Southern Empire Mountain Range — Outer Rim of the Ancient Castle Basin.
A squad of sentries from one of the Revolutionary Army's outer posts were performing their daily patrol.
"Ugh... honestly, this forest gives me the creeps. When do you think we'll finally move out of this place?"
"When we overthrow the Empire, maybe. Come on, focus on the patrol."
"What, you think Imperial troops are actually gonna find us out here?"
"Tch... what's there to be afraid of? If any of those pampered Imperial soldiers come, I'll kill them myself."
"Enough chatter," the squad leader snapped. "We're almost done. Let's finish the patrol and head back."
He sighed, then added, "And don't forget to check every trap and mechanism carefully—"
But before anyone could respond—
BOOM—!!
A deafening explosion, like a thunderclap tearing through the sky, erupted from deep within the mountain range, shattering the tranquil stillness of the primeval forest.
An explosion.
And a massive one.
The squad leader and his men exchanged alarmed glances before instinctively sprinting toward the nearest vantage point, eager to see what had happened.
Thanks to their years of field training, the group quickly reached an open ridge—and froze in shock.
At the far edge of their vision, a vast dome of violet-red light blanketed the heavens. The endless forest was burning, flames devouring the trees as black smoke spiraled skyward. Even the colossal mountain ranges spanning the southern frontier of the Empire looked as if some divine blade had cleaved them apart, their peaks collapsing one after another.
"Gods above!"
"What the hell happened?!"
The sentries murmured in disbelief, panic creeping into their voices. Their hearts raced as an ominous sense of dread settled over them.
RUMBLE—!!
Another thunderous roar split the air, shaking the entire basin as though an enraged deity had struck the earth.
The ground convulsed violently. The southern mountains quaked in unison as an overwhelming power ripped through the land. Rockslides crashed down from the cliffs. Within dozens of kilometers, the ground itself seemed to rise and fall like waves on water, throwing men off their feet.
Thick, scorching smoke rolled outward in all directions.
From deep within the forest came the howls and shrieks of countless Danger Beasts—agonized, chaotic, unending.
"That direction... it's the headquarters!" one of the sentries cried in horror.
...
Selene was, by all means, a contradictory "person." Her violent instincts often drove her to abandon elegant combat forms in favor of raw, brutal fighting—every strike a bone-shattering blow.
Yet, paradoxically, she adored dazzling, flamboyant displays of destruction. Many of her techniques were born from this obsession with the magnificent and spectacular.
Because of this dual nature, when Selene encountered opponents who piqued her interest, she tended to "play" with them—draw out the fight for amusement. Only when her excitement faded would she unleash the overwhelming, wide-area annihilation techniques she was known for.
Like a cat toying with its prey, the habit was both arrogance and indulgence—Selene herself couldn't tell whether it was pride or folly.
In any case, Strong Nuclear Force · Void Unleashed was one such finishing technique.
The night sky was no longer dark. The storm of "laser rain" that engulfed the Revolutionary Army's headquarters turned the heavens violet and the earth into a sea of fire. Blinding radiance devoured all color, and thunderous detonations drowned out every sound.
Under the crisscrossing lattice of light beams, the searing temperature vaporized everything at the epicenter. Living beings were reduced to ash, their corpses burned away to nothing. The land itself shriveled and cracked, splitting open into deep abyssal fissures.
Bodies, fortresses, weapons—everything was obliterated, erased as though by divine wrath.
The unleashed explosion's energy surged outward, forming a tangible shockwave that rolled through the basin like a rising tidal wave, devouring every trace of what had once been the Revolutionary Army's stronghold.
As the smoke and dust settled, the ancient castle basin had truly become a basin—a vast crater formed by countless overlapping impact pits.
It resembled the moon's surface—pitted, barren, utterly desolate.
Beyond the blast zone, the surrounding forest had caught fire under the relentless waves of heat and wind.
And high above the ruins—thousands of meters in the sky—Selene was casually pinching Esdeath's cheeks with both hands.
"Mhm," Selene hummed contentedly, clearly enjoying the admiration glimmering in Esdeath's wide, adoring eyes. That look of pure awe stroked her vanity quite nicely. "Heh, little Esdeath, are you admiring your General that much?"
"Mmmph... General, you clearly could've just used one 'God's Wrath' and sent all those rebels straight to the heavens. Why'd you have to drag it out like that? Weren't you afraid something might go wrong?"
Having followed Selene for so long, Esdeath had picked up quite a few of the strange terms her General liked to toss around. She used to think Selene was overkill personified—using a warhammer to swat flies—but over time, she came to see that opening a fight with an overwhelming strike was Selene's way of showing respect to the enemy.
But today... watching her General's drawn-out display, Esdeath couldn't help but feel that maybe—just maybe—Selene had gotten a little too... inflated. Why show off when you could simply obliterate them? The General who used to start with a full-power blast was now stalling for flair. Esdeath's little head was spinning trying to make sense of it.
And for some reason, looking at Selene's current smug expression, Esdeath suddenly thought of a certain kind of fish—round, white-bellied, and puffed up like a balloon. What was it called again...?
"General, have you... gotten a bit inflated?" Esdeath asked suddenly, pulling Selene's hands off her cheeks.
Crack... It was as if something fragile had just shattered in the air.
"Uh..." Selene froze instantly, her expression stiffening as a hint of embarrassment colored her face. She hadn't expected that kind of description to ever be used on her.
A second later, she flushed with indignation. Before Esdeath could explain, Selene grabbed her subordinate's cheeks and began stretching them mercilessly—like kneading dough.
"You little brat! How could I possibly be 'inflated'?! Hah! So now little Esdeath dares to tease her General, huh?" Selene scolded with mock fury, though there was amusement in her tone.
"B-but... General... you're... mmphh...!" Esdeath tried to protest through her squished face.
"Huh?" Selene's brow suddenly arched, her playful expression fading as she halted her motion. Her gaze shifted toward the distant fracture along the mountainside—something had caught her attention.
A faint prickle crept along her senses. Someone... was watching.
Her crimson eyes narrowed. Beyond the shattered ridge, she could sense movement—a small cluster of surviving rebel soldiers on a distant hill.
Extending her finger, Selene's fingertip began to glow with concentrated violet light. Her voice was calm, almost casual.
"Cero."
A sharp whoosh cut through the air. A beam of annihilating energy tore across the sky, piercing the horizon. There was no suspense, no struggle—only a blinding flash, and then silence. The feeling of being watched vanished completely.
"Alright," Selene said lightly, brushing her hands together. "The crawling voyeurs have been exterminated. Let's return to the Capital."
"But General, look down there... it seems like something's still happening..."