Imperium of Man Terra Aeterna Season 01: Rise of Humanity's War Machin

Almost at the same time as Reuel spoke, the entire body of Strike Freedom began to emit a blinding white light—transforming into a massive sphere of light that then twisted into a vortex of energy, absorbing the entire unit.

Within seconds, Reuel was also swept into the circle of light, leaving behind only a faint silhouette that quickly disappeared from sight.

About five minutes later, to the excited cheers of shipgirls watching from afar, Reuel gently descended from the sky, landing on the beach.

"Hm?"

He turned around and saw that Strike Freedom had completely vanished—pulled into some kind of spatial distortion resembling a warp. But what was strange was that his body now felt... different.

His entire being was filled with a power he had never felt before, as if he had merged with the core energy of the Mind Cube itself.

"Commander, did you... eat the Gundam?" Richelieu muttered in disbelief.

"Eh, no... don't tell me... you absorbed it?" Richelieu stared at Reuel with wide eyes.

The shipgirls gathered around, looking at Reuel as if they had just witnessed the birth of a new warship. But unlike them, Reuel's body remained human. There was no radical physical transformation like when the shipgirls were born.

"This is the process of the Commander discovering his 'true self'," said Akashi, appearing from the crowd. "It seems the Commander's deepest consciousness still refuses to become something non-human."

"Are you feeling any discomfort in any part of your body?" she added.

"No. On the contrary, I feel more... aligned than ever."

Reuel moved his body. Inside the cockpit earlier, he had felt something extraordinary: he and Strike Freedom had become a single entity.

And the moment that feeling appeared, the Mind Cube instantly absorbed the Gundam into him.

The world of Azur Lane is not one of technological civilization. Power here is idealistic—comparable to that of the Chaos Gods. But... the will of the Emperor of Mankind within him would not allow a full transformation into a Gundam.

Reuel held himself back. He refused to be consumed by the legacy of the Emperor.

He was not the Emperor. He was Reuel.

With sheer determination, he fought off that urge—and for now, succeeded in maintaining his own identity.

"Commander, is your true form now a Gundam? Can you project it again?" Richelieu asked with curiosity.

"Of course."

With a wave of his hand, Reuel's body began to change, like an Autobot. A cockpit formed around him, followed by the torso, limbs, and head. Eight weapon wings unfolded from his back. He drew a beam saber from his waist, standing tall and proud on the ground.

"SO COOL! This is way more handsome than when we summon our ship bodies!" shouted one of the shipgirls.

Their usual ocean-projected bodies paled in comparison. Even Reuel's transformation had more flair—complete with special effects and light bursts like an anime cutscene.

"In that case, can you project parts of the Gundam like we summon our ship rigging?" asked Z23, her head tilted in curiosity.

"Hmm... let me try."

Reuel closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and reached deep into the power of the Mind Cube within him—trying to release that power from the Emperor of Mankind's influence.

The power was immense, but the Emperor's will continuously rejected non-human forms. He struggled. Focused. Exerted his own will.

Finally—Reuel's will won.

Click—

The cockpit enveloped his body, forming the upper projection of Strike Freedom. The upper half of the unit materialized, legless, but still floating and able to move with him.

Height: roughly 10 meters.

One hand held a beam saber, the other a shield. The movement was smooth, elegant, and fully synchronized with Reuel.

With a wave of his hand, the unit slashed forward—BOOM—one swing flattened an entire forest, leveling the ground around it.

"Eh, this form seems kinda different from our ship costumes, huh?"

"I can summon parts of Strike Freedom based on need—from frame form, to half-body, to full-body," Reuel explained.

"Frame form is useful for quick strikes with railguns and close-range defense cannons. This half-body form makes sword and shield combat easier. As for the full-body... well, you've seen its power yourselves."

Reuel tried once more. In the half-body projection form, he realized he could freely switch Strike Freedom's weapons.

The sword and shield were perfect for close combat, while the beam rifles allowed precise long-range engagements. However, if he wanted to activate the Fire Complex Cannon or Dragoon System, he'd have to fully project the entire Strike Freedom unit.

"Is... this the true form of the Mind Cube's power?" he muttered to himself.

This power felt vastly different from the Emperor of Mankind's might that he had been suppressing all this time. There was no pressure, no overwhelming dominance—only harmony.

The shipgirls began chatting excitedly.

For them, battle always meant summoning ship rigging or manifesting their main body. This was the first time they had ever seen such modular transformation.

