"...Then let us finish what we started!" Brontor turned sharply toward Fargus, his three horns glinting as he lowered them like spears and charged with feral momentum.

"What?!" Fargus froze for a heartbeat — but centuries of battlefield instinct jolted him into action. "I tried to treat you as a sentient being, but it seems there's no difference between you and an actual raging bull!" Then he struck.

KWOOOK!

The fabric of space between them bent and stretched like molten rubber before snapping back as their attacks collided.

BOOOOOOOM!

The two were hurled apart, their bodies spinning through the vacuum like artillery shells fired from ancient cannons.

They had exchanged hundreds of blows already, but this one — this single strike — sent a rippling black shockwave that was far worse than any before. It was clear now: the spatial fabric around Virelion had reached its limit.

"...Brontor!!" Fargus forced himself to halt midair, his breath heavy. "Do you even understand the consequences of what you're doing?!"

"Mooh-mooh, of course I do," Brontor's deep voice rolled out like thunder. "You'll keep defending Virelion, your master's precious toy, no matter the cost, won't you?" The bull-headed marshal threw back his head and laughed wildly. "Then today, either you die—or Virelion is annihilated! Either way, I win!"

"Uwooooh—"

The space beast—the Bearded Whale—began circling again, readying for another mindless assault against the planet below.

"Brontor, you idiotic bastard!" Fargus pointed a claw toward him, fury flaring in his voice. "What you're doing violates every interstellar accord! You'll become the enemy of every academy if it's proven that you aided a young space beast in devouring a planet and triggering its evolution!"

"Accords? Those who signed them are long dead!" Brontor barked a laugh that echoed across the void. "And those academies? They're hollow carcasses without him! I'm Marshal of Lord Zarion—let them come and kiss my damn tail! Hahaha!" His laughter reverberated, shaking the energy fields around them as he readied his next strike.

But he didn't charge immediately. Instead, Brontor stayed in place with that wicked grin twisting his face, one horned eye fixed on Fargus, the other on the Bearded Whale. There was calculation in his stance—a predator's patience.

"You…!!" Fargus stepped back slightly, realization dawning in horror. "You delusional fool! Even if he is dead, the Stellar Academies remain a supreme power. Even your master would be forced to hand you over to them!"

Terror surged in his chest. He finally understood Brontor's intent. That lunatic planned to strike at the exact moment the space beast drew near, clearing the way for it to tear into Virelion unopposed. If that happened… the planet would be doomed.

"Yes, yes…" Brontor murmured, his voice dripping with anticipation. He watched the Bearded Whale draw closer, his grin widening with every passing second, already imagining the grand reward his lord would bestow upon him for bringing such glorious destruction.

He began to channel his power into his horns and legs, his massive body trembling from the buildup. He was moments away from launching his fatal charge—

ZOOOOOM!

"Hm?" Brontor's head jerked around, instincts flaring. His soul sense caught something fast approaching. "A blood flower? What in the void is that?"

Annoyed, he swung his arm with a snarl—

BAAAAM!

The crimson flower exploded midflight, lighting the void with a violent burst of energy. Brontor's brow twitched in disbelief. That tiny flower had carried the destructive force of a full-scale strike from a peak World Cataclysm-level expert! Even he couldn't simply shrug off such an attack.

The flower disintegrated into a blooming cloud of blood. The amount was staggering—enough to fill a small pool if gathered together.

But then—

ZOOO! ZOOO! ZOOO!

"What?!" Brontor's eyes widened in alarm.

More crimson flowers burst from the blood mist, streaking toward him like a storm of death.

Hundreds of them.

Each one pulsing with killing intent potent enough to make even a Marshal shudder.

"…?!"

Fargus's eyes snapped open to their widest, a tremor of realization cutting through the exhaustion in his soul.

Before him, like a spark in the eternal darkness, a new thread of life shimmered into existence — a fleeting opportunity, one he absolutely refused to abandon.

