Commander Blaze, a front line commander story

by Dasmara

Meet William Blaze, a veteran who royally screwed his last mission and was thrown into prison. But when The Sirens invaded, Azur Lane High Command need him once more and so he is reinstated. His new job? Command the beautiful ship girls and give The Sirens big F you in the face. Join them as William balanced his daily life between dealing with the girl's antics and killing Sirens.

31. Tenacity

"Amagi, will you take on Purifier again?" William asked Amagi with a concerned tone.

"Hai, I was caught off guard last time…I won't make the same mistake twice." Amagi said to William with a determined voice.

"I'll help you; I can be a very convincing distraction for her." William said to Amagi.

"Very well…But as things stand, we have to reach her first. My cannons would only wreck this ship from the inside if I used them." Amagi said to William.

"Don't worry, I'll clear the way. Just stick behind me." William said to Amagi.

William and Amagi are inside the ship's armory; she accompanied William as he geared up for the close quarter fight against the Siren troopers and Purifier. He put on his usual combat goggles attached with a small camera on the side alongside a spare protective combat helmet, he swiftly took an M4A1 and slapped an underbarrel launcher on it alongside an ACOG scope. He then proceeded to load all of his available pouch with the magazines and 40mm grenades, after that he still took some time to take several frag grenades, flashbangs, and a block of C4 along some military grade double tape. William deemed that he already got everything, he already has his revolver as a sidearm, so he proceeds to exit the armory…that is until he decided to double back and took a spare SMAW launcher from one of the Anti-Tank weapon racks then used its holster rope to sling it around his shoulder.

"Well, I think I should carry this…for self-defense." William said out loud.

"Good idea." Amagi said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Carl, where is that Purifier's current position?" William asked Johnson on the radio.

"She's still at the entrance based on our CCTV, Siren troopers are pushing hard toward the hangar. The marines would definitely need your help, if you stumble upon them-" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Then I'll help them. I'll take out as many of them as I can during my way there." William said to Johnson on the radio.

"Understood, good luck." Johnson said to William on the radio.

William rechecked his loadout to make sure he still carried everything before he nodded to himself, alright he's set for combat. Amagi's rigging would only tear this carrier from the inside if she used it right now, so it's up to him to clear the way, however, if they encounter Purifier then it would be a different story. Based on Johnson's info, Purifier is still near the entrance to this aircraft carrier's island, which means both of them could still send her outside and do their battle there. Easier said than done, to do that they would need to make Purifier lower her guard, and it's going to be a tough one…What can really distract that psychopath? Regardless of how, they already have a plan, and they should try to execute it.

"…Let's go Amagi." William said to Amagi as he cocked his M4A1.

"Lead the way, shikikan-sama." Amagi said to William.

Both of them started to make their way around the inner structure of the carrier with William in the lead, he kept his weapon in an alert stance as they made their way through the corridors. Around a minute later they saw several purple plasma bolts flying in front of them which prompted William and Amagi to stop moving, they could hear gunfire in retaliation which was answered by additional streams of plasma bolts. A marine dived in front of William before he took cover on the wall beside him, the marine steadied his breathing before he noticed that William and Amagi were looking at him.

"Commander, you better take the other way! This path is a kill zone sir!" The marine said to William as he threw his thumb toward the corridor where the plasma bolts came from.

"Alright, thanks!" William said to the marine.

The marine only nodded before he returned fire with his M4A1 toward the Siren troopers, William and Amagi turned around and tried to find another way to get to the exit. There is a detour they could use though it'll take longer to head for the entrance, but they didn't have other options so they took it. Crewmen and marines are running around them to do their jobs, and both of them have already bumped into dozens of people as they make their way to another entrance. They are close to one after navigating the crowded corridors, and there's a squad of marines in the next intersection, suddenly a plasma bolt flew and hit a marine on his back.

"GAAAAAHHHH!" The marine screamed in pain as he fell to the floor.

"Man down! Man down! Hostile at six o'clock!" One of the marines shouted out loud.

The marines immediately take cover behind the walls on the intersection and start to fire their weapons, it looks like this route is also compromised. But William knew there were no other ways they could take based on the schematics of the aircraft carrier he saw before; they should just push through this route. The marines who are pinned down by Siren troopers retaliate with their weapons, but it seems it isn't enough to deter the troopers to take cover. One of the marines had enough, and he took out his fragmentation grenade, unpinned the grenade, and tossed it toward the Siren troopers.

"GRENADE!" The marine shouted out loud.

BOOM!

"Good! Now keep them pinned!" One of the marines ordered.

The marines suppressed the Siren troopers by firing in turns as they advanced forward, they managed to push the troopers into falling back and taking cover. It turns out the area they're falling back to is a mess hall, and the troopers immediately spread themselves out behind desks or supporting pillars. They also fired at the marines who were coming through the narrow entrance to the mess hall which effectively downed two marines who were charging at them. The rest of the marines take cover by whatever cover they could find, overturned tables, doorways, or even lying prone on the floor. William and Amagi slowly approached the marines from behind, he noted that two of them saw him approaching and alerted their sergeant who looked back and waved at William and Amagi.

"What's the situation here sergeant!?" William asked the sergeant in charge of the squad.

"Those troopers have been flooding this entrance for the last five minutes! There's just so many of them, and this one is the most problematic so far!" The sergeant said to William.

"We need to get to the entrance sergeant! We need your support!" William said to the sergeant.

"Alright sir! Men! We'll push through the mess hall! Get a flashbang in there, pick your targets, suppress them, and get close!" The sergeant said out loud to his men.

"Yes sir! Flash out!" A marine said out loud.

BANG!

"GO! GO! GO!" The sergeant shouted out loud.

"Amagi! Get behind me!" William said to Amagi as he readied his M4A1.

Amagi held on to William, she took his revolver, and held it in her hand in case she needed to shoot one of those troopers without her rigging. The marines alongside William and Amagi stormed the mess hall, William made sure Amagi is well protected behind him as he moved while firing his M4A1 at any Sirens who dare to show up their face…The clearing took a while as the troopers keep moving around and basically played the cat and mouse game with the marines, it took them a full minute until the last trooper died from a headshot from one of the marines. Amagi sighed in relief as she returned the revolver to William who took it and sheathed it, the sergeant approached William after he made sure the troopers died.

"We'll hold this section sir! You better get moving!" The sergeant said to William.

"Thanks for the help marine!" William said to the sergeant.

Both Amagi and William continue to move toward the entrance, the area near the entrance is quiet as it's been taken over by the Sirens. Both of them have to move carefully, William uses every sense he has to detect any signs of enemy. He paid very close attention to any details around him, his ears are working on overdrive to detect any footsteps other than his and Amagi or the occasional sounds of gunfire around them…He then heard the sound of metal door being thrown open and torn from its hinges, and that caused both of William and Amagi to stopped moving, they knew their target is close to them.

"William, you're close to Purifier." Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Come out come out wherever you are, commander~! I know you're here~!" William and Amagi could hear Purifier taunting him.

"…No shite, I could hear her. Where is she?" William asked Johnson on the radio in low tone.

"…Two corridors away from you, judging by her direction she'll cross paths with you in that intersection in front of you. She has four Siren trooper escorts with her." Johnson informed William on the radio.

"Not a big deal…Amagi, listen up…" William said to Johnson on the radio before he spoke with Amagi.

Purifier stared at the hallways in front of her with four troopers on her sides, she knew the moment she made eye contact with William, he would prepare to engage her in close combat. He's just that kind of commander, Purifier is eager to face him again after their brief meeting on Furushima. Plus, she actually wants payback since he rammed her with an F-15 and basically 'killed' her. This time that man wouldn't have any vehicle at his disposal, it'll be easy to kill him, but since it will bore her Purifier decide that toying with him would probably be more fun than just outright killing-

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

"…For someone who got crushed, you look awfully fine." Purifier grinned when she heard that masculine voice.

The four Siren troopers that escorted her dropped dead on the floor with bullet holes in each of their heads, Purifier turned her head around to stare at the one and only, Commander William Blaze, who still has her head under gunpoint with his M4A1. Why the fuck didn't William also put one on Purifier? He learned a lot back on Furushima, he knew that his rifle would do nothing but annoy her and the grenade launcher could probably stun her for a bit. But he's already got a plan on how to handle her and get Purifier out from this corridor, so they could fight on the flight deck instead.

"Haha! There you are! I have to say commander, you didn't know how to handle a girl! I just want to talk to you back then!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

"I don't speak laser beam in case you noticed, so how about we speak in English?" William said to Purifier while he frowned.

"Too bad, I'm more fluent with laser beam!" Purifier said to William as one of her drones appeared beside her.

PSIU!

Purifier used her drone, attached it on her left arm, and used it as a wrist cannon to shoot at William, who widened his eye before he dashed back and rolled to the side which caused him to successfully dodge the laser beam shot out of Purifier's drone. The laser beam melted the wall in front of her, several marines appeared behind the hole with their weapons in hand but one looked at her, and they immediately took cover and did not engage her…well, they certainly knew not to mess with her. Purifier scowled as she lowered her left arm. William could be categorized as a giant yet he still managed to move that fast and deftly avoided her attacks. Purifier sighed as she readied her second drone on her right hand, this might take a while.

"…For someone that large, he's quite agile." Purifier muttered to herself.

"Alright, fine! I'll take you head on!" William suddenly said out loud.

"Ho!? You're taking me on by yourself?! Hey, I think you forgot that you are a mere human, commander!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

"You thought I'm an ordinary human? Well, you're wrong, and I'll show you! STANDO POWAH!" William said to Purifier as he came out of cover and started posing.

"…Huh?" Purifier stared with a confused face at William who's posing strangely with his left hand covering his face, his M4A1 dangling on its ropes on his left side.

"For I'm a stand user! Witness my true power of my stand! Star Platinum!" William grinned cockily as he crossed his arms together.

"…The fuck?" Purifier asked out loud, still confused with what she saw.

BOOM!

CRASH!

Purifier got no time to respond because she's suddenly got hit on the side by two battleship grade armor piercing shells, got thrown because of it, hit and smashed through the wall then ended up laying prone outside on top of the flight deck with torn clothes and large bad bruising on her left side…William sighed in relief and looked to the corridor on his right side, there stood Amagi with her rigging deployed. That's the simple plan they discussed before; William would get her attention then Amagi would blow her out of the carrier's inner superstructure with her armor piercing shells…can't risk setting the ship on fire if she used her high explosive shells especially from the inside.

"Took you long enough, I'm starting to look ridiculous in front of her." William said to Amagi with half closed eye.

"Not just in front of her, the entire bridge crew." Johnson said to William on the radio with an amused tone.

"Urgh…" William groaned out loud as he facepalmed.

"Hontouni gomenasai shikikan-sama, I had to evade one of the nearby trooper squads." Amagi said to William as she bowed a bit while she frowned.

"Well, you arrived before I even made a further fool of myself so it's fine. Come on, let's take on that bitch." William said to Amagi as he grabbed his M4A1.

Both of them exited through the hole in the wall where Purifier was thrown through and came face to face with the Siren as she tried to stand back up, being hit by two armor piercing shells hurt like hell, and she for sure didn't expect Amagi to also be on this ship. Not even Tester Beta saw Amagi on this ship…Or did she actually know but didn't tell her? No, there's no way that's the case. That woman would surely notify Purifier if she did notice, why? Tester Beta ordered Purifier to take on William Blaze up close, had she known that Amagi would be there then she would advise to 'take care' of Amagi first before proceeding to engage William Blaze…Unless, Tester Beta is fucking with her.

"Ugh, fucking hell…" Purifier muttered as she stood up and turned around.

"I can't believe a Siren would fall for such a trick." Amagi said to Purifier.

"Hey! Who wouldn't when he's looking that stupid with that eight-grader syndrome posing huh!? I'm baffled!" Purifier said to Amagi while she scowled.

"…Eh, she's not wrong." William said out loud as he shrugged before he raised his M4A1.

TRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

"Tch! You think those small bullets could harm me?!" Purifier shouted as she tanked an assault rifle barrage with her drones, none of the bullets gave any meaningful damage to it.

"No, but hers will!" William said to Purifier as he reloaded.

"Away with you!" Amagi said out loud as she fired her cannon.

BOOM!

"Not this time bitch!" Purifier said out loud as she dodged the armor piercing shells and used her drone cannons to fire at Amagi.

PSIU!

BAM!

The moment Amagi noticed the drones in Purifier's arms were directed at her the Sakura lady immediately used the stack of boxes nearby as cover while she dodged her attack, the laser beam fired by Purifier hit the boxes, punched through it, and hit one of the parked planes behind it. Amagi showed up and fired once again at Purifier who still managed to dodge her shells before she retaliated at lighting speed, Amagi moved to the side and as result the energy beam hit her left side rig and caused a big explosion. William widened his eye before he swiftly returned his attention toward Purifier and unload the rest of the rounds in his magazine.

TRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

"You're so annoying!" Purifier said to William as she scowled.

"Glad to hear you suffer for it!" William said to Purifier as he reloaded his M4A1 while he ran away from her.

"Lord William!" Hood said to William on the radio.

"Kind of busy here Hood! What is it?!" William asked Hood on the radio.

"We are deadlocked! The Sirens keep pouring out of the portals! If we keep this up, we will run out of ammunition fast!" Hood said to William on the radio.

"Alright! Deploy our reinforcement!" William said to Hood on the radio.

"Understood!" Hood said to William on the radio.

William fired at Purifier again as he moved between the stacks of boxes on which Amagi previously used as cover; he briefly noted that Amagi had managed to get away by dropping down from the aircraft carrier using the thick black smoke that came from the burning jet behind him as cover. She must've been trying for flanking maneuver, then that means William should continue to distract Purifier. William showed up from behind one of the boxes, and he launched a 40mm grenade toward Purifier who jumped backwards to dodge the explosion. Purifier returned fire toward the box William took cover on, but she found out that William had moved away from his last known position. He took cover behind the aircraft carrier's island wall, he thought of his next move as he adjusted his equipment and reloaded his weapons.

