Ch. 261..265: Interstellar_ Return of the Villain Chapter 261-265

Chapter 261: A Big Fight

When Kogar got the order, he nearly lost it. Turning to Lyra with a bit of panic, he demanded, "How many weapons are we talking about here? Any particular models?"

Lyra just shrugged, cool as ever. "No clue. I’ll bring my team in and we’ll pick what we need ourselves."

Kogar narrowed his eyes—he wasn’t about to just hand over the codes, so he ordered nearby troops to line up and led her to the arsenal himself. But when he saw her entire squad tagging along, his jaw dropped. "Why bring all of them?"

Lyra raised an eyebrow. "To pick out weapons, obviously. What’s the delay? Open it up."

Kogar hesitated. "Wait—are they all joining this mission?"

"What, you were planning to lend me YOUR troops?" she shot back, unimpressed. "Oh, and in case you missed it, the enemy’s packing at least twenty high-grade mechas."

Kogar’s face blanched. "And you’re only telling me this NOW?" He started fumbling to contact Cohen, but Lyra was a step ahead, entering the codes and swinging the vault doors open.

"Wait a sec—" he protested, but with Cohen listening in, Kogar was out of options. He sighed, resigned to dealing with the chaos later, as she led her team into the vault.

Behind her, Shane and the others stepped inside, eyes gleaming as they scanned the racks of weapons. "Pick something you’re actually skilled with," Lyra cautioned. "I mean BEST WITH. Grab something just for show and get killed? That’s on you."

The message hit hard, sobering everyone instantly. Dreams of piloting the Alliance’s top-tier mechas vanished, and they focused instead on what they knew they could handle.

A couple of pirates murmured to each other. "Aren’t we supposed to be space pirates? Why are we fighting for the Alliance now?"

"Uh, because the Empire’s here? You think they’re gonna ignore us?"

"Good point."

Once their selections were made, the group gathered outside.

Lyra cast a quick, critical look over their choices with a sweep of her psychokinesis. Satisfied, she nodded. "Alright, let’s move."

Shane, piloting a mecha alongside her, raised an eyebrow. "Boss, you’re not taking anything?"

"Don’t need it." To her, standard weapons were little more than deadweight.

She led her squad out without a glance at Cohen’s orders to "coordinate with Kogar." She wasn’t here to follow anyone else’s playbook.

Kogar wanted to object, yet he just sighed, shaking his head. If even Cohen couldn’t rein her in, how could he? Besides, he had his own priorities—namely, shoring up ground defenses with the remaining troops.

Back at the Wyrmtrace base, evacuation alarms blared, sending everyone from engineers to officers racing toward the underground bunkers.

These reinforced shelters were the base’s last line of defense.

Meanwhile, in the LE Energy compound, Koros was busy directing his team. Beside him, a towering robot with a megaphone relayed his orders. "Stay calm and bring all critical projects along! Prioritize valuable equipment, then data and materials!" the robot boomed.

"Equipment first, work materials second, and save yourselves LAST!"

A nearby worker gave Koros a skeptical look. "Sir, why not just patch Assisbot No. 1’s voice into the main speaker system? No offense, but some people might miss your orders and leave gear behind if they can’t hear you clearly."

Koros raised an eyebrow. "Noted."

Construction workers nearby were less convinced. "Forget the equipment! The enemy’s practically at the front gate!"

Assisbot No. 1, arms on its hips, shot back, "Stay calm! You think Lyra would really try that hard, giving her life away here? If that selfish woman hasn’t bailed yet, things aren’t hopeless!"

Wide-eyed, the workers glanced nervously at Koros. "Uh, did you program it to be this blunt?"

Koros just shrugged. "Honest words, but solid logic." He knew Lyra too well—she wouldn’t leave behind a resource this valuable unless all was truly lost.

The fact she was still here meant they had a real shot at holding the line.

One of the construction workers, catching Koros’s logic, gave an approving nod. "Fair enough! I’ll go snag my favorite shovel before it’s blasted to bits!"

With that, he darted off, leaving Koros and Assisbot No. 1 to continue coordinating the evacuation.

Koros gave his assistant robot a critical look. Built out of sheer necessity, Assisbot No. 1 had been his answer to an overwhelming workload and the recent incident about the mole

. Efficient and secure, it handled department tasks almost flawlessly—aside from one minor quirk.

Modeled after Koros himself, Assisbot No. 1 had picked up his muttering habit, only it spoke out loud things Koros would usually keep under his breath.

Koros winced. "As long as it doesn’t run into HER, we’re fine."

Just then, the base lights flashed red, and a piercing alarm sliced through the air.

A vivid red laser shot down from the heavens, hurtling toward the base in a flash of blinding speed.

The sky around it glowed a sinister crimson, casting eerie shadows on the faces of the onlookers below.

"Assisbot No. 1, activate the Aegis Shield!" Koros shouted, his voice carrying over the panic.

In seconds, hexagonal layers of faint purple energy appeared, creating a massive shield around the base.

The laser struck it with explosive force, scattering energy across the barrier and creating a fierce burst of light.

Despite the shield’s strength, the blast made the air boil, and the temperature in the base surged to nearly fifty degrees Celsius.

Emergency cooling systems sprang to life, blasting chilled air to keep the base operational.

Koros scowled as he spotted loose equipment lying around. "Who left half the base’s gear out here to fry?"

Assisbot No. 1 turned to him, deadpan. "Ooops. You’re in trouble. SHE is back."

Everyone looked up just as a dark, slender figure launched into the air, blade gleaming in the sun.

Lyra soared upward, cutting through an enemy mecha with brutal efficiency.

Using the collapsing machine as leverage, she propelled herself again, darting across the battlefield like a lethal shadow.

Each arc of her blade left mechas sliced into sparking, smoldering fragments.

