After distributing the data about the No Game No Life world and confirming the strategy time and direction, the shipgirls and each squad returned to their respective stations to make early preparations.
Taking advantage of some free time, Setsuna patrolled the capital.
The conquest of the Sixth Singularity had been remarkably efficient—nothing more than a brief interlude.
The newly brought-back Heroic Spirits were settled at Chaldea's base, where the senior veterans explained the situation to them.
Nitocris, the Hassan of Serenity, and Tripitaka (Xuanzang Sanzang) were all bewildered for days. The Lion King, however, through the Holy Sword, had synchronized with the memories of the ahoge King's daily life here—her eating, drinking, and general leisure—so she had been mentally prepared, somewhat.
Then—
"Report! The cafeteria's ingredients are running low again!!!"
"Angeloid Unit No.1156, requesting Headquarters to allocate food supplies—yes, the same spot as before, and yes, it's them again!!!"
The Lion King, having regained her humanity, had also reclaimed her appetite.
"Indeed, I must admit that the Starsea Empire's culinary level far surpasses that of Britain. I suppose your indulgence here is somewhat understandable."
In the cafeteria, the Lion King elegantly wiped the last trace of soup with a piece of bread, stacking her tray atop a small mountain of plates and bowls already piled over a meter high beside her.
She waved to the Angeloid: "Three more servings of French-style beef stew with red wine, coarse bread, and pan-fried chimera, please."
"See? That's not even the best part! The best chefs in the capital are from Totsuki—they're three times, no, ten times better than normal angels!"
The ahoge King enthusiastically introduced the capital's delicacies to her counterpart, her tone full of pride.
"Oh? Then when shall we go taste them?"
The Lion King, calm and steady, asked expectantly.
"Uh, they're the Master's private chefs. You need to make a reservation in advance, or tag along when the Master goes on expeditions—you might get some benefits then."
"Is that so? Then what are you doing loitering in the capital every day?"
The Lion King raised a brow, clearly unimpressed with the ahoge King.
"Didn't the Master mention he's planning expeditions to other worlds? What was it called again? No Game No Life? Let's sign up together."
"No matter the enemy, I shall vanquish them all for him."
Saying this, she connected to Setsuna's communicator.
"Ah?"
Setsuna, not understanding why she was volunteering so eagerly, assumed she merely wanted to prove herself or broaden her horizons in another world, so he casually agreed.
"..."
Nearby, Jeanne d'Arc and Jeanne Alter exchanged glances, twitching their lips.
Motivation was good and all, but the Lion King's source of motivation always felt... off.
Was this some kind of Artoria-exclusive skill?!
Out in the streets—
Tripitaka strolled about, staff in hand.
She had come to the Starsea Empire both to broaden her horizons and, perhaps, to spread Buddhist teachings.
The city's grand cathedrals dazzled her eyes.
"The Starsea Empire practices freedom of faith—everyone can believe in whichever deity they choose..."
"But the gods here are neither Buddha nor any divine system I've ever seen. Even compared to the Holy City, they're totally different... How odd..."
She compared the information on her terminal, one entry after another, realizing she recognized none of these deities.
"Eris? Zenarith? Axis Church?! ...What on earth...?"
Gathering pamphlets from the various sanctuaries, she tried to learn more—but grew only more confused.
"The largest denomination here... is the Eris Church? A goddess of fortune governing luck?"
"So by believing in Eris, one gains bonuses to luck? Ordinary believers have higher odds in draws and lotteries, while advanced believers gain sudden inspiration during research, exams, or even battles?!"
"Huh?!"
"And faith in the Axis Church makes people happier—but at the cost of some intelligence???..."
So strange. She couldn't make sense of it at all.
Tripitaka had wanted to enlighten others, but found her doctrines had no appeal in the Starsea Empire.
Every attempt at preaching was met by the same innocent, piercing questions from little girls:
"Can you bless me so I pull three five-stars in a ten-roll?"
"Uh... no."
"What about getting all the multiple-choice answers right on my exam?"
"That's not even—why would a god manage that?!"
"What about finishing an experiment and getting all the data right the first time?"
"Huh?!"
"Then what's the point of your god? Not very impressive, huh..."
"..."
Tripitaka was left questioning her very faith by the innocent little girl's blunt remark.
For a fleeting moment, she even felt the urge to convert to the Eris Church.
...
Two weeks later.
The expeditionary force assembled at the administrative center plaza.
Aside from Tohru, Nyarlathotep, Mio, and other close companions—as well as the shipgirls—many Heroic Spirits, Spirits, and even ordinary human girls had gathered, all ready to depart.
Although most of the actual operations in a conquest were handled by top-tier forces, many ordinary people still wanted to experience another world firsthand.
Even if all they did was sit on the starship and watch from afar—it was still more exciting than staying behind for drills.