"…Everyone, Lord William has spoken! Reinforcement alongside big guns have been authorized! They'll be here in five minutes! Hold the lines ladies!" Hood said out loud on the radio.

"Let's hope they'll be enough to punch all of these lots!" Warspite said to Hood on the radio.

"I'm sure they will." Hood said to Warspite on the radio.

William regulated his breathing before he came out from behind the wall, but he found that Purifier was nowhere to be found. He walked forward slowly while his eye kept scouring the entire area for any sign of the Siren, she couldn't have just disappeared into thin air. William scoured the whole area before he noticed a shadow moving past in front of him, the man instinctively turned around and aimed high to find Purifier jumped down toward him. William didn't get the chance to fire his gun because Purifier kicked it away, she grabbed his shoulders, used it as anchor point to move toward his back before she kicked him hard, and the man was thrown forward toward the wall. The impact proved to be quite hard which caused a loud noise, and it prompted several marines to go outside. They froze when they realized that Purifier walked toward them while she grinned.

"…Get back! Seal this door!" William said to the marines as he tried to regain his bearings.

"Y-Yes sir!" The marine said as he led his comrades inside and sealed the door to the inner superstructure.

"Aww, I never took you as the compassionate type!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

"…Shikikan-sama, I'm ready to support you. Break off from her line of sight so I could distract her, then plant the C4 you have on her. That should give us the window to kill her, please nod if you received this message." Amagi said to William on the radio.

William nodded his head once as he felt his breathing have normalized again, he stood up, and prepared himself to engage Purifier in close quarters. How to do this without killing himself? That's when he realized he should've unloaded everything on her. William fired his M4A1 at Purifier who's advancing slowly and cockily as the 5.56mm bullets failed to give her any meaningful damage. The bullets mostly struck her rigging but the few that did hit her flesh only served to give her some yellowish spots on her skin. It didn't take long for the magazine to run out of ammo, so he used the underbarrel launcher to launch a grenade at Purifier, a 40mm grenade should hurt her. The Siren crossed her arms equipped with her drone cannons in front of her, and that's enough to tank the damage alongside the kinetic force. She grinned in satisfaction before her smile fell because she realized she had fallen for William's trap. The man unsheathed the SMAW launcher from his back at lightning speed and fired at Purifier split seconds later.

WHOOSSHH!

BOOM!

Purifier was thrown forward due to the explosion caused by the warhead that hit the floor behind her, she's thrown straight toward William's direction. The man let go of the launcher and tightened his right fist as he watched where Purifier was going. When it's confirmed she will narrowly pass him on the right side, William launches an unrestrained punch toward Purifier's stomach region. His fist connected, it produced a satisfying sound, and William used all of his upper body strength to punch forward then brought Purifier down to the flight deck floor. Purifier was slammed down with widened eyes and an agape mouth, her stomach region was being crushed by a giant fist, and it drilled her toward the floor. William didn't let up as he sat on top of her, he launched his left fist toward her face at lightning speed, then his right, then his left again…In ten seconds flat he launched full unrestrained barrages of punches toward Purifier's face, after savagely hitting her in the face he used his hands to choke her as he tried his best to snap her neck…However, Purifier only grinned in combination of satisfaction and malice…

"…Choke me harder daddy~!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

…That managed to stun William for a bit in disbelief, despite putting every ounce of physical strength he could muster, he still couldn't even put any kind of pressure on Purifier. The Siren easily used her arms to grab on William's chocking hands, forced them apart before she headbutted his face, and that forced him to let go of Purifier…His nose is broken and blood streamed out from his nostrils, William put on his unarmed combat stance to face Purifier. The Siren accepted his challenge as she dashed forward with a thrust kick. William managed to narrowly avoid it, grabbed on her extended leg, and threw her toward the deck wall. Purifier's back hit the wall, and William dashed forward with a swinging right fist, she noted the incoming strike and moved her head to the right which caused William's fist to hit the deck wall instead.

BANK!

His fist is connected to the metallic wall, William widened his eye because he realizes he's wide open. So, he counteracted that by jamming his left knee at Purifier, she caught his knee and stopped it dead in its tracks with her right hand. Realizing that he's out of options, William dashed backwards as he took out his revolver, he unloaded six .44 magnum rounds by rapidly firing it cowboy style. However, that didn't deter Purifier in the slightest as she started to sprint forward with a swinging left fist, which William dodged narrowly by side stepping to the side. That left him vulnerable once again because as soon as he came to a halt Purifier was already in front of him, left leg extended in a horse kick. William crossed his arms together and took the full force of the impact, it sent him toward the stack of boxes behind his position, and he broke one of them when his body hit it in full force.

BRUAK!

The man gritted his teeth in pain, first he got his nose broken, now his body is sore all over the place, his arms hurt a lot, and not to mention Purifier still hasn't taken any meaningful damage from him other than some torn clothes! Frustrated? Hell fucking yes he is! William, however, noted that these boxes would serve well as a maze to prepare for the ambush that Amagi said to him; he couldn't risk speaking and giving away his position because he didn't know for sure how good Purifier's hearing was. So, William tapped his earpiece, he used the transmit feature that will give a heads-up ping toward the receiver when a transmission is broadcasted towards them. William used the transmit button to contact Amagi, but repeatedly pushed it in a set of rhythm. William is sending morse code toward Amagi using his radio, and he told her to commence the attack now.

"Come on commander! Come out and fight me like a man! Or did you-" Purifier said out loud while she grinned cockily.

BOOM!

Purifier was thrown forward when she's hit in the back by two high explosive shells and crashed into one of the boxes which destroyed it. She got up while she growled angrily and turned around to see Amagi herself standing near the edge of the flight deck. Her left rigging was badly damaged, the port turrets are unusable, but that doesn't mean she couldn't fight with her starboard turrets…Purifier's rear side was scorched, she lost the clothing on her rear, her bloomers are barely hanging which revealed her butt cheeks and threatened to reveal what's hidden in her crotch area, her clothes are burned by the high explosive impact, and she's basically topless right now with the exception of the remains of her sailor uniform's collar.

"Tch, you're quite persistent, Amagi! Just die!" Purifier said to Amagi as she aimed her drone cannons.

"I'm afraid that is not possible." Amagi said to Purifier while she frowned.

Both of them trade fire once again, Amagi being extra careful not to hit the stack of boxes where William was hiding. Both of them jumped all over the place while firing all of their weapons at each other…William noted that Amagi has got Purifier's attention, it's time for him to prepare. William took out the C4 block from his pouch and the military grade double tape, he swiftly got to work by coating one side of the C4 with the double tape. After making sure the C4 won't fall off from any surface, William peeked at Amagi, who's still battling Purifier…Amagi managed to catch a glimpse of William behind the stack of boxes, and she immediately knew what to do. She let herself be exposed by standing still, and that successfully baited Purifier to approach her for a close quarter kill.

"Now shikikan-sama!" Amagi said out loud.

Amagi dashed forward and grabbed on Purifier's arms before locking her in place, William dashed out of his cover with the C4 block in his right hand. He rammed into Purifier, tackled her to the floor while planting the C4 on her back at the same time. To distract her, William tried his best to choke her from behind with his right arm. But despite his best effort, Purifier still managed to resist by standing up despite William pinning her with his weight. The Siren then jumped high before flipping herself, and that caused William to land on the floor with his back. Added with Purifier herself above him, and it managed to knock the wind out of him. Amagi swiftly closed in to assist but Purifier, who's on guard, dashed toward Amagi, seizing the initiative in their duel. Both trade jabs at each other, trying to secure a grip on one another. Purifier managed to grab onto Amagi's left sleeve, which she latched on and start to spin her around, the Siren then let go of her and thrown her toward William who's just about to get up…Amagi landed on William who tried to catch her, it caused his right forearm to get dislocated as the payment for Amagi landing softly.

GRUK!

"ARGH!" William groaned in pain.

"Tch! I thought you're better than this, commander! When will you learn that I am more powerful than-" Purifier said to William while she scowled.

PIIIP!

BOOM!

Purifier didn't finish her sentence as the C4 attached to her back detonated, it sent her flying past William and Amagi into the center of the flight deck. William stored the detonator in his left hand, and he gently let Amagi, who's groaning, down to the floor. William stood up and assessed the damage. Any normal human would've been torn apart, but Purifier survived with a charred backside, her hair's a mess, her ponytail has been cut significantly by the explosion, and he presumed that she got a severe concussion alongside trauma from that explosion alone. But since she's a Siren, he could never know for sure…Hey wait a second, how about bringing a dead body of a Siren ship girl for autopsy? Surely it'll shed some light on how their biology works…

"…It worked? I'll be damned…" William muttered to himself as he stared at Purifier.

"I don't think so. Here, let me fix your forearm." Amagi said to William as she approached him and corrected his right forearm joints.

GRUK!

"Urgh…Thanks. Well, she's unconscious at least." William said to Amagi while he smiled a bit.

"…Guh…" Purifier could be heard groaning.

"Or maybe not." William said out loud with half closed eye.

"Let's throw her out of this ship, I'll continue to face her on water." Amagi said to William.

"Great idea." William nodded his head.

The man walked toward Purifier as he rubbed his right wrist to ease the pain for a bit, he noted that Purifier is basically naked! But somehow, despite the humanoid body he didn't get any some sort of sexual reaction. Probably because she's an enemy? The fact they're battling each other right now? Would he pop a boner if she approached him naked outside combat? William shook his head sideways to clear his thoughts. He's got a job to do, so he needs to focus…William grabbed Purifier's right hand and dragged her all the way to the edge of the carrier's flight deck. Purifier shook her head to clear her vision, and that's when she noticed that she's being dragged to the edge of the ship.

"Wha…Hey wait!" Purifier said to William with widened eyes.

"Bon voyage, bitch!" William shouted out loud.

SPLASH!

William used all of his strength and tossed Purifier down to the sea, he looked down briefly and noted that she didn't make any attempt to resurface, but deep down he knew that she would come back to the surface with her rigging ready to go…Well, that's one problem solved temporarily. William stared at Amagi who stood beside him as she inspected the surface for any sign of Purifier, he noted that her rigging's portside is heavily damaged, so he's concerned on whether she could fight Purifier by herself. But one glance coupled with a reassuring smile from her eased his worry for a bit, he knew she would come up with something that should give her an edge to kill that Siren bitch.

"…Good luck Amagi, don't be reckless." William said to Amagi with a serious face.

"Arigatou. Though, I could say the same to you." Amagi said to William while she smiled a bit before she jumped off the carrier...

"…Attention everyone, Purifier is near the Anderson. Those who can disengage, head over here now. Amagi will need your help." William said out loud on the radio, better be safe than sorry.

"Avrora here komandir, I'm on the way." Avrora said to William on the radio.

"Belfast here, I shall provide support for Madam Amagi." Belfast said to William on the radio.

"Kawakaze, I'm on the move, shikikan." Kawakaze said to William on the radio.

"Zestorer 46 here, I'm inbound to the Anderson." Z46 said to William on the radio.

"Copy all. Thank you." William said out loud on the radio while he smiled in relief.

PSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIU!

"Son of a-" William said out loud.

Several hails of purple plasma bolts flew at him as a Siren dropship attempted to land on the flight deck, and William sprinted for the nearest cover. Luckily the Anderson still has many of the wooden boxes near the entrance of the superstructure, so he took cover there as he reloaded all of his weapons and prepared his equipment because he knew he would start fighting those Siren troopers. He still has several magazines for his M4A1, several 40mm grenades, a bunch of fragmentation grenades and flashbangs…William deemed he's still got enough to engage in a firefight, but probably had to loot the corpse of those troopers once the firefight ends.

"Additional dropships! How the hell do they keep passing through our anti-air kill zone!?" Johnson asked out loud on the radio.

"They dived…the dropships flew straight above us before diving down like a fighter, they stopped just before hitting us as they hover…Ingenious, our aircraft would've been torn apart from the sheer G force alone." William said to Johnson on the radio.

Yeah, that's what those dropships do. They dived down, at 90 degrees in angle while firing their chin mounted plasma cannons, stopped around a hundred meters off the sea surface while engaging their stabilizer thrusters at full strength, and managed to hover on top of the Anderson's flight deck relatively safely since their CIWS guns are destroyed, and their secondary cannons are busy with the other Sirens in close distance…William watched the dropship from behind one of the boxes, it opened the hatch on its underside, and Siren troopers came out in double lines then jump down to board the carrier.

"More troopers. They really want that machine, Carl." William commented on the radio.

"…Odd." Johnson said to William on the radio.

"What is?" William asked Johnson on the radio.

"If they really want the machine, they could just blow a hole in our hangar bay and get in. Why did they storm us from above? Pretty redundant and inefficient if you ask me." Johnson said to William on the radio.

"…Right. But for now, let's keep our guard, we have to be prepared for everything." William said to Johnson as he loaded a 40mm grenade to the launcher.

"Yeah. Oh, by the way, if you don't mind Will, that platoon is going to pass your position in approximately ten seconds since they want to get inside. Give them some warm welcome, would you?" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"I'll make it 110% with extra boom." William said to Johnson on the radio as he grinned a bit in malice.

There are around fifty Siren troopers marching toward the entrance, and William is hilariously outnumbered and outgunned, but he never confirms that he's outmatched. Though, not wearing Albion armor means he's going to be so much more vulnerable as one plasma bolt could spell doom for him. So, in order to take out fifty Siren troopers? He needs to get creative. William prepared two flashbangs and two frag grenades from his pouch; he pulled the pin on one of the flashbangs before throwing it toward the Siren trooper platoon. The flashbang exploded and blinded as well as deafened the fifty of them, William swiftly took out the pin on two frag grenades and tossed it toward the troopers. Two explosions occurred, and it managed to take out a good chunk of their numbers, but not enough to reduce it to the numbers William could handle by emptying his carbine, so he needed to do a more…daring approach.

