Brimming with unyielding resolve, the temporary camp began its charge toward the core region—Tartaro.
They'd filled their fuel to the max, surging forward relentlessly with unstoppable momentum.
All insects they encountered along the way were swiftly annihilated by the fleet surrounding the encampment.
Having lost the Calamity Swarm King, the adaptability of the swarm had been severely limited. Lacking centralized command, their discipline and initiative had drastically diminished.
Although the insects regained some organization after the Starcrusher Swarm King passed through behind them, the camp had long since moved beyond its reach.
But none of this mattered to the Starcrusher Swarm King. It calmly gathered the swarm around itself, moving steadily forward.
The newborn god would never escape. Both sides were now confined within these light-years of inevitable deathmatch—therefore, a battle was unavoidable.
Though earlier it had declared Titania unbearably weak, the Starcrusher Swarm King wasn't careless enough to relax its guard.
No matter how frail, Titania was still an AEON of Propagation. An AEON, by definition, always carried the threat of turning the tables in an instant.
Thus, the Swarm King resolved to crush all possibilities into ashes.
Yet precisely because of its caution, the camp had sustained minimal losses, successfully reaching the vicinity of Tartaro.
Ahead, a lone star radiated solitary warmth and light, illuminating only the distant Memoria planet.
Everything else nearby had long been consumed by the earlier swarm, leaving only emptiness.
An expanse of emptiness so stark that someone couldn't help but mutter:
"This place looks exactly like a trap waiting to be sprung."
Besides Tartaro, this region was utterly empty. No stray asteroids, not even the annoying meteorites that typically cluttered space—nothing.
Such emptiness was indeed suspicious.
But few responded to that comment, their thoughts consumed by doubts and anticipation about Sora's revival.
Upon arrival, the temporary camp quickly dispatched countless ships to clear nearby insects and began establishing their base.
Meanwhile, Robin and her companions showed no trace of doubt; they were visibly ecstatic.
Having dreamt of resurrecting Sora throughout the entire journey, they naturally couldn't contain their excitement now that the time had arrived.
Without delay, they immediately dragged Jobs and the technical crew into the revival plan.
Using the distant star's radiant energy, they began restoring Sora's body to its original state.
Under everyone's expectant gazes, the blackened char gradually faded away from Sora's body, revealing his original appearance.
Apart from his hair still missing, no one could have guessed he'd previously been burnt to such an unrecognizable state.
Once his physical recovery completed, they moved him into the half-collapsed lab.
Lava had long since cooled into hardened residue, and dust had begun settling from disuse.
Yet Sora's life signs stubbornly remained flatlined. The superficial restoration had apparently made no difference.
But they were close—very close. Just one crucial step remained before Sora's revival!
Still, the researchers voiced concerns.
Their previous experiment had failed disastrously, causing irreversible losses.
At this critical juncture, Titania spoke decisively, injecting confidence into their wavering hearts.
"With me here, nothing will go wrong this time!" Titania declared resolutely.
On this planet, Titania could harness her power to its fullest—here, she was an undeniable planetary deity.
Manipulating Memoria was child's play for someone like her.
With Titania's assurance, the operation resumed confidently.
"Extraction ready! Memoria separation commencing!"
The moment the command was given, dense Memoria instantly enveloped Sora's body.
No area was spared. Memoria seeped into his skin and pores, shifting constantly as if pulling something intangible from within.
Titania's face flushed slightly. The planet's Memoria was an extension of her senses—every tugging sensation was mirrored in her own consciousness.
But soon, Titania sensed something wrong.
"Increase the Memoria concentration! This amount won't even come close to extracting this guy's consciousness!"
With such direct perception, Titania quickly determined the current Memoria concentration was nowhere near sufficient to pull out Sora's consciousness.
To achieve success, they'd need far greater density.
"But this amount is already at the threshold an ordinary person can withstand. If we add more, his body could completely assimilate into Memoria," a technician worriedly countered.
Indeed, this level of Memoria infusion was already at the maximum tolerance for an ordinary human. Increasing it further risked completely dissolving Sora's physical form.
"You think Sora's an ordinary human?" Titania shot back sharply. "I know his physical limits better than any of you!"
At her words, several faces instantly changed.
Robin suspiciously glanced back and forth at Titania, suddenly realizing that this person, who looked suspiciously similar to Hotaru, seemed…
Titania quickly noticed her slip-up, coughing lightly before correcting herself:
"Try finding a normal human who can heal by simply sunbathing! If you can't, then do exactly as I say!"
