BOOOOOOOOM!
It was a harrowing sight.
A single beam of light, a beam so massive in scale that it looked like a second sun approaching, shot through the bounds of the starry sky and made impact with its target.
All matter was eliminated. Whether it was life or ecosystem, it all turned to dust under the power of this beam.
Millions died in a single attack.
A massive starship hung in the air above a planet, slowly moving away as it recharged its weapons.
The planet below was once called Dreyll, however, it was now nothing more than a desolate wasteland. Both the Nox and Heaven's Army forces had been wiped out without mercy.
"Gahahaha! This is so fun! Thad, you didn't tell us you had something so fun!" A man celebrated as he looked back at the damage,
Of the six, he was the most vocal. His name was Theo, and while he had a seemingly charismatic and happy-go-lucky personality, he was an insane individual who took almost sexual pleasure in the deaths of others.
The rest were two women and three more men. The women were mostly silent, but Aaliyah already knew all the men's names and their general habits.
If she had to put it in one word…
'Scum.'
There was no better way to describe them. Aaliyah had the feeling that the only reason these two women remained unviolated by them was because they were too strong.
The strangest part was the fact that this group of lustful and disgusting degenerates was friends with Thaddeus Church.
From what Aaliyah could see, Thaddeus was different. He was calm and calculating, and even when he showed emotion, it looked like he calculated it beforehand. Thaddeus gave off a strangely artificial feeling that Aaliyah couldn't quite put her finger on, but it disgusted her all the same.
When the first shot went off, Aaliyah was almost tempted to immediately act to take down to starship, but she had to hold herself back.
Her position was extremely sensitive, and any extraneous movement would expose her. Though a single shot caused a genocide, Aaliyah was still forced to wait.
The time wasn't right yet.
Judging by the starship's trajectory, it would arrive there soon enough.
'Please wait…just a little longer.'
The starship made it to its next target.
Instead of a singular beam, thousands of smaller weapons appeared, bombarding the targeted planet until it collapsed in on itself.
Just a bit longer…
Aaliyah didn't know how many times the sentence went through her head as she watched the ongoing massacre.
***
News spread rapidly through the battlefields. Heaven's Army's information network was one of the best in the universe,
A star destroyer joined the war. A massive ship with the combat power of a Demigod was now terrorizing the battlefield.
"Did Aaliyah fail…?" A green-skinned woman wondered to herself.
"No, if she died, I would have felt something. Since she's still alive…"
"She's waiting for an opportunity to strike." A man nearby finished her sentence.
The woman nodded. "If the plan went downhill, the best place for an opportunity to reverse the scale would be…."
Her eyes went to a nearby map, scanning it in detail.
"Here." She pointed out a spot. It was the most obvious location on the map, yet one of the most improbable.
"If she wants to turn the situation around and gain ground for our troops, her best bet would be to make her move in the ruins of Throh."
"The only remaining piece of land is the World Core, which cannot be damaged through ordinary means. Other than that, the space is largely populated by Nox and common foot soldiers. In terms of losses to the army, this is where we'll take the softest hit. However, Aaliyah…"
Aaliyah wasn't the type of person to sacrifice anyone, let alone so many troops. If she was truly aiming for Throh itself…
"She's planning to die with them."
The woman's eyes hardened. "That cannot be allowed. Aaliyah is one of our Plant Races' final geniuses. Her fate determined the fate of our people."
"Assemble multiple teams! We're moving towards Throh for an emergency mission!"
The woman nodded at the man beside her, and he sighed wryly in response. It wasn't like he could stop her, nor was her decision wrong.
Within minutes, thousands of troops had assembled at the woman's command. They entered a smaller starship built for speed and rushed towards Throh,
Meanwhile, the starship made its way in the same direction.
'Father always emphasized the importance of World Cores, but why? Why must we harvest them with such vigor?'
Thaddeus was a curious person from birth.
World Cores were always prioritized by Plaguelord, and even the Emperors would show favor to those who presented World Cores as gifts. The value of the item seemed immense in Nox society, but was barely ever mentioned in the universe.
Thaddeus wanted to know why, and there happened to be a World Core at the center of the battlefield.
'I can investigate the object to clear my suspicions, and those fools can continue their mindless slaughter games. If I must entertain them, then I will do so in the least bothersome way.'
6 useless sacks of flesh were needed to get this starship operational, and these sacks were the least useless of the ones Thaddeus knew.
'Their personalities are vile. Our race…is truly disgusting.'
Thaddeus' indifferent eyes remained on the starry sky as he operated the starship.
'Humans, Angels, Demons, Nox…everyone dies the same. We fool ourselves with the illusion of rebirth, but in reality, we are merely being swallowed by a greater ego. Is that the proper way a life should end?'
Thaddeus despised Nox culture. Cannibalism was the path to strength, and being cannibalized was the only path after death.
'Humans are the most interesting. How were they able to build such a complex society without inborn affinities for mana? Unfortunately, they are too weak.'
The weak didn't deserve to live, this was the truth of the world that Thaddeus knew.
If only he could meet an adequate human, he'd finally be able to build some understanding towards the race.
But for now…
'Father has given me this task, and I must not fail him. If that happens…'
Thaddeus shook off the thought and returned his attention to the starry sky.
From within the ceiling, Aaliyah watched his every move.
His expressions were strange, almost as if even he was aware of how disgusting his company was.
But this was merely a curious fact.
Aaliyah didn't care at all about what Thaddeus could possibly be thinking.
She knew that there were only a few minutes until she needed to flip the switch, and at the same time, there were only a few minutes left of her life.
Multiple forces converged near Throh as if they were waiting for this moment. Both Nox and Heaven's Army alike gathered.
A final large-scale battle to end this chapter of the war once and for all was brewing.
And far, far away, almost half a Sector away from Throh, another world-shattering battle was taking place as well.
Except in this one…
The presiding Emperor wasn't so friendly.
