A late merry christmas, and an early happy new year to y'all.
Chapter 19: What drives them forward
"O Pitiful King who knows not the sweetness of a hard-fought victory, allow me to demonstrate what it really means to be a flagship!" With her Rigs formed anew and enveloped by an overwhelming power, heretical it may be, Bismarck let out her war cry and released a frontal barrage straight at the center of the Royal Navy fleet.
"All ships, evasive maneuver!" Seeing the same attack that melted through her armor with just a glancing hit, King George V quickly ordered the fleet to scatter. The Royal Navy avoided the incoming barrage of red ghastly beams then began their counterattack. Still unsure of just what that ghastly aura is capable of, the Royal Navy Battleships maintained their distance and hammered Bismarck with their cannons while the Carriers sent forth their bomber and torpedo fighters. Only that their strategy was soon proven to be of little effect.
Not just filling into the damaged part and forming her Rigs anew, the ghastly aura also became an extra layer of armor that, when the shells made contact with, simply bounced off or exploded without leaving behind even a dent. Then when the fighter squadrons closed in on her, Bismarck commanded her AA guns as they effortlessly wiped out the fighters with thousands of beams of light.
"Just what in the world is this power…?!" King George V mumbled to herself. The tremendous power that it bestowed aside, the thing that worried King George V even more is the putrid scent of iron that it gives off. Several times she tried to close the distance, only to be assaulted by that suffocating smell and was immediately forced to back out.
While the Royal Navy struggled to deal any lasting damage, Bismarck was putting on the pressure and gradually breaking up their formation. Then to make matter worse, a fleet of Sirens suddenly emerged from underwater.
"Incoming bogeys! All ships, keep the Sirens at bay, do not let them pass-" seeing the approaching Sirens, King George V readied her main cannons and issued new orders. Yet before she could get to half her sentence, the intense atmosphere was broken up by a laughter of delight that sent shiver down one's spine.
"Haha…hahaha…AHAHAHAHAHA!" Bismarck cackled, the ghastly aura around her formed into hundred tendrils as they effortlessly pierced through a Siren's armor, reaching all the way to their very core. In an instant, the Sirens hit by the tendril were immediately reduced to dust with only their Wisdom Cubes remained. The tendrils then immediately retracted with the Wisdom Cubes as they were absorbed into Bismarck's core, making the ghastly aura and the pressure that it exuded grow even more intense.
"She's…absorbing the entire Siren fleet?!"
"Is she going berserk? There's no way she can handle all that power!"
"She's taking aim! All ships, scatter-" once again before King George V could finish the whole sentence, a massive beam of light had penetrated through their formation and struck Ark Royal.
"Kuh…" she coughed once and knelt on one knee as a deep red liquid, the bloodline and life force of a Ship Girl, trickled down from the corner of her mouth. Ark Royal slowly turned her head and stared in bewilderment when she saw the entire flight of her Rigs, along with everything up to her right shoulder had been cleanly gouged off by that beam of light.
It happened so fast, her mind couldn't even the process the pain until she realized that she was hit and a part of her body was already gone. The pain was so great, it numbed all her senses. It hurt so much she couldn't even scream or move. In the front, King George V tried to contact her, but right now all she could hear was a cluster of unintelligible noises and statics.
With a wound like this, she probably doesn't have much time left in this realm. So, mustering her last ounce of strength, Ark Royal stood up with great difficulty and placed her left hand on her heart as a display of unwavering faith and loyalty, even in her last moment.
"God saves the Queen. For the glory of the Royal Navy." With an explosion from the remainder of her Rigs, Ark Royal's body then limped as she slowly sunk to the bottom of the sea, her signal disappeared completely from every radar.
"How…how could this be…" in the same backline as Ark Royal, Victorious muttered in horror with both hands over her own mouth. The battlefield is ever unforgiving, even for warships live is but a fleeting thing. As hardened warriors and upholders of their knightly tradition, the Royal Navy does not turn their eyes away from this, and instead acknowledged it as a fact. When the time comes, they're more than willing to lay down their lives for the greater cause.
But often times, it is not when but how one goes out that others find hardest to accept.
"Ark Royal, she's…gone…How could you…how dare you…! Demon of Ironblood!" overcame by rage, Renown charged straight toward Bismarck with abandon, her cannon barrages are all over the place due to sloppy aiming and hasty calculations.
"Renown, stop!" King George V shouted and went after Renown, but right now nothing could reach her ears anymore. Renown continued to fire barrage after barrage that are all off their mark. Seeing that, Bismarck aimed a turret at Renown and fired a dual beam. The two beams of light scissored Renown in the middle, instantly melted through her armor and detonated her ammo storage as her Rigs exploded violently.