Titania's reasoning was undeniably sound—indeed, no ordinary human could heal injuries by merely basking under a star.
Accepting this logic, Jobs promptly ordered the technicians to increase the Memoria infusion.
Soon, a faint phantom began drifting out from Sora's body.
It looked like a ghostly image misaligned with reality—but precisely this was the consciousness they desperately needed!
"It's really working! Thank goodness!" The Iron Cavalry instantly cheered in relief.
Having come this far, Sora might truly come back!
The heavy anxiety gripping their hearts finally eased, even Mitsutake visibly relaxing her tense shoulders.
Even Robin's eyes glimmered with renewed hope.
Come back, Sora—the one we trust the most!
Upon seeing the faint shadow, things appeared to be turning around for the better.
Unfortunately, blaring alarms suddenly shattered everyone's optimism.
Mitsutake swiftly activated communications, demanding answers.
"The previously scattered swarm has suddenly begun converging toward us! Their numbers and coverage are terrifyingly huge!"
Outside, the vast darkness of space had turned into a surging tide of insects—an endless black sea churning toward them from all directions.
"How is this possible?!" Titania exclaimed incredulously. "Sora already killed the Calamity Swarm King—how can these insects still behave like this?!"
The swarm should've remained scattered and directionless as they had earlier. Why had they suddenly regrouped?
"Unless..." Titania's expression darkened murderously as she realized the truth.
For these insects to regain discipline, there could only be one possibility.
"Keep going with your plan here—I'll personally meet that bastard!" Titania said coldly, voice edged with murderous intent.
Back then, far from Tartaro, that bastard had stolen the opponent she was meant to defeat, snatching victory away from her hands.
And now, daring to intrude upon her own domain—he could blame no one else for her ruthlessness!
In a flash, Titania dissolved into Memoria and vanished from sight.
When she reappeared, it was already in the boundless vacuum of space. From afar, the swarm surged toward her like a monstrous tsunami, ready to drown everything in its path.
Compared to this tidal wave of insects, Tartaro was like an insignificant pebble at the bottom of the sea. Even combined with the temporary camp, it barely amounted to a slightly larger rock.
The disparity was already this vast, let alone the spaceships flitting around like microbes amidst an ocean.
Those ships dashed tirelessly through space, weapons blazing, annihilating insect after insect.
Every insect struck by the fleet's weapons was reduced to atomic ash before it could even attempt to split.
Yet their reach was simply too limited—mere thousands of meters made no meaningful impact on this stellar-scale tsunami.
As soon as one swarm was vaporized, another surged forth to fill the gap.
Not to mention, hidden among the swarm were colossal super-giant bugs—true spaceship killers.
A single careless moment could mean a ship's instant destruction, swallowed whole by these monstrosities.
Thus, even though the number gathered here far surpassed previous refugee counts by dozens of times, they still had no choice but to fight a losing battle, constantly retreating under the relentless insect tsunami.
Titania coldly took in this scene.
"This place belongs to me—when did I allow you disgusting insects to run rampant here?!"
Titania's irritation flared. Tartaro was hers alone, her sovereign territory. How could these mindless, pathetic bugs dare to wreak havoc here?!
Fueled by her will, endless streams of Memoria surged into her from Tartaro behind her.
Titania reached out and grasped the air. Instantly, two great swords materialized in her hands.
One blade resembled the [Firefly Sword]; the other was a broad, heavy greatsword. Both were replicas she'd shaped after witnessing the weapons Sora wielded.
Though they lacked their originals' special cores, their presence alone lost none of the imposing menace.
"All of you, get out of my way—I won't care if you get caught in the crossfire!" Titania shouted at the passing spaceships, then swiftly crossed her blades and swung out fiercely!
The twin swords carved dazzling trails in space, like twin fiery dragons streaking across the void.
In an instant, intense Memoria fluctuations rippled through the vacuum, as if the entire universe had bent to her will.
Every pilot immediately steered clear, granting Titania ample space.
Shua—!
As Titania swept her blades outward, space itself seemed to distort violently.
And then—the insect swarm ahead appeared suddenly cut by an invisible force!
Kiiiiiii—!!
Along with shrill cries, millions upon millions of True Stings instantly disintegrated into atomic dust, leaving a vacuum in their wake.
