What am I?
Who...am I?
Questions after questions flood my mind when I first came to be. In the eyes of another kansen, I see the world differently. I am me and I am someone else at the same time. My body feels heavy and my mind feels light. I existed for a while but it's as if I was only born today.
Amagi...
Musashi...
The black-haired fox sparking with violet lightning stares at me with no contempt or sorrow. I do not understand how she can look at me with little to no reaction. My primal instincts drove me to hurt others with no reason, so I do not understand why Musashi keeps staring at me as if she has been expecting everything.
"Do you understand me now, monster?"
After minutes of silence, Musashi faintly smiles and confidently smiles. Even with an incomplete physical form, she sees an individual in a conversation. My mind is still foggy and oftenly drifting, so sooner or later I will regress to my primal state again.
"You indiscriminately devoured others to sustain your voracious needs, yet it's but a temporary relief" Musashi somewhat understands
"..."
"In order to learn and adapt, you require the sentience of others. Of course, in your feral state, you simply view prey to be culled"
Musashi takes a step forward, not fearing the figure...who just murdered and absorbed her sister. To humans, "murder" or "kill" is such a strong and repulsive word, but I don't understand the rejection of one's survival needs. Humans murder to defend themselves...because they fear death themselves and out of survival instincts. Animals kill each other because it's what's engraved in their instincts. It's a product of nature to kill prey for sustenance and murder threats.
"You're a product of human nature. Humans senselessly killed each other to justify their needs and pride, but you...you kill for the sake of killing. To a monster like you, to kill is a part of nature. You mirror the worst side of humans because you're born in the worst conflict"
"..."
"As someone born engraved with the instinct to kill, you do what you believe is natural. Everyone is killing each other, so you believe you are simply following what nature intends"
"..."
"I pity you, monster...no Enterprise. You cannot comprehend the value of life and the weight of death, but I'm certain what Shinano foresee will come to be. Otherwise, she wouldn't welcome you with open arms"
Musashi bitterly smiles and I can see a glimpse of grief and loss in her furrowed expression. She slowly unsheathes her nodachi and the enormous rigging behind her does the same.
"I will be joining you shortly, my dear sisters"
She lifts her sword and incomplete humanoid projection that's part of her rigging lifts its katana formed out of pure thunderous energy...and swings it down at me. It's full force is enough to split the the surface and the earth, but...
...
...
...
I gasp open out of sudden shock, I nearly jump out of the chair. After a few seconds, I realize I dozed off while sitting in front of my desk and tumbles the chair out of sudden reaction.
"..."
On top of the desk is a black crystal shard encased in a glass cylinder protected my metallic frames and caps on both ends. The ominous energy it emits is similar to a META, but it's crooked and deformed appearance is certainly from Ghost itself.
"That wretched..."
There's a paper folded in two at the bottom of the encased wisdom cube fragment. It has a faint scent of lily when I carefully pull it out and flip it open. It's actually a "greeting card" from Welt who's known to occasionally stalk other when an event or incident catches her attention.
You have a new life you can shape as your own.
Well, it's only for the meantime since you're in exile.
There's no need to worry about me right now.
I will be on a trip to visit and observe Richelieu's promotion.
Perhaps I'd stop over for a drink of fine wine with Jean Bart first.
She doesn't mind my face and I can drop this carefree attitude.
If you can prove "it" to me, I will face you as "me".
At the end of the "greeting", she draws the head of her beastly form. It's the face of a metallic dragon with an arrogant smirk and she even scribbles sparkles. Sometimes, I cannot predict if she's acting or genuinely arrogant and impulsive.
"If only I could take a moment's rest..." I gently fold back the paper and put it back on the desk
It's been a whole week since I've taken over the identity of Charles William Ferdinand or commonly referred to as H-39 by the Kriegsmarine. She was an ordinary human who abandoned her normal life out of the wish to be needed.
"..."
I lock my room for safety measures, I remove the helmet and exhale in relief since it gets stuffy wearing it from morning to noon without taking it off once.
"No one knows..."
I place the helmet on top of the desk while I lazily sit to stare at the minor scratches on the helmet. Since no one can know my secret, I only end up talking to myself. No one knows H-39 is killed in action and everyone believes she miraculously returned in one piece.
