Nico Dardanus watched Atlas stand amid the aftermath.

  'This one’s more trouble than I thought,' Nico pondered, his expression calm but his mind sharp. 'Luck? No way. Nobody has this kind of luck twice.'

  He studied Atlas carefully, his gaze moving from the faint scorch marks along the man’s armor to the way he carried himself. There was nothing casual about him, nothing accidental.

  'What are you really doing here?'

  Around them, the stadium was beginning to settle. The nobles had returned to their seats, murmuring, pretending civility in the wake of disaster. Soldiers moved efficiently across the field, securing the scene and escorting the injured away.

  Nico’s jaw tightened as he turned toward the wreckage where the fight had taken place. The two nobles, Marco Ravell and Orion Vellor, were already in custody, restrained by Dardanus troops.

  'This is going to be a nightmare,' he thought grimly. 'I’ll have to negotiate with both factions for their release, balance their egos, and make sure neither of them turns this into a political war.'

  He exhaled slowly, forcing the tension from his shoulders.

  “I hope I won’t need your help a third time,” he said aloud, directed at Atlas.

  The man nodded, offering a faint, polite smile that revealed nothing.

  Nico turned away toward the central platform. However, he never reached his destination as the alarms screamed.

  The sound was piercing. The soft ambient lights shifted instantly, bathing the entire arena in shades of red.

  All communication lines opened at once, the overlapping chatter of officers and automated systems filling the air.

  “Emergency alert. Breach detected. Unauthorized access to the central vault.”

  Nico froze mid-step.

  “What?”

  He tapped his communicator, his voice cutting through the static. “Repeat that.”

  “Sir, we’re receiving confirmation. Someone entered the main vault. Security systems are compromised.”

  The words hit him like a blow. The vault, the most secure facility on Tros Station, was deep beneath the administrative core. It housed not only the Dardanus archives but also Energy Crystals, classified schematics, and artifacts.

  His instincts took over.

  “Lockdown, now.” His voice was cold and precise. “No ships leave or dock. Shut down all teleportation arrays. I want the station sealed.”

  “Understood, sir. Deploying security units.”

  “Good,” Nico said, already moving toward the command corridor. “I want soldiers in every corridor, every junction, every maintenance shaft. Sweep the entire station. I don’t care if you have to tear it apart.”

  Nico’s voice was calm, steady. Yet, the moment the command left his lips, a violent cough tore through his chest. Pain bloomed behind his ribs, sharp and deep. He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stand straight, to keep the mask of command intact while the officers around him scrambled to obey.

  As soon as he was out of sight, away from the festivities and the watching eyes, he let it happen.

  The cough came again, wracking his body, and this time he couldn’t stop it. He braced himself against the wall, his breath rasping as a few drops of crimson splattered against the floor.

  'It’s getting worse,' he thought, wiping the blood from his lips with the back of his coat.

  He exhaled slowly, then reached for his Yellow Armor.

  The transformation was partial. Energy flickered around his legs and torso, forming sleek yellow plating. The armor synchronized with his body, reinforcing his health, feeding him strength, and allowing him to run.

  The echo of his steps reverberated through the narrow maintenance corridors as he descended into the lower levels.

  He moved with haste. Vaulting over barriers, sliding beneath security gates, cutting through restricted access points.

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  'You won’t escape,' he thought, his focus narrowing to a single point.

  He didn’t know who had triggered the breach, whether it was a remnant of the attack days earlier or someone who had waited for this exact moment, the chaos of his wedding, to strike. But it didn’t matter.

  No one would stain the Dardanus name. Not while he still drew breath.

  When he finally reached the entrance of the warehouse that led to the main vault, hundreds of soldiers were already in position. Many of them carried rifles or swords, aiming into every dark corner; they scrutinized every inch, every shadow, every movement.

  As Nico stepped through the massive blast doors, the soldiers straightened instinctively.

  “Sir.”

  “Any updates? Do we know where the breach originated?” Nico asked.

  The officer at his side shook his head, his expression grim. “Nothing from the cameras or sensors, sir. The only alert we got was from the vault’s exit node.”

  Nico’s jaw tightened. “What’s missing? What did they take?”

  “We haven’t opened it yet,” the officer replied. “We were waiting for your authorization.”

