The ‘Red Devil’ Birdel, who had brought the Empire to ruin, closed her eyes.

*‘I won’t reach it with just this.’*

She lowered her body and readied her stance.

*Swish…*

In the silent forest, where even the sound of insects was absent, only the occasional whisper of the wind reached her, soothing her loneliness.

*Swish…*

In front of a small grave, on a naturally formed clearing, the girl Birdel stood motionless, sword in hand, her eyes shut in deep concentration. Her lower half was clad in a strangely mismatched dark red plate armor, while she wore an ordinary shirt on her upper half.

The girl grasped the scabbard with her left hand and the sword with her right, in a stance as if she would draw it at any moment. It seemed as though the sword could spring out at any second.

Not a single movement was made, yet the falling leaves before her seemed to split in half as if sliced by a sword, scattering into the air.

Though she could feel no mana or aura.

The sun rose, reached its zenith, and set again, yet the girl remained unmoving, as though she had become a statue.

Finally, as the sun hid behind the western hills, she opened her eyes.

*“Haa… I still couldn’t cut it.”*

Her self-deprecating voice echoed through the forest.

Behind her, the air rippled as if the space itself were wavering. But it wasn’t enough to satisfy her; her steps as she turned away were filled with bitterness.

She imagined someone’s voice and thought back to a few days ago.

[**Admin’s message has arrived.**]  
- *Ah… the Hydra’s no match. It’s probably because it's a battle suit, though.*  

“Is there no way?”

[**Admin’s message has arrived.**]  
- *Well… maybe if you’re strong enough to break dimensions? Hehe.*

“…I’ll definitely do it.”

[**Admin’s message has arrived.**]  
- *Hmm? Haha, don’t worry too much. It’ll take some time, but I’m still working on it.*

That was the end of the conversation.

Kalshtine had said it half-jokingly, but it felt different to her.

*‘I’ll definitely break through dimensions.’*

She was eager to meet him.

She would succeed in the Dimension Slash, beyond the Vacuum Slash.

No matter how long it took.

It stung that she hadn’t been selected in Admin’s call this time.

She firmly promised herself not to miss the next opportunity.

---

### ***

Kaisha lay back on the massage chair, her face drained of all life.

*“Ugh!”*

Even the massage chair couldn’t bring peace to her mind.

*“Crown Prince… that bastard! I’ll make him pay for this humiliation…”*

She clenched her teeth, recalling the events of that day.

After the assassination(?) of the Debran, when the people had gathered, she locked eyes with the Crown Prince, who was wearing an indescribable expression.

Relief? Longing? Fear? Pity?

Looking at the Crown Prince, her own actions flashed before her eyes.

*‘A mad woman, an absolute fool…!’*

Wearing strange clothes, performing impossible miracles, and mumbling to herself in the air.

She could no longer stand it.

She had wanted to explain her situation, to reveal the **Dimensional Integration Community** she had kept secret for fear of being labeled insane.

Then she could explain the strange outfit and magic wand, too.

But then—

[**Admin’s message has arrived.**]  
- *Hmm? The magical girl thing is supposed to be a secret, huh?*

“What?”

What on earth was he saying now?

[**Admin’s message has arrived.**]  
- *If the secret gets out, it’s permanent banishment, hehe.*

“…Ugh!”

In the end, what came out of her mouth was an absurd phrase.

“Don’t try to figure out a woman’s secrets.”

It was such an embarrassing moment that if she had had a blanket, she would’ve torn it to shreds.

The Crown Prince gave her a small nod, his eyes twinkling… but then he began spouting absurdities.

“Proclaim the revival of the Myth Era! A saint has been born after 7,000 years!!”

The Crown Prince winked at her, as if making the most of a magnificent lie.

“Look with your own eyes!! Witness the miracle of defeating the vile alien race!”

The massive hole that stretched from deep in the palace’s underground to the sky seemed to add a tiny bit of credibility to his words.

In fact, the high-ranking officials and wizards who had gathered there already knew that the flash that pierced the sky earlier was no ordinary occurrence. Could the legendary 9th Circle magic be responsible?

According to what she later overheard from the Crown Prince, the chaos caused by the death of the Debran was something they’d chosen to suppress with this act.

*‘Surely there were other ways?’*

There was also a need for a hero to take credit for solving the mana contamination problem.

