Shards of ice fly at bullet speed, bombarding Bismarck with daggers that can pierce even a ship's armor. As long as the blizzard remains, the battlefield becomes a domain where Tirpitz can endlessly solidify weapons of ice.

"Tch! How did I not think of the possibility that a part of you infected Tirpitz"

Bismarck has Geryon shield her with its wings, shattering and deflecting the hundreds of icicles flying at her.

"I kind of feel bad for you, but your furious face provides a decent view"

Victorious META shapes her fingers into a square to mimic a camera lens and closes one eye, focusing on Bismarck's killing intent.

"Geryon!" Bismarck makes her command

The enormous three headed dragon roars and stretches its wings wide open. All turrets mounted on its back creaks as it turns to aim at Victorious META.

"Good. Now you're serious" Victorious META smiles in anticipation
"Feuer!"

All turrets simultaneously unleash their might - letting the shells loose and piercing the air, but Victorious META isn't the type to stand idly.

"...?!"

Bismarck is quickly shocked to learn Orthrus roar and unleashes a wave of freezing wind resulting in the shells getting frozen mid air and shattering upon impact instead.

"I don't like tedious conflicts. No, I hate any kind of conflict since it only piles up bodies"

Tirpitz META massages the back of her neck and tilts her head left to right. In just a moment of distraction, Tirpitz disappears both body and mind, being replaced entirely by another deceased META.

"Why is everyone coming back from the dead?!"
"Tirpitz's winter is a world of living and non living. It's like a Mirror Sea of stagnation where nothing escapes or progresses" Victorious META vaguely explains
"..."

Tirpitz META doesn't comment on anything and has Orthrus hover behind her as she's the true owner and not Victorious META.

"..." The rigging lowers its heads to its owner's level and softly growls
"You look horrible. I suppose that's natural since you're mangled and practically salvaged"

Half of the left head's face is exposed and so are the sections of its body, showing a metallic skeleton underneath. The tips of its wings have lost its sharp edges and some of the secondary armaments are missing.

"You look more dead than I do..."
"Mmmhh..." The rigging whimpers
"I won't ditch you on a corner. After this, I'm going to have you fixed up"
"..." The rigging opens its jaws as if it's excited
"Hmm?"

Tirpitz META nearly forgets she's in the middle of the battle and is reminded when Bismarck opens fire at her. The shells are accurately aimed at her, but Orthrus shields its uninterested owner.

"Even the rigging has power..."

The moment the tip of the shells make physical contact with the rigging's cracked metallic wings, the shells instantly freezes that it couldn't even explode.

"You're strong, but you're up against a META in her turf" Tirpitz META sighs
"There may be two of you, but I'm not backing down" Bismarck swings her sword
"Two? Ah, right...two. Let's go with that"
"Grr...!" Geryon flaps its wings
"Geryon?" Bismarck notices Geryon being restless

Ice slowly creeps on the tips and edges of Geryon, gradually slowing and weakening Geryon. The cold seeping into its gaps is annoying the rigging due to how it begins to stiffen its movements.

"Tirpitz. What have you done to her? If you tell me her soul is destroyed, then I will make sure you don't have a body to revive"

Despite Geryon's uneasiness with the cold covering its armor, it synchronizes with its owner and spreads both of its wings widely while also growling deeply.

"Threatening, but you could never destroy your younger sister's body. You should threaten people with what you can actually do"
"Geryon!"

Bismarck wastes no time and fires all of her main guns while Tirpitz META responds by charging forward with Orthrus shielding the shells for her.

"You're way too distracted, Bismarck!"

Rather than open fire using her main guns, sweeps the air and a wave of solid ice slides towards Bismarck, freezing the surface water in the process.

"Feuer!"

High explosive shells shatter the incoming spikes of ice and send shards flying all over the area.

"...!"

Tirpitz runs through the flying shards with her own sword drawn. For the spectator, Bismarck META, it's as if black and white Zwei are contradicting each other. The first towards each other is delivered with enough force that it briefly shakes the snowy wind and knocks each other back.

"Tch! I shouldn't be dealing with Tirpitz META, but with..." Bismarck looks at Victorious META standing in a distance
"..." Victorious META just smiles
"She's the culprit!" Bismarck shifts her priority
"Hmm?"

