The Dwarf warship lifted into the air.
Its massive frame adjusted course mid-air, and the main cannon—engraved with mysterious runes—locked onto a distant target: Origami Tobiichi.
Within the dark barrel, violent magical energy began to converge, dead set on its target.
Yet, as he gazed upon the expressionless, white-haired girl five kilometers away, the commander began to calm down.
Just moments ago, he'd been enraged after mistaking her for a Flügel, a blunder fueled by fear. But now, watching the girl's current reaction, something instinctively felt off to him.
He couldn't tell when this unknown girl had arrived or how she'd approached so silently under the Dwarf ship's hundred-kilometer radar. But one thing was certain—she had seen the main cannon fire.
Was it fear that caused her to accidentally release her presence and be detected? Or had she deliberately revealed herself to draw the Dwarf warship's attention?
In the end, it didn't matter which it was.
In this world, when two different races met, the outcome was almost always battle.
Of course, if no fighting occurred, that only meant the difference in strength was so overwhelming that one side didn't even find it worth the effort.
But since this unidentified girl had appeared near their warship, it meant she was clearly interested in them.
There would be no avoiding combat.
So the commander didn't hesitate any longer. He pushed the main cannon's output to its absolute limit.
As energy continued to build within the weapon, the white-haired girl finally moved.
She raised her arms, and golden, tube-like floating cannons materialized beside her.
"Creating machines out of thin air? Ex-Machina?"
The commander frowned. A new theory popped into his head.
But he dismissed it just as quickly.
She did resemble those cold, humanoid machine-beings in demeanor, but lacked other Ex-Machina characteristics.
And besides, Ex-Machina typically fought in coordinated squads. Rarely did they act alone.
Even if one did happen to be alone, those supremely rational God-crafted beings would never directly engage a Dwarf warship.
In the next moment, the girl guided her floating cannons to converge and stack atop one another, forming an oddly shaped turret.
"Is she trying to exchange fire with our main cannon?"
The commander nearly burst out laughing.
That puny turret wasn't even one percent the size of their warship's main cannon—how could it possibly compete?
"Commander! Detecting high-intensity energy fluctuations!"
A Dwarf who had been monitoring the instruments suddenly shouted, eyes wide in disbelief. "The energy level of her weapon has reached one-fifth the output of our main cannon!"
"Only one-fifth! What's the panic?!"
But as soon as he said that, the commander froze.
One-fifth didn't sound like much.
But her turret was less than one percent the size of their main cannon!
Sensing danger, the commander decided not to give her a chance to charge further. He slammed the fire button.
A torrent of magic burst forth from the warship's main cannon, barreling toward the white-haired girl with world-ending force.
At the same time, the girl's makeshift turret unleashed its own beam.
BOOOOOM——————!
Two beams, one massive and one small, collided and exploded in a blinding flash of white light that could burn out a person's eyes.
Almost simultaneously, a thunderous explosion rang out from the Dwarf warship.
The commander's face turned pale. He quickly pulled up the ship's blueprint to assess the damage.
As expected, the area around the main cannon was now glowing red—completely non-operational.
With the main cannon destroyed, their greatest advantage was gone.
The sudden turn of events threw the commander into disarray. His breathing became erratic as he looked back up at the girl on screen in disbelief.
But she stood there, emotionless as ever. The turret in front of her disassembled, returning to floating cannons once more.
"Could it be... that move was a one-time shot?"
Seeing the turret disperse, the commander's eyes lit up. A spark of hope ignited in his chest.
"Activate the backup turrets! Order all ground squads to cover our fi—"
Before he could finish, the girl vanished.
In an instant, every Dwarf aboard felt their heart skip a beat.
"B-Boss..." a trembling Dwarf in the command center whispered, "She... she really is a Flügel, isn't she...?"
There weren't many races in this world capable of instantaneous movement.
And none performed it better than the Flügel race.
These angelic beings of death could appear anywhere they pleased—crossing from one end of a planet to the other in a single thought. Their terrifying mobility was precisely why countless races feared them.
The moment he witnessed the white-haired girl's teleportation, the commander cursed internally.
Why would a Flügel, disguised in a different form, be watching a battle between forest elves and Dwarfs?
To someone like her, wasn't this skirmish no different from a child's quarrel?
And why the hell did this terrifying ancestor suddenly feel like testing firepower with their main cannon?!
Forget their puny warship—the main gun of even a flagship couldn't compare to a casual strike from a Flügel!
Clueless and cornered, the commander and his subordinates could only huddle inside their ship, praying that this terrifying being had just been playing around and would leave after having her fun.
But unfortunately, their prayers went unanswered.
BOOM—the warship trembled again, a new explosion echoing from above.
Looking up, they saw a hole torn in the ceiling—and the white-haired girl standing above them.
Without hesitation, she leapt down into the command center.
"Who is the commander here?"
Her icy blue eyes swept across the room. Not a single Dwarf dared meet her gaze.
Her voice, cold and emotionless like a glacial wind, froze everyone in the room to their bones.
Upon hearing her question, all eyes turned toward the commander—who had somehow crept to the door, just a step away from escaping.
His face stiffened. Seeing he had been discovered, he had no choice but to step forward.
"R-Respected Flügel elder, I... I am the commander of this warship."
Knowing escape was futile, and survival depended entirely on pleasing this terrifying ancestor, the commander forced a humble, obsequious smile onto his face.
"May I know your honored name, great one?"
"I'm not a Flügel. My name is Origami Tobiichi," she replied indifferently.
"I am... an Spirit ."