After packing away the last of the remains, Caelus followed Dan Heng and March 7th.
The path back to the Master Control Zone was much quieter. They had left the blaring alarms of the combat zone far behind, and the overhead lights had returned to their normal white glow, replacing the jarring red of the emergency lights. The trio proceeded without incident, encountering no more Antimatter Legion soldiers.
Dan Heng walked at the front, one hand on his spear, maintaining a state of constant vigilance. Only when the main door to the Master Control Zone came into view did he silently relax.
The door slid open.
The busy scene of the command room unfolded before them. Over a dozen researchers in uniform hurried back and forth between the various control consoles. Some stared intently at the data scrolling across their screens, while others spoke in low voices into their communicators. The clicking of keyboards and the beeping of electronic instruments filled the air.
Caelus followed a step behind March 7th as they entered the command room. His eyes were immediately drawn to the main station.
Two women stood there, conversing in low tones. One had red hair and wore an elegant, regal outfit—a white long dress accented with gold trim. Her entire bearing, from her demeanor to her posture, exuded a calm and steady confidence. The other woman seemed much more lively. Her pink hair was tied up high, and she gestured animatedly with her hands as she spoke to her companion.
Dan Heng was the first to approach, calling out a name.
"Himeko."
The red-haired woman looked up. Seeing Dan Heng and March 7th, a look of relief washed over her face, and she quickly walked over to meet them.
She first looked at Dan Heng, then at March 7th, her eyes scanning them both from head to toe. Only after confirming they had no obvious injuries did she nod slightly, her expression softening.
Caelus stood half a step behind March 7th, taking the opportunity to glance at the mini-map in the corner of his vision.
Two names floated beside the corresponding dots of light.
[Nameless One · Himeko]
[Herta Space Station Master · Asta]
While Caelus was checking his map, Dan Heng had already begun speaking with Himeko, asking what she and Asta had been discussing and whether another incident had occurred on the station.
Himeko shook her head, raising a hand to signal that he shouldn't worry, before lowering her voice slightly.
"Asta and I were just reviewing the security footage. We found something."
Her speech was unhurried, her thoughts laid out with perfect clarity.
"A Stellaron has always been sealed within the Herta Space Station, guarded by a device personally set up by Lady Herta. But during the chaos of the Antimatter Legion's attack, someone infiltrated the area where the Stellaron was stored and stole it."
"After pulling up the surveillance footage, Asta and I confirmed that the thieves were two Stellaron Hunters—Kafka and Silver Wolf."
"They used the instruments in the Curio Collection room to create a male vessel." Himeko paused for a moment. "Then, they placed the Stellaron inside that person's body."
At this point, Himeko suddenly recalled something. March 7th and Dan Heng had been heading in the direction of the Curio room to search for survivors. She was just about to ask if they had encountered anyone unusual when she noticed their gazes were fixed on something behind her.
Himeko followed their line of sight.
Caelus was standing a couple of steps behind March 7th, a baseball bat still in his hand, listening quietly to their conversation.
Himeko looked him over from head to toe. Just as she was about to ask who this stranger Dan Heng and March 7th had brought back was, Caelus made his move.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out the Stellaron.
"Are you talking about this?"
Himeko's expression changed in an instant. Her lips parted and then pressed into a thin line as she took half a step back. Asta, beside her, also looked up, her eyes locking onto the Stellaron. Her previously relaxed demeanor vanished, replaced by sudden tension.
The Stellaron rested in Caelus's palm, its faint glow suddenly becoming unstable.
Its initially slow, steady pulse of light began to accelerate—once, twice, three times—the frequency increasing, the light growing brighter. The entire Stellaron began to throb violently as if something had activated it, shifting from a dim glow to a blinding white in a matter of seconds.
It was going to explode!
This realization flashed through the minds of everyone in the command room almost simultaneously. The researchers closest to them cried out in alarm and scrambled backward. Chairs were knocked over, and the room descended into a chaotic jumble of metallic clangs and panicked shouts.
March 7th was standing less than a meter from Caelus. She looked down at the rapidly flashing Stellaron, froze for a beat, and then her face went deathly pale.
"Caelus! You can't just play with that thing!"
Her voice was sharp and frantic. She flailed her hands in the air, looking as if she wanted to snatch the Stellaron away but didn't dare to touch it.
Caelus, however, calmly and unhurriedly stuffed the Stellaron back into his inventory. The moment he did, a collective sigh of relief echoed through the command room.
Himeko also let out a long breath. She walked over to Caelus, looked him over carefully from top to bottom, and then spoke to him with a very serious tone.
"I don't know why the Stellaron Hunters placed the Stellaron inside you, but you'd best not take it out so casually. It could very well cause you physical harm."
Caelus nodded without arguing.
Seeing that he had taken her words to heart, Himeko took half a step back, straightened her posture, and her tone shifted from a warning to a formal self-introduction.
"I am Himeko, the navigator of the Astral Express."
She glanced over at Dan Heng and March 7th.
"The two who escorted you back here are my companions, March 7th and Dan Heng."
March 7th immediately grinned and waved at Caelus, while Dan Heng gave a slight nod in his direction.
Caelus, in turn, gave his name to Himeko and Asta.
"Caelus. But I only remember my name. I can't recall anything else."
"Amnesia?" Himeko nodded slightly. "It's alright. We'll help you."
Now that introductions were out of the way, Himeko was about to ask Asta to arrange for a full physical examination for Caelus when every alarm system in the command room shrieked to life at the exact same moment.
A piercing siren blared from all directions. The overhead lights instantly switched to a flashing, hellish red, and every monitor on the control consoles lit up with crimson warning boxes, the data streams buried under layers of alert symbols.
Himeko and Asta spun around and hurried toward the main monitoring screen that took up half the wall. A technician's fingers flew across a keyboard, switching through camera feeds three, four times before finally settling on an external view.
On the screen, against the black backdrop of space, a colossal, dragon-like creature was rapidly approaching.
Its size far exceeded that of any conventional life-form. Its massive body unfurled in the vacuum, each beat of its wings stirring visible waves of energy. A long, dark purple trail streamed from its tail as it flew in a straight line toward the space station.
The command room fell silent for two seconds.
All the researchers froze, their hands hovering over their consoles, their eyes glued to the screen.
Himeko stood before the monitor, the flashing red alarm lights washing over her face. Her brow furrowed, her gaze tracking the dragon-like creature's trajectory.
"Doomsday Beast."
Her voice was low, the words practically forced through her teeth.
"The Antimatter Legion's bioweapon... so it's finally appeared."
Upon seeing the Doomsday Beast, every person in the command room grew incredibly tense. The eyes of many researchers filled with a deep, primal fear.
The only exception was Caelus, who was staring at the Doomsday Beast on the monitor with a look of pure excitement.
I don't know what kind of dragon that is, but since it's a dragon, it's gotta drop some amazing loot, right? And even if it doesn't, it'll give a massive amount of experience points, right?!
Caelus gripped his baseball bat, practically buzzing with anticipation.
In the world of MC, there was a popular saying: a dragon has come from afar, so don't you dare leave!