Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 183: She’s Dying

Chapter 183: She’s Dying

Breaking free from Ansel’s clutches wasn’t easy, but Leandro managed it.

Meanwhile, Lyra seized her opportunity. With everyone still stunned, she commanded Schedar to dive straight into the cockpit of Broken Blade’s mecha.

Leandro acted fast. A flurry of laser blasts, followed by a surge of his powers, hammered the mecha hard.

The once formidable machine twisted under the force, blood beginning to ooze from the cracks like a horror movie coming to life.

Panic shot through the Broken Blades Pirates like a bad rumor. Desperate, they rushed forward, eyes wild with fear.

One of their more advanced mechas, which had been relentlessly hunting Lyra, suddenly swerved and ditched its mission. He headed straight for the remains of their leader’s machine, clearly hoping to save what was left and make a break for it.

But Leandro wasn’t about to let them run off that easy. No way. He powered up his mecha and blasted forward, cutting through space like a beast on a hunt.

In mere seconds, he left the core pirate leaders in shambles. Their fleet was falling apart like an old sweater unraveling at the seams.

It was over for the Broken Blades.

One of their remaining leaders spat out a curse, his voice shaking with dread. "Fall back! All of you!" The guy clearly wasn’t ready to die today.

Ansel took in the chaos and hesitated for just a moment, his eyes narrowing as he considered his next move. Then, his attention shifted to Lyra.

However, before he could act, a wave of terror rippled through his own ranks. Screams erupted all around him. Everything was falling apart.

Liliana and her squad, who’d somehow managed to sneak past unnoticed, were tearing through the ranks like a pack of wolves in a sheep pen.

Soldiers dropped dead wherever they went, drained of life in seconds. The cold expanse of space, normally dark and empty, now looked almost eerie with the faint glow of deadly flowers blooming in their wake.

Death was everywhere Liliana walked.

Ansel’s army scattered in the chaos. He barked a quick command, "Kail! Round up our men and get ready to retreat!"

Kail, however, had other ideas. With a look of pure determination, he lunged his mecha towards Lyra.

"I’m taking my sister back to the medical ship!" he shouted, clearly more focused on her than on following orders.

Ansel’s face twisted with rage. "Useless fools!"

Thunderous energy surged around him, pulsing with fury. He let his powers loose in two directions—one aimed at finishing off the Pirate Fleet, and the other hurtling straight for Lyra and Kail. He treated them like nothing more than loose ends to be cleaned up.

Lyra and Kail immediately felt it. The air thickened around them, space itself pressing down like an invisible weight.

Leandro, still deep in the fight, spun around as the energy shift hit him. His eyes widened as he took in the scene.

"Seriously? Space twisting? That old man’s got Spatiokinesis powers?" Leandro cursed under his breath.

Wasting no time, Leandro threw himself into action, channeling his powers and yanking both Lyra and Kail toward safety. He hurled them back to the medical ship, just barely dodging the deadly attack meant to crush them.

Once again, Ansel’s plans crumbled.

Furious, his voice boomed over the comms, "Leandro! How dare you interfere?!"

Leandro wasn’t having it anymore. "You’ve crossed the line too many times, Ansel!" he snapped, his patience long gone.

With that, the thin veneer of their so-called alliance was ripped to shreds. They were done playing nice.

By the end of the fight, both pirate fleets were obliterated, their forces scattered and fleeing, tails between their legs. Blackheart’s people barely made it out alive.

And Lyra? Though she was barely holding on, she’d survived.

Back on the medical ship, Kail raced to her, practically ripping open the cockpit in his frantic rush.

His heart nearly stopped when he saw her condition. She was drenched in blood, her body struggling to heal itself.

The wounds just wouldn’t close, no matter how hard her powers tried.

"Sis, you okay?!" Kail’s voice was thick with worry, his hands trembling as he reached out.

Lyra, barely conscious, fumbled for her opticomputer. She typed out a message to Morrison with shaking fingers.

"Help... me down..." she whispered, her voice weak as a gust of wind.

Zinnia and the others, who had been working on the wounded nearby, rushed over at the sight of Lyra. Their faces paled.

"Lyra! What happened to you?!" someone gasped.

Lyra tried to respond, but her strength was fading fast. Her eyelids fluttered, and just like that, she collapsed. Darkness swallowed her.

But before she completely slipped away, the Space Button on her wrist emitted a faint glow.

Schedar, her ever-faithful companion, emerged and coiled around her protectively, shielding her from any further danger.

...

Meanwhile, on Elden Prime, Morrison was overseeing the cleanup of their latest operation. He was calmly giving instructions to Mandy when Lyra’s message came through.

One glance at it, and his composure shattered. He shot to his feet, eyes wide.

"Deliver the plant to Demetra," the message read.

