Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Darkstar Prisoners
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This apprentice had short hair streaked with gold and brown, standing up rebelliously, looking like a real handful at first glance. His brow ridge was prominent, eye sockets deep-set, lips thin as if chiseled by a knife, his face carrying a prematurely mature gloom. With a wave of his hand, he slashed down another strike!
Clang!
Celia blocked it again, sparks flying as their blades clashed. He locked eyes with the boy's icy stare.
“You're not supposed to be here.”
“Who knows what you're talking about!” Claire snapped, launching a flurry of lightning-fast strikes. The narrow space instantly lit up with brilliant blue electric light!
Back when Celia was still at White Heron Star Military Academy, he hadn't thought much of this Alpha cadet who turned violent during ruts. He'd even beaten him fair and square during the intra-academy qualifiers. But later, when they encountered Darkstar warriors at the rematch base, Claire had taken severe wounds protecting his teammates, earning Celia a bit of respect.
—How had this boy become a Darkstar apprentice?
Celia didn't take the apprentice seriously at all. He casually parried a dozen strikes, then spun around with a flying kick that sent him flying several meters away. Claire slammed into the wall with a bang and crumpled to the floor, coughing up a heavy mouthful of blood on impact. Before he could even get up, he felt a chill at his forehead. Looking up, he saw Celia gazing down at him imperiously, the sharp blade tip pressed right against his brow:
“Answer me. How are you here?”
“…I don't know what you're talking about!”
“Where's Dean?”
“I don't know any damn Dean!”
Celia narrowed his eyes slightly, the motion making his lashes seem impossibly long. After a moment, he asked coldly,
“And Gavin?”
“I said I don't know! Never heard of him!” Claire grabbed the blade outright and roared,
“Someone come quick, there's—”
Bang! With a heavy thud, Celia stomped him back to the ground. Poor Claire didn't even have time to groan before passing out cold.
“Lord Barnett is dead!” Furious roars came from not far away from the apprentices. “Go get help, quick!” “Lord Barnett is dead!”
Celia hoisted Claire over his shoulder in one grab, instantly feeling blackness press in at the edges of his vision. The weight difference between an Alpha and an Omega was impossible to ignore. Celia's mouth twitched as he barely managed to drag Claire a few steps before suddenly hearing Gryphon freak out:
“Wait! Wait! Heinrich is requesting comms!”
Celia hadn't even responded when Heinrich's voice cut in immediately:
“How's it going? Success? Listen, I've got two really important things to tell you—”
“I said take the call when I say so!” Celia snapped at Gryphon, who whined back right away in grievance:
“What's with the prissiness? You've already slept together!”
“…” Celia's brow throbbed. Just as he was about to smack Gryphon, Heinrich's dissatisfied voice came through:
“Hey, are you even listening? I said I've got two important things to tell you… Who's that on your back?!”
“Imperial Military Academy student!”
“Why's he dressed like Darkstar?!”
“Bad school culture! Blame the emperor!” Celia shot back casually, charging into the middle narrow fork in the path based on his sense of direction. Behind him, footsteps of several Darkstar apprentices rushed past.
“What are you trying to say?”
“First off, I only just found out recently… Wait, what do you mean 'bad school culture, blame the emperor'? You know damn well the Imperial Military Academy isn't under my jurisdiction—why not blame Edna?!”
“…” Celia wove through the labyrinthine magnetic corridors. Suddenly, a low-rank Darkstar warrior charged from behind. Seeing him in apprentice black robes, it tried to bark an order, but before a sound could escape, Celia smashed it against the wall with a heavy blade strike. Thud—it hit the floor and went still.
“Can't play favorites like that… Careful!” Before Heinrich finished, Celia whipped around to parry a sneaking iron claw, then abruptly extended his crimson-gold army blade, piercing another Darkstar warrior straight through the left chest in an instant!
“What are you trying to say? Spit it out!” As the warrior slumped lifeless to the ground, Celia yanked his blade free and barked.
Gryphon bellowed:
“Two o'clock straight ahead! Stairs leading to a hidden chamber below!”
Heinrich:
“He's telling me to speak!”
