"Jim, I need to leave for a few hours to call Eden."

"... Can't you call them from here?" Jim asked, concern lacing his voice.

"It will attract Anathema. I don't know if I could fight them off while protecting you."

"Okay. Be careful."

"I will return. Don't worry."

"Yes. If we are somehow rejected, please take Elder July's work with you, okay?"

"I'll ensure you have a place, even if you're rejected. Did you know we're working on building cities outside the sanctuary cities? You could be residents there."

"I see. Your words carry much hope. I hope it lasts."

"I will see you soon."

I drove west, an arbitrary direction chosen simply to put some distance between me and the village, to ensure their safety while I made the call to Eden.

"Felicia, do you have recordings of the ritual?"

"Of course. Would you like to include that in the report as well?"

"Yes. Tell them everything about the ritual and its potential value."

"Consider it done. When we activate the radio tools from the Zenith, it will take about a minute to upload the files. The process will be completed while you're speaking."

"Will we have a minute?"

"Definitely. I doubt the radio will even attract any anathema, but the cautionary notes are in the instruction manual, so I had to mention it."

"Okay."

[Purchased: Mana Radio Amplifier (SOS variant)]

[0 points]

The equipment was bulkier than I had anticipated. As the box opened, it revealed a device about the size of an ATM machine from the movies. Blue light illuminated the screen that emerged from within.

"The screen is mostly for non-Guardians," Felicia explained. "You won't need to use it. So, should I make a live call now, or would you prefer to leave an SOS message? The latter would be quicker."

"Let's leave an SOS message."

"What is your message?"

"This is Magical Girl Black Lily. I've found a survivor in the Darklands. Our coordinates are attached to the files. I'm requesting an evacuation for them. The survivor was exiled from Zenith's sanctuary cities. In the Darklands, they managed to enchant a spear and create a low-quality emergency barrier. I urge the United Nations of Humanity to reconsider their exile status. The recording of the rituals led by Elder July may prove crucial for humanity. Thank you."

"Roger. The data on the 15 researchers, our coordinates, and the advanced mana recordings of the ritual will be transmitted to Guardian Command, along with your voice recordings. Does that meet your approval?"

"Yes."

"Sending SOS now. Time remaining: 59 seconds."

After the minute had passed, I returned the device and left. Not a single Anathema was in sight.

-----------------------------------------

Eden, General Armstrong's POV

A massive carrier ship floated in the air. After a grueling day of hard work, we finally finished assembling Agneya. The ship shone brilliantly in the night sky as it headed toward Guardian Command in Eden. It was a spectacle like no other.

"General! We are ready to depart!" A humanoid with elf-like ears and purple skin approached us. Then came another humanoid, this one with scales and a giant lizard tail. They were Zenith personnel lent to us for our mission against Anathema's Gate.

"Thank you. Let's board Agneya," I nodded. Pink Heart, Issen, and Stonewall joined us. Journalists were waiting at Guardian Command, their cameras flashing intermittently, making me squint in annoyance.

Agneya had been modified to be controlled by humans. Massive screens lined the walls, and ten workstations, manned by our best engineers, were neatly arranged. I took my seat in the center, facing a holographic orb of Earth. Our little blue planet was there, with a red square marking the location of Anathema's Gate—the gate we needed to destroy. I felt powerful, like a king. But power comes with responsibility. I was the captain of Agneya, the most powerful ship humanity had ever borrowed from Zenith. If we didn't destroy that gate, our world would be doomed.

"Convoys from other sanctuary cities have arrived, each carrying 200 Guardians. They are landing on Agneya's runway," one operator reported.

"Bring the MG here. Then we'll depart. I need to brief them on the mission."

I scanned the briefing room—over 3,000 Magical Girls, ranked E and above, all gathered by Zenith for our mission.

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"General Armstrong, are you sure we're going to abandon that girl?" Magical Girl Pink Heart asked. There were barely over 1,000 Magical Girls in Eden, so word traveled fast. I was already aware of the destruction of New Soil. The Zenith were pleased we had managed to save the people inside despite the sudden attack. But all that success was overshadowed by the destruction of New Lake and New Hill. Zenith was furious that so many Magical Girls and Guardians had died there in vain.

"The gate comes first," I answered. "Besides, Black Lily initiated radio silence. We can't find her. Once we do, we might need to send you for extraction. Be ready when the time comes, Pink Heart."

Every MG is important, even those ranked E. We couldn't afford to lose a valuable Dark Magical Girl like Black Lily, who could reach rank E in less than a week. Not many teens in the safety of Eden were so battle-hardened.

After everyone was on board, the battleship Agneya finally departed. Three days into our journey, flying Anathema were spotted. Some lower-ranked Guardians, like Shining Arrow and Magitech Ranger, were shooting at them from the bow. They needed all the experience they could get, so this was good practice. Moreover, the attacks were relentless. Some melee Guardians were even starting to buy ranged weapons to join in the action, while others waited for the monsters to land on deck. We opted not to use our Mana-enhanced AA guns just yet.

"Stop tapping your feet," Pink Heart scolded Issen, who was lounging in the control room. Despite the many Anathema outside, they weren't getting any action due to the level parity protocol. They were stuck pacing between the break room and the control room.

"And you need to stop circling the projector like a headless chicken. The command room is linked to our familiars. They'll alert us if anything goes wrong."

"Sorry, I'm just nervous." Pink Heart nodded and lay down on the sofa.

