Lumineos Council

"Don't speak of her like that; you know she doesn't tolerate insults. If this were to get out, it would only lead to unnecessary trouble. Do you really want your vacation to be ruined, right?" the man said, furrowing his brow.

She averted her gaze, disregarding her brother's words, and focused her attention on Mayor Zarok.

"Fatty, you better explain this, or the consequences will be so enormous that you could be dead before you realize..." said the silver-haired woman with a smirk.

"I-I..." before Zarok could say anything, the man raised his hand, signaling him to remain silent.

He closed the small box, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared. The only difference was that, for a moment, a small black bracelet glowed faintly in white: "For now, we will hold onto this. If necessary, we will follow the laws of the Lumineos Sector Legal Code, Article 7, Section 12, Subsection B, and the Interstellar Coexistence Treaty, to judge the accused of property damage and concealing a crime."

"..."

Both Rylokian and Zarok fell silent, in complete panic.

They knew they were in trouble, but upon hearing such a detailed description of their crimes, they realized the situation might be even more serious than they had imagined.

"Oh, come on, brother, do you really have to be so serious? You're not on the Lumineos Council right now; we're on vacation! Let someone else handle this. Just call one of your colleagues to take care of this. I'm tired of all these laws..." the woman said, frowning in boredom.

"We still have a long way to go to the Eclipsium Sector. We just made a quick stop on this low-ranking planet, right?"

Sadly, her brother immediately responded, "No, even if I'm not on duty, I have to fulfill my duty. We'll stay on this planet for a while until everything is resolved."

"Argh!"

She looked at him with annoyance, and as if looking for a victim to channel her anger, she pointed at Major Zarok and dropped her words in a cold and threatening tone: "You better confess your crimes, or I'll take advantage of your race's regeneration capabilities to subject you to unimaginable torture. You'll wish you were dead!"

"It's not my fault!" Zarok suddenly shouted, but realizing his own insolence in front of such respected beings, he lowered his voice.

"Miss Morynthia, Mr. Mykarion, I... I didn't do any of what they're saying. It was the work of this... this waste. I'm sure he wanted to secretly sell Miss Xylyra's Sonarix parts to live a luxurious life elsewhere. Believe me, this bastard is just a filthy mercenary, and you know how mercenaries are, they'll do anything for money!" he stammered as his sweaty face contorted in desperation, making his greasy face quiver like jelly.

Rylokian immediately looked at him, wordless, but his expression changed to one of anger. He knew this incompetent fatty was going to act this way!

"Is that true? But he doesn't look like a mercenary. Besides, what he's wearing is an Astrylite army armor, isn't it?" Morynthia raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile playing on her lips as if she were enjoying a comedy show.

Zarok, convinced that they were buying his story, continued to speak with growing confidence: "What happened is that, years ago, I saw him in a pitiful state: disheveled, emaciated, and covered in dirt. My heart softened, so I offered him a prominent position in my army. Plus, he had the good fortune that his first mission was given directly by the royalty."

"But who would have thought he'd be so ungrateful and throw away everything I did for him. I won't do anything in retaliation, as a sign of respect for all these years. So, I leave the decision in your hands," he concluded with a bright smile.

Everyone fell silent, and even the siblings looked at him with expressions that seemed to say, 'No one in their right mind would believe such a story.'

"Anyway, for now, imprison this soldier or mercenary so we can start the interrogation," said Mykarion, not wanting to waste more time on meaningless conversations.

When Rylokian watched as several soldiers emerged from the surrounding ships, he shouted in desperation, "No! It's a lie! I'm not a criminal. While it's true I was a mercenary at some point, I've never broken the Lumineos Sector laws in my entire life!"

"Oh? I thought you'd stay silent as your life fell apart. It's more entertaining that way!" said Morynthia with an expression of interest.

"Silence, ungrateful traitor! Soldiers, take him to a place where he can't escape!" Zarok shouted in anger, then he looked at the siblings and continued, "I'm sorry; I won't bother you anymore."

Zzziuup!

"W-what... Ugh!"

In the blink of an eye, the tip of a whip emerged with a sharp hiss and coiled around Zarok's neck, lifting him into the air!

It was silvery metallic and composed of interlinked links forming a flexible structure. As if it had a life of its own, the other end of the whip floated beside Morynthia.

"Do you truly believe we're buying into your nonsense? We're being patient, but don't overdo it!" she said with a dark look.

"Nobody touch him; let's hear what he has to say first," Morynthia finished speaking while showing Rylokian a pleasant smile. She completely ignored Zarok, who was gasping for air. Anyway, she knew that even like this, Astrylites could hold their breath for hours if they wanted to.

The soldiers, who were about to take Rylokian away, backed away in fear of being the next to be strangled.

"Thank you... First of all, it's a lie that Zarok found me in such a pitiful state five hundred years ago. I actually applied for the job online, and they approved me when they saw I met the basic combat standards. Furthermore, the so-called 'prominent position' they gave me was that of a collector... I literally have to pick up the shit of every creature on this planet!"

The two siblings looked at Zarok with disbelief upon hearing this, beginning to suspect that sometimes appearance really reflected personality.

