The colossal corpse of the Deceiver Swarm King drifted like an asteroid in the void of space.
Even with most of its body devoured by a black hole, its remaining husk still loomed impossibly large.
Yet this gigantic remnant had vanished from the universe without a trace!
Sora stared intently at the footage in front of him. Moments earlier, that enormous husk had still lingered in the cosmos.
But suddenly, from far away, a brilliant silver flash erupted. Its dazzling brilliance rivaled that of a supernova explosion.
When people reopened their eyes after the glare faded, the floating husk had disappeared completely.
Its blood and viscera remained drifting through space, but its massive form had simply vanished without a trace—as if evaporated from existence itself.
"Truly, nothing else changed at all?" Sora still couldn't comprehend how such a massive carcass could vanish without explanation.
"We analyzed that conspicuous silver flash just now," Hotaru reported urgently. "And quickly pinpointed its source. It should be not far from our current location."
A set of data appeared before Sora, and his eyes widened in surprise at the numbers displayed.
The calculated distance placed the origin of the flash somewhere between several thousand and twenty thousand kilometers.
"That close?!"
With such proximity, his spacecraft could reach it in under a minute.
A distance this short was practically face-to-face, making even Sora momentarily stunned.
"Yes, this was calculated by several scholars present here, based on numerous parameters."
Tartaro was known to calm restless minds, which was why many scholars regularly came here to relax. These scholars included members of the Intelligentsia Guild and prestigious galactic academies. They couldn't possibly have miscalculated this distance.
"So, it's already that close?" Titania's voice suddenly echoed in Sora's ear, equally surprised by the revelation.
Ever since she'd seen the earlier reports, Titania had been searching for this final missing Swarm King. She never imagined it had already arrived so nearby.
"You know what this thing is?" Hearing her speak, Sora immediately stepped out of the room, eyes narrowing sharply.
"The Diabolical Swarm King," Titania replied straightforwardly.
"Diabolical Swarm King?!" Sora furrowed his brows, feeling vaguely familiar with that name. But where exactly have I heard it before…?
"The Diabolical Swarm King is Tazzyronth's own forelimb, directly spawned by Tazzyronth itself—a true Emanator," Titania continued grimly. "Precisely because it was bred from Tazzyronth's forelimb, its penetrating attacks are the strongest among all Tazzyronth's Emanators."
"Add to that its near-light-speed movements, and you get the nickname: the 'Assassin Swarm King.'"
The nickname "Diabolical" came about because whenever it accelerated to sub-light speeds, countless illusions trailed in its wake.
Seeing these illusions meant one thing—your imminent descent into the netherworld.
That's how its name came to be.
Hearing this, Sora instantly froze in place.
Wait a minute—what did she just say?
Tazzyronth?! Diabolical Swarm King?! This doesn't sound right at all!
"Hold it, stop right there!" Sora quickly interrupted Titania's explanation. "This Tazzyronth you mentioned…is it the same one I'm thinking of?"
"What? You think there's a second being named 'Tazzyronth' in this universe?"
The name Tazzyronth was practically synonymous with cosmic terror.
Some worshipped it as a god for unleashing devastating disasters upon the entire universe.
Others avoided the name entirely, afraid even mentioning it would draw hostility.
Throughout the cosmos, finding another being called Tazzyronth would surely be impossible.
Titania's blunt reply instantly plunged Sora's heart straight to rock bottom.
So it really is your predecessor, huh!
Then what exactly was this current situation?
A new executive taking charge at the company, cleaning out the previous boss's old employees first?
Viewed like that, Titania actually seemed quite career-driven! Sora couldn't help but marvel briefly at the thought.
"What are you smiling about?" Titania asked suspiciously.
"Nothing. Just remembering something pleasant."
Titania felt puzzled, but quickly realized this wasn't the first time she'd seen Sora's inexplicable expressions.
Sure enough, an idiot remained an idiot. Certain people spent most of their time acting foolishly; their rare moments of normalcy were simply anomalies.
Her earlier slight improvement in opinion toward Sora vanished completely.
But Sora soon discovered another blind spot.
"Wait a second—you just said the Diabolical Swarm King was personally spawned by Tazzyronth. Does that mean…?"
"Correct, it's an Emanator." Titania repeated patiently, also issuing another reminder. "And that corpse just taken away by the Diabolical Swarm King is also an Emanator—the Deceiver Swarm King."
Sora's mind went momentarily blank hearing those words.
Wait…how did the conversation suddenly jump to something so far beyond his understanding?
