Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 137: AMAT (7)

Chapter 137: AMAT (7)

Aurelius raised an eyebrow, clearly caught off guard. "How do you know there’s a high-level beast here?"

He had his own ways of knowing because of his royal background; he just wondered how this girl from NMA figured it out so fast.

"Simple," Lyra responded, "This is an advanced Aegis Shield."

That made sense. The Aegis Shield wasn’t just expensive, it was top-tier tech, often reserved for high-stakes operations. Its presence meant something powerful was being contained.

Meanwhile, Lyra popped back up on the surveillance feed.

At the same time, a message came through to their enemy leader from the control room: "The target has crossed the finish line and is with the prince of the Alliance."

The red mecha hovering in the sky hesitated. After scanning all the fleeing students, the leader set her sights on the primary objective.

"Promises are important, after all. She’s why they got us in here in the first place," the woman leading the enemy team remarked with a sly grin. "Show me the surveillance."

Without waiting, she made her way toward the finish line.

Back in the pit, Lyra was face-to-face with the Python. For the first time, Aurelius’ usual cool expression cracked.

A sudden laser beam fired at them, but Lyra blocked it with ease, using her Schedar. The energy scattered, bouncing harmlessly off the chains and pillars surrounding them.

"The beast definitely lost a lot of his power." Lyra noticed the prince staring at her shield, though he didn’t ask how she got it.

He had more pressing concerns, like the giant beast they were standing before. "Have you seen the enemy leader?" he asked.

"Level-eight, unknown superpower. She’s closing in," Lyra replied while deliberately taunting the level-seven Python.

The beast whipped his tail in fury, launching attack after attack, but Lyra deflected each one easily.

Climbing out of the pit, she let out a long breath. "This thing won’t be enough to slow the enemy leader down."

Aurelius frowned. He had hoped it would.

Viewers watching the live feed finally caught on to what the two was planning.

Then, Aurelius dropped a bombshell. "Releasing him might buy us some time."

Beasts were naturally stronger than humans, and even a level-seven creature could wreak enough havoc to stall the enemy.

Lyra blinked. She hadn’t expected the prince to suggest something so wild, especially with so many military students still trapped on the island.

The beast wouldn’t be able to escape the Aegis Shield, but it could distract the enemy long enough for the remaining students to find cover—maybe even until reinforcements showed up.

It was risky, though. Releasing the beast might end up hurting their side more than the enemy. She could already picture the heated debates this move would spark later on.

But knowing Aurelius’ background, it made sense that he’d think this way.

"Even if we wanted to, we don’t have the power to free it," Lyra pointed out. "The control for the suppressor is in the control room."

"Good luck, then. We should run," Aurelius said, turning to leave.

"Wait," Lyra stopped him. "We can’t free it, but we can make it free itself."

He gave her a confused look as she leaped back into the pit.

The Python had been around humans long enough to understand some of their language. This time, he didn’t strike. Instead, he stared at Lyra, a flicker of hope in his eyes.

But the creature underestimated just how sneaky humans could be.

Lyra unleashed a wave of psychokinesis, one strong enough to crush the Python. Smiling, she said, "Let’s make a deal."

They communicated telepathically, leaving Aurelius—and the audience—completely in the dark.

The Python hesitated, its emotions flickering back and forth for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he lowered his once proud head, allowing Lyra to toss something into his mouth.

As soon as the task was done, Lyra swayed on her feet, drained from the intense use of her psychokinesis.

Shaking off the exhaustion, she made her way back to Aurelius’ side. He seemed to catch on to her plan, raising an eyebrow as he sneered, "You’ve got guts."

She shrugged. "Fortune favors the bold."

Her eyes flickered to the opticomputer on his wrist, but before either could say more, a blinding crimson laser tore across the sky.

It lit up the night, freezing both of them in place.

The beam sliced through the ground, leaving behind a glowing, molten trench.

At the center of the trench, a silver shield formed and curled around Lyra and Aurelius, offering protection.

They both turned their attention to the source—a scarlet mecha hovering ominously in the distance.

"As I thought... Schedar," came a raspy voice from the mecha. "Lyra, I see the Alliance isn’t treating you well. Why not join the Empire? Serve me."

Lyra’s eyes narrowed, her voice cold. "Thanks, but I’m loyal to my homeland."

Her words sparked something in the hearts of those watching the broadcast. Then, the sound of a single snap echoed across the battlefield.

In that instant, an enormous explosion detonated above them.

Lyra barely managed to dodge in time, but the blast knocked Aurelius off his feet. He crashed to the ground, bloodied and battered; his body was covered in cuts.

Before they could catch a breath, a volley of tranquilizer darts shot out from the mecha.

Lyra dodged again, but Aurelius wasn’t so lucky this time.

The darts landed just inches from his face. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he thought, ’Honestly, passing out would’ve been the better option...’

The woman’s voice, now tinged with irritation, growled from the mecha. "Surrender, or next time, I’ll use seventy percent of my power."

Lyra, standing tall by the edge of the pit, smirked. "You might want to give it everything."

At her words, a wave of superpower particles filled the air, so overwhelming that even the woman’s grip on her powers started to falter. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked toward the Python.

"Doesn’t he still have a suppressor?" she shouted, disbelief in her voice.

"Not anymore. He’s level eight now," Lyra replied calmly.

The Python’s body cracked and splintered as he absorbed the surge of energy. His dull, worn scales broke apart, revealing vibrant purple ones underneath.

His gills flared wide, his snout elongated into a sharp beak, and a massive dorsal fin began to ripple in the wind. The transformation unleashed shockwaves that sent rocks and debris flying.

With a bone-rattling screech, the newly evolved beast shattered the level-seven suppressor in one fluid motion.

The Python—or rather, the wyrm—launched himself into the air, his colossal form blocking out the stars.

Before the woman in the mecha could regain her composure, the wyrm struck, whipping its tail with devastating force.

The mecha went flying, crashing into the ground below.

"Level-eight wyrm..." her voice shook with fear. "How did he level up so fast?"

Lyra gently ran her hand over the wyrm’s glowing scales. "Because he’s smart. He made the right choice."

The deal had been simple: Lyra provided the rare evolution plants and energy minerals, and in return, the wyrm accepted a psychokinesis contract, binding himself to her will.

But that had come at a cost. Controlling both a level-seven and level-eight beast pushed Lyra’s limits to the breaking point. If she hadn’t removed the third Soul Spike, there’s no way she would’ve been able to handle this.

"Go," she commanded softly.

With a deafening roar, the wyrm unleashed a powerful laser beam.

The Aegis Shield, once thought impenetrable, cracked and shattered like glass, raining down in glowing fragments.

Cheers erupted from the onlookers—against all odds, the Aegis Shield was destroyed.