Chapter 121: Last Resort

"What?!"

?Louis’s voice echoed through the mental link, betraying a rare loss of composure.

?A Worldbreaker Core?

?For a moment, he wondered whether he had misunderstood Seraphina. Unfortunately, the heavy silence that followed confirmed his worst suspicions.

?The woman wasn’t joking.

?Louis closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath.

?Of all the horrifying things that could have happened, why did it have to be this?

?The situation had changed entirely.

?A Worldbreaker Core wasn’t an ordinary weapon that could be neutralized by destroying its energy source or dismantling its components.

It was a planetary extermination device specifically engineered to ensure that even powerful beings couldn’t casually interfere with its operation.

?Its destructive mechanism relied on multiple interconnected components, each designed to trigger a catastrophic reaction if someone attempted to disable the weapon improperly.

?And the most troublesome part was its failsafe.

?Even if they discovered the core’s exact location, tampering with it could trigger immediate detonation.

Attempting to teleport it away wouldn’t solve the problem either, the weapon’s safeguards were designed to prevent precisely that kind of spatial interference.

?In other words, the more carelessly they acted, the greater the possibility that they would destroy the planet themselves.

?Louis pressed two fingers against his temple.

?What a nightmare.

?He had encountered weapons of mass destruction before, but a properly constructed Worldbreaker Core was an entirely different matter.

It had been engineered with Ascendant Lords in mind. An ordinary Lord, even one possessing considerable strength, couldn’t simply overpower its mechanisms.

?At least a Tier VII entity could handle such a weapon with relative ease. Below that level, attempting to neutralize it without specialized knowledge or equipment was little better than gambling with the lives of everyone on the planet.

?And Louis was nowhere near Tier VII.

?He opened the mental link again. "Seraphina, what do you suggest we do?"

?Her answer came immediately, cold and pragmatic.

?"Abandon the planet."

?Louis fell silent.

?Seraphina continued, her voice unwavering. "There’s nothing we can accomplish by remaining here if the core is already active. Any attempt to interfere with it could trigger the failsafe, and I’m not willing to gamble with Ruby’s life."

?She paused briefly, her tone softening into absolute maternal conviction. "I won’t leave my granddaughter on a planet that’s about to be destroyed."

?Louis couldn’t fault her reasoning.

?In fact, it was the most logical solution available to them.

?If the Worldbreaker Core couldn’t be neutralized safely, evacuation was the only way to guarantee their survival.

Seraphina possessed the strength to protect herself and her granddaughter, and Louis could transport them off-world before the weapon detonated.

?But as he considered the proposal, a bitter, heavy sensation settled in his chest.

?Abandon the planet.

?The words sounded simple enough.

?Yet what did they actually mean in practice?

?Planet Roca was home to billions of people. Its sprawling cities were filled with families, workers, children, and countless others who had spent their entire lives believing that the Astral Dominion would protect them.

?They had no idea that their world was facing imminent destruction.

?Even now, millions of them were likely glued to the news, waiting for their government to reassure them that everything would be fine.

?And Louis was supposed to just leave them behind to burn?

?His expression darkened.

?Evacuating an entire planet wasn’t something that could be accomplished in a few minutes.

Even with the Dominion’s vast transportation infrastructure, relocating billions of people required enormous resources, coordination, and time.

?The situation was made worse by the fact that high-tier spatial transit wasn’t equally accessible to everyone.

?A sufficiently powerful Lord could transport themselves and a small group across vast distances, but moving an entire planetary population was another matter entirely.

Even the most capable Lords would struggle to evacuate more than a fraction of a percent within such a narrow window.

?And what about those who couldn’t afford off-world transportation?

?What about the families who had no connections to powerful Lords?

?What about the countless ordinary citizens who lacked both the wealth and the influence to secure an escape hatch?

?Would they simply be left to disintegrate into cosmic dust?

?Louis clenched his fist, his knuckles turning pale.

?He had lived for centuries. He had witnessed galactic wars, political betrayals, and the total annihilation of ancient civilizations.

He understood better than anyone that no ruler could save everyone, no matter how powerful they became.

?But understanding a brutal reality didn’t mean he had to accept it without a fight.

?He was the Overseer of the Astral Dominion.

?His responsibility extended far beyond the elite families and influential Lords who could easily secure their own safety.

The Dominion existed for its people, not merely for those who possessed the strength to protect themselves.

?If he abandoned billions of innocent citizens without exhausting every possible alternative, how could he look himself in the mirror?

?How could he call himself an Overseer?

?Louis slowly opened his eyes, his gaze hardening. "Seraphina, I understand your concerns. However, abandoning the planet must be our absolute last resort. We need to investigate whether there’s another way to—"

?"And what happens if your investigation triggers the failsafe?"

?Her voice cut through his words like a blade.

?Louis fell silent.

?Seraphina wasn’t being unreasonable or cruel. She was protecting her family, just as he was trying to protect the Dominion.

?Her obligations and his were pulling them in completely opposite directions.

?He couldn’t blame her for prioritizing Ruby’s safety above all else. If the situation were reversed, he would make the exact same decision for someone he loved.

?Still, he couldn’t bring himself to accept that abandoning Roca was their only option.

?There had to be something they hadn’t considered, some tiny flaw in the weapon’s design, some unconventional method of neutralization, some hidden variable that everyone else had overlooked.

?Louis combed through his centuries of memories, recalling every piece of technical data he had ever acquired on Worldbreaker Cores.

?Nothing came to mind.

?His expression grew increasingly grim.

?’Am I really going to stand by and watch a world die?’

?He had faced countless agonizing decisions throughout his long life, but few had ever left him feeling so utterly powerless.

?Then, just as he was about to respond to Seraphina, another voice echoed through the mental link.

?"There might be a solution."

?Louis froze.

?For a second, he wondered if his desperate mind had conjured the words out of thin air.

?Then he recognized the calm, steady voice.

?Cassian.

?The young Lord had been listening to their entire conversation.

?Louis’s eyes widened slightly as a sudden flicker of hope ignited in his chest.

?A solution?

?He didn’t know what Cassian had in mind, but the fact that the young man had spoken with such quiet confidence was enough to make him halt his spiraling thoughts.

?Perhaps Cassian had discovered a variable they had overlooked. Perhaps one of his bizarre, unprecedented abilities could provide an alternative path forward.

?After all, the young Lord had already demonstrated multiple capabilities that completely shattered conventional knowledge.

?Louis immediately focused his full attention on the mental link. "Explain."

?His voice carried an urgent edge he rarely allowed others to hear.

?"If you have a way to stop this, Cassian... I want to hear it."