The sky above the Pacific Ocean shattered with light.
Gaia Primordia and Nihilath collided in midair like two stars devouring each other.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion shook the ocean all the way to its deepest trenches.
Gigantic waves rose like mountains of water.
The clouds were swept away.
The fractures in the sky widened even further.
Aboard the research vessel, everyone was thrown off their feet.
The lights went out.
Alarms blared.
Long cracks spread across the ship's hull.
Farhan froze as he stared at the main control panel.
"The ship's structural integrity is failing!"
Seawater began pouring in from below.
Bimo looked down at the water rising across the floor.
"...We're sinking."
Sinta immediately shouted, "Everyone, to your emergency positions! Don't panic!"
Her face was pale, but her voice remained firm.
That was why they always followed her.
Dika sprinted toward the engine room.
Smoke billowed from an exploded control panel.
A massive metal beam broke loose from the ceiling.
Without hesitation, Dika caught it with both hands.
The muscles in his arms strained under the weight.
"Farhan! Hurry up and get the system working!"
Farhan was already kneeling in front of the damaged console, surrounded by tangled cables.
His fingers flew across the keyboard of a laptop that was dangerously close to being soaked.
"I'm taking control of the emergency systems!"
Sparks flashed across his face.
He didn't stop typing.
On the other side of the ship, a crew member slipped and fell into the ocean.
"Helpppp!"
Bimo spun around.
Without a second thought, he jumped.
"Bimo!" Rani screamed.
SPLASH!
He plunged into the churning black water.
A massive wave nearly swallowed him whole.
But seconds later, Bimo resurfaced, dragging the crew member with him.
"I HATE THE OCEAN!" he shouted between coughs.
Rani and Sinta reached down and hauled them both aboard.
Lila stared at a data screen that was barely functioning.
Her eyes darted across the readings.
"There's a pattern!"
Everyone turned toward her.
"Nihilath isn't simply blocking every attack."
She pointed at the energy graph.
"He's absorbing the Guardians' strikes... then releasing that energy back at them, multiplied several times over."
Kai studied the screen.
"...So every time we attack recklessly, we're just feeding him."
Silence fell.
Arga tightened his grip on the MBG Lunchbox.
Inside, the twenty-eight glowing grains still spun wildly. A new grain had appeared after the last surge of energy, bringing the total to twenty-nine.
High above them—
Gaia Primordia attacked again.
Its golden wings tore through the clouds.
RAAAAAAAAAAAA!
It slammed into Nihilath's chest with all its remaining strength.
Golden light exploded in every direction.
Yet Nihilath merely turned his head.
His four crimson eyes regarded Gaia without the slightest emotion.
Then—
He seized the World Guardian by the throat.
With one hand.
Bimo went rigid.
"...No way."
Nihilath lifted Gaia Primordia into the air as effortlessly as a child's toy.
Then he hurled it into the ocean.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The sea split apart.
Gaia's colossal body slammed into the ocean floor.
The entire Pacific trembled.
The other Guardians roared in fury.
Ignivar Draco unleashed a torrent of magma.
Ursus Glacialis summoned a raging blizzard.
Leo Solaris fired a beam of solar light.
Aethernox raised a colossal tsunami.
Ursus Vitalis sent ancient roots surging through the depths.
Aurelion Siroth unleashed a tornado of golden sand, while Himal Yaksha hurled a wave of primal energy into the storm.
They attacked together.
The sky transformed into a blazing inferno.
But when the explosions faded—
Nihilath was still hovering in the air.
Not a wound.
Not a scratch.
He was even smiling.
His cold voice echoed directly inside their minds.
"You fight beautifully."
"Like food that refuses to be eaten."
Arga stepped forward.
The MBG Lunchbox in his hands blazed with unstable light.
Twenty-nine glowing grains spun inside it like tiny galaxies.
Kai turned sharply toward him.
"Don't."
Arga didn't answer.
He looked at the Guardians, one by one, as they began to fall.
He looked at his friends—soaked, wounded, yet still standing their ground.
If not now...
Then when?
Arga flung the lunchbox fully open.
Golden light erupted from his body.
WHOOMMMMMMMMM!
The wind stopped.
The ocean began to glow.
The sky turned gold.
Every Core in the world responded.
Across deserts, forests, frozen mountains, and the depths beneath the earth—
The Guardians' energy began flowing toward a single point.
Toward Arga.
Through the MBG Lunchbox.
Farhan stared at the screen, his face drained of color.
"There's too much energy!"
Lila shouted, "A human body can't withstand that much power!"
Cracks of golden light began spreading across Arga's skin.
Blood streamed from his nose.
Then from his eyes.
Yet he remained standing.
Bimo took a step toward him.
"Arga, that's enough!"
Sinta grabbed Bimo's arm.
Her face trembled with fear.
"...Trust him."
Arga raised his hand toward the sky.
A colossal beam of golden light erupted from his body.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The beam struck Nihilath directly in the chest.
For the first time—
The monster was forced backward.
His four eyes widened.
A small crack appeared along one of his wings.
Everyone fell silent.
Bimo whispered, "...He actually hurt him."
The Guardians roared as one.
Hope flared to life once more.
But Arga dropped to his knees.
His body was fracturing beneath the light pouring from within.
The MBG Lunchbox nearly slipped from his grasp.
Kai caught him by the shoulder.
"Arga!"
Arga coughed up blood.
His vision blurred.
Yet a faint smile remained on his face.
"Still... not enough..."
Nihilath touched the small crack on his wing.
Then he looked at Arga.
He wasn't angry.
He was intrigued.
"Remarkable."
"A mere human... has wounded me."
He spread both wings wide.
The sky darkened instantly.
The cosmic rifts above them expanded hundreds of times over.
Not one portal.
Dozens.
Farhan stumbled backward.
"...What is he doing?"
For the first time, Kai's face went pale.
"He's summoning..."
His voice trailed off.
From within every portal—
Crimson eyes opened in the darkness.
One.
Five.
Ten.
Dozens.
Colossal creatures began stirring beyond the rifts, emerging from the darkness between galaxies.
Bimo swallowed hard.
"...Are they all like him?"
Nihilath smiled.
"You wanted a war?"
"Very well."
"I'll bring you a galaxy."
Arga, barely conscious, forced himself to look up at the sky.
Then—
A new light appeared inside the MBG Lunchbox.
The thirtieth grain of rice.
And as the tiny light came into existence—
An unfamiliar voice whispered inside Arga's mind.
"At last... I've found you."
Arga's eyes widened.
His body collapsed.
Darkness swallowed him.
And above the Earth, the sky filled with World Eaters.