Inside the cold, iron-built chambers of the "Shadow Hunter" mothership, a deathly silence reigned. The Secret Admiral—who once possessed the power to tear through the skies—was now imprisoned inside a Neutralizer cage. The blue cosmic energy within her body was slowly fading.
Right in front of her, inside another glass chamber, the Truth Fairy lay unconscious, the glow of her wings growing dim. Seeing the Truth Fairy's condition, the Secret Admiral had become deeply tense.
Just then, General Samuel approached the Admiral with heavy footsteps. A cruel smile was etched across his face.
"So, you thought you would become an obstacle in our path, Admiral?" Samuel's voice echoed through the entire hall. "Your people of Earth are thieves—mad fools who have no respect for the natural resources that nature has given them for free. We are not evil beings. We, too, are peace-loving. We do not seek enmity; we seek resources from you. Those very resources that humans do not value at all.
"Our planet is dead, and my people have been left homeless. I want to settle them once again. To survive, we need carbon—diamonds, coal, petroleum—everything! And that blue water of yours, which you waste without a second thought…"
Hearing Samuel's words, Victoria weakly opened her eyes and said, "You… you are killing innocents, taking their lives. You cannot build your home by destroying another planet like this."
Samuel laughed. "At first, I only wanted to seize your resources. But now I have changed my plan. Now we will enslave humans and make this very Earth our home. Within the next twenty-four hours, my Mining Machines will descend into Earth's eight oceans. They will pierce into the planet's chest and extract carbon elements from its core. And before your Earth's armies can even understand what is happening, my Commanders will have taken control of every nation. Humans will farm for us, and we will rule over them."
Meanwhile, far beyond Earth, in a different dimension where sunlight never reached—Dark Heaven—Aethna sat upon her throne. Standing before her was Dr. Zathura, madness burning in his eyes.
"Doctor, I have freed you from that high-tech prison of yours. But remember—if you fail to do what I want, this time you will not be imprisoned. You will have to give up your life," Aethna said, staring at Zathura.
"I am grateful to you, Lord Aethna, and I promise that I will build that machine for you. But…" Zathura stopped mid-sentence.
"But what? Speak clearly," Lord Aethna said angrily.
"To build that machine, I need alien technology—the same aliens who attacked Earth. Their technology, Lord Aethna," Zathura said, rubbing his trembling hands.
"But you were in prison, weren't you? How did you find out about that alien invasion?" Aethna asked in surprise.
"Actually, I used to read the newspaper every day. Apart from that, the prisoners there were also allowed to watch TV, and because of this, I know everything," Zathura said, lowering his head.
"But why do you need that technology which those aliens possess? I mean, how do you know that only their technology will allow you to build that machine?" Aethna said, astonished.
Dr. Zathura lowered his head and spoke in a soft voice, "Thirty years ago, they kidnapped me when I was in Area‑51. I built weapons for them. They possess a Mysticstone that holds extraordinary powers of mind control and enhancing physical abilities. If that red stone comes into my hands, then I will build a machine that will turn humans into Demons. Then they will become your army."
Hearing Zathura's words, Aethna sank into deep thought. She began to consider that if she attempted to attack Samuel and seize that stone, many of her allies would be killed. Moreover, all her enemies would learn about her powers and her weaknesses. Beyond that, it was also possible that her enemies might discover the path to Dark Heaven, which would only bring harm to her.
On top of all this, Lysandra was already repeatedly sabotaging her plans. With her still in the picture, making a powerful alien like General Samuel an enemy could prove dangerous—for her and for her entire plan.
This time, I must think of a new strategy. I will have to complete my plan by putting someone else at the forefront and obtain that stone, she thought.
She then ordered her servants to summon her two most trusted Commanders, Mandarin and Sarapine.
Mandarin was an ancient demon who could acquire the properties of anything he touched. If he touched iron, he would become indestructible iron, and in the same way, there was no element he could not transform himself into—making him a deadly warrior. On the other hand, Sarapine was a fearsome female warrior, whose blood carried serpent venom, and whose every movement was sharp and lethal, like that of a viper.
As soon as the two arrived, they bowed their heads before Aethna and greeted her. Then, together, they asked, "We are honored that the Dark Goddess Aethna has given us the opportunity to serve her. Tell us, Lord Aethna, what can we do for you?"
"Go," Aethna commanded. "Go to Earth at once and find that Earth warrior—the Secret Admiral. You must befriend her and arrange for her to speak with me. Tell her that to save Earth from General Samual's alien army, we will help her." As she said this, Aethna gave a creepy smile.
"But she is our enemy, isn't she? Then why are we helping her, Dark Goddess? And anyway, do you really think she will trust us?" Sarapine asked in surprise.
"Hahahaha… that is exactly my plan. She must believe that we are helping her, but in reality, we will use her to defeat General Samuel. And when the Secret Admiral finishes off General Samuel, the two of you will seize the opportunity to infiltrate Samuel's mothership and secretly steal the Mysticstone kept there. Do not waste time—go to Earth at once and find the Secret Admiral."
But Aethna did not know that the Secret Admiral she was sending her two demons to find was not on Earth, but imprisoned inside a mothership, deep in space, far beyond the planet.
Upon receiving Aethna's command, the two demons departed for Earth and began trying to trace the Secret Admiral's energy there. However, they soon realized that the Secret Admiral was not on Earth at all; instead, her energy was being sensed from the deep reaches of outer space. The moment they discovered this, the two returned to Dark Heaven, back to Aethna.
"You haven't even been gone for an hour, and you're already back. Didn't I tell you to arrange my conversation with the Secret Admiral?" Aethna said in an anger‑filled voice.
"Lord Aethna, we went to Earth, but there we sensed the Secret Admiral's energy coming from deep in outer space. We believe she is not on Earth, but somewhere else," Sarapine said, lowering her head.
"That means the Secret Admiral has either been imprisoned by General Samuel, or she herself went there to stop Samuel from attacking Earth. I don't understand whether I should be happy or mourn the fact that my greatest enemy is currently trapped in the clutches of her own death," Aethna said softly.
"Lord Aethna! I shouldn't interrupt, but if your plan is to take control of Earth, then you should help the Secret Admiral so that we can obtain that Mysticstone. But if you want one of your problems to end for now, then let the Secret Admiral die at Samuel's hands. In both situations, the benefit is yours—you just have to make a decision," Dr. Zathura said, cutting in.
But after listening to everyone, Aethna sank into deep thought. If General Samuel killed the Secret Admiral, one obstacle would be removed from Aethna's path. But if that happened, Samuel would become even more powerful, and obtaining the Mysticstone would become far more difficult for her.