Boom!!—
The energy in the air grew tighter and tighter, condensed to its limit—soon, the Heavenly Smite would fall.
Suddenly, Artosh caught sight of the scene below.
It was humanity.
Creatures not among the fifteen races—native lifeforms that had evolved on the planet.
Humble and weak, as insignificant as ants.
There were also some Angeloids helping the humans build settlements.
They resembled the Flügel somewhat, yet Artosh could tell they were not his creations.
Strictly speaking, they were machines, somewhat similar to the Ex-Machina.
The angels assisted the humans arriving from all directions, establishing a small city and erecting protective barriers around it.
They distributed food, tended to the wounded, and maintained order...
Everything here had to start from scratch. For those humans who were brave, wise, and willing to accept Imperial rule, Setsuna granted them due respect and privileges.
Every person's face was filled with hope—the days of struggling for survival amidst the chaos of higher races were over.
From now on, a stronger civilization would become their protector, bringing them advanced technology and better lives. Everyone was happy.
"...Tch."
Staring at the vibrant scene below, Artosh suddenly lost interest and dispersed the divine power in his hand.
Too weak.
So they were just humans?
He shook his head, disappointment flickering in his eyes.
He had prepared himself for a challenge from humanity, intending to demonstrate his absolute strength with one decisive blow.
But what was there to boast of before humans?
A god showing his power to ants in the dirt—utterly meaningless.
He studied them carefully for a while.
The fleet of starships that filled the skies didn't catch Artosh's attention—he'd seen the Dwarves make similar things before.
It was the ground below that drew his eye.
"Hmm?"
He noticed a silver-haired girl carrying a crowbar, patrolling the area.
He couldn't read her. She seemed human, yet not. A strange, chaotic aura surrounded her—and others nearby felt the same.
Thinking for a moment, Artosh decided he had no interest in fighting a group of humans, yet he couldn't ignore their provocation either.
"Jibril."
"Here!~"
A beautiful girl with long pink hair and white wings flew forward.
Her appearance was divine, but the overwhelming pressure she exuded made her difficult to even look at—her eyes often flickered with faint killing intent.
Jibril was the final and ultimate unit created among the Flügel, her combat capabilities among the highest of her kind.
"Go deal with them."
Artosh gave his orders succinctly.
"Me? You mean those from the Starsea Empire?"
Jibril pointed at herself.
Though she also found it dull to bully weak humans, she obediently agreed.
"Understood, no problem~"
With a graceful dive, Jibril leapt downward and vanished into the air.
...
On the ground—
Grey led a group of fellow loli researchers, along with Tesla, Einstein, and several scientists, conducting surveys in the wilderness.
They alternated between calculating coordinates on holographic interfaces and installing oddly shaped devices into the ground.
Each time they entered a new world, the Research Division always found itself overwhelmed with work. Studying the power systems of other worlds was endlessly fascinating.
"Hmm..."
"In theory, if we want to obtain the Suniaster, the simplest method is to destroy the Spirit Corridor. Once it's gone, the Suniaster will naturally manifest."
Grey adjusted her device as she spoke.
"So whoever shatters the planet first gets the Suniaster?"
Tesla scratched her head—it sounded absurdly straightforward.
"We're not exactly lacking planetary-level firepower, right? Not even counting the Commander—just picking a random shipgirl from the dockyard, using Photoid energy alone, she could blast Disboard into pieces."
"But then... uh, would the Suniaster belong to whoever breaks the planet? Is there any binding mechanism? What if a few mischievous ones get their hands on it..."
Her thoughts drifted into a series of strange scenarios.
Gudako grew excited, pulling out the sealed Strelizia scroll and spreading it open on the ground, ready to try it out.
"My chance has come? Let me see if a Tachyon Lance can pierce the planet's core..."
"Shoo, shoo! We're doing research here—are you trying to cause destruction?!"
The nanobot shoved the excitable human aside.
She stared at the readings on her device, deep in thought.
"Hmm... the Spirit Corridor is the source of Disboard's magic—it's composed of Spirits, right?"
"The Spirits here are different from what we usually imagine. They're more like fundamental elements or microorganisms?... Interesting."
"Fascinating... the manifestation mechanism of the Suniaster is quite intricate too. It's born from the planet's conceptual structure itself."
"I wonder if it's possible to artificially create a downgraded version of the Suniaster? All we'd need to do is simulate Disboard's environment—and maybe find a way to mimic the Spirit Corridor."
"The Suniaster has the power to control universal laws. Even a simplified version would still be extremely valuable..."
The others had long grown used to Grey's wild ideas.
Sometimes they worked. Sometimes they were pure fantasy. But every crazy hypothesis opened up a new research direction—something to mull over after returning home.
After setting up a few more observation devices, she checked the time.
"Phew—"
"That's about it. Let's head back."
The loli researchers and Tesla's group boarded the ship one after another.
