NOVPUBJarkon vanished in a flash of warped light, leaving behind only the scent of scorched air and the echoes of his torment.
Meanwhile, back at the Eclipse Warth, where all seven fleet admirals had gathered, they were watching the 'interrogation of Jarkon' and all the nonsense he had spouted before his eventual escape.
However, his last words weren't received with anger or fury as one might expect—instead, what lingered in the room was a cold, quiet disgust at the sheer audacity he had shown when he said them.
Admiral Varyan larkovis spoke with a cold edge in his voice as he stared at the transmission. "The sheer audacity Jarkon has—despite the state he's in—to claim he'll come for us and destroy Les. His fleet couldn't last an hour against ours."
Admiral Benjamin nodded, backing him up. "What can we expect from that so-called Grand Admiral of the Minotaur Fleet? He clings to some delusion that Tantry rewired his brain to believe our power, our tech, was inherited—his legacy to reclaim. It's madness."
He shook his head slowly, disgusted.
Not far off, Commander Verbs let out a sharp laugh. "Calling us a 'toy species' now? Pathetic." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
Admiral Ella Seil just sighed and looked toward Ryan. "Admiral varyan and even Imperial Command already dismissed all of this as nonsense—jarkon, fantasy. We shouldn't waste time on it."
"What we should be thinking about now," she said, shifting her gaze to Admiral Ezzra Tanno, "is how we proceed."
The room fell quiet.
The reason Elira gazed at Ezzra was because the battle wasn't truly over—at least, not the cleanup. And as the person in command for now, he was the one who should have the most say in such matters. That was why she directed her gaze at him when she asked the question.
Ezzra didn't flinch under the gaze of his fellow officers. Instead, he calmly took a sip of the tea in front of him, unbothered.
"There's nothing to think about right now," he said coolly. "That decision lies with the Imperial Commander. As for that Minotaur fool Jarkon—we've got even less reason to worry about him, and no reason to waste thought on it."
He set the cup down, gaze steady.
"After all, we let him escape—not the other way around."
The room was quiet for a beat. Then he added, "Our focus should be on the cleanup. That starts soon. Chief General of the Void Marines has already secured Tarrus Prime, alongside Iron Fang and the horn of the minotaur of what remains of the Minotaur fleet."
"What is there to clean up?" Admiral Alexandr scoffed. "Those space debris fields? The wreckage we created?"
"Those materials, yes, they're valuable—but we don't even use them anywhere. Not in our ships, not in anything. To us, they're basically garbage. So why bother with the cleanup?"
"That's where you're wrong," came a voice from behind.
All seven officers stood at once, chairs scraping as they rose in unison. They knew that voice.
They turned—yes, it was him.
Kallus. The Imperial Commander.
All seven saluted, raising their right hands.
"At ease," Kallus said with a nod.
He stepped forward, voice calm but commanding. "Those scraps—the remnants of the Minotaur fleet—can still serve a purpose. After proper recovery and processing, of course."
He approached the circular command table they'd gathered around. With a wave of his hand, the table expanded, chairs adjusting automatically to make room. A throne-like seat materialized behind him as he snapped his fingers. He sat casually, gesturing for them to return to their seats.
He stepped forward, voice calm but commanding. "Those scraps—the remnants of the Minotaur fleet—can still serve a purpose. After proper recovery and processing, of course."
He approached the circular command table they'd gathered around. With a wave of his hand, the table expanded, chairs adjusting automatically to make room. A throne-like seat materialized behind him as he snapped his fingers. He sat casually, gesturing for them to return to their seats.
"Before I proceed with what I came to say," Kallus said, "I want to hear your thoughts. Admiral Ezzra—speak plainly. What are your takeaways from the battle? The strengths. The flaws. Don't hold back."
Ezzra raised an eyebrow, surprised by the openness of the request. Still, he nodded and spoke.
"You were watching, I believe?" he asked.
Kallus gave a single nod.
