Chapter 16: Humanity's traitor

" Cheers!" The two bottles of beer made a clinking sound, and the two men started to drink. The bar was bursting with people. One needed to be awfully close to another person to hear them between the loud talking and strident laughs of the not-sober people in the bar.

However, that didn't matter to the two men since they were in a festive mood; it was a special occasion after all.

One of them finally lowered his bottle, only to see that the other was still drinking.

"Hey William, be careful with that." He said, laughing. "Do you want your new subordinates to see you like a drunkard?"

William only answered when his bottle was almost half empty.

"What?" He made an exaggerated gesture with his ear. "Is a mere Commander ordering ME around, an Admiral? You can face court-martial just for that!"

"As if they would hear a man with more alcohol in his veins than blood."

"Oh, they would hear me, and you know why? Because starting today, I am an Admiral, a fucking Admiral! And the best one in this country!"Said William and once again brought the bottle to his lips.

"The best of the best!" Repeated the Commander, and he too drank some more.

"And as the best Admiral of the country, I need the best Commander serving under me, someone I can actually trust with my life. You know what I mean, right Clarke?"

"I know that you are drunk." He chuckled.

"MAYBE!" He shouted, but his voice was just a whisper in the loud noise of the bar. "But that doesn't mean I don't want you working with me." Despite his state, his voice started to become serious. "I have known you for what, seven years now? I know you are capable."

"Is that so? I bet that if I accepted, you would just put me on clean duties for the rest of my service." He laughed. "And let me tell you, I have cleaned enough toilets in our academy days for a lifetime. I am not going to do it again, my friend."

"I am serious." He put his bottle on the table, making it clear that he wasn't joking around. "There is no one I rather have as my right hand than you."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, do you think I have other friends?"

Both of them burst into laughter.

"So, what do you say?" The Admiral kept trying to persuade him. "You are in?"

"Ah…well…." A conflicted expression appeared on the Commander's face."Sorry, man. I can't do it."

"Tch, come on." The Admiral said, with obvious disappointment."Is it because we were classmates? You know I would be a good boss."

"It's not that I don't want to, really. It just that…." Clarke released a deep sigh. "I wanted to tell you about this, but I guess I wasn't quick enough."

"What do you mean…?"

"I got reassigned; I have a week or so to pack all my things and move to my new position."

"What…?" The Admiral was confused; he hadn't heard anything like that from the higher-ups. "Reassigned where?"

"That's confidential, apparently."

"What the fuck? Confidential?" He couldn't contain his surprise. "What, you are going to spy on the Russians or something?"

"Can't say, sorry."

"Come on. You know, I won't say anything. I don't want those damn bureaucrats going after my ass. Besides, I have a higher rank than yours. Why are you the one they call for the secrets stuffs?"

"Alright, alright, don't start crying over me." He gestured the Admiral to come a little closer, even though whatever he could say would be lost in the noisy bar. Regardless, the Admiral did it, and Clarke whispered in his ear. "I was assigned to supervise a top-secret project that is in development right now; they are even using those old subterranean labs again."

"What, a secret project? Are they testing biological agents behind the United Nations' back? That shit could go to hell at the first oversight."

"I haven't been told the full details, but if the limited information that was given to me is true, then it's not exactly that. It's an entirely new type of weapon, something far different from the ones we are accustomed to."

" …? What kind of weapons?"

"Sentient weapons."

"Thinking about the past?" The apparition behind him asked.

The Admiral turned around to see the face of his friend, Commander Clarke, smiling as if someone had told a good joke; the situation wasn't one for jokes, however.

"You can read minds?" The Admiral asked, serious. At this point, he wouldn't find it weird for him to be capable of that.

They were the only ones in the room, as doctor O'dyne had decided to leave the Admiral alone after failing to convince him to stop, not knowing that he was, in fact, not alone.

"I can do a lot of things." Was the uncommitted response of the man that resembled his friend so much.

The Admiral sighed.

"I remembered about the last time we were together….before this." He once again turned around to look at the girl floating in the glass pillar, her eyes still remained shut. "In the bar, when I offered you the position as my right hand, remember?"

"Oh? But that wasn't our last meeting. We met one last time before I came here. Did you forget?"

"…yes, you are right, you did come to say goodbye before leaving. I must be remembering wrong." He wasn't. William clearly remembered everything. Instead, it was a test—a test to determine if the apparition was really his late friend. So far, he had proved to remember everything they had went through, from their time in the academy to their years of service. In aspect and memories, the apparition was one hundred percent his friend.

