“Good afternoon, all you denizens of the planet Earth. This is GNN and I’m your host, Brendan Baird, bringing you all the updates you need. Today we have some tragic news. An unknown assailant attacked Tokyo earlier today, engaging the three shinobi known as the Three Hopes of Japan. The three have not been seen since...and the populace of Japan has started to assume the worst."

 

“All Japan mourns the loss of their heroes. The Japanese Prime Minister was announced a call for any information on these assailants and has spoken with Director Green on the issue.”

 

“But the attacks were not limited to Japan. We’ve confirmed that Vaidehi Dayal was also targeted by similar assailants, though she appears to have gone without a fight. Once known as the Destroyer of Ulsan, Ms. Dayal has been working with the ILS to atone, and Director Green has stated she considers this an attack on the ILS itself.”

 

“Additional events occurred in the same time frame, including a super attack on the controversial EL Bank, and currently uncertain events in remote parts of the North Sea, the Himalayan Mountains, and Morocco which dealt massive damage to the surrounding environments. It is unclear if any of these events are related. World governments and the ILS have promised to investigate and determine the truth behind these events, but no further statements have been issued as of yet.”

 

“These are frightening times for sure, but I think we can all agree it is a relief we have Director Green and the ILS on the job. I’ve no doubt they will ultimately come up with an answer to these things.”

 

“Later tonight, GNN will consult the experts. Tune in to hear what they have to say about the possible causes of these events and the likely ILS response. And now for a word from our sponsors.”

 

---

 

Some time later…

 

Nekoma, North Dakota. The site of an ambitious but ultimately abandoned U.S. missile defense program. The location housed a large, pyramid shaped radar facility now known as the Nekoma Pyramid.

When a private astronomy research foundation offered to buy the facility, the U.S. government leapt at the chance. Any chance to recoup the six billion dollars they had spent on the abandoned facility was greatly appreciated. Some might question whether leaving a massive radar facility on American soil designed to track inter-continental ballistic missiles in private hands was wise. But, well, it wasn’t like the military had left the actual technology behind.

And with the advent of the super-era, such questions were largely forgotten. Aurora Legion and Captain Hot Devil had stopped a nuclear missile after it had launched, after all, so even those weapons of mass destruction began to feel increasingly obsolete. So no one really cared who did what with some abandoned radar facility.

 

Which is why Bob’s wider Nemesis organization could use the facility as they pleased.

 

Of course, they weren’t focused on tracking anything conventional on American soil. They wouldn’t get any value spying on planes flying over North Dakota, after all.

 

So what did Nemesis use it for?

 

Insurance.

 

The radars, upgraded with Elise’s data to track more than just electromagnetic radiation, were pointed all over, searching for abnormal energy signatures of any kind. All over North America…and even beyond the Earth, into space.

After all, cultivators were real.

Ninjas were real.

Magic was real.

Beings from myth and legend were real.

So…

 

What else might be real?

 

Bob wasn’t sure…

But it never hurt to be prepared.

So it was that Nemesis staff were intently monitoring the facility when one of the screens began to blink.

A deep space sensor, aiming at anything approaching the solar system.

A red dot appeared on it.

 

Then ten.

 

Then a hundred.

 

Then a thousand.

 

And counting…

 

They made the call to Bob.

 

---

 

At roughly the same time, the ILS’s own early-warning facility reacted as well. ILS staff rushed into a frenzy. Londyn rushed back into the office, trying to determine what was going on.

Similar scenes played out in every country monitoring space. Thousands of unidentified objects, rapidly approaching the Earth. All on a direct intercept course. World leaders debated what to do.

And then…every television, computer monitor, phone, and screen on Earth received a transmission…

 

---

 

A man appeared…or what appeared to be a man. He resembled a human male…if not for the glowing eyes and veins pulsing with purple light. He wore what seemed like a military dress uniform, covered to the brim in glowing medals, and a red cape on his back. He sat on a metal throne in some sort of high-tech command deck.

When he spoke his eyes flashed briefly. Every human listening heard his voice in their own preferred language, despite only a single mouth speaking.

 

“Greetings, my new, primitive subjects. This is High Admiral Siendir, Governor of the Siendir Dominion of the Vophae Imperium, Vanquisher of the Stellar Wyrm, Conqueror of the Krauk United Clans, and now ruler of your primitive little planet. In exactly one standard galactic day, your political and military leaders will gather at your ‘United Nations’ to pay your respects, where we will discuss the plan to uplift your backward society to galactic standards and integrate it into my Domain. Failure to comply will be met with appropriate consequences.”

 

With that, High Admiral Siendir pressed a button on the armrest of his throne.

The screens changed to display a grand fleet of massive warships, spread across the entire solar system and surrounding the Earth. One of the ships closest to Earth began to move, the front of its bow beginning to glow.

Something like a star fired from its bow, descending upon the planet.

