𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏𝟕: 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 (3)

Kreion’s suspicion that the Vehlpciaarct was saving something up was becoming clearer.

A death star was being born.

A sixty-vertex soccer ball-like polyhedron, with all thirty-two faces empty, allowing a clear view of what was going on inside.

Sixty snow-white beams of light from each vertex were converging on the center point inside.

“It’s got the energy of a young star. . .!”

Ludwig ordered the entire Chimeraz fleet to charge at the Vehlpciaarct to prevent them from creating the star. The Force Core promptly responded by deploying about a hundred fleets in a solid formation.

Kreion, watching the Vehlpciaarct’s final play, felt an even greater sense of foreboding.

“. . .They’ve given up.”

“Yes. . .?”

“They’ve judged that they can’t wipe out our race, so they’re trying to inflict as much damage as possible.”

“But I can’t figure out what they’re trying to do by creating a star like that. . .”

“They could be trying anything.”

Kreion gritted his teeth inside his heavily armored bio-armor.

He needed to stay calm. It was an unprecedented situation, something he had never experienced, heard of, or imagined. However, if he analyzed it coolly, he could deal with anything.

Maybe the Vehlpciaarct was now aiming for the extinction of the Hecartra star system and his own death. And he was sure the Vehlpciaarct knew that he had figured this out. That they might try to escape.

‘We’ll die before we can escape. They won’t give us that time.’

All of the Vehlpciaarct had gathered there. As a result, the sky above each planet had opened up, and the obstacles that had been attacking all over Hecartra were gone.

If they tried to escape with everything so wide open, they could board the Euryale and leave the Hecartra star system right away. So there was no way the Vehlpciaarct would have made such a move without considering that possibility.

In that case, they would have to use energy to demonstrate something equivalent to a supernova explosion or something beyond a Planet Weapon.

They would attack in such a way that even if they tried to escape, it would be pointless.

So there was no time. He didn’t know what they were trying to do by creating a young star there, but it was probably soon.

“Ludwig. How long will it take to fire the antimatter pulse of the two remaining bio-planets?”

Right now, the Vehlpciaarct had deployed in a solid formation to prevent even a single projectile or missile from reaching the young star.

In other words, they were carrying out an extremely delicate operation, suggesting that they would not tolerate any hits.

“The antimatter pulse will take an hour. . .or I could burn the bio-tissue in the core and get it ready in thirty minutes. . .”

“That’s too slow. Accelerate the two bio-planets to maximum speed and crash them instead.”

“But that will mean losing all the resources and colony sites of the two bio-planets. . . If that fails. . .it will be difficult to deal with the next threat due to the significant loss of fleet power. . .Is that okay. . .?”

“I know. But this is a situation where we can’t afford to think about the future.”

“I understand. . .”

The fully grown bio-planets were the planetary defense network, the key point of fleet battles, a giant shield, a mobile colony site, and the most powerful weapons.

The two bio-planets extended long tentacles in one direction. The skin, like the earth’s crust, was forcibly pierced, and the colony sites and Chimeraz individuals on the skin were killed in droves.

They were doing this to crash them as quickly as possible.

The tentacles, which had been extended too abruptly, caused the skin and flesh to fall off, and the two bio-planets could no longer maintain their spherical shape.

Now they were oval. The two bio-planets, distorted like a cracked egg, burned up their internal energy. They gradually accelerated, shedding their shallow atmospheres, leaving a trail of unidentifiable debris like a swarm of asteroids.

They headed straight for the last of the Vehlpciaarct. With their mass as their weapon.

The bio-planet that had charged ahead took the brunt of the concentrated fire from the Force Core fleet. They poured all the energy and missiles left in their ships into it, smashing the bio-planet into several pieces.

Explosions of this magnitude were no longer surprising.

Rumble-!

Most of the debris fell in the direction they had been accelerating, while some fell behind. Thanks to this, several breaches were created in the Force Core fleet, which had been standing like a wall.

➖Aim for that spot!

➖Stop those bastards. . .!

➖Dig deeper!

The Chimeraz fleets of Nazar, Phlegeth, and Berne joined in, relentlessly targeting that area.

The Chimeraz trying to break through and the Force Core fleet trying to stop them were forced into close-range combat.

“. . .Gah!”

A wave of concentrated death hit Kreion all at once.

“Agele-nim!”

“Master. . .!”

Ludwig’s eyes wavered, and Gats approached Kreion’s side to check his complexion.

“Would you like to remove your heavy bio-armor? Doesn’t that complicated armor require your legion’s power?”

But Kreion had no time to worry about such things.

He held on to his fading consciousness and shouted.

“Keep going! Don’t stop!”

“Oh. . .”

Ludwig knew better than anyone else the agony Kreion was going through. But if he ordered it, Ludwig would follow.

The second collision began.

The bio-planet that had charged first had been reduced to debris, creating several breaches in the Force Core fleet. And now it was nothing more than a huge piece of wreckage.

Then, the second bio-planet reached the Force Core fleet, taking the debris of the first bio-planet with it.