"Is this like a mecha version of Susanoo?" one small shipgirl asked, eyes sparkling.

"Susanoo? What's that?" asked a clueless destroyer-loli beside her.

"Dunno… I think it's from one of the bedtime stories the Commander told me last night." Little Bel shook her head, her ears twitching adorably.

"Nya~~~ Incredible, absolutely incredible! I never imagined that the combination of a Mind Cube and a Gundam could result in this," Akashi exclaimed in awe, her eyes glowing with technical excitement.

Once the trial session was over, Akashi immediately dragged Reuel to the naval base for all sorts of weird examinations. Holographic scanners, synchronization tests, reactor output measurements.

She nodded seriously as she took notes.

"Nya~~~ Eh... Commander," she finally said, "from the results, I've found that you seem to have an extraordinary affinity for mechanical technology... And after merging with Strike Freedom, your physical condition has improved significantly."

"Your body is now even powered by a mini reactor. This is truly remarkable."

"And more than that... the mecha you're piloting now appears to be far stronger than the original Strike Freedom."

Reuel raised an eyebrow. "You mean... I'm now stronger than Kira Yamato?"

"Your Strike Freedom's configuration is entirely identical to the original," Akashi explained. "But because the Mind Cube allows you and the Gundam to become one entity, the total power is: Strike Freedom's power + your own."

"In other words, you're not just the pilot. You are the Gundam itself."

"….."

Reuel fell silent. He thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh hard.

"Shit... This is such a loss."

The shipgirls stared at him, confused.

Reuel let out a deep sigh and said, half-frustrated, "I should've asked you girls to build the Death Star first. Or at least Starkiller Base from Star Wars."

Now that he had merged with Strike Freedom, his physical fitness had skyrocketed.

His body was now powered by a reactor—utterly satisfying.

"And the mecha you're piloting appears to be stronger than the original Strike Freedom…"

Thanks to the Mind Cube, Reuel no longer had to worry about where to store his Gundam every time he went on an expedition.

It came and went on command, and he could even use various forms of the Gundam to fight based on battlefield conditions.

The mecha version of Susanoo was seriously cool.

"Am I stronger than the original Strike Freedom? Is it because my piloting skills are better than Kira Yamato's?" Reuel asked curiously.

There was no difference between the configuration of the Strike Freedom he summoned and the original version.

"No, because under the Mind Cube's influence, you and the Gundam have become one—so the strength of Strike Freedom = its original power + your own," Akashi shook her head.

"Commander, you're not just the pilot now. You are the Gundam itself."

"….."

Reuel paused and slapped his thigh again.

"Damn it, this is such a massive loss."

"I should've asked you to build the Death Star or Starkiller Base from Star Wars first!!!"

---

Of course, building a Star Destroyer or something like it first was just a joke.

Reuel hadn't mastered the technology from the Star Wars universe yet.

Although the space warships of the Imperium of Man far surpassed Gundams in sheer power, constructing something on that scale clearly wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Still, in the future, if weapons on the level of a Star Destroyer became available, he might as well install them directly onto his Gundam's body.

Reuel had great faith in his body's compatibility—flexible, adaptive, and increasingly perfected through the integration of the Mind Cube.

With so much advanced technology and extraordinary marvels drawn from countless other universes, there was no point in getting hung up on any single concept.

Besides, being handsome was a lifelong blessing.

His Gundam stirred up quite a commotion among the shipgirl lolis. They were utterly fascinated by the towering machine that could pierce the heavens and tread upon the earth.

Every day, they pestered Reuel—begging to fly with him, or pleading with Akashi to let them pilot one of the spare mechas.

Even their host carrier ships were beginning to grow weary from the unrelenting excitement of the girls.

"You're shipgirls, right? What kind of mecha do you even pilot?!"

"Just imagine this in battle: after our Gundam explodes, a little shipgirl climbs out from inside?! That's way too absurd to picture!"

---

Two weeks later, nighttime.

In the temporary golden gothic palace office, Reuel and Richelieu were buried under stacks of administrative documents.

"Commander," Richelieu said, "Ning Hai and Ping Hai have just sent in a report—the first shipment from the Kimetsu no Yaiba universe is about to arrive."

The cargo included iron, steel, coal, non-ferrous metals, and a wide variety of agricultural and textile products.

The amount was staggering. They even had to dispatch Bulin to manage the logistics distribution.