William used the last flashbang, and it blinded some of them. A few looked away when they saw the second flashbang being thrown at them, so William didn't manage to blind all of them. However, that's enough since William used his underbarrel launcher to launch a grenade toward those that are blinded. The previous attack combined with the 40mm grenade explosion took out more than half of their numbers, William swiftly noted that there's at least twelve of them remaining and taking cover behind the stack of boxes or laying prone with their plasma rifles aimed at his general position. Since he ran out of grenades to use and only having one last 40mm grenade, William decided to go all out. He came out of cover with his M4A1 rapidly spewing 5.56mm rounds toward the troopers lying prone and successfully took out four of them, the rest of the troopers returned fire, but the plasma bolts missed since William already moved away from his cover.

He actually circled the box stacks and came up on the side of the Siren troopers. William approached one of them who's too busy searching for him and used his combat knife to stab its neck from the right side. The trooper's scream of pain managed to get the attention of the other seven, and they turned their guns to fire at him. William used the trooper he's grabbing as a meat shield as he retreated behind the boxes then appeared a split second later to launch the last 40mm grenade toward the troopers, and the explosion took out three of them at once. So, in the end, William had to face the four remaining troopers, who were probably pissed at him for taking out forty-six of their friends in under two minutes. William noted that he's down to the last magazine for his M4A1, he swiftly reloaded the gun when he heard something fall beside him. He looked down and widened his eye, it's a Siren plasma grenade.

PSIUBAM!

The grenade exploded, but fortunately William already dived toward the other boxes, so he's safe from the energy blast. He did feel the heat on his legs, but he's certain that it didn't get cooked and turned into well done human leg roast…William rolled when he touched the floor, he came out of cover and sprinted toward the four chasing Siren troopers who were shocked to see him not running but charging at them, while burning the ammo in the last magazine for his carbine. Two of them fell after receiving dozens of bullets to the chest armor piece, the other two tried to fire at William, but they were too late because William was already in front of them. He unsheathed his knife and jammed it to one trooper's neck on the right side, he then brutally yanked the knife to the left side and that caused the trooper's throat to be sliced open then spewed massive amounts of yellowish blood. The other one fired its weapon, but the projectile managed to miss William's head since he immediately ducked after slitting the throat of a trooper. William grabbed on his M4A1 before swinging the butt stock upwards at the Siren's head. The swing caused the Siren to be stunned. William let go of his carbine, disarmed the Siren by knocking off its plasma rifle to the side, sent a barrage of punches toward its head, before finishing it off with a powerful frontal thrust kick as he shouted out loud for shit and giggles.

"FUS RO DAH!"

BRUAK!

The last trooper got kicked hard and flew toward one of the boxes, it crashed into and broke the box. That last trooper groaned in pain and tries to get up, but it never got the chance as William pinned it down by stepping on its chest, putting his entire weight on his feet before he swiftly took out his revolver, and fired three shots to its head…William confirmed the trooper died after it stopped moving with three holes puncturing the surface of its helmet, he got down and sheathed his revolver before he takes a look around. He actually managed to kill fifty of them by using everything he had, admittedly William felt proud of himself for managing to do that. No doubt this event will be used by Lucas somehow to increase morale, he's sure of it.

"Damn…remind me to not piss you off." Johnson said on the radio.

"Don't piss me off Carl." William said to Johnson on the radio while he grinned.

"Eh, not that soon but oh well…Thanks to that you got incoming hostiles, you have enough ammo?" Johnson asked William on the radio.

"No, almost out of everything…But their plasma rifle would do nicely." William said to Johnson on the radio as he picked one of their plasma rifles on the floor.

"Careful on using it, there's no telling how many shots you have because we don't know its exact battery capacity." Johnson said to William on the radio.

"I see…Then, I'll take two…and some grenades too." William said to Johnson on the radio.

William crouched down on the nearby Siren trooper; he took two plasma grenades that were connected to their crotch armor sides through some kind of magnetic lock. The rounded plasma grenade is a bit larger than their standard fragmentation, black in coloring with a small reddish area on top of it which served as the primer of the grenade. The operation is quite simple, all you have to do is to press the button which will turn on the five second timer with a beeping tone and then the grenade will explode. Simple, isn't it? The problem is that this grenade has no safety measure on it, if you accidentally pressed the primer well you better hope that you got a space to throw it away because a point-blank concentrated plasma energy explosion? Oof, better play the coffin dance meme as the countdown reaches zero because you're a dead man walking at that point.

However, William noted that the plasma rifle that these troopers carried? They are overall longer than the ones he saw on Furushima. This one has a butt stock, the barrel is longer, and it is heavier. Are the ones he saw back on Furushima, plasma carbines? Who knows, the intel regarding Siren trooper types and weaponry is still inconsistent. But the fact that they have different weaponry is apparent now, maybe looting their corpses will be worth it in the future, especially when their plasma grenade is quite deadly. The troopers also have their sidearm: the plasma pistol. As large as Desert Eagle but with a slower and weaker plasma bolt than the ones produced by the rifle, it's still quite a formidable weapon nevertheless…William takes the plasma rifle and the plasma pistol, now he's set for additional firefights.

"Additional dropships have arrived, show them what you got." Johnson said to William on the radio.

"…Game on!" William said out loud on the radio as he watched the next dropship landing…

.

"Why do those portals keep opening?! They usually only send some batches before closing them!" Ark Royal asked out loud on the radio.

"They intend to pour out as many as they can for this battle?" Prinz asked out loud on the radio as she tapped her lips in wonder.

"If that's the case, it won't be long before we lose this fight! I'm already running low on ammo here!" Hipper said out loud on the radio.

"Same, they are like an endless horde! Here comes another wave!" Helena said out loud on the radio.

True to Helena's words, a large fleet of Siren ship girls accompanied by several mass-produced ships appeared from portals in front of them. Zara huffed in annoyance and to steady her ragged breathing, she is exhausted to be honest, and there's not many Semi Armor Piercing rounds she has left, so she will have to be careful on what she fired at. In the worst case, she will have to rely on her secondary guns alongside her sword if this attack keeps up…Zara took a glance at Warspite, the petite woman holding her crimson longsword as she surveyed the enemy in front of them. A glance at her eyes, however, and Zara knew that Warspite had a plan in mind, her suspicion is confirmed when Warspite turned around to face the ship girls.

"…Signorina Warspite, what are your orders?" Zara asked Warspite with a serious expression.

"…Steady our formation everyone! Let them get closer!" Warspite said out loud on the radio.

"Let them get closer?!" Hipper asked Warspite on the radio with disbelieved tone.

"Believe me, let them. We time this right, and those Sirens are fish food." Warspite said out loud on the radio while she smiled confidently.

"Warspite! The Sirens outnumbered us! Three to one!" Hipper said to Warspite on the radio while she frowned.

"Then it is an even fight!" Warspite said to Hipper on the radio with a confident smile on her face.

Zara nodded her head, Warspite is a seasoned warrior, so Zara trusted her. The other ship girls who know about her prowess also decide to heed her command, they're in good hands. The Siren fleet approached them closer with each second passed, the rest of the ship girls who held the southern flank already aimed their cannons toward each of their targets, while occasionally dodging some projectiles that were fired at their position. More than a few of them glanced at Warspite in anxiousness as they waited for the command to fire their guns, did Warspite intend to get those Sirens into melee range before they are cleared to fire? That's the same as suicide. However, once the Sirens were close enough within one kilometer of range, Warspite raised her hand that held her sword upwards before throwing it forward and pointed her sword at the Sirens.

"All ships! Fire at will! Full salvo! Pin those bollocks down!" Warspite shouted out loud.

Thunderous cannon shots could be heard across their formation and hundreds of shells immediately rain the approaching Siren fleet, the Sirens didn't take too kindly to being fired by combination of high explosive and armor piercing shells, so they returned fire on the ship girls. The fight ensues, but being the defenders, the ALASUC ship girls manage to avoid almost every attack that the Siren fleet launches. In return, they managed to cause severe damage against the enemy formation, burning almost all of their mass-produced ships, and sinking the rest. Their main problem now is the enemy KANSEN, which will prove to be a pain in the ass to deal with. When the Sirens got even closer, Warspite nodded her head because the time had come to finish them off.

"Ark, round those Sirens to the center! Zara, Eugen, Hipper, follow me! We'll take them in close quarters! The rest of you, hold them down!" Warspite commanded out loud on the radio.

"Si!" ""Ja!"" Zara, Hipper, and Prinz said to Warspite.

The three heavy cruisers followed Warspite as she moved to the Siren's right flank, some of them noted this maneuver and turned their attention toward Warspite's group. Dodging their incoming fire in close quarters isn't easy by any means, especially given some of them have directed energy cannons, which could melt their armor with relative ease. Dozens of energy bolts flew toward Warspite, Zara, Prinz, and Hipper which found their mark on Zara. An energy bolt struck her starboard side rigging, and the Sardegna woman gritted her teeth due to the shock and heat it gave off.

"Zara!" Prinz said out loud as she witnessed Zara get hit by the Siren's projectile.

"Grazing hit! This is nothing! My armor will hold!" Zara said to Prinz as she gritted her teeth.

"Well, we got their attention! Shield wall!" Warspite said out loud.

Dozens of the Siren ship girls have turned toward their small group, the plan to bait them is a success, and now they have to hold out for a bit, and that is the reason why Warspite brought Prinz, Zara, and Hipper with her. The three heavy cruisers stood in front of Warspite, they immediately projected and combined their energy shielding in front of them just as dozens of Sirens fired their cannons at them. The result? The combination of the shielding became strong enough to tank the Siren KANSENs' mighty firepower, the Sirens kept firing before realizing that firing on them was futile, so they chose to move in for a close quarter strike. Prinz smirked when she saw the Sirens moved closer to them, so this is what Warspite intended to do from the start. She intends to fight them head on in close quarters…

"Now Warspite!" Prinz said out loud.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Several battleship grade armor piercing shells tore through the Sirens in front of them, but that didn't deter the Sirens from closing on them. Zara took out her sword, and she charged forward followed by Prinz and Hipper, who's rigging were ready to engage in melee combat. Zara's sword might be thin in nature, but that doesn't mean it's weak. She didn't hesitate to close in on several Explorers, hacking and slashing them apart with precise movements while dodging their respective melee or ranged attacks. Prinz grinned maliciously as she took on multiple Trackers and Oceanas, by her side stood Hipper who's readying her rigging. Both of them launched their torpedoes as they advanced, striking many Sirens on the way, their rigging fired armor piercing shells nonstop while occasionally grabbing some of the Sirens and biting them into two. Warspite roared loudly as she jumped straight toward a combination of Oceanas and Peace Breakers. This is what she has wished for quite some time, pure melee combat to hone her swordsmanship, and she's having the time of her life moving from foe to foe with her sword coated in yellow blood as it swung or stabbed through Siren bodies.

The other ship girls fired their guns nonstop to support the ship girls, who were engaged in close combat with the Sirens. They have to be extra careful with their aim to avoid friendly fire, but since the Sirens are distracted by the massacring KANSENs in their formation, the other ship girls could take their time to confirm their shots. Ark Royal used her Swordfishes to make sure none of the Sirens flee from their kill zone, not an easy task concerning the harassment coming from them with their AA guns coupled with laser beams firing toward her relatively slow Swordfishes…After fighting for five minutes, they managed to massacred the Sirens and only one of them remains: an Oceana who tried to flee from the combat area.

"One of them is escaping!" Fletcher said out loud on the radio.

"Not on my watch! Belli Dura Despicio!" Warspite said out loud as she fired her cannon which hit the fleeing Tracker straight on her back.

BOOM!

"…Merda…I guess you still got it, Signorina Warspite." Zara said to Warspite as she smiled a bit, seeing her sniping skills brought some unpleasant memories for Zara.

"Thanks…Well, we finally cleared the southern flank. Everyone alright?" Warspite asked out loud on the radio.

"Most of us are running low on munitions, we won't have enough for the next extended firefight. I suggest we restock now while we have the chance." Hipper said to Warspite on the radio.

"Agreed. Alright, prioritize the destroyers, we'll go after them. I heard that Purifier is near the ALS Anderson, I want to make it clear that you are NOT to engage her in combat. Just like Commander William said, stick to the plan." Warspite said out loud on the radio.

"Got it…Okay! Follow me everyone! Full speed ahead!" Fletcher said out loud on the radio before she led the destroyers back to the Anderson.

"I'll accompany them!" Ark Royal said out loud as she smiled and followed the destroyers.

"Wait, Ark! We still…and there she goes, she really couldn't help but to worry about the destroyers during battle, too much on occasions." Warspite said out loud on the radio with half closed eyes.

…Enterprise kept scanning for the enemy, while she occasionally watched the west or east flank as they battled the Sirens. It's strange that the Sirens didn't intend to block their advance by setting up a barricade to the north. Then again, they could never predict those bastards' intentions, so Enterprise thought all they could do now is to react to whatever obstacle in front of them…Enterprise noted that several purple-colored portals appeared in front of them, multiple Siren ship girls accompanied by dozens of their mass-produced ships appeared. The northern flank defenders readied themselves, there were a lot of them, and they expended some munitions to remotely help the other flanks.

"Incoming from the north!" Enterprise said out loud.

"Our time has finally come. Are you ready, Enterprise?" Hood asked Enterprise as she stood beside her.

"I'm always ready to fight, let's show them why they shouldn't mess with us!" Enterprise said to Hood while she smiled a bit.

"I concur…Destroyer team! Split up and advance on their flank!" Hood said out loud.

"We're going in!" Glowworm said to Hood as she and the other destroyers started to move.

"Let's cover them." Hood said to Enterprise while aiming her main guns toward the approaching enemy.

The destroyers split into two, one led by Glowworm and the other led by Charles Auburn. The large Siren formation on the northern flank will botch the entire battlegroup's advance when the ALS Anderson propellers get fixed, so they have to take care of them quickly. Hood opened the fight by firing her main guns toward the advancing Siren ship girls, her high explosive shells rained upon them and caused the Siren KANSENs to move erratically in an effort to dodge the shells, while the mass-produced ships failed to evade them, and several of them caught on fire. Enterprise launched her dive bombers up high, each of the planes flew above an enemy ship before it dived down, while releasing its payload and punched a hole through their hulls or blew a ship girl's head…Glowworm advanced toward a profusely burning Siren mass produced battleship with maximum speed, she grinned as she jumped forward toward its hull.

