Observer dumped Lenin on the metal floor of the dimly lit room. As soon as he touched the ground, two mechanical arms wrapped around his wrists and dragged him to the center of the room, lifting him up with his feet dangling above the floor. He tried to resist their hold, kicking and flailing with all the strength he had left, but with his injuries, there wasn't much he could do. Soon, he found himself out of breath and even more in pain than he already was.
Observer deposited Tester's Cube inside a metal case. She'll deal with bringing her back later, after taking care of the prisoner. Lenin was glaring daggers at her, and she couldn't help the amused smirk that came to her face.
"Yeah, keep laughing, bitch," he snarled. "These bindings are the only thing keeping me from beating you to a pulp. As soon as I take them off, you'll be in a world of pain."
Her amused smirk was soon replaced by mocking laughter. "You sure do talk big for someone as small as you."
"We are the same height, you moron. You just look bigger because of your rig- gahk." Observer floated right in front of him and tightly clasped his neck with one of her tendrils, choking him.
"Male Kansen, your inability to understand your position in such a situation baffles me. Need I remind you of your place? Perhaps we should pick up where we left off." She looked him straight in the eyes and relished in the dread that flashed through them, but it lasted only a brief second. In the blink of an eye, the fear in his gaze was replaced by defiance.
"You can try, but it won't work like last time," he breathed out. "I won't run away again."
The only reason they were able to get inside his head and take over his mind was because he had let them, and only because he couldn't endure the pain they were putting him through. If he'd had the guts to endure it, many of the things they forced him to do could have been avoided. His thoughts went to the shipgirls he had met; even though he had severely wounded their precious comrade, they went out of their way to help him. Allowing the Sirens to do whatever they wanted with his body would be an insult to them as well as an embarrassment to himself. This time, whatever they were planning for him, he'd take it, even at the risk of going insane.
Observer let out a crazy smile. She could tell that he was being serious, and she felt excitement coursing through her. She loved it when her test subjects struggled with all their might; it always produced the best results. Her eyes shone a bright yellow as she said, "I wonder how long it'll take to break you this time, shall we find out?"
"Observer," another voice resounded. The sliding door opened to reveal the figure of a woman with pale skin and short, white hair, clad in a pristine dress and a long, white overcoat.
"Ah, Zero. You've finally come out of your hole," Observer greeted her comrade and superior. "Any news on that weird signal?"
The diaphanous Siren, gracefully stepped into the room, having forgone her jellyfish-like rigging in her chamber, her bare feet lightly tapping on the metal floor. She came to a stop a few feet away from the other Elite, not even glancing at the battered shipboy. "Unfortunately, it disappeared before I could properly determine its origin," she said, her features showing an unperturbed expression on her face.
Observer narrowed her eyes at her. Zero's uncaring attitude threw her off for a second, but she decided to just ignore it for the time being. "That's too bad; it could have definitely provided some useful data. Oh well, maybe we'll have more luck next time."
"Hey! Don't ignore me, you filthy-" Lenin tried to speak, but Observer's tentacle wrapped around his mouth, muffling his voice.
"By the way, what do you want me to do with him? He's been nothing but trouble since we captured him," Observer questioned her superior.
"There's no need to waste any more of our time and energy with him. We've already determined his uselessness as a pawn and his unwillingness to cooperate. But he could still prove himself useful to us. Just keep him alive for the time being," Zero ordered.
"Useful? How?" Observer wondered out loud.
"Simple. If we can't gather any information from him, we'll just use him as leverage with the other anomalies," Zero declared. "On that note, two of them have already reached Azur Lane. I want you to capture them alive. Take all the pawns you need, but make sure you do it."
"What?!" Observer's outrageous cry resounded in the room. She had to tighten her hold on the shipboy, who had started struggling again upon hearing Zero's words. "You want me to besiege the joint base on my own? You should know fighting isn't my specialty."
Observer wasn't exactly against Zero's idea. Even if securing the male Kansen was her main goal, launching a large-scale attack on the Azur Lane joint base was the perfect way to ascertain the level of progress humanity was making in the current timeline. They could kill two birds with one stone. There was only one problem: both Tester and Purifier were indisposed at the moment, and all the Arbiters were out doing their job. Well, except for one.
"Fine, I'll send Empress to back you up," Zero conceded. "But remember, Observer. Failure will not be tolerated."
