The black energy inside the Void Tyrant's mouth continued to grow.
It was no longer a sphere of light.
It looked like a dark sun—
Born above the Sahara.
WHOOOOOOOOOM...
The air grew heavy.
Sand lifted from the ground.
Distant dunes slowly collapsed beneath the pressure.
The sky turned gray.
The sunlight disappeared.
Bimo stared upward, his face turning pale.
"Okay…"
He swallowed hard.
"…that's definitely not something we can dodge."
Dika tightened his grip on his staff.
"There's nowhere to hide in a desert."
Sinta immediately shouted,
"EVERYONE, FALL BACK!"
But one person remained standing at the front.
Arga.
His body trembled.
A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
An old wound on his arm had reopened.
Every breath came heavily.
But he refused to retreat.
The MBG Lunchbox in his hand began to glow brighter.
Kai narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Void Tyrant.
The golden light in his eyes intensified.
"It senses something."
Rani looked at him nervously.
"What?"
Kai pointed toward Arga.
"A threat."
The Void Tyrant was no longer looking at Aurelion Siroth.
It wasn't looking at the Desert Colossus.
It wasn't looking at any of the Guardians.
Its attention was fixed on only one thing—
A small human who had summoned the power of the world's Cores.
Farhan stared at his laptop in panic.
"The attack's energy is still increasing!"
Lila spoke rapidly.
"If it releases that…"
She looked toward the massive black sphere.
"…this entire crater will be wiped out!"
Arga slowly drew a breath.
His hand trembled as he opened the MBG Lunchbox.
Inside—
Twenty-five glowing rice grains revolved like tiny galaxies.
Their golden light illuminated his pale face.
Bimo whispered,
"Arga…"
Arga didn't turn around.
He simply said,
"Trust me."
The Void Tyrant opened its jaws even wider.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
The dark sun was unleashed.
Darkness fell from the sky like the end of the world.
WHOOOOOOOOOM!
At the same moment—
Arga raised the MBG Lunchbox toward the sky.
Golden light exploded from his body.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Black and gold collided in midair.
The shockwave tore through the desert.
Dunes were shattered as far as the eye could see.
Bimo was thrown backward and rolled across the sand.
"GREAT!"
He coughed out a mouthful of sand.
"NOW THIS IS DEFINITELY THE APOCALYPSE!"
Kai leaped beside Arga.
Golden energy surged from his body and merged with Arga's light.
But the Void Tyrant's attack was still far too powerful.
Arga gritted his teeth.
The energy began burning his hands.
Cracks appeared across the skin of his arms.
Blood dripped onto the sand.
His knees nearly buckled.
Sinta stared at him in horror.
"Arga, stop!"
"Your body can't take this!"
But Arga pushed the golden light harder.
"I…"
His voice trembled.
"…I'm not finished yet."
In the distance—
Aurelion Siroth raised its massive golden body.
RAAAAAAAAAAA!
The Guardian of the Sahara called upon the Heart of the Desert.
The entire Sahara began to glow.
The sand transformed into a vast golden sea.
The Desert Colossus suddenly charged from the side.
WHOOOOOM!
Its massive body slammed into the Void Tyrant.
The cosmic creature was forced sideways.
Its attack faltered.
Farhan stared at his screen, his eyes widening.
"Core resonance is increasing!"
Lila shouted,
"All the Cores are responding!"
Far beyond the Sahara—
In the ancient forest, Ursus Vitalis roared.
Across the frozen lands, Ursus Glacialis rose.
In the mountains, Himal Yaksha slammed its horns into the earth.
High above the world, Leo Solaris blazed like a second sun.
On the Fire Continent, Ignivar Draco sent molten fire into the sky.
And deep beneath the Earth—
Gaia Primordia opened its golden wings.
Their energies began to move.
Toward the Sahara.
Across the sky, countless streams of light appeared, connecting the distant Cores of the world.
Farhan nearly dropped his laptop.
"The Guardian network is fully active!"
Lila stared upward in disbelief.
"The world…"
Her voice trembled.
"…is fighting back."
Arga looked toward the sky.
Tears mixed with the blood on his face.
He could feel all of it.
The forest.
The ice.
The fire.
The mountains.
The seas.
Life itself.
He whispered,
"This…"
His eyes slowly closed.
"…isn't just my power."
The MBG Lunchbox suddenly began to shake violently.
One new light appeared among the glowing rice grains.
Bimo pointed at it, his eyes widening.
"Wait!"
Farhan shouted,
"Guardian energy is rising again!"
Lila's voice trembled.
"Another rice grain…"
She stared at the readings.
"The twenty-sixth!"
WHOOOOOOOOOM!
Arga's golden light changed.
It became larger.
Warmer.
More alive.
The Void Tyrant's black attack began to push backward.
Kai shouted,
"NOW!"
Arga raised the MBG Lunchbox as high as he could.
The energy of every Core in the world flowed through his body.
His body cracked beneath the overwhelming light.
Blood burst from his arm.
Yet he remained standing.
A gigantic beam of golden light shot into the sky.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The beam struck the Void Tyrant directly in the chest.
The creature roared in agony.
Its wings cracked.
The sky itself seemed to split apart.
The small rift in the atmosphere began to collapse.
The dark energy feeding the creature was cut off.
The Void Tyrant was driven backward.
For the first time—
It looked as though it had lost.
Bimo stared in disbelief.
"…Did we actually do it?"
Kai looked toward the sky.
But his expression froze.
"Not yet."
The Void Tyrant slowly rose.
Its entire body trembled.
Crimson cracks spread across its body and opened wider.
But no blood came out.
Darkness poured from the cracks.
The golden sand of the Sahara began turning black.
The sunlight disappeared completely for several seconds.
Every Guardian suddenly stopped moving.
Aurelion Siroth stepped backward.
Gaia Primordia raised its head.
Alert.
Farhan stared at his screen.
Then his face went completely pale.
"The energy…"
His voice almost disappeared.
"…it just multiplied."
Lila whispered,
"No…"
The Void Tyrant's body suddenly broke apart.
Then—
It came back together.
But it was no longer the same creature.
Its horns stretched upward like a crown.
Its wings expanded across half the sky.
Its eyes—
There were now three.
And in the center of its chest—
A void opened.
A hole of absolute darkness that swallowed the surrounding light.
Kai whispered,
"It evolved…"
Arga collapsed to his knees.
His body could no longer hold itself up.
The MBG Lunchbox nearly slipped from his hand.
Sinta rushed forward and caught him.
"ARGA!"
But the evolved Void Tyrant didn't look at them.
It looked toward the sky.
Then it slowly raised its head.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Its roar tore through the atmosphere.
The cracks in the Sahara's sky widened.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
And behind every crack—
Another pair of red eyes slowly opened.
Pak Rahmat stared upward.
For the first time, the calm expression on his face disappeared.
His face turned pale.
He whispered—
"No…"
His eyes remained fixed on the sky.
"…it's not the last one."
Everyone froze.
Because what had descended upon Earth…
was not the end.
It was only—
the beginning.