Ethan drew a deep breath.

The system interface flared to life in front of him, a glowing map unfolding like a secret artery pulsing just for him—one that cut straight through the chaos of the Sky Fortress.

He sprinted down the metal corridor, footsteps echoing in the narrow space.

The fortress's interior was a labyrinth—layered, tangled, a steel hive of dead ends and looping paths. Even the stationed guards would get lost without a map.

But the system's data stream sliced through walls like light through fog, guiding him with pinpoint precision at every turn.

And finally—

A massive metal door loomed at the end of the corridor.

The control room.

Just as Ethan reached for the door—

A shadow lunged from the left.

A Lizardman, his skin sheathed in pale green scales, pupils slit like a serpent's, burst from the darkness.

The moment he saw Ethan, his eyes went wide—like he'd just seen a ghost.

"You—how the hell did you find this place?!"

His voice cracked with disbelief.

"The Sky Fortress is a maze! Even our own commanders can't navigate it without a guide! How did you—what are you?!"

The shock lasted barely a second.

Instinct kicked in.

He raised his hand, power surging.

A crackling energy sphere, nearly half a meter wide, swelled in his palm, humming with lethal charge.

But just as he hurled it—

Ethan vanished.

Not moved.

Vanished.

"Wha—?!"

The Lizardman barely got the word out.

Ethan was already at the control console, hands gripping the twin levers like he'd seized the fortress's beating heart.

The Lizardman's face drained of color.

"No—don't touch that! You don't know what it's connected to—let go, now!"

He lunged forward, but only made it a few steps before slamming into something invisible.

Not a wall.

A field.

A pressure zone forged from pure killing force.

It hit like a thousand invisible blades.

The pain didn't just slice skin—it tore from the inside out.

"AAAGHH—!"

The Lizardman screamed, stumbling back as scales peeled from his body in sheets. Blood streamed down his shoulders and jaw.

But Ethan didn't even glance at him.

He stood before the main console, eyes scanning the blue system interface as it flickered across his vision. Command structures, energy nodes, control sequences—all of it clicked into place in his mind like puzzle pieces snapping together.

The system's scan data poured into his consciousness like a flood.

Within seconds, he understood nearly the entire control logic.

Ethan exhaled slowly.

Then pressed the first command.

—RUMMMMMBLE.

The Sky Fortress groaned like a beast dragged from slumber, its massive frame shuddering under the weight of its own awakening.

Outside, the colossal cannons, energy towers, and launch tubes began to retract, folding inward like limbs pulled back into armor.

The red energy veins that had pulsed through every corridor dimmed, then reversed—flowing back toward the core furnace, like blood retreating from a dying body.

The Lizardman's eyes bulged, his tail twitching uncontrollably.

"You—how are you operating our systems?! No clearance, no rune verification—how is this even possible?!"

But he wasn't the only one stunned.

Across every level of the Sky Fortress, Kormaldor soldiers suddenly realized something was wrong.

Their armor stopped responding.

The runes that marked their strength dimmed, flickered, and died.

Panic spread like wildfire.

"What's happening?!"

"The energy—it's gone?!"

"Someone's in the control core!"

The higher-ranking officers reacted first, roaring orders as they charged toward the main control room.

But when they reached the door, they didn't find guards.

They found a wall of pale, humming force—an entire field of killing energy, shimmering like a curtain of death.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Step away from the console! Get out now, or we'll tear you apart!"

They screamed themselves hoarse, but none dared cross the threshold.

Because they could feel it—that field wasn't just for show. It would shred them the moment they stepped through.

Ethan didn't even glance their way.

He calmly keyed in the next command.

The Sky Fortress's main artillery systems roared to life.

The deck trembled. The energy chambers of the massive cannons began to hum, deep and resonant—like the breath of an ancient dragon stirring from its slumber.

BOOM—

BOOM—

BOOM—

Dozens of beams lanced downward from the underbelly of the fortress, raining light across the Kormaldor army both inside and out.

They'd never seen anything like it.

The very ship that had once fed them power—

Was now slaughtering them without hesitation.

In less than three minutes, most of them were nothing but scorched shadows.

The survivors broke.

Some bolted for the alarm tunnels. Others curled up in abandoned engine rooms, sobbing. A few collapsed where they stood, shaking uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, far off in the sky—

Kaelira had just finished crushing the last of the ground resistance when she noticed the sudden shift.

The Kormaldor assault had faltered.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Something's happened to the Sky Fortress."

She didn't wait for confirmation. With a sharp command, she led her forces into the air, streaking toward the fortress.

And then—

A voice rang out across the sky, clear and steady:

"Your Majesty, Desert Queen—Sky Fortress is under my control. Your troops may enter and mop up the rest."

Kaelira's heart clenched—then surged with fierce relief.

"Ethan…! Move in!"

She led the charge.

When they breached the fortress, they found the defenses completely offline. The corridors were eerily quiet, save for the scattered echoes of fleeing Kormaldor troops.

Within half an hour—

The entire Sky Fortress was theirs.

Kaelira followed Ethan's lead into the main control room.

She stopped before the massive energy core, her expression caught somewhere between awe and disbelief.

"This is… what you've been controlling?"

Ethan turned, flexing his wrist like he'd just finished a casual bit of tinkering—never mind that he'd just hijacked the most advanced warship on the continent.

"This Sky Fortress is Kormaldor's latest tech marvel. Its firepower is insane, and it's built for long-range dimensional warfare. What I used just now… was only a fraction of its potential."

But Kaelira didn't look thrilled.

She gazed up at the towering war machine, her brow furrowed with something heavier than awe.

"I only ever wanted to protect Sol'Rakka," she said quietly. "Conquering other lands… that was never my dream as queen."

Ethan looked at her for a moment, then smiled faintly.

"I understand."

He placed his hand on the core's energy port.

Killing force and his own energy flowed into it, rewriting the ship's command imprint.

If Kaelira didn't want it—

He'd take it.

And bring it back to Emerald Castle.

Because in the wars to come…

This fortress would be a trump card.

A low hum vibrated through the air.

Then the sky changed.

A new energy storm tore through the clouds, ripping them open like paper.

Black-red rifts split the heavens—jagged, violent, like the sky itself was being clawed apart.

And then—

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

One after another, more Sky Fortresses emerged from the rifts, leaping into the world like monsters from a nightmare.

So many that the sky itself darkened beneath their shadow.

Kaelira's breath caught in her throat.

"Their numbers… it's ten times more than before…"

She gripped the railing of the deck, knuckles white, as if afraid her hands might start to shake.

...