But something bothered him, he couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but he could feel there was something wrong with this Clarke. It was like his body and mind were the same, but the person he knew wasn't inside that body anymore.

His eyes moved towards the black cube floating in the other pillar. If he could get his hands on it again, maybe he could…

"You shouldn't," Clarke said suddenly.

"…what?"

"You shouldn't mess too much with Siren technology, especially with those cubes." He walked towards the pillar until he could put his palm on it. "They are not from this time, you know? That's why they behave so erratic, so unstable: they miss their home, they want to go back to their proper timeline."

"You talk about them as if they were alive."

Clarke laughed.

"Alive, dead, living, unanimated. Those words have long since started to lose their meaning." He turned to look back at the Admiral and tilted his head. "I mean, I should be dead. I was killed by one of the prototypes, after all, but look at me. I am here now, talking with my good friend. Isn't it marvelous?"

"…"

Every fiber of his being told him to not trust that man, the man that looked so similar to his friend but at the same time wasn't quite him. Whatever the Sirens did to bring him back from the dead changed him; he was no longer the man he remembered as his friend.

However, he needed his help. He touched the cube after all; he saw what was to come.

A war, one that won't be fought by humans but by those prototypes, by "shipgirls" as their kind is supposedly called. A war where humanity would be mere spectators, no different from a helpless child caught between the crossfire of a battlefield.

He couldn't allow that future to ever happen, he wouldn't allow those weapons to take control of the world. He had lost one friend to them once; he couldn't allow it to happen again.

"You said the black cube will allow me to control this one." He gestured to the woman in the tube. "And now you are saying I shouldn't touch it?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong; you should be able to use it just fine to command her, but if you try to look into the future again…." Clarke hit his temple a few times. "Your mind might not take it well."

"I don't care what happens to me, as long as I can stop them." The Admiral declared, without an iota of doubt.

"So be it, then." Clarke smiled with sadism. "Today, once the sun sets on the horizon, they will come, and you will get what you desperately desire, my friend. You will get your revenge."

"…" The Admiral didn't say anything, but he would have been lying if he said it was all for the sake of humanity. Deep inside, he knew that it was more than that.

What the phantom of his friend said was true. He wanted revenge, revenge for the death of his friend.

And he would get it, even if it was the last thing he would do.

It was said that no plan survives contact with the enemy, and I was inclined to agree; my own plan got completely ruined even before starting. I kept foolishly thinking that if I managed to convince Elizabeth to change her ways, then the rest of my problems would eventually be resolved.

I was wrong, so horribly wrong. I completely forgot about the others sides of the conflict: the humans and the Sirens, which were taking their toll now.

The entire Royal Navy, except for Sheffield, and I were there in the command room, watching dumbfounded how the presence of a Siren had been detected in the base we were supposed to assault.

"Why…? Why the Sirens are there of all places?" Edinburgh was the first one to speak; she appeared as confused as the rest of us. "Are they attacking the humans?"

"They are not attacking." Declared Elizabeth; her voice was in complete command mode. "There have been no reports of gunshots or explosions of any kind around the base. If the humans had been attacked, there should have been signs of resistance."

"Besides, if they attacked at this time of the day, then there would be dozens of eyewitnesses," I added. "Every person and their mothers have a mobile nowadays; pictures of the Sirens would be on the internet in mere minutes."

Unless they had some way to stop or erase them from the internet, but if that were the case, why bother assaulting a base in the middle of the day when they can do it in the relative safely of the night?

"But if they are not attacking…." Started Edinburgh.

"Yes, they are there for another reason." Finished Warspite, her eyes sunk into the red dot in the giant screen. "Maybe my initial theory was wrong; maybe the Sirens and humans were cooperating all along."

"Hmm, the attack of Dido and Sirius was timed perfectly for when we, the maids, left the base." Belfast said, thoughtfully. At the same time, Dido quickly apologized to everyone, and Sirius looked away ashamed. "It truly seems too much of a coincidence; the possibility that they are working together is indeed high."

"…" Elizabeth remained in silence for a moment, digesting all this new information. "Regardless if they are working together or not, our objective has not changed. We have to assault the Admiral's base and retrieve the Wisdom Cubes. The appearance of the Sirens only means that we should act as soon as possible." She turned to look at me. "Ritsuka, I know I said you could rest, but we really can't wait anymore. Do you think you can command the assault tonight?"

"…Yes, your Majesty." Truthfully, I hadn't fully recovered yet, but it's not like I had another choice.

