A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 263: Escape
Chapter 263: Escape

As the massive, ominous hole ripped open in the sky, the three mecha teams froze.

Their hearts raced, anxiety settling in their bones. None of them knew what it was, but the black void radiated danger.

It felt like some lurking monster might emerge at any second, ready to snatch their lives away.

Arix tore her gaze from the sky, focusing on Drexel in her arms.

His injuries were severe.

Arix’s expression hardened with concern. She had no idea if they’d make it out alive, but at least Cassian wasn’t there. A small relief—one less life at risk.

”Arix!”

The voice jolted her, and she turned, disbelief flooding her face.

Cassian was sprinting toward her!

”Cassian?” Her voice barely masked her shock. Seeing him standing there felt unreal. There was no relief on her face—just pure astonishment.

Cassian’s grin lit up when she said his name. ”Don’t worry, Arix. I’m here!”

Arix stared at him, eyes narrowing. ’Great, that’s exactly why I’m more worried now.’

With a deep sigh, she rubbed her forehead, trying to hold it together. The timing was almost too much.

Cassian’s grin faded as he noticed Drexel slumped against her. ”What happened to him? He looks terrible.”

”Ambushed by an insectoid,” Arix explained, glancing down at Drexel. He was in bad shape, even after chugging a healing potion. His condition was barely a fraction of what it should be.

”I’m... fine. I’ll manage,” Drexel muttered, trying to lift his head, his breath ragged.

Arix shoved him back down, frowning. ”Stop acting tough, Drex.” Her stern look made him immediately shut up, offering Cassian a weak, awkward smile that seemed to say, ’See what I have to deal with?’

Cassian let out a small laugh and gently took Drexel from her. ”He’s heavy, Arix. Let me carry him.” His tone was light, though the situation was anything but.

Arix rolled her sore shoulder and nodded. ”You’re not wrong. Thanks.”

Drexel, feeling somewhat offended, thought, ’Seriously? Do injured people not get any sympathy here?’

With Drexel safely in his arms, Cassian scanned the scene. The squads were boxed in, completely surrounded by hordes of insectoids. Breaking through had been tough enough for him, even with his Supergiant+ abilities. Getting everyone out would be brutal.

And that black hole overhead? It wasn’t waiting for them.

Cassian’s eyes darkened as he looked at Arix. ”We have to move. Now.”

Arix got the message immediately. She spun to face her team. ”Cirilla, Elio, it’s up to us. We’ve got the strongest fighting power left. Everyone else is depending on us!”

Deanna and Marceau were capable, sure, but right now, they could only manage defense. Arix didn’t expect them to do more.

Cirilla and Elio gave her a firm nod. Without wasting any more time, the group climbed into their mechas. Arix’s voice rang through the comms channel: ”Go!”

With that, the Alliance mecha team unleashed everything they had, smashing into the swarm of insectoids. The other teams exchanged quick looks and, seeing their shot, surged forward, joining the Alliance’s desperate breakout.

The battle had only just begun.

High above the battlefield, Hardy and Quispe knelt in silence, their sharp eyes tracking the chaos below.

Hardy shifted slightly, glancing at the scene unfolding beneath them.

”Should we intervene?” Hardy asked, his brow furrowed in thought.

Quispe didn’t even flinch, his expression calm. ”No need. The one we’re waiting for won’t run. That’s not her style.”

Hardy shot him a questioning look but stayed quiet.

Then, faintly in the distance, came a soft but eerie sound.

Quispe’s face hardened. ”The Queen has arrived,” he muttered, looking up to the sky. From the dark, swirling void above, a figure slowly emerged.

What appeared next wasn’t what anyone would expect.

A girl, no older than twenty, stepped forward from the shadows.

Her deep brown skin glistened under the dim light, and her dark eyes sparkled with an unsettling intensity, like polished obsidian.

She wore a pristine white linen robe, delicately stitched with golden beetles, and her hair was woven into intricate braids, each one crafted with care and precision.

If Arix had been there, she would’ve instantly recognized the look—Ancient Egyptian attire, almost textbook-perfect. She’d seen it enough times to know.

