The station shook violently.
Warning sirens screamed through every corridor as the red signals across Earth multiplied without stopping.
Then—
the first impact came.
A deafening explosion tore through the lower levels of the station.
The floor beneath them trembled.
One of the dimensional soldiers shouted through comms:
"They breached the eastern sector!"
Another explosion followed immediately after.
Then another.
The creature standing before them slowly stepped backward into the darkness.
As if its purpose had never been to fight.
Only to open the way.
And then—
they came.
The shadows behind it erupted.
Draculian flooded into the station corridors alongside grotesque demonic creatures twisted from blackened flesh and bone.
Hundreds.
Maybe thousands.
The entire station descended into chaos.
"DEFENSIVE FORMATIONS!" Marley shouted instantly.
Her barrier expanded across the corridor just as the first wave crashed into it.
The impact shook the walls.
Cracks spread beneath her feet.
But she held.
"We cannot let them spread through the station!"
Behind her, Lenore raised both hands.
Light burst outward in expanding rings, piercing through the front lines of demons.
Several creatures disintegrated instantly—
but more replaced them.
"They're endless!" one soldier yelled.
"No," Alfred replied coldly. "They only want us to believe that."
He lowered his hand.
Gravity twisted across the battlefield.
Entire groups of demons collapsed violently into the floor as crushing pressure descended upon them.
Sid immediately followed.
"Union fleet—fire through sectors three through seven!"
Outside the station—
the Dimensional Union ships unleashed synchronized bombardments.
Massive beams tore through swarms surrounding the outer structure.
Explosions illuminated space itself.
Inside the station—
Lexia moved like a storm.
Her blade flashed repeatedly, severing limbs, tearing through armored Draculian before they could react.
One lunged toward her from above—
she caught its arm midair and slammed it into the wall hard enough to crack steel.
"Too slow."
Nearby, Zack struggled to maintain focus as data streams flooded around him.
"They're coordinating through something deeper…" he muttered.
Then his eyes widened.
"Wait—left side!"
Shadow appeared instantly from darkness.
A massive Draculian commander emerged from concealment—
only for Shadow's blade to pierce directly through its throat.
The body collapsed silently.
"You talk too much," Shadow said coldly.
Meanwhile—
Maximilian stood at the center of the battlefield itself.
Unmoving.
Every enemy that approached him was destroyed instantly.
One strike shattered armor.
Another crushed bone.
A demon nearly twice his size roared and charged directly at him—
Maximilian caught its skull with one hand.
And crushed it.
The surrounding soldiers stared in disbelief.
Even among dimensional warriors—
he looked monstrous.
But then—
everything changed again.
A violent tremor spread through the station.
The walls pulsed.
The lights flickered red.
Then black veins suddenly spread across the metal floors and walls like infection.
Lenore stepped backward in horror.
"The station…"
"It's being corrupted," Alfred said immediately.
Outside—
more rifts began opening around Earth.
Not one.
Not dozens.
Hundreds.
And from every single one—
more enemies emerged.
The second wave had truly begun.
Violet stared through the shattered observation window.
The planet below no longer looked like home.
Entire skies burned red.
Dimensional storms consumed continents.
And endless swarms descended toward the surface.
Her fists tightened.
"If this continues…"
"We lose Earth," Marley finished.
Silence lasted only a second.
Then Maximilian turned toward everyone.
His voice remained calm.
But absolute.
"Then we don't let it continue."
He raised his weapon.
"Every unit fights."
The dimensional soldiers straightened immediately.
Fear still existed in their eyes—
but so did resolve.
Sid activated the battlefield network once more.
"All Union forces—full engagement authorization granted."
The fleet responded instantly.
Outside the station—
war exploded across orbit.
Ships collided with demonic swarms.
Draculian tore through defensive lines.
Energy cannons lit the darkness of space.
Back inside—
Marley's barrier shattered under another massive impact.
Lexia jumped forward before the enemies could break through.
Zack shouted coordinates nonstop.
Lenore reinforced collapsing sectors.
Alfred held entire corridors together through sheer force manipulation.
Shadow disappeared and reappeared like death itself.
And Violet—
finally unleashed her full power.
The chains erupted from behind her like celestial serpents.
They pierced through enemies by the dozens, binding entire groups before crushing them apart.
For a moment—
even the battlefield stopped around her.
The enemies hesitated.
As if they recognized something.
Something ancient.
Then—
the unknown creatures from before began appearing again among the swarms.
Faceless.
Silent.
Watching.
One of them slowly raised its hand—
and every enemy on the battlefield suddenly attacked at once.
The station shook violently.
The barriers began failing.
Even the fleet started losing ground.
And as explosions consumed the darkness around Earth—
everyone realized the same terrifying truth.
This war…
was only getting started