"Good, I leave the logistic of the assault to you." She then spoke to the rest of the Royal Navy. "Be prepare, everyone. We'll depart at 2400 hours!"

"Y-your Majesty? Does that mean…?" Warspite tried to ask.

"Yes, I am going too, Warspite. I won't repeat the same mistake twice. I won't divide our forces." She closed her fist in front of her face. "This time, when the enemy attacks, we'll be together as a unified faction!"

It seemed that the knight wanted to argue, but ultimately, she just lowered her head.

"As you wish, your Majesty."

"Good, if there isn't another matter to discuss, you are dismissed!" She hit her scepter on the floor, putting an end to the reunion.

"Yes, your Majesty!" Everyone answered in almost perfect unison.

The fight between the Admiral and the Royal Navy seemed to be inevitable.

Once the emergency meeting had ended, everyone began to part ways to start preparing for the imminent assault to the military base. Belfast and I, however, stayed behind in the tunnel corridors.

"This makes the situation a lot more difficult." She said. "I doubt Her Majesty would be willing to hear us knowing that the Sirens got involved."

"You are right..." I reluctantly agreed. "We can't just talk about peace if the Admiral is truly working with the Sirens, nor we can ignore them either; if the Sirens are up to something, then we should stop them at any cost." Maybe it was my fear of Purifier speaking, but I felt that we would be making a grave mistake if we left the Sirens alone. "However, that means…"

"The assault to the Admiral's base is inevitable." Belfast said drily.

"Yes…" I clenched my fist in a fury, feeling out of options. Was the war really the only solution to this conflict? "The best we can do is to try to keep the causalities to the minimum. " That's the reason I became their Commander, after all, to be in a position of power; to be able to stop a massacre before it happened.

"Her Majesty had made it clear that she doesn't want to hurt the soldiers. The only ones that are at risk are…"

"The Admiral and Haydes."

Silence, neither of us knew what to say next.

As long as Elizabeth didn't have the Wisdom Cubes, she wouldn't execute the Admiral, the only person that might know where they are. However, if the cubes were on the base, then…she would have no need for him or Haydes.

"…"

We won't gain anything by doing nothing. If we wanted to save Marcia, we should do something now.

"How often do they check on Marcia?" I asked.

"Every three or four hours, whenever is time for the meals, I am the one in charge of it."

"So that means you need to visit her one last time before we have to go, right?"

"Indeed."

"Good. You can set her free then."

"…Master?"

"You have my permission to let her escape. She knows this base; she should be able to escape on her own if she avoids the cameras. Besides, Elizabeth will be coming with us, so there won't be a better time for her to escape than now."

Belfast lowered her gaze, no doubt feeling caught between her loyalties. Even though she wants Marcia to survive, acting behind the Queen's back must be hard for her.

"I know I am putting you in a difficult position, and I would gladly do it myself, but it would be too strange for me to go visit Haydes all of sudden. It has to be you, Belfast."

Look at me, making her do all the work after I said I would take full responsibility. Unfortunately, there wasn't another way.

"If you need it, I can make it an order. That way you…"

"No." She shook her head. "That won't be necessary, Master. I'll do it." She said, and I could see the decision behind her words.

"So you have made your choice."

"Yes." She looked at her fist. "I have been having these doubts for a long time, thinking that it was wrong to feel this way, feeling guilty for ever doubting the Queen's orders. "Her amethyst eyes looked at me again. "But I think...no, I am sure that is what I want to do, I want to save Marcia's life."

I couldn't help but smile.

"If you want to save her, then don't let anyone, nor me or Elizabeth, stop you." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Go for it."

She answered me with a smile, not just one of happiness but of tranquility. She was at peace with her decision; she had finally found her answer.

"Thanks, Master." After saying that and giving me a small reverence, she left. Her figure disappeared in the corridors of the base.

Belfast was doing her best, so I couldn't disappoint her.

I would also put my all to stop this conflict.

While the base was in turmoil, Sheffield was dealing with her own set of problems, namely the presence of a particular animal. She had been told that an urgent meeting would take place through the mental link and that she should go back to the base.

However, by the time she tried to go back, she found that the red bird that had previously flown away was in front of the metal door that led to the subterrene base, as if it was waiting for someone to open it up for it.

Sheffield was no fool. After so many coincidences, she could deduce that the bird was no lost animal. It could have easily been a spy critter from the Sirens; she wouldn't find it weird for them to use such strange tactics. They weren't beyond that.

With those suspicions in mind, her first instinct was to point a gun at it and see how it reacts, pretty much as she usually did with everything. However, she didn't do that this time. In fact, she made no sign of doubting the bird.

