The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] - Chapter 305

Chapter 305: Greetings

It had been perfect.

Or it should’ve been.

It was a meeting that definitely rivaled her dreams. Even those with swelling background music, teary confessions, and endless hugs. She thought that would be how they’d meet again, but this simple greeting toppled all that.

For this one was as real as it could get.

“Hi,” she had said.

And he had answered.

For a second, the world had stilled.

Even the glimmering lake behind them seemed to hush in reverence, glowing softly as though to commemorate the long-awaited reunion of mother and son.

But the world, as always, had other plans.

It began with a pulse.

Faint at first—a single tremor beneath their feet.

Subtle enough to pass for coincidence.

If anything, the duchess assumed it was her world shaking as she went through all sorts of mind-blowing emotions.

But then came another.

And another, this time heavier.

The Duchess stiffened. Her expression shifted from awe to steel, instincts overriding the warmth that had bloomed in her chest. Her breath hitched for an entirely different reason now.

“Brace—DOWN!” she shouted, voice cutting through the stillness like a blade.

She lunged forward.

Luca flinched, instinct pulling him back. But Amelia’s reach was swift—armor scraping stone, her entire body flinging forward as another quake shuddered through the hollow.

The ground behind them cracked.

A wave of molten energy erupted from a far cliffside, carving the ridge in two with a roar of displacement.

And next to them, the glowing lake hissed violently, and crystal flora shattered under the impact.

Shit. It was happening again!

She lunged for him, her heart clenching at the sound of a falling rock cracking above them.

A jagged piece of stone, dislodged by the quake, tumbled from overhead.

Without hesitation, she raised her arm, bracing for the hit. Her armor deflected the worst of it, but the impact rattled her bones, underscoring the gravity of the situation.

It was an embrace, though brief, not born from the luxury of reunion but from the desperation of survival.

Her arms wrapped around him tightly, as if anchoring both of them in a reality threatening to break them apart. She held him close, inhaling deeply—there it was, the scent of sap, peace, and something achingly familiar—her son.

Her eyes fluttered closed for a fraction of a second, savoring what she knew she’d been starved for.

She held him a heartbeat longer than she should’ve, selfishly, desperately, before pulling back. Her hands gripped his arms to steady him as she pointed him toward his mecha.

Then, reluctantly, she let go.

“Go. Inside,” she commanded, forcing herself to let go, because she had to, because they didn’t have the time she’d prayed for.

“To your mecha! Now!” she barked, eyes already scanning the terrain.

Luca barely had time to blink. The warmth of the reunion was swept away in the panic of survival.

“Mom?”

She froze—just for a second.

He had said it, called her that. Her.

Her heart cracked open and surged with feeling, but she gritted her teeth.

“Yes, yes, my son,” she said, although she really wanted to scream—a ‘yes’ that was so greedy it almost jumpstarted her heart.

She had missed him fiercely. But she looked at him gently, confirming it with her eyes, holding it all back because it all had to wait.

“We’ll talk all about it later, alright?” she said, softer now, like a promise tucked into urgency.

Her hands hovered, trembling in the air between them—desperate to pull him close again, but knowing that to hold on now would only risk everything.

There would be time, she told herself.

There had to be.

“I want to know everything. I want to hear everything,” she said, voice wobbling. “But for that to happen, you need to stay safe. Stay with the others. Please.”

He stared, caught between a thousand questions and the sight of her eyes.

They were different from his, but they were staring at him like he was all they could see.

“Where are you going?”

She straightened.

“I have to get the others.”

He opened his mouth to argue.

“I brought the only hoverbike left. They’re stranded. I can’t leave them behind.”

She turned, hesitating.

Then she knelt low, touched his cheek, and kissed his forehead just like she did over a decade ago.

“I’ll be back. So, stay safe while we fix this.”

And then she was gone.

She vaulted over the ledge, hoverbike already revving as she shot toward the eastern tunnels, heart pounding not from fear but from the thrill of having a reason to fight again.

Her son was alive.

And no oversized dungeon beast would stop her from returning to him.

The others reacted quickly.

Kyle reached Ollie’s side, yanking him toward his mecha.

“We need to go—NOW!” he shouted.

D-29 whirred through Luca’s comms. “Host! Dungeon tremor levels are increasing! We must be near an unstable node!”

Luca raced toward his mecha, half-jumping into the cockpit as D-29 caught his motion.

The moonlighting mecha lifted off just as the ridge it was initially on crumbled beneath it.

Meanwhile, Xavier has already made his call.

“I’ll go with her,” he said, sharp and commanding. “The rest of you, follow the path she mapped earlier. Stick to the hollow until you reach the barren lands.”

Luca opened his mouth to argue, but Xavier didn’t give him the chance.

“You want to follow her, right? But that won’t be advisable until we’ve trained D-29 more. For now, let me do this for you.”

“So, do me a favor instead and keep yourself safe.”

It was only a projection from inside the cockpit, but he met Luca’s eyes and gave a slight nod. It was trust, not a farewell, but a promise.

Then he turned, launching skyward after the Duchess.

Behind them, the dungeon responded.

Roots the size of siege pillars erupted from the rock walls, thrashing in arcs that cleaved entire crystal spires in half.

The lake, which had once hummed like a lullaby, now pulsed with discordant vibrations as the walls groaned under the weight of whatever awakened deeper within.

And then—

A roar.

Deeper. Louder.

Like the mountain itself had grown lungs.

As Xavier raced after the Duchess, one root whipped across the air, directly in her path.

Her bike veered, but the root moved too fast.

“Your Grace!” Sid’s voice echoed, momentarily stunning Xavier.

Before the root could land, Sid deployed an auxiliary barrier unit, detonating mid-air to redirect the attack.

The root slammed against the redirected arc, diverting its trajectory just enough for the Duchess to slip past it.

Xavier’s eyes widened, if only for a bit, before returning to maneuvering after the weaving warrior.

It was a rather odd reaction from his guardian mecha.

But there was no time to question.

“Thank you!” the Duchess called as she zipped around the next bend.

Sid didn’t respond. But the guardian mecha, who had been roped in all this, could not in good faith let something like that happen.

Not when he knows too much.

Next time, really, he would just sleep inside the space button.

With this, Xavier and the Duchess vanished into the cavern system, pursued by shadows and shuddering ground.

And the rest?

They fled east.

Toward a place that hopefully was quiet enough to catch their breath.

But for how long?