Outside the Fallen Star City compound gates, the Fallen Star Guard had packed the entrance, waiting in tense silence.

They’d all seen the footage. They knew exactly how horrifying the creatures from the Void Realm were—stuff no human on Earth, as things stood, could realistically stand up to.

More than half of them had already reached Stage B, and even so, every one of them felt the same cold certainty: in front of those Void Realm monsters, they probably wouldn’t even survive a single hit. Maybe not even one skill.

And the Fallen Star Squad? Sure, on paper the squad was only one Tier higher than them.

But one Tier didn’t mean much when the other side was that kind of nightmare.

Even with the near-blind confidence they usually had in the Commander, worry still sat heavy in their chests.

That was why they’d insisted on going along earlier. Not because they wanted glory—because they were scared the Commander and the others wouldn’t be enough.

They’d been refused.

So now they could only wait at the compound gate, poised to move at any second, ready to rush out the moment support was needed.

Then—

Shapes tore across the distant sky.

Several Flamebirds burst into view, cutting toward the city at frightening speed.

The instant the Guard recognized them, faces lit up like someone had flipped a switch.

"It’s the Commander—Commander and the others are back!"

"Yes! They won! They really won!!"

Excitement surged through the crowd, raw and uncontrollable. The Fallen Star Squad was returning, which meant one thing: the battle had ended in victory.

Before, the squad went out all the time, but the Guard never really knew what they were doing. And back then, the gap in strength had been so huge that even if they’d known, it wouldn’t have felt real.

This time was different.

This time, they understood exactly what kind of enemy the squad had faced—which was why they’d been so afraid.

And yet... the squad had still beaten them.

In that moment, it hit them hard: the Fallen Star Squad’s true strength was nowhere near as simple as what they’d been seeing on the surface.

Up on the wall, Miles watched the Flamebirds approach, and the tight knot between his brows finally loosened. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Of course.

The Captain never disappointed him.

Today’s behavior from the Fallen Star Guard hadn’t been an accident, either. Miles had been pulling strings behind the scenes.

The video they’d watched—he’d provided it. The news that the Fallen Star Squad was heading out to engage—he’d been the one to pass it along. That was how all of this had been set in motion.

He’d done it for a reason.

The Fallen Star Guard’s strength had been rising too fast lately—fast enough that they were almost catching up to them.

Miles didn’t think any of them harbored betrayal. But when people get strong overnight, they get cocky. Not because they’re evil—because they’re human.

And some of them had sensory-type skills. They could feel the Fallen Star Squad’s level, and that led to a dangerous little thought:

So the untouchable Fallen Star Squad is only one Tier above us?

That kind of mindset didn’t lead anywhere good. It needed to be checked.

The Captain wouldn’t bother with something like this.

Miles couldn’t afford not to.

So he used this chance to show them, up close and undeniable, just how terrifying the Void Realm’s creatures were—and, by contrast, just how far beyond them the Fallen Star Squad truly stood.

Besides, Miles knew Ethan had a trump card: Dopey.

Ethan wouldn’t have gone if he wasn’t sure.

And, sure enough, Miles wasn’t disappointed. The Fallen Star Squad came back victorious.

After today, the squad’s image in these Guards’ minds would shoot right back up into the clouds—higher than ever, wrapped in a fresh layer of mystery.

In the blink of an eye, the Flamebirds were overhead, circling above Fallen Star City.

"The Commander returns!"

"Glory to the Commander!"

The Fallen Star Guard threw their heads back and roared at the top of their lungs, a chant that hit the sky like thunder.

The scene actually startled Ethan and the others.

Ethan leaned over the Flamebird’s back and frowned down at the crowd. "Why are you all standing here? Don’t you have anything better to do?"

"Commander, we..." The Fallen Star Guard members dropped their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

Miles stepped in smoothly. "Captain, don’t blame them. They were just worried about you."

"What’s there to worry about?" Ethan shook his head like it was ridiculous. "They’re just a bunch of things that crawled out of the Void Realm. It’s not like we haven’t killed Void Realm monsters before."