"Renown!" lunging forward, King George V managed to catch Renown just as she was about to sink. As she was calling out to the latter, trying to keep her conscious, Bismarck appeared before her. Truly, at this much closer a distance, the pressure she exuded is simply impossible to bear.
"What's wrong, chivalric knights of the Royal Navy? Is this really all that you amounted to? Aren't you all supposed to be protected by your Queen's providence? Where is the god that you speak of so fervently now?"
"Do you understand now, O Pitiful King? This is the power befitting a flagship that you so desperately denied."
"You call making a deal with the devil 'power'? Just how low have you stooped? Have you no longer any shame nor sense of honor?!"
"Then take a good look around you and tell me, who is still standing, who had been sunk to the cold lightless abyss and who is already at death's doorstep?" Bismarck didn't even bother to mince her words, each and every of her question are full of mockery and sarcasm, all of them as sharp as razor blades that cut deep into one's flesh.
"Face it, King of the Sea. The time has changed, humanity can no longer survive on idealistic dream and peace alone. In these changing times, in order to pertain our own existence either we adapt to it or become its new ruler. And the Ironblood has chosen the latter." Just as Bismarck finished her sentence, a HE barrage then struck her from portside. Looking back over her shoulder, King George V saw Rodney coming to her aid.
Even for a direct hit like that, the HE barrage failed to do any damage to Bismarck, only managed to obscure her vision. Using that chance, King George V quickly backed out along with Renown.
"Ms Renown! That demon, how dare she! Please give us the order, King George V! We're ready to attack at any time, Ms Victorious and me."
"…No, we retreat. Our force has suffered heavy casualty, and we have zero intel on the capability of the enemy. It is regrettable that we cannot avenge our fallen comrades, but further beyond this point is hostile water and any more than this would just be spilling blood needlessly." Having made up her mind, King George V and the Royal Navy then quickly retreated.
"Hmph, choosing to retreat, a wise decision, O Pitiful King." Knowing that the enemy no longer pose a threat to her, Bismarck simply let them go. As the sea calmed down and she stood there silently, the ghastly red and black aura suddenly disappeared, reverting her Rigs back to its former damaged state. At the same time, she was assaulted by a searing pain in her chest, and that was her last memory before losing consciousness.
"By the time I regained consciousness, it was already half a year later. From what Chief Vicker told me, if it's just my Rigs alone, it wouldn't have taken that long. The main reason for my long slumber was the damaged that my Wisdom Cube suffered. It is thanks to him that I am still here today." Closing her eyes briefly as if to relive old memories, Bismarck then opened her eyes again as she continued.
"As if the sole reason for its appearance was to relish in the carnage, that ghastly aura has not reappeared ever since, except for one time. During my long slumber, it showed me a dream, a dream of the 'me' of many different worlds."
"Many different worlds", the moment Commander Burai heard of these words, his brain immediately connected the dots together, to the Mirror Sea incident, to the Tirpitz and Graf Zeppelin of the other world.
"In that dream, I saw the glorious days that will never return, the time when every nation is still united under one banner. Then came the fateful day when I declared our withdrawal from the Azur Lane, sparking the second flame of war. And alas, a future of ruin and downfall, where every nation is wiped off the face of the planet by the Siren."
"So are you telling me that no matter what we do, the future is already set in stone and the world is destined for doom?" Commander Burai asked calmly despite his tightly clenched fist, trying to suppress his anger.
"To put it bluntly, yes." When Bismarck answered with adamant, he clenched his fist even tighter, for that is a future he will never accept nor will he ever allow it to become true. Seeming to have sensed the anger inside him, Bismarck, with an even more adamant voice, continued.
"However, while there is no concrete proof nor is there a method to verify the legitimacy of my words, I can say for certain that this world still has a fighting chance. Because this world is different."
"Kommandant, can you recall which ship was sunk during Operation Rheinubung?"
"HMS Ark Royal, HMS Renown and…HMS Prince of Wales."
"Yes, whereas it should have been the Mighty Hood, and me."
"What?!"
"Just like this world, the gift of the Siren was awakened inside of me. Unlike this world, at the most critical moment I denied that power, to retain my last sliver of honor as a warrior."
"Do you get it now, Kommandant? I am not worthy to be called a Goddess. The moment I made a deal with the devil, I've already lost my privilege to such sacred title." Said Bismarck, staring at Commander Burai while forcing herself to smile. A smile of self-mockery and contempt.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Suddenly, the tranquil atmosphere was interrupted by several loud explosions. The duo simultaneously looked up to the sky to see that the moonlit night was completely illuminated by a firework screen of myriad colors.