To her ears, it all sounded like nonsense from the Crown Prince.

But then, someone who had gone mad over the death of the Debran had caused her further misfortune.

“Next, I was promised an extension of my lifespan!!”

One of the substitutes, his eyes spinning, launched a surprise spell. A 6th Circle spell aimed at her.

She, as a researcher, had a relatively low level of magic, and the attack came so suddenly that she had no time to defend.

However—

*Boom!*

A round barrier appeared around her, immediately dispelling the 6th Circle spell.

At the same time, her attire glowed brightly, and dazzling effects filled the air.

*‘Ah…’*

After that, she spent a few days staying holed up, trying to recover from the situation.

Then, unexpectedly, the Crown Prince appeared with something to show her.

She nearly gasped when she saw the statue displayed in front of the palace.

*Thud—*

It was a statue of her, wearing a shiny dress and exhaling breaths of fire.

Only the Crown Prince and she had seen the magic wand, now reduced to ash.

She turned her head to look at the Crown Prince’s expression and was certain of it.

*‘This bastard is messing with me…!’*

If she had one more chance with that wand, she would’ve used it on him!

As she gritted her teeth, reflecting on Admin and the Crown Prince, stabilizing the continent, one day, everyone’s eyes across the continent would see the same broadcast.

*“!!”*

She instinctively recognized it was the work of the Debrans.

*“Already?! Of all times…”*

Currently, Admin had said he would be unreachable for a while.

*Chi-chi-chi— Bleep-bleep-*

In the rectangular screen, a Debran officer, adorned in military uniform and medals, spoke solemnly.

- *Lowly and inferior barbarians, we will begin ‘incineration’ now.*

The face of the Debran officer showed a sense of superiority even greater than the Debran she had killed before. His expression was one that conveyed the sense of seeing mere insects.

- *I have come to judge your foolish sins. For daring to touch a noble Debran, your lives will not suffice as payment. Accept your death with grace.*

The officer’s calm tone showed no emotion, as though he was stating an obvious truth.

Kaisha gritted her teeth and hurried off somewhere.

---

### ***

Meanwhile, the Debran officer, as he transmitted the video, felt a sense of bewilderment.

Even though he was just a regular scout, the reconnaissance ships and basic equipment had been provided. There was no way he would die in such a primitive place.

*‘What on earth happened?’*

He had already scouted the target planet thoroughly. There was no sign of any threat to his scouts. He knew well from the second suitable planet they had collected data on that this was the usual routine.

But, why would he even be concerned about this? After all, it was just one scout.

*‘They’ll crawl out on their own if I keep pushing.’*

He thought to himself, about to give the order to attack the whole fleet. He already had approval from the main forces.

Now, it was time to give the “purification bombardment” to those foolish primitives.

At that moment—

“Commander! High-grade energy has been detected!”

“What? Haven’t we already finished our reconnaissance?”

“Th-th-that’s…”

“Was it an error in the report? Could it be…?”

The fleet commander took the data from his aide.

“High-purity Ether? No… this isn’t Ether. Even Ether doesn’t reach this level. This is… far superior to Ether…”

“Even the estimate alone is greater than the combined total of a heavy battleship fleet! And…”

The fleet commander couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Is this really happening?”

“Yes, it’s a high-energy reaction too dense to measure.”

“And yet, it’s this stable?”

“We… don’t understand either.”

The commander’s serious expression slowly shifted into one of elation.

“Aide! Get me in touch with the Supreme Commander!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Haha! This might be a superior energy source, even better than Ether!”

“Then…”

“What a great discovery! We must secure it! Contact the main forces!”

The commander almost let out a scream of joy, barely holding it in.

*Bleep-*

“Supreme Commander, the scout fleet…”

As the report from the

 fleet commander continued, the Supreme Commander’s expression began to shift dramatically.

---

### ***

Just before the report reached the Supreme Commander, at that moment.

Kaisha opened the door to her lodging near the personal research lab and searched for something.

A massive white metal case, taller than her, sat in the corner of the room.

Admin had prepared this for her to use when he wasn’t around, to help her hold on.

She hesitated for a moment but finally activated the case.

*Clunk— Clunk— Swish— Clunk—*

And then, a dazzling white object shot out, piercing the building and rising high into the air.

*Magical Girl Mecha Mode ON.*