The Celestine Incident: Third Ship (1)
“Huh?” Enabet lifted her head as she woke from sleep. Blinking groggily, she glanced around until a single line of text caught her eye.
[Celestine Third Ship]
Something was wrong. She had been carrying out her duties aboard the First Ship. She had never walked here of her own accord. A chill ran down her spine as the memory clicked into place.
“That’s right—the student!”
Her stellar intuition screamed at her. Idel was in danger. No—everyone near this vessel was in danger. She bolted for the deck of the Third Ship and grabbed the first cadet she saw.
“We’re in a wartime situation! An Avatar has appeared! Order the entire fleet to battle stations immediately!”
The responses were lukewarm at best.
“Senior, what are you doing here?”
“Weren’t you assigned to the First Ship?”
“An Avatar? Please don’t say such frightening things.”
Only then did Enabet truly look around. Students were diligently taking their practical exams while S-class swordsmen supervised alongside their instructors. Teacher Karlen scratched his head and approached her.
“What’s the matter?”
“I, well…”
Enabet couldn’t answer. Explaining anything on a ship where nothing had happened yet would only make her sound hysterical. Still, she had to warn someone. First, she needed to check on Idel, whom she had left in the lobby. She hurried toward the elevator.
Then—thud.
She bumped shoulders with a white-haired girl.
“Ah, I’m sorr—”
“Haa.” The girl sighed. “Watch where you’re going. Are your eyes broken?”
“Excuse me?”
The voice was ice-cold. Enabet stood there with a blank expression as the silver-haired, white-eyed girl glared at her before stepping into the elevator. The doors closed with a soft chime.
“What was her problem…?”
Her mood had soured instantly, but she dismissed it as bad luck. Getting down to the lobby mattered more right now.
“Oh my, what are you doing coming out from there?”
The moment she reached the lobby, she found Captain Isaac Clark, his adjutant Kibel, and several EX-rank swordsmen. Among them stood Idel von Rheinland, the very person she had been guarding. Idel spotted her and waved.
“Whew.” Enabet let out a breath of relief.
After joining Isaac’s group, Enabet received a rapid briefing. The First and Second Ships had encountered Avatars but cleared them. The Fourth Ship’s location and status were unknown. The Third Ship’s position was known, yet all contact had been lost. Since Enabet had just come from the Third Ship, she volunteered to lead.
“Good. We’ll form teams. Enabet, Kibel, and our dear comrades—three squads composed entirely of EX-rank personnel will assault the Third Ship. The remaining five squads stay here to protect these two students while continuing to hail the Fourth Ship. If you locate it, report immediately via radio.”
Before departing with Isaac, Enabet glanced at the blonde girl beside Idel. The girl’s lips were dry; she appeared to have exhausted her Ether and was fast asleep.
Just as they were about to leave, Isaac spoke.
“Idel, are you coming with us?”
Right after Enabet joined them, Isaac had been watching Idel with a meaningful expression.
— The Sagittarius star cluster trembles in fear.
It wasn’t just once or twice. Every time he approached Idel, the same uneasy message appeared. That alone was suspicious enough, but there was more. He had already taught Idel swordsmanship over a dozen times, and each time his own constellations had reacted with violent agitation.
“……Captain.”
Kibel whispered.
“It would be wise to bring that boy Idel along to the Third Ship as well. I was watching him earlier. The way he handles a sword, and several other things about him, are far from ordinary. And also……”
“And also what?”
“I have a bad feeling.”
Isaac fell silent for a moment.
“Are you serious?”
“It’s only a possibility. One in a million, but… what if that student is a possessed body or an Avatar?”
Isaac was genuinely surprised. Kibel also possessed several minor constellations within Sagittarius as patron stars. Apparently, he had reached the same conclusion.
“Ah. Of course, I hope the boy is just an ordinary student. The fewer incidents, the better. Still, they say even a stone bridge should be tapped twice before crossing.”
Because of Kibel’s suggestion, Isaac asked Idel—whom he had originally planned to leave behind—whether he wished to come. If Idel agreed, Isaac intended to keep him under protection while observing how he moved.
“Yes, I’ll go.”
Strangely enough, Idel agreed without hesitation.
The practical exams on the Celestine Third Ship were conducted floor by floor. Every student had to rotate through designated levels inside the vessel. Zernya’s route had originally been floors 1-4-2-8-5-7, then 3-6-9, and finally floor 10.
“They really made this exam pointlessly complicated.”
Running around like this was the height of inefficiency. She couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of idiot had come up with the idea. Zernya sighed and pressed the button for the tenth floor.
