Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

The commotion around Alex revealing his Phoenix flames to Principal Farnes was soon over.

As it turned out, it wasn't such a big deal in the end.

"Make sure to put that sword to good use, Alex."

This was all the Principal said before he disappeared from Alex's living room.

Only Alex and Mira were left in there now.

"What's so good about this sword then?"

Mira had to ask, since it was a gift from the Principal himself, and the way Alex reacted made her think it must have been something really special.

Alex handed her the sword, and her eyes went wide with her jaw hanging low soon after.

And it turned out it was actually above her expectations…

***

A few weeks had passed since the whole Variant beast and Alien pirates incident, and Alex had already settled back into his usual university life.

Which consisted of just training and attending classes.

Though of course, there were many more watchful eyes on him throughout the day no matter where he went.

He was a superstar now, which was bound to come with a lot more attention on him.

Everywhere he went, staff and students alike would stop and stare, or catch a casual glance at him, whispering amongst themselves.

Other than that, life was rather mundane for Alex.

He hadn't made any further progress in Soul studies, to no surprise to him.

His training wasn't too different, every day was almost the same thing as the previous day.

But he had made some significant progress in one area which he was very lacking in.

His Phoenix flames.

He was able to turn them on and off, cover his body or parts of his body with them, or launch them as projectiles.

But that was the extent of how far he could take his control over them.

He wasn't able to properly control their balance between destruction and regeneration.

From what he could feel when he didn't try to purposely control them, his flames consisted of an equal ratio of destruction flames and regeneration flames.

This balance was what kept his Phoenix flames so stable in battle.

But when he tried to control this ratio, to something more skewed towards destruction or regeneration, then things quickly went haywire.

The best he could manage for the time being was a 55:45 ratio on either side, which Alex was very happy with.

Hard work took time, and Alex knew he couldn't be impatient.

Though, things were about to become much more different for Alex.

He was finally going to receive some actual combat training from some real experts!

It had been put off for far too long, and it was starting to affect Alex's results in battle by now.

The stronger his enemies became, the harder it was for him to control the outcome of the battle.

He was constantly getting unnecessary or avoidable injuries because of his lack of any training, only being able to rely on his instincts to fight, which led to many inefficiencies.

'It's about time I hone my skills, rather than rely on my instincts to fight!'

***

"How long?"

A stoic, unemotional voice echoed through the command deck.

"Around four months, sir Karlax." Replied the ship's AI, its tone equally devoid of emotion.

The Red Demon race didn't rely on pilots and specialists like the human race did. Instead they had AI running almost all of the systems on their ship's command decks, only needing extra personnel in the engineering and tech sectors to maintain and repair the ships if need be.

This lack of need for any command personnel opened up more space for the frontline soldiers on the ships, which was exactly what the Red Demon race intended.

The Red Demon, standing tall and imposing, surveyed the vast fleet arranged before him through the command deck's panoramic view.

His crimson scaled skin seemed to absorb the dim light of the command centre, and his eyes glowed with an inner fire, reflecting the cold, calculated bloodlust that defined his species.

The scene outside was both awe inspiring and terrifying.

Over a hundred million warships of all shapes and sizes stretched across the voice of space, their formation so extensive that it could span the distance between Earth and Mars, with ships to spare.

The vast armada was the Red Demon race's proudest achievement, and a testament to their relentless pursuit of conquest.

The Red Demon commander, equivalent in rank to Admiral Olgierd in human military terms, clenched his fists in anticipation.

'Four months… In four months the human race will be no more, and their galaxy will be ripe for our taking.'

He thought, a savage grin spreading across his face.

The Red Demons had a very long history of plunder and conquest, starting from their very own home planet, before their records even began.

On their home planet, they fought brutal wars amongst themselves, nearly driving themselves to extinction until one faction emerged supreme.

Though this temporary peace didn't last for long.

More factions emerged over time and more wars ensued as a result.

The cycle was endless and kept repeating.

When they reached their own space age, the constant infighting stopped though.

They united and swiftly dominated the Andromeda galaxy, annihilating any other sentient species they encountered.

The Human race was lucky in this regard, as they didn't have to go through such a brutal war path in their conquest of the Milky Way, as they were the only sentient species that resided there.

At least the only species that hadn't driven themselves to extinction.

The Red Demon race's thirst for conquest didn't stop there.

They had recently concluded a thousand year long war against a neighbouring galaxy, eradicating the enemy race entirely before claiming their territory for themselves.

Now, their sights were set on the Milky Way, and the human race stood as their next target.

"Commander, all preparations for the invasion and proceeding as scheduled. Our forces are ready for the assault."

As the commander contemplated the imminent destruction of the human race, he was interrupted by a notification from the AI.