"Uh, Lady Tohru? May I ask what this is?..."
Tingyun had been calling for reinforcements from the Xianzhou when the shipgirls descended like divine soldiers from the heavens, leaving her completely bewildered.
"There's a Starsea Empire distress beacon inside the talisman the Commander gave you. We use that thing all the time."
"When it's activated, your coordinates, status, even information about the enemy all get recorded. Pretty amazing, right?"
The dragon girl explained.
"Besides, she's too weak. There's no need for the Commander or the others to come personally."
"!"
Phantylia had no time to care about beacons or talismans. She realized only one thing.
She was surrounded.
She had heard some rumors about the Starsea Empire before. It was said that the Empire possessed more than thirty combatants on the level of a Lord Ravager, as well as a mysterious weapon capable of turning the starry sky two-dimensional.
However, no one knew the exact appearance of those Emanator-level powerhouses.
"Do you want a one-on-one, or a group fight?"
Tohru asked.
"Huh?"
Phantylia froze, not expecting the other side to speak so honorably.
"You want to fight me one-on-one?"
"No. You fight the sixteen of us one-on-one."
The dragon girl spread her hands.
"We all came. If we don't stretch a little by beating you up, wouldn't that be a wasted trip?"
"..."
"Then what about a group fight?"
"The sixteen of us gang up on you alone."
"!"
Phantylia realized that Tohru had never taken her seriously. She was being toyed with. Fury surged through her.
Boom!!!—
A massive surge of imaginary energy, wrapped in the power of Destruction, erupted from her body.
The starry sky above instantly changed color as dark violet lightning coursed through it.
Rumble!
Energy potent enough to destroy cities and nations gathered into a single point and transformed into a thunderbolt that struck toward Tohru, who stood closest.
"Thunderclap!"
In the blink of an eye, countless bolts of lightning manifested before her, transforming into roaming dragons that lashed out at everyone.
The air was filled with raging Destruction energy and the sharp crackle of electricity.
Tingyun had no doubt that if Phantylia had unleashed her full power at the very beginning, aside from her being protected by the Sacrosanct, the entire ship would have evaporated in an instant.
During her visit to the Starsea Empire, she had grown accustomed to experts from other worlds and all manner of unimaginable wonders, nearly forgetting that in this universe, Emanator-level strength was already terrifying.
Especially a Lord Ravager who delighted in destruction—such a battle-hardened existence could stir bloody chaos whether within the Xianzhou Alliance or elsewhere.
"Benefactors, be careful!"
Tingyun cried out.
"All flash and no substance."
Tohru formed a complex magic circle with both hands.
Rumble!!
Dragon flames burst forth, colliding with the lightning and triggering a massive explosion on the spot.
"We'll go first!"
Several destroyer shipgirls charged forward enthusiastically, raising their shields and brandishing their weapons as they rushed at Phantylia.
Clang!—
A shipgirl with a light-yellow ponytail and elongated mechanical ears took the lead.
Ayanami drew a red-and-white, mechanically structured ship-slaying blade and slashed down.
Phantylia dared not be careless and hurriedly dodged aside.
She realized that although those little girls appeared young, both their speed and strength were not to be underestimated.
The most outrageous part was that the energy shields around them could effortlessly block her attacks.
"You dare let children bully me? Who exactly are you people?"
Phantylia had no intention of prolonging the battle. She only wanted to escape as quickly as possible, yet she was relentlessly pursued.
Clang!
Having barely avoided Ayanami's slash, she looked up—only to see another silver-haired, orange-eyed beast-eared little shipgirl smashing down at her.
"Yukikaze-sama nanoda!"
Boom!—
"Ugh!"
The little girl erupted with a force utterly disproportionate to her small frame.
Phantylia felt as though she had been rammed by a starship—literally.
And not just any starship, but a colossal interstellar warship larger than a city, engines accelerated to maximum speed.
In an instant, her entire body was sent flying into the depths of interstellar space.
Clatter—
Several shipgirls deployed their rigging.
Bang bang bang—
Close-in defense guns spewed fire. Thousands of kinetic rounds poured forth like a torrential storm.
Her newly condensed physical form was shredded to pieces in an instant.
Whoosh—
Phantylia reverted into a mass of cyan flames, flickering rapidly as she attempted to flee.
Hummm—
The surrounding space was instantly sealed, leaving her unable to move an inch.
Smack!
Tohru flashed forward and pressed her down with one hand. After observing for a moment, she revealed a kindly smile.
"You're an energy lifeform? Hmm... conventional kinetic weapons really don't do much to you."
"But would you like to try annihilation magic, or maybe a Tachyon Lance instead?"
"!"
Phantylia silently prayed to the Aeon of Destruction hundreds of times, attempting to obtain more divine power.
Unfortunately, Nanook did not respond to her.
"Who exactly are you people? What do you want?"
"We just want to have a little fun with you. We haven't seen a genuine Lord Ravager before."
"Mm... quite a few people asked us to capture a living Lord Ravager and bring one back for research. You're pretty suitable. Just a bit weaker than we imagined."
Tohru answered.
"Impossible!"
Phantylia had a premonition that if she fell into the hands of the Starsea Empire, nothing good awaited her.
"Then should I just kill you now? Speaking of which, even though you're a Lord Ravager, you're actually quite afraid of death, aren't you?"