A sharp sting.
“Ow.”
Something had touched her index finger. She opened her right hand and stared at it. Two small puncture marks, like a snakebite, had appeared at the tip of her finger.
“What the…?”
While she was irritably examining her finger, the elevator doors opened. Zernya looked up to check the floor indicator.
[11th Floor]
“What……?”
She was baffled. She had been told this ship only had ten floors, and the elevator display was calibrated accordingly. Yet it now read the eleventh floor?
Beyond the open doors stretched an endless, pitch-black space. It looked like a black hole. Stepping out of the elevator felt as though she would find nothing—or be unable to return. A cold wind blew from the darkness into the elevator car.
‘This must be part of the exam.’
Zernya judged it to be a test of courage or some other quality. She stepped forward with confidence. No matter what challenge awaited, she was certain she could achieve an excellent score.
Then—
BOOM!
The elevator doors slammed shut, plunging everything into absolute darkness. Startled by the sudden change, Zernya jumped.
[“You actually came in. Heh heh heh.”]
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Lights flickered on, revealing a massive golden serpent coiled in the center of the space. Its tongue was dark red, its eyes vertically slit like a cross. Triangular horns like those of a desert viper crowned its head. Each segmented joint of its body gleamed metallically—it was a serpent made of metal.
‘Quite elaborate for a model.’
Zernya let out a short laugh. The serpent spoke.
[“My name is Mayrem. To think a being without even a constellation can see me—how amusing, girl. I shall grant you the minimum courtesy. Originally I intended to devour you immediately, but I’ve changed my mind. You shall become my plaything.”]
The serpent calling itself Mayrem flicked its tongue and laughed. Defeating this serpent was probably the objective. Though the situation was utterly unrealistic, Zernya chose to view it positively. She reached for her sword to assume a stance—
“Agh……!”
Her right hand had no strength.
“Wh-what……?”
Before she realized it, her wrist and everything below it had begun to swell. The once-pale skin was turning a greenish hue.
[“Uhehehe! You can’t move, can you? I coated the elevator button with poison. Not ordinary poison, either. It’s a deadly toxin that slowly destroys the nervous system and converts blood hemoglobin into chalcogenide compounds. But don’t worry—it’s a curse that will lift if you defeat me within thirty minutes. Well, that depends on you.”]
She could feel the poison spreading outward from her right index finger. Zernya recalled her medical knowledge. If it reached her forearm, she would have to prepare for death.
“This is the worst.”
This was no longer a childish exam. It was far more plausible to assume some distant relative of the Adelbein family had orchestrated this scenario to assassinate her, the legitimate daughter. Combining every keyword—Outer Deity, swordsman, Ether barrier, Celestine ship—her mind arrived at the answer.
‘An Avatar.’
There was no doubt. Zernya quickly removed her scarf and used it to tourniquet her right arm. Then she drew her sword with her left hand and took her stance.
[“Do you really think that will work?”]
“Don’t act so arrogant, you lowly reptile. I am the legitimate daughter of the main house of Adelbein, the foremost family of the Laniakea Federation. I’ll make you regret facing me today.”
Zernya grinned, stretching her neck. Strange patterns in jade and black now covered the skin around her throat. Mayrem stared at them and burst into hollow laughter.
[“Don’t tell me you contracted with a fake constellation? Fine, fine. The physical structure should be the same anyway! A star that burns planets into plasma can still be called a star, after all!”]
“Our family has continued researching how to create the strongest possible constellation from the past until now. This is the result.”
Adelbein demanded excellence in every field. One project born from that obsession was the “Soulless Constellation” creation initiative—an attempt to build a vending-machine star that would grant infinite coins because it possessed no soul. The research had succeeded, albeit imperfectly. However, implanting an artificial constellation was extremely difficult, and children who failed to adapt died young.
‘And among the main bloodline, only I survived.’
Zernya released the constellation engraved on the left side of her neck. A stream of bright red blood poured from her mouth.
[“What’s this? There’s a penalty?”]
Mayrem snorted. Just as the serpent said, Zernya’s artificial constellation placed a heavy burden on her body the moment she used it. Yet there was no other way to fight an Avatar and win. She released the constellation on the right side of her neck as well. This time her ears rang, her left eye turned bloodshot, and her mind spun as though struck by a hammer. Even so, if she wanted to win, she had to end it in a single strike.
EX-rank Conversion: Heterogeneous Multi-Stellar Sword Qi
EX-rank Conversion: Provisional Body
Zernya charged forward in an instant.