Moonlight draped the ocean in a silvery veil. The waves lapped gently, the serenity so complete it was hard to believe a battle that had just determined the fate of the entire world had taken place here.
Indiana wore an expression of awe.
"This was a victory of just two shipgirls against hundreds of thousands of Abyssals. We were nothing more than witnesses to a miracle."
Lexington clung to Hikaru's arm, eyeing the sword he still held and smiling. "Two shipgirls and their Commander, you mean."
Fletcher puffed her cheeks in protest. "Sister Lexington, don't forget about me!"
Tirpitz came skipping across the sea, holding up two trophies in both hands. "Commander—here!"
The silver long-handled weapon was, of course, the dragon-axe. It was too unwieldy for Hikaru to make good use of, but it would make a fine collector's item.
The rainbow-colored object was a naval cannon—Barbarossa's final gift before death.
[G-Class Twin 533mm Gun – Six Star]
Range: Extra Long
Firepower +32
Evasion -3
"You keep it for now," Hikaru said.
"I've got no use for it." Tirpitz pouted and tossed both items toward Fletcher, who flailed to catch them.
To Tirpitz, this cannon was still less compatible than her own rigging gear.
With her burdens offloaded, she visibly relaxed—and then suddenly pouted, throwing herself into Hikaru's arms to beg for pampering.
"Commander, my arms are so sore… and my legs are numb… I feel like I'm falling apart. How are you going to make it up to me? I'm telling you now—I'm sleeping in for ten days. And I'm sleeping with you every night. Not because I want to cuddle or anything! I just want bedtime stories, okay?"
A host of Commanders and had just approached together, only to halt awkwardly in their tracks. None of them had expected this divine, demon-slaying Tirpitz to have such a lazy and spoiled personality.
Fortunately, Fleet Admiral Gorou had seen worse. He pretended not to hear anything and led the high-ranking officers in saluting her together.
"For the billions of lives in East Asia—we thank you!!"
Tirpitz jumped in surprise. She looked at the group of old men, then back at Hikaru, and pointed at herself.
"They're talking to me?"
Hikaru patted her cheek gently and smiled.
"You're the strongest in the world now—my Queen."
—
Eastern Sea, Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa.
Thick clouds loomed, but no rain fell.
Tens of thousands of Abyssal carrier-based aircraft swam through the gray sky like schools of sardines.
"They really do look like giant whales gliding through the sky… don't you want to see a skyfall of whales?"
A white-haired shipgirl lounged sideways on her black-red phoenix-like rigging, chin in hand as she posed the question.
Her appearance faintly resembled Abyssal Barbarossa—horns and white hair—but their temperaments were vastly different. Barbarossa was mad and wild; this one, melancholic. Barbarossa was tall and commanding; this one, petite and dainty.
"Don't even think about it, Taihou!"
Abyssal Akagi and Kaga both shouted at her from above.
They were a pair of snowy-skinned sisters with breathtaking beauty—Akagi in crimson red with seductive charm, Kaga in icy white with cold blue eyes. Their long legs alone could stop traffic.
The two leaned against their sleek, sci-fi fusion rigging, red and blue like twin magical foxes. From human intelligence reports, they were considered a single combat unit.
"Don't be so uptight," Abyssal Taihou yawned. "I just want to bask in the sun. Ugh, why do we Abyssals have to carry this cursed storm cloud aura wherever we go?"
In the distance, an explosion erupted—a terrible mushroom cloud bloomed, visible even dozens of kilometers away.
The Abyssal flagships narrowed their eyes.
"That makes seventeen," Abyssal Akagi said flatly.
Taihou took a lazy breath in the direction of the blast, stretched out with satisfaction, and purred, "Mmm, delicious. Only in battles soaked in absolute despair can such exquisite sustenance be brewed!"
"Fear… regret… hatred… the clinging love of the living world… and the cursed desire to destroy it all."
Abyssal Kaga ran a hand along the porcelain surface of her sake flask and sighed. "My drink is gone."
Taihou glanced up into the depths of the storm clouds. "What's taking Ryuujou so long? I left my tamagoyaki in her mantis shrimp carrier."
Akagi shook her head. "She chased a few of those little black birds all the way to Japan."
Taihou pouted. "Useless."
[End of Chapter]
[50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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