Published at 15th of February 2026 10:08 am

Chapter 2002: On a hot plate 2

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The arrival of Lord Damir with reinforcements sent a clear and terrifying warning across the sector: the threat had escalated to a level beyond anything anyone had anticipated. All the sector’s forces were already fully engaged, struggling solely against the relentless armada of the Savage Behemoth, and there was no way they could concentrate their strength into a single decisive confrontation. Their attention was divided, their resources stretched thin, and now, the addition of Damir’s colossal army tipped the scales into a perilous new reality.

With Lord Damir arriving and assuming command of two thousand fleets from the forces of the Cursed Darvion, the situation became nothing less than a death knell for the war itself. Every strategist, every commander, every soldier understood the implication immediately: the balance had shifted dangerously as the galaxy trembled under the weight of what was to come.

Damir acted without hesitation. He redirected his massive fleet toward the Bright Galaxy, initiating a systematic campaign of destruction, targeting the outer planets one by one. Though this strategy had been anticipated by some, the foreknowledge did little to soften the shock. Witnesses from across the sector stood frozen, mouths agape, as wave after wave of annihilation unfolded. The scale of destruction was incomprehensible—entire worlds obliterated, moons shattered, fleets vaporized, all under the unstoppable advance of Damir’s armada.

By that time, the battles against the mercenaries had concluded, and the Bright Galaxy had been fully reclaimed under the control of Kaylis. Thousands of young members of the Pureheart family had undergone rigorous training, learning to pilot the warships, and mastering strategies for defense and combat. Their skills were growing, but the challenges ahead were monumental.

At her zenith, Kaylis had commanded four thousand fleets, yet more than half had been destroyed during the campaign against the outer planets. Many had been lost in skirmishes with the mercenaries, while countless others were too damaged to fly. Her remaining forces were fragmented and diminished, yet still carried the weight of defending the galaxy itself.

Facing Damir and his devastating army, which had arrived with the intent to obliterate everything, Kaylis and her children mustered what they could—roughly one thousand fleets, the sum total of what remained of her once-mighty military might. They went out to meet Damir head-on, resolute, despite knowing the odds were staggering.

By Kaylis’s calculations, including Orion, Siren, and the remaining siblings, they had a total of nine Law Dominators on their side. Yes—Siren had joined the battle this time, compelled by the horrors Damir’s army had already unleashed. Yet even with this combined leadership, the forces at their disposal were woefully insufficient.

The Bright Galaxy armada was weak. Its pilots lacked the skill and experience to survive prolonged engagements. Kaylis and her children could fight, but only to a limited degree—the Path of Purity did not bolster them as it should have. In any direct confrontation, one-on-one, they would inevitably suffer defeat.

Thus, Kaylis relied on a bold, evasive strategy: she would exit the galaxy temporarily to launch sudden, devastating strikes against Damir’s army, then retreat back into the galaxy for shelter. If Damir dared to pursue, they would respond with immediate, catastrophic sacrifices, throwing planets at them to inflict maximum damage.

Yet Damir never fell for the trap. He continued his methodical march, systematically demolishing the outer shell of the galaxy while inflicting mounting losses on both armies. The destruction was accelerating, relentless, and horrifying.

The only thing restraining Damir, along with his Law Dominators and Royal Soul Lords, from personally obliterating everything in their path was their unwillingness to bear the negative karma of universal devastation. Every final artillery strike on each planet had to be distributed, assigned to a different soldier each time, to prevent overwhelming karmic repercussions.

Even so, at this pace, Damir and his forces would reach the heart of the galaxy within a few years. Nothing and no one could stop them.

Hedrick had no choice but to adapt his strategy. From among the seven armies harassing the Savage Behemoth, he dispatched three to aid the Bright Galaxy, striking Damir’s forces from the rear.

The maneuver was successful.

Although the three armies, along with Kaylis’s forces, were not strong enough to execute a full pincer movement or annihilate Damir completely, they managed to halt his advance. The destruction of planets slowed almost to a standstill, giving the defenders a fragile reprieve.

