Liver's communication request?
According to the operational report, he had gone to negotiate the surrender of Navy Headquarters. Did something go wrong?
Selene narrowed her eyes slightly and waved a hand. With a crisp click, the cube on the desk instantly began to shift. The seamless outer shell parted, revealing a finger-width aperture.
Bzzz—
Soon, a half-body holographic projection lit up from within the opening.
Clad in magnificent power armor painted in purple and gold, Liver stood holding a Honkai Cube.
The two of them were momentarily stunned as their gazes met.
Selene smiled.
"Liver, you have only just arrived, haven't you? What is it? Calling upon me so soon—have you and Sanguinius already completed the conquest and are preparing to return to the Imperial Capital? Or has something gone wrong?"
Bowing deeply and hearing the teasing note in Selene's voice, Liver let out an embarrassed chuckle.
"Not yet. Although the campaign has reached its final stage, it still requires some time. Your Majesty knows that the Blood Angels under Sanguinius favor relatively restrained tactics. That cannot be helped."
At this point, Liver swallowed and carefully chose his words.
"This subordinate seeks an audience at the request of Navy Headquarters."
Within the projection, Liver stood inside a spacious conference room. Aside from a small number of Black Marlin Honor Guard assigned to security, many figures in pure white military coats were also visible in Selene's view.
Among them, the word 'Justice' stood out in particular.
"I have already secured their surrender. Their Fleet Admiral wishes to seek an audience with Your Majesty. He wants to know the difference between the God-Empress described in the Empire's surrender proclamation and the so-called descendants of gods to whom they once pledged loyalty."
"Oh?"
"Your Majesty, Navy Headquarters is considered the largest direct military organization under the World Government in this world. It—"
Thinking Selene might not be familiar with them, Liver hurried to explain.
"Sakazuki, correct?"
"...has existed for eight hundred years alongside the World Govern—" Liver froze mid-sentence. "Hm?! Your Majesty knows of him?"
In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through Liver's mind. A campaign report submitted by Lady Arisa or Sanguinius? Selene observing him from the shadows all along? An Inquisitor planted in advance to report back...
"Yes, I know." Selene stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes. Unaware of Liver's racing thoughts, she stretched slightly before speaking calmly to the projection of his upper body. "Tell Sakazuki that I grant his request. I will receive him."
"Yes!"
Ending the connection, Liver reopened his eyes in the conference room of Navy Headquarters in the New World and let out a quiet breath of relief.
At that moment, a member of the Honor Guard stepped briskly to his side and spoke in a low voice.
The communication was one-way. Selene could observe the other side, but from Liver's end, aside from himself, no one else could see the Grand Imperial Palace or receive Selene's voice.
"Legion Commander, the Navy soldiers outside the fortress have begun laying down their weapons under the direction of their officers. At present, they appear to be surrendering sincerely. No abnormalities detected."
They are truly laying down their weapons?
Upon hearing this, Liver raised his head. Around him, during his conversation with Selene, many of the Vice Admirals had left the room, presumably to maintain order during the surrender.
He then looked across the table at Sakazuki, who had resumed his seat and was intently reading through the materials on the Empire's systems that Liver had provided. Whenever he came across sections that aligned with his own beliefs, he could not help but nod repeatedly, a faint smile appearing on his resolute face.
It seemed he truly intended to defect.
Liver frowned slightly in thought for a second before issuing an order through the Legion Commander's internal communication channel built into his armor.
"Do not lower your guard yet. If any anomaly is discovered and it is confirmed the Navy is feigning surrender, show no mercy."
Then, placing the cube upon the table, Liver looked at Sakazuki.
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, make your preparations. Her Majesty has agreed to see you."
"Good. When do we depart?" Sakazuki stood and spoke in a deep voice.
"There is no need to depart. It will be here."
"Here?"
"Here." As if recalling something, Liver pointed at Borsalino, who was leisurely sipping tea nearby with a carefree expression. "Borsalino, put away that lazy demeanor later."
"In private, I do not mind. But in Her Majesty's presence—I do not care what posture you assumed before your former rulers, but take this as a warning. Her Majesty detests such attitudes." Especially when someone dares to look more idle than she does. "If you wish to die, do not drag me down with you."
