti!”

“…!”

Sonia’s figure gradually disappeared. Her mouth moved. I couldn’t hear a word she was saying.

[Vacuum state detected.]

[Automatically deploying suit helmet for protection.]

Spinning like a first-class acrobat, I soon found myself far from Ship No. 4.

And so I became a space orphan.

This is bad.

If my spacesuit runs out of oxygen, or if an avatar appears, it’s all over.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt my life in danger.

I took slow, deep breaths and looked around.

My body, floating on the waves of space, gradually felt pulled in a certain direction.

That’s right.

I was falling toward the mother planet.

***

“…”

Having accepted that Eidel was gone, Naiere gritted her teeth and left the captain’s room.

[Activating bulkhead.]

Now there was no way to return to the captain’s room.

Whether Eidel was alive or dead, she didn’t know. Naiere clutched her chest in frustration.

“I’m sorry, you.”

“Please call me Sonia.”

“Right, Sonia.”

Four people had returned: Sonia, Naiere, the unconscious Seti, and her personal android, Bella.

“Captain!”

Examiners with red epaulettes came running.

“All students have been evacuated. But what on earth is happening?”

Everyone, including Naiere, started floating.

“Zero gravity state.”

“Seems we’ve left the mother planet’s orbit.”

“It’s the work of a foreign god. They plan to isolate us and cook us slowly.”

At Naiere’s words, Bella swallowed hard. She asked anxiously:

“Um, Instructor? What should we do now?”

“We fight.”

“F-fight?”

Naiere surveyed her surroundings.

The ship was quiet. Strangely, too quiet.

Such silence usually harbors madness.

[— The background constellation ‘Aquarius’ has detected the presence of flesh vessels!]

Just like now.

Rumble!

The electrical wires forming the ship twisted bizarrely. They writhed like snakes, raising their heads.

“Looks like they’re trying to incarnate into the ship.”

Naiere quickly assessed the available forces.

Besides herself, a Great Omega class, there were eight EX-class examiners who could be effective.

Naiere pointed at Seti and ordered:

“Split into two squads. First squad follows me, second squad protects this girl. Understood?”

“Yes!”

Shing. Naiere and four examiners drew their swords and preheated them.

[— The avatar of the ‘Orchestra of Mud and Flesh’, <Oligos>, has descended.]

Ink-black tentacles crawled along the interior of the hull like ivy. The world darkened. The spaceship was being consumed by madness and terror.

She infused her blade with the constellation’s energy. Aether rushed forward, spewing fierce flashes.

Soon, the mass of tentacles crawling along the walls lunged at them.

***

Ship No. 1.

An incident occurred during the 100-meter dash measurement.

One student collapsed just before the finish line and couldn’t get up.

Welton thought the student had suffered a heart attack and was relieved to see paramedics rushing in.

Even when other students began collapsing one after another.

“W-what’s happening?”

The fallen students began bleeding profusely, as if shot. External wounds. Finally, an EX-class examiner in charge of Ship No. 1’s security shouted:

“We’re under attack. Prepare for battle!”

As the order was given, the sound of swords being preheated erupted everywhere. A unified movement without any sign of panic.

It was as if the soldiers had foreseen this situation and come prepared.

“Everyone, we’re under monster attack!”

“Please evacuate to the orbital elevator!”

On the railing above, slender-legged monstrosities appeared and began attacking students. The ship instantly fell into chaos. Examiners swung their swords relentlessly to control the panicking students.

Welton calmly headed toward the orbital elevator following the android’s instructions. Though he didn’t know what was happening, he had vaguely predicted something since seeing the EX-class examiners.

Thud. A male student bumped Welton’s shoulder as he rushed past.

“I-I don’t want to die! Move!”

“Don’t run! There’s a risk of being crushed!”

“I said move!”

The male student was the first to reach the orbital elevator. His face contorted with joy. But the contortion was more severe than expected.

“Ugh, urrrgh.”

The male student groaned. The next moment—rip! The skin of his face was torn apart sideways and ripped off.

Aaaaargh!

An examiner with red epaulettes rushed over at the sound of the scream and swung his sword.

Snap! The sound of thread breaking.

“Are you alright? Oh, he’s fainted.”

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be dead. But even so, the witnesses had to endure a horrifying experience.

Welton frowned.

“…Thread?”

Thin, sharp threads like copper wire were spread throughout the elevator entrance and elsewhere.

“Everyone, don’t move carelessly. You could all be seriously injured.”

A terror of a different dimension. The resolute faces of the examiners were the students’ only sanctuary.

Lucardo, the white squad captain, shouted:

“S-class, focus entirely on protecting the students! EX-class, divide into six squads of four each. Two squads secure the elevator’s safety. The remaining four squads come with me to strike the avatar!”

Thud, thud, thud!

Even now, students were collapsing one by one.

“Avatar? Did he just say avatar?”

“Why us of all people!”

“Ah, aah.”

Mezulen clutched Kristin’s arm tightly with a terrified face. Her group approached Welton and asked:

“What on earth is happening?”

“…I don’t know either.”

“Avatars aren’t supposed to appear in places like this. They’re rarely found on the frontlines, so why…”

As the three Elite Class students gathered, more familiar faces approached.

Mathers Byteling and James Hedelton joined them.

“Fuck, what’s going on?”

Mathers cursed.

“Everyone, calm down. Nothing will be accomplished by panicking.”

James spoke calmly.

“James is right. For now, we should clear the threads from the orbital elevator and go down to the ground to request help…”

Kristin’s words stopped abruptly.

Her eyes lost their vitality.

“Kris?”

Mezulen grabbed Kristin’s arm and shook it. No response. Mezulen’s face was painted with terror.

“S-stop joking. W-why are you like this too?”

Thud.

Kristin collapsed. The back of her spacesuit gradually turned red.

[“Y-you shouldn’t leave…”]

A stammering voice came from behind.

At the highest point of the ship.

A monster with a spider’s lower body and a woman’s upper body hung from the glass ceiling, looking down at Welton’s group.

She was playing cat’s cradle with her hands and sneering.

[“The main star ordered me to find and kill that boy…”]

Her eight eyes scattered red light.

What could be felt was madness. Or the presence of a foreign god.

[“N-nice to meet you everyone. I am Copper Thread Lüzlaktia…”]

As if indirectly receiving a foreign god.

[“Although I’m the weakest in our family… yes, but I’ll try my best…?”]

“Ugh!”

Mental pain.

Welton swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. Without a constellation, just looking at her made his head throb.

He had to escape. Reason screamed so. Welton forcibly moved his feet that refused to budge.

[“Oh…? Where are you going?”]

Flinch, his body trembled.

His whole body shuddered at the thought that he might have made the wrong decision.

[“The elevator is, um, under maintenance. No entry…”]

This was aimed at the students who were trying to go down the elevator first with the help of examiners. The avatar who introduced herself as Lüzlaktia bent and straightened her finger joints.

[“But, I-I am merciful…!”]

No doubt about it. She clearly intended to finish off the students trying to escape first.

[“I’ll let those who have already boarded go…!”]

As the spider avatar was saying this—

Crash!

The ceiling she was hanging from shattered and a person fell through.

[“Haa… Have the other ships already finished…? I-I need to work harder too…!”]

At that moment.

Crunch!

The person, heavily armored in a suit, twisted their body like an acrobat and stomped directly on Lüzlaktia’s abdomen. In their hand was a silver-charged caliper.

[“Huh…?”]

Lüzlaktia uttered a stupid sound.