Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!
Chapter 162 162: Reward That Broke Eva’s Gun

As soon as I opened the door, a figure jumped me, throwing me into momentary confusion about how to react. A woman—a Voltherian—naked.

{Arthur?! What's with that noise?! Are you alright?!}

Probably reacting to the loud thud as the figure collided with me, Nyssra's voice crackled through the comms. But before I could even respond, another voice followed—a cold, cutting voice, one that sounded like it came from the bottom of the abyss.

It carried pure, concentrated killing intent.

{Arthur... You... So you're into NTR now. Who would've thought...}

"W-Wait, no!" I stammered, finally snapping back to my senses. "I didn't do anything!"

But how the hell did Eva know what just happened? Is she watching through some hidden drone or—

Before I could finish that train of thought, the woman still clinging to me began to speak.

"So... You're the one. My savior," she murmured, her voice gentle and young—eerily close in tone to Nyssra's. "Just like the prophecy foretold... You've come for me."

"..."

Prophecy?

Wait, there's a prophecy now? She's destined to be rescued by someone?

Then how come she doesn't show up in TSO's Main Story? None of this adds up. Questions started to pile up in my head, but for now, they could wait—we had more pressing issues to deal with.

"...!"

The tower was completely sealed, aside from the door below and a barred window about the height of the Empress herself—a full head shorter than me.

That meant we had no real exits, and sound had nowhere to go. Because of that, I could clearly hear footsteps closing in—fast—echoing from what had to be several hundred steps below.

"Sorry, Mrs. Empress, but we can't stay here."

Without wasting time, I grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her tightly into my arms, bracing her against me. Then I raised my railgun toward the ceiling and fired. The weapon hummed violently as blue arcs of energy sparked and a solid hunk of metal blasted out.

The shot tore through the ceiling, punching a clean hole straight up. But it wasn't wide enough for us to pass through yet. I fired again, then again—each round widening the breach and destabilizing the structure, until we had a gaping hole large enough to fit us both.

{I can see the opening! Beaming you out now!}

Nyssra's voice rang out over the comms before I even called for her.

A red light immediately descended from above, shining through the gap I'd made in the ceiling. The tractor beam's guidance ray—it hit both of us precisely.

Within seconds, just as the sound of footsteps were getting louder, I felt gravity vanish beneath my feet. The sensation of weightlessness enveloped me as we were drawn upward, our bodies lifting effortlessly into the sky.

We slipped cleanly through the roof and rose into the open air, now overlooking the entire Bastion from above.

Beneath us, everything was in chaos.

Actually, it had gotten even worse.

The man I'd armed earlier must've put that blaster to good use—more prisoners had weapons now, and they were fighting back with the desperation of the damned.

Entire buildings were engulfed in flames, and spotlights swung erratically, searching for escapees through the smoke and fire.

"...Traveling by sky was the right call," I muttered to myself, satisfied.

In moments, we arrived at the hangar of the Black Halberd. We landed on its cold metallic floor. The instant we touched down, I slipped off the top of my military disguise and draped the jacket over the Empress's bare body.

I tried to ignore the feel of our closeness—skin pressed to armor, breath against neck—but well... we were pressed tightly together, and I'm only human.

Still, one thing gnawed at my mind.

"...Are you really Nyssra's mother? Not, like, her younger sister or something?" I asked, utterly baffled.

The woman looked too young—shorter than Nyssra, with delicate, youthful features that seemed more fitting of someone younger than her supposed daughter. Her figure, too... It didn't match what I'd expect from someone who had already borne a child.

I shook my head quickly, pushing the thought aside and turning my eyes elsewhere.

I wasn't into married women anyway.

"Arthur!"

Nyssra's voice rang out then, accompanied by the sound of her rapid footsteps echoing through the ship. I turned just in time to see her sprint forward, blurring into a dash and diving toward the Empress with overwhelming emotion.

"MOTHER!" she cried, her voice cracking with joy as tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

"You are... Nissy, my daughter..." the Empress gasped in disbelief. "So it was you, working with my rescuer... I see now. I understand what that prophecy was truly trying to tell me..."

And again with the prophecy bullshit?

Anyway, this wasn't the time to linger around. We had to leave, and fast.

Still, I didn't want to spoil their reunion. After two years apart, they deserved at least this moment. So, I turned around and quietly made my way back to the cockpit, giving them their space.

*FLAP!*

Just as I reached the bridge, a shadowy object flew toward my face and latched onto my head, climbing up like it owned the place. The Void Dragon cub—of course.

