Two warships.
Not from the same planet.
Not from the same species.
Not from the same belief.
And yet...
they were now charging toward one another.
On the Dejteo side.
Vinh felt a violent vibration travel through the metal walls around him.
The door slid open.
Light flooded in.
After being trapped inside that cramped space for so long, he had to narrow his eyes before he could make out his surroundings.
He wasn't the only one.
Hongco.
Apoloziro.
HE78.
All of them were being brought out.
Ahead of them lay a massive launch bay.
Thousands of Dejteo moved back and forth without pause.
The roar of engines.
The clash of metal.
The blaring of warning sirens.
Everything blended together into a symphony of war.
"Move."
A Dejteo pointed forward coldly.
Four small starfighters were waiting.
There was no choice.
The four climbed aboard.
The moment Vinh sat down in the pilot's seat, a notification appeared in front of him.
Strange symbols covered the screen.
Vinh frowned.
"Only they can read this, huh..."
Then suddenly—
a familiar icon appeared.
The System.
He immediately activated it.
The symbols began to change.
Translate.
Line by line.
Until finally, a message appeared.
Welcome.
You are among the fortunate individuals selected.
Take control of your designated vessel.
Though we are not of the same species,
we share a common objective.
Destroy the Axian fleet.
Silence.
Then...
the launch gate opened.
Outside.
An endless sea of stars stretched before him.
Vinh had never seen anything like it.
Tens of thousands of starfighters were being launched at the same time.
Like a swarm of insects flooding into the darkness.
Far away.
Very far away.
A silver light shone in the void.
The Axian fleet.
At the same time.
Aboard the Axian flagship.
Levi and the other recruits had gathered inside the deployment chamber.
Unlike the Dejteo side,
there was no shouting.
No chaos.
Only discipline.
Rows of Axian warriors stood shoulder to shoulder.
Their eyes unwavering.
An officer stepped forward.
His voice echoed throughout the chamber.
"People of Axia."
"We may not have been born into the same family..."
"But we were raised beneath the same sky."
"We protect the same civilization."
"And today..."
"We will continue to do so."
The entire chamber fell silent.
"The Dejteo may outnumber us."
"But in quality..."
"They will never surpass us."
A thunderous cheer erupted.
Warriors raised their fists.
The atmosphere burned with determination.
Velkar watched with admiration in her eyes.
Kraith looked as though he wanted to charge into battle immediately.
Nyxara remained quiet, observing everything.
Only Levi was different.
He stared through the reinforced observation glass.
Out there.
Beyond the hull.
There was only death.
"Going out there is just asking to die."
Levi muttered.
He had another problem as well.
The translation system.
It converted every Axian voice into the exact same tone.
Male.
Female.
Young.
Old.
They all sounded identical.
And it was driving him insane.
Then suddenly.
The alarm sounded.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Red warning lights flashed throughout the ship.
An officer shouted.
"Enemy contact!"
Out in space.
The battle began.
The first laser beams tore through the darkness.
Dejteo starfighters exploded by the hundreds.
Fireballs bloomed across the vacuum.
Yet there were simply too many of them.
Too many.
They continued pushing forward.
Amid the chaos.
Four individuals.
Vinh.
Hongco.
HE78.
Apoloziro.
Simultaneously activated the device HE78 had secretly built.
The moment the connection was established, streams of data flooded the screens.
HE78 grinned.
"It worked."
"I've taken control."
Without hesitation.
All four starfighters changed course.
Breaking away from the Dejteo formation.
They had only one objective.
Escape.
The four ships converged at a single point.
But before they could celebrate—
a barrage of lasers swept across their path.
"Watch out!"
Hongco shouted.
BOOM!
His fighter was struck directly.
Flames erupted from the hull.
The other three froze for a split second.
That moment of distraction was enough.
Their ships lost stability.
Spinning wildly.
And then—
they slammed straight into the side of an Axian warship.
INSIDE.
Levi had just turned around.
A deafening explosion shook the entire chamber.
The ship trembled violently.
Metal screamed as it was torn apart.
A massive breach opened in the hull.
Smoke poured into the room.
Warning sirens echoed everywhere.
The warriors immediately drew their weapons.
Then—
from within the smoke—
four figures emerged.
Levi froze.
His heart skipped a beat.
One face.
A face he could never mistake.
On the other side.
Vinh slowly lifted his head.
His eyes widened.
Time seemed to stop.
In the middle of the largest battlefield either of them had ever seen—
their eyes met.
The reunion...
had begun.