"Um, hello! I'm March 7th, this is Dan Heng, and this is Yun Fan. What's your name? Ah, don't be nervous—we mean no harm." Seeing the girl's guarded expression, March 7th took the initiative to speak, attempting to communicate with her.
Hearing this, the girl froze for a moment, a trace of confusion flashing across her face. After a few seconds, she hesitantly uttered a single word: "Stelle."
...
"Mr. Arlan, you should leave first! We can't hold out much longer!" A blue-haired security guard from the space station struggled to fend off the attacks of the Antimatter Legion's Voidrangers while shouting at the defense team captain, Arlan.
"I won't... abandon anyone!" Arlan wasn't faring much better himself. Standing before him was one of the Legion's strongest—a Decaying Shadow.
Unlike ordinary Voidrangers, these monsters were forged in the War Forge by fusing warriors with fragments of ancient beasts. They possessed both human intelligence and the destructive power of Voidrangers, making them the most formidable opponents on the battlefield.
'This can't go on. I need to get back to Miss Asta as soon as possible.' With this thought, Arlan channeled the imaginary energy of the Path of Destruction through his body, transforming it into crackling purple lightning that coiled around the blade of his greatsword.
"This pain is nothing—but yours will be a thousand times worse!"
Arlan stomped the ground hard, using the recoil to launch himself high into the air. At the peak of his jump, he abruptly shifted his stance, leveraging the momentum to bring his massive blade crashing down upon the Decaying Shadow.
Ultimate Skill—Frenzied Retribution!
"ROAR!"
Facing the threat of death, the Decaying Shadow let out a furious roar and slammed its front hooves into the ground. The aluminum alloy floor shattered instantly, sending shrapnel flying like bullets that left gruesome wounds across Arlan's body.
Yet, this did nothing to stop Arlan's advance. The pain only sharpened his focus, transforming his suffering into strength as the lightning around his blade grew even more intense.
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, Arlan and the Decaying Shadow vanished into a cloud of dust.
Drip... drip... drip...
The sound of dripping water echoed through the haze. Strangely, despite the chaos of the battlefield, the rhythmic droplets rang clearly in everyone's ears.
As the dust settled, a limping Arlan came into view. His body was covered in wounds, and his sword-wielding hands were mangled beyond recognition from the tremendous recoil.
"Captain Arlan! Look out!"
At his teammate's warning, Arlan instinctively turned—only to find a Voidranger standing behind him, its arm-blade already swinging toward his neck.
'Is this... where it ends? I'm sorry, Miss Asta...' Arlan closed his eyes quietly, awaiting death's embrace.
Was he afraid? Of course. But strangely, the fear wasn't as overwhelming as he'd expected. What filled his heart more was... regret.
"Take this!"
Just as despair took hold, several ice arrows suddenly shot out from the side. The first pierced straight through the Voidranger's head, while the others struck its limbs and torso, freezing it solid into an ice sculpture.
"Arlan, are you alright?"
"You're... the Astral Express crew..." Arlan steadied himself after his brush with death, finally recognizing March 7th and Dan Heng. As for Stelle and Yun Fan behind them, he assumed they were Nameless he hadn't met before.
"Miss Asta, she..." Arlan trailed off, his greatest worry being Asta's safety.
"Asta's fine. She's directing operations from the Master Control Zone. Right now, the priority is getting back there. So... do you know how to activate the elevator?" March 7th scratched her head awkwardly. For a group that had traveled across multiple planets, it was almost embarrassing to be stumped by an elevator.
"The elevator's access is temporarily locked. You'll need an authorization key to unlock it."
"Authorization key? Let me think... Oh! Asta gave me a card when we came here... Huh? Where is it? I swear I put it in my pocket!" March 7th rummaged through her pockets but found nothing.
"Um... I think I might've lost the key..." March 7th admitted under the weight of everyone's stares, her face flushing with embarrassment.
"March..." Dan Heng facepalmed.
"You're... something else," Arlan muttered.
A heavy silence fell over the group. For a moment, it seemed they were at a dead end.
Ahem. "Actually, there might still be a way," Yun Fan, who had been quietly spectating until now, cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.
"Yun Fan, you really have a way?!" March 7th's eyes lit up as if she'd found a savior, immediately latching onto his arm.
Hiss— Yun Fan sucked in a breath. Who would've thought this Intertwined Fate had such... assets?
"Huh? Why aren't you saying anything? Do you have a solution or not?" When Yun Fan stayed silent, March 7th tilted her head in confusion—but soon noticed the unusual sensation against her chest.
Whoosh—
In an instant, her face turned bright red. She stumbled backward in a fluster until she reached Stelle, who stepped forward protectively, as if saying, If you've got a problem, deal with me instead.
"Really, what kind of person do you take me for?" Yun Fan shook his head helplessly. "Follow me. If you'd told me earlier the elevator wasn't working, this would've been solved ages ago."
"Well... if this gentleman has a solution, then please come with me." Still skeptical, Arlan led Yun Fan to the monitoring room. After pointing out the control panel, he stepped aside to give him space.
"Hey, Yun Fan... are you really sure you can fix this?" March 7th asked hesitantly.
"Heh, this is nothing. Just watch." Yun Fan flashed her a confident smile before turning to the console. His fingers flew across the controls like lightning.
"W-Wow! That's amazing!" March 7th's jaw nearly dropped. Though she couldn't decipher the strings of code flashing across the screen, one thing was clear—Yun Fan hadn't been bluffing. He genuinely had the skills to back it up.