In response, a barrage of laser beams zeroed in on her, but she activated her armor, flickering through the blasts before landing with graceful speed.

Sprinting back to the base, she pressed her hand to her earpiece, her voice sharp and steady as she issued commands.

"Team One, maintain cover positions. Enemy sighted at eight o’clock, sixty-one targets inbound."

"Roger that," came the immediate response.

Around the base, the remains of walls and wreckage provided excellent cover.

Lyra dove behind a crumbling barricade as the mechas closed in—only for them to be met with a torrent of laser fire from her ambushed soldiers.

The moment the mechas attempted to rise, a net of laser beams shredded through them, leaving nothing but smoking debris.

Surveying the battlefield, Lyra spotted yet another wave of mechas moving in from the distance.

"Team One, shift positions to ten o’clock. Teams Two and Three, set up for an ambush," she ordered, her voice steely.

Her squads carried out the orders seamlessly, obliterating another wave of enemy mechas. But a nagging sense of something off lingered in Lyra’s mind. She quickly opened a line to Kogar.

"These numbers don’t add up," she said, her voice taut with suspicion. "Can you confirm if they’ve split up and gone elsewhere?"

Kogar was about to respond when he received a frantic call from the eastern sector. "This is Delta Squad! The Empire has breached the eastern district! They’re tearing through buildings and attacking civilians!"

Lyra’s eyes narrowed. "What’s their level?"

"Ten high-grade mechas... ah—" The transmission cut off in a strangled scream.

Kogar’s face turned grim as he relayed the update. "Half of the enemy’s forces are pushing into the east"

The eastern district. Lyra’s jaw clenched, her mind racing. Her joint projects with the Alliance were all stationed there; if the Empire obliterated those facilities, the damages would be catastrophic.

A cold, steely rage flared within her, and for a moment, the battlefield seemed to chill.

Those nearby could feel a prickling sense of dread as if the very air had dropped in temperature—a brewing storm that heralded her wrath.

 

Chapter 262: That Selfish Woman

As the mechas froze in place, their movements frozen by the brutal chill, Kogar issued a sharp command.

Without hesitation, the group launched their attacks, overwhelming the majority of the enemies within mere moments.

"Leave the rest to you. If you can’t take them down, at least hold them off. I’ll be back soon!" Lyra called over her shoulder as she dashed toward the eastern district of the city.

Kogar nodded, but then he paused, a sudden realization hitting him. ’Wait a minute—wasn’t I supposed to be the one calling the shots?’

He wasn’t supposed to be following her lead. And before he could get caught up in his thoughts, reality smacked him in the face. Lyra was the one with the stronger will, and if she was giving orders, he might as well listen.

Meanwhile, Lyra was already making her way toward the eastern district of New Central City. From high above, she could see the chaos unfolding below, and her blood boiled in fury.

Mechas in various colors were taking down Alliance units, halting their progress, then retaliating with vicious force.

Elsewhere, Crimson mechas, their laser cannons blazing, unleashed a fury of destruction on what had once been the pride of the city—a skyline now reduced to dust and rubble.

Buildings that had taken weeks to construct were obliterated in the blink of an eye.

Even further out, enemy mechas relentlessly pursued civilians who had failed to escape in time.

Inside a nearby bunker, the trapped civilians huddled together. Fear crawled beneath their skin as they listened to the explosions and distant rumblings.

The ground shook violently beneath them, and the air seemed to freeze with dread.

The heavy, thunderous steps of the mechas grew louder, echoing like the footfalls of doom.

Panic spread like wildfire among the civilians. Some murmured desperate prayers, others sobbing quietly. They were all pressed together like a herd of helpless animals.

The closer the crowd squeezed together, the more tightly they packed into their tiny corner of safety, desperate for any sense of security in the face of certain death.

Then, suddenly—BOOM!

The bunker shuddered violently as a massive impact shook it to its core.

"They’re attacking!" someone screamed in sheer terror.

"They sure are tough," came a mocking voice from above. "Is this how the Alliance fights? Too scared to face us?"

"Activate the high-energy particle cannon!" another voice barked. "Quit wasting time. We should’ve evacuated hours ago!"

"Why bother?" a third voice sneered. "We’ve got Ian here. We can leave whenever we want."

"Yeah, and it’s kinda fun wiping out these pests, isn’t it?"

The voices crackled down from the mechas’ speakers, their tone casual, as if discussing the best way to deal with their prey.

The civilians, frozen with fear, could only listen, their hearts pounding in their chests. Some were so terrified, they wished for death to come quickly, just to end their suffering.

The temperature inside the bunker spiked rapidly, alarms blaring a frantic warning.

A crimson light began flashing ominously, casting an eerie glow over the terrified faces below.

Then, with a whoosh, a powerful surge of red energy exploded downward, followed by a wave of intense heat that made the very air ripple with intensity.

For a moment, it seemed like their end had come.

But then—just as death appeared certain—a shimmering green light burst into existence around them. It formed a protective barrier that blocked the deadly waves and filled the air with a soft, healing glow.

Above them, the shattered ceiling revealed a streak of green light as a woman moved through the chaos, so fast that she seemed little more than a blur.

Cold, fierce, with a predator’s gaze, she wielded her blade with lethal grace, cutting through invaders with effortless precision.

Blood splattered across the mechas’ faces, but instead of fear, the deep crimson seemed to carry a sense of victory, like a battle hymn sung in the heat of war.

Lyra was enraged—her every move an extension of her fury. Her every action was a blur of speed and precision, focused solely on one thing: revenge.

No one would trespass on her territory without paying the price.

Alone, without armor or protection, she darted through a field of laser missiles, her form a fleeting shadow amidst the chaos.

Her speed caught the attention of the enemy’s elite mechas.

"Damn it," the leader of the blue mechas muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief. "How the hell did this woman stay behind at the base?"

