In the laboratory, Sein stared at the Magic Cube before him, lost in thought.

HALL-E was there as well.

After joining Sein’s team, drawn by the promise of one day seeing the sights of the Astral Realm, HALL-E gradually proved itself to be a remarkably capable experimental assistant.

Whether it was alchemy experiments, mechanical research, or studies related to the refinement of the pyro element, the robot displayed astonishingly high aptitude.

While it exhibited almost exceptionally broad support capabilities across nearly all of Sein’s research domains, body-tempering experiments were the sole exception.

As an intelligent robot without a body of flesh and blood, HALL-E had little exposure to that field and was ill-suited to it.

“This robot created by the former chief scientist of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization is truly impressive,” Sein marveled at HALL-E’s growing usefulness during his break.

“Could it be that HALL-E was doing more than just cleaning duties back in that laboratory?” he wondered.

Yuri, his longtime lab assistant, had once assumed that Fermera would be the one most likely to steal her job. She had even spent considerable energy competing with the eight-winged angel.

What she never expected was that HALL-E, long overlooked by everyone, would quietly grow in importance instead.

Thanks to its exceptional ability to assist with experiments, especially those requiring ultra-precise manipulation, Sein had brought HALL-E into nearly every experiment over the past two years.

How careless of me!

Yuri had never imagined that this metal box would become so indispensable to her master.

Fortunately, when it came to body-tempering experiments, Sein’s most critical work, he still relied heavily on her assistance.

Neither Fermera nor HALL-E was involved in that field, allowing Yuri to maintain her place by Sein’s side.

In the laboratory, Sein continued pondering the origins of the Magic Cube and the profound principles that governed its internal workings.

Too bad Michaelis Bell of the Gallant Federation had already perished, and Sein had no way of accessing the cube’s source code. Otherwise, he would surely possess a far clearer and deeper understanding of its true nature.

Nearly one-third of the Magic Cube’s surface was covered in dense, intricate magic inscriptions.

They were not confined to the surface alone. When the cube was decomposed into countless sub-units, every fragment revealed extensive traces of engraved runes.

These inscriptions were magic array runes that Sein himself had painstakingly carved onto the cube over the years during his spare time, using a micro-engraving technique.

HALL-E proved immensely helpful to Sein throughout this process. True to its role as a support-type unit rather than a combat robot, this kind of work was exactly where its strengths lay.

By contrast, Fermera and the Burning Flame Unit piloted by Yuri were both capable of providing Sein with far greater combat support.

No one dared disturb Sein while he was deep in contemplation.

Mages often required the quietest possible environment when exploring the path of truth.

One of HALL-E’s greatest advantages was that, when idle in Sein’s laboratory, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary metal box.

Sein deeply disliked others interrupting his experiments. HALL-E was the only one that had managed to blend seamlessly into his laboratory in an exceptionally short time.

When Sein finally emerged from his contemplative state, a flicker of realization crossed his face, and HALL-E immediately resumed its work.

It extended its mechanical arm, presenting a slender needle while blue flame sprayed from its other end.

As the flame and needle resonated in rapid succession, intricate elemental patterns once again emerged across the surface of the Magic Cube.

Through Sein’s modifications and refinements, HALL-E had gained the ability to carry out preliminary magic array engraving in his place.

Tat-tat-tat...

The faint sounds of engraving echoed through the laboratory.

Once the entire magic array was fully engraved onto the cube, Sein’s control over it would reach an exceptionally high level.

Perhaps by the next battle, he would be able to wield the cube directly in combat.

Letting out a soft sigh, Sein infused a wisp of pale-gray Ashen Law into the Magic Cube before turning to leave the laboratory.

HALL-E remained behind, continuing the work in his stead.

***

The intensity of warfare within the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s subspace had steadily diminished in recent years.

In the early stages, the Gallant Federation showed no obvious signs of withdrawal.

On the contrary, their clashes with the Magus Civilization legions remained fierce.

However, over the past three years, the Gallant Federation first reduced the number of reinforcement units deployed to this subspace, then began a gradual pullback of its frontlines.

Sein had expected the Magus Civilization to seize this opportunity and press the attack, or at the very least cling tenaciously to the Gallant Federation forces in front of them.

Yet faced with the Gallant Federation’s cautious and methodical retreat, the Magus Civilization legions found themselves unable to identify a single viable breakthrough point.

Even their high command appeared to have shifted its attention away from this subspace battlefield in recent years.

Thanks to his frequent visits to Feylis’ laboratory and command center over the past two years, Sein occasionally caught wind of such information.

But he chose not to probe further.

His focus remained on his own responsibilities. Grand strategies and tactical decisions on the scale of civilizational warfare were not matters for a mere Rank Five mage like himself to worry about.

After leaving the laboratory, Sein headed straight for the command hall of the Ashen Fortress.

As the intensity of recent conflicts continued to decline, Sein’s presence on the frontlines had become increasingly unnecessary.

In this sector, his personal involvement was scarcely required.

The Shadowbat Civilization legions on the left flank and the Aquarian legions on the right were handling matters efficiently in his stead.

From time to time, powerhouses of the Rosen Dynasty Civilization who came to trade with Sein also dispatched their own direct forces to assist the Divine Tower of Ashes Army.

Naturally, Sein’s greatest interest lay in studying the Rosen Dynasty Civilization’s psychics and mobile suit pilots.

Leston, the Rank Five mobile suit pilot, had agreed to cooperate with Sein on certain physiology studies.

However, Veunoia politely declined Sein’s request. Instead, she offered to send a Rank Three male psychic to assist with his research.

Veunoia clearly understood the nature of the experimental research often conducted by Sein and other Magus Civilization mages.

In this regard, the female psychics of the Rosen Dynasty Civilization remained notably conservative.

Sein could not help but regret agreeing so readily to the Energy Amethyst trade.

Had he used it as leverage, Veunoia might have agreed to cooperate. At the very least, she could have provided a Rank Four male psychic to assist with his project research.

When Sein finally arrived at the operations command center, the first report he received caught him completely off guard.

“The Gallant Federation is withdrawing!” Marie, who was overseeing and coordinating related matters, informed him.