Chapter 42

Chapter 42 is the forty-second chapter of the Astra Lost in Space manga. It is the fifth chapter of the Galem arc and, in the compiled volumes, the fifth chapter of the fifth volume.

Synopsis
Charce asks Kanata what he is doing, and realizes that Kanata came from the forest side. Kanata plays around with the device as he remarks this was the tool to control the wormholes all along. He notes that Charce appears to be the assassin, but asks why Charce has been attempting to kill everyone.

Charce demands Kanata give back the portable wormhole device, but Ulgar points the gun at Charce, and states that the gun was never tampered with and works perfectly fine. Charce realizes too late that Ulgar and Kanata were in on this the entire time. And not only Ulgar, but the rest of the group had known all along as they come out of their hiding places in the cave. They ask him why he did it, and Charce realize he's been cornered.

He asks how they figured it out, and Kanata replies that back on Planet McPa, the killer could only be swallowed last by the wormhole otherwise it would fail. Charce pushes back, saying the situation was chaotic and that it was nearly impossible to figure out what was going on. But Kanata brings in Aries, who has her photographic memory to help. Kanata recalls that there was one person running in front of him, but can't remember who it was. But he does remember Aries was behind him, and Aries could remember who it was. She replies that it was Charce who was in the very front.

Although it helps, they wanted more proof, so he, Zack, and Ulgar devised a plan to trick Charce into exposing himself. Aries pleads with Charce, hoping that he is not the killer, and can't seem to bring herself to confront the reality that it was really Charce who was the killer: not the nice and carefree Charce she remembered.

Cornered, Charce gives up and explains he had a mission, and Zack deduces that Charce as the triggerman sent by the originals to kill all the clones. Charce's mission was to kill everyone on Planet McPa by letting loose the wormhole. But he had accidentally clicked on the wormhole device too early, and with the crew still wearing their helmets, they were able to survive. However Charce remarks that he left his helmet on because he wanted to die looking at the stars. Yun-Hua mentions that they would've run out of oxygen eventually, but because they had found the ship, Charce realized that they were over Earth.

Because he had seen the older Ark series before, he knew how to disable the comms system. He had intended to still carry out the suicidal plan, but over time he changed his mind and decided to reach the last planet together before carrying out his plan. He is impressed by the bonds the group has formed over their journey and calls them friends, but Ulgar angrily exclaims that Charce has huge guts to call them friends when he was trying to kill them the entire time. He also tells the group that Ulgar, with his gun, and Kanata, will his sharp wit, were the two main obstacles and he wanted to get rid of them first but found it difficult.

Kanata then begins to shout at Charce, asking him what is so important that Charce had to launch a suicidal mission, and especially who Charce really was. Charce responds he is a clone, but he's known he's a clone the entire time. His true original is Noah Vix: the ruler of the Imperial District of Vixia, or the King.