Chapter 224 - 224: The Sun's Embrace

"Sometimes, the greatest strategy is to make your enemy chase their own destruction."

Mainu's vast consciousness was a maelstrom of agony and confusion. Its thoughts drifted, constantly drawn to the painful, itchy area on its tail, where the dark purple scales were rapidly reatomizing, crumbling into glittering dust.

What is this thing?! it raged, its internal roar shaking its very being, vibrating through the void. It keeps eating my tail! These goddamn insects and their weapons! My chaos energy doesn't work on it either! It tried to lash out with psionic bursts, sending waves of destructive energy through its own body, hoping to incinerate the invisible threat, but the nanites simply phased through its defenses, relentlessly gnawing at its essence, replicating with terrifying speed. Mainu thrashed its tail, trying to physically dislodge the microscopic swarm, but it was like trying to swat away smoke. The itching intensified, spreading like wildfire across its vast form.

A chilling realization began to dawn. But if I keep on regenerating, I'll eventually run out of energy. If that's the case, I'll fucking drain this planet dry! The thought of consuming Saturn, a gas giant teeming with raw energy, brought a flicker of its usual predatory glee, a desperate hope for replenishment. But then, a racking cough tore through its colossal frame, a deep, rattling sound that was utterly alien to its ancient, perfect physiology. It felt weaker than it should, a fatigue seeping into its bones, a sensation it hadn't known for millennias. Its movements became slightly less fluid, a subtle tremor running through its colossal limbs.

W-what?! What's happening to me?! Is this those dark clouds doing? It referred to the nanites, the nearly invisible swarm that had passed through its shield. It tried to focus its psionic senses on the microscopic invaders, but they were too small, too low in energy signature to register as a coherent threat. Little did it know, the bioweapon, the genetically engineered virus delivered by the single missile, had been secretly destroying its DNA, twisting its very genetic code, corrupting its fundamental existence. The internal breakdown was accelerating, a silent, unseen horror.

Mainu roared, a sound of pure, incandescent denial, a desperate attempt to assert its dominance over its own failing body. "RAAARRGGHHH… ME? BEING DEFEATED BY THESE INSECTS?! It laiughed. "HAHAHAHAHA WHAT KIND OF SHITTY JOKE IS THAT? HAHHAHAHAHA" Despite it's current state, it found his situation funny and in denial, in it's chaos. "I'M THE CHAOS DRAGON! NO ONE AND NOTHING IS ABOVE ME! CHAOS ABOVE ALL!" Its expression changed from mocking to angry. It's aura flared from a dark, ominous purple to a pulsating, malevolent dark red, a visible manifestation of its spiraling rage. Its eyes burned with an insane, uncontrollable fury, reflecting the internal chaos. It was clear: He had gone berserk.

At Saturn's rings, a vast, glittering expanse of ice and rock, the remaining human fleet had stood by. Battered but resolute, they waited for the Dragon to appear, their sensors sweeping the void. Admiral Lewis, on the bridge of the TRC flagship Apocalypse, gripped his command chair. "Maintain defensive formation! All weapons charged! It's coming!"

Then Richard felt it. The energy inside Saturn, the very core of the gas giant, had spiked, a massive, uncontrolled surge that resonated even through the Prometheus X-19's damaged systems. He roared into the comms, "Lina! Warn all ships in the vicinity! It's coming! Disperse! Disperse now!"

But before anyone could fully receive the warning, before ships could initiate evasive maneuvers, the enraged Dragon appeared. It burst from Saturn's turbulent atmosphere, a dark red blur of pure, unfettered destruction. It tore through any ship within its vicinity, a living maelstrom of claws and teeth. The void erupted in silent explosions.

On the bridge of the TRC Cruiser Moskau, Captain Elena Petrova screamed into the comms, "Hull breach! Shields failing! It's tearing us apart!" before her transmission was abruptly cut off as her ship exploded, debris scattering like shattered glass. Similar screams, similar cut-offs, echoed across the fleet comms. Mainu was a force of pure, indiscriminate annihilation.

The TRC's flagship, the mighty Apocalypse, was noticed. Mainu, in its berserk state, focused its rage. It spewed a chaos energy beam, dark purple and pulsing, concentrated enough to tear through the Apocalypse's shields, then its reinforced hull, and then the ships behind it. All Admiral Lewis could see on the bridge was a dark purple beam, a wave of pure destruction, headed straight for his flagship. He closed his eyes, a silent prayer for his crew, before the Apocalypse went into flames, its colossal form ripping apart in two, a testament to the Dragon's terrifying power.

The ships witnessing this, the brutal, swift destruction of the TRC's pride, started to scatter, their formations breaking into panicked flight. Admiral Greenert of the USS Da Vinci, the pride of the UEDCC flagship, watched in horror. "Order all remaining ships to scatter! Evasive maneuvers! Full power to engines! Get out of its line of sight!" He looked at the observation deck, his face pale. Mainu, still roaring, turned its head around, its burning red eyes locking onto the Da Vinci. If the Da Vinci was destroyed, all morale of the remaining fleet would go down the drain. It was their last symbol of hope.

