"All set!"
Raize raised his hand and waved toward the screen displaying the Manjuus. Upon seeing his signal, the Manjuu on the screen immediately nodded and stretched out its small wings, pressing several buttons on the control console.
Rumble—
In the distance, a massive vibranium gate slowly lifted upward, revealing a vast, pitch-black tunnel beyond it. Dense laser grids filled the tunnel, as though guarding against something trying to escape.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunderous roars echoed from within the tunnel. One by one, the laser grids disengaged, and both Raize and Laffey could feel the vibrations traveling up from beneath their feet.
"Hm?"
The lazy expression vanished from Laffey's face. She stared expressionlessly into the depths of the dark tunnel as an invisible, intangible radar-like wave spread outward from her body. She could sense a powerful lifeform about to emerge.
Judging by the situation, her Commander intended to test her through real combat.
With a flash of light around her small body, Laffey immediately manifested her rigging—different from what appeared in the game. The gun mounts at her sides were sleek and high-tech in appearance, and her outfit shifted into the form of Laffey Kai.
"Roar—!"
A massive, eerie roar resounded as a vicious giant serpent emerged from the tunnel. It was over twenty meters long, with three enormous eyes arranged in an equilateral triangle atop its head, and four ferocious claws extending from its thick body.
Those three huge eyes were filled with pure savagery and brutality. The moment it emerged, it locked onto the two tiny beings standing before it.
This creature was also a fantasy-ingredient lifeform, known as the Devil Serpent.
It was a species restored within Raize's regeneration chamber. After being raised with abundant food and care, it quickly grew into this colossal form.
In its original world, the Devil Serpent's strength varied drastically depending on its habitat.
In the Human World, a Devil Serpent had a capture level of only 21, while the original species residing in the Gourmet World possessed a capture level as high as 5100.
They hunted by sensing the heat signatures of their prey with infrared perception and could accurately shoot highly potent venom.
Moreover, even when injured, a Devil Serpent could instantly regenerate its body by forming universal cells. Therefore, to capture one, it was necessary to possess sufficient power to destroy those universal cells, along with highly technical impact force.
This was the opponent Raize had chosen to test Laffey's strength. He had originally planned to use a Silverback Giant Ape, but after personally sensing the power Laffey possessed at close range, that creature would likely have been inadequate.
"Laffey, this Devil Serpent is your opponent. Defeat it. I've already transmitted all relevant information to you through the mental link."
Raize pointed calmly at the Devil Serpent charging forward while roaring, and spoke directly to Laffey. Through his exploration of the mental link, he had already conveyed all information about the Devil Serpent to her.
A glint flashed through Laffey's crimson eyes. As she looked at the ugly Devil Serpent before her, any trace of curiosity vanished.
"Self-limitation released."
Her soft, lazy tone disappeared, replaced by a cool, quiet murmur.
Blue energy patterns lit up along the combat boots on her feet. White markings spread across her slender legs like magical circuits from the Moonlit World, and after slightly lowering her stance, she instantly entered an invisible, ultra-high-speed state.
Bang!
A thunderous explosion shook the air. Laffey vanished from Raize's side and reappeared beneath the Devil Serpent's wide-open jaws, delivering a powerful uppercut straight into its lower jaw.
The combination of extreme speed and impact force, coupled with Laffey's own mass, caused the Devil Serpent's jaws to snap shut violently.
Rather than simply closing its mouth, its lower jaw slammed upward into its upper jaw, shattering several of its fangs under the immense force.
Whoosh!
The tremendous shockwave from Laffey's punch swept all the way to Raize, lifting his black hair slightly upward, a clear testament to the sheer power behind that strike.
"ROOOAR!!!!"
Despite its head being violently knocked upward, the Devil Serpent was not stunned by the blow. Instead, its ferocity and rage were fully ignited. As it roared, the sound waves caused a small tremor even within the reinforced training ground.
The Devil Serpent's universal-cell regeneration and durability far surpassed those of ordinary creatures. Only precise, microscopic attacks were truly effective against it. Raize had chosen it to test Laffey precisely because of the terrifying mass compressed within a shipgirl's seemingly delicate body.
At the very least, this Devil Serpent was not instantly knocked out by Laffey's monstrous strength.
Laffey's expression remained unchanged, showing no discomfort at all in response to the creature's roar.