The girl’s gaze landed coldly on Quispe and Hardy, who remained kneeling before her. ”Where is the one I seek?” she asked, her voice cutting through the air like a blade.

Quispe kept his head bowed, his voice steady and respectful. ”Your Majesty, she is on her way,” he replied.

The girl’s eyes narrowed, her annoyance clear. Without warning, an invisible force slammed into Quispe, sending him crashing to the ground. He coughed up blood, his body convulsing under the weight of her psychic assault.

”If you fail me,” she said, her voice dripping with icy menace, ”I will personally see to it that your entire insectoid race is wiped from existence.”

Despite the pain wracking his body, Quispe shakily rose to one knee, wiping the blood from his lips. ”I won’t fail you, Your Majesty. Arix is coming,” he managed, his voice still reverent.

The Queen’s piercing gaze lingered on him for a moment before she closed her eyes. She then retreated into her thoughts, her posture relaxed.

She was ready. Ready to meet her guest—or more accurately, her prey.

After a brutal fight, three mecha teams finally smashed their way through the chaos and cleared a path to freedom.

Everyone was running, filled with excitement, but no one noticed a small figure leaping off Arix’s mecha.

That figure crouched alone on the broken ground, silently watching as the mechas and her team drifted farther into the distance. Only when they vanished from sight did the figure—Arix—look away.

She had already put the pieces together. The insectoids had stopped chasing them for a reason. It was her they were after, and she knew it all along.

With a bitter smile, Arix shot one last glance in the direction her teammates had gone. Then, without hesitation, she turned and sprinted the other way.

”Here we go.”

The Egyptian woman snapped her eyes open, locking onto the figure not too far away.

Standing behind the young woman was Quispe, who also saw her. He should’ve been relieved, but instead, a sad, bitter smile crossed his lips.

”Arix, you’re such a fool.”

But Arix wasn’t concerned with their reactions. Her focus was on the situation at hand. She’d hoped to flee in the opposite direction, but it was clear the insectoids had forced her into a trap, steering her like a lost sheep.

With a sigh, she stared up at the three figures standing atop the insectoids.

’Wait. Three?’ For a moment, Arix was confused. ’There was only two before, right?’

Before she could make sense of it, the three figures leapt down and started walking toward her. Her attention zeroed in on the young woman in the middle.

Arix didn’t recognize her face, but the clothes? They were unmistakably familiar.

”Are you from Earth?” Arix asked gently.

The Egyptian woman’s face went rigid for a second, and her eyes filled with a mixture of emotions. But instead of answering, she raised her hand and conjured a massive psychic barrier, sealing both of them inside.

Quispe and Hardy, shoved back by the barrier, exchanged puzzled looks but stayed silent, waiting just outside.

Inside the bubble of psychic energy, the Egyptian woman finally spoke. ”Yes. I am the Queen of the insectoids, and I’m also from Earth. You can call me Sekhmet.”

”Then why are you with the insectoids? And also...” Arix trailed off, unsure how to phrase what she was thinking.

The idea of someone from Earth being the villain in all this was both awkward and disheartening.

Sekhmet didn’t seem bothered by Arix’s hesitation. She met Arix’s eyes and answered bluntly. ”Because I want to go home.”

”Go home?” Arix echoed, surprised. Then it hit her—what Sekhmet was really saying.

Of course, not everyone was lucky enough to be sent back to their own world like she had been. Some got stuck, stranded in places they didn’t belong.

”Yes, home. Earth is where I truly belong. That’s where my family is—my father, my mother, my brother. I’ll do whatever it takes to get back there, even if it means destroying this entire galaxy.” Sekhmet’s voice turned cold, like an icy breeze blowing over a frozen lake, sending a shiver down Arix’s spine.

For a moment, Arix didn’t know what to say. Sekhmet wasn’t bluffing, and she wasn’t crazy either. As the Queen of the insectoids, she probably had the power to pull it off.

Arix couldn’t fully grasp the idea of tearing down a whole world just to go home, but at the same time, she couldn’t judge Sekhmet for wanting it either.