The sky above the Pacific Ocean had forgotten how to be still.
Night clouds twisted violently, forming a colossal vortex that swallowed the stars one by one. Crimson lightning flashed within it, like veins running through an open wound in the heavens.
Then—
the sky tore apart.
CRAAAAACK!
A crimson fissure split across the horizon.
But it wasn't light that emerged from the fissure.
It was a darkness deeper than the night itself.
Farhan stared at the radar, all color draining from his face.
"Atmospheric energy is spiking!"
His fingers trembled above the keyboard.
"The readings… these numbers don't make any sense!"
Lila enlarged the graph. Every line surged beyond the limits of the display.
"Third object entering the atmosphere!"
Bimo swallowed hard.
"How big?"
Farhan didn't answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the data.
Then he whispered—
"Bigger than the first two combined…"
Nobody spoke.
In the glowing ocean, Thalorion raised its head.
Its majestic blue eyes turned toward the sky.
Leviathan Thalassa took a step backward.
The Void Kraken sank halfway beneath the water.
Cosmic Leviadon folded its wings.
Even the monsters—
could sense their king's arrival.
Then the sky caught fire.
WHOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
A black meteor tore through the atmosphere, engulfed in crimson flames. It was as massive as a mountain falling from heaven.
The pressure alone was enough to split the ocean apart.
Waves as tall as buildings slammed into the research vessel.
"Hold on!" Sinta shouted.
The ship was thrown into the air like a toy.
Bimo was hurled against the railing.
"UGHH!"
Dika grabbed him before the next wave could sweep him away.
The meteor plunged into the ocean.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The world seemed to shatter.
Mountains of water surged into the sky.
A tsunami swept across the horizon.
The ship spun violently. Alarms blared. The lights went out. Steel groaned at every joint in the vessel.
Then, slowly, the water began to fall.
And in the middle of the enormous crater left behind—
something stood.
A colossal shadow.
Motionless.
Terrifyingly still.
Slowly, it began to rise.
Its body towered like a mountain-sized pillar carved from the night itself. Its wings stretched across the sky, as wide as the storm. Its skin was black as the void, while crimson fissures glowed across its body like the dying veins of a dead planet.
Then its eyes opened.
Two crimson eyes.
Ancient. Hungry. Merciless.
The moment it looked upon the world—
the waves stopped.
The wind died.
The radar went dark.
The ocean forgot how to move.
Kai stared at the creature, his face showing something none of them had ever seen before.
Fear.
"Oblivion Rex…"
Arga turned toward him.
"You know it?"
Kai never took his eyes off the monster.
"Among the World Eaters…"
His voice was hoarse.
"…he is their king."
Oblivion Rex raised its head.
It inhaled Earth's atmosphere.
It sensed the energy of the Cores.
It sensed life.
Then it roared.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
The roar wasn't merely something they heard.
It struck them in the chest.
The sea split apart for dozens of kilometers. Clouds shattered. The ship's deck cracked. Several crew members collapsed unconscious on the spot.
Arga dropped to his knees.
Blood trickled from his nose.
The MBG Lunchbox in his hands shook violently.
Twenty-six glowing grains of rice spun out of control.
Thalorion attacked first.
The ancient ocean dragon surged from the water like a living continent, carrying the fury of the entire sea.
WHOOMMMMM!
Its crystalline body slammed into Oblivion Rex.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
An explosion of water engulfed the sky.
Another massive wave swept over the ship.
But when the mist finally cleared—
Oblivion Rex was still standing.
It hadn't moved an inch.
It wasn't injured.
There was only a tiny crack across its chest.
And that crack…
healed.
Bimo stared at it, his expression blank.
"That's not funny."
Thalorion roared in fury and attacked again.
Leviathan joined from the side, summoning a massive ocean vortex.
The Void Kraken lashed out with its enormous tentacles.
Cosmic Leviadon fired a beam of void energy from the sky.
Four colossal creatures attacked simultaneously.
In a single instant, the sky, the sea, and the depths erupted into chaos.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
But Oblivion Rex merely spread its wings.
Darkness burst from its body like a black sun.
Every attack vanished.
Thalorion was hurled hundreds of meters backward.
Leviathan crashed into the ocean.
Three of the Void Kraken's tentacles were severed at once.
Cosmic Leviadon was flung into the clouds like a stone.
All of them—
overwhelmed by a single movement.
Kai gritted his teeth.
"Impossible…"
Farhan desperately forced the radar back online.
"His energy is still increasing!"
Lila stared at the display, her hands trembling.
"He's absorbing the energy from their attacks…"
Sinta stepped forward, even as the ship threatened to break apart beneath her feet.
"Then we keep fighting."
Her voice was firm.
But her eyes were wet.
Bimo struggled to his feet, one hand pressed against his ribs.
"I'm scared."
He let out a small, bitter laugh.
"But I'm more afraid of losing."
Dika spun his staff in his hand.
"Good. Because we're not dead yet."
Rani helped the wounded crew members, fighting back tears.
"If we run now… who's left to stand against them?"
One by one—
the others raised their hands, channeling their energy toward Arga.
A faint golden light spread from the MBG Lunchbox in his hands, growing brighter as their resonance began to unite.
A tiny glimmer of gold in the middle of an oceanic apocalypse.
Arga tried to stand.
His entire body trembled violently.
Every breath felt like a blade cutting through his lungs.
Kai caught his shoulder.
"Don't push yourself any further."
Arga gently brushed his hand away.
"If he takes the Ocean Core…"
He coughed up blood.
"…the entire world will feel the waves that follow."
He opened the MBG Lunchbox.
Golden light spilled outward.
But suddenly—
CRACK.
One of the glowing grains fractured.
Then its light went out.
Everyone froze.
Farhan whispered,
"That… has never happened before."
Oblivion Rex turned its head.
Not toward Thalorion.
Not toward the Ocean Core.
Toward Arga.
Its crimson eyes burned brighter.
It had sensed something that no other world possessed.
A human carrying the power of the Cores within him.
Guardian energy.
A potential threat.
Oblivion Rex slowly lowered its head.
Its jaws opened.
Inside—
there was no fire.
No light.
Only pure, absolute nothingness.
A black sphere formed deep in its throat, swallowing the colors of the sky and sea around it.
The ocean began to rise toward its jaws.
The research vessel was dragged along with it.
Bimo screamed,
"WHY IS THE SHIP GETTING PULLED IN TOO?!"
Farhan stared at the final readings on his screen.
His expression crumbled.
"If that thing fires…"
He swallowed hard.
"It won't just destroy the ship."
He looked up, his voice barely audible.
"Half the ocean could disappear."
Kai turned toward Arga.
And for the first time—
he sounded utterly desperate.
"It chose you."
Oblivion Rex stared directly at Arga.
Then—
it spoke.
Not through sound.
But directly inside everyone's minds.
GUARDIAN… DIE.
Arga froze.
The MBG Lunchbox in his hands cracked halfway open.
Golden light burst from within.
And the sphere of pure void inside Oblivion Rex's jaws—
plunged toward their ship.