In the open grounds of the engineering institute,
Fuse Midori called over some Bulins and Angeloids and carried over several metallic cases.
She first pulled out two disc-shaped Teigu.
[Thousand-Mile Flight: Mastema]
"This allows the user to fly and attack enemies with feathers from the wings."
"After our modifications, both speed and maneuverability are greatly enhanced... Though not as fast as a shuttle, it's extremely convenient to use."
"Oh?!"
Gudako, Esdeath, Akame, and other regular humans were instantly intrigued.
Unlike shipgirls, who could transform into starships, or spirits who could fly innately, these people either had to pilot a shuttle or study flight magic to take to the skies.
Having wings that simply let you fly sounded much more convenient.
"Let me try!"
Ritsuka Fujimaru stepped forward without hesitation.
She attached the Teigu to her back, closed her eyes, and focused.
Shhh—
A pair of 5-meter-long white wings sprouted from her back, resembling those of an Omnipotent Angel.
With a couple of flaps, she gently rose into the air.
"I'm flying! I'm really flying!"
"These wings are kind of fun—"
Gudako soared through the sky like a superhero, swooping back and forth past Setsuna.
After over a decade as a grounded human, she had finally achieved true flight thanks to technology.
She even buffed herself while doing it:
"Agility boost."
"Strength boost."
Buzz—
Her body flashed with multicolored light. With the power of the flying Teigu, she sped up noticeably.
She ascended ever higher into the sky.
But as the air thinned and the environment grew colder, even her gene-ascended body began to feel discomfort.
Unwillingly, she returned to the ground.
"Mastema allows in-atmosphere maneuverability. Its top speed depends on the user's physical condition, ranging from Mach 1 to 6."
"Any faster, and it's not feasible—normal bodies can't handle those speeds."
Fuse Midori handed Setsuna a user manual.
"Interesting."
Setsuna had many ways to fly and didn't really need another.
But it made for a great gift for others.
Esdeath, Kanae, Akame, and even some Heroic Spirits and Spirits lacked independent flight capabilities.
Who wouldn't want a tool that let you freely soar through the sky?
Just imagining Artoria swinging Excalibur mid-flight was a thrilling thought.
"Here's another—a guaranteed-hit bow: L'Arc Qui Ne Faut, meow!"
Akashi pulled a bow out of the crate and handed it to Gudako.
"Just call out your target's name when you fire. If the target is within range, the arrow will track it until it hits."
"Think of it like Apollo from Icarus or a homing air-to-air missile. Pair it with Mastema's wings and you're a full-on Angeloid, meow."
"Really? Let me try..."
Gudako, half-doubting, picked up the Teigu.
She drew the bow skyward and shouted without thinking: "Fujimaru Ritsuka!!"
Fwip—
The arrow launched, arced mid-air—and flew straight back at her.
"Ah?!"
"Ehhhh it really works?!"
Gudako panicked, dropped the bow, and flapped her wings in a hasty escape.
The arrow followed her relentlessly like a guided missile, tailing her through sharp turns and loops.
After several laps around the testing grounds, even the shipgirls and loli researchers watching were left speechless.
"???"
"Is she trying to kill herself?! Wait, no—with her physique, getting hit by a Teigu should just hurt a bit, right?"
Smack—
Setsuna pinched the arrow mid-flight with two fingers and gave Gudako a good forehead flick.
"Having fun?! So you're one of those geniuses who'd shout their own name into a cursed gourd, huh?!"
"Ow—!"
The girl squatted down, clutching her head.
"Actually, I was going to call your name, but I was scared you'd hit me..."
"Also, isn't this thing a bit underwhelming?! How can it compare to Ikaros's Apollo?!"
"..."
Setsuna didn't bother replying. He never had high expectations for weapon-type Teigu.
"Maybe try strapping an antimatter bomb to the arrow..."
Yukikaze whispered her terrible idea to Gudako.
"...That actually makes sense, but why wouldn't I just fire a guided missile from a Gundam?!"
Everyone turned to examine the next piece of equipment.
[Almighty Five Sights: Spectator]
Originally shaped like a glassy eyeball floating above the user's head, the Teigu had now been redesigned into a more compact form.
"Spectator has five vision-based abilities: Insight, Distant Sight, X-ray Vision, Future Sight, and Illusion," the repair girl explained.
