Judging solely by her appearance, she looked no different from a Viltrumite at all.
"Care to guess?"
Misfortune's lips curved into a frivolous smile.
"..."
Thragg instantly thought of the blue planet conquered by Nolan—Earth and its humans.
That species bore a striking resemblance to Viltrumites.
But the thought was dismissed the moment it surfaced.
Impossible!
How could those fragile Earth humans possibly possess such terrifying power?
Watching her relaxed composure, Thragg's heart sank—clearly, she had not used her full strength at all.
He had to find her weakness.
His gaze abruptly locked onto the star blazing in the heavens. The sun's extreme heat and radiation were the bane of Viltrumites, capable of destroying the intelligent atoms within their bodies and greatly weakening both their strength and regenerative abilities.
Perhaps this creature shared the same vulnerability.
With that thought, Thragg bent his knees sharply. Explosive force erupted from his legs as he shot through Planet Viltrum's atmosphere like a cannon shell, racing toward the star at extreme speed.
"Huh?"
Misfortune glanced in the direction he was flying, stunned for a brief moment before understanding dawned on her.
Without hesitation, she gave chase.
Inside the bridge of Saintess Prayer.
"He made the worst possible judgment," Kevin said calmly as he watched the light on the screen.
Melin added, "You can't blame him. He would never imagine that she's someone who feeds on stellar energy."
Mobius rested her cheek against her hand and said lazily, "Even if he knew, so what? That child is merely playing right now."
"If she used her Authority, that Viltrumite would have been instantly killed the moment they met."
Skynet tilted her head curiously. "What exactly is her Authority?"
Mobius lifted her gaze, a playful glint in her eyes. "Within dreams, she can do whatever she wishes. Nearly invincible."
Saint Kallen looked puzzled. "That ability... is it really that powerful?"
She genuinely could not understand how doing whatever one wanted in a dream could have any practical use.
Mobius chuckled softly. "Have you ever heard of the butterfly dream?"
Su's eyes flickered slightly as he murmured, "No wonder you say that..."
"Exactly." Mobius snapped her fingers. "For her, dreams can be reality, and reality can be dreams."
"If she were to follow you back fifty thousand years, with this ability alone she could wipe out the entire Previous Era and turn it into nothing more than one of her dreams."
Kevin looked at her and asked in a low voice, "Is she the person you wanted to tell me about?"
Mobius blinked. "Yes and no."
Hua frowned slightly. "Will this really succeed?"
"Whether it succeeds or not isn't up to us," Mobius shrugged. "It depends on the attitudes of those higher-dimensional beings."
She suddenly grinned mischievously. "Speaking of which, in the eyes of those higher-dimensional beings, saving the Previous Era is probably less interesting than debating whether Kiana or Raiden Mei is the top or the bottom. For the record, I support Mei on top."
Everyone: "..."
Near the star, scorching waves of heat swept in all directions.
Thragg's body was seared by the blazing temperature. His regenerative ability and strength rapidly declined, yet relying on the battle experience accumulated over centuries of warfare, he grit his teeth and seized an opening, slamming Misfortune down onto the star's surface.
Watching her figure swallowed by the raging flames, with no movement for a long while, the tension in Thragg's nerves finally eased.
He let out a long breath and turned to leave.
At that moment—
A flame hotter than the stellar core itself suddenly erupted from the star's surface.
Misfortune burst forth, moving so fast it was as if time itself had stalled.
Her right hand was wreathed in glass-like crimson fire. It shot forward like lightning, seized Thragg's heart, and tore it out in one savage motion.
"You!"
Thragg's pupils shrank violently. He stared in disbelief, hands clutching the gaping hole in his chest as his body trembled uncontrollably.
"The star is your weakness," Misfortune licked the blood from the corner of her lips, a bloodthirsty smile curling her mouth. "But here, I only grow stronger. Next time, try to remember that."
Thragg, Regent of the Viltrum Empire, fell.
With one hand gripping the still-beating heart and the other dragging Thragg's corpse, Misfortune leisurely returned to Saintess Prayer.
"Grandma, do you want this?"