The view changed to show Cincinnati, Ohio, as the star descended upon it.

A massive flash of light covered the screen.

 

And then Cincinnati was gone. Along with its three hundred thousand residents.

 

The screen changed back to the High Admiral.

 

“I look forward to your compliance.”

 

And then the transmission cut.

 

---

 

Londyn heaved a sigh. The world leaders were still yelling at one another at the UN. But well, this time they were mostly just putting on a show, venting their stress.

 

After all, they had all already decided what to do.

 

Which is when Londyn received a call.

She looked at the number.

She sighed again.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to answer…

But now was not the time for personal doubts.

She took a deep breath…and then answered the phone.

 

“...hi Bob.”

 

“Londyn.”

 

“Let me guess, you want me to tell you what the world leaders are going to do?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What do you think? Surrender, of course.”

 

“And you?”

 

“Me too, Bob.”

 

“Really?”

 

“I don’t see what other choice we have. It’s not like my people can jump into space. Even if they could, you saw what happened, right? A single one of their ships destroyed a city. So what happens if their entire fleet fires? Millions, maybe billions dead. Even if we could win this fight…we would still lose the war, Bob. Even for the ILS, even for the heroes…that’s not a fight we can take.”

 

“I see.”

 

Londyn heaved a sigh.

 

“That’s how it is, Bob. Look…I saw the footage from the Himalayas, Bob. I’m sorry, I know she was your friend, but if that one is gone…then sorry to say this but we’re out of options.”

 

“...fine. I’ll do it myself.”

 

“...Bob?”

 

“You might be out of options, but I’m not.”

 

---

 

Back in Nemesis HQ, Bob hung up his phone. He glanced around. All his staff and allies were looking at him, some in person, some through screens. He took a deep breath.

 

“Do it.”

 

Everyone leapt to their stations, rushing to go to work. Minions dialed numbers as fast as they could, giving out classified codes to trigger the operation.

 

---

 

In the Tanifuji workshop, Kanna and Klara hooked up Elise to a large device, capable of broadcasting signals across the entire world. They nodded at her and she closed her human eye, focusing all her attention on her AI.

 

“Establishing connection…locating assets…assuming direct control…”

 

Dormant spider drones hidden in military installations around the world woke up, and began crawling to their objectives…

 

Missile silos.

 

They began to crawl into the missiles, uploading new target coordinates directly to each of the missiles…

 

---

 

A certain military official nodded as he listened to his phone. He turned to the others in his installation.

 

“Operation is a go.”

 

The soldiers got to work, opening certain cases and turning certain keys…

 

A scene that repeated itself in many installations around the world…

 

---

 

And in others...

 

Kiyosuke and Nana stood in the room. Unconscious soldiers lay all around them. They picked up the launch keys, nodded at each other, and turned them at the same time…

 

---

 

Monsters kicked down the door of the Herald of Meteors’ office. The Herald himself jumped up.

 

“What’s the meaning of this?!”

 

“Oh my, are you saying I’m not welcome here?”

 

Arachnalich strode into the room.

 

“Ah! O-Of course not, Mistress Arachnalich! In fact, you are more than welcome to join us! W-We were just about to initiate my grand design.”

 

She chuckled.

 

“Oh I know. I look forward to seeing it in action. In fact…I have a suggestion as to your first target…”

 

---

 

Back in the UN, several leaders' phones began ringing. Those particular leaders began to pale and shout into their phones. Londyn herself got a call. She held her forehead and heaved a sigh as she listened to the report.

Someone turned on the two screens at the General Assembly. All the world leaders glanced at it and froze.

Across the world…

In every country that had them…

Nuclear silos were opening up.

And ICBMs launched into the sky.

The world leaders screamed at the nuclear powers, who denied authorizing any launches.

Londyn just continued to hold her head.

 

She was pretty sure she knew who did.

 

---

 

The ICBMs headed straight up and out of the atmosphere, following new flight plans no nation had programmed them for.

They flew out into space…

And started to impact the warships in orbit, bathing them in atomic fire.

 

In addition…

 

Around the world.

Doomsday devices of various sorts began to hum to life.

The Herald of Meteor’s Holy Magnetizer pulled asteroids from afar…and smashing them into warships that happened to be in the way.

A rebuilt Mega Sunray fired its concentrated heat beam straight out into space…and whatever might be waiting there.

Lord Ghastly Masquerade’s dark ritual to inflict countless minds with horrifying illusions activated…with a different target than he had originally planned.

 

And countless more…

 

An entire wave of ships, the ones closest to the planet, were all heavily damaged or destroyed, some intact but with their crews incapacitated.

 

And then the rest of the fleet stirred into motion.

 

Whatever the intentions of the world leaders...

 

Whether they liked it or not...

 

The Earth had just declared war.

 

All at the command of a mere faceless minion.