Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 97: The Truth

Chapter 97: The Truth

Lyra was slightly out of breath, coughing into one hand as she wiped the blood off her sword with the other.

The ground beneath her feet was soaked, and the coldness in her eyes deepened.

"L-y-r-a!" Cohen’s voice shook as he called out. "Did you seriously just kill someone right in front of me?"

He couldn’t wrap his head around it. How had this woman slipped out of his control? He came here to rescue people, but now he was helping a murderer?

Lyra waited, letting her superpower recharge a bit before turning to face him. "This is an alien planet, Cohen. It’s not under any official jurisdiction, so the law doesn’t exactly apply here."

Cohen winced at the sight of the blood on the ground. "Can’t you just calm down?"

Lyra shot him a sarcastic look. "Maybe you should first figure out who these people are. Weren’t there only military personnel and investors here? So it’s clear how they got in." Her words were laced with a sharp edge.

Cohen found himself at a loss for words, anxiety gripping him. These weren’t just any attackers—they were well-trained assassins, possibly from the military. Zorion’s face almost had "guilty" written all over it just now.

At that moment, Zorion felt an unsettling sense of recognition as he stared at Lyra. The fierce, untamed energy she radiated—it reminded him too much of someone dead.

Suddenly, the cold flash of a sword cut through the air.

Startled, Zorion’s instincts kicked in, and he armored himself like a turtle in an instant.

CLANG! The sword snapped.

Level-five superpower. Zorion grinned wickedly, raising his fist to strike.

"Huh, tough skin," Lyra muttered, pulling out a dagger and slashing with blinding speed. The next thing Zorion knew, his arm was severed. They flew off as blood spurted out, pain following in a delayed wave.

"Arghhhh—"

The sudden realization of his mortality struck Zorion hard, and he turned to flee.

Lyra bolted after him, but Kail’s voice stopped her. "Wait, you—"

Her murderous glare silenced him immediately.

"Stay put," she ordered.

But Cohen, furious, used his superpower to pin her down. "You’re the one who needs to stay put!"

Chasing after a superior officer? A military cadet doing that? Unthinkable.

Lyra sighed, resigned. "Fine." She sheathed her dagger back into her Space Button. "But can we at least check who these bodies belong to? Let’s see who they really are."

Cohen pressed his lips together, uneasy. "I’ll have someone handle that later. You don’t need to worry about it."

Deep down, he feared that if it turned out these assassins were military, it would spark a scandal they couldn’t contain.

Lyra seemed to catch on, offering him a mocking smile.

"Ugh, ugh! You can let me go now," she said, her voice weak, as though she might collapse under the pressure.

"Promise me you’ll calm down."

"I’ve been calm this whole time."

The crushing force vanished, and she glanced at the crater where superpower particles still danced in the air. "How about we see who wins this time?"

Cohen felt his frustration peak. He was about to explode. "I order you to return to the base immediately!"

Lyra blinked, feigning innocence. "Weren’t we told that whoever finds the plants gets a share?"

Before Cohen could react, she shot thirty meters away in the blink of an eye.

Cohen was stunned, ’How did she even do that?’

"Everyone, head back!" Cohen barked before taking off after her, leaving the group of interns gaping in disbelief.

Grains rubbed his stiff face. "That woman is something else."

The bloodshed had shattered their worldviews—could killing really be so easy?

Kail couldn’t shake the look in Lyra’s eyes from his mind, and the more he dwelled on it, the faster his heart raced. Without thinking twice, he dashed after her.

The others hesitated for a moment, exchanging uncertain glances, but soon followed suit.

Lyra and Cohen, one sprinting ahead and the other in hot pursuit, reached the edge of a deep pit where the tension was palpable, and the situation was teetering on the brink of a full-blown crisis.

The Phenix Legion had once held the upper hand, but now they found themselves under intense pressure. They were now targeted by the combined forces of the Legion Skywalkers and Vivian’s butler commanding her own squad of fighters.

Worn out and injured, the Phenix Legion had no choice but to retreat.

Now, only a level-seven fighter from the Legion Skywalkers and the butler remained, locked in a brutal duel.