"Meteor slam!" Glowworm said out loud while she grinned.

BANK!

Glowworm rammed through the battleship from its starboard side and exited through its port side, all the while setting the inner structure on fire by shooting her cannon loaded with high explosive shells. When she exited the ship, the holes on the ship exuded flames and thick black smoke. Glowworm continued and rammed into a mass-produced Siren cruiser, and she gave it the exact same treatment as their battleship…Enterprise watched from afar with an awed smile, honestly, she never expected that a destroyer like her managed to take down two ships just like that, and that inspired her to perform better.

"She never ceases to amaze with how hard her head is." Enterprise said out loud while she smiled.

"Attention! Repairs complete! The Anderson can move again!" Vestal said out loud on the radio.

"All ships! Full speed ahead! Let's get the hell out of here! Ms. Hood, we need those Sirens in the north flank taken out!" Johnson said to Hood on the radio.

"Understood Commander Johnson, we're handling it." Hood said to Johnson on the radio.

"The battlegroup is advancing." Enterprise said to Hood as she noticed the rest of the battlegroup advancing at slow speed.

"Then let's clear a path for them, the sooner we can reach friendly waters, the better." Hood said to Enterprise.

"Enemy reinforcement incoming! Straight ahead!" Cleveland said out loud.

"There's a lot of them…" Denver muttered to herself beside Cleveland.

"I'm going in! Get them when they are distracted!" Enterprise said to Hood as she charged at them.

"Enterprise! Wait! We need to-. Hah…That woman…" Hood said out loud while she frowned.

Enterprise fired her light arrows rapidly as she charged at the large Siren formation, the destroyers would have a hard time if they got caught fighting with enemy reinforcements coming, so Enterprise charged at them to distract the Sirens by putting on a show of force. Cause enough damage or chaos, and eventually, your enemies would start to focus their attention on you instead of your friends, tank class in Role Playing Games in a nutshell…But since she's not a battleship, she's not built to tank damage, Enterprise better be quick on her feet as she keeps their attention on her. However, even the dozens of energy shells that were continuously fired at her, which she managed to dodge, eventually hit her by pure chance as one shell coming from a Peace Breaker struck her in the head. Enterprise fell to the surface of the sea, her head's throbbing and bleeding. But not even that's enough to shatter her will and resolve, Enterprise immediately gets back up, even though she did so shakily. She saw around five Trackers and four Oceanas approaching her directly, the woman sighed a bit before she scowled as she drew her bowstrings, summoned her light arrows, fired them, and the arrows hit a Tracker straight in her head. She repeated the process, making sure to aim and fire faster each time. But that didn't cut it, two Trackers and two Oceanas have managed to get in close to Enterprise, so the Grey Ghost herself chooses to get up close and personal.

"HA!" Enterprise shouted out loud.

SMACK!

Enterprise jumped, spun once in the air, and she brought down her left leg hard at one of the Oceanas. The Siren plummeted into the water, and her neck snapped from the sheer force behind that kick. Enterprise summoned two arrows, and she fired in quick succession at the Tracker in front of her, the arrow each lodged into the center of their chest, and the Siren died easily. Enterprise felt something hot hit her back, and she gritted her teeth in pain. She moved to the side just in time to dodge a torpedo barrage and several energy bolts that came from the last Oceana. Enterprise quickly fired another arrow that turned into a torpedo bomber, it launched two torpedoes at the Oceana, blew her rigging, and caused her to be thrown into the air. Split seconds later an arrow shot through her head and tore it in two, the Siren fell to the sea while spurting yellow blood…Enterprise sighed in relief before several more Trackers approached her while firing their cannons, Enterprise clicked her tongue as she drew her bowstrings once again. But before she could shoot her arrow, the approaching Trackers were blown to bits by several high explosive shells, she looked back and saw Hood approaching her with a stern face.

"…You are a mirror to how Lord William acts in combat, did you know that?" Hood said to Enterprise while she frowned.

"If I didn't do that, the entire battlegroup behind us would be wasted! You heard what happened to Akagi and the others on our eastern flank!" Enterprise said to Hood while she frowned.

"But this isn't the way, you could have skirt around them, keep your distance as you chipped them bit by bit instead of rushing in with no strategy. I commend aggressiveness, not recklessness. Do you understand?" Hood asked Enterprise while she scowled.

"Yeah…got it." Enterprise said to Hood as she nodded her head.

Hood grabbed Enterprise right hand; she led her back toward their perimeter where they are protected by the other cruisers. Hood took something out from a pouch she strapped on her left thigh hidden beneath her skirt. It's a compact first aid kit that she carried in case of emergency. Ever since their engagement on Terania, Hood considered that there might be a time where Vestal is unavailable to help in case William or any of them got injured, thus she wants to be prepared when that time comes. Honestly, back then when William almost got hit by a Siren bomb, she felt helpless for being unable to help him, and that became the reason on why she carried the kit whenever she goes to sortie from that day on. Hey, she should tell the others to carry some as well, Vestal would surely be grateful with her job lessened…

Treating someone while moving has never been easy, fortunately, both Hood and Enterprise are able to steady themselves, despite the constant near miss of energy bolts coming from the Siren formation. Hood made sure that she treated Enterprise's bleeding head properly, wrapping the bandage around the sterilized gauze quickly before tying the bandage around her head like a bandana. Enterprise nodded her head as thanks to Hood and both of them return to their task, to make sure those alien scum gets what they deserved…But even after five minutes engaging them, the Sirens in front of them showed no signs of letting up as they constantly reinforced their barricade with additional ship girls or mass-produced ships. The Northern group is driven to the point of exhaustion when they get no chance for a respite, furthermore, their ammunition is almost expended, and that leaves them in a bad position to continue the fight.

"Running low on ammo! Thirty percent!" Cleveland said out loud on the radio.

"So am I! Twenty five!" London said out loud on the radio.

"We shall fight to our last shell! Even if we don't have any more rounds to shoot them with, we shall face them head on in close range! We cannot fail!" Hood said out loud on the radio while she frowned.

"Belay that order." William suddenly said on the radio.

"Lord William!?" Hood asked out loud on the radio.

"That's commendable Hood, but I don't want any sacrifices. Southern group, restock your ammo, and switch with the northern group temporarily. Northern group, form up and return to the Anderson to resupply." William said his orders on the radio.

"Warspite here, roger that commander. We are moving." Warspite said to William on the radio.

"…By your command, milord. All ships form up on me! We will retreat slowly while keeping our guns aimed toward them!" Hood said out loud on the radio.

"Aye ma'am! Dammit! Siren reinforcement! Just how many are they planning to throw at us?!" Cleveland said out loud on the radio.

Additional reinforcement plugged any holes in the Sirens' barricade formation, each time they sank a ship or killed a KANSEN another one took their place. But fortunately, it would seem the southern flank is clear at the moment, William intends to rotate them? Maybe that's because the Anderson could move again, and the fact that northern group wouldn't last for an additional ten minutes facing that endless horde, however, they still have to retreat slowly before letting the southern group take their position, and to do that they would still need to face the Sirens in front of them. Suddenly, several missiles rained the Sirens from behind and briefly startled them and the ship girls. Who did that? Their answer came in the form of their Acheron dropship blazing through the Siren formation at Mach two while firing its chin mounted chain gun, injuring several Siren ship girls in the process of their flyby.

"Wait, that's our dropship! Reinforcement has arrived!" London said out loud on the radio.

"Woohoo! We are saved!" Cleveland shouted excitedly as she pumped her fist.

"Thank heavens!" Hood said out loud as she sighed in relief.

"…Wait, they landed on the Anderson?" Enterprise asked out loud on the radio as she stared at the dropship hovering on top of the carrier.

"…And it only has Manjuus inside it alongside supplies! Where are the ship girls!?" Hood asked out loud on the radio in wonder.

"I am Nagato! Nagato of the Sakura Empire! And thou shall fall before our might! Fire!"

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The Siren formation in front of the northern group suddenly came under heavy bombardment, shells upon shells fell upon their position. One of the shells is enough to either blow them apart from the sheer explosion of the high explosive shells or tear their bodies apart after being hit by the gigantic armor piercing shells. The bombardment didn't stop for a while, and eventually, the portals that kept summoning the Sirens dissipated, and it stopped providing reinforcement. Despite that bombardment, the Sirens still possess superior numbers compared to the northern group, but they are more resolved than ever because behind those Sirens? A glimmer of hope could be seen on the horizon…Nagato stood proudly, the barrels of her cannons on her rigging still smoking after sending several barrages toward the enemy fleet. Mutsu stood beside her, her face being happy go lucky as usual even after she basically helped Nagato murder the enemy fleet in front of them. Nelson and Rodney stood tall behind them, cannons still smoking after sending barrages in unison with Nagato and Mutsu. Around them, several cruisers and destroyers from the combined factions on their base provided escort…If the Sirens didn't know fear, then they will now, for ALASUC have decided to play one of their ace cards, the members of the Big Seven of ALASUC base have arrived on the battlefield.

"Nelson-san, Rodney-san, make sure the flank of their path remains clear." Nagato said to Nelson and Rodney.

"Understood." Nelson said to Nagato.

"I understand, Madam Nagato." Rodney said to Nagato while she smiled.

"Mutsu, stay close to me." Nagato said to Mutsu.

"Hai! I'll give it all I've got, Nagato!" Mutsu said to Nagato while she grinned.

"The rest of you, rain those Sirens! We will relieve the northern group from here!" Nagato said out loud.

The cruisers and destroyers compiled by firing their guns and launching their torpedoes while Nelson and Rodney split up and went to the Sirens' formation flank; they will finish this in one go. The Sirens were basically stuck between a rock and a hard place, either they died from the combination fire of northern flank defenders and Battlegroup Dakota, or the savagery of Nagato and Mutsu alongside their escorts. Naturally, they choose to break through Nagato's formation since they are smaller. However, they didn't account for the fact that the fleet has two battleships designated as the Big Seven in it.

"…Impudent fools." Nagato muttered in a low tone.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Nagato fired her cannons once more and followed closely by Mutsu, the shelling successfully tore apart the Sirens in front of them with many being injured and their formation in disarray. However, ALASUC didn't let up even for a bit as Rodney and Nelson immediately fired after Nagato and Mutsu had to reload, and their high explosive shells set fire to the rest of the Sirens in the northern group. Warspite and the others arrived near Hood and the rest of the northern group only to witness the might of the Big Seven. Well, there's also the fact that they are fully stocked, while the rest of them are already exhausted and almost out of ammo, so they have to be careful on what they are shooting at.

"Looks like there's no need for us to switch places, commander. The Big Seven and their escorts have arrived." Warspite said to William on the radio.

"Excellent timing! Nagato, we need the path cleared out. How are the routes back to our base?" William asked Nagato on the radio.

"They are prepared shikikan-sama, we have two checkpoints before we reach our base's defensive emplacement range. The planes should arrive momentarily…Ah, punctuality at its finest." Nagato said to William on the radio before she looked up.

Hundreds of turboprop fighter planes from all factions filled the sky, some dived down and fired their guns to finish off the burning Sirens on the northern flank. Then the planes broke formation as they went to each side of the defensive position that William had set up earlier. Zeroes, Messerschmitts, Stukas, F4s, Spitfires, Swordfishes, Barracudas, Devastators, and even Avengers provided the much-needed fire support and screening from the Sirens' relentless offensive…This is the backup plan in case they are pushed to the brink, it was Amagi who suggested that, in case their circular defense didn't work, then they might need to use the checkpoints strategy where the remainder of the ship girls will be hold a point on the sea near their base. Once the battlegroup passes this checkpoint, they will switch out with two of the flanks, so the ones who were in the fight from the start could take a break. With two checkpoints, they basically could replace the entirety of the defenders while keeping their pace. The carriers will have to work the hardest on this backup strategy, their job is to keep a steady flow of aircrafts going back and forth to help the defense of the battlegroup. That is why to save some time, the carriers decided to launch their planes in unison. They will launch their second wave after the planes they sent first run out of ammo. That way, their planes will always be present on the defensive perimeters, so there are no holes in their defense that could be exploited by the Sirens…Going all out is better safe than sorry, especially now that William knew about the contents of the carrier. If the Anderson is sunk? It might be the point where humanity would be slowly being pushed to the brink of defeat, and that man won't let that happen.

"…Hmm? There's a battle going on near the carrier." Rodney commented on the radio.

"Oh yes, that is the Siren known as Purifier. She has been giving the team some trouble." William said to Rodney on the radio.

"Shall my sister and I go assist them, Lord William?" Rodney asked William on the radio.

"No need, just keep our route secure…Those ladies will be fine." William said to Rodney on the radio.

Purifier back flipped as she dodged several shells coming at her, she landed back on the surface of the sea while smirking at her adversary…or adversaries. Who would've thought those girls would come to assist Amagi just when Purifier started to gain advantage, Purifier was fighting Amagi when a barrage of high explosive rounds alongside some torpedoes approached her at high speed and thus forced her to fall back. When she stared ahead, Amagi was surrounded by Belfast, Avrora, Kawakaze, and Z46 who made it just in time to assist her. Oh well, to be honest fighting these girls is not her mission…but who said she couldn't have fun? She'll get him once she's done with these ship girls.

"Phew! Been awhile since I sweated and took this much damage! But look at this, the personal bitches of the commander, hmm? So eager to abandon your post so you could save his ass? Afraid to lose the only cock in the base huh?!" Purifier asked out loud while she grinned.

"My, how vulgar…" Belfast said out loud while she frowned.

"Indeed…How about we wrap this up? This fight has gone on long enough." Amagi asked Belfast.

