Morning, Golden Palace — Imperial Palace.
The women of Reuel had begun their respective activities. Angie and the other young children had already left for the educational institution run by the Imperium of Man.
In front of the bedroom door, a royal maid stood calmly. Her long hair was a silvery white, and she wore a neatly pressed maid uniform. In her hands, she carried a breakfast tray.
She took a deep breath, then knocked three times in a steady rhythm.
Bang—bang—bang.
> "Commander, it's now 07:20. I'll assist you with getting ready and breakfast."
After receiving permission, Belfast pushed the door open and stepped inside.
As the head maid of the palace, she was responsible for the commander's daily life. With practiced movements, she placed the tray on the bedside table, then walked to the massive window that stretched from floor to ceiling and drew open the curtains.
Swish. Sunlight poured into the room, coating everything in a warm golden glow.
Reuel's bedroom was located on the highest floor of the Imperial Palace. From the wide circular window, one could enjoy a view of the Aegean Sea and the imperial capital nestled in the distant Himalayas.
The entire city unfolded in a breathtaking panorama.
"Eh…"
"Belfast… good work."
Reuel shook his head slightly and rose from the bed.
The head maid immediately picked up clothes from the floor and began tidying up all of Reuel's garments, including those belonging to the women who had stayed with him overnight.
While cleaning, she came across a few conspicuous items—lace stockings, women's underwear, and other provocative clothing.
"Buy me new ones," Dafeng said casually.
Dafeng poked her head out from beneath the blanket on the side of the bed. Her hair was messy, and her wine-red eyes looked tired yet still radiated her signature lazy charm.
"Why are you always here every day?" Belfast asked, not sounding surprised. She simply rolled her eyes.
"Obviously, to keep certain pests from plotting evil~~" Dafeng replied in a teasing voice, like a pampered newlywed daughter-in-law.
She stretched out her pale greenish-white arms, grabbed a glass of orange juice from the tray, sipped it slowly, then handed it to Reuel.
"Commander, would you like Dafeng to feed you?"
Reuel said nothing.
Belfast felt like her eyes were about to burn from the sight.
"We're a bit short on time, so I'll eat on my own," Reuel said, rising and beginning to dress.
His appearance was neat and refreshed. No dark circles under his eyes, his gaze sharp and focused, and his body looked strong.
At first, he might not have been that active with Dafeng. But after undergoing intense training with the Knight King, his physical fitness had drastically improved—to the point where even an armored aircraft carrier might beg for mercy.
Adding two more in the future? Probably not a big deal.
"Are you still going to practice magic tricks?"
"Commander, you're incredible. Exhausted from training all day, yet still have time to..."
Dafeng sat up, tying her messy hair.
"Hah, of course."
Reuel snorted softly, smiling quietly to himself.
The release of magical energy had significantly enhanced his physical fitness. Naturally, the effects were also felt in certain vital areas.
By the shoreline.
Akashi, Richelieu, Yat Set, several heroic spirits, the Universal Bulins, Tech-Priest Mechanicus, and researchers from the Mobius Foundation had gathered. Each brought their own equipment—some came to learn, others to conduct research.
The moment when the Master of Mankind, Reuel, performed a live experiment was rare. So it was no surprise that all eyes were on him.
Since Reuel had developed a new method of using the Mind Cube, the ship girls decided to explore the combination of Magic Elements + Mind Cube + Psionics.
"Commander, you're doing something we've never seen before. Chaldean magic... it's amazing," said Akashi, stacking various testing instruments around Reuel, assisted by Mobius researchers and Tech-Priest Mechanicus.
> "We've never seen anything like this, have we?! Who would've thought magic could be released this way?"
"Hey..." murmured White Jeanne, rubbing her head.
After confirming all systems were properly configured, Reuel took a deep breath and began extracting energy from the Mind Cube.
His body was enveloped in pale blue fluorescence. His pupils transformed into miniature suns glowing gold.
He drew his longsword, raised it high, and mimicked the motion of Excalibur: Oath of Victory.
The blade pointed toward the distant sea.
Boom—blue and gold energy burst from the sword's edge, unleashing a psionic storm accompanied by flames.
In the distance, a cruiser used as a target was instantly obliterated, reduced to flying shards of metal.
The impact triggered a minor earthquake and a tsunami on the far side of the beach.
The waves turned into blinding silver light.
Everyone present could only describe the scene with one word: overwhelming.
"This is way too much. Is this how you release magical power?"
Black Jeanne was on the verge of exploding.
Gudako stared blankly at the sea. As a protagonist from another world, she felt utterly defeated by Reuel—in magic, mecha, and the mysterious golden aura surrounding his body.
"How about using a Gundam form?" asked Akashi.
"Can the Omnissiah do something greater?" replied an Archmagos Mechanicus.
"This data... is phenomenal," murmured a Mobius Foundation researcher.
Akashi and the other researchers stared at the data screens, nodded, and asked again:
"The Gundam form uses a beam saber as a medium for magic and psionic release. But it requires far more energy."
Reuel projected Strike Freedom Gundam, then raised the beam saber with both hands.
