Chapter 64

Chapter 64

From Cosmic Rascal to Professor.

Episode 64: Celestine Incident – Bay No. 1 (1).

Warning. Hull damage detected.

The window shattered, and the air moved. The wind blew fiercely.

Abnormal acceleration detected. The ship is malfunctioning due to an unknown cause.

Switching to manual control mode.

Unable to switch!

The ship’s AI, unable to maintain control, resorted to its last measure and sounded the siren. The blaring alarm emitted a red glow.

Kooong!

My body was pushed backward by the sudden acceleration, offsetting gravity. I couldn’t control myself in such a chaotic movement.

“Young master!”

Sonia and Bella shouted simultaneously. I reached out my hand, but it merely brushed through empty air, failing to grasp anyone.

It was already too late to do anything.

I had been too close to the window, dealing with the Outer God that possessed Ceti. Even a slight acceleration was enough to send me hurtling out of the spaceship’s system.

“Instructor!” I shouted towards Naier. “Please take care of Ceti!”

Sonia’s figure gradually disappeared, her mouth moving, but I couldn’t hear a thing.

Vacuum state detected.

For protection, the suit helmet will be automatically equipped.

Spinning like a top-notch acrobat, I soon found myself far away from the 4th Bay.

And so, I became a space orphan.

This is serious.

If the oxygen in the spacesuit runs out, or if an Incarnate appears, it’s all over for me.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt the threat of losing my life.

I took a deep breath and looked around slowly.

Floating on the waves of the universe, my body began to feel as if it was being drawn in.

Indeed, I was falling towards a planet.

Naier clenched her teeth and exited the captain’s quarters, having accepted that Aidel had left the space.

“Activating the bulkhead.”

There was no returning to the captain’s quarters now. Whether Aidel was alive or dead, Naier had no idea. She forced herself to brush down the suffocating feeling in her chest.

“I’m sorry, ugh.”

“Please call me Sonia.”

“Yes, Sonia.”

The returned crew consisted of four people: Sonia, Naier, the unconscious Ceti, and Bella.

“Captain!”

Inspectors with red epaulets rushed over.

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

It didn’t matter who moved; their bodies began to float lightly.

“Zero gravity state.”

“It seems we’ve left the orbit of the mother planet.”

“It’s the act of an Outer God sabotage. They plan to isolate us and then slowly cook us.”

At Naier’s words, Bella swallowed a fake breath. She asked restlessly, “Um, Instructor? What should we do now?”

“Fight.”

“Fi, fight?”

Naier scanned the surroundings. The spaceship was eerily silent.

In such silence, madness is usually present.

The sponsoring constellation ‘Aquarius’ has sensed the presence of an Incarnate!

Just like now.

Ddddd!

The wires that made up the spaceship twisted strangely, wriggling like snakes and raising their heads.

“It seems they’re trying to infiltrate the ship.”

Naier quickly assessed the available troops around her. Excluding herself, a Great Omega rank inspector, there were a total of eight EX-rank swordsmen who could be considered combat forces.

Naier pointed to Ceti and commanded, “Split into two squads. Squad 1 follows me, and Squad 2 protects this girl. Understood?”

“Yes!”

Naier, along with four swordsmen, drew their swords and warmed up.

The Incarnate of ‘Orchestra of Mud and Flesh’, has descended.

Dark tentacles climbed up the hull like ivy. The world grew darker. The spaceship was consumed by madness and terror.

Naier infused the essence of her sponsor star into her blade. Ether surged, spewing fierce lightning.

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

Bay 1

An incident occurred during the 100-meter dash measurement.

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

Welton initially thought the student had suffered a heart attack and felt relieved seeing paramedics deployed immediately.

Thud, thud, thud!

Then, other students began collapsing one after another.

“What’s happening here?”

The students who collapsed started bleeding profusely from external injuries. Only then did the EX-class inspector in charge of Bay 1’s security shout.

“It’s an attack! Prepare for battle!”

As the order was given, the sound of swords being infused with Ether burst out from everywhere. It was a coordinated movement without any sign of panic.

It was as if the soldiers had anticipated this situation and were prepared to handle it.

“Everyone, it’s an attack by a monster!”

“Everyone, evacuate to the orbital elevator!”

