The Conqueror dragged a thick trail of black smoke behind it like a giant bird with broken wings before crashing heavily onto the Imperial landing platform. After a shrill screech of grinding metal, the hatch opened with a hiss of hydraulics, revealing Craig standing in the doorway.
The surrounding guards instantly fell silent, their eyes filled with disbelief and horror.
Was this really Commander Craig, the man renowned for his ferocity?
His skin was shriveled and wrinkled like ancient weathered bark, stretched tightly over his bones. Every step he took came with uncontrollable trembling, as though a gust of wind could knock him over.
He was no longer the Empire's blade.
He was an old man whose flame of life was on the verge of extinction.
"His squad… where are the others?" a rookie whispered shakily to a veteran nearby.
"No idea… he's the only one who came back," the veteran replied hoarsely.
Craig slowly lifted his clouded eyes and swept his gaze across the crowd. His voice sounded like gears ground to their limit.
"Take me… to the Grand Regent."
---
When the news reached the Imperial command hall, the beating heart of Viltrumite military power fell into eerie silence for the first time. Every movement, conversation, and command froze instantly.
Supported by two towering soldiers, Craig was dragged into the center of the hall. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor. Struggling with all his strength, he raised his head to look at the mountain-like figure standing atop the command platform.
Sargg.
Grand Regent of the Viltrum Empire.
Over seven feet tall, his body was packed with explosive muscle, every inch seeming forged from pure power itself. He looked down at Craig like a god observing an insect, utterly devoid of emotion.
"Speak."
Just one word, yet it carried enough weight to crush stars.
Craig swallowed painfully and began recounting everything with the last of his strength—the black-haired man born from the void, the massacre that annihilated fourteen elite Imperial warriors in under three minutes, and the horrifying experience of being drained dry like a living battery.
"H-he told me to bring back a message."
Sargg's golden eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous glint flashing within them.
"What message?"
"He… he said…" Craig's voice shook violently, terror threatening to shatter his sanity. "From today onward… Viltrumites are no longer the hunters…"
"We… we are the prey."
Prey.
The word struck every officer in the command hall like a physical slap across the face.
These battle-crazed warriors—men who had destroyed civilizations with their own hands and treated slaughter as glory—now found themselves breathing carefully.
Sargg slowly descended from the command platform, his massive shadow swallowing Craig whole.
"Grand Regent, I completed the mission. I brought the message back…" Craig's eyes brimmed with pleading terror.
Sargg placed a hand lightly atop his head, his tone flat and merciless.
"The fact that you returned alive is itself a disgrace to the Empire."
Crack.
A crisp sound of breaking bones echoed through the hall.
Craig's head twisted at an unnatural angle. Life vanished instantly from his eyes, and his body collapsed limply onto the cold floor.
Sargg turned around, his icy gaze sweeping across the room.
"An unknown outsider slaughtered fourteen of our warriors and dares declare that we are prey. Tell me—what is this?"
Silence.
"This is provocation." A cruel smile curled at Sargg's lips. "Some foolish force believes it has found a method capable of shaking the Empire and sent over a meaningless scout."
He pressed a button on the command console.
A holographic projection appeared in midair, displaying a weathered face.
An elderly Viltrumite.
His face was covered in crisscrossing scars, and his left eye had been replaced by a glowing red cybernetic implant. His entire body radiated a nearly tangible aura of bloodshed.
Conquest.
A legend over eight hundred years old. A war machine that delighted in destruction.
His record required no explanation—the ashes of thirty-seven civilizations served as his finest medals. In many corners of the galaxy, his name inspired more fear than death itself.
"Conquest. I have a mission for you," Sargg said bluntly.
The old man on the screen grinned, revealing savage teeth. Bloodlust gleamed in his smile.
"What kind of mission requires the Grand Regent to contact me personally?"
"There's something on the border hunting our people. Take your Executioner Squad and bring back its head."
"Alive?" Conquest's mechanical eye flashed red.
"I need to know what it is, where it came from, and what methods it used." Sargg paused. "As for whether it lives or dies—that's your choice."
"Understood."
The transmission cut off.
Sargg turned toward the silent officers.
"Transmit my orders. All border fleets are to enter maximum combat readiness immediately. The moment any unit discovers the target's location, report it at once. No unauthorized engagement."
"Yes, sir!"
The officers dispersed at once, relieved to escape.
Soon, only Sargg remained in the vast hall.
Standing before the giant star map, he stared at the red-marked region representing the incident site.
