Azuma made her way to the Akashi to look in on what Akashi had discovered.
"What did you come up with, young one?" Azuma asked.
"Akashi made a discovery with the wisdom ore. If Akashi makes a dust out of the wisdom ore, then places it near water... the water boils." Akashi said as she demonstrated. Sure enough, once the dust was brought closer to the beaker of water, it began to rapidly boil.
"I see. How did you burn yourself?" Azuma asked.
"Akashi accidentally dropped some of the dust into a cup of water. It exploded violently in a shower of glass and steam. Akashi avoided getting cut, but the steam burned Akashi." Akashi said as she showed a nasty looking red mark.
"I see. I hope that goes away soon." Azuma said as a Bulin ran in and slipped on the glass and water, slamming into the table holding plenty of metal tools and plates, hung precariously over the workspace. Sure enough, the impact dislodged a heavy metal plate, dropping it directly on the petri dish with the remaining Wisdom Dust inside. The moment the plate touched it, a bright flash of light engulfed the room, immediately preceding a surprisingly large explosion, destroying the table and charring the walls. Azuma barely had enough time to pull Akashi and the Bulin behind her and summon her rigging to block before she was hit full force by the explosion, knocking her, Akashi and the bulin onto the stern deck.
"What the hell?!" Howard yelled over the radio as he heard the explosion from his cargo ship.
"We're okay..." Azuma said breathlessly over the radio.
"What the hell happened?" Howard asked.
"Simple experiment gone wrong, nyaa!" Akashi spoke up.
"Little one, that was more than an experiment gone wrong. That was downright deadly!" Azuma exclaimed.
"Akashi needs to keep testing it. Akashi needs to see what it can do." Akashi said.
"Then if you plan on testing it, you need to keep it away from the fleet." Azuma said.
"Akashi actually needs Azuma-san for a test." Akashi said. Azuma looked at her and back up at the room.
"If it saves the fleet from another errant detonation... I guess I can help." Azuma said.
"Give Akashi a few minutes to make more dust, Nyaa." Akashi said as she went below deck and brought a chunk of ore above deck and into the destroyed repair room. As promised, a few minutes later, Akashi walked out with a jar of dust and a rubber boat attached to some rope.
"Akashi always feels so tingly when she makes this dust." Akashi said.
"Tingly? Does it hurt?" Azuma asked.
"It feels warm, nyaa... but it kind of numbs as well." Akashi said as she threw the rubber boat into the water after tying it to the back of the Akashi. She then jumped down and gently placed the dust in the boat before skating back to her ship.
"Azuma-san needs to shoot the jar with something non-explosive." Akashi said as she noticed a bunch of the French sailors gathering on the stern of the cargo boat.
"Firing." Azuma said as she launched a single shell from her secondaries on her rigging. A decision that would have extremely dire consequences in the following hour.
The same bright light engulfed the area around the boat, temporarily blinding everyone looking directly at it. Immediately after, a huge column of blue flames shot into the sky, taking on the shape of a mushroom and showering dust over the entire fleet. The area beneath the boat caved in before rapidly being filled, the only remaining evidence being the steam coming off the ocean's surface and the relatively massive mushroom cloud rising rapidly behind the fleet. The shockwave of the explosion threw a majority of the twenty or so sailors into the superstructure of the cargo ship. Azuma noticed this as she was soon able to see properly.
"Howard, are your men okay?" Azuma asked as Akashi was still rubbing her eyes to try and regain her vision.
"It looks like the boys got tossed a bit, but nobody seems too badly injured. Most of them are coughing up a lung though." Howard said.
"Well, get them some water and let's keep moving. I'm sure that explosion just alerted anyone who could be listening." Azuma said as she looked at Akashi.
"No more experimenting with that dust until we reach land. I don't need you blowing up your ship because a wave knocks a jar of that stuff off a shelf." Azuma said as she made her way towards the bow to return to her ship.
"Azuma! Akashi! I need help, urgently!" Howard yelled as Azuma and Akashi quickly made their way over to the cargo ship.
As soon as they jumped aboard, they were met by a horrifying surprise. The twenty or so men that had watched the experiment now laid on the deck, eyes and mouths covered in blood with every inch of exposed skin dyed a deep red with burns all over. Akashi hid behind Azuma, doing her best not to get sick from the sight.
"What the hell happened?" Azuma asked.
"The moment I told you they were coughing, some of them began coughing up disturbingly large amounts of blood mixed with blue flecks... I assume the flecks being the wisdom dust. In addition... they began scratching before the burns appeared. More flecks at the center of each burn. Whatever that dust is... it's a man killer." Howard said sadly. Luckily, his jacket was protecting him from the ill effects.
"Howard... I ust insist that you and your crew remain inside your ship. This dust is clearly detrimental to human health. But for me and Akashi.. it is nothing more but a slight tingle. We are much more robust. Allow us to deal with this." Azuma said.