Thin-legged monstrous creatures appeared on the railings and began attacking the students. The Bay plunged into chaos in an instant. The inspectors swung their swords tirelessly to calm the agitated students.

Welton headed calmly towards the orbital elevator, following the android’s instructions. He had vaguely predicted what was happening the moment he saw an EX-grade examiner present.

Thud. A male student bumped into Welton’s shoulder as he passed by.

“I don’t want to die! Move!”

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

“Move!”

The male student was the first to reach the orbital elevator. His face twisted in ecstasy as he arrived. But the situation was more severe than expected.

“Ar, aargh.”

The male student groaned. In the next moment, Snap! The skin on his face tore left and right, then was ripped off entirely.

Aaaaaaah!

Hearing the scream, an inspector with a red epaulet swung his sword.

Snap! The sound of a thread being cut was heard.

“Are you okay? Oh no, he has fainted.”

Fortunately, it seemed like the student didn’t die. However, that alone was enough for the witnesses to have a dizzying experience.

Welton frowned.

“…Thread?”

Thin and sharp like copper wire, threads were scattered not only at the entrance of the elevator but everywhere.

“Everyone, do not move rashly. If you do, you could all get seriously injured.”

A fear in a whole new dimension than before. Only the resolute faces of the inspectors provided solace for the students.

The white team leader, Rucardo, shouted.

“All S-class, focus on protecting the students! EX-class, split into six squads of four, with two squads securing the safety of the elevator. The other four squads, follow me to attack the Incarnate!”

Flick, flick, flick!

Even amidst this, students were collapsing one by one.

“Incarnate? Did he just say Incarnate?”

“Why do we have to face this?”

“Ah, aah.”

Merlin clutched Christine’s arm tightly, her face terrified. Her group approached Welton and asked.

“What in the universe is happening?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Incarnates aren’t supposed to appear here. Why are the ones usually found sporadically at the front lines coming here…”

As three elite class members gathered, more familiar faces approached.

Matus and then James joined.

“Damn it, what’s going on here?”

Matus cursed.

“Everyone, calm down. Panicking won’t solve anything,” James said calmly.

“James is right. First, we should clear the thread in the orbital elevator as much as possible and go down to the ground to ask for help…”

Suddenly, Christine’s words stopped.

Her eyes lost their liveliness.

“Chris?”

Merlin grabbed Christine’s arm and shook it. No response. Merlin’s face was painted with horror.

“Don’t joke around. Why are you like this, too?”

Thud.

Christine collapsed. The back of her spacesuit started to gradually stain red.

“You shouldn’t go in…”

A faltering voice came from behind.

From the highest place of the spaceship, a monster with the lower body of a spider and the upper body of a woman was hanging from the glass ceiling, looking down at Welton and his group.

She was smirking and knitting with her hands.

“The Primary Star has ordered to find and kill that boy…”

Her eight eyes scattered red lights as she looked around.

What was felt in her eyes was madness. Or the presence of an Outer God.

“Ah, nice to meet you all. I am Copper Silk Lyzlactia…”

As if indirectly encountering an Outer God.

“Although I’m the weakest in our family… well, I’ll still try my best…”

“Keuk!”

Mental agony.

Welton swallowed back the stomach juices that were trying to come up his throat. Without a constellation, just looking at it made his head ache.

He must run away. Reasoning in his head screamed so. Welton forced his steps not to falter.

“Eh, what…? Where are you going?”

Startled, his body shivered.

His whole body trembled at the thought that he might have made a wrong choice today.

“The elevator is, uh, under inspection. Do not use…”

It was a statement aimed at the students who were trying to go down first with the help of the inspector. The Incarnate who introduced herself as Lyzlactia, flexed and unflexed her finger joints as if getting warmed up.

“But, uh, because I am merciful…”

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

“I will only send those who are on board…”

That was when the spider being spoke.

Crash!

The ceiling she was hanging from broke, and a person fell down.

“Haah… Is the other bay already finished…? I need to work harder and finish this too…”

That was the moment.

Crack!

A person, heavily armed in a suit, twisted his body as if performing acrobatics in the air, directly stomping on Lyzlactia’s abdomen. In his hand was a caliper plated in silver.

“Uh…?”

Lyzlactia made a dumbfounded noise, unable to comprehend it.