Meanwhile, Hedrick and his forces intensified the pressure to compensate for the smaller armies. They increased their sacrifices, coordinated frequent attacks, and maximized casualties with every engagement.

Even with this, the army of the Savage Behemoth finally regained breathing room. Its destructive momentum accelerated, making it evident that Zavaros’s forces intended to obliterate all the powers within the sector.

A devastating, all-encompassing chaos had swept through Sector 101, leaving destruction in its wake and causing even the farthest observers of the universe to look upon it with sheer pity and disbelief. The very fabric of the sector seemed shaken; fleets drifted in disarray, the battlefields were littered with debris of shattered warships, and the cries of soldiers and commanders alike echoed across the void, mingling with the cold silence of space.

Amidst this maelstrom...

For reasons that defied explanation, Lady Helen requested that her older brother withdraw entirely from the battlefield, insisting that she be allowed to take several fleets with her.

And more astonishingly, Lord Hedrick agreed, without hesitation or protest, a decision that left even his most loyal officers questioning the reasoning behind it.

-----

At that moment, somewhere is Mid sector 101—

"Tsk tsk~"

The half-naked soldier shook his head slowly, his movements almost deliberate, as if to impress the gravity of the moment on himself. "I can’t believe the entire world is ablaze around us while we’re simply stuck here, wasting years." He glanced at the man beside him, eyes narrowing. "How long have we been stationed here... twenty years, roughly? Two decades of watching the sun go done and rise again, day after day?"

"Hmm... surely Lord Hedrick has a reason," the second soldier replied, running a hand through his tangled hair in frustration. "He would never allow any of his Marshals, accompanied by twenty fleets, to leave the war effort without a purpose. There has to be some strategic rationale behind this."

"And what reason could possibly justify this?!" The first soldier’s frustration boiled over as he sat upright on his worn couch. His hand gripped the control stick tightly, and with a swift motion, he guided the vessel to turn left. The ship responded immediately, its bow aligning toward something unnervingly close.

Without glancing, he gestured toward it. "Is this it? We are now circling a planet so far removed from the battle zone, a place where Lady Helen resides alone? What could she possibly accomplish there that would serve Lord Hedrick’s grand strategy? I mean, I—"

"Shhh..." The second soldier raised his hand to gently cover his companion’s lips, silencing him. "...Does this ever happen? Normally?"

"Hmm?" The first soldier turned slowly to focus on the planet before them, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. His mouth fell open, shock rooting him in place.

Then he stood, taking a hesitant, trembling step backward, as his heart pounded violently in his chest.

The planet’s atmosphere was no longer clear, no longer calm and transparent as it usually appeared. At this very moment, a massive, swirling vortex covered half its surface, spinning with an intensity that was impossible to ignore.

A terrifying, almost apocalyptic whirlpool, colored in the deep, lifeless gray of smoldering ash.

No winds stirred it. No storms raged. There was no lightning, no rain, no natural explanation—just an immobile, supernatural spiral of ash, silent yet menacing, spreading a sense of doom across the planet.

There was undeniably something unnatural, something terrifying, something beyond the understanding of ordinary forces...

"...Could Lady Helen really have caused this?" The standing soldier whispered, his heart pounding with dread, his voice barely audible in the ship’s cabin.

"I don’t know," the second soldier replied cautiously, his eyes fixed on the swirling maelstrom, "but this is not a power any Nexus State could unleash... not even someone of her caliber, with all her abilities and might."

"...?!" The first soldier sent a rapid, questioning glance to his companion, then returned his gaze to the planet. "Could it truly be... that she—?"

The second soldier moved swiftly, taking control of the ship himself. He manipulated the controls, redirecting the interface and guiding their vessel away from the planet, back into the safety of open space. He then turned to his companion with a dry, almost nervous tone. "Did you even eat today? I’m starving."

The first soldier swallowed hard, finally understanding the subtle hint in his comrade’s words. He nodded slowly, a faint smile breaking through his tension. "Y- yeah... you’re right. Let’s go find something to eat. Suddenly I feel the air here has become unbearable."

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