Selene nodded proudly, his face full of confidence. "Now that I am here, there is no need to use those filthy xenos any longer!"
"Humanity has no need for aliens."
Mentioning his identity as a human, he raised his head, looking almost as if he were radiating light.
Blazkowicz narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing from Selene's proud posture a side entirely different from Solas.
Through their brief interaction, he had gained a rough understanding of Selene's character.
His hatred for the stone-men was completely undisguised, and his pride when speaking of humanity was extraordinary—he was a firm human chauvinist!
Solas would allow emotion to cloud the line between xenos and humans.
Selene, however, would surely follow his own will, resolutely eradicating every last alien.
His malice toward all non-humans was deeper than anything seen before; he was unwilling to utter a single extra word to them, much less condescend to utilize their worth.
"Do you have a plan?" Vulkan asked.
Showing immense tolerance for the returned brother, Vulkan did not take offense at Selene overriding his authority or dismissing the existing plan.
A brother returning from the void needed an operation to establish his authority, and Vulkan was happy to go with the flow.
Of course, this was provided that the alternative plan was feasible—and superior to the original.
Realizing he had been somewhat impolite, Selene softened his tone considerably: "After being stranded on the wasteland world, I quickly learned the skills to survive."
He raised his left arm, a silvery-white flame flickering in his palm, pulsing with a dangerous aura.
In the next moment, Selene frowned in confusion, looking down at his palm.
The flame in his hand was extremely fragile, hovering on the verge of extinguishing, entirely out of proportion to the power he was outputting—as if it were being suppressed by something?
It should have been searingly fierce, so dazzling that it blinded the eyes.
"Hold on," Blazkowicz said quickly from the side, raising a hand to perform a few actions on his vambrace, encasing himself in a brilliant azure glow.
A dimensional forcefield decoupled him from the three-dimensional universe, severing his connection to the real realm.
Most fixed-point teleportations in the Imperium relied on psychic beacons and similar applications. Blazkowicz's innate suppression of psychic energy disrupted psychic transport.
Out of necessity, he used Null Crystals to project a dimensional forcefield, isolating his psychic suppression to prevent catastrophic accidents during teleportation.
Sure enough, the instant the dimensional forcefield took effect, the silvery-white flame surged dramatically, its silver radiance shining with exceptional brilliance.
Selene looked over his brother, who was wrapped in the invisible forcefield, a flicker of understanding passing through his eyes.
The discomfort he had felt during their embrace originated from this suppressive force.
It was not so strange; after all, since he possessed fire abilities, it was understandable that his brother had unique abilities of his own.
"I quickly learned the skills to survive," Selene continued, letting the flame in his palm recede slightly. "Flames are the power I use to cleanse the xenos."
A flash of exhilaration swept across his face, and his fiery hair fluttered without any wind: "I burned an entire world, turning billions of xenos to ash."
"Before I could accomplish such feats, back when I was still weak, I needed to evade the xenos."
"So I also possess some talent for escape." With that, the flame in Selene's hand vanished, and his figure disappeared from the spot in an instant.
Blazkowicz saw sparks flicker in the air as Selene vanished without a trace.
In the next instant, the towering figure appeared in another corner of the command hall, then vanished once more before returning to his original position.
"Teleportation?" Vulkan gasped before shaking his head in denial: "Faster than teleportation."
His crimson eyes flashed with thought as he quickly settled on an accurate description: "It is teleportation... short-range blinking!"
"Moving from one point to another at blinding speed, requiring no incantations or preparation—it is simply mind-boggling!"
His pitch-black, statue-like face broke into a delighted smile. Unable to contain his excitement, he stepped forward and clapped his brother on the shoulder: "Good! Good! Good!"
The three "goods" came straight from the heart. Vulkan felt immensely grateful for his brother's timely return, which drastically reduced the risks of the operation.
The Legion warriors would not have to entrust their lives to xenos, and the success rate of the mission had shot up dramatically.
Taken aback by his brother's sudden enthusiasm, Selene froze for a moment, looking somewhat at a loss.
"There is no time to lose," Blazkowicz said, deactivating his dimensional forcefield and returning to the three-dimensional universe, a warm smile on his face and equal delight in his eyes.
"He is still getting used to things," Blazkowicz added, gently intercepting Vulkan's repeatedly landing hand to spare Selene further embarrassment.
"In large-scale legion warfare, mobility and surprise strikes are paramount."
Pushing Vulkan's arm aside, Blazkowicz said to Selene, "Once you take command of your Legion, you will understand the power of rapid blinking."
Selene did not deny it, nodding in complete agreement: "On the wasteland world, I blinked continuously to efficiently hunt down xenos leaders."
