Looks like rain, Shigure thought to herself as she glanced up at the cloudy sky.
The blue-eyed destroyer led her reserve fleet as they sailed behind Rear Admiral Genji's two main fleets. The ship girls had been sent to investigate a disturbance nearby the Midway Atoll in the Pacific, and American UAV reports suggested that there may be Abyssal activity in the area. Even so, it seemed like an actual battle with the enemy was unlikely, as they were still a fair distance away from Midway, so there was nothing of strategic importance for the Abyssals to attack.
However, that made it all the stranger: why would the Abyssals be conducting operations in an area where there was nothing of value? Rear Admiral Genji had suggested that it may be a maneuver meant as a distraction from the main assault on Los Angeles, so it was possible that the enemy would not even come out to fight. Though Shigure would be disappointed if she didn't get to do anything on her first real sortie, she felt that she would also be a bit relieved. As they were right now, her fleet had no training aside from the basics drilled into them from their previous life as warships and the base's standard regimen, and their admiral was not even there to command them. If they were forced to fight, the responsibility for her fleet would essentially fall solely upon Shigure's shoulders, and the destroyer wasn't sure if she was ready for that just yet.
I'm sure they would be disappointed if they didn't get to fight, though, she mused, eyeing her two more energetic sisters who were part of Genji's fleet. Yuudachi and Kawakaze had been on sorties before, and both of them looked pumped up to fight again, echoing the enthusiasm of their Secretary Ship.
"Hey, looks like it might rain," Murasame noted with a hint of excitement, sharing Shigure's thoughts. "Imagine our first sortie in the rain… Wouldn't that be fitting?"
"I suppose it would," Shigure smiled. Rain always put her in a good mood.
"Let's make it rain with the blood of the Abyssals instead!" Kiso declared, sailing up beside them.
"I doubt we will even see the enemy," Shiranui coldly responded. "Most likely, we'll just end up soaked and return empty-handed. What a wonderful way to start our new careers."
"Your optimism is infectious," Murasame sarcastically replied with a frown, causing Shiranui to simply shrug.
"Okay, everyone!" Kongou's cheery voice called out over the shared fleet comms. "We should be nearing the target area in about two minutes! Remember, if you see anything suspicious, share it with the rest of the fleet!"
The eighteen ship girls continued on until they reached the designated area of the ocean. The water there didn't look any different from the ocean around it, but apparently this was where the Abyssal activity was most prevalent. The fleet had mostly gone out of formation by now as they looked around the water, and though they searched for a good five minutes with their radar, sonar, and eyes, they didn't find anything out of the ordinary.
"Admiral, nothing's here, desu," Kongou reported into her earpiece, her tone slightly deflated.
"All right, that's what we assumed anyway. You might as well just -"
"Wait, something's coming up on the sonar," Kawakaze cut in. "It seems pretty big…"
"An enemy fleet?" Kongou questioned.
"No… It looks like a single object."
"What could that possibly be…" Genji wondered aloud. "Get back in formation and standby for further orders, I suppose."
The fleet complied, and as they returned to their battle formation, the object grew more conspicuous. The ship girls stood in the area and watched as a large black structure slowly began to surface from underneath the waves. It appeared to be a big cylinder-like shape, though only the very top of it was peeking above the ocean's surface.
"What the hell is that?" Junyou asked, raising an eyebrow at the thing.
"A new type of Abyssal?" Hiei guessed, cautiously readying her guns.
Ise shook her head. "It doesn't seem to be alive, so I doubt it's an Abyssal. I also don't know of any Abyssals being that big, since most of them seem to be around our size."
"Admiral, are you seeing this?" Kongou asked.
"An American UAV in the area should be arriving soon so we can get a broadcast here on the ship," he replied.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, a UAV could be seen flying in the distance, getting closer to the area as the object continued to emerge from under the water. However, as the UAV approached, the outer rim of the enormous cylinder's top surface suddenly began glowing a bright cyan. When the glow reached its peak, a lightning-fast laser shot out from the cylinder's edge and struck the UAV, blowing it up in an explosion of metal and fire.
"What the hell?!" Genji exclaimed. "Did that thing just blow up the UAV?"
"Uh, yes, it appears so, sir," Ise replied, still staring up in surprise at the blast.
"Well, then it's likely some sort of anti-air platform. Either way, it's presence clearly isn't good for us, so we should destroy it. All ships except for the carriers, prepare to fire. Eliminate that thing."
