Is there a need to be here...?
Victorious. A confident and bold ship of the Royal navy crossed into the thoughts of a monster who returned to the world of humans. It was years when she was pushed back into the dark as nothing but a disembodied existence, she gazed up at the ever bright sun that stared down at the earth. The light may reach the corners of the land, but there was a portion of the sea where not the faintest light and could reach and its inhabitants became blind in more than one way.
"That annoying girl...still lives. More importantly, Bismarck still exists..."
The Abyssal who thought little of her brethren's general grudge and resentment towards towards humanity, continued to sink into her own thoughts. There was only the sea breeze and the absolute silence to accompany her, and she preferred it than have shipgirls shoot at her or humans scream at her presence.
"..." She then looked towards her surroundings
The peace was the result of the destruction she caused. It was only a mere base for ships to resupply and refuel, yet she reduced it into an unrecognizable state. She didn't care of the sight of countless limbs that flew everywhere after the bombardment and the bodies that were squashed into a bloody mush under the rubble.
"Weak..."
Her cannons unleashed havoc and didn't discriminate whoever it struck as long as she wished to remove the eyesore that we're humans and their creations. It was true that she naturally resented humans, but she was not chaotic with her emotions and was "picky" with her rampages. Others would wreck as much havoc until shipgirls put them down, but she preferred to destroy her intended targets, sit down for a bit, and leave not long after.
"You're quite the rebellious one, aren't you? Abyssals rarely fought alone, but you rejected any presence - may if be humans or Abyssals"
Submarine Princess, without her monstrous rigging attached to her, calmly walked towards the infamous Beast. The latter quietly stared at how blood splattered everywhere and guts decorated the rubble while she sat on top of piled debris.
"Go away. I'm not interested in fighting anyone to the death today..." The Beast growled and bare her fangs
"Don't be mistaken. I'm not sent by Central Princess. I came here on my accord and personal interests"
The Abyssal subamrine with both eyes closed yet thread the land with no difficulty, raised both arms slightly above her head in gesture of non-aggression and no hostility. A submarine like her was completely powerless on land while the other was someone who possessed brute strength even when not in the open sea.
"What is it that you seek? Although your heart is filled undeniable rage, you retained the longing and melancholy of that shipgirl. That's you're always brooding by yourself" Submarine Princess faintly smiled
"..."
"There's more to it, isn't it? You know of your hatred, but you aren't certain why. To be specific, you aren't certain whether that grudge is justified"
"I don't like people peering into my affairs. Specially a submarine like you"
What Submarine Princess hypothesized was accurate as it brought out a greatly displeased and genuinely surprised reaction from the Beast.
"I saw that talkative priestess...then Tirpitz was engulfed in a fog...then we both went blank" The Beast could barely remember
"Then what was your next memory?" Submarine Princess was curious
"Tirpitz was on her knees and Bismarck stared down at her with a dark expression...before pulling the trigger"
"I see. You naturally resented her because she finished the shipgirl off..."
Her memory of Tirpitz's final moments at the hands of Bismarck was mostly vague to her, but she blamed Bismarck for obvious reason that she was the one who murdered her younger sister in cold blood.
"You aren't returning to the main fleet even if you hated humanity?" Submarine Princess tilted he head
"This is not 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' kind of situation. I won't cooperate with my own kind, but it doesn't mean I side with the shipgirls" The Beast clicked her tongue
"Us Abyssals are driven by our single-minded desire to slaughter humanity, but your hatred is different. You are angry for her sake because you knew that girl would never see her own sister as an enemy"
"..."
"Well, that isn't my issue to judge anyway. I came here out of curiosity to know what's driving you to be on your own and refuse the abyss"
Although not everything was answered, Subamrine Princess found it sufficient for today. The Beast was volatile and a temperament who don't entertain others, so the best course of action was not to force any answers from her. It would be better if she voluntarily narrate her thoughts and clarify her intentions.
"I'm thankful you're willing to speak to me and kill me the moment I first spoke" Submarine Princess jokingly added
Both of her eyes remain closed, but she was still rather expressive. She lurked underwater and only needed the sound of a ship's engine and their wake to snap at them like a predator.