"In the end, they were unable to reorganize, and I eliminated them all amid their internal strife and terror."
"Now," he broke into a broad smile, unable to hide his eagerness: "Brothers, what do you need me to do?"
Hearing his brother volunteer for battle, Vulkan refrained from standing on ceremony.
The towering giant walked to the tactical table and raised a hand to point at the command hall of the Rangdan fortress: "I need you to use your talent to deploy a teleportation beacon."
"No problem at all!" Selene agreed readily. "I cannot wait to eradicate those filthy xenos."
He examined the map and coordinates, committing them to memory in a single glance. His expression grew solemn and earnest, knowing he needed to fight a brilliant battle to win the approval of his brothers.
Vulkan received a teleportation beacon from an officer and handed it to his brother: "Proceed with caution."
Though he knew how powerful his brother was, he could not help feeling a degree of concern now that the moment was at hand.
"Do not worry," Selene said, taking the beacon and clipping it to his waist with a carefree demeanor. "Danger cannot catch me."
"I shall take my leave first," he turned and said to Blazkowicz. "Brother, be ready to teleport at any moment."
Blazkowicz's tone was firmer than an oath: "The moment the beacon lights up, I will arrive instantly."
Knowing the importance of the mission, Selene nodded without another word, his figure vanishing from the command hall in a flash.
"Now, we wait..."
Vulkan murmured softly, turning to make a gesture of execution toward the Firedrakes.
The guard commander understood immediately, saluting before departing the command hall.
Blazkowicz knew what he was going to do.
The existence of the silicon-based species remained an unstable element that had to be handled properly.
Previously, the Salamanders Legion tolerated them only because the plan relied on their innate talents to secure victory for the Legion.
Now that there was a superior way to execute the plan, the xenos were no longer necessary.
This was not a matter of turning a cold shoulder after using them; ever since the Age of Technology ended, the Imperium of Man harbored zero tolerance for xenos.
To allow silicon-based lifeforms to continue developing after they had witnessed human technological creations would be an extremely dangerous act of misplaced mercy.
Capable of manipulating electromagnetism—one of the four fundamental forces—their development would grow exponentially once enlightened by technology.
Eradicating a species with such vast potential before it could fully develop was a great service to humanity's future, wiping out a major threat before it could mature.
Inside the command hall, the bustle continued. Vulkan directed the front-line battle, waiting for the beacon to light up.
Selene moved with incredible speed, covering thousands of kilometers in just a few blinks.
Holding his bone-white staff and wearing his ram skull mask, he arrived stealthily at the main battlefield.
Beneath the mask, his silver eyes gleamed with excitement. It had been a long time since he last fought, not since he wiped out the caprines.
Maneuvering stealthily across the battlefield, Selene tested the boundaries of his own strength to adapt to this entirely new theater of war.
The Rangdan thralls were unworthy of stopping his steps; he slaughtered their elite warriors at will and handled their overlord vanguards without pressure.
Along the edges of the battlefield, Selene swung his iron fists, casually slaughtering xenos warriors.
Appearing and disappearing like a phantom, he popped up randomly across various locations on the battlefield, resolving minor crises for his brothers' Legion before vanishing from sight.
Seeing his towering figure and combining it with the signal announcing the return of a Primarch, the Salamanders warriors found it easy to guess that a Primarch had joined the fray.
Selene was very pleased upon observing the Space Marines' combat capability.
When it came to eradicating all non-human xenos, they were undeniably magnificent instruments.
However, certain unusual details on the battlefield also caught his attention—specifically, the Eleventh Legion.
Selene noticed that all the warriors of his bloodline were tightly covered, wearing flame-patterned power armor to hold off the xenos' flank assaults.
He did not pry further, focusing instead on completing the beacon deployment.
Having gained a general sense of his own capabilities, Selene vanished from the battlefield, reappearing a hundred kilometers away in his next blink.
He stood outside the shield, running his hand along the translucent, massive ionic barrier: "This is the place."
Electromagnetic waves capable of frying a Space Marine washed over him continuously, but standing in an atmospheric void, Selene's Primarch body remained completely unscathed.
Rolling his shoulders, a silvery-white flame flared in Selene's hand, and he pressed it directly against the ionic barrier!
The silvery-white flame erupted violently, eroding the shield bit by bit.
A eerie sight unfolded: the energy shield melted like ice and snow, turning into a blue liquid energy that exposed an open gap.
Selene's eyes lit up, and he said with relief: "It actually worked!"
Melting an energy shield with his flames had been a bold gamble, another test of his innate talents.
Stepping inside the shield, the corners of Selene's mouth curled into a smile: "Rangdan Master, here I come!"