"Sir, we've received an SOS signal," one of my staff reported. Issen and Pink Heart reacted immediately, glancing at their shoulders. Their familiars seemed to have hacked into our system.

"Hm? Where? On the ship?" I asked the teddy bear. Had some reckless Guardians fallen off the ship? But his answer shocked me.

"Somewhere on the African continent."

"Oh! It's from Black Lily! That reckless girl! What kind of trouble has she gotten into now?" Issen exclaimed, quickly sitting down in front of me as he instructed his familiar to hack the holographic projector in the control room.

"Ugh, why is she there? That's practically on the other side of the world from where we are now. Even I would take at least three days to get there." Pink Heart groaned.

"She certainly traveled far from the New Soil coast. We kind of expected this, didn't we, Pink Heart?"

"Let's look at the message first, General Armstrong," Pink Heart said, frowning. Odd—she's usually the first to react when it comes to saving lives.

"She says she found survivors and is requesting a pickup for fifteen people. Here's the complete voice recording, sir."

"This is Magical Girl Black Lily. I've found a survivor in the Darklands. Our coordinates are attached to the files. I'm requesting an evacuation for them. The survivor was exiled from Zenith's sanctuary cities. In the Darklands, they managed to enchant a spear and create a low-quality emergency barrier. I urge the United Nations of Humanity to reconsider their exile status. The recording of the rituals led by Elder July may prove crucial for humanity. Thank you."

"The message mentions a recording, right? Where is it?"

"Playing on the hologram projector now. The other file is locked and can only be accessed by a Magical Girl. It involves her identity and requires someone with a geas to view it."

"I'll sign the geas and watch it with Pink Heart. Give me the file. Let's go, Pink Heart, Issen."

"I'm coming too," Guardian Stonewall chimed in.

The recording in the SOS package detailed a ritual—something we'd only seen in history lessons about ancient cultures. But this was real.

"Holy… He poured a ton of Anathema's blood on her!" Issen muttered.

"Oh my god! That's insane! Pinky!"

"Felicia, Black Lily's familiar, testified that the women in the picture participated willingly. Elder July, the woman in the picture, was their leader. Unfortunately, as expected, Elder July was in critical condition after the ritual and died following the next one the following day."

"What a reckless…"

We continued watching the recordings. Soon, the spear on the pedestal turned black, emitting an ominous miasma. The assembly was crude, just a simple spear fashioned from scraps of the old world. I would have laughed if this had been attempted in our lab, but somehow, they succeeded. There were no Guardians present, only Black Lily. Yet they managed to enchant the spear—better than anything we could produce in our lab and without high-level Guardians. I stood up from my chair, muttering in disbelief.

"That's an enchanted spear... Pink Heart! Ask your familiar—how strong is that spear? Can you deduce anything from the video?"

"There's no need." The pink teddy bear and the flame orb appeared. "Black Lily's familiar already analyzed the spear. It's about as strong as an item from a rare vault."

"A rare vault?" My mouth fell open. Pink Heart and Issen both stood up, their expressions shifting. As high-level Magical Girls, they knew all about our efforts to recreate Zenith technology.

"They succeeded," Issen muttered. "The material came from E rank Anathema!"

"How reckless…" Pink Heart said, but her eyes were mesmerized by their accomplishment. She was the most compassionate of all the Magical Girls, valuing human life above all else. Yet, even she could only manage a dry comment she didn't fully believe in.

"Pfft! Hahaha! This girl is really something!" Issen laughed. "I really want to meet her. Pink Heart, do you think you can pick them up?"

"Hm... There are fifteen people. I don't think I have enough mana to carry all of them," Pink Heart frowned.

"Let's divert the ship there!"

"Rejected. Anathema's gate comes first." Zenith's teddy bear rejected my plea. Both of them were teddy bears, but it was different from Pink Heart's familiar. Pink Heart's teddy bear didn't have pants but a pink shirt, while Zenith's teddy bear had a tuxedo. I'd almost forgotten about the gate. My excitement cooled instantly.

"Yes, the gate comes first," I nodded, swallowing my regret. I was almost taken by the atmosphere.

"But they need help. I'll go there first! There are fifteen people stranded."

"No, we need your strength here, Pink Heart." Pink Heart specialized in long-range combat. She would be invaluable if the Behemoth appeared. She and Issen might be the only Magical Girls here who could face it head-on. Stonewall could, too, but it would take too long.

"...Okay. I'll prepare the anti-teleportation trap," Pink Heart replied.

"She didn't say she was in distress. How about we give her 1,000 points to defend herself?" I muttered. I would very much like it if Black Lily survived. What she carried with her was invaluable to mankind. It was hope.

"What can 1,000 points do? That's enough for only one or two rare vault weapons. She's just a rank E Magical Girl in the Darklands. If something like a rank C shows up, she'll die," Pink Heart pointed out.

"Can we contact her?" I asked the Zenith and the familiars.

"Yes. This ship is equipped with an enhanced transmission device. If she stays in radio silence, she can still hide. This girl is actually quite remarkable. Not only has she survived almost two weeks in the Darklands, but she's also managed to destroy several curse seeds along the way," the Zenith teddy bear reported. "I'll give her 1,000 points upfront and assign her a quest to motivate her to survive for three more weeks."

"That will suffice. Please survive... you are our only hope," I murmured, closing my eyes in prayer. The enchanted spear and barrier never left my thoughts. We needed her—and that group of exiles who performed the rituals.