This was an incredibly functional Teigu.
Its original version allowed users to:
Insight: Read others' emotions by analyzing expressions.
Distant Sight: View objects far away.
X-ray Vision: See through barriers and walls.
Future Sight: Predict immediate actions based on micro-movements.
Illusion: Create hallucinations for opponents.
"We enhanced the Future Sight ability. Commander, want to try it?"
Setsuna accepted the Teigu.
He focused, first testing Distant Sight.
Shff—
His vision became razor sharp. Even from dozens of kilometers away, he could see birds flying above the capital's administrative center in perfect detail.
"Still weaker than the targeting systems on the Eternal Snowfall."
His starship could achieve similar or better effects, even scanning ground activity from orbit.
This function was best suited for regular people.
Next, he activated Future Sight.
"It reads subtle muscle movements to predict actions 3–5 seconds ahead," Akashi said, ears twitching.
Buzz—
Setsuna concentrated again.
He noticed faint silhouettes around those near him, ghost-like echoes slightly ahead of their actual bodies.
The shadows moved faster than the real ones.
"Commander?"
Esdeath, seeing him dazed, tapped him lightly.
In his vision, her ghost image had already stepped forward and placed a hand on him.
Only after a brief delay did her actual hand land, bringing a cool touch.
By observing the shadow's movement, he could clearly see her next action.
"Feels like a predictive interface."
Setsuna grinned.
This essentially let him see several seconds into someone else's future.
Whether ground combat or space battles, predicting enemy behavior was key.
The predictive interface project at the Stellar Base used computation to forecast enemy moves.
This was conceptually very similar.
"Mhm... We're planning to isolate the Future Sight function, nya. Hopefully, we can push it to predict over 10 seconds in the future."
"That would give a huge edge in battle."
Fuse Midori nodded in agreement.
If you could foresee 10 seconds and combine that with time-acceleration abilities, you could incapacitate opponents before they even acted.
Setsuna thought this ability was absolutely brilliant.
As for Insight and Illusion—one being similar to telepathy, the other to illusion magic—he wasn't particularly interested.
There were already plenty of people in the base who could do that.
Tohru, Mio, and Elma could not only read minds but also brainwash or perform advanced mental manipulation.
"What about X-ray Vision?"
Setsuna remembered the final function.
This allowed one to see through barriers and obstructions.
Shff—
Staring at a distant building, he watched as its walls gradually became translucent.
Inside, little loli scientists working on experiments and Bulins repairing machines came into view.
Every action was clearly visible.
With X-ray Vision, his line of sight faced no obstruction. If he wanted, he could observe an entire building—each floor, each room, each person's movements.
It functioned similarly to radar holographic scans but was more convenient.
At least now the Night Raid and Demon Slayer squads wouldn't need to worry about ambushes in rough terrain.
"Can X-ray Vision see through people?"
Gudako suddenly asked.
"No, wait—!"
Akashi tried to stop her.
"Hm?"
Setsuna turned to look at Ritsuka and stared for a moment.
He subconsciously blurted:
"Black."
"??"
Gudako blinked, confused.
"What?"
"So the top and bottom are a matching set, huh?"
"???"
Gudako turned beet red, hands clapping down on her skirt. It was no use.
The X-ray vision of Spectator appeared to bypass most forms of obstruction.
Setsuna had seen some things he really shouldn't have.
Like the fact that she actually wore white—
Cough. Best to keep that to himself. Saying it out loud would get him branded a pervert.
"What kind of R-rated function is this?!"
Richelieu was aghast. She quickly summoned an energy barrier to shield herself and those around her from all sightlines.
Even though Setsuna had already seen her countless times before, doing so in broad daylight before everyone was a bit much.
At the very least, turn off the lights!
"Commander-sama!!!"
Taihou leapt over excitedly.
"Taihou doesn't mind if you want to look~" she said, puffing her chest out proudly. "Whether it's night, now, or anytime, it's always okay~"
"..."
Ahem.
Setsuna removed the Teigu and cleared his throat.
"We should definitely continue enhancing the Future Sight function."
"As for X-ray Vision... maybe tone it down a bit. Friendly fire seems inevitable with that thing."
"Then what about this prototype?"
Gudako blinked.
"Of course I'm keeping it."
"?"
...
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