What do you seek all this time...?
Redemption? Atonement...?
You've been going on all this time...
Do you want to live or die...?
Make you choice now...Bismarck...
A girl clad in a glitch and static-like camouflage sits in an ordinary wooden chair. She clearly stands out as she's sitting in the middle of an empty white space. There's nothing and no one else in my surroundings but a girl sitting with her elbow on her knee and her chin resting on her hand. It's as if I'm being interrogated for a crime.
"..."
There's no way I could immediately respond since I'm too focused on determining whether she's a kansen or Siren. It's more likely to think she's a Leviathan from an alternate timeline where one of them managed to evolve in a short amount of time. I couldn't make out her appearance because of what's censoring her face and her voice is somewhat robotic and mixed.
"Is that fear, Bismarck?" The girl slightly tilts her head
"..."
Perhaps this is another experience of fear for me. My legs feel weak like they're going to start trembling at any second and my caution couldn't take my eyes off her. Who I'm staring at isn't human the least just from the sensation looming over me.
"...I can't fix my mistake or undo it, but I can prevent it in this timeline" I answer her initial question
"It doesn't matter what timeline it is to you, huh"
"I can't save everything and everyone, so I wish to save only one. Just one timeline is enough..." I take a deep breath before explaining
"Your timeline ended when the world itself got rid of humanity. In order to keep the world functioning, a natural force came to be. Of course, this force doesn't exist in several timelines"
"They call it the guardian of justice"
Humans, Sirens, Leviathans, and Kansens weren't spared. Everyone was purged by a natural disaster. Tsunamis from the ocean, Landslides from the mountain, and hurricanes from the wind. A plague wasn't enough for humans, so the world gave birth to its "pest exterminator".
"If the planet consisted of plants and animals rich in life, then it's natural the world itself is life? Yes, the world is alive in its own way but it's nothing but an intricate system rather than an actual living being" The girl raises her index finger
"Solomon..."
"Hmm?" The girl suddenly straightens herself
"You're the only one I know who would say that, wise king Solomon" I take another deep breath
For a moment, I was surprised too. I didn't expect that man to hide himself so well. He spoke no malice or goodness, just like a mediator in between. That man was known as an inhumane being to the Sirens as it had no desire to preserve or destroy either.
"Wise King? I'm not as wise as people portrayed me to be. I'm just a ghost from another timeline..."
The robotic voice disappeared and shredded into thin air. The young and feminine figure disappeared to finally reveal a middle-aged man behind the disguise. He was a "builder" whose appearance was betrayed by his experience. He sat there with his legs crossed and his eyes sparkled with curiosity. For a dead man, he was rather lively and enthusiastic...
"Welt's creator..."
"Don't be too scared, I'm not here to hurt you or anything" Solomon raised both hands
"Solomon, I want to ask about the Leviathans"
"In this universe, they existed long before humans. Those creatures fell into a deep slumber beneath the deepest abyss. It's fortunate humans have yet to discover much of the ocean or they'd wake up those abyssal horrors. Ah, I'm not talking about the Abyssals though"
"..."
Compared to his creation, Solomon himself had always been talkative even when not needed. He was the type to entertain guests so long as they tolerate his talkative nature.
"Doctor, is something happening that you showed up in my dream?" I frown a bit
"To be specific, what will happen?" Solomon faintly smiles
"Welt made her move. That fish dragon wouldn't do anything unless..."
"She has seen something the same thing I did?"
"Yeah..."
"Bismarck, the future is fickle and full of uncertainty. Sorrow or joy awaits you in the future"
This man knows what awaits me, but he refuses to reveal whether it's a tragedy or not. He doesn't want to interfere with the future as he knows what's bound to happen will eventually happen. No one can struggle against destiny even if you hold the world's hope in your hands.