"Ah?"
Blinking, teacup in hand, Borsalino tilted his head, momentarily unable to process what he had just heard.
"Borsalino, rein in your laziness," Sakazuki added sternly.
The fact that a frontline Legion Commander could display such solemnity—even humility tinged with fear—made Sakazuki realize that the Empire's ruler was no mere ceremonial figure. She was a sovereign of both authority and power.
At that moment—
Click, click, click, click...
Mechanical sounds like interlocking gears echoed from the cube resting upon the table.
"It's here!"
Bzzzzz—!
In the next instant, an indescribable terror descended upon everyone's hearts.
The rotating cube rose into the air of its own accord. Dense purple-red Honkai particles surged forth, bathing the entire conference room in that ominous hue.
Within what seemed like liquefied purple-red energy, the ceiling of the conference room transformed into a vast starry expanse.
In that immeasurable universe, one star after another shimmered like fireflies on a summer night, faint lights piercing the darkness. Countless such lights gathered into a boundless river of stars—a galaxy stretching endlessly across space.
Wait... what is a universe? What is a galaxy? Why do I know these things?
The senior officers of Navy Headquarters collectively fell into a daze.
For some reason, though they had never heard these terms before, as they gazed at the faint diamond-shaped sigils flickering within the purple-red Honkai energy, corresponding knowledge surfaced in their minds.
More importantly, among those luminous stars, there was one small sphere—water-blue in color, dotted with red rings, no larger than a marble—that felt incomparably familiar.
As though that "marble" existed beside them at every moment.
As though it lay beneath their very feet.
Before the flickering holographic projection had fully taken shape, a voice sounded.
"Ah, your guess is correct. That marble-like object is precisely the world beneath your feet."
As the melodious female voice resounded, the purple-red "mist" filling the conference room blurred for a moment. Then, using high-density Honkai crystals as a medium, and through a sequence of recombination and aggregation, Selene's upper-body projection gradually materialized.
She was a white-haired woman dressed in elegant white attire adorned with golden patterns. Her shoulders and arms were encased in intricate golden armor.
Gorgeous violet motifs decorated her chest. From the golden sun at the very center, lines of radiant gold extended outward in delicate, resplendent designs.
Crimson eyes, framed by dark lashes and highlighted with golden eyeshadow, stood out beneath her waist-length white hair. Her features were sharply defined, with smooth lines and crimson lips. The close-fitting luxurious robe perfectly outlined her slender waist and full curves.
Under the gaze of those scarlet, diamond-ringed pupils, the muscles throughout Sakazuki's body twitched uncontrollably. Overwhelming fear and reverence flooded his heart.
This was not cowardice.
It was the instinctive physiological reaction of a lower lifeform encountering a higher one.
Before Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Issho—before even they themselves could consciously react—their instincts had already surrendered.
Thud!
At the very instant Selene manifested—
"Finality..."
"God-Empress..."
"Empress of the Holy Selene Empire..."
All information symbolizing Selene's identity and status surfaced automatically within their minds.
At this moment, everyone in the conference room had fallen to their knees, as if struck by a petrification spell. Their bodies were rigid. Even the air itself seemed frozen.
"So. You wished to see me. For what purpose?"
Though Selene appeared to address them all, her gaze rested primarily upon Sakazuki.
The Vice Admirals around him were insignificant to her. They were not the focus.
Perhaps in the past Selene might have spared them a glance. But now—truly—unless one stood at the level of an Admiral or a Yonko, they could scarcely draw her interest.
Her gaze drifted casually until it settled on a certain yellow figure shrinking in the corner—a man who had eaten the Logia-type Glint-Glint Fruit in its most wretched form. The corner of her eye twitched slightly.
Borsalino... Yellow Monkey indeed. Quite fitting. Perhaps I should simply hand him over to Liver. Once Liver has a professional loafer under him, let's see whether he can still sip tea so calmly. I can always reshuffle later if it doesn't work.
