As soon as Galon received the order, he turned into a beam of light that shot straight into the sky. In the blink of an eye, he reached beyond the atmosphere, placing himself between Earth and the Accuser fleet.
"Report! Enemy detected!"
"Beep beep beep…"
"Identity confirmed: Human from Earth. Threat level… cannot be measured!"
Though Ronan was a bloodthirsty warmonger, he wasn't an idiot. He didn't need the instruments to tell him that the figure blocking their path was not someone to be trifled with. To survive alone in space without any equipment — anyone capable of that was undoubtedly a cosmic-level powerhouse.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Ronan stepped onto the command deck and shouted.
"I'm here to teach you what it means to be a proper guest."
"We are—"
"Remember this, Kree: my name is Galon, Silver Saint of the constellation Cepheus."
As Ronan watched the red alert on the instruments and the continually climbing power readings, he made a snap decision and ordered, "Open fire."
…
…
Countless energy cannons, proton torpedoes, and planet-destroying missiles locked onto Galon.
But Galon showed no fear. He raised both arms high.
"[Galactic…]"
The dimensional gate behind him opened once again — this time on a scale dozens of times greater than on Earth. Each planet in that alternate dimension radiated apocalyptic power.
With a roar, he brought down his arms: "[…Explosion]!"
Countless planets burst forth from the dimensional rift, smashing forward relentlessly. The energy cannons and proton torpedoes struck these planets like pebbles tossed into a deep lake — barely a ripple before vanishing. Even though the planet-destroying missiles could obliterate a single world, new planets quickly filled the gaps.
In an instant, the Galactic Explosion tore through the Accuser fleet's firepower net. What had looked like a chaotic bombardment of planets suddenly revealed terrifying precision — each planet homed in on a target like a guided missile.
One ship after another was obliterated by planet strikes. Ronan's hammer slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.
"Retreat…"
"Lord Ronan, what did you—"
"I said retreat! Full speed! Flagship jumps first, the rest stay behind to cover!"
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing Ronan's command clearly, the subordinates didn't dare hesitate. They'd been paralyzed with fear. Had it not been for Ronan's brutality, they would've already fled on their own.
Now, with official orders, they were overjoyed. They turned their ships and activated the warp drives, vanishing from the solar system.
As for the remaining ships ordered to stay behind, they too wanted to escape. They didn't want to follow Ronan's order to cover the retreat. But Galon gave them no chance — some were destroyed before they could turn around; others, right as they initiated warp, smashed directly into incoming planets and were annihilated.
"Tch, and here I thought he was some big shot — turns out he's just a coward." Galon scornfully looked in the direction Ronan fled.
In Sanctuary, every Saint was taught to regard all other Saints as brothers-in-arms. Regardless of status or strength, they treated one another like family — united, protective, and caring.
For someone to abandon their subordinates and companions was despicable to Galon. He'd thought Ronan might have some kind of trump card for an honorable duel. But no — he fled alone.
Galon made up his mind: if they ever crossed paths again, he would kill Ronan to restore the honor of warriors.
After one last look at the debris floating in space, Galon returned to Earth.
…
On Earth, Fury and the others waited anxiously. They knew Galon was powerful, but no human — in their minds — could single-handedly wipe out a space fleet.
They thought Melin was making a joke at the expense of the entire planet. Just as they were about to erupt in anger, they saw bursts of small fireworks in the sky.
"Are those… explosions?"
"What the heck is happening!?"
"Sir, maybe you should go help him… He's alone up there—"
Ignoring their pleas, Melin kept his calm, gentle smile as he looked up at the sky. He knew Galon's true strength. The Accuser fleet? That was nothing. Galon could single-handedly raid the Kree Empire and fight his way to their capital, Hala.
Of course, that's assuming the Supreme Intelligence didn't intervene. Though it had no physical form and existed more like a spiritual entity, it could still be a major hindrance to a powerhouse like Galon.
Once your personal strength reached a certain level, logic no longer applied.
Sure enough, Galon didn't disappoint. He soon returned to Melin's side.
"Milord, mission accomplished. The Accuser fleet is destroyed. Ronan escaped aboard the flagship," Galon reported.
"Impossible!" Before Melin could speak, Yon-Rogg interrupted with a shout of disbelief.
The Kree Empire was one of the three great superpowers in the universe — a true galactic overlord. Ronan's Accuser fleet ranked among their top three strike forces and had destroyed countless civilizations. And now… one man had wiped it out? He couldn't believe it.
