Chapter 5: Go to battle

–Headquarters is under a large-scale ‘Erosion’ attack, disaster rating ‘Special A.’ Please deploy and provide support immediately. Repeat, headquarters…

Halfway through the sentence, the voice on the other end abruptly vanished, replaced by a burst of static.

The communication was cut off.

‘Special A-grade…?’

Yanase Naoto froze for a moment.

A Special A-grade disaster was second only to S and Special S-grade.

Yesterday’s enemy was the kind you’d be lucky to see once a year.

It attacked that precious food-producing town, devouring countless lives, yet even that was only rated A-grade.

And the “Erosion” had appeared at headquarters of all places.

Erosion disasters interfered with communications; that was likely why the line had been cut.

This was highly unusual, Yanase Naoto’s intuition told her.

The fact that even a wounded Agent like her was being summoned made it obvious that headquarters considered this incident to be extremely serious.

They must have determined that every available combatant needed to be deployed for support.

Although it was difficult to know what exactly was happening now that communications were suddenly cut, headquarters rarely made misjudgments.

Without further hesitation, she propped herself up with her arms, slid off the bed, and got dressed.

She rummaged through a drawer, found a few pills, tossed them all into her mouth, and swallowed them after chewing.
She glanced up at the clock.

The hands pointed to a quarter past two.

A terrible bitterness spread across her tongue.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed open the window, checked that no one was around, and jumped straight out.

In this era threatened by the White Hole Erosion, humanity was forced to retreat into human cities protected by what were known as “Sakahi.”

Humanity had united, forming a bond for the development and survival of the remaining nations.

Massive metropolises became the centers of human habitation and life, surrounded by several smaller towns.

The functions of these towns were gradually specialized, each performing its own duty as an appendage to the city.

They provided the city with basic necessities like food and steel, serving as production and processing bases while also receiving the city’s protection.

The city, in turn, became the center of a region, serving as the final bastion of human society.

The mission of an Agent was to fight as a warrior for humanity’s last remaining living space.

The afternoon sun was as scorching as ever, and a wave of heat washed over her face.

The streets were always filled with an oppressive heat, noisy and clamorous.

On both sides of the road stood tall, dense office buildings, like gray mountain ranges.

Ephnel ran and leaped, jumping from one rooftop to another.

At times, a moon-like afterimage flashed beneath her feet—that was the Agents’ exclusive skill, “Stairway,” which she used to gain leverage for her jumps.

She crossed city blocks, her small figure like a moon rabbit, rushing towards headquarters.

As Yanase Naoto, she used height-increasing insoles to barely reach a height close to 1.7 meters, a little taller than Yukina.

But as “Ephnel,” her body would shrink considerably, resembling a middle or high school girl.

She was even a head shorter than Yukina.
Only her chest didn’t change much, which, by contrast, made it look quite spectacular.

By maintaining a deep resonance with the “Power of Order,” an Agent could enter a special state called “Exile Form,” also known as “battle mode” or “transformation.”

Generally, upon entering “Exile Form,” an Agent’s physical abilities would be significantly enhanced, and their appearance and body would undergo considerable changes.

Occasionally, there were Agents like Ephnel with a stark contrast in body size before and after transformation.

This was a well-known fact.

She moved with great speed.

On the streets below, vehicles and people became as tiny as sesame seeds.

Few noticed the small figure leaping across the high rooftops.

Fortunately, her battle suit wasn’t the type to be easily revealing.

Beneath the high-waisted, four-pleated short skirt were safety shorts.

Her thighs were strapped with buckles, and black pantyhose were tucked into sturdy-looking lace-up long boots.

Her upper body was clad in a gorgeous, buttoned short blouse, with large, eye

catching bows on her chest and shoulders.

Golden star-shaped ornaments adorned the top of her head and her left chest, and she wore a matching star stud in her left ear.

Following the soft curves down from her neck and shoulders were armbands, half-finger gloves, and a leather wristband.

A ribbon was tied behind her waist, identical to her hair ribbon, fluttering in the wind with her silver hair as Ephnel leaped.

This was Ephnel’s battle suit.

It had a hint of being a bit too unconventional, but this attire was not actually of Ephnel’s own choosing.

The battle suit, including this body after transformation, was a materialization of her psyche through the “Power of Order.”

Just like this silver-haired girl’s body, the style of the battle suit was not something that could be changed by Ephnel’s will.

Her entire body was covered in fabric and ribbons.

Rather than gorgeous, it gave off a more cute and energetic impression.

Every time she entered battle, she was as dazzling as a popular teen idol stepping onto a runway.

This was the direct reason why, despite being promoted as the “Chief Agent” and “Spokesperson,” Ephnel’s image as an “Agent Idol” ultimately became ingrained in the public’s mind.

Although, at this point, Ephnel didn’t feel any particular aversion to it.

As for her appearance, most people chose to call her by the title of “Magical Girl.”

To Ephnel, this was also another form of recognition and praise.

In any case, Ephnel had no complaints about it.

As she ran, she inserted her black earpiece into her ear and then fastened her communication wristband.

The connection to headquarters had already been lost when she set out.
Clearly, the headquarters’ communication receiver had been damaged.

She thought for a moment, then pressed a button.

A mechanical AI voice came through the earpiece:

“Switching to combat communications channel.”

“Connect to Seiran.”

“Connecting…”

Seiran, codename “Qinran,” was the field commander for this operation.
As a combatant, Seiran was an outstanding Agent whose overall combat strength in this city was second only to Ephnel’s.
Seiran had joined the Order two years before Ephnel and was the most senior of the existing “Agents” in this city.

In Ephnel’s impression, the usual Seiran was a quiet and elegant young woman, like a next-door big sister from childhood.
In battle, however, she was an experienced and reliable senior.

Usually, when Seiran was present, the field command would be handed over to the more experienced Seiran, while Ephnel would serve as the vanguard with her formidable combat power.

But the connection didn’t go through as expected.

“Zzzt—”

After the mechanical loading tone, a burst of harsh, noisy static erupted in her earpiece.
Ephnel frowned.

“Error: Connection failed.”

Ephnel tried several more times, but ultimately failed to contact anyone.

Clearly, the situation had gone beyond mere communication interference; it was a complete shutdown.

The situation seemed even more serious than anticipated.

“Switch to shortwave radio communication.”

“Switched.”

A long beep immediately sounded in her earpiece.

“This is Agent Ephnel!”

Ephnel pressed the button and shouted.

“Can anyone hear me? Please respond if you can! I repeat! This is Agent Ephnel…”

“Master?”

Before long, a surprised young girl’s voice came from the other end of the earpiece.