The golden spatial cube she had just thrown out was a crystallized fragment of the Teyvat microcosmic space, designed to protect the entire planet.
A great battle was about to erupt, one that might lead to the destruction of the planet. That's why she had to safeguard the planet and its human inhabitants on a spatial level.
In her eyes, this planet was now a part of the Teyvat Universe. It absolutely could not be destroyed in the coming conflict—otherwise, the entire plan would be a failure.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
Soft golden light radiated from the World Gate as silhouettes began to pass through its glowing veil.
In just two breaths' time, over a hundred figures had descended upon this planet.
Esdeath, with her ice-blue knee-length hair and clad in white, navy-style divine armor, licked her lips. A thick, almost tangible murderous aura spread naturally from her.
"Boros... the universe's planet-destroying overlord. I wonder if you can satisfy my craving for battle and bloodlust. Hehehehe—"
That ominous killing intent made the entire Teyvat army behind her shudder involuntarily.
Even though the malice wasn't aimed at them, the dread from a Supreme God-level killing intent made them tremble from the depths of their souls.
Diluc wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, tightly gripping the Wolf's Gravestone he had obtained after passing the Wolf King's trial.
As Mondstadt was the weakest among the seven nations, he bore the responsibility of being a central force. Otherwise, how could Mondstadt compete in the Teyvat Universe with just the Knights of Favonius? Don't joke.
He had to become at least a Upper God—only then would he hold an advantage.
His gaze swept toward his half-brother Kaeya, then to librarian Lisa.
At the very least, this time Mondstadt would gain three new Lower Gods upon returning.
Asmoday spoke coldly and expressionlessly: "I've deployed a spatial barrier across this planet. Once power levels hit their peak threshold, the barrier will activate. You can fight freely, without worry."
After speaking, she turned and coolly walked into the World Gate.
Esdeath gave a cold smile. "Fight without restraint? Just what I wanted."
She drew her saber from her waist and pointed it toward City A.
"The enemy is right ahead. It's time to make your mark."
Now a Supreme God, her aura as a grand general commanding millions had not diminished—in fact, it had only grown stronger.
Only now, her army was no longer made of mortals. The weakest among them were demigods.
"My soldiers—ravage at will! Hahahaha!"
Her commanding presence instantly stirred the morale of the Teyvat army. One by one, they felt themselves become part of the collective force.
"Yes—!"
Even though every one of them was proud and lofty, when faced with a being whose strength, aura, and vision vastly surpassed theirs, they willingly accepted her leadership.
"Go."
At Esdeath's command, the hundred-strong divine army transformed into meteors, streaking toward City A.
Esdeath herself stepped through the air on high heels, walking one step at a time toward the city.
Her own aura steadily expanded outward.
Even if she was the weakest among the Supreme Gods, she was still undeniably planet-level.
As her presence spread, the clouds in the sky rapidly parted.
From space, one could see the clouds being pushed to one side of the planet at incredible speed—creating a breathtaking sight where half the world was cloudless.
...
At that moment—
Above City A.
A pitch-black spaceship, 20 kilometers long—like a small asteroid—slowly descended through the atmosphere, stopping just a kilometer above the ground.
In front of the massive spacecraft, the city below looked like nothing more than a sketch on a tabletop.
Panic broke out among the city's people.
Inside the ship's control room, an alien resembling an octopus asked,
"Lord Boros, we've arrived at one of this planet's cities. Shall we now send in the army to invade and plunder, or...?"
In the engine room, seated on a throne like an emperor, the one-eyed alien Boros replied calmly:
"Destroy the city first. Give this planet's representative a message."
He had come to this remote planet at the edge of the universe because a prophet foretold that it held a warrior capable of giving him a true battle.
As the leader of the Dark Matter Thieves, a galactic plundering force, he knew very well how to quickly draw out a planet's defender.
"Yes, Lord Boros..."
"Prepare all cannons—target and obliterate the city below."
As the order was given—
Blinding purple light illuminated the bottom of the entire ship.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
The sound of air ripping apart echoed across the planet. The light was even more dazzling than the sun.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Citizens, staring in horror at the descending ship, were instantly blinded.
