A supernova explosion marked the final curtain of a star at the end of its life cycle.
In that instant, the energy unleashed equaled the total power that the star emitted over its entire lifespan. Such immense brilliance could even be observed clearly tens of thousands of light-years away.
It was a fleeting light that briefly illuminated the infinite darkness of space.
Yet the supernova energy that the Afterglow Swarm King released was not on that grand a scale. Instead, it remained confined solely within this small star system.
It was ironic: clearly an Emanator of Propagation, clearly possessing tremendous power, yet in its final moment, its radiance could not even match humanity's experimental weaponry.
Of course, there was the factor that Sora had defeated it before its power could fully accumulate—but even so, the outcome left one lamenting its pitiful end.
In that instant, the dark universe briefly transformed into blazing brightness.
Without any obstruction in this star system, the dazzling brilliance could freely spread outward.
Witnessing this scene, someone softly murmured with admiration, "This truly is a moment of radiance…"
The pitch-black cosmos became as bright as daytime, erasing the boundary between day and night.
At that very moment, Sora was hurtling backward through space at breakneck speed.
The final brilliance of the Afterglow Swarm King—triggered by Sora himself—had propelled him uncontrollably away from Titania and Dragreder.
As he flew backward through space, his entire vision was engulfed by intense light.
In that very instant, he suddenly recalled Terminus's earlier words:
[WHEN THE LIGHT SHINES BRIGHTEST, LIFE FADES AWAY…]
This scene perfectly matched that description. At the peak of its glory, the Afterglow Swarm King's life had been extinguished.
Perhaps this was Terminus's prophecy? In hindsight, it seemed rather straightforward.
Why did those who followed Terminus spend all day puzzling over this simple riddle?
At that moment, Sora suddenly collided with something incredibly solid, abruptly halting his backward flight.
It seemed that after leaving the system, he'd crashed into a drifting asteroid in space—allowing him to finally stop.
"Next step… I should go back and properly rest..." Sora immediately began contemplating a well-deserved break.
For quite some time, he had remained fully alert. Now that he could finally rest, he planned to sleep for at least a full day and night.
Only after resting fully would he finally finish clearing out the rest of this swarm-infested region.
Far ahead, the dazzling brilliance still lingered in space. The tidal energies caused by the supernova would need several years to fully dissipate.
During those years, the glow from the Afterglow Swarm King's final act would serve as the star illuminating this system.
Quite ironically, the Afterglow Swarm King—who spent its life removing stars—had now become one itself in death.
This irony held a certain dark humor.
Sora pulled out his card, preparing to summon Dragreder to return him.
But at that moment, he suddenly heard a voice murmuring nearby.
What the hell is this?
Sora concentrated carefully, finally making out the whispered words clearly:
[…How could this happen…how could it be…I still came too late?]
Within the voice was deep sorrow, as if an important person had just died before their very eyes.
[Did I truly miss witnessing your final moments?]
It was precisely the kind of words a passionate manga protagonist might utter before going berserk.
Yet Sora instantly felt a chill spread throughout his body.
This was the swarm-infested region!
Apart from the scattered refugees from their side, this endless space contained nothing but swarms of insects!
Then who exactly was speaking right now? Who was saying such protagonist-like lines at this moment?
Feeling increasingly uneasy, Sora raised his gaze toward the source of the voice.
What greeted his eyes was an enormous azure body, streaked with silvery-white lines. Its radiance appeared far dimmer than the distant supernova, yet it still illuminated this patch of space.
An eerie blue glow, instilling dread into every living being, spread quietly—as if mourning its fallen friend ahead.
Its gigantic form towered silently in the universe, blurring the very distinction between planets and stars in comparison.
Indeed, compared to it, both planets and stars appeared minuscule.
Asteroids seemed like mere specks of dust next to its massive body.
Its eyes blazed openly with rage, and at that moment, its shell shimmered an even more brilliant sapphire blue!
The more clearly Sora saw it, the worse he felt.
This being was…
[I will avenge you. I will personally slaughter the one who harmed you. I will give your brief revival the perfect conclusion.]
