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.

37. Truth and perspective

…Ash looked down to the surface of the water she's standing on to see Enterprise's unconscious body floating below her, the light arrow contest was won by Ash. But she felt no accomplishment from that duel, she already knew how it would turn out. The Enterprise of this world might be strong, but she's no match for Ash who could single handedly take on an entire fleet by herself and live to tell the tale, the outcome was already decided the moment she fired that charged light arrow…Ash grabbed on Enterprise and hoisted her over the shoulder, she snapped her fingers and a purple portal appeared behind her back. Ash entered through the portal and arrived in a dimly lit room with grey walls, she put Enterprise down to the cold concrete floor and stared at her in a combination of disapproval, disgust, and little bit of nostalgia in her eyes…That doesn't last long though, because the only door to the room opened and someone petite entered through it.

"…Splendid work, Code G." Observer Alpha said to Ash.

"I'm done here." Ash said to Observer Alpha as she walked out of the room.

"Oh? Not going to chat with her? Explain a few things maybe?" Observer Alpha asked Ash while she smirked a bit.

Ash stopped for a bit…how easy would it be to just explain everything to her and make her prepare for what's about to come? She's sure Alpha won't even mind, the Sirens are too overwhelming that intel leaks such as when they will attack the humans won't matter much to them. Though, that will surely make them fussy talking about this or that algorithm and change in the experiment's factor or some shit. Ash couldn't care less regarding that, but would it be the safe choice? Revealing everything she knew? Ash walked away from the room without another word to Observer Alpha. That was bait, Ash knew that was a bait, she won't fall for it easily. Ash teleported to another room, and she immediately saw someone walking towards her from the front. A black armored man with a slanted blue visor then stood in front of her and stared at Ash. He didn't say anything, but Ash immediately knew that he's genuinely concerned over her wellbeing, she could tell that much from the way he conducted himself alone.

"…I'm fine." Ash said to Nyx.

"…Never easy, was it? Seeing yourself again, back when things are much simpler than whatever this is?" Nyx said to Ash.

"…Yeah…what are you going to do to her?" Ash asked Nyx.

"They think we are aliens, Alpha and I agreed to tell her the truth." Nyx said to Ash.

"And what would that accomplish other than demoralizing them?" Ash asked Nyx while her frown deepened.

"Demoralization is just a temporary side effect; you know that's not what I'm aiming for." Nyx said to Ash.

"…Fine, do what you want." Ash said to Nyx.

"Alright. Go find Helena and ask for a coordinate for Reality MCRS-0909998. I need you on a reconnaissance mission to observe a certain pilot." Nyx said to Ash while he folded his arms.

"To that highly advanced timeline? Why don't you send Ember to that one?" Ash asked Nyx.

"I'm putting her off duty temporarily." Nyx said to Ash in a frustrated tone.

"What happened?" Ash is genuinely curious on what made Ember lose control like that.

"One of our agents managed to snipe her right eye." Nyx said to Ash in an amused tone.

"…How? Don't tell me it's that guy with a WW2 rifle?" Ash asked Nyx, Ember is quick enough that she can dodge bullets…how did that happen?

"I guess she really underestimated him, he's not a marksman for shites and giggles. I already told her that there's a chance he will shoot her during the whole fiasco, he's dead set on protecting the KANSENs, so of course he will do whatever it takes to keep them safe." Nyx said to Ash in an amused tone.

"…You picked another bullseye." Ash commented in an astonished tone while she closed her eyes.

"I rarely miss my mark; I imagine that pilot is the same." Nyx said to Ash in a confident tone.

"We'll see about that, there's a first time for everything. He also acted just like you in a sense." Ash said to Nyx.

"Heh, can't argue with that. Well then, I'm off to talk to you." Nyx said to Ash.

"…Agents of The Ashes, huh?" Ash said out loud in wonder.

Nyx said nothing as he snapped his fingers and teleported to the room where Enterprise was brought to, the moment he exited the portal he could clearly see Enterprise being suspended in midair with a device emitting a force field. Enterprise was groggy when Nyx arrived, she's just starting to come to and she immediately noticed that something is wrong, she's not in the sea but inside a dim room. Enterprise's senses returned to one hundred percent after some time, and that's when she noticed Nyx and Observer Alpha in front of her, she knew Observer Alpha based on the intel report she read during her spare time before Operation Eagle Storm and remembered meeting her during the Defense of Terania. She remembered her capturing William and that she failed to land a shot at her, now she stood in front of her with a robotic smile plastered on her face. Enterprise turned her head toward Nyx, and she widened her eyes, she thought he was Midnight due to their same-colored armor-

"Stay quiet and don't say anything unnecessary, don't be alarmed by my voice and just stay calm." Enterprise suddenly heard a voice…an unknown male voice, in her mind.

"We meet again." Observer Alpha said to Enterprise while she smiled a bit.

"…So it would seem." Enterprise said to Observer Alpha while she glared at her.

"What a fierce looking woman, but don't worry. We're not here to hurt you, we're here for civilized talk, aren't we Nyx?" Observer Alpha said to Enterprise before she asked Nyx.

"That's right." Enterprise widened her eyes a bit, he has the same voice as the one in her mind!

"Oh? Are you surprised that we have a male in our midst?" Observer Alpha noticed that slight movement in Enterprise's eyes.

"…No…I've seen what Midnight did." Enterprise said to Observer Alpha while she scowled.

"Ah, yeah, he could be quite overboard with his job, but don't compare him to me. If he's a roaring lion? I'm a house cat in comparison." Nyx said to Enterprise in an amused tone.

Nyx approached Enterprise and the woman started feeling nervous, she couldn't exactly move her body, and she didn't know what Nyx wanted with her. Somehow, he's able to communicate with her telepathically? How did he manage to do that? Nyx stood directly in front of Enterprise, his head turned toward her head, and Enterprise could practically feel that she was under his intense gaze. Nyx was staring hard at her for some unknown reason and he didn't say anything telepathically, so it just makes her nervous, then Nyx did something that Enterprise didn't expect, he waved his hand to the side and the force field was turned off. Enterprise didn't waste this chance so she summoned her rigging and drew her bow with a light arrow ready to be launched.

"Yeah no, I don't want to fight you. I'm not even here to threaten you, I'm here so we can talk properly…like civilized people?" Nyx said to Enterprise in a calm tone.

"You think I'd buy that?!" Enterprise asked out loud as she aimed at Nyx.

"Now, why would I lie about that to you? I genuinely want to talk to you, Enterprise, I don't want to make you uncomfortable." Nyx said to Enterprise as he snapped his fingers.

"Trust me, Enterprise, you don't want to act rashly." Nyx said to Enterprise telepathically.

But instead of portals, two Siren Troopers entered the room from outside and carried two foldable metal chairs. They put the chairs between Nyx and Enterprise before exiting the room wordlessly. Nyx only shrugged as he proceeded to sit on the chair then beckoned Enterprise to sit on the chair in front of him. Enterprise thinks on what to do next, she has no clue on her current location and busting out of this room might not be the smartest move. She's wary of Observer Alpha's true strength but what unnerves her the most is Nyx himself. She still doesn't know how strong he is, and she's got a gut feeling that she didn't want to find out. He might have said that he's a tame one compared to Midnight, but something about that statement feels off to her...Enterprise trusted her gut feeling, and it says to not fuck around with Nyx…It seems that he doesn't intend to hurt her at the moment, so Enterprise decided to play along.

"Well dear, why don't you sit down? We have much to talk about." Nyx said to Enterprise.

"…This better be worth listening to." Enterprise said to Nyx as she unequipped her rigging and sat down.

"Oh, trust me, it is...So Enterprise, before we started, what do you know about multiverse theory?" Nyx said to Enterprise before he asked her the question.

"It's a theory concerning alternate realities." Enterprise answered Nyx.

"Hmm, that's a simple way of putting it, but alright. Now, look at Observer Alpha." Nyx said to Enterprise.

"Ciao~" Observer Alpha said to Enterprise when she looked at her.

"Don't you think she looks very human to you?" Nyx asked Enterprise.

"Other than her figure, she looks pretty inhuman to me." Enterprise said to Nyx while she frowned deeply.

"Heh, right. Looks unnerving to see the pale skin, white hair, and dead yellow eyes, isn't it? But have you ever thought for a sec on why do the Sirens look like humans?" Nyx asked Enterprise.

"I only think that you invade this planet, and it is my duty to protect the others from your attacks." Enterprise said to Nyx in a steely tone.

"Commendable, you have the trait we call heroism. But knowing the enemy is half the battle, isn't it? That's what William must've said to you? Then I could say you're far from winning one, you don't even know the true identity of your enemy." Nyx said to Enterprise.

"Why do I get a feeling that you're going to tell me?" Enterprise asked Nyx while she folded her arms.

"Heh, that readable huh? Yeah, I am going to tell you. But first I will place all the puzzle pieces in front of you, and here's the last one…Who defeated you a few moments ago?" Nyx asked Enterprise.

"A Siren that looks like me, engineered to be one." Enterprise said to Nyx while she scowled.

"Oh sweet summer child, she's a human." Nyx bluntly said to Enterprise.

"…What?!" Enterprise said out loud while her eyes widened.

"Me? I'm human as well, same as that Enterprise who defeated you." Nyx said to Enterprise in a relaxed manner.

"I don't believe you!" Enterprise said to Nyx while she scowled.

"…Told you so." Nyx said to Observer Alpha who walked forward.

"Enterprise, you need practical evidence, huh? Very well, let's give her some." Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

Nyx summoned some kind of black colored bowie knife; he took Observer Alpha's right hand and sliced her palm a bit. Enterprise could see the yellow blood dripping out from the wound, she's undoubtedly a Siren. Then Nyx directed the knife to his own left palm and sliced through his undersuit, that's when Enterprise widened her eyes…His blood? Its red, Nyx is actually a human. How did he have telepathic powers?! How did he wear armor as advanced as the one like William without being supported by Azur Lane or Crimson Axis?! The answer is pretty obvious, he's a human working together with the Sirens! Takeshi will become like Nyx if he manages to defect to the Sirens…But wait, there's more to it than that…Enterprise immediately connected the dots together between the puzzle pieces that Nyx just gave her…

"…You…you don't come from this world, no, none of you are from this universe…" Enterprise said to Nyx in a low tone of realization while her eyes widened.

"Bingo! None of us are original occupants of this world, we're here because we can cross realities." Nyx said to Enterprise in a relaxed tone.

"How many of you are there?!" Enterprise asked Nyx while she frowned deeply.

"To get that answer, you need to understand what I mean by alternate reality first…Imagine everything we've done since you woke up, have you ever thought about the continuity of the decisions you didn't make? For example, what happens if I let you stay within that force field prison instead of letting you go like I did just a few moments ago? What happened if you actually released your arrow at me? The thing is, that actually happened, in an alternate universe…Now, that's just you and me, and our decisions alone already created two alternate universes. Two people, creating two other timelines from their actions alone…What about, the entire population of earth? Spanning from the prehistoric age to this very second? Everything they've done, every decision they made, every happenstance that happened because of mere chance? What if the meteor did not impact Earth sixty-five million years ago? So many things happened, so many things didn't…With that in mind, how many alternate universes do you think exist out there?" Nyx asked Enterprise as he leaned forward a bit.

"…Infinite…" Enterprise said to Nyx as she looked down at the floor.

"And the Sirens are able to cross all of them. Taking resources from another timeline and putting them to another one, building a base of operations on the preferred timeline and all of that? Could be done over and over again, just by traveling to another timeline for a bit. Unlimited resources within grasp and basically unlimited time to exploit…With that power, how many Sirens do you think exist in all of those timelines? How many bases? How many soldiers? And even, how many Siren KANSENs do you think exist?" Nyx asked Enterprise

"…Limitless…" Enterprise said to Nyx in a low tone.

"Exactly, Enterprise…The Sirens are unending, limitless, infinite." Nyx said to Enterprise in a low tone.

"All our victories…all of those are meaningless?" Enterprise asked herself as she looked down to the floor.

"Oh? Those victories? Simple, we're letting you win…Enterprise, you should consider that the humans are lucky that we didn't aim to destroy each and every one of you. Because, we could destroy this timeline and bury it ten times over easily enough." Observer Alpha said to Enterprise in a matter-of-fact tone.

"…Why? W-Why did you let us win then?!" Enterprise asked Observer Alpha, there's a slight waver in her tone.

"Because we're running experiments, not aimless genocide. Fulfill the condition of those experiments or screw it enough that we deemed it a failure, then we'll let you go…I'm sure you've realized it by now, your struggles are meaningless. You survived until now because we allow you to do so." Observer Alpha said to Enterprise.

"What gives you the right to interfere with our lives?! What gives you the right to trample our freedom!? We didn't ask for this, we didn't want this war! Why can't you just let us be in peace?!" Enterprise shouted at Observer Alpha while she scowled.

"Unfortunately for you, that's not how we see it. You may be unwilling, but this is for your own good." Observer Alpha said in a flat tone.

"I don't see how mass murdering humans in this world would be good for us all!" Enterprise said to Observer Alpha while she frowned deeply.

"Fufufu…you will thank us in the future, mark my words." Observer Alpha said to Enterprise.

With that, Observer Alpha left the room. Enterprise stared at her retreating figure until the door was closed, she was furious, but at the same time there's a hint of despair inside her heart. After knowing how many of them are out there, there's no way they will be able to win in an all-out war against the Sirens. If they clashed in open combat, the humans will definitely lose. Why? Simple, the Sirens are too overwhelming in all aspects. Is the only way for the world she currently lived in to survive is by following the Sirens' whims? By participating in their so-called-experiments? Is that the only way they could take? Honestly, Enterprise doesn't even know how to take down an overwhelming foe like them, she doesn't even know where their HQ is…Will she continue to search for a way to defeat the Sirens outside their established terms? Or will they have to comply with them? Enterprise has a dream that one day she will be able to live in a peaceful world with her friends and family…did a lot of people really have to die in order for that wish to be fulfilled?

"…Why? Why did you decide to join the Sirens? You're a human, aren't you?" Enterprise asked Nyx while she frowned.

"Well, it happened without my consent actually. But this is the only way." Nyx said to Enterprise.

"The only way for what?" Enterprise asked Nyx.

"…To fight them." Nyx said to Enterprise in a low tone after he went silent for a bit.

"…Are you like a double agent or something?!" Enterprise asked Nyx in a low tone.

"Not exactly…Let's just say that I have my own reasons as to why I decided to stay around the Sirens and help them, despite my intention to fight them." Nyx said to Enterprise in a low tone.

"What is that then? What is your intention?" Enterprise asked Nyx in a low tone.

"…Enterprise, do you know a way to fight an endless enemy that has infinite resources and overwhelmingly powerful military might?" Nyx asked Enterprise.

"…No, but I believe that we only truly lose when we give up." Enterprise said to Nyx in a determined tone.

"You're not wrong…Let's just say that when you fight an enemy like the Sirens, you can't use any conventional measures. The Sirens are here to test you and all of humanity, there's something they want to see from these 'experiments'." Nyx said to Enterprise.

"How long are they going to keep doing that then?" Enterprise asked Nyx while she frowned deeply.

"As long as it takes, until they feel they've accomplished their goals in this timeline. Or, you and the others are proved to be beyond saving, and that's when the Sirens could decide to wipe you off the face of the earth." Nyx said to Enterprise in a serious tone.

"…What do you mean beyond saving?" Enterprise asked Nyx while she stared at him in confusion.

"…Perhaps it'll be faster to show you." Nyx said to Enterprise.