"Doctor, I wish to know about my sister" I reluctantly ask him
"Which one? The angry one or the socially awkward one?" Solomon jokingly raises his index fingers
"Tirpitz META who goes by Tyrant now"
"Hmm, that one is still in Azur Lane. She's consumed by guilt and regret much like you, but her imperfect metamorphosis twisted it in blind hatred"
"Isn't there a way to save her?"
"I'm afraid not. She's fated to end her own life the moment she acknowledges she needs to rest"
"..."
Even without asking, I already know Tyrant is bound to be killed or kill herself sooner or later. I just want to believe there's a glimpse of hope for her. She is still my sister even if the metamorphosis damaged her.
"Tyrant gained immense power from a Leviathan, but it's limited. Defeating her is no problem because she will burn herself out"
"Like an overheating car, Tyrant would overload her own body and break down" I'm aware of it
"Next, you'll ask about Ghost, right? That child is but a phantom ship using Enterprise's history as a basis to exist. She needs an identity. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to be perceived by living beings, let alone stepping foot into this world"
"Is there a way to defeat Ghost?"
"You have it wrong. Defeating Ghost isn't the solution but to tame her"
Tame what now? I know he's known to be wise and intelligent, but I wouldn't expect "taming" to be the solution. Ghost isn't a wild animal that could be tamed. She's worse than that.
"You need to properly wake up Ghost" Solomon stares at me with dead serious expression
"...I don't understand. Ghost's full manifestation massacred half of Iron Blood, so she's already awake"
"Wrong again, little Bismarck. Ghost is still asleep. Right now, it's like she's still dreaming so her body is sleepwalking" Solomon shakes his head
"You mean that shadowy figure is her sleepwalking form?"
"Correct. That's why you can't reach her because she's not even awake"
"Then how do I wake up Ghost?"
"Hahahaha. I'm afraid you have to find that out for yourself"
Just as I take a single step forward, Solomon raises his right arm and the snap of his fingers echo all over the empty white space. It forces me out of the current location, helplessly dragging both my mind and body away from him.
"...!"
The next thing I know, I find myself lying in a bathtub. My legs are stretched out to the edge while my whole body is soaked for who knows how long I've been submerged. I don't remember taking a bath while still wearing my uniform.
"I remember Welt helping me escape Azur Lane, but I can't remember much after that..."
My most recent memory before finding myself speaking to a man who's been dead for millennia and from another timeline. The Sirens have little knowledge about him other than he possesses omniscience after surviving an encounter against the world's enforcer.
"Did I pass out on the way or did my body just walk aimlessly?"
My cap nearly slides off my head and is about to fall on the bathtub. It's completely soaked too when I take it off my equally soaked hair.
"I exhausted my wisdom cube this time. Tyrant isn't the only one burning off her own life with every fight"
As I grab both sides of the bathtub to lift my heavy and badly aching body, I think about how my sister and I are letting ourselves die slowly for our foolish wishes. Tyrant laments her own pitiful existence just as I lament mine. If I could have looked after her more, then she wouldn't have become a suicidal fool like me.
Fifteen minutes later...
After struggling just to get out of the bathtub and not slip at the same time, I feel uncomfortable with how my wet uniform is sticking to my skin. I need to return to my room to change to regular clothes and hang my uniform until it dries again.
"Huh? Why are you all wet? Did you go swimming with your clothes on?"
H-39 appears out of an intersection in the dormitory's hallway, and her eyes scan me from head to toe. Her widened gaze is clearly baffled as to why I'm walking back to my room with my uniform dripping wet.
"There was an emergency in Azur Lane and I had to fight. Next thing I knew, I woke up in a bathtub..."
Of course, I have to omit the part where I encountered the ghost of a whimsical man from another timeline. Of all the methods he could think of, Solomon chooses the most inconvenient one. Then again, he's the fragment of the real Solomon's consciousness, so he's nothing but an echo.
