This was a full-scale invasion of a spacefaring civilization against pre-space era natives.
The moment they made contact, all radars and communication devices on Earth were completely paralyzed, rendering every government blind.
Considering the safety of the little girls, Setsuna did not order an orbital bombardment. Instead, he directly initiated a landing operation.
The starships, hovering in the high-altitude atmosphere and in Earth's orbit, first cleared the way using positron siege cannons and carrier-based aircraft, destroying the few remaining military bases of humanity.
Although the human population in the Black Bullet world had been drastically reduced, they still maintained a standing army to defend against Gastrea and the potential outbreak of global wars.
Realizing that the visitors harbored ill intent, governments quickly organized counterattack forces.
However, they had no means to counter the starships. All guided weapons were rendered useless, and fighter jets were turned into scrap metal by carrier-based aircraft before they could even take off.
The starships cruising outside the atmosphere played a game of "match-three destruction" with Earth's forces—whenever they detected troops gathering somewhere, they locked on, rotated their gun turrets, charged up, and fired.
Boom—
Crimson and orange high-energy beams streaked across the sky, reducing everything below to mere molecules.
After eliminating the most significant ground threats, tens of thousands of Siren girls and Bulins were successively deployed from the starships.
Executor-class Siren girls were responsible for wiping out any remaining resistance.
In the Azur Lane world, they were nothing more than mass-produced cannon fodder that a single Richelieu could farm by the dozens.
But for the human natives of this world, their combat power was overwhelmingly beyond reason.
During urban warfare, just two of them could annihilate the entire Tokyo Self-Defense Force.
Meanwhile, the Bulins were tasked with gathering the little girls. These modified shipgirls looked adorable and were incredibly likable.
All it took was offering some chocolate or candy, and the starving little girls—who struggled to find food every day—would willingly follow them.
After all, the world they lived in was already beyond saving. They might as well take a chance with these newcomers.
At the very least, the Bulins were cute and easy to get along with—far better than the fierce, abusive adults they were used to.
Aside from the Siren girls and Bulins conducting large-scale searches, special forces were deployed to handle little girls who hid in the city's corners—those who had suffered severe trauma and no longer trusted anyone.
The carrier shipgirls activated high-power scanners while their aircraft repeatedly patrolled at low altitudes.
Once a target was found, shipgirls with strong affinity, such as Yat Sen or Formidable, would personally go and persuade them.
Among them, young Spirits like Origami Tobiichi, Yoshino, and Kotori Itsuka could easily break the ice by performing a little magic in front of the Cursed Children, quickly bonding with them.
From there, the little girls would even lead them to find more of their kind.
Beyond rescuing the Cursed Children, Setsuna also instructed his fleet to spare some manpower to retrieve their "families."
There were still a few good people in this world.
For instance, elderly individuals who sheltered little girls in underground sewers, teaching them how to read and write, or kind-hearted souls who secretly provided refuge to the Cursed Children.
There weren't many of them. One ship was enough to take them all in.
They had a separate resettlement plan.
Occasionally, there were those who tried to sneak in among them.
Honjou Nia simply unfolded the Scribbling Chapter and set up a desk right at the spaceship's entrance.
With the omniscient power of her angel, she screened every single individual.
Any impostors attempting to blend in were executed on the spot.
At this moment, humanity across the globe was plunged into sheer terror.
Aliens were invading.
This was a goddamn alien invasion!!!
Even though those shipgirls and Siren girls were adorable—prettier than any woman they had ever seen—
They had absolutely no mercy when firing their cannons at people!
Everyone liked pretty girls.
But if a girl shoved a 203mm or even larger naval gun into your mouth and fired, that was a different story altogether.
Just seeing their firepower casually leveling buildings and entire streets was enough to make anyone abandon the thought of striking up a conversation.
Gastrea? What Gastrea?
Wait, there were still Gastrea in this world?!
At this point, no one cared about the Gastrea invasion anymore.
They had just witnessed a Siren girl, dressed in a sailor uniform with a high ponytail, jump down from a starship straight into the sea to hunt Gastrea.
The moment those monsters saw the big-eyed Siren girl, they reacted as if they'd seen a ghost, scrambling desperately to escape into the deep sea.
But who could possibly outrun a Siren in the ocean?
Before long, after a few splashes on the water's surface, the Siren girl emerged, dragging several battered and beaten Gastrea in one hand.
She tossed them onto the starship, fired up the engines, and took off, preparing to bring them back for dissection and research—or maybe even to serve Gastrea sashimi to the Observer.
"…～…"
Watching this swift, bizarre, and technologically advanced alien race, most people were utterly baffled.
They had no idea what these extraterrestrial overlords were thinking.
Had they really traveled all this way just to save those cursed children?