【This is indefensible. Lead Core. Making Core. We need countermeasures now. At this rate, the formation will collapse even further. Their living fragments will collide with the Fullerene formation of the Mechanized Black Hole.】

Phlegeth’s Chimeraz fleet fired powerful Organic Accelerator Cannons and charged their troops.

Nazar’s Chimeraz fleet intercepted the multi-angled Vehlpciaarct aircraft that were trying to stop Phlegeth’s fleet.

Berne’s Chimeraz fleet pushed forward in overwhelming numbers, deploying an extensive bio-barrier.

The Force Core fleet, which had been damaged in the first collision and exposed to attack by the Chimeraz fleet, had no way of preventing the second collision.

【Lead Core.】

Finally, the second bio-planet pushed aside the debris of the first bio-planet that had died earlier and reached the Force Core fleet.

Rumble. . .Rumble. . .Rumble. . .

The Vehlpciaarct aircraft that collided with the bio-planet self-destructed, chipping away at the bio-planet.

【Lead Core.】

Even the giant motherships of the Vehlpciaarct, which were in the rear, collided with the bio-planet. The giant motherships crushed and destroyed the bio-planet’s skin-like crust, penetrating deep into its hot bio-tissue and self-destructing with a force greater than a nuclear explosion.

【Lead Core, respond immediately.】

The second bio-planet broke apart. However, it did not break into as many pieces as the first bio-planet.

Rumble. . .

Thousands of asteroid-sized fragments were about to engulf the young star, trailing burning tails.

【Mechanized Black Hole creation complete.】

【Force Core. Making Core. And Deal Core, who remains in our consciousness.】

【Everyone has worked hard.】

【I’ll take care of the rest.】

That was the moment.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

In the vacuum of space, the roar could be heard. It made your skin tingle. It was more than just a sound; it was a sensation felt not by the ears but by the internal organs of the entire body.

And Kreion and the leaders, who felt the sensation as a wave, fell silent as if they had made a promise.

It was a transcendent ‘spectacle’, 

one that could only be watched with mouths closed and thoughts stopped.

It was as if an absolute being was waving its arms. 

Or perhaps a god, incarnated in the form of light, had spread its arms wide and was ruthlessly tearing apart the surrounding spacetime at a speed that mortals could not comprehend.

The machines that had been firing beams of light from sixty vertices toward the center point inside disappeared.

Thousands of asteroid fragments from the second bio-planet were distorted and warped right there in space, sucked into the center of the snow-white light in a swirling motion.

This matter, energy, and light became the material for the accretion disk.

Then, a black dot appeared in the center of the snow-white light and gradually grew larger.

It was as if the god of destruction was revealing its pupil.

If there was such a thing as a soul in the heart, the soul would stand on end at the touch of a cold wind, and the spine would tingle. To see something is to see the light reflected from that thing, but it was so dark in that direction that it was as if no light was reaching this side from that round surface, and it felt as if even the soul was being taken away. That’s why it felt like the god of destruction was revealing its pupil, and the swirling accretion disk around it felt like it was tearing apart spacetime with its arms spread wide.

The Force Core’s hundred or so fleets were torn apart as if they had been hit by the approaching accretion disk, becoming part of it.

And about five hundred fleets of the early leaders, which had rushed at the Force Core fleet all at once, met the same end as the Force Core fleet.

As this happened, the black pupil grew larger and larger, and the accretion disk, unlike the ordinary ones in nature, seemed to rotate more and more widely and intentionally, as if it had the will of the Vehlpciaarct.

It grew so abnormally fast that it destroyed the 14th and 13th planets, which were relatively close, and as it did, it continued to grow, eventually consuming the massive mass of the 10th gas planet.

Ludwig exclaimed urgently.

“You have to evacuate. . .! That’s not a normal black hole. . .!”

“High-energy particles. . .everything we have will be lost.”

Kreion’s mind was racing through the events that would unfold in the next five minutes.

It would definitely explode. There was a reason why it was drawing in such an enormous amount of energy and mass. It would not leisurely grow the accretion disk and give the entire star system time to be destroyed. It would definitely release everything it had consumed all at once, spreading it in all directions.

High-energy particles would come no matter what.

They could die instantly without even realizing it. Their whole bodies could be burned or melted. And above all, the information contained in the cells would be erased.

Kreion was the collective consciousness of the Chimeraz, and Ludwig assisted Kreion and also played a role similar to the main server in charge of the collective consciousness.

And in this colony site and star system were all the individuals’ standard genetic blueprints, instincts, plans, memories, and even experimental samples.

And that’s not all.

‘She’ll be here soon.’

Anima would be returning.

In fact, what Ririm had told Lopez was a lie.

Anima’s reason for returning to the Human Galaxy was to support the Hecartra star system from the beginning. Anima would not go to the human domain but would come straight here.

Therefore, the fact that she was leading a group back meant that she was traveling slower than light but arriving before light, forming a ring formation. And if she arrived before light, she would reach here before she even noticed that a black hole and a huge accretion disk had just been created.

It would be as if a black hole suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, like a traffic accident.

