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

However, any desire to be a princess left Ollie after seeing what his good brother had taken upon himself to do.

Then again, even without a title or formal recognition, and even as a pauper, with his brother’s pure heart, he’d likely still do what he could.

So really, he should’ve expected this, right?

__

Inside the satellite command center, a meeting riddled with anxiety was taking place.

Since Marshal Julian had yet to arrive with the Empire’s forces, they could only hold a virtual conference to update everyone about the situation in Zone Four.

Deputy Officer Curtis looked pale. He actually thought he was going to be sick after seeing the rubble that used to be Outpost Four, and only managed to steady himself when he learned that their human casualties were much lower than anyone had expected, considering everything.

Two.

Two confirmed deaths.

Apparently, that number existed only because the bodies had been eaten before any of the rescue teams could reach the area.

They all mourned.

In fact, Captain Nico was surprised because the heir of House Kyros was extremely affected by the fact that they had lost two people. But Nico, who had been leading the first rescue team, reminded them all that it could have easily been all four hundred plus of them gone, considering what really happened earlier.

That sobering truth was enough to silence everyone for a while, as they all knew how close they really were to becoming part of that statistic.

However, the relief about surviving didn’t last long.

The meeting shifted when Lieutenant Sera and Sergeant Nia began recounting what they had accidentally discovered at sea.

Anyone who managed to see the footage could only really mutter curses under their breath.

Because what could they even do against something like that?

Someone even put forth the glaring issue that the manual mechas wouldn’t be effective underwater, considering what happened to Sergeant Nia’s mecha after encountering one tentacle.

And it wasn’t as if they were talking about ten or twenty tentacles, because even from what could fit in the screen, there were likely thousands of them.

Ha, and there were even different kinds, dammit!

The soldiers looked exhausted.

Inside the Imperial battleship en route to Zone Four, the air felt heavy with frustration and recycled oxygen. Charts and screens flickered across the walls, all showing the same blurry mass of tentacles in the ocean. A handful of officers sat hunched over their stations while others stood by with tired eyes, scratching their heads like the answer might fall out if they thought hard enough.

One finally sighed. ”So what do we even do against something like that? It has managed to take over the sea. What about nuking it?”

The room fell silent for a moment. Then Sera, who was on their holo feed, exhaled before saying, ”Sir, I don’t think that would work.”

Curtis asked, ”And why not?”

”Because I’m pretty sure it regenerates,” she said plainly. ”That’s why I kept freezing the tentacles instead of cutting them. Cutting just made it worse.”

Groans could be heard from both sides.

”So we can’t nuke it, can’t truly slice it, can’t punch it, and can’t even get to it,” muttered one of the older soldiers. ”That leaves us with... what, exactly?”

Someone else perked up, hopeful but hesitant. ”What about asking those currently en route to Zone Four if they’re willing to use their combination mechas for this? Some of them should still have their old ones, right?”

It wasn’t a bad idea, but another soldier immediately frowned. ”That’s dangerous. Most of them haven’t been retrained for that setup. Given the unpredictability of underwater conditions and concerns about using spiritual energy, I’m not sure that would be our best bet. It might turn into a rescue or retrieval if we do it like that.”

The first man winced. ”So... maybe not.”

Of course, they had been doing better recently. Most of their soldiers, especially those close to depletion, had already filled their metaphorical tanks. They’d manage to recover enough spiritual energy that they wouldn’t be at immediate risk of contamination when faced with corruption.

However, that assumed they wouldn’t deplete what they managed to regain on another mission. And just how would that be possible when faced with this kind of catastrophe?

”Should we just hand-pick a few so we could focus our resources on them? But would a handful of people be enough to fight that monstrosity?”

Marshal Julian, who had been listening quietly, rubbed his face tiredly. The lines under his eyes deepened with the motion.

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

If not for knowing about Luca and what his people had been building, he might have already given an order for the complete abandonment of the zone or for nuking it. But even nuking could backfire. Who knew just what kind of space debris would be released?

So, he could totally understand everyone else’s reactions. The outlook was absolutely bleak.

And maybe, Julian of a week ago would’ve decided to volunteer himself, considering how sending anyone else would’ve been a suicide mission.

But thankfully, Julian of today had been given the combined luck of all the Marshals before him, as he was fortunate enough to have known Luca in this lifetime.

Without the warning from the Orcs, the ability to jump spaces, a source of spiritual energy, and the right mechas for rescue, just where would they be?

They likely wouldn’t have even heard of the fall of Zone Four until after the fact. And yet here they were discussing what they could do.

He could only be thankful. Thankful that in a meeting that happened before this, Luca, House Kyros, and even the other cadets volunteered to help.

That saint of a kid even volunteered to fight. But as people who already received mechas from him, how could they, as the actual soldiers, ask the cadets for such a thing?!

”For this mission,” the Marshal began, glancing toward the other officers. ”House Kyros will take ground command, as for the Imperial soldiers and the cadets—”

WEEEOOO! WEEEOOO! WEEEOOO!

The emergency alarms shrieked through the base, cutting him off. Red lights flooded the room in rhythmic bursts as boots pounded down the hallway.

A soldier burst through the door, breathless. ”Everyone! You need to see this—now!”

All conversation stopped just as the first quake hit.

The ground trembled so hard that several officers stumbled into the railings, gripping the cold metal to stay upright.

”Outside! Everyone, move!” someone shouted.

They rushed out just in time to see the ocean vanish. The water had drawn back, leaving the seabed exposed once again. For a heartbeat, there was silence.

Then the sea rose.

It started as a swell, then a wall, then something worse, something—

CRAAACK.

The surface of the sea split open.

And from its depths, something rose.

Dark tendrils broke the surface first, massive and slick, thrashing against the sky, throwing spray and debris in all directions.

Gasps spread through the soldiers.

The thing just kept rising.

It wasn’t even clear where its body began or ended. All they could see were layers of movement: slick, monstrous flesh that pulsed with faint bioluminescence.

The creature’s shadow stretched for miles, swallowing any sort of light as it finally emerged from the deep—a wall of horror crowned with jagged appendages that seemed to reach into the clouds.

Then came the wave.

It slammed into the distant shores with a deafening roar, swallowing everything in its path. And behind that wall of water came the true horror—its body unfurling like a nightmare made flesh.

Were those eyes?

Mouths?

Who knows.

But there was that single gaping maw in its center, and when it opened, shivers ran through their bodies as muttered curses escaped like broken prayers.

For a long time, all they could do was stare.

Watching from Captain Nico’s terminal, Marshal Julian managed to see the impossible creature crawling its way into the world.

He swallowed hard, voice low. ”Yeah... the cadets... the cadets better not even dare look at that fucking thing.”

Because no lunatic would send children against that.