In the chaos, a level-nine plant was being tossed back and forth. The plant could enhance people’s strength.

During the tossing around, the plant soared into the air.

As Lyra raced toward it, she caught sight of the plant, and her heart pounded with excitement—it was a level-nine strength-enhancing plant! Her hunch had been right; this planet did hold treasures like this.

Two level-seven fighters scrambled up from the pit, hands outstretched to grab the plant, but in a flash, a green energy ribbon shot out, snatching it away.

All eyes snapped to Lyra.

The plant, charged with energy, clung to her hand as she started to realize the gravity of the situation—this was a dangerous game she was playing.

"Lyra, be smart and don’t make me kill you." Erin’s voice cut through the tension, his eyes cold and accusing.

The Phenix Legion’s Captain seized the moment, calling out, "Intern gril, hand that over, and I’ll guarantee you a place in the Phenix Legion with a fast track to promotion!"

Lyra didn’t say a word, but her eyes remained fixed on Lyra, brimming with hostility.

"Lyra!" Cohen was now facing her, hand extended in a gesture of caution. "Give it to me. You can’t handle this."

He knew how badly she wanted that level-nine plant, but what could a level-five like her do against a crowd of level-sevens? Even if she got away now, surviving on Wyrmtrace afterward was a different story.

He genuinely wanted to save her life.

But before anyone could move, a level-seven from the Shedd family snapped out a metal whip. The whip’s superpower particles buzzed with lethal intent, and it cut through the air with a bone-chilling coldness.

The Phenix Legion’s Captain also lunged, attacking simultaneously.

"Stop!" Cohen yelled. He found himself unable to hold back, so he dived into the fray himself.

What had been a nearly settled situation spiraled back into chaos the moment Lyra got involved.

Amidst the battle, Lyra, being a level-five, was struggling to keep up.

Just as she was about to retreat, a sharp, icy sensation raced down her spine, forcing her to twist mid-run to avoid a deadly ice shard.

Before she could fully recover, a powerful gust slammed into her chest—it was the stern butler from the Mendez family.

Lyra locked eyes with the woman, seeing the deadly intent there. As she suspected, the quiet ones were always the most dangerous; the Mendez family had kept their true strength hidden well.

Just as she was about to fall into the deep pit, Lyra hurled the plant into the air with all her might, forcing the woman to abandon her attack and chase after it.

Lyra coughed up blood, her body wracked with pain, but she managed to grab onto a ledge with her glowing energy ribbon and began to pull herself back up.

At the pit’s edge, Erin spotted her and immediately activated his superpower, ready to deliver a killing blow, but Kail arrived just in time, shoving him aside.

"You can’t kill her!" Kail shouted, his voice filled with desperation. But the woman sneered, shoving him toward the pit. "Then you can die with her!"

Kail’s eyes widened in shock as he plummeted.

As Lyra climbed, her gaze flicked back and forth between her falling brother and the level-nine plant. She desperately reached out with her energy ribbon—but it wasn’t enough...

She closed her eyes.

In a flash, gleaming silver metal enveloped her. A pair of sleek, sharp wings extended from her back as she dove straight for Kail, who was hurtling toward the ground.

Erin, standing at the pit’s edge, was frozen in shock. She opened her eyes wide as he dropped to his knees, staring at the shimmering metal. ’It... it’s Schedar... but how can a clone possess Schedar? Is it... SHE HAS BEEN THE REAL LYRA SHEDD ALL ALONG!’

Deep within the pit, Lyra caught the stunned Kail. She tossed him onto solid ground as her armor morphed into a protective sphere around them.

Kail, still in shock, sat on the ground. He stared up at Lyra, his voice barely a whisper as he asked, "How do you have...?"

"Idiot!" Lyra snapped, slapping him hard across the face. She didn’t stop there, though. With a quick flick of her energy ribbon, she hoisted him up and slammed him against the jagged rocks nearby.

Silence followed, thick and heavy, as Lyra crouched down beside him, her hand clamping around his throat.

Her voice was low, but every word cut deep. "Kail, it’s been eleven years, and you still don’t have any defenses against the Shedd family. How can you be so stupid? Have you learned nothing?"