"Rear Admiral Skylight," one of his subordinates said, his voice tight. "She’s the test subject the Stellar Devourer mentioned."

"That’s right," Skylight replied darkly, his face tightening into a frown. "Why wasn’t anyone keeping an eye on her?"

His words sparked laughter from his men. "She’s impressive, sure, but there are ten of us. What’s the big deal?"

Skylight sneered, a cold smirk playing at the edges of his lips. "Last time we went after her, we sent twenty-seven men and came back with half the number."

In modern human society, most Peculiars were typically considered weaker than large-scale destructive weapons when it came to sheer combat power.

However, Lyra... she was clearly the exception.

She WAS the weapon.

One of the enemy soldiers couldn’t contain his disbelief. "Is this a joke?!"

"No joke," Ian’s lazy voice chimed in from somewhere off to the side, his tone laced with amusement. "Even I wouldn’t dare face her head-on."

The attacking forces froze, their rhythm of assault stuttering for a split second.

"What kind of monster did the Stellar Devourer create?" Skylight muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing as he made a quick, decisive choice.

"Everyone, all together!" he shouted, rallying his comrades as he turned and charged directly at Lyra.

As ten high-level mechas closed in from all directions, Lyra’s eyes glinted with dangerous intent.

Without hesitation, she transformed her Schedar into a staff, poised for action. But before she could strike, chains of starlight wrapped around her, binding her tightly in place.

She stood frozen, her body locked in place, unable to move an inch.

"Skylight, tighten those chains!" someone shouted from behind, urging the attack. The rest of the mechas surged forward, preparing to strike.

"Is this really the strongest test subject?" another voice scoffed. "She’s nothing special."

But as seven or eight mechas closed in, Lyra’s entire body pulsed with a chilling energy.

Skylight cursed under his breath, the mistake hitting him like a ton of bricks. They had remembered her strength and her healing powers, but they had forgotten one critical detail—she was also a master of the ice manipulation.

In the blink of an eye, her blood froze. A wave of green light shields materialized around her, stabbing into the cockpit of one of the mechas.

In that crucial moment, Lyra’s superpower kicked in. The light shields twisted violently off-course.

Before Skylight could even take a breath, Lyra’s Schedar had morphed into a small, precise knife and thrust into the cockpit of the mecha with deadly accuracy.

The speed of her strike was so overwhelming that Skylight didn’t even have time to activate his own light shield before the blade pierced the mecha’s armor.

One of the level-nine mechas, now freed from being frozen, attempted to escape. But Lyra wasn’t finished. She shattered the chains that bound her and leapt onto the retreating mecha with impossible speed.

"Stop!" Skylight screamed, panic rising in his voice as he summoned a spear of light from the sun to strike at her.

But Lyra was faster. With one flawless move, she pierced the mecha’s hull, flipping away just in time to narrowly avoid Skylight’s spear.

The blast of light crashed into the empty cockpit where she had been only moments before.

The enemy mechas were helpless to stop her. They couldn’t even gather their powers before she took them down. In mere moments, eight of them were destroyed.

"How is this possible?" Skylight’s voice trembled with fury, disbelief burning in his eyes. "You didn’t even fight at full strength last time?"

If Lyra had unleashed this much power in their last encounter, none of them would have survived.

Lyra, however, remained unphased by his anger. With a casual flick of her wrist, she summoned the knives she had thrown earlier, letting them return to her hands.

She twisted her neck with a satisfying crack. "What are you talking about? "

Before Skylight could even respond, she was suddenly right in front of his cockpit, her presence overwhelming. The energy she exuded was suffocating, the very air thick with danger.

"I can’t die here!" Skylight thought, panic flooding his mind. His superpowers surged uncontrollably.

But Lyra moved like lightning, dodging his frantic attempts to counterattack. As her knife aimed straight for his cockpit, a light shield materialized in front of him, blocking her strike.

The blade stopped just inches from his forehead, its tip hovering at the center of his brow.

Before Skylight could even begin to breathe a sigh of relief, a massive electromagnetic cannon shot toward Lyra.

Without so much as glancing up, she expanded her light shield to block the incoming blast. But as soon as the shield made contact, it evaporated into nothingness, and the full force of the electromagnetic blast slammed into her.

"Look at me go!" Ian cheered from a distance, pumping his fist in the air. But his joy turned to dread as he watched Lyra crash to the ground, her body glowing with green light as it healed from the devastating impact.

"Monster!" Ian cursed under his breath. Without hesitation, he jumped out of his mecha. He grabbed the barely conscious Skylight, and leapt into a spatial rift to escape.

As the green energy continued to pulse around her, Lyra slowly stood up, her body now fully healed.

She was standing there, completely exposed—no armor, no protection. The mechas trailing behind her skidded to a halt, momentarily stunned.

They collided into each other in a chaotic mess of clanging metal.

Unperturbed by their confusion, Lyra casually reached into her Space Button and pulled out her clothes, calmly getting dressed. Her ruined headset was beyond repair, so she shouted directly at the mechas, "Head to the airbase for support. I’ll be right there."

With a flick of her wrist, she gathered several high-level mechas and stowed them away in her Space Button, clearing the battlefield in mere minutes.

The enemy forces, now utterly scattered and disorganized, were forced into retreat. Under Lyra’s relentless pressure, the invasion came to an end about half a day later.

When the medics finally arrived at the base, they were already prepping for their next mission. Lyra was informed that the team would be departing in two hours, so she decided to make a quick stop at the LE Company base.

As she stepped inside, a robot came clattering toward her with a loud clang. "That selfish woman is back! You’ve got so many machines wrecked, you’re dead for sure!"

Lyra couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

 

 

Chapter 263: New Assistant

Outside, the enemy’s cannon fire relentlessly pounded against the Aegis Shield, but inside, Koros was in his element—deep in his work.

