Imperial Legacy

"So… you all defeated the Juvenile Space Sea Lord, went back, all the while clearing out most of the Serpentine on-board on the way, and that only took just a few hours?" Department Head Hugo asked with a great deal of shock on his face. Nathan nodded.

"What an achievement! Without a Mecha, it must've taken a miracle to succeed in that battle!" Department Head Zek clamoured, "You're quite a reliable guy, and I could tell from the moment I met you!"

Nathan, Akar and Velvet all rested in Zone 7's Laboratory Hall of Cybernetics, inside the healing capsules that were being operated by Akairs, which repaired their wounds and healed their mental fatigue.

Nathan was the only one who was constantly bothered by the Department Heads, who walked in and out every few minutes, as they were all amazed by such an achievement.

Yet, the Leviathan would reach the spaceship in a couple of hours, and its bellows were soon to become louder and louder. However, since the spaceship was so close to getting back on track, nobody thought it was that big of an issue anymore.

"…It's a shame that we didn't get another Psychic Stone the same size as the one you brought back from the other Juvenile you killed." Department Head Hugo sighed, "We wouldn't have had much of a reason to stay here otherwise, to not accidentally lose the Psychic Stone we already have."

Psychic Stones, which dropped from all kinds of beasts that utilised Aether Energy, came in various forms and sizes, but the one that dropped from the Juvenile that Nathan fought in the Mecha was nearly 8 feet tall, which was nearly impossible to get through normal means.

The Department Head's right, it is a shame. If we lost the one we're barely hanging onto and the employer, most likely an individual high-ranking on the planet that Velvet came from, learned of the fact that if a Psychic Stone of that magnitude was lost, it would most likely be on our heads.

[Healing received, body cleansed. Opening healing capsule…]

Nathan stepped out of the capsule, feeling completely renewed and better. Velvet had left earlier, so the only one left in the healing capsules now was Akar.

"…We don't have time to waste…"

"Let's go back to Zone 0," Nathan spoke, and with both the Department Heads in agreement, they followed him out.

Now, in the corridors and chambers of Zone 7, he received stares wherever he looked. Stares of amazement and enlightenment.

"Sweetie, that's the kind of person you should strive to be when you develop into a grown individual."

"Yes, mom!"

"Look at him, he's just great!"

"I wanna be like him! Imagine how it would be, fighting those massive space creatures all the time!"

"Me too! I'd even just settle with being his girlfriend, or maybe even his wife, hehe!"

Nathan glanced all around, braving through all the compliments he was getting. He was sure he'd be getting this kind of treatment on every planet if he just became a top-ranking mercenary too.

Then, all of a sudden, he ran into Lead Researchers Aston and Seban, followed by Velvet and her vice-unit leader, Royal Knight Harken, who had oceanic eyes and extremely long and lush black hair.

"We've found out the exact location of the Serpentine Planetoid, and it seems like they're getting ready to detach from the spaceship any moment now." Seban said, "We can't miss the chance, so let's hurry up and go."

<>

"Woah…"

Remnants of yellowish lightning remained at the opening of the hole leading below the Primary Control Hub, but besides that, there was a large machine at the far centre of the room, that seemed unaffected by the yellowish lightning sparking about.

"Did you guys… drop it down there?" Aston asked, peering downwards into the hole to see its shrivelled corpse, "Even with its size, that's a bit…"

"Hah, well, the yellowish lightning you see sparking around caused a Spatial Withering with the Ether Distortions caused by the Beta-1s." Velvet said proudly, "That's how it fell there, and I guess the Distortion Nucleus of the Spatial Withering got destroyed with it falling as well, stopping both things at once before things became too hectic."

Royal Knight Harken nodded.

"As expected of the unit leader and Mecha Knight Nathan!"

Seban agreed as well, and approached the machine in the centre of the room, ignoring the large hole. It appeared to be a larger, more advanced holographic screen of the entire spaceship, that showed exactly the Serpentine Planetoid's location.

"Finally…" Lead Researcher Seban said, cackling.

"I CAN FINALLY OBLITERATE ALL OF YOU BASTARDS!!!"

"Uh…. Huh?" Velvet said absentmindedly, before she felt simply a bit of Seban's "bloodthirst" and gaped at him, truly weirded out.

"Crap…" Aston muttered, pretending that he wasn't there, "I knew he was gonna do this…"

"Just… just let him do his thing… please…" Aston said, closing his eyes, as a lonesome tear dripped down his face.

As a long-time friend of his, Aston knew that Seban held in a deep resentment for the Serpentine because they prevented him from handing in a scientific thesis that he had been working on for the past year, which was needed to enter the [[Scientific Court of High Scions]], which was the only job he would be bothered to get.

The deadline was by the end of the week.

He chuckled, giggled, laughed maniacally, chortled and even snickered with a hint of madness in his eyes, as he unlocked the spaceship's systems using the 20-digit digital key, locked onto the target with the extremely disastrous weapon, and, after a three-second countdown, blasted the Serpentine Planetoid with a concentrated beam of energy powerful enough to annihilate an entire city with ease.

Fortunately, however, it only slightly grazed the spaceship itself.

Sure, a small, gaping hole was left in the spaceship in the place where the Serpentine Planetoid once was, but that was nothing compared to the taste of sweet, sweet revenge.

"…How are we gonna fix the spaceship now… forget it… let's just catch the Psychic Stone, first off…!!" Department Head Hugo exclaimed, and so Seban hastily led mechanical wires to quickly bind around the Psychic Stone that was about to escape the boundaries of the spaceship.

"…Phew," Velvet mumbled, "The spaceship's broken to bits, but it's not exactly to the point where we have to worry about it yet. If I can just explain to the higher-ups the reason why, I'm should they'll look past it… hopefully."

"Anyway, let's head off now."

All spaceships had to be piloted by at least five individuals, so both of the Department Heads, Aston, Velvet and Nathan chose to pilot the five stations.

But, there was a danger that had gone unchecked. The terrifyingly loud bellows of the Leviathan, which they used to determine how close it was, had gone silent.

[Warning, WARNING!]

These words rang simultaneously in the minds of everyone there, yet nothing appeared on the holographical screen that alerted them of such danger, which was odd. But then, when it was least expected, an enormous fragment of the ship had suddenly entered inside the clamped jaws of a Leviathan.

Horrifyingly enough, the Leviathan had immediately locked onto the spaceship, though it was supposed to ignore the spaceship after it had steered out of its way.

And then, at the same time, a great spurt of blazing light came forth, disrupting the holographical screen entirely and disorientating everyone on the spaceship. This was the worst situation possible.

Then finally, the Leviathan, pivoting the tail of its long, coiled body, smashed the Stardrifter, sending the spaceship spiralling far beyond the Astral Region they were currently in.

Meanwhile, the remnant power of the All-Consuming Whirlpool blasted through most of the spaceship, but only scarcely did the Psychic Stone manage to avoid contact.

However, that was now the thing that was the least on their minds, as the remnant power of the All-Consuming Whirlpool had temporarily and completely dazed everyone on the spaceship, leaving them only able to guess where they would end up in the destroyed Stardrifter, that was gradually falling apart as it hurled itself through space.

And, as it turned out, the place they would find themselves in would be a secluded planet of the lower brackets in a vastly unknown Astral Region, and this planet was called, [[Siphauth-II]].