"Dad, I wanna go too~ I've never been to another world yet! Even the little shipgirls have gone before!"
The white-haired bun of a girl snuggled against Setsuna, pouting adorably.
"You'll go when you finish your beginner courses at the academy," Setsuna said, tapping Kiana lightly on the head.
She had only just enrolled recently, but upon hearing there was an expedition, she had come running full of excitement.
"Nooo~"
Kiana tried to act cute to get away with it, but Cecilia pinched her cheeks and dragged her aside.
"You're not strong enough yet. If you go now, you'll just cause trouble for the Commander. Train and study properly, okay?"
"...Okay."
That was one reason Kiana couldn't argue against.
"So I just need to get stronger, right?..."
She thought for a moment, then skipped back over to Mei and Bronya.
"Don't rush. Once we're strong enough to knock people from other worlds flat, the Commander will definitely take us along."
Driven by pride, Kiana felt she had to do even better.
"Wait, really? Are you sure you didn't misunderstand that?!"
Bronya recalled the remaining worlds besides No Game No Life.
"Knock them flat? Huh?!"
"Bronya doesn't want to go on an expedition. Bronya's going to read. Goodbye, Kiana."
"Ah???"
After the playful chatter faded—
Woom—
Setsuna opened the starmap and selected the No Game No Life world.
[No Game No Life (Tier-III Magic Age)]
This world contains many different races—some native, some magical—each possessing vastly different levels of power, with the potential to give rise to high-ranking deities.
[Comparison of Strengths:]
[Military Strength: Like an Ant]
[Economic Power: Like an Ant]
[Technological Level: Like an Ant]
"..."
Three lines of Like an Ant looked rather strange.
When Setsuna had first discovered the No Game No Life world, he had categorized it as a high-difficulty world.
Not as insane as A Certain Magical Index or Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, but certainly not on the same level as Evangelion or Re:Zero either.
Turning his head, he saw Nyarlathotep standing there with her ahoge twitching, looking at him expectantly.
"Oh, I see."
Setsuna understood.
The overall power level of the Starsea Empire had been massively boosted thanks to the Cthulhu-girl legion.
They usually seemed harmless and cheerful—spending their days playing games and watching anime—and their absurdly high moral standards often made people forget just what their true forms were.
"My sense of security actually comes from the Cthulhu Mythos. How bizarre."
Shwoom—
[Dimensional Gateway Established: Solar System → No Game No Life]
A dazzling, prismatic wormhole appeared amid the distant starlit void.
Boom—
The expeditionary fleet boarded their starships, vanishing one after another into the heavens.
...
The world of No Game No Life.
A rust-colored sky hung overhead, filled with drifting particles of dust.
Everywhere the eye could see lay nothing but ruins.
Ripped-apart earth, mountains sheared in half, trenches hundreds of kilometers long carved by high-energy weapons, and deep craters left by explosions...
Among them, one could still vaguely discern the remains of what once were cities.
This was a world reduced to rubble by endless war.
Countless races fought to seize the throne of the One True God, slaughtering one another without end.
Shh—Shh—
Deep beneath the earth, within a long, winding ravine, a small human squad moved cautiously through the ruins.
They wore goggles and dark cloaks, their movements quick yet deliberate.
Avoiding open ground as much as possible, they paused every few hundred meters to scan their surroundings carefully—making sure no other race was nearby.
In this world, humanity was the lowest and weakest of all species. They had to employ every possible trick just to survive.
In this everlasting war, no race even considered humans as competitors.
Humans were too weak—without affinity for magic, without powerful bodies. They were utterly unfit to participate in this game of power.
Even the lowest-ranked races, those barely within the top ten, could easily annihilate entire human settlements.
"Move quickly—this area's too open."
The squad leader, a man, glanced at the massive, eerie ruins around them and fell silent for a moment, wondering what kind of terrifying battle between higher races had once taken place here.
Then he urged the group onward.
After a long trek through a narrow passageway, the squad found a brief refuge in an open clearing.
"Rick! Look!"
One of his comrades called out excitedly—then quickly covered his mouth, realizing how loud he had been.
The squad followed the direction of his gaze.
Inside a derelict ruin, a flickering holographic interface projected an intricate world map.
"This is a world map created by the Dwarf race! And it's the latest version!"
The young team member nearly jumped with joy.
"Not just that—it includes the territorial borders of all the races and the strategic plans of the Dwarves."
Rick struggled to contain his excitement, instructing two members to cross-reference and decode the information.
Understanding the strategic outlook of the higher races could make humanity's survival just a bit easier.
And from these maps, they could perhaps glean something about the world's overall situation.
"Ah..."
As they analyzed more data, Rick was horrified by the scale of devastation.
He discovered that the Dwarves were developing a weapon called the "E-Bomb." Its destructive power was unimaginable—not even worth discussing its effect on other races, but for humanity, survival was impossible.
