"FARGUUUUS!!!"
The Marshal of the Allied Army spun around and unleashed a thunderous roar that made the entire void tremble, "Do you truly believe you can stand against all of us alone? Against an army of this magnitude?!"
What answered him, however, was not wordsâbut the sight of Fargus extending his hand outward, his expression cold and unreadable, before clapping his palms together with a deafening
crack
that echoed through the void.
"Shard Refinery."
Instantly, the space around Fargus
fractured
, as if reality itself had been struck by a hammer. It splintered into shimmering shards that reflected starlight like pieces of broken glass suspended in the cosmos. The very air seemed to rippleâthen came the sharp sound:
swoosh
swoosh!
"Youâre courting death!!" the Marshal bellowed, his massive bull form shaking the fractured plane. His three crimson eyes blazed like burning suns as he lowered his enormous head, horns glinting with chaos energy, then launched himself forward in a violent charge.
BAAAAAAAAAAM!
The devastating impact of the attack swept through the area like a storm of raw energy. Yet, to the Marshalâs astonishment, the wide-range explosion barely slowed him downâhis thick hide only bore a few shallow cuts and glowing scorches, nothing more than a mild irritation. His fury only deepened; rage and humiliation surged through him as his crimson eyes seemed ready to erupt in fire.
Not everyone was so resilient. "Aarghhh!!" The Nexus States and World Cataclysms stationed behind him screamed as the force rippled through their ranks. Some vomited blood, their energy fields flickering violently, while others barely managed to stabilize themselves, staggering in midair.
Without hesitation, they counterattackedâswinging their hands, channeling laws and energies toward the fractured space surrounding them. They had to stop the enemies who were escaping through the rifts.
"Fracture Dive!!" Fargus slammed his fists together, the impact echoing like thunder.
BAAAAM!
A colossal explosion tore through the void once more, distorting everything in sight. When the light faded, Fargus was goneâvanished without a trace.
He reappeared an instant later, standing high above the shattered wall of space itself, his figure outlined by the flickering light of chaos energy. Raising his hand, he aimed downward at the World Cataclysms and Nexus States belowâthose already close to breaking through the barrierâand whispered coldly, "Heart Crumble!!"
"Arghhh!!" The five nearest World Cataclysms screamed in unison. Their monstrous forms convulsed, blood spewing from their mouths as invisible force pierced through their cores. One of them lost his entire transformation, his colossal body dissolving as his soul flickered and vanished into the voidâlifeless.
"Damn it!" The others immediately fell back, constructing defensive barriers of various colors, all trembling before the sheer destructive might of the Path of Destruction itself.
Fargus, however, didnât pursue. His gaze moved slowly across the cosmic battlefield. His officers and generals had already scattered, spreading in all directions like a storm of blades, striking mercilessly at the fleets that surrounded the planet. He could
see
the distant bursts of lightâmassive explosions blooming one after another. He could
feel
the terror of the ships scrambling to escape the collapsing defense line.
The once-unified planetary perimeter was now a scene of absolute chaos. With the sudden appearance of nearly forty Doomsday Wardens, the entire battle had turned into a slaughter. Every warship now fought not for victory, but for survival alone.
"Hmm?" Fargus narrowed his eyes. He extended his soul sense
,
scanning the planet and surrounding orbit for any remaining allies. His consciousness swept through the void like a tideâthen halted.
He sensed movement. A small vessel, sleek and faintly damaged, was attempting to seize the brief moment of calm to activate a nearby space portal.
"Trying to escape...?" Fargus muttered under his breath, his tone icy, his gaze sharp as a blade. Within his chest, anger and hatred ignited like wildfire.
Could it be? Had that crimson bastard deceived me all along?!
"FARGUS!!!"
The roaring voice of the colossal bull shook the stars. He had found his prey againâbut this time, he did not charge physically. His energy gathered at his horns, pulsing with cosmic power.
"Epoch Shock!!"
BAAAAAAAAAAM!
Space itself compressed and screamed. The force of the attack crossed the void in an instant, slamming into the distracted Fargus before he could fully react. The impact threw him backward, crashing him hard against the jagged wall of fractured space he himself had created.
"Bvfftâ!!" Blood sprayed from his lips, scattering into glowing droplets that drifted in zero gravity like dying stars.