"...Your eyes have gotten terrible. While you can still see, they're not as reliable as they used to be" The Beast scoffed
"They've gotten fairly vague thanks to constantly being underwater where light can barely penetrate" Submarine Princess gently touched her eyes
"Also you've gotten...calm and rational. You and everyone else were always screaming at shipgirls"
"Having depth charges dropped on me until I was an inch away from death reminded me that even Abyssals can know...the fear of death. In this vast world, my existence was miniscule and left a the mercy of other beings"
"You were afraid to die when everything flashed before your eyes...and learned from others' mistakes"
For someone like the Beast, her fellow Abyssal's epiphany didn't invoke the least interest even though she was the one who asked in the first place. She continued to sit idly while she blankly stared at the result of her destruction.
"I'll try to scour this Bismarck to know whether she was truly capable of murdering her own sister" Submarine Princess informed her just in case
"Your light cruiser friend was just waiting the whole time. Is she shy or does she hates me?" The Beast was aware of another's presence
"Her? She's not the sociable type, so don't mind her. Just like me, she came on her own accord"
"Hmph..."
The Beast continued to stare at the direction where a second and barely tolerable visitor quietly awaited the end of the discussion between the two. Even if the unknown Abyssal light cruiser was out of her sight, one Abyssal submarine present already tested her patience.
South Pacific ocean...
Around the territory of Polynesia and its islands, a fleet from the Maizuru naval district sortied and patrolled the area. They only found very few stragglers and lost Abyssals. Although the peace was a sign of relief, the air around them was heavy and brought an unexplained chill. It was if ice pricked in their exposed skin.
"We're in the open seas, but it feels eerie..." Prinz Eugen shuddered
"It feels like we entered a den. The same feeling whenever we trespass Princess class territory" Musashi was on high alert
"The sea hasn't turned red, but the sky remained dark. There are no escorts guarding the area"
Gangut removed her pipe and blew out the smoke. Everyone found something was amiss and instinctively guarded their surroundings. Abyssals spread all over the world, yet the waters around them were devoid of any actual threats.
"Hmm?" Graf Zeppelin pressed her hand on her ear
"What's the matter?" Prinz Eugen swallowed her breath
"The engines and propeller of my aircraft are starting to freeze. They're returning before they could crash" Graf Zeppelin relayed the update to her fleet
"The air is beginning to freeze. This shouldn't be right because we're in the South Pacific and it's not even winter"
Musashi noticed thin sheets of ice begun to spread on her hull. Her resilient body reacted in the increased temperature, and she felt the chill past her clothes now. The oddity caused her to be on maximum alert as it may be the work of an Abyssal. They were capable of unusual abilities as sudden shift in weather, but the most common influence they have was how they could dye a portion of the sea completely red and the blanket the sky in dark clouds.
"I don't believe this, but I think we know who we're dealing with" Graf Zeppelin frowned
"Santa claus - poi!"
Shigure lightly gave a hand chop to Yuudachi's head since it was no time to act a child. The atmosphere grew heavier as if there was a presence nearby and aware of their presence.
"The Northern Beast. Although she can turn the sea red, she was always surrounded by sheer cold. Whenever shipgirls entered her territory, the cold air would always make even battleships shiver and our metallic rigging covered in ice" Graf Zeppelin wasn't completely sure
"The Kriegsmarine and the Royal navy confirmed her sinking months ago. There's no way she would return" Prinz Eugen widened her eyes
"I heard about it too. Bismarck was credited for her sinking" Gangut also added
"If she's back from the dead, then we'll just have to put her back!" Musashi cracked her knuckles
"Not going to be easy. It's an Abyssal who keeps surviving aerial raids and surface bombardments"
"You senselessly beat the shit out of it until it sunk. Then we try that again" Gangut scoffed
Graf Zeppelin remained anxious at the high possibility of a deceased Abyssal's return. The Beast was infamous because she refused to stay dead, and the shipgirls had to pour all raw power to permanently sink her.
"...!"
A waved of cold air passed through as if it was to deliberately gather their attention. Light snow from the already darkened sky followed shortly after. This was the sign Graf Zeppelin feared that made her heart race.
"Bismarck's not here, huh. I must have mistaken Prinz Eugen again" The Beast appeared before them
An Abyssal in dark and tattered unform with the distinctive shackles on her wrist and neck revealed herself to the shipgirls. Her stern and disappointed eyes reviewed each of the wary and hostile shipgirls, but not a single one was worthy of her outmost attention.
