Let's go backwards a little on this one. The page closes with a "big" reveal in which Nagisa tells Chiaki she's trans. Many of you had guessed this when the thieves were in Nagisa's room last chapter, and Harley explained that the vials in there were very likely to be transition meds.

Anyway, she says this to Chiaki, who has no idea what the word even means. For all our heroine knows, it's something that only exists in this world. O_o

Speaking of things that only exist in this world, the first half of the page gives us a flashback with 13 year old Nagisa. She recalls a day where she shares details about Lilim to someone she knew in the village she grew up. I think this is the first time I've explained what Lilim are in canon, but it's not the first time you've heard the word. Right from the beginning, this world is described as being in the Age of Lilim. And you might remember mention of the Prophet Lilith.

Per the info Nagisa shares in this flashback, Lilim have occasionally come along since the time of Lilith, thought to be her reincarnation, and saved the world from some horrible atrocity again and again. And if we tie it to the Age of Lilim, these chosen ones have been coming along many times over the last 3,000 years or so. This is an important bit of worldbuilding we'll come back to a lot.

Finally, let's talk about Phoebe, the first of many past Lilim we'll learn about throughout the story. Assigned both male and hero, she did her duty, and defeated the evil that plagued her time. But even then, something else was always bothering her. She would go on to spend the next two decades experimenting with magic to figure out if physical transformation was possible, as well as how to do so effectively and safely. Phoebe's research was a great success, allowing her to finally be herself. She then dedicated the rest of her life to traveling and spreading her findings everywhere she could to help others like her. Quite the hero, indeed. ^_^