Chapter 69: Rescue Operation Part Two (8)

The soldiers around me shook their heads upon hearing my question. They had already checked the headcount.

"Everyone on board is here."

"..."

I was at a loss for words. However, I didn't think they would be dead. The two of them were powerful enough to survive. Most importantly, I released the seal on Bo-ram's Godly Artifact just moments before she fell off the transport ship. Considering the power that Dong-min exhibited when we were in Great Sky, it was reasonable to think that they would also somehow end up in Great Sky.

'But if that happens...'

It would obviously be better as compared to dying immediately, but it was literally the worst situation since Great Sky was swarmed with cannibalistic demi-humans. Unlike how it was with Celestia and I, the demi-humans would aim for their lives without any hint of hesitation. And it would be especially so with Morne. He was burning with rage against us so I couldn't even begin to imagine what he would do.

'But even so... We can't go back and save them.'

The rescue team wouldn't do it even if I asked them to. Even if they agreed to it, it would pose a problem. Wasn't it a given that if we changed the direction of the ship, Morne would destroy everything?

"By the way, Morne must've been very desperate. No one would have pursued us in that situation unless they were crazy."

"Well, from Morne's point of view, he must've thought that he must capture us by all means. If he's unlucky, he'll be disciplined by the Union, so he will try to catch us first."

The Tekea Federation secretly got involved with Legion and used them as weapons. However, in the midst of all that, they got involved with the high-rank Saint, Cheong Won. They wanted to easily obtain the resources on Planet Ella-3, but it became a huge crisis for them instead.

In other words, from Morne's point of view, if he wanted to clear up the situation, he had no choice but to catch Celestia and have a child with her. If I were to think about it like that, the fact that Morne pursued us would be understandable to a certain extent.

Celestia shook her head upon hearing my words, "Even if he caught me under such circumstances, it would still be the same. Look over there."

I turned my head after hearing Celestia's explanation. I could see Albatross getting closer to Great Sky. To be honest, instead of a flying object, it looked more like a beautiful building that resembled a bird spreading its wings. The two wings of the spaceship seemed to shine for a second and a huge photon beam then shot out from its head.

Krooooom…

The tetrahedron-shaped Great Sky was so helplessly hit by that attack. The Gigas and fighter jets from Great Sky tried to somehow struggle, but it was to no avail. Despite dominating Albatross in terms of function and power output, it seemed that even Great Sky was unable to cope with the situation since its control persona was destroyed and the Captain-cum-pilot had deserted his position.

"...It's crashing."

"Yes. Morne made a big mistake. I'm not kidding... Maybe it's even possible for us to take control of Great Sky in this situation."

I listened to Celestia's words as I watched Albatross blow apart Great Sky with an intangible wave. That attack just now destroyed more than ten percent of the outer walls of Great Sky. Even if the system had been restored, it would not be able to maintain an outer shield.

In other words…

"We've won this war."

"Yeah. It was an act of madness to chase us down. He couldn't kill me nor could he take me as a hostage, but even then, he wanted to catch us... he really did it just for his own self-gratification. Even if it's a demi-human, one on the level of Morne wouldn't have been so stupid, so why did he make such a silly choice?"

Upon hearing Celestia's comment, I suddenly recalled what Morne said.

But... I'll put up with it! Because only by killing you, will my powers come back!

I had a rough idea why he did such a thing. The power I locked away was most probably very important to him. Perhaps from the get go, he chased after us to kill me instead of capturing Celestia.

"Hmm... Cel, if that's so..."

Celestia nodded as she saw me hesitating, "Don't worry about it too much. If it's just Bo-ram and Dong-min, then we can definitely save them. You... you used that key before Bo-ram flew away, didn't you?"

"Yes. You saw?"

"To be exact, I felt it. The power she used had a great meaning to the imperial family... Well, anyways."

Celestia sneaked a look around and whispered, "I'll try my best. Though I look like this, I'm still an Imperial Princess."

At this point of our conversation, the transport ship rattled briefly, and we could see the entrance of Albatross through the broken wall. Thanks to Morne, one wall had been blown away, and the docking process of the transport ship was right before our eyes.

"Oh, by the way, one wall has been blown away, and I can't believe this ship can fly without any complications."

"Because we can protect the interior from the Universe if we deploy the barrier in a sealed form. Of course, it will consume significant energy, but it's very helpful in an emergency like this."

We got off the transport ship while I was listening to Celestia's explanation. There was no need to exit through the door since there was no wall on one side.

"Imperial Princess-nim! Are you all right?"

