"The Captain Is Back!!" Casey’s voice cut through the tense atmosphere of the school ground like a clarion call.

​High above, a golden speck pierced the ash clouds. Mirabella didn’t descend gradually; she plummeted, a streak of fire that only decelerated when she was twenty meters from the ground. The sudden halt displaced a massive volume of air, sending a localized dust storm swirling across the university grounds. The American soldiers shielded their eyes, stumbling back as the sheer energy of her arrival rattled their bones.

​"How can a human fly?" one soldier whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of awe and existential dread. To them, she wasn’t just a soldier or a student; she was a law of physics rewritten.

​Mirabella touched down with the lightness of a feather, her expression unreadable. "Come on, Commander Reed," she said, her voice carrying effortlessly through the settling dust. As she walked toward the main administrative building, the four dark wings on her back didn’t fold—they shattered, dissolving into shimmering light particles that vanished before they hit the pavement.

​"Yes!" Reed snapped to attention, her professional mask sliding back into place. She gestured for her five subordinates to follow, and Eve silently trailed behind the group, her head lowered in deep thought.

​Mirabella didn’t spare Eve a glance. She didn’t have to. ’Those Sword Academy students are still spying on us,’ she mused, her eyes sensing the distant gazes of Jessica and her team. ’Anyway, it’s good. Let them watch the gap widen.’

__

​[The Assembly Hall]

​The hall was a relic of the old world—high ceilings, cleaned chandeliers, and the lingering scent of flowers. Mirabella took her place on the raised stage, turning to face Reed and the five figures standing in a disciplined line behind the Commander.

​"Who are these people?" Mirabella asked, her gaze sweeping over them with the clinical detachment of a judge.

​"Miss Mirabella, this here is Doctor Richard," Reed said, gesturing to the man in the scientist’s coat. "He is one of the heroes of the human race. He helped us build the weapons that allowed us to fight back against the initial waves. While our current ordnance might not be strong enough to kill a King-level monster or anything higher, his work remains a great help to our survival."

​Mirabella gave a terse nod. It was the pragmatism of a dying world.

​"You already know Captain Justin," Reed continued, moving to the next three. "Captain Mike; he’s the Captain of the Green Blade platoon. They specialize in hand-to-hand combat and are currently training American survivors on basic self-defense against the lower-tier monsters."

​She then turned to the only other woman in the military group. "This is Captain Heather, Captain of the Scavenger platoon. Their sole mission is to search the ruins for resources—mainly food."

​"Food? Is it that scarce?" Mirabella asked, a flicker of genuine confusion crossing her face.

​"Sadly, yes," Reed admitted, her shoulders sagging slightly. "The supply chains died with the cities. We’re running on fumes."

​"Really? Don’t you know you can eat the monsters?" Mirabella asked. "The wolves, fishes, and other wild animals?"

"...?!"

​The hall went deathly silent. Reed blinked, her expression one of utter bewilderment. "Huh? But... Aren’t they poisonous? The corruption, the blackened blood... We assumed the meat was toxic."

​"Not at all." Mirabella allowed a small, knowing smile to play on her lips.

​’In my previous life, I have eaten more than I can tell,’ she thought. ’As long as you don’t convert the corpse into a Monster Card, the flesh is viable. But there is a downside: once you consume it, you lose the chance to convert it into a card for resources or experience point, and it offers no stat benefits. Most people would rather have the card than a full stomach.’

​"Oh... That’s good. That changes everything," Reed breathed, a spark of hope igniting in her eyes. She looked at Richard.

​"We will do some tests as soon as we get back to base," the scientist muttered, as he adjusted his glasses.

​Reed nodded and moved to the final man. "And this is Captain John. He is in charge of base security and the protection of the civilian sectors."

​Mirabella acknowledged them with a tilt of her head, then gestured to the elite circle standing behind her. "Hitachi, Carl, Grace, Austin, Aurelia, Rose, Precious, and Kent. They are my Lords."

​She didn’t elaborate on their levels or their specific roles. The title alone, delivered with such casual finality, made the military captains shift uncomfortably.

​Reed cleared her throat, steering the conversation back to the nightmare outside. "So, Miss Mirabella, what do you think about the gateways?"

​"Well, we can only destroy them after we get rid of the five guardians," Mirabella stated, her tone turning business-like. "Commander Reed, if you need our help, you need to accept two of my conditions."

​She held up two fingers.

​"Conditions?!" Doctor Richard exploded, stepping forward. His face was flushed with a mixture of indignation and patriotic fervor. "But this is also your world! Why would you give us conditions just to save your own home?!"

​Mirabella didn’t move. She simply tilted her head to the side.

​In a blur that defied the human eye, Cupcake vanished from Mirabella’s side and reappeared instantly on Richard’s right shoulder. The "cat" had expanded slightly, her sharp, energy-infused claws pressed firmly against the scientist’s jugular. A single twitch would end his life.

​"How dare you yell before my Master?" Cupcake asked, her voice a low, predatory growl that vibrated through Richard’s entire body.

​".....?!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

​Reed, Eve, and the four Captains froze.

​’What the...?! What level is this cat?!’ Eve thought, her heart hammering. ’I didn’t even sense the displacement of air. I didn’t sense anything!’

​"Miss Mirabella, forgive him. It won’t happen again," Reed said quickly, her voice tight with suppressed panic as she looked at the young woman on the stage.

​"I want to make one thing clear," Mirabella said, her voice dropping to a temperature that seemed to frost the air in the room. "I am not from Earth. I don’t give a fuck about this world."

"....??!!!"

​The silence that followed was absolute.

​"Yes, I grew up here, and I once had a family here," she continued coldly, her eyes looking toward a past that no longer held any warmth. "But the moment he turned his back on me, all the bonds I had in this world were shattered. So, there is nothing wrong with me asking for two conditions."

​Reed stood dumbfounded. Eve felt a chill run down her spine. The "Lords" behind Mirabella remained like statues, their loyalty clearly belonging to the woman, not the planet.

​If she wasn’t from Earth, then where was she from? And more importantly, who was the man who had turned his back on her—the man who had inadvertently unleashed this cold, celestial force upon a dying world?