"Agreed. We're at your command, Madam Amagi." Belfast said to Amagi as she smiled a bit.

"Z46, Kawakaze, you two will take her head on. Avrora, Belfast, support those two and keep your distance. Let's see if we can 'purify' her with high explosive shells." Amagi immediately commanded them; she already has a tactic in mind to deal with Purifier once they're on the sea.

"Simple, I like it. Let's go tovarisch!" Avrora said out loud before she led the charge against Purifier.

"Ho, here they come." Purifier said to herself while she grinned.

Purifier snapped her fingers and two purple portals appeared beside her, Siren KANSENs immediately streamed out of the portals and moved in front of Purifier. Two Peace Breakers, five Oceanas, alongside ten Trackers, and that successfully caused the ALASUC ship girls to sweat a bit in nervousness, it would seem Purifier intended to finish them off. If they want to get this done, they would need to burn through enough ammo because there is no way those Sirens are going to die without an unrelenting barrage from them. Five against eighteen, and not to mention there's a great chance Purifier would summon more backup? They're in a tough spot to say the least.

"That was unexpected." Avrora said out loud.

"Yes, I also thought that she would take us on by herself." Belfast said to Avrora.

"Avrora, Belfast, handle those other Sirens please." Amagi said to both cruisers on the radio.

""Understood."" Avrora and Belfast said to Amagi on the radio.

Avrora and Belfast didn't waste any time to fire all of their guns, the high explosive shells successfully caused the Sirens to put themselves in a defensive position, which caused them to fail at intercepting Z46 and Kawakaze, who jumped high above them straight toward Purifier, who immediately backpedaled to avoid two swords that were swung at her. The Siren ship girls would turn themselves around and fire at Z46's and Kawakaze's exposed backs if they're not distracted, so that's what Belfast and Avrora do. Being so threatening that even though their leader is in danger, they prioritized the two that are actively engaging them…Avrora skirted around their formation, she will engage the two Peace Breakers directly. Reckless? Oh yes, but she has faced them a hundred times during her time serving in the arctic frontline, so she's not worried about engaging them in melee range.

The Russian woman dashed to the left side just in time as one of the Peace Breakers fired off all of its guns, the energy projectiles missed Avrora just by a few inches. Avrora fired all of her guns once more toward one of the Peace Breakers, stunning the Siren for receiving direct high explosive shell hits, and it got no time to respond, when Avrora jumped high and dived toward her with her right leg extended. The result is the Siren got kicked down harshly to the sea's surface, Avrora failed to kill it but at least she stunned it for a bit, so she moved on toward the other Siren who readied its main guns. Avrora advanced fearlessly, and when she saw the energy bolts gathered on the barrels of the cannons, she did the unthinkable. Avrora deactivated her rigging, jumped, and dived toward the sea. The Siren fired a bit too late as the only thing its projectile hit is a white fluffy cap, Avrora's cap…A pair of hands appeared from beneath the sea, grabbed on the Siren's legs, and threw it off balance before Avrora herself reemerged from below the sea's surface. The Siren is still in the air when Avrora grabbed onto its legs once more, she noticed that the previous Peace Breaker tried to stand up, so Avrora used all of her strength to lift up the Peace Breaker in her hands, raised it up high, and smashed the Peace Breaker with another Peace Breaker. The two Sirens stacked on top of one another, heads cracked and bleeding yellow blood after they got slammed with each other…

"Umeret', blyat!" Avrora said out loud with a serious face.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Avrora fired off all of her cannons which were aimed at the stack of Peace Breakers, the Sirens burned profusely from the high explosive shells, and they died from a painful immolation…After confirming that the Peace Breakers are dead, Avrora huffed and flexed her shoulders. Looks like she exerted herself for a bit, maybe she should go to that Manjuu massage parlor that the base has since the renovation after this battle is done? Maybe even take a soak in the provided man-made hot spring? Mhm, the mere thought alone already got her excited…Avrora then turned to her side as she wondered, how will Belfast fare against fifteen Siren cruisers by herself? Will she need help?

"Hmm, so many guests to serve..." Belfast said out loud as she stared at the Sirens in front of her.

Really, outnumbered fifteen to one, and Belfast found herself didn't feel any sort of fear in her heart. She knew the stakes, and she knew what she must do, the question is will she alone be enough? Belfast shut her eyes briefly, she alone is enough to face these cruisers. Avrora is dealing with their battleships, and Kawakaze alongside Z46 made sure Purifier won't be able to intervene. All Belfast has to do is to focus on the enemies in front of her and who's charging straight at her. Perfect, she won't hold back…Belfast loaded her high explosive shells, preparing her guns for rapid fire, and she took out the torpedoes on her rigging before holding it in her hands. She prepared eight torpedoes between her fingers and then she posed, Sakuya Izayoi style.

"Everyone, here's the main course for the day!" Belfast said out loud as she smirked widely.

Belfast quickly noted the eight closest Sirens to her and threw her torpedoes at them with blindingly fast movement; she danced around them by spinning herself and throwing torpedoes at any approaching Siren. As a result, Belfast successfully killed eight of them with a torpedo straight to their faces and left her with an additional seven to take care of. The Sirens counter attacked by focusing their fire at her, Belfast chose to temporarily retreat and skirted around the cruisers while quickly noting their positions. When she got their positions memorized, Belfast stopped running away and charged straight into the Sirens' formation. Belfast jumped as high as she could, forcing the Sirens to look up and fired upwards at Belfast. The head maid kept smirking all the time and just as she's about to land in the middle of the cruisers' position, Belfast deployed her smokescreens which blinded the Trackers and Oceanas. That's when the head maid began with her work…

The Sirens actively searched for Belfast amidst the thick white smoke, she should be around them as she waits for the right moment to strike. One of the Trackers heard something behind it and just as it turned around, it only found a fist connected to its face and the wrist cannon on top of it fired at the same time. Two Trackers heard the cannon shot, and they turned around only to see a headless body of their comrade flying toward them, the body landed and the Trackers stared at it which proved to be their fatal mistake as Belfast jumped above them while throwing two torpedoes at their heads. The explosion served as a beacon that lured the other Sirens…Only four Oceanas remained within the thick smoke, and they just started to fire blindly at the hope that one of their projectiles would hit the head maid, however, that only served to give away their positions to Belfast, who approached their position and took out the rest of them with a cannon to the head or torpedo to the chest…

"…Oh my, I didn't spend as much effort as cleaning up a stain in tablecloth." Belfast remarked as she got out of the thick smoke.

She single-handedly fought fifteen Sirens and came out unscathed, a testament to just how skilled the head maid of the Royal Navy KANSENs is and why some are downright afraid of facing her in direct combat. Belfast was approached by Avrora who nodded at her before looking at the scene to their side, Kawakaze and Z46 are working together to kill Purifier. Both destroyers had their respective blades out, swinging it at the elusive Siren who kept dodging the two blades with little effort. But for some reason Purifier didn't counter them, she wanted a sure shot against the two destroyers. Though dodging forever didn't work for the Siren as Z46 approached her sides and managed to graze her right arm, Purifier frowned a bit as she stared at the wound.

"…Looks like I also have to get serious now!" Purifier said out loud while she grinned maliciously.

"You're mine!" Kawakaze said out loud.

"Heh! Predictable!" Purifier shouted at Kawakaze while she grinned.

Purifier dodged a fury of slashes from Kawakaze's katana before she fired her wrist cannons in quick succession, Kawakaze had no choice but to stop her advance and dodged the energy bolts coming her way. After her successful evasion, Kawakaze made her second charge at Purifier while she launched several torpedoes. Purifier made no attempt to dodge as the torpedoes hit her and that really set Kawakaze off. Did her torpedoes deal so little damage that Purifier confidently took an entire barrage without caring? Oh, she'll show that bitch on why she shouldn't make light of her! Purifier then suddenly hovered above the water for a bit, the rigging stands ready below her, and its main cannons fully charged. Kawakaze was too late to stop because a split second later the cannons fired its energy beams, and Kawakaze took the full brunt of it. The beam caused a big explosion, and Kawakaze was thrown toward the direction of the ALS Anderson, hitting the ship hull before she fell to the surface of the sea...

"Kawakaze is hit! It's all on you now, Z46!" Amagi said to Z46 on the radio.

"Jawohl…" Z46 said to Amagi on the radio.

Z46 ready her sword before she charged forward at Purifier, this time she was supported by Belfast and Avrora covering fire since they took care of the Sirens' backup. Purifier avoided most of the shells and took some, yet shrugged the explosion off easily by using her drones as a makeshift shield, her drones are badly damaged yet they could still fire. Z46 evaded the projectiles and closed in on Purifier at lightning speed, even the Siren herself didn't expect that the destroyer would close in that quickly. Z46 jumped onto Purifier's rigging and swung her sword to the Siren's head…Purifier successfully dodged it at the cost of her right ear being cut off, she scowled both in pain and in anger as she grabbed Z46's right hand and strike her elbow with her own.

GRUK!

"UGH!" Z46, normally a bit stoic, groaned in pain as her right elbow joints snapped…

"Now, fuck off!" Purifier said to Z46 while she grinned viciously.

Purifier swung Z46 to the side then used her rig's main cannons to blast her away despite being showered by high explosive shells from Avrora and Belfast, who witnessed what happened to Z46. Both cruisers are more resolved than ever to put that Siren down, two of their comrades are already incapacitated and quite possibly severely wounded because of that Siren. Purifier, however, fired all of her guns toward Avrora, Belfast, and Amagi which forced them to dodge the incoming projectiles for a bit…In the end Amagi, Avrora, and Belfast choose to regroup because if they split up there's a big chance that they will end up like Z46 and Kawakaze.

"Oi oi oi, ganging up on me isn't fair~! But it looks like that was all talk! Next time, face me yourself and don't send me those pathetic destroyers, Amagi!" Purifier taunted the Battlecruiser as she smiled cockily.

"…Shikikan-sama? I'm listening…I understand…Hai…Guess we have no choice. Avrora, Belfast, listen carefully. Get close to Purifier and prepare to restrain her, when she is stunned, move in immediately." But Amagi paid Purifier no attention, William contacted her on the radio with a plan, and she relayed it to Belfast and Avrora.

""Understood."" Belfast and Avrora said to Amagi.

"Hmm? They look like they're about to charge…Heh! Fine! Come at me!" Purifier said out loud as she prepared to face the three of them.

To be honest, both Avrora and Belfast didn't know how to throw Purifier off balance since Amagi mentioned that 'when she is stunned'. How? Did Amagi already have a plan in mind to do that? So far that Siren didn't show any weakness especially when she summoned her rigging which provides superior firepower compared to their guns, Belfast and Avrora would just have to trust Amagi and William for now. Both Belfast and Avrora flanked Purifier at the same time, sure she used her drone cannons, but their projectiles are relatively easy to dodge. Both cruisers waited for Purifier to move her main gun toward one of them, they were waiting for her response against them closing in on her. But suddenly Purifier's head jerked backwards, and both of them knew that's the signal. They didn't know how that happened but that doesn't matter now. Both cruisers dashed toward Purifier, shot down her drones with their AA guns, jumped on board of her rigging, grabbed her arms, and pinned her legs down with their own legs.

"Ugh! Release me you bitches!" Purifier howled in anger as she tried to set herself free.

"Not a chance! Now Amagi!" Avrora said out loud.

Amagi accelerated at maximum speed toward Purifier, the Siren realized the danger, and she fired her main cannons toward Amagi. But since she's still quite far away, not at close range like Kawakaze or Z46 she's able to dodge the laser beam by jumping as high as she could. Purifier started to sweat heavily in nervousness watching Amagi drop down on top of her rigging, in front of her, her cannons aimed toward her torso while…Amagi smiled sadistically, like a predator who successfully cornered her prey after a long hunt.

"Ufufufufu…" Amagi chuckled sinisterly as she stared at Purifier's nervous eyes…

BOOM!

Amagi fired her main guns at point blank range and aimed straight at Purifier's torso. The result? Big explosion, massive splatter of yellow blood that coated Amagi, Avrora, and Belfast; and Purifier herself being thrown backwards after getting hit by Amagi's armor piercing shell…The three ship girls stared at Purifier, or what remained of her. The Siren lost her stomach all the way down to her legs, which is also torn into several chunks all around her, she looked into the sky with disbelief etched on her face…Purifier gritted her teeth as she raised her head to stare at the three ship girls, who looked down on her from on top of her rigging, each having a satisfied smile on their face as they watched her squirm while floating on the surface of the sea.

"Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!" Purifier cursed as she gritted her teeth and try to get her remaining body to move.

"Serves you right…Now, finish her off." Amagi said out loud as she stared at Purifier with zero sympathy in her eyes.

"As you command." "Da, tovarisch." Belfast and Avrora said to Amagi.

"DAAAAAMNNNN YYYYYYYOOUUUUU-" Purifier roared at the ship girls in anger.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Dozens of high explosive shells rained upon Purifier's upper half, both cruisers keep firing at the Siren for a while just in case that woman managed to survive being roasted by several naval guns…Both Belfast and Avrora stopped firing a few seconds later, and they waited for the smoke to dissipate to check Purifier's physical state. They saw nothing remains on the surface of the sea other than the repugnant smell of overcooked flesh. Amagi, Belfast, and Avrora sighed in relief, the greatest threat on this battlefield having finally been dealt with.

"That's for Kawakaze and Z46, cyka…" Avrora said out loud to the spot where Purifier was last sighted.

"She should be dead…for now." Belfast said out loud.

"…Excellent work Amagi, Belfast, Avrora…Get Z46 to Vestal for treatment, Kawakaze is already with her." William suddenly contacted the three of them on the radio.

"Spasibo komandir, are you watching us from the carrier?" Avrora asked William on the radio while she smiled and looked at the Anderson.

"Yeah I am. Get her to Vestal now." William said to Avrora on the radio.

"We're on our way, master." Belfast said to William on the radio.