Kawakaze was standing right next to Kurama, staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face. The shipboy was sitting cross-legged on the deck of the Nagato, and the shipgirl had been standing right next to him for a while now.
After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Kurama let out a breath of annoyance. "If you have something to say, just say it."
"Fine. Why exactly is Mutsu snuggling your tails like that?"
Kurama's ear twitched in discomfort. He didn't miss the insinuation in the destroyer's voice, and it was ticking him off.
"I have nothing to do with this. She did it all by herself," he replied sharply, crossing his arms over his chest.
Before Kawakaze arrived, Kurama had decided to come out of his cabin to enjoy the sea breeze and the warm morning sun. Not even five minutes had passed when his peace and quiet were interrupted by a certain shipgirl. Mutsu, who had apparently come out of the deck for the same reason, started chirping in his ear, clearly happy to have found someone to chat with. He didn't want to kill off her enthusiasm, so he just sat there, pretending to be interested in her chatter, smiling and nodding at her as she went on and on with her ramblings.
At some point, he started spacing out. Her words began flying over his head, and the last thing he remembered was the shipgirl wondering out loud how soft his tails looked before he felt his own appendages instinctively wrap themselves around the weight that had plopped onto them. He had turned around in a flash, only to see the shorter battleship snoring lightly inside the mass of orange fur that were his nine tails. For a second, her blissful expression had reminded him of Lenin, when the icebreaker would plop face first into his embrace after a strenuous training session, and he didn't have the heart to disturb her slumber. So he just sat there, cursing himself and his inattention.
Until Kawakaze came out looking for him.
The destroyer let out a low hum and raised her eyebrow in an exaggerated manner. In any other situation, he would have already snapped at her impertinence, but this time, he was trying to hold back to not wake up the sleeping Mutsu.
"Did you need something, Kawakaze?" He asked her with an exasperated tone of voice.
The destroyer sighed, deciding to put the matter aside, and replied, "Actually, yes." She produced a small, cubic object from her pocket. It was the Cube that Kurama gave her the day before.
She handed it to him, and he brought it up to eye level as if inspecting the object before tossing it over the railing of the ship and into the water with nonchalance. "It's dead now. Were you able to establish any sort of connection with it before it snuffed out completely?"
"I did, but it was completely empty," Kawakaze reported.
"It's normal. That was just a mass-produced vessel. It didn't have a consciousness for you to communicate with," Kurama shrugged.
"Then why did you make me do it in the first place?" She asked him, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Practice. Why? Were you expecting to have a conversation with it like you'd have with an Elite?" Kurama responded sarcastically.
Kawakaze stared intently at him. She had spent the entire night awake trying to follow his instructions, and in the end, after many hours of struggling and failed attempts, she had succeeded. Unfortunately, her excitement was short-lived since. When she realized that she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, the sun was already peeking out over the horizon. After all that, to say that she was a bit ticked off at his dismissal was an understatement.
"You know what? Never mind. Oi, Mutsu, wake up. Nagato-sama will get angry if she finds out you've been sleeping outside," Kawakaze addressed the snoozing battleship, who woke up with a startle. With her eyes still groggy and a slurred speech, she wiped off the drool that was coming out of the corner of her mouth, stood up on her feet, stretched her back and arms, and started walking away.
"Bye-bye, Kurama," Mustu said with a jaw-breaking yawn, waving at the shipboy and heading back inside.
The destroyer moved to follow her, but the shipboy called her from behind. "Kawakaze, here." He was also standing up on his feet, stretching his long nine tails, now free of the weight that was Mutsu's form. One of his rigging's scabbard-barrels appeared next to him in a flash, and he unsheathed the katana peeking out from it, holding it in front of him. It took a moment for Kawakaze to realize that he was handing it to her.
"Last time, you were able to extract all the swords from my rigging, and on top of that, you were able to project your consciousness inside a Siren Cube. That's an incredible amount of progress for such a short time span," he told her, offering her the katana by the hilt.
She stared in confusion at the blade as she took it in her hands. "What does it mean? Why are you giving this to me?"
"Your hard work is paying off, and Nagato-niisama taught me that hard work must always be rewarded. Take it as a gift from teacher to student," Kurama stated, averting his gaze from her.