Dressed in a suit and thick black horn-rimmed glasses, Deputy Captain Natalie led several attendants to greet Celestia. Her expression was quite bright, but that was only natural. Their Imperial Princess was taken captive in the demi-humans spaceship -- basically an extremely dangerous place -- so of course they were extremely distressed and nervous. She thought that Celestia would come back in a near-death condition, but the latter came back safely.

"Yes, I'm all right. You roughly heard the report, right?"

"Of course. Ah, I'm so glad you're safe too, Dae-ha-nim. We've prepared a surgical operation to remove the torture substance, so you can go and get treatment right away."

"A surgical operation huh…"

Well, though they put the metal in me via injection, it was not possible to remove the metal which was mixed into my blood and had penetrated through to my internal organs. Even so, I didn't intend to get treated right away.

"It's not urgent, so can I take part in the battle first?"

"What? But..."

"Please."

I thought of Bo-ram and Dong-min. We had no idea of their situation, so we must take control of Great Sky as soon as possible. Fortunately, even if my body condition was in a mess, I would be able to control the Gigas through Ares.

"Deputy Captain." Originally hesitating, Natalie nodded upon hearing Celestia's words.

"...Alright. Actually, we would be glad to have your help, Dae-ha-nim. In return, once the battle is close to being over, you'll have to do the surgery right away."

"Sure. Cel, what are you going to do now?"

"I'll have to go to the bridge deck. I have something to tell the bear, no, I mean Major General Chun Hyun-il."

"Can't he come out to meet you?"

"Hoho, of course not. It would be a stupid thing to do because Morne's on our tail. Deputy Captain, how's the battle situation?"

"It's the best we could ask for. We've already completely destroyed the defense system of Great Sky, and for some reason, the enemy's control persona died. It was a great crisis, but we may have gained an advantage in capturing the Exa-class spaceship. And most of all... Hmm." Natalie was explaining to Celestia with a slightly excited face but her expression then changed. I think she received a report of some sort that we couldn't hear.

"What's the matter?"

"They say the reinforcements from the Imperial family are here."

"...From the Imperial family?"

"Yes."

Clearly, our allies came, but everyone around wasn't delighted about it.

It was definitely strange. We haven't even been able to get in contact with them since our lives were at stake a while ago, but the reinforcements had already arrived. Moreover, how did they arrive at such a timing? Looking at this atmosphere, it felt like they came without establishing any proper contact with us.

"Don't tell me... Is the Sixth Imperial Prince the one who brought along the reinforcements?"

"Hoho, I'm hurt, noona. Why are you treating me like I'm some stranger?" The sudden voice stiffened everyone's expression. I turned my head back in surprise as well. Only Celestia answered calmly like she had expected the person.

"...Of course I should treat you like a stranger. We're not even that close."

"Eyy~ That's too much. I'm hurt." A young man stood there; he was so handsome that it was shocking. With a height of less than 160 centimeters and a womanly figure, his eyes were golden in colour. His blonde, shiny hair looked as if he got some hair treatment done.

'This guy is the Sixth Imperial Prince?'

Even though he had pretty features perhaps because he was of the same bloodline as Celestia, they had different vibes -- perhaps it's the difference in hair color.

Celestia looked at him and asked, "What brings you here?"

"Who knows? Since we're not very close, why should I tell you why I'm here?"

In response to the Sixth Imperial Prince's spiteful reply, Celestia stared back at him without speaking a single word. After a while, the Sixth Imperial Prince couldn't help but shrug.

"Hahaha! Actually, I found a candidate to be my Imperial Princess Consort. It's a shame but I'm getting married!"

At the sudden bombshell announcement, the crew members around began to stir up a commotion.

Natalie spoke on behalf of all of them, "Congratulations, Prince-nim! You found someone who passed all those intricate conditions. But could you perhaps enlighten us as to the connection between having found a candidate to be the Imperial Princess Consort and you gracing us with your presence here?

Natalie was right. Celestia asked him why he was here, but he replied that he was getting married. Although the content itself was destructively alarming, wasn't it completely irrelevant? Just then, a radiant light shone from behind the Sixth Imperial Prince --

"Hohoho. Actually, we didn't expect this either." A silver-haired beauty with white wings appeared from behind him.

"In fact, we didn't come here out of our own will."

I groaned at the sight of her whispering softly, "...An angel?"

The other crew members present were also surprised.

"Isn't that someone from the Celestial tribe?"

"No, wait...The candidate for the Imperial Princess Consort is from the Celestial tribe? Isn't that unprecedented?"

"That aside, is this even possible?"

"It's possible."

A blonde-haired old man holding a white fan dressed in silk clothes appeared and interrupted the hubbub. It was the being who literally threw us into the den of the demi-humans. And in that process, he stepped on their pride and instilled fear in them.

"Because I, will make it happen."

It was the Saint from Elohim, Cheong Won.