The ocean was restless.
Dark waves crashed against the ruined coastline as a storm gathered above.
Maxruell stood alone on the broken highway overlooking the sea.
Behind him: an empty city.
In front of him: warships.
Dozens of them.
Hunter fleets lined the horizon like steel giants.
Missile batteries locked onto him.
Cannons hummed with anti-Significant energy.
A voice echoed through loudspeakers.
"MAXRUELL. ALSO KNOWN AS THE RED KING."
Maxruell didn't move.
"YOU ARE ORDERED TO SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY."
Wind whipped his coat behind him.
He looked out at the fleet.
"…No."
Inside the lead warship, alarms beeped.
"Target refusing compliance."
The fleet commander spoke calmly.
"Then we proceed."
He raised his hand.
"Fire."
Missiles screamed across the sky.
Hundreds of them.
The night lit up like a meteor storm.
Maxruell watched them approach.
The red stone in his chest pulsed violently.
Kill them.
Destroy them.
Maxruell exhaled slowly.
"…Fine."
Shadows spread from his feet.
Not just a small wave.
An ocean of darkness.
The ground behind him cracked open.
The shadows surged upward like a living tide.
Missiles entered the darkness And vanished.
The explosions never came.
The fleet commander stared at the radar.
"…Where did they go?"
Maxruell lifted one hand.
The darkness answered.
The sea itself began to move.
A massive shadow rose from the water.
Like a giant serpent made of night.
Sailors on the ships panicked.
"What the hell is that?!"
The shadow serpent slammed into the first destroyer.
Metal folded like paper.
The ship snapped in half.
Flames erupted into the sky.
"RETURN FIRE!" the commander shouted.
Energy cannons blasted across the ocean.
Blue beams cut through the darkness.
For a moment they pushed the shadows back.
Maxruell staggered slightly.
The energy burned his arm.
He looked down at the wound.
Blood.
His first real injury tonight.
He smiled faintly.
"So you can hurt me after all."
The stone pulsed again.
Harder.
Stronger.
Maxruell's eyes burned brighter.
"You'll regret that."
Darkness erupted across the ocean.
Not just shadows now.
An entire storm of them.
Giant claws rose from the sea.
They tore through ships.
One carrier was lifted into the air by shadow tendrils—
Then crushed like a toy.
Explosions lit the horizon.
Ships capsized.
Sailors screamed.
The ocean turned into a battlefield of fire and darkness.
Inside the command ship…
The fleet commander watched in horror.
"He's destroying the entire fleet…"
A soldier whispered,
"That's not a man."
The commander activated the emergency signal.
"All units retreat!"
But it was too late.
Maxruell stepped onto the water itself.
Shadows forming a path beneath his feet.
He walked calmly toward the final ship.
The command vessel.
The commander grabbed his pistol.
"Prepare to repel boarders!"
The ship shook violently.
Something massive hit the hull.
A shadow claw tore through the deck.
Maxruell stepped through the smoke.
Crimson eyes glowing.
Every soldier aimed their weapons.
"FIRE!"
Energy beams blasted him.
The shadows absorbed most of the damage.
Maxruell moved like a phantom.
One swing of darkness—
Five soldiers fell instantly.
Another step—
The control room shattered.
The commander fired his pistol desperately.
The bullet bounced off a wall of shadow.
Maxruell stopped in front of him.
"…This fleet was your idea?"
The commander swallowed.
"You're a threat to the entire world."
Maxruell looked around at the burning ship.
"Good."
He raised his hand.
Darkness filled the room.
"Because the world just declared war on me."
The shadows crushed the control room.
The final ship exploded behind him.
Hours later…
The storm faded.
The ocean burned with wreckage.
The entire hunter fleet was gone.
Maxruell stood alone on the ruined coast again.
Breathing heavily.
His power had consumed nearly everything around him.
The red stone glowed faintly.
Satisfied.
Maxruell looked toward the distant horizon.
"…Juvy."
He could still feel her presence.
Still alive.
Still fighting somewhere.
The prophecy continued pulling them toward each other.
Whether they wanted it or not.
High above the planet…
Mother Cain watched the destruction report arrive.
Serah looked stunned.
"He wiped out an entire fleet alone."
Cain nodded calmly.
"Yes."
She zoomed in on the satellite image of the burning ocean.
"The Red King has fully awakened."
Serah crossed her arms.
"And the Bright Sister?"
Cain switched the screen to the highway battle where Juvy fought the hunter army.
"She's next."
Two Significants.
Two unstoppable forces.
And the world was learning a terrifying truth.
They had just started fighting.