The figures of Achilles and Rose appeared at the forefront of the swirling army of Draconic Hybrids, their numbers still growing, already surpassing one million.
Beside them flew the Phoenix Legion, boasting a hundred Dharma Kings and a thousand Ethereal Physiology Phoenixes, their flames casting streaks of gold and crimson across the sky.
They hovered only a mile away from the outer fringe of the Draconic Hybrid forces, and the moment Achilles and Rose arrived, the army shifted, coming to attention in perfect silence.
Leading them was none other than the Ancient One, Seraphelle. She floated forward now, her eyes locking onto Achilles.
The way she looked at him was vastly different from their first meeting. There was fear now, quiet, hidden behind solemn reverence, as she spoke in a low, steady tone.
"King Primal, what are your orders?"
She pressed her hand to her chest, offering the genuine King's Respect. Because she'd seen it with her own eyes, how a river of starlight had descended, hour after hour, pouring endlessly into a single man.
It was maddening to witness. Any Astral Core Ascension being would have to spend immense energy just to draw down particles of starlight into their body… but he had done it effortlessly. Endlessly.
And he wasn't even an Astral Core Ascension entity.
Achilles and Rose exchanged a glance from the corners of their eyes, silently acknowledging the shift in Seraphelle's demeanor. Achilles gave her a curt nod, his gaze drifting to the Phoenix Legion behind her, none of whom could meet his eyes, as his voice rang out like judgment itself.
"Surround the distant Colony City. Save any human in need. The ones attacking Green are Ancient Orcs. Leave none alive."
His command struck like thunder, slicing through the quiet of the skies.
Seraphelle trembled. So did the Ancient Millennium Acheron Phoenixes. And still, she dared to speak.
"Sir… not all Ancient Ones are . Please,"
Achilles waved her off, dismissing her.
She had misunderstood. Thought he might condemn all Ancient Ones for the atrocities of a few. But what the Andromeda Sentinels had revealed, what the data showed, was clear.
Ancient Ones were slaughtering humans. Torturing them.
And for that, he'd given the order. Without hesitation.
He remembered the words of his grandfather, the ones burned into his memory:
[Shield your people like a father shields his child, for home is not stone, it is soul. But when enemies rise, when they dare threaten what is yours… show no mercy. Strike like the tide, relentless and final. Rule with heart, yes… but never forget, hesitation is the death of empires. Never hesitate. Be the storm. Be the shield and the sword, all at once.]
His grandfather had taught him to protect what was his.
And right now, what was his extended beyond Neon, because it included every human calling out for help from the ruins of Green.
And so, Achilles would strike them down, relentlessly. Without mercy.
White flames erupted around him and Rose as Seraphelle flared with a dark purple light, shooting ahead with the Phoenix Legion toward the crumbling Colony City of Green.
Achilles didn't wait for the Lunar Dreadnought or the Enforcer Warships. The white flames surrounding him and Rose surged forward, warping them through space until they appeared high above the distant city.
He would be the first to arrive.
In the Colony City of Green.
An Advanced Human Evaluation Center had been reduced to rubble, along with the nearby buildings.
A Sky Dharma King staggered through the dust, her breaths ragged. Her left hand was gone, and her Land, Sea, and Sky, all forged with her Dharma Manifestation, were fractured, on the brink of collapse.
Her name was Verditas.
She hated this. Hated her powerlessness.
Green vines surged up in defense, trying to form a barrier of forest, but a white-robed, golden-skinned High Orc crushed them in an instant.
He shimmered with starlight. A hammer of destruction.
Verditas didn't stand a chance.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of her, one thick hand closing around her throat.
"Haha. Verditas, they called you. The one who failed to protect her people, right? Don't worry. Even with one arm, I can still do many things to you."
Monstrous words, heavy with cruel intent.
The High Orc blinked, looking upward.
Verditas, barely conscious, followed his gaze.
"What the hell is that?"
A floating landmass loomed in the distance, encircled by countless specks, Draconic Hybrids, growing larger as they sped closer.
Hundreds of thousands… of monsters.
And behind them, aerial vessels filled with human warriors, slicing through the sky.
The High Orc's brow furrowed as he gripped Verditas tighter, floating higher.
She could only watch, the last of her strength slipping away, as screams echoed through the ruins and more High Orcs swarmed the city.
The pain of watching it unfold shattered something inside her.
And then, through the pain, the blood, the grief, she looked up.
White flames. Surrounded by dancing starlight. Otherworldly.
The grip on her throat loosened.
The High Orc's figure was hurled back by an invisible force. Green flames burst forth, flames more alive than any vine Verditas had ever conjured.
And in the heart of the raging emerald inferno, she saw her, arguably the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen, wreathed in green wings of fire.
Power rolled off her like a tidal wave. It nearly knocked Verditas from the sky, but a gentle gravitational force caught her, holding her suspended.
The woman turned, her expression breaking at the sight of Verditas' battered form, her wounds, her torn body, and she surged forward, gathering Verditas' head in her hands.
From her palms, warmth poured into Verditas, light coursing through every limb. Her missing arm tingled, bone and muscle regrowing in real time.
She couldn't believe it.
And then the woman whispered, soft and full of aching power.
Verditas stared at her, in awe.
But a celestial being made of grief, fury, and boundless grace.
And all she could wonder was...