She casually tossed Thragg's body onto the bridge floor. Scarlet blood instantly spread, staining the cold metal deck.
"What would I want that for?" Mobius rolled her eyes dramatically.
"For dissection and specimen research," Misfortune replied matter-of-factly.
"I haven't done that kind of grunt work in years," Mobius said disdainfully, glancing at the corpse. "I've already scanned and analyzed Viltrumite biological data. There's no need for such tedious tasks."
"Oh." Misfortune nodded. "Then what should we do with him?"
A spark of interest flashed in Mobius' eyes. "Revive him and see. Based on the properties of Viltrumite intelligent atoms, every near-death battle significantly increases their strength."
Hearing this, Misfortune casually tossed the heart back into Thragg's chest and raised her hand, casting resurrection.
For someone who had only recently died, revival was extremely simple.
Even without resurrection magic, the medical technology aboard the ship would have been sufficient to bring a Viltrumite like Thragg back to life.
A gentle green glow enveloped Thragg's body. The heart precisely settled back into his chest cavity, and the gruesome wound visibly healed and vanished.
The next second, Thragg's eyes snapped open. He sprang to his feet instantly, entering a defensive stance as his gaze locked onto Misfortune.
He looked down at his chest. The hole in his battle suit remained clearly visible, large swaths of blood staining the fabric.
This was no illusion.
His heart had truly been torn out.
Such an injury—even for a Viltrumite with formidable regeneration—should have meant certain death.
Was it her... who saved him?
Thragg stared at Misfortune warily. "What do you want?"
"Nothing much." Misfortune shrugged. "My grandma wants to see how much stronger you become after being revived."
"Grandma?"
Thragg frowned deeply, his wary gaze sweeping across everyone on the bridge.
Everyone present appeared young. None looked like they could be her grandmother.
"Mm, about a thirty percent increase. That's a decent number."
Mobius' voice sounded as she examined the green display before her.
Thragg followed the voice and his eyes landed on the small green-haired girl with serpent-like pupils.
That... was her grandmother?
What a strange species.
"You just said... revived?"
Thragg caught the keyword. A thought flashed through his mind and disbelief crept into his voice. "Your technology can already bring the dead back to life?"
"Why?" Mobius looked at him with a half-smile. "Do you want to revive those fallen Viltrumites?"
Thragg's breathing hitched. "You can truly do it?"
"Of course." Mobius replied casually. "Whether it's those Viltrumites who died from the Scourge Virus, or even your long-dead former emperor of the Viltrum Empire, it's no problem at all."
"..."
Thragg fell silent.
Hearing that even the former emperor could be revived, he felt no joy—only a strong surge of resistance.
"Tsk tsk. It seems your desire for power is far stronger than I imagined," Mobius saw through his thoughts at a glance and chuckled. "But that doesn't matter. Revival isn't impossible. The question is—what price can you offer?"
Thragg took a deep breath. "The Viltrum Empire can serve you."
The Empire had already conquered Earth. Replenishing their population was no longer a problem. Whether those who died from the Scourge Virus were revived or not was, in truth, insignificant.
What mattered was this mysterious and unfathomable race before him. He needed to determine their strength and intentions.
If their power was truly heaven-defying, then temporary submission was acceptable.
But if their strength proved mediocre...
A true man born between heaven and earth could not live forever beneath another.
At that moment, Red Queen's voice suddenly rang out. "Earth."
Before the word fully settled, the massive screen at the front of the bridge lit up, clearly displaying Earth's current state.
Once-thriving cities lay in ruins. The land was cracked and shattered, corpses littered everywhere. Humanity was nearly extinct.
Saint Kallen stared at the apocalyptic scene. "This... what happened?"
Red Queen replied, "A virus was deployed on Earth. Analysis confirms it is the Scourge Virus."
"Originally engineered against Viltrumites, but due to the high genetic similarity between humans and Viltrumites, a modified strain proved effective against humans as well. Its lethality toward humans is even greater than toward Viltrumites."
Thragg looked at the devastation on the screen. His fists clenched, his teeth grinding audibly as intense hatred surged in his eyes.
"That traitor!"