He refused to believe that a single individual could oppose the entire Empire.
This had to be a trap. Perhaps some unknown biological weapon, or a probing maneuver from a hostile power.
Whatever it was, Conquest would bring back answers.
In the way he did best.
---
Andromeda Galaxy — Elsewhere
Levi floated above a dark red resource planet, expressionless as he watched the mining facility below vanish beneath a sea of flames.
This was the second target he had destroyed today.
The first had been an outpost in the Anvil System three hours earlier. The eight Viltrumite warriors stationed there had mistaken him for a high-ranking inspector and greeted him with flattering smiles.
Instead, they became the first batch of fuel for Levi's breakthrough.
Eight premium "batteries" had boosted his energy reserves from 65% to 72%.
The planet beneath him now—Furnace—was a major energy transfer hub. Twelve Viltrumite warriors were stationed there, along with a Punisher-class cruiser in orbit.
They had clearly received the warning. The cruiser's main cannon was already charging while the ground troops prepared for battle.
Levi, however, couldn't even be bothered to speak.
He dove straight down from outside the atmosphere, his golden figure dragging a blazing trail across the sky.
The cruiser's main cannon had just locked onto him when he accelerated at an impossible angle, becoming a phantom that pierced directly through the bridge before the weapon could fire.
Seconds later, the massive warship erupted into brilliant fireworks in the silent void of space.
The Viltrumite warriors on the surface looked up in horror as the golden meteor descended toward them with unstoppable force.
This time, Levi didn't even bother engaging them individually.
Hovering above the base, he spread open his palm.
An invisible energy field instantly enveloped the entire facility.
The twelve powerful Viltrumites felt as though they were trapped beneath millions of tons of seawater. Every cell in their bodies screamed as their life force was violently torn away by an irresistible gravitational pull.
They tried to resist.
But the strength they had always been proud of seemed as weak as infants before him.
Less than five minutes later, the battle ended.
All twelve Viltrumites had become shriveled husks lying among the ruins, weakly groaning with despair in their eyes.
Levi closed his eyes, silently sensing the roaring torrent of energy within his body.
85%.
Only the final fifteen percent remained.
He could clearly feel every atom composing his body spinning at unprecedented speeds, as though each had become the core of a miniature star storing enough energy to rip apart space-time itself.
He had a premonition—
The moment the progress reached 100%, a complete qualitative transformation would occur.
Then Levi suddenly opened his eyes, a playful smile appearing on his lips.
He saw it.
Deep within the distant cosmos, an incredibly powerful, violent, bloodthirsty aura was warping toward his location at astonishing speed.
The texture of that energy felt far denser and more ancient than any Viltrumite he had encountered before.
Conquest had arrived.
Levi licked his lips, excitement flashing in his eyes.
The Empire had finally sent a true heavyweight.
He simply floated there above Furnace, patiently waiting for the fat fish to bite the hook.
Because he could sense that the immense energy contained within that old monster was exactly enough to fill the final missing fifteen percent.
---
Earth — Global Defense Agency Underground Command Center
Cecil Stedman frowned deeply as he stared at the holographic screen before him.
The blurry footage, transmitted by deep-space probes and enhanced through layers of analysis, showed a golden light wreaking havoc above a planet while structures on the surface collapsed like toy blocks.
It was Levi.
Cecil had no idea what he was doing.
But he knew one thing clearly—
Levi was slaughtering Viltrumites.
The realization gave him a bizarre sense of relief… followed immediately by even deeper fear.
A monster capable of treating Omni-Man like a rechargeable battery was currently unleashing carnage across the galaxy.
What if one day that monster grew tired of traveling through space and decided to "come home"?
Cecil shook away the terrifying thought and turned toward the young man behind him.
Mark Grayson stood there wearing a black training suit, steam rising from his sweat-soaked body. His eyes were far steadier than they had been three weeks ago.
But there was something else in them now.
Hatred.
A bone-deep hatred for the black-haired man—so intense it looked ready to spill from his eyes.
Cecil walked over and handed him a data chip.
"This contains everything we've gathered on the Viltrumites. Their biology, social structure, combat methods, and every known weakness." He paused, emphasizing his next words. "Including… all the data on your father."
Mark clenched the chip so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Cecil patted him on the shoulder.
"Get stronger, kid. Whether it's to protect Earth… or to take revenge on that man, you'll need power. And understanding your enemies—and your bloodline—is the first step."
Mark nodded heavily without speaking and quickly turned to leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~