"This is so sudden… I-I don't know if I can accept this." Kawakaze was puzzled. Of all the things, she didn't expect to receive a gift from him. Until a few days ago, the simple idea of receiving something from him would have been ridiculous, and the notion of him calling her his student wouldn't have sat well with her. But now it was different; she almost found it heartwarming, in a sense, that such a rude guy could be so amiable at times. She was starting to suspect he was just a tsundere.
"Yes, you can. You are still missing a sword, if I'm not mistaken," he reminded her.
She deadpanned at him. "And whose fault do you think that is?"
"Yours. For attacking me. Remember?"
"Tch. How long are you going to hold that against me?" She said, rolling her eyes.
"Until you can beat me in a fight. Which means, for a long time," he smirked.
Kawakaze narrowed her eyes at him. "Why is it that every time you do something nice, you have to act like a jerk?" She wondered out loud, more to herself.
She gave a good look at the sword in her hands. The craftsmanship was exquisite, and it was in perfect condition. The quality of the blade was superb, on par if not better than the one she used to carry. She took a couple of practice swings under his watchful gaze, then retracted the blade next to her hip. It was heavy, just like any other weapon specifically tailored for Kansen usage, but it was still very well balanced.
"Thank you. I promise I'll treasure it," Kawakaze said with a genuine tone, bowing her head to him.
He just nodded his head and watched her as she left. The shipgirl was eager to find a proper scabbard for the blade, leaving him alone with his much-desired peace and quiet.
Though he wasn't exactly alone.
Kurama waited for Kawakaze to get out of earshot before looking up and letting out with a powerful tone of voice, "You really need to lose that bad habit of yours!"
Kaga jumped from the superstructure of the ship, from where she had been listening in on their conversation and landed a few feet away from him.
"If I catch you eavesdropping on me a third time, I won't hesitate to strike you down where you stand. Do I make myself clear, Snowflake?" He hissed through his teeth, sending her a hostile glare.
Kaga pursed her lips. Their last interaction was still fresh in her mind, and it filled her with shame and uncertainty. But she was a member of the Great First Carrier Division and a proud Sakura Kansen. She had to be wary of him and his power, but she couldn't let him walk all over her like he did last time.
"I wasn't eavesdropping. I came here to talk to you, but you were too busy getting all chummy with Kawakaze, and I didn't want to interrupt," she tried to keep herself from showing mirth in her voice.
"Well, now we are alone. State your business and then get lost," he retorted sharply.
Kaga clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes at him. His attitude was ticking her off, but she couldn't afford to antagonize him any further if she wanted him to listen to her request. This wasn't going to be easy, but she had to swallow her pride. She took a deep breath and prepared herself.
"I want your strength," she declared.
"What?"
"You heard me. I want to make it mine."
Kurama scoffed at her. "That's not the attitude of someone who's asking for a favor-" Before he could finish, she bent forward in an almost complete ninety-degree bow.
"For the first time, in my pursuit of true strength, I have found someone that vastly outmatches me," Kaga proclaimed. "I recognize your worth and admit your superiority. I humbly beseech you to teach me the way."
Kurama raised an eyebrow at her. He wasn't expecting her to come out with such a heartfelt plea out of nowhere. It was so out of character for her that he didn't know how to feel about it, but he also understood the reason behind the sudden hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in her demeanor toward him, especially after he showed her what he was capable of the other time. The shipboy had no qualms about teaching her Wisdom Crafting since he was already doing so with Kawakaze, but he couldn't just accept it without putting her through the wringer for a bit first, especially with the attitude she's had toward him in the past few days.
"Oh, after all that brazenness of yours, you've finally come around, uh? Pray tell, why should I accept to train someone who's been doing nothing but belittling me and my worth this entire time? And that could even stab me in the back in the future because of some repressed rancor?" He asked her, purposefully showing distrust in his voice.
"I admit that I made a mistake by underestimating you, but you can rest assured, my honor would never allow me to do something so despicable. If that isn't enough, I'll make an oath to the gods-" She straightened her back to look at him, but the moment she set her eyes on him, she noticed that he had already closed the distance between them and was now standing right before her.
"I don't care about the gods; I want to know if you are willing to do anything to become stronger." He was so close to her that she could feel his breath on her face. She could see her reflection in his deep red eyes and was immediately reminded of the previous day. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart started speeding up, and her face flushed a deep crimson. On top of that, his potent scent reached her nostrils, making her head spin…
"Let me rephrase that. How far are you willing to go to convince me, Snowflake?"