Grey stayed behind to finish up the final calibration.
Whoosh—
In the blink of an eye, as she looked up—
A pink silhouette appeared atop a distant hill.
Her speed was extraordinary. Thousands of kilometers covered in a mere hundredth of a second—no one but the nanobot could even track her movement.
"Who...?"
Tesla's instincts screamed trouble. As a non-combatant, she hurriedly activated the ship's shields.
"Pitiful ants—how dare you covet the Suniaster?"
"Ah... you truly don't know your place."
Jibril spread her wings, amber eyes sweeping across everyone present.
Most of them were humans—unworthy of her interest.
Her gaze fell upon the gray-haired girl, clearly some kind of mechanical lifeform.
"Good day, scrap metal."
"So, you're their protector? How strange... since when do Ex-Machina defend humans?"
"...?"
"Scrap metal?!"
A vein popped on Grey's forehead—it was the first time anyone had ever called her that.
Jibril tilted her head, studying her further.
"Huh? Your emotional output seems unusually rich. Could it be you're a discarded Ex-Machina unit freed from central linkage? An independent thinker?!"
"Hiss—such a rare treasure!!"
Scanning a hundred kilometers around, Jibril found no other Ex-Machina in sight.
Her eyes lit up with collector's greed as she stared at Grey, practically drooling with excitement.
"...Discarded, you say?!"
Grey's expression twitched.
She felt her dignity—no, her very mecha-nity—had been insulted.
Turning her head, she signaled the others to retreat.
Clack—
An azure combat array unfolded behind her, forming what looked like massive mechanical wings, each cannon locking onto its target.
"Today, I'm taking you back and stewing you with mushrooms! And I'll make sure you eat Commander's meals every day, damn it."
"Bear witness—to the supreme miracle of artificial intelligence technology!!!"
"Ahaha~"
Jibril lazily formed a black scythe in her hand, eyeing the nanobot before her with amusement.
A mechanical lifeform—she instantly recognized it.
And a rare one, at that. Normal Ex-Machina didn't display such rich emotions as Grey did.
"Oh my, that's a weapon I haven't seen before. Aren't your kind supposed to analyze and copy others' weapons before turning them against them?"
"Where'd you get it from? The Dwarves, perhaps? Hmm... well, I suppose it suits you scrap heaps."
As the strongest among the Flügel, facing what she thought was a low-ranking, solitary Ex-Machina, Jibril exuded utter confidence.
She even felt a playful urge—to toy with her prey.
"!"
Grey went red-hot with rage.
"I've always been the one who looks down on others, and you're the first to racially discriminate against me, huh?!"
She leapt into the air, weapons systems expanding around her from above.
She could construct and simulate anything she wished—warship or humanoid, all just different configurations of her nanomachines.
"Whoa, a bit bigger than your average Ex-Machina—quite fancy~"
The smile was still on Jibril's face when—
Zzzzz—!
BOOM!!
Countless missiles launched from the mechanical wings behind Grey, raining down a storm of explosions in a carpet-bombing pattern.
Turquoise beams of high-energy light followed, carving deep fissures into the earth.
"!!!"
At the first exchange, Jibril immediately realized something was wrong.
That firepower—it was too much.
None of the Ex-Machina she'd ever fought could project such ferocity.
And before she could recover, the gray-haired girl had already teleported before her.
"Come on, let's see what you've got."
"Scrap metal? You dare call me that?! Those mindless Gestalts aren't even remotely on my level, got it?!"
"—!"
Jibril's expression froze.
"Flow Acceleration!"
Bang—!
The two clashed in a flurry of blows, their weapons striking again and again.
After only a few exchanges, Jibril knew something was seriously off.
She's not Ex-Machina!
Grey conjured weapon after weapon from thin air—swords, spears, staves, halberds, axes, even forks—switching effortlessly mid-combat.
Her expression remained calm and relaxed; in both speed and strength, she completely overwhelmed Jibril.
What was supposed to be an easy hunt was quickly turning into a nightmare.
Boom—Crash!!
Within a few exchanges, under the crushing difference in raw power, Jibril was kicked out of the sky and slammed into the ground, leaving a massive crater.
"Come on, keep going!"
"Who's the scrap metal now?!"
Grey placed her hands on her hips, taunting with a smirk.
"By the way, you Flügel still use magic? That's a bit more advanced than the Angeloids, I'll give you that—but honestly, I doubt you could even beat Ikaros."
"Hm... your maximum output, what is it—continental scale? Tch, the natives here really are weak."
"..."
Jibril couldn't understand half the things the nanobot was saying, but she could feel it—a tremendous, suffocating sense of danger radiating from this mechanical being.
Slowly rising from the crater, she was surrounded by swirling violet light as an immense power erupted from within.
Her wings spread wide, rainbow-colored hair fluttering wildly in the rising air currents.
