Chapter 50

"Whatever. Where’d the Commander vanish to?"

Erabelle had no intention of dwelling on the ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) nightmare of last night. She steered the conversation away without missing a beat.

"Why? Are you actually planning to assassinate him?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Word is you spent the entire night tearing into his file!"

Me?

Erabelle blinked at the breathless young officer, a look of utter bewilderment settling over her face.

"You were going to strip him of his rank, weren't you? But when you found out he was broke, you spent all night drafting a supply reduction plan instead. Is that true? Well?"

Where does he even get this nonsense?

"How could you do that to the unit? We're barely scraping by as it is! I don't care what happens to the Commander, but please—have some mercy on me!"

The louder Majia yelled, the colder Erabelle’s expression became.

Rumors... She shook her head in disdain and brushed right past him.

"Hey! Why are you just walking away?!"

Honestly, who in their right mind would ever guess that a level-two grunt like me had anything improper going on with a Division Commander?

Even if they had spent the night trapped in the same room. Even if they stood next to each other in broad daylight... Only a lunatic would make that connection.

"Wait... Lieutenant, are you actually leaving? Are you getting reassigned again?"

So that’s why the kid was crying. It hadn't even crossed his mind that something physical had transpired between her and Avganis. She had dodged a bullet there, yet a strange, petty sting remained.

What’s so wrong with me anyway? I’m doing pretty well for a level-two!

"Take me with you! Can't you pull some strings? Please, throw me a line here!"

"If I had that kind of pull, do you think I'd be wallowing in this dump?"

"...Ah."

Why does he accept that so easily? And why am I getting dragged into an argument first thing in the morning?

"So... you're not leaving, right? Right?"

"I am."

"Huh?"

"I'm leaving. For good."

"What do you... Wait."

Majia stood frozen, looking utterly crushed as Erabelle turned on her heel and set off toward the mess hall.

"Lieutenant! Wait!"

Hearing his desperate shout fade behind her, a faint, dry smile touched her lips.

"Looks like that one’s Erabelle’s main spouse, doesn't it?"

Dezeb Avganis leaned casually against the observation bay window, watching Erabelle’s figure vanish down the corridor toward the mess hall.

Beside him, the Dogs remained dead silent.

Dezeb made the remark with offhanded indifference, casually styling himself as the secondary option. But everyone present knew better than to mistake his tone for actual amusement.

"Who... do you mean, sir?" asked Ori, quietly determining if he needed to eliminate whichever potential threat Dezeb’s eyes were locked onto.

"The kid. The one who called my line last time. Pretty sure that’s him—the main spouse."

Dezeb uttered the nonsense with a dry chuckle.

"So she was stepping out on him here."

If that kid is the main spouse, the Dogs pondered silently, doesn't that mean we're the ones she's stepping out with?

To step out on someone, you actually have to be together first.

The surveillance team occasionally cracked jokes like that off the clock, but it was always laughed off. Whoever brought it up usually took the brunt of the mockery.

When Dezeb said it, however, no one dared to smile.

"Should we dispose of him?"

"Where’s the fun in that?"

Dezeb slid a fresh cigarette between his lips and flicked a lighter.

"Besides, even without her, there’s no shortage of candidates. I picked up a new one just last night."

"...I see."

No one quite grasped his meaning, but Dezeb burst into a sudden laugh anyway, thoroughly entertained by his own thoughts.

Down in the courtyard below, more personnel were beginning to gather around Erabelle.

"Tsk. Being too useful is a curse." Dezeb clicked his tongue, making Ori instantly draw rigid.

"Maybe I should have left the audio feed on last night," Dezeb muttered under his breath, watching his smoke drift upward. "Muting it was a mistake."

"Dezeb, wave levels are spiking."

"Step back."

The shift came faster this time.

Through his parted lips, a slick, glistening tongue—far too long to belong to anything human—lapped briefly along the filter of his cigarette.

"It’ll be a disaster if the wave breaks now. Our Second Prince would be quite shocked."

His gaze remained fixed on Lieutenant Erabelle Vermilion.

"Ah... perhaps it’s time to give our Lieutenant a proper show."

Breakfast consisted of rubbery eggs, cold bacon, and stewed red beans.

Perhaps Majia had been crying earlier simply because of the menu.

Erabelle poked at the congealed beans—served for three consecutive days now—and let out a hollow sigh. Honestly, she felt like crying too.

She sat in silence, barely touching the food while waiting for her brief communication window to open. The second the clock hit the mark, she scraped her tray into the incinerator and slipped outside.