Show her? What does he mean by showing it to her? Enterprise only sat still as Nyx stepped forward toward her. Nyx then outstretched his right hand toward her head, he caressed Enterprise's left temple slowly before he put his right hand on the top of her head…Enterprise felt nothing, until she felt that something was tugging her consciousness and her vision darkens instantly. It's like her soul was being taken out of her body, she felt weightless, and quite possibly disoriented. But that didn't last long, because a few seconds later she could see bright light engulfing her entire body and what she saw beyond the light? It terrified her…

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Armor piercing and high explosive shells kept pounding Orochi's hull mercilessly, the battleships and battlecruisers of ALASUC didn't even let Orochi out of their sight even for a second. They are determined to bring that monstrosity down and sink its carcass to the bottom of the sea if they could, to that end they have been shelling Orochi nonstop even when half of the Orochi's attack team are wounded because of Ash or due to stray projectiles. Amagi observed that Orochi had taken quite some damage, they managed to wreck the runway on her aft and disabled two of her main guns. There are dozens burning points and hundreds of holes around her hull, yet the ship is still combat effective and didn't even seem affected that much…Amagi keep racking her brain to come up with a sure-fire way to kill that ship, there's one plan that she did consider to be able to work nicely, but it will be quite hard to pull off. Amagi is briefly distracted by Bremerton who carried the unconscious Atago on her back, and Birmingham who shouldered Prinz Eugen who's holding her bleeding stomach, both of them are in need of quick medical attention. Vestal is quite swamped in the backline, Yuubari is helping her but the casualties are simply too much to handle in such a short amount of time.

"Ms. Amagi! We can't find Enterprise anywhere!" Bremerton stopped to inform Amagi while she grimaced.

"Nowhere near the combat site?" Amagi asked Bremerton calmly.

"No, no sign of her!" Bremerton said to Amagi.

"We can safely assume that she's been captured by the Sirens then." Amagi said to Bremerton in a calm tone.

"W-W-We have to rescue her!" Bremerton said to Amagi while she frowned.

"We will, but for now get Atago-san and Eugen-san to Vestal. I'll think of a plan to rescue Enterprise-san." Amagi said to Bremerton in a calm tone.

"…O-Okay." Bremerton said to Amagi before she cruised away.

Amagi frowned as she remembered that Helena is away with William on ground operation, she has no one to rely on to gain intel on Enterprise's current position. Amagi has strong suspicion that she has been taken inland to their base or even their field HQ, that's the most likely place compared to some random location out of nowhere. She could be wrong yet she likes that idea's odds. But she has to think about that later, right now she needs to put down Orochi and their ammo reserves are thinning with each shell they fired. The damn ship's defense is too strong, they need to find her heart and stab it…That's it! Amagi widened her eyes in realization, strike Orochi's power generator and that ship would not be able to put up any further fight! But where would it be located? The ship itself is huge, and they won't have the ammo to spare for playing whack a mole to find the generator, they will need some help.

"High Commander, this is IJN Amagi." Amagi decided to contact Lucas himself on the radio.

"Ms. Amagi? I thought Enterprise was the one in command, did something happen?" Lucas asked Amagi on the radio.

"There's been a development, Enterprise might have been captured by the enemy. But we're prioritizing on destroying Orochi first…High Commander, we need to find Orochi's main power generator and focus our fire on it. But we don't have anything that could detect it, can you help us?" Amagi asked Lucas on the radio.

"…Good idea, Ms. Amagi. Terranova has heat detection sensors on board, we will try to determine the generator's position. Stand by for further information, Ms. Amagi." Lucas said to Amagi on the radio.

"Yes sir, understood." Amagi said to Lucas on the radio.

"Ms. Amagi! Ammo is at fifty percent!" South Dakota said to Amagi on the radio.

"We need to prioritize our targets. Fleet One, focus fire on Orochi's main gun!" Amagi said out loud on the radio.

"Understood! Shifting fire!" Washington said to Amagi.

Amagi joined the fray by firing her guns toward Orochi's main guns, they need to do what they can to cripple it as much as possible. The fight against the Sirens mass produced ships is going well for them, thanks to combined efforts between the close quarter attack by the ship girls and long-range support coming from the massive human fleet behind them. Barbarossa has been shelling the Sirens with her triple 460mm turrets while Terranova kept resupplying and launching fighters to ensure local air supremacy, but despite their efforts the Siren fleet still has a considerable number of ships and KANSENs. The battle might be in their favor but it's far from over, if the whole of ALASUC is here then Amagi has no doubt they will breeze through this battle. Amagi noticed that there's glowing purple balls coming toward them and it's the projectiles coming from Orochi's main gun. She's still got some fight in her.

"Fleet One! Scatter!" Amagi immediately ordered on the radio.

The fleet immediately scattered from their current position while keeping a lookout on the approaching plasma bolts, the projectile impacted the area they were on a few seconds ago. ALASUC's battleships and battlecruisers retaliated by firing at Orochi's main gun, it took several volleys but eventually they managed to wreck all four of Orochi's main guns. The fearsome artillery is no more and now they can pound that ship without fearing retaliatory fire, because of Orochi being crippled the other mass-produced Siren ships are moving in to put on a screening field around Orochi. It looks like the Sirens decided to change their tactics, it feels like the humans finally cornered the monster, but that idea is immediately squashed because all of the available Siren KANSENs are on the field right now? They're charging toward ALASUC directly, not their combined fleet behind them, ALASUC itself.

"Siren ship girls approaching us at high speed!" Baltimore said out loud on the radio.

"Ah shit! They look like they really want to kill us!" Phoenix said out loud on the radio.

"Ms. Amagi! What are your orders?!" Hornet asked Amagi on the radio.

"Stick to the plan for now. Screening fleets, form a defensive circle around the fleet one. Buy us some time until Terranova identifies Orochi's main power generator." Amagi said out loud on the radio.

"Uh, I don't think staying in this place is a smart move Ms. Amagi! Multiple anomalies! More Siren ship girls coming in!" Essex said to Amagi on the radio.

"Not just that! Their fleet including Orochi is charging toward us!" Victorious said out loud on the radio.

Amagi widened her eyes in realization, this is a boxing maneuver. If ALASUC didn't fall back now, they would be encircled by the Siren ship girls before being smashed by the sheer firepower coming from Orochi's fleet! The Sirens intend to punch through from the front with overwhelming force instead of thinning them out from afar, they shifted to this tactic because ALASUC managed to disable Orochi's main guns! Amagi has a few choices to make here, she could fall back and let the combined fleet to join the battle but that will undoubtedly cause huge casualties toward them, and they need as much force as they can to land on New York coast, she could move ALASUC to the sides to hit their flank but that won't stop the Sirens from keep advancing toward the combined fleet, and no guarantee that they could stop the Sirens from plowing through them. Or, Amagi could make a stand with the others here to buy the combined fleet some time to scatter but that will result in tremendous or even outright annihilation of ALASUC's force…All choices are bad choices and the outcome could only mean they will lose a large number of forces either way. But regardless, decisions have to be made.

"…Carriers, pull back to safe distance and prepare your planes for relentless assault against Orochi's guard fleet. Thin them out as best as you can, use all of your planes if you have to." Amagi said out loud on the radio.

"…Understood. Carriers, rendezvous on me!" Essex said out loud on the radio.

"Vanguards, split into two teams. Have one go with the carriers while the other stay with fleet one!" Amagi said out loud on the radio.

"Roger that. You heard the lady everyone, get to it now!" Baltimore said out loud on the radio.

"Fleet one, we're moving to the side. Keep your distance from Orochi at all times." Amagi said out loud on the radio.

"Got it…We're right behind you Ms. Amagi." South Dakota said to Amagi on the radio.

"High Commander, this is IJN Amagi. Orochi is charging toward the combined fleet directly; we have to get out of the way to avoid being steamrolled. We will keep hitting them from the sides." Amagi informed Lucas on the radio.

"…Uh understood, do what you can to thin them out for us Ms. Amagi." Lucas said to Amagi on the radio.

"Yes sir, we will do our best." Amagi said to Lucas on the radio.

"…All ships within this combined fleet, Orochi is challenging us directly. Show her that it's her biggest mistake to think we are weak! That we couldn't do anything without the help of the ship girls! Bare our fangs and show her the culmination of thousands of years' worth of humanity's naval combat experience!" Lucas said out loud on the radio.

Lucas immediately gave precise maneuvering orders for the whole fleet and they immediately acted on it, the combined fleet split into two to give the Orochi's fleet a wide berth. They know that the main guns are no threat at this point but Orochi's other weaponry could still pose a threat, even her point defense guns could melt Terranova's hull easily enough and cause some serious damage with sustained fire if she managed to get in range…Amagi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the that the fleet is breaking up, now time to finish the job. The girls kept fighting with everything they got, but now the whole combined fleet is also in range to provide their full firepower. The carriers decide it's time for them to commit a mass aerial raid against the Orochi's guard fleet around it, they send waves of all of their fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers toward them. They only managed to attack once because the aircrafts were immediately shot down by Orochi's point defense guns, the jets from the combined fleet even helped by trying to dive bomb from a very steep angle at high altitude but many of the bombs are off the mark. Those planes couldn't risk going too close or Orochi would shred them apart and that's why they couldn't attack with bombs effectively.

"Ms. Amagi! Our aircrafts were shot down! We have no more in reserve!" Essex said to Amagi on the radio.

"Understood, you've done what you could to thin their numbers. Return to Terranova, resupply and continue the attack from there." Amagi said to Essex on the radio.

"Roger that!" Essex said to Amagi on the radio.

"Ms. Amagi, ammo at twenty five percent." Colorado said to Amagi on the radio.

"High Commander, this is IJN Amagi. We're running out of ammunition, have you identified the location of Orochi's power generator?" Amagi asked Lucas on the radio.

"Ms. Amagi, we detected a massive hotspot in two separate locations within Orochi's hull. One directly underneath the main cannons and the other is under her bridge, we will need both disabled." Lucas said to Amagi on the radio.

"I don't think we will have enough ammo to destroy both!" Pennsylvania said out loud on the radio.

"Agreed…High Commander, we will hit the generator that is below Orochi's main guns. We will give it everything we've got." Amagi said to Lucas on the radio.

"I see, then we will have to take the other…This is High Commander Carville to all ships, check your targeting systems. We will hit one of Orochi's main generators while the KANSENs hit the other, the absence of an energy generator should disable Orochi and prevent it from retaliating. Empty your munition reserve if you have to because this is our last strike against that monster, one final effort is all that remains to win this naval battle!" Lucas said out loud on the radio.

"ALASUC, focus your fire on the area below the cannons! Do not stop until the generator is destroyed!" Amagi said out loud on the radio.

"All ships, fire at will!" Lucas said out loud on the radio.

The human force stopped firing for a few seconds then focused their attacks on two specific spots at Orochi's hull, the targeted area being mercilessly pounded by bullets, shells, and missiles coming from all directions. Some of the escort Siren mass produced ships tried to cover for Orochi but the sheer number of projectiles being launched at the fleet is enough to sink or outright destroy the mass-produced Siren ships, the Siren ship girls are trying to do what they can to eliminate the source of the trouble but ALASUC ship girls prevented them from getting close to any of the combined fleet or even Fleet One by setting up perimeter around them. Every human ship gave their all, firing all of their available weaponry due to their close proximity to Orochi itself.

Orochi didn't just sit and take all the punishment to her hull without some fight, she also fired her secondary guns alongside the point defense cannons toward the humans. It did some damage to few of the human mass-produced ships, but the ship girls managed to avoid the majority of the projectiles because of their distance, the combined fleet wouldn't last long in a melee with Orochi, so they needed the two generators taken out ASAP. ALASUC managed to breach Orochi's hull ahead of the combined fleet that exposed the big reactor sitting underneath the turrets, it's time to destroy it with overwhelming firepower. Amagi chuckled sinisterly while she smirked, it's all going according to plan.

"ALASUC, target the exposed generator. Show no mercy." Amagi said out loud on the radio.

"You heard the lady! Fire at will!" Washington said out loud on the radio.

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

DUUUUUMMMMMMM!

ALASUC did not hesitate when they fired their guns toward the exposed energy reactor, the module couldn't take too much damage to begin with, but it was absolutely demolished when hundreds of ship grade shells pounded it relentlessly. The module immediately caved in and exploded spectacularly, effectively blowing a huge chunk out of the Orochi's bow. The area where the main turrets are located vanished as the location was torn apart by a huge internal explosion, the explosion guaranteed that Orochi lost her primary means to terrorize the human force permanently. The ALASUC ship girls cheered as hard as they could when they saw the explosion, their efforts paid off, and now victory is within sight they could almost taste its sweetness!

"Ja! Wunderbar! One generator is destroyed!" Scharnhorst said out loud on the radio.

"Some of Orochi's point defense cannons are offline! Oh wait, they restarted! Did they draw power from the last generator?!" South Dakota asked out loud on the radio.

"Yeah! Look, it's slowing down! Orochi is slowing down! She must've prioritized her guns instead of her engines!" Nevada said out loud on the radio.

"Don't let up everyone! Keep firing at her weak point!" Lucas said out loud on the radio.

The second generator is finally exposed after Orochi's hull in that area received relentless pounding from shells and missiles coming from the combined fleet, Barbarossa aimed her guns and sent in the final strike toward the generator. Nine 460mm Armor Piercing shells struck the generator, causing its structure to cave in and explode resulting in a bright purple flash…Orochi is finally done for, the damn ship is still floating though. The ship only lost her main guns and generators thus is effectively disabled, but the damage to the other part is so negligible that the ship is still able to float freely on sea surface. To destroy Orochi and sink it? It will take a LOT more ammo and time, something that the human forces don't have at the moment. Besides, Orochi would be a lot more valuable as a research subject. Humanity needs every edge they can get against the Sirens and a floating disabled behemoth like Orochi? It's a treasure trove, to say the least.

The Siren KANSENs collectively retreated from the combat area while still under intense fire from ALASUC and the combined fleet, all of them just hastily retreated while leaving the handful of surviving mass-produced ships to be destroyed by the human forces…The first massive naval battle against the Sirens where hundreds of ships are involved on both sides, and the humans won it. The humans didn't come out unscathed as they did lose dozens of ships, but compared to the Sirens who lost literal hundreds without the humans resorting to tactical nuclear strikes? That's a fair trade off.

"All units, this is High Commander Carville. The fight is ours and the Sirens are retreating…stand down, begin damage assessment and do any necessary repairs. We still have a city to retake from those aliens, the battle is far from over." Lucas said out loud on the radio.

"Great work everyone. Refuel, rearm and get some rest for now." Amagi said out loud on the radio.

"What about Enterprise? We have to search for her!" Hornet said to Amagi on the radio.

"We will discuss the plan to find and rescue Enterprise after we regain our strength, Hornet-san. Rest assured, I will make sure that finding and rescuing Enterprise-san will be our next primary mission." Amagi said to Hornet on the radio.

…Amagi sighed as she looked around at the aftermath of the naval battle, she could see the carcasses of ships from both sides burning, sinking, or both all around her…Now, Amagi still stands with her theory regarding Enterprise being brought to the Siren field headquarters that is located in New York's northern area. Unless she's taken to their homeworld which Amagi found to be doubtful, but she thinks they can immediately know whether Enterprise is still within New York or not based on her IFF emitters. To identify her location though, they will need long range sensors and the closest they have would be Helena herself who's currently operating on the border of New York and Long Island. But would her SG radar be powerful enough to detect Enterprise who could possibly be within a building with so many walls that could hinder the SG radar? Or will they have to rely on Terranova's own sensors to detect Enterprise's IFFs? One way or another, they don't have a lot of time to rescue her so they have to act fast.