Melin found this amusing. Even Carol Danvers, after fully breaking free from the Supreme Intelligence, could destroy the Accuser fleet on her own. In truth, there were many top-tier beings in the universe who could do the same with ease.
Odin, the Ancient One, awakened Thor with divine soul — any of them could.
The Kree Empire might be one of the top three cosmic empires, but the only truly formidable entity they had was the Supreme Intelligence.
"Oh, I almost forgot something," Melin said as he remembered the Supreme Intelligence. He lifted Yon-Rogg by the collar.
"You… what are you doing… mmm—"
Using the equipment on Yon-Rogg, Melin linked directly to the Supreme Intelligence on Hala. Since the other side had already come knocking, it was only polite for him to return the gesture.
…
A pure white space with floating streams of silver fluid — this was the mental domain of the Supreme Intelligence. The being that appeared before Melin was merely a glowing orb of light.
"You… have awakened."
"Oh? So you know who I am?"
Melin grew interested. With a casual wave, he conjured a chair and sat down to listen.
The Supreme Intelligence trembled. This was its realm. Here, it controlled everything. Creating a chair should've been as simple as thinking about it.
It could do that — but Melin shouldn't be able to. Yet he did. It was as if Melin had taken over its privileges.
Still, seeing Melin's calm demeanor, it realized he wasn't here to fight. It forced itself to relax.
"Earth is a very ancient planet, once a galactic overlord. Of course I have data on it. About the gods… about you… Melin, Father of the Earth."
"Interesting. So you've been observing Earth since the mythological age?"
"Earth… is too ancient. According to what we've gathered, in the primordial era, it wasn't even a planet in the solar system. It harbored a mysterious force feared across the universe. We tried to conquer it. Not just us — the Nova Empire, the Kree, the Krylorians — we all tried. But…"
Melin didn't interrupt — this was a rare chance to hear about the ancient past, a time even he knew little about. It was an opportunity to better understand the universe — and Earth.
"…we all failed. The losses were enormous. It took us a thousand years to recover. After that, we changed strategies — from conquest to observation. Or rather…"
"Conducting secret experiments?" Melin asked.
After all, the Inhumans were a product of Kree experimentation. There was no way the Kree had never been to Earth.
"…Yes. We wanted to understand Earth's immense power. But humanity… while full of potential, was far too weak. The experiments yielded nothing, and we gave up.
But your existence… was one of the main reasons we didn't dare invade Earth. Especially you, Melin, the only human whose power rivaled that of the gods — a true anomaly.
But we must thank you. You killed your fellow gods, weakened Earth, and—"
"The gods I killed were never my companions. And Earth… is still strong." Melin's voice was calm, but the power behind his words made the Supreme Intelligence tremble with fear.
"Now, tell me more about the primordial era. I'm interested." Melin's tone wasn't a request — it was a command.
The Supreme Intelligence hesitated. It couldn't read Melin's thoughts or access his information the way it did with the Kree. After much thought, it chose to comply — the sooner it could send him away, the better.
"The records of the primordial era are vague. Our observations show that before the gods of Earth appeared, there was another group of divine beings. Unspeakable, unnamed, unobservable by any technology.
What we could gather suggests they were a unified race — immensely powerful. United, there was no force in the universe that could defeat them.
But for unknown reasons, one day Earth released an energy wave that altered the entire fabric of the universe. Earth appeared in the solar system's orbit, and those mysterious deities vanished. After that came the age of the gods — and then you."
Melin digested this information carefully. He could confirm that those mysterious beings were the eastern celestial gods.
But the fact that Earth only entered the solar system after those gods disappeared… now that was intriguing.
Where had Earth been before? Why did it move into the solar system? What were the eastern gods' true goals?
Countless questions swirled in Melin's mind, but no answers emerged.
"Is there anything else… you want to know?" the Supreme Intelligence asked. If it had a face, it would've been drenched in cold sweat.
"Fine. Send me all your data on the primordial era."
"Very well."
Melin received the data in his mind. He didn't plan to linger. But before leaving, there was one last thing to do.
A sword appeared in his hand. With a swift motion, he slashed a massive rift into the consciousness space.
"What… what are you doing?" The Supreme Intelligence's light began to flicker, its voice full of both rage and fear.
"A light punishment. Don't make me come looking for you again. Next time… things will get ugly."
And with that, before the Supreme Intelligence could react, Melin vanished.