Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 138
Know that among all the living people in this world, the one I love and miss the most is you, my brother. I hope you will always be happy and find joy in life.”
After saying these words, Kester disappeared from the screen. Then, another line of white text appeared: “This message has been deleted.”
Joshua clutched his chest in pain, trying to calm his racing heart. Kester, ever so cautious until the very end, had worried that information about the Yasha might be stolen and had deliberately set the entire video to delete itself, not even giving Joshua a chance to save it.
‘That’s so unfair, Kester,’ Joshua thought. ‘You’re still so self-centered, never considering anyone else’s feelings. You sent me off into space without telling me anything, and now, with just a final message, you expect me to forgive you? If there was ever a moment of utter despair in my life, it was because of you. Just when I decided to sever all ties with the past, you reappear before me. And your so-called request… you know I can’t refuse you.’
Why did you insist on going to your death? You could have survived, like Professor Giorgione, by using cryosleep! Let me see you just one more time. Let me call you brother just one more time!
Joshua gritted his teeth, forcing down the pain in his heart. This is not the time to mourn, he told himself. If I were going to cry over this, my tears would have dried up years ago! There are more important things to do now!
After taking several deep breaths, he turned to face Alois and Casper, both of whom looked puzzled and bewildered.
“Did you hear everything?”
Their expressions grew even more confused.
The three of them stood there in silence, staring at each other for a long time before Joshua finally realized why they were confused. It was the language. The language of Old Earth had been lost, and the common language of the colonies had evolved so much over the millennia that it was completely different from the language of ancient Earth. Joshua could understand his native tongue, but for Alois and Casper, who had never been exposed to it, the video they had just seen might as well have been gibberish.
Alois scratched his ear. “Uh… could you translate that? Was that a message from your brother?”
“Yes. That was Kester.”
Joshua suddenly felt a bit relieved that Alois hadn’t understood. He summarized what Kester had said—only the part about the Yasha—and then looked at the two of them. “The monster we encountered earlier was undoubtedly the Yasha. It didn’t kill me, and that’s the reason.” He pointed to the wound on his cheek. “And it can apparently change its form, which is particularly frightening.” The thought of the Yasha transforming into Kester and his younger self sent a chill down Joshua’s spine. “However, it doesn’t speak, so it’s easy to identify.”
“But recognizing it doesn’t help much, does it?” Casper said, resting his hand on the grip of his gun. “The Yasha can appear and disappear at will, and it’s invulnerable. We don’t stand a chance against it.”
“Our enemy isn’t the Yasha,” Joshua said. “It’s the people trying to unleash the Yasha. They’re human like us, and they’ll be much easier to deal with.”
Casper tilted his head and gave Joshua a cryptic smile.
Under his gaze, Joshua coughed awkwardly. If it really came down to fighting the Yasha, then Casper and Alois would undoubtedly die, while he would be the only one to survive. Bringing them to Earth had been a mistake…
“Instead of standing here talking,” Alois crossed his arms and tapped his elbow with his fingers, “let’s find out where the enemy is.” He turned to Joshua. “Is there a surveillance system in this facility? Can you access the surveillance feeds?”
“There is.” Joshua tapped the screen to bring up a holographic keyboard. “But the auxiliary control room can only monitor part of the facility. Only the central control room has access to all the surveillance cameras.” He pulled up all the surveillance footage available from the auxiliary control room. The large screen was divided into several smaller sections, some displaying live footage while others were black. “The ones that aren’t displaying anything are probably damaged.” Joshua frowned. “After all, it’s been two thousand years, and the place has been breached before. Captain Yutz damaged quite a few things.”
Casper, still with his hand on his gun, shifted his stance. “How long will it take you to shut down the defense system and restart the central control room?”
“I’m not entirely sure. The fastest would be an hour.” And that was an optimistic estimate. Who knew if the ancient equipment in the facility would still function?
“We can’t just stand here waiting,” Casper said. “Is the field generator in the facility too? If the Duke’s men are trying to release the Yasha, they’ll definitely go after the generator.”
“According to the information provided by Neo Athens, the generator is in the lowest level of the facility,” Joshua said, displaying the building layout of the lowest level on the screen. “It’s roughly here.” He pointed to a spot on the map.
Casper marked that location on his 3D map. “Got it. I’ll go there and wait for them.”
Joshua was surprised. “You’re going alone? That’s too dangerous!”
Casper snorted. “If I can’t handle it alone, bringing more people won’t help. And if we’re unlucky enough to run into the Yasha—” He mimicked holding a gun. “No one will survive.”
“Wait, Casper. I’ll go with you.” Alois wanted to follow, but Casper stopped him.
“You stay here,” his old classmate said with unusual seriousness. “Joshua’s emotions are unstable right now, so you need to stay and keep an eye on him.”
Alois glanced at Joshua nervously. “He… He should be fine on his own… right?”
Casper sighed and closed his eyes. “Don’t be ungrateful. I’m giving you two a rare chance to be alone together, so show me some appreciation.”
Alois’s face turned red. “Th-this isn’t the time to be talking about that!”
Casper ignored him and turned to head for the exit on the other side of the control room. “Notify me if anything happens,” he said, raising the hand with the communication terminal. “And remember, even though you’re an all-around A+ student, I still scored higher in shooting and combat.”
Meanwhile, millions of light-years away at the edge of the Damoni star system, on the bridge of the Stella, Duke Winnet was facing a defeat unlike anything he had ever experienced. The Empire Royal Fleet was advancing like a relentless beast, tearing his fleet apart without mercy. The enemy flagship, the Lady of the Night, hovered above the Duke’s ship like the scythe of death, ready to claim his life at any moment.
“This… This can’t be happening…” the Duke muttered, his face ashen. “Grisofin! Chast! Where are my flight squadrons?! Where are they?!”
A brilliant green light flashed across the holographic screen, revealing a stealthy flight squadron that appeared like ghosts in every corner of the battlefield, a nightmare for all who faced them.
The Duke recognized them as the fighters from the Lady of the Night. “Joanna Begrel’s old unit?” He smiled bitterly. “I never imagined Alveira would even bring them under her wing… Does this mean I’ve lost?”
“Report!” The Duke’s adjutant ran up to him, nervously saluting. “Report, Your Grace, Lord Grisofin’s fleet… has completely surrendered!”
Winnet’s hand clenched into a fist on the armrest. “I see… even him…”
“In addition, there have been large-scale protests in the capital… They are protesting…” The adjutant hesitated.
“Protesting what?”
“…Protesting your use of antimatter missiles on Sword Bow A. It violated humanitarian principles…” The adjutant’s voice grew quieter and quieter, his gaze fixed on his shoes, too afraid to meet the Duke’s eyes. “And…”
“Say it all at once. I don’t have a weak heart. I’m not afraid of a little shock.”
The adjutant swallowed hard. “Princess Alveira has sent a message, saying that if you surrender voluntarily, she promises… promises you a dignified death.”
With that, the adjutant closed his eyes, bracing himself as if for execution. Surely, the Duke would be furious, he thought. But after a long pause, the expected outburst never came. Instead, he heard hysterical laughter.
“Is that so? Alveira has come to ask for my surrender?” The Duke laughed so hard that his whole body shook. “She’s offering me a dignified death, and yet she’s asking me to surrender?”
The adjutant trembled. “So… So you refuse…?”
“No. Tell her I accept.” The Duke’s eyes gleamed with malice. “But only if she comes aboard the Stella herself to accept my surrender. Otherwise, I’ll continue the fight until my last breath. That’s what you’ll tell her!”
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