Chapter 2 Ghost Fortress
(So this is the real battlefield…)
Looking at the metal wreckage floating among the asteroid, Lonis took a deep breath.
It wasn’t the first time she had stepped onto the battlefield, nor the first time she had prepared for a desperate fight… but she had to admit that large-scale battles were completely different from the small-scale hero subjugation battles in the Land of Eternity.
You can feel a killing aura lingering in the void. Looking up at the pitch-black universe, it seems that enemies can appear in any space.
However…
Perhaps it was because she had already experienced the Castor subjugation battle?
Although Lonis felt nervous, she did not panic or lose her composure… because back then, the girls didn’t even know any information about the Trickster Demon?
Trembling, walking on thin ice, Lonis had almost gotten used to the terror of taking one wrong step and losing everything. So she just swayed her fox tail slightly in place and basically adjusted herself.
And what about the other companions?
Although they were also slightly uncomfortable, they had basically adapted to this atmosphere after using their respective methods.
For example, Su Ling was feeding Little Starfish and Slime, Mi Xue Zhou was fooling around with the Eight-tailed Fox, and Candelle was hugging Cécile’s thigh.
And perhaps the only one who had been constantly on edge was that one person…
…
“Senior Isumi, there’s no need to be so vigilant now. Let’s observe with all our might after we enter the fortress.”
Ever since returning to the past, Senior Isumi had been standing motionlessly by the window, gazing at the boundless night.
Was she vigilant about whether terrifying “Heretical Structure Evolution Bodies” would approach? Although Lonis could understand Senior Isumi’s thoughts, it would be more of a loss than a gain if she was too tense.
Therefore, Lonis comforted her in this way, but she did not expect…
“Vigilant? Hmm, no, Junior Lonis, you’ve misunderstood.”
“Huh?”
“I’m not vigilant about those dangers, because I can feel that they have temporarily withdrawn from this area. I’m just… admiring this starry sky.”
“Starry sky?”
“Yes, it’s really beautiful, isn’t it? And compared to our world a thousand years later, there seem to be some different changes. Hmm… It’s a pity that the power of the Orange Abyss is limited, otherwise it would be very interesting to see the surface of those stars.”1
“Senior…”
…
Although Senior Isumi always had a poker face, her pupils were deep and dark, like an opaque black hole.
But at this moment, the senior clearly revealed a glimmer of hope.
That was condensed in
The beauty in the girls’ hearts, and also the proof of Senior Isumi and everyone together.
So…
“I’ll take a look too… Huh? Stars, are there so many colors? I thought they were all white?”
“Well, according to the temperature of the stars, the color of the spectrum is different. Generally speaking, purple and blue stars are the brightest and hottest, while red and orange are the coolest.”
“Ah? That sounds like a bad deal, Isumi. Does this mean that our powers as the Fiery Abyss and Orange Abyss are actually the weakest?”
“Hmm, perhaps there is a connection. After all, the combat abilities of both Isumi and Lonis are not very strong.”
“You should at least argue back!”
(Sigh, the little idiot is making the girls happy again.)
Watching Lonis chatting and laughing with the girls again, Elus sighed.
Old habits die hard, and even if Lonis turned into a plush ball, her true nature of wanting to have a “harem” would not change.
However…
Elus was no longer angry about it.
Because she knew that this was also Lonis’s strength. And it was precisely because she had such a mood that all the companions could unite and their hearts could be gathered together.
So, this way…
“Hmph, next time I bully Lonis, I’ll use this as an excuse again. Hehehe, I really like to see the little fox’s flustered expression~~~”
——————-
…
…
Thus, after a period of adaptation, the Time Shuttle on which the girls were located approached the small belt.
The x-12 outpost base is located on a large asteroid with a diameter of 60 kilometers. The asteroid is composed of metal, and its surface is surrounded by meteoric iron. Because of this, it naturally has a certain protective capability, which can withstand attacks similar to nuclear bombs.
But even so…
This forward base had fallen.
Although Zhisheng Luo had tried to contact the communication station there several times, she only received hoarse echoes – so the only way to enter was to use Cécile’s teleportation magic.
…
“Everyone, are you ready? We’re going to depart.”
“Mm!”
…
Because there might be unknown risks remaining in the fortress, the first exploration team consisted of only six people: Elus, Lonis, Cécile, Candelle, Senior Isumi, and Bai Ye.
The other girls would remain on standby on the ship and provide support when unexpected situations arose.
…
(I must be careful, hmm… I must protect everyone.)
Stepping into such a mysterious place, Lonis was fully prepared to protect them with her Rainbow Abyss underwear!
But even so, she did not expect at all…
The entire interior of the fortress was remarkably peaceful, without even a hint of the smell of blood.
The passages looked very clean, with no bullet marks or streaks of blood. Both the security doors and the equipment lights were intact, looking as if they were brand new.
“What… what is going on?”
“Senior Isumi, can you detect any traces of humans?”
“No, although I can feel that there were traces of human life here, at least on this level, there are no living beings left.”
“Are they hiding?”
…
The current peaceful situation made the girls feel an indescribable sense of strangeness.
If the fortress was attacked, it was impossible for no trace to be left behind. Even if the soldiers’ corpses were eaten by monsters, there would at least be some shell casings left.
But now, everything was as usual.
In the cafeteria, the empty beef pots were still placed there.
The soldiers’ casual shoes were neatly arranged in lockers, and they did not seem to have been conscripted.
So…
Did all the soldiers vanish suddenly?
Lonis’s heart skipped a beat. Unconsciously, she recalled the legend of ghost ships – ships drifting at sea, deserted, but with all their belongings intact, and even half-finished coffee cups left on the tables.
And the scene they encountered now was extremely similar to the appearance of a ghost ship.
…
“Cécile, do you think teleportation magic transported all our warriors away?”
“It doesn’t seem like it. Besides us, there are no spatial gravity fluctuations in this area.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s continue to investigate. I think we are very close to solving it.”
Elus frowned and walked forward without any fear.
