Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner - Chapter 443

Chapter 443: Fail safe 2

[LOCATION: Earth – Eastern Cardinal, Sector 4, Zone 8]

[LOCAL TIME: 14:25 Standard]

[TEMPERATURE: 18°C | Weather: Overcast

Hundreds of soldiers in black tactical gear spread across a ruins like shadows given form. They moved with silence between collapsed buildings and overgrown streets, positioning themselves for an assault that would determine the fate of the seven family heads.

King Aurelius stood on a ridge overlooking the abandoned urban sprawl, his amber eyes wide with wonder despite the situation. “So this is Earth,” he murmured, breathing deeply. “The air tastes different than I imagined. Cleaner somehow, despite the decay.”

His wives flanked him, equally mesmerized by their first glimpse of humanity’s birthworld. Queen Lyanna touched a withered tree branch, her thermal abilities sensing the life that still flowed beneath its bark. “Our ancestors walked these streets before they took to the stars.”

“Beautiful and broken,” Queen Sera added, watching government warning signs flutter in the breeze. The placards warned of Category 3 beast activity, urging civilians to avoid the area while military resources focused on the Harbinger threat in space.

Noah stood apart from the group, his attention focused on the fortress rising from the city’s heart. The structure was massive—easily the size of a military complex—with walls that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Shadow energy flowed across its surface like veins of living darkness.

“We have him,” Noah said quietly, his voice carrying absolute certainty. “This is the Eighth’s stronghold.”

Diana, Lucas, Lucy, and Sophie exchanged glances. They’d followed Noah here based on faith rather than understanding, and the reality of their situation was finally sinking in.

*THREE HOURS AGO*

[LOCATION: Ares Fleet Formation – Secondary Briefing Room]

[LOCAL TIME: 11:17 Fleet Standard]

The team sat in frustrated silence, star charts and calculation tablets spread across the table like evidence of their inadequacy. Without Kelvin’s computational abilities, their attempts to recreate the riddle’s solution had produced nothing but dead ends and mounting anxiety.

Diana threw her stylus down with enough force to crack the table’s surface. “This is useless. We’re not astronomers or cryptographers. We’re soldiers pretending to be puzzle solvers.”

Sophie rubbed her temples, exhaustion evident in every line of her posture. “Maybe if we approach it from a different angle. The mathematical constants, the constellation references…”

“We’ve tried every angle,” Lucas said wearily. “Without Kelvin’s technical expertise, we’re just guessing.”

Purple energy erupted in the center of the room as Noah materialized, his expression carrying a certain look that made everyone straighten immediately.

“We don’t need to solve the riddle,” he said simply, his voice cutting through their collective frustration.

Diana stared at him like he’d just suggested they breathe vacuum. “What do you mean we don’t need to—”

“Because I already know where the Eighth Ancestor is.” His voice carried absolute certainty as he held a device up.

The device continued its steady beeping, and Sophie leaned forward to study it. Recognition dawned on her features slowly, like sunrise over a familiar landscape.

“That’s a beacon transponder,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Like the one Miss Brooks gave you at the academy for that training expedition we heard about…”

“Code Ajax,” Lucas finished, “The Cannadah expedition. But that was months ago. Why would you still have it?”

Noah was quiet for a long moment, his gaze moving across each of their faces as he weighed how much to reveal. The silence stretched until it became uncomfortable.

“Kelvin repurposed it,” he said finally. “Modified the frequency, upgraded the transmission protocols, designed it to activate when he wanted us to find him.”

The words hung in the air like smoke from an explosion. The implications crashed over them one by one as understanding dawned.

Diana stood up so fast her chair toppled backward, the metal frame clattering against the floor. “You fucking planned this? You sent Kelvin in as live bait and let us think he was captured?”

“I let you react naturally,” Noah said, his voice steady despite the fury building around him. “Because if you’d known it was planned, your responses wouldn’t have been convincing. The Eighth had to believe they’d won, had to think they’d gained a valuable asset worth keeping alive and interrogating.”

Lucy found her voice, though it came out strained. “You used him. You let us blame ourselves for failing him…”

“I let him volunteer for a mission he understood better than any of us,” Noah corrected. “Kelvin knew the risks. He knew what we needed to accomplish. And he knew he was the only one who could get inside their defenses without triggering immediate execution.”