I already knew how useless it was to try and shake it off, so I let it settle there like it belonged.

Instead, I quickly checked the current state of things. The radar, the sensors, every diagnostic available.

Within moments, I grasped the situation and pulled on the manual controls, pushing the ship forward with urgency.

"Avalon to Lancelot. I'm en route to your position. Stand by and prepare to be tractor-beamed aboard," I spoke through the comms with practiced calm.

A few breaths later, a reply came back—Eva's voice.

{Lancelot to Avalon, we're currently being pursued. Pick us up at the marked location.}

"...!"

As expected of the Voltherian army, they had already locked onto Eva and her squad's location. Still, it seemed they were a step too late—our primary objective had already been fulfilled.

I scanned the map data and confirmed Lancelot—Eva's team—was fleeing eastward, heading for a mountain peak. The sensors also revealed that roughly a hundred soldiers were chasing close behind. The distance between the two groups was steadily closing... We didn't have long.

Fortunately, the Black Halberd was near. I arrived at the pickup point shortly thereafter.

As soon as we hovered overhead, I turned one of the turrets down toward the advancing enemies and opened fire.

No warning shot. No hesitation.

A five-meter radius laser beam surged forth, vaporizing the entire lead platoon and scorching the earth beneath them. What was left were smoldering ruins and ashes.

With that, the coast was finally clear!

"Alright, your tail's been clipped. Beaming you up now."

I tapped several buttons across the console, initiating the retrieval sequence. Then I leaned back slightly in my seat, exhaling. With this, there was nothing more to do but wait.

Just like when pulling non-living cargo, a human tractor beam functioned at the same pace. Roughly thirty seconds later, Eva and her squad materialized within the Black Halberd's hangar, confirming the successful pickup operation.

"Alright, full speed ahead!"

Without delay, I activated a short-distance warp jump—simultaneously transmitting an order for retreat to the other ships still on standby around the planet.

The entire vessel crackled with power, reacting oddly to the planet's unique electric fields. Streaks of artificial blue lightning danced over the hull in a surreal display, as if we were being struck by storm clouds from another dimension.

Luckily, we didn't suffer any damage from the phenomenon.

A beat later, the warp drives surged to life, opening a narrow rift through the fabric of space. It linked to a nearby location where the rest of our fleet awaited in formation.

And just like that... we escaped cleanly.

This time, for real, we could finally afford to relax.

"Now, there's only one thing left to do and we're done here..." I muttered, releasing a long sigh.

My body ached, and my mind was drained.

There were no more threats, no signs of pursuit. So I let myself be still for a moment, allowing time to slip by. A brief breather—nothing more.

Soon after, the others arrived on the bridge.

Leading them was Eva, clad in a sleek, pure black suit that hugged her body with a precision clearly engineered for combat and flexibility. It was, to put it mildly, a sight for sore eyes—though the sharp glare in her eyes made it difficult to meet her gaze for long.

Following behind were Nyssra and her mother, the Empress—Kachia. She was no longer nude, thankfully, now wearing Nyssra's spare suit, although it fit a bit loosely. I'd... rather not specify which areas stood out the most.

"Mr. Savior."

Before Eva could open her pursed lips, Empress Kachia stepped forward and spoke.

"Thank you for coming to rescue me," she said gracefully, bowing her head. "As a token of gratitude, I offer you one night with me."

"...!"

Eva and I froze, stunned by her words.

"M-Mother?!"

Nyssra's face turned a deep purple, her eyes darting left and right in a panic.

"You can't just say that, Mother! That's... completely inappropriate!"

"Oh?"

Kachia turned her eyes toward Nyssra, a sly smile playing at her lips.

"It seems my daughter also wishes to participate. In that case, brave savior, you may embrace us both. Does this reward suffice for your efforts?"

"I didn't—!"

*CRACK!*

Before Nyssra could say anything else, a loud, metallic noise echoed from the side. All heads turned toward the source—Eva's laser rifle, now bent into a clean U-shape in her hands.

"Oh, silly me."

She muttered blankly, as if nothing was amiss. Calmly, she began bending the weapon back into place—barehanded. The metal groaned as stress cracks formed along its frame.

Then, she glanced sideways at the mother-daughter duo, her expression unreadable, yet radiating menace. Sending a clear but silent "message."

"...Well, jokes aside."

I spoke quickly, stepping in to cut the tension before it exploded into something worse.

"It's time we finish what we actually came here for."

Prizes and personal rewards could wait. None of that mattered until we wrapped up our real mission.

We still had a PRIMULA to steal, after all.