The Swarm disaster had occurred only a short while ago, yet under deliberate efforts, its details quickly spread throughout the entire galactic network.
Countless videos showing Swarm devastation rapidly flooded numerous websites.
But amidst all this, a certain video swiftly went viral.
At first, it depicted prosperity—but once the Swarm arrived, everything changed dramatically.
Scenes of sunny tranquility shattered instantly as hordes of Swarm drones surged forward. High-rise buildings toppled, people wailed in despair, and entire planets were reduced to ruin.
Just as online viewers began assuming it was a promotional trailer for some movie, the footage abruptly paused, and a masked figure suddenly appeared on screen.
—[Scenes like this are currently happening all over the galaxy!]
—[At this very moment, the next world devoured by the Swarm might just be your planet! Unless you can make the most important decision of your life!]
This sudden shift in tone left countless viewers bewildered—what exactly was going on here?
With a snap of the masked figure's fingers, the background immediately changed.
—[Join Swarmfall! Show everyone that you possess the courage and strength to resist fate!]
—[Become an elite fighter against the Swarm! Exterminate every last drone and restore peace to the galaxy! Become a hero of the cosmos!]
—[Brought to you with friendly cooperation by The Tavern.]
When the video finally concluded, the viewers realized—both annoyed and amused—that this was actually just a promotional trailer for a game.
They initially thought it was merely a movie trying to capitalize on the Swarm disaster. But to their surprise, it was a game about exterminating Swarm.
"Well, I have to admit, it does look pretty interesting."
Facing a Swarm disaster of this scale—something that might not happen even once in hundreds of Amber Eras—naturally drew widespread attention.
Consequently, many people decided to give the game a try.
Entering the game, they discovered their characters piloted starships tasked with continuously hunting down the Swarm across the galaxy.
Whenever the Swarm drones were hit, they'd spontaneously ignite, letting out miserable cries before dying. Gradually, Swarmfall's popularity rose rapidly.
After all, directly facing the Swarm in reality was terrifying—but becoming a Swarm-slaying hero in a game felt oddly satisfying.
—[As a Musou-style mowing-down-the-masses game, Swarmfall's quality is surprisingly high.]
—[Swarmfall lets me realize the dream I never dared to face in reality!]
—[The easter egg in Swarmfall: While hunting Swarm, there's a random chance you'll encounter a gigantic red dragon.]
Various headlines instantly surged to the top of the galactic network's trending searches.
Many players offered notably positive reviews after playing the game.
But what everyone found particularly fascinating was the red dragon—what players called an "easter egg."
People actively debated how to reliably trigger this easter egg event, as well as just how enormous the red dragon actually was.
Wherever there's popularity, there's traffic. Soon, a blogger specializing in detailed statistical analyses came forward with his findings:
—[After analyzing my planetary-comparison models, I concluded this dragon is thousands of meters long…]
Unfortunately, he was quickly contradicted by other players.
Some reported encountering a red dragon significantly larger than the one used in his calculations.
Thus, intense discussions ignited across the galactic network over the actual size of this red dragon.
Why all the hype? Simply because that red dragon looked impossibly cool!
...
Meanwhile, on the frontline of the actual Swarm disaster, nobody had any idea of the online frenzy.
The people here faced a crisis that could effortlessly devour their lives—there was simply no time to pay attention to such trivialities.
Yet, amidst this highly tense atmosphere, good news gradually began surfacing as well.
"Our frontline has been advancing more rapidly lately," Jobs remarked, looking over the cleared regions with genuine amazement.
In such a brief period, they'd managed to eradicate all Swarm within several dozen light-years.
With the Computer Stings eliminated, scattered Swarm drones stood absolutely no chance against human ingenuity.
"This is excellent news; at least we've successfully contained the spread of the Swarm disaster," Robin agreed.
Of course, the crucial reason for their success was that the affected area itself was relatively small.
A few hundred light-years might sound immense—and indeed it was, humans being less than dust in comparison—but compared to the vastness of the entire universe, it amounted to nothing more than a mere droplet in the ocean.
More importantly, once initial successes became apparent, even more people began pouring in to assist.
Now, ships and weapons arrived in abundance, and after surviving the initial, hardest period, this hastily assembled frontline quickly took on a surprisingly organized appearance.
Countless ships launched from here, annihilating Swarm, and returned only once their energy was depleted.
Rarely was there ever a moment of rest; everyone operated at maximum capacity during this intense period.
Yet even amidst this relentless exhaustion, hardly anyone voiced complaints—
Because there was one person who hadn't rested at all from the very beginning.
That person was the one tirelessly eliminating the brains behind the Swarm's strategies—and it was thanks to his effort that they'd achieved such remarkable progress.
"When this ends, we absolutely must let Sora-san rest properly. We also need to sincerely thank all these friends who've reached out their hands in our time of need."
"Rest assured, Miss Robin, I've already recorded the names of everyone who's assisted us."
Jobs brought up a memo densely filled with names.
Borut of the Third Mechanical Nebula, Mechanical Aristocrat Screwllum, the Epsilon tycoon Giovanni…
These people had supplied critical equipment; Jobs intended to personally visit and thank each of them once this crisis ended. But right now, more pressing matters remained—
Primarily, saving more lives from within the affected regions.
However, Jobs and Robin recently noticed something highly unusual, a suspicion confirmed by Hotaru, who was currently out evacuating refugees.
Hotaru's team had followed star maps to a nearby planet that hosted intelligent life—but upon arrival, discovered it completely devastated.
Ordinarily, this was to be expected.
After all, the Swarm had isolated this region for days, so planetary devastation was hardly surprising.