"You heard him! Ready your guns, desu!" Kongou called out as she cast an arm forward and aimed her guns at the large black structure.
The rest of the fleet, reserves included, also took aim at the pillar, and after checking briefly to make sure that everyone was prepared, Kongou gave the final order.
"Fire!"
A symphony of firing cannons rung out through the tumultuous ocean air, and loud crashes resulted as shells from almost every ship type smashed into the side of the black pillar, which was still slowly rising from the water. A brief period of silence followed the explosions, and the pillar was obscured by black smoke for a few seconds before it dissipated, revealing the structure to be unharmed.
"Admiral, it looks like the volley was ineffective," Kongou informed Genji, eyeing the pillar suspiciously.
"What? Just what is that thing made of?"
"What should we do now?"
"Well… For now, just -"
Kongou's attention quickly shifted away from her admiral's words when Yuudachi interrupted them.
"A large number of unknown contacts are appearing on the sonar, poi! They look like they're Abyssals this time!"
"Bloody hell!" Kongou exclaimed. "How many?"
"Uh… Fourteen, I think!"
"Only fourteen?" Kiso repeated. "There's eighteen of us here. We can take them!"
"Looks like we have no choice! They're right under us!" Ise said, readying her guns once more.
"Everybody, back up!" Kongou commanded, waving the fleets back. "Get in formation! Prepare to fire if necessary!"
With a sense of urgency now palpable in the air, the three fleets sailed back in their formation, with Genji's two main fleets lined up side by side and Drake's reserve force in the back. They then stood there as they awaited the arrival of the Abyssals, the strange black pillar slowly continuing to rise from the sea all the while.
Soon enough, fourteen shapes emerged from the depths, revealing themselves to the ship girls. This time it was clear that it was Abyssals they were facing, as all fourteen of the enemy ships were similar in size to the ship girls themselves. However, what surprised the fleet was that the vast majority of the Abyssals were unrecognizable types that they had never seen before, not even in any videos or post-battle reports collected from the Abyssal War thus far.
Though many of these Abyssals were unknown to the ship girls, Kongou did recognize two of them, and she did not like what she saw. Standing in front of her were the Battleship Princess and the Airfield Princess, two of the strongest Abyssals known to exist. Kongou's expression darkened as she realized that the situation had shifted heavily in favor of the Abyssals. One Princess was enough of a challenge, but two? And who knew how strong the other twelve Abyssals present were?
The ship girl and Abyssal fleets faced off, neither one making a move. Some of the ship girls, the destroyers in particular, widened their eyes in fear at the strange beasts that were attached to the Abyssals. If the Abyssal herself wasn't intimidating enough, her beast looked like it came straight out of hell and can and would kill you in the most horrifying way imaginable.
Finally, the Battleship Princess stepped forward. Though she had the appearance of a pale but beautiful young woman, the horns on her head and her dangerous, glowing red eyes gave the air around her a sinister atmosphere. Her enormous beast lurked behind her, its jaw open and lined with sticky saliva. It breathed heavily as it moved forward on its grotesque, muscular gray arms.
"Who is the flagship of this fleet?" Battleship Princess asked in English, her voice raspy but lined with a sharp edge at the same time.
Kongou took a moment to compose herself before stepping forward. "I am. Are you the Battleship Princess?"
The Abyssal gave a sickly smile. "Yes. Judging by your appearance… You must be Kongou, nameship of the Kongou-class, correct?"
Slightly unnerved that the Abyssals had that intelligence on her, Kongou nevertheless nodded. The British-born battleship briefly wondered why her admiral was being so silent at a time like this, but it wasn't as if he could save them anyway. Since the UAV had been destroyed, it was also possible that he had no clue what was even going on right now.
"Well, you are quite unlucky, aren't you, Miss Kongou?" The Battleship Princess continued. "You seem to have run into fourteen Abyssal Princesses at the same time… A shame."
With that sentence, the Battleship Princess had confirmed Kongou's worst fears. "W-what do you want? Why are there fourteen Princesses here?"
"Ah, of course. You see that object behind us?" Battleship Princess asked, briefly glancing at the black pillar. "That is Bethlehem. It is our headquarters, and we have decided that it is finally time for us to move it from the seafloor so that we can begin our operations in earnest. Its appearance would undoubtedly make a ruckus, so we came here to guard it as it surfaces."
"Wait," Ise then cut in, "so the attack on the American coast… Was that a diversion?"
Battleship Princess nodded. "That is correct. The fleet we sent to Los Angeles was relatively weak, but we knew that you humans would not take the defense of such an important city lightly. With most of your resources devoted towards stopping that attack, you would not be able to send a significant presence to oppose the rise of Bethlehem… Though it appears that you did manage to scrounge up some forces. We expected one fleet, two at most, but it looks like you brought three… No matter. It will not make a difference."
"Hey, where're those Kido Butai bitches?" the Airfield Princess asked, scanning over the ship girl fleet. "Come on, don't tell me that they didn't show up?"
"Why, so you can get your ass kicked again?" one of the smaller Abyssals said with a smirk. She had glowing purple eyes and snow-white hair and skin, and the lower half of her body appeared to be encased within her beast, which was a sort of platform with two demonic-looking jaws where her right and left legs should be.
"Shut up, brat," Airfield Princess spat. "I almost had them…"
"Either way," Battleship Princess interrupted, "I think it is time to sink them. Reinforcements could be an annoyance, so it is better to get rid of them now."
The ship girls immediately went on edge and prepared for combat, though they were all notably less enthusiastic and more apprehensive about fighting now that they knew exactly who they were up against.
"Wait!" Kongou called out, stopping anything from happening. Though the ship girls outnumbered the Abyssals, there was no way that they could take on fourteen Princesses at the same time. "I… I have a proposal to make."
"Oh?" Battleship Princess raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Let us hear it, then."
Kongou sucked in a breath before fixing the Battleship Princess with a determined stare. "I challenge you to a one-on-one duel! If I win, you all have to leave this place immediately!"
"Huh?" Airfield Princess scowled. "Are you stupid? Can't you see -"
"And what if I win?" Battleship Princess cut her off.
"Then we'll leave, or you can try and sink us if you really want," Kongou answered.
"... You're not seriously going to accept this challenge, are you, Dyson?" the smallest Princess asked, crossing her arms.
"Why not? I think it may be entertaining," Battleship Princess replied as she stepped forward again. "Battleship Kongou. I accept your terms. If you have the courage, come and face me."
Kongou's eyes lingered on the Princess' fearsome beast for a moment, but she forced herself to move forward. For the sake of the fleet… I can't lose here!
"No! Sister, have you lost your mind!?" Hiei called out.
Kongou tried to give Hiei a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I won't lose, desu!"
"But…!"
Ise grabbed hold of Hiei, preventing the younger Kongou-class battleship from doing anything rash.
"We don't know if the Abyssal will keep her promise, but this is the best chance we have," Ise told Hiei. "Only twelve of us have seen combat before, and there are fourteen Abyssal Princesses over there. Kongou is the strongest ship in our fleet, and so it's far more likely that she could win a one-on-one rather than have us fight a full fleet battle."
The ship girl and Abyssal fleets gave the two combatants some room, backing up slightly. Kongou and the Battleship Princess, also known as Dyson, faced each other, the former with a look of determination and the latter with a smirk on her face.
"I will give you the first move," Battleship Princess announced, "so go ahead and -"
Before the Abyssal could even finish her sentence, Kongou had fired her guns, hitting Dyson squarely in the torso with a full volley. With the smoke from the shots still hanging in the air, Kongou charged towards the Battleship Princess.
Now, while she's stunned!
Kongou grit her teeth and prepared to smash the Abyssal's face in with a right haymaker. However, just before her fist could make contact, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked down and found the Battleship Princess' hand lodged in her breast, the blood slowly starting to spread through her white miko uniform. A crash of thunder sounded, and rain slowly began to fall.
The sickening sound of slick blood and tearing flesh filled the stormy air as the Battleship Princess pulled her hand out of Kongou's chest cavity. The normally-cheery battleship looked down in horror at the hole in her torso, then coughed up a spurt of blood and collapsed onto the ocean's surface.
As the rest of the ship girls stared in shocked silence, the Battleship Princess licked the blood off her hand before kicking the supine Kongou back in the direction of the ship girls.
"Weak," the Princess merely stated as she smiled softly, her red eyes flashing devilishly.
She then turned around to face the rest of her comrades. The thirteen other Abyssal Princesses were lined up behind her, their expressions ranging from bored indifference to lustful hunger. Behind them, the enormous black pillar slowly rose from the choppy waves and into the dark sky.
"Now, my Princesses," the Battleship Princess began, "please show them the true power of an Abyssal!"
With another crash of thunder, all hell broke loose. The Abyssal Princess launched themselves at the ship girls, and the ship girls, their hesitation replaced by rage as they watched their flagship be cut down so easily, charged forward as well. Explosions and gunfire filled the air, adding to the sounds of thunder and pattering rain.
Shigure found herself in the company of her three sisters as they struggled to make sense of the situation. The waves became choppy, throwing off their balance as they dodged flying shells and aircraft, both hostile and friendly.
"S-someone needs to contact the Admiral!" Kawakaze yelled over the sounds of the battle.
Yuudachi shook her head. "I tried already, poi! Something's jamming the communications! I think it might be that Bethlehem thing or whatever!"
Shigure frowned. "Maybe one of us should head back to the ship and tell him. The battle right now has no organization…"
"That bitch," Murasame cursed, "that Dyson bitch must have realized that the result of her duel would cause our fleet to lose its formation like this…"
"Nothing we can do about it now, poi! Just try not to die!"
Shigure shook her head. "No, Yuudachi. You heard them, didn't you? Those are all Abyssal Princesses. How are we possibly supposed to beat them?"
"But it's not like we can give up, right?" Kawakaze countered. "We won't know unless we try."
"You girls look like you're having a fun time."
The four Shiratsuyu-class destroyers whirled around to see the small Abyssal Princess from before.
"Hello! I hope I'm not interrupting something."
"Shigure, Murasame, get back, poi," Yuudachi hissed as she prepared for battle along with Kawakaze. "We'll handle this."
"H-huh? No way!" Murasame protested. "We can't let you fight on your own!"
"It doesn't fucking matter," the Abyssal cut in. "You're all going to die no matter what you do, okay? But I do like it when they fight back, so feel free to give everything you have!"
"Leave us alone, and you won't get hurt," Kawakaze advised the Princess. "It's four against one. You can't win."
The Abyssal merely laughed at that. "Ha! Is that so? Do you know who you're talking to? I am the Destroyer Princess! Regular destroyers like you stand no chance against me, whether there is one or one hundred of you!"
"So we're going to have to fight after all, huh?" Kawakaze realized. "Well, if that's the case, then take this!"
The red-haired destroyer fired her guns at the Destroyer Princess, but the Abyssal slunk away from the shots, moving at a speed that shocked all four ship girls. The Destroyer Princess then rushed at the four of them, socking Kawakaze under her chin before she could even think of reacting. Yuudachi shifted her position and aimed her gun at the speedy Abyssal, firing as soon as the Princess made contact with Kawakaze. The shots were on target, but they had no noticeable effect as the Abyssal simply turned around and rushed at Yuudachi this time.
The blonde destroyer tried to leap away, but the Destroyer Princess was far too fast. The Princess grabbed Yuudachi by the red school ribbon around her neck, pulling her forward. Yuudachi lost her balance, allowing the Destroyer Princess to crush Yuudachi's throat with her right hand, causing the ship girl to fall onto the surface of the ocean and cough. The Destroyer Princess then aimed her handcannon at Yuudachi's head, preparing to execute her, but Shigure stepped in, firing her own gun at the Abyssal and causing the enemy to flinch slightly.
The Destroyer Princess then turned her purple gaze on Shigure, scowling angrily all the while. Shigure felt a pang of fear course through her spine as she felt the full force of the Princess' killing intent, and she suddenly lost the ability to aim her gun properly. Her limbs felt like jelly, and even as the Abyssal sailed towards her, she found it hard to move.
"Shigure!" Murasame called out, firing at the Destroyer Princess at the same time. The Abyssal easily dodged the shot, barely needing to slow down her charge.
Murasame cursed at her miss, then decided to charge straight at the Princess. Noticing Murasame behind her, the Destroyer Princess smirked and flipped around to face her. With the Abyssal's full attention now on her, Murasame hesitated for a moment, and the Destroyer Princess aimed her gun on her left hand and her guns at her 'feet' at the twintailed destroyer. The cannons fired, and Murasame was consumed in a flurry of explosions.
"No!" Shigure yelled, finally snapped out of her daze. Praying that Murasame was all right, Shigure fired at the Destroyer Princess again, though this time, she missed by a mile. The Princess laughed as she stood still and watched Shigure's shots fly by.
The smoke cleared around Murasame's body, and she was no longer in any condition to fight. Her left leg had been completely blown off, and her entire back was on fire as she lay faced-down on the water's surface, her otherwise-motionless body being tossed around by the rowdy waves. It appeared that she was still alive since she didn't begin sinking, but it was evident that her life force wouldn't last for much longer.
"Murasame…" Yuudachi muttered in horror as she recovered. She then turned her furious turquoise eyes towards the Destroyer Princess. "You bitch… I'll kill you!"
Shots were fired at the Destroyer Princess, but they weren't from Yuudachi. Kawakaze returned to the battlefield as well, but her attack also sailed wide, causing the Abyssal to shake her head in disappointment.
"Look at you all. You're just firing blindly, and you have no strategy whatsoever," she chided. "Are all ship girls this incompetent without their admirals? Do you really rely on humans that much?"
"Shut the fuck up!" Yuudachi roared, firing all her guns along with every torpedo she had.
The Destroyer Princess evaded the shots once more, disappearing from her previous location almost instantaneously. She zipped past Shigure as she turned towards Yuudachi, throwing seawater into Shigure's face as she sailed by. Yuudachi, still feeling the recoil from her shots, gasped in surprise as the Destroyer Princess charged up to her and aimed her left handguns at Yuudachi's head, trying to finish her off for good this time. Yuudachi barely managed to avoid certain death by swerving away and raising her arms in front of her face, but this resulted in the Destroyer Princess' shot hitting Yuudachi's right shoulder instead. The resulting close-range shot caused Yuudachi's arm to almost go flying off, but her shoulder remained loosely attached to her torso, hanging onto the bone by a few strings of flesh.
"Auuughghh!" Yuudachi shrieked, unable to hold in the pain. She desperately tried to sail away, but the Destroyer Princess refused to let her go. The Abyssal grabbed hold of Yuudachi's right arm, pulling on it as the ship girl sailed in the opposite direction. This caused the arm to completely rip off, and Yuudachi yelled out in agony once more, collapsing onto the ocean's surface this time.
Shigure watched in muted horror as all this unfolded within a span of a few seconds. No… What's going on?
"Fuck you!" Kawakaze shouted defiantly, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. She rushed the Princess, aiming to beat her down with her handgun.
Surprisingly, the Princess did not move, instead allowing Kawakaze to approach. Kawakaze smashed her gun onto the Destroyer Princess' headgear, but the impact seemed to have no effect, merely creating a dull ringing noise as metal impacted metal. The Destroyer Princess used their close proximity to maneuver her lower body towards Kawakaze, and one of the jaws on her 'feet' managed to grab hold of Kawakaze's ankle.
"L-let go!" the red-haired destroyer feebly cried, but it was too late. With a loud crunch, the jaws completely crushed Kawakaze's ankle, staining its teeth red with the ship girl's blood.
Kawakaze screamed as she fell, unable to maintain her balance with only one leg. However, this allowed the other jaw to grab hold of Kawakaze's remaining leg, and this time, the beast completely cleaved off the destroyer's foot, grinding it to dust inside its maw. Kawakaze's loud, pained cries forced Shigure into action, and she fired at the Destroyer Princess, making sure to properly take aim this time. The shots missed, but they at least managed to get the Abyssal away from Kawakaze, whose ankles were now freely pouring blood into the dark ocean.
"Pathetic, all of you," the Destroyer Princess said with a wide grin. "This was barely even a workout."
"Shi… Shigure…" Kawakaze called out, fighting through the intense pain. "Run… Go tell the Admiral…"
The Destroyer Princess burst out laughing at this. "Oh, you're going to run? All right! If you're okay with leaving your friends here to die, then go ahead. I promise I won't chase after you."
"No, I would never…"
"Shigure…!" Yuudachi also yelled as she weakly lifted her head. "If… If at least you can get out alive…"
Shigure hesitated. On one hand, she did not want to leave her sisters to their certain deaths. On the other hand, even if she stayed they would all most likely die anyway, and after what the Destroyer Princess did to her sisters, Shigure was even more terrified to face her.
"Indecisive, are we?" the Destroyer Princess taunted. "How about this: I promise you that if you stay, I will give you a death far more horrible and painful than what I did to your friends. But if you leave, I'll kill them all for sure. What do you say? Hahaha!"
The Abyssal's violet eyes burned with a mad luster, and the jaws at her heels snapped wildly. All Shigure's instincts told her to run, and even her logical side knew that she stood no chance against the Destroyer Princess on her own.
But I can't run…
Ever since Shigure had been reborn as a ship girl, she had been plagued by the memories of her past service in World War II. The thing that haunted her the most was the destruction of the Nishimura Fleet and how she was the sole survivor. Those feelings of regret and cowardice refused to leave her even now that all those ships had been reborn as well, and she still found herself at Surigao Strait in her dreams, reliving those awful moments.
No matter what happens, she decided as she raised her weapon, I will not run. This Abyssal Princess may torture me in any way she likes, but nothing can compare to the pain of leaving my comrades to die!
"Ah… Maybe you're stronger than I thought," the Destroyer Princess said when she noticed Shigure's refusal to run. "Well then, the least I can do is carry out my promise. Prepare yourself, fool!"
Shigure fired and then immediately backed up, trying to develop a strategy that would allow her to overcome the odds and defeat the Princess. She's much faster than I am, and her armor and firepower far outweigh mine… The only real advantage I have over her is that I have legs and she doesn't, but even that doesn't matter because she can still easily outmaneuver me. What can my legs do that her lower body can't?
It was then that Shigure realized the answer. Though it was a longshot, it would have to do. The Destroyer Princess avoided Shigure's first shot and rushed towards her, her purple eyes blazing. Shigure remained in place, and instead of running from her much-faster opponent, she instead chose to take her time and aim properly, shooting the air directly in front of the Destroyer Princess, effectively leading her shot. Since the Abyssal was moving at such high speeds and did not expect Shigure to aim at a location other than her body, the Princess ran right into the shots, causing her to cry out in surprise and stop her momentum. Shigure chose this moment to rush forward.
My firepower has very little effect, but physical attacks can still cripple her if used in the right place!
The Shiratsuyu-class destroyer sped forward, her engines running at full capacity. The Destroyer Princess had recovered and raised her left arm gun to stop Shigure in her tracks, but instead of trying to dodge, Shigure instead jumped into the air and planted both her feet into the Destroyer Princess' face. The unexpected impact flipped the Princess over, and now she lay on her back on the surface of the ocean. Snarling with the pent-up fury she held inside, Shigure turned her guns on the Destroyer Princess, who was struggling to right herself among the choppy waves, her lack of legs only making that task harder. Shigure gave a wild roar before firing her full salvo at the defenseless Abyssal. The sea around the Destroyer Princess exploded upwards as Shigure's shots hit their target, and without waiting for the spray to die down, Shigure rushed at her enemy. However, before she could get her hands on the Abyssal and strangle the life out of her, Shigure noticed shapes underneath the water heading towards her.
Torpedoes!? She managed to launch torpedoes in that state?
Forced to now zig-zag in order to avoid the torpedoes, Shigure was thrown off course. The destroyer managed to escape the underwater projectiles, but she had no time to rest as she felt something hard slam into her, sending her skipping across the surface of the ocean. When she finally lost speed and came to rest among the unruly waves, Shigure feebly got to her feet, coughing all the while. It hurt to breathe, and her ribs felt like they had been smashed to pieces. Unwanted tears rushed to the corners of her eyes as she tried to remain standing, but the pain was slowly overcoming her.
She had no time to recover as a second blow knocked her to the ground, and this time, she didn't even bother trying to get up. The Destroyer Princess stood above her, the Abyssal's eyes burning even brighter.
"Okay… That kind of hurt, I will admit," the Princess said, her cocky smile replaced by a frown. "But even that is nothing to an Abyssal Princess. Now, as promised, I am going to kill you. My beast here will slowly chew you up until there is nothing left."
Shigure moaned in pain as she tried to crawl away, but one of the Princess' jaws took hold of her left foot, much like it had done to Kawakaze earlier. However, this time, the jaw bit down and began chewing upwards, crushing Shigure's entire foot and moving up towards the rest of her left leg. Shigure desperately tried to turn and pry her leg free with both her hands, but this allowed the second jaw to bite down on Shigure's right arm, drawing blood as its dull white teeth began crushing it. Shigure's screams were lost among the sounds of crunching bone and tearing flesh as the Princess' jaws slowly consumed the ship girl. Trying feebly to break free, Shigure writhed in their grip, but this only caused her body to contort even further, inflicting more pain.
"Noooo! Stop, please!" she begged, tears freely streaming down her face. The ocean around her had become dyed red with her blood, and shards of splintered bone littered the waves.
The Destroyer Princess smiled. "Your screams… They're even better than I imagined!"
Shigure continued to cry into the stormy air, making sounds she never thought she could as the rain washed away her blood and tears. As the pain overwhelmed her senses and her consciousness began to fade, she saw the faces of her sisters, which were then replaced by the faces of those in the Nishimura Fleet.
I'm sorry, everyone… I failed…