Miles’s expression didn’t change, but his tone turned casual on purpose. "So... how’d it go?"

Ethan answered like he was reporting the weather. "Twenty-five. Killed seventeen. Eight got away."

"!!"

The Guard down below went dead silent for half a second—then exploded.

"As expected of the Commander—holy shit!"

"Commander’s insane!"

Ethan waved a hand, already done with it. "Alright. Go do what you’re supposed to do. You’ve still got work later—stop clogging up the gate."

"Yes!"

They shouted back in unison, then scattered, walking off in clumps while talking over each other.

"You think those Void Realm things were how strong, exactly?"

"No idea, but definitely above Tier 20. Just watching them use skills made my skin crawl. At least four or five Tiers higher than us."

"Seriously. So how the hell did the Commander do it? Those monsters were terrifying and he still killed them?"

"Beats me. But that’s our Commander. He’s obviously got some outrageous trump card. You can’t measure him with common sense—jumping a few Tiers is probably nothing to him."

"...Yeah. And here I was thinking I was almost catching up to the Commander and them. Turns out I’m not even close."

"Please. The Fallen Star Squad is the strongest team on Earth, period. Everything we have now is because the Commander trained us up. How could we compare?"

"Exactly. We just stick close behind them and sooner or later we’ll be standing at the top too."

"Damn right."

Once the Guard finally cleared out, Ethan and the others headed back to their quarters.

Miles’s eyes kept flicking to Ethan, worry he couldn’t quite hide. "Captain. Your injury—are you sure you’re okay?"

He’d secretly watched the footage Atlas City had shared over. He knew how brutal that fight had been.

"I’m fine," Ethan said. "Just drained. Give me a few days and I’ll be back."

"I’ll have them make you a nutrient-loaded mutant chicken stew," Miles said immediately. "You need to recover."

"Mutant chicken stew?" Big Mike’s eyes lit up like a kid’s. "Damn, I want some too!"

"Get out of here." Miles shot him a look. "We only raise a few of those. If you eat it, what’s the Captain supposed to eat?"

"That stuff’s way too nourishing," Big Mike argued, dead serious. "I’m worried the Captain won’t be able to handle it."

Chris grinned. "Handle it? What’s there to be scared of? Mia’s right there to take care of him, isn’t she?"

"..."

Ethan coughed hard, cutting straight through the spiral. "Ahem. We’re drifting."

Mia’s face went bright red. She glared at the two of them like she wanted to stab them with her eyes.

"Uh—right," Chris said, suddenly very interested in the floor. "Business."

Miles sobered. "Captain, the ones that got away... we need to deal with them fast. Those things are too strong. No matter where they run, it’ll be a disaster."

"Yeah." Ethan nodded. "I’ll rest for two days, then I’ll move."

His condition was terrible right now. If he got dragged into another fight like that, there was a good chance he’d actually die.

And Dopey couldn’t stray too far from him, which meant it couldn’t go off and handle the mission alone. If they wanted those survivors dead, Ethan would have to go in person—so he needed to recover first.

"But don’t panic too much," Ethan added. "Those Void Realm creatures don’t eat people. Even if they make it to another compound, they’ll most likely lie low... or take control of the people there and turn them into slaves."

Miles’s frown deepened. "Captain, what I’m really worried about is them running back to call reinforcements. With what we’ve seen, there have to be a lot of powerful monsters inside the Void Realm. If they bring help back, we can’t stop it."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. "Yeah. That’s what scares me most too. But Atlas City said those eight didn’t run toward the Void Realm entrance. They actually went the other way—away from it. I don’t know why."

Chris thought for a moment, then spoke. "Could it be they’re not confident against Dopey? Like... they’re afraid if they lead Dopey back there, it’ll wipe out their whole clan?"

"That’s possible." Ethan nodded.

"Don’t worry," he said. "I’ve already told Atlas City to keep eyes on them. If they start moving toward the Void Realm entrance, I’ll head out immediately."

Miles gave a tight nod. "Good."