Geryon rams the salvaged rigging, sending it flying by at least twenty meters and rolling on the surface water several times.

"...!"

Tirpitz META thrusts her blade aiming for Bismarck's head but it fortunately slides when Bismarck lifts her sword to her side, causing the direction to shift.

"I told you...that your opponent is right before you"

The two swing each other's swords at the same time, sending sparks fly with each time their steel clangs and swooshes.

"It's rude to take your attention away from the fight, Bismarck" Tirpitz sternly reminds her
"Your neck..."

Upon closer look, Bismarck realizes Tirpitz's own ice is affecting her, visible from how the skin on her neck up to her lower right cheek is covered in ice.

"Tch. It looks like this body won't hold on for much longer" Tirpitz META immediately backs away from Bismarck
"That body can't handle the full might of a META"
"I'm unintentionally breaking it" Tirpitz touches the frozen area
"Geryon?!"

In just a matter of ten minutes, Orthrus sinks its jaws on one of Geryon's heads and sends it flying back to its owner with a spin. This also results in Orthrus chipping its rows of jagged teeth and nearly loosening its jaw.

"Aaah~ Looks like Bismarck is reaching her limit first" Victorious META approaches the scene
"What are you-" Bismarck staggers back

Bismarck's arms and legs helplessly tremble, forcing her to take several steps back. A splitting headache stuns her for a split second.

"Hypothermia is kicking in. Moving around that much accelerated its effects both body and mind"
"M-mind? What are you...talking about?"
"You forgot your dear little sister is the ruler of ice. Even if you survive the cold, you can't escape its grasp. It becomes a tomb to all living brings - a symbol of stagnation and complete halt"
"I...can't breathe..."

The strength of Bismarck's legs waver while her shaking hand reaches for her neck out of desperation to breathe, but she could only inhale cold air further tightening her lungs.

"Tirpitz..." Bismarck pants as she tries to keep her gaze on her sister
"You've done well to weaken her"

Right as the two are distracted, Bismarck META manages to get behind Tirpitz META and pierces her sword right through her side.

"Gghh!"

When Bismarck META tries to pull out the blade, it immediately shatters from the extreme temperature, and Tirpitz META manages to lessen the damage by extending the ice to protect her form the inside as well. She angrily swings her arm, but Bismarck META's experience against her abilities makes her move back a second before she could retaliate.

"Bismarck...you really are annoying!"

Tirpitz META presses the area on her abdomen where Bismarck stabbed her with a flaming sword earlier. There is no serious wound, but she behaves as if there's pain and damage inflicted on her.

"You've gotten slow, little sister"

Bismarck META lifts her sword up in the air and with a powerful grip, she swings down her sword in a flash without even giving Tirpitz META time to react.

"Y-You?!" Bismarck grits her teeth
"...!" Tirpitz META falls on her knees

Bismarck attempts to push herself to stand up seeing a META version of her easily cut down her sister, but breathing becomes extremely difficult for her.

"I won't forget this..." Bismarck vows even when her body falls on the surface water

As soon as Bismarck collapses into unconsciousness to the surface face first, Geryon stops moving entirely with ice further encasing its metallic shell.

"I've pushed myself a bit too much..." Tirpitz stands up

Bismarck META indeed inflicts damage on Tirpitz, but the blizzard trapping everyone provides her with increased strength and an ability to recover from minor to moderate injuries. As long as the blizzard remains, killing her is no easy task.

"Take it easy. Your body can't withstand a sudden surge of power"
"You stabbed me...but you knew I'd quickly heal" Tirpitz grunts
"I didn't wish to hurt you, but we need to make our hostility believable" Bismarck META looks at her regenerated wounds

Bismarck META approaches her as soon as she confirms Bismarck completely collapses and is rendered unconscious. Since her normal version is alive and not in the risk of dying, she calmly changes her priority to Tirpitz who returns to her "normal state".

"Hopefully, hypothermia doesn't damage her brain too much" Tirpitz sighs in worry
"She'd be shivering cold and will feel numb for the next few days. As for you..."
"My right hand is frozen"

Tirpitz lifts her right arm when she doesn't need to roll her sleeve to know her fingertips right to her forearm is damaged by her own ice.