Even if they tried to send her a wave that could travel faster than light, there was no bio-planet capable of forming a strong gravitational wave cable.

The Mind Repeaters had also been caught up in the fleet battle, and the upper levels of the colony with the giant Mind Repeater had been burned to a crisp. Also, the Ririm, who had been in contact with the Chimeraz through such a wave network, had also lost their connection.

‘The Vehlpciaarct. . .’

It was a predetermined tragedy. It was a catastrophe.

That’s why Kreion thought.

‘I wonder if I should have looked for a way to avoid fighting them. . .’

He had always made choices without regret, but this time it was different.

If he had looked, there might have been another way. But he didn’t try to find one. The Vehlpciaarct wanted to destroy the Chimeraz, so the Chimeraz wanted to destroy the Vehlpciaarct in return.

He didn’t think that was wrong, but maybe it wasn’t.

Was that why he was trying to mediate?

Because no one would be happy no matter who won.

‘Did we look like reckless children fighting in front of their parents. . .?’

If he, Anima, and everything in the Hecartra star system died, how much would the Chimeraz lose of what they had accomplished in the past?

And how long would it take to recover from that? In the first place, the Chimeraz were not the only ones in this universe. There were races who kept their distance because of the Chimeraz’s presence and races who lived by relying on the Chimeraz’s power.

If the Chimeraz suddenly became incredibly weak, would the remaining leaders be able to recover in the midst of the chaos? What would happen to the future of the Chimeraz?

‘This is not the time to be thinking about such things.’

As the ruler of the race, he had to make the best choice.

“The core of this planet. Take the colony as deep underground as possible.”

Kreion had decided to accept death.

Instead of trying to escape and failing, losing many things in the process, he would rather spend that time here, securing the future of his race.

That’s right.

“We will put everything we have into the colony’s brain. So that someone among the leaders outside this star system can retrieve the legacy we left behind.”

As he announced his final will, Ludwig’s body trembled.

He was more afraid of not being able to serve him than of his own death.

And if Kreion himself said he wasn’t afraid right now, it would be a lie.

Also, if the Vehlpciaarct still had some of their old spirit left, wouldn’t they be feeling fear right now?

“Master. . .”

“I’m sorry. I have no choice but to make this choice.”

“Is there no way you can evacuate. . .?”

“The probability of failure is very high. And if we fail, there will be nothing left here for the future of our race.”

“But. . .even if everyone dies, master must survive. . .What would be left of the Chimeraz without master. . .?”

“We have many reliable leaders, and we have even made allies and friends. There are those damn nosy bastards too.”

Lopez’s Phase Assault Troops were still intact. If the Chimeraz, weakened after this death, were to be attacked by various races, he would not stand idly by.

“So even if we die, the Chimeraz will not die. You know that in your head, don’t you?”

“I know. . .I do. . .”

That this was the best, the most optimal, the quickest decision.

“It’s okay. If we survive this and are not swept away by that thing, then we will all escape together.”

That probably wouldn’t happen. It seemed like they could escape right now by boarding the Euryale, but they only had about three minutes left.

Normally, that was about the minimum amount of time it took for the Chimeraz fleet to make preparations and leave the star system in a ring formation. That’s why the Vehlpciaarct would kill everything in this star system within that amount of time.

Still, Kreion managed to reassure Ludwig a little by giving him hope.

“I’ll start working on it. . .as quickly as possible. . .”

A new brain began to form underground in the most advanced colony.

Kreion, Ludwig, and the other leaders also concentrated their waves to fill the new brain with everything in their minds.

Kreion slipped out of the heavy bio-armor that was covering his body for no reason. To be precise, the heavy bio-armor moved away on its own at his command.

He closed his eyes and poured everything he had learned, felt, experienced, remembered, and planned into the brain underground, like a magic lantern show.

But even he was capable of making mistakes.

➖. . .Master!

His eyes snapped open.

“Just now. . .”

➖I’ve left the Canis Minor Dwarf Galaxy to the Parahtoria for now!

‘Drexus! Don’t enter this star system! Get out of here now!’

It felt like it was too late, as this side’s waves had already reached that side, but Drexus didn’t need to die too.

➖It’s okay!

And the Chimeraz in this star system didn’t need to die.

If there was a chance.

➖I knew it all! I came looking for this from the moment the old star of the Vehlpciaarct went out!

‘How did you know that in advance?’

At that moment, a voice that Kreion did not recognize imitated the Chimeraz’s waves.

➖Greetings. Kreion of the Chimeraz. I am called the Believer, who serves the creator of this universe.

➖I’ve heard a lot about you from Nazar and Drexus.

Kreion wondered what they were thinking.

Drexus’ group appeared at the same time as the mysterious egg-shaped aircraft, before they jumped into the black hole on their own.

➖I came here because there are machines that desecrate the sanctuary.

It hadn’t even been five minutes since the Vehlpciaarct’s black hole started functioning as a black hole.

‘How can this be so timely. . .’

It was a situation that could hardly be considered a coincidence or a miracle.