Instead, she calmly opened the door and let the bird pass, which effectively flew inside. Now she could follow it; whatever that thing wanted in the base, she would discover it.

And thus, she followed the flying animal for a while, at a safe distance, observing its every move.

However, something that she wasn't expecting happened: The black symbol engraved on its body began to glow red, and without any warning, the bird suddenly caught fire mid-air. And then, before the maid could do anything, the bird bolted like a bullet, quickly disappearing from Sheffield's sight.

"…!" Not a second after that, Sheffield sprinted, hoping to catch up with it again.

She was right: that was no mere bird; that was something else. It definitely knew it was being followed and was trying to lose her.

Unfortunately, even after running for a while, she couldn't find it. Where could it have gone? Perhaps it entered one of the rooms? Not, it couldn't open doors, so it must have been hiding somewhere.

While thinking of possible hiding spots, she did find someone, and it was the only person she didn't want to see at all.

"Sheffield…?" He asked, perhaps surprised that she suddenly appeared before him.

"Master." She said, that simple word was starting to weigh her more than she thought or liked. "Have you seen a firebird flying around here?"

We stared at each other silently for a couple of seconds until the silence was too much for me to bear.

"Was that really the first thing you say after we met again?" I asked, my voice tired.

"It's important. Have you seen it or not?" She repeated seriously. But again, she was adamant ninety-nine percent of the time.

I sighed. I really can't understand her sometimes.

"No, I have not seen such a thing. Why are you asking?"

"We must search for it; what I saw was clearly not a common animal; we are probably getting spied by the Sirens."

"Is this a joke?"

"I told you already, I don't joke with matters such as this." She really didn't look like she was joking.

"…alright, I understand." I rubbed my temples; I felt like I was starting to develop a headache. "But that will have to wait; we have more pressing matters."

Sheffield tided her head as if asking what would be more critical than to search for that bird of hers.

"A Siren had appeared on the Admiral's base, her objective unknown. Elizabeth had ordered us to assault the base tonight." I briefed Sheffield about the meeting. "I am gathering the maids to start planning our strategy, will you come?"

"If it's an order from Her Majesty, then I don't have a choice." She walked past me. "I will continue following you, my pest of a master."

"Hey." I didn't move. "Have you thought about what we talked about before?"

She stopped as soon as I finished talking.

"Are you worried that I would tell Her Majesty about your origin and your plans?" She said, without turning back.

"No, I was talking about us."

"…" She stayed silent for a few moments. "I don't think there is anything left to talk."

"You know what I mean, Sheffield. A lot of had happened, and we both made mistakes but…don't you think it's time for us to put aside our differences? We are going to fight side by side in a couple of hours; it would be great if we could trust each other."

"And become 'friends'? Is that what you want, Master?"

"We don't need to become friends, but it would be great to not be at each other's throat every waking second."

"Too bad, I can't do that." She finally turned to look at me; her expression was as stiff as always. "I hate you, after all."

Her words stunned me for a bit. Not because she said she hated me, but because I felt no hostility in her remarks at all. Did she really think that way or…?

"Will you tell Elizabeth about me, then?"

"I won't."

"Why? If you truly hated me, then it would be the perfect chance to get rid of me."

"I don't need to bring her Majesty into this." She shook her head. "I am enough to deal with you if you try something; further worry is unnecessary."

I grimaced. That logic was a bit flawed.

"How stubborn, just say you enjoy my company and be done with it. Or is your pride too important for you, Sheffield?"

"The fact that you constantly delve into your delusions is truly worrying." Sheffield sighed as if she was tired. "I can only fear for our future." After saying that, she continued walking, putting an end to the conversation.

I smiled. Was I crazy if I believed we were finally getting closer? Maybe I was, but it was a nice thought; she and I finally getting along.

"Don't just stay there." She said, seeing that I wasn't moving. "We have a base to raid, pest."

"Alright, alright." I approached her, and we started walking side by side. Then, I looked at her. I still hardly saw any difference in that perpetual mix of detachment and coldness that was her expression. Still, I wanted to believe she was at my side, maybe not as a friend but as a comrade in arms.

Still, a part of me wanted to mess with her.

"You truly are difficult to please, Sheffield." I continued talking. "But maybe that's what I like about you."

The maid suddenly stopped her steps.

"…Was that a joke?" She asked, dead serious.

"I don't joke about matters such as these." I said and continued walking without looking back.

I didn't get a response, but she did follow me in the end. Our steps were the only thing that could be heard for a long time until we came across the rest of the maids.

