The control room held its breath.
No one dared move.
Standing at the doorway was the Golden Blaze of the Red Moon.
Atrunt's face twisted with frustration.
"How did you escape?"
He took a step forward.
"We restrained you with enough sedatives to put down—"
"It wasn't enough."
Nury cut him off before he could finish.
Her voice remained calm.
Cold.
Certain.
"My instincts warned me something like this would happen."
She slowly stepped into the room.
No rush.
No fear.
"I chose to ignore them."
A beat.
"For the sake of this mission."
Her eyes drifted across the control room.
"For the sake of an alliance that could have benefited both of us."
She looked back at Atrunt.
"I didn't want everything we invested into this operation to go to waste."
"The resources."
"The time."
"The people we lost."
"Abducting Rumbler."
"Retrieving the artifact."
A faint sigh escaped her lips.
"And now it's all been thrown away."
"What a shame."
Atrunt's jaw tightened.
"Oh, spare me."
His frustration finally broke through.
"Who gives a damn about what you humans sacrificed?"
He spread his arms toward the room.
"What we're building here is the future."
"The future of our race."
"When Stardust finally disappears, science will replace it."
His smirk returned.
Cruel.
Mocking.
"And every one of you will kneel beneath it."
Nury remained unmoved.
Then she spoke.
"I heard you back there."
The smirk vanished.
Atrunt frowned.
"What?"
Nury's eyes sharpened.
"The Heart of God."
The room fell silent.
Atrunt's heart skipped a beat.
He looked nervous.
Nury continued.
"I suppose that means this mission has officially failed."
Her gaze swept across the room.
"We'll be disposing of all of you."
Suddenly—
ALARMS BLARED.
Red lights flooded the control room.
One of the operators shot up from his chair.
"SIR!"
His voice cracked.
"We're under attack!"
Everyone turned toward the monitors.
The camera feeds displayed chaos.
Gunfire.
Explosions.
Ancient soldiers falling.
Corridors overrun with Red Moon members.
Fear began creeping across the room.
Atrunt slowly turned back toward Nury.
Fury burning in his eyes.
Nury met his gaze.
"You really thought we weren't prepared for something like this?"
Gunshots echoed through the halls outside.
Screams followed.
The sounds of battle were getting closer.
Nury's expression never changed.
"We are the Red Moon Clan."
The control room fell silent.
Then another explosion shook the facility.
The Red Moon had awakened.
The room was swallowed by alarms, gunfire, and distant screams.
In the middle of the chaos, Detrox's face darkened.
Without warning, he let out a furious roar.
"KNOW YOUR PLACE, SCUMS!"
The floor shattered beneath him.
He launched forward and grabbed Nury by the throat. His massive hand wrapped around her entire neck, his towering frame making her look small by comparison.
Then he ran.
Wall after wall exploded as he used her body like a battering ram. Concrete, steel, and machinery were torn apart as the two blasted through the fortress. The entire mountain trembled from the impact.
Atrunt immediately seized the opportunity.
"Initiate defense protocol!"
He turned toward the operators.
"Now!"
Without another word, he rushed from the control room and headed toward Rumbler's chamber.
Elsewhere.
Detrox continued smashing through the fortress while choking Nury.
Eventually they burst into the cargo depot.
A massive platform surrounded by heavy machinery, cargo containers, and loading equipment.
Emergency lights flashed red across the room.
Detrox slammed Nury into the floor.
The metal beneath her cracked.
"C'mon, little bird."
He grinned wickedly, tongue sticking out slightly.
"Go to sleep."
Mechanical noises echoed throughout the depot.
Security robots emerged from hidden compartments behind cargo walls.
One.
Ten.
Twenty.
More kept coming.
Detrox tightened his grip.
"How did you do it?"
His grin faded.
"The other two..."
His voice sharpened.
"How did they get into that chamber?!"
Nury said nothing.
Despite being pinned beneath a man three times her size and surrounded by an army of machines, her expression never changed.
—
One hour earlier.
The welcome banquet.
Doctor Groog and Doctor Katys had just finished telling the story of Babula when Nury noticed something unusual.
Levi.
Kayo.
And the Nitchtronian woman.
Leaving together.
Quietly.
Nury looked toward Lee.
She didn't speak.
Didn't move.
Just glanced in their direction.
Lee immediately understood.