"Northern...Beast Princess..." Graf Zeppelin gritted her teeth
"Graf Zeppelin? Ah, you're one of Bismarck's closest friends. If I were to kill you, will she come out herself?" The Beast spoke with mixed threat
"Grudge against Bismarck for killing you?"
"Grudge? Yes. For killing me? No. I don't care about being defeated by her, but I cannot bear a murderer being free in this world"
"Murderer?"
"Her hands aren't clean. Your pride and symbol is tainted with the blood of another"
"Enough talk! We're sending you back to your grave"
Musashi cut off their conversation and immediately opened fire with her fifty-one centimeter main turrets. As the shells rode the air, the low temperature begun to affect even projectiles.
"Hmph..."
The ice sheet and ice that engulfed the shells nullified the attack to the point most shells crashed to the water before it could reach the uninterested Abyssal.
"...?!"
Since she only deflected most shells, two shells managed to land a direct hit on her. The simultaneous explosion the moment both made impact made her stagger out the smoke and be dazed from the force. One of the two shells directly struck her head and a visible flesh wound can be seen.
(Her ability to freely freeze her surroundings has a limit. She can freeze what she can focus on. In that case...)
The Beast may be infamous for its stubbornness to die after almost five years, but it was still mortal and vulnerable. To lower temperature enough to freeze both shells and gunpowder can be a convenient ability, but it also came a limit to the objects it could freeze at once. Gangut wanted to explore this weakness so she stepped forward and opened fire the second salvo shortly after Musashi.
"Ggh! It was still too early after all..." The Beast was pushed back again
(Her healing is slow and her movements are sluggish...) Graf Zeppelin noticed
Her wounded forehead and her burned arm partially regenerated when another salvo rained down on her. Unlike the ones earlier, she wasn't able to halt its movements and was struck by two more shells. This proved that not only a convenient ability had a limit, it required full concentration from the Abyssal herself.
"It hasn't been a week since I returned to this world, and I'm still weak. That's to be expected but still..."
As the Beast's wounds begun to recover, she couldn't accept how she was overpowered by shipgirls. It took a great amount of effort to sink her before, and now she could barely hold on her own against a single fleet.
"Bismarck still lives after five years, huh. To think a bastard like her brushed off what she did that fateful operation..."
The shipgirls didn't allow her to fully recover and proceeded to force her into a defensive with a rain of explosive shells and swarm of torpedoes. She was able to barely null destroyer and light cruiser shells, but she had to move every inch of her body against the two battleships.
"What did Bismarck for you to bear a long hatred?" Graf Zeppelin demanded to know
"There's no way she would tell you...about what happened five years ago" The Beast responded
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Force her to confess. She was the one who committed the deed and buried that secret"
Rather than spare Graf Zeppelin of the trouble, the Abyssal remained stubborn and refused to answer it herself. In her eyes, Bismarck was the cause and she had to be the one to admit it herself. Even if she were to inform everyone present, not a single one would actually believe an enemy, let alone an Abyssal who only thought of the war.
The snow grew thicker while it continued to pour at the shipgirls and at the sea. In exchange, the ice begun to retreat from the shipgirl's rigging and lessened its range per the Abyssal's will.
"Your so-called comrade hid her sin behind a friendly smile and tossed that memory because no on was there to witness it. And you call me a monster..." The Abyssal growled
The cold may have retreated from the shipgirls' side, but the only reason for that was to slow down each of their salvos enough for a wounded Abyssal like her to evade.
"That's why I crawled back to this wretched world. So long as that moment remained unanswered, I won't stop. I'll keep burning and reducing everything to ruins...until that bastard Bismarck faces me herself!"
Her calm composure briefly disappeared and she finally let out her overdue anger. All of those chaotic emotions were directed to Bismarck alone to the point it was borderline murderous obsession.
"Stay back, Gangut!" Musashi warned her
The reason for the reduced coldness that concentrated near the Abyssal was because of the snow. The pure white beauty mixed in the air that gradually increased in force. Gangut was forced to move back like the rest of the fleet when the wind gust dragged in the snow swept to them like an invisible wave.
