In the cold, unforgiving vacuum of space above Zenith, the Federation fleet formed a massive, aggressive blockade formation.

​"All ships are in position, Commander!"

​"Then what are we waiting for? Fire!" Musa roared.

​BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

​RUMBLE!

​The planetary bombardment from the Federation began.

​Like meteor strikes, the beams crashed onto Zenith, destroying mountains, rivers, and seas. It was a terrifying prelude to the apocalypse. The wildlife of Zenith cried out in terror, while the Federation commanders watched the destruction with sadistic satisfaction on their live feeds. After all, they believed themselves to be supreme. With three Titan-class warships, they felt invincible.

​But their delusion did not last long.

​"BUZZZZZZZ!" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

​From their blind spot, all of a sudden, an overwhelming vibration echoed. Those who heard it felt their blood freeze cold.

​"What was that? Turn the camera to the furthest sector in the back!"

​Commander Musa immediately switched the live feed to their rear, and what he saw made his spine tingle. A single volley of dark energy, looking as if it were devouring space itself, was heading straight for the dreadnoughts at a blinding speed.

​Before Musa could even issue a warning, the dark energy ball made impact.

​Musa and his son’s breathing stopped when they saw what the dark energy sphere did. Wherever it buzzed past, it left a massive, gaping hole in the ships—as if their matter had not just been destroyed, but had simply ceased to exist.

​1...

​2...

​5...

​7...

​10...

​17...

​That single energy sphere possessed enough power to pierce through twenty dreadnoughts with absolute ease.

​"What is that attack, Father? An antimatter cannon?" Vanitus asked, trembling in horror.

​Musa’s hands started shaking violently. "No, it can’t be that. Those ships were equipped with anti-antimatter shields. This... this is something entirely else."

​They did not know it yet, but the answer was the Void Cannons. Neo had synthesized the cannons personally, granting them the power to destroy stars, much less some dreadnought trinkets.

The ships that were struck by the Void Cannons stood no chance of surviving after that. They became completely non-functional.

Terrified beyond reason, the Beyonders and Mech Riders had no choice but to step out into the empty space.

​All the captains and commanders from the other ships blanked out for a second.

​"This much power... Can something like this truly exist in this universe?" a commander whispered, his eyes glazing over with awe and fear.

​Just then, a loud alarm sounded from the three Titan-class ships.

​"Commander! Massive spatial rupture detected dead ahead!"

​Just as said, space literally tore open like a fragile piece of cloth. From the dark dimensional void, a colossal shadow emerged into the physical universe.

​It was the Ghost.

​The stolen Titan-class ship did not look anything like a conventional Federation vessel anymore.

Thanks to Ragnar’s and Neo’s modifications, it looked like a majestic and terrifying mechanical leviathan forged from dark adamantite and void particles.

It now radiated an aura of pure death.

​Standing at the very bow of the Ghost, completely unaffected by the freezing vacuum of space, was Neo Godson.

He looked incredibly small compared to the massive warships surrounding him, yet his domineering presence easily surpassed the entire Federation armada.

​Using a localized magical broadcast, Neo’s voice bypassed the vacuum of space and echoed directly inside the command bridges of all ninety-three Federation ships:

​"You have foolishly trespassed into the sovereign domain of the Zenith Empire," Neo’s voice rumbled. "And now you all will either die or submit."

​Musa violently gritted his teeth. "Submit? Neo Godson! You are a criminal and a traitor to humanity! Surrender right now, or we will fight you until our very last breath!"

​Neo remained unfazed. "Then die."

The moment Neo’s cold declaration echoed through the communication channels, the void of space ignited into a hellscape of absolute destruction.

​Neo raised his hand, pointing a single finger toward the cluster of dreadnoughts struggling to regroup.

​[ Activating Skill: Spatial Manipulation (C) ]

​The fabric of space around the front line of Federation ships warped violently. Visible wrinkles appeared in the vacuum, twisting and compressing like a piece of paper being crumpled by an invisible giant.

Five dreadnoughts were caught in the localized distortion.

Their thick titanium hulls groaned, bent, and then imploded under the sheer gravitational stress of folded space.

​From the massive lower bays of the Ghost, thousands of glowing streaks of light shot out into the dark cosmos.

It was the elite Beyonder Legions of Zenith, led by Zestia herself.

​Clad in golden armor, Zestia rocketed through the vacuum.

She brandished her fiery greatsword, eyes locking onto a swarm of incoming Federation Mech Riders.

​"For the Emperor!"

"Shatter their wills, drown them in despair!"

​She swung her greatsword forward.

"Woosh!"

The greatsword unleashed an Arc of blazing fire.

Buzz!

Upon contact, it vaporized metal and flesh alike.

Behind her, the Zenith Beyonders clashed directly with the Federation’s forces, turning the empty space into a chaotic battlefield of flashing spells and laser fire.

​But the real terror was not the frontline army. It was the Demoness that had bypassed the main conflict entirely

​ The right flank faced a completely different nightmare.

​Noir hovered in the space, her angel-like dark wings outspread. Her crimson eyes glowed with an untamed, sadistic pleasure.

"How dare of you try to harm my darling!"

She raised both hands toward a cluster of fifteen dreadnoughts that were frantically trying to lock their target systems onto her.

​"Now, burn in my domain!"

​[ Abyssal Hellfire ]

​Black and violet flames erupted from her body, defying the vacuum of space.

The dark fire spread rapidly, engulfing the dreadnoughts.

Unlike normal fire, this abyssal flame fed directly on the magical shields and fuel reserves of the ships.

Within seconds, the proud warships of the Federation were turned into melting, floating slag, their crews turned to ash before they could even reach the escape pods.

​

​Inside the bridge of the flagship, Commander Musa watched the live tactical display with a pale face.

The numbers of dreadnaughts were decreasing rapidly.

​93 dreadnoughts.

70 dreadnoughts.

45 dreadnoughts.

21 dreadnoughts.

​"This is impossible... This is a nightmare, father. They aren’t even using a full fleet! It’s just a few monsters!"

​"Commander!" the sensor officer yelled, "The enemy flagship, the Ghost... its main Void Cannon is charging again! It’s targeting our remaining two Titan-class warships!"

​