The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] - Chapter 695

Chapter 695: Return to the Surface

“Come on! Come on!”

Sera’s voice cracked inside the cockpit as her mecha’s thrusters strained, roaring as if to compensate for the pressure they were in. She was sure everything ached as she fought with all her might, but she couldn’t stop now. Not when the surface was finally in sight.

Her shield was gone; it eventually broke after being pelted with too many attacks. Now, all that stood between them and a watery grave were her blades, which weren’t even meant for this kind of offense.

Each swing cut through another writhing limb. But the tentacles weren’t slowing. They came faster, angrier, like a living storm intent on dragging them both back into the depths.

She was exhausted, her breathing uneven. Sweat rolled down her temples as she forced her mecha to move faster.

It wasn’t a problem of spiritual energy at this point; it was because she couldn’t afford to be hit even once. Because just one would likely paralyze them and haul them straight back into that waiting mouth!

“Just a little more,” she muttered under her breath, her voice trembling. “Just a little more and we’ll make it.”

The water ahead began to shift, lighter now, the faint shimmer of the surface visible through the gloom.

Almost there.

“Come on, come on, come on!”

Her mecha surged upward, the thrusters straining at full output as it carried Nia’s damaged unit behind it.

Then—

“Sera!” Nia’s voice rang through the comms, panicked. “Something’s coming up—fast! It’s not like the others!”

Sera’s heart leapt. “What?”

“I don’t know! It’s—different! It’s huge!”

The surface was so close now she could almost taste freedom. “Hold on tight!” Sera shouted, voice fierce and desperate.

The mecha burst upward, breaking through the surface with an explosion of foam and spray.

For a split second, sunlight—or what little light pierced the storm above—hit the two mechas, reflecting off their scarred armor.

They made it.

But the victory lasted less than a heartbeat.

Because from below, slicing through the foamy wake, a massive tentacle shot up after them, its movement faster than anything she’d seen before.

“Sera!!!” Nia screamed.

The tentacle arched, ready to strike.

Then—

BOOM!

It exploded.

Nia’s voice trembled. “Huh—what?!”

__

From afar, Luca was already on alert.

With D-29’s warning in mind, he was fully expecting something to burst out of the sea.

It was just that he hadn’t expected the familiar signal to be that kind of familiar.

“Huh?!” His golden eyes widened. “That’s… the support-type mecha!”

They were much farther out; maybe that was why it hadn’t been easy to detect them earlier. But still, how could Luca not recognize his own creation?

He remembered the report about two pilots who had gone missing underwater, so seeing them make it out like that was a surprise!

He couldn’t help but smile. For a brief moment, relief warmed his chest.

Until something else came after them.

The surface split open again.

“!!!”

A colossal tentacle shot straight out of the water, arcing through the air toward the two battered mechas. Its shadow stretched across the waves, fast and sharp.

“Oh no!” Luca gasped, pushing his thrusters to maximum. The white and gold mecha launched forward, slicing through the air, but even at full speed, he knew he wouldn’t make it in time.

It was too far.

But then—

BOOM!

The tentacle exploded midair, disintegrating into pieces that rained back into the sea.

Luca blinked, stunned. “Huh?”

It was out of nowhere. But was it really?

No, not for him.

Because, in a certain moneygrubber’s ears, it sounded like the return on investment of a 2-million-CP beast core!

It was just that even now, he wasn’t used to its mechanics outside of simulations. Then again, back then, he had been the one firing the weapon for testing. But now that he didn’t know when it was being fired, he couldn’t help but be in awe.

Ah, truly, his husband was the best.

How could anyone ever go wrong in investing in Xavier?

As more blasts followed, the booms turned into rapid, rhythmic pops in his head, like a symphony of financial gain. Luca’s heart practically soared.

Meanwhile, for the two pilots who had just escaped, it was another story entirely.

Inside their cockpits, Sera and Nia were frozen stiff.

If they so much as moved, wouldn’t they risk getting hit by whatever was doing that? Their radars didn’t even pick up the source!

“What—what do we do now?!” Nia’s voice trembled.

“I don’t know!” Sera hissed back, eyes darting across the flickering displays. “Just stay still! If that thing can’t see us, maybe it won’t shoot us!”

But before either of them could spiral further, a new signal appeared on their screens.

A request for communication.

Then, with a soft flicker, a projection window opened before them.

Sera’s breath caught in her throat.

It was the face she had seen repeatedly as she rewatched the exam videos to learn more about her mecha.

The same face that had made and given them this holy grail—the genius mechanic she needed to thank for their survival!

Luca Kyros.

His golden eyes were warm, his expression apologetic as he waved. “Hello! Sorry, we were late! I’m glad you were able to escape!”

Sera blinked rapidly, trying to process that the man who built her mecha was actually talking to her.

She swallowed, forcing her voice out despite the lump in her throat. “No, not late. You’ve been saving us even before we could ask for help. Thank you.”

Luca’s smile softened. “Huh? What?”

There were so many things she wanted to say. But instead, she chose to say something else.

“Lord Luca, I apologize, but from now on, we’re really going to need your help!”

She’d thank them later—properly and with everything she had—but right now, they really had to survive first.

__

Just above the chaos and the bustle, on the head of a red mecha that had garnered much attention, a certain tortoise was enjoying his moment of peace.

Tortie, the great Guardian Beast and alleged savior (and tormentor) of mechas everywhere, was delicately nibbling on a fresh lettuce leaf. His scarf fluttered in the wind, clean and flawless, because unlike everyone else, he still had standards.

Below him, the tiny humans and their lumps of metal were running around again—shouting, crying, and even laughing. It was the usual noise of their kind, and normally, he wouldn’t have cared in the slightest.

He crunched another bite of lettuce, letting out a small sigh of exasperation.

But then—

He paused.

The air shifted.

The faint stench of something he didn’t like reached him.

His jaws stopped moving.

Slowly, the prominent tortoise turned his head toward the sea.

His eyes, bright and intelligent, narrowed to slits as he stared at the distant horizon.

He didn’t like it one bit.

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