Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 36: She’s Weak

Chapter 36: She’s Weak

"Wow, karma’s really hit hard, huh, @Jorath? Enjoying getting smacked around?" Claude posted this with some flashy effects in the group chat of their class.

When everyone started asking what was up, he filled them in on the details.

"I saw him all bruised and being taken to the monitoring room. Got curious and asked around. Turns out, he got beaten up!" Claude even shared a clip of Jorath being dragged into a small grove.

The chat blew up with comments.

"Who did Jorath tick off? Is this that ’evil meets its match’ thing happening?"

"Dude, this is NMA. With Jorath’s attitude, it’s a wonder he hasn’t been beaten up sooner. Thought he was still acting tough on Elden Prime."

"If he were on Elden Prime, he’d be worse off! Only Erin and Kail from the Shedd family can act like that; he’s nothing."

"Erin’s my idol, but the Shedd family isn’t all that on Elden Prime anymore. They don’t have many standout heirs."

"Come on, Erin has dual superpowers; that’s pretty impressive. And Kail’s the top graduate from EPMA this year."

The conversation shifted from roasting Jorath to talking about the Shedd family, a well-known military family with a history spanning over two centuries. Old Shedd’s recent promotion to Vice Admiral only made them more influential among these military students.

Meanwhile, Lyra lightly tapped her light screen, reading as they discussed Ansel and Erin’s achievements. Her eyes were deep, reflecting on the future.

Though she had kept her distance from Elden Prime, she knew their paths might cross again. She imagined her grandfather’s and cousin’s faces when that happened, all while staring out at the stars.

The next day, Jorath, now treated, showed up at the assembly ground right on time. He noticed Claude, Zinnia, and a few others smirking at him. But skipping and imagining what they’d say behind his back would be even worse.

"Jorath, I talked with my boss. You can take it easy today," Webber said, noticing how pale Jorath looked.

’It’s just a minor injury,’ He thought, if someone like Lyra, who was often sick, could keep training, then so could he.

"If you insist, don’t quit halfway. If you can’t keep up, you’ll lose credits."

"Got it."

"Join the formation."

As Jorath stepped back into line, he caught Lyra smiling and raising her fist. A wave of anger hit him. Ignoring the setup, he pushed through to confront her, shouting, "It was you last night, wasn’t it?!"

It had to be her. Who else hated him enough? And judging by the small size of his attacker, he was even more convinced.

Lyra coughed and replied, "What are you talking about?"

"Where were you last night?" Jorath accused, pointing at her. "The person who attacked me was short, so it must’ve been you!"

Lyra raised her dark, thin eyebrows in surprise. "You’re saying you got beat up last night, and you think it was me?" She looked delicate, her pale face flushing from coughing.

She seemed so weak next to the tall young man, like a single punch from him could bring her to tears.

"It was definitely you!"

"Enough!" Zinnia finally stepped in, pushing Jorath back. "Look at Lyra. Does she seem like she could beat you up? It’d be a miracle if you didn’t kill her instead!"

Mandy nodded enthusiastically. Despite Lyra’s tough and intimidating demeanor, she didn’t seem physically strong—possibly even weaker than Mandy herself.

Claude, arms crossed, scoffed, "I always knew this guy was a coward, only good for picking on girls." He shot a quick glance at the aloof Lyra, blushing when she caught his eye. "Lyra looks so delicate; she doesn’t seem like she could put up a fight."

Thierry, Claude’s roommate, usually agreed with him on most things. But this time, he wasn’t so sure. He recalled his cousin once saying, "Don’t underestimate her." When he looked at Lyra now, he realized that she did seem easy to underestimate.

The others, including Webber, seemed to agree. Webber had seen Jorath’s injuries the night before, and they didn’t seem like something Lyra could’ve done.

Noticing Jorath getting angrier, Webber frowned and said, "Jorath, either head back to the medical room or return to the team right away! Falsely accusing someone could get you a warning."

"I..." Jorath glared at Lyra, his eyes dark and cold like a deep pool. He knew it had to be her, but he had no proof. Frustrated and angry, he snapped, "We’ll see about this!"

Everyone rolled their eyes, but Jorath ignored them. He was set on getting back at her.

The damage to his joints wasn’t healing quickly, and the next two days of weighted long runs were torture. Being part of the Shedd family meant that losing credits in pre-training would lead to punishment at home, so he gritted his teeth and pushed through. The joint pain kept him awake at night.

The housekeeper on Planet Nagano, informed by Freida, arranged for a healing pod to be sent so Jorath could sleep better. His roommates were jealous, which gave him some comfort.

In the second week of pre-training, Webber switched up the schedule.

Mornings were now dedicated to combat techniques, while afternoons focused on standard military equipment, including mecha piloting.

"Even though I’ll teach you set moves, in real combat, your habits, strength, and flexibility will help shape your unique style," Webber explained in the training room. "You need to practice until your muscles remember better than your brain; that’s the first step."

Everyone lined up against the wall as Webber stood in the center, explaining the techniques. He then turned to Thierry, saying, "Next, we’ll start learning. Head Student Thierry, help me demonstrate."

Webber, a former commander, was a great teacher. He clearly explained force techniques and grappling moves, demonstrating each one before having everyone practice.

The last hour was spent finding similarly sized opponents to practice agility with.

"Today’s goal is simple: successfully execute these moves," Webber instructed.

Mandy, who had never done anything like this before, often needed extra practice. This made her already shaky confidence even lower. She looked at her practice partner, concerned. "Did you get it, Lyra?"

Immediately regretting asking, Mandy thought her roommate didn’t seem too capable either. Lyra grabbed her arm, "You’ll get it with practice. Let’s start."

BANG!