.

"Commander William, I received a report from Ms. Amagi that Enterprise has been captured by the Sirens." Helena informed William.

"…What happened?" William asked Helena while he frowned.

"She, alongside Eugen, Hipper, Takao, and Atago were engaging a Siren type we haven't seen before, they were defeated, but only Enterprise is the one that Siren brought with them. Ms. Amagi believed that Enterprise might be held somewhere within Siren Field Headquarters or the captured Azur Lane Regional HQ, though until we can confirm her IFFs' location that's only speculation at best…I've been trying my SG radar too but, so far, I got nothing." Helena said to William in a low tone while she frowned in sadness…

…William sat beside Helena as he processed the news, the fact that a single Siren could defeat Enterprise alongside the ship girls with her means that Siren is bad news for all of them. Enterprise, Atago, Hipper, Prinz, and Takao? Seasoned ship girls with colorful combat records under their belts and battle proven warriors? All five of them are defeated in combat by a single Siren? William suspected that Siren is the answer for the power increase that humanity showed during this battle…

"How are the other four? Are they okay?" William asked Helena.

"All of them are bedridden at the moment, commander." Helena said to William in a low tone.

"I see…" William said to Helena before he looked down on the ground.

"…Milord?" Illustrious asked William as she stared at him.

"I'm fine, Illy." William said to Illustrious before popping the last jerky from his MRE packs into his mouth.

He knew that they would suffer casualties sometime during this entire operation, he expected that some of the girls would get hurt during the fight against Orochi. But to think that the most seasoned ship girls can be defeated just like that and one of them got captured by these Sirens, William resolved himself to find Enterprise and bring her back to them. But he needs to settle this matter first, to retake Azur Lane Regional Headquarters that has been turned into a Siren base. The human army managed to push the frontline to just five hundred meters outside the captured headquarters, but they couldn't push it further with the HQ being heavily defended by Siren infantry and armor. The plan is quite simple, the whole human army provides suppressing fire for the assault team who will breach the perimeter which is followed by said team causing as much havoc as physically and psychologically possible within the Siren fortification. To do that, William will be going with three squads of Seraphs that consist of fifteen operators to cause as much chaos as possible.

Those Seraphs are on standby all around them, doing the final check for their equipment and weapons. They are waiting for the army to get into position and ready themselves for the saturation attack, the cover will distract the Sirens from engaging the Seraphs and William. The group was waiting on top of the building with their target five hundred meters away while keeping their heads down. Luckily, the building has pretty tall walls around the rooftops so in a sense, they are concealed from direct view…Anyway, William, Illustrious, Helena, and Cleveland are huddled together as they wait for the green light coming from Lena who rejoined the assault army. The four of them sit together near the rooftop entrance, enjoying some light lunch that Illustrious brought with her when they were leaving the staging area. She knows the three of them have fought hard, they could use something in their stomachs.

"Since when did you call Illustrious with that nickname, commander?" Cleveland asked William while she pouted a bit.

"Hmm, ever since that vacation? I think?" William answered Cleveland's question.

"Ufufufufu, yes that is true. I still remember it very clearly." Illustrious said out loud after she giggled.

"Huh, so there's some kind of development going on back then." Cleveland said out loud.

"Yeah, we should go on that kind of vacation again sometime." William said out loud.

"U-Um, commander?" Helena asked William.

"Yes?" William asked Helena back.

"Can I suggest that we go camping for our next vacation? On the foot of the mountain, maybe?" Helena asked William while she smiled a bit.

"Oh? That's a great idea Helena." William said to Helena while he smiled then proceeded to pat her on the head.

"Hehehe, thank you." Helena giggled sheepishly.

"Camping at the foot of the mountain? Oh yeah! I think we got a pretty tall mountain near our base, there's a river too, so we should be good!" Cleveland said out loud while she grinned.

"Sounds like it will be fun." Illustrious commented while she smiled.

"Then that's what we're going to do after this battle, god knows we will need the vacation." William said out loud.

"Knight, this is Athena. We're almost in position, we'll be commencing the attack in five minutes. Ready yourself." Lena said to William on the radio.

"Roger that, thanks for the head's up." William said to Lena on the radio.

Five minutes, he had better prepare himself. William stood up and went inside the rooftop entrance, he stopped at the stairwell and mentally prepared himself…What? He's still a man who's about to charge at a Siren fortification with just fifteen allies, of course he's nervous! William regulated his breathing in an effort to calm himself down, he will get through this, he trusted Illustrious' abilities, and he will take back the captured headquarters from those Sirens…While he did that, someone entered through the door he just went through, that person then sneaked up behind William before giving the man a soft hug from the back…

"…Illy?" It doesn't take a genius to know who did that.

"Let me stay like this, just for a bit." Illustrious said to William in a low tone.

William just smiled as he turned around and softly embraced the woman, being careful so he wouldn't crush her with his overwhelming strength combined with his armor. Illustrious isn't satisfied to be honest, she wants to hug his body directly, not limited by his metal armor that's hard and uncomfortable to hug. The hug did wonders to William though, he instantly felt at ease and felt he could take on anything. A hug from someone did have an amazing effect, especially coming from a woman that William liked.

"Are you worried?" William asked Illustrious in a soft tone.

"Of course I would. I believe in the miracles that I will cast upon you; it will protect you during your flight to your destination…It's just, I'm worried when I know that you will dive head first into a fortification full of Sirens, milord." Illustrious said to William while she frowned.

"Honestly, me too…But I'll pull through, I have more reasons not to die now." William said to Illustrious.

"Oh yes, you're a father now…" Illustrious said to William in a low tone…

"…Why do I hear some sort of dissatisfied tone there, Illy?" William asked Illustrious as he held her chin and made her look at his face.

"…You noticed?" Illustrious asked William while she smiled bitterly.

"I do, but I don't know the cause…What is it?" William asked Illustrious while he smiled a bit.

"…Lord William, do you love me?" Illustrious suddenly asked William.

"…I liked you a lot, Illy. I don't know if it's love or not, honestly, I'm quite a mess when it comes to relationship norms. But I care about you a lot…Why do you ask? You know how I feel about you." William said to Illustrious in a serious tone.

"I want to be sure milord, because I love you so much yet I know that I can't keep you for myself. But I still want to be in a relationship with you, just like you with Hood...I don't want to be on the sidelines anymore, I felt jealous whenever I see you and Hood, I felt jealous when Belfast accompanied you every night. I want to receive your love and affection as well, to feel the joy of being with the man I love from the bottom of my heart." Illustrious said to William in a soft affectionate tone while her cheeks reddened.

Yup, one woman who bares her heart for him has managed to make the battle-hardened super soldier like William blush. What is it with Royal ladies and their ability to arrange words that could tug his heartstrings easily huh?! Admittedly, he's quite biased since William already liked Illustrious as someone who could possibly be more than friends, but to hear that confession straight from her is something else. William could feel the love and passion Illustrious has for him just from that short sentence alone, and he wants nothing more than to return it to her. He doesn't want to neglect any of the girls who have feelings for him as he will answer them as best as he could, it's not because of his job anymore…it's because he genuinely cared for all of them, and he doesn't mind if they want to take a step further…what kind of man wouldn't, though?

"…I see...Then don't be shy to ask for it from now on, Illy." William said to Illustrious while he smiled softly.

"I'm so happy to hear that, milord!" Illustrious said to William while she smiled widely, tears started to form in the corner of her eyes because she's happy that her feelings are answered.

"There there." William said to Illustrious as he wiped her tears with his gloved fingers.

"…Milord William, I swear that I will stay by your side forever. No matter what happens in the future." Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Even if we have to fight the entire world?" William asked Illustrious in a serious tone, because that's a serious vow right there.

"Even if the world turns against you, I will stay by your side to support you. This, I swear it." Illustrious said to William in a serious tone.

Huh, guess she doesn't mind to follow him in the event they have to fight everyone else on this planet, is that how much she loved him? William wasn't able to ask her because as soon as she finished her vow, Illustrious immediately pulled him down a bit while she tiptoed, then she planted her lips on William's own. The man was caught off guard but he quickly melted into her kiss as well, he felt his heart beating quickly and he embraced Illustrious more tightly than before…both of them separated after being connected for a while, both of them had red cheeks and panting slightly for air. Yup, if William felt he could take on anything before now he felt invincible, that nothing will go wrong on this mission and he's more determined than ever to get this done.

"I just put a blessing on you~" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Blessing? I thought you'd give us the assault team a miracle before we take off?" William asked Illustrious while he smiled.

"This one is very special, a blessing that I will only give to you…a maiden's prayer for her beloved~" Illustrious said to William while she smiled then winked.

"Heh…thank you, I'll be sure to put it to good use." William said to Illustrious while he smiled widely.

"Please do. And, once you're back…" Illustrious said to William while her cheeks reddened once again.

"Once I'm back?" William cocked his eyebrows as he asked Illustrious.

"…I would like to have a private dinner with you." Illustrious said to William while she smiled and blushed at the same time.

"Sorry, but I already promised Cleveland and Helena that I'll be treating them to dinner tonight." William said to Illustrious while he smiled apologetically.

"I understand, then allow me to join you…though, we can continue spending the night together in your room, privately?" Illustrious asked William while she smiled slightly.

"Ah sure, you want to drink wine and chat huh?" William said to Illustrious while he nodded.

"Perhaps~" Illustrious said to William while she smiled meaningfully.

"Alright, sounds like a plan." William said to Illustrious.

Illustrious smiled before she pecked William in the lips then proceeded to head back to the rooftops, she has more than that planned for tonight, but she'll let that be a surprise for him. Illustrious is confident that he would not resist her for some…exercise. It is unfortunate that she can't have him for herself for dinner, but oh well, Helena and Cleveland have done a tremendous job today, so Illustrious thinks that they deserved to have dinner treated by William. The man in question only smiled as he stared at Illustrious' retreating figure, then he proceeded to summon his phone. He contacted Hood, after a few days of not contacting her…He did talk to her through online chat, but he decided that he wanted to hear her voice just before he's about to duke it out with the Sirens. And possibly, tell her regarding the recent development…his call is answered a few seconds after he dialed her numbers.

"Hello dear." Hood answered the call in a calm manner.

"Hey Hood, how are you doing?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"I'm doing fine, I'm just discussing several things with Bismarck over afternoon tea." Hood said to William on the phone.

"Really? What did you talk about?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"Oh this and that, alongside the fact that you managed to impregnate our head maid." In an instant, William felt his entire body go rigid.

"…Um…yeah, about that…" William said to Hood while he cringed.

"I'm surprised you didn't tell me about it." Hood said to William on the phone.

"I want to, but I haven't found the right time…" William said to Hood on the phone while he frowned.

"You did have a week to tell me." Hood said to William on the phone.

"I didn't even know if that's possible until two days ago." William said to Hood on the phone.

"Didn't you tell Belfast to start thinking for a name when she told you that she's ovulating? Wasn't that before you decided to ejaculate inside her multiple times?" …

"…Belfast told you everything, huh?" William asked Hood on the phone with half closed eye.

"She did ask for my permission before she went to take care of you." Hood said to William on the phone.

"And then she told you how it goes…" William said to Hood on the phone.

"Yes, she reasoned that as your first girlfriend I have the right to know. But I didn't expect you to be such a beast to her." Hood said to William on the phone.

"I kind of lost control back then. But don't worry, I'll make it up for not telling you." William said to Hood on the phone while he grinned.

"…Will, you and I both agreed that you could have a relationship with other women because it won't be fair to hog you. But at least tell me about it, you don't have to hide anything from me. I won't get mad, it's something that I've chosen to go through with the moment I wanted to be in a relationship with you. Imagine my shock when I heard that you decided to have a baby with Belfast" …

"…Yeah, sorry. I admit it's my fault, I called you today to tell you that but…it seems you already know since a long time ago." William said to Hood on the phone while he smiled apologetically.

"I gave you a week to explain yourself, but I guess you really want to wait for the confirmation first huh?" Hood asked William on the phone.

"To be honest, I didn't expect it to be that easy…I was wrong." William said to Hood on the phone while he shrugged.

"Hah…well, what's done is done. Belfast also told me of the conversation between you two and High Commander Carville, I will be sure to prepare in case someone is trying to gather information about us all. Ms. Akashi already has a plan in mind." …What Belfast did tell Hood, huh?

"Understood…Hood, I'm about to dive head first into a Siren fortification. When I return home, you could do whatever you want to me. As an apology for staying silent about my shenanigans here." William said to Hood on the phone.

"Oh I will make sure to take advantage of that, just you wait~" Hood said to William on the phone.

"Hehe, right…Well, I have to go. Also, tell Bismarck that her drone got destroyed, and that I'm sorry for that." William said to Hood on the phone.

"…She said that it's no problem…I wish you luck William, we all await your triumphant return alongside the other girls out there." Hood said to William on the phone in a soft tone.

"Thank you, Hood." William said to Hood on the phone.

The man stored his phone before he leaned on the wall behind him…mother of god he didn't think of the possibility of Belfast telling Hood everything, no wonder she seemed calm when he said that Hood's going to kill him if she knew about this from someone else. He was wrong, Hood already knew before Belfast decided to help him relieve his sexual urges…Belfast was right that Hood is an understanding person as he did exaggerate her potential response to the news, he felt wrong not telling her that sooner but…he did have some doubt that it would be THAT easy to make a KANSEN pregnant…Oh well, he'll have to start using condoms whenever he has sex now. Unless the girls really want a baby or they're taking pills, he honestly liked doing it raw-

"Hmm?" William noticed something fell from his armored hip pocket.

It's a red paper with strings attached to it, William picked it off the ground and he smiled. It's the good luck charm that Nagato gave to him before he took off, it still looks fresh albeit the paper is a bit folded in some parts, no doubt because he's being frisky during battle. William stared at the charm for a bit longer before he decided to put the charm back inside his pocket, he'll need all the luck he can get…He returned to the rooftop as he put on his helmet, he stared at the headquarters and noticed that the Sirens are already entrenched while occasionally firing at the humans who got too close…This is it, once they're inside they have to blitz through hundreds of Sirens to disable the defenses as soon as possible. William looked at the Seraphs before he motioned them to gather around, the Seraphs immediately stopped whatever they're doing and gathered around William.

"Alright lads, let's review the plan…We go in, cripple the Siren defenses while we massacre as many Sirens as possible then bail out when our army pushes into the headquarters. Squads One and Two will take the sides while Squad Three will be going around causing chaos as much as possible around the headquarters' walls. Take the heat off Squad One and Two while I head inside to reactivate our own defensive emplacements around the HQ, that's all…Any questions before we head off?" William asked the Seraphs.

"Sir, what if we run out of ammunition when it's not the time to pull back yet? Can we disengage and rearm?" One of the Seraphs asked William.

"No, pick up the weaponry those troopers carry if you're out of ammo. We need to keep the momentum in our favor." William said to the Seraph.

"What if we've completed our objectives while you haven't sir? You're going inside the headquarters, after all." Another Seraph asked William.

"In that case, once Squad One and Two have completed their objective, pull out, and support the advancing army to breach the front gate. Don't hang around for me." William said to the Seraph.

"Understood sir." The Seraph said to William.

"If there's no more questions, get into formation. The signal should be given soon." William said out loud.