"How about you?" I notice fatigue under her eyes
"I had to sortie day and night because of mysterious sightings"
"Mysterious...sightings..." I stagger forward
"Don't push yourself"
H-39 rushes to me when she notices my body is swaying back and forth while my legs are trembling from the build up exhaustion. Ghost possessed Dunkerque, and I might have lost an arm if Welt didn't arrive to extract the infection eating Dunkerque.
"Here let me help" H-39 places my right arm over her shoulder
"You're clothes are wet now" I notice her uniform
"That's fine. I have like five other identical uniform. Besides, I'm thinking of taking a bath later"
After observing her for a while now, H-39 is laid-back but a proper warrior once she's assigned with a mission. Since she's free of any task now, H-39 tends to speak more calmly and relaxed. More importantly, her fatigue from constant fighting often shows when her voice becomes solemn and cold.
"Is Bismarck your real name? You've been calling yourself Nameless for a while" H-39 remembers the moment she we first encountered each other
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you I'm indeed Bismarck from another world"
"Nothing's impossible in this world. We're fighting our grudge-filled monstrous versions called Abyssals. The fact a human like me used to be a warship eighty years ago is already unbelievable"
"...You're a blueprint, a ship that never historically existed"
I have to remind her of the undeniable reality even if it displeases me to let it out of my mouth. Sugarcoating words and telling lies they want to hear isn't my way when speaking with people. I don't want them to spare the fact that they're already aware.
"I know. Having people knock on my door to tell me I'm a candidate for a project is already a regular reminder"
When we reach our room and she gently turns the doorknob, H-39 replies with a smile free of any intentions. This oblivious battleship is aware of reality, but most people would view her as optimistic and naive.
"At first I thought I didn't have a choice because the Kriegsmarine is short on battleships, especially after one of the four mysteriously died"
Rather than use her hands to push the door open, H-39 gently kicks it and she continues to drag my aching and sore body inside. Dusts begin to pile up in my room because I rarely sleep in it with the daily investigation I've been doing.
"Luckily, our physique isn't much different so my clothes would fit you" She pries the cabinet open
As I sit on the wooden chair by the desk, H-39 grabs a sleeveless buttoned shirt and casual black shorts. I'm not used to changing to civilian clothing even if it's temporary, but completely wet uniform pressing against my skin becomes uncomfortable the more you let it be.
"Ugh..." I massage my temples
"Are you alright?"
After about five minutes just to remove my soaked uniform and change to casual attire, my whole body trembles as if something is draining my strength. I immediately sit back down before I collapse straight to the floor and make H-39 worry.
"I used too much strength in my last fight..."
"Don't push yourself anymore. You looked really sick"
H-39 lifts my arm and assists me in transferring from sitting on the wooden chair to the side of the bed.
"Your arm...is bleeding..."
As soon as both of her arms relax on her side, blood drips from her right arm down to her fingertips. Her uniform is dark as well, but I can faintly see fresh blood staining the area near her shoulder.
"This? It's related to the mysterious sighing I mentioned earlier"
"What did you fight?" I frown at her
"It's not an Abyssal but someone calling herself an Arbiter. I managed to destroy her arm, but she used the debris of her sunken escorts to reconstruct missing parts of hers" H-39 sits on the wooden chair
"Arbiter VI: Lovers"
Lovers is the only Arbiter I know with the ability to reconstitute herself so long as she has spare parts within her domain. The fact this shipgirl survived an Arbiter is a miracle on its own. No, perhaps the Arbiter has no interest in her and left after getting bored.
"Don't ever engage with an Arbiter or anything that isn't an Abyssal. You're only lucky today" I tried to stand up but my weakened body forces me back down
"It's not like I pursued her. That Arbiter showed up out of nowhere and threw rockets at me" her fingertips gently touch the stained sleeve
"Still..."
"I was rushed to the emergency room when I got back because my abdomen was almost cut open and the explosion nearly took out half of my face. I couldn't even move my right arm back then since my bones were nearly destroyed"
"...?"