"Your Majesty, it was I who requested this audience. I hope that you will treat the Navy well. As for the Empire under your rule—its systems and order greatly appeal to me. I am willing to serve Your Majesty and uphold absolute justice within Your Majesty's order!"
The pressure of a superior lifeform bore down upon every cell of his body like a colossal mountain. Sakazuki suppressed the tremor in his voice. Even this was him summoning all his courage.
He could clearly see the abyssal gulf between himself and Selene.
Such dread. Such overwhelming presence.
Not even the Five Elders, Fleet Admiral Kong, nor the Hero of the Navy, Garp, had ever made him feel this way.
Since joining the Navy's elite training camp, he had never encountered such a sensation.
This Empress of the Empire was so powerful it defied comprehension—an existence from an entirely different dimension.
"You yearn for my Empire and wish to serve me..."
Selene pondered for several seconds.
By Astartes convention, since this world had been conquered by Sanguinius and the Blood Angels of the Ninth Legion, everything within it—aside from the required tributes—would ordinarily be handled by the Blood Angels themselves.
But she was the greatest rule of all.
If she desired something within her Empire, who would dare object?
"Haha. Interesting..."
Selene suddenly laughed. The speed at which her expression changed was astonishing. In an instant, the suffocating pressure surrounding everyone vanished, replaced by a warmth as gentle as a spring breeze.
A soothing heat spread through their bodies. Old scars from past battles began to itch faintly. Even hidden injuries long buried seemed to mend gradually.
Sakazuki could distinctly feel the damaged portion of his ear—lost two years ago in his struggle with Kuzan for the position of Fleet Admiral—regenerating.
His spine, bent under invisible pressure moments ago, straightened once more. The divine oppression of a second earlier seemed as though it had never existed.
"I have received your loyalty. But do not reach your conclusions so quickly. Is this the material you were studying?"
Noticing the pamphlets on the table, Selene spoke gently.
"Hearing is false. Seeing is believing. If you wish to know whether the order under my rule aligns with your convictions, then go and see for yourself—the worlds under the Empire's banner."
"Afterward, come to the Imperial Capital and tell me your answer personally."
Displaying magnanimity without restraint, Selene spoke in high spirits.
"For now, Navy Headquarters shall fall under Liver's authority. Liver, conclude the conquest swiftly and return to the Imperial Capital with Sanguinius."
"Oh—and Sakazuki. Provide Liver with a list of personnel. Consider this my preferential treatment for you. The Empire is where your talents truly belong."
...
Meanwhile, at the Sabaody Archipelago.
The fires of war burning through the city were gradually extinguished. Chaos gave way to order.
On execution platforms erected throughout each GR zone, pirates were brought up in an endless stream. According to testimonies from local residents, and based on bounty amounts and criminal records, varying punishments were carried out.
"Under the Empire's rule, this is the fate of thieves and brigands!"
On the execution platform, an Astartes officer of the Third Legion's Black Marlin gripped his powered greatsword tightly and raised it high.
"This is the price of defying Imperial law! All crimes are unforgivable! Guilt demands punishment! From this moment on, I do not care who you were or what privileges you once possessed. The Empire's law is supreme!"
"All glory to Selene! Long live the Empire—!"
Not far from the execution grounds, on a commercial street within a café, a fair-skinned woman with waist-length black hair and a graceful figure sat at a table across from a blue-nosed reindeer wearing a round hat and striped shirt.
"Hey, Robin, what happened to Luffy and the others? Sabaody is in complete chaos. It took me forever to find you."
The beauty named Robin held a rather large handbag. In her hand was today's newspaper.
On the table sat a coffee dripper, a kettle of hot water, a sharing pot, and a stack of cups. Yet none of the cups had been used—clear evidence of her inner turmoil.
Wearing sunglasses, her complexion drastically lighter than it had been two years ago—so much so that it was difficult to associate her with her former darker appearance—Robin lowered the newspaper.
The image of the Red Line, flying the red banner of the golden double-headed aquila, faced upward.
The headline was stark:
"The World Government Has Fallen!"
She let out a heavy sigh and lifted her eyes, filled with shock.
"The Holy Selene Empire... the world—the World Government has fallen. Perhaps... perhaps our journey truly ends here."