Chapter 96: Curse

The Academy Skyship eventually docked at the station, taking its place among the other vessels waiting to be inspected.

After it was secured, the students remained in the passenger area as instructed. Outside, station personnel could be seen moving between the docked skyships, while several inspection teams went about their work.

Several minutes passed, but nobody came to inspect their vessel.

Victor had been growing increasingly impatient. He checked the time before looking towards the entrance.

"How much longer are we supposed to wait?"

Nobody answered immediately.

He leaned back in his seat, clearly annoyed. "We’ve already wasted several minutes here. They haven’t even bothered to tell us when they’ll get to our ship."

"They’re dealing with an assassination attempt," Lydia said. "It’s probably taking longer than they expected."

"That doesn’t mean they should keep us waiting without giving us any information."

Victor turned towards Ethan.

"You’re the captain, aren’t you? Don’t you think you should do something about this? At least go out and find out what’s taking so long."

Ethan looked at him. "They asked us to remain inside until the inspection team arrives. There’s nothing for me to find out that we haven’t already been told."

"Then you should at least ask them when they’ll come. We’re supposed to be on our way to Ironhaven, not sitting here all day."

"An assassination attempt has just taken place, and you’re asking him to go around bothering the station personnel over a delay?" Gareth said, his voice noticeably sharper. "Do you even understand how serious the situation is?"

Victor turned towards him. "I understand that perfectly well. But we have our own assignment. Do you think the beastfolk attacks in Ironhaven are going to wait for us?"

"Nobody said we should stay here forever," Gareth replied. "But the station has a reason for stopping every skyship. We can wait until they finish their work."

Victor scoffed.

"Easy for you to say. You’re all sitting here as if we have nothing better to do."

Ethan was beginning to lose his patience.

"We’ve already been told that the inspection team will come. There’s no need to make this more difficult than it is."

Victor looked at him for a moment before standing up.

"Fine. If none of you are willing to do anything, I’ll go out myself and find out what’s happening."

"Victor, wait," Kael said.

But Victor was already heading towards the door.

Ethan watched him leave, his expression darkening.

Does this guy have a problem with his head?

They had been given a simple instruction to remain inside until the inspection team arrived, yet Victor couldn’t even wait a little longer.

He wasn’t happy about the delay either, but that didn’t mean he was going to ignore the station’s instructions. As captain, he was responsible for the team. If Victor went outside and caused trouble, it wouldn’t just be Victor who had to answer for it.

Ethan stood up.

"Where are you going?" Lydia asked.

"To bring him back."

Ethan turned towards the others. "Stay here. Don’t leave the skyship until the inspection team arrives."

Kael nodded. "We’ll wait."

Ethan didn’t say anything else. He walked towards the entrance and stepped out of the passenger area.

By the time he stepped outside, Victor was already a short distance away, speaking to one of the station personnel.

"Have you received any update on when our inspection will begin?" Victor asked.

"I’m afraid I can’t give you an exact time," the station attendant replied. "We’re still handling several inspections. Your vessel will be checked as soon as a team becomes available."

"Can’t you send someone over? We’re an academy vessel, not some ordinary passenger ship."

"We understand, sir. However, the current situation requires us to inspect every vessel. We ask for your patience."

Victor clearly wasn’t satisfied. He turned away from the attendant, only to notice Ethan approaching.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Coming to get you. The rest of us are waiting inside."

"I can see that. I’m just trying to find out how much longer this will take."

"And the attendant just told you he doesn’t know. There’s no point asking him again."

Victor frowned. "So we’re just supposed to sit there and wait? We have an assignment to complete."

"We’ll leave when they finish the inspection. Until then, there’s nothing we can do."

Victor was about to reply when a commotion broke out further down the docking platform.

Several station personnel came running from the direction of another skyship. One of them shouted for everyone to move away, while another called for help.

"Get back! Everyone, move away!"

Ethan and Victor turned towards them.

One of the men in uniform was running towards the others when a strange symbol suddenly appeared above his head. It glowed with a dark red light, and before he could take another step, he dropped to his knees.

His body began to shake violently. Dark lines spread across his neck and face, and his skin started to shrivel. Within seconds, his body collapsed completely, leaving behind a pool of blood on the platform.

The same thing happened to the man running behind him. A similar symbol appeared above his head, and he fell before he could reach the others.

A third person suffered the same fate.

"What the hell is happening?" Victor shouted.

Ethan stared at the blood on the ground. He had seen the symbols appear above their heads just before they died.

"A curse?"

The thought came to him as he looked at the strange marks. The symbols had appeared first, then their bodies had begun to decay. It was likely some kind of curse that had been placed on them beforehand.

Before Ethan could examine the situation any further, a loud voice came from somewhere near the docked skyships.

"Damn it! I’ve been found! I need to get out of here before those guys arrive!"

The voice drew everyone’s attention.

A figure appeared on the boarding platform of a nearby skyship. He wore dark clothes, and his face was completely hidden behind a mask.

However, what caught Ethan’s attention was the large red number floating above the man’s head: -217579