The entire city was engulfed in searing light and waves of explosive pressure.
A dense cloud of vaporized moisture covered the city.
Hero Association.
"What's happening!? What's going on outside?!"
[Accessing surveillance footage.]
[It's an attack! The spaceship launched a full-scale assault on the city!]
"What!? Was the city just destroyed!?" Sitch held his head in terror, unable to comprehend.
"Is the prophecy of Earth's destruction already happening!?"
The heroes' expressions turned grim.
S-Class Rank 3, Silver Fang Bang, narrowed his sharp eyes. "The entire city was wiped out?"
S-Class Rank 2, Tatsumaki, crossed her arms and said coldly, "Cut the chatter. Let's go out and see!"
[No... the city wasn't destroyed. It was protected by a golden barrier! Unknown tech or maybe a powerful esper?!]
"What?"
The S-Class heroes, just about to move, halted and looked at the projected screen.
They saw a golden shield enveloping the sky above the city, completely blocking the spaceship's attack. Aside from tremors on the ground, the city was untouched.
"W-What's going on?" Sitch's eyes widened.
[Look! The spaceship is under attack! Someone's attacking it—no, it's not just one, it's many! They're flying toward it from outside City A like meteors, launching attacks!]
[Their power is incredible! S-Class, definitely S-Class heroes! So many S-Class heroes!]
The excited, shaken voice coming from the intercom left the S-Class heroes in the conference room stunned.
Tatsumaki's eyes were wide as she stared at the projection.
Surveillance footage from across the city was streamed into the meeting room.
On screen, a group of unknown individuals soared through the skies, unleashing powerful attacks upon the alien ship. The destructive force of their abilities was enormous—comparable even to her own fully unleashed psychic power.
Tatsumaki stared like a child in disbelief. "What!? Those weird abilities... Are those psychic powers? So many S-Class level espers!?"
S-Class Rank 4, Atomic Samurai, stared intently at the surveillance footage. "Hey, hey... I know most of the top martial artists in the world, but where did these guys with such insane swordsmanship come from?"
What did he just see? A single slash released a sword aura that tore through a steel warship over a kilometer long. That same sword energy shredded mountain-sized chunks of metal into fragments.
This level of swordsmanship was completely unheard of, even in all the martial arts circles he knew.
Of course, he still had his pride. Even if some of these swordsmen were far superior to him, he wouldn't admit it out loud.
S-Class Rank 9, the cyborg Drive Knight, had his red electronic eye rapidly analyzing every combatant on screen.
"Incredible. Based on AI analysis, even the weakest among them are on par with our S-Class heroes. The strongest... might even rival the legendary Number One: Blast."
Tatsumaki instantly jumped up, eyes wide, and snapped, "What!? You're saying they compare to Blast!? I admit those guys outside are strong, but they're nothing like Blast! He could blow them all away with a single move!"
As a child, she was imprisoned and subjected to inhumane experiments due to her immense psychic power. It was Blast who saved her. That's why no one was allowed to speak ill of him.
S-Class Rank 11, Superalloy Darkshine, quickly crept up behind Drive Knight and whispered nervously, "Hey, Drive Knight... be careful, you'll die if you piss off Tatsumaki."
Drive Knight paused, then added, "Of course, I've never seen Blast, nor do I have his data."
Tatsumaki crossed her arms and huffed proudly.
S-Class Rank 14, Tanktop Master, had a serious expression. "This is insane... Who would've thought there were so many hidden powerhouses in the world?"
Bang nodded. "That saying—'true experts live among the people'—must be about them. Every single one attacking the alien ship out there is stronger than this old man."
Child Emperor, licking a lollipop, asked curiously, "If they're so strong, why didn't they show up before?"
Sitch stared wide-eyed at the surveillance footage.
Even though the Hero Association already had a dozen S-Class heroes who defied human understanding—and he had personally led responses to several Dragon-level disasters—he was still shocked by the raw power of those mysterious fighters.
Snapping out of it, he exclaimed in excitement,
"Maybe... only when Earth is truly on the brink do these powerful people finally step forward."