"You haven't fully assimilated that body" Bismarck META rolls Tirpitz's sleeve
"It's fine as long as I can keep occupying this body as my own. Fully making it my own means this body will undergo METAmorphosis"

The ice on her hand slowly melts and she's able to gradually bend her fingers and squeeze her hand. She isn't upset at the incomplete state since partially assimilating it has no side effects.

"Bismarck is going to sound crazy once she wakes up telling everyone she fought Victorious META" Tirpitz scoffs while she reverts to her normal kansen form
"You did that on purpose..."
"It was more effective than I expected, but while Victorious META faded back then, her emotions lingered inside her. Even her echo can't leave me alone"

Since Tirpitz is mostly certain she could sense Victorious META's lingering emotions in her wisdom cube, she's uncertain if she should be upset or annoyed by it.

"Damn. This body can't withstand the influence of META, let alone a Zwei retrofit"

Tirpitz can't stand up straight and the ice on her neck crawls to her cheek. This time, her left hand is freezing as a rebound effect of a normal kansen body trying to control the power of a META

"..." The rigging whimpers while it leans its head to its owner
"It's...alright. The fault is mine for trying to be reckless..."

Tirpitz rubs the snout with her right hand and gently smiles at it, treating the salvaged rigging as a pet.

"This isn't good. Your body will break if you keep using your original power" Bismarck META reaches for Tirpitz's cheek
"My body won't be able to fight for a while, but I'll live..." Tirpitz assures her
Still..."
"I'm going to disperse the blizzard before I damage this body beyond repair. You have to leave before anyone from Iron Blood comes"
"Not yet. I have a plan"
"A what?
"Sorry...but you'll have to make a little sacrifice" Bismarck META looks at the rigging
"..."

The rigging that appears it would fall apart at any moment just quietly stares at Bismarck META

"I'm sorry too...little sister"
"What are you-"

Bismarck META genuinely cares about Tirpitz, but she doesn't hesitate to swing a powerful punch right to Tirpitz's abdomen, instantly rendering unconscious. As for the rigging, it doesn't attack Bismarck META.

Twenty minutes later...

The blizzard hasn't fully subsided, but after a few minutes, the storm begins to calm down. The wind no longer hinders their vision and radars even if the skies remain dark and snow softly falls to the water surface.

"That's-!"

When Graf Zeppelin and the other escort ships arrive at Bismarck and Tirpitz's location, since the two are unresponsive, they find Bismarck META staring down at the two collapsed battleships.

"..." Bismarck META is pointing down her sword at Tirpitz
"Enemy battleship" Odin aims her main guns at the META
"You didn't make it in time. I made quick work of these two"

Since the blizzard cut off the two from everyone else, Bismarck META uses the opportunity to make it appear she defeated them without effort.

"I thought I'd find it difficult to trap all of you in a blizzard, but Iron Blood ships are like mice lured in a cage"
"So you created the blizzard and defeated them?"

Graf Zeppelin can't launch her dive bombers at Bismarck META since the two unconscious battleships would be caught in the range. Bismarck META barely moves away as if she knows the others can't attack with the risk of shooting them.

"I trapped everyone in this blizzard, but even this one can't withstand a META"

The tip of Bismarck META's sword is an inch to Tirpitz's neck, appearing to threaten into finishing her off while defenseless.

"Then your so-called leader fell easily...when I'm barely exerting any effort" Bismarck META shakes her head in disappointment
"So you really are another Bismarck..."

It's easy for Graf Zeppelin to recognize her not only due to the similar uniform, but Geryon is too obvious even if her rigging appears more worn out and with extreme heat flowing in its gaps.

"I greeted them here for a challenge only to find disappointment. At this rate, I won't find anyone worthy of my time" Bismarck META pulls away and sheaths her sword
"We're not going to let you leave just like that!" Scharnhorst shouts at her
"Yes, I can..."

Bismarck META snaps her fingers and Geryon responds with its three heads loudly roaring in unison.

"These two won't be able to fight for a while. That is if the younger sister pulls through"

Bismarck META turns away with little care on the several ships ready to fight her. Flames surround Bismarck META, forcing the Iron Blood ships to move away from the extensive heat.

