Hello everyone, Chapter 23 of An Unsung Legend is finally here! Sorry I've been away for so long, had to take care of some IRL things, but it sure does feel good to finally be back with a new chapter!
To my readers, thank you so much for your support and continued patience with me and I sincerely hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Ch. 23: Jet Black Fury Part 2!
"…Hmm…"
"Herr Kommandant? Something wrong?" Z23 asked as she noticed Shikikan occasionally glancing around as the two were making their way around the streets of Kiel.
"Huh? Oh, sorry Nimi. It's nothing." He waved her off.
'I'm not entirely sure if I'm just being paranoid or not, but some of the people around here are glaring at me more than I'd like...' He thought as he spotted two hooded figures off towards the side looking directly at him. Whispering to each other, the two then disappeared behind an alleyway behind them.
'…I sincerely hope they are just some more crazed Kansen fans angry at me for who knows what….' Shikikan sighed. 'Let's not worry Nimi with any of this…..for now at least.'
Putting his poker face back on, he turned his head to look at the destroyer and quickly changed subjects.
"Hey Nimi, feeling hungry?" He asked as he pointed to a vendor in the distance selling bratwursts. "Want to get something from over there? My treat of course."
"Sure!" She happily agreed as the two made their way over.
{Meanwhile elsewhere}
"Urgh….can't move….too hungry….go on….without me…."
"C-come on 47! Get off…the ground! We're….almost…back! Wait, where'd 81 and 110 go? D-did they get lost!? Oh no, what do I do!? What do I do!? What would Lord Bismarck do in this situ—"
"Huh? Aren't they over there?"
"Over where?" The overly excited girl asked as she put a hand to her head and scouted out the area before spotting them. "Oh there! Wait, what are they doing?"
"Seems like they got so hungry to the point where they are stealing food from that guy." The more lethargic one said before turning her head back to face the ground once more.
"W-W-WHAT!? We have to stop them! Hurry!" She shouted as she scraped her friend off the ground and dragged her towards the other two.
{Back with Shikikan and Z23 – 2 minutes prior}
"Danke!" The vendor happily thanked. "I'll have yours ready in another minute missy."
"Mhm! Freshly grilled bratwursts on a cold autumn day are simply the best!" Z23 happily cheered as she inhaled the savory aroma. "Go ahead and have yours before it gets cold Herr Kommandant. I'll join you soon over there." She offered as she pointed to a nearby bench.
"Can't argue with that." Shikikan chuckled as he plopped himself down. As he was about to take his first bite, he heard two growling sounds on his left. Looking over, he noticed two young girls looking at him, or more precisely, the bratwurst in his hands with wide-eyes and drool running down their lips.
'…Uh…' Shikikan thought before he quickly looked around the area for the two girls' parents, but to no avail. 'Are they lost or…?'
Grrrrrr
Grrrrrr
Upon hearing their stomachs growl once more, Shikikan couldn't help but smile pitifully at the two.
"Here." He said as he got up and handed the bratwurst over to the two hungry girls. "Share this while I go buy some more."
"R-really!?" The one with short pink haired shouted with stars in her eyes and elation in her voice. "Vielen dank, Herr!"
Gnom Gnom
"Hey 110! Save some for me! And say thank you to our nice savior!"
Gnom "Danke Mr. Savior." The one with short white hair said as she hungrily ate.
"Oi you two! Don't bother other people!"
"So loud…."
'Friends of theirs?' Shikikan thought as two more appeared, one with short blue hair in pigtails dragging another with long black hair and strides of white and silver alongside her.
"U-110 isn't bothering anyone. Mr. Savior here just saved me from starving to death is all."
"Yeah! He offered to buy us more food too! Thank you again Mister!" The pink haired girl gleefully said as she grabbed his hand and vigorously shook it.
'S-she's a lot stronger than she looks….' He sweat dropped as she moved his arm about like a pool noodle.
"Oh? That so?" The one with black hair hummed questionably as she turned to look at him. "Maybe you really are….a….savior….?"
"Hmm? What's wrong 47? Why are you looking at him….like…that….." The one with blue hair asked as she too began to trail off as she too studied Shikikan's face curiously before realizing something.
"W-w-wait a minute! A-aren't you…..!?"
"AH!" The one with pink hair shouted as she too realized. "I was too focused on eating that I didn't even look at your face properly! Y-you're that devil hero kommandant who saved NY City from the Sirens!"
"Ohhhhhh." The one with white hair droned. "So that's why 110 thought you looked like that guy on TV and MeowTube. You were just him after all. Hiiii."
"What's all this yelling about over here?"
Looking over, Z23 returned with a large bag full of bratwursts set on the side of the bench Shikikan was just at. "Oh! You girls are finally here!"
"Zed!" They all, minus the one with black hair, shouted before tackling Z23 to the ground altogether in a big group hug.
"H-hey! That was dangerous!" Z23 shouted as she was pinned down under the weight of the three girls.
'…Ohh, that explains why I felt like that the pink haired one could've flung me far into the ocean with that strength of hers.' Shikikan concluded as he walked over to help out the downed Kansen.
"And up you go." He started as he picked each girl up off the ground and offered Z23 a hand up.
"D-danke." Z23 blushed as she happily cheered in her mind at being able to hold hands with Shikikan, despite it lasting no longer than a couple of seconds.
"No prob." Shikikan smiled warmly as he patted her head. "So is it safe to guess that these girls are friends of yours?"
"Yes! B-but first! S-stop treating me like a child and petting me!" Z23 pouted adorably to Shikikan's amusement.
"Sorry, sorry, my hands just have minds of their own sometimes." He chuckled.
"Sigh…Well anyways, as you surmised, Herr Kommandant, these girls here are indeed our Ironblood allies, or to better say, members of our Kansen U-boat wolfpacks."
"Wolfpacks?"
"Yep! That's how we like to call our submarine squads, second to none when it comes to striking from below! That being said…" The blue haired girl started before the four of them synched up and began to introduce themselves.
"Ahoy! Type VIIC submarine U-556 also known as the Parzival of the Seas here! I'm so glad to finally meet you Herr Kommandant!"
Next was the one with short pink hair.
"Heheh, now I too have a kommandant! I'm U-81, I love playing hide-and-seek. If you can't find me, just shout "U-81, I admit defeat!" and I'll probably come out of hiding."
Followed by the one with short white hair, quite similar to a bulb of garlic so to speak.
"Raaaawr. U-110 is a shaaaark. Fear meeee. Mess with me and I'll bite yooouuu."
And last but not least, the quiet one with black hair.
"Type VIIB submarine, U-47. Uh…one thing about me is I guess I don't like crowds..."
'Adorable bunch. Unique, but still definitely adorable. I wonder if any of the factions are planning to send any submarine Kansen to home base any time soon…' He pondered for a second before greeting them back. "Nice to meet you girls."
"Oh! You do have a devilish smile! Just like Eugen said!"
"Your eyes are super pretty too!"
"You seem pretty chill. Here's to hoping we get along and….uh….yeah, stuff."
"Gnom!"
"Oi! 110! Don't just take food that doesn't belong to you!"
"U-110 is a sharkkkk. Rawrrrrr. Sharks eat what they wantttt. Fear meeee." She started before being bonked and scolded by Nimi.
"Ahaha….." Shikikan sweatdropped. "Well to be fair, I did offer to buy them some food, Nimi. Hang tight, I'll go buy some more."
Getting up and walking back to the vendor, Z23 couldn't help but let out a small sigh.
'As nice of a person as ever, but I guess that's why I like you so muc-wait what am I thinking!? No Z23! Those articles you read about workplace relationships all said that they end up doing more harm then good! But then again….there were some exceptions where…'
"Uh Zed? You uh, you okay over there?" U-47 asked as she saw steam fuming out of Nimi's head.
"H-huh? I wasn't thinking anything about that I swear!"
"Uhhhhh…sure let's go with that…." The U-boat said as she gave up on trying to figure out how to reply let alone if she even did.
"A-ahem! D-don't you girls need to report to Ihre Exzellenz soon? Coming back from that mission and all?"
"But we're sooooo hungry…." They all said in unison as their stomachs growled.
"Sigh…..Alright here, just take the stuff from this bag." Z23 heavily sighed before a small smile creeped up on her face. "Consider this my reward to you girls for a job well done. I'll go let Herr Kommandant know, so enjoy the food before you head back okay?"
"Thank you!" They all sung in unison once more as they all, save for U-47, gave Nimi a big group hug before diving into the bag and devouring everything in it.
"Have one before you go!" U-556 said as she offered a bratwurst to Z23. "Lord Bismarck always said that an army can't watch on an empty stomach and all!"
"….Well, I guess one right now wouldn't hurt." Z23 reasoned as she happily joined the U-boats.
Completely entranced with the food, they failed to notice what was happening over with Shikikan.
[Back with Shikikan]
'Seems like everyone else has the same idea on getting a bite to eat.' Shikikan thought as he noticed a long line beginning to form in front of the vendor.
As soon as he got into line himself, everyone in front of him quickly dispersed and surrounded him, with more coming in from behind, completely encircling him.
"Greeting, Devil-Eyed Prince, or would you rather prefer Hero of NY City?" One older man appeared behind him announced.
Looking back, he noticed it was one of the hooded figures from earlier. Getting a closer look, he noticed a large medallion with the image of a mermaid sitting on top of a pile of strange looking rocks and musical notes floating out of its head.
"…Personally, neither but judging from the looks from you and your friends, I'm guessing you all aren't exactly fans of mine."
"Right you are asshole! How dar-" One hooded figure started.
"Silence!" The man with the medallion shouted, immediately silencing the man. "Apologies for my follower's outburst and everyone's glares. They're just so…..'ecstatic' to finally meet you is all."
"That right?" Shikikan retorted before he remembered something from awhile back.
"Whether they be friend or foe and whether if you like it or not, all eyes are on you right now. And as unfortunate as it sounds, not everyone is willing to stand up and fight against the Sirens, let alone cooperate with each other. Some even think the Sirens are divine entities here to punish humanity for all of our sins throughout the ages and what not. While I'm not the religious type, that just sounds like a lot of nonsense to me."
'Followers? Hooded robes? Sketchy looking medallions? No way these aren't those idiots Rosalia mentioned.' Shikikan groaned in his head.
"Uhm…. Are you guys gonna order or…?" The vendor questioned only to immediately regret it as two members appeared next to him, each with a long strange looking dagger in their hands pointed towards him.
"I was not talking to you. Please do not speak again lest I have my followers' let their hands 'slip' around your neck." The apparent leader of the group threatened.
"H-eek!" The vendor yelped with his hands up.
"Hey." Shikikan called out, immediately getting everyone's attention. "Drop the knives. Now."
"Relax 'Commander', nothing is going to happen so long as neither of you pull any sudden moves." Upon saying this, the rest of the group pulled out their daggers. "Now then, where was I? Ah yes. 'Commander', would you be so kind as to come with us? You see, we are a peace-seeking organization looking out for the betterment of humanity known as the Siren Callers."
"Okay. And?" Shikikan spat, clearly losing his patience as he kept a very close eye on the vendor being held hostage. "Get to the point already, what do you want?"
"Watch your mouth! Do not speak so vulgarly to the Siren Head!"
"…Ahem…." The so-called Siren Head cleared his throat, once again silencing the bunch. With a growing vein on his head, he spoke once more. "As I was getting to before being so rudely interrupted, the mission of the Siren Callers is to bring about world peace by bending the knee to the Sirens and serving them as our saviors. Humanity is a barbaric plague to this world, always resorting to conflict to satisfy their selfish worldly desires. Humans were clearly never meant to lead, but to follow. The Sirens have come to save us from our sins upon this world and are here to lead us to nirvana!"
'I think I'm going to puke.' Shikikan scowled, feeling sick from the mere thought of these people actually believing what this so called 'Siren-Head' is spouting.
"With that said, 'Commander', you have denied the will of our new gods and prevented NY City from being cleansed with the Sirens' blessings. As loyal followers, we simply cannot stand by and let you and those monstrosities continue to delay humanity's trek to the greater good."
"Those monstrosities you say….." Shikikan started, a rather cold, dark aura beginning to form around him. "Surely you aren't referring to the Kansen….right?"
Quickly feeling his growing anger, the cultists instinctively raised their daggers at him, but not without a few showing their wariness of Shikikan as their hands trembled nervously.
"….You have five seconds to get to the point of why you cultists are here before my patience runs out. I'd suggest you hurry it up." Shikikan coldly suggested as he cracked his neck and knuckles.
"And I'd suggest you not speak up again out of turn." The Siren Head arrogantly remarked. "As for your sins of going against our new gods, the Siren Callers have two demands. First, we demand you to surrender yourself to us so that we may exact punishment on you and broadcast it to the world, ringing in the new world order under Siren rule."
"Blessed be the Sirens!" The cultists chanted.
And second, have all those filthy monstrosities you call Kansen stripped of their arms and handed over to us so that we may purify them and present them to our saviors as offerings from their loyal followers. "Rest assured…," He started again, his face warped with a sickeningly perverted grin, "I personally will carry out the purification of every single one of those filthy things as a chosen apostle of the new gods. So, what do you say 'Commander'? Will you do what is right for the world and agree to these terms decreed upon by me, the chosen apostle of-!?"
Crack!
Upon caving the Siren Head's face in with a fist of jet-black fury and sending him crashing into a nearby metal trashcan, a very pissed off Shikikan finally spoke his mind. "Would you please do me a favor and never speak again?"
"H-heretic! Get hi-!?"
Flying right past the stunned cultists, Shikikan engaged his rocket shoes full throttle and shot himself towards the two members holding the vendor hostage. Smashing his knee into the face of the one on the left, he quickly grabbed their dagger and threw it, lodging it into the other cultist's hand and effectively disarming them as they went down screaming in pain.
"You alright?" Shikikan asked as he quickly rushed over and got the vendor up onto his feet and away from the other cultists.
"Y-yeah. T-thank you!"
"Damn you!" Looking over, the badly bleeding Siren Head with a very deformed face was being helped up by his followers. "Get off me!" He yelled as he pushed them away.
"How dare you assault me! Me! The chosen apostle! Much like this medallion around my neck, I shall make sure your head rolls alongside every other heretic under the Sirens' boots as they sing their hymns and anoint me as their right-hand man! Get him!"
Boom!
"Argh!" The cultists cried out in pain as they were all sent flying by the sudden bombardment.
"Herr Kommandant!" Z23 cried out as she and the U-boats rushed their way towards him. "What on earth is going on!? I turn my back for thirty seconds and I see you being surrounded by a bunch of armed robed people!?"
"W-who are these people?" U-81 asked. "Why do they all have daggers!?"
"Long story short, Siren cultists."
"No wonder they looked so familiar. I overheard the Iron Blood guards complaining about having to deal with a bunch of robed people screaming nonsense about Sirens being our saviors." U-556 informed.
"Seems like Zed's mini barrage did the trick though, most of them seem to be completely knocked out." U-47 added.
"Mister Vendor, here's a band-aid for your arm." U-110 offered one with a shark theme to it.
"Oh, I didn't even know I got nicked by one of their daggers. Thank you."
"Argh….damn you heretics!"
"Persistent one aren't we?" Shikikan remarked as he noticed an even more wounded Siren Head flat on his stomach. "Girls, see to it that Mr. Vendor and any other nearby civilians are out of harm's way while I deal with this. Afterwards, help me round up the rest of these idiots and call the police."
"Understood. But Herr Kommandant, we'll need them for questioning so please…try to hold back." Z23 requested.
'After ruining my afternoon and trash-talking you girls…I'll see what I can do.' Still nowhere near satisfied, Shikikan silently nodded in response. Cracking his knuckles and neck, he walked off towards the downed cult leader.
"H-he's kind of scary when he's mad, almost like Lord Bismarck scary…." U-556 remarked.
"It's really only when Sirens are involved. I can assure you he really is a nice person." Z23 informed.
"He gave U-110 food for free. U-110 thinks he must be nice."
"Agreed, but let's hurry and help U-47 get everyone to safety! Come with us Mr. Vendor!" U-81 cheered as everyone helped clear the area.
{Back with Shikikan}
"Gack! How dar—gudf!"
"You've talked enough today, don't you think?" Shikikan casually remarked after kicking the man over onto his back and then picking him up again, only to slam him into a nearby wall hard. Upon doing so he noticed a small baggie containing white and gold colored substance fall from the man's pockets.
'Drugs huh? Well at least that explains the stupidity and how he's still conscious…'
"It's one thing to spout crap to get people to follow your bullshit cult and another thing to trash talk me…"
Shikikan paused before lifting the man up with one hand. "But, when you start talking about the girls like that and threaten them," Forcing the man to look at him, the cult leader felt a bone chilling tremor run down his spine.
Although calm looking, the glare in Shikikan's eyes alongside the tone in his voice made the leader begin to squeal.
"I-I'm n-not afraid of you heretic! I'm-!"
Silenced by Shikikan's angered glare at him, as if he were nothing more than a disgusting pile of trash, sheer fear shot up his spine as urine began to trinkle down his legs.
"I-I-m sorry! I-I d-d-didn't mean any of what I said about to you or to t-the K-Kansen! I swear! P-please!" He begged as tears poured down his disfigured face. Looking past Shikikan, he noticed that his reserved cultists on standby were steadily sneaking up behind Shikikan. In a moment of false confidence and ignorance, he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Ahaha! Die you damned heretic!" He yelled as he timed his swing with the other cultists he all pounced on him at once with their daggers out.
Unsheathing one of his swords, Shikikan swung to block the incoming attacks…or so he had planned to.
Crunchhh
"ARGHHHH!"
Out of nowhere, a familiar giant mechanical being swooped in and crushed all of the cultists in its sharp steel fangs.
"Herr Kommandant~. Please allow me to join you in your fun, hehe~."
"…Roon?" Shikikan remarked as he glanced back to the PR ship for a second before turning his attention back to the shivering mess in his hand.
"Where'd all that bravado from earlier go?" Shikikan tilted his head as he lifted the cult leader off the ground once more
"I-!"
Done listening, Shikikan threw him to the ground between himself and Roon.
"Hmm? Who is this?"
"The leader of the cultists your rigging just snacked on." Shikikan bluntly replied as he gazed at her rigging. "Are they…?"
"Don't worry Herr Kommandant, where would the fun be if I just did them in like that hehe…" She giggled darkly, a blush growing on her face as an unsettling aura began to protrude from her. Waving to her rigging, she had it spit all of the bloodied and unconscious cultists out onto the concrete.
"Seem like someone did quite a number on your face." Roon started, a wicked grin growing on her face as she turned to face the Siren Head. "Maybe my rigging can help even it out?"
As Roon's rigging towered over the man, it slowly began to open up its jaws and draw near his head.
"N-no please! Stay away from me!" He begged as he desperately crawled away and prostrated himself in front of Shikikan. "Please call her off! I'll do anything! I promise! Just please!"
"Oh? Didn't you say something about personally purifying all the Kansen? Go on. Do tell, what exactly it was you meant." Shikikan spat.
"Oh?" Roon growled as she walked up and stomped on the man's neck hard and slowly began to make him part of the ground. "And what pray tell, is that supposed to mean?"
"I-I'm sorry….pleas- argh!" He desperately pleaded before his neck made a loud cracking sound, silencing him for good.
"Roon…..I needed him conscious to answer my questions and get more inform out of him." Shikikan frowned.
"Whoops~. Apologies Herr Kommandant, I forgot how fragile humans can be~." Roon sung sweetly despite her unsettling choice of words. "But more importantly, I must say, Herr Kommandant, that look on your face right now is quite…endearing~."
Instantly closing the distance between them, she reached one hand up to tenderly stroke his cheeks. "Ahh, the anger in your eyes, the hatred in your words, the violent aura swirling around you ahhhh…."
She paused to stare directly into his eyes. "Is this…..what love feel likes Herr Kommandant?" With hearts in her eyes and an unsatiable amount of desire growing in her heart, she began to bring her lips up to his.
"AHEM. Care to explain what's going on over here….Herr Kommandant?"
Snapping back to reality, Shikikan realized that they were no longer alone and that reinforcements in the forms of Eugen, Zeppelin, Strasser, Heinrich, and a large squad of military police officers had arrived.
"…..Well don't you all know how to ruin a good mood?" An extremely furious Roon growled between her teeth as she did her best to hide her anger behind a forced smile.
"Sorry~. But we kind of have an issue at hand here." Eugen shrugged as she waved over to Z23 and the U-boats as they were handing over the cultists they took down over to the police officers.
"What even happened over here?" Heinrich asked.
After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, Shikikan coolly explained the situation at hand.
…
"And that's the gist of what happened." Shikikan sighed heavily.
"….So is he?" Strasser started before looking over to the still downed cult leader.
"Only one way to find out." Roon started before stomping the ground in front of the man's face.
"Ahh!" The cult leader screamed all while seemingly unable to move an inch.
"Oh good you're up. Herr Kommandant, he's all yours." Roon sung as she stepped to the side.
Walking over, Shikikan crouched down to look directly into his eyes and spoke. "So, ready to talk?"
"I-I…"
"I mean would you rather have your interrogation held with one of their riggings?" Shikikan offered as he waved back to the Kansen's rigging humming lowly and looking down at the man as if he were nothing more than easy prey.
"N-no! Wait please! I'll tell you everything!"
"Good. So talk. How many more of you are there and why the hell did you think Sirens would actually cooperate with humans?" Shikikan started.
"I'm j-just the newest leader of the group of followers I had with me. There's nine other leaders here in Kiev alone."
"And who leads them?"
"I-I can't…"
"Roon."
"Yes~." Roon happily replied as she had her rigging hover right over the man's head.
"W-wait please! I-if I I tell you, my head! H-they aren't someone to be trifled with!"
"So, what you're saying is you'd rather take your chances with these?" Shikikan replied coldly as the rigging began to open its jaws, revealing the rows of razor-sharp teeth in between.
"O-o-okay okay!...I get it! I'm going to die either way…the leader of the Siren Callers is known as the Siren Prophet. He's said to have made multiple encounters with the Sirens and professes to be the chosen human to lead the rest of humanity towards our true calling as servants of the Sirens. We Siren Heads act under his orders and must follow them without fail, for if we do, we are to be sacrificed as apologetic offerings to the Sirens."
"And sacrificial lamb you shall be!" A loud voice from an intercom somewhere nearby decreed.
"Oh great….what now?" Shikikan scoffed.
"Y-your H-holiness!" the Siren Head cried out in fear. "P-please no! I had no choi-!"
"Silence sinner! To have broken my trust as a loyal follower only to have it stepped upon before my very eyes is a mortal sin and you shan't go unpunished!"
"Eugen." Shikikan whispered to the Kansen before giving her another nod.
Nodding back, Eugen gathered the other girls and quickly spread out to search for where the man is broadcasting from.
"Y-your Holiness pleas-"
"You shall serve as an example to this heathenish heretic of what happens to those who oppose the will of the new gods!" The man in the intercom decreed once more before the sound of a button being pressed was clearly heard.
"NO-ARGHTHGHH!" The cult leader screamed in agony before a white-gold gas-like substance began to steam from every orifice of the man's body.
"What the-!?" Shikikan shouted as he immediately began to step back as the man began to bloat up like an overfilled balloon. "Girls! Run!"
"Herr Kommandant!?"
"Too late heathen! You shall be joining him in the depths of hell where you belong!"
As soon as the voice said that, the man's body violently exploded from the sheer amount of gas inside him, causing it to burst outwards with the force of a missile strike.
"HERR KOMMANDANT!"
Definitely a shorter chapter, but ending it right here just made the most sense to me since it'll help set the stage for the next chapter. But don't worry though! Most of the next chapter is already done and I'll be posting it soon! So please stay tuned for next time with Chapter 24: Walpurgis Night!