Leaning her back against the icy exterior wall, she drew a deep breath and activated her terminal.

Her directory was pathetically brief. Only five entries were saved: Count Valba Aracan, Sanche, Camillia, Old Tom from the pub, and her insurance carrier.

Selecting the Count, she placed the call.

"...What are you up to?"

"Just bored," the Count barked back, sounding thoroughly annoyed at her habit of calling only when the mood struck her. "Met any new men? What? Of course I mean a new one! You aren't still seeing that gambling degenerate from last month, are you? Why aren't you answering? Don't tell me you are! I knew it!"

Erabelle let out a low laugh. The wind cut through her uniform, forcing her to pull her cap down tight over her ears. Her breath bloomed into heavy white clouds. This damned planet is frozen solid.

"Your taste in men has always been abysmal, Count. Swap them out monthly to hedge your bets. At this point, you should just cut your losses."

Rather than offering comforting words, she picked a fight instead.

"Why is this a collect call?" the Count snapped. "Because I’m broke. The wealthy party pays."

[Broke?! Then hang up right now!]

Erabelle burst out laughing at the furious voice crackling through the receiver.

"Come on, I just wanted to hear your voice for once. Now you're screaming over a few credits? Fine, fine. I'm hanging up."

[...When are you coming home?]

"Whenever I get leave."

[Just hand in your resignation. I'll dispatch a transport. Get on it and come back.]

"Then cover my comms bill first."

[......]

A brief silence hung on the line before the Count erupted into another tirade. Erabelle listened with a faint smile, her voice cutting through the noise.

"Alright, I’m cutting the line. Shift’s starting, and I need to earn enough to pay off this call. And please—don't actually transfer the funds. You're far too soft for a world this vile. Right, I really have to go."

She pressed the receiver tighter against her ear, catching the faint responses.

"Eat properly."Take care.

"Tell Sanche to focus on his studies. He needs to pass his finals this term."Give him my best.

"I’m hanging up now."Stay safe...

Click.

Erabelle remained leaning against the freezing wall for a moment longer. The hand clutching the comms unit was trembling violently.

It's just the cold. I need to slap on a few more thermal patches.

"...Whew."

She let out a long breath. The farewells were done; time to return to work. But before she could take a single step, it hit.

From somewhere in the far distance, a deafening, metallic roar tore through the sky.

KUGUGUNG– KUNG–!!

It was unlike any sound native to the region—a violent, tearing groan, as if the planet's crust were splitting end to end.

The resulting shockwave shattered every window on the base's perimeter. Erabelle dropped into a crouch, hands locked over her head.

"Patch into the external array! Do it now!"

Frantic shouts erupted across the courtyard as personnel scattered in panic.

"Emergency! Full atmospheric breach!!"

"Shield integrity is failing!"

"Twenty percent... nineteen!!"

KUGUGUNG–

Something colossal howled in agony, the sound echoing across the compound like an iron bell.

GOOOOOOOOO–...

The frequency carried a visceral, sickening resonance. Several soldiers collapsed to their knees, retching from the sheer spatial distortion.

Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the roar cut out. The maddening tinnitus vanished, leaving only a low, ominous vibration rolling through the dirt.

KWARURUNG...

"Check the wave signatures! Instantly!"

"Priority to the defense grid!"

The unit fractured into chaos, officers staggering through the smoke. Erabelle forced herself up, making a break for the central relay node.

Please... not now.

Her heart hammered against her ribs. If the core hardware was fried, they were dead where they stood.

Please don't tell me we have to build another Mark-067 unit in the middle of this mess.

Praying against the worst, Erabelle pushed her sluggish limbs forward, relying heavily on her suit's auxiliary power.

The outer perimeter structures seemed mostly intact. The structural frames were still standing, at least. Passing through the haze of burning smog and crumbling towers, a strange, detachment washed over her.

If I have six Muscle Enhancer B vials left, and cut sleep down to once every three days...

With the dead-eyed focus of a starving fox, she was already calculating another set of endless double shifts when something strange caught her eye.

Were those structures always out there beyond the boundary wall...?

She narrowed her eyes, peering through the settling dust at the twisted terrain.

That wasn't rock or soil. It looked like the shed carapace of a massive entity.

What in the hell is that...?

"Holy shit... it followed us all the way out here?"

Erabelle flinched at the voice beside her. It was Virgo Hag.

"You really have no idea what’s happening, do you?"