"I am sorry." Belfast lowered her head before a dumbfounded Marcia; that was the first thing she said after revisiting her.

"Belfast, what are you…?"

"As a maid, my first priority should have been serving you." Belfast continued without letting the former Commander speak. "However, I still purposely hid information from you; my actions were the sole reason you are locked here now, and for that, I am sorry."

"…We have already talked about this." Marcia looked to the side. "We both had orders. I can't blame you for serving your own kind; it would be hypocritical for me to do so because I did the same."

"I beg to differ."

"Eh…?"

"From the very start, you knew where your loyalty was. I, on the other hand, was undecided for a long time. I fooled myself thinking that as long as I did my best to serve everyone equally, then everything would be fine." She raised her head and looked at Marcia directly in the eyes. "But I am no longer undecided."

Belfast walked towards the door, and with a simple motion of her hand, she broke the lock in such a way it could no longer be closed.

"What are you doing…!?"

"When I came to this world, I was told I had been created for protecting humanity, but no once I have saved anyone." She looked back at Marcia. "I think it is time for me to do it."

"You are letting me go…? But your Queen…"

"She doesn't know, and she'll be out for a couple of hours as everyone else. You should use that time to escape, Marcia."

"But…why? All I did for you was a lie, just an act to get close to you. I…I just used you!" Marcia shouted, feeling angry at herself more than to Belfast. "And even knowing that, you are still trying to help me, an enemy of your Queen…why? Why would you do this?"

"Because I don't want you to die." She said with warm sincerity. "That is my wish, not as a maid or as a shipgirl, but as Belfast."

"…" Marcia was at a loss for words.

"Wait until midnight to escape. The door to the surface will be open too. Some human soldier will remain in the base, however, and the cameras will still be functioning, so you need to be careful."

"Belfast…" There was sadness in Marcia's voice. "You know I can't ignore this. If you let me go, I must inform the situation here to my superiors."

"Don't worry; I am sure he'll figure something out."

"He...?"

Belfast shook her head.

"It's nothing." She raised her skirt a bit in reverence. "I wish you the best of luck, Commander. I truly hope the next time we meet would in better circumstances."

And with those parting words, Belfast left, leaving an even more confused Marcia alone.

Once everyone was gathered, I borrowed the map that Admiral's soldier had drawn for us, hanged it to the wall, and started explaining the strategy for the assault, the maids hearing me intently. Warspite and Elizabeth were also there, but they were slightly afar as if they were judging if I did a good job rather than hearing me directly.

It wasn't anything that elaborated as I wasn't exactly an expert on the matter, just our movement and preferred position as a group. I also explicitly said they were free to fight as they pleased; they were proficient enough in that without my meddling. The only order I imposed was to not use lethal force against the Admiral's soldiers.

"Before I continue, does anyone have any questions?" I asked that, and I immediately felt like I was back in my classroom; Edinburg even raised her hand, which made me wonder if I was acting more as a teacher than a Commander. "You can just speak directly, you know? What is it?"

"I understand that this will work against human soldiers. But a Siren is confirmed to be there. What should we do against her?"

"Good question." I turned back to the map and started scribbling on a blank side. "As I see it, there are two possibilities, either that Siren is Purifier or is a completely different Siren." I put the words "Purifier" and "No Purifier" into two columns. "If it's Purifier, then we have some ways to counter her attacks: Her drones are useless against Sheffield, so they shouldn't give us too much trouble. That fog, on the other hand, is harder to deal with, the best we can do is to stay together as close as possible in one place, but our visibility would be still be lowered considerably."

"And if it's not Purifier?" Asked Belfast.

"Then we would be going blind." I drew a big question mark in the other column. "We don't know if the rest of the "special" Sirens have the same abilities as her or if they are completely different. The only thing we can do is prepare for the worst; the Sirens are intelligent and cunning. They would probably attack the weakest of us first."

"In other words: you, pest." Sheffield said, her words as sharp as ever.

I sighed deeply.

"Yes." I couldn't contradict her. "Believe me; I would normally prefer to stay behind and not enter directly in combat, but we aren't dealing with common soldiers anymore. It is as the Queen said; dividing our forces would be a terrible idea."

I could see Elizabeth nodding happily in the distance as if she was approving of me agreeing with her. It was the truth though, I could be quickly assassinated if I am left alone while the maids fight. Ironically, the best place for me was probably in the frontlines with them.

"Can't you use that shield of yours?" Sheffield continued. "Last time, it was quite effective to break that Siren arm."

