[Planet Gaia.]

[One Week later.]

The morning on Planet Gaia was shrouded in a peculiar stillness, the air thick with unspoken tension despite the bright sunshine. Sunny and Josephine stood with their inner circle—Ellen, Jinx, Star, Nicolas, Blood Eye, Nioh, and Eve—their faces etched with worry beneath the official composure. The six-month mission to the Upper World was necessary, but the gravity of their departure weighed heavily.

​"You don't have to worry about us, Ellen," Sunny said, forcing a cheerful lightness into his voice as he gently ruffled Ellen's hair. He felt a sharp pang of guilt, knowing the burden he was leaving on her small shoulders.

​"I want to come with you," Ellen whispered, looking up at him, battling back tears. The recent duels had revealed her immense power, yet she was still a child deeply attached to her parents. She instinctively sensed the terrifying difference between an arena battle and whatever threat lay in the Upper World.

​"It's too dangerous," Sunny replied, his voice firming slightly, his gaze sweeping over his core team. "Too dangerous for all of you right now."

​He locked eyes with his commanders. "You all must ensure Eldoria is safe. More importantly, you must focus. Keep cultivating relentlessly with the Evolution Stones and the Celestial Energy Stones. When Josephine and I return, all of you must have broken through to the God Rank. Can you meet this objective?"

​The commanders met his gaze and nodded as one, their faces set with fierce, unified determination. This was their new mission: the rapid, necessary evolution of Eldoria's strength and defense.

​Sunny nodded back, his gaze softening as he looked down at his daughter. "We will be back, Ellen. Protect our home. Protect your sister."

​Ellen slowly nodded, the tears finally held back, a resolve hardening her features. "I will, Dad."

​"Good." He looked at Josephine, who stood beside him in her full Grand Class Armor, the golden metal perfectly contoured to her human form. Her usual wolf ears were suppressed, replaced by normal human ears.

​"I already said my goodbyes," Josephine murmured, her eyes holding a deep, shared worry that she hid well. She maintained her human appearance, mirroring Sunny, who had taken his original Earth form.

​Sunny nodded, activating his system. Instantly, a shimmering, pitch-black gateway appeared behind them, spinning violently like a collapsed star.

​"Let's go."

​With one last, lingering nod to the world he was leaving in his children's care, Sunny and Josephine stepped into the vortex, vanishing from sight.

​"We will be waiting," Ellen whispered, the wind from the closing gateway ruffling her hair.

​"Come on now. They'll only be gone for six months, if nothing truly catastrophic happens, they'll return exactly on time," Jinx said calmly, placing both hands on Ellen's shoulders.

​"I know," Ellen replied, a new seriousness in her eyes. "But six months is a long time to hold the world together. If something happens."

"...?!"

____

​[Upper World. Unknown Dungeon.]

​WHOOSH!!

BOOOOOOM!!

​Matilda delivered the final, crippling blow. The six-legged, five-meter-tall fox finally crashed to the ground. Matilda stood over it, her body streaked with the monster's blood and displaying only minor light injuries.

​"My Queen," Jabez spoke from behind her. "You have achieved Second Order power. Should we return now?"

​Matilda wiped a smear of blood from her face with her forearm, shaking her head slowly. Her gaze was intense, burning with cold ambition.

​"I know my deadline is past, Jabez. But that doesn't mean I will go back with just my current strength," she hissed.

"I need to take over the Lower World, and to do that, I need enough strength to bypass its restrictions—not merely meet them." Her crimson gaze, cold and unsettling, fixed on the defeated beast.

​The dying creature, the colossal mind-controlling Fox entity, spoke with a broken, struggling voice. "Foolish child! They're only using you! If you kill me now, there is no returning to yourself! The ritual will be complete!"

​"I don't care," Matilda stated, her expression chillingly vacant. "I have killed so many creatures with this sword that I have lost count. You will make the last monster to be slain by it." She raised the massive, blood-caked sword and plunged it mercilessly into the fox's skull.

BOOM!

​Matilda looked up. In the center of the chamber, a brilliant Golden Chest materialized. She pulled out her sword and walked toward it. Inside lay the last pieces of a legendary armament: a helm, and gold, alongside gemstones and high-grade weapons.

​'Yes! Put it on and become the Queen! Put it on! The power is waiting!' Jabez screamed inwardly, his body vibrating with manic excitement.

​Matilda slowly picked up the red helmet, running a finger over its smooth, cold metal. "All my fighting, killing, and the desperate thirst for power... I am finally here." She slowly raised the helm above her head, lowered it, and secured it in place.

​BOOOOOOM!!!!!!

​A dense, terrifying wave of Spirit Energy, burst out from Matilda. Her completed red armor and helmet instantly glowed with a blinding, fierce crimson light.

​Jabez, alongside the other team of Vinous, Alastor, Andras, Agrona, and Ernest; all dropped to their knees, finally yielding to the full, resurrected power of their true master.

​"Hahahahaha!!!!"

​A deafening, demonic laughter echoed, shaking the very foundation of the dungeon. Matilda stepped out of the energy wave. Her eyes and hair were fully, lethally crimson, her human appearance twisted into something regal and terrifying.

​"All these years... I am finally back," she declared, a predatory smile splitting her lips.

​She looked down at the sword that had served her well during her relentless ascent. With a wave of her hand, she shattered it into dust.

​"I will keep my word, Madeleine," she said, her new voice a low, resonant rumble. "But I will not use your weapon."

​The terrifying aura of a Sixth Order Peak being spread out from her, filling the entire room, crushing the air itself.

​"Congratulations, My Queen! You're back at your peak!" Vinous called out with a deep bow, not daring to lift his head.

​Matilda—now The Blood Queen—moved her hand. Blood flowed out from the dead fox and condensed, forming ten perfectly armed Blood Warriors, each wielding a blade of concentrated crimson energy.

​"Hahaha! All my original skills and powers are returned! I can finally complete my mission." She smiled, testing her power. With a thought, the Blood Warriors instantly dissolved into a pool of benign crimson liquid, demonstrating effortless control.

​"My children," she announced, her voice resonating across dimensions, sending a mental command to all her remaining minions across the Worlds.

"Come to my mansion in a day. We march soon."

​Before she could take a single step forward, the entire dungeon structure trembled violently. Four enormous, glowing green eyes—each the size of a carriage—materialized directly before her.

​"My Love," Lester's voice—loud, urgent, and amplified by pure spiritual power—sounded throughout the chamber.

​Matilda licked her lips, her crimson eyes gleaming. "I missed you, my love. I am truly sorry for failing the mission initially. It won't happen again—"

​"Forget the mission for now," Lester cut her off, his voice sharper than a sword. His giant green eyes were fixed intently on her. "I have something far more important to tell you."

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