STARCRUSHER SWARM KING—SKARACABAZ!
It turned out Sora had stopped flying backward precisely because he'd crashed directly into its massive carapace.
Unfortunately, Sora now desperately wished he'd never collided with this terrifying creature!
He would rather have kept flying several more light-years backward than have this creature appear before him.
[Then, before everything begins, I'll start by ending you first.]
Displaying incredible speed, completely unfitting its colossal size, the Starcrusher Swarm King swiftly rotated its body, locking directly onto Sora, who was less significant than dust in its eyes.
As the mightiest of the Propagation Emanators, its perception was extraordinarily sharp.
Though Sora appeared tiny to it, he couldn't possibly escape its piercing gaze.
[Starting with you, I shall bury every single pest here!]
Starcrusher glared down at Sora as it uttered those chilling words:
[This—is the price for provoking Propagation itself!]
Without further delay, it opened its massive maw, countless razor-sharp teeth descending directly toward Sora.
Sora would be first, and afterward, every single being in this region would be reduced to cosmic dust—buried alongside Afterglow as its funeral rites.
The demise of a Propagation Emanator ought to be grandiose and spectacular!
Let all surrounding star systems and the trillions of lives within serve as offerings!
"There's no way I'm getting swallowed by your disgusting mouth!"
Sora felt the immediate danger and quickly swiped his card as the Starcrusher Swarm King launched its assault.
'[ADVENT]'
"ROARRRRR—!!"
Dragreder appeared with a ferocious roar, twin shields held firmly.
But the instant Dragreder arrived, its vision was completely dominated by the colossal form looming before it.
Dragreder had eaten and consumed endlessly, growing to a vast size—yet even its immense body now seemed insufficient compared to the monster before them.
No…perhaps it could barely even reach half its size.
Instantly realizing this, Dragreder's voice turned nervous and cautious:
"Gao—" (What exactly is this thing in-front of—)
Unfortunately, before Dragreder could finish, its tail suddenly flashed, landing directly into Sora's waiting hand.
'[SWORD VENT]'
"Stop raising death flags, you idiot!" Sora cursed loudly at Dragreder, already gripping his weapon and charging forward.
Did Dragreder really not understand how dangerous it was to tempt fate!?
Asking such a question at a moment like this was like actively volunteering for a quiz show of death!
Instead of pondering meaningless things, they'd be better off turning this idle chatter into attacks against the enemy!
Although Dragreder had no idea why Sora suddenly interrupted, it clearly sensed his intense hostility toward this new enemy.
[Me? I am the Emanator of Propagation—Starcrusher Swarm King, Skaracabaz!]
Starcrusher calmly declared this in the face of Sora and Dragreder's fierce charge.
"Who the hell asked you?!" Sora tightened his grip on his sword, flames roaring fiercely along the blade and rapidly extending it. He slashed down, causing fragments to burst from the Starcrusher Swarm King's carapace.
[Even if you didn't ask, I would still tell you. So that you know exactly by whose hand you shall perish.]
Facing Sora's attack, it displayed not the slightest hint of panic.
As Sora fought, he noticed the fragments scattering from its body and felt genuine surprise.
Those scattered fragments immediately regressed into clusters of tiny, azure insects surrounding Skaracabaz protectively.
Their familiar appearance instantly reminded Sora of Dragreder's earlier snacks.
"Computer Stings?!" Indeed, these small insects closely resembled the strategic-command insects that had controlled the swarm previously.
But seeing that these Computer Stings were actually splitting off directly from the Starcrusher Swarm King's body—how could Sora believe such a thing?
[Computer Stings? Truly, I suppose I could indeed be called the Computer Sting of Propagation. Come, little insect and worm—let your deaths mark the beginning of Afterglow's funeral rites!]
Skaracabaz stopped hiding its strength. Complicated patterns appeared all over its body.
Diabolical's silver-white and Deceiver's pink intertwined together with its original blue patterns.
A familiar-looking blade reminiscent of a mantis's forelimb extended out from the Starcrusher Swarm King's coiled body.
But compared to Diabolical's original form, Skaracabaz's mantis-like limb was far larger and more formidable.
