Aria slowly dragged herself upwards to the north where Ken was. She hadn't remembered a time when she felt so exhausted due to using too much magic. Truly, she wanted to rest but knew that she couldn't as lives were depending on her. Such was the reparations of war.
With her army behind her, Aria slowly arrived at a desolated battlefield. Bodies were scattered everywhere and not a single Valerian soul was alive. Her soldiers were fighting humanity's remains but all 100 elite soldiers she had sent were dead except for one.
In the distance, blows were shaking the air. Constant clashes between Ken and the Great Leader resounded but Aria soon arrived with her battalion.
"Humanity has lost!" She declared to grab both of their attention.
Both of the fighters knew what Aria's arrival meant. The battle in the south had already concluded.
The Great Leader saddened slightly. He looked around and saw the fragments of humanity left, but he knew how to win.
With last bravado, a devilish charm exuded from his machine-like skull.
"No, this battle is a draw."
…
Sirens rang out in the distance. Blaring alarms screaming out warned the arrival of something incomprehensible to Valeria. Everybody present searched vividly for what the terrifying alarms warned of.
Aria's body enhanced by the lightning of the world saw a sight in the distance above her. A giant green metal object was soaring through the skies with flames propelling it.
Ken saw the same thing and mumbled aloud. "Nuke." It was an object Celine had warned them about, the true might of humanity.
The stories of the devastation these things held was terrifying. Towns razed, millions claimed, this was humanity's strongest weapon.
"It's the strongest thing we've ever made," the Great Leader narrorated. His death was also imminent.
"Our God, said that its power could reach all the way to the Valerian Kingdom from here. There is no running. Try and stop it and the failsafe will cause it to detonate. Only death can come for us."
The Great Leader admired the incoming death. He slowly brought himself to a prayer.
"For the Divine Conquering God."
Aria looked at the flaming metal intently. She was planning of a way to survive. Maybe she would run or maybe she could conjure a defense with the soldiers near her, but the nuke was still pressing forward.
Just as the alarms blared once again and the metal was about to land, everything stopped.
The Great Leader.
Aria.
Every soldier.
Even the air stopped.
Suddenly everything in the area felt a frightening force descend upon them.
A vibrant violet light exploded outwards like the sun and the pressure weighed immensely.
The presence was dominating, overbearing. Not even the weight of a thousands suns could compare to what every individual felt.
Then, everybody saw the source of the crushing force.
An elegant woman with beauty like no other slowly floated her way towards the frozen nuke. A golden aura radiated around her that any living thing could clearly recognize.
God.
The omiscient and omnipotent had appeared.
'She' approached the nuke slowly. 'She' extended her hand and the divine presence around her exemplified. As her hand touched the metal of the nuke, it was completely engulfed in Divine Power.
Everybody watched in silence as the figure touched the nuke. Within moments of waiting, humanity's strongest technology was 'changed' and a pool of water replaced its spot. The water remained frozen in the air like everything else as well.
Aria didn't even realize when Celine had suddenly appeared next to her and the Great Leader.
"Who gave you the authority to use a nuke?" Celine questioned. All the force of the violet power focused into one spot at that exact moment.
The Great Leader couldn't breathe with his own volition. He was completely controlled.
There was no answer from the Leader.
Celine was beyond frustrated and could only formulate a response.
"You just unleashed a power that only a God can handle at this current stage. You and Malphus are aware of the consequences."
"I will be joining this battle now," Celine declared.
In less than a second, every human soldier exploded into a bloody mess. They all felt an insurmountable force crush them and reduce them to nothing.
*Arghh! The Great Leader collapsed instantly as pain he couldn't fathom begin to hit him. All of his robotic parts fell off and he began to scream uncontrollably.
"I just activated every pain receptor in your body and increased your heart rate thousandfold. You'll be lucky to survive 5 seconds."
The battlefield was still silent after that.
…
*Hahhh, Aria sighed in relief after gaining the ability to move again. She was surprised inwardly. This was the first time she had a glimpse into how powerful the annoying lady really was.
"Yawn," Celine stretched lazily. "I just finished cleaining everything and I destroyed whatever was left. We should leave."
"O- okay," Aria still couldn't believe it. The fight didn't last for a second longer when Celine appeared, even when all hope seemed lost.
Celine gently patted Aria on the back during the walk home. "Don't stress about the battle. You won. It's just that a nuke isn't something that you can fight yet, but you'll be able to destroy them in the future. I've seen it."
Aria felt better after the words of encouragement and rallied her troops while leaving.
Everything was looking fine until…
A sudden divine aura boomed across the remaining battlefield. Celine looked around to see a sight that truly scarred her.
He had a majestic crown and a flowing orange robe. He looked like an aged emperor with an empire under his foot. He had red hair and a steel face. He floated in the sky as the wind passed through his robe and he looked down upon the weak mortals.
"Malphus"
Celine cursed her luck. She wasn't ready to fight somebody as old and powerful as him.
Without hesitation Celine enveloped everybody around her and threw them as far as they could survive so they wouldn't die in the upcoming battle.
Her indirect message was clear to Aria.
"Run. You cannot help me." Aria cursed her weakness.
Celine turned towards the ancient God…