"Shit, it's too hot out here, and I'm also completely out of food!" Vela groaned loudly, as She slumped her shoulders in defeat, her stomach letting out an angry, hollow growl to emphasize her point.
Standing right beside her, Captain Liora of the 2nd Division kept her sharp, disciplined gaze locked onto the shimmering horizon, Suddenly, Liora's eyes narrowed.
"Look forward," Liora commanded, her voice cutting through the whistling wind like a blade. "Something is moving our way. Fast."
Vela blinked against the blinding glare of the desert, her eyes tracking Liora's finger until she spotted a massive cloud of rainbow dust rising in the distance. A grin broke across her tired face. "Finally! Some good news!"
Without a moment of hesitation, Vela began to wave her hands frantically in the air, jumping up and down on top of the sand dune to catch the driver's attention.
Within minutes, the roaring sound of a deep, mechanical engine echoed across the plains, and the heavy-duty all-terrain cruiser constructed by Dr. D stopped. The side doors hissed open, revealing a surprisingly crowded cabin. Sitting inside were Dr. D, Vice-Captain Cryo, and Mikasa. But they hadn't come alone.
During their high-speed sweep of the rainbow desert, they had managed to rescue several other stranded Xenocides soldiers, including the twins of the 5th Division, Maris and Aris, along with ten other xenocides.
Vela took one look at the massive, crowded vehicle, her relieved smile instantly souring into a dramatic pout. "Ah, shit. This is a bunch of boring people, and now we are going to do more work".
"Good to see you too, Vela," Mikasa said dryly, stepping out of the vehicle's passenger side and landing firmly on the rainbow sand.
Despite her sarcastic greeting, a subtle flicker of relief crossed Mikasa's eyes at seeing her allies alive.
"Captain Liora! Thank God you're safe," Vice-Captain Cryo exclaimed, stepping out right behind Mikasa. He then put his hands into he's pocket.
Liora offered her second-in-command a rare, approving nod. "Cryo. Looks like you're in one piece. ."
The scattered remnants of the divisions immediately began to exchange quick greetings, sharing updates about what they've seen and know.
But before they could even finish , the air pressure in the desert dropped violently.
A terrifying, high-pitched mechanical whine pierced the sky.
Everyone snapped their heads upward. High above the sky , a sleek, angular alien dropship painted in obsidian and gold tore through the clouds, descending toward the clearing with terrifying speed. It touched down with a heavy, pressurized hiss, its landing gears burying deep into the rainbow sand.
The primary assault ramp dropped, hitting the ground with a loud metallic thud. Walking down the ramp with absolute, terrifying confidence was one of Malkor's legendary Elites. He was a tall, imposing warlord clad in dark, jagged armour a, sadistic, cruel smile stretching across his pale face as his golden eyes scanned the gathered Xenocides. Behind him, a massive battalion of heavily armed, armored alien soldiers marched out in perfect, terrifying formation, their plasma rifles humming with deadly energy.
"Looks like I picked the right place".
The elite said as he smiled.
Meanwhile.....
Renji and Sloane have been moving through the planet searching for space ship.
After hours of moving through the planet,they had finally found what they were looking for: a fully intact, xenocides space ship.
But as they rushed up the primary boarding ramp and entered the main command deck, they weren't alone.
Standing inside the space ship, were Lady Ness, the legendary Captain of the 3rd Division, and her Vice-Captain, Tessa Sol.
The moment the doors hissed open, the air exploded with movement. Sensing an intrusion, Tessa Sol didn't hesitate. She threw her entire weight forward, channeling her immense physical strength into a devastating, blindingly fast punch aimed directly at Renji's space helmet. The force of the strike whipped the air into a mini-gale.
Snap.
The devastating punch stopped dead in its tracks.
Renji simply raised his left hand and caught the full, bone-shattering force of Tessa's fist with the tip of a single, extended finger. The sheer shockwave blew the dust off their suit, but Renji's hand remained completely steady.
"Careful. I'm on your side," Renji said calmly, his voice smooth and entirely devoid of strain.
Tessa Sol gasped, her eyes widening in absolute shock. She quickly stepped back, lowering her fists as her mind raced in sheer panic. Shit... how the hell is he that strong?!
Sloane stepped forward, completely ignoring the brief flash of violence as she bypassed them to look at the main control console. "Glad to see you guys are alive.. Let's get this engine started so we can locate the rest of our team."
"We don't actually know how to operate it ," she admitted, her voice calm and steady. "That's why we waited here, We believed someone else might eventually show up... and it turns out we were right."
As she spoke, Lady Ness's sharp eyes drifted toward Renji, her mind quietly reeling. This boy... he's terrifyingly strong. A single finger! That's insane, The 10th Division really is full of monsters.
Suddenly, A heavy, armored alien warship landed down into the planet.
The warship slammed into the ground right in front of them, and its main hatch blasted open.