The two foxes found themselves below deck, inside Kaga's personal cabin. They were all over each other, making out as if their lives depended on it, or rather, he was all over her. Kaga was trying her best to keep up with him. His fervor was coming down on her like a waterfall, and soon she found herself stripped of her clothes, at least partially. Her uniform was yanked over her shoulders, her skirt was lifted over her belly, and her underwear was ripped and thrown away. His clothes were still on, and the way he was handling her didn't allow her to retaliate in kind. She tried to struggle, but soon found herself on the bed, with his imposing figure looming menacingly over her. Her disheveled and half-naked appearance clashed with his clothed form. Preposterous! She was about to be taken like a courtesan, and she wasn't even able to properly undress her lover. She tried to put up one last act of defiance, but he grabbed her wrists with one hand and brought them over her head to pin her down. His other hand reached between his legs to unsheathe his erect member. He aligned himself with her slit and prodded her folds with the tip of his girth, making her shiver in arousal and anticipation. Her breath quickened and her eyes lost focus as lust took over, and her mouth parted in a moan as he penetrated her…
"Oi, Snowflake!" Kurama snapped his fingers right next to her sensitive ears. Her head snapped back to his face at attention, and she was brought back to reality. They were still outside, on the deck of the Nagato.
Realization dawned on her as her face took on an even deeper shade of crimson, and she had to bite her lip until she drew blood to keep her composure.
"Finally! I was ready to throw you overboard if you didn't wake up," the shipboy said with annoyance in his voice. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
She couldn't believe herself. Spacing out in front of someone never happened to her, and daydreaming about something so vulgar on top of that? Since when did she let her imagination run wild in such a shameful way? Sure, she had felt lust before and had sought out ways to quell it, but this was the first time that she let her imagination take over like that.
And why him of all people? The shame she was feeling at the desire that assaulted her was accentuated when she realized it was directed toward the man who humbled her in such a flagrant way. She tried to dismiss it as her tired mind making up weird scenarios in her head, but maybe it wasn't just that. The strong are attracted to each other, after all, and she had always been attracted to strength.
"I was… reflecting on your words," she said, trying to keep her discomfort hidden.
"Well, if you have to space out, do it without wasting my time," Kurama declared, moving away from her with the intention of going back inside. Before he could get too far, Kaga gathered all her resolve. She didn't come here to humiliate herself just to come out empty-handed. She stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder, locking him in place.
"Wait, I've made up my mind," Kaga declared. "I'm willing to do anything."
Kurama turned to face her and looked straight into her eyes. Unlike the last time, they were filled with determination. Sure, there was still a hint of uncertainty inside of them, but he could feel the resolve burning behind her gaze. "Very well. Here's how it works."
Sparviero hummed in delight as the light breeze of the morning blew through his hair.
"You are in a good mood today," Carabiniere mused next to him, guiding him along the path that led to their destination.
"Is it that obvious?" He couldn't help the smile that came to his lips.
"You've been smiling since I came to pick you up. You look like a kid ready to go to the amusement park," she teased him as they slowly made their way outside the base.
"Hey, cut me some slack," he said with a hint of faux-hurt in his voice. "It's not every day that I get to go to the beach; at least, not to have fun with friends."
She giggled at his childish excitement. They were following the indication given to them by Z23, and after a few more minutes of walking, the path was replaced by the sand of the beach. The sudden shift in terrain made him stumble a bit, but the destroyer was there to keep him steady.
She wrapped her arms around his left arm and held him close to her side, saying, "Be careful; the terrain is uneven from here on. But don't worry, we are almost there."
Sparviero blushed a little at her close proximity but was quick to clear his throat and let out a thank you. The carrier had forgone his cane, figuring it wouldn't be of any use if she was with him during the trip, and was holding a basket in his other hand, inside of which was supposed to be their breakfast, prepared by the destroyer herself.
"Ah, there they are!" Carabiniere announced after a few more minutes of walking, having spotted the figures of their four destroyer friends in the distance.
The closer they got, the better he could make out their voices. Apparently, the four of them were setting up towels and beach umbrellas. It didn't take long before Shimakaze took notice of their arrival and started waving at them, beckoning them closer.
"Guten morgen, guys," Z23 and the others greeted them as the pair approached the group.
"Buongiorno, thanks for inviting us today," the two Sardinian Kansen returned the greeting. Sparviero's good mood was contagious, and now Carabiniere was sporting a radiant smile on her face as well.
