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.

43. Operation KRAKEN

"They are here"

Compiler muttered to herself as she watched multiple hologram screens around her, showing the might of ALASUC force as they went toe to toe with the massive Siren defensive formation poised in front of their floating base. The combat has started for quite a bit, ALASUC proven themselves as a mighty opponent, even against the forces that Compiler has prepared to greet them. They're witling her forces bit by bit, at this rate, it won't be long before she has to commit her reinforcement.

"…Dear Compiler, I have arrived" A feminine voice said to Compiler from behind.

Compiler nodded her head and turned around, she immediately faced with someone that stood behind her with purple portal closing behind them. She's a fair skinned woman, with long flowing light brown hair that reached her hips alongside her swoop styled bangs, her face is covered with a white opera mask that hid her eyes alongside her upper face, her smirking lips decorated with red lipstick. The brunette woman is dressed in fancy white opera gown with golden vein motifs that would give Disney princesses a run for their money, with striking white full fingered arm gloves on her hands and white heels. Compiler walked toward the woman, the person that she requested for help during this critical time. One would wonder why someone who dressed like a princess is affiliated with Sirens would come to battlefield, but there's a reason why Compiler specifically asked her to come to her aid…

"How can I offer my assistance, dear Compiler?" The woman asked Compiler while she smiled.

"Please take charge of this base and its forces while I head out to complete my objective" Compiler said to the woman.

"Hmm, this is not you running away from responsibility, right dear?" The woman asked Compiler while she smirked.

"No. I would stay if I don't have this mission to complete" Compiler said to the woman.

"Perfectly understandable then~. I was wondering why would you specifically request my presence, but I see the problem now…Ah what a predicament~, ALASUC Force and William Blaze hmm? This base would be nothing but a floating rubble in the next hour, unless we do something~" The woman said to Compiler as she stared at the hologram screens.

"It is preferable to see that they could conquer this base, what I need you to do is to buy me some time" Compiler said to the woman.

"Ah is that so? Terribly sorry, I misunderstood your desire for a little there. Rest assured my dear, you will have your time. Will I have access for reinforcement?" The woman asked Compiler while she smiled a bit.

"You will have to make do with what we have here" Compiler said to the woman.

"Ah, so no bringing things from the neighboring reality? That is a bit dull, but I suppose that will have to do~" The woman said to Compiler while she smiled.

"Then I will leave it to you now, Moirai" Compiler said to the woman.

The woman, Moirai, smirked a bit in response as she summoned a fancy white vagabond hat and put it on her head. Moirai watched Compiler exiting the room before she turned toward the hologram screens, the woman stared at the fighting ship girls with soft gaze as she spread her arms wide and summoned a big screen that shown the battlespace around Siren floating base. Hmm, their rear is quite exposed, maybe she should play a little prank on them.

.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

A volley of armor piercing shell tore a Peace Breaker into two, the other one immediately aimed toward its assailant and met with a sharp object that penetrated its skull before being removed in split second. Bismarck swung the flagpole she has on her hands and used its pointy edge to stabbed at a nearby Oceana, she lifted it up and throw it off from its rigging somewhere. A Tracker fired its cannon at Bismarck who swiftly dashed to the side as she avoided the projectiles, then Bismarck fired her secondary guns towards the Tracker and stunned it momentarily. The woman then charged toward the Tracker and fired her main gun once, tearing the Siren into several pieces when armor piercing shell hit it from near point-blank range and murdered another Tracker that happens to be behind it. Bismarck sighed a bit as she stared at the Siren base, the sun has set so its officially a night battle from now on.

"Interesting welcome party!" Tirpitz commented on the radio.

"They sure intend to face us head on. How is it looking on your side, Tirpitz?" Bismarck asked Tirpitz on the radio.

"My group is having an easy time with their flank, though those beam cannons proved to be quite a hassle!" Tirpitz said to Bismarck on the radio.

"Keep at it, the airstrike from Iris fighters will be here soon" Bismarck said to Tirpitz on the radio.

"I hope so! They can only miss so much!" Tirpitz said to Bismarck on the radio.

"Jeanne, Galissonniere, some of the Sirens are trying to skirt our port side. Make sure they don't flank us" Richelieu said out loud on the radio.

"Oui mon cardinale!" "Oui, we'll get it done" Jeanne d'Arc and Le Galissonniere responded on the radio.

The two Iris cruisers immediately moved to intercept the mentioned Siren group, a Peace Breaker alongside three Trackers and three Explorers could be seen moving past the melee all around them. Jeanne and Galissonniere looked at each other for a bit and nodded their head, screw their differences, they're in this together! Galissonniere opened the fight by firing a salvo of high explosive shells toward the Sirens. Two of her projectiles struck a Tracker while nearly missed the rest, the woman isn't bothered in the slightest however, she only smiled widely as she raised her battle ax high. Then, she threw her ax toward the Sirens at blinding speed that the Sirens couldn't react in time. Her battle ax managed to behead an Explorer clean and stuck on a Tracker's rigging, it grabbed the ax and threw it back toward Galissonniere who caught it effortlessly despite the speed of the throw.

"Merci~" Le Galissonniere said to the Siren as she spun around once.

Le Galissonniere then swung her ax with tremendous force, cleaving the Tracker she damaged into two and sending its profusely bleeding body flying to the side. The two other Trackers immediately reacted by aiming their cannons and fired at her, Galissonniere however only smirked as she used her ax to defend herself, she directed the ax's blade so it would protect her from the Tracker's weapon fire. She managed to tank the two Tracker's firepower, giving Jeanne d'Arc enough time to rushed them from the side. Jeanne roared as she swung her flaming blade toward one of the Tracker who raised its left hand rigging to block her attack, but Jeanne redirected her blade strike and managed to strike the Tracker in the hips instead of its neck. Her strike is so powerful that she actually managed to hit the second Tracker next to the one she split into two with her burning blade, the second one suffered a lethal stab to the chest and Jeanne brutally yanked her sword to the right as she kept going past the Siren group.

"Now!" Jeanne d'Arc said to Le Galissonniere on the radio.

"Got it~" Le Galissonniere replied to Jeanne on the radio.

The Peace Breaker is exposed and the two Explorers are protecting it by going to its front side. Galissonniere only smirked widely as she fired her torpedoes at the Explorers, but the Siren KANSENs didn't move and the Explorers tanked the torpedoes which is practically suicide. Galissonniere grinned at this however, she has predicted that they will do that to cover their Peace Breaker, giving it time to charge its cannon. The Peace Breaker didn't waste the chance given by the Explorers, its cannons are already glowing and will fire imminently, Galissonniere threw her ax towards it and it managed to dodge it by slightly moving its body. The ax went past it, cutting two of the cannon limbs but the Peace Breaker is unaffected. It fired a salvo of high-speed energy projectile at Galissonniere, ones that badly wound Hiryuu in the past. But Galissonniere already predicted its act so when it fired? She already jumped high in the air.

"Predictable~!" Galissonniere said out loud while she grinned.

Le Galissonniere fired a full salvo of high explosive shells at the Peace Breaker, knocking it back and scorching its front side. But that wasn't the killing blow, it came from Jeanne d'Arc who's already on her way when the Peace Breaker got knocked backwards. Jeanne swung her flaming longsword with both hands in full power while she roared, the resulted in the Peace Breaker cleaved into two as its midriff is split. Jeanne turned around and fired another salvo of high explosive shells from her main guns, finishing the Siren off by burning it. Jeanne sighed a little as she swung her longsword to the side and the flame dissipated, looks like their job here is done.

"…You did well" Jeanne said to Galissonniere.

"Meh, they aren't even a worthy challenge. Almost boring at how easy for them to die" Galissonniere said to Jeanne while she shrugged.

"While I agreed that they're indeed easy to beat, you're being quite arrogant right now" Jeanne d'Arc said to Galissonniere while she frowned.

"I'm just stating the truth here" Le Galissonniere said to Jeanne while she shrugged.

"Instead of arguing, why don't you two returns to the big fight?" Richelieu asked them both on the radio.

"…Hah, right. I'll be there, madame cardinale" "I'll go retrieve my ax then~" Jeanne d'Arc and Le Galissonniere replied on the radio.

WHAM!

An Oceana is smashed dead by Algerie's mace with a crushed head and torso that splattered yellow blood everywhere, two Trackers retaliated by firing their guns at Algerie who deployed her shielding field and blocked their energy bolts. She quickly noted the Siren's position and planned her action before she smirked a bit as she charged toward the small group in front of her, naturally the Siren moved in to greet her. Algerie fired a salvo of high explosive shells to the Explorers charging onto her, the explosions knocked them out and even charred some of them completely. Two of the Explorers survived and Algerie made a quick work of them by uppercutting an Explorer with her mace, then she brought down her bloodied mace down and completely crushed the other one. Only three Trackers left on the Siren group, Algerie redeployed her shields as she charged toward them.

"Right where I want you!" Algerie said out loud while she smirked a bit.

Algerie launched a torpedo volley toward the Trackers, forcing them to disperse and she went to pick on her prey. Algerie closed in on one of the Trackers, the woman launched a high swinging kick toward the Tracker who blocked it with its left rigging. Algerie's face hardened for a bit, she has confidence in her strength so she didn't expect the Tracker to tank her hits. She immediately reassessed her plan as she moved back, because she's being rushed by three Trackers whos' firing at her. She planned to stun that Tracker before using it as a projectile that she could use to kill the other two Trackers, her swing would require precise timing and position. That couldn't happen now, she needs to readjust her plan.

"This is why you always have Plan B" Algerie muttered to herself.

The Iris woman fired a concentrated salvo to one of the Trackers, her high explosive shells detonated and burned the Tracker. Algerie thrust kicked the other Tracker and stunned it before she used her mace to parry the last Tracker's melee attack, then Algerie lifted her arms that carried her mace like she's about to do baseball batting before she swung at the two Trackers that stood beside each other at her full power. The first Tracker has its body crushed and its organs alongside bones turned into mush, the second one received a collateral damage that still popped its organs when the first Tracker hit it alongside Algerie's mace. The two Trackers are sent far to the side while dying painfully, Algerie sighed a bit as she looked around temporarily to see if there's any more threat. When she confirmed that there are none, she looked at her fellow KANSENs and contacted Bismarck directly.

"Madame Bismarck, left flank is secured" Algerie said to Bismarck on the radio.

"Excellent. Iris Destroyer Squadron, now is your time. Skirt The Siren formation and hit them from behind with torpedo strike. Ironblood Destroyer Squadron, distract them from the Iris group" Bismarck ordered on the radio.

"Forbin here madame Bismarck, we're going in!" Forbin said to Bismarck on the radio.

"Jawohl Lord Bismarck! We're moving to position!" Z1 said to Bismarck on the radio.

Forbin and the other Iris destroyers immediately break off from the fight, they joined in a formation as they skirted the massive Siren formation. Each one of them readied their torpedo tubes, aiming them at their starboard side as they approached the Siren for a drive by from the left. Z1 and the Ironblood destroyers charged into Siren formation, they are going for melee and their objective is to be feisty enough that the Siren will prioritize them instead. There's only four of them, but each would bring a severe pain in the ass for the Sirens. Z1 grinned viciously as she rammed an Explorer, she aimed her gun to its chest before firing an armor piercing shell in point blank range. The Explorer is sent backwards with a big gaping hole on its chest, it hit an Oceana who immediately retaliated by firing its main guns at Z1. However, it didn't hit her, not even close as Z1 ducked then blitzed toward the Oceana with two torpedoes in front of her. The torpedoes struck the Oceana's rigging, stunning the Siren before Z1 jumped toward it and roundhouse kicked its head off.

"We're off to a great start, girls! Flash them off and grab their attention!" Z1 loudly said on the radio.

"Wait what?!" ""Jawohl!"" Z23, Z25 and Z26 said to Z1 on the radio.

Z25 and Z26 jumped into the fray with torpedo barrages, surprising a Siren ship girl group with their sudden entrance. Z25 rapidly fired her main guns to an Explorer which stunned the Siren for a bit, however, in that short amount of time, Z25 rushed toward the Siren, grabbed its right arm and threw the Siren to a Peace Breaker. The Siren battleship KANSEN caught its comrade, but before it could do anything, Z26 rushed toward it with a full powered and charged right hand haymaker. Her mechanical right arm crushed the Explorer's head and still possessed enough kinetic power to launched the Peace Breaker backwards with a snapped neck, effectively taking out two Sirens in one strike. Z23 rushed through Siren formation while her cannons spewing armor piercing shells nonstop, she also launched her torpedoes to the targets that she passed on her sides. Z23 alone caused enough damage that warranted the Siren to try and take her down. They would've done so were it not for the fact their rear lines are being hit by Iris destroyers torpedo strikes and gunfire, causing the Siren to split their forces in engaging Iris and Ironblood destroyer group.

"Alright, they are distracted. All battleships, target their capital ships!" Bismarck said out loud on the radio.

"…Targets are set, Bismarck!" George V said to Bismark on the radio.

"FEUER!" Bismarck mightily commanded on the radio.

Deafening roar of battleship grade cannons could be heard coming from ALASUC position, dozens of large caliber high explosive or armor piercing rounds flew toward Siren formation and impacted many of their large surface ships. Many of the Siren Peace Breakers and Strategists suffered heavy damage or outright killed, the few that remains immediately reconsolidate themselves and prepared for more attack coming from ALASUC backlines…Richelieu watched the fight from the back alongside her fellow battleships and carriers, she couldn't help but to feel nervous at the sight of intense battle happening in front of them. Yes, she has fought the Siren multiple times, but not at this scale. Is this what the ALASUC members experienced during their fight to retake New York? She could imagine that the fight back there was even more intense than this one. Richelieu clasped her hands and she closed her eyes as she started praying, Jean Bart noticed this and she turned her head to Richelieu while she cocked her eyebrows.

"Really? Right now?" Jean Bart asked Richelieu while she cocked her eyebrows.

"I just want to offer my prayers for everyone to see through this battle alive, Jean" Richelieu said to Jean Bart while she kept her praying posture.

"Then start getting busy with your cannons already! Prayers won't do jack shit compared to shells!" Jean said to Richelieu while she scowled.

"Portals! Behind us!" Shangri-La said out loud on the radio.

"Siren reinforcement. Javelin, Brooklyn, get your team and protect our battleships and carriers" Bismarck said to both of them on the radio.

"Roger that!" "Yes Ms. Bismarck!" Brooklyn and Javelin said to Bismarck on the radio.

"That's enough praying, prepare to fight! Here they come!" Jean Bart said to Richelieu as she banged Richelieu's rigging with her fist.

Richelieu opened her eyes and turned around alongside her fellow backliners, until Brooklyn and Javelin team arrived, they have to fend the attack by themselves. A handful of portals behind them then started sending out Siren KANSENs of varying types, most of them are Explorers that immediately charged toward the ALASUC backlines. Those Sirens are greeted by full might of battleship grade firepower as everyone fired their main guns at them, decimating around quarter of their numbers from that single combined salvo. The rest are undeterred however, they kept charging toward the KANSENs while firing their guns and launching torpedoes, forcing ALASUC members to focus on dodging and defending. That allowed the Explorers to get into melee range, and close quarter fight immediately begins.

Scharnhorst dodged several swipes from an Explorer before she ducked down a bit and launched an unrestrained uppercut, the Explorer got hit in the chin and its head torn off from its body as it flew upwards. Scharnhorst turned her body around and send a thrust kick at the headless body, kicking it toward the other Explorers. One managed to get in close to Scharnhorst ahead of the others, the woman grinned as she spun her body as she raised her right leg. Then she brough it down to the charging Explorer, giving its head a powerful axe kick, causing it to cave into its own body as it fell down to the surface of the sea. Gneisenau face hardened slightly as she watched two Explorers rushing toward her from the front, the woman launched torpedoes at the Explorers who swiftly dodged the salvo. Gneisenau secondary guns immediately targeted one of the Explorers while she charged to the other one. Her high explosive shells consistently hit the Explorer and set it on fire, the other one has to contend with Gneisenau in close quarter and found itself quickly outmatched. Gneisenau kneed the Explorer in the gut then elbowed its nape, severing its neck bones before letting it fell lifelessly to the sea.

"Bloody fucking hell!" Formidable suddenly cussed out loud.

Not only she's being shot by Trackers and Oceanas from afar, she has to face a swarm of Explorers that's chasing her at the moment. Despite having experience in close quarter combat from her time during Operation Eagle Storm, this is completely different! Siren Troopers and Brawlers could be killed even with handguns, KANSENs? Not so much! Formidable doesn't have a choice but to fight these KANSENs directly, but she's not stupid or confident enough taking them in close quarter combat with her subpar hand to hand skills. So, Formidable launched all of her planes in one direction while she kept kiting the Explorer group. Her Seafires turned around and started strafing the Explorers with their cannons while her Fairey Albacore moved from the right and launched their torpedoes at a predestined direction, Formidable led the Explorer to her trap and then sprung it. The Explorers are hit by the stealth aerial torpedoes, explosions engulfed the group and after the torpedoes hit them, there's only one Explorer remains. Formidable closed in on it before she simply launched a right hook to its head, downing the wounded Explorer who couldn't put up any resistance.

"…Phew…that was too close…" Formidable commented as her planes returned to her rigging.

"Are you alright?" Victorius approached Formidable as she asked her condition.

"I am. Where have you been though? Your little sister is being attacked and you did nothing?" Formidable asked Victorius while she pouted.

"I was dealing with a nasty group of my own, you know?" Victorius said to Formidable while she frowned.

"Hah, in that case, you're forgiven…I really hate it when we had to fight in close quarters" Formidable sighed then said to Victorius.

"Tell me about it, we carriers are having a hard time compared to those ladies over there" Victorius said to Formidable as she turned her head to the left.

King George V put on confident smile as her blade cleaved through an Explorer, leaving two bleeding mess of separated body that fell behind her. George secondary guns fired at the approaching group of Explorers in front of her, chipping away their endurance slowly and distracted them enough for her main cannons. George carefully aimed and fired a full salvo of high explosive shells toward the Explorers, obliterating many of them from that one attack. The survivors didn't have time to retaliate because George kept them pinned with her secondary guns, and then another salvo of high explosive shells came from her left side. Prince of Wales fired at the same group that approached George, Wales then focused on gunning down any stranglers that survived her salvo. One more salvo came from George's right side as Duke of York fired her main guns, massacring the rest of Explorers in front of them. But one managed to survive and charged toward her despite surviving devastating explosions and being hit several times by the battleships' secondary guns, it jumped toward Duke while firing its cannon. Duke not only tanked the projectile with relative ease, she also caught the charging Siren by the throat with her left hand.

"Thy effort is quite valiant…However, methinks it is not sufficient" Duke said to the Explorer while she grinned.

Duke summoned her obsidian arming sword and rammed it through the Explorer's chest, she then let the Siren fell as she released her grip and the body float in the water in front of her. York stared at the body for a bit, making sure it died before she fired another salvo toward the remaining Sirens on the backline. KGV sisters easily handled the Sirens, wiping all Siren KANSENs that spawned in front of them. Wales sighed a bit before she stared to the right, toward her sisters. She rarely sortied together with them as they are often end up commanding a separate group during sortie, but when they come together like right now? They are an absolute powerhouse that could take on whatever Sirens throw at them…She just hope that Howe could join them soon.

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

But what wrecks many of the Siren backlines are the sheer power of the Big Seven, particularly Nelson and Rodney. Their cannons tore any Siren KANSEN that managed to get hit by their shelling, and when one managed to get close? Nelson and Rodney aren't so helpless, while they didn't possess any particular close quarter technique, they are confident enough to take on KANSENs in fist fight. Nelson stopped an Explorer from hitting her face with her hands, but that left her vulnerable as the other Explorer fired their guns at Nelson. Her right side took direct damage from the Explorer cannons, so Nelson threw the Explorer that she gripped toward the Explorer that's harassing her. The two Explorers collided with one another before Nelson fired her main gun once, demolishing the two Explorer with large high explosive shell detonation…Nelson then glanced at her right side before she rubbed her left temple, the rigging has multiple holes on it and scorched in some place. There's also burn damage on her red jacket, exposing her right arm and her reddening skin due to the extreme heat Siren projectile has.

"Nelson, how are you doing? Do you need medical attention?" Rodney asked Nelson as she cruised to her left side.

"Bloody Sirens managed to nick me, but I'm fine. This much is nothing but an annoyance" Nelson said to Rodney as she shown her right side to her sister.

"Its good thing that your heavy armor withstands their attacks" Rodney said to Nelson while she smiled.

"They're destroyers, their cannons are flimsy. If I'm facing Peace Breakers? I won't be so easy going as I did before" Nelson said to Rodney while she frowned.

"Unicorn!" Javelin said out loud on the radio.

Javelin RUSHED from the melee in the frontline to their backlines at maximum speed, she found Unicorn being chased by several Explorers and she immediately went to protect her friend. Javelin gripped her javelin tightly and rammed the Explorer chasing Unicorn from the left, surprising Unicorn and getting the attention of the chasing Explorers. Javelin stabbed the Explorer in the chest when she rammed it, she then took out her bloodied javelin as she fired armor piercing shells at the other Explorers and hitting one of them. Javelin immediately went for that one stunned Explorer, decapitating its head with her javelin's blade in one swift swing, causing yellow blood to burst out of its severed neck. The five remaining Explorers then rushed all at once to gang her up, they launched torpedoes at Javelin while they rushed her with their rigging from all sides.

"Not a chance!" Javelin declared out loud as she readied her stance.

Javelin fired her own torpedo barrage at her left side, causing two Explorers to move out of the way. The three others saw the chance and fired their cannons and launched torpedoes at her, Javelin successfully dodged all of their projectiles and torpedoes before she twirled her javelin and threw it at one of the Explorers at blinding speed. The javelin hit one of the Explorer straight in the middle of its chest, causing it to jerked to the rear and fell to the sea surface. The other two paid no heed to their friend as they kept rushing Javelin, the young woman fired her own guns at one of the Explorer and again temporarily stunned it. Her main gun lacks the instant kill benefit from range, but it still works in damaging and stunning Siren KANSENs nonetheless. Javelin charged at the stunned Explorer and delivered a nasty right hook to its face, throwing the Siren backwards with caved skull. The other one hit Javelin in the back with its rigging and causing her to screamed in pain as she stumbled ahead, but Javelin immediately reacted by delivering a spinning roundhouse kick that broke the Siren's neck while sending it flying to the side. Javelin was about to nurse her aching backside when she noted that the other two Explorers are charging toward her, Javelin went and yanked her javelin from the Explorer she stabbed before and prepared herself for another fight.

"Don't bully my friend!" Javelin suddenly heard Unicorn said out loud.

Two Barracuda Torpedo Bombers fired their machine guns at the Explorers before dropping their payload and blasted the two Sirens with their aerial torpedoes, Javelin watched as the Barracudas turned around and turned into light particles as they landed on Unicorn's rigging. Unicorn then immediately cruised toward Javelin who's soothing her own back from the melee attack that the Explorer gave her before, goddamn its painful and if she's normal human, her spine would've break from that powerful hit.

"Javelin, you got hurt because of me! I'm…truly sorry!" Unicorn said to Javelin while she deeply frowned as she hugged Yuni.

"A-Ah, nah, it's fine. I'm just glad you're okay-. Ouch!" Javelin yelped when Unicorn placed her right hand on her back.

"Pain, pain, go away~!" Unicorn cutely said out loud while she rubbed the spot at Javelin's back.

"…This cuteness, I'm healed…" Javelin said out loud while her eyes widened, suddenly the pain on her back diminished greatly...

"How's our backline?" Bismarck asked out loud on the radio.

"Just one more group and we'll be fine! We will handle them!" Richelieu said to Bismarck on the radio.

Richelieu and Jean Bart braced for the incoming group of Explorers and Trackers, both KANSENs has their respective flagpole with blades on top of it readied on their hands. Richelieu and Jean Bart looked at each other before they nodded their heads, different as they be, they are sisters and comrade in arms in the end. Both ship girls fired their main guns loaded with high explosive shells, the battleship grade rounds obliterated around half of the approaching group that's raining them with their own shots. Richelieu and Jean Bart each dashed to the sides while showering the Siren group with their secondary guns fire, they stopped when they faced each other from afar and dashed forward with their flagpoles swinging. The blades on top of it decapitated some Siren KANSENs limbs and outright beheaded a few of them, it doesn't end there however as Richelieu and Jean used their flagpole as if they're jousting through the Siren formation, taking out several Sirens from their lethal stabs. Both Jean Bart and Richelieu met in the middle of battered Siren formation and both stopped moving as they stood back-to-back with one another, covering each other rears with their flagpoles and cannons pointed at the approaching Sirens who decided that melee would make quicker work instead of guns.

"Are you ready, ma soeur?" Richelieu asked Jean Bart while she smiled confidently.

"Heh, do you even need to ask? Let's do this, Richelieu!" Jean said to Richelieu while she smirked.

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

Jean Bart and Richelieu unleashed a full salvo of high explosive shells, they make sure to aim low so they'll only get the group that's close to their position. Their shells detonated and created massive explosions all around the two battleships, then they charged ahead to finish what remains of the Sirens that challenges them. Jean Bart stabbed a Tracker in the face with her flag pole, raised the ship girl and threw it at an approaching pair of Explorers who swiftly dodged the Tracker's corpse. Jean Bart braced for the Explorers who launched torpedo salvoes at her, Jean Bart cruised and dodged the torpedoes while letting the Explorers get closer before she picked her prey. Jean used her secondary guns to pin one Explorer into going defensive while she dashed to the other one, Jean stabbed the Explorer in the gut before yanking the pole to the right and disemboweling the Siren in front of her. The Explorer didn't care about its hanging entrails and massive bleeding, it retaliated at Jean by firing its main guns. The woman casually tanked the projectile before swinging her bladed flagpole downwards diagonally, slicing the Explorer into two before she hurled the flagpole toward the Siren she fired at before…Jean cruised to the explorer, she then removed the flagpole from its head.

"…Too easy" Jean commented as she swung her flagpole to clean the bladed part from yellow blood.

Richelieu has to contend with the three Trackers that didn't hesitate to rain her with their main guns, Richelieu avoided the projectiles while she chose to skirt around them as she waited for an opening. She found one when one of the Trackers moved to counter her, it separated itself from the group and Richelieu chose to prey on that Siren. Richelieu charged at that Tracker with flagpole aimed at it, the Tracker fired its guns at Richelieu who managed to avoid all of the shot projectiles. Richelieu closed in on the Tracker as it tried to move out of her way, but the cardinal turned her flagpole and managed to stab the Tracker in the back. She jumped up high while carrying the Tracker with her, Richelieu shouted as she swung her flagpole down toward one of the last two Trackers who avoided the thrown corpse narrowly. Richelieu finished loading her main guns and immediately obliterated the Tracker with a full salvo of high explosive shells, she landed on the water and immediately swung then thrust her flagpole to the last charging Tracker. Her flagpole stabbed it in the gut, Richelieu twisted the flagpole then lifted the Siren KANSEN up before slamming it into the water, hard enough to crack its spine. The cardinal stared at the dead Tracker before she sighed, dipped the flagpole to the water and cleaned its blade.

"Fuh…Backlines is secured, Madame Bismarck" Richelieu sighed then reported to Bismarck on the radio.

"Excellent, return to formation and be ready to send another salvo" Bismarck said to Richelieu on the radio.

"Oui madame" Richelieu said to Bismarck on the radio.

"…I figured you to be rusty, I'm quite surprised that you hold out on your own" Jean said to Richelieu as she approached her.

"The first mistake one could make about me is assuming that I'm defenseless" Richelieu said to Jean while she smiled a bit.

"Hmph, just don't try your luck too much in close quarter. You better stay behind and support me, Richelieu. Who knows when those merde will try something like this again, I'll take them on directly if they show up" Jean snorted then said to Richelieu while she smirked a bit.

"If they do, then please fight to your heart's content, Jean. I have your back" Richelieu said to Jean Bart while she smiled softly.

…Bismarck rubbed her chin as she carefully observed the battle raging around her, she did this while Prinz and Hipper stood in front of her with their shielding field deployed. No doubt that the fight is going well so far, but with limited munitions, it's only matter of time until they will get overwhelmed by constant Siren reinforcement. They need to end this battle with a decisive strike, but the distraction to create the gap they need is still in the works. The KANSENs that's assigned to William are still on their way to the infiltration point, the whole plan wouldn't commence smoothly without them as they will surely take huge casualties trying to force their way to get in range and hit the floating base's weak spots.

"I'd say we're off to a great start" Prinz commented while she stared at the raging fights around them.

"What matters now is maintaining our momentum" Bismarck said to Prinz as she watched Graf Spee crushed an Explorer's torso with her claws.

"Easier said than done, isn't it?" Hipper said out loud before she grunted as she blocked a stray shot from an Oceana.

"I believe that we still have a high chance to win this fight" Bismarck said to Hipper as she looked to the sky.

"And if we don't?" Hipper asked Bismarck while she frowned slightly.

"…Then I suppose we will have to find another chance to destroy that floating fortress" Bismarck said to Hipper while she frowned a bit.

"Chance? Not methods?" Hipper asked Bismarck while she cocked her eyebrows.

"I think this method is the best one to use without nuclear weapons" Bismarck said to Hipper while she nodded her head.

"Espada One to KMS Bismarck, sorry for being late! We had to deal with some Siren fighters just a couple of minutes ago! We're beginning our attack run now, hold on down there!" Espada One said out loud on the radio.

"Understood. Rain fire on them, Espada One. We're counting on you" Bismarck said to Espada One on the radio.

"Roger that. Here we go!" Espada One said to Bismarck on the radio.

Twenty four Rafale fighters equipped with cruise missile dived down at steep ninety degrees angle, they're diving directly above the Siren floating base that immediately directed all of their AA guns upwards and fired at the incoming fighter jets. However, due to the limited angle the guns have, their projectiles aren't as accurate as it should. It didn't help that the Rafale pilots made slight adjustment by constantly moving their craft slightly to throw off the Siren's aim. The sight of dozens or even hundreds of Siren AA guns lighting up as they send plasma and laser bolts flying towards them would stagger or even frightened the most experienced pilots the two squadrons have, but those pilots knew the stakes. If they fail here, the ship girls down there would be having a hell of a time trying to defeat the Sirens with frontal assault. These pilots have made their choice the moment they sit on the cockpit before launching for this mission, they will see it through the end.

"Radar contact! Merde! Ravens! Moving behind us to attack!" One of the pilots said out loud on the radio, Siren fighter squadron appeared behind them to intercept.

"Again?! Espada One! We will hold them back! We will make our own attack later, make sure yours count!" Sabre One said to Espada One on the radio.

"Oui, bonne vitesse, mon amie!" Espada One said to Sabre One on the radio.

"Sabre Squadron! Engage those fighters and protect Espada Squadron's attack run!" Sabre One said out loud on the radio.

The aerial formation broke as twelve Rafale fighters that belongs to Sabre Squadron dispersed, turned around and engaged the chasing Siren fighters. The Siren fighters launched missiles at them, Sabre Squadron jets immediately deployed flares to disrupt the Siren missile tracking. The Rafales launched missiles in retaliation before firing their guns due to them closing on Siren fighters, and with that the dogfight above the Siren floating base begins. The fighters are in an intense aerial battle as they hold the Siren fighters from chasing after Espada Squadron, the pilots fought the Siren fighters as aggressively as they could. Sabre One chased one of the Siren fighters in close range, his plane's guns lit up every so often, trying to shoot the aircraft down in close range. Tracers flew closely around the elusive Siren fighter before it breaks speed, Sabre One overshot the fighter and he looked back as his eyes widened.

"Holy Iris! Sabre One defending, I got a bandit on my tail!" Sabre One said out loud on the radio.

"Sabre Two moving to assist! Hold them steady!" Sabre Two said to Sabre One on the radio.

"Alright! Jinking! Don't miss the bâtard!" Sabre One said to Sabre Two on the radio.

"…Tally target twelve o'clock, clear shot on target…Fox one!" Sabre Two said out loud on the radio.

WHOOOOSH!

BOOM!

"Bandit splashed! You're clear, Sabre One!" Sabre Two said out loud on the radio.

"Merci!" Sabre One said to Sabre Two.

"I'm hit! I'm-!"

BOOOM!

"Sabre Five is down! No chute! I repeat! No chute!" Sabre Two said out loud on the radio.

"This is Sabre Ten! Additional Ravens detected on radar! They're moving to engage Espada Squadrons!" Sabre Ten said out loud on the radio.

"Sabre Ten, take eight and nine with you! Hold them back!" Sabre One said to Sabre Ten on the radio.

"Roger! Alright, form an element on me! We'll grab their attention!" Sabre Ten said to Sabre One then to his wingmen on the radio.