Stepping out was a female, she was one of Malkor Elite, her eyes burning with bloodlust as a legion of soldiers followed her out.
"I can't wait to have some fun !" she shrieked, a wild, manic grin spreading across her face.
Renji's eyes went cold. "Everyone, out of the ship now!"
He, Sloane, Lady Ness, and Tessa Sol instantly leaped from the boarding ramp, hitting the hangar floor just as the Elite raised her arm. A massive, blinding purple energy beam erupted from her palm, striking the xenocides space ship.
BOOM!
The scout ship detonated into a massive, catastrophic fireball, the explosive shockwave tearing through the hangar and completely destroying any hope of escape.
Tessa Sol scrambled to her feet, her face contorting into a heavy frown "Damn it... we can't fly out now. Shit, this is incredibly bad. We're completely stuck here."
Renji stepped to the front of the group, and said"Yeah. It just means we have to win this fight no matter what."
meanwhile.....
Elias, Kiki, and Elena Voss were moving up the steep, rocky incline with steady, cautious paces.
As they cleared a massive ridge, all three of them stopped dead in their tracks. Standing directly in the center of the jagged peaks, built into the very rock face of the mountain itself, was an enormous, dark fortress.
"Wow," Elias said, his silver eyes wide with genuine amazement as he stared up at the massive structure. "An actual alien castle. That's pretty cool."
"Yeah, but we should be on maximum guard, Elias," Kiki replied .
"I agree completely with Kiki," Elena Voss chimed in, as she activated her tracking evoliths. She pointed a gloved finger directly toward the central keep of the dark fortress. "The source of the interference is coming directly from inside the lower levels of that castle."
Elias turned to them, a casual, confident grin breaking across his face. "Ok, let's go."
Before Kiki or Elena could even utter a word ,
Elias moved. In one fluid, effortlessly fast motion, he scooped Kiki up in his right arm and grabbed Elena Voss with his left,.
He bent his knees, his muscles tensing for a fraction of a second, and then he launched himself directly into the air.
BOOM!
The ground beneath his boots shattered into a web of cracks as Elias flew straight up into the sky, bypassing the entire mountain path and the castle's outer walls.
He sailed through the air, aiming directly for a gap in the castle's tower.
They crashed through the opening, Elias landing smoothly on his feet inside a massive,corridor lined with glowing violet banners.
Then he gently set Kiki and Elena down.
"Look at this place," Kiki whispered, her voice echoing down the ominous, high-ceilinged hallway. "It looks like an ancient throne room."
Suddenly, Elias's sensory perception screamed. Time seemed to slow down to an absolute crawl. A terrifying, crushing pressure materialized from the shadows of the corridor, moving at an incredible speed.
"Duck!" Elias roared.
Without a millimeter of wasted movement, Elias slammed his hands into Kiki and Elena's shoulders, forcefully shoving both of them flat onto the floor, completely clearing them from the incoming attack.
In the exact same microsecond, a massive, fist materialized from the darkness, but Elias block the strike with his arm.
The impact created a massive sonic boom that shattered every single crystalline window in the corridor. Elias's body became a blur of motion as he was propelled backward at supersonic speeds. He crashed directly through the thick, reinforced wall of the castle, obliterating the structure into a cloud of rubble as he and the mysterious attacker flew completely out of the fortress, tumbling into the open air of the mountain .
Meanwhile,
Zane descended into the core of the moving planet like a fallen star, his boots slamming into the golden pathway with a thunderous echo.
He stood up completely, his expression cold, unyielding, and absolute as he casually slipped his hands into his pockets.
But Someone was already standing there, waiting for him.
The figure was shrouded in a heavy, shifting aura of pure, unadulterated darkness that seemed to actively swallow the light of the core. His skin was pale, his eyes completely pitch-black, and a terrifying pressure radiated from his very soul, heavy enough to crush a lesser soldier into dust.
Zane's eyes narrowed slightly, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous rumble that echoed off the chrome walls. "Who the hell are you? Are you the controller of this planet?"
The dark figure chuckled, a cold, hollow sound that felt like the grave. "No. I am not the master of this realm. I am Despair. The controller you speak of... his name is Malkor."
Zane remained perfectly still, his hands never leaving his pockets, completely unbothered by the crushing pressure filling the room. "Malkor, huh? So you're just another one of his lapdogs."
Despair's smile widened, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth as the darkness around him flared violently. "Call me what you wish, human. But know this: I was summoned directly from the pits of Hell itself for the sole purpose of stopping you. I'm the Demon of Melancholy".
"Is that so?" Zane said, his voice completely flat as he casually crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yes," Despair hissed, taking a slow step forward, the golden pathway beneath his feet turning instantly black and brittle from his sheer presence. "I was summoned by Malkor himself. He told me that ... there was a man whose power could actually rival my own. He told me to find you."