"Never thought Stelle'd be this good in a fight, even though she was just born..."
Watching Stelle knock out several Voidrangers in a few clean swings, March 7th remarked with surprise, "And, even though she clearly is handling a bat for the first time, some of her instinctive combat moves are really smooth, almost like muscle memory... No wonder Lynelle said she's got a mysterious past!"
"But, Stelle... is smashing all the bottles and jars around after the fight also part of the habit...?"
"Don't ask."
Lynelle patted March 7th's shoulder with a profound look. "This is what you call 'natural-born Destruction.'"
"So you were just standing there not fighting at all because you were thinking up cool lines?!"
"I'm not combat personnel..."
Lynelle spread her hands, adopting a thoroughly helpless expression.
"I'm just an ordinary researcher, not much fighting power to speak of. If you don't believe me, ask Herta. I'm her personally appointed research assistant, after all. Combat is... outside my field."
"Hmm..."
Seeing Lynelle's delicate, almost fragile appearance—like someone you could easily bundle into a sack and carry off—March 7th had to admit she seemed to have a point.
"No worries."
It seemed the recent fight had given Stelle a great deal of confidence, allowing a part of the girl's innate personality to emerge. "I'll protect Lynelle!"
"Then maybe don't say that while hiding behind Lynelle!"
"I'm positioning Lynelle in front for her protection."
Stelle placed her hands on her hips, tilting her chin up slightly with a 'look-how-smart-I-am' air. "Lynelle, don't look back. I'm Herta."
"I don't even know where to start picking apart what you just said..."
"Maybe hold the mutual ribbing for now."
Lynelle pointed ahead. "The elevator's right up front. We should..."
"Ah, I got this!"
March 7th's eyes lit up, and she rushed forward. After fiddling with the screen for a moment, she lived down to expectations... by failing to open the elevator doors.
"Did you break it?"
Stelle peered curiously at the control panel.
"It must be the Antimatter Legion's fault!"
March 7th was quick to shift the blame. "Sigh, if only Dan Heng were here. He knows all sorts of random stuff; maybe he could even fix an elevator..."
"That, I cannot do."
Dan Heng's voice came from behind the trio.
"Whoa, you're actually here!"
March 7th jumped. "And how did you get here faster than us?!"
"I came down from the other side. Arlan was indeed in the control room, just lightly injured, nothing serious otherwise."
Dan Heng glanced at Lynelle, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Lynelle's information was very accurate."
"Eh?"
March 7th immediately turned to Lynelle. "Th-that's amazing!"
"Of course. A lovely maiden's heart is capable of anything, you know?"
Lynelle's lips curved into a slight smile. "Also, March, check the pocket under your skirt. See if there's a card inside."
"Insert that into the elevator, and it should work normally."
"?"
March, baffled, felt around and then her eyes flew wide open.
"Th-this... there really is?!"
"Because the elevator's access was locked down, probably due to the Antimatter Legion's invasion," Lynelle explained.
"The one you have is probably the unlock key Asta gave you, right? If anything, March, I'm surprised you even forgot you had that."
"Oof..."
March covered her face. "S-sorry..."
"March, you..."
Dan Heng's expression was a mix of complicated emotions. "Forget it, I'm used to it... But, Lynelle, could it be you're... an Emanator of the Finality path?"
"Nothing that mysterious. I'm just a bit proficient with electronic devices, so I happened to guess right."
Lynelle blinked. "Let's just call it a magical girl's magic, okay?"
"Alright... Hm?"
Just as the four were getting the elevator working, suddenly, the station gave a violent lurch. Dan Heng swiftly drove his Cloud-Piercer into a gap in the wall to brace himself, while Stelle deftly caught Lynelle to steady her.
At the same moment, Dan Heng's communicator emitted a sharp, piercing shriek.
"Dan Heng, urgent situation! A Doomsday Beast is attacking the station from the exterior!"
As soon as the call connected, Himeko's voice came through urgently.
"I've seen your situation via the monitors. There's no time for lengthy explanations now. Quickly take Stelle and head for the platform where the Astral Express is docked. Welt is also heading there. He can handle the current situation."
"Since Herta is currently unreachable, the station's defense systems won't hold for long. Hurry!"
"Take Stelle...?"
March was confused. "Why would Sister Himeko specifically say that..."
"Himeko must have her reasons for doing so."
Dan Heng swiftly opened the elevator door. "Get in, quickly. The platform is located in the Supply Zone below. We still have some distance to cover."
The Supply Zone, being the area of Herta Space Station for external docking, was not unfamiliar to Lynelle. After all, not long ago, she had come here with Herta herself.
In fact, the platforms in the Supply Zone weren't limited to just the one playable area seen in the game.
As evident even from the game, the actual number of both platforms and entrances could be described as vast and endless.
According to Dan Heng's meaning, the docking area for the Astral Express didn't seem to be particularly close.
"This platform is seriously just a platform..."
March 7th gazed at the starry sky visible beyond the protective layer on both sides.
"If I were the Antimatter Legion, I'd set up an ambush right here. Isolated, with no support nearby... we could definitely take the Astral Express..."
"Don't say that, you jinx!"
A terrified Lynelle quickly covered March 7th's mouth. Others might not know, but she knew all too well. In the game, March 7th was nicknamed 'the little Ellie,' whose predictions were never wrong.
"I'm afraid it's already too late."
Dan Heng's gaze sharpened, Cloud-Piercer instantly appearing in his hand. "Be careful, the Doomsday Beast is really here!"
Right then, just a few dozen meters away from them, a Doomsday Beast soared menacingly through the starry void.
A moment later, as if having locked onto its target, it let out a furious roar, opened its maw wide, and fired a solid-looking beam of energy directly at the four of them.
"This isn't right. Why is the Doomsday Beast appearing at this point? Wasn't there supposed to be a segment meeting Asta in between..."
Lynelle frowned slightly. She wasn't sure if she should use a character card now. After all, Welt was supposed to intervene in this part of the story. If she acted too, it felt somewhat wasteful.
However, what Lynelle didn't realize was that in the original storyline, March and Dan Heng took Stelle to the Master Control Zone almost immediately after she woke up.
But here... because of Lynelle's presence, they had lingered for quite a while. The net effect was that the Doomsday Beast certainly wasn't going to wait for them.
"Never mind, let's assess the situation first..."
After a moment's thought, Lynelle decided it was better to be cautious. Instantly, an item card materialized in her palm, ready to be used at any moment.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.