…William stopped looking through the scope of the M87 anti-materiel rifle he took from the armory straight after he dealt with the last group of Siren troopers, he used it to watch at the fight between Amagi's group against Purifier. Boy, he's glad that he chose the anti-materiel rifle because he knew despite it not going to give that much damage against Purifier, he at least knew the kinetic force would be enough to stun the bitch. William went from prone to kneeling on the flight deck as he retracted the bipod that he previously used, he couldn't help himself but to think that he's in fact quite lucky. Shooting a humanoid target, approximately five hundred meters away, aboard a carrier that's moving at top speed, and the fact that Purifier could have dodged it by mere chance? Yup, he's a lucky one…he would've shot several more and risking Purifier detecting the incoming rounds if he does miss.

"…Hmm, that was unexpected." William suddenly heard someone say to his left side.

"Huh?!" William exclaimed as he turned his rifle to the left.

In front of him stood another Siren, long white hair, with sinister half closed yellow eyes, she had a malicious grin on her face, though not as psychotic as Purifier, and large rigging behind her that was shaped like a glider with cannons on it. Just one look at that, and William knew she's bad news. The Siren aimed her cannons toward William, and the man already dashed to the rear with the M87 aimed toward her head…Tester Beta smirked, she watched everything that William did ever since the start of this battle. She witnessed his fight with Purifier, how he massacred their troopers, and how he helped the other ship girls as they faced off against Purifier. The man in front of her would do for a Siren, maybe they should capture him and turn him as one of their own? Not as easy as it sounds, and certainly, she would need the higher ups permission for that because that could be categorized as a strategic move and they usually decline that proposal.

"…For a man your size, you're quite fast." Tester Beta said to William.

"Well, you're not the first one to notice that." William said to Tester Beta while he scowled.

"Hmph. But speed won't save you from me." Tester Beta said to William as she charged her cannons.

"Shite!" William cussed as he saw her rigging cannons started to glow yellow.

PSIU!

BOOM!

William rolled to the left just in time to dodge Tester Beta's beam shot, which hit the Anderson's superstructure and caused a big explosion. William immediately charged at Tester Beta and closed in on her within split seconds. What was he thinking getting up close to a Siren KANSEN? Well, he didn't, and that is why he managed to close in without actually fearing that he might get obliterated with a single shot from her cannons. William aimed his rifle straight toward her head and fired his gun at point blank range, this should shatter her head.

BANG!

"…I see." Tester Beta said to William while she smiled widely.

A .50 caliber bullet that could pierce a tank, lodged inside that Siren's skull, and she's still smiling at him like it didn't do any kind of damage? All William could think at that time was WHAT THE FUCK?! Are KANSENs the only ones who could kill a fellow KANSEN?! He could cause some dent on Purifier by using a C4 before, but this bitch in front of him seems stronger than her, and that means William would need something more powerful than a C4! But what else could he use? Nothing, he's out of everything, so he made a last-ditch attempt to wound this Siren. William quickly aimed down straight to her flat chest and put the barrel in the point-blank direction where a human heart was supposed to be. He didn't exactly know whether her heart was there but right now he's moving on instinct. William squeezed the trigger, firing a .50 caliber round straight into her chest before he swung the rifle upwards, and effectively uppercutting the Siren with the butt of his rifle…Tester Beta flew a bit due to the attack, but she back flipped and landed on her knees before she stood back up, her chest clearly got punctured, and it leaked yellow blood, but she's still able to stand without any signs of being hurt! William stared in disbelief, just who is this woman?!

"Interesting. Stronger and larger than your average human, combat movement pattern suggests an advanced form of military training, and vast accumulated combat experience. Capable of accurate shots even while moving, braver…or even more foolish than your ordinary man, to think he's daring enough to face a KANSEN in close range." Tester Beta said out loud while she smiled widely.

William paid her no attention as he fired again toward her left leg which caused her to kneel before he swung his right leg toward Tester Beta's head, however, this time Tester Beta decided to take action. The Siren caught his right leg and flipped him off the ground with ease despite his size and weight. William fell down shoulder first, and he quickly rolled to the rear as he grabbed his fallen rifle. But Tester Beta moved fast, and she knocked the rifle out into the sea. Realizing that he had nothing left to fight her, William dashed forward and opted for a good punch to the face. However, his fist was stopped right before he hit Tester Beta, the Siren casually held his hand in place with her own left hand…

"Tenacious too…You stay true to what Alpha has described about you." Tester Beta said to William while she smiled.

"…You're her friend huh?" William asked Tester Beta as he released his fist and dashed backwards.

"Friend? I don't know about friends, but it is true that we are…affiliated." Tester Beta said to William.

"What do you want with us?" William asked Tester Beta while he scowled.

"Oh? Eager to find out, commander?" Tester Beta asked William while she smiled.

"I'm tired of fighting you cunts without any context so tell me, why did you attack us?" William asked Tester Beta while he scowled.

"…It's simple, what we seek is power." Tester Beta said to William.

"And how's fighting us going to get you more power if we fight back and kill your troops and KANSENs?' William asked Tester Beta while he frowned.

"Ah, you misunderstand. We gain power through knowledge, the longer and the more you fight us, then the stronger we become…Especially, since you are here." Tester Beta said to William as she smiled meaningfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" William asked Tester Beta with a confused tone.

"I'll be honest, you are not the first commander that has crossed our path…There are many of you out there, many versions of you." Tester Beta said to William.

"You're talking about the entirety of humanity, of course there will be others than me." William said to Tester Beta while he frowned.

"Ufufu…ah, such innocence, you misinterpret my words easily…But so be it, I'll play along~" Tester Beta said to William.

Honestly William was sure that he's not the only commander she ever fought in the frontline during the course of this war, but how many among them actually fight in the front like him? Wait, the Siren did hint that she encountered many of them, but she didn't specify how she engaged them…William watched as Tester Beta advanced toward him, and the man found himself backing off from her. He raised his hand in anticipation for any kind of melee attack and soon, he found himself hitting the carrier's island wall. Tester Beta closed in on him, despite being smaller than William, the man found himself nervous and wary when Tester Beta was just a meter away from him, who backed into the wall…

"Among them, you are the one that we encountered to fight directly in the front since the start of your career…Some did so from their ships, some did fight with their own creative ways…But you, despite not having rigging, the power of a wisdom cube, and the endurance of a KANSEN, you fought us…Even when you're only armed with your flimsy human weapons, your primitive armor, and subpar technology…You still fight against us…Why is that?" Tester Beta asked William curiously.

"…I didn't expect you to understand, alien. But humanity has always been known for their stubbornness, how do you think we make it this far? By shaking hands, spreading love, and peacefully coexisting? No, we fight one another, and we thrive the most in the face of extinction. The bullets which we used to replace arrows because they are more effective at killing, the bows we traded for guns since they could kill faster, we built bombs with bigger and more powerful explosive energy as time goes on, war machines which always improved in the times of conflict…You seek power by fighting us? I got news for you, it works both ways…We will keep on improving, we will keep fighting you invaders, and until the last of us die, humanity will continue to strive to reclaim the safety of our home. Mark my words, you're in for a hell of a fight." William said to Tester Beta while he scowled.

"Hehehehehe…Human tenacity and bravado, it wasn't the first time I've heard about those. Are all of you that simple minded? Perhaps…But people like you are more interesting than those that cower in fear. You feared me commander, I could see it in your eye. But unlike the majority of humans, you choose to fight that fear." Tester Beta said to William while she smiled wickedly.

Yes, it was apparent that William feared her, but he still put up a fight despite that. Tester Beta commended him for not running away, and he delivered what could be considered the speech of every human commander with bravado across the timelines the Sirens explored. All of them said those words, while not an exact copy in wording, but the implications are still the same…All of them believe that humanity will fight to the last, they won't give up that easily despite facing extinction. Well, to their credit, some timelines did just that as they fought to the last man when the Sirens deemed that timeline was beyond saving. She wondered, how about this one? So far, she found this timeline to be very interesting…she should discuss it with the others when she's done with this experiment.

"…Hmmm, looks like our plan has failed." Tester Beta said out loud when she noticed that her forces were dwindling quickly.

"Don't underestimate us, especially in battle, Siren." William said to Tester Beta.

"Fufu…Ah well, I managed to get the data we need. Purifier has also fallen, again…I think this is where we part for now, commander~" Tester Beta said to William as she started to hover.

"Wait! Who the hell are you!?" William asked Tester Beta while he frowned.

"I? Tester Beta, at your service, commander…Enjoy your victory while you can, there's a possibility that one day you will look at it as a fond memory." Tester Beta said while she grinned wickedly.

Tester Beta snapped her fingers and a portal appeared above her, she hovered through it, and the portal closed a few seconds later...William sighed in relief as his knees failed him, the man slid down to the deck floor and sat on it as he recounted what just happened. Holy shit, other than when he fought Midnight, this is the second time fear almost overwhelmed him when he saw that none of his attacks mattered against his opponent. Seriously, William needs to find a way to be able to hurt those high-ranking Sirens because so far, their conventional weaponry barely puts a dent on them. That Tester Beta took a headshot, a shot to the chest, and her left knee cap, and she could still function normally! How?! Amagi didn't fail to tear Purifier into two with a single shot, and she could still move! Did the Sirens still function normally as long as they have their head?

"…Alien bitch." William muttered to himself, he really needed to do some research himself…

"This is eastern flank, Sirens are retreating!" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Southern flank here, we are experiencing the same thing!" Warspite said out loud on the radio.

"Western flank, Sirens also disappeared." Graf Zeppelin said out loud on the radio.

"…Copy all…Maintain formation, I don't want to take any chances…" William said to the ship girls on the radio.

"Wakarimashita." "Understood." "Ja, mein kommandant." Akagi, Warspite and Graf Zeppelin said to William on the radio.

.

…The battlegroup managed to reach the base without encountering other Sirens along the way, looks like that retreat was a genuine one. The ships are in bad shape, while they're in luck that none of the ships sunk, they are still so heavily damaged that few will need to be repaired immediately. The battleship of Battlegroup Dakota lost a third of its superstructure, two of her turrets were blown off, and holes filled her hull. Some of the destroyers lost their bridges, so the cruisers helped by towing them back to the base, the corvettes and frigates that were sent from Johnson's base are also heavily damaged to the point they will sit in dry dock for a while. The ALS Anderson is in bad shape, her superstructure was filled with holes with some part of it melted after receiving a direct hit from a high intensity energy beam. There's a huge hole on her port side from a bombing ship, and her flight deck is unusable, so her aircrafts have to land on Johnson's base airport…The sun is setting on the horizon by the time they reached the base. Everyone is tired, injured, or both, and they'd like nothing more than to rest and lick their wounds. In the case of William and Johnson, the both of them are currently inside William's office as they attend a video conference with the high commanders. Lucas alongside Diana and Erich alongside Theresa, who is his secretary, are present in the form of hologram screens. William and Johnson reported everything that has happened today in detail. The machine that Johnson carried inside the carrier, how they managed to fend off the Sirens, how they salvaged Purifier's rigging out of the water for research, William's encounter with Tester Beta alongside the video evidence, and the outcome of this battle…

"…I'm glad all of you managed to get out of there in one piece. Commander Johnson, you especially have my heartfelt thanks." Lucas said to Johnson while he smiled.

"No need to, I'm just following my orders sir." Johnson said to Lucas while he smiled professionally.

"Indeed…But it's a smart decision on your part to bring the machine to ALASUC base, with it, ALASUC will be able to summon additional ship girls should they need to and develop our Priority Research Ships, codenamed Siren Killer." Lucas said to Johnson.

"Siren Killer?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"Ships that didn't exist in the past and having so much potential for their abilities and power, those ships will be our edge in this potentially endless war." Lucas said to William.

William fell into a thinking pose as Brooklyn and Belfast, who attended the debriefing as the ship girls' representatives, quickly took notes on any new intel or details about the meeting. So based on Lucas' words, Friedrich could be categorized as a Siren Killer type ship? That's new, William was sure that her official designation isn't that, but something like an H-Class. Maybe that's just a way for high command to identify her easier, having Siren Killer as your description makes the message regarding your strength and specialty pretty clear after all.

"…What's the status of the machine, kommandant?" Erich asked William curiously.

"Right now, the Manjuus are working on it to dismantle the machine and reassemble it in our underground facility, once they are done, we can expect the machine to continue operating as it was before." William said to Erich.

"I see…Kommandant Blaze, I have a request to make…Please, complete Friedrich. She will be a priceless addition to your unit." Erich said to William with a serious face.

"I intended to from the start, Chairman Erich." Oh, he really did.

"Once you have completed her, we will give you the additional blueprint options for the other Siren Killer ships. So far, we have seventeen of them including Friedrich." Erich said to William.

""Seventeen?!"" William and Johnson asked out loud in surprise, holy shit that's a lot!

"I know. Once they are assembled? You have a mighty powerful fleet that is very suitable in combating the Sirens…Once you do, we will actively search for their base of operation." Erich said to William.

Seventeen ship girls designated as Siren Killers? Man, William thought the Sirens would have a really bad day if the Siren Killers sortied against them. He's really curious regarding all of their power and skills, but he would have to wait. One Priority Research ship like them took a lot to 'construct', so there's no way he could form a fleet of them so soon after they just got the machine. But hey, if they manage to construct Friedrich, then William would have sixteen more options, so he could prioritize on who to construct first…William briefly looked at the data pad in his hand, it's about how Friedrich estimated required materials and few other things for construction. He could technically use their current resources to build her instantly, but after that the ship girls won't be able to sortie for weeks, and they would have to fish for food this month…Yup, she is that expensive that even a fully stocked and running military base would be in the red if they didn't plan her construction time carefully...

"About that, sir, permission to speak freely." Johnson said to Erich who raised his eyebrows at him.

"Granted kommandant, speak your mind, please." Erich said to Johnson.

"…I believe their base of operation isn't located on Earth, sure they have strongholds and bastions on this planet. But I believe in order to find out where they really came from, we need to get inside one of their portals." Johnson said to Erich and Lucas.

"…Interesting idea, what prompts you to think about this?" Erich asked Johnson with an intrigued face.