"A blizzard! She's planning to run away" Gangut immediately realized
The cold wind which dragged in the snow created a blizzard in a large area. Gangut tried to fight back against the sudden shift in weather again, but she reflexively closed her shield her eyes with both of her arms. This was better than let the frigid low temperature amplified by the wind freeze her eyes.
"Damn...it..."
Graf Zeppelin couldn't remove her arms that continued to shield her eyes, but she created a gap enough to see how the recovered Abyssal turned away and briefly frowned at her. The blizzard not only limited their vision but dragged in their movements as well. As much as she wanted to prevent her escape, it was completely impossible for an aircraft like her to launch a single aircraft.
Maizuru naval district...
Shortly after the Beast's confirmed appearance, she wasted no time to target shipgirls who crossed paths with her. The latest was Musashi's fleet who sortied an area to investigate and finally confirmed her revival.
"If she reappeared, then Tirpitz met another tragedy..." Warspite was displeased with the outcome while she scanned through reports
"The Beast is still weak, but she may recover her full strength soon" Vanguard, her ever loyal attendant, feared for the worst
"To begin with, it was impossible to keep pure emotions at bay. It was an existence born from a tragedy"
"That Abyssal thirsted to end Bismarck even it destroys her...or everything else around. A single-minded desire is nothing more than anger-fueled obsession"
"..."
"It's merely my opinion of course..."
Vanguard immediately changed her tone and cleared her throat since she let out her own opinion without a second thought. Since she viewed herself as someone in the service of Warspite, she viewed herself as a subordinate and reminded herself or her place.
"Still, you have a point. She won't stop until she drags Bismarck to hell, and that kind of monstrosity is self-destructive" Warspite relaxed her back as soon as she placed the files on the table
"Are you worried the Abyssal might cause her own demise before the matter between Bismarck and Tirpitz are resolved?" Vanguard raised an eyebrow
"Bismarck still feels guilty for what happened, but an Abyssal like her wouldn't even care whether Bismarck was aware of what she did"
"Although we can say an Abyssal was responsible, I fear as if...there's another matter behind this. H-39 may be aware of this case, but she's still recovering after surviving a brief clash with the Beast"
Vanguard lightly bend forward and pressed two fingers on one file to gently set it aside. The one beneath it was her aim, and it showed the rear view of an unknown Abyssal which dated years ago.
"An enclosed sea which created a modified scenario within it. This is matter to discuss another day. It's stressful trying to come up with a logical answer to what made phenomenon like that one possible" Warspite didn't want another source of stress
The sight of a mentally exhausted Warspite curved a dry and awkward smile on Vanguard. It was something that can easily steal anyone's curiosity, yet Warspite decided to set aside the mystery. They have a Beast to contain and sink before it invited the presence of other navies.
"Warspite!"
An anxious Bismarck hurriedly marched towards where the British lady relaxed. She wasn't upset or anything at Warspite, but even the latter could guess Bismarck's heart raced and her lips quivered.
"The Beast came back after it was defeated months ago. Graf said...she was weak because she recently woke up, at least less than a week ago..." Bismarck pressed her hands on the table
"It was the same time Tirpitz disappeared, correct? You wanted to confirm, Bismarck" Warspite was obviously aware
"What are you trying to say?"
"That it's not a coincidence"
Warspite intertwined her fingers and gently leaned forward with her arms on the table. Compared to the anxious and impatient Bismarck, she was completely relaxed and expected that kind of expression. It was a moment she knew would come, but it happened earlier than anyone expected.
"I don't think this can be thoroughly explained through words alone, milady" Vangued whispered to her
"You're right. Bismarck hasn't even answered Graf Zeppelin" Warspite stood up
"...?" Bismarck took a step back
"It seems the Beast did say something that made Graf Zeppelin seel answers from you. No, she wanted a confession, right?" Warspite already guessed
"..." Bismarck couldn't respond to Warspite
"You knew how Tirpitz sunk...because you were right there in her last moments. What did happen five years ago, Bismarck...?"
Warspite dropped her respectful and calm demeanor to force Bismarck to admit and spill out the answers herself. It don't appeared to be easy since Bismarck was visibly reluctant to break silence even if she chose to remain rather than avoid the scene.