Deep within a vast forest, four cloaked figures moved silently beneath towering ancient trees.
Each cloak bore the emblem of the Aether Raiders.
They were the elite of the 2nd Division:
Martha.
Clint.
Mendoza.
Blue.
All four had been strengthened by the strange energy of the new world.
Far beyond them, on a distant ridge, another figure watched —
a man wearing a mask, the insignia of the Aether Raider Commander gleaming on his back.
He was the one observing the Type IV monster.
A communication device rested in his ear. His voice remained calm.
> "Type IV monster moving north. It's heading toward your position.
Distance… around 100 meters."
Clint responded immediately.
> "What type of core?"
The masked commander paused.
> "I can't see the core clearly… but judging by its appearance, probably a brown core."
The four exchanged quick glances — then nodded.
And in the next heartbeat, they leapt, soaring high into the air.
Below them, the massive core monster lifted its head and roared, unleashing a violent shockwave.
Blue was flung backward instantly —
but Mendoza grabbed him by the collar before he hit the ground.
"You okay?" Mendoza asked.
"Y–yeah…" Blue groaned.
Clint shouted:
> "Prepare yourselves!"
Without warning, the monster fired a devastating beam from its mouth.
Martha flew forward and punched the blast midair.
The force split apart and redirected, striking the monster's eye.
Blood burst from the wound as the creature staggered.
Seeing an opening, Martha grabbed both Mendoza and Blue —
Blue still dangling helplessly in Mendoza's arms —
and hurled them straight toward the monster.
"Why am I included?!" Blue screamed.
Mendoza only grinned, and Blue burst into tears as they descended toward the monster.
Far away, the masked commander watched as a massive cloud of smoke erupted.
The entire surrounding terrain froze solid, coated in glittering frost.
Moments later, the battle was over.
The core monster lay dead.
Mendoza sat on its corpse with a sigh, while Blue lay sprawled out, dizzy and barely conscious.
Martha and Clint stood atop the frozen beast.
Clint tapped his communication device.
> "Mission complete, Commander."
But the masked man was already walking away.
> "Good. Return to base."
Clint asked,
> "What about you?"
> "I have somewhere else to go. Head back."
Martha looked to Clint.
"Should we leave first?"
He answered with a silent nod.
Mendoza stretched lazily.
"Let's go home. I'm starving."
Clint nodded again.
"The commander gave the order. Move."
"Yesss! You hear that, Blue? Let's go! Wake up already!" Mendoza shouted.
"I'm still dizzy… Just go without me…" Blue muttered.
Mendoza laughed and carried the half-conscious Blue on his back as they departed.
Meanwhile, the masked commander continued walking toward the ship of the 200 volunteers, speaking into his device:
> "I'm almost there."
THE MEETING IN THE AIRSHIP
Inside the airship, the cloaked figure who had rescued Kadia earlier quietly turned off his communication device — deliberately cutting himself off from the masked commander.
He stood among the gathered volunteers as Dr. Maria Vale stepped forward to make an announcement.
Maria Vale — sister of the original designer of the Leap Gate.
Her voice trembled slightly.
> "I gathered you all because I have something important to tell you."
Everyone fell silent.
> "This Earth… is no longer the Earth we once knew.
This planet is now inhabited by alien lifeforms."
Gasps filled the room.
Kadia, Kassandra, Officer Klamb — even the cloaked figure — listened, though none seemed surprised.
Klamb remembered the creatures they had fought earlier.
They were nothing like anything that had evolved on Earth.
A volunteer shouted:
> "How is that possible?! And what happened to the original people living here?!"
Panic erupted.
> "Did we risk our lives for nothing?"
"Explain everything!"
Captain Rion Kade slammed his fist onto the table.
THUD!
Silence swept the room.
The volunteers whispered:
"Captain Rion… he's here…"
"Don't anger him…"
Rion glared at them.
> "Be quiet. Let her finish."
His expression alone was enough to silence the room.
Maria continued, voice shaking.
> "The truth is… before we left Earth, and before we returned…
this Earth aged about 1 to 5 million years."
