The sky above the Pacific Ocean lost all its color.
Inside Oblivion Rex's open jaws, the void continued to expand—a black sun devouring every trace of light around it. The stars faded. Clouds were dragged into its pull. Even the sound of the waves began to disappear.
WHOOMMMMMMMMM…
The air grew so heavy it was almost impossible to breathe.
The ocean surged upward, rising dozens of meters into the air. A colossal wall of water surrounded the research vessel, trapping it inside a watery grave.
Bimo stared upward, his face drained of color.
"Okay…"
He swallowed hard.
"…that's definitely not a normal attack."
Dika tightened his grip on his staff.
"If that thing hits us…"
He looked at the others.
"…we won't even have time to scream."
Sinta stood at the front of the deck, even as cracks spread beneath her feet.
"Everyone, get away from the sides of the ship! Now!"
No one argued.
But one person remained where he was.
Arga.
He stood at the edge of the deck, battered by winds that felt like knives against his skin. His entire body trembled violently. Blood from his old wounds began running down his arm again.
The MBG Lunchbox in his hands glowed more wildly than ever.
Its twenty-six glowing rice grains spun like a galaxy spiraling out of control.
Kai stared at him.
"You're already at your limit."
Arga didn't look back.
"He's not going to stop."
Oblivion Rex let out a low growl.
Its crimson eyes locked directly onto Arga.
Not Thalorion.
Not the Ocean Core.
Not the ship.
Arga.
The creature sensed something within the human standing before it.
An energy capable of uniting the world's Cores.
An energy capable of resisting the void.
An energy that had to be destroyed.
Farhan stared at the screen, his hands shaking.
"The attack output is rising again!"
Lila's face went pale.
"If it releases that thing…"
Her voice cracked.
"…this ship will be wiped off the map."
Arga opened the MBG Lunchbox.
Golden light erupted into the sky.
The glowing rice grains began spinning faster and faster.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Then whispered—
"Trust me."
Oblivion Rex attacked.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
The black sun came crashing down.
The void plunged from the heavens like the end of the world, tearing through the air and dragging the ocean toward it.
But at that very moment—
Arga raised the MBG Lunchbox above his head.
WHOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
Golden light exploded from his body.
The brilliance was so intense that the night itself turned to day.
Two opposing forces collided.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The sky shattered.
A shockwave swept across the ocean. The towering walls of water collapsed, and the research vessel was hurled through the storm like a leaf caught in a hurricane.
Bimo was thrown off his feet and slammed against the deck.
"UGHH!"
Rani rushed forward and grabbed him before he could be swept into the sea.
Dika clung to a support pole as it nearly snapped beneath the force.
Sinta held her ground, shouting at the crew.
"Keep the engines running! Don't stop!"
Farhan dropped to his knees but refused to let go of his laptop.
"I'm still getting the data!"
Lila crawled toward the damaged energy panel.
"If the ship loses power now, we're going down!"
Everyone kept moving.
Everyone kept fighting to survive.
Because they had no other choice.
At the center of the collision—
Arga screamed.
Golden energy poured from his body, mingling with the blood spilling from his nose and mouth.
His knees threatened to give way.
The skin on his hands began to crack like glass.
Kai immediately moved to his side.
Golden energy flared from Kai's body and merged with Arga's.
"I'll help you hold it back!"
The pressure of the void continued to bear down on them.
Little by little, the golden light began to give ground.
Then—
the ocean roared.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Thalorion rose from the sea like a living continent.
The entire Pacific glowed blue.
Leviathan Thalassa surged out of a swirling vortex and slammed into the Cosmic Leviadon from the side.
BOOOOOOM!
The cosmic creature was hurled into the clouds.
The Void Kraken lunged toward the ship—
but razor-sharp waves sliced through its tentacles before they could reach the vessel.
The ocean itself was fighting back.
Farhan stared at the screen, barely able to catch his breath.
"Core resonance is climbing!"
Lila watched the readings spike wildly.
"It's not just the Ocean Core…"
Her eyes widened.
"All the world's Cores are awakening!"
Far away in the Amazon, trees trembled as their roots began to glow green.
Across the frozen lands, glaciers cracked beneath a surge of white light.
On the Fire Continent, lava erupted into the crimson sky.
In the Sahara, the sands shifted like a golden ocean.
Deep beneath the Earth's surface, an ancient rumble echoed from the planet's core.
The Earth was answering the call of its Guardians.
Arga felt it all.
Forests. Ice. Fire. Sand. Mountains. Oceans.
The energy of the living world surged through the resonance connecting him to the Cores.
He opened his eyes.
They now shone with golden light.
"This…"
He stared at Oblivion Rex.
"…isn't just my power."
The MBG Lunchbox shook violently.
Among the swirling grains, a faint golden spark appeared. It flickered weakly, struggling to take shape.
Bimo stared at it, holding his breath.
"Wait…"
Farhan shouted.
"The energy is surging again!"
Lila's eyes filled with tears.
"The twenty-seventh grain!"
The golden light transformed into a raging storm.
The pressure of the void began to fracture.
Oblivion Rex was forced half a step backward.
For the first time—
the King of the Void had been pushed back.
Kai shouted.
"Now, Arga!"
Arga raised both hands.
The energy of the world's Cores surged through his body.
The pain was beyond anything he had ever experienced.
He felt his bones breaking one by one.
But he refused to fall.
Then he unleashed everything.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A colossal beam of golden light tore through the heavens and struck Oblivion Rex squarely in the chest.
The crimson cracks across the monster's body splintered.
Its left wing was torn apart.
Its roar shook the Earth.
Bimo laughed hysterically.
"Okay!"
"Now we've actually hurt it!"
But Kai wasn't laughing.
His face had gone deathly pale.
"No…"
Oblivion Rex slowly straightened.
Its wounds began to close.
More slowly than before—
but they were healing.
The creature looked at Arga once more.
Then it smiled.
A faint smile.
The smile of a creature that had merely been playing with its prey.
Farhan froze as he stared at the data.
"That's impossible…"
Lila turned sharply.
"What?"
Farhan pointed at the ocean sonar.
"While we were fighting it…"
His voice broke.
"…it was luring Thalorion away from the Core."
Everyone turned toward the sea.
Oblivion Rex was no longer attacking Arga.
It plunged straight downward.
Toward the ocean depths.
Toward the heart of the Ocean Core.
Thalorion roared and gave chase.
But it was too late.
Oblivion Rex struck the surface of the ocean.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The sea split open, forming a colossal abyss.
Water surged violently to either side, exposing a seemingly bottomless darkness beneath the waves.
Deep inside that abyss—
the light of the Ocean Core became visible.
The blue heart of the world.
And for the first time—
Thalorion looked afraid.
Arga collapsed to his knees.
Cracks spread farther across the MBG Lunchbox.
Another glowing rice grain went dark.
Kai stared into the abyss, his voice barely audible.
"If that Core gets devoured…"
He swallowed hard.
"…the Earth will sink.