Dick, the Author, and Airi were still outside, watching the chaos spiral out of control.
Up in the dark sky—now almost completely swallowed by the dark stain—lights began to ignite, one after another.
“What the fuck is happening up there?” Dick snapped, pointing skyward.
Airi, standing beside him, looked toward the spaceport and spoke quietly:
“Fenikkusu-kun, isogu Shiori-sama ni tsutaete kudasai. [ó﹏ò｡]
Ima kidou-jou de kantai doushi no shoutotsu ga okite imasu…
Kanzaki Kō Sangyō no kantai ni wa te o dasanai you,
Hisayo Kanzaki-sama ka Renzo Kanzaki-sama ni tsutaete kudasai.
Joukyou dake tsutaete kudasai.
Dou ugoku ka wa… Shiori-sensei ga kimeru hazu desu.“
On the ship, Shiori heard Airi’s voice through the terminal.
She looked up.
“Fenikkusu-kun… what’s happening?”
Phoenix pulled up orbital footage from multiple news feeds.
A battle had already begun in orbit.
Flashes of plasma fire tore through the darkness, while dozens of ships maneuvered around the planet, leaving glowing arcs of engine trails behind them.
“The combined fleet of Macrohard™ and Quince™ has engaged the united fleet of GOGLE™ and XEREX™,” Phoenix reported calmly. “According to news channels, one of the ships opened fire in a state of panic… which triggered a full-scale engagement.”
He paused briefly.
“However, do not worry. The Kanzaki Kō Sangyō fleet has not entered the battle.”
Jackie couldn’t hold it in:
“Heol… what about the… erm… samchon?”
Phoenix hesitated for a second, careful not to break her cover in front of Blindy.
“Do not worry, Miss Jackie Rho. They are on the opposite side of the planet and are only observing.”
There was a brief processing lapse, as if he was selecting the most appropriate phrasing.
“From the latest radio transmissions I intercepted, your… ah… samchon has ordered them to remain in the shadows and continue observation.”
Blindy had been turning his head the entire time.
From Shiori—
to Jackie—
to the hologram of the space battle.
At some point, he just snapped.
“WHA—WHAT THE GOOD FUCK IS GOIN’ ON HERE?!”
He threw his hand up, staring at the ceiling like it might answer him.
“Rusty!
Where—where’s Zeros?!”
His voice hit a wall, then stumbled forward again:
“I—I’m goin’ to him…”
Blindy was already heading for the exit—then suddenly froze mid-step.
- “Fuck me—Gramps!”
He spun around and bolted back to his cabin.
A second later, the door slammed open.
Blindy rushed inside, eyes darting, scanning—table, chair—
He grabbed an empty whiskey bottle, flipped it, checked—
“Yeah—great. Of course it’s empty—”
—and shoved it straight into the aquarium.
Pikaia twitched, slipped neatly into the narrow glass neck, and Blindy carefully pulled the bottle back out—now with a passenger.
He lifted it to eye level, breathing a little too fast.
“Gramps… I—I ain’t leavin’ you here.”
He hugged the bottle to his chest like it might disappear if he loosened his grip.
“That Rusty asshole might just—
decide—yeah—send you back or some shit—”
His arms tightened around it.
“Not happenin’.
You’re stayin’ with me.”
With that, Blindy burst out of the cabin and sprinted for the exit.
While running, he shouted, voice bouncing off the walls:
“Sh-Shiori! I’m—I’m goin’ after Zeros!
Stay if you want—I don’t—I don’t care—just—stay or let’s go!”
Jackie immediately took off after him.
Shiori muttered under her breath:
“Nande konna baka to…”
But followed anyway.
Within seconds, all three of them were out of the hangar, running toward the spaceport—toward where Dick, the Author, and Airi stood nearby, watching the sky above the city slowly being consumed by the black stain.
Far above them, flashes from the orbital battle kept igniting.
Jackie glanced up while running.
In the sky, like meteors, fragments of destroyed ships were falling, trailing long streaks of dark smoke. Some plunged into the ocean, sending up massive columns of steam. Others crashed straight into Dumsta, bursting into brief flashes of fire along the horizon.
Jackie exhaled, barely believing it:
“Aigo… ije jinjja sesang kkeutnaneun geoya…?”
As they ran out of the spaceport, a new explosion thundered through the financial district.
One of the skyscrapers erupted into a fireball—its upper floors blown outward.
But Jackie hadn’t seen anything fall from the sky onto it.
When they reached Dick, he had the Drone tucked under his arm, still streaming. In his other hand—his holo-tablet.
“Baby, you see that explosion?”
He raised the tablet, scrolling rapidly through the news feed.
“GNN just reported—KNOWIN’TOLOGY™ blew up their office on this shithole planet.”
Dick snorted.
“Idiots say it’s the end of the world…
and they’re heading to the source.”
He shrugged.
“Whatever the fuck that means.”