Even the aftermath alone would be enough to annihilate every human settlement.
Suddenly—
Rumble—
The ground shook violently.
"Demonia!!"
Just one glance at the distant silhouette was enough for the squad to panic. They sprinted forward with all their strength, not even bothering to gather their gear.
They dove into a pitch-black corner, holding their breath, trembling.
Ranked eleventh, the Demonia race might be cannon fodder to the higher races like the Flügel or Ex-Machina—but for humanity, they were an insurmountable mountain.
Step—Step—
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed above, making their hearts race.
Bits of debris rained down from the ceiling with each tremor.
If they were discovered, the entire squad would be wiped out.
"..."
After a long silence, Rick finally spoke.
"Ivan. That's an order."
"Die here."
Without hesitation, the man called Ivan stood up.
"With this, I swear upon our will."
"Please... take care of my child."
In this war, every human had long been prepared to sacrifice themselves for the survival of their race.
Climbing out from the rubble, Ivan ran straight toward the enormous worm-like creature tens of meters long—shouting, taunting, and sprinting in the opposite direction from his comrades.
"Come on! I'm right here! Over here, you monster!—"
Zzzrrt—
The worm turned its massive head, locking onto its prey.
Just as Ivan prepared to face death calmly, accepting his fate, fragments of memories of his daughter flashed before his eyes—his life replaying like a lantern's final light.
Crack—
From the dim, gray sky came the sudden sound of space fracturing.
Clatter-clatter-clatter—
The sound grew louder and sharper, to the point even the Demonia froze in place, forgetting its prey for a moment.
Instinctively, it grew restless.
Then—
BOOM!—
The heavens tore apart, ripped open by an enormous rift. Out of the void emerged a massive starship—silver-white in color, its surface etched with faint golden cloud patterns.
The metallic gleam from its hull was so bright it hurt to look directly at it.
When fighting planetside, Setsuna typically deployed smaller vessels from the Eternal Snowfall.
But this time, there were far more—entire fleets poured forth behind it.
Aerial carriers and battleships cast vast shadows that blotted out the sun, while cruisers and destroyers escorted them on both flanks.
"Ah..."
The fleeing human squad, as well as distant human settlements, all witnessed the spectacle.
They stared in awe at the fleet descending from the heavens.
"Arrived at No Game No Life world."
"Timeline verification... correct."
"Planetary scan in progress... constructing holographic map."
On the bridge, Sophon swiftly completed a full planetary scan, uploading the data to the central server.
"Whoa... this place is even worse than the Holy Grail War..."
Gudako leaned toward the viewport.
A war over the throne of the One True God—it reminded her eerily of the Holy Grail War.
Only this time, the participants weren't a few mages—it was entire species.
And the battlefield wasn't a single city—it was the entire planet.
"When only one Old Deus remains, the Suniaster manifests. But since they're born from the planet's concepts and wishes, it's like new Masters are constantly joining the Holy Grail War."
"So normally, this war could never end."
Setsuna gave a low hum.
"But this time... things won't be normal."
"We're going to conquer every race. Hmm... let's start by helping out the humans. They've suffered long enough."
He snapped his fingers, assigning a task to Sophon.
"Locate an Ex-Machina unit. Its general position should be somewhere within the Elven ruins."
"Understood."
An invisible proton was launched, wrapping the entire planet within a higher-dimensional scan.
This was standard procedure upon entering a new world.
"Huh?"
A destroyer noticed a monster on the surface. One of its side guns swiveled.
Boom—
A kinetic shell tore through the air, obliterating the massive, worm-like creature in a single shot. All that remained was sizzling ichor pooling across the ground.
"Ababa..."
The human squad below could only gape.
Their ingrained survival instincts made them tremble, trying to figure out which higher race had arrived this time.
Clack—
From an open hangar bay, several squads of Angeloids descended, scanning the area.
Rick tried to slip away quietly—but after only a few steps, one of the angels landed before him, blocking his path with effortless grace.
"Reporting to Master: human survivors located."
"Confirmed—thirty-six kilometers southeast, another human settlement detected."
"Wha!!!—"
Even when facing the Demonia earlier, Ivan and Rick hadn't felt such overwhelming fear.
"Wings? Flügel?!"
"No... not quite... maybe Ex-Machina? We can't resist—don't fight back!"
Their minds raced with panic, flooded by thoughts of countless horrifying possibilities. Why had a higher race taken notice of them?
"May I ask... who are you?"
Resolved to die, they wanted at least to know the answer before the end.
"This is the First Fleet of the Starsea Empire," the Angeloid replied impassively.
"The Master is the undisputed ruler of this world. All races shall kneel before the Imperial Fleet."
"Humans, rejoice—for the Empire has come."