"I might have broken a rib or two..."

Shortly before hastily leaving the scene, Bismarck META mutters in slight guilt when she takes one last glance at the unconscious Bismarck and Tirpitz.

"It's no good. They're both heavily damaged..."

As soon as the flames fade away, Mainz rushes first to analyze their wound and the damages on their rigging. Some of Geryon's parts have chipped or broken off from the ice rendering it brittle and Bismarck herself suffered a beating.

"What's that rigging?" Mainz looks at the deactivated Orthrus
"We'll tow this mangled beast back for research" Graf Zeppelin sighs
"Tirpitz is suffering severe hypothermia. We have to bring them back to the headquarters"

Odin bends down and sees the ice on Tirpitz's neck and left arm. Her breathing is faint it looks like she would stop breathing if they let her be any longer.

"The wretched coward...!"

Graf Zeppelin is frustrated the most since two of their top battleships, one of them being the leader and the other being the younger sister, is quickly defeated by one META. None of them could even stop her from escaping and the fact Bismarck META quickly lost interest earlier is a mockery.

Iron Blood headquarters...

Seeing the fleet return from the operation, U-556 is one the several ships excitedly awaiting the safe and victorious return of her Lord. She hurriedly drags her feet after hearing the shouting and rushing at the port.

"...!" The U-boat smiles widely

At first, U-556 doesn't notice the anxiety and shock in everyone's faces. She's too focused on imagining greeting Bismarck after yet another successful mission under her command.

"L-Lord Bismarck...?" U-556 blinks in confusion

The smile on her face gradually fades away when the commotion becomes clear to her ears. It's not shouting in celebration but in desperation. Bismarck is on her knees and both hands pressing the ground. She doesn't have the strength to stand up straight when both her arms and legs are visibly shaking.

"My...wounds are nothing. Tirpitz. Is...my sister...alright?" Bismarck weakly turns her head
"She's in dire state. Her breathing is slowing down with her hypothermia not going away. The ice might be affecting her inside out" Peter Strausser frankly replies
"..."

Bismarck is speechless upon seeing Graf Zeppelin trying to detect any pulse on Tirpitz's wrist and neck. The latter is completely motionless, and it barely appears she's still breathing.

"Even Geryon..."

To her other side, Bismarck spots Geryon with one of its wings falling off in bits and a jaw shattered from the brittleness of extreme temperature. It's created to be an upgraded version of her rigging yet the fight with both ice and flames rendered it like a broken toy.

"I won't...forget this" Bismarck mutters to herself before falling straight to the ground

Right before her body collapses, Bismarck manages to enough strength to vow revenge for the defeat at the hands of her META alter ego and engrave how she stares down in disappointment when she faints for the second time.

Medical facility...

After dragging back the two defeated battleships back to the base, they're rushed for immediate treatment. Bismarck suffers mild hypothermia which gradually fades and quickly stabilizes her condition again.

"That's why I told her bringing Tirpitz was a bad her!"

Since Bismarck is mostly stable save for the bruises, minor burns, and incisions, Neumark prioritizes Tirpitz whose left arm and the right side of her neck is still freezing. She tries her best to focus when she's too furious that her intuition is right again.

"What the hell is going on with Tirpitz? The META's influence is affecting her body but leaves her wisdom cube untouched"

Alone in the room, she analyzes the results of the scan in the monitors, completely dumbfounded at the unexpected effect of the wisdom cube. The wisdom cube makes up the physical form and personality of a kansen, so a poisonous effect from a META's power would have affected the wisdom cube worse than the body.

"No, no, this shouldn't be possible no matter the case. The wisdom cube and the physical body are strongly anchored to each other, but in Tirpitz's case...it's like the two are entirely different"

Tirpitz's vitals remain stable, but Neumark is very anxious because of the META's influence "poisoning" Tirpitz's body. Only the body is taking the brunt of the side effects while the wisdom cube is as normal as ever.

"I can't overthink in a situation like this. If I start being distracted by baseless thoughts..."

Neumark slaps both of her cheeks three times and shakes her head, continuing to analyze Tirpitz's condition.

"The destroyed Orthrus reactivated and ran back to its owner. Since a META rigging tried to synchronize with a normal kansen, the body couldn't withstand the META's influence..."