The Seraphs quickly got into a five-man wedge formation; they readied their Heavy Machine Gun Missile Launcher Hybrid weapon codenamed 'Kaminoyari' in their hands. The Seraphs activated their jump jet packs and ready it for one long burst flight toward their target, unlike William's jet thrusters, the Seraphs' maneuverability is quite limited, so they can't just suddenly change their flight direction instantaneously. So, with that in mind, they're going to fly in a straight route without any detours and thus the reason why Illustrious' ability is needed. The said woman was standing behind the formation with Helena and Cleveland slightly behind her, the three of them stared at the Seraphs while they waited for the signal to be given. William walked toward Illustrious as he summoned his carbine, after this maneuver he wanted Illustrious, Helena, and Cleveland to head back to Terranova immediately.

"Illy, Cleve, Helena, once we take off you three head back to Terranova immediately." William said to the three of them.

"Yes milord." Illustrious said to William.

"Yeah, we need to form a plan to search for Enterprise." Cleveland said out loud.

"That's right. I'll join you all once I'm done here." William said to Cleveland.

"Knight, it's time. You ready?" Lena suddenly asked William on the radio.

"No time like the present." William said to Lena on the radio.

"Good, we'll commence the attack in thirty seconds. Get ready." Lena said to William on the radio.

"Illy, it's time." William said to Illustrious.

Illustrious nodded her head, she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. Few seconds later, her body glows brightly and is followed by William and the Seraphs whose bodies also start to glow white yellowish. William felt…comfortable? Content? He doesn't know, but it feels like he's being eased by something, assured that everything's going to be alright. He honestly has never been affected by Illustrious' power even though he knows the effect, so this is how it feels. He feels so comfortable that he could just fall asleep while standing, but it's not the time for that yet. He might want to call Illustrious if he has trouble sleeping though, her power seems more effective than sleeping pills.

"Holy light, grant these brave men your blessings!" Illustrious said out loud.

"…I never know how it exactly works." Cleveland whispered to Helena.

"Does it really matter? Though I think it has something to do with how strong Illustrious' own convictions are." Helena whispered to Cleveland.

"Huh? Really?" Cleveland whispered to Helena in confusion.

"It's my own theory, but it really fits with the fact that her abilities seemingly activate whenever she prays to that light or something." Helena whispered to Cleveland.

"Milord, the blessing of holy light is with you. Good hunting, my dear lord William~" Illustrious said to William in a soft tone while she smiled.

"Thank you, Illy...Seraphs! Move out!" William said to Illustrious before he shouted his orders.

The Seraphs activated their jump jets and started flying toward their target, William nodded at his ship girls before he ran for a bit then activated his own jet thrusters. Their departure is accompanied by thunderous weapon fire coming from the human army around them…Illustrious waved at his retreating figure while Helena and Cleveland stared at Illustrious with a suspicious glance, the both of them could detect her overflowing affection from the way she called his name alone…What happened between both of them when Illustrious said she wanted to talk to William privately?! Something must've happened! Illustrious felt that someone was gazing at her intensely and turned around to see both Helena and Cleveland eyeing her for some reason, Illustrious cocked her eyebrows a bit as she curiously asked them what is it that bothered them.

"Is there something wrong, Helena, Cleveland?" Illustrious asked the both of them while she smiled.

"I don't know. Did something happen between you and Commander William?" Cleveland asked Illustrious while she folded her arms.

"…That's a secret~" Illustrious said to Cleveland while she winked and stuck her tongue out a bit, Cleveland could only stare back with exasperated gaze…of course she won't just blab about it.

PSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIU!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

TRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

WHOOSH!

BOOOM!

Plasma bolts, lasers, bullets, shells, missiles, and rockets flying all around William and the Seraphs, some managed to hit the Seraphs, but the protection Illustrious casted upon them completely negated the projectile's effect. The Sirens are definitely pinned down but those who braved themselves to open fire actually try to shoot down William and the Seraphs, the more ineffective their shots the more the Sirens fired as many projectiles as they can toward them. William and the Seraphs kept their course steady and they reached the headquarters' wall a few seconds later, the group immediately opened fire at the Sirens defending the captured headquarters. The Seraphs headed for their designated position, three squads consisting of fifteen soldiers immediately caused chaos inside the Siren's perimeter. The Siren Troopers switched their fire to the Seraphs instead of the attacking human army, the Spider Tanks, and Siren Mechs kept firing at the human army but without the anti-personnel fire from the Siren Troopers, the human infantries are able to push toward the headquarters by moving between the buildings.

The assault is proceeding as planned, the Seraphs make quick work on the infantry attacking them and quickly take out the Sirens' own fortifications by targeting their internal generators. With the Siren fortifications becoming crippled, the Sirens only have their units to defend the captured Azur Lane headquarters. The mechs worked especially hard to keep the advancing human army at bay, until one of them got hit dozens of times by big shells before they exploded after their shield collapsed and sustained too much damage. The MCPs led by Major Akira Yamato rained the Siren Mechs with their relentless assault cannon fire, the Siren Mechs quickly switched their targets toward the MCPs and as the result allowed the human tanks and APCs to focus their fire on the mechs. With overwhelming firepower pounding the Siren mechs, it didn't take long for them to slowly fall back from their position which opened the path to the front entrance of the headquarters. The combined human army will be able to finish off the local Siren forces momentarily and it's a fundamental success for them, but something equally important is happening inside the headquarters.

TRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Three Siren Troopers fell dead on the floor with bullet holes all over their bodies and oozing yellow blood, William swiftly moved toward the control center after ramming the front entrance open and started murdering any Sirens within his sight. William rapidly fired his carbine as he ran, he didn't stop for anything as he made his way to his destination. Several Siren Troopers huddled together near the lift area and they're the welcoming committee for William, the man saw the barricade and he clicked his tongue in annoyance. William summoned a frag grenade, pulled the pin then threw it toward the Siren Troopers. The Siren Troopers scattered to avoid the grenade which exploded shortly and took out two of the troopers, William dashed past the area, turned around as he flew and fired at the surviving Siren Troopers. William entered the elevator, pressed the button for the fifteenth floor and reloaded his carbine as the elevator door closed.

"Friendly contact detected, USS Enterprise." Aibou suddenly informed William.

"Enterprise?! Where is she!?" William asked Aibou.

"IFF emitter signal origin suggested that she's on the basement level five." Aibou said to William.

"Mark her position and set up a waypoint." William said to Aibou.

William's HUD lit up a bit and Enterprise's location was pinpointed on his screen, as much as he'd like to immediately go and rescue her, he's still got a job to do, and that's to reactivate the defensive emplacements in the headquarters. Siren reinforcements are surely not far from this place, the human army will need those fortifications online. William waited in the moving elevator while thinking that Amagi's assumption is on point, she correctly deduced that Enterprise is being held at two possible locations within New York and now he just detected her IFF. Heh, William honestly has a soft spot for a woman strategist, and Amagi is no exception. William would've been racking his brain for quite a while in trying to deduce where Enterprise could've been taken after she's captured, Amagi made that conclusion in the heat of battle. Did she deduce that based on Sirens' behavior that she learned from all this time? Or is it simply because their field headquarters are located in a very safe position within New York? Amagi is studious so the first reason is quite possible, the second one? William honestly thought that it's a combination of practicality, lucky guessing, and some other factor that William wouldn't know unless he asked her directly.

"Fifteenth Floor, command center." The voice on the elevator announced out loud.

William looked at the map, radar hybrid interface on the lower left corner of his HUD, there's several red dots in the corridor in front of the elevator door. William opened the elevator door and immediately rushed ahead while firing his carbine, the Siren Troopers are waiting for William, and they immediately fill the corridor with hails of plasma bolts. William managed to take down five of the Siren Troopers before he had to take cover because his shield was getting low and an alarm was already blaring inside his helmet; he had to be creative to clear the corridor. William summoned a flashbang while his shield recharged, took out the pin, and threw it to the corridor filled with Sirens.

BANG!

Once the explosion was heard William immediately emerged from his cover while firing at anything resembling a Siren, William sprinted past the Siren Troopers while firing his carbine relentlessly. It doesn't take long before the magazine runs dry while there's still some Sirens in front of him, the control center is close, but it's guarded by Siren Troopers and Brawlers. The Siren Slayer wouldn't be able to be used effectively within the corridors he's in, William then chooses to summon his ASM2 while storing the carbine. The Brawlers charged at William who raised his shotgun and began unloading pellets at the incoming Brawlers, 8 gauge shells rapidly ejected from the shotgun as testament to how William rapidly fired the weapon. The Brawlers didn't stand a chance, almost all of them got taken out in one shot to the head. The Brawlers noticed that they couldn't overwhelm William with numbers, so they decided to pull back to the entrance of the command center. William noticed that the Siren Troopers formed another barricade, but this time some of them shouldered a bulky weapon on their shoulders…

"Shite!" William muttered as he dashed to the room to his left side by ramming the wooden door.

PSIU!

PSIU!

PSIU!

PSIU!

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The area where William stood was blown away and scorched by four large yellow plasma bolts, William sighed in relief for a bit as he racked his brain for the solution of this predicament…What did the Sirens just used? It's a plasma launcher, an anti-tank and anti-personnel weapon that the Sirens have been actively employing during this battle. William has read the reports that the Sirens used this weapon sparingly in the past, but majority of the time they're seen carrying a plasma rifle or carbine and on rare occasions carrying a plasma repeater that functioned like a machine gun. But during this battle? Many of them could be seen carrying the launcher and repeater, it might have something to do with the fact that this is a massive battle, so the Sirens are pulling out their big guns fully knowing humans will do the same.

PSIU!

BOOM!

The walls to his room are blown away and William raises his shotgun, the Sirens are gathering in the entrance to his room. They have him cornered in some kind of office, William moved back and hid himself behind a desk while he reloaded his shotgun as fast yet as stealthy as possible. He could hear commotion from the entrance but he couldn't really make sense of the words being used because of the heavy filter the Siren Troopers have, yeah, they can speak human languages, but their helmet filters often make them hard to understand for some reason! Can't those troopers just communicate with their internal radio while preventing their words from coming out of their helmets? They'll be silent and deadly…William! Stop giving the enemy ideas for fuck sake! The man shook his head as he loaded the last shell to his shotgun and prepared himself to engage the party outside. That is, until he heard three clunking sounds coming from the center of the room followed by beeping sounds.

PSIUBAM!

PSIUBAM!

PSIUBAM!

The Sirens threw three plasma grenades into the room, scorching and blowing away seventy percent of the room in a bright red plasma explosion. Luckily, they threw the grenade to the center of the room because William is hiding on the corner, he retaliated by throwing his own frag grenade to the entrance. There's some commotion as the Siren scattered from the area, the grenade exploded while William sprinted toward the wall and rammed through it which resulted in him coming out behind the Siren Troopers and Brawlers. William could ram through a brick wall, but only when he's wearing his armor because even then it still hurts to do so! He doesn't want to imagine how it feels to ram a concrete wall, no way he could do that without thicker and more powerful armor…William raised his shotgun and rapidly fired at the Sirens in front of him, the Siren Troopers and Brawlers fall dead after William emptied his shotgun at them. Reloading the damn gun would take some time and would be quite a pain in the ass, so William stored his shotgun and looted a plasma carbine from the floor alongside four plasma grenades. This will do for a while.

William rammed the door to the command center; the room was empty with the screens and consoles staying on. He couldn't see any corpses in sight, it's like everyone disappeared without turning off the consoles. The Sirens must've taken them to be converted into Brawlers or even food for those creatures, he doesn't know what happened to them, but sitting and thinking about it wouldn't accomplish anything. William approached one of the consoles and started typing on the keyboard, he immediately went to the defense control panel and reactivated the defenses around the headquarters. William then proceeded to check the CCTVs' view, and he saw the human defensive emplacements around the HQ immediately went online and started firing at the Sirens all around the headquarters. The auto turrets mowed down the infantry, the cannons fired at the spider tanks or Siren Mechs, and lastly the SAM turrets were actively hunting Siren jets. Bob's your uncle, it's bloody well done, William thought to himself.

"Knight, this is Athena. The defenses are online, and they're immediately putting the hurt on the Sirens, good job." Lena said to William on the radio.

"Thanks. Listen, Enterprise's IFFs were detected within the headquarters, looks like the Sirens brought her here for some reason. I'm going to rescue her." William said to Lena on the radio.

"Enterprise's IFFs? So close to our position?" Lena asked William on the radio.

"Yeah, Amagi was on point with her deduction." William said to Lena on the radio as he operated the console again.

"…Be careful Will, something doesn't smell right there." Lena said to William on the radio.

"…Roger that." William said to Lena on the radio.

…Now that Lena mentioned it, why would the Sirens bring Enterprise, a valuable prisoner to a place so close to the frontline? William missed this subtle clue, he's just relieved that he now knows where Enterprise is. He didn't think twice that this could be a trap…No, trap or not, Enterprise is his subordinate, his comrade, and his friend, even if it's a trap he'll go willingly to spring it. William operated the console to show him the CCTV view of basement level five…It's a holding complex where it's used to hold prisoners, where's Enterprise though? William scanned the available views but all he saw were Siren Troopers patrolling the area…William decided to risk it all, he's going to get in there and open each available room to search for her. He could try contacting her through radio, but what if that compromises his position? Wait, they should've known that he's been here ever since he entered the HQ.

"Enterprise, this is William. Come in." William contacted Enterprise on the radio.

William tried several times as he made his way back to the elevator, but he got no response from her…Either she's unconscious or she's in a situation where she can't answer a radio hail, that's just more reason for him to go and rescue her quickly. William rode the elevator to basement level five, the door opened and William aimed his plasma carbine at the area in front of him. It's another large corridor that also serves as a lobby for this prison area, however there are no Siren Troopers in sight. William checked his radar map hybrid interface once again and he saw no red dots detected around him…

"Aibou, scan for Enterprise's IFF." William said to Aibou.

"Enterprise's IFF detected." Aibou said to William.

The markers for Enterprise location are highlighted on William's HUD and his radar map, once he knows where she is William immediately sets off to the indicated location. Siren Troopers that encountered him are either caught off guard or severely outmatched as William rapidly fires his plasma carbine at them, he's getting closer and closer to Enterprise's position. He finally reaches it, but he's blocked by a double door. William looked at the sign on top of it that reads 'Storage Room'…Storage room? Why did the Sirens hold Enterprise inside the storage room? William didn't care in the slightest as he kicked the door open…The room was empty, save for someone sitting in a chair near the back of it. Her white hair and outfit immediately gave away her identity as the person William is looking for, she slouched on her seat and was looking at the floor.

"Enterprise!" William said her name as he approached her.

But Enterprise didn't respond to William's call, the man cocked his eyebrows in confusion and he got close to her. He looked at Enterprise and found her muttering something under her shaky breath, William kneeled in front of Enterprise, put his plasma carbine down, grabbed Enterprise's face, and made her look at him…William's eye widened and he frowned deeply as he saw her face, Enterprise eyes are unfocused as if she's trying to avoid looking at something but somehow can't, her frowning lips tremble and she's muttering something unclear…

"Enterprise? Hey, it's me, William" William said to Enterprise.

"…Our world…by our own hands…" Enterprise muttered to herself.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" William asked Enterprise.

"…After all we've suffered…after all we did…everything is meaningless…it's meaningless…meaningless..." Enterprise muttered to herself.

"Hey, what are you talking about?" William asked Enterprise while he frowned.

"The Sirens…are they here to help us…or punish us…I don't…I just don't want to lose my friends, my family…I don't want to lose him…no…I can't-"

SLAP!

Enterprise widened her eyes as her head turned to the side, she returned her gaze to the front as she held her right cheek with her right hand…William just did something he didn't want to do but necessary in this situation, he needed her to focus. Enterprise finally got a good look at William and she suddenly teared up, the woman shot toward him and hugged the man tightly. William was confused as to why Enterprise would do this so suddenly or even what the hell is happening with her but he could ask her all that later, William returned the hug for a bit before he took the plasma carbine and stood up while bringing Enterprise along with him.