"My shield can withstand their attacks, yes, but if I am attacked from a blind spot, like my back, I would have a hard time defending myself." I confessed, feeling a bit helpless. "It pains me to ask this, but I can't survive on my own. I would need someone to protect my back."

"Allow me to offer myself, my honorable master." The one who spoke was Sirius, while slightly lowering her head."I have experience being a bodyguard; I could definitely serve this purpose."

I hadn't properly talked with her since we did…that, so I was a bit unsure on how to treat her. I quickly buried those feelings, however, as we were dealing with a serious situation.

"Thanks, Sirius. I'll be counting on you then."

It might have been my imagination, but I could swear Dido glared at Sirius for a moment after I said that.

"Anyway, with that settled, I think we went over everything." I looked at Elizabeth, expecting some kind of order from her.

She smiled proudly.

"Excellent work, Fujimaru. I knew I made the right call by choosing you as the Commander of my forces." Elizabeth gave praise that was more direct towards herself than to me. "Now then…" She looked at everyone present in the room. Her eyes went from each maid to me and finally to Warspite at her side. "My loyal vassals, the time has finally come for us; we will no longer delve underground, hiding our heads from the masses. Now it is time to occupy our deserved place as royalty. Every single citizen of this country will soon come to know of the magnanimous Royal Navy!" Elizabeth said her speech had a clear tone of ambition and passion.

"Yes, your Majesty!" Echoed the maids.

"Yes...your Majesty." I forced myself to repeat it, but the only thing in my head was a concern. After all this, could I really convince this person to back away when she is this convinced that what she is doing is right?

"Now, let's go." She stood up and hit her scepter on the floor. "Let's reclaim our place in the world!"

The trip to the base was uneventful. If nothing else, I had a bit of a hard time keeping up with their speed, a fact that reminded me that even if I can somewhat equal their velocity, there was still a difference between doing it naturally and by magecraft. Dido even offered to carry me at some point, which honestly hurt my pride a bit.

Regardless of that, we reached the Admiral's base without significant inconveniences. Before us, a couple of large buildings and what I guessed was a watchtower stood on an extensive perimeter enclosed by a wire fence. Contrary to popular belief, there weren't tanks or armored vehicles just lying around the base, a thing that should have been obvious because the United Kingdom wasn't precisely preparing for a war, or rather, for a conventional war.

What was truly surprising was the complete absence of people in the compound. I figured at least some soldiers would be guarding the entrance. However, after Belfast and Sheffield checked the surrounding, they still found no trace of soldiers.

"This looks a lot like a trap." I said.

"That, or they were completely wiped by the Sirens." Observed the ever so cheerful Sheffield.

"No way of knowing without entering." Elizabeth wasn't deterred in the sightless and quickly jumped the fence. "Let's move."

We walked through the seemingly abandoned compound towards the building marked on our map, where the door leading to the underground was supposed. After smashing a couple of doors in our way, we reached a suspicious-looking metal door, much like the one in our own base. A quick slash from Warspite's sword was enough to reveal staircases leading deep down into the base.

We went downstairs for a couple of minutes until finally arriving at a spacious room, much like a dome; it seemed to be the main hall of the underground, with multiple doors to the sides, which I presume led to the different part of the base. However, what truly caught my eye were the two people standing in the middle of the room.

One of them was a man; he was wearing a grayish military uniform alongside what seemed to be tactical gear. I couldn't distinguish his feature that well from where I was, but I could see that he was bald. Also, he was probably taller than me by a few centimeters. In one of his hands was a strange black cube.

The other person was a pale woman, so pale that I could swear her skin was paperwhite. She was wearing a black outfit that highly resembled a ceremonial dress, with a big skirt and a low neckline that showed a generous amount of cleavage. Her hair was almost as white as her skin, maybe a bit more grey; it was also done in two long pigtails, so long that they reached the floor. Even in the distance, I could see those distinct golden eyes watching us with disinterest; she was without a doubt a Siren.

Those two individuals just stood there as if waiting for us to get closer.

"At my sign, Dido, Sirius, and Belfast will engage the Siren." Elizabeth issued her orders in a low voice. "The rest should restrain and capture the Admiral."

I grabbed Lord Camelot more strongly; I doubted this situation would be resolved that easily.

Elizabeth finally made us stop a few meters away from the pair and began speaking.

"Admiral of the humans, I presume."

The man didn't react. In fact, he wasn't even paying attention to Elizabeth, his gaze was directed to another person.

Me.