His heart sank. Something had gone horribly wrong with Lyra—badly enough for her to send such a desperate message.

Mandy, noticing the shift in his mood, asked cautiously, "Morrison, is everything okay?"

Okay? Nothing was okay. Too many things had spiraled out of control. The queen bee’s madness had clearly spread, and now, she might’ve caught up with Lyra.

Morrison stared at the screen, taking a deep breath. He slowly sank back into his chair, fighting to regain control. "No, it’s fine," he lied, his voice steady but distant. "Just stick to the plan. Once you’re done, go to Demetra directly."

After ending his call with Mandy, Morrison leaned back in his chair, the gears in his mind turning.

Wasting no time, he reached out to Caspian, eager to confirm the status of the level-nine strength-enhancing plant.

"We’re picking them up this afternoon," Caspian replied, a slight smirk evident in his voice. "What’s the rush? It’s not like Lyra, a level-six, has any real use for something so powerful."

Morrison wasn’t about to reveal the real reason. He played it cool. "You recently made a killing selling top-grade Aesculapius’ Grace, but we haven’t received any sign of the plant yet. Of course, we’re in a hurry."

Caspian’s eyes narrowed, sensing something off but shrugging it off as typical business paranoia. "Have we worked together this long only to lose trust?" His voice was smooth, but the dig was clear. "Besides, you still owe us two advanced medical machines."

Morrison didn’t miss a beat. "Those machines? They just arrived," he said smoothly, keeping his cool. "I’ll be meeting you tonight to close the deal."

The moment the call ended, Morrison moved into high gear. He immediately ordered his assistant to book the fastest available flight to Demetra.

"Make it happen now," he insisted, urgency pressing him forward.

As he scrambled to tie up loose ends, Morrison’s gut churned with unease.

If any news from Demetra got to Caspian too early, Morrison knew he would use it to twist the knife.

Guys like Caspian never passed up an opportunity to exploit a vulnerable moment.

...

Meanwhile, on Demetra, Leandro oversaw the careful transfer of a strange silver egg to the medical department. His face remained unreadable, his focus sharp as the operation unfolded with precision.

Ansel watched from a distance, barely able to contain his frustration. "Leandro, I believe it’s my responsibility to manage the interns," he said, his voice cold.

Before Leandro could reply, Andre stepped in, his disdain clear. "Those students are under NMA’s protection. It’s only right that I ensure their safety, without any interference from you, Vice Admiral Shedd."

Andre’s jaw clenched as he continued. "In fact, due to Shedd’s reckless treatment of the interns, I’ve filed a request with the military for their transfer to a more appropriate unit."

Andre’s fury had been bubbling ever since he found out Ansel had sent the interns to a pirate-infested trade market, which nearly cost them their lives.

With Leandro now backing him, Andre was determined to keep the students far away from Shedd’s dangerous antics.

Ansel’s gaze darkened, venom flashing in his eyes. Without another word, he stormed off, his anger palpable.

Despite the heated clashes, the pirate crisis on Demetra had come to an end.

The aftermath, however, was far from quiet.

As the Alliance military report spread, the public was hit with grim news. Two catastrophic tragedies had unfolded: first, the massacre at Anya Village, which took the lives of 2,123 innocent souls; and then the even more horrifying slaughter at Trade Town Amaran, where a staggering 91,231 people had been killed.

The sheer scale of the loss sent shockwaves through the Alliance, leaving people reeling with grief and outrage.

Yet, in the midst of such devastation, there were victories that couldn’t be ignored.

The Blackheart Pirate Fleet had been annihilated, their leader executed. .

The Falcons and Broken Blades had taken major hits, with their leaders critically injured and nearly fifty of their top members captured.

And much to the public’s surprise, it was revealed that a group of interns had played a crucial role in these wins, which helped temper some of the anger across the Alliance.

But behind the scenes, darker truths were emerging, unsettling the military’s higher ranks.

Whispers of betrayal were circulating, pointing to the possibility of inside involvement in the Amaran massacre.

It seemed that remnants of the Blackheart pirates had managed to escape thanks to a traitor on the inside. They had stolen the key that unlocked the prison cells.

The blame for the first betrayal was conveniently pinned on Baird, who had already been killed. But the second betrayal cut deeper—it was none other than Kail Shedd, Vice Admiral Ansel Shedd’s own grandson, who had the key stolen from him.

This breach led directly to the massacre of hundreds of Legion Skywalkers, who fell to Liliana’s merciless rampage.

The scandal took a more dramatic turn when Ansel himself pressed formal charges against Kail, making the betrayal impossible to sweep under the rug.

The military, still scarred from the Tyro incident years earlier, found itself once again battling the demons of its own past, a wound that had never truly healed.