Chapter 60: Whispers Of War

Leo reached the mountain chalet near midday, limping through the terrace doors while Kage carried the black-box fragment.

Luna crossed the room immediately, catching his arm before his injured leg folded beneath the weight of exhaustion.

"You promised rest, found another fight before your blood dried," Luna said, tightening her hold.

"The Association found part of its black box, and waiting politely would leave our enemies holding the evidence," Leo answered.

She guided him toward the terrace couch, pressing both palms above his ribs while pale light gathered around her fingers.

The Aegis-Lotus field opened beneath them, weaving luminous petals through bruised tissue and closing burns along his shoulder.

"Evidence cannot protect you when every organ decides leaving your body offers much better working conditions," Luna muttered.

"My organs stay loyal because benefits improve whenever you start glowing," Leo replied, testing movement.

Her glare fought a smile, making the lotus petals tremble before she pushed more healing power into his chest.

[ Target: Luna ]

[ Resonance: 100% MAX ]

[ Pink Matrix Tactical Sync Established ]

[ Healer’s Devotion Buff Deepened ]

[ Passive HP And Ether Regeneration: +25% ]

Warm energy settled beneath Leo’s skin, connecting Luna’s gentle healing rhythm with the All-Spark pulsing behind his sternum.

He sensed her next movement before she made it, turning slightly while she reached toward the cut beneath his jaw.

Luna paused when he matched her motion, noticing the quiet pink current linking their breathing across the lotus field.

"What changed between us, because your system made healing feel like muscle memory?" she asked.

"It called the connection tactical sync, which sounds less romantic than whatever expression you’re currently hiding," Leo replied.

"I am hiding the desire to strike you somewhere my healing refuses to reach," Luna said, tightening his bandage.

Bekka entered carrying tea and stopped beside the doorway, examining Leo’s injuries with visible disbelief and growing irritation.

"I leave you alone for three hours, and you challenge an S-rank celebrity while still bleeding from space," she said.

"He challenged me, although I encouraged him after noticing his employers hiding evidence," Leo answered.

"Technically, you collect disasters like pets and act surprised whenever they start eating all the furniture," Bekka replied.

Kage placed the fragment on Richter’s portable table, clicking impatiently while the scientist connected several insulated testing probes.

Blue symbols crawled across the fragment’s surface, resisting each translation program before the assimilated reactor pulse touched it.

The All-Spark responded inside Leo, sending a matching sequence through his chest and unlocking the device’s protected memory lattice.

"The reactor recognizes this encryption, so breathe steadily while I copy everything now," Richter said.

"Alien machinery noticing us sounds concerning when one piece already crossed the solar system to murder him," Luna replied.

Richter projected a rotating star map above the table, revealing Earth beneath a widening cone of crimson trajectories.

Everyone stopped speaking as dozens of markers emerged beyond lunar orbit, moving together toward the same pulsing coordinate.

"The corvette wasn’t scouting Earth generally, because it followed a homing signal broadcasting Leo’s All-Spark signature," Richter explained.

"How long before they arrive, and how many ships hide behind that word?" Bekka asked.

Richter enlarged the formation, exposing carrier silhouettes, escort signatures, and one central vessel whose mass distorted surrounding readings.

"A Vorn Vanguard armada reaches Earth within forty-eight hours, assuming their formation keeps its present acceleration," he answered.

"Can we silence the signal before they refine our location, or did the corvette already finish guiding them?" Leo asked.

"Destroying the ship interrupted its update, but the armada possesses your last position and this planet’s orbital path," Richter said.

Kage lowered his head, chittering while the projection painted lines across every major city below.

Tempest cried from the roof outside, sensing the tension and spreading its wings against the paling mountain sky.

"Then we need the Association preparing evacuation routes instead of burying wreckage and hunting the person warning them," Luna said.

"Gruber controls their public response, and he already froze my bounty to erase the corvette victory," Leo replied.

Sierra appeared across the wall display, replacing the star map with emergency broadcasts from every district news network.

Gruber stood behind a podium before cameras, surrounded by heroes beneath the Association crest above.

"Citizens deserve protection from unregistered weapons, unauthorized battles, and criminals manufacturing panic through fabricated alien threats," Gruber announced.

Footage showed Leo entering the salvage yard, carefully removing every image of Association agents loading the alien fragment.

The broadcast repeated Hancock’s bleeding cheek from several angles, presenting Leo’s survival as an attack against public order.

"Tomorrow morning, an emergency tribunal will determine whether the Ghost receives designation as a national menace," Gruber continued.

Bekka set down her tea hard enough to crack the cup and spill steam everywhere.

"They watched you stop a collision and still found time to schedule paperwork before the invasion," she said.

"Paperwork is Gruber’s favorite weapon because every signed page lets someone else carry the blood afterward," Richter replied.

Sierra immediately opened another current broadcast window, displaying Hancock’s unedited statement beside millions of rapidly climbing public comments.

"Gruber cannot remove every copy, and Hancock’s warning already pushed public support toward demanding the wreckage records," she said.

"Support disappears when ships arrive, unless we give people instructions before fear wins," Leo answered.

He stood despite Luna’s hand against his shoulder, feeling her synchronized healing strengthen protectively around each remaining bruise.

The Pink Matrix shifted with his intention, allowing Luna to recognize his plan before he explained it aloud.

"You want Bekka attending the tribunal while we prepare defenses here, forcing Gruber’s own broadcast to reveal everything," she said.

"He assembled every important camera and hero inside one tower, while Bekka can enter without triggering his kill order," Leo replied.

"That tower’s fields and A-ranks could bury my testimony before Hancock enters tomorrow," Bekka warned.

"Apex Evasion might keep me alive there, but my presence gives Gruber the panic he needs," Leo said.

Richter rotated the star map again, highlighting a northern coordinate blinking beyond the polar circle beneath the incoming trajectories.

"Your fourth Genesis Shard lies here, although chasing it before the tribunal would cost at least twelve critical hours," he said.

"The shard can wait until Earth understands what approaches, because power means nothing without people left to protect," Leo answered.

Kage placed the fragment inside Leo’s pouch, guarding the proof Bekka would carry before Gruber.

Luna finished sealing his wounds, then closed her fingers around his wrist before the lotus field disappeared from sight.

"You will rest until sunrise, eat something, and help us prepare while Bekka carries that proof inside," Luna said.

"I was preparing an inspiring objection, but tactical sync suggests losing this argument saves valuable time," Leo replied.

Bekka handed him the unbroken cup, settling beside the couch while Sierra continued mapping the tribunal tower’s defenses.

Daylight clouds hid the approaching armada while every public alarm remained silent below their path.

Leo watched the crimson countdown reflected across the window, hearing distant whispers from the assimilated reactor inside his chest.

"Let them argue inside their towers, because when that fleet arrives, they will finally meet the real enemy," he said.