  Nico nodded once. “Good. You’re with me.”

  He summoned his tonfas with a flick of his wrists. The weapons pulsed faintly with yellow Energy.

  The corridor ahead opened into a cavernous chamber. The Dardanus Vault was the station's most secure facility. The door at the far end dominated the space, a monolithic slab of reinforced titanium and Energy shielding. Its surface was covered in layered mechanisms, rotating locks, and security AIs.

  And yet… someone had bypassed it.

  Nico approached slowly.

  “How the hell did they hack this?” one of the soldiers murmured.

  Nico didn’t answer. He placed his hand against the AI reader, letting the gauntlet interface with the door’s systems.

  [Initiating Verification Protocol]

  [Δ???€????Δ???? ?Δ??€?]

  [J??? ???????. ??? ?? ????, ????.]

  The text flickered across his HUD, and Nico’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell—”

  A resounding mechanical thud reverberated through the chamber. The vault’s locking mechanisms disengaged one by one, the sound like distant thunder rolling through the metal walls. Gears rotated, seals hissed, and the massive door began to open.

  “Activate all sensors,” Nico ordered.

  The soldiers moved instantly, their gauntlets lighting up as scanners came online, sweeping across the widening gap.

  Nico was the first to step inside.

  The vault was vast—an enormous chamber lined with endless rows of shelves, safes, and artifact cases. Each row was perfectly organized, each object encased in transparent shielding or secured within smaller vaults.

  Weapons, relics, and experimental technology, all under the protection of House Dardanus.

  Nico’s eyes moved methodically, scanning each section. He looked for the most minor anomaly: a displaced object, a broken seal, a flicker in the containment fields. But everything appeared untouched.

  No signs of forced entry. No scorch marks. No missing items.

  “Sir, the forensic team has arrived,” the officer announced from behind him.

  “Let them in,” Nico said without turning.

  A small group of technicians in white-and-black uniforms filtered into the vault, their scanners already active. The leader gave a curt nod.

  “We’ll start cataloguing immediately,” he said. “If anything’s missing, we’ll find it.”

  “Do it.”

  The team moved quickly, spreading out through the chamber. Their scanners emitted low, rhythmic pulses as they passed through each row, cross-referencing every item against the vault’s digital inventory.

  Behind them, more soldiers entered, sweeping the perimeter with weapons drawn.

  Nico Dardanus walked down the final aisle. Reaching the end, nothing.

  No signs of intrusion. No clues. No displaced objects.

  'Where the hell is the intruder? And what did they take?' He questioned returning to the entrance.

  “Sir,” one of the soldiers called from ahead, his voice steady but uncertain. “The forensic team is completing the final column, but so far, there’s no sign of theft. Nothing’s missing or tampered with.”

  Nico didn’t answer. He stood still for a long moment, his mind racing.

  'No stolen items. No traces left. Then what the hell was the point of the breach?'

  “Sir, perhaps you should return to the celebration,” the officer suggested carefully. “Some of the Heirs are on their way to assist with the investigation. And—” he hesitated, “there’s been an incident. Lady York collapsed after the combat.”

  Nico’s gaze flickered upward, his expression unreadable. “Understood. Inform me the moment you find anything.”

  He turned, ready to leave, when a shout broke through the calm.

  “We found something!”

  Nico pivoted instantly. The soldiers parted for him, forming a path as he approached the forensic specialist standing near one of the far columns.

  The man held something small in his gloved hands. Something that seemed out of place amid the vault.

  “Missing item?” Nico asked, his tone clipped.

  The specialist shook his head. “No, sir. This item isn’t registered in the catalog at all. It shouldn’t be here. And… it has writing on it.”

  He handed the object to Nico.

  It was a card.

  Small, rectangular, and old paper. The surface was faded, its edges worn, as though it had passed through countless hands. On the front was a colorful illustration of a large, round creature lying on its back, sleeping peacefully. Above it, a name was printed in stylized letters.

  “Snorlax.”

  Nico turned the card over in his hands.

  Attached to the back was a small handwritten note.

  [Wakey wakey. Time to wake up. We’ve got an emperor to overthrow.]

  For a long moment, Nico stared at it. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face.

  'You bastard,' he thought. 'I already have this one.'

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