"You are before the true monarch of this country!" Elizabeth shouted, furious that she wasn't given the attention she thought she deserved. "Your ridiculous feud ends now, surrender yourself or…" For some reason, Elizabeth stopped talking and just looked at the Siren with a confused expression.

What had happened...?

"You." The Admiral completely disregarded Elizabeth and spoke to me, furious."You dare to show yourself here, you damn traitor."His fury was directed at me. He probably wasn't expecting a human to show up alongside the "weapons."

"Traitor…? You don't know a thing about me." I wasn't impressed by his bravado.

"I know more than you think." His features were deformed by rage, and his voice was filled with repulsion. "You are the human who sold himself to these monstrosities. You are the one who betrayed humanity, your own people, your own kind…! And for what? For control? For power? Or was it just a quick fuck? Did they suck you off that well!?"

"What…?" Sold myself? Betrayed humanity? What the hell was he talking about?

"A human that works with the Sirens has no right to criticize our Commander!" Warspite was the one who answered. "You are the traitor, not Fujimaru!"

Contrary to what I expected, the Commander didn't explode in rage but in disturbing laughter.

"Did…? Hahaha...Did you just say, Commander!? That guy is your Commander? Hahahahahahahaha!." He seemed incapable of containing his laugh. "Does he even know what you did to your previous Commander, monster!? Have you told him how you cut his throat open before even letting him speak!?"

…!?

"What…? What are you talking about?" I looked at Warspite, confused, but the knight lowered her head, avoiding my gaze.

"You ignorant fool." He continued. "You don't even know what happened to your predecessor."

"My predecessor...? Marcia Haydes is alive!" I countered.

"I am not talking about her!" He shouted. "I am talking about Commander Clarke! He was brutally murdered by-"

"Warspite protected me!" Elizabeth finally interceded again. "She did nothing to be ashamed for, don't listen to him, Fujimaru." She turned to the Admiral again. "That man called Clarke was someone who would raise a weapon against his Queen. He was not fit to be a Commander."

Upon hearing that, the expression in the Admiral's face radically changed. It was no longer an expression of fury or rage. It was one of surprise and pain as if something had been broken inside him by Elizabeth's words.

"Kill all of them." The black cube in his hand began to glow with a golden light."Don't leave a single ash of them intact."

The Siren, who had been silent and still for the entire conversation, finally moved, opening her arms, and just like Purifier did long ago, hundreds of black drones started to appear from thin air.

Not a second after the drones started to materialize, Sheffield already had her pistols on both hands, and without saying a word, she started shooting the drones.

The Siren clearly recognized her as a threat because she went directly towards her, closing a distance of meters in splits of seconds. However, she never reached her target as Belfast stopped her with a solid tackled, followed by a barrage of her artillery. The Siren wasn't affected by this attack and quickly engaged Belfast directly, her fist almost as fast as bullets.

While Sheffield and Belfast kept the Siren relatively controlled, the black drones kept appearing around us, and little by little, we were being surrounded.

I stepped back, trying to escape the pincer of the drones before they could start shooting, but it was too late. I had a few of them already at my back. Before I could make a move to defend myself, a maid came like a flash and slashed the drones in half.

"I have your back, my honorable Master."

"Sirius…" I didn't have time to be surprised because I had to block a few shots from the front. I moved my free hand arm to form a Gandr, but the drones were destroyed before I could finish. Dido's sword cut them like they were made of paper.

"I can be useful too, Master." Dido said, putting herself in front of me." If I can't guard your back, then I'll become your sword!"

Both maids stayed near me, Dido in the front and Sirius in my back. Both eliminating any drone that came near us. And at that precise moment, while the two maids made their best effort to protect me, I could see myself back in the singularities, fighting alongside my Servants one more time.

Fighting alongside my friends one more time.

That's right, I was a Master. I was still a Master! And as Master, even if I had to stay behind, I had to do anything in my power to support my Servants.

My eyes moved towards the Admiral, who slowly walked away from the battlefield and abandoned the room through one of the multiple doors. My eyes then moved to the Siren, how continued exchanging fists with Belfast.

"Elizabeth!" I shouted to her. She was in a similar position to mine, surrounded by drones repelled by Warspite and Edinburgh. "I'll take care of the Admiral."

She looked at me with surprise but soon understood.

"Alive, Fujimaru. I want him alive!" She just said and continued dodging the attacks of the drones.

I simply nodded and turned again to Sirius and Dido.

"Can you open a path for me?"

They briefly looked at each other, and then nodded.

"Let's go then!" I began to sprint in the direction the Admiral had gone. Dido quickly took the lead and started destroying the drones in our path, while Sirius remained behind me, deflecting the shoots from behind.

