Kaisel did not respond. In that moment, his gaze sank into an abyss; his expression reflected satisfaction.
Suddenly, he let out a loud laugh and spoke:
"At last… at last they received what they deserved. But this still doesn't take away the rage I feel."
"Back then, that bastard defeated me. I had to flee to survive. I hope he's watching how my men are massacring your descendants."
Suddenly, one of the men monitoring the screens said:
"Sir… we're under attack."
Meanwhile, at the Atlas base in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia), Irina analyzed the patterns shown by the satellite images tracking part of the Kartnod fleet heading toward the American continent.
"This doesn't make sense… why did they split into two groups?" she murmured.
"One is heading south, and they haven't concealed themselves like they did when they attacked us."
"What's in the south?"
While Irina tried to understand the behavior of the Kartnod fleet, at the Orleans mansion, Eleonor and Sophie analyzed the information provided by Atlas.
"This doesn't make any sense," Sophie said. "What are they planning? Why are they heading south? Most of their fleet is crossing the southern part of Africa right now."
"What could possibly be in the southern part of the planet that we don't know about?"
At that moment, a communications agent interrupted:
"We've been informed that Miss Irina is now able to communicate. She will do so in approximately ten minutes."
Étienne replied:
"Perfect. I need to ask her many questions."
Victoria City (Canada), main base of the Lefebvre family.
Aiden Lefebvre and Keeve Poirier were coordinating everything to depart as quickly as possible.
"How are things going?" Aiden asked.
"Everything is almost ready," replied Lissa Murray, engineer and head of flight control. "The ships are on the runway, awaiting your orders."
Keeve interrupted:
"We already know where they're going to strike. There's no more time to waste. The Aguilar family forces are ready and are waiting for us to join the battle."
"According to our records, their Silver Eagles were one of the most powerful attack forces during the war five thousand years ago."
Suddenly, the alarms began to sound.
"What's happening?"
An impact struck the runway.
Portland, Oregon (United States).
"The destroyers are ready," they informed Admiral Allen Smith.
"Very well. Give the order to depart. We'll head to the Mexican coast. We'll intercept the enemy fleet before they arrive."
He had not finished giving the order when one of the ships was struck, followed by a massive explosion.
Multiple projectiles began hitting the fleet.
"Report! What is happening?"
"Sir, we're under attack! Units twenty-three and forty-nine have been hit!"
One of the screens displayed multiple aircraft approaching at high speed.
Meanwhile, Irina had already established communication with the Orleans mansion.
Noah, Eleonor, Sophie, and the leaders of the Orleans family were gathered, waiting for her report.
"Miss Irina, we're glad to see you've recovered," said Étienne. "We apologize for asking this given your condition, but the situation is critical."
"I understand perfectly," Irina replied. "I've been placed in command of the Sevianko family forces until the Mark manifests in a new guardian. So let's not waste any time."
Kenyi spoke from the back of the room:
"Miss Irina, could you inform us what happened in the battle?"
Irina closed her eyes.
Images began to project onto the floating screens.
"It will be easier if I show you."
In the distance, distorted dark shapes could be seen…
Then they emerged from the water.
Massive creatures tore through the hulls of the magical ships as if they were made of paper.
"What the hell are those things?" Sophie asked.
"Leviathans," Étienne replied. "But I thought they no longer existed. According to the records, the Kartnod created them as biological weapons… just like the Claimoors."
Irina continued:
"I counted at least ten… but I'm not sure that was all of them. When they broke through our magical defenses, a rain of projectiles followed."
"Their technology surpasses ours by a wide margin…"
She paused.
"And to make matters worse… the Claimoors. Hundreds of them boarded our ships. Fast. Lethal. Within minutes, thousands were dead."
"Mikhail was the only one capable of fighting them… but he was overwhelmed."
"He sacrificed himself so we could escape."
Eleonor stood up:
"Irina… did you see where the leviathans came from?"
"They didn't just emerge from the water," she replied.
"And they didn't come from the Mirror Dimension either."
"I saw reality distort… and in that moment, more ships were brought into this plane."
Silence filled the room.
Then a young woman burst in:
"We have new reports! The bases in Canada and the United States are under attack right now!"