The moment Kazuki finalized his decision, the mental fog obscuring his path dissipated.
He carefully wove the three distinct, brightly colored strands of hair into his own shock of white.
With a sharp flick of his wrist, his physical form shifted, condensing into the [Black Tomb Puppet].
He pushed open the heavy dormitory door and stepped out into the sterile corridor.
Right now, a single, burning objective occupied his mind: finding alcohol.
[Student Himeko]’s lingering wish required only one last bottle of liquor to be fulfilled.
Once he secured it, she could briefly descend into this universe.
He desperately wanted to see what [Student Himeko] would look like in the flesh, and whether the rest of the world would be able to perceive her presence.
Yet, after tearing through several staff quarters, he found nothing but pristine, sanitized emptiness.
The researchers of the Herta Space Station were apparently far too disciplined.
Forget high-proof liquor; he couldn’t even locate a stray can of low-alcohol beer.
He let his head droop, a heavy sigh escaping his lips, but he knew he couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
Running the timeline through his head, Stelle should have already reached the Master Control Zone and initiated contact with the station’s leadership.
The Antimatter Legion’s ultimate planet-destroying weapon—the Doomsday Beast—was scheduled to make its catastrophic entrance at any moment.
He retrieved the Long-Range Remote Sensing Device he had recently acquired, tapped on his single registered contact, and fired off a message.
“Hey, little pervert, I need a drink.
How is it physically possible that I can’t find even half a bottle of booze in the entire staff residential area?”
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the Master Control Zone was suffocating.
Himeko, March 7th, Dan Heng, Stelle, and Asta stood gathered around the central holographic projection table.
“Let’s go speak with the researchers,” Himeko suggested, her voice a calm anchor in the chaotic room.
“With the situation escalating, we need to ensure no further accidents occur within the station.
Have you had any luck contacting Herta?”
Asta let out a heavy breath, her eyes dropping to the floor, exhaustion etched into her delicate features.
“I’ve sent dozens of urgent distress signals.
They’ve all vanished into the void.
You know how she is, Miss Himeko.
To her, this space station is just a glorified storage unit for her followers and Curios.
She doesn’t care about what happens to it.”
Himeko offered a knowing, sympathetic smile, gently comforting the young girl who currently bore the weight of thousands of lives on her slender shoulders.
“I expected as much…
It’s alright.
I’ll send a message to Herta as well, mentioning that we’ve brought the specific Curio she requested.
That might at least catch her attention.”
“That would be a massive help.” Asta forced a tight, strained smile.
A sudden vibration against her thigh broke her concentration.
Asta blinked, pulling her phone from her pocket.
The moment her eyes scanned the screen, a fierce blush rushed to her cheeks.
She darted a quick, panicked glance at the Express Crew.
Seeing them occupied with the tactical maps, she pasted on a polite smile.
“Excuse me for just a moment,” she murmured, turning her back to the group and retreating to a quiet corner.
Her thumbs flew across the glass.
“Ahhh…
Stop calling me that!”
“Since you’re Madam Herta’s puppet, can you please contact her?
The Antimatter Legion has at least ten more waves of vanguard units closing in!”
Deep in the residential sector, Kazuki tilted his head.
The black mourning veil draped over his hair swayed with the motion.
His small, articulated hands smoothed out the invisible creases of his gothic skirt as he drafted his reply.
“Who ever gave you the idea that I was Herta’s puppet?”
“If I actually paraded myself in front of Herta, she would be the first one to drag me onto an operating table and dissect me for research.”
“So~ right now, the only person in this entire galaxy I can rely on is you, little Asta.”
To drive the point home, he pinched the hem of his skirt, lifting it just enough to expose his pale, flawlessly sculpted mechanical legs, snapped a picture, and hit send.
Staring at the high-resolution image of those beautifully contoured legs, Asta felt her brain short-circuit.
The phrase ‘the only person I can rely on is you’ echoed on a relentless loop in her mind.
Despite the impending doom outside the station’s hull, the corners of her lips curled upward, and the tips of her ears burned a bright, furious crimson.
Before she could steady her racing heart, another notification chimed.
“Isn’t Azure Star located directly beneath the space station?”
“Is it really that difficult to have Azure Star deploy a defensive fleet?”
“Herta has saved Azure Star nineteen times.
She has protected them for countless Amber Eras.
Now that her own space station is under siege, are they really just going to sit back and refuse to lend a hand?”
Asta stared at the screen, her romantic fluster instantly replaced by grim reality.
She typed back rapidly.
“Azure Star is Madam Herta’s home planet!”
“ultimately, this space station is just Madam Herta’s private property.
If the planetary defense fleet is redeployed here, what happens if the Legion attacks Azure Star?
Knowing Madam Herta, she would absolutely prefer to lose some of her property rather than put her home planet in jeopardy.”
Reading those words, Kazuki’s brow twisted into a fierce knot.
He closed his eyes, and a sudden, freezing surge of indignation flooded his chest.
In that fraction of a second, the latent will of the [Black Tomb Puppet] completely overtook his consciousness.
The arrogant, uncompromising genius of Herta bled into his very soul.
His fingers struck the screen with punishing force, every word dripping with absolute, tyrannical authority.
“Do you honestly believe Herta is such a brainless, superficial creature?!”
“The researchers aboard this station are devotees who traveled across the stars specifically for her!
They abandoned wealth, status, and comfort, throwing themselves into the endless abyss of research for the sake of their ideals!”
“They are not some disposable inventory; they are living, breathing human beings with families and loved ones!”
“And for such a pathetic, cowardly reason, Azure Star is just going to watch them be slaughtered?
Does a world like that even deserve to remain under Herta’s protection?
If they fall today, it is Herta’s reputation that will be dragged through the mud!”
“You are the Lead Researcher of this space station, personally appointed by Herta herself.
Your authority and status eclipse those office-dwelling parasites on Azure Star by a lightyear!”
“Now, I command you: contact the Azure Star Supreme Command this instant and demand they dispatch a fleet to support us!
Read my words carefully.
Immediately!
Demand it!”
The exact millisecond the message delivered.
Rumble—!
A deafening explosion rocked the Master Control Zone.
The emergency alarms shrieked in a frenzied, overlapping chorus, bathing the room in harsh, strobing red light.
The Astral Express Crew sprinted back to the central console, surrounding Asta.
On the main holographic feed, a colossal, terrifying claw belonging to the Doomsday Beast smashed against the station’s exterior energy shield.
The sheer kinetic force of the impact caused the visual feed to tear and shudder.
The color drained from everyone’s faces.
Asta made a split-second decision.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she turned to the crew.
“You need to evacuate.
Get to the Astral Express, now!”
Himeko simply shook her head, reaching out to give the young researcher’s shoulder a firm, reassuring squeeze.
“We can fight.”
Without waiting for an argument, Himeko spun on her heel, leading March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle out of the Master Control Zone, charting a direct course for the Support Zone.
Asta stood frozen, watching their retreating backs before her gaze swept over the terrified, cowering researchers huddled around the consoles.
The scathing, dominant words Kazuki had just transmitted detonated in her mind, one by one, burning away her hesitation.
She was the Lead Researcher.
The lives of every single soul on this station rested squarely on her shoulders.
She ground her teeth together, her knuckles turning bone-white as she reached out, bypassed the standard protocols, and directly opened a secure communication channel to the Azure Star Supreme Command.
[Elysian’s Note:
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