Seeing a mecha over 20 meters tall, moving with golden light cannon-style grace that resembled a curry stick, the ship girls, heroic spirits, and Tech-Priest Mechanicus were left speechless.
They had never seen anything like it before.
"What is this? Unknown magic?!"
Boom.
Reuel's Gundam form unleashed even greater power than before. The resulting tsunami triggered heavy rainfall across the entire sea region.
In the distance, the Universal Bulins and Little Yellow Chicken Manjuus who were farming waved their arms frantically toward the shore.
"Stop fighting! Stop fighting! If you blast the wheat again, the fields are gonna flood!!!"
"Eh…"
"Interesting."
After conducting a few more experiments, Reuel paused for a moment. Akashi glanced at the heroic spirits nearby and asked thoughtfully:
"As a reference... could you also show us your Noble Phantasms?"
"I don't mind," replied Black Jeanne, spreading her arms.
King Altria nodded and prepared herself as well.
"Eh... I'm not really comfortable..."
White Jeanne looked a bit shy. She had two Noble Phantasms: one for defense, and one for self-destruction—not exactly ideal for a demonstration.
"Just the two of you," Reuel said, pointing at Altria and Black Jeanne.
"Oath of Victory... Excalibur!!!"
"Roar! My rage!!!"
Their cries echoed, and from afar came the confused voices of ship girls who had no idea what was happening.
"Eh…"
Meanwhile, Akashi and the researchers from the Mobius Foundation and Tech-Priest Mechanicus began calculating the results of the experiment. They opened stacks of reports, took notes, and shook their heads while covering their ears from the deafening sound effects.
"Commander, I understand now," said Akashi.
"You're projecting psionic energy directly into the Mind Cube through magical release."
"The ship girls use the Mind Cube to enhance their weapons. But your method is far more direct and aggressive."
"Uh-huh."
Reuel nodded. That aligned with his thinking.
"What about the other results?"
"Under normal conditions, your magical output is equivalent to a small hydrogen bomb," said a Mobius Foundation researcher.
"By heroic spirit evaluation standards, your anti-city Noble Phantasm is even stronger than Jeanne d'Arc Alter's, O Omnissiah," added an Archmagos Mechanicus.
"…"
Black Jeanne curled her lips. She was merely an anti-army weapon, even weaker than the anti-city category.
King Altria Pendragon added:
"If you switch the medium—say, using a Gundam beam saber as the channel for magical release—the destructive power could increase significantly…"
"I guess it wouldn't be hard for you to defeat high-level Sirens like Purifier and Scavenger in a one-on-one fight?"
Akashi added her comment in a serious tone.
That was a high-level evaluation. Not even the ship girls dared to claim they could beat Big-Eyed Moe or other intelligent Sirens in direct duels.
"???"
"Is the Rubik's Cube really that powerful?!"
Gudako lit up instantly. She imagined using her magic as an anti-fortress treasure, sidestepping through Chaldea and conquering singularities. She grabbed Reuel's arm with an overly sweet gesture.
"Boss—uh, I mean, Commander? You still have a Mind Cube, right?!"
"Yeah, I still do. But why don't you learn magic properly first... This thing shouldn't be useful for you," Reuel replied, pulling out a pale blue Rubik's Cube.
Gudako took it, rubbed it, stared at it, even tried to bite it—and nearly broke her teeth.
"In principle, only ship girls can use the Rubik's Cube or other inanimate objects. The Commander is a special being," Akashi explained.
"And it's extremely stable. Not even a hydrogen bomb could destroy it."
Akashi quickly stopped Gudako, who was about to swallow the Rubik's Cube whole.
"…"
"In that case, I'm going to play Gundam."
Gudako stopped thinking and immediately hopped into a Zaku by the shore to play.
Akashi looked at Reuel seriously.
"However, Commander, you must remember: magical energy isn't unlimited. If used too intensely in a short time, your body could be harmed."
Even though the Rubik's Cube could channel energy like an infinite reactor, the human body still had limits. Don't push yourself too hard.
"Okay, I know. It's totally fine."
Reuel nodded. He began to think that physical training needed to be ramped up. His target was no longer anti-city Noble Phantasms, but anti-nation—and someday, anti-star.
Artoria observed the experimental data, resting her chin on her hand.
"With stats like these, you don't need to learn any additional moves."
"I was planning to teach you a few more sword techniques, but now it feels excessive. Your swordsmanship has already far surpassed mine."
The magical power Reuel released was already on par with a Noble Phantasm. Miracles could be achieved through sheer force—defeating ten enemies in a single strike.
Every magic user had a different release form:
- Black Jeanne used magical fire to incinerate enemies.
- The Knight King turned her holy sword into a beam cannon.
There was no need to learn similar techniques.
"Yeah, no need to learn the same skills," Reuel said, nodding.
"But if there's a chance in the future, you could study some specialized techniques—like defensive Noble Phantasms or rule-based ones."
"For example, the Chrysanthemum Shield of the Fortune King, or if you could summon the Holy King of the Celestial Wheel, Gilgamesh... Hmm, let me see which singularity would be best to visit next..."
"?"
The heroic spirits could only glance at each other. They felt Reuel was planning something... dangerous.