Beep—beep—beep—!

Whirrrrrk! Kshhhh—!

"Sector Four reporting energy fluctuations!"

"Visual feed incoming!"

"Sir, still no contact from the other parts of the western perimeter of Sector Two!"

The command center roared to life with the clamor of voices and the sharp rhythm of mechanical beeping. Lights flickered across every monitor, red and yellow warnings pulsing in sync with the rapid exchange of commands.

"Where's the field report from Zone Twelve of Sector Five?!"

It was chaos—controlled, barely—but chaos all the same.

Amid the noise, Curtis's voice cut through. "Sir, do you need transport to headquarters?"

He was still trying to catch his breath, one hand pressed to his earpiece as messages flooded in. Between coordinating with various leaders, updating the communication lines, and rerouting command links to the field officers, he looked seconds away from short-circuiting himself.

Marshal Julian's reply came over the comm, firm and immediate. "No. I'll get there myself. What we need is an update as fast as possible."

Curtis froze for a heartbeat, hearing the hard edge in the Marshal's tone. Then he nodded sharply, as if Julian could see him through the transmission. "Understood, sir."

The channel cut off with a crisp click.

But inside the dungeon-linked space, Marshal Julian's expression was really grim. He had been clenching his jaw for minutes, tension visible in the line of his shoulders. Every passing second felt like a countdown.

Because what kind of abomination were those rebels planning to throw at them, just when he thought they were starting to figure things out for the Empire?

It was only when Luca spoke that the Marshal's composure softened slightly.

"What about sending a representative per major sector?" Luca suggested carefully.

"There are five major ones, right? If we send someone over and, through investigation, figure out that it's there, then won't it be easier to just travel using that person's door?"

Luca had made the suggestion because he could sense the massive agitation and anxiety, and thought it would be the best solution to minimize travel time without risking any particular zones.

Still, it was mainly because of a shadow that crossed his thoughts.

What if the threat didn't just appear in one place? What if the threat appeared in multiple zones simultaneously?

The memory of Tesseris crept up unbidden—how everyone thought only one dungeon gate would open, only for an entire cluster to erupt across the region. He didn't want to imagine that possibility happening, so he thought maybe it would be better that way.

The idea clicked.

For a moment, everyone stopped what they were doing. The suggestion was practical, fast, and ideally safer. Not only would it mean they could start moving as early as now, but it could also mean being able to respond much faster.

Thankfully, everyone agreed it was worth a try.

The room stirred into motion again. Assignments were distributed rapidly. The five major sectors were divided among those who had enough military clearance to move freely.

After much deliberation, it was decided that Duke Leander, Duchess Amelia, Uno, Butler Gary, and Gisella would each take one sector. Marshal Julian himself would return to military headquarters to coordinate and narrow down the target zone.

Preparations began at once.

But just as the Marshal was preparing to leave, Luca stepped forward. "Marshal," he called out while handing out a now-familiar space button.

"I have your mecha," Luca said quietly. "I managed to finish the adjustments."

Julian blinked, a hint of surprise breaking through his composed expression.

"In times of need, please check the emergency compartment," Luca added, his tone almost apologetic. "The main upgrade this time around was the nanite ore coating, so it should be able to regenerate minor structural damage. I'm sorry for giving it back only now. There wasn't enough time for you to test it."

Julian accepted the mecha and graciously said, "You've done more than enough, Luca. Thank you."

He rested a hand on Luca's shoulder for a brief moment. "Right now, everything counts."

And with that, the Marshal turned to leave.

__

Elsewhere, across the sprawling network of defense lines, soldiers of different ranks were scrambling to determine whether there were any strange changes in their sectors.

It was just that the problem wasn't whether something had changed. After all, there were always changes in the MCZs.

The real challenge was figuring out whether those changes actually counted as the particular anomaly they were supposed to be looking for.

And such was the case in Sector One, Zone Four.

Inside her cockpit, Sergeant Nia Kane sat cross-legged on the pilot seat of her light-class mecha, idly drinking a nutrient while her screen flickered to life. The sound of static cleared just enough for her older brother's voice to come through.