"KANSENs! This is Sabre One! We're getting overwhelmed! Requesting backup, over!" Sabre One said out loud on the radio.

"Way ahead of you, Sabre One! Hold on!" Shangri-La said to Sabre One on the radio.

Several F7F Tigercat, Sea Fury and Me-155A fighters blitzed from below and helped Sabre Squadron. The turboprop planes aren't as fast as the jets, but their guns are more than enough to handle the Siren jets that turned into flaming ball after getting hit by the KANSEN's planes cannons…With their rear secured, Espada Squadron get in formation as their plane's targeting system trying to acquire a lock on with the target that TB has marked. Clouds hindered them from getting a direct visual lock so they have to rely on their instrument, Espada One alongside the other pilots gritted their teeth as extreme G force pressed on their body. They better get this maneuver done as quick and efficient as possible, they're risking getting shot down, passing out from the G force and even crashing into the Siren base if they didn't pull up in time. Plasma and laser bolt barraged them from the surface, several of the bolts managed to struck two of the Rafale, blowing them up instantly.

"Espada Seven, Espada Nine, lost!" One of the pilots said out loud on the radio.

"Hold it steady!" Espada One said out loud on the radio.

"…Target locked! Firing!" One of the pilots said out loud on the radio.

The Rafales are loaded with two cruise missile each, the other hardpoint is reserved for other missile loadout so they could put up a fight when they are intercepted. Espada Squadron fired their cruise missiles, locked on to new target, fired another cruise missile and then pulled up. The cruise missiles flew through the clouds and heading straight for their locked targets, the Siren beam cannon emplacements. The Siren AA guns switched their target from the Rafales to the cruise missiles, they did shoot down three of the fired missiles, but the other seventeen cruise missiles managed to hit their target and deal massive damage against the Sirens beam cannon emplacements, taking out seven of them with devastating explosions. The ALASUC ship girls noticed the explosions can't helped but cheered that their biggest worry is being taken care of, now they could go all out against the Siren KANSENs.

"KMS Bismarck to Iris fighters, excellent work in taking out the cannons" Bismarck said to the pilots on the radio.

"Roger that, Sabre Squadron is on their way with second volley. We will head back to refuel and rearm" Espada One said to Bismarck on the radio.

"Understood, good luck" Bismarck said to Espada One on the radio.

"You as well, Espada One out" Espada One said to Bismarck on the radio.

"Ms. Bismarck, Sirens are pulling back to their floating base. It seems they are intending to bolster their firepower with their ground forces assistance" Shangri-La reported to Bismarck on the radio.

"I see. We will rely on long range gunnery now, target their critical compounds and KANSENs. All ships, keep your distance and fire at will!" Bismarck said out loud on the radio.

Bismarck heard replies on her radio before being followed by sounds of cannons blazing all around her, they're in range to hit the Siren base directly. Going too close would result in them getting showered by the base defenders' full firepower, that's why the optimum tactic is to stay in range and rain the base with shells. At their current range, ship girls and mass-produced ships are the only ones that could give them trouble. Thus, the ALASUC ship girls get to work by firing at the Siren KANSENs and base's structures. As long as they didn't venture too far and into the remaining active beam cannon's field of fire, they should be fine…Bismarck couldn't help herself but to think that something must've happened with William and the KANSEN group with him, it's been a while and there hasn't been any reports or communication to them. Bismarck thought that they'll cause chaos before the ALASUC group would arrive on the operation area, could they be too early? Regardless, Bismarck decided to contact William.

"Kommandant, this is Bismarck. Can you hear me?" Bismarck asked William on the radio.

.

"Loud and clear, what is it?" William answered on the radio.

"We have defeated a huge Siren formation and currently shelling them from range, kommandant, the frontal offensive is going well" Bismarck said to William on the radio.

"Yeah, we could hear the commotion from here. Bloody nice work Bismarck, I knew I can place my faith on you" William said to Bismarck on the radio while he smiled a bit.

"Danke. How is your progress?" Bismarck asked William on the radio.

"We're gearing up, will get on the action shortly" William said to Bismarck on the radio.

"Understood…good luck, kommandant" Bismarck said to William on the radio.

"You as well, out" William said to Bismarck on the radio.

"Hmph, the usual Bismarck, she could just say that she is worried for us" Deutschland snorted before she commented out loud as she checked on her dual pistols.

"That's part of her charms, you know? Could give sound words and speech at other matters then stumbled a bit when it comes to interpersonal relationship" William said to Deutschland while he smirked under his helmet.

"Still, she is like night and day compared to her in the past. I'm glad that she at least improved herself in that part" Ark Royal said to William while she smiled.

"Right…Okay, check out all of your gear now. Once we're out of this room, we won't have time to stop" William said out loud.

"Ja" "Alright" "Yes, your excellency" "Yes master" Deutschland, Ark Royal, London and Sheffield said to William.

After their tense journey through the base's buoyancy system pipe, William and the ship girls who are dressed in scuba suit, headed to the room that he secured before to prepare for their own assault. Their objective? This base's control center, and they better do it fast to help the ALASUC main assault force. In a sense, the ship girls pounding on this base are the distractions, the real assault force are William and his crew. There are two options to disable this base, either through brute force by destroying the generators from outside or letting TB take control of the floating base to deal as much damage as possible before scuttling the structure. Both has their own challenge though, if they want to destroy the generators then they have punch through a lot of Siren structures to expose their main generators, if they want to hack them then TB would need direct access to the control center panel because of Siren robust firewall that would hinder her ability to gain remote access greatly. Either way, it's a race between the two group as to who could complete their objective first. Bismarck has a head start, but William is confident that he could catch up with TB's help.

The man watched the ship girls checked their equipment; William actually offered them the plasma weapons that he looted before but all of them refused and chose to use their own weapons instead. Reasons? Bullets are faster, and they are more comfortable with their own weapons compared to using Siren plasma weapons. William only shrugged as he decided that he'll use all of them, since he has very limited amount of ammunition for his guns. Frankly speaking, the girls got a valid point. William don't know how much 'ammo' their guns packed, hell, he doesn't even understand where they got ammunition for their guns in the first place. As far as he knows, every time the KANSENs 'rearm' themselves, it means they are restocking ammo for their rigging cannons and other weapon emplacement it has, not their handheld guns…Now that he thought about it, William never explicitly asks them on that matter either. He just rolled with the fact that some of the girls does have handheld guns with exotic designs derived from their rigging, it fired a bullet and could be reloaded as if they are an actual firearm.

"You're still intent on using the plasma carbine, master?" Sheffield asked William who's taking out the plasma cell from the guns.

"I have limited ammo for gauss weapons so I should save them for later. Better take advantage of the abundant enemy weapon supplies" William said to Sheffield while he smiled.

"True, also there's no harm in getting used to operate your enemy's weaponry. The more you understand it, the easier you could fight back against it" Ark said to William while she smiled.

"Funny of you to say that after stating you don't want to use them, Ark" William said to Ark Royal with his eye half closed.

"Hahahahahaha! Like I said before, I'm more comfortable with this beauty" Ark laughed then said to William while she shown him her steampunk styled musket.

"Ah, but I won't hesitate to use them if I don't have any other weapons. It's just like Ark said, wielding your own weapon is the best after all" London said to William while she smiled wryly.

"That so…" William responded while he smiled a bit.

Then his eye widened a bit as he realized something, there's a hidden implication from London's words…she, no, they, are all nervous, one way or another. You're deep inside enemy territory, would you rather trust your own equipment or scavenge then used the ones your enemy has while not knowing much about them? Yeah, majority of people would rather trust the equipment that they have and familiar with. William has to keep reminding himself that while these girls are great combatants, they don't have specific training like he got. Technically speaking, he's the most experienced one when it comes to this scenario that they're in now, he needs to lead them well…William equipped the plasma carbine, stored the plasma pistol on his thigh magnetic holster and stored the plasma grenades alongside the plasma cells into his pocket dimension. The man looked at the closed door before he turned around to look at the ship girls that are with him, figure he should say a few words before they head out.

"Alright ladies, we will head straight for the base's control center to unravel this whole mess. We will disable this jamming, take control of this base defenses, wipe out the Sirens then scuttle this base to prevent its further use. There are tons of Sirens beyond this room, I need you four to keep your head on swivel and do absolutely nothing but your best. Mow down any Sirens in your way and don't hesitate, we can't fail. Am I clear?" William said to the ship girls.

"Yes, your excellency" "Yes master" Jawohl, let's get this over with!" "Got it" London, Sheffield, Deutschland and Ark Royal answered to William.

"Good. TB, open the door" William said to TB.

"Door is unlocked" TB said to William.

"Follow me!" William said to the ship girls.

The door was opened and William alongside his team moved out into a corridor, they immediately encountered a Siren patrol group and combat naturally started. Ark fired her musket and the round tore through a Siren Trooper's head, the trooper fell lifelessly on the floor and its friends immediately moved to respond. William immediately moved in front of the girls, tanking the plasma bolts being fired at them with his energy shielding. That allowed Deutschland and Sheffield to barrage the rest of the troopers with their dual handguns, the group was decimated in no time flat. William's group then moved toward what seems to be an elevator, but it would be too risky to go inside when the Sirens could just sabotage it and trap them inside. Even with TB on their side, it's better be safe than sorry.

"Stairs, let's go" William said out loud.

The strike team moved to the stairway access and climbed it; they didn't encounter any other Siren along the way. William even checked his radar map hybrid fervently and there's no red dots on it which is strange, they would've been swarming them the moment they got a whiff of the strike team's position. One would think the Sirens would take any infiltrators seriously, do they really that occupied with the situation outside? Something doesn't add up. William don't know what the Siren has in store for them, but right now they need to keep going…while being on the lookout for signs that could expose whatever the Siren planned for them. The team reached the doorway that would lead to the surface level, William opened the door and closed it again just as quick. Why? Because there's a big group of Siren Trooper waiting for them outside and they immediately opened fire, hundreds of plasma bolts hit the door as it closes.

"Well, I figure something's off!" William said out loud.

"An ambush huh? Guess stealth is out of the bag!" Ark Royal said out loud.

"Pretty much. London, Deutschland, high explosives at the door. We're going extra loud" William said to both KANSENs as he motioned Ark Royal to pull back.

"Ja, ja" "Understood" Deutschland and London replied as they aimed their rigging.

BOOM BOOM!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

London fired two high explosive shells that wrecked open the door and its surrounding walls, then Deutschland sent another three shells that obliterated the ambushing group outside, who are already shocked and wounded just from London's cannon fire alone. William sprinted outside and immediately scanned the area around him, he found out that the left side still has a squad of Siren Trooper that's rushing to stop them. William raised his plasma carbine and fired at them in full auto, spewing dozens of purple plasma bolts toward the Siren Troopers that either died from the shot or managed to take cover behind buildings. William reloaded the plasma carbine by swapping the plasma cell while London and Deutschland cover him, both girls suppressed the Siren Troopers while Ark Royal readied her musket before she fired upwards. She didn't shoot a bullet; she just launched a Fairey Firefly Dive Bomber that flew high before diving and launched two high explosive bombs. The ordnance dropped directly at the Siren Troopers position, eliminating them with two powerful explosions.

"Beautiful work, Ark" William said to Ark Royal.

"Why thank you, milord" Ark said to William while she smirked a bit.

"TB, we're going to need direction. Set up waypoints to their control center" William said to TB

"Yes commander, showing them on your HUD now" TB said to William.

The waypoint really showed up on William's helmet HUD, he made sure the coast is clear before continuing to lead the strike team. They occasionally would encounter patrol groups, ranging from Siren Troopers to KANSENs, as expected, they took care of any obstacles swiftly, none could stand in their way with William's own combat prowess coupled with ship girl's support. But something is amiss, if it isn't apparent before, it is more so now. Why the Siren haven't formed any dedicated barricade to stop them? Aside from that one group that hindered them on the stairway access before, all they encountered are nothing but patrols or stray individuals. What is the endgame here? By now, William have realized that whoever leading these Sirens is leading him into either confrontation or a massive ambush. Sirens can't be that stupid not to end them here, right? If the Sirens are just humans with fancier technologies, there's a chance that they still have the same way of thinking. That eased William down a bit, that mean their actions could be predictable in few moments.

PSIUPSIUPSIUPSIU!

Burst of plasma bolts flew past William and the girls, something just fired at them from above and he immediately looked up before he widened his eye. The guy that looked like Nyx with jetpack that he fought before? Now there's a group of them and they dived down while firing their plasma carbine toward them. The group immediately dispersed and each Siren goes after one, the ship girls make sure to put some distance so they can concentrate on taking these things down. William grinned a bit as he fired his plasma carbine at the Siren that he fought during the skirmish, looks like the Sirens have new type of infantry being deployed since human victory on New York! The Siren managed to avoid the plasma bolts, closed in on William and sent an elbow strike that William blocked by his own, both of them locked in place as they stared at each other from behind their helmets. William is surprised, this guy managed to make him flinch in full armor!

"Impressive!" William said to the Siren while he grinned viciously.

William was about to launch a knee to its gut when he saw the Siren drawn a short sword from its back and swung it at his neck, the man naturally stepped back and the Siren immediately switched then fired its plasma carbine at William, the plasma bolts hit his energy shielding which flared as it withstands the damage from the projectiles. These new guys are no joke, they are like Siren Trooper but on another level! Their decision making, overall skill and combat strength are a cut above their peers! William strafed right as he fired his grappling hook toward the Siren, it managed to dodge the hook from embedding into its body by side stepping with its jet thruster. William also used his to dashed toward the Siren, he rammed it midair, fly down and slammed the poor bastard against the base's surface flooring. William unsheathed his left wrist blade and thrusted at its neck; however, the Siren used its plasma carbine to block William's blade. William gritted his teeth as he unsheathed his right wrist blade and stabbed the Siren in the neck, it gurgles as its throat become flooded by its own yellow blood before William yanked it forcefully to the right, effectively tearing the Siren's throat open. But the Siren still put up a fight by wrestling William's hands, despite suffering mortal wound.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that!" William said out loud as he pulled his plasma pistol.

PSIU PSIU PSIU!

Three plasma bolts hit the Siren in the face and wrecked its helmet and skull into a charred mess, it stopped moving as it finally died. William sighed as he stood up, this bastard proved to be a hassle, he could only hope the KANSENs has better time…While William is preoccupied, the other ship girls are dueling with the rest of the Siren group that attacked them. Deutschland engaged one in a high-speed gunnery; the woman fired her dual handguns at the Siren who used its jet thrusters to move around erratically while taking potshot at Deutschland. She eventually realized that her handguns are not enough so she lit it up with her AA guns, that caused the Siren to drop down and charged straight at Deutschland by flying very closely to the floor. She gritted her teeth as she keeps firing at the Siren until it got very close to her, then Deutschland swung her right leg and gave the Siren a full powered kick to the head. The Siren gets knocked to the side and hit a metal wall, it didn't get a chance to recover because Deutschland immediately gunned it down on the spot, filling it with dozens of leads. The Siren fell to the floor and died, Deutschland scoffed at it as she reloaded her pistols, what a pain in the ass.

London focused on dodging the Siren that is shooting at her with its plasma carbine in short controlled burst, she noticed that this Siren is keeping its distance from her so taking it down in close quarter is not an option. She needs to kill it with a well-placed shot to the head, but baiting it to slip is not easy. Every time London aimed her gun at it, the Siren immediately dodged it so quickly that she knows she'll miss if she fired. This couldn't go on; London might have her rigging deployed but getting hit by plasma bolts is still painful despite it isn't from Siren KANSEN and the burn damage would be a pain to deal with. London put on a serious face as she racked her brain to come up with a tactic in split second, that's when her eyes laid upon some kind of pipe below an overpass. London shot it and it leaks out steam that blinded the Siren temporarily, London flicked her arm upwards and shot the Siren in the head as it went above her. The Siren flew uncontrollably and hit the wall before the jet engine on its back died, London stared at it for a bit before she jogged away.

"Follow my lead, Sheffy" Ark Royal said to Sheffield while she smirked.

"At your command, madam" Sheffield said to Ark.

Ark Royal and Sheffield teamed up as they squared against two Siren at once, they believe that they could deal with this situation quickly. The two Siren are raining them with plasma bolts and forced both of them to take cover behind the walls, the two Siren flew above and intend to flank them. But that's the moment the two girls been waiting for, Ark Royal grinned as she aimed her musket at the Siren above Sheffield while she aimed her dual handguns to the one above Ark. Both of them fired their guns, Sheffield barraged the Siren with dozens of rounds while Ark put one clean through the Siren stomach and severed its upper and lower body. The one above Sheffield fell above her however, and managed to clung toward her before choking her with its arms. Sheffield widened her eyes before she powerfully reared her head backwards, stunning the Siren before she grabbed its arms, freed herself from its grasps and slammed the dying Siren to the floor before she smashed its throat with her foot in full force that it got decapitated. Sheffield watched as blood streamed out of its severed neck, she stared at her right foot that's slightly coated in yellow blood.