"So it's almost time for the closing ceremony then. Let's return for now, Kommandant. As the main character of the party and fellow holder of the Grand Cross, it is inappropriate for us to be absented." As if to run away from her own words, Bismarck quickly stood up and went on ahead.
"So what of it?" suddenly raising his voice, Commander Burai also stood up and spoke loudly.
"By your own strength or borrowed power, the fact remained that you're the victor and they're the fallen. The fact remained that you're our leader and the symbol of victory." Walking up to Bismarck, he once again placed his right fist on his heart and knelt on one knee.
"Goddess or devil advocate, Lord Bismarck is the only one worthy of our pledge of loyalty. Be it Valhalla or the very depth of Helheim, we will follow you even to the end of the world. History will judge us all, then let it be known that we dared taking the first step while all others stood by idly." Under the pale moonlight, the Champion once again reaffirmed his loyalty and servitude to the Goddess.
Standing next to Bismarck who was having her back turned against Commander Burai, U-556 saw that she was gripping the hem of her skirt as her shoulders trembled slightly. Looking up, she saw an expression that is both on the verge of tearing up and is also full of bliss. So U-556 then reached out both hands and hugged Bismarck tightly, her lips bloomed into a smile as she whispered softly.
"Thank you…for your kind words, Kommandant. Lord Bismarck is very pleased."
After the closing ceremony was done, both Commander Burai and Bismarck and U-556 immediately left for the train station to return to their post. After all, as the flagship and the Armada, their duty yet awaited them.
"It is a shame that our conversation must end prematurely, but very soon we will be seeing each other again. Until then, I bid you farewell, Kommandant."
"Same to you, Lord Bismarck. Thank you for a wonderful evening, and farewell." Giving each other a salute, Bismarck and U-556 then returned on the Sleipnir with Commander Burai boarding his own train. On the way back, many thoughts hung heavily on his mind. Deep in his own train of thought, he completely forgot about the world around him until the train finally pulled the brake and stopped.
Since it's already way past curfew, the entire base was enveloped by the peace and tranquility of the night. Picking up the two briefcases, Commander Burai quietly made his way back to his room. From the Sleipnir station, the fastest way to the main building where his office resided would be through the Mess Hall.
By now, even those who usually stay up late would have already gone to bed. Then the moment Commander Burai pushed open the door to enter the Mess Hall, the light was suddenly turned on.
"Congratulations!" bewildered, he looked around to see the Ship Girls standing around all dressed in their own gorgeous party dress. Then he took a better look at the Mess Hall and noticed that the wall was decorated with many colorful ribbons, a big banner hanging down from the ceiling with the phrase 'Congratulations to our Kommandant' written on it. Seemed they all were waiting for him to return to give him this surprise, when Commander Burai realized that he let out a small chuckle.
"Gluckwunsche, Kommandant." And the first one to step forward to offer him their congratulation was of course, Z23.
"With your own strength, you've obtained the greatest honor of all soldiers. Thanks to your guidance this past year, we all were able to bask in great glory. Thank you for all you've done for us and Ironblood, and for this year also we hope to continue serving under you." Ending her exemplary speech, she handed him a glass of champagne as the other girls then popped their party poppers.
"But seriously, why must you be gone for so long, Kommandant~?" with a champagne glass of her own, Prinz Eugen stepped up, leaning her entire body on Commander Burai, which caused Admiral Hipper in the back to get all hysterical. Openly flirting with him before others like this is just exactly her kind of thing.
"I nearly fell asleep waiting for you to return, and now I am all drowsy~. How about…making up to me w-with a wake up kiss, just like in the f-fairytale, Kommandant? Or we ca-can, go to your room to enjoy a passionate night, just the two of us~?" however, she was clearly being much, much bolder than usual. So when Commander Burai looked at her face which was all red, he knew just what is the problem.
"Eugen, are you drunk already?"
"What~? I am not *hic* drunk at all! Who do you *hic* think I am *hic*?"
"Alright, no more alcohol for you." Gently taking the champagne glass away from her, he had her sit down on a bench and even then, she refused to let go of him so with no other option, he had to let her lay down and rest on his lap.
"Seems like this is going to be long night. But, I am quite liking this."
Champion and Goddess, because of these titles that they never asked for, those who bear them must also bear a burden that is far too great for anyone to shoulder alone. But then, there would always be those who see them for who they really are.
And for them, the Champion and Goddess will gladly shoulder even the entire world.
Not today, Ark Royal. Not today.