She managed to drag her mangled body back to the base and cling to life long enough for someone to treat her wounds.
"Worry about yourself for the time being. I'll be fine after my wounds are fully healed" H-39 stands up
"You'll go back to the fight again. What if you don't come back in one piece this time?"
"...Then perhaps that is my fate" She turns around
In her eyes, she's a soldier who will do her duty until the very end. Does she even value the least?
"None of us would remain forever. Sooner or later, we would meet our end here or on the battlefield. Your eyes tell me you're aware of that" H-39 turns her head
"...Still, try to value your life. I don't want the person who helped me take refuge to die so easily" I calmly tell her
"Hahahaha. Perhaps if I meet my end and you're still here, you can just take my name as your own"
"What?"
"You discarded your past after losing everything. If you want to start a new life, then you can take mine as a replacement"
"I don't know if I can do that"
"It's just a suggestion. I'm not forcing you"
H-39 cheerfully waves her hand and quickly takes her life while gently holding her wounded arm. The fact she's giving me permission to use her life as my own is like a premonition. I don't want to think she's going to get herself killed out of duty.
"Heh, isn't that a certain death flag?"
About one minute after H-39 shuts the door behind her and walks away without hesitation, the Event Horizon fully appears inside my room. Considering her abilities, this isn't a surprise.
"You...!"
My initial reaction is to jump out of bed and stand back, but my lightheadedness and trembling limbs force me to bend one knee with also one hand pressing the wooden floor.
"I'm not an enemy. My old man seems to trust you, so I don't have any reason to hate you" Welt raises both arms for a bit
"Why did you appear here? You wouldn't go out of your way to travel to another world just to check on me" I slowly stand back up
"I did want to check on you after encountering Ghost herself"
The Leviathan bearing the form of another Ash, relaxes her back on the wall near the window and further makes herself comfortable after crossing her arms.
"Dunkerque managed to retain physical form even if her wisdom cube couldn't handle the infection. Rather than slowly kill her like black wisdom cubes do, she became a rabid battleship" Welt faintly smiles
"You managed to extract all of the infection"
"I can easily purge the infection from her entire body, but I can't say Dunkerque is not scarred from the events"
"Traumatized?"
"Exactly. Dunkerque likely saw tragedy of her own history. For short, she relived her living hell"
So that's how it is. Dunkerque has no control of herself and fully moves on primal instinct since her consciousness got detached and trapped within her own nightmare. I'd rather kill myself before that happens to me.
"I managed to get there in time before the damage became irreversible because I don't waste my time unlike you"
Welt shamelessly boasts even when she's the culprit of the whole event. She has the body of another version of Ash, but it's completely contrasted by her arrogant and childish personality. It could also be an act to incite any reaction from me since Welt seeks amusement more than anything. This person is difficult to deal sometimes because I couldn't tell if she's indeed Welt or another Ash with the abilities of Welt.
"This proved that kansens might just withstand Ghost's corrosive properties. That's why my next stop is the Northern Parliament"
Welt lifts her left index finger, and a holographic satellite image of a Northern Parliament base is displayed for me to clearly see. It's her next exact target, and I'm certain she'd use the same method as last time.
"The future has it laid out already. Chapayev will go down while Sovetskaya Rossiya and the others helplessly watch her get eaten. This will trigger her to chase after Ghost more than a year from now"
"...!" I grit my teeth
"You can't change the future, Bismarck. The same way the Sakura believed they could wipe out the Leviathans with their weapon. They were destined to fail, but they didn't listen to my warning" Welt removes the projection
I don't care whatever timeline Welt originated, but she abuses the gift granted to her by that man to test humanity's will. A Leviathan like her is nothing but an enemy to humans, so why would her timeline's Ash give up her body to Welt?
"Even that Charles William Ferdinand will be killed by the next Arbiter she faces"
"You're..." I bite my lower lip
"Interfering in the next run against Northern Parliament will reduce the casualty to Chapayev alone"
"If I wouldn't make it, then everyone else does" I clench my fists
"Of course. The METAs wouldn't make it in time and none of them figured out Ghost's flaw"
"If that's a challenge, then I accept it"
"The Leviathans wouldn't manifest in this timeline as I learned how to remove my own kind, but this is a challenge to the METAs of this timeline. Unless you can put me in a checkmate, I'll ensure this world will fall like the other timelines out there"
Welt has Ash's dull indigo eyes, but it drastically changes to a brightly glowing sapphire one with an intricate digital-inspired pattern slowly rotating. It's the eyes that could perceive the future, but she doesn't possess the level of clairvoyance as Solomon. There are timelines out there that she couldn't foresee, and she knows it. Welt is challenging the META ships because she knows there's an uncertain future out there that she wants to see.
EXTRA
Hours after Bismarck returns from her visit at Iris Libre territory, she takes the rest of the day to rest rather than resume her daily duties. She rethinks the latest encounter with an unknown whom she senses as powerful but somehow restrains her full capabilities.
"She's not a Siren, and her movements are more defensive. That battleship incapacitated us then went after Ghost" Bismarck mutters under her breath
"That's the battleship with a helmet, right? You said she almost had the same setup as a Bismarck class"
While Bismarck carefully wraps the wound on her left arm with a bandage, Graf Zeppelin sighs in relief as Bismarck only received minor injuries. However, her rigging has been damaged in the chaos earlier, so Neumark and the others are attending to extensive repairs.
"It's not Tirpitz since she's currently with the Wolfpack in the north" Bismarck straightens herself
"Could it be a META? They're powerful ships who have resemblance to the ones we know" Graf Zeppelin raises her index finger
"Possibly. It could be someone imitating my rigging"
"I don't think she will appear anytime soon" Graf Zeppelin shakes her head
"..."
Bismarck stares at the forearm she bandaged and recalls the sudden moment a battleship with a distinctive knight-like helmet stands between her and Ghost. The unknown ship has no ill intentions, but Bismarck couldn't accept the result.
"What does she know about Ghost? She told us we would die, so that battleship beat everyone who tried to approach Ghost" Bismarck clenches her fist
"Let's keep a close eye. Maybe she'll show up when the next Ghost reappears"
"I need to be on high alert..." Bismarck sighs to relax herself
"Why are you curious about the unknown battleship anyway?"
"There's this familiarity when she talked. It's like I looked at a weathered and depressed version of myself"
The thought of seeing her reflection at someone who doesn't even show her face, Bismarck shakes her head. She doesn't want to believe that she could sense a form of similarity. It's as if Bismarck shudders at the thought it could be another version of her.
"If I face her again, I'll break that mask of hers and reveal who she really is"
(Her newfound grudge is making me worry...) Graf Zeppelin thinks to herself
"Anyway, is everything alright in the Iris Libre now? I heard Dunkerque got infected in the battle but recovered"
"There were no casualties on our side and theirs, but several ships sustained heavy damage"
"Were they from Ghost or from that battleship?" Bismarck leans her head forward
"From that unknown battleship. Everyone reported she showed up out of nowhere and started shooting at them. Some got knocked out cold with a single punch"
Bismarck clenches her fists again, remembering how the unknown battleship is holding back her strength and spends half of the encounter evading. Not even with Richelieu's help could scratch the unknown battleship's rigging.
"I forgot about Akagi. I still didn't question her why she suddenly visited. It looked like she attracted Ghost wherever she visited" Bismarck snaps her fingers
"Akagi? She's still recovering at Iris Libre. That devious fox suffered the worst damage since she tried to fight off Ghost herself"
"If I have time, I think I'll pay her a visit. She has a lot to answer with how Ghost tends to appear near her"
(At least she would be occupied for a while...) Graf Zeppelin sighs in great relief
"What is with this Ghost existence? Our Intel suggests it's created by humans and the Sirens repeatedly tried to control it"
With the issue piling up one after another, Bismarck massages her head since she's growing confused with each passing day. Sirens are mysterious, but an unintelligible being who appears randomly possesses a bigger threat. It's a "creature" that's visible to the human eye but intangible much like its namesake.
"It doesn't look like it knows what it's doing. Ghost is like a mirage or hallucination" Bismarck sways her left arm in the air
"Except this hallucination dropped from the sky and took a humanoid form" Graf Zeppelin crosses her arms and rests her chest on it
"Sometimes I wonder if Ghost is an embodiment of disaster rather than a living being"
"You mean like a walking plague?" Graf Zeppelin scoffs
"Perhaps. Ghost's touch is corrosive and just getting close to it makes rigging rust and your bodily functions slowly shut down. At least that's what rumors say"
Bismarck has doubts about Ghost's deadliness, but she can't deny Ghost is a threat to both kansens and Sirens. Its origin is mysterious with how it phases in and out of the world.
"Graf Zeppelin, I need every piece of information available on Ghost. Even rumors of its sightings will do" Bismarck stands up
"All right. I'll have the Wolfpack compile information submitted by different nations"
"We'll corner Ghost the next it appears. A creature like that mustn't be allowed to roam free"
"Is it because of Friedrich der Grosse's theory that Ghost's gets stronger with each encounter against kansens?"
"Yes. The Sakura claimed Shinano first encountered it and was as weak as a child"
"Hmm. I think I'll have to visit Shinano to ask the confirmation from her"
Bismarck immediately sits back down and goes into deep thought. She's drawn to the enigma behind an entity stated to be created by a human. It's a kansen, but it lacks the form regular kansens possess and has no rigging of any kind.
Iris Libre...
After the incident with the entity called Ghost, Iris Libre begins repairs on their damaged structures while they're left vulnerable. The ships who participated and tried to stop Ghost only to be easily beaten by an unknown battleship are in the middle of their recovery. Their riggings received more damage than them as if the unknown battleship targeted it first on purpose.
"..."
On the other hand, Dunkerque is alone in a private recovery room rather than the infirmary. She received little damage since the unknown battleship couldn't harm her while she rampaged.
"..."
Dunkerque sits at the side of her bed and blankly stares at the base under repair through the only window in the room. The battlecruiser, whose wounds have been treated, doesn't move an inch and her gaze is solely fixated outside.
"Hello, Dunkerque..."
After knocking three times, Richelieu peeks at the door for a few seconds before slowly entering the room out of the unusual silence. Jean Bart is right behind her, reluctant to disturb the one who suffered the worst kind of damage - not physically, but emotionally and mentally.
"You two..." Dunkerque lazily twists her body and turns her head
"H-have you relaxed? You were shaking badly when we brought you back..." Jean Bart clears her throat
"Yes, we were all very worried. You could only let out incomprehensible words and had a hard time breathing"
Richelieu slowly approaches first, but she feels a sting in her chest when she sees blank and fatigued eyes upon getting close to Dunkerque.
"...I saw my living hell. It felt so real...and there was nothing I could do about it..." Dunkerque stares at the window again
"That was just a nightmare! In reality, you're here living peacefully with us" Jean Bart corrects her
"That's right. The nightmare has passed and you're back in the real world" Richelieu sits beside her
"I was under attack and burning. The pain felt so real..."
Dunkerque raises her hands and weakly digs her fingers on her cheeks. She has no strength to hurt herself as the nightmare scars her enough to make her hands tremble at the slightest recollection.
"It felt like I was tied up and tortured. I screamed, but I couldn't hear my own voice. There was nothing there but flames and debris..." Dunkerque bites her lower lip
"It's alright. You're no longer trapped in that nightmare" Richelieu pats her back
"Richelieu, I don't want to be trapped in that living hell again. I'm scared I'd go insane again and do something I'd regret..." Dunkerque covers both of her ears by pressing her palms
"Do you think she'll recover? Dunkerque couldn't even eat or drink" Jean Bart walks to Richelieu
"I can only hope and pray. The wounds in our body naturally heal, but a scarred mind...may never go away"
Richelieu glances at Dunkerque who's muttering incomprehensible words under her breath while still covering her ears. The battlecruiser is traumatized from the incident, and the two couldn't imagine what she could have experienced in the moments she had no control of herself.
"Let's prepare for the worst-case scenario that she may remain...broken" Richelieu lowers her head
"I don't want that to happen!" Jean Bart stomps her left foot
"Neither do I...but she's not fully cured. Traces of the disease remain in her wisdom cube"
"..." Jean Bart clicks her tongue in frustration
"Akagi said it could be suppressed, but it can't be cleansed"
"Akagi? That damn fox is a suspect! Ghost only showed up when she rushed out all of a sudden. Isn't it suspicious she knew where Ghost would appear?" Jean Bart swings her arm in the air
"Jean Bart! We mustn't accuse someone without concrete evidence" Richelieu immediately stands up
"I-I saw...Akagi tried to talk to the shadowy kansen...while I was being strangled..."
Dunkerque's memory isn't fully clear due to the scarred it left her, but she retains enough sanity to comprehend the situation and provide a related experience at least.
"Akagi...knew something...and what that shadowy ghostly ship really is..." Dunkerque tightly closes her eyes
"Don't force yourself to remember. What you said is enough" Richelieu gently tells her
"Ha, I knew it-"
"Let's discuss this somewhere else. Dunkerque needs time to calm her nerves"
Richelieu stands back up again and as she tells Jean Bart that, she sneaks a glance to Dunkerque who continues to mutter words and sobs. The battlecruiser continues to tremble even when the source of her fear has passed and nothing but a temporary nightmare.
"Dunkerque, take all the time you need to rest. We won't ask of you to return to the frontlines even if it takes weeks" Richelieu gently tells the trembling battlecruiser
"T...thanks..." Dunkerque couldn't speak straight
The two battleships take their leave in order to lessen Dunkerque's stress and let her come to terms with her nightmare at her own terms. Even when closing the door, Jean Bart furrows her eyebrows seeing Dunkerque's wide eye shock and incoherent mumbling.
"Reliving your own history wasn't pleasant, especially if you can't die from it"
About two minutes after the doors shut close, the Leviathan who occupied the body of another Ash, stands by the door with her arms crossed.
"Y...you...I heard your voice before..." Dunkerque stands up and leans her back on the wall as if she's cornered
"Sorry to say this, but I need a distraction"
Dunkerque couldn't back away anymore as there's nowhere else for her to run from the limited space within the four corners of the room. She could only tremble at what's to come and freeze unable to think of her next action while "Ash" slowly approaches her.
"If there's anyone to blame...it's Richelieu" Welt stands less than a meter in front of Dunkerque
"Ri...chelieu...?"
"Yeah. It was her who summoned me to your nation..."
"...!"
"...and struck a deal with me" Welt presses her hand on Dunkerque's face
"...Who...who...are...you...?" Dunkerque could sense her strength draining
"Formerly Yorktown class aircraft carrier, Enterprise. It seems the 'me' in this timeline calls herself Ash, so I might as well do the same"
"..."
"Of course, I'm merged with the devil of the sea reconstructed by the wise king - huh, she passed out"
Welt has more to say about her background, but Dunkerque falls completely silent, and her arms lay limp on both sides. As soon as she notices the battlecruiser is indeed completely unconscious, she gently pulls away her hand and prompting for the defenseless Dunkerque to slide down the wall and collapse on her side.
Ten months from now, I'd face this universe's Ash. I wonder if they're the same...