The air around him hummed with the energy of creation as he focused on a massive mecha arm laid out on the workbench.

It was a complex piece of machinery, demanding all his attention.

Just as he was getting lost in the intricate details, the door to his workshop flew open with a deafening crash.

Koros was taken off guard but managed to stay cool. His hands didn’t falter; in a practiced motion, he powered down the device, cutting off its energy source.

He whipped around, ready to shout in frustration. "No. 1, didn’t I teach you to knock?!"

A robotic voice answered, oddly human and tinged with fear. "Master, help me!"

Koros turned to find Lyra standing in the doorway, her face as cold and impassive as ever.

Without missing a beat, she asked, "Really? THAT SELFISH WOMAN?" Her words cut through the air like a razor.

Koros’ eyes widened in alarm. His voice wavered as he stammered, "W-what do you mean?"

Lyra strode in, holding the head of Assisbot No. 1 by its metal hair. She didn’t even glance at the bot as she fixed Koros with a piercing stare. "The base is full of rare materials. Wouldn’t it be fine to make a few inventions with them?"

Koros averted his gaze, unable to meet her eyes. He muttered defensively, "The budget’s plenty. And there’s so many materials lying around... maybe I just... I just like to experiment a bit?"

"Is that so?" Lyra’s voice dripped with sarcasm. "So, you just go buy whatever you want from the black market with all the extra funds?"

At this, Assisbot No. 1, ever the chatterbox, squirmed in Lyra’s grip, loudly protesting, "Ma’am, slow down! Do you know how much it cost to make me? Two hundred million! Big money, huh? Then let me go—don’t break me!"

Koros stood frozen, his mouth agape as he processed the insanity of the moment. He finally snapped to action, stepping forward and awkwardly grabbing the bot by its neck.

With a nervous chuckle, Koros said, "This one... It’s helpful, but always can’t keep its mouth shut."

He couldn’t quite believe what was happening. The pragmatic, no-nonsense engineer had become the reluctant target of his own creations.

In his heart, he silently prayed to the heavens for Lyra’s mercy.

"Two hundred million, you say?" Lyra’s smile was all sharp edges, her tone not betraying a hint of humor. "I’ve given you too much for funds, really."

"Not too much!" Koros quickly cut in, panic in his voice. He tossed Assisbot No. 1 aside like a ragdoll, then, in a burst of energy, clung to her leg, practically whining, "Boss, you don’t get it. The bot doesn’t understand! It only sees the money, but every penny, every dime, was earned through hard work. In R&D, you need funding everywhere, huh?"

He sounded like a wronged spouse airing grievances about their partner’s stinginess.

Lyra’s gaze turned cold as steel, her eyes narrowing with intent. "One condition."

Koros jumped up, nodding eagerly. "Anything! Just say it!"

"Give me control of Assisbot No. 1," she said with chilling simplicity.

Koros froze, his body stiffening. "W-why would you want to control a robot?"

Lyra raised an eyebrow, her voice casual but lethal. "To keep an eye on you."

Koros’ eyes widened further, panic rising in his chest, but he had no choice. "Fine, you can have it."

He begrudgingly resigned himself to his fate. With a grimace, he accessed Assisbot No. 1’s control settings, transferring the master authentication and disabling the shutdown protocols.

He could only watch as the bot powered back on, its circuits buzzing with life once again.

Lyra circled the now-reactivated robot, arms crossed, studying it like a hawk. "Did Koros tamper with your core system?" she asked No. 1.

Koros stared at her, wide-eyed in disbelief. "You don’t trust me?"

But Assisbot No. 1 didn’t hesitate to spill the beans. "Yes, he did! He kept the data modification rights for himself! He’s been planning to mess with my logs behind your back!"

The robot pointed an accusing finger at Koros, then struck a pose with its hands on its hips as if it were proud of its own revelations. "See? She has no choice but to keep me around! I’m so precious!"

Koros buried his face in his hands, his mind racing. "I forgot... I forgot it could talk about everything!"

Before he could react, Lyra’s fist came down with swift justice, landing squarely on his face.

And so, Koros found himself forced to relinquish not just control of the bot, but also the precious Space Button he had been hiding.

His face drained of color as he finally handed over complete control of Assisbot No. 1’s system. To make matters worse, Lyra slapped a psychokinesis imprint on the robot, ensuring he couldn’t escape her watchful gaze.

Now, instead of sneaking around and cutting corners to fund his secret side projects, Koros was stuck with a bot that would be keeping him on a very short leash.

In a twisted way, he had successfully preserved the funding—only to lose his chance for any creative freedom.

As Koros sat, brooding and feeling the weight of his decisions, a new shock awaited him.

Ten massive mechas were dumped onto the floor in front of him, landing with a resounding crash.

Koros’ eyes practically sparkled as he lunged forward, his hands trembling with excitement as they caressed the sleek mechas before him. "This... this isn’t the Alliance model, is it?"

His fingers ran over the smooth, polished surface, his breath catching in awe at the flawless craftsmanship. "This has to be the Empire’s work! From the materials alone, this has to be at least level-seven, right?"

Lyra gave a simple nod, her face as emotionless as ever. "Fix them up. Do what you want with them."

Koros could barely contain the excitement bubbling inside him. "Yes, Yes! Thank you, boss! You’re too generous!"

Forget about the budget, forget about the restrictions—this was a goldmine. Lately, Koros had been hitting a research bottleneck, but with the Empire’s mechas at his disposal, he felt like a breakthrough was just around the corner.

As Koros eagerly turned to get to work, Lyra checked her watch and then glanced toward the airfield.

The Empire’s original plan had been to target the airfield’s infrastructure, ideally crippling the entire operation. But even if they couldn’t succeed in that, causing chaos was still a win.