It was only a few meters, but those seconds of running felt like an eternity. I could see the metal parts of the drones getting trashed around as Dido slashed them, while I heard Sirius blocking shots from behind. It was a festival of destruction. It was indeed the sound of war.

Soon, we reached the door, which I slammed with a charge with Lord Camelot. A dark corridor awaited on the other side, which I followed without second thoughts.

I had to catch the Admiral. I doubted he would hear anything I would say, but if I destroy that black cube he had…maybe I would be able to stop this madness.

Elizabeth saw Ritsuka, Dido, and Sirius abandoning the battlefield to pursue the Admiral. It was hard to lose one-third of their battle potential, but the battle seemed to be going in their favor.

Belfast and the Siren continued to exchange blows. At first, they seemed evenly matched, but as the battle progressed, the movement of the Siren started to become slower, and her arms began to show the bruises made by blocking Belfast's attack. The maid was clearly stronger in close combat than the Siren, and with Sheffield's anti-air support, the drones couldn't interfere.

Even though, something was bothering the Queen about that Siren. She couldn't exactly put it into words, but she felt that she knew her...But that was ridiculous. Why would she know a Siren?

It was no long before Belfast could finally break the Siren's defense and land a direct hit to her chest, sending her a few meters backward. That single moment was enough for the Queen, and she quickly directed her heavy guns towards Siren.

"Warspite! Edinburgh!"

"Yes, your Majesty!" Both the knight and the maid quickly destroyed any drone in the Queen's line of view, allowing her a clean shoot.

Even as a shipigirl, Elizabeth was supposed to be a monarch, nor a warrior. She lacked the individual prowess of Belfast or Warspite. Her role on the battlefield was to give support and increase morale rather than to fight directly.

However, that didn't mean that she was weak, and she was about to show that Siren the might of the flagship of the Royal Navy. Her heavy guns were shot with an extrident sound, and before the Siren could react, the projectiles had already reached her.

A loud explosion filled the room, followed by black smoke. She would generally discourage using their rigging cannons in enclosed spaces, but she just couldn't waste such an opportunity.

And that had paid off; as the smoke dissipated, revealing a struggling Siren. She had wounds all over her body, her clothes were in tatters, and the previously unemotional expression now was filled with contained anger. As she was right there, she couldn't win against them.

"Finish her off." The Queen ordered, not having an iota of mercy towards a Siren. They didn't deserve it, after all.

Belfast didn't say anything, just rushed toward the Siren to give the finishing blow.

However, the Siren raised her right hand, and for the first time, words came out of her mouth.

And at that moment, when the Queen heard her voice, an enormous flow of memories assaulted her mind. Memories of a different time, of a different place, memories of a more peaceful world, all involving that "siren."

But she was not a Siren, or at least not initially, she was…

"Don't move an inch." Were the words the "siren" said.

She was Formidable, Illustrious-class ship from the Royal Navy.

Behind her, golden roman numbers began to take form, followed by a pair of giant clock hands. The hands moved slowly through the roman numerals of the clock until they came to a sudden stop.

And so, the world stood still.

We ran through the corridors at full speed, stopping every time to search in any room we came across, looking for any spot the Admiral could use to hide, but he was nowhere to be found.

The Admiral was human; he couldn't have gone too far. Where could he possibly be?

We didn't find him, but our search didn't continue for much longer because a being appeared directly in front of us, blocking our path.

She had the appearance of a young girl, but her pale skin, grey hair, and golden eyes immediately told me she was a Siren. She was wearing black garments that resembled a nightgown that opened just under her chest area, leaving her black underwear at full view. She also had some kind of black protuberance on her head that resembled horns or maybe big cat ears.

Most worrying of all was where she was sat: an enormous black and golded octopus that didn't even fit on the corridor, its tentacle coiling in the walls to contain its impossible size.

I didn't notice it before, but the Siren that was with the Admiral was strange, she did look like a Siren, but she lacked "something." That something was the immense pressure their kind usually exuded, that threatening aura that surrounded them, that feeling that no matter how much you try, you couldn't possibly understand the being in front of your eyes.

That's what I felt upon seeing the being in front of us; this one was different from the Admiral's Siren; this one was like Purifier.

"My name is Observer Alpha. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, man of another world." She smiled and licked her lips.

END OF CHAPTER 16

AN: Two more chapters to finish this arc, expect big things for the ending.

Discord Invite : discord. gg / kvRCbruzaT (erase the spaces, obviously)

See you on next chapter.