"Two Emanators?"
"No, five. Ah, wait—not anymore. Now it's down to four."
Sora's breathing came to an abrupt halt.
What kind of impossible scenario was this? Five Emanators appearing at once… Even the strongest galactic factions might not withstand this kind of force.
"However, you can relax. They all seem to be weakened at the moment."
Finally, Titania offered a sliver of good news.
Sora instantly released a sigh of relief. Good—at least he finally heard something positive.
If they were all weakened, perhaps he might stand a chance!
He had taken out the Deceiver Swarm King instantly with a single punch. Maybe he could also eliminate the other four just as quickly, one punch at a time!
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Titania immediately dampened his optimism. "You only succeeded because the Deceiver Swarm King was severely weakened. The others won't be so easy."
If the Deceiver Swarm King had been at full strength, its hallucinogenic powder could easily envelop regions spanning entire light-years.
But this time, it had just awoken nearby and rushed directly over, leaving insufficient time to fully restore itself.
The other Emanators slowly approaching were a different story altogether.
Titania quickly detailed the specific parts of Tazzyronth each Swarm King represented:
The Diabolical Swarm King—forelimb.
The Starcrusher Swarm King—exoskeleton.
The Afterglow Swarm King—flesh.
The Deceiver Swarm King—insectoid illusions.
The Calamity Swarm King—insectoid amalgamation.
Each represented specialized organs or traits, each overwhelmingly potent in a specific aspect.
Individually, only the Diabolical, Starcrusher, and Afterglow Swarm Kings could rival other Aeons' Emanators.
Yet combined, they once rampaged unopposed throughout the universe.
The Deceiver Swarm King had merely suffered misfortune: awakening too close and too soon, it had been killed by Sora during its vulnerable period.
But the others were steadily advancing, gradually regaining their strength.
Their threat vastly exceeded the Deceiver's!
Hearing Titania's analysis, Sora unconsciously furrowed his brows.
From her explanation, the gravity of the situation was painfully clear.
A sudden thought entered his mind:
Could the Deceiver Swarm King's nearby awakening be related to Tartaro itself?
Could it even be the cause of Tartaro's mysterious appearance in the universe?
After all, if Sora remembered correctly, Fuli, the Remembrance Aeon, was supposedly born during a similar insectoid calamity.
But Sora quickly shook off these speculations.
These supreme threats were approaching the planet right now.
Once here, they would likely return to their peak forms.
Then, everything would be in peril!
No, not merely peril—all would face total annihilation!
With four top-level Emanators descending simultaneously, not only Tartaro but this entire star system would suffer catastrophic devastation.
Understanding clearly the inevitable outcome, Sora sighed deeply:
"What a pain."
This hard-earned vacation had become a disaster yet again.
"What's wrong? Are you afraid now?" Titania's voice asked softly by his ear.
Sora couldn't discern Titania's current emotional state. But judging by her calm tone, perhaps it wasn't far from his own feelings right now.
Afraid?
"Of course I'm scared," Sora frankly admitted.
Previously, just facing a revived Serus alone had already put him through immense hardship.
And now, four resurrected Emanators at once?
Just thinking about it terrified him to the bone!
"Hmph. What's there to be afraid of? In situations like these, if I act, the entire battlefield flips instantly!"
"Then why don't you act?" Sora asked, genuinely curious about what countermeasures Titania could possibly offer.
"You've already seen what happens when I intervene."
If she made her move, every person on this planet would instantly become replicas—her personal army.
Honestly speaking, she should've done it long ago. But now, somehow, she hesitated endlessly, unable to make up her mind.
She was squandering her precious final moments here!
But, for some inexplicable reason, she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.
Perhaps because of recent events?
Or had her thoughts changed somehow?
Titania didn't understand herself, but it didn't stop her from pushing blame elsewhere.
"I don't want to fight you first before facing those bastards outside," she finally said.
"If that happened, wouldn't those ugly bugs reap the fruits of victory instead? Just imagining that outcome irritates me."
"Hahaha! Who would've thought you'd have such a competitive streak?"
"And without me, you'd probably be in no better shape!"
"Then, how about cooperating?"
As soon as Sora spoke these words, silence briefly enveloped the space around him.
Titania could hardly believe what she'd just heard.
Did Sora actually just propose cooperating with her?
Had the sun risen from the west today? Or had Qlipoth's hammer smashed into his skull?
Otherwise, how could he possibly say something like that?
"You sure you want to cooperate with me?"
Sora nodded firmly, reaffirming his statement.