Thanks to Kogar and his troops, who had fought tooth and nail to hold the position, they’d managed to keep the enemy at bay until Lyra’s reinforcements arrived.

Now, Lyra was boarding a warship, ready to head to the front lines.

Once aboard, she swiftly changed into her white military uniform, the crisp fabric a sharp contrast to the chaos around her.

"Here I come..."

*****

Meanwhile, aboard the Empire’s flagship, Skylight had just stepped out of the healing pod. The lingering image of Lyra’s cold, oppressive face still haunted him—he couldn’t shake the feeling it left behind.

"How are you feeling?" Ian, who had been waiting nearby, offered Skylight a cup of water.

"It’s not a serious injury," Skylight muttered as he took the water, but his mind was elsewhere.

Something gnawed at him, and he quickly asked, "What about the other soldiers? Did we recover them?"

Ian shrugged nonchalantly, his expression showing little care. "They’re all dead."

"What?!" Skylight’s hands shook in disbelief, spilling water from the cup. "But those soldiers were only supposed to destroy infrastructure! They should’ve retreated when the job was done!"

Ian yawned lazily. "Well, they decided to massacre civilians instead. Lyra took care of them all."

Skylight’s face twisted in confusion. "Why massacre civilians?"

Ian leaned back, hands behind his head, a carefree grin plastered across his face. "War, Skylight. It’s all the same. Soldiers, civilians—just two sides of the same coin. You humans kill each other no matter what side you’re on."

Skylight fell silent, his stomach knotting in discomfort. After a long pause, he muttered, "But you still have human genes."

Ian waved his hands dismissively, a childlike innocence in his smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Don’t drag me into this. I’m not like Lyra. I’m a Stellar Devourer."

The words hit Skylight like a punch to the gut. He stared at Ian, speechless, his mind struggling to process what he’d just heard.

"Stellar Devourer?" he murmured, almost to himself. His trembling hands gripped the cup tighter.

"Yeah, that’s what I am," Ian said, his tone almost mocking, but with a sinister edge. "And you know what? Lyra’s been using you all along. The star map... that’s what she’s after. She wants the war to keep going. It’s her way of clawing her way back into the power structure."

Skylight’s heart sank. He’d suspected as much, but hearing it from Ian made it all the more real. He wanted to reject it, but the truth was staring him in the face.

The cold, calculating cruelty of it all left a bitter taste in his mouth.

*****

Lyra’s arrival at the Alliance’s flagship was met with swift efficiency. She was immediately assigned to Cohen’s command.

Zarek, who had accompanied her throughout the mission, handed her a small device with a knowing smile. "I think this will suit you better than the official mechas. Don’t refuse it—it’s a token of my gratitude."

Lyra looked at him with mild curiosity but didn’t question his gift. She took the device from his hand, revealing a sleek, lightweight mecha.

It was unlike any typical model—it lacked heavy armor or offensive weapons, but it was built for speed and agility, making it perfect for someone like her.

The oxygen equipment was external, which made it more vulnerable, but it was more than sufficient for space missions.

Zarek nodded approvingly as she examined the mecha. "I know the oxygen equipment’s exposed, but for you, it should be perfect."

"Thank you," Lyra said, her voice devoid of any emotion.

Zarek grinned. "It’s fine. Just make sure to take down more Stellar Devourers. I’d be glad to see that."

Chapter 264: Fighting Stellar Devourers

As Lyra geared up for battle once again, she crossed paths with two familiar faces: Ian and Skylight, both now piloting their own mechas.

Ian’s excitement was palpable as his fingers flew across the control panel, shouting with enthusiasm, "Skylight, we’re going in! This time, I’ll prove I’m better than her!"

"I’m giving you a squad. You can command them however you see fit," Cohen said, his gaze lingering on Lyra, who was in the process of organizing her equipment.

Lyra had once been the top student in the Department of Command and Strategy during her NMA days, so it seemed only natural that she would be trusted with the responsibility. She was more than capable.

But Lyra didn’t even acknowledge Cohen’s words. Without a second thought, she jumped into the cockpit of the basic mecha, her nervous system syncing with the machine in an almost seamless motion.

"I don’t need them," she replied coldly, her voice unwavering. "They’ll just slow me down."

This mecha wasn’t a typical model—it was more like a suit of armor, lacking a traditional control panel. Instead, it relied entirely on psychokinesis for movement.

Lyra took a moment to adapt, but once she did, her movements were fluid and precise, as if she were one with the machine.

She quickly swapped out the power source for a higher-end energy stone mine, ensuring a longer-lasting energy supply for battle.

Then, she added an external oxygen system to her back, completing the adjustments.

From a distance, Zarek observed her actions with a nod of approval. "For handling Stellar Devourers and Master Peculiars, this setup suits her perfectly for solo combat."

Lyra didn’t need a team. The Stellar Devourers often fought alone, and with her agile, high-powered mecha, she’d have the upper hand in this type of warfare.

Cohen, after considering the logic behind her decision, finally relented. "Do your best, Ensign Lyra."

Lyra gave him a brief, cold glance before descending into the docking bay and launching herself into the vastness of space, ready for battle.

On the battlefield, Ian was wreaking havoc within the Alliance’s ranks, surrounded by swirling black vortexes.

He didn’t have to do much else—his mecha was advanced, fast, and capable of generating powerful gravitational pulls that sucked in anything in its path.

His mecha tore through the battlefield, indiscriminately pulling in enemy crafts and mechas, regardless of allegiance.

Ian laughed maniacally, his voice crackling through the comms. "Go to hell! All of you!"

His violent actions sent shockwaves through the Empire’s forces.

"Why is this madman even allowed on the battlefield?" one officer growled, frustration evident in his voice.

"Because his destructive power is unmatched," another officer answered flatly.