Celia dragged Claire down the stairs. Suddenly, the lights went out, plunging the surroundings into pitch blackness. Then, ghostly pale flames flickered to life not far away, illuminating ghost masks swiveling in all directions. The scene turned utterly nightmarish, like the underworld itself.
“Wh-wh-what's going on…” Gryphon nearly shook apart, trying to burrow into Celia's hand—then realizing something was off. Celia's pupils flashed red in an instant, countless black patterns flowing from his cheeks down his neck, igniting the same eerie glow across his entire body moments later!
Gryphon:
“Aaaaaaaaaah—!!”
“It's just the Darkstar mark! You're embarrassing imperial mechs!” Heinrich finally unleashed his pent-up fury on the mech. But before he could finish, Celia said coldly:
“It's the Darkstar warrior tattoo—your ignorance is eye-opening, Your Majesty.”
Heinrich:
“……………………”
Gryphon:
“…Are… are you standing up for me, Gavin?”
Celia said nothing. He successfully blended in among the countless warriors on this floor, dragging Claire down the stairs to a short passageway ending in a sealed alloy door deeply embedded in the wall—its color so close to the wall itself that even under full lights, it might not be spotted right away. A code lock was inset beside it.
“Gryphon, unlock it.”
Still basking in emotion, Gryphon hurriedly shifted to light computer form and floated up, swiftly linking to the lock's central system.
For this 3S mech towering at the pinnacle of the galaxy, the exiled government's tech was no better than combat power negative five trash. It didn't even need a four-dimensional data model—seconds later, it rapidly input a forty-digit code.
“—Command accepted. Magnetic field control room access granted.”
The mechanical voice cut off abruptly, and the heavy door slid open.
This was the magnetic field control room? Celia stepped inside, the alloy door sealing shut behind him.
The main power had been cut by Darkstar warriors, but backup power kept the vast chamber in dim glow. Celia propped Claire against the wall when suddenly Gryphon warned tensely:
“Careful! Someone's in the room!”
Heinrich, about to say something, clamped his mouth shut, frowning worriedly at Celia.
Celia wasn't panicked. He gripped his army blade and advanced slowly into the shadows. The room was filled with cabinets linked to the ceiling, the counter-magnetic hub humming away, easily masking his near-silent footsteps. Soon, he rounded a cabinet's back—then spun sharply:
“Who's there!”
Clank! Chains rattled, metal entangling in a burst of brilliant blue electricity!
The shadowy attacker lunged like a beast, nearly knocking Celia flat—But clang! Clang! rang out several times brightly. The electrified chains shattered free with a whoosh. The attacker let out a pained roar, getting booted hard into the corner by Celia!
“Damn it—” The attacker hissed in agony, then got a foot slammed onto his chest. The crushing pressure turned all his curses to screams!
Celia's blade tip pressed to his throat. Glancing via the blade's reflection, he was a bit surprised:
“Dean?”
—The figure curled in the shadows, face bloodied, panting like a wounded beast: none other than Dean, the top student from White Heron Star Military Academy!
“What's going on here?” Heinrich clearly remembered this not-quite-grown rival well and was stunned. Dean's background differed from Claire's—the latter from a rich merchant family, the former the only son of an imperial army lieutenant general! Whether kidnapped or joined willingly, the political implications were a nightmare!
“Kill me if you're gonna—begging for mercy is a pipe dream!” At that moment, Dean jerked his head up and spat viciously:
“—You've sown evil, now reap it. Even dead, I'll watch you all destroy yourselves!”
Heinrich:
“…”
Celia:
“…”
Celia gave him a light kick and withdrew the blade.
“Nice cursing—but how'd you end up here?”
The question sounded just like to an old acquaintance. Dean froze, eyeing Celia warily.
Dean was bound in electromagnetic chains, blood still fresh on his face and body, clear signs of beatings. A gruesome knife scar gaped across his abdomen. He looked nothing like the rule-quoting, prideful Alpha top student from the academy. Celia crouched down, patted his face:
“Don't you recognize me?”
Dean's eyes trembled, fixed on the Darkstar warrior tattoos:
“You're…”
“'Thanks for protecting me that day, even if it was just your superior sense of honor acting up—I'll repay you.' Imperial Military Academy, mech tournament. Forgotten already?”