"Then you already know—this was the first true engagement of our Void Fleet. And a major one. A decisive victory. From start to finish, we dominated the Minotaur forces. They were unprepared. Disorganized. Their final assault was desperate and yet also ineffective against us. We didn't suffer a single loss."
He allowed himself the briefest smile.
"Rear Admiral Raj Shakar and Commander of the Mech Legion, Damne Cross, performed exceptionally. Their individual command of ship and machine relieved pressure on our frontline, specifically Rajs Taint bane and damne black wing, while cutting deep into the enemy's inner formation.
They didn't just inflict losses on the Minotaur forces—they also spread fear with the killing spree both of them went on, even though they were only at the Minor Inner Formation stage. That fear turned the already crumbling hope of the Minotaur into despair, and we took full advantage of that."
The other six admirals supported Ezra's statement.
"Indeed, the rampage that Raj and Damne went on gave us that advantage, said Admiral Kale", which was seconded by others like Elira, Seal, and the rest.
Then Ezzra's voice dropped, the tone shifting.
"But as smooth as this battle looked, it exposed our limits."
"Well, not exactly our limits... We weren't even able to test them because the Minotaur were simply too weak, Commander," he said, looking almost apologetic, as if he'd committed a crime worth punishing.
But pushing those emotions aside, Ezzra continued, "The limits I'm talking about are our numbers, Commander."
The room stiffened slightly.
"Yes, we held the advantage from start to finish. Yes, we came out without casualties. And yes, we could have ended it even faster. Our technologies are far superior—that gave us the edge over them. It's almost like we have the quality, while they have the quantity...But no matter how powerful we are, no matter how advanced our ships and technology might be, we're certainly not invincible... at least, not yet."
He paused, locking eyes with Kallus.
Kallus nodded.Yes, he commanded an overwhelmingly powerful technological and arcane marvel... but even that couldn't be omnipresent everywhere at all times, right? And he himself wasn't invincible. He had the potential to become someone like that, perhaps, but he certainly wasn't there yet—not now.There would always be situations where even something as mighty as the Obliterator could become unreachable or useless. This universe, this galaxy—they were vast, filled with unknowns and unnatural phenomena. Anything could happen.
That's why Kallus never allowed himself to think of his fleet or himself as invincible. They were powerful, yes. They had deep reserves of technology and arcane might, and that pile was still growing. But that didn't mean they were untouchable. Far from it.
Ezzra nodded, letting out a sigh of relief as Kallus understood his intent. He continued,"With time, we will certainly encounter more powers like the Minotaur... and even stronger ones. After all, they weren't even a true powerful civilization. We've yet to face those. And surely, not all of them will be hospitable toward us—especially when we have the Forbidden Zone.
It will become a holy land... a place that will attract the greed of others. A place they will want to claim as theirs.But it's a place we will never give up to anyone—because it's ours. In one way or another... it's the place where all of us began our journey."
"And for us, our journey has only just begun. We will face more like the Minotaur who will stand in our way. The Minotaur were nothing more than ants before us—and they will remain so in the future."
"But that's exactly my point—our limited numbers will make things difficult.We aim to create an empire under your command, Imperial Commander. A place that will truly endure for us, for our people, and for our future generations—a haven in this galaxy where the law of the jungle still rules.And to build that, we must expand. But in our current state, we can't.
We need a supplement to boost our strength, Imperial Command—and we need it fast. We must accelerate Earth's growth... or seek alternatives.Because bio-humans are not something we can always rely on."
Kallus listened intently to Admiral Ezzra, as did the others. His words struck deep into each of their hearts—for everything he said was nothing but the truth.Back to Kallus... he thought to himself: indeed, Ezzra was right.The Sol Sector—their name for the Forbidden Zone—would inevitably attract the greed of others. It was something he had overlooked. And he couldn't afford to blindly focus on conquering Minotaur territory, fighting only to bring them under control, while leaving the Sol Sector unattended.
That would lead to consequences he couldn't ignore. He had to resolve that... immediately.
