[QUEENS.]

​With a flash of golden light, the absolute safety of the supreme artifact faded. The group appeared back on Queens, but the moment they saw the once-familiar landscape, they were all dumbfounded... If before, it was in ruins, now, Queens was hell.

​The catastrophic clash between the draconic bloodline and the Void Calamity had completely rewritten the topography. The ambient energy in the air was chaotic, burning their lungs with residual heat and pressure. Rose and the group moved their gazes around the opened black landscape around them, seeing nothing but rocks, and vaporized craters, It looked like the aftermath of a high-tier monsters break.

​"This is crazy... More than half of this city has been turned into hell, what type of battle happened here?" Aurelia muttered, her voice trembling as she was standing close to Hitachi, relying on his stoic presence to anchor her fractured nerves.

​Carl turned his gaze from the devastated horizon to the epicenter of the crater, looking to the spot where the Mansion once stood. Seeing Mirabella, his breath hitched. She sat cross-legged one meter above the air. Her eyes closed, she was entirely focused inward, busy gaining back all her strength and stabilizing the explosive growth of her newly awakened Beast Empress bloodline.

​Around her were people—the hundreds of unconscious civilians she had pulled from the underground abyss. They were the same people who were in the jade Cocoons.

​"This?"

​Grace didn’t wait for another word. Recognizing the familiar shade of blonde hair among the survivors, she broke into a desperate sprint, and ran towards them, the rest of the Dragon Team following behind her.

​"Britney!" She called, her voice cracking as tears rolled down her face.

​Hearing her name cut through the confusion, Britney turned around, and the moment she saw her elder sister charging through the ash, her eyes widened in profound disbelief.

​"Sister!!"

​Everyone watched as the two sisters collided, hugging themselves tightly, crying softly into each other’s bodies. It was a rare, fragile moment of pure humanity amidst the brutal reality of the world’s integration.

​While the team watched the emotional reunion, Carl passed them, as he rushed towards Mirabella.

​"Big Sister, thank goodness you are alright!" He said, sighing in profound relief.

​Mirabella’s transformation had fully receded. She was back to her human flesh, her terrifying draconic scales and horns gone, and her piercing golden eyes have reverted to her normal, deep blue ones. Sensing his approach, she slowly opened her eyes, the chaotic energy around her calming instantly. Staring at Carl; she gave a small, reassuring smile:

​"The monster is gone." She said, her voice steady and carrying the weight of absolute finality, her feet lightly touching the ground as she descended from her meditation.

​From the spatial void, Cupcake materialized and landed on her Master’s shoulder, affectionately rubbing her soft cheek on Mirabella’s neck.

​"Thank the heavens you are safe, Master." She said, her intuition fully aware of the cataclysmic forces Mirabella had just survived.

​Mirabella chuckled lightly, the icy exterior of the captain melting slightly as she was caressing Cupcake’s head: "At the moment, nothing can harm me." She said. It wasn’t arrogance; it was a factual assessment of her newly integrated stats and supreme artifact.

​"Hmm... Where is that Beast lady you controlled?" Carl asked, his innocent curiosity taking over as he was moving his gaze around the ruined, blackened place, looking for the familiar monstrous ally.

​Mirabella’s soft expression flattened into cold pragmatism.

​"Well... When I teleported all of you, I forgot her. She is dead." Mirabella said calmly. Sacrifices were the currency of survival in this world, and a mind-controlled pawn was an acceptable loss against a Domain Rank entity. Moving her gaze on her team, she paused on Grace and her Sister.

​"Britney, This is my senior!" Grace said, her voice filled with immense pride and reverence, gently leading Britney to Mirabella.

​"Really?" Britney’s eyes widened in surprised, looking up at the beautiful, yet intimidating young woman. She was struggling to process the ruined landscape, not knowing her Sister has such a powerful senior capable of levelling an entire city.

​"Thank you for everything, Senior!" Grace said, bowing deeply at Mirabella, a gesture of absolute, life-binding gratitude:

​"I will never forget this help." She added.

​"Same."

​All the hundreds of people added, a chorus of survivors bowing their heads to the sovereign who had ripped them from the jaws of the abyss.

​Mirabella moved her gaze on everyone, calculating the nightmare of transporting un-awakened civilians across an active monster zone, and exhaled:

​"Okay, this is the plan. The rest of my team will take you all back to Manhattan, and you will meet up with The commander in chief! She will lead you all to a safe place." She said, issuing her unyielding commands.

​"What?! But Big Sister, we want to come along!" Carl instantly disagreed, his protective instincts flaring up. He didn’t want to leave her alone in a danger zone.

​Mirabella stepped forward and gently placed her hand on his head, ruffling his hair.

​"Be good and listen to me... By doing this, you are also helping me and the team. Help all these survivors and we also gain more points... Leave the remaining gates to me, besides, if I go alone, I will end all this faster." She said at him lightly. Without the team present, she wouldn’t have to divide her attention or suppress her catastrophic area-of-effect skills.

​She turned her gaze to her most reliable vanguard. "Hitachi, You and Carl will be in charge... Make sure not a single one of them get hurt on the way... By hurt, I mean die." She said, staring at Hitachi, impressing the absolute severity of the escort mission upon him.

​"Understood, Captain." Hitachi nodded his head, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade, accepting the heavy responsibility.

​"Senior, Can Britney follow us into Galaxy Fall?" Grace asked, her tone hopeful, desperate to keep her newly returned family close as they navigated the new world.

​Mirabella lightly shook her head, her deep knowledge of the world’s foundational laws coming to the forefront. The progression mechanics were strict and unforgiving for new entrants.

​"If she follows us, she will be stuck in Galaxy Fall space. She will only enter the first server after three months after the competition... She will still have to stay another three months, before entering the second server, meaning, if we stay in the second server, it will take six months for you two to reunite." She explained, outlining the harsh time-dilation.

​"So she will stay three months in the galaxy space, before entering the first server, then spend another three months in the first server before entering the second?" Grace asked, and Mirabella nodded her head in confirmation.

​"Yes... I advise she enters Galaxy Space as soon as possible." Mirabella turned away from the emotional reunion, her gaze dropping to the dark, gaping hole leading back down to the underground bunker: