12—Dawn's Horizon
Eight more ghostly figures appeared behind the rubble, stopping as they saw the group sheltered under a cottage's roof.
It was a team of fleet girls, armaments already deployed.
They ran towards them and immediately tended to their wounds.
One of them handed her a puffy coat, which she gladly took and draped around shoulders.
For a moment, she felt that life was starting to return in her shivering body.
She gave the fleet girl a smile, and she received a pat on the head in return.
Suddenly, a static noise leaked out from one of their terminals and the newcomers exchanged looks.
The tallest among them pointed north and the rest of them turned to that direction.
Smoke trails and embers wafted on an island sitting on the horizon.
Abyssal planes circled the area like crows, causing even more destruction with their guns and bombs.
Despite her hapless condition, she could still feel the intensity of battle from there.
She knew that it was only a matter of time before the island gets completely destroyed.
The fleet girls around her seemed to share the same sentiment and finally took action.
They split into two groups—the first unit went for the island to the north, and the rest of them hurried back to port.
A few moments passed as they watched their silhouettes fade into the distance.
The sounds of battle all around them didn't show any signs of stopping.
In fact, it felt that it was getting closer and closer.
Her ghostly companion slowly stood up, wanting to catch up to the latter group.
Somehow, she understood why.
There would be nowhere to run if the island fell into the enemy's hands.
Still, against overwhelming odds, was there even a point in resisting the inevitable?
As if feeling her despair, she felt a hand grasp her shoulder.
The boy walked past her, facing the other apparition.
No words were spoken as they exchanged nods, but they seemed to have understood each other.
He took her hand once again and the two phantom figures led her through the town's ruins until they reached the bottom of a cliff.
They waded under the towering rock until they reached an uninhabited coast on the other side.
Without skipping a beat, they hurried towards a wall covered in moss and crawling plants.
Beneath all the foliage was a cavity big enough for a person to crawl into.
The boy entered through the fissure first, his silhouette disappearing into the darkness.
She was a bit hesitant to follow him as she could only crouch there and peek inside.
Her ghostly companion crouched beside her and tapped her back, urging her to enter.
Before she could make up her mind, the hollow space's interior was flooded in an orange glow.
The warm light certainly made the place more inviting.
She finally crawled through the gap, and a gasp escaped her lips as she reached the spacious chamber.
Sitting beside a folding table, the boy was making adjustments on a gas lamp.
As he was done making the lamp flame bigger, he gestured at a patterned cushion across him.
She gave him a nod and settled down on the comfy cushion.
As her eyes wandered began to wander around once more, her ghostly copy made its entrance and crawled towards the table.
She picked up a small case on the table's surface and procured a handful of equipment cards from it.
Her hands produced a dull yellow hue as the cards disappeared in her hand.
And after that, she hurried back outside without a sound.
She let out a panicked cry as she called the ghostly figure, but it didn't make any kind of respond.
As the anxiety in her chest started to well up again, she got on her knees and palms and followed.
However, a firm grip held her by the shoulder.
She turned around to see the boy shaking his head.
Were they supposed to take refuge there until the battle was finished?
Almost as if stricken with a sudden impetus, she wanted to join the other girls and fight alongside them.
After all, she was a fleet girl too.
But in her current state, she would be nothing more than another target for the enemy to destroy.
What could she possibly do to help everyone?
"Aaron, get out of the way!"
The commander's voice was like thunder rumbling across the dome. The man in the MAU suit had intercepted him, locking both of them in a struggle. The clash of mag-ions brought about a tremendous blaze everywhere.
"P-Pyrokinesis," Hatsuyuki uttered.
And before anyone else could make their move, Maricelle summoned her armaments and unleashed a salvo with her back turrets, engulfing the pool's center platform in a massive fireball.
"Ya trigger-happy idiot!" Ryuujou cried. "You'll hit Akatsu—"
Shells burst out of the smoke raced towards them. Everyone dispersed, jumping off the platform before the explosions consumed it.
Inazuma landed on shaky legs as bits of metal and concrete rained down on her. She summoned her core structure and sailed away as one of Yayoi's floating turrets fired its minigun at her. The bullets easily tore at her protective field, pushing her towards the wall.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked through the comm link.
"All accounted for, Manager!" Fumizuki said.
She took aim with her shoulder mount and fired two consecutive shots, but the turret seemed to have anticipated her attack as it veered fast to the left. A third shell suddenly nailed it from behind, causing it to explode in a flash of blue. She looked back to the other side of the center platform, giving Jintsuu a nod and a smile.
She let out a sigh and focused her attention back to the center platform. Yayoi, along with Akatsuki and Murakumo, were inside a dense mag-ion field. Her captive friends stopped screaming as their ghastly transformation reached a new phase.
The orb-like cores of the automatons suddenly expanded, covering the destroyers as if they were set on fire. Their equipment began to disintegrate, and their wounds from their earlier battle also started to close up. Even the blood and dirt on their skin were washed away by the flickering flames.
Soon, their fiery shroud waned to a soft blue glow similar to Yayoi's. They slowly landed back on the platform, still and unmoving.
Samuel raised a palm up, and the exchange of gunfire ended abruptly as the autonomous turrets in the air ceased firing. "Ah, it seems the transmutation is complete," he said. "I apologize for the wait. We should have done this at a much earlier time, but these two had performed beyond our wildest expectations. You have my dearest gratitude for providing us such wonderful subjects, Yuu!"
A brilliant burst of azure flares scattered throughout the dome as the commander telekinetically diffused a large fireball from his opponent. The hovering men clashed once more, producing a powerful clap that reverberated within the dome.
"Stand down," Aaron barked at the commander. "You're just going to get yourself killed."
"If it'll bring you and Koharu back to your senses," he reached out for his hatchet on his back, "then I might as well try!"
The commander swung the axe to the man's side, crushing his mag-ion field. He followed with a downward swing, but Aaron chuckled as he glided backwards and avoided the slash. "That's just a waste of time and energy on your part! The two of us joining the Arbiters only made our resolve stronger!"
A fireball materialized on the commander's blindside, exploding upon colliding with his field. The blast knocked him out of the air, but he managed to recover just before hitting the pool's surface. He dropped a smart bomb to the water as Aaron skirted around and launched bolts of fire around him. A wall of water gushed out beside the commander, intercepting the flames.
Ice shards suddenly burst out of the steamy torrent and sped towards his opponent, but the man enclosed himself inside a blazing sphere, disintegrating the crystal spears.
The commander kept his distance from the barrier as he clutched on his right arm. "To think that the two of you are willing to stand up for this..."
The infernal sphere dissipated as Aaron moved across him. "This is all for the greater good, Yuu. We've never deviated from our sworn vision, despite the Navy leaving us all in the gutter back then."
"What kind of excuse is that? You talk as if you've already ran out of options."
"And this is coming from the very first person who abandoned the task force. Minako was so busy chasing a runaway that she had completely neglected the rest of the unit and left us in the mercy of those scumbag executives in the Council."
"T-That's not—"
"Don't get the wrong idea though—I don't blame you for anything. In fact, I would've left as well if I had the conscience to discard everything that Admiral Minamoto did during my rookie days."
"Still, what you're doing is nothing short of murder!" Using his axe, he pointed at the girls on the center platform. "Just because we can replace them doesn't mean we should think less of them!"
"Who are you to enforce your narrow-minded beliefs on anyone? These fleet girls are soldiers to the core, and they are aware of the sacrifices they have to make."
"Are you seriously quoting the very same propaganda that exploited them for years?"
"Then let me ask you this: have you actually thought about the feelings of your subordinates?"
"W-What?"
He looked down at Yayoi and the other two destroyers. "Emery told me that your Akatsuki willingly volunteered to be her test subject."
Inazuma gasped. A-Akatsuki… willingly… ? W-Why?
"She knows that we're fighting an uphill battle, and she's willing to offer herself for it. There's no future to look forward to if the present is already a lost cause, so she decided to take her chances now."
"Indeed," Samuel said. "We will not betray their trust and loyalty to us. That is why we will absolutely make sure that their sacrifices will not be in vain."
Ryuujou grumbled. "Do ya have any idea what price we hafta pay for that power?! Why do ya keep talkin' like you speak for all of us 'ere?"
"When all is said and done, you fleet girls are barely any different to the children of the Abyss. Your inherent desire to protect everyone drives you to grow stronger and surpass your limits. You may not admit it, but you seek the power to conquer your adversaries much like everybody else."
"That's it!" Maricelle shouted, pointing her hand cannon at the catwalk. "I've had enough of your stupid grating voice!"
The commander swooped in front of the abyssal destroyer. "Mari, stop."
"There's no convincing them, Yuu! Don't worry, I'll make it quick!"
"Please. Don't."
Maricelle's arm went limp as she looked away. "Ngh—what the hell happened to you?"
Samuel chuckled. "What would you accomplish from killing us? Anyway, our main event should proceed as such." He looked back at the girl behind him. "And it is about time we remove ourselves from the premises as our presence here only serves as a distraction to everyone."
"Where do you think you're going?!"
"It seems that the assaulting Navy force has breached our defensive line, and it is only a matter time before they reach the island. Well, we cannot afford to be caught now, can we?"
"U-Um, he's a pretty straightforward antagonist, isn't he?" Fumizuki said.
"Commander, this is our chance," Jintsuu said. "We will be able to learn more about the Arbiters' operations if we capture them and—"
"No," he said, keeping his hatchet away. "We'll let them go for now."
The firmness and certainty in the commander's voice had returned. He surely had to have a reason for his decision, but Inazuma only grew weary as the unexpected could easily turn for the worse.
The light cruiser's eyebrows crossed. "F-For now? We can't just let them walk out of here, especially after admitting that they were the ones responsible for the abduction of fleet girls across Caffelatte!"
She had never seen the Jintsuu's forceful side before. Thinking back though, she seemed more gung ho than usual ever since she got out of the Navy's custody.
"I'm with her," Maricelle eyes turned deep purple, "For all I know, he could actually be responsible for messing up my body. I'd like to return the favor a thousandfold."
Samuel took an exasperated sigh. "Randomly pointing your fingers at someone would not do you any good."
"You bastard, I'll tear you apart!"
"Calm down, Mari," the commander said.
"Calm down?! I'm perfectly calm! More importantly, why do you keep giving these people a free pass?"
"Free pass? That's not what I—"
"First off, you let the brains of their project get off the hook, then you're just gonna do the same thing with those three! I thought you wanted to end this whole abduction scheme for good!"
Samuel shook his head. "Do you still not get it? He needs us, and we need him. It is an unspoken arrangement that binds us together."
"Then," Fusou said, "regarding about what he mentioned earlier about the commander…"
"Is he sayin' that Yuu ain't gonna do it cuz he owes him a few favors?" Ryuujou said.
"They did work together in the past," Fumizuki said, "so…"
"Shut up, all of you! That's not my point!" Maricelle glared at the commander while pointing at the group on the catwalk. "They've been running their mouths off like there's no tomorrow, and you don't do anything to shut them up. They're just toying with you, and you're just letting them get into your head!"
"Maybe I am letting them have their way," the commander said, "but I won't accomplish anything if I always let my emotions cloud my judgment."
"No, you're just playing it safe! Since when did you become such a pathetic wuss, Yuu?! What happened to the person I've always looked up to and—"
Hovering in front of the abyssal princess, the commander placed both hands on her shoulders. "Rescuing the captive fleet girls is our first priority. What would you do if they suddenly pulled something that would compromise their safety?"
"Come now," Samuel said. "Underhanded tricks are beyond me. I would never stoop to the likes of a few certain individuals that I know of."
He turned slightly and gave an equally sharp gaze at the suited man. "Then tell us where you're keeping them. That's the only thing that I'm asking you right now."
And at that exact moment, Maricelle began to tremble.
"Y-You would rather trust that man more than the people risking their lives for you? You actually t-trust him more than… m-me? W-Why?"
The meekness in her tiny voice seemed to have seized the flow of time within the building. Her usual irritated disposition had transformed into one of astonishment and disbelief.
Moreover, her body's ambient release of mag-ions nearly stopped. She was repressing it, for some reason Inazuma couldn't guess.
It was almost as if the abyssal princess had become an entire different person.
Samuel merely scoffed and adjusted the glove on his right hand. "There is no helping it, I suppose. We are keeping our subjects in the lower levels of this facility. Would that be sufficient enough to keep your mind at ease?"
Maricelle reached out for the commander's wrist and held it tight. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you later."
"What are you—"
A sudden energy burst erupted from Maricelle as she accelerated forward, dragging the commander with her. She spun once and tossed him away. "If you can't bring yourself to punish them, I'll be more than happy to do everyone a favor!"
He managed to catch himself just before hitting the wall, but the abyssal princess released a cannon shot next. Fortunately, the commander avoided a gruesome death as he seized the speeding projectile telekinetically.
He pulled off yet another impressive feat, stunning everyone around him. However, the commander's pained expression twisted into one of horror as the suspended shell released a purple spark and morphed into a spiny metallic creature.
"T-This is a—!" It clamped itself around the commander's right arm with its legs, and he let out a cry as the creature injected a needle-like spine into his arm. He collapsed into the water, struggling to stay afloat. "A-Aaron, get Koharu out of h-here! S-She'll kill you!"
As he shouted that, two consecutive explosions engulfed the catwalk. Yayoi quickly moved in before the abyssal princess could fire the third shot, resulting to a fierce close-quarters battle. "Samuel, we have to go!" Aaron shouted.
Protected by a mag-ion sphere, Samuel and Koharu burst out of the smoke and hovered to the elevated platform on the opposite side of the pool.
Jintsuu chased after them, bearing her forearm guns. "I won't let you!"
"Wa-Watch out!"
Fumizuki's warning reached her just in time as the light cruiser avoided a massive spear hurled at her. She directed her guns at Murakumo, but Akatsuki was already upon her with a sabre in her hand. In response, Jintsuu drew a dagger in an attempt to block the destroyer's overhead slash.
As their weapons collided, the larger blade overwhelmed the other, splitting the dagger into two and digging itself into the light cruiser's arm. Akatsuki, without letting go of the blade, spun midair and kicked Jintsuu to the side of her head. The cruiser skidded on the water until she hit a steel barrier at the edge of the pool.
"J-Jintsuu!" Inazuma cried.
"Crap, t-this is bad," Ryuujou said. "Watch my back!"
The aircraft carrier sped behind Akatsuki and towards the light cruiser, but the two possessed destroyers didn't make another move. They just stood with an unchanging look on their faces, observing their surroundings. Inazuma exchanged looks with Fumizuki as they trained their turrets at them, but they couldn't bring themselves to shoot their friends.
Not yet, at least.
Meanwhile, Samuel and the others were now standing behind an open gate. "Well then," the suited man said, "I hope this won't be the last time we see each other, Yuu. We may have our differences, but I still consider you one of my most trusted acquaintances. There are not a lot of people left with a firm unrelenting conviction, after all."
Supported by Hatsuyuki from behind, the commander stumbled as he stood up. "J-Just get out of here already."
Maricelle broke off fighting Yayoi and went after them, only to be intercepted again by the destroyers. She had deflected Akatsuki's sword attack, but the spear that Murakumo threw earlier hovered in the air once more and hurled itself towards her. She was knocked out of the air, righting herself just before hitting the water's surface.
Growling, she directed her fury at the fleeing group. The commander, still being subjected to great pain from the creature on his arm, placed himself in front of Maricelle's guns. "W-Why? Why are you letting them get away?!"
"Hear me out, Mari! Just… let them go!"
Maricelle sprung in the air and kicked him into the wall. "Shut up! For once, let me do this my way!"
"That's enough!"
As she was about to renew her pursuit, Fusou sneaked up from behind and restrained her by the neck and right arm. "Lemme go!"
"P-Please stay put!" the battleship said, forcing the destroyer to face the other way. "Your selfish actions will only do more harm to everyone!"
Hatsuyuki and Fumizuki pointed their turrets at the abyssal princess. "P-Please… just listen," the former said.
"Yeah!" the ponytailed fleet girl said. "We have to work together!"
Samuel shook his head, but he had a huge grin plastered on his face. "Wasting your energy bickering with each other would be most unproductive. At this rate, your efforts of coming here will be all for naught."
"If you have nothing else to say, just leave us alone! Shoo!"
He chuckled once more, removing the microphone on his coat and tossed it away. The two men walked past the gate and into the hall's darkness, but the girl stopped short of stepping into the shadows.
"Sir Samuel, give me a minute to talk to him."
"Koharu?" the commander uttered, pulling himself away from the wall.
"Y-Yes, I know. Thank you." She turned around and directed her gaze towards him. "I have a bad feeling about what's to come, Yuu. Please… watch your back always."
Her voice was meek and small, but her words were clear as day to everyone.
"But before anything else… I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I broke my promise."
"Then tell me. Why are you doing this?"
"I… I can't make any excuses now, can I? But you have to believe us—Aaron and I are working with the best intentions to help out with this ongoing crisis."
"But the Koharu I know wouldn't get herself involved in these experiments. You were treating these girls like they're your own sisters! Are they forcing you to—"
She averted her eyes. "N-No, they don't."
He balled up his hands. "I-Is that true? Then… you still worked with them knowing that…?"
"I… I didn't know at first since they had assigned me to create supplementary modules for the fleet girls, but it soon became apparent to me that we had been working on a very sensitive project."
She shook her head. "I did everything I could to prevent fatalities in our subjects. I worked day and night to make sure their health won't deteriorate quickly. Also, I never left their side so that they wouldn't feel alone. The Arbiters, at least those people that I've worked with, treat the girls with the same amount of love and respect that I give them."
"Is that supposed to be their consolation for using them like guinea pigs?"
"It isn't. Sharing the small fraction of the pain that they had to go through is the least that I could do for them."
"You've got to be lying! That's just absurd, especially coming from you!"
"A-Absurd? Don't we all make sacrifices?"
"And now you're just parroting him. Are you really that gullible, Koharu?"
"I already told you that I'm doing this out of my own volition! Th-That's why I have to stand on my own two feet for once! Spoiling me won't help me at all!"
"Koharu…"
"I-If we could just end this conflict sooner, then no one would have to die anymore! Everyone would be free from the darkness that was gripping the world in despair for decades!"
His face glowered. "Are you sure about that?"
"H-Huh?"
"I want you to reflect on what you said just now. Are you absolutely sure that all of the world's suffering would end in an instant like that?"
"Wh-What are you saying? Th-That's what we're trying to achieve all this time! I'm sure we'll be able to succeed if we work together!"
"You sound so… confident..."
"There's no question that the fleet girls themselves will be the ones bringing us peace that we're striving so hard for. See, I've heard that the Arbiters' intelligence department has achieved an important discovery in their research about the girls."
"What kind of breakthrough?"
"Their origins. It already goes without saying that having a greater understanding about the fleet girls would allow us to come up with even more ways to provide them assistance."
Inazuma's heart raced slightly. Origins? Does that mean… our past?
"Can you elaborate on that?" the commander asked.
Koharu paused for a moment, looking hesitant. "W-Well, I don't know the specifics, but they managed to find a place that—" Her eyes suddenly shot wide open as her trembling hand hovered on her chest. "Nrgh… agh…"
"Koharu, what's wrong?"
She fell on her knees. "Ugh… I'm… fine…" She pulled out a syringe from one of her belt packets. "H-Hold on, I—"
Before she could inject the syringe's contents into her arm, a chilling scream pierced the air as she completely collapsed on the floor and started convulsing.
Seeing the girl in such a dismal state sent the commander in an abrupt rage. He unleashed a ferocious surge of mag-ions and made a huge leap towards her, but before he could land on the platform, a fiery streak crashed into him head-on and swallowed him in an intense explosion.
"C-Commander!" Fumizuki cried.
"Don't even think about laying a finger on her."
Aaron reappeared from the depths of the hall, leaving a trail of crimson embers as he landed next to Koharu. He picked up the trembling girl as a monotone voice resounded within the arena:
Commencing maximum lockdown protocol. All personnel should vacate the simulation chamber immediately.
The smoke from the blast dissipated, revealing the commander's scorched form. He tried to follow them, but Yayoi's turrets blocked his path and surrounded him. "A-Aaron, what's the meaning of this?!"
"You can drop the pretenses now, Yuu. We've already made up our minds."
With Koharu in his arms, he fled back to the exit before the gate sealed itself completely.
"W-Wait—!"
Another announcement droned through the sound system:
Simulating custom field parameters.
The center platform began to lower itself beneath the pool while the pool's steel barriers expanded outwards. The mag-ion field covering the interior walls of the facility grew denser, which caused them to lose contact with Mica and the others outside.
Adding to the confusion, the pool's surface became wavy as thick fog found itself inside the building. All the lights turned dim as if to replicate moonlight's subtle glow. The drastic change in their surroundings made them even more agitated.
Maricelle, making use of the situation to her advantage, slammed the back of her head into her captor's face. She slipped out of the battleship's arms and punched her in the stomach. "You pigheaded maggots!" she shouted, pointing her hand cannon at the others. "They're making a mockery out of us! If we don't chase after them now, they—"
"Chief, outta the way!"
Inazuma moved backwards out of instinct, letting out a muffled cry from the glancing blow of Akatsuki's sabre. Akatsuki made an abrupt turn and fired her shoulder turret. The secretary had her shield deploy a dense frontal field that took the brunt of the blast. However, it was only a distraction for her opponent to get close once again for an overhead slash.
Clutching her bleeding shoulder, Inazuma was forced to retreat as fast as she could. Akatsuki took a quick leap towards her and swung her sword sideways. She stepped to the right to avoid the attack, but she found herself rattled as her core structure collided with the wall. Instead, she hit Akatsuki with a shell dart. The dart sparked a vibrant blue as she pulled her shield's trigger, but it didn't have any effect on the destroyer.
But instead of resuming her assault, Akatsuki just stood there and bobbed on the increasingly wavy water. Her frame, emanating a faint blue hue, stood out from the fog that had blanketed the facility. She looked at Inazuma with those clouded eyes of hers as if deliberating her next plan of attack.
"A-Akatsuki, please snap out of it!"
Her desperate cry got drowned in the ensemble of gunfire and explosions.
She knew that calling out to her was a futile effort, but she had felt the need to try at least.
She had been feeling a murderous intent emanating from the destroyer. There was no doubt that it was a completely different entity that had taken control of her friend's body, yet hesitation was still gnawing on her resolve as she pointed her guns at Akatsuki once again.
Frozen in place, she could only watch as her friend brandished her blade and finally went in for the kill.
"Inazuma, move!"
A burst of cannon fire immediately followed Hatsuyuki's voice, breaking her stupor. Akatsuki simply shrugged off the shells hitting her as she closed in and swung her sabre in a diagonal motion.
Inazuma attempted to leap to the side at the last second, but blade's tip tore through her torpedo launcher's plating and thighs. She scrambled to get on her feet, but Akatsuki stomped on her bleeding gash to pin her down. The pain caused her head to momentarily sink into the water, causing her to gurgle from the seawater that invaded her mouth and nose.
Akatsuki raised her sabre with both hands, preparing for the final strike. Inazuma, still distraught from the last attack, gritted her teeth as she focused her eyes on her friend. I-I have to keep up or else I'm done for!
Just as the possessed destroyer brought her blade down, Inazuma allowed herself to submerge into the water. In the next moment, more of Hatsuyuki's explosive shells assaulted Akatsuki, engulfing the surface in a muddy haze. She began kicking her legs to distance herself from the explosions, but her eyes also caught sight of a cylindrical casing sinking across her.
Her eyes widened. D-Depth charge!
The small bomb exploded and produced a tremendous amount of outward pressure, knocking her to the bottom of the pool. She had her shield on as buffer, but being hit at very close proximity caused her to blackout for a moment. As she came around, pain quickly overpowered all her senses. She could barely feel her limbs while her headache made her vision spin. Her throat felt sore with all the coughing she did as well.
"Can you still fight?"
Only after hearing the commander's voice made her realize that she was already out of the water. "Y-Yeah," she replied as she slowly sat up from the floor. "I need to… stop Akatsuki."
Another bout of vertigo struck her system. Using his arm, the commander supported her from the waist. "Take it easy." He tapped his earpiece with his free hand. "It appears that those three are just testing us. They're still holding back."
"H-Holding back?"
"It seems so," Fusou replied through the comm link. "They suddenly stopped attacking just now and disappeared into the fog."
"What… what are they trying to do?"
"Collecting battle data," the commander replied. "It's the only reason why Samuel was so adamant on pitting them against us."
"I don't really like how they're playin' us around like this," Ryuujou said, "but we'll give 'em a good show if that's what they want."
"Commander… what should we do?" Hatsuyuki asked, her voice almost a whisper.
"W-We need to save everyone, of course!" Inazuma said.
"Y-Yeah… but how?"
"I kinda understand why you sound worried," Fumizuki said. "We're fighting against three of our star aces in our branch! And now they've gone crazy on us with those creepy automatons controlling them!"
"We have the numbers advantage… but I think they'll use that against us."
"Their bladed weapons pose the greatest threat," Jintsuu chimed in. "Everyone should be careful not to get in contact with those things."
Wincing, Inazuma looked at the commander. "A-About that… Akatsuki's sword pierced through my fields easily."
"It's most likely made out of a denser, high-grade abussosium alloy," he replied, standing up. "You girls heard Jintsuu. Blocking attacks from those weapons would be suicide."
"That ain't gonna be a problem," Ryuujou said.
"One more thing: prolonging this fight will only make our situation worse than it is now."
"Why's that?"
"Automatons are fast learners. We need to do this quick, but don't get careless, you hear?"
Everyone gave their acknowledgement through the channel.
"And Mari, can you remove this thing on my arm already?"
"Bear with it," she replied. "Serves you right for being such a spineless coward."
He sighed. "Alright, let's put an end to this and—"
"Hold it," Ryuujou said. "I'm not pickin' up their signatures for some reason."
"Did they give up?" Fumizuki asked.
"Wishful thinkin' there. Better keep yer eyes peeled."
Inazuma focused all her energy standing up and tottered towards the pool's edge. The thick fog made it impossible to see anything not more than a few feet in front of her, but her eyes caught a glint in the distance.
Maricelle's voice bellowed. "You can't hide from us!"
"No!" Jintsuu cried. "Don't pursue!"
Gunfire within the foggy curtain erupted once more. Inazuma strengthen her resolve in her chest as a spark of bright saffron resonated from her body. She summoned her damaged core structure and armaments. Afterwards, she brought out a couple of equipment cards to replace her shoulder turret and torpedo mounts.
"That depth charge blast really did you in. You might want to take a rest first."
Smiling, she turned her head and looked at the commander. "You're in a bad shape too, you know?"
He clutched his exposed, bleeding arm. "I-I'm… already past my limit. I'm just glad Mica can't contact us right now."
"Well, we sometimes have to take risks, right?" She narrowed her eyes. "That's why… I won't allow you to stop me from taking this gamble."
"Is that so?" He returned a similar smile. "You better not regret that decision."
"U-Um… whether you made the right or wrong call, you should learn to live with the decisions you've made. You wouldn't be able to move forward otherwise." She suddenly giggled. "Did I get that right?"
A stray shell whizzed nearby, releasing a remarkable explosion as it collided against the wall's mag-ion field. Both of them weren't fazed. "And here I am worrying over nothing."
The white specks of mag-ions surrounding the commander became more intense as he stood beside her. "A-Are you going to help?" she asked.
The answer was already a foregone conclusion, but she somehow wanted to hear it from him.
"Of course. You don't trust me?"
"N-No! It's just that your injuries are—"
"You're not the only one who's making a gamble here. Well, that and I have a promise to keep."
And in that moment, a familiar voice echoed in her head:
It doesn't matter how strong and scary those things are! Whatever it takes, I'm going to save them!
She shook her head. "Right! Let's do this!"
The pair charged into the fog and followed the seemingly distant booms and gun flash, but they quickly realized that they weren't getting any closer to the engagements being reported through their channel.
The commander told her to stop for a second. "Give me a sitrep," he said, tapping his earpiece.
"Commander," Jintsuu replied. "The hostile destroyers are employing guerrilla tactics, utilizing the thick fog to their advantage."
Shortly after that, they heard Maricelle grumbling. "This hit and run bullshit is getting on my nerves!"
"Hey, where are you guys anyway?" Fumizuki asked. "Err… we're kinda lost."
"Other than Fumizuki," Fusou said. "I can't seem to detect everybody else, even with the use of my radar."
Inazuma looked up. "There's something strange about this fog. And it feels familiar too." The realization suddenly hit her hard. "Wait, this is the very same fog produced within miasma clusters!"
"Interesting," he said. "They also found a way to reproduce clusters?"
A shadow appeared behind the commander, but he seemed to have noticed it as well as he dashed to his left, exposing the attacking figure to Inazuma's shoulder turret. Two consecutive shells hit their mark, forcing it to flee into the shadowy fog.
The assailant was quick and soundless, but Inazuma was able to recognize her. "M-Murakumo!"
As the destroyer's silhouette melded into the fog, another figure appeared from the corner from the corner of her eye and shot at her. Inazuma took on the shell using her shield and trained her turret at the fleeing figure, but a blinding beam of light stung her eyes just as she was about to fire her gun.
She let out a cry as she stopped moving completely. She could also hear the commander groaning behind her. "Ngh… that was a cheap move coming from Akatsuki."
"T-That was her?!"
They pursued the scurrying destroyer as their eyes recovered from the glare, and a quick shootout unfolded until they entered an area of the pool devoid of thick fog. Akatsuki stopped at the center and turned towards them, turning off the searchlight on her shoulder.
"This is it, then?" the commander said.
"Yeah," Inazuma replied, "we'll beat her this time!"
She was about to make her first move when Hatsuyuki, along with her two turret drones, burst out from the wall of fog on her left. "I-Inazuma?!"
"Found you!" Maricelle emerged not too far from them, stopping in her tracks as she noticed everyone. "Tch, looks like we're chasing the same prey."
The rest of them came one after another. "Yay! Finally found you guys!" Fumizuki said.
"Ain't this just convenient or what?" Ryuujou said. "Let's rush at her and take her down!"
"A-Above us!" Jintsuu uttered, aiming her guns at the hovering turrets. "It's an ambu—"
Shells suddenly flew in from all directions. Inazuma and Hatsuyuki managed to deploy their protective fields in time, but the ruthless hail of projectiles were making quick work of their defenses.
"Shit," the commander said, "joining you guys might be a bad idea after all!"
"And you were acting so cool a minute ago!" Inazuma said.
"Shut up, dumbasses!" Maricelle barked as she fired her hand cannon.
"Oh, looks like someone's eating too much dark chocolate lately," Fumizuki said.
"Inazuma, get your field up again!" The abyssal princess extended her free hand. "I'll boost you!"
Enduring a direct hit, Inazuma scrambled to grab Maricelle's hand and generate a field large enough to provide cover to everyone. An incredible amount of mag-ions surged into her body, making it possible for the field to withstand the barrage.
Meanwhile, Fusou deployed all her remaining turrets from their compact forms and fired away. Her shells forced the destroyers to strafe around them while her anti-air guns took care of the turrets above to good effect.
But despite being able to inflict some pressure, they were still pinned down with all the shells pelting their field. The opposing group took advantage of it as they distanced themselves and unloaded all of their torpedoes into the water.
"W-We're done for!" Fumizuki cried.
"Not yet!" the commander shouted.
In the center of their formation, the commander dropped a smart bomb that unleashed a telekinetic pulse beneath the waterline. As he pointed his right hand downwards, a greater pulse expanded outwards in almost an instant, detonating all approaching torpedoes at the same time. The gushing wall of water that followed provided them ample time to break off and renew their offensive against the trio.
Ryuujou chased after Murakumo. "Don't let 'em regroup this time! Keep each of 'em busy!"
"Roger that!" Hatsuyuki said.
Leading the charge, Maricelle closed in as her hand cannon morphed into razor-sharp fingers and swung her claws at Yayoi. The lavender-haired destroyer leaned to the side to avoid the vicious swipe and countered with a quick jab. The abyssal ship flinched as she took the blow, giving her opponent the chance to launch herself backwards.
An electric surge of purple mag-ions crawled throughout Maricelle's body as she summoned her armaments and trained her turrets, which was set up in a superfiring fashion on each leg, at the soaring destroyer. At the same moment, Yayoi did the same as she called for six of her nearest autonomous turrets. The destroyers unleashed full salvos at each other, producing a tremendous crunch of explosive energy that engulfed the two.
Everybody else had to steer clear from the blasts, pausing all actions from both sides. "M-Mari!" the commander shouted.
Inazuma squinted at the thinning smoke cloud. The massive signatures of the two destroyers began to wane, but Maricelle's mag-ion levels were declining at an alarming rate. As their surroundings cleared up, she gasped as her mind registered the dismal state of the abyssal princess.
Shrapnel sliced and pierced the front of her body. Her legs flickered wildly as she struggled to maintain a foothold against the waves. All of her guns were damaged beyond repair; bits and pieces of her equipment drifted on the water around her.
Yayoi, on the other hand, took considerable damage from the earlier exchange as well. Unlike Maricelle, she seemed to have fared better. She lost all of her turrets from the blast, but she still had eight more guns and autocannons floating above the fog's clearing.
Maricelle let loose another surge of mag-ions, reigniting her purple aura. Her face reflected the strain in doing so, but it was impressive that she still had some fight left in her battered body. "Hey, aren't you looking for a good fight?!" she shouted as her claws reverted back into a naval gun. "Stop running like a little bitch and give me everything you got!"
To everyone's surprise, Yayoi smiled and nodded. She called her autonomous guns to her side and formed a pronged staff out of their flaming cores. As she snatched the hovering weapon in the air, the flames surrounding it were extinguished. She took a stance with the staff tucked to her side as she beckoned at the princess with her free hand. "N-No!" Inazuma cried. "If you continue this, you'll—"
"Who do you think you're talking to?! Don't interfere—I'll show you how my strength puts me leagues above each and every one of you cretins!"
Letting out a battle cry, she rocketed towards the other destroyer. Her astounding speed left no time for Yayoi to react as she received a right straight into the face and sent her skidding into the fog. Afterwards, she started blasting her opponent using her hand cannon.
Upon firing her fourth shot, Yayoi weaved out of the shell's path and dashed towards the abyssal ship with the front end of her staff plunged underwater. As she closed in, she cracked another smile and brought her staff upwards, causing a massive upsurge of water. With a powerful kick, Maricelle didn't hesitate to launch herself into the torrent.
A vicious clap boomed as the wide deluge was ruptured from the inside, revealing the two destroyers. Maricelle had her claws dug into her opponent's shoulder, but Yayoi's weapon was also lodged in her stomach.
"Mari took the bait," the commander said through gritted teeth.
The abyssal princess pulled her claws out as she staggered backwards, covering the pair of stab wounds on her stomach. "Th-This doesn't make any… sense," she uttered. "H-How come… I was—"
She landed on her bottom as her legs down to her thigh brackets disappeared in an erratic surge of electricity. Her purple glow dissipated too as a sweltering steam enveloped her body.
It was over.
Inazuma could only clench her shaky hands as Yayoi whipped her staff across the princess' face. As Maricelle's body tore through the waves, Yayoi released a single torpedo into the water. The commander made an attempt to intercept it, but Akatsuki was already one step ahead of him as she started shooting him with her shoulder mount. He was forced to go into the defensive, distracting him long enough for the torpedo to hit its target.
As the tremendous blast consumed the abyssal princess, Hatsuyuki and her drones unleashed a hail of projectiles at the purple-haired destroyer. Akatsuki protected herself with her torpedo mount plating as she responded with three of her turrets. The rising shootout brought chaos into the arena once more. Ryuujou and Fumizuki teamed up against Yayoi, while Fusou and Jintsuu went after Murakumo.
Inazuma was about to help Maricelle when the commander stopped her. Anxiety welled up in her chest as she didn't see any trace of the abyssal destroyer from the spot where the torpedo had detonated. "W-We need to rescue her!"
The commander had his attention on the battle unfolding before him as he shook his head. "Don't worry," he replied. "A blast like that won't kill her."
"B-But—"
"We should focus on those three first." He paused as he narrowed his eyes. "That said, there has to be some other away to take those automatons off."
Inazuma slapped her chest twice in an attempt to quell down her emotions. She kept telling herself that everything would work out in the end, but she could never escape the fact that they were fighting a losing battle here.
The commander must've realized this as well.
"I-I hope there is."
"Automatons are essentially derived from technologies that produce Class 2 equipment, so the VOKS should be able to affect them. However, those Funa Yurei seem to be configured to project the host's natural field armor in a way that will protect both of them."
"A-Ah, then it functions quite similarly to my shield?"
He nodded. "They're still destroyers though, so a battleship like Fusou can easily tear apart their mag-ion fields. Problem is, they boxed us in this small area to prevent her from using her turrets effectively. And those three are well-versed in close-quarters situations, pushing us further into the corner."
She grimaced. "Y-Yeah… but we don't have a choice, do we?"
"I'm going to try something."
Inazuma blinked. "H-Huh?"
He produced two smart bombs from his modular pack. "Let's test it on Yayoi since she's already worn down. Ryuujou, lure her away from the others so that I can disable her."
"Gotcha," the carrier replied. "Just gimme the signal!"
He bit his lip. "I… I'll have to go all out since this stupid thing on my arm is constricting my ability to command mag-ions. And if this doesn't work, well... we're screwed."
Inazuma whimpered. "S-Saying something like that just isn't reassuring, you know?"
"I already told you that we can't let this go on for too long. Ready when you are, Ryuujou."
"On it!"
From their far left, two figures of purple and blue converged into a furious brawl. Yayoi, crippled as she was, remained to be a fierce adversary as she parried every blow thrown at her with only a single arm. She took advantage of her staff's superior reach to keep her opponent at bay, but the aircraft carrier pressed on with heavy-handed blows.
As the destroyer performed a low sweeping strike with her staff, Ryuujou jumped and delivered an axe kick into Yayoi's right shoulder. Yayoi let out a cry as it made her bounce against the water from the intense blow, leaving her stomach exposed to the carrier's brutal uppercut.
"Try gettin' up from this!"
As the destroyer soared towards the ceiling, Ryuujou released several paper charms in the air. The charms, enveloped in azure flames, homed in on Yayoi and exploded on contact. The blistering ball of inferno grew larger with each blast, adding copious amounts of steam in their already foggy battlefield.
"Stop!" the commander shouted, hovering close to the carrier. "I'll take it from here, so stay back!"
Ryuujou launched her last charm into the fireball. "What're ya tryin' to do anyway?!"
"Just pray that my body doesn't fail on me while I do this!" A white blaze flared up from the commander's body as he hurled his first smart bomb into the inferno. "Zone Cancel, execute!"
A sudden burst of wind erupted from within the infernal sphere, revealing Yayoi's suspended form. Her limbs started to twitch, but the commander launched his other smart bomb to lock the destroyer inside a mag-ion bubble.
"W-Whoa," Ryuujou uttered, "you can hold her down like that?!"
"Krgh, I did say that I was gonna disable her!" His mag-ion receptors on his right palm grew brighter as electric sparks materialized in the space around Yayoi. "I'm purging her mag-ions next! Gimme a few seconds to—"
One of Hatsuyuki's drones suddenly deployed its shield close to the commander's blindside, protecting him from an explosive shell. "H-Help!" Hatsuyuki cried.
Circling from behind, Akatsuki had her sights on the commander and fired away with her shoulder turret. Inazuma responded with her own shelling and nailed her right arm, but Akatsuki returned fire just as quick using her hand cannon. A sharp distinct bang echoed as the concentrated shot caused her turret to self-destruct.
Inazuma managed to deploy her shield in time, but the shell still pierced through its field and took a chunk of her waist. The overwhelming pain sent her down to her knees, focusing all her energy just for her to not faint again.
Akatsuki, on the other hand, simply drew another equipment card to replace her defunct turret and continued her offensive. Ryuujou held her off at close-range while Hatsuyuki, moving at a snail's pace, supported the carrier with her remaining drone.
With teary eyes, Inazuma turned her head towards the commander. "Commander, please hurry!" she shouted.
The crackle of energy intensified as sparks of blue and white crawled in all directions. "I-It's still not enough," he said, casting another bomb into the mag-ion bubble, "but I have to risk it!"
He put his free hand around his right wrist as the smart bomb conjured a pulsing blue orb. The sphere swelled larger and larger, swallowing up Yayoi and the bubble until it was within arm's reach from him.
"R-Risk? Wh-What are you trying to—"
He reached out his right hand to the sphere's surface. "Condense!" The humming ball of light began flicker wildly as it shrunk back into the size of the mag-ion bubble surrounding Yayoi. "Now purge!"
The orb's surface suddenly collapsed, releasing a tremendous outward force.
To Inazuma, it felt like she was smacked upwards by a massive paddle before tumbling across the waves for a few more feet. Soft sobs escaped her lips as some of the seawater invaded her gaping wound. She just couldn't have imagined the pain she had to endure if her damage control crew hadn't acted as quickly as they did.
As she dedicated most of her mag-ion production on reconstructing her missing tissues in her waist and staying afloat, she looked around and realized that the miasma's influence was starting to wane. The artificial waves were beginning to subside as well. Her friends, however, still had some fight left in them as the exchange of gunfire from turrets and carrier-born planes persisted to ravage the facility.
Their battle seemed to have endured for an eternity already, but it was also apparent that its inescapable conclusion was close at hand. All the more reason for her to get back to the action quick before it was too late.
She tried to contact the others through the comm link, but no one was responding. "My earpiece's working, but—"
"I-Inazuma… don't just gawk there! W-We could use a hand!"
Her eyes frantically searched for the commander, and she soon found his head bobbing out of water's surface. As she hurried towards him, she noticed that he was pulling another person beneath the water.
She let out a gasp upon reaching him. "Y-Yayoi?! Co-Commander, you actually did it!"
He winced. "Nrgh… my reserve battery's almost empty. Just get her out of here."
"R-Right!" She placed the unconscious destroyer's arm across her shoulders and hoisted her up. "Wh-What about you?"
Ryuujou suddenly skidded to a stop next to them, shaking off the fiery glow of her right hand. "I got ya," she said, pulling the commander out of the water. "Let's put these two somewhere safe. Can't take our chances with all those shells flyin' around."
Inazuma pointed at an enclosed room between the massive gate and a staff access gate. "H-How about over there?" she asked.
"We ain't got a choice, huh?" Ryuujou and the commander began moving. "Just endure the pain 'til we get to—"
A huge explosion brought about a huge wave, forcing them to stop for a moment.
"Fumizuki!" Fusou cried.
"Tch, this ain't good," the carrier said, looking over her shoulder. "We gotta hustle!"
Inazuma nodded. "R-Right behind you!" As they hurried to the edge of the pool, she heard Yayoi groaning. "Yayoi? A-Are you awake?"
"Mngghh… arggh!"
Inazuma had to stop as Yayoi began struggling. "What's wrong? You're already safe, so—" A punch to the jaw made her reel backwards. Astonished, she could only stare at the trembling destroyer. "Yayoi… ?"
Yayoi let out a pained scream as she began tearing out her hair. Her frame radiated a blue light, growing in intensity. The sinking feeling in Inazuma's chest became a self-fulfilling prophecy the moment she saw the horrified expression of the commander. "H-Her automaton's rebooting!"
"What's goin' on?" Ryuujou said. "It worked, right?"
His eyes widened. "C-Could it be—"
Panting, Yayoi looked at the commander with seething bloodshot eyes. The buildup of mag-ions in her immediate surrounding exploded as she launched herself towards him and the aircraft carrier.
The commander launched a smart bomb between them and the approaching destroyer, catching Yayoi inside a torrent. A sudden burst of chilly wind followed, freezing the cascade from the bottom. Just before the downpour was completely frozen, a pronged staff broke out of its surface and flew straight towards him.
Ryuujou pushed him away and she was the one who got struck instead. "Auggh… th-that little—!" As she tried pulling the staff out of her stomach, an erratic blue light began to envelop her. "Kgh…! My chest… feels… like it's gonna burst!"
Purple electrical streaks crawled out of her body as she gave the staff another hard pull, only causing her to cough out blood. She became more desperate in her following attempts, but her strength was quickly fading fast and she soon collapsed to her knees. The blue glow surrounding her was replaced with thick steam as her mag-ion levels were nearly exhausted.
In a flash of blue light, the staff dissolved into multiple autonomous turrets that surrounded Ryuujou in all directions. "Ah," the carrier uttered, "shit..."
"Miss Ryuujou!"
Inazuma's cry was drowned in the intense salvo of the turrets.
She rushed to Ryuujou's aid, but the floating turrets forced her to stop as they trained their barrels at her direction. She was forced to watch the smoke cloud fade away until it revealed a few bits and pieces of the carrier's core structure scattered on the water.
Seeing Ryuujou's body came up to the surface after her emergency floater had activated did little to alleviate the emotional turmoil that Inazuma was experiencing in her mind. After all, her other friends were crying for help moments ago and she could only watch the carnage unfold from where she was standing.
"I-Inazuma, are you alright? Snap out of it!"
It was the commander's voice. She could only breathe out a small sob in response.
"I was betting on my last plan to work, and I was so sure of it." He paused for a moment. "Tch, this one's my bad."
She turned her head and saw him kneeling beside Ryuujou. "I should be the one apologizing. I… I couldn't do anything at all…"
He shook his head. "Also, I only realized what we're truly up against just now. Because it took me so much time, they were able to push us into the corner like this."
"W-What do you mean?"
"They're boosting their stamina by assimilating ambient mag-ions scattered in their surroundings, that's why they can outperform us even if they constantly use high-cost maneuvers and core boosting abilities."
It made sense now.
She initially assumed that the concentrated amounts of mag-ions, including the simulated cluster, within the arena were intended to throw their senses off during battle.
And since they were fighting in an enclosed space that could trap mag-ions, the mag-ion density would be incredibly high; more energy for the automatons to be absorbed and utilized.
No wonder they could constantly sustain their energy output without suffering any noticeable consequences.
I-Is this it? I don't want to things to end here, but… what can we do? What can I do?
The ice torrent shattered and collapsed as Yayoi emerged from the fine mist that now surrounded the area. Her turrets reformed into a staff and flew back into the destroyer's hand. "And that transforming staff of hers—it's an automaton too," he said. "It also serves as a fail-safe if ever the Funa Yurei loses influence on its host."
"Ho-How are we supposed to win then? There must be another way… right?!"
He paused, eyeing Murakumo approaching from his right. "What do you think?"
Inazuma grimaced. "Please… not now…"
"I'm not joking around."
"What do you expect me to answer?!"
"On the other hand, our backup should be here by now. Something must've happened out there to hold them up this long." Murakumo stood in front of him and lifted him by the neck. "Ngh… we have no choice… but to wait this out too."
"Murakumo!" Inazuma cried. "He can't fight anymore!"
Murakumo smiled as she tightened her grip on his neck, causing him to thrash his limbs wildly in the air. Yayoi was also wearing a sinister smirk, drawing her index finger at Inazuma.
A-Are they… taunting me? N-No, if this keeps up, he'll—
Gunfire suddenly erupted on her far left. She turned her head and saw Hatsuyuki and Akatsuki heading towards them while trading shots at each other. S-She can still fight?
Surrounded with a purple glow, Akatsuki gained a massive burst of speed and overtook Hatsuyuki. She suddenly turned around and swung her sabre horizontally. Hatsuyuki, enveloped in fiery white hue, slid under the attack and pushed herself into the air using her free hand. With her opponent's backside exposed, she summoned another portable turret and let loose a devastating salvo, causing the guns in her hands to explode from the feedback.
As she landed back to the water's surface, Hatsuyuki tossed the turrets away and produced another one with an equipment card. She pointed its barrels at Murakumo. "Put him down."
Murakumo slackened her hand instead, allowing the commander to pull his head up and take a deep breath. She then pointed at Yayoi who was beckoning Hatsuyuki with her staff.
"Fine," Hatsuyuki uttered, narrowing her eyes.
"H-Hatsuyuki," Inazuma said. "N-No, you shouldn't—"
The moment she lowered her guard and faced Yayoi, Akatsuki suddenly rocketed towards her and rammed an uppercut into her stomach. The vicious blow caused her to retch while suspended in the air with Akatsuki's fist. The purple-haired girl lowered the convulsing destroyer and jabbed an elbow on her back, slamming her into the water.
"Please, stop it! Akatsuki!"
Inazuma's pleas fell on deaf ears as Akatsuki produced a depth charge and flicked it into the spot where Hatsuyuki had sunk. Making a small smile, the destroyer hopped away just before the bomb released a spectacular explosion.
She and everybody else died out there, and I'm just a selfish coward who only thinks about her own safety.
I was too scared. I left her dying alone. I let her down when she needed my help the most.
Don't you understand? It's my fault!
It's all my fault!
The voices in her head pushed towards the edge. Rained upon by countless droplets, she wrapped her arms around her shivering body as she collapsed and buried her face in her thighs.
"N-No more…"
It was happening again. Only this time, the utter feeling of helplessness and despair had seized control of her body completely. She was focusing all her willpower just to keep her resolve alive and burning, but if she were to lose that as well, she would sink into a new level of disappointment and uselessness.
Hesitantly, Inazuma looked up from her knees and saw Akatsuki walking towards her. "I'm sorry Akatsuki, Hatsuyuki. I'm sorry everyone."
"I-If that's the case… let's give it a final shot..."
She could hear the commander muttering over the comm link. As she looked at him through blurry eyes, he struggled to turn his head towards her. "Inazuma," he said, "don't tell me you're giving up."
He sounded surprisingly confident just now. "C-Commander… ?"
"I told you guys that their priority is to gather combat data. Just give it your best shot."
"You saw what happened to Maricelle," she replied, "and she's way stronger than me. I honestly thought we stood a chance against them, but I was horribly wrong."
"I've seen numerous times what you girls are capable of. Just like those three, you're still holding back, right?"
She looked at her left hand. "B-But still… I can't…"
"You're undermining your own strength by thinking that you're inferior to the other girls. A fleet girl's strength is more than just raw power tucked away in her body."
"D-Do you really think… that I…"
"And honestly, I don't even know where you got that from. The difference between you and these three isn't that big—you're just making it look like it's the opposite."
"Sh-Shut up! You don't understa—" Murakumo tightened her grip around his neck once more. "Commander!"
He began slapping her forearm repeatedly. "Kgh—! I-I'm just building… her morale… let me… talk!"
"I knew it." She managed a bitter smile as she clenched her hand. But he's right. We already came this far… I-I can't give up now! For Akatsuki and everybody else's sake, I have to—
As if on cue, a huge torrent erupted behind Akatsuki.
She gasped as she saw the person standing within the deluge. "H-Hatsuyuki!"
Akatsuki welcomed the destroyer's return with several cannon shots and scored a direct hit. Inazuma was about to be seized by panic yet again when she picked up Hatsuyuki's unmoving silhouette within the smokescreen. She could feel that her mag-ions didn't diminish from the blast at all. In fact, it was continuing to rise each passing second.
As the smoke completely disappeared, Hatsuyuki had her face covered with her signed hair. She raised her head just for everyone to see her eyes brimming with anger. She was generating mag-ions beyond the capabilities of a mere destroyer, and the strain in doing so was painfully evident on her expression as well.
Bathed in a warm white light, the battered destroyer tore her blouse away and parted her legs. Her seething eyes never left Akatsuki. "I haven't made myself useful to our unit at all, and I just let myself be spoiled by everyone's hard work. You're the one who needs our help this time around, but I don't even have the strength to return the favor. I'm pathetic as always, huh?"
"Hatsuyuki," Inazuma whispered, "you're nothing like that…"
She clenched her hands as her mag-ions continued to swell. The white aura surrounding her became larger, emitting multiple red electric sparks. "You always scolded us at the slightest mistakes we make, but you never hesitated to cover us up for them. You were so loud and bossy that I sometimes wished that you should just disappear forever."
Akatsuki fired two more shells, but the dense aura surrounding Hatsuyuki protected her from the blasts. "I know that you aren't looking down on me whenever you say mean things to me, but it still hurts. It hurts because it's true. I did nothing but complain about everything that I find inconvenient to hide my insecurities."
All of her accumulated fury burst out of her body as a powerful gust of wind. "I was selfish to the core, but everything changes now! You've always told us not to underestimate our enemies. I'll… make you realize the mistake you've made!"
Hatsuyuki closed the distance between Akatsuki and herself with a single step and hit her face with a fierce right straight. The blow sent her opponent flying out of the pool and into a steel barrier. She produced another turret and fired at Akatsuki, but the possessed destroyer recovered quickly from the last attack as she sprinted away from the shelling.
As she circled around the raven-haired destroyer firing at her, Akatsuki launched a condensed shot from her shoulder mount. The shell penetrated Hatsuyuki's thick mag-ion field and struck her portable turret, causing it to explode. Not hindered in the slightest, Hatsuyuki used the smoke to mask her next maneuver, which allowed her to catch up with the other destroyer.
Hatsuyuki threw a left hook aimed at her opponent's head, but Akatsuki stepped sideways and countered with a spin kick that struck her waist. She stumbled sideways, giving time for Akatsuki to draw her sabre out once more. Akatsuki used both hands for a heavy downward swing, but Hatsuyuki righted herself just in time to catch the blade with an already injured right hand.
Inazuma gritted her teeth, standing up. She has exhausted too much energy already! I have to help her!
And when she was about to get into the action, Yayoi appeared in front of her and swatted her away with her staff. Inazuma pushed herself up and lined up her shoulder mount as Yayoi charged at her. But before she could fire a shell, another figure burst out of the water between them and punched the approaching destroyer in the stomach.
"You're mine," Maricelle said, grinning. "Time for round two!"
Apart from her missing legs, she seemed to have recovered enough to rejoin the fight.
Meanwhile, commotion also broke out on the commander's side as Ryuujou and Jintsuu squared off against Murakumo. A punch from the aircraft carrier sent the silver-haired destroyer skidding for quite a distance. "Perks of bein' an Irregular ain't all that bad, huh?" Ryuujou said, flexing her arm.
Now free from Murakumo's grasp, the commander launched his machete telekinetically towards Hatsuyuki. The destroyer caught the large knife with her free hand and swung at Akatsuki's side, but the possessed destroyer hopped away to avoid the attack. The two exchanged a series of blows with their blades before disengaging into a shootout.
The sudden turn of events left Inazuma astounded. "Wh-What just happened?" she asked.
"If you haven't realized just yet," the commander replied, "we still have a chance of turning this around."
An explosion erupted on her left. She watched Jintsuu firing at a fleeing Murakumo. "Wh-What do you mean?"
"Look closely at those three, and you'll know why."
She directed her attention to the destroyers, following them with her eyes. "Th-Their wounds! They haven't recovered yet!"
He let out a weak chuckle. "That means Pulse Zero did the job. Not the result I was expecting, but that works too."
"P-Pulse Zero?"
"It's the blast that I did earlier. It's designed specifically to cripple mag-ion devices and equipment."
"That's amazing!" She checked the console of her shield turret, just in case. It's still working even when I was caught in the blast. Maybe I got lucky...?
"But that's all I can do here. It's still up to you and the others to finish this." He reached out for his hatchet. "Catch."
As he let go of the axe, it flew towards her at a surprising speed. She let out a sigh of relief as she was able to catch it before it hit her face at full force. "A-Alright, leave it to me!"
Her spirit renewed, she followed Hatsuyuki's lead as they pressured Akatsuki with their combined shelling. But seemingly aware of her condition, Akatsuki became more careful and agile. True to her hard-earned experience in combat, Akatsuki was able to predict the trajectory of their shells before they could fire them, avoiding most of the incoming shots with ease. On the other hand, it put her in the defensive and prevented her from nailing them with her high-powered shells.
"Corner her!" Hatsuyuki cried.
Inazuma released a torpedo spread ahead of Akatsuki, forcing the purple-haired destroyer to make a sharp turn. As she did, it left her wide open for them to let loose a chain of explosions upon the destroyer.
They stopped firing a few seconds later and waited for the smoke to fade away. Akatsuki just stood there motionless as she looked into the eyes of Hatsuyuki. While she had her back to the wall and her body peppered with shrapnel, she still had that air of control and wariness even in her relaxed form.
Inazuma couldn't tell for sure, but one only thing was certain about Akatsuki: her relentless determination to never back down from any fight.
And sure enough, a dark purple hue engulfed her frame as she took a stance with her sabre.
"An invitation," Hatsuyuki mumbled, narrowing her eyes. "Fine. Let's finish this... together!"
Before Inazuma could voice her concerns, the other two destroyers rushed at each other and exchanged cannon shots for the last time. Both of them were struck twice, but the blasts didn't hinder them at all. Upon getting close, they raised their weapons charged with their mag-ions and swung them with all their power, causing the air around them to produce electric arcs.
And in the exact the moment their blades clashed, a huge force blasted outwards and knocked Inazuma away. The incredible energy being dispersed caused the water to collapse and be pushed outwards from the two destroyers, forming a deep wide cavity.
"Hatsuyuki!" Inazuma shouted, releasing her hatchet from its compact form. "Hold on!"
Akatsuki noticed her approach and began firing her shoulder mount. The secretary swerved to avoid one shell and intercepted the other with her shield projector. Raising her hatchet, she poured everything she could muster into the axe and swung at the purple-haired destroyer. Akatsuki shifted her body at the last second, but the glowing hatchet still managed to cleave through her shoulder turret and the top part of her torpedo mount plating.
The remains of her shoulder mount exploded afterwards, and Hatsuyuki used the minute distraction to bring down another powerful swing. Akatsuki blocked the blade with the blunt side of her sabre, but Inazuma was also about to hack at her again. She was left with no other option but to catch the blade with her free hand.
Inazuma gritted her teeth as she revved her core engine to Overdrive, engulfing her body in a bright saffron light. She used both hands to push through Akatsuki's unyielding grip. "I-It's not enough! She's just too strong!"
"Just a little more, Inazuma!" Hatsuyuki shouted. "One final burst should do it!"
She focused on bringing out her mag-ion reserves and channelled them into her arms. "Akatsuki, this is going to sting a bit!"
She suddenly pulled her hatchet out of her grasp and swung it right back, mutilating most of Akatsuki's hand. Akatsuki let out a scream and she began skidding backwards. Inazuma continued to hammer at Akatsuki until her purple mag-ion field began to dissipate and flicker. "Now!"
Hatsuyuki's white shroud became deep crimson as she brought her machete up above her head.
"Consider this my payback, Akatsuki!" The air crackled as she swung her blade downwards, and then came a distinct clang as the machete tore through Akatsuki's sabre. "Finish her off!"
Crouching down, Inazuma recalled her hatchet and levelled her shoulder mount's barrels at Akatsuki's belly. She muttered a silent prayer and closed her eyes.
"Please! Wake up!"
After shouting that, a loud crunch filled her ears. Her body was enveloped in a blistering heat.
And then, darkness.
As she came around, every muscle in her body seemed to be crying out in pain. Her face felt particularly warm and tender to the touch as well. She could also feel shrapnel embedded in her arms and torso.
She didn't even know that she was capable of creating such a powerful explosion in the first place.
Regardless, if a point-blank blast didn't do the trick—
No, it had to work! Or else… we'll be…
She shrugged off her doubts as she pushed herself up from the wavy surface.
Before the smoke could clear itself up completely, she saw Akatsuki already attempting to stand up. The purple-haired destroyer managed to take a few steps forward until she collapsed on her bottom. Disoriented, she looked up and stared at Inazuma's face.
The color in her eyes had returned. "Ina… zuma?"
"A-Akatsuki!" Tears quickly rolled down her cheeks. "Th-Thank goodness!"
She managed a smile. "I… I'm proud of you. I knew you could do it."
Putting all her energy into her legs, Inazuma stumbled towards her and gave her a tight hug. "You were conscious all this time?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm sorry. I… couldn't control my body…"
"Dummy! I chopped off your hand and almost killed you!"
"And you just did… what you had to do. Pluckiness is a mark of a true lady… after all." Akatsuki then looked at a steaming Hatsuyuki, who gave her a weak smile and a thumbs up. "I suppose… I should award you some Lady Points for your efforts earlier as well."
"A-And there she goes again…"
"What was that?"
"N-Nothing..."
Another blast echoed, shaking the very foundations of the facility. As a large chunk of the gigantic gate fell down, fleet girls and Navy marines poured out of the hole. "Y-Yayoi?!" Uzuki shouted. "T-To think that you've been here all this time… I'm going to knock some sense into your head! Just you wait!"
The fuming pink-haired destroyer leaped first into the pool, followed by Maya and Nagara. They quickly engaged Yayoi, who was already severely damaged by the abyssal princess. Meanwhile, Ryuujou and Jintsuu had Murakumo cornered, allowing Chikuma and the other fleet girls to take into position.
To Inazuma, the operation was as good as over.
She relaxed, breathing out a sigh of relief. She gave Akatsuki a bright smile. "After this, we should go—"
"Nnnarrggh!" Akatsuki pushed her away as her left hand dug into her skirt pocket. "I-Inazuma, stay back!"
Bluish arcs of electricity suddenly erupted from her body. "D-Don't tell me—" She shook her head. "Co-Commander, what should we do?"
"Mari, I need a boost!" he shouted, extending his hand towards her.
"Why bother? Just beat her up again thoroughly and—"
"Now!"
Astonished, Maricelle hurried to his side. But before she could get close, a steel arrow ripped the air and pierced through her waist. As she was distracted, Akatsuki summoned a forearm turret and aimed it at Inazuma. "N-No… get out… of the way!"
Before she could fire a shell, Jintsuu appeared behind her and plunged a dagger in her back. Akatsuki still managed to resist, ramming her elbow into the cruiser's stomach. Jintsuu staggered backwards as the destroyer was about to throw another punch, but she deflected the blow with her forearm and unsheathed the remaining dagger on her belt sheath. She thrusted the blade into her waist, generating wild sparks that crawled from her body.
"J-Jintsuu?" Inazuma cried. "Why?!"
The light cruiser remained stoic as she supported the limp destroyer from behind. "Would you look at that," Maricelle said. "At least that friend of yours is competent enough to do the job."
"But she didn't have to stab her like that!"
"Inazuma," Hatsuyuki said, "this Jintsuu… she's different from ours!"
Her eyes widened. "Th-Then that means… our Jintsuu is still…"
"Shocking." Maricelle snapped the arrow's shaft like a twig as she looked to her left. "That aside, whoever fired this little shit got some serious balls."
From the platform next to the canal entrance, the aircraft carrier Kaga had another arrow ready to be fired. The carrier Akagi was beside her as well, drawing two arrows from her sling quiver.
"What the hell are you doing?" Maya shouted, pointing at the Navy fleet girls surrounding them.
"I suggest that you don't do anything rash," a familiar voice shouted. "Don't make this situation any more complicated than it already is."
"Niro?" the commander uttered in disgust. "What are you doing here?"
The Navy commodore, wearing an augmentation suit, chuckled. "Let's answer that with another question: why do you keep disobeying the orders of your superiors? Your little escapade brought about a string of problems on top of the raid's aftermath. Even the task force Minako and Admiral Asai had assembled for you was amazed of your ineptness to follow a simple instruction."
"Ah," Hatsuyuki said. "We totally did that, didn't we?"
"Funny," the commander said, "I don't remember having to ask permission from any of you pretentious assholes in the Council."
Niro wore a satisfied look on his face. "Did you ask for our help the other day just so you could play your part as the bigger hero in this operation? How pathetic." He smirked. "But see, it doesn't matter now. You let your guard down, and you're going to pay for it."
"What are you—"
"Enough of your blabbering Niro," another man in an armored suit said as he walked up to him. "I want him and the rest apprehended at once."
Inazuma immediately recognized his face. He was the one who shot Commander!
"You know that I outrank you, right? But whatever." The commodore looked at the fleet girl beside him. "I'll leave this to you, Mutsu."
"Understood." She freed her topside turrets from their compact forms as she hopped into the pool. "I ask all of you to lay down your weapons and surrender. Initiating a fight that you cannot win is just foolish."
"You've got to be joking," Maricelle replied as she glared at the battleship. "I've already heard enough stupid crap tonight, so just clam it up and let's get this under way."
"If you insist." She trained her barrels at the abyssal destroyer. "I'll make sure you won't live long to regret your impudence."
Suddenly, Jintsuu began to panic. "Captain Tatsuki!" she shouted. "This girl needs to be treated immediately! Her mag-ions are quickly fading and—"
"She's already tainted by the Abyssal's blight," the officer replied. "Just let her sink and help us capture the rest first."
"But Captain—"
Akatsuki pulled herself away from Jintsuu and fired an explosive shell at her, sending the cruiser tumbling backwards. As she was about to face Inazuma next, an arrow struck her square in the chest. She collapsed into the water and started sinking.
"Akatsuki!" As she scooped her friend up with her arms, Inazuma froze. "Akat… suki?"
Akatsuki had breathed her last.
We came all this way for… nothing?
"And that's only the beginning, Liberator," the Navy captain said. "Either turn yourself in now or die to me."