As the alien king's massive head hit the ground with a dull thud, silence filled the throne room. For a moment, no one moved — the heroes just stared at the fallen body, unable to believe what they had just witnessed. Then, slowly, the silence broke into cheers.
"We won!" shouted one of the A-class heroes, his voice trembling with relief.
The others joined in, yelling and celebrating, their weapons raised high. After all the blood, the pain, and the sacrifices, they thought the war was finally over.
But that victory lasted only seconds.
A wounded hero stumbled into the room, his armor shattered and his face pale. "T-There's a huge problem!" he shouted. "Most of our heroes… they're dead! The aliens are outnumbering us!"
The cheers vanished instantly. David's expression darkened. "What are you talking about? The king's dead! The rest should've retreated!"
"They didn't!" the hero cried. "They're swarming the southern field! Please—we need help! Everyone, follow me!"
Without hesitation, Cosmic, David, Chronos, and Adrian rushed after him. The hallway shook as explosions erupted in the distance. When they reached the battlefield, they froze for a brief moment — countless aliens flooded the area, tearing through the weakened heroes who still stood their ground.
Cosmic gritted his teeth. "No time to think. Let's move!"
He leaped into the air, his sword igniting in a blinding aura, and sliced through three aliens in one swing. David followed close behind, his fists glowing with energy as he slammed them into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent aliens flying. Chronos appeared and disappeared like flashes of light, stopping time for split seconds to land precise, devastating hits.
Adrian, though still inexperienced, clenched his fists and ran into the chaos. Fear burned in his chest, but he refused to back down. "I'm not going to be useless!" he shouted, driving his blade into an alien's chest. Then another. And another.
The fight raged on. Every scream, every clash of steel against alien hide echoed through the ruins of the base. Blood and smoke filled the air.
After what felt like hours, the last alien fell. The heroes stood among the corpses, panting, covered in cuts and bruises. The battlefield was silent once more—this time, not from victory, but from exhaustion and loss.
Around them lay the bodies of fallen heroes. Dozens. Maybe hundreds.
Adrian dropped to his knees, breathing heavily. "We… we actually did it," he whispered.
David looked around at the destruction, his eyes grim. "Yeah. But at what cost?"
Medics rushed to the scene soon after, tending to the wounded. Stretchers carried away those who could no longer stand. The survivors gathered near the alien spaceship, now their only way home.
"Great work there, Adrian," David said as he sat down beside him. "You held your own out there."
Adrian forced a small smile, though his eyes were distant. "Thanks… but it doesn't feel right celebrating. My friends were killed by the general. I can't forget that."
David sighed and leaned back against a wall. "That's what it means to be a hero. You'll lose people — sometimes even the ones you care about most. It never gets easier… you just learn to keep moving forward."
Adrian lowered his head. "I guess you're right," he said softly, though his heart still ached.
The heroes boarded the ship, one by one. Engines roared to life, and the ship slowly rose from the alien world, leaving behind smoke, ruins, and the corpses of both friend and foe.
Hours later, they finally arrived back home. The heroes stepped out, some carried on stretchers, others limping, but all of them alive — proof that the Light of Justice had endured.
Though their bodies were battered and their numbers cut down, they had achieved the impossible. The alien king was dead. The invasion was over.
For now, peace had returned to Earth. But deep down, none of them could shake the feeling that this victory had come at too great a cost.