"A simple observation during my assignment sir…I find it strange that they seemingly can't just open those portals wherever they wish to, there must be some kind of requirement or conditions to fulfill. Or worse, they are holding back against us by purposely limiting the amount of their forces through." Johnson said to Erich while he frowned a bit.

"That's a great insight…However, how do you propose we do this?" Erich asked Johnson once more.

"Right now? I don't have any technical details ready, but I do have a theory…How about we get one of our most powerful mobile sensor arrays and send it through one of those portals? That way we could determine their home base. Even among the stars, it would be possible to pick up the signal." Johnson said to Erich.

…That strategy made sense, but the technological hurdle is quite high. What if their homeworld is on the other side of the Milky Way? How long would it take for earth to receive the signal being broadcasted from the machine? Though it is a good plan, they would need a very powerful sensor for that. Their signal broadcaster for deep space communication requires a freaking building, and the more compact one couldn't even broadcast messages out of their solar system fast enough. They are running out of options before they could even start…While everyone is thinking hard regarding the plan, Diana's eyes lit up a bit in a moment of realization. There's a good chance that this plan will work…

"…I believe that could work." Diana suddenly said.

"What's your idea, Diana?" Lucas asked Diana as he turned to the side to face her.

"Right now, one of our engineering and astrophysics departments on the Azur Lane Mediterranean research base is developing tachyon radar, is anyone familiar with it?" Diana asked out loud.

"Can't say I do." Johnson said to Diana while he shrugged.

"Wait, I've heard about this. Aren't they something like a hypothetical particle that travels faster than light?" William asked Diana while he smiled a bit.

"More or less William, you are quite knowledgeable, son." Diana said to William while she smiled proudly.

"…What? I watched Nat Geo occasionally." William said out loud when he noticed everyone was looking at him.

"It is believed to be an anomalous particle that doesn't exist in our realm because we believe anything faster than light is impossible to exist, but as we witnessed with the Sirens, we could throw that argument outside the window. We believe that the Sirens' telecommunication devices used Tachyon particles or something similar to communicate with one another. We are currently analyzing how the device works and also attempting to replicate it. Our team is also currently trying to utilize a wisdom cube to give us the necessary information and data for this project. I believe with the right attunement; the cube might provide us with some insight. Or at the very least, act as a power reserve for a potentially long-term operation." Diana explained to everyone regarding their potential way out for their current problem with this plan.

"Alright! We got that problem solved…Now, how do we expect to find a Siren portal that randomly opened in the middle of nowhere?" Lucas asked out loud.

"That won't be necessary. Intel reports from the twin Siren Arctic bases revealed a giant arch in the center of the installation. Based on the design and placement? It seems to be a powered down portal generator, many of our scientists believe so." Diana said to Lucas.

"…That's convenient." Erich commented at the revelations.

"I refrained from making this news for two simple reasons. One, we are not sure how it actually functions, and two, even if we do know how, we don't have the means to control it…Take it this way, even if we somehow manage to open it, we don't know for sure where it might lead. It could be Sirens' homeworld, or even somewhere on Earth. We need to be careful with this one, especially since the place is located in the North Pole. If we accidentally opened it to a magma pocket? We could flood the earth with the water of melting ice caps, safe to say it's like we shot humanity in the foot. We won't die immediately, but we will be crippled in our struggle." Diana explained to everyone.

Right now, they have the means to execute this plan even though they would still have to be careful with its implementation. William smiled despite that, he's sure that his mother could overcome this hurdle. She's proven that she could make many things or solve problems using science, William is sure that she will find out how to execute this plan without a big risk. Erich nodded his head, this debriefing turned into a great meeting to solve one of their big questions regarding where the hell are these Sirens coming from? Well, Erich knows that they are not in position to commence any kind of counter offensive, even if they know where their home is because Erich realized they are hilariously outgunned and outnumbered. Maybe they could send the biggest bomb they have or relentlessly fired all of their nukes to their homeworld through the portals.

"…What do you think, High Commander?" Erich asked Lucas while he pursed his lips.

"…This plan has so many risks, but I believe it's worth a shot. If it works, we get a reference location for our retaliations, and if we don't? At least we'll discover how the portal structure works, and we could commence research from that to reverse engineer it for our own use. It's a win-win in my opinion." Erich said to Lucas with a serious face.

"I have to agree with Lucas. We have nothing to lose by attempting to implement this one idea…" William said to Erich.

"That means we will have to revisit the Arctic base. Northern Parliament forces are still there, guarding the scientists as they research all the technologies that they could get their hands on. However, there's one thing that's been bothering me." Lucas said out loud.

"Ah, you're talking about the situation at Northern Parliament." Erich said to Lucas.

"That I am, take a look at this map projection…What you see right now is a dark zone on the north side of the Bering Strait. This significant dark zone looks normal from satellite view, but in actuality it's a singularity." Lucas said out loud as he showed a screen on the hologram projection.

Lucas showed them a map display of northern Russia, specifically near the Bering Strait. From the display they could see a large darkened area on the surface of the sea, it is quite large, but there's nothing inside it that warrants any attention whatsoever. But William wondered what Lucas meant by singularity? As far as he knows, it's a term that has many meanings behind it depending on the context but looking at their problem right now? Could it mean something like a rift or holes in a space time continuum? William didn't know, he read Art of War by Sun Tzu, not a physics book. But he got a feeling that Lucas would explain what he means by that shortly…

"Singularity?" Johnson asked out loud in wonder.

"Sirens have been known to deploy a zone of influence that we call singularity zone, they are very anomalous in nature. Few of us manage to get in and survive the encounters with the Sirens dwelling in it, based on their reports the singularity has tendencies to mess up with long range communication equipment and cause strange things to happen in there as well. For example, one temporarily appeared near the Caribbean in the Bermuda triangle a few months back…Well, the place is already anomalous to begin with, but with the singularity? The zone turned into a reality defying area...At that time, a fleet of Eagle Union ship girls patrolled by aircraft carrier Essex stumbled upon this zone. They successfully defeated the Siren that's the cause of the singularity. All of a sudden, the mist surrounding the entire area cleared out and long-range communication was restored." Lucas explained what he means out loud.

"Wait, so you're saying that the cause of those dark zones is a single Siren?" Johnson asked Lucas with his hand rubbing his beardless chin.

"Powerful ones at least…Purifier, Observer Alpha, or even this Tester Beta that we encountered today. Those classes of Siren KANSENs could be the source of these singularities…" Lucas said to Johnson with a serious face.

"…That being said I remembered something." William suddenly spoke out loud.

"Hmm?" Erich hummed in intrigue.

"I don't know about Midnight, but I recall a few similar things about these Siren higher ups. Alpha, Beta, and even Nyx are all somehow able to create their personal portals." William mentioned his experience with them.

"…As I thought, the Siren leadership has even more power than their underlings. It shows us that their hierarchy is based on levels of power each individual has…" Erich said out loud with a grim face.

"If that's the case, I really don't want to meet their supreme leader or anything…They must be overwhelmingly powerful." Lucas said out loud with a deep frown on his face.

…If by power rating themselves William has a hard time figuring out their hierarchy because damn, all of them are powerful! Purifier could take a lot of hits before she goes down, Tester Beta could take on several anti-materiel rated bullets without being crippled, Midnight or at least his armor could tank bullets like they were nothing though it could be damaged for a bit with grenades, William had no idea about Nyx's true power or his abilities, and Observer Alpha's tentacles could certainly crush a human skull without effort, and she haven't even shown her prowess in combat…What about their highest leader? How powerful are they? William shuddered when he thought about the possibility of them being invulnerable even to the ship girls, it would spell their doom…

"…Okay, at least we're all in agreement to try Commander Johnson's plan. Let's talk about the details at a later date…William, the council would like to talk about something with you in person. Come over to HQ in a week." Lucas said to William while he frowned.

"…What do they want to talk about?" William asked Lucas while he folded his arms.

"…There's the fact that some have become concerned that you have 'too much' power in your hands." Lucas said to William while he frowned.

"…Here I thought you handled that already." William said to Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"While I did manage to convince them from sacking you in this upcoming hearing, you still need to convince them. Don't worry, Lena and I will help you out." Lucas said to William while he smiled a bit.

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with those people?! They already have to deal with the possibility of the extinction of their civilization, but they are too concerned regarding the fact that William held so much power that they're afraid they'll become irrelevant!? Those men and women with the exception of Lucas and Lena need to get their heads out of their own asses then and stop sniffing their own farts! THEY agreed with Lucas and Lena regarding posting William as the commander of the international ship girls unit, they agreed because they recognized his skills and capability, right!? He proved so in past battles where he brought victory or at least managed to retreat safely! Now they want to talk to him because they're afraid that he held such power in his hands? They want him to save humanity, but they don't want him to possess the means to? What a bunch of idiotic bastards!

"…Humans huh? The threat of extinction is in front of us and some leaders are more concerned that one of their commanders has command of the most powerful fleet in the history of mankind, they're afraid he will use it against their agendas…Lucas, I understand that this is a risky move to execute. But do you know that one misstep could get you thrown out of the Azur Lane High Command council?" Erich asked Lucas while he frowned and folded his arms.

"I am well aware, Erich…I wish there is more I could do regarding this situation, but there aren't many that have the same potential or the earnestness for the common goal like Admiral Helena McAllen. She's the only one I brought to the High Command Council without any test because frankly, she has proven herself…The rest of them? I could only say two of them hold a candle, and there are ten of us." Lucas said to Erich while he massaged his right temple to stave off the incoming headache.

"Hah…It's an endless debate when it's about politics, let's stop talking about this for now lest we bore both the commanders and the ship girls." Erich said to Lucas after he sighed.

"Haha, yeah right. Well anyway, I expect a report about the entire operation in detail later, Will." Lucas said to William.

"I'll get it done later, alright? Honestly, we just got back here, and frankly speaking, my body is sore all over!" William said to Lucas while he frowned.

"Who told you to engage dozens of Siren troopers and Tester Beta herself?" Lucas asked William with half closed eyes.

"First off, it's Carl Johnson here who suggested that I engage them." William said to Lucas as his right thumb was thrown at Johnson.

"Hey!" Johnson said out loud as he stared at William with disbelieved look.

"And Tester Beta didn't really give me any gap to slip through, might as well fight her head on." William said to Lucas while he shrugged.

"Heh. Glad you're alive at least…Get some rest, all of you have done a splendid work. We will talk more regarding that meeting later." Lucas said out loud while he smiled.

"Thanks Lucas." William said to Lucas while he smiled a bit.

"I will be going as well, there are other matters that I have to attend to. Let me know on the update regarding Friedrich, Kommandant Blaze." Erich said to William with a serious face.

"For sure, Chairman Erich." William said to Erich while he smiled.

With that, both screens disappeared, and William rested himself on the sofa because his head throbbed in pain from what he just heard near the end. Hah, even after all that they still couldn't figure out his intention, which is to fight for the entirety of humanity against the Sirens. They got one thing done, and another problem surfaces as the big fuck you against William's spare time and schedule…Man, he needs to keep a cool head, especially when he has to deal with those assholes at the top. Johnson himself stared at William for a bit with sympathy in his eyes, being the commander for ALASUC is surely tiring.

"…Debriefing done and done. Well then, I'm going to head back to my base." Johnson said to William as she rose up from his seat.

"You're not staying for a bit longer? We still got some tea and cookies to finish." William asked Johnson.

"Got my own shit to deal with over there, Will. Need to sort this out as soon as possible." Johnson said to William while he smiled bitterly.

"I see…Come on, I'll walk you out." William said to Johnson as he also rose from his seat.

Johnson and William walked toward the helipad above the canteen where a single Blackhawk from Johnson's base was already waiting for them. Belfast trailed closely behind the two men, and she couldn't help herself but to notice that William was being quiet. It could be due to his tiredness or regarding what she heard that he's about to be summoned to the central headquarters in a week. It is clear that he will need to unwind, so perhaps she could help with that? She should suggest that he take a dip in their new public bath. The warm water will surely help him out though he has to be careful with his face since his nose would need some time to heal. Maybe she could help wash his back? Perhaps, depending on his answer though, Belfast's got a feeling that he only wants to take a quick shower before heading straight to bed…

"…How are the ship girls, Will?" Johnson suddenly asked William.

"A few have to stay at the infirmary due to their injuries, but none of them are heavily injured. Overnight Regel therapy should work…with some exceptions like Z46 and Kawakaze." William said to Johnson while he frowned.

"I'll be sure to send some gift baskets as thanks later." Johnson said to William while he tapped his left shoulder.

"I'm sure they will appreciate it." William said to Johnson while he smiled a bit.

The three of them reached the helipad, William briefly looked down below to the ALS Anderson, which is docked on the pier with hordes of Manjuus working to disassemble the machine inside the carrier. The man could make out the chunk of parts that were being carried by the Manjuus and brought out of the carrier, for that reason alone the courtyard and the pier are currently being restricted from access by other personnel other than Akashi and Yuubari, who coordinated the chickens. William returned his attention to Johnson, who's just done talking with the crew of the Blackhawk regarding something, the commander then turned around to face William as the helicopter engine turned on.

"…Thanks a lot for your help, William, you saved our ass." Johnson said to William as he offered his right hand.

"It's not just me, Carl." William said to Johnson as he shook his hand.

"Yeah, but you are their leader. I feel obligated to say my thanks to you." Johnson said to William while he smiled.

"Heh…Think nothing of it. You got my back, I got yours, right?" William asked Johnson while he smiled back.

"Right…Man, if you need regular troops alongside cavalry and air units? You holler me, alright?" Johnson said to William while he smiled.

"I'll be sure to keep your number on the hotline. Get some rest, Carl." William said to Johnson as he nodded his head.

"Yeah, you too brother." Johnson said to William.

