Chapter 113: The Star Breaker

A strange rumble splits the air.

Then, without warning —

reality explodes.

A deafening crash tears through the space before them, as if the universe itself had just shattered.

A titanic shockwave sweeps across the field of ruins.

Everyone is thrown backward, like straws carried away by a cosmic storm.

Nairo (trying to get up)

— What was… that…?

Before them, a black arm emerges from the fractured void.

An inhuman arm.

Trembling. Charged with sinister energy.

The rest of the body follows.

A dark, humanoid but unreal silhouette slowly rises.

Its eyes are white, without pupils.

A thick purple liquid flows from its chest like living poison.

The dimensional rift closes behind it…

And the world falls back into an electric silence.

Everyone stares at it. Frozen. Speechless.

Salomé (trembling voice)

— G-Gaïus…?

She steps back a step.

(Inwardly)

"He… he looks exactly the same as in the future.

This Gaïus… is far more dangerous… much more than the one we faced earlier."

Worry is clearly written on her face.

Sally (lowering her eyes toward him)

— He has changed… He's not the same anymore.

Grafay, tense, fixed gaze:

— Damn… What kind of monster survives a transcendent explosion?!

Gaïus straightens up, perfectly calm.

Then… he smiles.

Gaïus (clear voice, unnaturally composed)

— I thank you.

Everyone remains frozen.

Yuki (in a low voice)

— Am I dreaming or… did he just speak?

ErMut (incredulous)

— He… he never spoke before. That's not possible…

Gaïus exhales softly, a purple mist escaping his lips.

Gaïus

— Your attack was perfect.

Exactly what was needed to break my shell.

He slightly spreads his arms, as if offering himself to the whole world.

Gaïus (deep voice, tinged with jubilation)

— Now, let's begin.

The Killer Men Eradication plan… can finally start.

Silence.

Grafay, disgusted:

— Am I the only one here who preferred when he was mute?

Suddenly, Nairo raises his hand. A bluish glow surrounds Salomé and Bakuran.

Beneath their feet, a circular portal opens, engraved with swirling runes.

Bakuran (surprised)

— What the…?!

Salomé (worried)

— Huh?! What is that?!

They vanish in a flash. Absorbed by the portal before they can react.

Sally turns sharply toward Nairo:

— What did you just do?!

Nairo (serious, focused)

— He said he wants to eliminate the Killer Men…

But how does he plan to destroy them if they're no longer here?

He stands up, staring at Gaïus without flinching.

Nairo

— I sent them somewhere else. Out of reach.

And you, Sally… You should join them later.

I'll tell you exactly where.

Sally nods, understanding.

— That's an excellent idea.

But Gaïus chuckles softly.

Gaïus (smiling like a predator)

— You fools.

Do you really think making them disappear from here will stop me from finding them?

He steps forward.

His shadow seems to distort, like a creeping tide ready to engulf the ground.

Nairo, without backing down, replies sharply:

Nairo

— Just focus on beating us, here and now.

Gaïus narrows his eyes, amused.

Gaïus

— A joke, isn't it?

You're exhausted. Worn out.

This will be… child's play.

Grafay, cracking his knuckles, a smirk on his lips:

— Then play, let's see.

Gaïus remains still for a moment.

Then, softly, he chuckles.

A hoarse, muffled laugh, almost amused… as if Nairo and Grafay's words were just childish jokes.

He slowly raises his hands in front of him.

Then crosses them over his chest in a fluid motion.

Gaïus

— You're really… funny.

A crack opens on his chest.

A sharp, organic snap, followed by a black and purple light pulsing from inside his being.

Gaïus (deep voice)

— Do you really think… hiding your states from me…

…masking your fatigue behind your words…

…is enough to survive… me?

From the crack, energy accumulates at a terrifying speed.

An orb of energy forms.

Black at its core, circled by purple halos.

It swells. Grows.

Fast. Too fast.

Within seconds, it reaches the size of a building.

Grafay (horrified)

— What… the hell is that?!

He generated that thing… without any effort!

Gaïus, a carnivorous smile on his lips:

— Prove to me, miserable ones, that you can even survive this.

Without warning, he launches the orb.

Not with a crash.

Not with a battle cry.

Just a simple flick of the finger.

And the universe reacts as if the end has come.

The orb speeds forward.

At a cataclysmic velocity, it scrapes the ground, burns the air, makes the earth scream.

Sally (shouting)

— EVERYONE GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!

They scatter in a flash.

But this is not a classic attack.

The orb continues its path.

It doesn't explode immediately.

It consumes.

Crushes.

Destroys.

Everything it touches turns to dust, concept and matter erased at the source.

Then suddenly, in a mad curve, the orb changes direction.

It heads toward the sky.

And there, in an infernal roar—

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A colossal shock erupts in the atmosphere.

The sky cracks with light, changing color as if dawn and the end of the world collided.

The earth trembles violently.

Volcanoes awaken in the farthest regions.

Tsunamis rise on coasts hundreds of kilometers away.

Clouds evaporate.

Even the air seems overheated by the memory of the attack.

And yet… the orb hasn't even struck the ground.

ErMut, eyes wide, dares not move.

Sally holds her arm, stunned.

Grafay murmurs, mouth agape:

— That… wasn't supposed to be a demonstration.

Nairo clenches his teeth, fists tight.

Yuki, pale, breathes out:

— That attack… it wasn't even serious, was it?

