"The Supreme Leader's highest directive has been confirmed. Execute immediately!"
"Self-destruct countdown for the shelters: thirty seconds!"
The countdown appeared simultaneously in projections across all four underground shelters. The once noisy shelters fell silent in an instant.
"Never thought I'd live over seven hundred years just to meet this end," an elderly man muttered to himself in one corner of the shelter.
"Do you regret it?" asked a woman beside him, her expression complex as she watched his body gradually transform into a demon.
"Regret? Not at all. The last hundred years have been the most thrilling of my life," he replied, looking at her with eyes full of pain as her transformation lagged behind his own.
"Self-destruct countdown: twenty seconds!" the timer announced.
The man turned to his wife, "I don't want to become a demon and torment you. I was planning to shoot myself before the transformation completed, but it seems the Supreme Leader has spared me that."
"The Supreme Leader is a good person," the woman agreed.
"Self-destruct countdown: fifteen seconds!"
"Who says you'll torment me? I might turn before you do. We'll see who torments whom. But yes, the Supreme Leader truly is a good person."
"Self-destruct countdown: ten seconds!"
With ten seconds remaining, the man embraced the woman, and she reciprocated, their foreheads touching in a moment of mutual comfort—a scene repeated in every corner of the shelters.
"Are you afraid to die?" he asked.
"After living over seven hundred years? No. I'm just worried about our children."
"Don't worry. Our children will live on, and so will our civilization."
"Self-destruct countdown: five seconds!"
"But I can't bear to leave you, my dear."
"Me neither."
"Self-destruct countdown: four seconds!"
"Do you think we'll meet again after death?"
"Who knows? Perhaps in another world."
"Three... two... one..."
"Let's make a promise to meet in the next world."
"Alright, it's a promise. We'll meet again in the next world."
With that, they fell silent, waiting together.
A blinding white light shattered the darkness and fear. From space, the four nuclear explosions on Nova Star were visible, each as large as the moon.
In Nova's high atmosphere, the holy Keisha and the demon Morgana were alerted to the planet-scale nuclear explosions and began investigating the situation.
"They'd rather destroy themselves than be taken. Such pride!" Keisha observed, her face grim as she comprehended the situation.
"Damn, these Nova people are insane! Without my warriors, I can't beat these harpies. I must retreat," Morgana decided, recognizing the danger.
Meanwhile, the angelic Yan stared at the four enormous fireballs, lost in thought. Ethan knelt in shock, his helmet gone, eyes red and filled with tears, facing the direction of the shelters.
"I'm sorry!" he cried, feeling utterly lost.
What should I do now? Rebuild? Revenge?
"Aiden? Nova?" he thought, but only one word echoed in his mind: Revenge!
After a long while, Ethan's thoughts cleared. "Mikhail, can you hear me?"
Mikhail, William Eaton, Zachary Thompson, Leonard Smith, and Nicholas were all in shock, staring at the nuclear fireballs, unable to speak. Their trembling bodies betrayed their emotions.
Ethan's voice brought them back to reality. "Leader, we can hear you," they responded simultaneously.
"Good. Follow my orders: evacuate everyone to the nearest shelters and wait for Aiden's instructions!"
"Mikhail, William, Zachary, Leonard, Nicholas—Nova is in your hands now. Protect it at all costs!"
"Leader..."
"Leader!"
Before they could reply, Ethan cut off the communication and turned to Aiden.
"Aiden, are you ready?"
"BOSS, I'm ready!" Aiden's hologram appeared beside Ethan, who nodded silently.
Then Ethan contacted Yan. "Yan, can I ask for your help?"
Yan, still staring at the fireballs, was startled by Ethan's voice. "Ethan, are you alright? That explosion..."
Ethan interrupted, "Yan, I need your help."
Realizing Ethan didn't want to discuss it, Yan composed herself. "What do you need?"
"I need Aiden to connect to your Heaven's Blade Seven and use its computing power."
Yan was shocked, not considering how Ethan knew about Heaven's Blade Seven. "Ethan, you..."
"Please, I'm begging you. This is my first and last request to you," Ethan's voice carried a desperate finality.
"Alright," Yan agreed, feeling an inexplicable emotion stirring within her.
Ethan looked at Aiden. "Begin, Aiden."
"Roger, BOSS!" Aiden's hologram disappeared, but his voice continued in Ethan's ear.
"Connected to Heaven's Blade Seven. Scanning for demon positions... Locked on lower demons. Calculating nuclear strike... Calculations complete. Locking on high-level demons... Number confirmed at 3,468,197. Calculating attack plan... Complete."
"Calculating available nuclear arsenal: twenty million standard nukes, three hundred thousand high-power nukes, one thousand heavy nukes. Arsenal sufficient. Awaiting Supreme Leader's confirmation."
Ethan's Nova armor covered him once more as he ascended, his target in sight. He glanced back at the four nuclear fireballs one last time, his expression turning fierce.
"Execute!" he roared.