NOVEL NEXT Chapter 648: Fossil Stampede
It was like a tide.
The first sign of collapse came from a blaring call that finally managed to reach them.
"Get out of there! Get out of there now! The fossils are coming!" Master Quinn's voice thundered through the line like an air raid siren.
See, the master mechanic had gone out of his way to avoid this exact nightmare.
He had specifically taken a separate hovercraft, rushing straight to the Duke's capital manor just to dodge any probing questions about who exactly had made the Duke's mecha. He had even congratulated himself for the foresight.
Yet somehow, despite all that effort, he still ended up dealing with this.
Those damned fossils actually mobilized!
And it had taken him ages before he finally managed to connect to anyone for some godforsaken reason.
Although maybe he would not have been quite as angry if he had learned that it was because of the blockers operated by the shadows of the Imperial monarchs. After all, they were just making sure the great Renard and anyone else attempting the same thing would have no choice but to keep their mouths shut.
But thankfully, after noticing the insistent signal from a registered vassal of House Kyros, the remaining operational shadows allowed the call to pass.
Only for them to be just as stunned by the development.
Because who could've predicted a sudden change in the master mechanics' constitutions?!
Had it been just like before, it would have been unthinkable for the masters to abandon their assistants to claw and bite their way into the Imperial Archives while they themselves hobbled straight for the Registration Office.
But just as fruiting trees had been recognized as reality once again, it was apparently time to accept the truth about the tenacity of masters who could not be stopped by creaking bones, popping joints, and questionable backs.
They were coming to see that mecha for better or for worse!
And it was most definitely for worse, alright!
Especially for Master Quinn, who thought they had been kidding until he finally realized those old geezers were really crossing over to the other building!
If the master mechanic had decided to ignore that group chat, everyone else who was fixated on their current issues would've only learned about their arrival after the fact.
Then again, the screeching informant could also understand why.
Save for them who had such close encounters with spiritual food, who else would've believed that Luca's occasional care packages to those ancients would have such significant effects?
Suddenly walking on their own? Crafting parts with their own hands?
And now, even causing a cane-led stampede!
Unthinkable!
If only.
So, considering everything, could it be said that this was also partly their fault?
Probably. Fuck.
But there was no time to dwell on that when their people would never escape those antiques unless they moved fast enough.
So just as Butler Gary, who needed no further explanation after hearing the word "fossil," sprinted in his immaculate boots, the shadows were similarly planning to extract the Empress and Emperor from the scene.
Meanwhile, attendants and researchers were left scratching their heads, wondering why the panic was so severe.
But Lead Researcher Addis, desperate and quick-minded, finally put two and two together.
It seemed as though House Kyros was doing everything possible to avoid the master mechanics at all costs.
Connections were made, suspicions flared, and the desperate woman turned toward the mecha, hoping to buy time.
Only to find that the Duke's reflexes could not be beaten. He had already secured the mecha in his hands before Addis could even glance at it again.
"Hey! Your Grace! What are you doing?! The test isn't over yet!" she cried.
But shuffling legs echoed as people began to bolt for the exits.
Duke Leander himself was already barreling forward, booming at the top of his lungs, "The test was over the moment others discovered we were here! Especially when the ones who discovered us were those barnacles who will never budge once they worm their way in!" At this rate, he would never be able to take out his new mecha unless he planned on never seeing it again! Hell no!
And so the Duke, his wife, and their people ran like their lives depended on it.
Some split off to call for the others, while behind them trailed people who had simply seen others running and decided they needed to do the same.
But instead of heading for the exit, the Duke and Duchess made a beeline for the medical bay—where their son had reportedly been this whole time, kindly assisting an attendant who had collapsed.
Truthfully, the Duke had wanted to storm the place the very first time he received a prompt from D-29. Yet, being reassured every five minutes of his son's safety, the worried father reluctantly chose not to draw more attention to him.
Because with that crazy researcher eyeing his mecha like it was a cake she wanted to slice open, what if she discovered that his son had just received his mecha manufacturing license at the tender age of nineteen?
What if that crazy woman decided to abduct him for experimentation?
Obviously, she would die. There was no question about that. But even then, he did not want his son to live with such a memory or fear ever again.
Still, perhaps if he had seen how Luca had already brought down the pillars of the Empire with nothing but his words, he might have reconsidered his worries. Then again, realistically speaking, even if he one day learned the true magnitude of Luca's existence, there would never be a moment or place where this devoted father would not worry about his child.
So when they entered the medical bay and saw their son hovering over the passed-out Marshal of the Empire, the first thing Duke Leander did was not to marvel at the scene, nor gasp at the sheer absurdity of the situation.
The father's first concern was simply to check on his child, while the rest of them forced the automatic door shut and engaged the lock. The mechanized system whirred and clamped into place with a hollow thunk that didn't inspire much confidence. All they could do was pray it wouldn't decide to slide back open on its own.
The pounding started immediately.
Metal shuddered under the fists of desperate researchers, each slam echoing like a drumbeat of doom. Their voices rose, overlapping with shrieks, demands, and the kind of manic excitement usually reserved for a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.
They had no time to breathe.
And before Duke Leander could even utter his son's name, Xavier, who had been able to communicate with his parents' increasingly alarmed shadows, said, "We have to leave, it's not just the masters. Citizens are apparently flocking in as well."
No one needed further explanation. Only an idiot would want to stay here.
And sure enough, by the time the Registration Office was breached, a human tide of researchers, masters, and fans had already poured in.
All they found was Renard.
And said idiot, catching sight of himself in a reflective panel, let out a scream so piercing it startled even the boldest.
Who knew he thought his hairdo was worse than solitary confinement?