Everyone froze.
"H–How—"
The volunteer fell silent as Captain Rion's eyes turned toward him.
Maria continued.
> "When my sister and I built the Leap Gate… we encountered something…
something we were never meant to see."
She suddenly stopped.
Her body trembled. Sweat dripped down her face.
The cloaked figure noticed immediately.
A faint whisper — a voice only Maria heard — echoed in her ear.
Her eyes widened in fear.
The volunteers murmured:
"Maria's crying…"
"Is she remembering her sister?"
"We were lucky — none of us had family left."
"Yeah… volunteers were people with nothing left to lose."
Maria collapsed.
Gasps echoed through the hall.
Medics rushed to her.
The cloaked figure quietly turned away.
> "I need to return."
He slipped out of the room.
Klamb noticed and frowned.
"This is the first time I've seen that person…"
Suspicion rising, he followed — but when he reached the hallway, the cloaked figure was gone.
As Klamb stood puzzled, an explosion thundered outside the ship.
Something — or someone — was trying to break in.
Outside, the masked man from earlier stood among the smoke.
He removed his mask.
It was Mindoro, Commander of the 2nd Division.
"Hey! Come out, you so-called aliens!" he shouted.
"I just want to see your ugly faces!"
Inside the monitoring room, the cloaked figure watched the screens, trembling with rage.
Three unconscious technicians lay behind them.
Mindoro's shouting echoed through the speakers.
"You really don't think, do you, Mindoro…" the cloaked figure growled.
"I swear I'm going to kill you when I get out of this ship."
Inside, the volunteers felt nothing but the tremors outside.
One ship technician, Jack Minin, smirked.
"These loud aliens… You'll never break this ship. We traveled 50 thousand light years — creatures like you can't even scratch us."
He laughed proudly.
Meanwhile, in the control room:
"Can you stop?" the operator snapped at the cloaked figure.
"You're ruining everything with your temper."
Mindoro responded through the communicator:
> "Who the hell are you to order me around? You're weaker than me."
The cloaked figure's patience snapped.
> "Fine. I'll kill you myself, idiot."
She ripped off her cloak.
The guards saw her clearly —
a woman, marked with the tattoo of the Aether Raiders on her arm.
A guard stepped forward, blocking her path.
"What are you planning to do? It's dangerous outside—"
"Move," she said coldly.
He didn't.
A flick of her wrist — and the guard flew backward, slammed by her psychokinesis.
"She's not human!" someone shouted.
The guards raised their guns.
"Who are you?! Stop right there!"
She kept walking, unfazed.
"STOP!" one guard screamed.
Every gun exploded into pieces — dismantled by her psychic power.
The exit door began to open.
Klamb appeared, stunned.
"Y-you… who are you?!"
The woman turned to him.
Klamb's eyes widened the moment he saw the tattoo.
The brand of the Aether Raiders — infamous pirates of the old world.
"Why do you… why do you have that tattoo…?" Klamb whispered.
She pointed at it.
"You mean this?"
Klamb swallowed hard.
"Who are you?"
She smiled faintly.
"I am Hazelsun.
Commander of the 5th Division of the Aether Raiders."
Klamb could not speak.
Aether Raiders… alive? Even after Earth aged millions of years? How…?
Hazelsun walked out of the ship.
Outside, she saw Mindoro immediately —
holding an explosive device in one hand.
"Hazel! What do these aliens look like?!" Mindoro yelled.
Hazel ignored him and kept walking.
"Hazel! Hazel! Are you hypnotized? Why aren't you answering?!"
She always looks like that… Mindoro thought. But she really seems hypnotized today…
In a blink, Hazelsun vanished —
and reappeared directly in front of Mindoro.
She grabbed his head with one hand.
With overwhelming force, she slammed him into the ground —
burying his head deep beneath the earth.
She smiled.
> "Now listen carefully.
You follow me.
Understood?
Because I'm stronger than you."
Mindoro could only groan beneath the soil.
Hazelsun laughed softly.