Clearly, this wasn't something that could easily be torn away!
Its wings vibrated, the asteroids behind it pushed aside as if moved by an invisible force.
The very next instant, its body turned into a streak of silver-white brilliance.
Sora quickly spotted this flash of light—and simultaneously saw the razor-sharp blade racing toward him!
This speed—it's practically instantaneous teleportation!
Sora's heart filled with shock. Compared to the earlier Diabolical Swarm King, this was easily more than twice as fast.
Diabolical's attacks he could react to, could plan countermeasures against. But Starcrusher's assault forced him purely to rely on instinctive reaction to dodge.
These two were completely different leagues!
Sora twisted his body in space, taking advantage of his small size, narrowly watching the silver blade slice just centimeters from his body.
Yet even this near-miss sent a painful sensation slicing across his skin, the fierce wind alone powerful enough to sting.
Dragreder, however, couldn't evade so easily—but fortunately, its dual shields allowed it to endure Skaracabaz's strike head-on!
Blade and shield clashed, sparks blossoming in the void of space.
Dragreder's massive body shot backward even faster than Sora had earlier, propelled by the tremendous kinetic energy.
This immense force, combined with Starcrusher's sheer strength, sent Dragreder hurtling straight toward a nearby planet behind it.
Clearly, Starcrusher intended to crash Dragreder violently into that celestial body!
But just then, Dragreder shattered into countless mirror shards, disappearing entirely from Starcrusher's sight.
[This is…?] Starcrusher Swarm King turned its gaze behind it.
Beside Sora, Dragreder reappeared, coiled protectively around him.
It was [Advent]. Sora had used [Advent] to summon Dragreder back, successfully saving it from becoming a burning meteor.
But even now, Dragreder felt its limbs trembling slightly.
Upon its massive dragon-belly shield was an undeniably shallow yet distinct mark.
This shield had withstood even the Afterglow Swarm King's stellar bombardments without so much as a scratch—yet Starcrusher's casual strike had left a clear mark.
From this alone, it was obvious that Skaracabaz's attack had enough power to slice an entire planet cleanly in half.
However, even after witnessing the enormous difference in size and strength between them, Dragreder showed no fear. On the contrary, it was brimming with excitement.
"Gao…!" (This creature is truly powerful!) It growled, baring its fangs eagerly at Starcrusher.
"Roarr!" (But the stronger the prey, the tougher and tastier the meat!)
Hearing this, Sora's mouth twitched involuntarily. Were all dragons really this reckless?
No matter how he looked at it, they simply weren't ready to handle something this monstrous right after a difficult battle.
While the two were briefly talking, Skaracabaz had already arrived once again, approaching quickly.
[If it were Diabolical, you'd have already been split cleanly in half. Even though I can wield its power, I cannot fully manifest its original strength.]
Starcrusher lamented this with genuine regret. Had the true Diabolical Swarm King been here in peak condition, Dragreder probably wouldn't have even survived the first blow, let alone block it.
Starcrusher could only briefly dominate through sheer speed and raw strength.
"Hmph, anyone can brag like that," Sora bluntly retorted.
Yet, faced with this terrifying foe, it seemed ordinary methods wouldn't suffice.
He quickly swiped another card:
'[STRANGE VENT]'
This time, Sora managed to catch a glimpse of the card drawn, and his eyes lit up with surprise.
This card had appeared?
'[TRICK VENT]'
Swish swish swish swish…
Centered on Sora, eight figures instantly split off from his body.
At that moment, all nine Soras simultaneously drew their weapons.
"Time for a righteous group beating!"
If he couldn't win alone, he'd use sheer numbers to grind this monster down!
Upon witnessing this scene, even Skaracabaz voiced its astonishment.
[I never expected you would possess such an ability...] As it spoke, Deceiver's pink patterns once again surged across its enormous body.
A familiar pink mist erupted into space, quickly forming into two smaller, scaled-down copies of Skaracabaz itself.
What the hell is this?!
Just one of these things was already nightmarish enough—now Sora learned it could even make duplicates?!
Are all you Propagation Emanators seriously this overpowered!?