Johnson saluted at William which he returned immediately, then Johnson boarded the helicopter which immediately took off for the base next door…William watched the helicopter fly for a while before his shoulders sagged, and he sat on the floor. This alarmed Belfast as she immediately went toward William's side to see what's wrong with him. The man noted that Belfast stared at him worriedly, but he shook his head to indicate that he's fine, he just needed some rest. Who would've thought that all the energy he gathered during their one-week vacation could be drained in a single battle alone? William felt like he wanted to go on another vacation again to disperse the stress and to ease his mind off things…

"Master? May I recommend you to take a dip in our new public bath facility?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

"No need, I'll take one in my own house. Let the other girls use them, they'll need it." William said to Belfast as he stood up.

"In that case, shall I make you some dinner?" Belfast asked William.

"…If it's not too much trouble." William said to Belfast while he smiled for a bit.

"Nonsense, it will be my pleasure. Is there anything you want to eat for dinner?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

"…Something fulfilling." William said to Belfast.

"I know just what to make then. Shall we be off?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

Belfast offered her hand toward William; the man just smiled a bit before he took her hand and walked back toward his house hand in hand without saying anything else…

.

…A portal appeared inside a dimly lit building, constructed with reflective black metal with yellow high-tech lining on some parts of its walls. Tester Beta hopped out of the portal without her rigging, and the portal closed shortly after. The Siren then walked forward toward a large black metallic double door with yellow outlining. She didn't knock as she opened the door and was met with a large room with few pedestals in the center of it. There stood Observer Alpha beside the middle pedestal with Nyx and Midnight to the far left side. Observer Alpha stared at Tester Beta with an impassive face, one that makes anyone looking at her question whether she will praise you or disembowel you once you're in range. Tester Beta stood in front of Observer Alpha before she handed her something, a wisdom cube, but instead of glowing bright blue this one glow dark purple, almost black in appearance…

"You have returned at last." Observer Alpha took the cube before she put it on one of the pedestals.

"Reconstructing Purifier took a bit longer than I expected. How about the data we collected?" Tester Beta asked Observer Alpha.

"Splendid, to say the least…We have so much data regarding the formation that they used. The circular defense formation, it's proven time and time again that this formation could take on any kind of threat. It's a shame that you didn't use any submarines during the testing, Beta." Observer Alpha said to Beta as she smiled a bit.

"I am tempted, but I sent hordes of bomber boats instead, it still works like we intended." Tester Beta said to Observer Alpha.

"Indeed…Let's contact her." Observer Alpha said out loud.

Observer Alpha put her right hand above the cube, the thing started to glow in purplish black light for a bit before something appeared while hovering in front of them. A pale woman with a white skin tone, possessing white hair that has some blue streaks on her bangs, blue eyes half opened as it stared at the Sirens in front of her with apathy, and her black rigging glows blue menacingly behind her. One of the higher ups among the Sirens, Observer Zero herself has shown up in front of them. Observer Alpha smiled at the Siren in front of her as she prepared to make her report and to suggest a course of action based on what she saw...

"Observer Alpha, how is the experiment?" Observer Zero asked Observer Alpha.

"I just sent the data to you." Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero.

"Hmm…interesting." Observer Alpha hummed as she inspected the screen that suddenly popped in front of her.

"Also, it would appear that the world is ready for the next step, Observer Zero." Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero.

"…Is it truly ready?" Observer Zero asked Observer Alpha while she dismissed the screen in front of her.

"I have run the calculations regarding the conditions of that world, they are advancing faster than we originally thought with each new technology they keep inventing…This world is ready for a higher form of warfare, must be because of how united they are in the face of common danger…" Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero regarding her reasoning.

"…I am reluctant in using tier two units in our arsenal because of one reason, we cannot for sure know if they have what it takes to take them on. Multiple timelines have fallen even when we only use our tier one units, I ask you again Observer Alpha, are you sure in deploying our higher tiered assets?" Observer Zero argued with Observer Alpha.

"…Zero, I'm sure you know about their commander on this timeline." Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero.

"William Blaze…Isn't he the one that's not supposed to exist across the worlds we encounter? I am surprised to…find another one." Observer Zero said to Observer Alpha as she stroked her chin.

"Yes, across all the timelines we encountered, that man died before he even became the commander of the KANSENs of those worlds. His survival? It is an anomaly…Something interfered before his death or the chain of events that led to his demise has been disrupted. Regardless of that, the fact that Subject William Blaze survived and became the commander of the KANSENs in this world is undebatable…And so far, he passed our conditions for testing. This man might not be the brightest tool in the shed, but among the commanders that we have encountered, he's certainly the one that's 'adequate' in facing us directly in the front. I am assured to think that Subject William Blaze would develop even further if we increase the threat level." Observer Alpha explained to Observer Zero while she smiled meaningfully.

"But he's the almost impossible existence, Alpha. What if he dies when we escalate the intensity of our invasion? I don't want that to happen again, losing one is enough…" Observer Zero said to Observer Alpha.

"Then, he might not be worthy after all…Besides, the other one managed to fight to the very end~. I'm sure this one could do the same." Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero while she grinned.

…Observer Alpha does make a sound argument, if he fails to put up a good fight against them then maybe he's not worthy of their effort. But Observer Zero wants to make sure that their experiment is subjected to the right amount of pressure, put too little and they won't develop, but put too much and there's a great chance they'll break. Balancing between the two has always been a constant challenge for them, there are no exact calculations or even formulas available on how to measure their endurance. That is why constant observation during the experiment is needed, to gather as much data as possible while keeping the experiment going and intervening when needed. Observer Zero finally agreed with Observer Alpha, maybe it's time for them to escalate the threat level for a bit.

"…I understand, that does seem reasonable…However, I want to make one thing clear. While I grant the both of you the permission to conduct experiments as you see fit, I want the both of you to control the pacing." Observer Zero said to Observer Alpha and Tester Beta.

"I see, was she angry that we were pushing too quickly?" Tester Beta asked Observer Zero.

"Yes, especially if you concluded the experiments too soon. She didn't want the same incident back on the Isle of Furushima." Observer Zero said to Tester Beta.

"Ah, so it's about that one." Tester Beta said out loud in realization.

"That goes for you two as well, Nyx, Midnight." Observer Zero turned her attention to the two male Siren.

"…Yes mistress." "Understood." Midnight and Nyx answered to Observer Zero.

"Good. Now, since we agree to increase the intensity of the invasion, you better start with your preparations…I leave the method and the timeline to you, Alpha." Observer Zero said to Observer Alpha.

"My pleasure~" Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero while she smiled.

"Remember this fact, the Creator will be watching. So, make sure it will be an entertaining one." Observer Zero said out loud.

After that, Observer Zero summoned a portal behind her and floated through it. After the Siren disappeared, Observer Alpha's face fell flat once again. She got the permission, which means it's a green light to use her more 'exotic' tools and units. She already imagined that she will have fun with that world. Observer Alpha wondered how long that world would last against their toys, she hoped they would put up a worthy fight that prompted her to request for the deployment of their final tier three units. Oh, the thought alone already inspired her with hundreds of possible scenarios to run on that world. However, Observer Alpha restrained herself, she decided to take things slow, and right now there's one scenario she already prepared. Let's see how good the humans are if one of their regional HQs is under attack, that should put on a good show.

"…Nyx, you are to go and oversee the preparation for the invasion. Midnight, you will accompany him." Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

"Oh, putting your guard dog to watch over me?" Nyx commented as he folded his arms.

"I don't want you to deviate from the plan like you did before, Midnight will assure you won't on this one." Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

"Heh, despite your flirty attitude with me on occasion, you have so little trust in me~" Nyx asked Observer Alpha with an amused tone.

"I have no trust for anyone. You're no exception, darling…" Observer Alpha said to Nyx while she smiled a bit.

"…Fine. Let's go Midnight, I'll walk you around." Nyx shrugged as he opened a portal.

Nyx stepped through the portal followed by Midnight closely behind, the two of them exited the portal to land on the rooftop of a building somewhere on earth and faced with a moonless night sky. Nyx was about to turn around when he felt a blade touch his neck, the Siren hummed in amusement as he looked at the holder of the obsidian black blade. Midnight held his sword and made sure it touched Nyx's neck firmly, so he could feel the sharpness of the blade, however, the Siren that is currently threatened didn't show any sign of fear behind his helmet or in his body language.

"…Don't treat me like a dog." Midnight said to Nyx in a firm tone.

"Then stop being one to Observer Alpha. Come on mate, why were you being submissive to her anyway?" Nyx said to Midnight in an annoyed tone.

Nyx casually used his hand to put the blade away without effort, the Siren looked at Midnight who's still silent before he put his sword away. Midnight walked past Nyx to the edge of the building's rooftop they're on, he looked down to observe the busy streets and the human civilians who minded their own business. Nyx still waited for Midnight to answer his question, but as time went on it became apparent that he had zero intention to answer it, so Nyx walked to his side. He also looked downwards toward the streets and Nyx himself sighed…

"Enjoy the sight while you can, in three months this place might be nothing but an abandoned and war-torn city." Nyx said to Midnight.

"…We could just attack them now, why give our enemy a chance to put a defense against our forces?" Midnight asked Nyx.

"Hey, remember what Zero said? The Creator wouldn't want it to be over too soon. We need to prepare them for the showdown, if we attack now, it would be a 'massacre' instead of a 'battle'. Personally, I prefer if we just declare that we will take over this entire city before sending in our forces. That way the civilian casualties would be quite light…What do you think?" Nyx asked Midnight.

"…You talk too much." Midnight said to Nyx.

"Bah, you stuck up bastard. Live a little Midnight and stop being so moody, a second chance didn't come for everyone." Nyx said to Midnight.

"…Like it came for you?" Midnight asked Nyx as he stared at him.

"Honestly, I prefer it if I stay dead. But you make do with the shite destiny thrown at you, and it still wants me to live for a while longer, so here I am…fueled by my regrets…What about you? Is it revenge?" Nyx asked Midnight after he shrugged.

"…You always have a retort." Midnight said to Nyx in an annoyed tone.

"You don't want to answer that one, huh?" Nyx said to Midnight in an unamused tone.

"…My thoughts and desires are none of your concern." Midnight said to Nyx as he turned his head back toward the streets.

"Hmph…And here I thought we could talk about this topic since you and I were-" Nyx said to Midnight.

Nyx never got the chance to finish those words because he detected someone landing closely behind them. The Siren turned around, and he saw the one he's been looking for ever since he observed the street. Ash lowered her scarf, revealing her mouth which seemed to be plastered in a permanent frown as she stared at Nyx. The male Siren glanced at Midnight who only stared at Ash for a bit before he returned to watch the streets. Nyx approached Ash, who keeps looking at Midnight for some reason, and Ember is nowhere to be seen, so Nyx would assume that she still hasn't finished her current task. No matter, this entire preparation will take a long time anyway, so Nyx won't bother her…unless he's looking to die by getting cut into bloody chunks.

"How did it go, Ash?" Nyx asked Ash.

"We have stationed a group of Brawlers in the subway tunnel, it should be able to cause unrest for the whole city for the next three months." Ash said to Nyx while she frowned.

"Excellent…Now, we play the waiting game." Nyx said to Ash while he nodded his head.

Nyx and Ash turned toward the other side of the building, and both of them walked to the edge to survey the view. What they saw right now is the nighttime view of the city of New York. Tall buildings decorated the skyline, millions of people that inhabit this city going about their usual business at night, countless vehicles filled the roads, and in the distance the sound of police sirens could be heard…Hmm, Nyx wondered on whether that's for catching your usual thugs, or was it because the Brawlers Ash stationed in the underground had already begun their slaughter. No matter, he will find out soon once the news has spread among the citizens. Nyx realized that this place will be a heavily contested area, Azur Lane has one of their Regional HQs in this city, so they won't take any Siren appearance lightly…With that in mind, Nyx turned his head toward the Statue of Liberty, that statue would be the witness of the upcoming bloodbath that will come for New York…The Sirens are coming in full force, and they will strive for total domination...

---

Updated: 14-02-2022 (Beta readed by Culture-Hunt3r)

…Last year on 29 August 2019, I was in the middle of my university mandatory practical exam (or something close to that), and I alongside the other students were sent to a remote place, a village on the mountain range beside a huge lake where signals and by extension internet were hardly available. I was really hooked on Azur Lane by that time, but due to the situation I couldn't even log on properly, and that caused me to miss forty days of login rewards for I had to stay there for forty days. So, I often go out to take a walk, which on that day at the end of August, I choose to sit by the pier, watching the people working on fish traps or rowing their boats, and that's when something struck me…I want to create an Azur Lane fanfic, the impulse just came like that, and suddenly I am brainstorming beside the lake.

There were several ideas inside my head, one of them even included an AU with what if Azur Lane took place in a medieval fantasy setting where ship girls are 'Saints' which possess magical power and served as a kingdom's ultimate weapon in their fight against the demon kin known as the Sirens…But I decided to go with the modern setting for now, I thought up the general storyline, the characters, and voila, the first chapter for Commander Blaze was ready to be published. Hard to believe it's been a year since then, and this story has grown a lot. There are so many people that favorited it, followed it, and reviewed it. I have learned a lot in the past year too, how to write properly, to use the proper grammar, and I believe I still have a lot of room for improvement…since I'm not a native English speaker and an amateur writer, hahaha.

I just want to say that I am grateful to all of your readers. Without your support this story might not have lasted this long, without your reviews I might not improve myself, and perhaps quit writing all together. I intend to finish this story, to the very end. Even though pretty soon I will be busy with my thesis for graduation roughly for around a year, I want to try and make sure this story keeps going. I am grateful for your support dear readers, and welcome those who are along for the ride until the end…As usual, thank you for the favorites, follows, and reviews for the past chapter, I realized this took longer than it supposed to and believe me, a lot of things came up which caused this to be late, and the fact I got sidetracked a few times with real life things too, so do forgive me for those who waited for the update…The world is on the brink dear readers, the Sirens for the first time since their appearance in the world where William and the others live are about to commence their first full scale invasion. Azur Lane and Crimson Axis better be prepared, this will not be a breeze for them. Stay tuned for the next chapter dear readers!

See you next time!

- Dasmara