Slowly, he clenched his right fist, a faint golden glow emanating from it.
"Didn't you say those insects are your enemies? Then we might as well work together," he declared his intent plainly. "I want to safely evacuate everyone on this planet. Until that's done, we'll cooperate temporarily."
"After I get everyone safely to a secure location, we'll have our final death match."
"What do you think?"
Considering Titania had somehow slipped into his transformation process, Sora decided cooperating would be the safest option for now, to avoid unexpected mishaps.
"Aren't you afraid I'll convert you ahead of time?" Titania questioned skeptically.
"If you convert me, does that mean you won't die yourself?"
Those other Swarm Kings were still lurking around hungrily nearby.
If Titania ended their cooperation prematurely, those Swarm Kings would just tear her apart too.
This cooperation seemed quite fair to both parties involved.
Yet Titania remained somewhat puzzled.
"Weren't you just saying how scared you were?"
If you're afraid, why cooperate with an enemy like me?
"Exactly because I'm scared—I need to find a safe place."
Sora rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "If I know this place is dangerous and still stick around, wouldn't that make me an idiot?"
It was such a straightforward response that Titania momentarily choked on his words. But soon enough, amusement overtook her.
"Interesting. Very interesting," she laughed softly to herself.
He'd actually offered cooperation for such a simple reason…
"So, are you going to accept or not?" Sora pressed impatiently.
"Then allow me to properly exploit you," Titania replied decisively.
As her words fell, rays of golden radiance converged within Sora's [Fullbottle].
Immediately after, a strange item appeared in Sora's hand.
What is this…?
Millions of kilometers away from Tartaro, behind a massive, desolate planet, a grisly tearing echoed through the emptiness.
Rip—Crunch—Squish!
Armor splitting, flesh tearing, chewing—each sound adding further horror to this isolated place.
Behind this lifeless planet, a silver-bodied insect viciously ripped and devoured the enormous carcass in front of it.
Compared to the giant corpse, its own body appeared slender, even a bit weak.
This was the Diabolical Swarm King—the same insect that had dragged away the Deceiver's remains.
Now here, it continuously consumed the leftover corpse.
Its slender form gradually filled out, faint patterns emerging across its silver carapace.
As these markings appeared, the Diabolical Swarm King momentarily vanished from view—then reappeared just as quickly.
By devouring the Deceiver Swarm King's flesh, it had obtained its abilities.
Tiny nozzles now dotted its body, granting it new power derived from cannibalizing its brethren.
At the level of Emanators, even insectoid minds vastly exceeded normal intelligence.
Not all Swarm Kings were as foolishly suicidal as the Deceiver; as Tazzyronth's forelimb, the Diabolical Swarm King preferred waiting quietly in the shadows.
It had once used this same tactic to annihilate an entire clan of ancient Taotie beasts.
Those enormous, insatiable creatures couldn't even scratch it. After massacring their entire race, the Diabolical Swarm King had remained completely unscathed.
Precisely for this reason, it had carefully observed its current enemy's capabilities from afar.
In doing so, it obtained valuable information.
And now, it had successfully secured the Deceiver's remains, a crucial nourishment to accelerate its own recovery.
As it continued gnawing on torn flesh, its tiny eyes narrowed, observing Tartaro from a distance.
Patiently awaiting activity on that planet, it continued restoring its strength.
Although such waiting was tedious, it could patiently shadow that planet for decades, even centuries.
Gradually, the Deceiver's corpse disappeared inside its body. Though merely one-fifth remained, it still granted the Diabolical Swarm King a third of its peak strength.
Its sickle-like forelimbs now shimmered with an icy-white brilliance.
Those were crystallized pincers powerful enough to pierce Qlipoth's Amber Wall.
But on the Diabolical Swarm King, representing Tazzyronth's forelimb, they appeared as supremely sharp, curved blades.
Even though I'm not fully restored yet, it's already enough to kill that man…
An image of Sora from days earlier flashed vividly in the insect's mind.
With its current power, it could easily slice the Sora of back then in half at the waist.
This is the confidence that comes with restored strength!
Next, it merely had to wait for its prey to lower his guard, lurking silently nearby for the perfect chance.
Unexpectedly, that chance soon appeared!
The entire Tartaro began a large-scale planetary evacuation.
Starships formed long, orderly lines, stretching through space like a shimmering silver dragon.
Departing from Tartaro, they moved toward safer regions of the cosmos.
Seeing this, the Diabolical Swarm King knew its opportunity had arrived!
Silently, it blended into the void around it, following closely behind.