In the great hall, Sparta and Thragg stood several meters apart, both assuming Viltrumite fighting stances. Neither moved first.
Soundless tension filled the air. Then, thunder suddenly roared outside the Imperial Palace, and a ghastly white bolt of lightning split the night.
The flash of lightning seemed to become the signal for battle, tearing apart their taut standoff.
Both erupted with astonishing speed at the same instant, their feet stamping two deep cracks into the hard floor.
Sparta's feet left the ground as his body shot forward on the force of his powerful push. He drew back his raised right arm and attacked Thragg before him.
Thragg planted his left foot, leaned slightly forward, drew his right arm back to gather strength, then swung it at Sparta.
Two fists larger than an ordinary person's head, carrying the force to tear through the air, collided at the same point.
A visible shockwave swept madly outward from between their fists, shattering every pane of glass in the hall into glittering fragments.
Algor's skull, displayed atop the raised platform, was blown from its perch by the gale and tumbled down. A small bone fragment cracked away from it with a crisp sound.
"No—!"
Hearing the sound behind him, Thragg let out a heart-wrenching roar.
The late Emperor Algor was the god and faith in his heart. Even if it was only a skull, he would never allow it to be stained by even a speck of dust or suffer the slightest damage.
"You still dare lose focus?!"
Seeing this, Sparta's muscles bulged as his right arm erupted with even greater force, driving fiercely forward.
Thragg was still immersed in the grief of the skull behind him when an immense force surged through his fist.
Before he could muster any resistance, the overwhelming impact