"But he’s killing our own troops!" someone else protested.

"Forget it," another sighed in resignation. "It’s war. There are always casualties. As Long as the Alliance has lost more than we have."

While Ian was lost in his madness, an unassuming golden light zipped through the chaos.

Wherever it went, an Empire general would fall—each strike swift and precise.

Lyra moved like a phantom in the heat of battle, her psychokinetic abilities perfectly synchronized with the energy of her mecha, allowing her to weave in and out of combat with impossible speed.

Within ten minutes, she had cut through half of the battlefield and reached the heart of the fiercest zone of combat.

Around her, a silver sphere of metal spun through the vacuum of space, shifting and reshaping in response to her mental commands. The sphere swept up the lives of nearby enemies with brutal efficiency.

This spectacle caught the attention of the Empire’s Admiral.

"That’s... that’s Schedar!" he shouted, grabbing the microphone in a panic. "Ian, Lyra is here!"

The Stellar Devourers had specifically ordered that she must be captured at all costs.

The Admiral hesitated for a moment before turning and striding into a smaller, lavishly decorated room behind the command center.

The chamber was sophisticated—its carved wooden chairs, a golden fireplace fueled by an energy stone mine, and the white walls adorned with dark-patterned fabric gave the space a regal feel.

At the center of the room, four men and women sat around a round table, playing cards.

A tower of pastries and a pot of tea sat beside them, while a crystal chandelier overhead bathed the room in a soft, ethereal light.

"Masters," the Admiral began, his voice tight with urgency. "SHE has appeared."

The four players glanced up simultaneously, their expressions unchanged.

"Bummer," the woman in a red strapless dress commented, crossing her legs with a calm air. "I was almost done with my hand."

"Don’t forget our mission," another voice chimed in, unfazed. "Westros instructed us to bring the experiment back."

"I still don’t get it," one of them said, rolling their eyes. "Why does Westros think the experiment is dangerous?"

"Why don’t we go find out?" another offered, standing and moving toward the door with no apparent sense of urgency. The others followed, clearly uninterested in engaging with the Empire Admiral.

One of them sighed deeply, muttering under their breath, "Get the new spacesuits ready."

Not one of them spared a glance for the Admiral.

He clenched his fists in frustration but held his tongue. With a deep breath, he turned to his subordinates. "Prepare the new suits," he ordered, his voice steely.

Despite his irritation, he knew better than to challenge them.

*****

Lyra moved with fluid precision, cutting down enemy after enemy as if she were a blade herself. But just as she was about to strike another target, blinding beams of light shot toward her from all directions.

In an instant, her energy shield flared up, wrapping around her mecha like a protective bubble. But just as quickly, the shield flickered and vanished.

Lyra seemed to have seen this coming. With a swift motion, she activated the mecha’s maneuvering systems, darting out of the beam’s path just in time.

"Ah, so you’ve learned!" Ian’s mocking voice echoed through her comms, as he wagged a finger at her from his mecha.

The battlefield erupted into chaos as multiple energy shields sprang up around Lyra, blocking her way. Lyra, unfazed, used them to her advantage. She stepped from one shield to the next with practiced ease, each leap bringing her closer to Ian.

Ian’s cocky grin faltered as he realized what she was doing. His fear began to spike. "Not this time!" he muttered under his breath, retreating swiftly and shifting his mecha’s position.

Behind Lyra, Skylight and several Master Peculiars moved to trap her, their attacks converging from all sides. But Lyra wasn’t about to be caught.

With each encirclement, she used the energy shields as launchpads, soaring away at the last possible moment, narrowly avoiding their strikes.

Ian, watching from a distance, sneered in disbelief. "I don’t believe it. You can’t keep jumping around like that without superpowers."

He flicked his wrist, a smug grin spreading across his face as he attempted to deactivate her shields. He was certain that his maneuver would bring her down.

But before he could finish his action, Lyra struck first. A sharp, disorienting wave of psychokinetic energy surged through the air, hitting Ian like a punch to the gut. His vision blurred, and his senses spun in disarray.

Before Ian could react, Lyra used her last shield as a springboard, propelling herself across the battlefield with such force it was as if she had teleported.

In a blink, she was standing directly in front of him, her mecha towering over his.

Ian’s eyes widened with panic as he saw her massive mecha foot coming down toward his cockpit. He scrambled to react, summoning a swirling black vortex beneath him in a desperate attempt to escape. But Lyra’s shield slammed into his exit route, sealing it shut and leaving him trapped.

Without hesitation, Lyra drove a long, gleaming blade into his cockpit. The steel pierced through the reinforced glass with ease, impaling Ian right in his seat.

The vacuum of space muffled his screams, but his mouth still moved in frantic agony. His hands fumbled at the controls, trying to escape, but it was no use.

"Skylight! Help me! I COMMAND you to save me!" Ian screamed, his voice desperate.

His pleas, however, were nothing more than a faint whisper in the silence of space.

Meanwhile, Skylight and the other Master Peculiars were rushing toward him, but before they could reach his mecha, Lyra fired a precise shot.

A brilliant beam of light sliced through the air, cutting off their path. One of the Peculiars, caught off guard, was hit directly, her mecha disintegrating in an instant. The light snuffed out their life with brutal efficiency.

Desperation clouded Ian’s mind as he tried to escape into a spatial rift. But before he could complete the maneuver, Lyra’s psychokinesis reached out like an iron chain.

She had formed Schedar into a thick, unyielding chain that snaked around him, pulling him back with unrelenting force.

In the blink of an eye, Lyra transformed another segment of the Schedar into a sharp, cruel blade and drove it deep into Ian’s skull, ending his struggle once and for all.

Lyra looked down at the cockpit, her gaze cold and unfeeling as she watched the blood stain the inside.