"This is Captain Nico Kane," he said, tone clipped. "Report, Sergeant."

Nia straightened immediately, saluting even though he couldn't see her. "Sector One, Zone Four, reporting in. No visible enemy movement. The coast looks calm. No major activity detected within the past hour."

There was a pause on the line, and then her brother's voice came again, steady and professional. "No changes in the readings?"

"Nothing significant," she replied, fingers tapping on her console. "Energy fluctuations are within normal range. Water currents are steady. Even the scavenger bots are quiet."

"Good," Nico said. "Keep it that way. We've had reports of possible disturbances, so we're double-checking everything."

Nia frowned slightly. "Disturbances? What kind of disturbances are we talking about? You're making it sound like we're ghost-hunting out here when this place had remained the same for months."

Her brother sighed, the sound of command center chatter faintly echoing behind him. "We're preparing for possible rebel activity. But the nature of the attack may involve corrupted beasts."

That made Nia freeze.

"Wait, corrupted beasts? As in, corrupted beasts?"

"Yes," Nico confirmed grimly. "They've apparently been targeting the contaminated frontlines. HQ wants all outposts to be vigilant. Even minor shifts could be signs of something spreading."

Nia sat quietly for a second, processing that information. Then she groaned softly. "Okay… I might have to take back my earlier report then."

Her brother's voice immediately sharpened. "What did you see?"

"It's not exactly something I saw," Nia said slowly, leaning forward to look at the view of the horizon. The sea stretched endlessly before her—gray, glassy, and calm, just as always. "Well, I don't know if this amounts to anything, but since they want every detail, here it is. It's just… a bit weird, so please hear me out. I think the water level's been rising lately."

Nico's tone turned questioning. "Rising?"

"Yeah," she said, gesturing vaguely even though he couldn't see her. "You know how every time I do my coastal rounds, I have this set of stone platforms I always step on when checking the perimeter?"

"The ones you call your lucky path?"

"Exactly!" Nia said, snapping her fingers. "I've been using them since the start of our tour. But today, when I went out for inspection, the stones were underwater."

"How deep?"

"Not deep enough to swim in or anything," she said, tapping her chin. "But definitely not normal either. I always walk on them. I've memorized their placement like a ritual. But now? I can't even see the tops. It's like the sea has decided to eat them."

Silence.

Then Nico exhaled. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes, Captain Serious, I'm sure," she replied, rolling her eyes. "My lucky path is gone. I thought maybe I was just imagining it, but even the tide readings from last week were rather different."

Her brother muttered something under his breath before replying, "Alright. I'll report it. HQ's been pestering everyone for anything even slightly unusual."

Nia blinked. "Wait, really? They're that desperate?"

"Desperate or not, we're taking every oddity seriously right now," Nico said firmly. "Your lucky stone path might be more than bad luck this time."

Nia leaned back in her seat, pouting. "Well, that's ominous. You'd better take that back, you monster!"

"Stay sharp," her brother warned. "If anything changes—anything at all—you report it immediately."

"Copy that, Captain Serious," she replied with a grin, though her tone softened at the end. "And… hey, don't overwork yourself. You sound exhausted. You'll look like a ghoul at your wedding if you keep that up, you know. What if Lieutenant Sera decides you won't cut it anymore? After all, with your personality, you could only be thankful to your parents for your genes?!"

"Shush it! I'll rest when this is over," he said shortly, wanting to cut this conversation off before it went to who knows what.

"Uh-huh. That's what you said last time, too."

"End of transmission, Sergeant."

The call clicked off before she could tease him further.

Nia exhaled and turned back to the view outside her cockpit. The sea remained calm, almost eerily so, the soft shimmer of moonlight rippling across its surface.

But as she looked closer, she realized the water had crept just a little further up the shore.

Her smile faded.

"…Yeah," she murmured quietly, activating her mecha's scanners. "Definitely rising."

With that thought in mind, she figured it would be better to grab someone with more believable eyes.