Pufferfish

Imperial Southern Mountain Range, the outskirts of the castle basin.

A squad of Revolutionary Army sentries was conducting their daily patrol.

"Damn... to be honest, this forest gives me the creeps. I wonder when we'll finally get to move out of here..."

"Save it for after we overthrow the Empire. Let's focus on the patrol."

"Do you really think the Imperial Army will come here?"

"Tch... those pampered soldiers? Nothing to be afraid of. If they show up, we'll take them down..."

"Alright, enough chatter. Let's finish our patrol and get back." The squad leader quickly shut down the conversation as he noticed it drifting off-topic.

"Remember! Check all the traps carefully..."

However, before anyone could react—

BOOM—!

A thunderous explosion suddenly erupted from the depths of the mountains, shattering the peaceful atmosphere of the forest.

An explosion!

And a massive one at that!

The squad leader exchanged a quick glance with his team before they all instinctively sprinted towards the nearest vantage point to see what had happened.

Thanks to their rigorous training, the squad quickly reached an open area.

What they saw shocked them to their core: at the edge of their sight, the sky was bathed in a violet-red glow, with an endless stretch of the forest ablaze, flames raging as black smoke billowed into the sky.

Even the vast mountain range that spanned the Empire's southern border looked as though it had been sliced apart, with sections collapsing into jagged gaps.

"Oh, my god!"

"What the hell happened?!"

The sentries, seeing this terrifying sight, began to mutter among themselves, their hearts pounding as a sense of foreboding crept over them.

RUMBLE—!

Just then, another thunderous roar echoed through the basin, as if the gods themselves were angry.

A terrifying tremor spread outwards, shaking the entire southern mountain range. The overwhelming force caused landslides, making the ground feel like soft feathers, rising and falling beneath their feet, making it hard to stay upright.

Thick, scorching smoke rolled out in all directions.

The cries and wails of countless danger beasts echoed throughout the forest, piercing through the eerie silence, creating a cacophony of despair.

"That direction... it's coming from the headquarters!"

...

Selene was a deeply contradictory "person." Yes, the violent instincts within her often led her to forgo more elegant combat methods, instead opting for a rough, visceral fighting style.

But at the same time, Selene loved flashy, dazzling, and over-the-top attack methods, and many of her techniques were developed with that mindset...

With this in mind, whenever she encountered an interesting enemy, Selene would play with them for a while. Only when she had exhausted her interest would she unleash wide-area, high-damage attacks.

Like a cat toying with a mouse, this mindset could be both good and bad, whether it was arrogance or pride—Selene herself might not even know.

In any case, the technique Strong Nuclear Force: Void Domain Descent was the way she ended these games.

The night sky was illuminated, as the "laser rain" that covered the entire Revolutionary Army headquarters filled the sky with violet light, drowning out all other sources of illumination, and the deafening roar overwhelmed all sound.

Under the crisscrossing beams of light, the terrifying heat instantly incinerated everything at the center, turning bodies to ash, leaving the earth scorched and decayed, revealing deep, abyss-like chasms.

Bodies, buildings, weapons—everything was obliterated, as if erased by the wrath of a god, reduced to nothing in the brilliant light.

The immense explosive energy erupted across the ruins of the fortress.

The resulting shockwave, visibly tangible, swept through the entire basin like a tidal wave, devouring every trace of the Revolutionary Army headquarters.

As the dust gradually settled, the castle basin had truly become a basin—now a colossal crater formed from countless smaller craters.

It looked like the surface of the moon, riddled with holes, utterly desolate...

And in the surrounding area, the intense heat and shockwave had set the ancient forest ablaze, with flames reaching high into the sky.

High above the former Revolutionary Army headquarters, Selene hovered in the air, her hands playfully pinching Esdeath's cheeks.

"Mmm, little Esdeath, do you admire your general that much?" Selene cooed, clearly enjoying Esdeath's admiring gaze, which stroked her ego.

"Mmph... General, you could have just used 'Heavenly Wrath' to wipe out those rebels in one go. Why bother dragging it out? Weren't you worried about a mishap?"

Having spent so much time with Selene, Esdeath had picked up quite a few of the strange terms her general often used.

She used to think that Selene always overdid things, like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. But after being influenced by Selene for so long, Esdeath had come to see starting with a big move as a sign of respect for the opponent. Still, today's display left her puzzled—wasn't Selene worried about things going wrong?

Why show off when you could just finish the job? It used to be that Selene would open with her ultimate attack, but now she was taking her time. Esdeath's young mind couldn't quite grasp it.

Looking at Selene's current demeanor, Esdeath suddenly thought of a certain fish—one with a round, white belly, tapering towards the back. What was it called again...

"General, have you perhaps... gotten a bit too full of yourself?" Esdeath suddenly asked, pulling Selene's hands away from her cheeks.

Crack. It was as if something had shattered.

"Uh..." Selene froze for a moment, her expression slowly turning awkward as she realized what Esdeath was implying.

In the next instant, Selene was overcome with a mix of embarrassment and frustration. Before Esdeath could explain, Selene grabbed her cheeks and started pulling on them like she was kneading dough.

Selene teased, "What? Me, full of myself? Come on, little Esdeath, are you actually teasing your general now?"

"But... General... you... mmph..." Esdeath mumbled, her words muffled as her cheeks were pulled.

"Hmm?" Selene suddenly raised an eyebrow, pausing as she sensed something from the fractured mountainside. She felt like they were being watched.

Her gaze passed over the ridge, spotting a group of surviving rebels on a distant hill.

Extending her index finger, a violet glow sparked at the tip, and Selene whispered, "Cero."

In a flash, a beam of destructive energy shot across the sky, leaving no room for doubt. Accompanied by another burst of flame, the feeling of being watched disappeared.

"Alright, the peeping vermin have been dealt with. We can head back to the capital."

"But General, look down there—it seems there's still something going on..."