"…Disgusting pest…" Sheffield muttered as she stared at the dead Siren menacingly.

"Ladies, any of you injured?" William asked them on the radio.

"We are fine over here" Ark Royal said to William on the radio.

"I'm with London, we're good" Deutschland said to William on the radio.

"Great. Rendezvous on me, we still have a job to do" William said to the ship girls on the radio.

William waited for a bit before he saw his team assembling back to his position, William glanced at them briefly to see if any of them are injured and he nodded his head a bit when he confirmed that they are fine. Now that's been dealt with, it's time to continue with their task so the strike team moved again…But still, what are those Sirens? This is the second time he encountered them, and William could safely conclude that they are an upgraded Siren Trooper. What are they? Commandos? That doesn't seem like a far-fetched assumption. All William know, is that they will definitely be categorized as a high priority Siren to take down from now on. Especially after the story that one of these Siren wiped out a third of a marine squad single handedly, its fortunate that regular guns could still kill them.

"Siren control center is in that building, commander" TB informed William.

After jogging to the center of the floating base, they stumbled upon a tall pyramid like building coated in black. It's in the center of the base, bigger than the other buildings and looking quite important? Yeah, it must house the control center alright. Strangely, there aren't any guards in sight. The team scanned the area around them and its empty, the Siren forces are concentrating on their perimeter defenses that they left their command center unguarded? Whoever commanded this base really want William and his team to reach the command center. That's it, William better ready himself, if this is a game, this would be stage that would lead to a boss fight.

"Siren's been going too easy on us, be on your guard" William said out loud as they jogged toward the building.

"You think there's a trap waiting for us at the control center, your excellency?" London asked William.

"I'm sure. So, watch our surroundings, the last thing we want is to get snared by them" William said to London.

"Tch, didn't even have the gall to face us directly. This Siren leader must be on the weak side" Deutschland commented out loud.

"Or the smart one" London said to Deutschland.

"The smart type would be quite dangerous. I'd rather take Purifier in open combat than facing Observer Alpha" Ark Royal said to London while she frowned.

"Fuck! Scatter!" William suddenly said out loud.

The girls didn't think any further and all of the dispersed just as William ordered, split second later, their previous spot is hounded by several high-speed plasma bolts that exploded on impact with the floor. From the large entrance to the base's command building? Three spider tanks just come out and they immediately opened fire at the strike team. These tanks however, are quite different from the ones they encountered in the past. While the tanks retain their black paint, the highlight on some part isn't glowing red…but blue. Without being told, the ship girls opened fire at the spider tanks which reacted by jumping to the sides, their high explosive shells successfully took out two of the vehicles and leaving one to their mercy. William aimed his plasma carbine and fired at the tank's plasma repeaters that are shooting at them, the plasma bolts hit one of the repeaters and William's eye widened. Because there's a brief flash of purple there, and the repeater is unscathed.

"Energy shields?!" William exclaimed in surprise.

"On a tank? Took them long enough!" Deutschland said out loud.

"Long enough?" London asked Deutschland while she cocked her eyebrows.

"No choice. Secondary guns, blow it to smithereens!" William said out loud.

London, Sheffield and Deutschland immediately lit up their secondary cannons, the spider tank got hit by multiple armor piercing and high explosive rounds before exploding spectacularly. So even with energy shielding, ship grade cannons seem able to easily handle them. The main problem would be their main battle tank standard cannons, would they be able to quickly destroy this type of spider tank? William isn't sure, but he got a feeling that it would require at least two or three shots now if their tanks ever faced with these new spider tanks. William and the KANSENs run past the burning wrecks and into the command center, they are immediately greeted by a big room with a pillar in the center. Huh, so the first floor is just an empty space? Strange, is it a storage area? This place is their command center, right? Why there are no area like receptions? Or even administrative booths? Oh wait…

They're Sirens! Why would they require something to welcome people when they are mostly working for themselves? Hospitality seems to be the last thing on their priority, who are they going to welcome anyway? Siren is plenty powerful on their own, why would they need allies for? Administrative booths? Why would they spend manpower on administrative nonsense when AIs could take care of those routines? Sirens does put AI on everything, they must have something that take cares of things like administration, logistics or even maintenance. That way, they could put their manpower purely on military section…The strike team approached the huge pillar on the center, that's when they discovered that it's an elevator hub and seemingly the only way to advance into the building interior.

"No stairs huh?" William asked out loud.

"Limiting the access to your internal structure is a good move for defense" Ark Royal said to William.

"And there's practically no one here! Couldn't they make it any more obvious!?" Deutschland said out loud.

"Whoever their leader is, they really want to meet us" Ark Royal said out loud.

"Yeah. Come on, it's the only way" William said to the ship girls.

"Allow me to interact with the elevator control, so I could make sure it couldn't be overridden by the control center" TB said to William.

"Got it" William said to TB as he entered the elevator and put his left hand on the control panel.

"…Control established. I have isolated this elevator from the base's network" TB said to William.

"Nice. Take us to the control center" William said to TB.

The strike team boarded the elevator, the door closed and the platform they're on raised to the floor where control center of this base is located. None of them let their guard down even inside the elevator, every eye wandered as they try to find anything even slightly amiss. They are deep inside enemy territory now and any misstep here could cost them their lives, not to mention they are clearly walking into a trap. The elevator stopped at the designated floor before the door opened, the team immediately raised their weapons but all they found is an empty corridor. William walked a few steps ahead before he looked back and motioned the girls to follow him with his fingers, the KANSENs nodded their heads and they fell behind William as they followed the man in single file. The team advanced slowly, not a corner is sparred from their gaze as they moved toward the door to the Siren base control center. So far? Nothing. Not a sign of life, as if the control center is deserted…Whoever leading these Sirens either very confident in their own power, smart enough to laid a perfect ambush or too stupid to underestimate what one man and a group of KANSENs could do.

After traversing the long corridor, they reached a huge mechanical double door, the entrance to their objective. Everyone immediately piled to the sides of the door, none of them would want to be greeted by the possible ambush by standing in front of the door directly. William placed his left hand on the control panel so TB could open the door, the double door opened and the team peeked inside before they widened their eyes. There's someone on the command podium, located at the center of the room. A brunette woman, dressed in white opera dress with white vagabond hat on her head, stood elegantly while facing the large screen in front of her that shown the battle currently happening all around the base. William and the ship girls stared at each other, is it an enemy? Well, it's a safe bet with the situation at hand, how could there be allies being ahead of them? Unless of course, its someone who has connection with Nyx. William won't take the chance however, he nodded at Ark Royal who immediately crouched, aimed her musket at the woman and fired.

BANG!

"You just can't resist the temptation, right~?" The woman asked out loud.

"…Well, there's an attempt, at least" William commented out loud while he smiled grimly.

The bullet that Ark Royal fired hit something before it could touch the woman, an invisible force field that briefly flashed blue the moment its hit by the projectile. Welp, there goes their element of surprise. But at a glance, the control center is empty save for that woman. She's not immediately hostile to them as well, so William concluded that she'd be interested in a brief talk. He better try to get as much Intel as he could regarding the Sirens, the better they could understand them the better they could fight them in the long run. William stepped inside the control center and followed by the ship girls, all of them kept their guns pointed at the woman who finally turned around. Moirai finally looked at the intruders directly, she couldn't help but to smile as she looked at each one of them. William, London, Deutschland, Ark Royal and Sheffield, all of them looked so serious but…she can still sense hope and spirit in each of them. Good, William has been doing a good job, she wouldn't be smiling if these girls being no different than the Ashes.

"Welcome, my dears~. I have been expecting you…My name is Moirai, a pleasure to be acquainted with you" Moirai said out loud as she curtsied.

.

Hood could hear the subtle sound of raging battle in the direction where the base is suspected to be, guess the camouflage is still up because she can't see the fight from the hotel. Hood stared at her phone that displayed the message that William sent to her before, she smiled a bit in appreciation at her lover before she stared at the open sea once again. Perhaps she should patrol the town, she can't just exactly go to that battle, who will be the KANSEN defending this island if she does? Le Triomphant and Le Malin haven't come back yet, if there are stray Siren KANSENs approaching this island? It will be up to her to take care of it. Hood nodded to herself before she returned to her room, grabbed a few items, make sure her appearance is presentable and then strolled out of her hotel room and into the night town…Despite the ongoing battle not far from their position, the people on this town continued with their activity as usual. There are several Iris Marines on patrol though, so perhaps that's what gave them the comfort to act as usual despite the invasion that just happened literal days ago and a battle raging just off the beachhead.

It is a beautiful European styled town; one she'd only seen if she traveled to the countryside as most of the urban areas have been modernized and even 'standardized' in their design. So, seeing the cultural aspect on Iris medieval age building designs is a really refreshing sight, she hasn't been able to properly enjoy the scenery ever since they arrived here due to the situation, but now she could do so albeit temporarily. Hood walked aimlessly and stumbled into the town's courtyard, an intersection with waterfall that's unfortunately have been damaged from the skirmish. The rubbles have been cleared, but she could still see bullet holes and plasma scorches everywhere. Given time, she's sure this area can be repaired and restored to how it's used to, she looked forward to visit this town again in the future. Hood heard some laughter coming from inside the local bar, she took a peek and saw that the establishment is completely filled tonight. There are lots of townsfolks but she saw some soldiers among them, they are quite lax despite there's an operation going on right now! Hood is about to enter the bar to reprimand them until she saw that they are fully armored and has FAMAS on their backs.

"…So, they are on alert" Hood muttered to herself.

Hood walked away from the bar, she'll let them go and hoped that they will be sober enough to hit anything with their rifle when things go down. The woman chose to head toward the castle-cathedral hybrid on the center of the town, she climbed the stairs and reached the entrance. Hood noticed that there are no guards on the double door, furthermore the said door is opened as well. The cathedral interior is pitch black, safe for the candles that light up around the massive altar. Hood instantly becomes suspicious, she grabbed her P320 handgun from her right thigh holster and held it on her hands as she advanced into the cathedral while disengaging the gun's safety. Hood walked closer toward the altar while her eyes darted around the dark room, her ears working extra hard to pick up any subtle sound that could indicate any other presence than her. Hood walked steadily toward the altar and reached it without anything jumping her in the dark, the woman found nothing and she furrowed her eyebrows in wonder on what the hell is going on here?

Well dwelling in darkness isn't going to solve the mystery, Hood walked alongside the walls to find the light switch and found one after scouring the walls for a bit. She flipped the switch and the chandelier lighted up, revealing an empty chapel that she's currently in. The woman couldn't help herself but to be confused, she remembered that this building should have guards patrolling around and she didn't see any sign of life at the moment. But the altar's candles are light up, where's the people in charge? Maybe they're on the restroom? But what about the guards? Could they be somewhere else at the moment? Emergency? Or they could be even the soldier she saw at the bar? Something clearly doesn't add up here, Hood better investigates. While her lover and comrade are fighting hard in the frontline, it's up to her to protect their rear.

"…Anyone…hear me?" Someone said out loud on the radio channel albeit with heavy interference.

"This is HMS Hood, please repeat?" Hood asked the person on the radio.

"…Hood? Ah, this is Le Triomphant! Can…hear me?" It's Le Triomphant who contacted her on the radio.

"You voice are breaking up; the jamming is still active" Hood said to Le Triomphant on the radio.

"Right, we've re…and now inbound for the island" Le Triomphant said to Hood on the radio, did she mean to say rendezvous?

"In that case, head straight for the cathedral. We have a situation" Hood said to Triomphant on the radio.

"Cathedral? Oui, we'll-"

Hood didn't bother hearing the rest because she heard running footsteps from behind and she turned around, a Siren Explorer is lunging at her with its left rigging in mid swing. Hood immediately dodged right as she summoned her rigging and dropped her handgun, the Siren smashed a wooden bench with its rigging before it spun and charged at Hood once again. This time, Hood has her guard up and ready for that Explorer. She caught the Explorer's rigging with her left hand, swung the Siren and slammed it to the floor. Hood wasted no time raising her right fist and hit the back of the Siren's head, cracking its skull open and pulverized its brain. She hit so hard that the floor cracked from her punch, the Siren who got hit by that? Its dead for sure.

"I see, it is unwise to let them in autonomous mode all the time"

Hood turned around and noted that there's someone standing in front of the altar now, a pale girl with long flowing white hair and yellow eyes. Compiler brought a small group consisted of Explorer and Tracker as her escort for this mission, she has managed to sneak into the cathedral undetected and her escorts took care of the guards. But she is momentarily distracted that she forgot to set her escort from refraining to engage anyone else, a KANSEN no less, and that resulted in its death. She's in luck that the other Siren KANSENs are standing guard outside so she's quick to signal them to stay put, Compiler doesn't know Hood's ability in hand-to-hand combat, especially after her receiving some lesson from her boyfriend. But judging from the spectacle she saw just now? She got good evidence that this woman in front of her could very well handle herself.

"I believe we haven't been introduced" Hood said to Compiler.

"That is correct. But I do know you, Hood of The Royal Navy" Compiler said to Hood.

"I figured that the Sirens would know about each one of us. So, forgive me for being presumptuous, but might I accuse you as the leader of the Siren forces that attacked this island?" Hood asked Compiler as all of her guns aimed at the Siren.

"Correct. You can designate me with Compiler" Compiler responded to Hood.

"Compiler…and are you the one who shot us down?" Hood asked Compiler.

"That is true" Compiler responded to Hood.

"I see…Well then, what business you might have here? Our forces are assaulting your base at this very moment, why wouldn't you defend it personally?" Hood asked Compiler while she smiled slightly in wonder.

"Because this is my goal, that base and the forces I have with me is just a non-essential factor to accomplish my mission" Compiler said to Hood as she turned and faced the altar.

"Your mission? This cathedral?" Hood asked Compiler as she picked up her P230 from the floor.

"…Yes, what it has inside its walls" Compiler said to Hood.

"And you seek to procure it?" Hood asked Compiler.

"Not necessarily, I am to study it" Compiler said to Hood.

Study what's inside the cathedral? Hood doesn't follow, she isn't a strong believer in religion so she's a bit lost in what does Compiler truly wants to study. What warrants the Siren to prioritize an old cathedral than their own base's security? Hood got a feeling that she will find out though so she decided to watch Compiler work for a bit. Compiler snapped her fingers and two portals opened to her sides and through them? Two Peace Breaker were summoned. Hood's face slightly hardened at the threat before her, but it seems that Compiler summoned them for other purpose. Compiler wordlessly pointed at the altar and the Peace Breakers summoned their rigging before firing their secondary guns at it.

BOOOOOMMMM!

Hood covered her face to shield it from the flash and incoming debris, she lowered her left arm and that's when her eyes widened. The Peace Breakers cleared some debris with their hands before they parted to the side to reveal something that's hidden inside the altar, Compiler walked closer toward the object and she stared at it with analytical gaze. Hood moved to the side for a bit to get a clear view on what did Compiler's lackeys just revealed. It's some kind of pod, high tech looking in design and painted white with blue glowing parts. How can something out of Sci-Fi is hidden inside that altar all this time?! Has it always been there ever since the creation of that altar?! How the hell something so advanced existed back then?! Hood widened her eyes in realization, this has Siren smell all over it for they are the only one who can travel between timelines! It's not surprising if they thought that Siren does get involved with humans on this world far earlier in time! Hood heard something behind her and she turned her head around to see a purple portal opening, someone stepped out of that portal and Hood narrowed her eyes for a bit.

"Good evening, milady~" The figure said to Hood.

"…Evening as well, Mr. Nyx…" Hood said to Nyx who nodded his head.

"Let me handle this…So, I guess the cat is out of the bag" Nyx said out loud as he walked past Hood.

"Nyx, you know about this?" Compiler asked Nyx who approached her.

"I have a hunch, combing infinite realities isn't easy. But I did my research" Nyx said to Compiler.

"Research?" Hood asked Nyx.

"Celestial Garden only ever exist in this reality; can you believe that?" Nyx asked Hood in amused tone.

"Really? Out of infinite possibilities out there?" Hood asked Nyx.