Suddenly, the Devil Serpent's three eyes fixed viciously on the tiny figure beneath it. Its front claws seemed to extend unnaturally as they shot forward, slashing toward Laffey.
Boom!
Laffey dodged effortlessly, avoiding the attack entirely as the Devil Serpent's claws smashed into the ground, shattering and tearing the earth apart.
But the assault was not over.
The wild mane atop the Devil Serpent's head abruptly transformed into syringe-like shapes, firing dense streams of green, corrosive venom like bullets.
Already armed with information about the Devil Serpent, Laffey paid no heed to the venom at all. Anti-gravity force fields flared beneath her boots, and her high-speed figure broke free from gravitational constraints, casually evading the toxic barrage.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—
The ground was corroded into massive craters. Had this venom struck a human body, not even bones would have remained.
In an instant, Laffey appeared behind the Devil Serpent and clenched her small fists. The twin cannons opened fire directly at its head.
Boom—
A violent explosion erupted. Whatever type of shells Laffey had used, the resulting blast and intense heat instantly turned the ground into molten lava.
The Devil Serpent's ferocious screams followed. Surrounded by overwhelming heat sources, the sensory organs along its face could no longer accurately locate Laffey's position, prompting it to spray venom wildly in all directions.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two blue beams pierced straight through the Devil Serpent's claws, but thanks to its universal-cell regeneration, the damage healed almost completely within a single second.
The Devil Serpent possessed agility that belied its massive size. Without relying on its sensors, its three bloodshot eyes darted back and forth, searching for Laffey's high-speed afterimage as she moved.
It's thick tail lashed out like a series of violent whips, smashing everything around it and pulverizing the ground into fragments.
Empowered by the acceleration granted by Raize, Laffey's speed was astonishing. After fully observing the Devil Serpent's characteristics, she understood that she needed to finish it in a single decisive strike. Otherwise, its self-regeneration ability would allow it to maintain an unbeatable stalemate.
Laffey's crimson eyes flickered with red light as the Devil Serpent's bodily structure was instantly analyzed. In her mind, a three-dimensional, transparent schematic rapidly took shape.
She raised the pistol-like weapon in her hand and fired a plasma shot, instantly vaporizing the claw that was reaching toward her. Immediately afterward, she deliberately circled the Devil Serpent, leaving behind a ring of misleading afterimages to draw its attention and lock its gaze away from her true position.
Click.
The twin cannons hovering at her side deformed and vanished, switching into a sniper-like turret configuration. At the same time, a lens formed from Wisdom Cube energy appeared before Laffey's right eye. In the blink of an eye, the targeting system precisely locked onto a specific point on the Devil Serpent's head.
After the acceleration, an electromagnetic round roared forth.
The Devil Serpent had only just sensed danger and begun to react when the railgun shot cleanly pierced straight through its skull, destroying its brain in the process.
One strike. Instant kill.
Boom!
The railgun punched through the Devil Serpent's head and slammed into the ground behind it. The terrifying kinetic energy shattered the earth, triggering a quake that rippled across the entire testing ground.
After landing, Laffey confirmed via her radar that the target's life signs had completely vanished. She retracted her rigging, her expression returning to its usual lazy calm, then turned her head to look at the Commander who had suddenly appeared behind her.
Raize looked at the long serpent-like monster before him, its body utterly lifeless, not even twitching. He replayed Laffey's earlier battle in his mind.
From the initial probing to the decisive kill, less than a single minute had passed.
Both sides possessed high mobility, but the Devil Serpent simply could not match Laffey's speed. Once the probing was complete, she had immediately identified its weak point and destroyed its brain, killing it outright.
If he had used the Silverbacks giant ape instead, it probably would have been torn apart by Laffey barehanded in an instant.
Laffey stared at him with sparkling eyes, anticipation and nervousness flowing through the mental link. It was obvious she was silently saying, Hurry up and praise me.
Raize smiled and reached out to pat her small head.
"Well done. That was truly formidable strength."
A max-level Laffey was not only powerful; her combat experience and technique were equally complete. When fighting, her focus was absolute, completely different from her usual languid demeanor.
"Mmm…"
Laffey narrowed her eyes, enjoying the head pat, then suddenly threw herself into Raize's arms. In a soft, cute voice, she said, "Laffey ate a lot and did some after-meal exercise. Laffey wants a soft bed and a comfy pillow!"