BANG!
The Shock of the Ages was the final blow â the decisive force that fractured the already weakened spatial barrier. The sound echoed across the void like the roar of collapsing worlds.
"Advance! Move forward and annihilate them all! Donât let a single one return to their ships!!" the Marshal bellowed, his voice booming like thunder through the comms and across the battlefield.
The World Cataclysms and Nexus States emerging from their vessels meant they were now exposedâwithin reach. Inside their ships, they could rely on their enginesâ speed and defense to escape; but outside, floating in open space, they were prey waiting to be hunted. Now they faced two choicesâdie here or scatter through the void in panic. And in most cases, scattering was no different from dying, especially for the World Cataclysms who could barely survive a few hours unprotected in the cosmic vacuum!
"Understood!!"
Dozens upon dozens of monstrous entitiesâeach vastly different in shape, size, and auraâspread like a storm around the planetâs atmosphere. The air rippled with their energy as they launched toward what would become the ultimate, bloody confrontation.
The Marshalâs confidence was palpable. Once the World Cataclysms and Nexus States were erased today, they could turn their forces around and crush Hedrickâs fleets, forcing them into retreat. At that moment, the war would be decidedâthe end sealed in fire and ruin!
"Wait!!"
Fargusâs roar cut through the chaos like a blade. He wiped the stream of blood that trailed down his chin, his crimson aura flaring as he thrust his arm forward, the veins in his body pulsing with raw energy. "Stop right there!!"
BOOOOOOM!
"ARGHHâ!" The jackal-shaped creature screamed only once before its body went limp, drifting helplessly through the shattered air of the battlefield. Its soul faded into silence.
That was no ordinary strike. It was The Crumbling Congestion â an advanced destructive technique that shattered layer after layer of space, compressing them all into a single gravitational force that crashed down on the target. To the victim, it felt like being dragged to the bottom of a boundless ocean made of pure pressure and darkness. When the difference in power was that massive... the attack was nothing less than a death sentence.
"Stop right there, Momo."
The enormous bull-like being, towering over 300 meters tall, materialized beside Fargus with a flash of warped light. The death of one of his subordinates didnât faze him; instead, a sinister grin stretched across his face as he savored the expression of rage and disbelief in his opponentâs eyes.
"Youâve made a monumental mistake, Fargus. You never shouldâve left your ship. Inside it, you had safety. You couldâve escaped, regroupedâmaybe even survived this day. But now? Now youâve handed me your life. My trap worked perfectly, just as planned!"
"....."
Fargus gritted his teeth, fury pulsing in every fiber of his being. His sharp gaze swept across the vast battlefield that surrounded him.
BOOM!
BOOM!
All around, his subordinates were being overwhelmed. The Doomsday Wardens who had followed him so loyally were now surrounded by fleets and cosmic monsters. Hundreds of ships fired from all sides, and at least two World Cataclysms attacked each one relentlessly.
Even worse, sixteen Nexus States had already encircled his top generals, their combined power crushing through every defense. The Shell of Crumbling, that ultimate defensive art his soldiers relied on, was indeed mightyâbut not impenetrable. Not under this level of concentrated fire. It was only a matter of minutes before those protective shells cracked apart and his men were reduced to dust.
And he knew... his arrogant foe would never allow him to return to his ship. Noâhe wouldnât even bother attacking directly. Heâd simply pin him here, keep him restrained, and let time and despair do the work. Once all of Fargusâs followers were dead, reinforcements would come, surround him, and end his life as well.
Had he made a mistake?
Yes.
A fatal one. He had lost everythingânot because he was fooled by a simple trick, but because he had placed his faith in that crimson liar who fled the field... Sakaar!
That treacherous, worthlessâ
"Hmm?"
Something flickered in the corner of his awareness. Fargus froze, his head turning sharply as he scanned the distance. For a moment, his expression was filled with disbeliefâthen, slowly, a dangerous smile curved across his bloodstained lips.
In the far-off darkness of space, he saw itâa small, sleek spaceship cutting through the void, glinting faintly under the light of shattered stars.
A ship he knew all too well.
"It seems..." he murmured, voice deep and low, "the long-awaited supportâhas finally arrived."