"I'll be treated as a nameless spy if they find out..."
No one knows who I am or where I originated, so the people of this world would think of me as a nameless enemy once they see my real face.
"Acting isn't my forte..."
The one best suited for this role is someone like Littorio, who's always passionate about acting in theaters. My biggest hurdle would be H-39's experiences since her records stated she fought alongside shipgirls from other nations and even stayed in other bases for a while.
"I should avoid unnecessary contact with other kansens"
H-39 usually acts as some sort of backup for the Kriegsmarine since she's one of the earliest experimental ships. I heard the Royal Navy has a strange ship built for the war but finished years after it ended. A Queen Elizabeth class brings her all the time as some sort of attendant.
"..."
Thinking about the Royal Navy of this world makes me miss the old times where I fought alongside former enemies. In this world, they are run by a government rather than pure monarchy like the old times. However, the defacto fleet leader is still the shipgirl Queen Elizabeth.
The next day...
Everyone believes there's a permanent injury under this helmet and I don't mind keeping it that way. If they believe there's a deep scar on my face or I lost an eye, then that's fine too as long as they make me remove the helmet.
"Hmm..."
As I stroll around the base as some sort of daily patrol in mundane days, I spot an elegant-looking lady accompanied by someone in a black regal uniform. It's as if I'm looking at an aristocrat accompanied by a bodyguard, but I can tell they're both shipgirls.
"Hmm? I've seen you before. Aren't you..."
I'm just standing in the distance quietly yet she notices me quicker than her bodyguard. She gently walks towards me and greets me with a warm and gentle smile befitting her soft tone.
"...I am. H-Project battleship, H-39. Designated name is Charles William Ferdinand" I nod
Thinking about the H-class battleships, the equivalent in my world is Friedrich der Grosse. Of course, I don't expect the counterpart of Iron Blood to have the same technology as due to a different enemy with a different nature.
"My, you're quite tall. Well, taller than I last saw you"
"..."
My heart races not in anticipation but my instincts alerting me of danger. I don't sense any hostility from them and this elegant lady is genuinely relaxed while the bodyguard behind her looks more annoyed at this lady lifting her hand to measure my head.
"Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. I am Warspite of the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship. This strict looking fellow is my attendant and bodyguard, Vanguard. Don't worry, she's quite the gentle and kind"
The lady introducing herself as Warspite claps her hand and cheerfully introduces both herself and the other battleship behind her.
"..."
I just can't seem to take her fully seriously since the Warspite that I know behaves more as a knight and assistant to Queen Elizabeth and the Vanguard that I know acts like a dutiful and confident palace guard who's occasionally what the young ones describe as a "dork".
"I heard you were injured from a recent sortie, and you cannot show your face because of it" Warspite's tone becomes solemn
"There's a permanent injury scarring my face, so I don't wish for anyone to see it" I lightly nod
I'm not certain who has seen Herzog Ferdinand's actual face outside of the Kriegsmarine, but I can't let them peek the slightest under this helmet.
"Milady, I don't think this is the right moment for a sensitive topic" Vanguard reminds her
"My apologies. I was overexcited about how you managed to escape with your life" Warspite softly apologizes
"..."
My instincts become nervous when facing this noble lady as if she's beyond behaving as a graceful and friendly battleship. She's studying how I speak and even my gestures.
"Did you get a bit taller?" Warspite tilts her head
"..."
The original H-39 and I have different physique, but there's little difference in our height. For her to notice a trivial detail when the personnel who have seen her everyday couldn't notice - she's far more observant than I thought.
"I don't think so...?" I pretend to be clueless
"Milady, we shouldn't bother others with trivial questions when we have a duty to fulfill"
I can tell even her bodyguard is getting annoyed but remaining professional when it comes to her carefree mistress.
"My apologies. We won't take any more of your time and be on our way" Warspite bows
"..." I don't have to say anything
"If our schedule permits, we should talk over tea like before"
"Sure..."
She says in a cheerful tone that as she turns away while I'm rather nervous that H-39 actually encountered Warspite before and even interacted with her. It's best to avoid shipgirls who directly interact with H-39 as I risk revealing my experiences are different.
The following night...
