"Damn them! Why those idiots can't give up?!"
Kasumi's AA guns shot in short bursts, downing a pair of Abyssal floaters. So-called Hawks - distinguished by their single eye and a pair of actual wings - exploded among black clouds of flak, destroyer's guns aided by dual-purpose secondary batteries of Myokou-class cruisers.
"Kasumi, Shigure, move into position and prepare your torpedoes. We'll have only one chance to take this monster down! Go!"
"Roger that"
Two destroyers broke away from Ashigara and accelerated, moving in a wide arc to circle the Abyssal princess. The cruiser glanced over her shoulder; a few hundred metres behind them, Haguro and Myokou baited two Ru-class battleships to a game of cat and mouse, very much alike she and Nachi did during operation Hikari. Massive, hulking monsters were unable to keep up with more agile cruisers, who kept circling with impunity. Without destroyers to screen them, the behemoths were practically helpless once they lost the advantage of range.
Shame the situation in the front of them didn't look as good.
"DIE!" Yelled Nagato, her guns shaking the seas with a deafening roar. A hail of heavy shells struck its target - but once the flames and dust settled, it became apparent how little effect did it have.
"Persistent...insects…" muttered the Princess, a sickly yellow glow in her eyes firing up. She charged at Nagato, her own turrets opening fire. The flagship dodged, barely avoiding the blow - and their secondary guns came to life, lighter shells pecking their massive riggings.
"Nagato-san!"
Fusou sped by the Abyssal battleship, her salvos blocked by the Abyssal's familiars; black monstrosities coiled around the Princess, absorbing shells and dampening explosions. A thin plate of their metal was enough to make Ru-class a formidable opponent; full-scale constructs made of it shrugged barrages that would blow regular targets into atoms.
"Leave!"
One of those beings suddenly springed towards Fusou, slashing the battleship with its razor-sharp tail. The force of the impact threw the girl into the air; she landed several meters away, her outfit torn and rigging damaged. One turret fell out of its barbette, a massive anvil sinking in a blink of an eye.
Shigure was the first to realize they got spotted. When the Princess' gaze followed Fusou-san's flight, it did not stop at the spot where she crashed back into the water; instead, it moved on, finally falling upon the young destroyer.
"Kasumi-chan, take ev-"
But it was too late; a massive explosion blossomed between them, the woosh of incoming shell reaching their ears a split of second too late. She heard a series of rapid explosions coming from the other side of the geyser; she felt her heart skip a beat.
"I'm fine!" Kasumi's voice sounded from behind the collapsing curtain. "But my torpedoes are gone! I had to jettison all launchers! I'll kill that whore!"
"No!" Shigure blocked Kasumi's way "Look at Fusou-san! How are we supposed to even scratch this thing without our torpedoes?!"
"I don't care!" Kasumi tried to push her away. "I can't let this stupid admiral…"
She stopped in her tracks, eyes suddenly growing wide. Shigure turned to see what shocked her friend - and felt her jaw drop.
The Victory Divison sprung into action.
"Looks like it's all up to us, nee-chan"
She wasn't the one to smile without a good reason. But this time, she just couldn't help it. The whole situation was so eerily similar - yet so different at the same time. The battle. The Princess. Only the stakes were different.
"Yeah" nodded Ashigara.
"Let's do this" she patted her sister's arm one more time and set her boots to flank speed. The distance between her and the Princess shrank rapidly. Behind her, she could have felt Ashigara's burning passion breathing down her back. Soon, two sisters charged side by side.
This was their twentieth foray into the Suez harbour. Morale was on the brink of breaking. They were all exhausted. The admiral was slowly losing hope. Even Jun'you started agreeing with Fusou's dark predictions. This vicious circle had to finally come to an end. And it was their job to see it done.
Nagato noticed their approach and struck the Princess with all her might. A concentrated barrage ripped a chunk off a black snake's body. Mutilated, the creature flailed and trashed, thick ichor spraying all around the battling shipgirls. The second serpent shot a salvo and lashed towards Nagato - but the flagship was prepared. Shells exploded harmlessly on her turret's frontal armour. She then struck the creature mid-air, her fist impacting black metal with a sickening crunch. Her guns converged on the target again, loading mechanism finished the cycle…
...and nine guns roared with fury, drowning Nagato's battlecry. A ball of fire engulfed the battleships, an inhuman shriek piercing the fading explosion.
Wailing and screeching like a banshee, the princess launched a savage counterattack. Her remaining familiar lashed and whipped at Nagato, helping the Abyssal finally overcome the flagship's defense. Grabbing her by the throat, the princess effortlessly lifted the Nagato into air. Seething fury burned in her lone remaining eye, her breathing was laboured and rasp. She tightened the grasp, savouring the feeling of Nagato's throat slowly giving in, cartilage weak and feeble against her grip…
"Now, nee-chan!"
Ashigara's salvo hit the Princess' arm, making her let go of Nagato. The Hungry Wolf avoided collision in last moment possible - but not before launching her torpedoes.
The first hit just as Nagato managed to crawl away to safe distance. The Princess' mount cracked in half, the black serpent a fraction of second too late to take the blow. Two more explosions made the Abyssal finally lose her balance; she fell to the water but did not tumble over. Instead, she moved on, reaching out towards Ashigara in her rage…
Blinding her to the final blow.
At full speed, Nachi slammed into the Princess. The impact was much more painful to the cruiser than to the Abyssal - but it made the monster turn its gaze away from Ashigara and meet the unexpected assiliant's eyes. Without her mount, without her constructs protecting her, with her face blown and mutilated, the Princess looked almost pitiful.
Almost.
As the final salvo echoed throughout the hot, African air, the headless corpse hit the waves. A rain of oily droplets fell upon Nachi's face and uniform, tainting them with a constellation of black pockmarks. The greedy abyss quickly consumed its daughter, leaving only silence behind.