บท 659: CrossRoad · Rhapsody - I

What are battles between high-level extraordinary beings truly like? This question defies a definitive answer. 

Under the Empress's absolute dominion, unrestrained frontal clashes between high-level extraordinary beings are rare. Consequently, most high-level extraordinary beings lack proficiency in such combat. Only those who have fought their way up from lower stages through bloodshed, or those who have received extensive training in this field, possess substantial combat experience.

The process of becoming extraordinary instills in these beings a relentless desire for ascension and transformation, and the powers they extract from the world's myriad elements largely serve this purpose.

From the transformative violence brought about by Ravenna's ether firearms, one can discern that the empire, under the Empress's supreme will for millennia, remains mostly stable.