Above her head, a dark violet halo began to form.
"Regarding my earlier insult, I offer my apology."
"I must correct myself—you are not mere scrap. You are a grave threat that must be eliminated here and now. An enemy that warrants my full strength. You—and your entire species."
Jibril's tone turned cold and solemn.
"Farewell."
In the sky, purple energy condensed and expanded, then exploded into a golden beam of destruction that shot down to the surface.
BOOOOM!!—
The blinding light split the heavens, like a second sun crashing upon the earth. Even those tens of kilometers away could feel its searing brilliance.
An unstoppable shockwave spread outward, destroying everything in its path.
Grass, stone, and the remnants of buildings were shredded like paper, then reduced to ash under the force of the blast.
It was the Heavenly Smite unleashed by the strongest of the Flügel—a single strike powerful enough to nearly annihilate the entire Elf race.
Now, all of that power had been aimed directly at her opponent. Instinct told Jibril that this being was extremely dangerous—one that had to be eradicated immediately.
BOOOOM!!—
The explosion made the ground tremble. When the light faded, only a massive, bottomless crater remained. Everything else had been obliterated.
"Haah... haah..."
Jibril sat up from the ruins, panting for breath.
Looking down at herself, she realized not only were her clothes tattered, but her figure had... shrunk. She was now barely 1.2 meters tall—a tiny loli version of herself.
The once-grand wings on her back had become miniature, flapping weakly like toys—not nearly enough for flight.
This was the side effect of unleashing Heavenly Smite at full power. The user would revert to a powerless, juvenile form.
"Uu..."
Jibril's expression twisted into one of pure frustration.
"Not only did I fail to collect a rare specimen, but I overexerted my power and ended up like this...!"
"So unfair!!!"
"Waaaah—"
She felt an overwhelming urge to just cry.
Her warrior instincts had told her to destroy Grey immediately, but her curiosity wanted to play with her first—a contradiction she now regretted deeply.
"At this rate, everyone's going to laugh at me when I go back..."
"But that thing was really tough... maybe I should at least check if there are any parts left behind..."
Just as she muttered to herself—
From the smoke nearby came a familiar voice.
"Looking for parts? I can give you some if you want."
Grey brushed the dust off her outfit and ran her fingers through her silver-gray hair.
Shaking her head, she stepped forward slowly, meeting Jibril's horrified gaze.
"Oh? You've turned into a little loli now? That's fine. The Commander rather likes lolis, anyway."
"Your speed's decent, but your strength and destructive output? Meh, a bit lacking."
"!!!"
A wave of fear flooded Jibril's body. Instinct screamed at her to keep fighting, but her energy was completely spent. All she could do was crawl weakly, trying to inch away from the nanobot.
"Why... why are you still alive?!"
Her childish voice trembled with terror.
She couldn't comprehend it—how could Heavenly Smite not even scratch her opponent's clothes?
"Please, I've been through worse. Back in the Pleiades Cluster, I've tanked Tachyon Lances, gamma lasers, and gigaton kinetic bombardments for breakfast."
"At your level... if a random shipgirl sparred with you, she'd wonder if you forgot to eat."
Grey yawned.
She reached out casually, grabbed the tiny Jibril, and tucked her under her arm.
"Had enough? Good. Now, let's go see the Commander."
"Waaaahhhhhhh—"
Jibril thought she was doomed.
...
A few minutes later—
"Here, first challenger delivered. Commander, how about some extra dinner tonight? Maybe stew her with mushrooms."
"Or I could wash her up for you and send her to your quarters—before or after dinner, your choice."
The nanobot plopped little Jibril down before Setsuna.
"???"
"Eh?"
Jibril blinked, stunned by the barrage of words filled with very explicit implications.
"Well, well, it's you."
Setsuna chuckled, crouching down to ruffle the small girl's hair.
"So—you insulted Grey, didn't you?"
"Uu..."
All of Jibril's former pride and arrogance had been shattered.
"Who... who are you people...?"
The loli Jibril looked up with teary eyes at Setsuna.
From Grey, she had felt an overwhelming, incomprehensible power.
She had fought Giants, Dragonia, even Phantasmas—no matter how strong the opponent, the Flügel always had a fighting chance.
But against this bizarre nanobot—she couldn't even imagine victory, nor analyze any weakness.
The other side hadn't even gone all out. Her strength was bottomless.
"My identity should've already been introduced to you."
"Huh? You're that human who plans to conquer the whole world? What an absurd dream."
Tiny Jibril sat on the ground, giving Setsuna a doubtful look.
She had always looked down on humans—but after being thrashed by Grey, she'd grown a little more cautious.
"I—I just underestimated you, that's all! If the Flügel assembled, you'd stand no chance..."
"Heh."
Setsuna smiled, stood up, and opened a holographic interface.
"Assemble, huh?"
"How convenient. I was just about to knock everyone down anyway."