Xandar was a terrestrial world with an average diameter of roughly twenty-six thousand kilometers, nearly eight times the size of Earth.
Orbiting it was a satellite about nine thousand kilometers across. Like Earth's Moon, it governed Xandar's tides, stabilized its climate and rotation, and shielded it from meteors and wandering debris from deep space.
In truth, without this satellite, life on Xandar might never have emerged.
Yet today, that ancient moon—Xandar's companion for billions of years—was undergoing an unfathomable transformation.
On the rooftop balcony of the Xiaer Science and Design Institute, Gilgamesh stood with his arms crossed, golden armor gleaming as he stared at the colossal sphere hanging in the night sky. A cool breeze swept past, tugging at his blond hair and causing his ornate earrings to chime softly.
Behind him, the twelve Gold Saints stood in a line, solemn and unmoving, like statues carved from myth. Charles hunched over his cane, baffled, his mind crowded with unanswered questions.
"The Nova Corps have gathered nearly their entire military force. If you're not planning to escape, what are you waiting for?"
He wasn't the only one who couldn't make sense of it. Even Nova Supreme Adora and her Centurions were bewildered. This mysterious group had stood here from afternoon until nightfall, silently watching the endless arrival of Nova warships—yet they made no move to interfere.
Something felt wrong. Adora sensed it instinctively. So even with eighty thousand warships mobilized, she hesitated to launch an assault.
If she held her fire, she could continue evacuating civilians. If they held their fire, they were simply waiting for death.
Thus the standoff stretched on—strange, silent, and suffocating.
But Gilgamesh was not a fool.
Gemini Saga, the one who understood him best, answered the unspoken question with calm certainty. "My lord simply wants more witnesses. After all, a planet's destruction deserves an audience."
He looked reverently at Gilgamesh's back, a flicker of madness lighting his eyes as his darker half surfaced. "My lord's overwhelming power will make all of Xandar tremble. After today, anyone in the universe who hears our name will shudder."
"So… you plan to destroy this planet?" Ciel stared at him like he'd lost his mind. These people truly believed they could obliterate a world with their own strength? Did they even understand what Xandar was?
Even within the Nova Corps, those monitoring their conversation burst into laughter.
"Does he really think he's a god?"
"Just another delusional brat with a bit of power."
"He sees a sprinkle of starlight and thinks he owns the sky. Typical backwater arrogance."
"If you ask me, we should bomb the entire area. A full artillery sweep would reduce this cosmic trash to particles."
In the command center, Centurions mocked without restraint. Even Adora let out a small, amused laugh. "These Asgardian drifters… naïve and foolish, but oddly charming."
Across the Andromeda Galaxy, no one—absolutely no one—claimed they could destroy Xandar alone.
No one except the Saints.
"Your Majesty," a Centurion reported, "civilian evacuation is complete. The battlefield has been prepared. All that remains is to lure them in."
"Good. Deploy ships to the designated area. Send another three thousand Nova warships to bombard the Xiaer Institute. Keep the targeting tight—do not hit the commercial sectors."
Adora issued the orders with brisk efficiency. Hundreds of kilometers outside the capital, the vast Nova Gorge swarmed with warships of all sizes. At her command, three thousand vessels broke formation and surged toward the capital.
Under the pale glow of moon and starlight, the warships approached in a long, ominous line, sweeping over the Xiaer Institute like a cloud of metallic locusts.
"At thirteen hundred meters, break into twelve echelons, deliver a full volley, then pull back. The objective is to lure the enemy to the Gorge. Do not linger."
At the Centurion's signal, the formations split. Groups peeled off one after another, diving toward the target.
"Eight hundred meters."
"Five hundred meters."
"Three hundred meters."
"First echelon—fire!"
White energy blasts poured downward like a monsoon, instantly engulfing the entire institute in light and destruction.
Faced with the overwhelming barrage, the goblin on the rooftop turned deathly pale. His legs gave out, and he collapsed weakly to the ground, squeezing his eyes shut in pure terror.
Yet in the very next second—before the energy blasts even reached the ground—a far more dazzling crimson radiance suddenly erupted.
The scarlet light spread instantly, bathing hundreds of square kilometers of the city in an ominous red glow. Then, as if drawn by an unseen will, the light rapidly converged into a single point—
And fired.
In an instant, the massive white energy blast that had engulfed the entire design institute, along with the swooping Nova warships, was swept away as though it never existed.
But the crimson beam did not stop there.
Its momentum remained undiminished as it tore through the atmosphere and shot straight toward the full moon hanging high in the sky.
When the scarlet ray struck the satellite, the moon shattered at a speed visible to the naked eye. Enormous, bottomless fissures split its surface open, as if the gates of hell itself had been pried apart. Within those cracks, crimson light churned violently.
The unbearable heat re-melted the moon's long-solidified magma, sending rivers of molten rock spilling into the vacuum of space.
Yet the true catastrophe had only begun.
A vast portion of the shattered celestial body, caught by Xandar's gravity, began plummeting toward the planet itself.
In an instant, ash clouds and blazing meteor fragments eclipsed the night sky, plunging the once-brilliant heavens into suffocating darkness.
From wealthy merchants to ordinary civilians, the entire population of Xandar stood frozen, stunned by the apocalyptic vision before them.
Inside the Nova Corps command center, silence reigned—an oppressive, suffocating silence.
"That beam of light… it actually shattered the entire satellite?"
"Warning! Shattered celestial mass detected! Imminent planetary impact! All units, prepare for planetary defense!"
The computer's alarms blared relentlessly, yet those who understood the true devastation of a meteorite impact felt nothing but despair.
"A meteorite hundreds of kilometers in size… it's over."
"Xandar is finished!!"
"Once that celestial mass hits the surface, the entire planet will be reduced to rubble!"
One devastating report after another echoed through the command center, plunging it into complete chaos.
Adora stared blankly at the holographic projection of outer space, her thoughts utterly frozen.
"He did it… That person really did it!!"
"He destroyed an entire planet—by himself…!"
She had just finished issuing bold declarations, finalizing battle plans—
And in response, he delivered an absolute, merciless blow.
"How could someone like this exist in the universe…? Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!!"
Her pupils trembled as she stared at the images—massive celestial fragments, tens or even hundreds of kilometers wide, streaking toward the planet's surface.
No one had ever imagined that the satellite which had protected Xandar for countless billions of years would one day become its executioner.
The terrifying sight of a sky completely blotted out was enough to shatter every last nerve.
At the same time, news of the moon's destruction spread across the planet. Those with foresight had already gathered their families and fled.
In moments, starports across Xandar were flooded beyond capacity.
"God, please protect me!"
"Let me aboard! Let me aboard!"
"I have children—save my children!!"
At the starports, countless wealthy merchants and nobles dragged their families forward, desperately trying to escape aboard starships—but the sheer number of people made it impossible.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of starports across Xandar were paralyzed almost instantly.
Blood was spilled.
Order collapsed.
And cries of despair echoed throughout the world.
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