"Well, technically, there are other instances as well. But this one is the only reality where this island remains pristine, and survived everything that fate has thrown its way until now. Very fitting with the myth, that this place is blessed with miracles" Nyx said to Hood as he stood before the pod.

"And what is the connection with that pod?" Hood asked Nyx while she frowned a bit.

"Hmm, I wonder~…" Nyx said out loud as he rubbed his helmet's chin guard.

"Please do not feign ignorance, Mr. Nyx. You make it deliberately clear that you know something" Hood said to Nyx with serious tone.

"…This side of you never changes, Hoody" Nyx muttered in low tone.

"Pardon?" Hood asked Nyx while she narrowed her gaze.

"Ah nothing. But to answer your question, that myth? Is tied with what's inside this pod" Nyx said to Hood.

"Nyx, do you plan to interfere with my mission?" Compiler asked Nyx.

"Yes and no. I'm here to take this pod with me, but I'll give you the data you need to accomplish your mission. That's what you cared about, isn't it?" Nyx asked Compiler with apparent playfulness in his tone.

"Affirmative" Compiler answered to Nyx.

"Then here, I'll be taking my leave" Nyx said to Compiler as he handed her a crystal chip and a lollipop.

"…Candy?" Compiler took the items before she stared at the lollipop in her hand.

"I did promise you that I'll give you candy when we meet, right?" Nyx said to Compiler in amused tone.

"Correct. But I don't need it" Compiler said to Nyx as she stared at him.

"OOF! Ah don't drop it till you try it, Compiler, it's a delicious treat…Anyway, I'll see you soon" Nyx said to Compiler while he patted her in the head.

Nyx snapped his finger and a purple portal appeared behind the white pod, the man only pushed the pod into the portal and then glanced back toward Hood. The woman is processing the information that Nyx just gave, and she immediately concluded that this is the end of the island's legend. Nyx is taking the source of miracle that have blessed the island with him, there will be no more miracle for this island inhabitants…What will happen to the people? Will they be fine? Hood has no idea, Iris government really valued this island because of the said miracles so there's a big chance that they'll neglect this island from now on, especially with them still recovering from the great war. The Sirens though, they didn't mind letting Nyx walking away with something as valuable as that? Hood kind of suspect the fact that Nyx holds some kind of special privilege among the Sirens, does that mean he could do whatever he wants? Or this is a special case?

"Oh, the Siren higher ups wouldn't really care. This island usefulness is up with the data on Compiler's hands and me taking away the source won't matter to them" Nyx said to Hood.

"You read my mind…Then you should know that this island might be endangered in the far future, with its strategic value being taken away" Hood said to Nyx while she slightly frowned.

"Heheh, I know that much" Nyx said to Hood.

"And you did it anyway" Hood said to Nyx as she narrowed her gaze.

"It is for the best, Hood. Miracle is something you created yourself, not relying on an artifact. Miracle PRODUCED artifact, not the other way around" Nyx said to Hood.

"…The wisdom cubes" Hood widened her eyes as she muttered her guess.

"Humanity already has miracles in their palm, losing this one won't really matter" Nyx said to Hood as he faced the portal.

"You expect a wisdom cube to replace that pod?" Hood asked Nyx.

"No, it doesn't work that way. And the thing is, it's unwise to rely on miracle every time a problem appears. Miracle is called one for a reason, if everyone could get them by praying hard enough, religion would play a bigger role in everything, am I right? The whole world would be a theocracy, instead of the colorful governance we have here…Hard work must always come first, then supplemented by your prayers, your faith in your efforts. It's not wrong to believe in something, it is wrong to expect your effort would always pay off just because you pray. The people on this island have been accustomed to pray in order for the miracle to smooth out all of their efforts, instead of hoping that their effort would be worth it…So, which one they truly believe then? Their god? Or the miracle itself? Will they remain believing in their god once they discover this? Once they know that they aren't especially favored by the god because of their strong faith? When the truth is revealed, will they change their ways?" Nyx explained to Hood who looked down on the floor because she has no answer for that question.

"…To be honest, I haven't the slightest idea, Mr. Nyx…But I'm sure you knew the answer" Hood said to Nyx while she frowned.

"I can predict a future, not determine which one would happen, Ms. Hood…But I think it is time the people on this island to relearn about doing their absolute best, and letting go when they did everything they could. To pray because they have done everything they can, not because they expect a miracle to save them all the time" Nyx said to Hood.

Nyx subtly sighed before he stepped through the portal while Compiler and Hood watched, as both left to ponder Nyx's words. Compiler unwrapped the lollipop as the portal closed, her eyes narrowed a bit as she inspected the candy before popping it into her mouth. The Siren found the treat to be delicious, it's the first time she ever tasted a candy and she immediately got hooked with its sweetness. Compiler then stared at Hood for a bit who's on guard once again, wondering whether the situation have been dealt with. Compiler considered her mission is successful, so she wordlessly snapped her fingers, opened a portal of her own and stepped into it, she really didn't consider saying anything else to the Royal Navy KANSEN. Hood is slightly taken aback that Compiler would just enter the portal wordlessly, but she immediately put on guarded stance because as soon as Compiler disappearing into the portal, the Peace Breakers turned toward her with their cannons aimed at her. Looks like with absence of their leader, the Siren KANSENs reverted to their basic programming and that is to kill everyone.

"…I'm truly sorry" Hood muttered to herself.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

She did not say that because she pitied the Sirens, she pitied the fact that she had to damage the cathedral in self-defense. Her 381mm guns fired four armor piercing shells, heavily damaging the already broken altar and torn the Peace Breakers apart. Her shells continued and rammed through several walls into the castle's interior, Hood might damage an important site but she'll live with that compared to potentially losing her own life, again. Starting today, she will not take chances, she doesn't want to lose the happiness she has gained ever since her death on Denmark Strait. If it means being ruthless woman in combat? So be it.

"Madame Hood! Are you alright?!" Hood turned around and saw the Iris ship girls that's being led by Le Triomphant.

"I'm fine Ms. Triomphant" Hood said to Triomphant while she smiled a bit.

"We heard an explosion so we rushed here! Everything okay? Oh mon dieu! The altar!" Triomphant said out loud as she closed her mouth with her right hand.

"Anyway, who are you three? I don't think we've been introduced" Hood turned toward the KANSENs that's with Le Triomphant and Le Malin.

"Suffren-Class Heavy Cruiser Foch, at your service, Madame Hood" Foch, the purple haired girl said to Hood while she grinned.

"Nice to meet you Madame Hood, I am Le Terrible" Terrible, the blonde with bobbed haircut, said to Hood while she smiled.

"Salutations! Maille Breze, Templar Knight of Iris Orthodoxy, at your command madame! At least until I meet the commandant himself" The girl with long blue hair, Maille, said to Hood while she smiled widely.

"Pleasure to meet the three of you. As you might be aware, I am Hood, personal secretary for Commander Blaze and second in command of ALASUC. Until Lord William returns, you three are to follow my instructions. Let's get along from now on" Hood said to the new arrival while she smiled.

"""Oui!""" Foch, Maille and Terrible said to Hood.

"Alright enough introduction! Siren KANSENs to the rear!" Le Triomphant suddenly said out loud.

The group summoned their rigging, they turned toward the cathedral entrance and noted that the rest of Siren KANSENs on the island that Compiler brought are charging toward them, four Trackers and seven Explorers who fired at the KANSENs that avoided their projectiles then retaliated immediately. Foch threw two throwing knifes toward an Explorer that's lunging at her, the knifes embedded on its torso and the kinetic force is enough to staggered the Explorer. Foch immediately closed in on the Siren before she launched a thrust kick to its chin, causing the Explorer to be thrown up while spinning and crashing into a chandelier. Maille blocked several projectiles coming from Two Trackers while she sprinted toward them with her shield up, then she swung her large spear toward one of the Trackers that got split into two when Maille large blade cleaved its torso. The other Tracker charged toward her and hit her in the side with its rigging, Maille yelped in pain before she backstepped with her shield raised up, the cannon on the shield fired at the Tracker's face and stunned it before Maille rammed its stomach with her spear then yanked it upwards, tearing the Siren apart.

Le Malin dashed to the right as she avoided a lunge from a Tracker, the girl then dashed toward the Tracker before stabbing it multiple times with her rapier. Then she thrust kicked the Tracker toward Le Terrible who swung her rod toward it, hitting its back and snapped its spine. Le Triomphant stood before Hood with her shield raised up and tanked three Explorers' energy projectiles, both KANSENs have been moving to adjust their position while baiting the three Sirens. Hood then fired her cannons toward the Explorers, her armor piercing shells tore through two Explorers and left nothing but bloody yellow gibs everywhere. Triomphant launched herself at the surviving Siren and stabbed her sword right through its chest, she pulled her sword and then decapitated the Siren by swinging at its neck. The group successfully dealt with the Siren KANSENs, just as several squad of Iris Marines arrived on the cathedral. They looked at the Siren corpses in astonishment, no doubt impressed and slightly afraid at how the ship girls making quick work of them.

"Sorry for being late madame! We didn't notice that the Sirens are here!" One of the marines said to Hood.

"It's fine, they didn't trip any alarm, and it's good that you're late. You don't want to be caught with the skirmish we just had" Hood said to the marine.

"Ah right, I got a feeling we'll just be in the way" The marine said to Hood as he looked at an Explorer corpse that's hanging on the chandelier.

"The Siren got what they came for" Hood said out loud as she glanced toward the broken altar.

"They came here just to spit on our religion?" The marine asked Hood as he stared at the broken altar.

"It's more complicated than that, but we will talk about that later…While the Siren might have accomplished their mission, there's a chance that they are not done yet with us. Put the whole island on maximum alert until our forces that battling the Siren base returns, we don't want to be caught off guard for the second time" Hood said to the marine.

"Oui madame!" The marine replied while he saluted.

…Nyx stepped out into a grassy cliff with a futuristic metropolis city beneath them, with tall skyscrapers that pierced the clouds, angular buildings decorated the landscapes, futuristic aircrafts hovered above its skyline, futuristic ground transports filled the roads and citizens who dressed in mix between elegant clothing of the Victorian era and the more modern looking one…with futuristic aesthetic touches. Nyx looked to his left and stared at the white pod that laid above the grass, he walked towards it, kneeled and touched the pod. A blue holographic screen appeared before Nyx that shown an unknown symbol, Nyx touched the symbol and authentication screen appeared before him. The man easily filled the screen with the needed information before the screen accepted, the pod hissed as its top part become divided in the middle. The top part then moved to the side, revealing the content of the pod itself.

"…Found you at last…" Nyx muttered in soft tone.

What's inside the pod? Is an early teenage girl with long flowing light grey hair who also possessed a pair of fox ears and nine fox tails in the same color, she laid within the pod with her eyes shut and her hands folded over her stomach. The girl stirred awake as her eyes started to flutter awake, revealing a pair of purplish-blue eyes that stared at the blue sky above her. The girl then raised herself from the pod she slept on, she surveyed the area around her and widened her eyes when her gaze fell upon the kneeling armored man next to her pod. His face encased within a helmet, there's no single hint to his identity because his physical feature isn't shown, but the girl stared at Nyx with nostalgic eyes. Nyx offered his right hand toward the girl and she took it without hesitation, then the man stood up and helped the girl to stand as well.

"…Sleep well?" Nyx asked the girl.

"…Hai" The girl answered to Nyx.

"…I remembered that I told you to lay low, no matter what. What's the deal with Celestial Garden then?" Nyx further asked the girl.

"I can't just abandon people who needed help, you taught me to care for others" The girl said to Nyx while she frowned a bit.

"Yeah, I did" Nyx said to the girl.

"Then why are you mad that I decided to help those people?" The girl asked Nyx.

"I'm not mad, I'm just worried…You're not exactly a nobody, Shino. You're in luck that we're the one who found you, things won't end so well if the other Sirens get to you first" Nyx said to Shino.

"…Being born with this power is a blessing and a curse…" Shino said to Nyx while she frowned and glanced to the city.

"Well, you're the one who predicted our downfall…Thanks to your psychic powers, this haven existed…Don't get too caught up in the negative side, Shino. You ultimately saved us all" Nyx said to Shino as his left hand patted her head.

"…You felt different…" Shino said to Nyx while she frowned deeply.

"You just noticed now? Guess your power being dormant for a while that they need-" Nyx asked Shino in lighthearted tone.

"How did you die?" Shino immediately asked Nyx as she turned toward him with serious expression.

"…I'll tell you later, not exactly fond of the event myself. Besides, your mother is waiting for you" Nyx said to Shino as he let her head go and pointed at something that's approaching them from the city.

"…It seems I can never escape her sight, even for a second" Shino said out loud when she saw the approaching object.

"What do you expect? She's your mother, she could do just that even without her powers" Nyx said to Shino as he watched the object hovered in front of Shino.

"Hai, sou desu ne" Shino said to Nyx while she smiled as she caressed the object, a purple spectral butterfly.

"Welcome home, Shino…You're safe, for real this time" Nyx said to Shino in soft tone.

"Truly…I'm home, otou-sama…" Shino said to Nyx while she smiled widely.

.

William is quite confused, this woman in front of him definitely has affiliation with Sirens but she doesn't seem to be a ship girl. Not only that, something about this woman in front of him just doesn't sit right with him. He doesn't know how to explain it properly, but it's a feeling like that might be best described with the word 'familiar'. William sensed that he has met this woman before, but where? When? How could he forget that he has met with a Siren agent before? Did they do something to him? Memory wipe? With Sirens, that sure sounds like a plausible scenario. He has heard her voice before and her mannerism felt familiar…Moirai smiled as she summoned a holographic screen in front of her, she noticed that Compiler has left from the Celestial Garden. That means her mission is accomplished, she should just go now. But where's the fun in that? She wants to see how strong William on this world, perhaps now is the best time to do so.

"Moirai huh? You're even going so far to pave the road for us" William said to Moirai.

"Ah, yes, I admit I have been a bit…eager, in removing the obstacles before the control center. I simply don't want you and the ladies to be more troubled more than necessary" Moirai said to William while she smiled.

"More than necessary? Now I dreaded what would you send if you really want to kill us" Ark Royal said to Moirai while she smirked.

"I assure you, it will not disappoint" Moirai said to Ark while she smiled.

"…So, what business you have with us?" William asked Moirai.

"Straight to the point hmm? I admit, I like that attitude. No sweet talking, no hidden meaning, you just go immediately for the jugular" Moira said to William while she smiled.

"And you're the one who's stalling" William said to Moirai as his finger moved to the trigger.

"Ufufufufufufu…I never said that I will respond immediately, am I right?" Moirai asked William after she giggled merrily.

"Enough games bitch, we don't have time for this!" Deutschland said to Moirai while she scowled.

"Aaah, well, I suppose that is true. There is an inbound nuclear missile to this position after all" Moirai said to Deutschland while she smirked.

"""""What?!""""" William and his team reacted as their eyes widened.

"Nuclear missile, tactical ones, I think. Yield must have been around ten megatons or something" Moirai said out loud.

"That fucking Ashville! He launched it for real!" Deutschland said to William.

"Moirai, how long until the missile hit?" William asked Moirai.

"Give or take, ten minutes at best" Moirai said to William while she shrugged.

"London, Ark, relay the news to Bismarck and Roux! Have everyone pull out from combat and the island! Get Hood and tell her to join the other ship girls as well!" William said to London and Ark Royal.

"Yes milord!" "We'll get it done!" London and Ark Royal said to William then they exited the room.

A nuclear missile is heading their way but William honestly has no idea regarding its target. It's hard to believe that Ashville know the exact location of this Siren base, not to mention it has moved from the original position they have encountered. The only logical target left is the island itself, the Celestial Garden. But if that's the case, William only has one response…WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! What kind of man is he that he would senselessly murder an entire town alongside the armed forces defending it?! What would that accomplish other than unnecessary carnage?! Why would he do this?! He is either a madman or working for Crimson Cleanser! He doesn't have proof for now, but he's sure that this won't fly well when William could contact Lucas directly! No wait, Lucas must've been aware regarding this missile launch, headquarter would certainly detect the missile and must be trying to stop it at the moment. Either way, they need the communication line from here to HQ, William's objective remains unchanged.

"Moirai, we need to stop that missile" William said to Moirai.

"Oh for sure, tactical nuclear explosion is nothing to laugh about despite their small size. Especially when we are this close to the island" Moirai said to William while she smiled.

"Please, turn the jammer off. Let us contact our headquarter, we'll put a stop to that nuke" William said to Moirai.