This time, it was no mere machine she had destroyed—it was a life.

As the chaos unfolded, a mocking voice suddenly rang out in her ears, interrupting her brief moment of victory.

"She’s getting quite good at this," the voice jeered, its tone dripping with sarcasm.

Lyra’s brow furrowed as she scanned the virtual interface in front of her—there were no incoming communications. But How could there be sound in the vacuum of space?

The voice didn’t belong to any human. It wasn’t transmitted through the comms—it was biological, an exchange of electric signals, directly within her mind.

A cold chill ran down Lyra’s spine as her instincts screamed danger.

Without hesitation, she pulled back, retreating from the area at full speed.

"She’s fast," the voice continued, still smug despite his impending demise. "Suxie, go after her. Don’t let her escape."

Before the last syllable left his lips, Lyra’s made her move.

"What? Can she hear us?" came a shocked voice over the line.

"Impossible," another voice replied. "She’s just some lab experiment with mixed genes. There’s no way she should be able to hear us."

Lyra’s expression darkened as the realization hit her like a cold wave. ’So it’s someone like Westros.’

The thought sent a shiver of dread through her. She had already suspected that someone with abilities like Westros’ might be in play, but now, she was certain.

Just as she considered her next move, the darkness of space around her seemed to shift.

Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by a vortex of black shadows. They swirled around her, indistinguishable from eyes—countless unseen forces closing in from every direction, leaving no room for escape.

Out of the swirling abyss emerged four people, clad in sleek spacesuits. They moved toward her with the precision of hunters and the cold determination of predators.

Without a word, they charged, their movements synchronized and lethal.

Lyra immediately went on the offensive, but the mecha’s psychokinetic controls still required a moment of focus to activate. Before she could raise her shields or even retaliate, one of the four delivered a swift kick. That blow sent her crashing backward, destabilizing her for just a split second.

A powerful gravitational force slammed into Lyra, pulling her into an energy shield that lay behind her. She was pinned, mere inches away from the rift to the spatial tunnel.

 

Chapter 265: Rescue Mission: Lyra

Cohen’s eyes locked onto the chaotic battlefield where Lyra fought for her life. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the controls of his mecha, his voice breaking through the comms.

"I’m going after her! She needs backup!"

"Stand down, Captain!" Chuck’s stern command cut through the static like a whip. "That’s an order. She either survives this on her own or we retreat. You rushing in won’t change anything—except maybe your survival rate."

Chuck’s logic was cold but sound. Lyra had been brought here to confront the Stellar Devourer, and the team couldn’t risk everything for one person—not even her.

Cohen’s breath hitched, guilt twisting his insides. "But..."

"No ’but,’ soldier!" Chuck snapped. "Focus on the fight in front of you, or you won’t live long enough to regret it!"

The words landed like a slap, but they were just enough to snap Cohen out of his desperation. His radar pinged—a hostile closing in fast from his six.

Gritting his teeth, Cohen slammed a button, spinning his mecha to fire a plasma cannon at the incoming enemy.

The explosion lit up the battlefield like a firework.

"Understood, sir," he bit out reluctantly, his voice heavy with frustration.

*****

Below the battlefield, Lyra stood alone in the heart of the chaos. The terrain around her was a graveyard of debris, with warped gravity fields threatening to drag everything—including her—into oblivion.

Each swing of the Stellar Devourer’s fists shook the space, and even the sturdiest mecha would crumble under its weight.

Lyra wasn’t piloting a mecha, though. She was on foot, relying on her agility and skill. Her body twisted as she narrowly evaded a crushing blow, the ground beneath her erupting into a jagged crater. She conjured a glowing light-shield in defense, but the sheer force of the impact sent her sprawling backward.

The shield flickered but held—for now.

From the shadows, the smooth, mocking voice of the Devourers’ leader drifted over the battlefield. "What a waste of talent. A healer, forced to play the hero? How ironic. Maybe once we’ve dissected you, we’ll learn how to use that gift properly."

Lyra barely registered the taunt. A second Devourer lunged from her blind spot, claws slashing toward her back. She spun, green energy bursting around her like armor, deflecting the strike just in time.

The leader stepped forward, her voice honeyed with malice. "You’re fighting a losing battle, darling." She raised a hand, summoning a miniature black hole that hummed ominously as it tore through Lyra’s shield like tissue paper.

This wasn’t just another enemy. This woman—Suxie—was in a league of her own. Her abilities rivaled the Empire’s greatest fighters, and every attack she launched aimed to disable Lyra’s life support.

Fear clawed at Lyra’s mind, but she forced it aside. Panic wouldn’t help her here. Summoning her focus, she extended strands of energy, trying to tether herself to the black hole’s edges.

It was a desperate gamble; her mecha wasn’t designed for such fine-tuned maneuvers.

Pinned between the advancing Devourers and the unstable singularity, she pressed her back to the light-shield guarding a nearby gravitational rift.

"You’re wasting your time," Suxie purred, her tone dripping with condescension. "You’re strong enough to join us. Surrender now, and we might even let you live."

Lyra ignored her, activating Schedar. A vivid green glow enveloped her, and a radiant question burned into the air before her:

"Why do you fight for the Empire?"

Suxie’s smirk faltered for a fraction of a second, but she quickly masked it with a cold sneer. Before she could respond, Lyra’s energy intensified, bursting into a blinding flare of light.

The Devourers recoiled, shielding their eyes. Lyra seized the moment, ejecting from her mecha and recalling it into her Space Button. Without hesitation, she leapt into the narrow opening of the singularity, with Schedar shielding her from the vacuum of space.

But her breathing system was critically damaged. With no oxygen supply, she had seconds—maybe forty if she stayed still, twenty if she kept moving.

Her vision swam, and the cold bite of suffocation clawed at her chest, but she pressed on.