But no one dared to ask.
They could only tremble as they watched Siren girls and Bulins lead groups of little girls onto the starships.
Given that the human population in the Black Bullet world was already low, and their territory was barely 20% of the planet, it only took half a day for the deployed forces to gain full control of the entire world.
All large-scale resistance was completely wiped out.
"Tch, is bullying natives really that fun?"
Inside the Eternal Snowfall, Gudako tilted her head and asked Setsuna.
"It's pretty fun."
Setsuna answered without hesitation.
He had seen plenty of alien invasion movies, but when it came to actually doing it himself—
It turned out that being the alien and beating up the natives was way more entertaining?!
—
Tokyo City.
"…"
Seitenshi stared out the window, dazed.
She had imagined countless times how Setsuna, whom she believed to be from another country, would come to save the children of this world.
With a young girl's imagination, she figured the most likely scenario would be a few planes arriving, carrying dozens or maybe a hundred doctors, landing in Tokyo.
They would provide humanitarian aid to the Cursed Children, distribute food and medicine, and maybe—if they were lucky—evacuate a few dozen or a hundred kids.
Just like the humanitarian missions the United Nations once conducted for underdeveloped regions before the Gastrea invasion.
Or perhaps he would exert diplomatic pressure, forcing the government to improve the Cursed Children's treatment, helping her pass the New Gastrea Act or something along those lines.
But never—not even once—did she imagine Setsuna would arrive with a sky-darkening fleet of starships, bringing an entire armada through the void.
And then proceed to conquer the entire world.
Had she just invited an alien invasion into her own home?!
This was beyond absurd.
Seitenshi pinched her own cheek hard—pain shot through her skin.
She wasn't dreaming.
The starships in the sky were real.
The aircraft were real.
The shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, and Spirits walking the streets were real.
The entire world had been thrown into chaos, and all communications had been cut off.
She could only follow Setsuna's instructions and stay quietly in her room.
"Um… may I ask, which star system is your friend from?"
"Eridanus? Alpha Centauri? Or somewhere even farther away?..."
Kisara Tendo and Miori Shiba approached Seitenshi, asking respectfully.
At this moment, they regarded the girl before them with newfound reverence.
Rescuing the Cursed Children?
So this was how it was done? Truly remarkable.
Not only had she managed to take the little girls away, but she had also incidentally conquered the entire Earth.
If not for the fact that they had met Seitenshi as children, Kisara Tendo might have suspected she was an alien spy herself.
"…I… I don't know. He just suddenly contacted me and said he was from another world, here to save those children…"
Seitenshi was equally bewildered.
"You actually communicated with an alien?!"
Miori Shiba snapped her folding fan shut with a sharp clack, her eyes widening even further.
"Didn't a friendly communications officer ever tell you—'Do not respond! Do not respond!'?"
"And yet, you just invited aliens to Earth and let them give us a thorough beating?!"
"…"
Seitenshi shook her head.
First of all, it was Setsuna who contacted her.
Secondly, Setsuna had only informed her that he was coming—he never asked for permission.
Whether she agreed or not didn't actually make much of a difference.
"Could your country build ships like that? Or could it be another nation, like the United States?"
Seitenshi turned to Miori Shiba, her curiosity piqued.
"You really think too highly of us, Your Majesty."
Miori Shiba sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"If Shiba Heavy Industries could actually build spacecraft, do you think we'd still be cowering inland under the Gastrea threat?"
"If any country had the technology to build starships, the war between humans and Gastrea would have ended long ago."
"So, they are 120% aliens. And look—the flags on the starships don't belong to any country."
Upon closer inspection, there were indeed no national insignias on the starships.
"Aliens coming to save the Cursed Children? This is unbelievable…"
Seitenshi fell into deep thought.
Her heart was conflicted.
On one hand, she was worried about the safety of the Cursed Children.
On the other, many people had already died in this conflict.
She couldn't fathom Setsuna's true intentions.
"Such a strange person…"
Kisara Tendo gazed out the window, her brows furrowed.
"Judging by their military strength, we are clearly no match for them… but they don't seem to have any interest in anything else on Earth."
"After taking over the planet, they've done nothing except take the Cursed Children… What exactly is he trying to do?"
She felt as though she was grasping at some vague clue—something just beyond her reach.
Suddenly—
Bang, bang, bang—
As the three were deep in discussion, a series of knocks echoed from the door.
At some point, the security forces stationed around the residence had been silently eliminated.
Standing at the doorway was a dignified and elegant royal maid with silver hair and blue eyes—Belfast.
Now dressed in her uniform, she exuded an even sharper, more professional air.
"Miss Seitenshi, Miss Kisara Tendo, Miss Miori Shiba—"
"The Commander wishes to see you."
"Please, follow me."
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