Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 255: The Empire Invades

Chapter 255: The Empire Invades

Lyra ducked, weaved, and barely managed to sidestep the Peculiars’ attacks that came at her from every angle.

Her senses stayed razor-sharp, but a moment’s slip allowed her enemies to use his ability.

Suddenly, Lyra’s abilities felt like they’d been scrambled, thrown into chaotic new configurations that threatened to upend her strategy.

Gritting her teeth, Lyra surged forward. She funneled her psychokinesis into Schedar, which morphed into a colossal protective sphere around her. But that ability was unlike anything she’d dealt with before—it was absolute chaos.

"She’s every bit as dangerous as Lord Westros warned," murmured the young man, his hands glinting with light as he focused.

A peppy voice piped through his earpiece, "Relax, Skylight! Together, we’ve got her on the ropes!"

"Stay alert," Skylight cautioned, his gaze steady on Lyra. "We’re supposed to keep her here, not kill her. If we do, Lord Westros will lose his mind."

"Hold up... is she circling us?" his partner suddenly exclaimed.

Skylight had the range to cover the area, but precision was key—one wrong move, and he’d hit his own team. His eyes narrowed, realizing Lyra’s intention. "Ian! Get out of there, now!"

Too late. Lyra had zeroed in on Ian’s location—a skeletal, half-built skyscraper. She descended with alarming speed, like a hawk swooping in for the kill.

Panicked, the Peculiars converged, desperately trying to protect Ian, who was clearly valuable to them.

In the framework of the building, Ian swiftly manipulated his powers to divert his team’s attacks toward Lyra, each strike throwing her off balance.

"Take that! Not so clever now, are you?" he taunted, fingers twitching as he directed each blow with a grin.

But his arrogance was short-lived. Suddenly, a dagger sank deep into his chest.

Stunned, he looked down to see Shane standing before him, smirking.

"Who’s clever now?" Shane sneered, landing a brutal slash across Ian’s head. "You almost gave me a heart attack tonight."

As Ian’s body crumpled, Shane exhaled in relief. Finally, he’d cleared the path to free Lyra from Ian’s meddling. But just as he turned to leave, an icy grip seized his heart.

His own dagger, now wedged in the bare wall ahead, dripped fresh blood. Shane looked down to see blood soaking his chest, a jagged wound marring his torso. His legs gave out as he slumped to the ground, dead.

But then, Ian’s body began to twitch. Black mist seeped from the wound in his chest, and his head slowly healed.

As the last of his wounds closed, he scowled, touching his unmarred forehead. "I was busy with Lyra. Who invited you, garbage?"

With a single flick of his hand, a black vortex spiraled into life, poised to annihilate Shane’s body for good. But before he could, Skylight’s voice cut through his earpiece.

"Mission’s done. Get back, now!"

With an irritated click of his tongue, Ian dispelled the vortex, watching half the Peculiars sprint toward the portal, desperate to escape.

Lyra wasn’t letting them off that easy. She raced forward, aiming to seal off their exit, but once again, her efforts were blocked.

Forced to watch as her enemies slipped away, she seethed, vowing to pursue them later.

She then turned her attention to Ian’s last position. Slicing downward, she met only empty air—his form flickered before vanishing with a soft POP.

Another clone.

Exhaling a sharp breath of frustration, Lyra shifted focus to Shane’s "body". With a careful hand, she channeled a ball of healing energy, letting it sink into his chest.

Moments later, Shane gasped, coughing as his eyes shot open, panic etched across his face. "Boss! A second later, and I’d be done for!"

Barely conscious, he’d managed to keep his power active just enough to repair the worst of his injuries. If he’d blacked out, his ability would’ve failed, sealing his fate.

"What... what is that monster?" Shane muttered, his voice still shaking as he replayed the encounter in his mind.

He couldn’t shake the image of Ian standing unharmed after taking what should have been lethal hits. "I drove my blade through his chest and split his head—yet he didn’t even flinch!"

"Next time, just stay out of his way," Lyra replied sharply, her tone leaving no room for debate as she readjusted her armor. "I’m heading back to base. Call in a team to recover these bodies. We need to know what we’re dealing with."

With a swift, silent leap, Lyra disappeared into the night.

The full reality of the situation was sinking in fast: this wasn’t a covert attack—it was a full-blown invasion, and the enemy’s strategy was terrifyingly direct.

That Stellar Devourer had infiltrated their defenses, disguised and laying in wait, only to activate an extradimensional portal and flood the area with Peculiars straight from the Empire.

Lyra didn’t need to see the whole battlefield to imagine the chaos left in their wake.

Arriving at the base, her worst fears were confirmed. The scene was a smoldering battlefield—half the buildings had been flattened, thick smoke twisting up into the sky.

The air was charged with residual superpower particles, prickling against her skin in waves.

Blood splattered the ground and walls, dark stains dotting the rubble like a twisted, unnatural garden.

Amid the ruins, soldiers stumbled through the destruction, struggling to salvage whatever they could.

A shout pierced the smoke-filled air: "SHE is back!"

A familiar shadow limped toward her—Kogar, missing an arm and still in his shredded, blood-soaked uniform.

Though his wounds had been hastily tended to, he was clearly far from healed, his steps uneven as he made his way over.

"Vice Admiral Whyte, Captain Whyte, and... they’re in critical condition," he reported, his voice thick with urgency.

"Take me to them. Now," Lyra ordered.

As they rushed toward the medical division, Kogar filled her in. "It happened around two a.m. A whole squad of high-level Peculiars ambushed us—two of them at level nine, plus seven Masters. They came in guns blazing, wiping out everything in their path."

"Vice Admiral Whyte and the others held the line, defending the star map, but they couldn’t keep up with that kind of power. Thirty minutes in, the enemy got the map and withdrew," he explained, grimacing as he relived the horror.

Kogar’s gaze darkened. "Their injuries are beyond what we can handle here. The medical corps suggested transferring them to Planet Nagano for Miss Longoria’s expertise. But Cohen... he insisted on waiting for you."

Lyra kept her jaw set, not breaking stride. "I’ll see what can be done."

When they entered the medical building, chaos was everywhere.

The hallways were packed with stretchers, injured soldiers lying even in corners, their bodies pressing against the walls as medics rushed between them.

Medical devices whirred, some nearly sparking from overuse. But the mood only grew more desperate as they neared the main treatment area.

Inside, Frank and several senior medics huddled around three hospital beds, their faces etched with frustration and concern.

Frank’s voice was hoarse, his patience clearly stretched to its limits. "It’s been over two hours. If we don’t get them into healing pods immediately, even that won’t be enough to save them."

Another medic frowned. "Lyra doesn’t know the first thing about treating injuries of this magnitude. If our own experts can’t stabilize them, what difference will she make?"

"We wait," Cohen replied weakly from his bed, his voice a whisper.

Blood was seeping through the sheets, staining the once-white fabric dark red.

Basic bandages held back the worst of the bleeding, but their power to heal had been overrun by the severity of his wounds.

The medical team had thrown everything they had at him, but the injuries had taken root, and not even their top devices were making a dent.