Before the situation could escalate into the kind of confrontation that would tear the team apart, Noah’s communication device chimed with an incoming priority message. King Aurelius’s face appeared on the display, his expression was one of excitement.

“Noah, my young friend!” the king’s voice boomed through the small speaker. “My wives have completed their preparations. Thermal weapons organized, ship formations established, and our forces are ready for immediate deployment. Where precisely are we conducting this glorious rescue operation?”

Noah glanced at his beacon device, watching the signal strength indicators that confirmed what he’d been waiting for. “Earth, Your Majesty. Eastern Cardinal, Sector 4, Zone 8.”

The king’s eyes lit up with wonder that was almost childlike despite his position. “Earth! The birthworld of humanity itself! Oh, this grows more magnificent by the moment! To think that after all these generations, we return to the world our ancestors called home!”

The team was still processing Noah’s revelation about Kelvin, but the mention of Earth brought them back to the immediate situation. Sophie leaned toward the comm display.

“Your Majesty, that sector has been abandoned for years. I still remember the reports back in my academy days mentioning Category 3 beast activity and minimal infrastructure.”

“All the better for what we need to accomplish,” King Aurelius replied. “My wives have been coordinating supply distribution and personnel assignments. We can be ready for departure within the hour.”

Diana crossed her arms, her anger at Noah’s deception still simmering. “And you’re sure about this location? You’re willing to bet everything on a modified military beacon that kelvin tampered with?”

Noah held up the device, its steady beeping providing audio confirmation of his confidence. “The signal strength is unmistakable. Kelvin’s exactly where he needs to be for us to end this.”

Lucas began pacing, processing the stress through movement. “So while we’ve been sitting here trying to solve mathematical puzzles, you’ve known all along where to go. Why make us go through this charade?”

“Because timing matters,” Noah said, his expression growing more serious. “The pieces had to be in position. The Eighth had to commit to their stronghold location. And…” he paused, something darker crossing his features, “we had to be ready for complications we haven’t discussed yet.”

Before anyone could ask what complications he meant, the communication link chimed again. This time it was Queen Lyanna’s voice, crisp and professional.

“Your Majesty, thermal weapon distribution is complete. All units have been tested and calibrated for maximum effectiveness. We’re ready for immediate deployment.”

“Excellent!” King Aurelius beamed. “Noah, shall we proceed with embarkation? I confess, the prospect of setting foot on humanity’s birthworld has me more excited than any battle I’ve fought in my life time!”

Noah looked around at the team, noting the mixture of determination and lingering resentment in their expressions. “Your Majesty, if you would do me the honor of allowing me to coordinate the approach? My team and I have been studying this situation longer than anyone.”

“By all means, my friend!! Though I do hope you’ll provide a full accounting of whatever dramatic finale you’ve planned. Proper storytelling is essential after any good victory!”

The king’s image disappeared, leaving them alone with what was coming. Noah stood and moved toward the door, then stopped and looked back at his teammates.

“Pack your gear. We leave in thirty minutes. And…” he hesitated, then continued, “I know you’re angry about Kelvin. You have every right to be. But when we get down there, I’m going to need you to trust me one more time. Because this isn’t just about rescuing our friends anymore.”

He left without explaining what he meant, leaving the team to process both his revelations and their own complicated feelings about being manipulated by someone they’d trusted.

—

The transition from fleet formation to planetary approach happened with happened in a blink. Within an hour, hundreds of ships were moving in perfect coordination toward Earth’s atmosphere, their energy systems creating streams of light that connected vessel to vessel like a living constellation.

King Aurelius stood at the command deck’s main viewport during the journey, watching Earth grow larger as they approached. His wives flanked him, equally mesmerized by their first glimpse of humanity’s birthworld.

“Our ancestors walked those continents before they took to the stars,” Queen Lyanna murmured, her voice filled with wonder.

“Beautiful and broken,” Queen Sera added, studying the abandoned sectors that showed as dark patches across the otherwise vibrant world.

The approach vectors took them through increasingly restricted airspace, but their modified IFF signals allowed passage through automated checkpoints without triggering defensive responses. Still, the closer they got to their destination, the more obvious it became that they were heading somewhere civilization had abandoned.

Noah stood with his team at another viewport, watching an abandoned city come into view below them. Even from altitude, the wrongness was visible – buildings hanging on at impossible angles, vegetation growing in unnatural patterns, warning signs bright enough to read from orbit.