In the report attachment, Ning Hai and Ping Hai detailed each country's contributions:

Industrial nations like Britain and France supplied massive quantities of processed minerals,

while agrarian countries contributed produce, meat, and textile materials.

"20 million tons of refined steel, 114 million tons of coal, and 90,000 tons of tin…"

Just reading the figures was enough to leave anyone stunned.

Yet the consumption rate of the Imperium of Man was no less monstrous. These materials would be devoured in short order by the hundreds of expanding settlements.

What's more, the agricultural and meat production figures from that universe were mind-boggling—tens or even hundreds of times more than the combined output of Terra Aeterna and planet Aegis.

And this... was only the beginning.

To avoid disrupting development in the Kimetsu no Yaiba universe, the resource extraction had been conservative. But if that world were to modernize and enter a full industrial era, its benefits would skyrocket.

"Send part of the supplies to Minato Port, in the Azur Lane universe," Reuel ordered.

"They're experimenting with new weapons every day. Their resource stockpiles must be running low."

"The rest," he continued, "hand over to the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus."

He lifted his pen and looked at Richelieu.

"Also inform all the companies: if they need anything, just ask here. I'll cover all costs for the shipgirls at Minato Port."

This wasn't part of any official trade agreement between the two sides. In a sense, the Kimetsu no Yaiba universe had already become Reuel's personal conquest.

And for the shipgirls who had helped him build the Imperial Palace, Reuel felt deeply grateful.

So he gave them half of the plundered resources.

After all, there were still plenty of other planets left to explore. One Earth from one universe wasn't going to bankrupt him.

"You're amazing, Commander," Richelieu said with a smile.

"So, what about us? Will we continue investing in the capital's development? Or should we start building a military industry for the shipgirls? Torpedoes, carrier-based aircraft, or—"

"...Stop. Stop everything."

Reuel cut her off sharply, raising his hand.

"We already have way too much ammunition in storage. More than enough to blast a planet if necessary."

"If I weren't worried about causing havoc in the Kimetsu no Yaiba universe, I would've exported all our surplus gear over there already."

He leaned back in his chair, then gave Richelieu a serious look.

"Besides, you're going to evolve into shipgirls equipped with space warships of the Imperium of Man—not regular naval vessels. Your current armaments are only temporary. Later on, you'll be fully outfitted with Imperial war tech."

Reuel tapped the table slowly, then said:

"Use all of these resources to manufacture additional Mind Cubes. After that, produce Bulin."

"Eh?"

Richelieu blinked, puzzled. "Bulin...? You mean... create Bulin from scratch?"

"Didn't I eat a Rubik's Cube back in Minato before?" Reuel raised an eyebrow.

"Akashi once said Minato couldn't produce any more Rubik's Cubes due to a shortage of resources."

"But now… we've got an entire new universe. And even three more behind us—plenty of untouched planets. So many resources that we couldn't even exhaust them all at once."

He set his pen down on the table and looked Richelieu straight in the eye.

"For the future of the Imperium of Man, obviously, we have to begin developing as many Universal Bulin as possible."

Reuel then elaborated further.

"Picture it like this. At the beginning of the Imperium of Man's civilization-building phase, our top priority is economic development. We need more mining carts and more farmers. Of course, all while ensuring safety and defense."

"If we've got enough farmers and mining carts, building up a heavy industry becomes simple. Producing troops? Doable. Opening war laboratories? Doable. The speed of our development will rise exponentially."

"On the other hand, if we dump all our resources into making tanks just to attack our neighbors… sure, we might win fast in the early game. But without stable follow-through, those kinds of people will collapse on their own. They'll never win in the endgame."

"In our settlements, there's no population cap. So the more farmers and mining carts we have, the better. In the end, we'll reach the miracle stage faster."

"..."

Richelieu fell silent for a moment, processing the theory she had just heard.

'Farmers and mining carts…?'

While the analogy sounded strange in real-world terms, she began to grasp Reuel's point. And judging by Minato's current community structure, Universal Bulin really did serve as all-purpose workers who were absolutely crucial. One might even say… they exceeded the role of ordinary laborers.

Bulin could not only mine and smelt metals, but also repair warships, manufacture ammunition, and even help construct both military and civilian infrastructure for the shipgirls.

The Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus had also begun attempting to educate the Universal Bulin. They wanted to know: just how far could the capabilities of these bizarre silicon-based lifeforms go?

The results were shocking.

