Around Abyssal Ryuujou gathered Abyssal Taiho, the Shoukaku–Zuikaku sisters, and Abyssal Akagi and Kaga.
They commanded the Eastern Sea Abyssal host; to the north, off the Home Islands, their army lay concealed at the cape.
Carrier planes could fly here; the shipgirls themselves could not.
Up north, because their supreme flagships had left, that hidden force was even starting to fray.
It didn't matter. With these flagships present, it was enough. As for the chaos—kill Gorou, go back, and it would settle. It wouldn't stay unruly for long.
Strictly speaking, Taiho and the rest had come to witness the fruits of their plan.
They had schemed so long and set such a grand trap; not to watch the beautiful endgame would be a shame.
Ryuujou threw back her head and laughed, drinking in the invisible emotions on the air. "Exquisite. That anguish at the brink of victory, only to be crushed—ha! I could sip that for a hundred years and never tire."
Nearly fifty thousand torpedo-special-attack shipgirls now lay on the seafloor; how many admirals' hearts had broken, how many shipgirls had gone under with eyes unclosed—this was the best food for Abyssal flagships.
Taiho looked over the burning sea, searching through the flames for the true prize of the night.
"Where is Gorou? The main base put a kill order on him."
"I've had eyes on him the whole time. The old fool hustled over thinking he'd watch me die—never knew he was the prey. There!"
Abyssal Akagi and Kaga traded a glance; fox tails swayed. A single wave of the hand: "Close the vise. Finish it."
Back at Hikaru's district, a door banged open. The Port Chief all but tumbled in—and almost got her head blown off by Bismarck's gun.
Bismarck thought she was here to harm Hikaru.
Hikaru blinked awake, just in time to see the port Chief kneeling under Bismarck's gun barrels, panic written all over her face.
"Urgent war news." Tears were about to spill from her eyes; she held up a radiogram with shaking hands and forced herself to speak. "Gorou's operation is a total failure. The whole theater is collapsing."
Hikaru came fully awake, slipped out from Tirpitz's arm, jumped from the bed, and took the telegram.
He couldn't read it—pure cipher. She must have run here before she could decode it.
"Where's Gorou?" Hikaru frowned.
"Unknown. He's almost certainly the Abyssals' target—and he quarreled with Indiana recently. He has no protection at his side."
Hikaru tossed the sheet back, yawned. "You woke me in the middle of the night to tell me that?"
The port chief stared, close to tearing her hair out. "With news this huge—what is that face!"
Hikaru shrugged. "What's it got to do with me?"
"You're a human being too!" she shouted, beyond angry. "Shipgirl Headquarters took my report and raised a coalition—we're marching south to relieve your district! The coalition is on the way! And you?"
She hadn't mentioned any "relief force" before. Hikaru rubbed his chin, smiled, and slipped a half-smoked cigar from the pocket of her jacket, nodding to Bismarck for a light.
Bismarck didn't bother with any niceties—she snapped her fingers and set the tip alight.
Hikaru hastily blew out the flame, letting the cigar smolder. He held it under his nose, then gestured to the port chief.
"Have a puff. Sit up. Drink some water. Calm down."
Oddly enough, shipgirls generally don't have bad habits—but the girl was a chain-smoker.
Then again, considering Tirpitz's taste for…illustrated albums, Hikaru couldn't say which was the healthier quirk.
"How am I supposed to calm down!" she roared. "The front is in shambles; the entire East Continent could fall! Do you really not care at all? Where would you even run?"
"Gorou isn't dead yet?"
She blanked, wondering if she'd misheard. "What did you say?"
"Gorou isn't dead."
"He's about to be!"
"A man like that doesn't die quietly. As long as he's breathing, you've got nothing to panic about." Hikaru took a drag, coughed, then popped the cigar between her lips and pinched her cheeks. "You know Tirpitz is the strongest shipgirl. Do you know who the strongest person is?"
Her eyes went wide.
A heartbeat later she slapped his hand away and let out a murderous shriek.
"You shoved something you licked into my mouth!"
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 30+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]