The rampaging giant's annihilation counter ticked toward absolute zero.
Destruction was inevitable... The violent thud of its metallic heart signaled a catastrophic eruption. One that would shatter Planet Uranus's outer crust entirely.
—But.
**Dogma of Detonation**
Isabella's bright smile flashed. She unleashed a crushing wave of domineering energy. The junk giant was entirely distracted by Nixia. Its capacity to absorb Dogma had completely evaporated.
This was no simple attack. It was a brutal, artistic manifestation of her aesthetic perfection.
The colossus detonated from the inside out. Black oil and rusted shrapnel rained across the battlefield. Its steel chassis shredded into scrap. The glowing optics went dead.
"You have saved us, Isabella... I owe you my life."
Kaori exhaled heavily. She drove her blade into the soil, leaning against the hilt to remain standing. Nixia meowed quietly at her feet, entirely unfazed.
"That was an exhausting shoot!" Isabella shrieked. She practically vibrated with euphoria, completely ignoring the thick black grease staining her couture.
The giant's corpse hit the dirt. Immediately, a fresh swarm of Xyroth infantry breached the perimeter. They scrambled forward like rabid insects.
Isabella did not care. She raised a manicured hand. Her smile widened into pure, theatrical ecstasy.
**Dogma of Detonation**
A hyper-condensed sphere of blinding energy ignited above her palm. She tossed it forward. The resulting blast flattened the vanguard, illuminating the entire Orion atmosphere in white light.
Isabella paused to catch her breath. A smug, victorious grin locked on her lips...
Layla materialized. She stepped slowly out from the depths of Kaori's shadow. The elegant, toxic smile she always wore was gone. A hollow, terrifying scowl consumed her features.
"Layla? Where have you been hiding all set?" Isabella scoffed, still riding her adrenaline high.
The air shifted. A suffocating frost bled into the environment. Oppressive gloom swallowed the bright flash of the recent explosion. Layla remained completely rigid.
Isabella's smile cracked. Cautious confusion set in.
"Layla?... Say something."
—
Deep within a plunging ravine near the capital's borders.
General Madi Roll stood in absolute silence. His frigid eyes scanned the sprawling battlefield across dozens of holographic monitors.
The heaviest, most lethal Xyroth military assets were entirely focused on eradicating the Wives. The General let out a low, abrasive chuckle.
"The plan succeeded... Long live the Solar Dynasty."
He opened his palms. He stared blankly at his own hands, then out into the empty expanse of the valley.
"I am overwhelmed with joy. All of this... for The Emperor."
Using the Wives as bait was a calculated gamble. A brilliant, terrifying risk authored by Madi Roll.
The heavy Xyroth war machines engaged the royal vanguard. That left the vast majority of the junk mercenaries and foot soldiers without central command. They flooded blindly toward the capital through this very gorge.
Madi Roll executed the Double Envelopment Tactic. He had ordered his vanguard infantry into a slow, agonizing retreat. He fed them to the enemy as live bait, dragging the Xyroth horde deep into the bowels of the trench.
The valley swallowed the very last Xyroth invader...
"The jaws snap shut..." the General breathed, his tone utterly lethal. "Ignite the sky."
Swarms of suicide drones plummeted like black rain onto the invaders. Simultaneously, beams from the Crimson Orbital Designator pierced the stratosphere. The apocalyptic lasers painted the trench, reducing the entire Xyroth legion to ash in a fraction of a second.
Total eradication. The surrounding flora vaporized. The sickening stench of boiling oil and melting steel erased the valley's very identity.
With one ruthless strategic stroke, General Madi Roll had crushed the entire Xyroth vanguard.
Militarily... The Solar Dynasty had won.
—
Deep within the Whispering Forest.
The Xyroth had swallowed Celine. Roxy's fury detonated. Her own body was already battered, and she knew her next move would tear her muscle fibers entirely. She didn't hesitate.
**The Axiom of the Beast**
She surged raw Axiom directly into her musculature. She slammed her fists into the dirt with catastrophic brutality. The crust fractured. Bedrock shattered beneath her weight as she plummeted underground.
Blood sprayed from her ruptured arms—the immediate toll of the beast's recoil. She ignored it, falling deeper into the abyss.
She crashed into the cavern floor. The blood instantly froze in her veins.
Celine was suspended in mid-air... Twisted steel spikes from the Cybernetic Roots impaled her stomach, lifting her off the ground.
She wasn't screaming. She wasn't crying. She wasn't afraid.
Her eyes burned with a sickly, venomous green glow. Completely devoid of warmth.
**Life Flow: Siphon**
The Xyroth hadn't preyed on Celine. She was preying on them.
She was ruthlessly draining the techno-virus itself. Thousands of Xyroth Children and the living steel roots that tried to consume her began raining onto the stone floor like desiccated husks.
Their metallic chests caved in. Their colossal frames reduced to dead scrap. She stripped away their life force without a shred of mercy.
Celine slowly turned her head toward Roxy. Not a single trace of the gentle plant girl remained on that hollow face.
"Don't worry, Roxy..." Celine murmured. A lifeless smile stretched across her lips as metallic ash drifted around her shoulders. "I am simply pulling the weeds from our garden."