"Sure, that would be the quickest method, isn't it? Unfortunately for you, I won't do that" Moirai said to William.

"What?" William asked as his eye widened.

"I have my own agenda, you see. I really want to know how are you going to solve a disaster with a very tight time limit" Moirai said to William while she smirked a bit.

"You Sirens and your fucking tests! This isn't funny! A lot of lives are going to be lost if we didn't do something! You don't want to genocide us, right?! Then let us do what needs to be done!" William said to Moirai while he scowled.

"If 'you' didn't do anything, commander. If you want to stop the missile? You have to access the console behind me, that is if you can make me move out of the way. Do that, and I will consider you passing this little test. Show me that you didn't just possess a powerful physical strength, William! Show me that you also decisive enough to be the ship girl's commander! Prove to me that you are worth the effort!" Moirai said out loud as she spread her arms and snapped her fingers.

"Effort?" William muttered in confusion.

---

(Nier: Automata, Simone OST started playing)

---

Dozens of portals appeared all around Moirai where a bunch of humanoid creature comes out of it, they stood in slouched posture, dressed in tuxedo or gown with varying colors and all of their face covered in opera masks. Moirai waved her hands and spectral looking blue strings shot out of her hands, the blue strings flew up then toward the creature's back and connected to their backside. With a jerk of Moirai's forearms, the creatures stood upright, the eyes hidden behind opera masks glowed bright blue and all of them turned their heads toward William, Deutschland and Sheffield who immediately aimed their guns toward the creatures. Moirai wiggled her fingers and the creatures took out knifes from under their tux and gown, then they aimed their weapons toward William and the girls with him. The man is in shock and awe at the moment, never in his life he ever thought that someday he will be facing a puppeteer in combat. Not just a puppeteer that controlled a doll, but one that controlled dozens of them at once with magic strings or that kind of bullshit!

"What the fuck!" William gritted his teeth as he tried to prioritize who to target first.

"Things just get uglier!" Deutschland commented while she scowled.

"We're surrounded and trapped" Sheffield said out loud as she noticed the door to the room is closed.

"My dear performers, it is time we show our audiences a play. A tale of tragedy, where a man and woman were separated, despite their love for one another. A man who died for standing up against the lies and upholding his justice, a woman who keeps on living despite the hollowness inside her heart and the suffering throughout her life…Both are reunited, though they will never be together again. In her sadness, the woman decided that the man shall rest once more…Unless of course, he could prove that he is strong enough, to fight against fate itself" Moirai said out loud while she smiled.

"What the hell is she talking about?" Deutschland asked out loud.

"Something about this whole situation" Sheffield said to Deutschland while she scowled.

"It's a rhetoric question, you know" Deutschland said to Sheffield as she aimed at the puppets.

"Deutschland, Sheffield, take care of those puppets. I'll deal with Moirai directly" William ordered the two KANSENs.

"As you command, master" "Jawohl!" Sheffield and Deutschland said to William.

PSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIU!

William fired his plasma carbine at Moirai, the plasma bolts rained upon Moirai yet its ineffective due to her blue spherical shield that covered the podium except for the console. William emptied his plasma carbine, reloaded, fired, reloaded, fired, over and over again until he ran out of plasma cell to charge his plasma carbine. All of those plasma bolts did not do anything to Moirai's shield, it's still there and doesn't look like that it's losing any strength or integrity. William discarded the plasma carbine and summoned his gauss carbine, then he proceeded to fire at Moirai, spewing dozens of accelerated bullets toward her shielding and it's still done jack shit as the bullets are deflected at direct contact with the shield. William don't know what's the shield made of, but it is exceptionally powerful that he won't be surprised if KANSEN grade cannons fails to crack it open. Realizing that his firearms are basically useless against the shielding field for now, William summoned his Siren Slayer, engaged his jet thrusters that caused him to blitzed toward Moirai with his blade swinging diagonally downwards.

"A classic move" Moirai commented as she wiggled her right index finger.

One of the dolls jumped between William and Moirai, sacrificing its body to shield Moirai. William hit the doll with full powered swing and he widened his eye, not even he could cleave through the doll's body! His blade did a considerable damage toward the doll as it managed to sink halfway into its body, but that's as far as he could go even with full powered blade swing! What is the doll made of?! William could cleave through humanoid sized creatures with ease! He could even cut through Siren vehicles armor! This thing that Moirai controlled is even stronger than Siren KANSENs! The doll softened William's blade impact against Moirai's shield, doing only abysmally minimal damage that can't be noticed by naked eyes. The doll raised its right arm and attempted to wound William by stabbing his left arm, fortunately his shield negated the damage even though it costed twenty percent of his shield strength. Its powerful enough to chip a large chunk of his shielding? William can't afford to get distracted in this fight. The man dashed backwards and readied his stance, the doll is still able to stand despite the horrendous gaping damage to its abdomen.

"I can see your confusion through your helmet, William. Allow me to elaborate, these dolls are made entirely of very dense tungsten metalworks" Moirai said to William while she smiled.

"No wonder they're so tough!" William said to Moirai while he gritted his teeth.

William charged once more, this time he focused entirely on the doll that's protecting Moirai. William swung his blade toward its neck and he managed to cleanly severed its head with a full powered horizontal swing, but the doll is still moving and it tried to stab him in the stomach. William dashed back and the doll pursued him, the man launched a gut punch that caused the doll to be bended, then he unsheathed his wrist blade and swung it at the string on its back. Surprisingly, he managed to cut it and the doll lifelessly fell to the floor.

"Ladies, cut the strings on their backs!" William said out loud.

"Working on it!" Sheffield said to William.

"Way ahead of you!" Deutschland said to William.

"Are you sure that's the end of it?" Moirai asked William while she smirked.

Another string rapidly approached and connected itself to the body that William just took down, the body started moving again, this time it shot toward William then latched on to him and caused his blade to fell from his right hand. The doll has a strong grip, even William found himself struggling to free his body, might be because the doll is made of metal construct especially dense tungsten plate. Another doll run toward William from behind and jumped towards him with a knife on its right hand, William detected the jumping doll from his radar then immediately spun his body and faced the diving doll. As expected, that doll stabbed the doll that's latching on William, the man used that brief distraction to free himself. William roared as he grabbed the doll's hands and undid its grip on him, he slammed the doll head first to the floor before he kicked it away. The doll that stabbed the other one before now charged at William who picked up his fallen Siren Slayer, he set his stance as he focused himself at the approaching doll. But before he could do anything, three dolls approached from his flanks and immediately latched on to him.

"Commander, taking your situation into consideration, I can attempt to establish remote connection with the console" TB informed William who's struggling to remain mobile.

"Do it!" William ordered TB without missing a beat.

"Affirmative. Attempting to establish connection, the chances of it succeeding is abysmally low however" TB said to William.

"Don't care, just try it!" William said to TB.

"Is this all you can do, William? Do you think you can keep the KANSENs safe if you struggle this much against these dolls?" Moirai asked William while she smirked.

BOOM BOOM!

Sheffield fired two high explosive rounds from her main gun toward the dolls that are chasing her, blowing a good chunk of the room and completely obliterated the chasing dolls. However, it is in vain effort as an additional dozen of portals opened and more dolls are summoned to fight them. William hardened his face as he concluded that he needs to get even more stronger, since he can't do much against metal constructs without his weaponry…William engaged his jet thruster, causing him to fly and avoided the doll that was trying to stab him. William rammed himself toward the wall then slid along it, making sure to apply enough force so the doll on his back is forced to let him go. Since he fights metal puppets, not a living creature, William has to make sure that he's fighting in unrestrained manner or he'll be killed easily. William grabbed the doll to his right side then threw the puppet toward Moirai herself, the doll hit the shield and causing it to flash for split second.

"TB, assessment" William said to TB.

"Her shielding does take damage; however, it is extremely durable that there's no visual indication for damage" TB said to William.

"KANSEN cannons should do the trick, but we'll risk damaging the console in the process" William muttered to himself.

"Oi kommandant! Got any bright ideas?!" Deutschland asked William on the radio.

"I'm working on it" William said to Deutschland on the radio as he dashed to the side to avoid a lunging puppet.

"Well hurry it up! We're getting overwhelmed!" Deutschland said to William on the radio.

Think William, think! How can he shut down Moirai shield without damaging the console behind her? He doesn't have something that's extremely destructive but with minimal area of effect. Furthermore, he can't think clearly when he has to avoid the dolls that are lunging at him, getting caught and swarmed by metallic dolls is not on today's agenda. He doesn't have a lot of time, should he tell Sheffield and Deutschland to evacuate while he holds them off? No, after what he said to Hood, he'll be the greatest shitbag on earth if he dies here. Hood only managed to pull through back then because he assured her that he'll be there for her, dying here would be the same as stabbing her directly in the heart. But after thinking about it, William didn't see other alternatives than charging directly at Moirai and touch the console so TB could access the system.

"Oi kommandant! Need some help over here!" Deutschland said to William on the radio.

"I'm coming!" William said to Deutschland on the radio.

Before that though, he got to make sure that Sheffield and Deutschland aren't overwhelmed by Moirai's dolls. William flew toward Deutschland who's been firing her dual pistols without stopping, she's doing it while she's jumping around so she won't get surrounded. Her rounds did punch through the puppet's hard surface, but it's useless if it isn't completely destroyed or its controlling string cut. William summoned a plasma grenade, primed it and thew it to the center of the puppet group. The grenade exploded, but it deals only minimal damage to the puppets. They did get thrown, their body are scorched, but other than that they are not affected by the explosion. Because of that though, William saw an opening where the strings are grouped together and ripe for attack. William immediately blitzed forward and swung his Siren Slayer which caused the strings to be cut and the dolls fell flat on the floor, Deutschland didn't miss this opening as she immediately loaded high explosive rounds and fired at the wall, making sure to deal as little damage as possible to the center of the room. The dolls are blown away into scraps, but that victory is short lived as Moirai immediately summoned more.

"How many dolls that bitch have?!" Deutschland asked out loud.

"More than enough" Moirai said to Deutschland while she smirked.

William looked to the side and saw Sheffield about to be overwhelmed by another group of puppets, he dashed toward her, ramming through several dolls along the way and grabbed Sheffield before carrying her as he flew up. Sheffield quietly gasped in surprise, but the moment she saw its her master, the woman turned her rigging cannons toward the group below them and she lit up her AA guns. The damage is minimum, but for a human sized target? It's more than enough to punch a hole or turning metal puppets into scraps with continuous fire. Not to mention, she doesn't have to reload with each round she fired so she basically went full auto on the doll group. William saw several knifes being thrown his way from his front side, the man spun around to shield Sheffield from the ranged attack, the knifes hit his backside which flared his shield. Sheffield was a bit confused on why would William suddenly turn around, but when she heard the sound of his shield soaking up damage? She knew her master just protected her. Sheffield decided to repay him by firing her secondary guns toward the group that just tried to murder her, effectively blowing them up when two high explosive rounds hit the center of their formation.

"Nice shot" William said to Sheffield while he smiled a bit.

"That was elementary, master" Sheffield said to William.

"Right. We need to down Moirai's shield, any ideas?" William asked Sheffield.

"I thought you are handling that problem" Sheffield said to William with half closed eyes.

"Eh, some help won't hurt, I'm not really the brightest" William said to Sheffield while he smiled bitterly.

"Watch out!" Deutschland warned William and Sheffield on the radio.

The newly spawned puppets jumped toward William and Sheffield, he managed to avoid most of them but one of the puppets latched on his right foot. William scowled as he tried to kick it off of him, but to no avail. So, he chose the more brutal way. William flew close to the wall before he spun his right leg to the wall and swinging the puppet right towards it, but even that didn't make it relinquish its grip to his right foot. Sheffield decided to help by grabbing a small knife that she prepared on her right thigh, then she threw the blade to the control strings with deadly accuracy. The string is cut and the doll became lifeless, William spun his body and then threw the doll on his leg toward Moirai. The impact is minimal since Moirai managed to put another doll before her, rendering the damage to her shield being minimum at best. William clicked his tongue, at this rate, he might need to just let the nuke take care of her. Sheffield tapped William's shoulder as a signal to put her down, he descended and put Sheffield down just as Moirai summoned more puppets.

"Tch, she's not letting up" Sheffield muttered after she clicked her tongue.

"We can do this forever, though I'm afraid you are short on time" Moirai said out loud.

"She got a point! This is hopeless, let's just get out of here!" Deutschland said out loud while she kept firing her pistols.

William was about to respond when he saw the dolls charging at him and Sheffield, the maid quickly dashed to the side while firing her dual handguns while William summoned his gauss carbine. Maybe it's time for him to empty his grenade supply, he needs to buy some time for TB's remote connection after all. William fired the underbarrel grenade launcher toward the puppet group, the 40mm grenade hit one of the dolls and exploded, completely breaking it apart and stunning or throwing the other puppets for a bit. William reloaded the launcher in a swift and trained movement, fired, reloaded, fired and reloaded continuously until he exhausted his stored 40mm grenades. He took out around thirteen dolls, but with each fallen doll, another will take its place a few seconds later. Deutschland was right, this is hopeless. Moirai was pretty smart, her powers and abilities are pretty deadly in an enclosed room like this, especially with a hostage around her shielding field. William could see how much metal scraps around the room now, they'll soon run out of ammo than defeating Moirai and her puppets.

"Commander, remote connection failed. Siren firewall is too robust, your suit's transmitter is not strong enough to allow stable connection which hinder my ability to crack their defense" TB said to William.

"Even from this range?" William asked TB while he grimaced.

"Yes, direct connection is needed to breach their firewall. Once I have connection, you can let go of the console" TB said to William.

"How long do you need?" William asked TB as he avoided a knife being thrown at his face.

"Approximately three seconds are needed in order to establish connection" TB said to William.

"Master, we are burning too much time. Maybe we should just evacuate" Sheffield said to William on the radio.

"Seconded!" Deutschland said to William on the radio.

"Good point. But not yet, I have one last card to play" William said to Sheffield on the radio.

The card that he has been avoiding to use, at least until now, when things are truly desperate. William felt his heartbeat quickening, adrenaline flooded his blood vessels and his flight or fight instinct kicked in. Three seconds? More than enough time to get him killed, he still doesn't know how strong Moirai is in direct fight. He doesn't want to find out though, William is in hurry. The man dived toward Moirai who smiled widely since his action is quite predictable, he will regret approaching her as she controlled several dolls to gang up on him. William maneuvered around the woman and toward the console, he landed beside his objective and outstretched his left hand to touch the surface of the console. William felt time slows down the closer his hand to the console and just before he touched it, William noticed something…Moirai is unmoving, her dolls stopped moving, Sheffield and Deutschland as well…What's going on? It's as if time has stopped…William was utterly confused, until he spotted something descending from the ceiling.

…A glowing purple butterfly, the spectral looking creature hovered above Moirai before it flew down and bypassed the shield! No, wait, William realized that the butterfly could fly in without being hindered because there is no shielding on top of Moirai! Now he remembered that all of his attack had been coming from the sides, never directly from above! The butterfly guided him? What is it? Who's the owner of that purple butterfly? One thing William knows for sure though, its master wants to help him out of this predicament. The butterfly exited through the gap above Moirai, it flew to his face and hovered in front of him directly. William realized that he couldn't move his body, not even his own eye could move. So, his body is locked in time, but not his consciousness? How does that work?

"You are my salvation; you cannot perish here"

William just heard a woman voice reverberated inside him! Just like when Nyx used his psionic link! Who is it?! Obviously, it wasn't him, so who? Who else possess such ability to speak directly to his soul? The purple butterfly must be connected to that woman! Well William could think more about this whole ordeal later, right now he's just thankful with the fact that he has been shown a weakness to exploit on Moirai virtually invulnerable defense. As if the butterfly could understand his thoughts, the creature spun backwards before it flew up. William could sense that time is about to resume, he prepared himself by planning his move in advance, Moirai will definitely try to stop him, so how could he remain in close contact with her for three seconds without his left hand? Oh well, it's going to be a suicidal move, but William is confident in his chances…Time resumed normally, William found his left hand directly touching the console panel. The man grinned in brief moment of insanity as he summoned a plasma grenade on his right hand, he primed the grenade and tossed it up high. Gravity affected the grenade as it fell directly above Moirai who's looking at it while she smiled, William wouldn't know that blind spot on her shield without some kind of help…and she got a good feeling on what's going on.

"Hmph. Divine intervention, I suppose" Moirai snorted in amusement then said out loud while she smiled.

"Connection established" TB informed William.

PSIUBAM!

