"Wh... what is that...!?"
"So... so terrifying..."
"Ugh..."
In the command center, Misora, Lekti, and Riko were all utterly stunned as they watched Chloe, whose entire body was erupting with terrifying mana.
At that moment, in everyone's eyes, Chloe seemed to be completely surrounded by red spiritual energy. Her entire body had transformed into a condensation of mana, shaking and distorting the atmosphere around her.
A truly astonishing amount of mana began to surge from Chloe's body, only to suddenly retract completely into her.
Throughout this process, the spiritual energy Chloe emitted seemed to rise in a straight line, becoming more and more terrifying.
The power emerging from Chloe could no longer simply be called mana.
It was...
"Compressed mana...!"
Riko seemed to recognize the true nature of this power. Her pupils contracted, and her expression changed more drastically than ever before.
This was a reaction the proud Riko had never shown before.
Yet at this moment, not only had Riko's expression changed, a bead of sweat had also trickled down her forehead.
Even Flonne had never seen Riko like this, much less anyone else.
"Wh... what is compressed mana?"
Misora asked helplessly.
The one who answered her was not Riko, but Flonne.
"You're a Magic Cannon Swordsman, yet you don't even know about compressed mana?"
Flonne stared at Chloe's figure on the screen and spoke without turning her head.
"Mana is the tiny miracle humans can possess, a force capable of interfering with phenomena. Once given direction through engraved formulas, it can form phenomena and interfere with reality. That is what we call magic."
It was the foundation of magic, as well as the means by which humans could interfere with phenomena, create effects, and thus wield power.
"And compressed mana is the power formed by compressing mana in