“You—you're—” Dean could hardly believe it, shaking all over as he stammered:
“Ga—Gavin?!”
“Gavin Celia.” Celia sliced the chains with a few strokes and hauled him up.
“Long story. You first—tell me why you're here.”
Dean's mind blanked out entirely, thoughts frozen. Like a puppet, he let Celia help him sit against a cabinet.
Tense situation aside, Dean's state was pitiable, but Heinrich deeply empathized with his shock, feeling a touch schadenfreude. Luckily, Celia was decent and had Gryphon do emergency treatment on his face and body wounds. After a while, Dean asked tremulously:
“But—but Gavin Celia—is Marshal Celia?”
“Yes, I'm that unlucky Marshal Celia. How'd you end up here? What happened after the mech tournament finals?”
Dean's eyes wouldn't even focus, mouth opening and closing repeatedly before he trembled out:
“You're not a Darkstar warrior? Have you hypnotized me again? I'm not falling for it—kill me outright if you've got the guts…”
“I'm not Darkstar, Dean.” Celia leaned in, gripping his shoulders hard, staring into his bewildered eyes with gaze like immense force:
“Listen. Situation's critical, time's short. I can't guarantee getting both you and Claire out alive, so every word you say now counts. Tell me what happened after the finals. Why are you here? What does Darkstar want with you in Alliance space?”
Every word weighed heavy. Dean finally grasped the gravity:
“You've seen Claire?”
Celia jerked a thumb back.
“…!” Dean finally spotted Claire slumped unconscious against the wall. Panicking:
“He's okay? He's been hypnotized by Darkstar! Back in that base corridor—”
He paused, sorting chaotic memories:
“Right… In the rematch base corridor, the explosion flung us into the desert… Then that Darkstar warrior Osrode captured me and Claire. They meant to kill us, but one called Yunes said, 'This Claire has potential to be a Darkstar warrior—take him back for surgery. This Dean's from the imperial military; might be useful later.' I wondered even then—how'd he know my background?!”
“There was a traitor.” Celia said quietly, then pressed:
“What next?”
“They hypnotized both me and Claire. When he woke, he'd forgotten everything—did whatever Darkstar ordered. But for some reason, it didn't take on me. Yunes tried over and over, finally resorting to torture to force me to work for them—”
Celia cut in sharply:
“Darkstar hypnosis doesn't work on you?”
Dean nodded, his bloodied young face defiant under the light:
“Nope. Tried tons of times—ended up beating me like this.”
“…They beat you like this, and you didn't break?”
Dean's gaze was firm and clear. Just one word:
“No!”
Under the dim light, Celia's expression turned odd—moved or incredulous, hard to say. After a beat, he murmured:
“Heinrich… you hear that?”
Dean hadn't clocked who Heinrich was when a voice came from midair:
“High mental threshold maybe?”
“No, got nothing to do with that.” Celia drew a deep breath, staring into Dean's clear, bright eyes:
“—It's pure will. His… flawless, unyielding conviction.”
He stood, patting Dean's shoulder, tone shifting slightly:
“What next? Why bring you to the Alliance?”
Easy one. Dean gritted out:
“They want to kill me! Use me as a gift to the Alliance—broadcast my execution to the whole universe!”
—Publicly executing an imperial general's son. Ruthless ploy. Political humiliation for the Empire on one hand, forcing Empire-Alliance rupture on the other, cornering pro-peace faction led by Chairman Marcus into war.
The scheme laid bare Darkstar's ambitions plain—they wanted Empire-Alliance war, to reap the benefits.
“Ophiuchus—” Celia murmured, almost word by word:
“Just as I thought. Darkstar's allying with the Alliance—to march on Ophiuchus!”
Heinrich's face changed abruptly.
Celia rose, his chiseled profile gleaming like jade in the light. He pondered, then narrowed his eyes at Dean:
“Sorry. Can't take you up tonight.”
Dean trembled but held his gaze steady.
