"Hmm? Was that so? That was rather moving."
The sky was torn apart by two utterly different forces. One carried absolute strangeness; amid pure darkness, emerald lightning burst forth, and the Forge God struck sparks from the anvil. One hammer blow decided victory or defeat.
The other force... carried the resolve of an ant swarm charging an elephant. Though small, it flowed like a mighty current.
The fleets fell like rain. Fighter craft formed ranks across the heavens, carving sweeping arcs through the sky. Yet they no longer rushed toward the sea of stars, but toward the vast land the T'au had painstakingly claimed step by step.
Descending, descending—charge!
Hundreds of millions of vessels plunged from the heavens toward the earth, laden with the determination of farewell and explosive shells. Ceilings scattered in all directions, waterfalls hung upside down, and the flames behind their engines reflected rivers of light in countless eyes. Thousands upon thousands of light-rivers streamed downward; a species born of water would ultimately return to the celestial river.
Until the final second before extinction, this species had finally learned to be cruel to itself and cruel to the galaxy. It had taken that step through the Great Filter, but everything was already too late.
Hades felt somewhat moved. Once again, he recognized the T'au's terrifying adaptability and flexible moral limits. Naturally, any race that could survive and expand in this world had its own strengths—
But regrettably, this galaxy was vast enough to breed countless races, yet narrow enough to allow only one overlord.
Those who ascended the throne were always drenched in blood.
Above the gray-and-bloody sky, the Destroyer descended and hovered in the air. Pitch-blackness wrapped his entire body, leaving only a point of scarlet in his left eye. His cloak, like a two-dimensional foil,