Intense force that rattled his organs and searing heat is what William felt as the plasma grenade exploded in very close proximity, the explosion completely depleted his energy shield, causing him to be thrown from the console and hit the walls which stunned him. William felt disoriented, his vision is blurry and he's feeling nauseous. The man groaned then chuckled at the ridiculousness of his action, he always goes for suicidal move the moment he's faced with critical situation. Why didn't he stop doing that when he knows it's dangerous? Simple, it gets him results…William groaned as he gets up from the floor, he stumbled forward but he managed to catch himself from falling flat with his hands. The man looked at the podium and he noticed that Moirai is not there, she is right in front of him now. Her dress has scorch marks, some of it is clearly burned from the plasma, but other than that? She looks perfectly healthy. How the hell did she managed to escape from that detonation at the very last second? William noted that Deutschland and Sheffield are pointing their guns to Moirai's back, but they hold their fire since he's in the way…and they are curious on why would she just approached him without a fight.

"You haven't changed in the slightest, William" Moirai said to William as she kneeled in front of him.

"…What do you know of me? You keep talking as if you know everything" William asked Moirai as he soothed his abdomen.

"Because I do know everything about you" Moirai said to William while she smiled.

"How?" William asked Moirai before he groaned.

"…You and I were close, it's no wonder that I knew you well" Moirai said to William while she smiled softly.

"I don't have many friends…and the ones that are close to me, isn't a Siren" William said to Moirai as he kneeled on the floor as well.

"Oh of course, not here at least" Moirai said to William while she smiled.

"…You're from alternate reality, I know that much" William said to Moirai while he frowned.

"Then you must have known already, William. Don't deny it, you know who I am" Moirai said to William while she smirked.

"…Yeah, I have a good feeling on who you are…Lena…" William said to Moirai while he frowned deeply.

"…Such a nostalgic name…Oh, how have I longed to hear that name from your lips again…" Moirai said to William in shaky tone.

William looked at Moirai and he noticed that there are tears running down her cheeks, her violet eyes that's hidden beneath her mask are staring at him with adoration and nostalgia…William frowned deeply at the very fact that Moirai is basically Lena from alternate reality, she didn't make any attempt to hide her identity after all. If Enterprise has an Alter running around, it's perfectly understandable that Lena will have Alter as well. How did she managed to be in possession of so many metal constructs? No, how the hell did she mastered psionic energy and use it as controlling strings?! Gone have the militarily trained Helena McAllen, what stood before him is a puppet master who didn't bother to use any military tactics that she has been taught. William have noticed that there is no elaborate planning in her movement, Moirai relied on her shielding and puppets too much, he didn't see any offensive move from her own…The Lena he knew wouldn't hesitate to engage him in close quarter, the woman before him is not the same one that he knew…

"…What happened to you?" William asked Moirai in low tone.

"I wish I could tell you everything now, but it will have to wait. We are short on time" Moirai said to William while she smiled bitterly.

"Jammer and camouflage has been neutralized, commander" TB said to William.

"Knight?! Knight, can you hear me?!" All of a sudden, Lucas' voice could be heard on the radio.

"Olympus?! Yeah, I hear you! There's an inbound nuke to this area! Have you handled it?!" William asked Lucas on the radio.

"Our kill switch isn't working! We can't neutralize that nuke from here! You have to get out of there!" Lucas said to William on the radio.

"What about the people on Celestial Garden?" William asked Lucas on the radio.

"There's no time William, we wouldn't be able to" Lucas said to William in low tone on the radio

"…We're just going to let them all die, huh" William muttered to Lucas on the radio while he scowled.

"We have no choice…the nuke is three minutes away; we can't evacuate that many people in just two minutes" Lucas said to William on the radio.

"How about I help you with that, William?" Moirai asked William.

"Help? How?" William immediately asked Moirai.

"I can teleport you to the inbound missile, then you can disarm it yourself" Moirai said to William.

"…Olympus, can you guide me to disable the nuke?" William asked Lucas on the radio.

"What?! Are you crazy?! How could you do that from inside the Siren base?!" Lucas asked William on the radio.

"Can you or can you not!?" William asked Lucas on the radio.

"…We'll do our best. But how are you going to intercept it?!" Lucas asked William on the radio.

"I have my ways; I'll contact you when I'm there" William said to Lucas on the radio.

"I take it that you want my help?" Moirai asked William while she smiled.

"At this point, I'll take all the help I can get" William said to Moirai with serious tone.

"Excellent. Be prepared to engage your flight module, you will need it…I will locate the missile's current location" Moirai said to William before she spawned a holographic screen.

"Sheffield, Deutschland, join the others. In the event I failed, at least you two will be fine" William said to the two KANSENs.

"You need to learn that saying things like that won't make you look cool, dummkopf! At least say that you'll be back after disarming the missile or something!" Deutschland said to William while she scowled.

"Hahaha, yeah, sorry…I'll disarm that nuke, be back shortly" William said to Deutschland while he smiled.

"That's more like it! Don't mess it up, we'll wait for you!" Deutschland said to William before she ran.

"Best of luck to you, master" Sheffield said to William before she followed Deutschland.

"…Thanks, you two" William said out loud.

"I have located the missile. Are you ready?" Moirai asked William.

"Yeah" William nodded his head.

"Do your best, William" Moirai said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks for your help…Moirai" William said to Moirai.

"My pleasure, consider this as the reward for breaching my defense…We will meet again sometime. Until then, adieu~" Moirai said to William before she snapped her fingers.

A portal opened below William and he naturally fell into it, when he's through it? He's up in the night sky with the moon illuminating the earth and he is falling down. William immediately engaged his jet thrusters and he scanned the area around him, he's looking for the missile. After scanning around, his HUD marked a missile flying to his right. It's a bit far from where he is at the moment, but he needs to intercept it regardless. William engaged his thrusters at maximum speed, he could feel the air resistance on his body as he broke through sound barrier. The G force is manageable for now, but William would bet that sometime during this interception, he'll be subjected to an intense G force that put a strain on his body. William kept the accelerator in full throttle, then he heard a loud boom coming from around him. William glanced toward the speed indicator on his HUD…1299kmh, he's at Mach One.

"The missile didn't enter atmosphere" William commented.

"It didn't go at full speed as well" TB said to William.

"Something's fishy about this. Either way though, we're lucky. How long until we catch up to it?" William asked TB.

"One minute, commander. Unless you speed up" TB said to William.

"I'm already on it" William said to TB.

"We are entering Mach Two" TB said to William.

And still going faster. William tightened his posture to reduce air resistance as much as possible and every time he turned; he could really feel the G force impacting his body! Must've been around five to six Gs! He gritted his teeth as he could see the missile becoming closer to his vision, this is going to be a tight one. The missile entered the clouds and William clicked his tongue, he's in luck that his HUD tagged the missile or he would've lost it in the thick clouds. There's no room for error here, one slip and the entire Celestial Garden would disappear off the map! His jet thrusters is working on overdrive, he could hear it screaming as it strain to provide all the thrust it can possibly give.

"Knight?! How the hell did you get there?! Never mind that, did you have visual on the missile!?" Lucas asked William on the radio.

"Yeah, chasing it right now!" William said to Lucas on the radio

"Alright. There's a manual programing console on the missile, near the warhead. Access the panel and we'll guide you further from there, we're sending the location to your HUD" Lucas said to William on the radio.

"TB, how long until we reach Celestial Garden?" William asked TB.

"Approximately two minutes, commander" TB said to William.

"Then we have to hurry" William said to TB.

William accelerated even faster and finally caught on with the missile, there's a marker on his HUD that indicates the place with the console which, luckily, is on the side that's facing the skies so he won't have to hang around to do the job. William summoned a combat knife and jammed it into the missile, it become his anchor as he proceeded to open the programing console. William stared at the console and he immediately noticed that it has been tampered, the console is not the standard one that Azur Lane uses. He knew the design from his time during training and reading some manuals, so it's a dead giveaway that whoever fired this missile is not someone from Azur Lane.

"Olympus, I'm staring at the console and it's not ours" William said to Lucas on the radio.

"We're checking your helmet feed, yeah it doesn't look like ours despite the missile being one. Analysts, figure it out, we have to deactivate the warhead at all cost" Lucas said to William then to the headquarters analysts on the radio.

"No time! TB, can you handle it?" William said to Lucas on the radio before he asked TB.

"Yes commander, connect your hand to the terminal" TB said to William.

"TB? Is it the program that ALASUC developed? Alright, what's the plan here, Knight?" Lucas asked William on the radio…Seems he's unaware regarding TB or he's playing dumb right now…

"Just trust me and TB to do the job" William said to Lucas on the radio.

"…Okay, we're counting on you" Lucas said to TB on the radio.

"Locating core…Airburst tactical nuclear warhead type identified, altimeter trigger is 900 meters above sea level…Disabling trigger mechanism for the nuclear warhead…Trigger defusal complete. The warhead won't explode now" TB said to William.

"That was fast!" William commented as his eye widened.

"It wasn't a complex mechanism in the first place. This missile has been preprogramed to be fired at a predetermined coordinate, the moment it is launched, there is no stopping it with kill switch as it is completely independent from anyone" TB explained to William.

"And the coordinates are Celestial Garden? Any idea who programed it?" William asked TB while he frowned.

"The programing is a modified Azur Lane fire control program, commander. While the base is the same, the difference resulted in Azur Lane nuclear fire control failing to connect with it" TB said to William.

"Crimson Cleanser meddling, huh" William said out loud.

"We'll get to that later! You might have defused the trigger for the nuclear warhead but it's still a missile filled with enough rocket fuel to cause a massive explosion! Knight, you need to handle its disposal! You let it run freely and Celestial Garden will become a Celestial Wasteland! I don't care if you have to blow it up, just make sure it doesn't hit the island!" Lucas said to William on the radio.

"Roger. We'll think of something" William said to Lucas on the radio.

To be completely honest, this is the first time he's ever being this close to a nuclear weapon. He should land it in the water…Oh but wait! William got a better idea, what if they just use this missile and ram it toward the Siren floating base? Won't that trigger the nuclear detonation? No, nuclear warhead is designed to be activated in specific way. They can be set explode on contact with ground, explode at sufficient altitude or being set on timer. Since this nuke is an airburst type, it won't go nuclear if it ever hits the ground as the trigger has been disabled. So, if the missile exploded, the warhead won't activate, it's not like your conventional bomb. It functioned as safety even by design, so any missile can be intercepted or aborted without it blowing up in a nuclear explosion every time. The explosion from the missile alone is quite huge and that's what William intend to use here; he could heavily damage the Siren base if he hit it directly on the center. To do that though, he will need TB's help to reprogram the missile's target coordinates. If not, well he will surely have to redirect the missile in flight by his own like Tony Stark.

"TB, this nuke is an airburst type, meaning it would only explode if the trigger remains active while it's in the designated height, correct?" William asked TB.

"Yes commander, that is true" TB said to William.

"So, the warhead isn't designed to explode on contact with the ground, nuclear warhead itself won't arm and explode just because it suffered tremendous damage unless designed to do so…TB, I have an idea. Be ready to correct the missile's target coordinates" William said to TB.

"Affirmative. Preparing to alter the missile's flight path" TB said to William.

"…Shangri-La, this is William. Do you hear me?" William decided to contact Shangri-La on the radio.

"Commander?! Thank God! We refrain from contacting you since you appear to be in the middle of something, are you okay?" Shangri-La asked William with relieved tone on the radio.

"I am. Is Sheffield and Deutschland with you?" William asked Shangri-La on the radio.

"Yes sir, they're here. We've heard about the inbound nuclear missile and pulled back from the base, I heard you're trying to stop it sir" Shangri-La said to William on the radio.

"Well, I did stop it, but I still need to do something about the delivery system. I need the coordinates for that Siren base, Shangri-La" William said to Shangri-La on the radio.

"…Oh, I see! I'm sending it to you now!" Shangri-La said to William on the radio, seems she understand on what he wants to do.

"Coordinates from Shangri-La received, commander. Altering the missile target and flight path" TB said to William.

"Thanks Shangri-La" William said to Shangri-La on the radio while he smiled.

"Anytime sir. We'll be waiting for you here" Shangri-La said to William on the radio.

With the missile destination being set, their job is completed. William looked down and noticed that they're passing the Celestial Garden and the missile didn't dive down towards it, he also briefly glanced around and his HUD picked up the position of the ALASUC main fleet which is around fifteen kilometers away from the exposed Siren base. He doesn't want to get caught in the explosion so William reactivated his jet thrusters, the man dived down to around a hundred meters off the ground in free fall before flying toward the fleet while he watched the missile keeps flying toward the Siren base. The missile slammed into the pyramid like building at the center of the base, penetrating its walls before a massive explosion occurred and practically wiped out anything on its point of impact. The explosion is so big and bright that it momentarily light up the whole area, and the sound is so loud that it could definitely wakes up the dead…He kind of hope that Lena, no, Moirai, managed to get out of there before the missile hits.

BBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

"…We fucking did it" William commented while he smiled as he watched the wrecked Siren base.

"Alert. Engine overheat, shutting off main jet thrusters" TB said to William.

"Wait what?" William asked out loud as his eye widened.

"Chasing the missile has put an enormous strain on your jet thruster module, commander. I'm shutting it down to prevent internal permanent damage and possibly melting your backside" TB informed William as he heard his thrusters died.

"OOOHHHHH SSSSHIIIIITEEEE!" William cussed out loud as he's now gliding to the surface of the sea and losing altitude fast.

"Activating personal IFF beacon, the ALASUC main fleet should be able to pick it up and locate you. Rescue is expected to come within minutes based on our trajectory and predicted impact location" TB said to William as his HUD informed him that personal IFF beacon is activated and the message is 'HELP ME GIRLS!'…Real charming, TB.

"IF I SURVIVED THE IMPACT IN THE FIRST PLACE!" William shouted at TB at the prospect of impacting the sea with high speed.

"Based on my analysis, your enhanced physiology should help you survive the harsh impact from this height. Your organs might suffer a bit of a shock damage, but none that will leave lasting damage" TB said to William.

"You sure it's not going to cause my organs to pop!?" Williama asked TB while he frowned deeply.

"Yes, but it will make you experience nausea or loss of consciousness" TB said to William.

"Wonderful!" William said out loud while he gritted his teeth.

"Impact in five, four, three-" TB suddenly did a countdown.

William crossed his arms above his chest, he glued his legs together and prepared himself for the impact with the sea surface. He calmed himself down, eased his nerves and heartbeat before he felt a tremendous shock to his backside near the nape. William gritted his teeth from the sheer shock, then he widened his eye when his body is thrown around like a ragdoll because he didn't land at a flat angle. William grunted with every hit he took before he slowed down enough to just sink like a rock, the man was dizzy, he felt nauseous and his body is sore all over…But at least he's alive! The health indicator on top of his HUD also sitting prettily at around sixty percent and there is no lethal damage done to his body, at least none that the medical sensor detected. William is surrounded by complete darkness as he sinks further down, he tries to move his limbs but he felt weak from the impact as his body is trying to recover. If he didn't try to keep his focus, he would lose consciousness too.

But something shines upon him, multiple objects and they are approaching him from above. The lights get closer and closer before William's HUD successfully identified them, U-47, U-81, U-96, U-101, U-556 and Surcouf who descended upon him in unison. The man tries to outstretched his right hand before his consciousness wavers and he struggled really hard to keep it, seems to be a losing battle as the impact must have been stronger than he thought. But he felt at ease knowing that the ship girls are coming for him and that ease? Allowed him to let his consciousness drift off, its no use trying to fight it, he better rest himself now. William's right eye is getting heavier until he couldn't fight it anymore, the man finally shut his right eye…U-556 widened her eyes and accelerated ahead of everyone, she caught the man and let him rest on her rigging.

"H-He's losing consciousness?! Is he going to be okay!?" U-556 asked out loud.

"Don't worry, it's just his body compensating for the shock. You wouldn't stay conscious from multiple hard impact like that easily" U-96 said to U-556.

"…TB, can you hear us?" U-556 asked for TB on the radio.

"Yes U-556. If you are wondering about Commander Blaze, U-96 is right. He just lost his consciousness from the punishment he took and coupled with the strain that his body previously experienced, he will be fine after a brief rest" TB said to U-556 on the radio.

"Thank gott…Come on, let's get him up. He will need to be hospitalized" U-556 said to the other submarines.

.