Without hesitation, his entire massive body turned toward the Bearded Whale. His wings flared wide, his tail tore through the starry void, and every fiber of his being focused on gathering power in his claws.

This time, he would not hold back. This time, there was no need to fear Brontor's treacherous strike from behind — all distractions had vanished.

WOOOOHHHH!

A brilliant surge of dense, verdant energy ignited deep within his chest, a living storm of pure will and ancient rage.

The energy pulsed outward like a heartbeat, feeding into his arms, flooding his claws until they blazed with dazzling light.

Fargus could feel his life force thinning — each second, each breath, each beat of his heart drained away to fuel this one final blow.

It didn't matter. Even if this strike devoured half of his existence, today he would repay the sacred debt he owed to Lord Hedric.

"AAAAAAHHHHH///!!"

He roared from the depths of his being, a sound that tore through the vacuum like thunder through a dying storm.

His body overflowed with unfiltered, primal power — power so intense, so divine, that even a Celestial Guardian would have frowned in wary respect.

Then, without hesitation, he brought his claws down.

Not to the side of the beast, not to deflect its monstrous trajectory—

but straight down, aimed directly at the very center of its forehead!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Uwooooooooooooooooooohhhh////!!!"

The Bearded Whale convulsed violently, its colossal body frozen in the void. Its massive head shook, tearing apart the fabric of nearby constellations.

Cosmic storms howled into existence, swirling with cataclysmic fury. The sheer force of it ripped through the battlefield, battering even the mighty Fargus and the raging Brontor.

The crimson chrysanthemums — the endless blood-born flowers — were swept away, spinning across the void like dying stars, scattering into infinite fragments.

"Uuuh—Uwooooooh—!"

The space beast continued to thrash, the void trembling under its anguish. Then, finally, with a guttural roar, it turned and drifted backward.

From the shattered wound on its forehead, an inky substance began to flow — darker than the deepest night, heavier than the pull of gravity itself, oozing and coiling into space like the blood of a dying god.

But it didn't retreat far.

The Bearded Whale's entire frame shuddered once more before it unleashed a new, furious roar that echoed across dimensions.

It began to turn again — preparing for another charge.

"Oh no…" Fargus staggered backward, his breath uneven.

His once-radiant skin had turned pale, and beneath his eyes, darkness gathered like storm clouds. His frame seemed to wither — his very essence aged by decades in mere moments.

That one attack had taken everything. He knew it — he couldn't unleash another strike, not even if it meant dying alongside his foe.

"Moomoomoo~ The Heavenly Will desires Virelion's destruction! The Heavenly Will favors my lord alone!!"

Brontor burst into manic laughter, his deep voice carrying both triumph and malice. Even though the monster had been halted momentarily, his scheme was still unfolding exactly as planned.

But then—

DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

A deep, resonant sound reverberated across the cosmos, echoing from the surface of Virelion.

A sound so sharp, so mighty, that all combatants instinctively turned their gazes downward, the void itself trembling in its wake.

"Hm…?"

At the very source of that sound stood a regal figure draped in imperial garments that shimmered under cosmic light.

Before him, a titanic spike — like a planetary nail — was driving itself into the crust of Virelion, while in his grasp rested an enormous hammer glowing with divine runes.

Each swing carried the weight of entire worlds. It was clear now — that deafening ring was the echo of hammer striking nail, the prelude to a miracle.

"The Planetary Emperor… of the Shattering Meteor Empire?! And that's— a first-grade Planetary Displacement Gear!"

Fargus's dim eyes suddenly flared with life again as he turned completely toward Virelion.

"Yes! The planet's master doesn't need to wait hours— he can shift his world immediately!

All he needs to do… is strike three perfect blows!!"

"No!!"

Brontor's eyes widened in pure horror, veins bulging across his bull-like face.

"What are you doing?! Stop!!"

With a desperate roar of disbelief, the marshal hurled himself toward the planet, his form blazing with destructive aura as he tried to intercept what was already in motion —

Yet deep down, the hammer was already rising again.

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