“Charming vacation spot,” Diana muttered, though her anger at Noah seemed to be giving way to professional focus.

“The thermal readings are unusual,” Lucy observed, studying the tactical displays. “There are heat signatures that don’t match normal decay patterns.”

Noah nodded grimly. “Whatever they’ve built there, it’s been designed for more than just shelter.”

Their ships settled into landing formation in what had once been a public plaza, now surrounded by half-collapsed buildings that provided both cover and multiple tactical positions. As the landing ramps lowered and personnel began deploying, the scope of their situation became clear.

—

THE PRESENT

[LOCATION: Earth – Eastern Cardinal, Sector 4, Zone 8]

[LOCAL TIME: 14:25 Standard]

The abandoned city stretched around them like something from a fever dream. Buildings rose at angles that defied normal engineering, held upright by forces that made no sense. Streets that should have been overgrown were instead covered by plants that grew in normal patterns, as if following some inhuman design aesthetic.

King Aurelius breathed deeply as they moved through the ruins, his wonder at being on Earth evident despite the circumstances. “So this is Earth,” he murmured. “The air tastes different than I imagined. Cleaner somehow, despite the decay.”

His wives flanked him, equally fascinated by their first steps on humanity’s origin world. Queen Lyanna touched a withered tree branch, seeming to sense something in its dormant structure. “Our ancestors walked these streets before they learned to travel between stars.”

“It’s beautiful yet so simple,” Queen Sera added, watching government warning signs flutter in the breeze. The placards warned of Category 3 beast activity, urging civilians to avoid the area while military resources focused on the Harbinger threat in space.

But Noah stood apart from their sightseeing, his attention focused on something else entirely. In the distance, rising from the city’s heart like a monument to accumulated power, stood a fortress that dominated the skyline. The structure was massive—easily the size of a military complex—with walls that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it.

“We have him,” Noah said quietly, his voice carrying absolute certainty as he checked his beacon device. “This is the Eighth’s stronghold.”

Diana, Lucas, Lucy, and Sophie exchanged glances. They’d followed Noah here based on faith rather than understanding, and the reality of their situation was finally sinking in.

They were standing on Earth itself, in an abandoned city that felt more alien than most actual alien worlds, preparing to assault a fortress held by enemies who’d been planning this confrontation for longer than any of them had realized.

Noah checked his beacon device repeatedly, watching signal strength indicators climb toward maximum intensity.

“Here,” he said simply. “We wait here.”

“For what?” Sophie asked, though something in her mind told her she didn’t want to know.

Before Noah could answer, a figure emerged from one of the surrounding buildings. The person moved with casual confidence, apparently unconcerned by the multiple weapons that immediately trained in their direction.

“It’s that bitch,” Diana muttered, her hand moving to her sidearm as recognition hit.

Lyra approached them across the plaza, but something was different about her movement and posture. Instead of the careful positioning of someone maintaining a dangerous deception, she now moved with the openness of someone who no longer needed to hide.

The team’s reaction was immediate and predictably hostile. Weapons came up, abilities began to charge, and King Aurelius’s soldiers took defensive positions that would allow clear fields of fire.

But it was the king himself who voiced what they were all feeling, his theatrical nature giving way to genuine outrage. “What you did was completely without style!” he shouted, flames dancing around his hands. “If you’re going to betray people, at least do it with some flair! I’m afraid the longer you stand the more I lose the battle of wills warring in my chest to not exhume you,”

Lucy’s hands began to spark with electrical energy. “Give us one reason not to end this right now.”

Sophie’s plasma blades ignited with their characteristic blue-white glow. “Where are Kelvin and Bruce?”

Lucas simply waited, he’d made up his mind right then and there.

“I’m going to blitz this bitch,”

Diana said nothing, but her abilities created a subtle distortion in the air around Lyra – a trap that would activate the moment their target tried to move.

“I understand your anger,” Lyra said, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender. “Everything you’re feeling is justified.”

“Justified?” Diana’s voice could have cut through armor. “You kidnapped our teammate. You destroyed our research. You’ve been lying to us for months.”

But Noah did something that shocked everyone present. He stepped forward, moving to stand beside Lyra despite the incredulous stares from his team.

“She’s on our side,” he said simply.

The silence that followed was deafening.

“What?” Sophie’s voice cracked with confusion.

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