The Hero Association had only existed for under ten years. Those willing to register and serve as professional heroes were just a tiny fraction. True elites had always looked down on official organizations like theirs.
Even most of the S-Class heroes present only followed the Association when it suited them. In reality, it was the Association begging for their help, not the other way around.
Saitama blinked his lifeless fish-eyes. On screen, the fighters outside looked pretty strong, but... none of them seemed like they could take a punch from him. He raised his hand.
"Uh, isn't anyone going out there?"
S-Class Rank 15, Metal Bat, crossed his arms. "Judging by how things look, there's already plenty of S-Class out there. Whether we go or not doesn't make much of a difference. Looks like they've got this handled."
"Earth's about to end? Doesn't really feel like a doomsday disaster to me."
He slung his bat over his shoulder and strolled out of the conference room.
"Whatever, my little sister still has cram school. I'm out."
King, seeing this, was almost in tears. He quickly added, "Not like I can help anyway. I'm out too!"
The other S-Class heroes also made their decisions. About half of them chose to leave.
Tatsumaki scoffed, crossing her arms and raising her head in a mix of pride and disdain. "Hmph. Whatever, just go. Not like any of you are useful anyway. Cowards."
Bang folded his hands behind his back. "This old man will stay and observe. After all, my dojo is in City A—I can't leave it. Plus, I'd like to see those impressive martial artists up close."
Atomic Samurai tugged on his loose robe, a blade of grass in his mouth and a rebellious grin on his face. "I want to spar with some of those swordsmen."
Tanktop Master struck a righteous pose. "There are plenty of powerful fighters out there, but maybe I can help in some way."
Bang said, "Let's head outside and take a look."
The meeting room emptied out instantly.
Only then did Sitch shakily dial the Hero Associations of other cities and begin broadcasting the surveillance footage.
...
At that moment, all twenty-six cities across the world blared red alerts—loud, jarring alarms echoed through every Hero Association branch.
Staff scrambled into action, panicked and disorganized.
"Send evacuation alerts to City A and surrounding areas! Quickly!"
"Expand the system's life detectors to scan all of City A. Assess structural damage and prepare for full-city destruction scenarios!"
"Disaster level?"
"Confirmed as Dragon-level!"
"No... based on what we're seeing—it could be God-level!"
The director of the Hero Association wiped sweat from his forehead as he stared at the live footage coming in from City A.
So many powerful beings were fighting atop a spaceship the size of a city.
He had never heard of this many S-Class powerhouses appearing at once.
If a threat could draw out this many S-Class heroes, there was no way it was just a Dragon-level disaster. They'd faced many of those before, and this had never happened.
This had to be the prophecy of Madame Shibabawa coming true. These hidden elites were stepping forward to protect Earth.
After all, they lived on Earth too—there's no way they could just stand by and watch it fall.
...
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Over a dozen attacks from Lower Gods, and dozens more from demigods, continually bombarded the alien ship.
Colorful, blinding abilities lit up the sky, reflected in the eyes of all the stunned civilians watching from City A.
The Teyvat army charged at full speed toward the spaceship, unleashing attacks without hesitation.
Toga, eyes wide and snarling like a mad dog, pulled out his reforged divine weapon, Tessaiga, and charged forward with a roar.
"Backlash Wave!"
A torrent of golden sword energy spanned several kilometers, crashing brutally into the ship's hull. With smoke and thunderous explosions, the metal exterior was torn open by a gaping gash several kilometers wide.
"Anyone below god-level—get inside the ship and wipe out the aliens!"
"God-levels, follow me—tear this thing apart from the outside!"
Everyone's eyes lit up green with excitement. They rushed into the ship to slaughter the grotesque alien lifeforms.
Fighting humanoids might've made them hesitate—but these weird, monstrous creatures? They were just worried someone else might kill them first.
Diluc had just entered the ship when he saw a group of aliens, who seemed to be eating, staring at him in stunned horror. Whether it was because of his sudden appearance or his fiery aura was unclear.
Without hesitation, he unleashed his elemental power. Flames surged from his weapon, the Wolf's Gravestone.
"Now, face judgment—"
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