"Why would they need the excrements of various creatures?" she asked, confused.

Rylokian frowned with disgust and pointed to Zarok, who was gasping for air, as he explained, "He uses it for cultivating plants that served as food for the intelligent species that used to inhabit this world, all in an effort to diversify their daily recipes..."

"Alright, let's say what he's saying is a lie, but Xylyra's Sonarix's death remains unanswered. What exactly happened?" Mykarion asked.

Rylokian noticed it was his chance to turn this misunderstanding around and quickly replied, "That, actually, has nothing to do with Zarok or me; it's the work of someone else, a native of this planet!"

"...?"

Morynthia furrowed her brow upon hearing this: "Natives? Are you talking about that race that used to inhabit this low-ranking world? According to what I've read in the Lumineos Council, they only live for a hundred years, and their technology was so deficient that it was practically impossible for them to harm a Sonarix. Furthermore, I've heard that they were ordered to make sure no intelligent natives remained alive on this planet."

Her brother also spoke, "You should know that a mission given by the royalty of their race is sacred. If what you're saying is true, the punishment will be a thousand times worse than what was originally going to happen to you."

"...Although, if we capture that native and hand them over to Xylyra to vent her anger, there shouldn't be any issues, right?" Morynthia whispered with a mischievous smile. She noticed her brother was about to object, but she continued, "Brother, if both sides resolve their issues, there won't be a need to resort to the law, and we can enjoy our vacation. Or do you really want to ruin your dear sister's leisure time?" After finishing speaking, she looked at him as if she were ready to attack if he said something that annoyed her.

"Do as you wish..." Mykarion said with resignation in his voice and a defeated expression on his face.

Rylokian, realizing the two siblings were reaching an agreement, spoke up, "Follow me; I'll take you to the location where everything happened," however, at that moment, he realized he wouldn't be able to move his ship, as it was completely destroyed.

Morynthia noticed the situation and, with a wide smile, said, "It's clear you won't be able to continue using that junk..."

"For now, come with me; just show me the location, and I'll take care of driving," she said with a quick gesture, retracting her whip and releasing Zarok, who collapsed into his ship, gasping for air as if he were on the brink of death.

"You should consider exercising. Your physical condition is the worst I've seen in all the Astrylites," she added, with a disgusted expression.

Zzziuuup!

The whip coiled around Rylokian's body, and both of them returned to her black ship. Morynthia, with an elegant attitude, stepped aside to give him space while she stowed her whip, which practically disappeared suddenly.

"This will be your seat; make sure to guide me to the right place, okay?" Morynthia indicated a half of the seat beside her.

Rylokian took a deep breath and sat down, feeling a bit cramped next to this high-status woman. He couldn't help but sneak a glance at her slender body, although he felt more at ease because she was covered in elegant black armor that, despite its protective appearance, didn't completely hide her charming curves. Rylokian began giving her directions as they were very close to the location where he had seen that strange structure.

"Is that a Space Bracelet, right? They say they're only sold in Type Three civilizations," Rylokian commented, trying to ease the tension in the uncomfortable atmosphere inside the ship.

"Hmm? Oh, this? It was a gift from a bothersome guy from the Aquilantrian civilization. He only saw me once a hundred years ago when I was traveling with my brother, and since then, he hasn't stopped sending me all sorts of gifts. He even sends gifts to my brother, how funny!" she said with an indifferent smile.

Rylokian just nodded, not paying much attention to that matter, although he couldn't help but feel a little envious as he looked at the Space Bracelet.

"These are the coordinates you gave me; we've arrived," Morynthia said with a peculiar expression.

Soon, they arrived at Kraynnor's laboratory, but instead found a massive crater with rocks scattered all around, and there were no signs of life within a two-kilometer radius. This filled Rylokian with panic as he desperately tried to find something that would validate his story.

...

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away from his ruined laboratory, Kraynnor was relaxed, entertaining himself with the Biomimetic Cube.

[We're twenty kilometers from Caelum.]

Announced Cognitron X-12, leading Kraynnor to set the cube aside and focus his attention on a third-person three-dimensional screen.

On the screen, he saw his submarine, and in the distance, the silhouette of a great city.

It was an outdated map from five hundred years ago, and Kraynnor assumed that Caelum must currently be submerged underwater. The image of the city on the screen evoked a mixture of nostalgia. He wouldn't have returned to his hometown if it weren't for the resources stored in his underground depot.

These resources were crucial for him at that moment, as otherwise, he would have to invest valuable time searching for them in the wilderness.

[Alert! Alert! Anomalous water behavior detected. We're being pulled into a gigantic whirlpool!]

Gruummm!

Suddenly, Kraynnor felt the submarine tremble violently, and upon observing one of the external cameras, he was left astounded. Hundreds of meters below the submarine, there loomed an astonishing creature: a kind of gigantic eel, thirty meters in length and ten in width, with hundreds of legs resembling those of a spider, moving at a surprising speed as it circled the submarine.

Its movements generated such a powerful force that it created a terrifying whirlpool, threatening to drag the submarine into the depths!