Ashville stared at his guest that's just disembarked from the Mi-24 Hind Helicopter Gunship that landed on his carrier's flight deck, a man that he did not expect to see in front of his own two eyes. He is the most wanted man in the world at the moment, one who has the guts to cause big mess against the military organization as big as Azur Lane and Crimson Axis. That's right, its none other than Ronald Mitchell himself, who's standing in front of him while dressed in a business suit and fedora hat. How did he managed to get on the carrier in the middle of massive fleet he's in now? Simple, Ashville has an appointment with an arms dealer that's scheduled to meet him on board his flagship. Turns out, the arms dealer is Ronald himself who operated under a different name. Not to mention, he altered his appearance just enough to make his looks different than the wanted poster everyone certainly has by now. He is accompanied by several armed guards, each of them wearing tactical Kevlar vest over their civilian clothing and carrying a varying model of rifles.

"Hmph, didn't expect to see the most wanted man on earth standing on my flagship" Ashville snorted then said to Ronald.

"I'm sure you don't, although your reaction is a bit weak. I was expecting more spice in your shocked face" Ronald said to Ashville while he smirked.

"Do forgive me, I'm not exactly an expressive person" Ashville said to Ronald.

"Yeah, I know, shame it hinders you from getting the position of High Commander. Or was that because of your cold and ruthless attitude?" Ronald said to Ashville while he smirked.

"Don't provoke him, boy"

A deep masculine voice caused Ashville to looked past Ronald, that's when he saw someone that caused his eye to squinted in amusement. A bald man with huge build, thick black mustache and dressed in overcoat with business suit underneath it, comes out of the Hind. Ashville immediately nodded his head in understanding the moment he saw the man, he knows where this is going. The man that just came out of the helicopter is the Azur Lane hero of the great war, the one who beat the Sardegna Army back and prevented their invasion to Iris. Major General Antonio Lockwood, the man that managed to avoid Helena McAllen's capture attempt. He has spent months in hiding, going invisible even with the whole world looking for him and now he shown himself once more, in the middle of Azur Lane fleet even. Ashville couldn't help himself thinking that something big is about to happen, to him or the whole world.

"Come on, I was just trying to loosen him up, he's acting like his anus is jammed by a bad dragon dildo or a broomstick" Ronald said to Lockwood.

"That is how he always been, you can't change his nature so easily. Am I right, Ashville?" Lockwood said to Ronald before he spoke to Ashville while he smiled.

"You have some guts showing up here openly" Ashville said to Lockwood.

"Guts is my middle name, Ashville. You know that" Lockwood said to Ashville.

"…I suppose that is true…Follow me, we should talk in a private space" Ashville said to both of them.

Why didn't Ashville ordered his men to arrest or even shot them dead on sight? One simple reason really, he wants to know more what's the deal with Ronald Mitchell and Antonio Lockwood running around causing a mess for everyone. He led them to the room that he used to talk with William and ALASUC, the three men sit down as the paramilitary members with Ronald and Lockwood closed the door then guarded it from anyone who tries to enter. Ashville sighed a bit, now he knows the reason why Lucas Carville is so adamant to hear his response on the nuclear missile launch. He was a surprised as him when his fleet detected the launch, he might have suggested the method to William back then but he ultimately choose to let him and Roux handle the mess themselves. No way he would just fire a nuke at them senselessly, he's not that dumb to just antagonize them directly without a great personal gain.

"I received reports on an SLBM being launched toward Celestial Garden, can I assume it is your doing?" Ashville asked Lockwood.

"That is a severe accusation" Lockwood said to Ashville while he smiled slightly.

"Don't play dumb with me. The only place where you could remain undetected is out in the open seas, had you remained on the surface, Azur Lane Intelligence Division would've easily found where you run. They're like wolfhound unleashed" Ashville said to Lockwood.

That is his conclusion on why Lockwood is impossible to find, a properly equipped submarine nowadays could remain underwater for years and ample supply to last them equally. Lockwood must have one under his personal command, and that one happened to have nuclear missiles while also posing as a submarine owned by Royal Navy. Its position is around Gibraltar as well, so it's the most logical choice for Lockwood to escape from his mansion in Iris Orthodoxy. Its no wonder that even Azur Lane Intelligence Agency would have a hard time locating him, they are all thought that he escaped to Africa and that's why they have been mostly concentrating their effort there. They didn't turn up empty handed though with the amount of Crimson Cleanser activities on the continent so they keep believing that Lockwood is somewhere around there, what a perfect cover up and distraction.

"Well, when you put it like that, it does makes sense. Even more so when Lucas Carville is in charge, after he clean house, Azur Lane Intelligence Division is even more ferocious than before" Lockwood said to Ashville while he rubbed his chin.

"…Still feigning ignorance regarding the missile, Lockwood?" Ashville asked Lockwood while he narrowed his gaze.

"No, I'll tell you about it…Yes, I was the one who ordered the nuclear strike on Celestial Garden. We are testing the new fire control device that we can install to any Azur Lane missile-based weaponry" Lockwood said to Ashville.

"And why would you target that island? Did you know that William Blaze is operating there?" Ashville asked Lockwood while he folded his arms.

"We're not aware. Had I known, I would've aborted its launch. I have something even better for Commander Blaze himself, I can't have him die there right now" Ronald said to Ashville while he smiled sardonically.

"Revenge, I presume?" Ashville asked Ronald while he cocked his eyebrows.

"Of course, revenge…and maybe a slight fun on the side" Ronald said to Ashville while he grinned viciously, his sister is in for a big surprise.

"I was the one who chose the target, since they're quite isolated, it will take a while for Azur Lane to know what's going on. Plus, it will allow us to slip through Suez Canal undetected while they're busy looking for a submarine around Gibraltar" Lockwood said to Ashville while he smiled a bit.

"And thanks to you, I'm being hounded by headquarters regarding that missile. They thought I'm the one who did it, wasn't easy getting them off my back, not to mention Carville's extreme suspicion on me" Ashville said to Lockwood before he sighed.

"Admit it, you'll do it if I didn't do it, right?" Lockwood asked Ashville while he smiled slightly.

"No, my cause has never been about an unnecessary bloodshed. Don't confuse cold logic with madness, please" Ashville said to Lockwood as his face hardened a bit.

"That's what I like about you. You're closer to a machine, ruthless and efficient" Lockwood said to Ashville as he grinned a bit.

"Enough with the pleasantries. You two, Azur Lane most wanted, comes to my doorstep personally…What do you want?" Ashville asked Lockwood and Ronald.

"Simple, I want your allegiance" Lockwood said to Ashville.

"For what? Your personal gain?" Ashville asked Lockwood while he stared at his silver eyes directly.

"Hahaha! Ah, don't be so presumptuous, Ashville. Its for humanity as a whole...I assume you've heard about Siren's intention coming to our world, correct? Then you know that they are here to set us straight, to prevent us from further deteriorating as an intelligent species. But what if we do it ourselves? We'll go and remove the root of this whole problem to make the Siren go away. No human conflict, no more Sirens" Lockwood laughed a bit in response before he explained his reason.

"And this root, is Crimson Axis" Ashville immediately said to Lockwood.

"They're the only competitor Azur Lane has in regards of power, as long as they exist, then this world will never know peace. Imagine a unified world with one military organization in charge of its security, with coordinated efforts, we can make the whole world remain peaceful. Anyone who disobey, would be faced with the might of the world to set them straight. Azur Lane has that potential to be the world's security blanket, all we have to do? Is to remove the competitor" Lockwood said to Ashville while he smiled.

"…I remembered you have strong opinion against them, is this really for the whole humanity and not your own satisfaction to stick it into them?" Ashville asked Lockwood, he know that the general is kind of…prejudiced.

"Hey, I just considered it a bonus that they're the ones who have to die" Lockwood said to Ashville he while he shrugged and smiled widely.

"Hm, is that so…Something doesn't add up, the info regarding Siren's true intention has only been revealed short while ago, not even a month yet. This plan of yours surely has been in development for quite some time, what is the original goal, Lockwood?" Ashville asked Lockwood while he rubbed his chin.

"The same, I want a unified world and it's the only way to get it. Back then, there is no Siren part in this narrative but their appearance now would rally even the other nations to our cause if I play my cards right. When the information regarding their goals came to light? It is the perfect addition for our Casus Belli. The world might not accept nor understand about Crimson Cleanser's goal at the moment, but they will come to appreciate homogeneity once they get a taste of it" Lockwood said to Ashville while he smiled.

"…In a sense, you are right, a unified world is ambitious and a bit idealistic, but it is doable with the right play…Here's the thing though, many progress happened specifically because we are different in many ways. How will you justify its absence in your new world?" Ashville asked Lockwood while he narrowed his gaze at him.

"Come on, a combination of the brightest mind on earth and Wisdom Cubes. We are sitting on a potential to evolve mankind all this time, we are just too afraid to make the changes because it requires an ocean of blood, any revolution in history does…You know it's true, Ashville" Lockwood said to Ashville with serious face.

"…I have to admit, your words do ring a truth to it. So, you want me and my forces to be a part of your revolution. Now why would I do that without a good reason?" Ashville asked Lockwood, because this is life and world changing action.

"…You fought for peace, didn't you? Your sole reason to carry on this job, so you can finally live in a peaceful world for once?" Lockwood asked Ashville with serious face.

"Hmm, you're not wrong" Ashville said to Lockwood, he did work hard for peace.

"Then join me, in the last revolution humanity will ever need. We do this right? Then you can finally rest your weary bones, from war, from bloodshed" Lockwood said to Ashville, the admiral knew he's at the autumn of his life as well.

"…Are you really sure that the Sirens will leave us be? What if they're just declare us lost and steamroll us when we are done?" Ashville asked Lockwood.

"The thing is, no one knows the condition for us to be declared 'lost'. But I'm taking our chances here, will you gamble with my way? Or will you choose to fight the Siren to stalemate for eternity like Carville is planning to do?" Lockwood asked Ashville while he smirked.

Yes, that seemed to be direction Lucas Carville is bringing them to. And endless war with the Sirens while allying with Crimson Axis, he wants to keep the chaos going as long as possible. He didn't seem to focus the effort in ending the Sirens once and for all, he instead chose to thicken their defenses everywhere and waits for Siren to come to them. After the reveal about Siren's goals, some of them could see that his strategy is a bit too passive in order to survive Siren's test. They need to get it together as a whole humanity, united under one banner and that is something that Lucas will never do. There are talks in folding Crimson Axis back to Azur Lane, but they have grown too big to be able to do that without starting another fight. Lucas won't do that, Erich won't do it as well, so the bystanders and followers could only feel frustrated at this. Ashville considered Lockwood's reasoning to be logical, even when morally it's a bit wrong to murder a lot of people for unification of Earth…But sacrifice is always a necessity, sometimes losing a lot of lives is worth it if the end result would prevent further loss of them.

"I see…Before I give you my answer, you have asked this to the other member of Azur Lane High Command, huh?" Ashville asked Lockwood while he frowned a bit.

"Yes, I did. Rest assured, there are like minded people even within High Command Council…Your two friends are also in on this" Lockwood said to Ashville while he smirked.

"Now I see why they requested me for 'joint military training', it's the only reason why I would bring out everyone with me like this" Ashville said to Lockwood, things are starting to makes sense.

"Your answer, admiral" Ronald asked Ashville while he leaned on his seat.

"…I figured I will be killed if I say no to this" Ashville said to Ronald while he frowned.

"You think I'm that barbaric, Ashville?" Lockwood asked Ashville while he cocked his eyebrows.

"As matter of fact, yes. Violence is your only answer" Ashville bluntly said to Lockwood.

"Hahahahaha! You got me, just consider me a barbarian who is capable of being civilized. If you cooperate, of course" Lockwood laughed before he said to Ashville while he smiled.

"…Very well…I have long been dissatisfied with how Carville is handling things, my country is being led by a bunch of pansies who don't have the spine to take control of our military back from Azur Lane, the people are blind and neutered that they will follow their leaders without second guessing them…Lockwood, I will accept your offer, for my people and country to realize the error of their ways. If unified government is needed for humanity to reach our golden era, so be it. If an ocean of blood is needed to achieve that, then it's a worthy sacrifice to be made" Ashville said to Lockwood with serious face, maybe it is time to take matter into their own hands.

"…Welcome aboard Ashville, I'm glad you're with us" Lockwood said to Ashville as he offered his right hand.

"I will need some time to influence my men, so don't rush me with my preparation" Ashville said to Lockwood as he grabbed his hand and shook it.

"Done, we only have one shot at this so I'm willing to wait for you to consolidate your men" Lockwood said to Ashville while he smiled.

"Also, what about the ship girls? They will never side with us" Ashville asked Lockwood.

"We do this right and they won't even be a problem for us. But in case they're proving to be a thorn to our side? Well, they are ultimately women in the end and there are plenty of ways to break them. They better off pacified as whores for the men who's fighting for our cause, if they end up pregnant then that's just a bonus. We need superhumans on our side after all, a controllable one at that, and William Blaze, Carville's lapdog, would never be on our side" Lockwood said to Ashville while he rubbed his chin.

"…Any plans to deal with him?" Ashville asked Lockwood regarding William Blaze.

"Leave him to me" Ronald quipped in while he smirked.

"And if you fail?" Ashville asked Ronald while he cocked his eyebrows.

"Trust me, I won't…I went on painstaking effort to procure the necessary equipment to deal with him, we never found the catalyst for his mutation though so we are forced to develop our own method to enhance someone" Ronald said to Ashville while he grinned viciously.

"Ah, I see where this is going…You're planning to take him on yourself" Ashville said to Ronald as he finally understood his intention.

"It's just a reassurance, in case things goes sideways" Ronald said to Ashville while he grinned viciously.

"Okay then…I will discuss this with the others. No doubt, headquarters will noticed that our forces is moving out, we only have a limited window of opportunity to get our forces in place for this plan. Military exercise would usually last for around two months for us, we will also be attracting attention so our movement is quite limited. By that time, have everything ready" Ashville explained to Lockwood and Ronald.

"Two months is cutting it close, but we can work with that. With that out of the way, have your notes ready for I will show you the plan now…I call this revolution with the codename 'Golden Dawn', a new era for mankind" Lockwood said to Ashville while he smirked.

---

GamersAlive: Correction, it's Belfast not Bel-chan! The level of bastarderry will sky rocketed for the former commander if that's really the case! Oh and thank you, I'm glad that you loved the story!

…Oi Dasmara! You can't just come back months later and keep bombing your readers like that! Strategic bombing is an effective strategy, but still! It would seem that Crimson Cleanser true goal has been revealed at last, with their leader, Antonio Lockwood finally making his debut. But there is good news as well, they have successfully beaten the Siren back from Jardin Céleste, although the place is not in a good shape but at least everyone made it out unscathed…There are new characters, a reveal to Nyx's life other than being an agent working with Sirens on occasions, divine intervention from a purple butterfly and even Lena Alter! Not to mention Crimson Cleanser's plan that's surely will shed a fuckton of blood! Boy, a lot of things going on around here and I apologize if any of the readers suffered headache from that. I felt that I need to get the readers up to speed with future plot just for a little bit, I don't want to make more chapters than needed just to explain one aspect of the side plot, this story is long and slow paced enough as it is.

Well, I don't have much to say on this chapter other than the usual thank you dear readers for the follow, favorite and the reviews. Oh wait, I do have something to say. If your phone is a low end fuck and the signals sucks and you happened to play the Apex Legends Mobile? Stop, just, stop playing for a bit until it gets better. You don't want suffer lag, input lag, stuttering and screen freeze at the same time! Yeah, that's what happened to me! I lost five years of my life malding because I can never fight properly unlike on PC! Every time I am faced with an enemy it would usually lags! I can't control the recoil for shit when there's an input lag! When there's five squad converging on one place then it would usually freeze me in place with words 'There's too much latency on your part, check your internet connection' BITCH I HAVE! WIFI IS ON FULL SIGNAL BUT YOUR GAME MAKES IT LIKE ITS NOT! MAYBE SPLIT IT INTO DIFFERENT SERVERS TO AVOID THAT PROBLEM! I CAN KICKASS WHEN THE SIGNAL AND CONNECTION TO YOUR SERVER IS GOOD! Thanks to that, I usually ended up pissed off for quite a bit and I can't write anything when I'm like that so…my bad, it took me a bit to make sure I didn't mess up this one as well…But if you're not into games like that, I recommend you stick with Azur Lane! Conserve your lifespan by looking at waifus! Remember, battle royale is temporary, but our waifus are eternal…Seriously, they will never age unless the author or developer wants them to.

Well. That's all from me I guess, stay tuned for the next chapter, and I'll see you next time!

- Dasmara