"Enterprise, I don't know what happened but right now I need you to stay sharp, we're not out of the woods yet." William said to Enterprise in a serious tone.

"…O-Okay commander…thank you, for coming to rescue me…how did you know I'm here?" Enterprise asked William in a relieved tone.

"Combination of Amagi's deduction and luck. Can you walk?" William asked Enterprise.

"…Yes commander." Enterprise said to William as she summoned her bow.

"Good, let's get out of here." William said to Enterprise as he turned around.

Suddenly something wrapped William's stomach, yanked him backward and caused him to crash into another room. Enterprise widened her eyes and summoned her bow and arrow, in front of her? Stood Observer Alpha herself with her riggings and tentacles behind her. Enterprise immediately released her light arrow but it was stopped by one of Observer Alpha's tentacles, she clicked her tongue as she kept firing her arrows but Observer Alpha kept grabbing or deflecting her arrows with her tentacles. Enterprise clicked her tongue harder; she knew that going melee against Observer Alpha is not the wisest decision. So how could she defeat her? The room is too small for…Enterprise draws her bow again and launches another arrow, but this time it transforms into an F4F Wildcat.

BRAK!

"…Hmph, you're quite desperate~" Observer Alpha said out loud.

The F4F Wildcat stopped before it could reach Observer Alpha, the Siren successfully used her tentacles to stop the plane from hitting her. The room was too small for Enterprise to summon the plane in the first place, so the summoned plane had its wings cut and was quite slow since it grazed the room's walls, it was no surprise that Observer Alpha could catch the plane easily. Observer Alpha smirked triumphantly as her tentacles crushed the plane and turned it into condensed scrap before moving it to the side, Enterprise still has a lot to improve. Ash would've given her so much trouble if she's in Enterprise's position right now, Observer Alpha noted that something's moving behind her and quickly retracted her tentacles…her tentacles caught a blade, the Siren Slayer Blade. William recovered from the shock and pain of being thrown into a brick wall quickly, he then dashed forward with his broadsword fully intending to stab the bitch in the back…obviously, that plan failed.

"Oho, you're quick to recover, commander~" Observer Alpha said to William while she smirked.

"I think I've said it to you before, piss off!" William said to Observer Alpha while he scowled.

"Well why don't you make me, hmm?" Observer Alpha asked William while she smirked.

William grabbed one of Observer Alpha's tentacles, set his stance and threw her away from the room Enterprise is in. Observer Alpha landed smoothly on the floor, but before she could look up William was already in front of her with his broadsword mid-swing. Observer Alpha kept smirking confidently, did he really think he could kill her that easily? Observer Alpha's tentacle protected her head by crossing themselves to block the broadsword. William widened his eye; her tentacles could block his full powered blade swing? He has enough strength to lift up a Spider Tank, but his full powered blade swing could be stopped by Observer Alpha's tentacles? Oh, this is not good news to him, he will have to form a tactic if he wants to defeat her, and he can't use the same tactic twice if he fails!

"Bold move, commander~" Observer Alpha said to William while she grinned a bit.

"…What do you want?" William asked Observer Alpha as he dashed backward to gain some distance and reset his stance.

"You." Observer Alpha said to William while she smiled.

"…Well, sorry to say, I'm not really interested in interspecies sex." William said to Observer Alpha while he stored his blade and summoned his plasma carbine.

"Oh you hurt me~, am I not attractive enough?" Observer Alpha asked William coyly.

"Maybe lose the murderous kink against our kind, and I'll be willing to overlook that you're an alien." William said to Observer Alpha as he aimed his plasma carbine at her.

"Ufufufufufu…I see you haven't told him, Enterprise?" Observer Alpha asked out loud as she looked past William.

William cocked his eyebrows as he glanced a bit to his right and found Enterprise aiming her bow at Observer Alpha…Now William is confused on what she talked about with Observer Alpha that leaves her in that state when he found her? What is she hiding, no, not telling him? William is sure that Enterprise will tell what's on her mind if he asks her later, they need to get out of here first and Observer Alpha stood between them and the elevator. But before William could press on the trigger of his plasma carbine something happened, a portal appeared beside Observer Alpha and a black armored tall figure appeared from the portal. William widened his eye but he tried hard to mask his surprise…

"Ah, you're here at last, Nyx." Observer Alpha said to Nyx while she smiled a bit.

"Didn't I tell you that I'll be late?" Nyx asked Observer Alpha.

"Ufufufu, yes you did. Well, shall we begin the test?" Observer Alpha said out loud.

"Don't say anything, Will." William could hear Nyx's words inside his head…

"Hmm…Enterprise will surely try to interfere, no?" Nyx asked Observer Alpha in an amused tone.

"Ah you're right." Observer Alpha said out loud.

Observer Alpha snapped her fingers and William widened his eye; there's no portal behind Observer Alpha or Nyx. He instantly looked to the right and saw Enterprise in the middle of falling inside a portal that appeared beneath her. William held the plasma carbine with his left hand as he shot his right hand toward Enterprise. The woman outstretched her left hand as far as she could, with this range William could easily catch her from going nowhere. Or, go inside with her and escape this nonsense!

PSIU!

SCRACK!

"COMMANDER!" Enterprise shouted at William.

The portal closed and Enterprise went through it completely, William's shield alarm rang loudly as an indicator that his shield was depleted. His right lower arm armor was scorched as the plate becomes black and producing thin smokes, William felt the burning pain on his right lower arm, but he's too shocked to register the pain completely…William slowly turned his head to the left toward Observer Alpha's and Nyx's direction, there he saw Nyx aiming a large hand cannon with a rectangular barrel at him…Nyx took out his gun, aimed, and fired at William's right hand within a second…he has great reflexes and is still accurate enough to hit something as small as a hand. William has suspicion that Nyx is someone he doesn't want to take lightly, but it's confirmed now that he's extremely dangerous. William turned his body toward the Sirens once again as his entire body glows blue, his shield is recharged, and it's set to take another punishment.

"Sorry to do that mate, but that portal is ladies only." Nyx said to William in an amused tone.

"The fuck, Nyx!?" William said to Nyx as he aimed his plasma carbine at him.

"This is a test I want you to take, commander, you are to fight and survive against Nyx." Observer Alpha said to William.

"I don't want anything to do with this, get out of my way, or I'll make you!" William said to Observer Alpha while he growled.

"Fufu, then beat Nyx, commander. But that might be too high of a hurdle, let me change the terms. If you can survive against Nyx for three minutes, I'll let you go willingly." Observer Alpha said to William while she smiled.

"Accept her challenge, William. It's the only way." Nyx said to William in his mind…

That's the only way to escape? Huh…William doesn't have a choice now…It seems this is one of those 'tests' that Nyx and other Sirens mentioned to him in the past…But still, survive fighting against Nyx? William doesn't even know how powerful he is! But he suspected that Nyx is stronger than Midnight. With all of that psionic bullshit that he pulled in the past? His accuracy and reflexes just now? Combine that with the abilities he probably has because William is sure that he doesn't wear that armor just to look fancy. William felt himself sweating in nervousness at the prospect of facing someone like Nyx, this is just like when he first encountered Midnight. He might have been in contact with Nyx, but he's basically dealing with an unknown enemy here, he has zero clue regarding Nyx's combat prowess. But regardless, William had to do something, so he squeezed the plasma carbine's trigger.

PSIU!

BRANK!

The plasma carbine got blown up and what remains in William's hand is just the handle and the fore grip, William quickly let go of them and summoned his assault carbine then fired at Midnight the moment it materialized on his hands.

BANG!

PSIU!

BRANK!

…Even the assault carbine got destroyed by a bright blue projectile coming from Nyx's hand cannon, the weapon is immensely powerful, and William wouldn't even trust that his shield could tank its raw power! William stared at Nyx who got his right pauldron chipped a bit, that one round must've almost hit him. William pursed his lips, so gauss weaponry could damage his armor, that's crucial info…Still, hypothetically speaking he could do it, William shouldn't kill Nyx. He could still be a potential ally for them, so William should cripple, not kill…He only got his gauss revolver as the only option to wound Nyx, he better save that for a sure shot. Nyx stepped forward for a bit before his body suddenly enveloped in blue light, very similar to how William's energy shield recharge…What? That bastard purposely doesn't have his shield up?! He's that confident in facing William without a shield before?!

"Now now, fighting with a gun? There's no thrill in that, William. If we're going to fight? We'll do it mano e mano." Nyx said to William in an amused tone.

Observer Alpha walked back and stood near the elevator while Nyx walked toward him…Shit…William sighed, the two male Sirens he met had him end up being involved with close quarter combat with them. Hah…William somehow lamented that he can't use a stand in the real world, he could've recreated that legendary scene where two of the users approached each other, menacingly…Huh, William thought that a close quarter unarmed fight like this will be really impactful if there's some BGM to it. Nyx walked toward William in full confidence, the man in turn also walked, then noticed that Nyx snapped his fingers and summoned some kind of a speaker near Observer Alpha's location…what?

"Could use some BGM for this one, eh?" Nyx said to William in an amused tone.

---

(Il Vento D'oro started playing)

---

"Son of a bitch, you read my mind." William said to Nyx while he scowled.

"I sure did." Nyx said to William in an amused tone.

The two of them suddenly sprinted forward before coming in immediate contact with one another, William launched a full powered right hook which was redirected by Nyx's right hand. Nyx then jabbed William's head and caused him to stagger a bit, he lost twenty five percent of his shield integrity from a single jab so there's no way he can keep tanking direct hits from Nyx. William sent an uppercut that connected with Nyx's helmet, his shield flared up as it absorbed the damage. Both combatants have energy shields, and both are strong enough to break through them with enough melee attacks, this is going to be a race to who can get the other's shield down first. Nyx dashed forward with a left jab to the head which William narrowly avoided by moving his head to the left a bit, then he launched a counter by grabbing Nyx by the neck, slid his legs, and slammed him down to the floor. William intended to sit on his stomach while launching punching barrages, but Nyx figured out what he wanted to do to him, so Nyx extended his legs before launching a side kick toward William. The man noted the incoming kick and blocked it with his left hand, Nyx immediately spun around and slid. William who then proceeded to fall to the floor.

William activated his jet thruster to get some distance from Nyx, but he blitzed forward, grabbed William's right leg and slammed him back to the floor. Nyx sent a downward punch which was blocked by William crossing his arms in front of him, then William kicked Nyx straight in the head which caused him to be thrown back. Nyx flipped himself and landed perfectly on his knee while he skidded on the floor for a bit to stop his momentum, William got up and set his unarmed combat stance once again. It's time for him to get back on the offense, William sprinted toward Nyx who set up his guarding stance. William sent in a gut punch which Nyx blocked easily, but William didn't let up as he quickly used his left hand to send another gut punch. The punch was unfortunately also blocked by Nyx, that's when William jumped toward Nyx, hitting his helmet with his own and the momentum was enough to send Nyx staggering backwards. William immediately rushed in while sending a knee kick, Nyx further staggered back, and William continued his relentless assault by launching punching and kicking barrages at Nyx.

"Heh! Now this is fun!" Nyx said out loud in an amused tone.

Nyx stopped William's right fist and launched a right hook to William's head, the man caught Nyx right lower arm, dragged Nyx toward him and headbutted him again to stun him. Then William grabbed the edge of Nyx's torso armor before throwing Nyx to the corridor wall, William continued by launching a right haymaker toward Nyx. He evaded William's fist and caused it to hit the wall behind him which blew a hole on the point of impact, William pulled back while he ducked as he avoided a high kick coming from Nyx. William dashed forward while grabbing Nyx's left leg, slid his right leg, and put him down on the floor once again. But Nyx spun himself as he fell and kicked William with his floating right leg so hard in the head that William got thrown into the wall, William staggered as he tried to keep standing due to the dizziness he experienced from the impact. Nyx ran forward and launched a thrust kick toward William's head, it resulted in him getting thrown back, flipped twice in the air, and landed harshly on his front…William groaned as he tried to get up once again, this looked bad for him. Nyx could keep up with him easily, but even then, there's this unmistakable gut feeling that William doesn't put that much pressure on Nyx despite landing solid hits…

"Get up William, we still got two and half minutes." Nyx said to William.

Two and a half minutes remaining? Huh, can't believe that intense fight happened in just thirty seconds…William got up and set his fighting stance again, he's got to survive this. William has some doubt that Nyx is really going to kill him but he doesn't want to bet on that assumption, he has to win with his own effort. William dashed forward, but this time he's not going to stick to his limbs only, the man fired his grappling hook toward Nyx who dodged it narrowly and caused the hook to hit the elevator door. William used his jet thrusters and grappling hook to approach Nyx quickly before launching a lariat toward him, Nyx's body glows bright blue as he confidently stood his ground and took on William's full powered lariat with his left arm. But instead of carrying Nyx along with him, William got thrown off balance and went skidding on the floor. William quickly regained his balance and kneeled…It's like hitting an immovable object! Seriously! He's even heavier than a Spider Tank? How is that possible?! William ignored that fact and rushed toward Nyx, he launched a full powered swinging kick toward Nyx and hit his side. William then launched multiple hooks against Nyx's helmet, throwing jabs at his abdomen before ending it with a full powered uppercut. That's when William finally pulled back…

"…What the fuck?!" William exclaimed out loud.

"Surprised? You should've known better than to hit someone that glows brightly for some reason." Nyx said to William in an amused tone.

The glow died down and Nyx charged at William, the man racked his brain on a strategy to beat Nyx before he realized something…Nyx can read his mind, if he thought of something then there's a big chance that Nyx would already know about it. If he wants to surprise Nyx then he has to do the action spontaneously, like on the spot improvisation…Fine, if that's what it takes. William charged at Nyx as well, both launched right hooks and their fists collided in the middle. It produced loud thud due to the force of the impact, Nyx's left leg swings toward William's head, which he avoided by ducking. That was followed by Nyx's right leg swinging and William avoided that one as well, Nyx's back was exposed and William quickly took advantage of that by summoning his revolver and aimed it at Nyx's right leg. However, Nyx immediately vanished from his view. William heard a loud thud behind him and he instinctively spun around and fired his gauss revolver, but the bullet only hit a wall next to Observer Alpha. Something caused his aim to miss, and it was revealed in the form of Nyx who seemingly appeared out of thin air with his right hand that's holding William's right wrist.

"What did I tell you about fighting with guns, hmm?" Nyx asked William as he bent William's wrist in the wrong way.

"ARRRGH!" William couldn't help but shout in pain.

William dropped his revolver after Nyx flicked William's right wrist, the gun fell to the floor and Nyx kicked it backwards toward Observer Alpha. The Siren bent down and picked up the gun before she inspected it, William chose to pull back while he gritted his teeth. His HUD showed him that his health gauge has reduced to eighty five percent…Huh? William doesn't feel anything wrong but it shows him that he has taken some damage? Maybe the sensor is too sensitive so William chose to ignore that for now, he shouldn't worry so much unless it fell to fifty percent or when he feels REALLY bad. William looked past Nyx and saw Observer Alpha's fiddling with his revolver, he couldn't help but to scowl at the fact now he only has his shotgun and blade…If he lost them as well, he got some explaining to do to Diana and prepare for the inevitable scolding.

"A double action revolver chambered in .500 magnum rounds, propelled by gunpowder-based explosion, and further accelerated by the magnetic acceleration principle in the barrel…This weapon is surely overkill, so this is what the humans came up with as the answer for our ground forces, hmm?" Observer Alpha said out loud while she inspected the weapon.

"Overkill? Speak for yourself." William said to Observer Alpha while he scoffed.

"Oh? You think we are overwhelming? We restrained ourselves, you know? We haven't brought our full might and I'm pretty sure you don't want to find out." Observer Alpha said to William.

"Honestly, yeah. I don't…So what can we agree with so you'll leave us alone?" William asked Observer Alpha while he grimaced.

"…Enterprise will explain it to you." Observer Alpha said to William while she smirked.

"What did you tell her?" William asked Observer Alpha while he scowled.

"Not me, why don't you ask the gentleman in front of you?" Observer Alpha said to William while she smiled sardonically.

"…Nyx?" William turned his attention to Nyx.

"I told her nothing but the truth, William. She, you, and the rest of the humans in this world must come to terms with that reality. There's no avoiding it." Nyx said to William cryptically.

"You're talking in puzzles, sorry to say, I'm no fan of that." William said to Nyx while he scowled.

"Hmph, I know. So why don't we continue eh? One and a half minutes remaining, William." Nyx said to William in an amused tone.

William growled before he immediately sprinted forward and Nyx followed suit, both of them exchanged blows once again. The longer they fight, the more William realizes that there's something off about Nyx's combat technique. It felt similar, too similar, yet different at the same time. But in the middle of an unarmed melee duel that's happening between them now? William doesn't have time to think about it too much. Nyx launched several successive hooks which William managed to dodge or block; William then countered by kneeing Nyx in the gut. That caused him to stagger which caused William to dash forward and launch multiple jabs at Nyx's body, Nyx recovered quickly and caught William's right hand, pulled him close and headbutted him. William was knocked backwards, and that's the opening Nyx immediately exploited by grabbing his legs and launching him to the wall, the impact knocked the wind out of him, and Nyx let him fall to the floor…Now William is pissed, he had enough with this test or whatever! He's going all out and he doesn't care if this resulted in him severely injuring Nyx!

William got up, charged and went on relentless assault mode which forced Nyx to be on the defensive by blocking or sometimes countering William's attacks, William let his primal instinct take over as he fought with the ferocity of a rabid animal. No punches or kicks from Nyx could force him down, every time he staggered then he would quickly recover before going on offense again, every time he got knocked down William didn't spend long being on the floor as he quickly got up then started attacking Nyx once again. The man solely dedicated his focus and willpower on beating Nyx, he doesn't care with the fact that Nyx is stronger than him. William landed many solid hits against Nyx's body; however, he didn't seem to be affected that much. Instead, Nyx looks like he enjoyed this moment…This is it. William charged at Nyx, launched several jabs, two spinning kicks that caused Nyx to have his balance off, one gut punch which caused him to bend his body then William ended his relentless assault with a full powered charged right haymaker as he roared with his full might. Nyx just recovered when William's right fist hit his head and he received the full brunt of the attack. His shield instantly collapsed from the impact and the momentum sent him flying all the way to Observer Alpha's position, Nyx's back collided with the elevator's door and even bent it…After all of that, Nyx only shook his head a bit before he chuckled...

"…Hehehehehe…damn, now that's quite something!" Nyx said out loud after he chuckled in amusement.

"He finally showed his true power, just right at the end." Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

"No, he still got a limiter on. We haven't seen his true potential yet." Nyx said to Observer Alpha as he stood up.

"Hmm, maybe he doesn't realize the limit yet? How about you show him how powerful someone can be, Nyx?" Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

"Huh, maybe you're right…William here does need to know that despite his power, there will always be something even more powerful to surpass." Nyx said out loud.

Nyx walked forward a bit before his entire body got enveloped in a thin blue flare, William narrowed his eye as he noticed that the thing that envelops Nyx is different than his shield. It's like an energy flare, one he often sees in fantasy anime…Nyx opened his right palm and a blue concentrated energy projectile shot out of it! William dodged the projectile narrowly, what the hell is that?! Nyx shot out three more of those projectiles which William kept dodging easily, he really didn't want to get hit by one! William was about to charge at Nyx when something restrained his limbs…William looked at his arms and legs, there were blue energy like tentacles wrapping them and despite being pure energy? They feel pretty solid! William traced the tentacles, and he saw that it came from the energy balls that Nyx threw at him. How did he manage to do that?! William tries to struggle, but even with his strength it's quite hard for him to make any notable difference, the tentacles just won't break!

"The sky is not the limit, have you heard of that phrase before? Something even more powerful will always be there whenever you think you're strong enough. Be complacent, and you'll suffer the price, William." Nyx said to William as he approached him.

"What is all this!?" William asked Nyx.

"Magic." Nyx said to William, just like when William asked him regarding that psionic link…

"Don't give me that answer!" William said to Nyx while he scowled.

"I admit that it's more than that, but that's a simpler concept, so your mind could accept it easily compared to me explaining to you about the realm of psionic science. Thus, it is easier to say that it's magic. In a sense, it's also the closest we'll ever get to actual magic use in the real world." Nyx said to William as he stopped in front of him.

William already knew that Nyx has psionic powers, but he never anticipated that he could use it for combat as well! For the sake of pretending not to know though, he decided to ask Nyx out loud. So, Nyx could also manifest then manipulate the psionic energy to do something like he did just now, creating balls of energy that could somehow form energy tentacles with it! Now that he thought about it, some of the ship girls themselves are able to use 'magic' themselves. Those hailing from the Sakura Empire could be seen as quite proficient with them, with the example being Akagi and Kaga, whose riggings have a spectral-like form. William just dismissed the thought that it's possible because both of them have Wisdom Cube as their literal souls. Nyx? Not so much, granted William didn't know him, but the fact that he could manipulate energy freely like this means he's more proficient at it than Akagi and Kaga. William isn't sure that Akagi and Kaga manipulated psionic energy anyway, there's a chance that it's different.

"No, it technically works the same. Psionic energy? They have a lot of potential and not even I know the full extent of what we can do with it. But it is clear that if we're going to use magic in the real world, this is the answer." Nyx said to William.

"Stop reading my mind for fuck sake!" William said to Nyx while he growled.

"Well, I have to educate you regarding this matter, you'll thank me in the future…You see William? There will always be something or someone out there that will be above you in terms of anything. In your line of work, you want to be the strongest, you want to be the best so you can protect those who you care about. You want the powers to do so quickly, but are you ready for the pitfall? If you want a quick solution, you must prepare for the consequences." Nyx said William in an amused tone.

Nyx read his mind again. It's clear to William that he will have to take psionic users as a direct threat from now on, he has to be stronger and quickly. But just as Nyx said, William doesn't want to be lost in that pitfall. Just the thought of what's currently happening to his body is already making him uncomfortable. What if he became too obsessed with getting stronger? He almost did that back then when he was training non-stop and almost neglected the girls. He can get steadily stronger by training sparingly, but will there be enough time? How long would it take before Siren just decided to steamroll them? Nyx got closer to William, grabbed his helmet chin, and made him look at Nyx.

"The Sirens will watch your progress. For the sake of this world and everyone you hold dear, don't disappoint, William." Nyx said to William.

"Time's up Nyx, we have to let him go. Let's return to the field headquarters." Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

"Right, glad to see he could hold up to your standards." Nyx said to Observer Alpha.

"You're cutting corners by talking to him though." Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

"You get the data despite that, so spare me this one." Nyx said to Observer Alpha.

"Hah…you're lucky that he could fulfill the parameters, knock him out." Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

BBBZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTT!

"GRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" William roared in pain.

The tentacles that bind William suddenly electrocuted him, the voltage is high enough to cause immense pain and caused William to go unconscious. The tentacles disappeared and William fell flat on the floor, Nyx stared at him for a bit before he turned around and walked toward Observer Alpha. The both of them then entered the portal that Observer Alpha created and they disappeared, leaving the unconscious William on the floor…

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…William regained his consciousness, he got himself up from the floor and leaned on the wall since he hadn't regained his senses completely yet. William looked around and then he remembered what happened, he got electrocuted. William briefly glanced at the health gauge under his shield meter and that's when he noticed it, the HUD was glitching a lot. The gauges are unstable and there's flickering all over the screen, did that electrocution also mess with his system? If it's pure electric then the system should be fine, so there's a chance that it also has the EMP effect that crashed his armor system and messed with the sensors.

"Aibou, status." William said to Aibou.

"SYsteM…sENsoR…SeVERe damage, ImmEdiatE…repair necessARY…" Aibou informed William in an unstable tone.

"Shite…Well, I better get out of here first." William muttered to himself.

William slowly walked toward the elevator, he tore open the broken door and used the elevator to go back to the surface level…William walked out of the elevator and he immediately saw several human soldiers from Azur Lane and Crimson Axis loitering around the area, they are surprised to see William but they asked no questions regarding why did he just appear now. They said that Lena has been trying to contact him through radio but he didn't respond, which must've happened when he's unconscious. William tries to contact Lena, but that's when he discovers that his radio broke, so he borrowed a soldier's radio to contact Lena and request a pickup and saying that he will explain everything on Terranova. After thanking the soldiers, William walked outside to the courtyard where the Acheron Dropship was already waiting for him with Belfast standing near the hatch. William was surprised to see her here, but he felt at ease seeing her after all he has been through today. William walked quickly toward the dropship, he just wanted to be done from combat for the rest of the day.

"Master William." Belfast greeted William with a curtsy.

"Bel, it's good to see you but don't force yourself too much, okay?" William said to Belfast.

"You worry too much, master. Welcoming you is not a hard task, I merely refrained from being too tired or participating in combat." Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Ah right." William said to Belfast as he stood in front of her.

"…Your armor looks to be quite damaged, and there's this burning smell coming off from you, are you alright?" Belfast asked William as she frowned in concern.

"I was involved in a tough fight, but I'm fine now." William said to Belfast as he sat down in the passenger seat.

"I strongly suggest that you rest after what you've been through today, master." Belfast said to William as she sat beside him.

"Yeah, agreed." William said to Belfast as the dropship took off and closed the rear hatch.

Belfast smiled softly as she grabbed William's helmet and took it off slowly, she put the helmet on the seat beside her. Belfast carefully looks at William, and sure enough, she can see the tiredness in his eye and the subtle frown on his lips, it looks like William is feeling down for some reason. Belfast scooted closer and then give him a soft kiss on the lips, William widened his eye a bit in surprise, but Belfast already pulled away from him before he can respond…That put a smile on his face though, Belfast is just welcoming him back, and that fact alone make him felt at ease at the moment. William decided to rest his head on the seat behind him, but Belfast softly guided his head to her lap and had William use them as his pillow while he laid on the seat. Belfast then softly stroked his hair while occasionally massaging his head to release any pent-up stress without doing sexual acts, she kept doing that for the duration of the flight…

…William and Belfast arrived on the Terranova after a short flight, and as soon as they touched down the both of them were greeted by Amagi who urged them both to follow her. Amagi led her to the VIP meeting room where many of the ship girls had gathered. William noted that the room feels bleak, there's this uncomfortable atmosphere all around the room. Enterprise stood in front of the podium with her head looking down on the floor, she momentarily looked at William before she returned to her previous posture. Someone patted William on the shoulder, it's Lucas who just entered the room alongside Lena who nodded at William. Then there's Admiral Stanford who's followed by several colonels…What's happening? Lucas even set up hologram projectors which shown the projection of Chairman Erich, several generals like Blackmore, admirals, air marshals, and the nation leaders from all factions around the world…Now William is starting to feel nervous, does this have something to do with what Enterprise talked about with Nyx? Is it so important that everyone important has to be present at the same time?

"High Commander Carville, we are ready." Erich said to Lucas.

"…Alright…Everyone, we have just received new intel regarding the Sirens. I will stress this fact, all of you should listen intently and take this seriously." Lucas said out loud.

"What could possibly be so important that we all have to gather here? What intel are you talking about, High Commander?" One of the country leaders asked Lucas.

"Intel that changed the game, this whole war with the Sirens. I implore all of you to listen carefully, because this will determine our future and survival…Enterprise, the stage is yours…tell us everything that you know." Lucas said to that person before he nodded at Enterprise.

…William joined Enterprise on stage, he stood beside her and held her left shoulder to assure her. Enterprise grabbed his hand with her own as if to draw some courage from the act, she controlled her breathing before she looked up with determined gaze…Enterprise then recounted her experience for everyone to hear, she told them the dialogue she had with Observer Alpha and Nyx regarding the fact on why Sirens are here. She told them about Nyx, who's actually a human and that the Enterprise who beat them is also a human ship girl, she told everyone that they've come from an alternate universe that was similar to their own. She explained the part about the fact that Sirens are basically unbeatable, and the only way for them to survive is by participating in the experiments they're doing to humanity. Enterprise said loud and clear to forget about any conventional methods to defeat the Sirens. No matter how many they've killed, Sirens could replenish their own numbers easily. They are limitless and trying to actually beat them in any warfare is a suicidal move, the only thing they can do is to survive their experiments.

Then Enterprise told her about the vision she saw with Nyx's help. The world they currently live in? Is overpopulated, polluted, and becoming less hospitable to inhabit with each passing year...She basically witnessed what would happen if the Sirens didn't come. In the vision, she witnessed a Great War although it happened in the far future. Why did that war happen? Overpopulation resulted in the scarcity of resources which resulted in humanity fighting for what remains on the dying planet. She saw the KANSENs killing each other based on the country they represented, she saw female looking androids being deployed to replace the dwindling number of human soldiers, highly autonomous advanced war machines being deployed on the battlefield, the free use of nuclear missiles in open warfare, the use of bio weapons that resulted in disease spreading everywhere that could turn humans into mutants and the catastrophic impact of the war to earth itself. By the time the war ended, humanity is on the brink of extinction and even then, some factions still wage smaller wars with one another, fighting for any control left of the almost depleted resources on a dying planet. She witnessed that very few humans have managed to launch themselves into space to seek a new home amongst the stars, even then the ships are split into conflicting factions and battle one another in orbit despite their common goals.

The Sirens prevented that. They travelled into this reality and prevented that from happening, how did they do that? By making sure humanity has a common enemy to fight and at the same time, getting rid of the primary cause of that conflict itself. Yes, this war is their salvation. This current state where the Sirens attacked New York? It's nothing but a small early step in their long plan of experiments. With a common enemy to fight, humanity would be less inclined to be conflicted with one another, they would use the salvaged technology from the Sirens' fallen war machine as a way to improve their current technology that slowly kills the planet that they inhabit…So what prevented the humans from just sacrificing large number of people willingly so the Sirens will leave them alone? It's not as simple as that. The Sirens want humans to evolve quickly to save themselves from their own destruction, but that must be done through their own hard work and efforts. In order to reach that point where humanity would be technologically advanced enough to sustain themselves on earth without damaging the planet further? First, humanity must know pain and suffering.

That's where the Siren military is specialized in. Siren military units are varied and each have their own specialties. There's the general warfare section where they basically act like the equivalent of common human military units, there's the subterfuge section where they're focused on infiltration, sabotage, and misinformation acts against the humans on that timeline, there's the terror section where it's focused on the development of creatures or machines, so horrific that its primary task is synonymous with the last section, the cleansers. The cleanser and terror section work hand-in-hand, they are deployed when the Sirens deemed the humanity on the timeline that they're on is no longer worth saving. These two sections will then work together to cleanse the earth from any trace of the human race, they will then either use it as their base or even staging area for their assets. All of that? While keeping the planet pristine…

That's not the end of it, Nyx informed Enterprise that the Sirens themselves are so widespread that there are multiple primary commands spread across all the timelines and future timelines they will operate on. Their goals? Not always synonymous! Few commands determined that humanity is the true mistake that can only be redeemed by changing them all the way to their DNA structure, basically turning the human race into mutants that suits these Siren Commands' visions of humanity. Many operate with unknown agendas and goals that not even other Sirens know what they are planning on the timeline they're on. Then there's a few like the one the humans on this timeline fought, who believe humanity could be redeemed through pain and suffering of warfare, to have a brighter future than what would have happened if the Sirens didn't intervene…By this point, everyone already knows that the Sirens are actually humans. Enterprise further explained that the Sirens are indeed created by the humans on their original timeline to replace the ship girls themselves, although Nyx didn't elaborate further on what other function the Sirens have other than replacing the ship girls. But they should care about the current situation on the timeline they're on, the Sirens could help them, but at the same time they're going to make humanity suffer first.

So, are the Sirens truly evil? It's a very gray area to explore, one that could leave everyone debating about it forever…Enterprise finished her explanation and the room fell silent, only the ambient sounds of Terranova's engine could be heard among the room occupants. William was stunned from hearing all of the information that Enterprise just gave them, it is too precise, too detailed, and too structured to be considered as a lie or even hallucination…No, William remember that Nyx has the power to do so, it is very plausible for him to give that kind of vision to Enterprise. Little by little chatter fills the room, William could hear some sniffling coming from someone, and the disbelieved tone some have in their voices. This information changes everything, it changes the end goals, it changes their outlook on everything in life, and it even convinced William that they are doomed unless they willingly participate in the experiments these Sirens are conducting on them…Lucas takes over the podium Enterprise is on by softly nudging her, Enterprise walked toward William's side, and immediately hugged the man who immediately caressed her head softly as he hugged her back. She has witnessed so many horrifying things in that vision and clearly in need of comfort right now, every one of them here does…

"What if that intel was false? It's too detailed! What kind of organization would just leak their plans like that to the enemy!?"

"Didn't you hear what she said? That thing, Nyx, helped us immensely with this information! We should immediately act to preserve our race!"

"Easier said than done! How do you plan on saving millions of people within a short amount of time?!"

"We should just use their plans earlier! Get into space and abandon this planet!"

"And where do you plan on heading!? We don't even know whether there's a planet similar to earth out there! Not to mention, building the space ship itself!"

"Can't we just sacrifice some people to save the others?"

"What, you're planning to sacrifice the poor so the rich people can live in a false utopia?"

"Outrageous! Do not twist my words!"

"How are we going to keep up the fight for the long run? We'll run out of men quicker than our ammo."

"We should choose our battles wisely from now on."

"Is there a possible way we could construct orbital stations and use them as command centers until the Sirens are done with us?"

"You're asking to get killed with that method. Even if we separate each country and alliance command into different stations, one well-placed shot is all it takes to effectively end the resistance."

"Do you believe that space stations are that fragile?"

"I do and mark my words; Sirens will find a way to kill you up there."

"We need to start planning for a long fight, overhaul our economic plans and local policies."

"Yes, but people will find out about this, the last thing we want is a mass hysteria because of this newfound knowledge."

"We can try to ease the decision down periodically to avoid suspicion, make it seem like the consequences of a long conflict with the Sirens."

BANG!

…The whole room that was full of arguments immediately went silent when they heard a loud gunshot. It was Lucas who just fired his magnum revolver into the ceiling to get everyone's attention. He doesn't care if this act seems savage or even downright unprofessional and dangerous, he's not going to let these arguments go further. They have to show a united front! And for that? They have to discuss the problem thoroughly; today's meeting only serves as the introduction to the shit show they're participating in. If they want a solution then they should discuss it in separate meetings and Lucas knows there will be one in the immediate future. Lucas motioned William to get the ship girls out of the room, the man immediately caught on his clue and used hand signs for the girls to follow him outside. The ship girls stood up and left without questioning anything else, they just simply wanted to get out of the room and process all of the information dump they just got…After William and the ship girls left the room, Lucas moved the hologram screens to his front so he could face the audiences. He's got something important he really wants to say.

"Listen everyone, we are collectively screwed. If we want to survive this? We have to work together and discuss an optimal course of action to take very soon. No hidden agendas, no taking advantage of situation to save yourself, no using it to gain profits, we work together to survive without gaining anything besides the purely increase chance for us to live through the Sirens' interference…In this case, either you're with the collective who want to survive this entire mess or against it by acting on your own. Frankly speaking, I don't care what you choose, but as High Commander of Azur Lane I am going to do whatever it takes to make sure humanity still has a chance for a bright future, and I welcome anyone who is willing to join the cause…Ladies and gentleman, I urge you to think this through and come up with a decision soon, on which path you want your countries to take. Any solution we might decide on? They will need a lot of planning and the sooner we agree on something then the better we will be able to adapt with this situation." Lucas said out loud to the remaining audience of the meeting.

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…William won't lie, everyone's mood has been down ever since hearing what Enterprise has to say. Even the cheerful and optimistic girls like Bremerton were down in the dumps, many of the girls have returned to their own rooms to wind down. William had them gathered in the canteen after that meeting in the VIP conference room, he himself felt like this fight? This Operation Eagle Storm? It feels like they haven't made a dent now even with them destroying hundreds of Siren ships, destroying thousands of their vehicles, and murdering thousands of Siren troops. Compared to the possible Siren attacks in the future? William isn't even sure that they will be able to keep their defenses intact then launch a counter attack at this scale in the future, but he believes that the fight is only truly over if they give up. So, what if the Sirens are infinite? That just means they'll never run out of targets to shoot at. It's also reassuring to know that the Sirens aim isn't total genocide, in a sense William and the ship girls will be fine if they could keep up the fight against them since they got the means…the ones who should be afraid are the civilians who will get massacred during every future invasion.

William knows the girls are dispirited, but William dropped this sentence 'I'm in this fight until the end, and I will do so until the Sirens leave us alone, no matter how long it takes. I'll be more than happy to lead every one of you on the upcoming fights, I will not forsake any of you'. William's word was laced with determination and raw desire that the girls felt his words calm them a bit, his words are in line with everything he has done in order to fight the Sirens, so it's more than just some empty words of comfort to throw around. The girls knew if there's anyone who's not going to give up the fight, it'll be William himself. After that, the girls dispersed from the canteen to rest with notice that this info is to be kept between themselves unless High Command decided to blab it out to the public…William walked to the VIP infirmary where some of the girls are being treated, each of them are separated by the green medical curtain. He saw a topless Arizona currently asleep with a bandaged chest, Maryland sleeping on her side on top of the bed, Gneisenau busy talking with Scharnhorst.

"…Hello you two. How are you doing, Gneisenau?" William greeted the sisters then approached them.

"Ah, kommandant. Everything is alright, my punctured lung has been healed by Vestal." Gneisenau said to William.

"Good then…How are your feelings though?" William asked Gneisenau.

"A defeat is a defeat, I let my guard down by focusing too much on Orochi. I have nothing to blame but myself, kommandant." Gneisenau said to William…

"…I see. Then improve yourself Gneisenau, you're still alive, so consider yourself lucky." William said to Gneisenau while he smiled a bit.

"Ja schwester, next time, we'll teach that arschloch as a lesson!" Scharnhorst said to Gneisenau while she grinned.

"Agreed…Vielen dank kommandant, for checking up on me." Gneisenau said to William while she smiled a bit.

"You're welcome. Get some rest Gneisenau, you too Scharnhorst, it's been a long day." William said to the sisters.

"Sure thing." Gneisenau said to William.

"Ja kommandant, I'm going to need a good drink tonight." Scharnhorst said to William while she grinned.

It's good to know both of them are alright now, William decided to leave them be and check on the others. He has to admit, he doesn't really interact with both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau that much. Then again, if you're in command of over a hundred ship girls then there will be some who he rarely interacts with. He should change that soon; he doesn't want to be seen playing favoritism even though he did like some of the ship girls just a bit more than others. Hey, he has preferences too, there's some people he just relates better or connects better as an individual. It's unavoidable for him to have few girls he liked more than the others even though he liked them all…William shook his head a bit as he walked over to one of the beds and saw Atago staring at the ceiling as she laid down on top of the bed, Atago doesn't seem to be severely injured from a glance.

"Atago." William called her name as he approached her bed side.

"Oh, shikikan-kun…" Atago said to William as she smiled a bit.

"How are you feeling right now?" William asked Atago.

"Vestal-san said that my liver is badly damaged, it's fine now since she used her abilities, but just in case I still have to rest with this." Atago said to William as she showed him the IV on her left hand.

"IV? Must be Regel." William said to Atago.

"Fufu, hai." Atago said to William.

"Is there anything you need?" William asked Atago.

"…Nee, William-kun" Atago called his name.

"What is it?" It's the first time Atago used his name, he instantly paid attention to her.

"Can you, pat my head?" Atago asked William as her lips pursed in anticipation.

…That's it? William did not hesitate to start petting her head softly, the woman sighed in contentment as she closed her eyes. It's usually Atago who would offer this kind of service to him, but William guesses that right now she's in a vulnerable state and just wants some comfort. William wants to pet her head directly though since his glove doesn't really convey the sensation, but taking it off means taking off his entire armor, and he really doesn't want to do that right now. Putting on and taking off his armor might be simpler ever since the modification but it's still a tedious process…

"That's enough William-kun, thank you for going along with my wish." Atago said to William while she smiled softly.

"It's fine, if you want more then don't be shy to ask in the future." William said to Atago while he smiled.

"Then I'll do just that…I'm feeling quite sleepy now." Atago said to William while she smiled.

"Alright then, sweet dreams Atago." William said to Atago while he smiled.

William caressed Atago's left cheek for a bit before he walked away, he then moved to the side to see Takao. The woman had bandage wrapping on her face, and when she saw William, she immediately hid her face beneath the blankets…William only snorted in amusement as he approached Takao's bed, he sat on the side and placed his head on top of Takao's covered head. She must've not wanted him to see her wounded face, honestly that sounds very girly for Takao who doesn't really act like a woman. Or that simply her showing her shame for failing the fight with that other Enterprise back then…

"Takao." William called her name.

"…Hai, shikikan-dono…" Takao responded in a small voice.

"Show me your face." William said to Takao.

"…D-Do I have to?" Takao asked William in a hesitant tone.

"As your commander, I have to know the extent of damage my subordinate received during battle. Don't worry, I won't judge." William said to Takao.

Takao seems to hesitate as William could see she's squirming under the blanket; she then slowly lowered the blanket from covering her head. William immediately frowned when he saw it, Takao's left face was covered by bandages and special medical eye cover. William could see the noticeable bump on her left cheek area, it looks like whoever hit her possessed tremendous strength that they could hurt Takao like this. Takao was looking to the side, her eyes avoiding looking at William's helmet visor. She honestly felt down that she didn't even last a few seconds in fighting Ash, not to mention half of her face was ruined because of that. Vestal's powers are needed for those who are less fortunate than her, those who get life threatening injuries, so Takao have to settle for Regel…William stared at Takao for a bit longer before he decided to just pat her head, an act that surprised her since her right eyes widened and causing her to look up to him.

"Hmm, I'm sure Regel therapy will heal you nicely…Don't worry, you might be defeated on this one, but you got a chance to live another day." William said to Takao while he smiled.

"I thought you're going to be disappointed in me, shikikan-dono" Takao said to William while she frowned.

"Huh? Why would I be disappointed in you? Takao, you're one of the ship girls that I have absolute confidence in any combat situation. I know how skilled you are with your blade, and you're among the best when it comes to close range fights, the fact that you're defeated today means the enemy is just that powerful and should serve as a wakeup call for you to not get complacent, to be better…Don't mull too long on your defeat." William said to Takao while he strokes her head softly.

"Like how you do it huh? When you were defeated by Midnight, I didn't really see you dispirited…" Takao said to William while she smiled sadly.

"To be honest, I felt that way too, albeit not for long. Instead, I was furious at myself for being so weak. I haven't had any intense training until that day. I know for a fact that contributed directly to why I was defeated so easily. And thus, I trained so hard that I almost neglected you and the others…" William said to Takao.

"Hai…I also thought that was the right thing to do. I will train myself to be better, shikikan-dono. It's just that the feelings are still fresh right now, I just need some time to motivate myself again." Takao said to William while she frowned a bit.

"Good, just don't be like me, okay?" William asked Takao while he grinned a bit.

"Ufufu-, ouch! H-Hai, shikikan-dono." Takao giggled shortly before she winced due to her injuries.

William nodded his head before he left Takao alone, the woman laid down on the bed with a bright smile on her face. Yeah, it's quite silly of her to think that William will be disappointed in her. Even while William is angry at them for making a mistake or causing troubles, he wouldn't do so for long. He won't hold it on any of the girls, he scolds them and that's it. He never hit the girls as punishment, he's so kind to them. And just now, Takao could clearly see that William was trying to cheer her up a bit. He's not a soothsayer that can weave words to charm and ease her so easily, but it's his effort that counts with her…William walked to the furthest end of the room, he saw Admiral Hipper who's asleep at the moment. He got close to inspect her face and couldn't see any damage on the surface, though that may be because Vestal already healed her injuries. William walked over to the last bed, and that's when he saw Prinz Eugen with her eyes closed. She was laying on top of the bed with an IV drip connected to her left hand. William approached her and checked for her injuries, that's when he noticed that there's a hole in her clothes' right stomach area, as if she's punctured by something.

"…You're staring for quite a bit, kommandant." William suddenly heard Prinz's voice.

"If you're awake you could just say so, Prinz." William said to Prinz who steadily opened her eyes.

"I was curious as to how long are you going to inspect it, even though it's already healed." Prinz said to William.

"Yeah, Vestal really saved you…So, how do you feel?" William asked Prinz.

"Angry? Confused? Hmm, I'd say I'm more confused right now…That Enterprise look-a-like, what kind of Siren is she?" Prinz asked out loud.

"…She's not a siren, she's a human." William said to Prinz while he scowled.

"Ha? Oi, William, I'm not in the mood for jokes right now." Prinz said to William while she frowned.

"I am not. Enterprise herself provided the intel, the Sirens blabbered on about their plans and the reason why they are here." William said to Prinz while he scowled.

"Then how come there are two Enterprises at the same time? Don't tell me it's because of something like an alternate reality?" Prinz said to William.

"Hah…yeah, that's what basically happened. The Sirens are not aliens, never have. They're humans just like us, ones who come from a different reality than our own. They want to experiment on us, using humanity as their test subjects. They said that it's for us, to evolve us so we can avoid our own destruction. And to achieve that? They wage war against us, saying that we can only achieve salvation after tasting the bitterness of war and suffering." William said to Prinz after he sighed.

"…At this rate, we'll be running ourselves to the ground first. I don't see why that would save us." Prinz said to William while she frowned.

"Speaking freely, it's a logical choice. We are actively trying to reengineer their tech which is without a doubt more environmentally friendly. If we keep going without their interference, our world will be consumed by a massive war due to overpopulation, environmental damage, and dwindling resources. That spells our doom as a civilization and species, because we're so close to reaching the point of no return…The Sirens instigated a war between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis, right? I don't know what made them choose to come out into the light and have both alliances fight them instead, but this war united most of us because we now have a common enemy to fight. They're still going to do mass genocide, we can assume that they do that to solve the overpopulation, right? Well, they won't let us sacrifice our own people to them because if we fail this 'experiment' they conducted? They'll steamroll us with overwhelming force using the unimaginable might of their full military power…Honestly? I don't know what to feel about all of this. But I'm not going to quit fighting them just because of that sweet end of the line prospect." William said to Prinz while he frowned.

Prinz stayed silent as she heard and processed everything William just said to her, the truth of their enemy is revealed at last, and she is not happy. All of them are nothing but experiment subjects for those Sirens? No matter their intention or end goals, Prinz found this entire matter to be annoying as hell. Why would the Sirens try to interfere with their lives? Don't they have anything better to do? But like it or not, this is the reality they're stuck with. It's not like they can travel to another one like the Sirens, all they have to do is to move into a different earth and problem solved…Prinz sighed softly, people say that ignorance is bliss, they're right. All of this would've been easier to experience if they didn't know why Sirens are doing this, but now that they know? Yeah, they are cursed with that knowledge…

"…What circumstances we find ourselves in…" Prinz said to William.

"…Yeah…We have no choice but to survive now, because there's no way we'll be able to beat them." William said to Prinz while he frowned.

"I wonder how the other me would feel about all of this." Prinz said out loud in wonder.

"Probably put it in the exact same words like you did just now." William said to Prinz while he shrugged.

"Fufufu…maybe…Hey Will, can you open your helmet?" Prinz asked William after she giggled a bit.

"Hmm? Sure." William said to Prinz as he took off his helmet.

"Lean closer please." Prinz said to William.

William leaned closer at Prinz while he cocked his eyebrows, did she miss him so much that she wanted to see his face? As soon as he leaned in, Prinz wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled William closer before she kissed him. William was safely surprised, but there's something he immediately noticed, the neediness in this kiss. Prinz kissed him like her life depended on it, William was surprised since this is the first time this happened…Prinz actually felt scared when she was floating on the water with a burning wound since it was exposed to the salt water, the reason is quite simple. She once asked herself when she saw William with Illustrious, what were her feelings for William? Is it respect? Admiration? Love? Lust? She gave him her virginity despite her still trying to sort her feelings, but that's because she already likes him and honestly doesn't mind having him as her first…Prinz found out today that liking him isn't enough, she felt much more than that…

Who is William Blaze according to Prinz's point of view? He's her handsome and capable commanding officer, a tall man who's packed with muscles, strong enough to combat any threat, and very good in bed. Heh, Prinz still remembers her first time back in that hotel, it's the first time she touched a man in that kind of manner, she secretly practiced fellatio in her spare time that started out because of curiosity, so she had no problem when she and St. Louis tagged team him in taking care of his huge penis. Oh, that battleship grade gun he has dangling between his legs and the big round ballast tank beneath it? It managed to stretch her vagina and fit inside it so nicely, the bulbous red tip always repeatedly deep kissed her cervix easily before he flooded her womb with flash flood of his thick cum that's filled with virile sperm repeatedly, if he already received his modification back then Prinz have no doubt that she would've been impregnated right there and then…Prinz could safely say that William Blaze is someone strong that can satisfy any woman in bed. But William Blaze is so much more than that.

Prinz has spent months by his side, she has plenty of chances to interact and observe him…William is so kind to the ship girls, he's willing to listen to them, talk to them, play along with them, and be a good commander for them. Sure, he can get angry or frustrated with the girls as well, and he will scold them if he deems it necessary, but he's quick to forgive them as long as the girls truly understand why he did that and are willing to fix their mistakes. He treated the girls, treated them with respect and care. But how about Prinz? How is her interaction with him? Honestly Prinz always tries to tease him because unlike their previous commander, William gave interesting reactions, and sometimes he went along with her antics. He doesn't pull any punches with her, if she makes mistakes, he will tell her off just like the others. He's a pleasant company to have, someone she always tries to drag into drinking with her, and someone she doesn't mind acting all sweet with.

So, he's someone she respected as a competent commanding officer, someone she admired as a person for his kindness toward the people he cared about added with his unbridled savagery to his enemies, he's someone she unknowingly falls in love with at some point during their time together, and he's someone she lusted over for he can make her feel appreciated as a woman with his sexual prowess. She found her answer, it's the combination of all of it, and she realized that while she was bleeding out in the middle of the battlefield. She was afraid that she couldn't convey her feelings to him. She realized that she still has so many things she wants to do in this world. Sure, she's been injured on multiple occasions during battles across her career, but that's the first time she was fatally injured and on the brink of death were it not for Vestal saving her life…Prinz let William's lips go, both of them are panting for air as they stared at each other.

"…Did I ever tell you that I like this new look of yours?" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

"What? My previous one doesn't interest you?" William asked Prinz as he cocked his eyebrows.

"Don't be silly, the dark grey hair combined with a fierce crimson eye? You just made me fall in love with you again~" Prinz said to William while she smirked and her cheeks became a bit red.

"Again? Heh, never thought you would feel that way about me." William said to Prinz while he smiled softly.

"Oh~? Despite me mounting and riding your burly cock during the vacation? I'm hurt~" Prinz asked William while she smiled confidently.

"Always figured that's just you being horny…Anyway, thank you for telling me how you feel." William said to Prinz while he smiled.

"…You're just going to hang up on me like that~?" Prinz asked in a playful manner but deep down her heart was beating rapidly in nervousness.

"Don't be silly, of course not…I like you a lot, but you do know that I can't be in a monogamous relationship with our situation?" William asked Prinz.

"What do you think we ship girls we discussed without you two days ago, hmm?" Prinz asked William while she stared at him.

"…Oh, is that so, should've figured that out huh, I'm really slow…Well then, whenever you want some love or affection, just say it." William said to Prinz while he smiled.

"Ja, mein liebe~" Prinz said to William while she smiled softly.

"Get some rest Prinz, the battle is not over yet." William said to Prinz while he smiled before he walked away.

Two girlfriends in a day and many more are suspected to be on the way! Take that Issei Hyodou! Goddamn he really has a harem now, William doesn't know if this is a blessing or a curse, but he has no intention of backing out. It's far too late to do that, he really doesn't feel like doing that anyway…William was about to walk away when he saw someone sitting in the corner of the room, hidden just by Prinz's curtain. That person is Vestal, she fell asleep while seated in the chair, her hair's messy, and William can tell even from afar that she is exhausted. William couldn't help himself but to shake his head while he smiled, Vestal is really dedicated to her work and thanks to her they won't have to hold any funerals for ALASUC today. William approached Vestal before he gently scooped her up in a princess carry style, he carried her petite frame to a spare bed on the infirmary then laid her down gently. William put a blanket over Vestal then took off her nurse hat before putting it on the nightstand, this hard-working medic definitely earned her rest. William bent down and briefly kissed her forehead, he smiled as he walked out of the infirmary…

…A few hours later…It was night time, William kept his promise with Helena, Illustrious, and Cleveland by making them a personal dinner. William cooked a simple meal of fried rice, he picked the dish, so he could throw in other ingredients like bits of meat and vegetables easily then cooked several runny sunny sides up eggs as complementary dishes. A simple dish that can be mixed with any ingredients, truly a cross cultural food. William brought the dishes out of the kitchen and the four of them ate dinner together. They recounted their experience today and discussed a few things over dinner and one of them regarding the intel about the Sirens. William knows the talk will head that way, as much as he wants to avoid talking about it and not let it linger on their minds too much. But it's their current reality, there's no way he can just put the topic aside. He assured the three ship girls and told them that he intends to uphold his words from this afternoon, he will keep fighting them and he asked the three ship girls if they will do the same? He was glad to hear the collective yes from them; he's got a feeling that Illustrious, Cleveland, and Helena won't shy away from fighting just because their enemy is limitless, but he felt reassured to hear them saying it directly.

After the dinner, Helena and Cleveland excused themselves to go outside for some fresh air while William and Illustrious decided to head toward William's room as he promised her this afternoon. Illustrious set the table that already had a wine bottle, two glasses, and an assortment of cookies before she waited for William as he went into the bathroom. The man took off his armor and took a shower. He's quite sweaty today due to the heavy combat, but strangely he didn't feel the usual spike in sexual drive just like he used to lately…Maybe that's because he's subconsciously still worried about the Sirens? Probably, he needs to stop from minding about it too much lest it'll distract him…William puts on a bathrobe and comes out of the bathroom, he still doesn't have clothes, so he could only settle with a bathrobe as his longue wear.

"Did you wait long?" William asked Illustrious as he approached Illustrious who already seated herself.

"Five minutes is hardly a long time, milord." Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Just want to make sure." William said to Illustrious as he sat beside her.

"Fufu, you require a lot of validation today." Illustrious said to William as she handed him a glass of wine.

"…With what we knew just know, I just want to be certain of everything." William said to Illustrious while he smiled bitterly.

"I see..." Illustrious said to William before she offered her glass for a toast.

TINK!

"…So, anything you want to talk about with me?" William asked Illustrious after he toasted with her then sipped on his wine.

"Not really, I just want to spend the night with you." Illustrious said to William as she leaned on his right shoulder.

"Well, I don't have any topics to talk with you that we've already talked about today…" William said to Illustrious.

Both William and Illustrious fell into silence, they just sat together while occasionally enjoying their wine and listening to the hum of Terranova's engine. William's mind went over to the Terranova for a bit, did you know that this ship actually has twelve high powered massive propellers and six separate engine rooms?! It doesn't take a nuclear engineer to know that building this ship must be some challenging engineering tasks for everyone involved. Oh right! This ship also runs on a nuclear reactor as well, surprised? There are also several backup diesel generators just in case EMP hits the ship thus when electronics go down, they can still operate the ship in analog mode like old times. That's also combined with the number of raw materials and components in the storage deep inside Terranova which are encased in EMP proof containers, they'll be used for repairs when-

"Actually milord, I have some confession to make." Illustrious said to William.

"I thought you already confessed to me earlier today." William said to Illustrious while he smiled.

"Fufufu, yes, I did. Although, this is a different one…" Illustrious said to William in low tone.

"About what?" William asked Illustrious.

Illustrious said nothing, but she stood up while she grabbed William's right hand and put her glass down, she beckoned him to stand up and William did after putting his empty glass on top of the table. Illustrious led him to the double bed, she sat on the edge and William followed suit…William's mind was racing at light speed as he thought of every possible scenario on what's going to happen, but what are the chances that Illustrious wants to have sex with him? Sheesh, his dick reacted a bit just from the thought of him going at it with the beautiful woman to his side right now. But he could misunderstand, so it's better for him to ask her.

"What is it, Illy? You know you can be honest with me." William said to Illustrious while he smiled.

"...William, I want you to make love to me." SCORE! Wait he has to respond to her so William nodded his head at Illustrious' words.

"I see…well, I did have a slight suspicion on why you wanted to be alone with me tonight. Yeah, let's do it." William said to Illustrious while his cheeks reddened a bit, hoo boy…he's excited to say the least.

William reached for the nightstand and opened the drawer on it, he then took out an unopened pack of condoms from the drawer. 0.1 millimeters, ultra-thin, ultra-durable, twenty pieces of extra-large sized elastic condoms. Yeah, he received few small packs filled with it when the Manjuus did a supply run back to their base. Belfast was the one who arranged it, so that has the correlation with what they're talking about during that meeting, William agreed to Belfast's idea because…well, what if one of the ship girls want to have sex with him but don't want to get pregnant? It will be bad if William accidentally discharged his cannon during deployment because William has no confidence in his pull-out game! He got addicted to the feeling of ejaculating inside ever since he did it for the first time! But now he felt at ease that he's got 'the sheath', the package is still sealed, so there's little chance of Belfast pranking him by making a hole in the condom hahaha! Suddenly, a hand reached toward William's right hand, took the package from his hand, then threw it somewhere into the room…The man was stunned for a bit before he widened his eye, okay what's the big idea?!

"Um, Illy, we're going to need that." William said to Illustrious while he pursed his lips.

"No, we won't~" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Oh, so you're on the pill, should've told me earlier." William said to Illustrious.

So Illustrious did plan this and she already took a birth control pill. Wow, Illustrious is really assertive when she wants to even though she doesn't look like it. Oh well, he's quite happy to know that because William really likes raw sex. It's just so different to do it with a condom even though it's necessary on occasions, but it looks like he can do it without one tonight, and he won't object to that. Illustrious moved in front of William before she sat on his lap as she faced his way, William could see that Illustrious was staring at his eye directly with red cheeks combined with half lidded eyes, and he doubted that's caused by the wine! Illustrious leaned in before she kissed him lovingly, William followed along while he started caressing Illustrious' body which earned a muffled moan of approval from her. However, before William could deep kiss the gorgeous lady, Illustrious pulled away from William and rested her chin over his left shoulder.

"…I never said that I'm on the pill, you know~?" Illustrious whispered to William in a sensual tone.

"…You could've just said that you're on your safe day Illy, no need to dance around like that." William said to Illustrious with half closed eye.

"Oh, but on the contrary." Illustrious said to William as she moved to face him directly.

"Contrary?" William asked Illustrious in a confused tone.

"Today should be the day, my ovaries are working hard, my womb is at peak fertility, and my cervix is opened widely just for you." Illustrious said to William while she smiled softly.

"Huh? Then why did you…Oh…" William widened his eye as something clicked inside his mind…

.

Enterprise walked beside Cleveland and Helena inside the VIP room corridor, all three of them had spent some time outside and it's getting late, so they agreed to head back inside. Cleveland and Helena found Enterprise staring at the moon outside, so they joined her and that's why they're walking back together right now. Enterprise was surprised to know that she can last this long after being so active today, but she guessed that's because she had been tense the whole day. She wants to sleep, but there's this gnawing feeling that if she fell asleep, she will undoubtedly relieve what she saw in the vision Nyx gave to her.

"…Hah, what a day." Enterprise said out loud after she sighed.

"It is. I just want to rest now." Cleveland said to Enterprise while she stretched herself.

"We're this beat up, so I'm amazed you're still awake right now, Enterprise." Helena said to Enterprise while she smiled.

"No, I'm pretty tired myself Helena. It's just that I know that I will have nightmares about what I've seen if I try to close my eyes…" Enterprise said to Helena while she frowned in sadness.

"You might want to get some sleeping pills then Enterprise, it works well to put you in a dreamless sleep." Helena said to Enterprise in a soft tone.

"Eh? Really? I just know that" Enterprise said to Helena while her eyes widened.

"Now you know~" Helena said to Enterprise while she smiled.

"Well, there's your solution." Cleveland said to Enterprise while she grinned.

"Thank you, Helena. I think I can sleep peacefully tonight." Enterprise said to Helena.

"You're welcome. We all definitely need it after-…I heard something." Helena suddenly said.

"Heard what?" Cleveland asked Helena as she stared at her.

"It's coming from the commander's room." Helena said to Cleveland.

William's room? What is he doing? The three of them collectively agreed to check him out, maybe he has a stomachache or something. The three ship girls approached his room and they narrowed their gaze, the door is ajar, why would William let his door not shut completely? As far as the girls know, William is the type to close the door to his room firmly. Enterprise, Cleveland, and Helena decided to peek into the room and the three of them had their eyes widened collectively and instantly…

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

'Careless Whisper sax started playing' Oooh~, I'm really sorry that the ending might give readers blue balls like those plasma grenades from Halo~. But seriously, it will be a very long chapter that will go through 30k words so yeah, let's save the steamy scenes for the next chapter, okay? Anyone up for the Illustrious lemon scene say aye! On a more serious note, this chapter revealed the Sirens' intentions on THIS timeline so what happens here? Pretty much only limited to this timeline and this faction of Sirens, making it contained in a sense. So, there you have it! Orochi is disabled, Nyx proved to be OP in combat, and this world is preparing themselves to survive Sirens' experimentation! The humans on this timeline got a long fight ahead of them. Anyway, thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews dear readers! We're closing this arc on the next chapter and we'll move on to the next one, pretty soon another faction other than the big four will be getting their spotlight! Which one is it? Stay tuned until then!

Until next time!

- Dasmara