Yet Hotaru immediately pointed out something strange: "Even though the planet's buildings were severely damaged, there were barely any signs of human remains."
Not even bloodstains were plentiful.
Though the Swarm were capable of annihilating planets and tearing humans apart—they couldn't possibly leave no traces at all.
Even with an entirely destroyed planet, human remains would inevitably float in surrounding space.
Yet now, apart from building damage, there was scarcely any sign of human activity.
They had even scattered across the planet searching for survivors, but ultimately found nothing.
Which meant the planet's inhabitants had either vanished abruptly—or left the planet of their own accord.
Jobs frowned upon hearing this: "Then again, we haven't spotted ship wreckage floating around in space either."
Despite conducting thorough sweeps recently, the amount of wreckage they'd found was extraordinarily low.
"Then only one possibility remains…" After eliminating all other explanations, no matter how improbable the last remaining option might be, it had to be considered true.
"Within the Swarm-infested zone, there must be another place where people can survive safely."
Those empty planets weren't a result of the Swarm's direct actions. Instead, the inhabitants had evacuated on their own accord—and where they'd gone had to be another hidden refuge.
"Is that so?" Sora thought the scenario was unlikely—but admittedly, it was still the likeliest explanation.
"Indeed. Within these few hundred light-years engulfed by the Swarm, another sanctuary must exist," the Iron Cavalry warriors reported to Sora.
"Based on my calculations, there are only a few possible evacuation routes from these planets," Unkyō explained, displaying her calculations.
Since the Swarm converged from outside, escaping outward was nearly impossible.
Therefore, survivors would inevitably flee inward, toward areas not yet overrun by the Swarm—until they were cornered once more.
Sora studied the chaotic routes, paths continuously bouncing off walls formed by the Swarm.
Eventually, all these escape paths converged toward a single central point.
When Sora saw the name at the core, he couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
Because he remembered this place vividly.
The Soul Springs—Tartaro.
This was the core location where all evacuation routes ultimately intersected, and precisely the place from which Sora and his companions had initially fled.
And on that planet, a newly born deity still awaited.
In the end, everything had converged upon this singular planet—this place of soul-healing waters.
...
Outside the planet, numerous ships were welded together, forming a massive steel defense line.
Within this star system, barely a single Swarm drone could be seen.
But beyond this stellar boundary, an endless tide of the Swarm had already solidified into an impenetrable wall, completely sealing off the system.
No one could leave this place, and no external being could enter.
This star system had become a prison constructed entirely from the bodies of the Swarm.
And at the very heart of this prison, a softly shimmering planet pulsed quietly.
This was the object trapped at the very center: Tartaro.
The Swarm surrounding it seemed wary of this particular planet, daring only to encircle it without launching any attack.
Thanks to this cautious siege, refugees who had fled there could catch their breath—at least temporarily.
But Titania understood clearly—this peace would not last.
"The Calamity Swarm King currently believes I'm still inside my cocoon, so it hasn't yet ordered an attack," Titania explained calmly to Fenille, revealing why the Swarm merely surrounded the planet without attacking.
All the Memoria throughout Tartaro were saturated with Titania's presence, giving the impression that she was still wrapped safely within her chrysalis.
Because of this, the Calamity Swarm King hesitated to attack directly, choosing instead to encircle the planet.
"It's waiting for Starcrusher and Afterglow," Titania continued, her tone darkening.
When those three surviving Emanators finally gathered, they would surely launch a full-scale assault on this location.
The Deceiver and Diabolical Swarm Kings had foolishly rushed to their deaths earlier, causing the remaining three to become cautious.
Thinking of this, Titania felt a pang of regret.
If only those resurrected Emanators had been allowed to regain their full strength—
Deceiver and Diabolical had come recklessly in incomplete forms, offering up their fragmented power for Titania to devour.
Had they arrived fully restored, Titania could have consumed two complete Propagation Emanators and easily broken free of this siege on her own.
But due to the incomplete state of Deceiver and Diabolical, Titania currently possessed barely enough strength to handle just one Emanator—perhaps even that would be challenging.
Right now, she saw no good way out of this stalemate.
"From what you're saying, it sounds like we've reached a dead end," Fenille remarked helplessly, sighing quietly.
I guess I won't ever see Papa again.
Hearing this, Titania almost opened her mouth to retort—but unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to speak.
Previously, Tartaro had become nearly empty following everyone's evacuation. But now, it had returned to bustling chaos, packed with refugees desperate for survival.
Titania did have one solution—a single method capable of breaking this siege.
She could convert all these refugees who had fled onto this planet into her own replicas.
Those replicas would fight without fear of death, certainly able to tear open a gap in the sturdy Swarm blockade, creating an opportunity for her escape.
But…
Only she alone would escape; everyone else would already be transformed into her copies.
Should I do it?
Titania's emotions churned violently. If she chose this path, she would still have a chance to survive.
But if she hesitated, she might truly perish here.
Yet, just as she was about to act, her heart wavered.
She had seen a similar scenario before—only, back then, she had been the one orchestrating the trap.
Zieltworth had been sealed behind the sky canopy, and now she herself was trapped behind the wall of the Swarm.
In a strange way, the two situations mirrored each other perfectly.
Yet, back then, the people of Zieltworth had gathered every scrap of strength they possessed—and ultimately succeeded in breaking out.
If it were that idiot, what would he choose?
She didn't need to ponder any further; Titania already knew the answer deep within her heart.
She slowly lowered the hand she'd raised and fixed her gaze upon the thick walls of the Swarm encircling the planet.
There's no reason that idiot can succeed where I can't.