After selecting their loot, the two Siren girls brought back all the blueprints and some Teigu.
These would be handed over to the Engineering and Bio departments for study and improvement, with plans to produce mass-manufactured versions.
For most people, the teleportation function of Dimensional Formation was especially practical.
As for the weapon-type Teigu, shipgirls and Spirits might not need them, but ordinary humans could be equipped in larger numbers.
After their gene ascension, both Gudako and the Demon Slayer team had physical attributes far surpassing normal humans.
They could easily handle the strain of using multiple Teigu at once.
Once the loot was distributed, Setsuna turned his attention to the massive black mech.
The National Defense Machine God.
In the original Akame ga Kill story, the Little Emperor had been tricked by the minister into using it at the end, causing a lot of trouble for the revolutionaries.
As for its supposed "godlike power"...
Didn't really see it.
Maybe the natives equated 'godlike' with 'able to blow up a mountain in one shot.'
"National Defense Machine God? The name is impressive, but... it's kind of ugly."
The shipgirls all looked up at the giant hulk.
Made entirely of black metal, its enormous cape draped over its sides and back.
Its head was shaped like a square skull with a crown forged in metal and embedded with a giant red gemstone.
Its shoulders and head were fitted with what looked like energy emitters.
"Only someone with royal blood can pilot the National Defense Machine God. It's the ultimate weapon forged from a fusion of alchemy and Teigu."
Najenda and Esdeath looked at the mech with awe.
Their knowledge of it was mostly hearsay.
The thing was always locked away by the minister, and even the Emperor could barely get near it, let alone anyone else.
"Royal blood, huh?"
"He's an emperor, and so am I. You think some native emperor can compare to me?"
Setsuna scoffed and decided to give this "first and strongest Teigu" a try.
Only something like this was worthy of him.
Click—
With a couple of moves, Setsuna climbed into the cockpit.
He didn't feel any sort of rejection from the mech.
He had always had great compatibility with tech from other worlds.
So-called royal blood was just a trick to intimidate the Akame ga Kill world natives.
The control system was pretty basic, relying mostly on mental input combined with physical gestures.
Since fusing with his starship, Setsuna hadn't piloted a mech in ages.
Even the second-stage Gundam transformations were more like Susanoo-style skills than actual piloting.
"You can operate it?!"
Night Raid and Esdeath were surprised.
"It's not that hard. Strike Freedom and Turn A were way more complicated."
Boom—
The lower hatch opened, and Setsuna piloted the National Defense Machine God down to a clearing.
"Mm..."
"This thing could probably wipe out a modern army in ground combat."
"Honestly, it's impressive the natives could build something like this."
Setsuna turned his head to look around.
The Mecha was much larger than Turn A—nearly 200 meters tall.
Standing on the ground, it felt like a towering colossus.
Looking down at the cities and forests below, everything seemed like ants.
In the age of swords and spears, this thing was terrifying.
"But if the Empire's craftsmen could build mechs like this, why didn't they just modernize and mass-produce tanks?"
"Then what would they have to fear from rebels?"
After musing a bit, Setsuna decided to test the mech's firepower.
Zzz—
The red gemstone on the Mecha's forehead glowed with an intense crimson light.
Zzzzzap—
Boom—!!!
A high-energy beam shot out from the mech. In the distant forest, a mushroom cloud rose.
A violent shockwave radiated from the impact point, leaving devastation in its wake.
Towering trees were snapped like twigs, the air turned scorching and suffocating, and everything within hundreds of meters was reduced to scorched earth.
"Laser cannon? Well, at least the natives managed something pretty Ork-like."
Setsuna snorted.
"Oh, looks kinda like a mini positron blaster cannon."
The shipgirls aboard the Eternal Snowstorm commented.
For most tech-based weapons, the simplest evaluation standard was: how big a crater does it make?
"Purge mode."
Setsuna triggered the National Defense Machine God's secret function.
Clatter clatter—
The entire Teigu transformed like a Transformer, turning into a dragon-shaped mech.
It looked much more imposing.
Boom—!
Another shot. A beam of crimson energy blasted out, hitting a mountain in the distance and causing an even bigger mushroom cloud.
A mountain nearly a kilometer tall was sheared clean in half.
Hiss—
The Heroic Spirits gave impressed whistles.
That was approaching the level of Anti-City Noble Phantasms.
It was fortunate the Little Emperor never got to pilot the thing, or a direct confrontation would have been messy.
"Hmm..."
"From a cold weapon era perspective, this thing is absolutely overkill. But for us, it's still kinda lacking."
Setsuna tested the Mecha's capabilities and came to a conclusion.
In Purge Mode, it had roughly H-bomb-level firepower, but it couldn't sustain it for long.
—Originally, the pilot would be mentally corrupted by the Teigu, making long-term use impossible.
His problem, however, was that the mech was too weak—after a few maneuvers, it started to overheat.
"Maybe bring it back and give it an upgrade? Install more advanced weapons?"
Everyone came to the same conclusion.
The blueprints were already on hand, and retrofitting it with modern systems was totally possible.
"Add propulsion systems and anti-gravity tech so it can operate both inside and outside the atmosphere. Swap its weapons for super-graviton cannons. Ditch the useless arms and retrofit the frame..."
Formidable started counting on her fingers.
"Congrats, you've just built yourself a space frigate."
Richelieu rolled her eyes.
"..."
"Fair point."
Formidable had a sudden realization.
"Why not have Purifier and Builder implant Wisdom Cube into the Commander and let him absorb the National Defense Machine God?"
Taihou suddenly offered a bold idea.
"Nope. This thing lacks style."
Setsuna flatly refused.
Even with a full overhaul, the Mecha would still fall awkwardly between a Gundam and a starship.
It lacked the agility of a Gundam, and couldn't match the Eternal Snowfall's devastating firepower.
Stuck in the middle, it just didn't fit anywhere.
"You want it?"
Richelieu looked at Gudako, who always had an eye for weird things.
"No way! It's ugly."
"What do you take me for, a junk bin?!"
Gudako shook her head.
"Besides, it's way too big. Can't even fit it inside Chaldea."
"..."
After a moment's thought, Setsuna jumped out of the cockpit and recalled the Mecha.
"Hand the prototype and blueprints over to Akashi. Let her fully analyze the Teigu and the alchemy behind it."
"Right now, this thing doesn't deserve to be called the National Defense Machine God. One day, I want to build something with divinity—a true god-level mech."
"..."
"Divinity?"
Gudako thought for a moment.
"Commander, you mean an EVA?!"
"I'll check some maps when I get back. If I can get my hands on it, it might actually be doable."
Setsuna coughed.
"I'll pilot Unit 01, you take Unit 02, and together we can turn all of humanity into orange juice."
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