Boom!
Three hours later, dawn broke across the horizon.
The countless residents who had fled Oak Town overnight watched with mixed emotions as the vast purple magic circle covering the town blazed brighter than the sun.
Centered on the baron's manor, the historic town began to dissolve outward, layer by layer, at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Like ink spreading through water, the indescribable ripples of magic unleashed by Samantha's Absolute Destruction Formula swept rapidly across the town.
Houses, streets, and farmland gradually crumbled into fine, uniform gray-white sand beneath the purple light that seemed capable of erasing everything.
The whole process resembled an extravagant work of art beyond description.
Even the residents who resented her stood rooted to the spot, stunned by the sight.
At last, the walls that marked the town's outermost boundary turned to dust beneath the terrifying magical radiance.
Samantha looked at all that remained of Oak Town, now a wasteland. Holding the safe in her arms, she left the place that had once been her home.
Over the next four days, she moved between several black-market outposts along the Brown Kingdom's border.
At first, she had intended to head straight south into the Norman Empire and investigate her younger brother John's whereabouts.
But during her time with the Steel Warband, she had killed quite a few powerful Imperial fighters in battle.
If she entered the Norman Empire rashly and her presence was discovered, its forces would likely hunt her down and capture her. She would become a bargaining chip between the Empire and the Allied Forces.
Or they might simply put her on trial and execute her.
Neither outcome was what she wanted.
Besides, she needed to investigate the clues in Baron Fermont's safe: the code names, encrypted messages, and transaction records connected