"You little lazybug."
Raize laughed helplessly as he looked at Laffey in his arms, openly acting cute and trying to slack off. He knew she was cut from the same cloth as a certain troublesome someone, but seeing it in person felt just like watching his own child trying to dodge responsibilities.
Still, it did not matter. If Laffey liked sleeping, then she could sleep. When it was time for training or combat, she would never drop the ball.
Now, he needed to take Laffey to meet the family. He could not keep her isolated in the port area forever. Raize himself would neither feel at ease nor be willing to do so.
---
In the real world, it was already night.
Yesterday, when Raize had brought the drowsy, half-asleep Laffey home for the first time, both Haruna and Eu had been quite curious about the little girl by his side.
After giving Laffey a careful look, Sei showed an expression of investigation and curiosity. To be honest, she could tell at a glance that Laffey was not human.
But despite her vast experience, the Biblical loli God had never encountered a being like a shipgirl before, so she was extremely curious about Laffey.
Raize did not try to hide anything from Sei, who possessed keen insight. He formally introduced Laffey's identity to them, explaining that she would be a member of the family from now on.
Hearing that Laffey was a special lifeform personally created by Raize, Sei was surprised at first. After that surprise passed, her curiosity only grew stronger.
She was very interested in Laffey's species. These days, animals turning into yokai was nothing new, but she had never imagined that even warships could become sentient.
Sei had already been studying the giant stone statue Raize had brought back and was extremely interested in the so-called beings of light. Now, she found herself equally intrigued by Laffey's race.
However, when Sei expressed interest in studying Laffey, Raize flatly refused. This was their first meeting—why the rush?
Even though he knew Sei would never harm Laffey, that sort of thing could wait until they were more familiar with each other.
Meanwhile, Eu held her teacup with a distant gaze, sipping quietly while staring at Raize and Laffey interacting intimately, her expression devoid of emotional fluctuation.
On the sofa, Laffey had kicked off her shoes, revealing her feet as she curled up comfortably, using Raize's thigh as a pillow while napping contentedly. Raize, for his part, gently stroked her head as if petting a small rabbit.
Although she was a new member of the household, it was obvious to everyone that Laffey's closeness to Raize far surpassed that of anyone else present. There was complete, unreserved trust between them.
Raize doted on Laffey as if she were his own daughter. The lazy, adorable little girl made no attempt to hide her attachment to him—sometimes she would act spoiled and ask him for alcohol, other times she would stubbornly stay in bed, refusing to get up.
Even when Raize went to take a bath alone, if Sei and Eu had not stopped her, Laffey would probably have clung to him again immediately.
Over the past few days, Raize had received more than a few cold looks from Sei and Eu. Still, everyone in the household welcomed Laffey's arrival. After all, cute is justice.
At the moment, Raize was looking down at his phone, reviewing information related to his company's games. Prototype was nearly finished buffering, and matters related to Dies Irae and new game projects were also progressing.
While scrolling through the updates, Raize suddenly received a call from the dragon maid at the Kobayashi household.
"Hm? There's a gathering at your place tonight? You want to introduce your friends to me?"
"Yes, Raize. Because you helped both me and Kanna, my friends really want to meet you," Tohru said with a smile on the other end of the line, nodding as she spoke.
She was telling the truth. Her dragon friends were very interested in both Raize and Kobayashi, and Tohru also wanted Raize to build good relationships with them.
Moreover, Kobayashi's colleague Takiya would also be there tonight. Kobayashi had invited him herself. He already knew about Tohru's identity as a dragon maid and said he did not mind.
"Alright. I'll be there."
Raize nodded. Night had already fallen, and his shadow clone was currently cooking in the kitchen. It seemed he would be heading to Tohru's place tonight.
After greeting Eu and Sei, Raize picked up some ingredients, left the house, and soon arrived at Kobayashi's apartment.
"Sorry to disturb you, Tohru."
"Welcome… eh? Raize, you seem a bit different today!"
The dragon maid froze for a moment when she saw him, then looked him up and down. There were indeed many differences.
The energy within his body had grown far more vast, his soul and physical body strengthened inside and out, and the same was true in other aspects.
It had not been that long, yet the changes in Raize were anything but small.
"I've been training diligently, Tohru."
Raize smiled as he handed the ingredients to her, showing no surprise at her sharp senses.