The rigging itself is within Iron Blood custody and Neumark makes her initial hypothesis since Bismarck is stable with Geryon as her rigging.

"Anyhow, I should focus on lessening the META's side effect on her and slow down the damage"

Neumark, ever worried at the battleship she treated several times in the past, leans close to Tirpitz. She gently lowers the collar and inspects the ice on the right side of her neck, which is identical to Tirpitz META's ice.

"It depends now on your will to live, Tirpitz..."

Once again, Neumark inspects the monitors, seeing the body is taking all the effect while the wisdom cube remains normal. It still makes Neumark nervous even if Tirpitz's wisdom cube isn't damaged out of the fear of another incident with a META.

Warehouse Area...

Most of the ships are recovering and resting after having to fight four METAs in a single day, and only Graf Zeppelin refuses to lie down and rest. She lost half of her aircraft and her flight deck partially cracked when a sniper damaged her rigging.

"Bismarck is stable now but Tirpitz isn't waking up"

Graf Zeppelin speaks to another kansen walking towards her while she continues to stare at the tightly chained salvaged Orthrus. Although it's motionless, its core weakly pulses and its body emits faint cold air.

"Should we scrap and melt it in the incinerator?" Friedrich der Grosse stands beside Graf Zeppelin
"I saw it burst through the roof of the hideout and fly off to their direction. If I focused on it instead, those two wouldn't have been defeated like this"

Graf Zeppelin shakes her head recalling how her aircraft spots a creature destroying the entire roof of an old building in the island. As it sends debris flying everywhere, it flaps its tattered and cracked wings. Said creature shrieks at the sky shortly before gliding off in the distance, ignoring everyone else.

"Did Tirpitz tried to connect with it hoping she could stand a chance with Bismarck META?" Graf Zeppelin believes
"Who knows? Whatever the case, Tirpitz is in uncertain state" Friedrich der Grosse approaches the motionless rigging
"Still, I find it unacceptable that Bismarck, of all people, lost to a single battleship" Graf Zeppelin clenches both of her fists
"Said single battleship is a META version of her who commands flames"

Friedrich der Grosse is also upset at Bismarck's defeat but upon confirmation of their enemy, she understands how it could result to that.

"Our Intel said it was only a core, so how come we ended up towing a whole rigging?" Graf Zeppelin puffs her chest
"We were misled...or lured"
"As a result, this wretched rigging damaged Tirpitz's body and put her in a comatose while Bismarck's Geryon nearly shattered from the extreme temperature!" Graf Zeppelin stomps her foot
"Calm down. Being frustrated in this situation will do you no good" Friedrich der Grosse grabs both of her shoulders
"Bismarck isn't going to wake up for a while because that META made a mockery of us. What would that other Bismarck gain from hindering us? She didn't even take or destroy the rigging"
"We can discuss this once Bismarck regains consciousness. Right now, we should focus on recovery"
"I'll hunt down Bismarck META" Graf Zeppelin vows to herself
"That's a terrible idea right now. Iron Blood is vulnerable with Bismarck heavily injured and exhausted after several of our surface ships heavily damaged"

Unknown to them, while Friedrich der Grosse calmly rationalizes with an agitated Graf Zeppelin, part of the rigging's dull eyes faint glow at the center.

Unknown Hideout...

The METAs from the Royal Navy and Iron Blood side gather, save for Ark Royal META who's not interested in a group discussion as of the moment. Bismarck META rests near a curled up Geryon's tail, closing her eyes and calmly breathing even if she's not entirely taking a nap.

"..."

The only non-META ship present is King George V who's tilting her head in confusion seeing Bismarck META completely resting with her legs stretched and arm on her stomach.

"I find it unbelievable you're taking a peaceful nap after beating up Bismarck and Tirpitz" King George V walks to her
"I made sure their injuries aren't life threatening" Bismarck META opens her eyes
"You broke Bismarck's ribs and Tirpitz herself is in a comatose"
"I didn't break her ribs. That's Tirpitz's doing"
"Now you made an enemy out of the Bismarck here. She's going after you once she wakes up"
"..."

Bismarck META just takes a deep breath and shuts her eyes close again, completely relaxed despite the warning.