"Just make sure that they are given a proper burial... it's the least they deserve for being caught up in this." Howard said as he went back inside the superstructure.
"Akashi... head back to your ship. Get yourself cleaned up. I will take on this duty." Azuma said as Akashi bowed.
"This is Akashi's fault. Akashi is sorry. Akashi will not soil your burial by attending." Akashi said as she quietly left the ship. Azuma could hear her break down the moment she returned to her own ship. Azuma took a deep breath and began wrapping the bodies in the sheets that Howard had placed over every cadaver.
"May you brave souls find rest and comfort among the souls of the deep. Your lives are not in vain, as you will be remembered in the hearts of everyone here. May the gods see it fit to greet you all at the gates as your bodies are committed to the deep." Azuma said as she gently took each body, one at a time, down to the water and laid them to rest, allowing the bodies to slowly drift below the surface.
"Every single one of you were marvelous in the face of adversity. And although I did not know many of you personally, I considered you to be my friends. And this is the first time I have had to say goodbye to so many friends at once." Azuma said softly as she jumped back up to the ship after laying the last body to rest.
"Your bravery to face the world in this state... is on par with the finest warriors of any nation." Azuma said as her massive 310mm guns turned out to port. Kitakaze had witnessed the events prior and followed suit. Kitakaze opened up each gun sequentially from the bow of her own ship to the stern of the Azuma. 20 distinct explosions were followed by a full salvo from both ships as Howard watched it all from his bridge.
"First mate... we seem to have burst a water pipe." Howard said as the first mate looked around the bridge above them.
"I don't see anything, sir." He said as he saw a tear fall down Howard's cheek.
"Take another look... I'm sure there's a leak." Howard said as his first mate understood.
"So there is. I will see to it right away." The first mate said as he left the bridge, moments before Howard broke down completely.
Azuma was having the same feeling as she kneeled down for one final prayer. Akashi kneeled on her bow and Kitakaze kneeled, resting her sword hilt against her forehead.
"Though you are no longer among us, you will never be forgotten. Your lives will not be lost in vain. I will stake my life on keeping that promise to all of you brave young men. Go now. The gates of Valhalla have opened for you all. Godspeed, brave warriors. Godspeed." Azuma said as she stood again before turning to the fire suppression hose on the side of the superstructure, turning the handle and flooding the deck to wash away and debris that could further harm the crew. She then doused herself to clean her skin, finding almost immediate relief from the numb feeling on her skin.
"Commander. We have an issue." Norfolk said.
"Spill." Isaac said.
"There was a massive surge of energy that was just recorded in the deep south pacific." Norfolk said.
"Where?" Isaac asked.
"If I ran the calculations correctly, which I am 98% sure I have... it came from where Akashi is." Norfolk asked.
"Can we reach her?" Isaac asked.
"No... having our esteemed guest onboard seems to be affecting my equipment." Norfolk said.
"You and I will tune your sensors then. That way you'll be on top of your game." Isaac said.
"Herr Isaac. I am sorry to bother you, but I must return to my ship." Friedrich spoke.
"Can I ask why?" Isaac asked as he saw Vengeance following behind Friedrich.
"I can feel her falling behind the fleet. Something must be wrong with the pressure system." Friedrich said.
"Take one of the Bulins and go look it over. I will watch her." Isaac said.
"Thank you, Herr Isaac." Friedrich said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek, much to Vengeance's discomfort.
Friedrich disappeared down the corridor to find the bulins.
"What the hell is a bulin, Isaac?" Vengeance asked. Norfolk pulled up a video captured of the last battle. She fast forwarded until she reached the part where the Bulins were literally peeling away the armor plates of the carriers to access the innards.
"They're fucking monsters!" Vengeance said, seemingly terrified by the adorable little repair workers.
"They are my repair crew. I was practically strong armed into allowing them to... entertain themselves." Isaac said with a shake of his head.
"Why do they look like that?" Vengeance asked.
"They really have taken a liking to ducks. So apparently for their raid, they painted their faces to look like ducks." Isaac said.
"You know, it is very hard to deal with you when you run away." Vestal said as she and the Head bulin walked onto the bridge, making Vengeance immediately on edge.
"Keep that little monster away from me!" Vengeance said as she backed away.
"She will be dealing with your missing arm. You'll have to suck it up." Isaac said.
"I think I'd rather stay with one arm than to allow that... creature to mutilate me." Vengeance said.
"Look. We aren't exactly thrilled to be working on a siren either. But the Commander sees something... and he's been spot on so far." Vestal said as she glared daggers at Vengeance.
"Fine... I do owe him my life... But don't you dare leave me alone with her." Vengeance said as Vestal led her down the corridor to the med bay.