Mainu roared, a sound of pure, unbridled rage, and was about to slash its way through the Da Vinci, its claws extended, ready to tear the massive dreadnought apart. Admiral Greenert closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable.

Then suddenly, a huge energy wave exploded, a blue pulse that rippled through the void, staggering the Dragon. The battered Prometheus X-19 appeared again, its armless form a testament to the earlier brutal exchange. Richard was microseconds away, having pushed his damaged suit to its absolute limit, intercepting Mainu's attack.

Richard's voice, strained but resolute, cut through the comms. "Lina, status report!"

Lina's voice, surprisingly calm despite the chaos, responded. "Sir, Integrity is fifteen percent. Energy is at thirty percent. The legs crystalline musculature is failing."

Richard breathed hard, the suit's internal alarms screaming. "Quickly, Lina, do we have enough energy to go into the Sun?"

"Yes, sir, but tha—" Lina began, her voice laced with alarm.

Richard cut her off. "That's enough. If we can't kill this thing fast, I should buy our bioweapon some time. To make sure this damn creature doesn't pull anything funny as soon as it realized he was dying. I'll use the Prometheus as bait, into the Sun, before it gained back its rationality. Let's make its berserk state a leverage." He knew the nanites were working, but Mainu's berserk rage might override its pain, might make it ignore the internal decay. He needed to keep it focused on him, while the virus slowly eats away all the dragon's remaining genetic code and keep it away from Earth.

He then shouted to the Dragon, his voice amplified by the Prometheus's external speakers, mocking, taunting. "Hey! You damn weak-ass, winged good-for-nothing, shit-for-brains lizard! Come and get me!" As Richard spoke, the Prometheus X-19 spun, its remaining thrusters flaring, and sped towards the Sun, a blue and silver streak against the black. The Dragon, enraged, its pride wounded beyond measure, roared and followed him, a dark red comet chasing a desperate lure. Both went into sublight speed again, a desperate race towards the heart of the solar system.

Back at the Da Vinci, Admiral Greenert sighed, a shuddering breath escaping him. "Thank god for small mercies." The crew also felt the same, their faces etched with relief. If it wasn't for Richard's repeated saves, his impossible interventions, who knew what would have happened.

Admiral Greenert commanded, his voice regaining its authority. "Coordinate with the War Command, and track that damn lizard! We should take this precious time and regroup, rearm ourselves. Remember, people, we aren't out of hell yet. This is far from over."

The crew, shaken but determined, responded in unison. "Yes, sir!"

Back at the Mars Command Center, Marshall Feliciano Dela Cruz watched the streamed footage. The destruction of the Apocalypse was a heavy blow, but he wasn't a bit deterred. His face, though grim, showed no despair. He was a strategist, and in war, casualties were a grim reality. He asked, his voice calm, "What's the status on casualties?"

An officer, his voice tight, reported. "Sir, we lost half in the Saturn defense line. The TRC suffered the highest casualty rate, with the Apocalypse confirmed destroyed."

Feliciano nodded, a flicker of pain in his eyes. He knew Admiral Lewis for a few years, but he was a good friend. "Understood. Deploy the entire ANV fleet from Gamma-1 to Xela-10. Assist and buy Commander Richard some time. Their objective is to maintain pressure on Mainu's shield and body, drawing its fire away from the Prometheus." The officer nodded, already relaying the orders.

Feliciano observed as admirals scrambled for answers on what they had just observed, brainstorming for strategic solutions, their voices a low murmur of desperate planning. Meanwhile, Feliciano's mind drifted to Richard. What are you planning right now, sir? You always have a contingency.

Then something appeared, on his wrist pad. A faint chime. He tapped it, and a holographic screen appeared, displaying a single, chilling message. His eyes widened.

[ Authorization Code Requested ] [ Emergency Protocol ] [ Contingency T7 ] [ L9: Black Hole Arsenal ] [ Requested by: L1-N4 ]

Feliciano's fingers flew across the pad, typing quickly, verifying the codes. He smiled, a grim, satisfied expression, as the authorization codes were sent back to Lina. He muttered to himself, "You should've done that from the beginning, sir." He shook his head. He's crazy enough to hide his trump card even at the most dire situations, only when there's no other way, will he use it. He should've avoided unnecessary casualties, but he's my superior, so what right do I have? A wave of weariness washed over him, thinking of the lives lost. What a day.

He remembered Richard's words, spoken in a rare moment of philosophical reflection: "Only in humanity's direst hour shall we truly unite, shedding the old skin of prejudice, belief, and creed. For death is the constant lesson of the void, a necessary sacrifice to forge our evolution. And only when we hold the power to bring galactic destruction can we achieve the peace we seek: a peace born of strength, and enforced by fear."

Feliciano looked at the holographic map, at the red blip of Mainu chasing the blue-and-silver speck of the Prometheus towards the sun. Peace through strength and fear, he thought. And the price… is always paid in blood.