"She wouldn't care because it's not like their Bismarck stands a chance" Hunter META replies while reading a book
"Besides, this is part of the plan" Repulse META snacks on a huge bag of chips
"What?" King George V frowns at Bismarck META
"They'd be too distracted getting pay back to be suspicious of Tirpitz"

Scharnhorst META groans in annoyance having to explain it to King George V.

"So you took the blame for unleashing the blizzard and defeating both of them to get their undivided attention..." King George V smacks her hand on her face
"She made it clear she would do anything to protect Tirpitz's current life" Gneisenau META faintly smiles
"You sisters are difficult to deal with..."

King George V mumbles to herself while looking at Bismarck META who remains relaxed and unbothered by the current toruble in Iron Blood.

"Orthrus is poisoning Tirpitz which is why she isn't waking up. At least that's what I got from our Intel" King George V crosses her arms
"Her wisdom cube is untouched, isn't it?"
"Well, it is...but-"
"The rigging is hurting her body alone because it's still the body of a normal kansen. In a way, it's as if she's only controlling the body. If they were to force the planned Zwei rigging on her, then it would harm her"
"Wait, Bismarck prepared one for Tirpitz?" King George V widens her eye in shock

It's natural for even King George V to be unaware of it as Bismarck had it secretly constructed since she views it as a contingency plan in case the influence of a corrupted wisdom cube makes her lose control again. Only very few Iron Blood ships are aware of its existence.

"As for the mangled Orthrus, it's behaved right now unless Tirpitz calls it again. It would run straight to her like a dog"
"You're saying it so calmly..." King George V furrows her eyebrows
"The rigging is obedient to her even if she's in that state just like how Geryon wouldn't maul anyone unless I ordered it"
"Grr..." Geryon lazily opens a bit of its mouth

Bismarck META taps her rigging and it weakly growls in response as some sort of confirmation. Sometimes, King George V couldn't guess if it's just a tamed beast or an intelligent rigging.

"There shouldn't be a problem for the time being. Their Bismarck will recover quickly but won't have the strength to fight me yet"
"Still, you're way too relaxed"
"She would focus on speeding up Tirpitz's comatose state"
"You're not worried because you indirectly caused Tirpitz to be in a coma?"
"..." Bismarck stands up
"Don't tell me you know it's temporary..."
"She won't give up on living just yet. If she does, then my mistake will repeat"
"Ah, so you just have faith in her. Too bad you can't be there to wake her up"
"It's fine because it's not yet time for me to interfere again. Iron Blood will believe they are hunting prey, but they haven't truly witnessed my full might"

With a single step forward, the sleepy Geryon immediately lifts itself off the ground and stands behind Bismarck META with its wings widely open. Although Bismarck META doesn't fear battles, King George V knows she's the type to avoid pointless conflicts with old allies.

"That said, you have yet to inform Victorious of Iron Blood's situation. Namely, Tirpitz's situation" Bismarck META briefly shifts her concern
"I imagine she would come rushing to Iron Blood demanding to see her friend" King George V is fully certain
"I see..." Bismarck META sighs in relief
"For someone who wants to protect Tirpitz, you left her in that state"
"That's the rebound of her power because she has yet to fully claim the body as her own" Bismarck META calmly reminds her
"Of course it is..."
"You don't need to be concerned about Iron Blood as of the moment. After all, you've done a lot to assist me...old friend"
"...Old friend, huh. The sad look in your eyes means I'm completely dead in your world" King George V wryly smiles
"All the Royal knights fell. You have just happened to be the first one"

Bismarck META turns away and presses her hand on Geryon, reminiscing about her ravaged timeline.

"Sometimes, I question myself whether my attempt to resurrect Tirpitz did more good than harm or the opposite"
"None of us can assert it for you, Bismarck. Besides, you have to live with the consequences of your actions now" King George V refuses to state her personal opinion
"You're right. I was the one who foolishly chose this, so I must atone for the suffering I caused...even if I must confront their Bismarck"

Even now, Bismarck META's choice doesn't waver and commits herself to the goal of protecting Tirpitz taking the place of another version. She accepts even her normal version might be a threat once the deception is unraveled and her stern expression confirms to King George V she won't hesitate if the situation becomes dire.