"Ohh, so everything is ready?" said Kallus, a hint of reluctance in his voice. He had been enjoying his time with his family and felt that a little more of it would have been nice—after all, he didn’t know when they would next be so free and carefree, sharing such lighthearted talk. But, as the saying goes, all good things come to an end, and this was that moment for him.
"Yes, Imperial Commander. Everything is in place," added the Red Empress without hesitation, fully aware of why Kallus had tried to confirm again. Still, she repeated her words, knowing that this was likely the last thing he wanted to hear.
But there was nothing she could do—not when everything was ready and he couldn’t afford to delay, not even for a few more minutes. As a leader, he couldn’t let personal moments hold up the whole fleet.
Kallus, still unwilling to let go of the moment, let his gaze linger on his mother, father, and sister. In the corner, the little wolf Fafnir slept peacefully, while the fire and ice phoenix rested nearby on their nest, their breaths slow and steady. A rare warmth swelled in his chest—a fleeting reminder of a life untouched by duty or war.
But he forced himself to shake off the feeling, locking away the thoughts that came with it. His voice, when he spoke to the Red Empress on the other end of the call, was steady once more.
"I’ll be there in a moment. Have everything ready for the talk."
The Red Empress replied before ending the call. "Yes, I’ll have everything prepared for the fleet-wide transmission." And with that, she cut off the communication between them.
Kallus sighed, still reluctant. Even though he knew he had to go—had commitments to fulfill, duties that came with being a leader—the weight of leaving this rare moment pressed heavily on him.
Mother Amelia, seated directly in front of him alongside Father William, could see exactly what was going through her son’s mind. Father and mother exchanged a glance, a silent understanding passing between them, before both turned their attention to Kallus.
"Don’t hesitate over things , Kallus," Amelia said firmly. "It’s not the end of the world. We’re here, and what you’re doing is to make sure we continue to have this peace in the future. For that, you have to go—and don’t forget who you are now. You can’t let yourself be held back by these emotions. You need to be strong, because you’re the one leading those millions—and many more—who now depend on you and your fleet."
"Listen to your mother, Kallus. I know you had the past," William said, reminding him of his previous life, "but that was then, and that was a different life. This one is different—and we are here. Even Luna is here, not to mention that little troublemaker of yours," he added, pointing at the curled-up little white ball that was Fafnir.
"And son... these moments we have now will continue for as long as we stay together. It’s your job to make sure of that. We’ll help you, of course—but you’re the leader of those people out there, and you can’t hold yourself back when they’re working hard to be on time."
"Yeah, big bro... you can’t be a crybaby at your age," Luna chimed in. "Look, even I don’t cry now—and I’m just seven years old. That would be shameful, no, brother?" she said with a teasing grin.
She had read the atmosphere well—after all, she was smart and, even at her age, an existence tied to the world-building realm. Yet she still chose her laid-back, mischievous tone to echo the same message their parents were giving: not to overthink and to focus on the objective at hand.
And Kallus was moved—by the words of his mother, father, and even his sister. They were all right. He couldn’t let himself be dragged down by his own emotions, nor allow this to become a disappointment for others by ignoring their efforts to be on time. He couldn’t do that... right?
Finally, he said, "I understand, Mother, Father... and you, you cheeky little brat." With that, he stood up. "I’ll take my leave—watch me as I speak to my crew before we depart for the battle ahead."
And with those words, he vanished from the room—gone from the villa, from the origin planet, and finally from the universal dimension itself.
Kallus returned directly to the Obliterator, heading straight to his room. There, he changed into his ceremonial attire—white with golden stripes running along the edges. After adjusting it slightly, he teleported again, this time using the Obliterator’s teleportation device, appearing instantly on the main command bridge.
There, aside from the Red Empress, no one else was present. She stood at the central console, positioned atop the bridge, working intently on something. Noticing his presence, she spoke without even turning her head.
"Hmm... had you taken any more time, it might have caused a bit of a delay, Imperial Commander."
"Yeah, yeah, I understand that already," Kallus replied, irritation lacing his tone as he caught the teasing edge in her words.
The Red Empress simply giggled and said nothing more. Kallus, choosing to ignore her, walked straight to his command throne and sat down. The moment he did, his aura shifted—becoming sharper, heavier, and more commanding. In that instant, he carried himself not just as a commander, but as a ruler.
Turning to the Red Empress, his voice grew more formal. "Are we ready to begin the fleet-wide transmission, Empress?"
"We are ready," she said, then added, "Shall I go ahead and start, and let you say what you want before we move toward the battle?"
Kallus nodded. "Yeah, do that."
The Red Empress returned the nod and began tapping several commands into the console. "In ten seconds, we’ll be online, and everyone across all seven fleets will be hearing you directly."
Kallus simply nodded again and waited for the countdown to finish. For a brief moment, he considered what to say, but quickly discarded the thought—he already knew exactly what to speak of, and what not to.
Meanwhile, aboard every ship of the seven fleets—a combined seventy thousand vessels—and even within the defense fleet of thirty thousand ships, over fifteen million crew members stood ready.
From researchers to Grand Admirals, from generals to the lowest-ranked soldiers, all remained at their posts—whether on patrol inside their ships, overseeing operations, or even resting in their quarters. Each and every one of them waited patiently for their Imperial Commander to appear... and give the signal for the fleets’ great departure.
Back to Kallus—only three seconds remained. The Red Empress reminded him, "In three seconds, you’ll be seen directly by every member of our fleet."
Kallus simply nodded.
The countdown began. Three... two... one... and go.
For a split second, he thought it felt like some kind of movie shoot, but he quickly brushed the thought aside the moment he heard the Red Empress say, "We are online, Imperial Commander."
Seated upon his command throne, Kallus’s image spread across the digital watches of every crew member, appearing as a small but commanding figure. Across all fleets—more than fifteen million strong—every single member, cheerful yet respectful, raised their salute.
Kallus spoke, cutting straight to the point.
"These past few days—or rather, I should say, these hundred and thirty years—have been hard on everyone. Each of you has worked tirelessly during that time in the universal dimension. Whether among our initial members or the new recruits, every single one of you has put in the effort to improve yourselves while our fleets were being rebuilt from the ground up.
"To say you aol’ are unmatched in the known galaxy would not be an exaggeration. Though, truth be told, we don’t actually know that much about the galaxy—" he allowed himself a small, wry smile "—but we will soon enough. And when we do, we’ll see just how far our efforts have taken us.
"Whether those efforts will pay off? I have no doubts. Nothing and no one can stand in our way as we march forward."
He paused, scanning the expressions of the assembled crews through his divine sense.
"Our march will begin with our previous target—the Minotaur Clan. Though, calling them an opponent might be giving them too much credit. A century ago, they were already no match for us. And now... it will be even more impossible for them."
"But that should also mean we’ll be taking them down easily. You should have already been briefed about this by your Fleet Admirals, so I won’t waste time on it.
"What I will speak about is the one thing you must all remain focused on—as you have likely already been warned—the unknown threat that may come for us. That is where your attention should be.
"Do not, under any circumstances, mistake our superiority for invincibility. We are not yet invincible.
"You have all been trained for situations , so I expect none of you to make such mistakes."