Galaxy Fall: All My Skills Are Maxed-Chapter 113: The Ragon Contingency

"Enough you two!" Hayatobi snapped.

​A localized wave of spirit energy burst out from him, heavy and pressurized like a sudden change in atmosphere, physically forcing Yakima back a step and extinguishing the glow of her sword. The sheer authority in his voice vibrated the windows of the office.

​"Yakima, calm down... And Mirabella. Sorry for that," he said, his voice dropping into a tired, pragmatic register.

​"Huh?"

​Yakima stood paralyzed, her white eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and hurt. She stared at her father, the man who had raised her to be a pillar of the Empire, as he offered a genuine apology to a student—an outsider who had just insulted her.

​’This is beyond strange,’ Princess Delphine thought, her orange eyes shimmering as she observed the interaction. Being of the Royal Bloodline, she possessed an innate, nearly divine sensitivity to the nature of souls.

​’This girl... she isn’t a being of this world. I can sense that tiny, discordant bit of information in the frequency of her spirit... She is from a different world entirely, yet she knew about Yakima and me immediately. Even knowing our status, she isn’t intimidated or nervous. Rather, she is threatening Yakima.’ Delphine turned her gaze to Hayatobi.

’And Lord Hayatobi also apologized to her... Is she truly that strong? Or does he fear what she might become?’ Delphine exhaled softly, the sound like wind through silk, and placed a calming hand on Yakima’s arm.

​"Let it go, Yakima. Don’t forget our purpose for coming here," she said, her voice radiating the innate peace of her nature.

​Yakima gritted her teeth, her knuckles white as her soul-bound sword vanished into a shimmer of light. With a final, lingering glare at Mirabella, she sat back down on the couch, though her posture remained as tense as a coiled spring.

​"It seems the Princess is still as beautiful as ever, overflowing with wisdom," Mirabella said with a genuine, slightly predatory smile, acknowledging the royal’s tactical de-escalation.

​"Thank you, my friend," Delphine replied with a serene smile, pointedly using the word "friend" to establish a neutral standing that bypassed the rigid hierarchy Yakima was trying to enforce.

​Mirabella nodded in acknowledgement. She leaned back against the Master Teacher’s desk, continuing to lick her lollipop with a rhythmic, nonchalant focus, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she was in a room full of the most powerful individuals in the Empire.

​"So tell me, why are you two here?" Hayatobi asked, shattering the remaining tension. He leaned forward, his silver eyes turning professional.

​Yakima exhaled, forcing her breathing to regulate. "Lord Hayatobi, I am sure you already heard of the rumor happening in City Ragon. One of the two major industrial cities currently under the Dragon Empire’s protection."

​"Yeah, about a spirit possessing a living body and using the body as a weapon to kill others," Hayatobi said, his gaze fixed on her. "I had dismissed it as low-level folklore until recently."

​"Exactly... and it is no mere ghost story. I suspect this spirit possession is caused by the Devil Cult... those fanatics who worship the devil," Yakima explained, her voice low. "With the Glory Flag competition only a week away, they are clearly planning on causing some harm to destabilize our borders while the elite guard is distracted."

​"But you said it’s a rumor," Lady Gaga pointed out from the side, her arms resting on her cane.

​"That is what we initially thought... But it’s no rumor," Yakima sighed softly, the weight of her leadership duties showing. "The Princess, having the rare powers to attack and purify souls directly, was assigned to this task by the Emperor. And I was assigned to be her personal escort."

​"Ok... So why do you ask for help? Your guild is the strongest in the capital," Hayatobi asked with a slight frown.

​Yakima snapped her fingers, and a magical map appeared in her hand, glowing with runic light. She opened the map and spread it on the center table before the group, the holographic projection showing the sprawling lands of the Dragon Empire.

​"This is the capital," she pointed her finger at the biggest, most fortified castle at the center of the map. "This is our current location... We will take the main road, which leads north towards the city of Ragon... But." She tapped a specific forest pass at the center of the North path.

​"The ten scouts I sent ahead—members of the Dragon Tooth Guild, each one of them a Lv100 Assassin—were all killed in a flash. We went to investigate after some days without getting any news, and found only blood. Their bodies were also gone. I am guessing taken," she explained, her voice tight with the loss of her men.

​"So you think enemies are watching this place? Waiting for the Princess to move?" Hayatobi asked, holding his jaw as he studied the geography.

​"Correct... I don’t know what they are planning, but when I investigated the site, I felt a very high amount of darkness elements lingering in the air. They must be building something—a ritual site or a gateway." She moved her gaze to everyone in the room, her eyes lingering on Hitachi and Mirabella.

​"I need your help to guard the princess. I can’t be in two places at once. I need at least five of your strongest students; their only job is to stay close to the Princess and act as a final shield, while my guild members and I will focus on stopping any enemy and clearing obstacles on the way," she said.

​Hayatobi thought for a moment, his mind running through the possibilities. But a cold, clear voice interrupted the silence from the top of the desk.

​"The People possessed... were they missing some parts, and are they normal commoners?"

​Everyone in the room turned their heads to Mirabella, staring at her in surprise. The question was too specific, too targeted to be a lucky guess.

​"Well... Now that you mentioned it," Delphine muttered, her orange eyes widening as she turned back to Yakima.

​"The first news we got, the reporter said the victim was missing his head. The second was missing a leg... and each of them were Lv100 fighters or above. But, what does this have to do with the spirit?" Yakima answered, staring at Mirabella with a growing sense of dread.

​"Wait?! Are you implying that the Devil Cult wants to use the bodies’ parts for something evil?" Delphine asked in surprise, the horrific realization dawning on her.

​"Correct," Mirabella nodded her head, her eyes distant and cold.

​’In my previous life, they used this exact method to create a Chimera—a very powerful monster stitched together with the limbs of high-level cultivators. It caused a lot of trouble for the Dragon Empire back then... Maybe this is how it all started. This time, I won’t let that thing finish its incubation, or should I?’ she thought.

​"Wait?! How do you know all this?!" Yakima asked with a deep frown, her hand instinctively moving toward the hilt of her hidden dagger.

"I am certain you’re just hearing of this right now, so how did you know some body parts were missing?"