"Wuaa, Carabiniere, you look so good in that," Shimakaze exclaimed, her eyes twinkling as she examined the other destroyer's dress.
"It's true; it's really lovely," Z23 added, and Ayanami gave her a thumbs up of approval.
"Ah, thank you. I really like your swimsuits too," she replied in embarrassment at the unexpected compliment, tightening her grip around Sparviero's arm.
Carabiniere had forgone her usual black uniform and cap and was wearing a white, conservative sundress over her swimsuit. She knew she had to wear something appropriate for the occasion, and even though that kind of dress made her feel more defenseless and nervous than usual, it made her feel less constrained than her usual outfit. Also, she didn't want to look bad in front of their new friends. The four shipgirls had also forgone their uniforms, but unlike her, they were already displaying their swimsuits, and in her opinion, they all looked lovely in them.
Ayanami cocked her head to the side in confusion, looking at the shipboy. "Sparviero, where's your swimsuit?"
"About that, it turns out that finding a pair of trunks for men on an island full of women is a lot harder than you'd expect," the male Kansen replied sheepishly. "But don't worry about it; I'll manage."
He was the only one wearing his usual attire; he knew it wasn't a great idea to bring his only good clothes to the beach, but he was forced to do so because of the lack of swimwear for men. Not even Akashi had any in stock for him at her shop.
Ayanami didn't miss the vacant stare that came to Carabiniere's gaze, and a smirk made its way onto her face. "That's too bad; I bet Carabiniere would have loved to see you only in your shorts."
"N-No, that's not true! What makes you think that?" The Sardinian destroyer let out an embarrassed stutter, letting go of Sparviero's arm and flushing a deep shade of red as the shipboy stiffened in his place at the words of the Sakura destroyer.
"Bullseye." Ayanami let out another smirk, satisfied with the reaction she had elicited from the two Sardinian Kansen, who were now blushing like schoolgirls.
Z23 pinched her friend's cheek in annoyance, twisting it in her grip. "Ayanami, how many times do I have to tell you not to be rude to our guests?"
"Ouch, it hurts, Nimi-chan."
"It's okay, Nimi. Don't worry about it." Carabiniere cleared her throat as she tried to defuse the situation, even though she had to admit that curiosity was indeed eating a bit at her. She had been looking forward to seeing the shipboy that morning, but a small part of herself, tucked in the back of her mind, felt a tiny bit of disappointment at seeing him wearing his usual outfit instead of a swimsuit, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the why... Whatever, it was probably something childish, so she just decided to put it on the side for the time being.
After that, it didn't take long for the group to finish setting up their stuff. They set the three umbrellas one next to the other in a makeshift tri-colored dome to protect them from the sun and deposited their towels right under it for them to sit on. Laffey, who had been snoozing the entire time, woke up right as they finished setting everything up and was met with the upset looks of her friends.
This was their last day off before the group of destroyers had to go back to perform their duties, and for that reason, they had invited Sparviero and Carabiniere to the beach. Unfortunately, because of the bathing prohibition, there was no place to do so inside the bay, so they had to leave the base proper every time they wanted to go to the beach. Luckily, there was no shortage of them on the island outside the port. Of course, the rules allowed all the Kansen to move around the island to their hearts' content, as long as they didn't skip their duties because of their outings and didn't cause trouble around the place.
"So, did you speak with the Kommandant about what you want to do?" Z23 asked the male Kansen. They were sitting in a circle under their makeshift dome, eating snacks and making light conversation.
"Sadly not, he's been pretty busy," Sparviero replied, remembering the last time he had "seen" Ryan inside the onsen with the Sakura Carrier. What was her name? Shoukaku, if he remembered correctly. He also remembered the promise he had made to Ryan to keep it a secret, so he decided not to delve too much into it.
"Yeah, he's been submerged in paperwork lately, even more than usual," the Iron Blood destroyer sighed, and the shipboy had to hold back a laugh at the misunderstanding.
"Though Freedom and I were thinking of asking him to let us take part in some of your sorties, at least until our brothers arrive," he added. "Freeloading doesn't sit well with us, and we don't want to take advantage of your hospitality by standing here doing nothing all day."
"That's a splendid idea. You two could come with us if you want, and you too, Carabiniere. We are scheduled for patrol duty tomorrow morning," Z23 invited them.