From the shadows beneath his feet, dark copies emerged.
Silent.
Subtle.
The shadow clones slipped into their shadows, acting as perfect doppelgangers after Levi and Kayo left.
Neither of them noticed.
Nury simply continued observing the banquet.
Waiting.
Watching.
Trusting her instincts.
—
Present.
CRACK.
Nury effortlessly tore herself free from Detrox's grip.
Detrox stepped back.
Then laughed.
"Hah..."
A grin spread across his face.
"You're one tough little bird."
He rolled his shoulders.
"You still haven't answered my question."
A pause.
"Sneaking around behind our backs."
"Taking Rumbler for yourselves."
"What a selfish thing to do."
Nury calmly brushed dust from her sleeve.
"I guess you're upset we outplayed you."
"What does it feel like?"
Detrox grunted.
"You know..."
He spread his arms.
"We're actually doing you people a favor."
"With Stardust decaying, science is the only way forward."
His expression twisted with mockery.
"Though honestly..."
He chuckled.
"I don't think we need Stardust at all."
Nury's eyes narrowed slightly.
Detrox laughed harder.
"Once it's gone, science will take over everything."
"No more relying on some ancient dust."
He grabbed his shirt and ripped it off.
Beneath it was a monstrous physique.
Half flesh.
Half machine.
Steam vents protruded from his shoulders.
Mechanical parts pulsed beneath his skin.
"JUST LOOK AT ME!"
His voice echoed throughout the depot.
"I DON'T NEED THAT GARBAGE DUST TO KILL YOU!"
His grin widened.
"I can give myself as much power as I want."
His body began roaring like an engine.
Steam exploded from his vents.
The floor shook beneath him.
"Because..."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"I am God."
Silence.
Nury stared at him.
Unmoved.
Detrox raised his arm.
A massive beam of fire gathered in his palm.
The robots surrounding her raised their weapons.
Laser sights locked onto her body.
"DIE!"
The depot lit up.
Fire.
Lasers.
Explosions.
All converging on a single target.
Nury.
Yet she never moved.
Not immediately.
To everyone else, the attacks crossed the distance in an instant.
To Nury...
The battlefield slowed.
Every trajectory.
Every angle.
Every attack pattern.
She saw them all.
Her body flowed naturally through the storm.
A step.
A turn.
A slight tilt of her head.
Nothing touched her.
Not a single attack.
Detrox's smile disappeared.
The robots charged.
From above.
Below.
Behind.
In front.
Every direction at once.
Still nothing connected.
Detrox joined the assault.
A left jab.
A right hook.
A spinning back kick.
The attacks came relentlessly.
Yet every strike met empty space.
It was as if she already knew what was coming.
Detrox's eyes widened.
"How..."
His thoughts raced.
"She moves like the legends..."
Frustration exploded inside him.
With a roar, he launched a full-force headbutt.
Nury stepped aside.
The attack missed.
The entire platform shattered.
Nury landed gracefully atop a cargo platform overhead.
Robots immediately swarmed after her.
"STOP RUNNING!"
Detrox roared.
"FIGHT, YOU PEASANT!"
He clasped both hands together.
A massive fireball formed between them.
Nury watched it approach.
Calmly.
Silently.
Then she lowered into a fighting stance.
Her fist clenched.
"You're no god."
Almost a whisper.
Then—
Flames erupted from her body.
Brilliant.
Scorching.
So hot they began shifting toward crimson.
Detrox froze.
For the first time.
Fear.
By the time he understood what was happening—
It was too late.
Nury became a comet.
A blazing star descending from the heavens.
Everything in her path began melting instantly.
Steel.
Concrete.
Machines.
The world itself seemed unable to withstand her heat.
She appeared before him.
One punch.
One moment.
One sentence.
"Hell's Fire."
BOOM.
Her fist struck his chest.
Detrox disappeared.
Reduced to ashes instantly.
The shockwave tore through the depot.
Silence followed.
Nury watched the ashes drift through the air.
Then she spoke.
"We are..."
"We Gifters are the true gods."
The last remnants of Detrox scattered at her feet.
She looked down at them with quiet disgust.
"Burn away."
Her eyes glowed like embers.
"You filthy non-gifters."
The ashes vanished.
And with them—
The Ancient Empire's downfall had begun.
Carried upon the flames of the Fifth Blade.