"I should leave something… memorable. Otherwise people will think this Freeborn thing is fake. Might as well blow this planet a new a—"
After wiping out the entire Flaxan surface civilization, Jovian still had no intention of stopping. As a naturally-born powerhouse among the Viltrumites, he had to do it more perfectly than an ordinary Viltrumite…
For example—
Out in space, Jovian turned into a blazing streak and dove straight toward the deep-red surface of the Flaxan planet. A thunderous roar followed!
On the ground, the surviving Flaxans all lifted their heads and looked up, only to see what looked like a meteor tearing through the atmosphere and crashing toward their homeworld.
"Please… save us…"
One Flaxan clasped both hands together and prayed desperately. Even though Flaxans and humans were completely different species, it was strangely fitting that a highly intelligent civilization had developed beliefs eerily similar to Earth's.
And then—
BOOM!
A massive mushroom cloud erupted across the planet's surface and rolled outward in every direction. Any Flaxans kneeling on the ground—anyone who saw that blooming light—were instantly pulverized into dust!
The shockwave ripped across the continents, shaking tectonic plates—
But that was only the damage visible on the surface.
The real attack came from inside the planet.
A humanoid lifeform was moving at far beyond supersonic speed—so fast it was approaching the limit of what a spacefaring civilization's radar could even detect. In the span of a blink, that figure smashed through the crust, tore through the mantle, punched through the molten layers, and forced his way all the way into the planet's core…
"Ha!"
The white-clad figure soaked in the core's thousands-of-degrees heat, releasing his energy to the absolute limit and triggering an eruption of core power—then became an afterimage and continued straight on.
BOOM!
Not long after, a world-shaking explosion detonated on the planet's far side. A man in torn white battle gear—his eyes blazing with fire—burst out of the planet with molten lava spewing behind him, soaring back up into the vacuum of space.
Boom… crack…
Once he left the planet, the Flaxan world began to change violently. The air scorched. The ground convulsed. Lava erupted from countless places across the globe like geysers. It looked like the end of everything—like the planet had entered a countdown to total collapse.
"Hope you enjoy the grand fireworks show I left you."
Jovian floated in the vacuum with his hands on his hips, standing tall.
Cool guys don't look at explosions. Real men face the blast head-on.
Unfortunately, he was missing the classic accessories—sunglasses, a cigar, and a muscle car with a gorgeous woman leaning against it.
Jovian watched for a while as the surface continued to erupt, destruction steadily ticking toward its finale.
Then he reached out and grabbed the spacetime gate device he'd tossed into open space earlier, pressing it lightly.
Instantly, a golden spacetime gate opened in silence within the vacuum.
"Home."
Jovian flashed forward and flew into the gate.
Meanwhile, at Global Defense Agency headquarters…
Cecil Stedman was reading a report when he suddenly sensed something. His expression shifted.
"Everyone out."
Cecil's voice was cold as he ordered the staff out of the room.
The workers immediately stopped what they were doing and filed out with practiced efficiency.
Judging by how smooth they were about it, this clearly wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
"How's it looking?" Cecil asked, staring toward a corner of the room. "What did you find?"
"Heh…"
With a low chuckle, the room's light seemed to dim.
From the shadowy corner, a red-skinned demon appeared out of nowhere—wearing a classic trench coat and a detective's hat, dressed like a noir private eye.
"I've got a very interesting result," the demon said with a vicious smile. "I think you're going to like it…"
"Enough." Cecil's eyes were flat, distrustful. "Stop playing games and tell me the result."
Cecil had never trusted any demon—especially not this one.
"What an impatient old man…"
"But fine. If you want to know, I'll tell you."
The demon's grin turned strangely meaningful.
"First: congratulations. My previous conclusion was wrong. Omni-Man did not plan and execute the massacre of the Guardians of the Globe…"
The demon started with the one thing that immediately eased Cecil's tension.
"When Omni-Man and the Guardians were gathered, there was someone else present. In theory, that person is the killer."
"But here's the interesting part."
"When that person fought the other Guardians, they met resistance—more or less—from each of them. Yet when it came time to fight Omni-Man… Omni-Man didn't fight back."
"It's almost like the two of them were close."
He leaned forward slightly, eyes gleaming.
"So now the circle is smaller."
"Someone intimately familiar with Omni-Man… someone powerful enough to slaughter the entire Guardians of the Globe… and someone capable of breaking through Omni-Man's defenses."
"Cecil Stedman—do you know who that person is?"
The red demon asked with a cold, mocking smile.
"Familiar enough that Nolan would stop resisting…"
"Strong enough to wipe out the Guardians… and strong enough to break Nolan's skin…"
Cecil's eyes widened.
He thought hard, and realized—he actually did know someone who fit.
He remembered Robot mentioning someone. Someone Robot had described as nearly equal to Omni-Man in power…
Omni-Man Nolan Grayson's eldest son—
Jovian.
Cecil had seen Jovian's battlefield too. Back then, he had almost felt sorry for the Flaxans—each one of them crushed by absolute power until they didn't even look human anymore.
And in that instant, every missing piece in Cecil's mind snapped into place.
A man who inherited all of Omni-Man's power, carried ambition in his chest, and struck without mercy would never tolerate anyone standing above him.
So he orchestrated the fall of the Guardians of the Globe.
Nolan learned what his son had done and fought desperately to stop him—yet because the enemy was his own son, Nolan couldn't bring himself to truly strike back—
And in the end, Nolan was beaten to the edge of death.
BAM!
Cecil—fully lost in the scenario he'd built in his own head—punched the computer monitor beside him and shattered it. Glass shards immediately bit into his hand, blood dripping down.
"Listen, Damien Darkblood." Cecil's voice turned razor-sharp as he stared at the demon. "Whatever you found—you bury it. You keep every last bit of it inside your gut."
"You do not tell anyone."
"Or I will personally send you back to hell."
"Hmph." Damien Darkblood glared at him. "Arrogant old man. I'll reveal the truth to the world myself."
And then he vanished from the office.
"F*CK!"
After Damien Darkblood left, Cecil sank into his chair, exhausted.
"Director… what happened?" Cecil's aide asked from behind him, confused by Cecil's drained posture.
"It's the worst possible outcome," Cecil said, pressing his fingers against his temples. "Earth might get dragged into the strongest family dispute on the planet… maybe in the entire universe."
Deep down, Cecil still wanted to believe Nolan Grayson was a good man.
Or maybe—he simply didn't dare to consider the possibility that Earth's strongest father-and-son pair were both enemies.