Carabiniere perked up at her words, but then a troubled expression appeared on her face. "I would love that, but Signora Littorio said I'm supposed to stay put for a few days. She assigned me to him as his bodyguard for that exact reason," she said as the male Kansen nodded next to her.
"It's okay. As long as you don't overexert yourself, I'm sure she'll have nothing to say about it," Sparviero reassured her. "And if she gets mad, I'll talk to her."
"Really? You'd do that for me?"
"Of course. You are always helping me so much, Cara. It's the least I could do," Sparviero said, smiling.
"C-Cara?" She squealed in her seat next to him and blushed at the nickname, right under Ayanami's snickering gaze.
"Then it's decided. We are all going on patrol together tomorrow," Shimakaze clapped her hands in excitement. "It's going to be so fun!"
"Indeed. And I still want to see how you fight, Sparviero," Ayanami said to the shipboy.
"Me too," Laffey added from the side, swallowing a whole sandwich in one swoop.
"Rather than waiting for trouble to find us, we should hope that nothing happens while we are out to sea," Z23 proclaimed.
"I agree. From what I've learned, your Sirens are not to be underestimated," Sparviero said, biting into a sandwich.
They kept making small talk for a while longer, laughing and eating merrily, until they all decided to take a dive. Sparviero settled for simply raising his trousers above his knees and enjoying the shallow water without wetting his clothes. As they all stood up on their feet and made their way toward the sea, the male Kansen felt something wet and slippery tugging at his ankle, keeping his leg locked in place. Initially, he didn't think much about it, so he just told the others about it. "Uhm, guys? I think there's something on my leg."
He couldn't see their terrified expressions as Shimakaze summoned her katana and jumped right next to him, slashing the tentacle off his ankle and pushing him away. "Whoa! What's happening?"
The tentacle retreated inside a small portal before disappearing into thin air as the five destroyers summoned their rigging and took position around him, scanning their surroundings for any sign of hostiles and ready to take on anything that could attempt another sneak attack.
"We know you are here! Come out already!" Carabiniere yelled, clutching her rifle in her hands.
"Cara, what the-?"
"Did you really need to get in my way, Azur Lane?" An unfamiliar voice reached his ears as the five destroyers stiffened around him. They all lifted their gazes upward, where a Siren portal had appeared in the air above them. "If you'd just let me take him away, we could have saved ourselves the trouble," Observer huffed in displeasure as her form appeared from within that portal. As usual, she was sitting lazily on the mass of tentacles that was her rigging, with her yellow-glowing barrels on display.
"Observer?!" Z23 exclaimed in shock as she aimed her guns at the Siren, followed by her companions. They couldn't wrap their head around the fact that an Elite was able to sneak up on them like that. How did she get so close to the base without anyone noticing? The security system they had installed around the island was designed to detect any sign of Siren activity in the surrounding area. Even if the Elites were able to appear out of nowhere, their presence inside the perimeter should have immediately set it off, but this time, for some reason, it failed.
"The one and only. Now, I'm going to ask you this only once, and I don't want to repeat myself. Give me the male Kansen," the Elite spoke with an ominous tone.
"Not gonna happen!" Carabiniere yelled back at her.
"Do you really think you can take on all of us at once, Observer?" Shimakaze let out a challenging tone, pointing her katana at the Siren.
"Of course not; I'm not that stupid," Observer waved her off, unperturbed by their hostile glares. "That's why I've brought reinforcements." She snapped her fingers, and what they were most afraid of happened. Multiple Siren portals appeared out of nowhere, from which Siren units started pouring out en masse, taking position a few miles away from the bay, all of them at the perfect distance for a shore bombardment.
The group was slack-jawed at the sheer size of the enemy fleet. The mass-produced ships encircled the base in its entirety, effectively cutting off any escape route by sea for their friends still inside.
The group of Kansen realized that they were the only ones outside of the encirclement; they knew immediately what they had to do, but before they could take action, the appearance of another portal, from which a group of Executor-class Sirens came out, made them pause. The low-tier humanoid Sirens took position below Observer and aimed their weapons at them, with the intention of not letting the group of Kansen take to the sea.
Observer sneered at them and declared, "Let us begin this siege."
AN: Not much to say here. Cara is the diminutive for Carabiniere, of course, but it also means "dear" in Italian, just to say.
Next Chapter: Blind Faith