Finding her amusing, Tohru used magic to knead the mass of flames, as if teasing a pet.
"Compared to being completely annihilated, wouldn't you rather stay alive?"
"!!!"
Phantylia's composure shattered.
She reveled in destruction of both spirit and matter, yet at the same time longed for a body that could not be destroyed.
To sacrifice herself for Nanook's ideals and some abstract sense of dignity... she did not possess such lofty resolve.
"Don't worry. We'll take very good care of you."
...
Before long.
Hummm—
The starship returned to the Xianzhou Luofu.
The Whistling Flames Guild's vessel had been riddled with holes and could no longer sustain long-distance interstellar travel.
Moreover, after encountering a Lord Ravager, none of them had the mood to continue forward.
Because Tingyun had already reported the situation when requesting reinforcements, the Starskiff Haven was packed with Cloud Knights in advance.
Even the Gundam units still in training had been mobilized, gripping their guandao and forming two neat rows.
Jing Yuan stood with the Xianzhou's high-ranking officials, waiting in strict formation.
Click—
After the starship and shuttle docked, Tingyun was the first to jump down.
"The merchant ship was attacked by a Lord Ravager? How is it?"
Yukong stepped forward first.
"Thanks to the Sacrosanct and the Starsea Empire, everything's fine."
Tingyun flicked her fan twice.
"Mm... but it seems this little woman owes the Sacrosanct another favor. Ah... at this rate, I'll never be able to repay him..."
"Where is the Lord Ravager?"
Jing Yuan asked.
"Right here."
Tohru and the shipgirls descended as well.
She was carrying a transparent container shaped somewhat like a birdcage. The container was sealed off by a shielding force field.
Inside, a mass of cyan flames burned fiercely. Whether it was an illusion or not, Fu Xuan felt that the flames seemed a little... depressed.
"Come on, say hello to everyone."
Tohru tapped the cage.
"!"
Phantylia originally wanted to curse, but considering that everyone possessed synesthetic beacons, she decided against it.
The flames flickered a few times in protest.
"Ah?!"
The Xianzhou's high officials all crowded closer, their faces filled with astonishment.
They had imagined many possibilities. A fierce battle with heavy casualties. The Lord Ravager having other hidden trump cards and suddenly launching an attack upon reaching the Xianzhou.
They had never anticipated that Phantylia would be stuffed into a birdcage and carried back like a pet.
"She... is extremely dangerous. Is this really acceptable?"
Fu Xuan asked with a frown.
"Our energy force field can isolate and partition even two-dimensional space. If she thinks she's stronger than a Dual-Vector Foil, she's welcome to try."
"There are also sealing arrays from the Magic Division inside. Oh, and if you can overturn the achievements of both the Research Division and the Magic Division at the same time, then I'll admit you're impressive."
Tohru gave the birdcage a little shake.
"It's just a Lord Ravager. Why so nervous?"
"!"
Phantylia swelled and shrank inside the cage.
She had naturally tried to seize an opportunity to escape, but Emanator-level power simply wasn't enough.
"Hiss..."
Once again, the people of the Xianzhou experienced the disparity in power between the two sides.
In their eyes, a Lord Ravager truly did not seem like a big deal.
"Then may I ask how the Sacrosanct intends to deal with her?"
Jing Yuan asked again.
Since Phantylia had been captured by the Starsea Empire, she naturally belonged to them as spoils of war. Still, out of caution, he offered a reminder.
"A Lord Ravager is not only vicious and cruel, but also cunning beyond measure. Extremely dangerous. Even the Creation Furnace of the Artisanship Commission and the towers of the Ten-Lords Commission might not be able to suppress her."
"If she is given even the slightest chance to recover, she may well stir up another great calamity."
"As for that... rest assured, we have our own arrangements."
...
Two days later.
After learning that a patrol team had unexpectedly captured a Lord Ravager, another small ship landed on the Luofu.
Grey and a Herta puppet jumped down and made their way directly to the Starsea Empire's stationed Delve.
"Oh..."
Members of the Genius Society rarely had dealings with the Xianzhou, drawing curious glances from onlookers.
"See? Isn't our research project interesting?"
"You've never played with a living Lord Ravager before, have you?"
Grey took the birdcage and shook it vigorously like a bottle of soda, waking Phantylia up.
"!"
"Played with?"
Phantylia, who had been feigning dormancy, glared at her.
"Mm, I'm considering extending the contract to fifteen Amber Eras."
Herta leaned in to take a closer look and nodded.
Personally researching a captured Lord Ravager was unprecedented even within the Genius Society.
Very interesting. There were many topics to explore concerning the Path of Destruction, Aeons, and Emanators.
"Her true form is a heliobus? I'd like to study her lifeform, the source of her power, and the manifestation of her Path."
Herta began listing a large number of tasks on her holographic interface.
She found that the Starsea Empire was practically a treasury of knowledge, constantly producing fascinating new things.
"Mm, I know you're excited about studying a Lord Ravager up close..."
"But besides researching an Emanator of Destruction, we also have a long-term mission."
Grey thought for a moment.
"What mission?"
"We need to train her into a form usable by the Commander. That way, in the future, the Commander can conduct negative-distance research personally."
"Huh?"
A question mark slowly appeared above Herta's head.
"?"