The commander disappeared while the core, pulsing like a massive heart, beat steadily below. Li could see it clearly because the entire stretch of the planet ahead had collapsed—or maybe it had never existed. They were standing at the very bottom of a civilization's megapolis, and beneath that was what remained of untouched nature.
Some of the natural rock still held, but it was sparse. What mattered was what lay below. The origin of the hivemind was here, and they were in real trouble.
Any logical risk calculation led to one conclusion—there was no running from this. The core was exposed, and the hive would hit them with everything it had. Even the drill team hadn't been worth the effort until now.
Around them, from every level of the massive hollowed-out structure, the rumbling grew louder. It was the sound of a trillion insectoid feet, all closing in at once. The final strike was coming.
Now Li understood the bigger picture. The other squads had sacrificed everything, spreading the fight across the planet to buy time. By luck or brutal fate, Li's group had gotten the closest to the core—and now it was their fight to finish.
The others couldn't help anymore. They were evacuating, and the lures pulling the swarm to the surface wouldn't hold much longer. Li looked at Naryssa, who was keeping him from falling, then at the other Guardians who met his gaze and looked past him toward the core.
One Guardian spoke up. "You've got the system cannon, right? Systems boost power with will. I say we fly straight at it before they bury whatever that is."
Li turned back to the core. A black wave of insectoids was already crawling over it, forming a living wall with their strongest soldiers. They had to act before it was completely sealed—and seeing it like this, Li realized just how massive the organ truly was.
"Propulsion system?" he asked.
Several Guardians nodded without hesitation. The plan was simple: dive straight into the core and hope the cannon had enough power to finish the job. Another Guardian held his partner for a moment, and when Li turned back, Naryssa reached for him.
But by then, he had already jumped.
Even with propulsion at full thrust, the heart didn't seem to get any closer. They had a long way to go, but the speed kept building, like a meteor falling toward a small world. Air resistance slammed against Li's already bruised and battered body.
He looked around and saw the hollow remains of what had once been a planet. Now it was little more than an empty shell—and it wasn't going to survive this battle. The heart raced up at them faster with every passing second.
Li felt a wave of vengeance swell in his chest and grinned. The grin widened the closer they got. Finger on the trigger, cannon aimed dead center, he let the speed strip away his pain and fear.
The massive shapes guarding the heart started to come into view, but Li wasn't afraid. All he wanted now was to kill every last one of them. They had no right to be here, and they knew it.
The cannon started to glow red hot. Li noticed his armor was heating up too—they were falling that fast. The heat seared into his skin but cauterized his wounds, and he welcomed the pain.
The heart filled his vision completely now. There would be no slowing down. He and the others gritted their teeth as the cannon shook violently in his grip, glowing bright with energy.
The defenders grew larger—horrid figures with compound eyes staring upward. The last vulnerable spot on the core was shrinking. Li's heartbeat synced with the fury in his blood.
Even if they managed to cover it, Li was going to tear through them. He didn't care how much was in the way. He was going to blast straight through the hive's heart.
They were almost there now. Every detail could be seen—millions of insectoids, throwing themselves into the breach, crawling on top of one another to close the gap. But they were a second too late.
Li pulled the trigger and roared as the cannon fired. The world lit up in an instant. Light engulfed everything.
They pierced the core like a bullet through flesh. From a cross-section, it was a clean shot—one focused strike through the center of evil. Even inside the heart, they could feel the hivemind unraveling.
The surrounding tissue softened as they accelerated through it. Veins split open, flesh tore away, and the cannon kept blasting pure energy forward. Li didn't stop grinning.
They were cutting through the core from the inside, tearing it apart one layer at a time. A final blow delivered with absolute force. And Li knew one thing with full certainty:
If he had to do this a trillion times more—he would.