Since I have much free time and on patrol, I sortie on my own without worrying about restrictions of my missions. It's already night, so I must have been taking care of and pursuing the Abyssals for a couple of hours.
"Grr..."
I can't use Geryon at full power due to the limit of my current state and to avoid being conspicuous, he's reduced the size of barely four meters.
"You've come all the way here. What a peculiar shipgirl..."
Installations. Land-based Abyssals, but this one possesses a human-like appearance and intelligence. The land beneath my feet has died and black substances spread everywhere like mud.
"And you are?" I tilt my new
"Midway Princess" She calmly responds
"..."
"Are you from this land? I have never met someone like you before"
Even after I obliterated her defenses and have Geryon maul her escorts, she's genuinely calm and stoic. She's incapable of defending herself now after I destroyed her runway and swatted all of her aircraft.
"I'm an outsider, but I can also be called a shipgirl since my nature is the same"
"I see. I thought I've seen someone similar to you before" Midway Princess calmly sits
This strange Princess hasn't moved an inch even when I bombed her stronghold and cornered her in a defenseless state. She doesn't care about living or dying, but she fought me with the intent to kill not too long ago.
"You did?"
"A young woman in white accompanied by a beast similar to yours. She brought winter to her" Midway Princess lifts her head
"What...what did she look like?"
"Hair as white as snow and eyes as blue as the sea. She showed no interest in me and left when I couldn't confirm what she was looking for"
"Tirpitz..."
There's no doubt about it, but the fact she possessed a freezing ability means it's the META one. Since she's awfully calm and uninterested means it's a moment before she relapses.
"Was she someone important to you?"
"She hates me. That's all you need to know"
Tirpitz is still my younger sister and hearing her wandering in this world too aches my heart. I know she's not the same as before after my mistake and sin caused her to become an undead META. She's desperate to die, but the corrupted power I infused in her wisdom cube left her trapped in undeath and resurrected with each death.
"So what is it you seek?" Midway Princess turns her attention back to me
"Someone that resembles Abyssals. Pale humanoids with marine life-like rigging. They wield advanced machines like lasers and missiles"
"The only one I could think of is an energetic one with a constant grin on her face"
"Purifier..."
"She was accompanying another. Someone who introduced herself as "The Fool", but she was completely human in appearance"
"..."
The Siren Purifier escorted Fool in a false body, so it's true they have their attention on the Abyssals. Possibly as another form of experiment as these beings are monstrous versions of shipgirls and the stronger ones possess the ability to regenerate.
"Are you fine answering my questions?" I'm a bit curious
"You're different from the others I fought, so I have no complaints entertaining your questions" Midway Princess narrow her eyes
"..."
"...but I would like you to answer one question of mine"
"What is it?"
"What is your true name?"
"..."
I hesitate for a bit since my true name is "Bismarck", but there's already another Bismarck in this world.
"...Bismarck" I end up telling the truth
"I see..." She doesn't even question it
"You're surprisingly...not surprised"
"A shadowy sea beast passed by earlier this morning and told me a battleship bearing the name of the Kriegsmarine's pride will visit me but not the one I know of. I was also told she would not kill me and is more reasonable than she appears"
"Welt. What is she up to this time?"
Not only the Sirens but Welt is interfering in this world as well. She's one of "them", so she shouldn't have any interest in this world with Ash distracting and keeping her entertained.
"..." I turn around
"So you're leaving..." Midway Princess remains stoic
"I have little interest here. My target is the shadowy sea beast you spoke of" I begin to walk away
"You're pursuing danger"
"I'm dragging her for the truth. That's all there is to it"
I have no interest in finishing off this Abyssal and it somewhat annoys me that Welt was confident about her prediction. Her eyes are potentially omniscient like her creator, but they're imperfect due to her weakened state. She has vast knowledge of the future but cannot influence it like the wise king. That's why I need to search for her traces and discover what she is trying to bait me this time.
"My kindness...won't extend the next time we meet" I give her an early warning
The presence of Arbiters must have attracted Welt's attention. She's one "them", yet she behaves no different from most humans. Perhaps it's due to the body shackling her. That enormous hunk of shadow and steel hides a lot of secrets that her gaze becomes longing, regretful, and sorrowful when speaking to Enterprise.
What does Ash know about her?