A huge energy sphere was slowly falling toward the planet Xandar.
The approaching Nova Corps spotted it from far away.
Even without getting close, the Nova Corps soldiers could clearly see with their eyes the terrifying power inside the sphere.
But they didn't feel fear.
Because the planet below was their home.
The people there were their family and friends.
So all the Nova ships, without needing any orders, quickly formed a special energy defense formation unique to the Nova Corps.
Golden energy connected all the ships, creating a massive golden energy wall—just like the one the Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova Corps used to block Ronan's Dark Aster.
They hoped this would stop the falling energy sphere.
But everything they did was useless.
The Nova Corps' power was strong enough to make them a force to be feared in the galaxy.
Sadly, the energy they were facing came from the most ancient, powerful, and wild force in the universe.
The golden wall of Nova energy only slowed the sphere for less than a second before being completely destroyed by the power of the rampaging Power Stone.
This terrifying sight shocked the Nova ships that hadn't joined the formation yet.
Some angry and hopeless Nova warriors, like their ancestors, rushed toward the energy sphere without hesitation, like moths flying into fire.
Others, filled with fear, chose to run away in panic.
In space, Josh, who caused all of this, stood quietly.
The light from the energy sphere below made his figure flicker, making it hard to guess what he was thinking.
He didn't chase the fleeing Nova ships—maybe because he saw them as no threat.
He just stood there, silently watching everything happen.
Behind him were several energy shields. Inside them stood Loki, a group of Vrykul warriors, and vampire assassins.
The Vrykul, after witnessing Josh's world-destroying power, looked at him like he was a god, full of respect and worship.
The vampire assassins felt the same.
They already imagined the terrible fate of Xandar after seeing the power of the energy sphere, but they didn't care.
Ever since they became vampires, their human emotions had faded.
And before tonight, Josh had already warned them to move their important people and assets away from Xandar.
So now, the planet didn't mean much to them. At most, a few members of the Ghouls might die—but they didn't feel anything about that.
In fact, because of Josh's overwhelming strength and his connection to Dracula, they were eager to build a good relationship with this rising powerhouse.
Only Loki looked at Josh with deep fear.
What kind of demon had he teamed up with?
Loki used to think he was pretty evil too, and he had killed many before.
But someone like Josh—who could destroy an entire planet without hesitation—that was something Loki had never even imagined.
This was a planet with hundreds of billions of lives.
Xandar was much larger than Earth and served as the heart of the Nova Empire, so it wasn't strange for it to have such a huge population.
Now, all of it was about to be wiped out.
Still, no matter how scared Loki was, it couldn't change the fact that Xandar was doomed.
And he was now the number one accomplice in this disaster.
With the defending fleet destroyed, the massive purple energy sphere slowly sank into the ground.
At first, there was no giant explosion like people might expect.
But what happened instead was even more terrifying.
From the point where the sphere touched the land, horrifying energy began spreading across the planet.
Next came the cracking of the ground, the collapse of mountains, and the destruction of buildings.
Every living being that touched the energy was instantly turned to ash.
In the end, the entire planet was swallowed by the wild purple energy, turning into a completely dead world.
Around Xandar, only Josh's group, the escaping ships, and the spaceport still had living people left.
With a wave of Josh's hand, everyone vanished from space and appeared at the spaceport.
By now, the Xandar spaceport was in total chaos.
Refugees were crying and screaming everywhere, trying to get on ships to escape the nightmare.
Even though the deadly energy hadn't reached here, the fall of a planet with hundreds of billions of people and millions of soldiers made everyone believe that the monster who caused it wouldn't leave the spaceport untouched.
But just like airports or harbors on Earth, spaceships couldn't just take off whenever they wanted—they had to follow orders and take turns.
Now that Xandar was destroyed, the Nova Corps officers at the port had already run away if they had the means.
Without anyone keeping order, chaos ruled the spaceport.
Ships crashed into each other or exploded during fights over flight paths.
Only a few lucky ones managed to break through and escape into space.
Many people without ships were running everywhere, trying to find one they could steal.
The streets and alleys were filled with killing and fighting.
But these people were right—after destroying Xandar, Josh really had come here.
Before he could do anything, Loki rushed up to him the moment Josh removed the stasis magic.
"Damn it, do you even know what you've done? That was hundreds of billions of lives!"
Loki shouted at him, not knowing where he found the courage.
But the moment the words left his mouth, and he saw Josh's gloomy expression, he instantly lost his nerve.
"Sorry... I just..." Loki tensed up, not knowing what to do, and quickly began to apologize.
God, had he gone mad? He had actually yelled at this demon?
Yes—at this point, Josh was no longer a person in Loki's mind. He was a world-destroying devil.
"This time, I'll let it go. But next time, remember your place when you speak."
Surprisingly, Josh didn't kill or punish him. He just gave a light warning and turned to leave.
Loki instantly felt like he had just escaped death.
He stood still, took a few deep breaths, then quickly caught up to Josh.
Things had come this far—regret or not, he had no way out now.
Who knew if Josh would do the same thing to Asgard someday?
Even though Loki trusted Odin's strength, this was about the survival of a whole civilization. That wasn't something he could afford to gamble on.
He could only hope his choices wouldn't lead Asgard into something they could never recover from...
Josh, walking ahead, didn't seem to care what Loki thought.
Or maybe, Loki's fear was exactly what Josh had been aiming for.
With such a terrifying show of force, even if Loki ever grew strong enough to stand alone, he would think twice before turning against Josh.
In truth, Josh hadn't originally planned to destroy Xandar.
It was just Xandar's bad luck.
Lyan Ogord had clearly made a deal with them regarding the secret of the faster-than-light engine.
This kind of game-changing technology couldn't be allowed to spread.
Since Josh didn't know how many people had already learned about it, he had no choice but to use the most extreme method to wipe out any trace.
As for the stolen ship, it was now parked in a warehouse at the spaceport.
During the earlier attack, it had already been taken over by vampire forces Josh had placed there ahead of time.
Now, it was waiting for Josh to come and inspect it.
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