Before them, Gaïus laughs heartily.

Gaïus (carnivorous grin)

— Hahahaha… just look at yourselves!

He points at them, eyes shining with cruel pleasure.

Gaïus

— Heroes?

Fighters?

The world's hopes?

He spreads his arms, a black aura releasing from his body like living smoke.

Gaïus

— You are insects.

And the worst part… is I haven't even started yet.

A terrible silence settles.

Then suddenly, the earth beneath their feet cracks.

Gaïus's shadow spreads like cancer, seeking to engulf their space.

Sally (regaining composure)

— Nairo! We have to counterattack now, or else…

Nairo (focused)

— He leaves us no choice.

Grafay steps forward, a new flame in his eyes.

Grafay

— Fine. If we're going down here, might as well be with fireworks.

He turns his head toward Yuki and ErMut.

Grafay

— You're with me?

Yuki nods.

ErMut pulls out his gloves, his gaze serious.

Nairo, in the background, murmurs to himself:

— …Bakuran, Salomé… I hope you're safe.

But deep down, he knows:

This Gaïus will find their trail.

No matter where they are.

And so, the real fight begins now.

The air still vibrated from the breath of the celestial explosion.

But none of them could remain frozen.

Yuki stepped forward, fingers already moving.

Around him, particles danced, colliding, twitching as if under tension.

Yuki (calmly)

— Atomic target locked.

Layer alignment: thermal, neutron, ionic.

He stretched out his arms.

Space briefly imploded before him.

Then: a beam of atomic purity sliced through the air straight toward Gaïus.

Sally, already launched, drew her two sabers.

Their blades did not shine — they wept reality itself.

Sally (thought)

— You're going to eat my sabers in your face!!!

She leapt, sabers crossed in an X, aiming for his flank.

Nairo appeared and vanished in a whirlwind of shadows and flames, creating portals all around Gaïus.

Chains of energy, elemental blades, shadow stakes emerged from all sides to harass him relentlessly.

Grafay screamed, his body transforming instantly.

His arms became two masses of raw steel, bristling with blades and saws.

His legs swelled, propelling his body toward the enemy like a living rocket.

Grafay

— YOU'RE GONNA EAT THIS, SCUM!

ErMut closed his eyes.

The earth cracked beneath him.

Massive roots burst forth, surrounded by radioactive mists.

His body radiated. Literally.

A toxic green aura pulsed around him, twisting the air with its radiation.

ErMut

— We'll see if you want to laugh when you have a nuclear jungle in your throat.

They attacked together.

The impact was immense.

The combined explosion of their forces engulfed Gaïus in a dome of light and chaos.

The ground lifted.

The sky opened.

Time itself seemed to stop, as if to watch.

Then… silence.

Sally landed on the ground, panting.

Yuki, one knee down, adjusted his breath.

ErMut stabilized with a column of mutant roots, his skin crackling with radiation.

Grafay, arms smoking, sweat pouring.

Nairo slowly returned to his human form, covered in liquid shadows.

But something was wrong.

An almost inaudible tremor.

Then… a snap of fingers.

The dust abruptly dissipates.

And Gaïus is still there.

Standing.

Not burned at all.

Just slightly disheveled.

He taps his chest.

Gaïus (mocking)

— Hmm… a little tingling.

Very cute.

They stare at him. Incredulous.

He smiles even more.

Gaïus

— You put your whole heart into it, huh?

But all that… was for one Gaïus.

One.

And still… not even at full power.

He advances, slowly.

Each step makes the air tremble, distorts local gravity.

Then, in a fraction of a second, he is in front of Yuki.

A punch.

But not ordinary: an impact that phases the atom.

Yuki is thrown kilometers away, crossing three mountains.

Gaïus (laughing)

— Atomic manipulation? Hahaha. Touch me when you understand the concept of non-matter.

Sally tries a strike from behind — her sabers pass through his neck.

But cut nothing.

Nothing reacts. As if there was never anything to cut.

Gaïus

— You're not bad yourself, you know? Ah. You're still too attached to words, that's your only flaw.

He sends her a mental wave.

Sally collapses, eyes open, blades trembling.

Grafay screams, transforming into a steel hydra, each head armed with chains, hammers, and spikes.

He charges.

But Gaïus disappears.

And behind him…

Gaïus (whispering in Grafay's ear)

— You're not even funny.

Grafay doesn't have time to turn around: he is thrown underground with a titanic impact.

ErMut tries to activate his radiation to the max.

A green storm invades the battlefield.

But Gaïus absorbs the radiation… and sends it back.

ErMut falls backward, caught in his own energy surge.

He screams.

ErMut: Arghhh!!!

Gaïus (laughing loudly)

— You fight well.

Really.

But I love watching you struggle.

He raises his hand.

A gravitational pressure field crushes everyone to the ground.

Even Nairo, still standing in the shadows, bends a knee.

Gaïus (smiling, sadistic)

— And you know the worst?

I could kill you all.

Here. Now.

He approaches Sally, unconscious, then Grafay, crawling.

But he stops.

Raises his arms.

Gaïus

— …But I don't want to.

Not yet.

He steps back.

Gaïus

— Keep fighting.

Keep entertaining me.

It's too beautiful to watch.

And with a snap of his fingers, he flies away.

Effortlessly.

Toward space. Toward elsewhere. Toward his next stage.