Though the gap was quickly filled again, Titania's offensive never slowed.
She swung her blades again, space splitting apart as though creating miniature black holes, pulling countless insects into oblivion.
Powerful waves of Memoria rippled outward like shockwaves. Even massive super-giant insects were cleanly severed, cut in two.
Amid the cosmic tsunami, Titania carved visible trails of vacuum wherever she passed.
"Until Sora wakes up, every single one of you bugs—get out of my sight!"
Titania's swords flashed like rays of brilliant starlight, repeatedly slicing through the insect swarm.
She knew nothing of sword techniques—but her raw power alone was enough to annihilate these insignificant insects.
Titania's swords traced an unbridgeable boundary in space, crushing every insect foolish enough to cross her path.
Seeing the swarm rapidly being destroyed, the spaceship pilots nearby couldn't help but sigh in awe:
"As expected from Commander Titania—her strength is terrifying!"
"And Commander Titania is doing all this for Mr. Sora's sake. Their bond must be truly profound."
"Yes, they must be really close friends. Why else would she be so dedicated?"
Every word from the pilots reached Titania's ears clearly.
As she listened, her expression grew darker and darker.
"Hey! You idiots—stop spreading weird rumors!"
But unfortunately, sound couldn't travel in space. All the pilots saw was Titania gesturing frantically in their direction without hearing a single word.
"Look! Commander Titania must feel embarrassed because we're praising her friendship with Mr. Sora!"
The pilots once again sighed emotionally—utterly misunderstanding Titania's intentions.
Titania was speechless, frustration rising to unbearable heights. She converted that frustration directly into strength, roaming the space around Tartaro and violently exterminating the insects.
Once Sora was resurrected, once she finally had her life-and-death duel with him, these idiots would finally realize just how absurdly wrong they had been!
Until then, she'd let them misunderstand.
Focused completely on exterminating insects, and aided by the fleet, Titania successfully halted the insect tsunami's advance.
This is my true power!
Previously, she'd just been too far from Tartaro to properly unleash it!
But suddenly, at that very moment, Titania sensed something strange. Turning quickly, she caught sight of a blazing ray of reddish-golden energy.
In the blink of an eye, the crimson-gold beam pierced through countless spaceships, racing straight toward her.
Ships exploded all around as Titania instantly crossed her blades in a defensive stance.
Chi—!!!
Scorching heat violently bombarded Titania's blades, slowly turning the crystalline edges red-hot.
Driven back by this immense energy, Titania was forced backward, carving a long, narrow trail across space.
Only after retreating tens of thousands of kilometers did the crimson-gold ray finally dissipate.
"What the hell was that…?" Titania focused sharply, staring intently toward the beam's source.
Her eyes widened in shock.
In the distant void stood a familiar yet terrifying figure: a pale, human-like torso atop a beast's body, radiating a tragic aura. It appeared to embrace and divide something intangible.
This familiar form allowed Titania to instantly identify its true name—
"The Propagation AEON…TAZZYRONTH…"
Indeed, this figure was none other than the previous AEON of Propagation, TAZZYRONTH!
But Titania soon sensed something deeply wrong. She shook her head vigorously, forcing herself to re-examine the figure carefully from afar.
Gradually, the image of TAZZYRONTH dissolved, replaced by a creature with a brilliant deep-blue body.
Blue was its main hue, but intricate, luminous patterns intertwined across its form, creating the illusion she'd mistaken for TAZZYRONTH.
Titania immediately recognized its true identity—
"It's you, bastard!" she spat venomously. "Starcrusher Swarm King—Skaracabaz!"
The very culprit who'd plunged Sora into a star, leaving that idiot unconscious even now!
[Newborn God, I've come to devour you and revive TAZZYRONTH once more!]
The Starcrusher Swarm King's cry was clearly understood by Titania.
Last time, she'd allowed it to escape—this time, there'd be no running away!
Now, at this very moment, the old and new Propagation finally clashed head-on!
This entire galaxy would soon become their battlefield!
...
Meanwhile, back on Tartaro, half of Sora's consciousness had already been extracted successfully.
"His body truly is extraordinary... A normal human would have been fully separated by now," a researcher exclaimed, marveling quietly.
Yet no one noticed—the Memoria fragments in contact with Sora's extracted consciousness were silently infected by some mysterious, subtle force.
A faint seven-colored radiance flickered softly…