Back at the Main Battlefield – 1 Hour Earlier

  “It’s your turn now, Percy,” Eerie said through a voice transmission. “Let us in.”

  Percy’s cold expression twisted into a dark grin as he rose, turning his back to the squad leader. Without hesitation, the squad leader’s head fell to the floor with a THUD.

  Percy twirled his spear, lightning fring along its length. With a single powerful thrust—

  BOOOM!

  The spear tore through the Seed, creating a massive hole in its hull, exposing the ship to the void of space.

  As Percy rested the spear on his shoulder, he smirked. “Not so strong from the inside, are you?”

  Arms bred throughout the ship, rattling the X3X soldiers onboard. The crewmen in the cockpit descended into chaos, barking orders to prevent Carter's forces from charging onto the ship.

  “Damn it, Trak! What now!? One of their stronger soldiers is on the ship now! If you had just listened to me and not fired the cosmic ray, I’m certain that guy wouldn’t have been able to get onboard and break through our defenses!” Governor Shrom ranted, smming his fist on the table and gring at Governor Trak with rage.

  “Will you shut the hell up!? Don’t you see me trying to think!?” Trak barked back, his voice strained.

  “Tch,” Shrom clicked his tongue and sat back down, still staring menacingly at Trak.

  Trak bit his thumb nail, visibly agitated as sweat poured down his face. Though I hate to admit it, that bastard Shrom is right. He appeared in the maintenance section of the cosmic ray cannon, and their suicidal charge was just a ruse to make us use the cannon. But how exactly did he get onboard?

  No—it doesn’t matter how he got onboard. The fact is, he’s inside the ship, and he’s created a breach for his comrades to invade. We can’t let that happen.

  Trak stood abruptly and walked over to the speaker in their quarters.

  “If anyone in the cockpit is hearing me, I want you to rey my orders! No soldiers from the outside are to board the ship to deal with the intruder! They must remain stationed outside to stop the Star Eater’s army from entering the Seed! Dispatch every avaible soldier near the cannon maintenance section to kill the filth inside this ship!”

  Beep.

  The speaker crackled as a communication officer in the cockpit responded. “Governor Trak! I was just about to report to the governors—we have a big problem!”

  “A bigger problem than the one we already have? Spit it out, damn it!”

  “Y-yes, sir!” the officer stammered. “The ship’s situation is critical. The enemy who breached the ship has been cssified as Bright Yellow, and he’s already moved deeper into the ship. He’s sughtering every soldier he encounters, and the nearby troops are too weak to stop him! We need stronger Aether users immediately!”

  Trak paced back and forth, absorbing the grim report. The muffled muttering of the other governors filled the room.

  “Damn it, I don’t care who we have to send—just make sure he’s killed! We cannot allow him to advance any further into the ship!”

  “Sir… there’s an even bigger problem.” The officer’s voice shook. “Half of the Star Eater’s army has already breached the ship. The other half is pushing our outside troops back. Morale is plummeting. We’re being overwhelmed!”

  Trak froze mid-step, his eyes wide with fury as his veins bulged across his face.

  “WHAT!?”

  Inside the Seed

  Eerie, along with Scarlett and Monroe, led thousands of Primordial Knights deeper into the ship, cutting through the X3X soldiers like a knife through butter.

  CLANG! CLANG!

  The sound of bdes cshing echoed through the corridors, punctuated by explosions from Aether abilities that rocked the ship. The Primordial Knights charged forward, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, while the three vice captains followed closely behind.

  “Where’s Percy?” Monroe asked, gncing at Eerie. “I thought he was supposed to meet us here.”

  “Don’t worry about Vice Captain Percy,” Eerie replied coolly. “He has his own mission. Our job is to keep their main force distracted and occupied.”

  Elsewhere on the Seed

  Percy roamed the ship’s blood-soaked halls, dragging the tip of his spear across the floor. The bodies of fallen X3X soldiers y strewn behind him, painting a gruesome scene of carnage.

  Ahead of him stood a massive rhinoceros-like man, towering at least eight feet tall. His bulging muscles and heavy breathing made the ground tremble with every step. Behind him stood four other X3X soldiers, grinning smugly as Percy approached. They released their auras in an attempt to intimidate him.

  Percy stopped a safe distance away, lifting his spear onto his shoulder. His cold gaze met theirs, his expression unreadable—until a dark grin spread across his face.

  “So here’s how this is gonna go,” Percy began, his voice calm but menacing. “You’re going to tell me everything about this ship and the exact coordinates of where your cowardly leaders are hiding. Then maybe, just maybe, I’ll grant you a quick death.”

  The rhino-man stepped forward, his enormous footsteps shaking the hallway. His breath came out in loud, snorting huffs.

  “I’ve got a better idea,” he rumbled. “You stay right there, nice and quiet, while I beat you into a meaty puddle!”

  With a deafening roar, he raised his gigantic fist and smmed it down with all his might.

  BOOM!!

  The force of the blow shattered the floor, sending debris flying. But as the dust cleared, Percy stood unmoved, holding the rhino-man’s fist in one hand. His feet were slightly sunken into the ground from the force, but his grip remained firm.

  “What the—”

  BAM!!

  Before he could finish his sentence, Percy yanked him down to eye level and punched him square in the chest. The blow was so powerful that Percy’s fist went clean through his body, killing him instantly.

  The other soldiers stared in shock, their confidence shattered. Slowly, they began to back away.

  Percy let the body fall to the floor with a dull THUD. He tore off a piece of the rhino-man’s uniform and wiped his bloodied hand clean.

  “Stubborn bastard, wasn’t he?” Percy muttered. He shifted his gaze to the remaining soldiers, his cold grin returning.

  “Well, no matter. If any of you want to live… you’d better start talking. Fast.”