Using her psychokinesis to guide her, she weaved through the warped space, Stellar Devourers hot on her heels.

Lyra pulled her mecha out of the Space Button and placed it ahead.

There it was, her mecha with fresh oxygen in it, the cockpit open and waiting. As she approached, however, Suxie played her trump card—a black hole materialized over the entrance, a deliberate trap.

Summoning every ounce of strength, Lyra stretched her light strands toward the black hole. With a guttural scream, she ripped it apart, the energy backlash threatening to tear her apart in the process.

Lyra collapsed into the cockpit, slamming the hatch shut as breathable air flooded in.

Gasping, her vision blurred and dark spots danced before her eyes. Her hands shook violently as she engaged the mecha’s engines, pushing it to full throttle.

The Stellar Devourers didn’t relent. Black holes erupted around Lyra, each one a potential death sentence.

"She thinks she can escape to Wyrmtrace?" one of them scoffed.

"No," Suxie said, her gaze narrowing. "She’s not running. She’s finding a place to fight back."

"Heh, how stupid," one of the men sneered. "If she thinks the ground gives her an advantage, she’s in for a surprise. We fight just as well down there."

"Then let’s oblige her. Time to take this fight planetside."

The battlefield shifted to Wyrmtrace’s opposite hemisphere—an undeveloped, wild expanse untouched by civilization.

Lyra didn’t hesitate. Pushing her thrusters to their maximum, she burned through the high-grade energy stones fueling her mecha, descending toward the planet’s surface at breakneck speed.

The friction of reentry turned her cockpit into a furnace, the heat wrapping around her like a suffocating blanket.

Alarms blared as the mecha’s systems worked overtime to stabilize her descent. Just before impact, kinetic dampeners engaged, slowing her freefall.

The moment her mecha touched down, the air shifted.

From shimmering space portals, four Stellar Devourers emerged, wasting no time surrounding her with black holes.

Unlike the empty void of space, Wyrmtrace’s surface teemed with life. The gravitational vortices ruthlessly consumed the lush flora, soil, and even the air itself.

Trees twisted and splintered, and entire sections of the ground were swallowed into nothingness.

"This time, there’s nowhere for you to run!" one of them shouted, stepping forward with confidence.

The Devourers shed their cumbersome space suits, flexing their limbs as if warming up for a proper brawl. Their cocky grins spoke volumes—they thought this would be over quickly.

Lyra’s voice rang out, cold and unwavering. "You’re wrong. It’s you who should be running."

Before they could react, green orbs of light materialized in Lyra’s hands. With a sharp motion, she hurled them outward.

The first orb expanded into a radiant barrier, sealing off the black holes’ influence on Wyrmtrace’s surface, saving the fragile ecosystem.

The second orb shielded Lyra herself, neutralizing the gravitational pull threatening to crush her.

"Shrink the field!" one of the Devourers barked.

But Lyra gave them no chance. Clasping her hands together, she formed two Vitality Glow blades, their emerald hues shimmering like liquid fire. In an instant, she vanished from their view.

"Stay alert!" Suxie snapped.

Too late.

Lyra reappeared at a Devourer’s side, her blade plunging into his abdomen. The man snarled, swinging a fist in retaliation, but Lyra deftly sidestepped.

With a single fluid motion, she severed his arm, the green light flashing ominously.

Before he could retreat, her blade sliced again, nearly bisecting his torso. Dark, viscous liquid oozed from the wound as he struggled to regenerate, only to realize his efforts were futile.

"Moya, fall back!" Suxie shouted, panic edging into her voice.

A portal flickered open behind the injured Devourer, but before he could escape, Lyra raised a glowing green shield, slamming it down to block his exit.

For the first time, the remaining Devourers showed signs of fear.

"I told you," Lyra said, her voice a quiet storm, "you’re the ones who should be running."

The three Devourers launched a simultaneous attack, their combined power warping the air around them. Yet no matter how fast they moved or how hard they struck, they couldn’t touch Lyra—not even a strand of her hair.

Three minutes. That’s all it took. In that time, Lyra dispatched two more of the men, their bodies crumpling to the ground as her blades made quick, efficient work of them.

Suxie’s fury boiled over, her body trembling—not from rage, but from something far worse.

Fear.

As a Stellar Devourer, she had never felt such raw terror, least of all from a mere experiment object.

As Suxie locked eyes with Lyra’s expressionless face, she couldn’t suppress the chill running down her spine.

"This... this is humiliating!" she spat, her voice shrill.

Her body began to mutate, skin splitting as dark energy surged outward, swelling her frame to twice its original size.

"I’ll show you the power of a high-tier Stellar Devourer!"

But Lyra wasn’t about to let her finish.

Before the transformation could complete, a flurry of radiant green blades pierced Suxie’s body from all angles. The glowing energy wrapped around her like chains, constricting her monstrous form.

The oppressive black energy she had summoned began to dissipate, crushed under the relentless force of Lyra’s vitality-fueled assault.

Trapped and helpless, Suxie dangled in midair, bound by emerald light.

Suspended like an ornate pendant, her struggles grew weaker by the second.

"I’m not interested," Lyra said flatly. "Why would I wait for you to power up?"

Suxie’s eyes widened in horror as Lyra turned her attention to the three fallen Devourers. With mechanical precision, she lined up their bodies, her blade cutting cleanly through their necks.

Three heads rolled to the ground, their lifeless forms leaking inky black fluid.

Satisfied, Lyra stepped back, studying the corpses. Her brow furrowed as something caught her attention.

"Huh," she murmured, crouching for a closer look.

She poked one of the bodies with her blade, green light sizzling against the remnants of their dark energy. "And here I thought you were supposed to be high-tier."

Suxie’s face twisted with fear and rage. Her earlier bravado had dissolved entirely, leaving behind only raw panic.