After just a single training session, the Bulin were already able to construct a standard Imperium of Man warship.

The Tech-Priests immediately convened an emergency meeting on Mars. They discussed the outcome of the trial with solemn and troubled expressions.

The conclusion they reached was deeply concerning:

Universal Bulin… resembled the Orks from the Warhammer 40K universe.

Mechanical blasphemy.

They did not follow logical principles, ignored proper technical procedures, and created technology solely through… collective belief.

Their strange conviction defied the laws of physics, engineering, and reason. And that—for the Mechanicus—was the highest insult to the teachings of the Machine God.

And as the final blow—

Reuel's Gundam had once been destroyed by a group of Universal Bulin… using nothing but adjustable wrenches.

With more Bulin, future development here would undoubtedly accelerate significantly.

Meanwhile, the manjuu—those small yellow chick-like mascots from Azur Lane—were only capable of handling light tasks like transportation, farming, and livestock care. They were perfect for logistical divisions within the Imperium of Man.

However, when it came to large-scale industrial operations, the burden would still fall to the Bulin and, later, the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus.

Ten minutes later.

Akashi, who had been fishing lazily, was summoned once again by Richelieu.

Almost simultaneously, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl—who happened to be on Terra Aeterna—was called in directly to meet with the Omnissiah.

"Commander, would you like to return the Mind Cube and the funds used to build the Gundam?"

"The total cost came to 400 million yen. But given our good relations, I can offer you a discount—50%."

A maintenance officer approached, flipping open a small notebook, ready to ask for Reuel's account number.

"Hey! Building a Gundam costs a freaking fortune?! You didn't say I'd have to pay extra, did you?!"

Sister Richelieu could only stay silent in the face of Akashi's… resourcefulness. Or maybe it was opportunism.

Suddenly, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl entered the room with two stiffly-walking Magos Mechanicus trailing behind him.

"You still insist on speaking so crudely, flesh-being. Your disrespect toward the Omnissiah remains unchanged—like your uncorrected organic defects."

"Salutations, O Supreme Manifestation of the Omnissiah. Your presence scorches our systems with divine purity. Would You upload Your will unto us, O Source of All Protocols?"

"Nya~~~ Why are you guys here too, you oily Tech-Priest Mechanicus bunch~~~"

"Silence, heretek. Organic entities like you are structural failures incapable of grasping the Litany of the Circuit or the sanctity of the Omnissiah. You are nothing but an error-ridden meat vessel."

"Nya~~~"

"Okay, everyone calm down," Reuel cut in, interrupting as the two sides started throwing barbs again.

"Don't worry, I'll return the Mind Cube to you, Akashi… as long as you're willing to help me with something."

Reuel then pulled Akashi and Belisarius Cawl closer, showing them a long list of compiled resources.

"If all of this were given to you, how many Mind Cubes do you think you could make?"

"That much?! You serious?! Leave it all to me!"

"Fascinating… a flesh-creature incapable of grasping the Litany of the Circuit of the Omnissiah now seeks to meddle with the sacred code of the Mind Cube and forge Mechanical Anomalies from foreign matter. Logic deviation: detected."

"Nya~~~ Shut up, you scrap heaps!"

Another argument erupted, and once again, Reuel had to step in and separate them.

Belisarius Cawl finally fell silent, though he now appeared far more focused. He began studying how a silicon-based creature like the Universal Bulin could even be created. Other Tech-Priests Mechanicus also seemed intrigued—the structure, logic, and existence of Bulin closely resembled the beliefs of the Orks: if they believed something could be built from junk, then it became real. Purely through suggestive force and absurd conviction.

Meanwhile, Akashi was staring at the resource list with barely contained glee, completely ignoring the Tech-Priests behind her.

Her cat-like eyes sparkled as she started counting on her fingers for several minutes.

"Maybe… more than 30,000 units…"

"If we use them to produce Bulin—including their ship hulls—how many can you make?"

"Rough estimate…"

Akashi stroked her own ears while continuing to calculate. The experimental and specialized versions of the Universal Bulin required more resources, while the standard versions were much more efficient.

"Based on average ratios… we might be able to produce over 20,000 total, right?"

"Excellent."

Reuel patted Akashi on the head, clearly pleased.

"Create twenty thousand Universal Bulin. You'll be assisted by the Tech-Priests Mechanicus."

"And the rest—the leftover raw materials—will be my gift to you."

"Meow?! Meow meow meow meow?!"