“If you vanish, Osrode has no reason to suspect Yunes offed Barnett—everyone knows Yunes itches to team with parliament against the Empire. He wouldn't sabotage that by letting you go.” Celia paused, clapping Dean's shoulder:
“—But I won't let you die. I'll bust you out before execution.”
Dean bit his lip, nodding hard.
That moment, not just Celia—even Heinrich admired the young Alpha cadet. Tortured for days, facing death, rescued only to be left behind at the crucial juncture—like rising from despair only to plunge back into hell. The emotional whiplash could've broken a true soldier—yet he endured.
What willpower. Unimaginable.
“Strong youth make a strong nation…” Celia sighed softly, turning to hoist the still-unconscious Claire from the corner. He scanned around. The “counter-magnetic field” the Voidstar beings mentioned was rare in Empire or Alliance; no clue on the controls. After a moment, he signaled Dean to duck in the corner, then pulled out Gryphon's shoulder-mounted electromagnetic cannon from inventory—and blasted the entire console to rubble!
Flames roared to the ceiling, shrapnel mangling nearby cabinets. Backup power died instantly, shrill red alarms blaring—“Alert! Alert! Explosion in magnetic field control room! Explosion in magnetic field control room!”
The door burst open with a boom. Celia grabbed Claire as Dean dashed out from behind the cabinet, yelling at the top of his lungs:
“Marshal! You're on the Empire's side, right?!”
The question was all his hope on the line. Amid the firelight, their eyes met deeply. After a long moment, Celia said gravely:
“Yes. I'm on the Empire's side.”
Tears welled instantly in Dean's eyes. The boy fearless before death finally choked out a nod.
·
The explosion drew every Darkstar warrior from half the floor—but Celia's guise matched theirs in the dark, plus a limp apprentice over his shoulder. In the chaos, he slipped into the crowd, bolting straight for the elevator.
A fierce gale whipped up from the building's surface—that was the Voidstar beings finally breaking free of the counter-field. They identified via thought frequencies, ignoring the disguise, buzzing Celia's ear:
“Run!” “Yunes is coming!” “Run—!”
Yunes hadn't ordered elevator lockdown yet. Someone had sprinted to tell him at the explosion's first instant, but before he could issue commands, Osrode arrived with his crew:
“Barnett's dead. Care to explain?”
Yunes shot back instantly:
“Whoever killed him, go ask them. What's it got to do with me?”
The two groups faced off tensely amid distant running footsteps and shouts. In the firelight, Osrode suddenly grinned, smugness undisguised:
“Know how he died?”
“Assassinated by someone with high mental threshold controlling a test subject—Yunes, everyone knows the only one here who can pull that off is you.”
Meanwhile, a hundred meters away, the elevator dinged open. Celia flicked his wrist, decapitating a mid-rank warrior in a geyser of blood, then retreated inside.
“Yunes is heading this way—we're out!” As the doors shut, the Voidstar beings swirled up, windswept through Celia's hair, vanishing above into the elevator shaft:
“We'll wait for you on Voidstar—but not forever. You must come!”
Celia panted, wiping blood from his face. About to ask something, the Voidstar beings were already gone.
The elevator rose smoothly and swiftly. If Yunes arrived now, he couldn't stop it but could mentally seize the Voidstar beings. Good thing they'd escaped—these electromagnetic lifeforms could pierce space easily, back to Voidstar in no time.
“Next move?” Heinrich asked.
“Wait for tomorrow's press conference.”
“Why lie to that Dean?”
“…” Celia frowned. Before he could speak, Heinrich said coldly:
“Don't deny it—you lied. You'll never truly stand with the Empire, except against Darkstar!”
“Against Darkstar is our common ground. As for the rest, you know where we differ.” Celia pivoted sharply:
“Didn't you say two important things?”
Heinrich went quiet a few seconds.
“I dissected Phoenix…” After a beat, he murmured, seeming hesitant.
“Then… fixed it.”
Celia instantly sensed the omission but didn't call it out, just humming acknowledgment.
“I just wanted to reassure you. Second thing: while you were killing Barnett, I assembled Ninth Fleet—”
Celia's eyes snapped up, a smile tugging his lips as Heinrich continued:
“We're en route to the Alliance now.”