After merging with Kongou, Kiana Kaslana's computational power reached an entirely new level. Her control over nanomaterials had advanced to an almost unimaginable degree.
The two engaged in simulated combat games.
During this process, Kiana Kaslana used her analytical abilities to identify a series of defensive weaknesses within Kongou's systems and launched continuous assaults to exploit them.
It had to be said—intelligent mechanical life evolved at an astonishing rate.
The twenty-third simulation began, and this time, Kongou launched a full-scale counterattack, pressing her hard.
When the session ended, the record stood at forty-two wins and three losses.
Game over.
"So this is what humans call joy... happiness?"
On the bridge, Kongou's golden eyes shimmered as her long, liquid-like hair flowed down her shoulders. She sat elegantly in her chair, hands folded neatly upon her thighs.
Her black stockings wrapped tightly around her exquisite legs, pressed together with a slight tilt. Her thighs trembled slightly, still feeling the aftershocks of their shared passion.
A faint smile curved her lips.
Lifting her gaze toward the naked white-haired girl before her, she asked softly, "Is this your true form?"
"More or less."
A violet data halo swept upward from Kiana Kaslana's feet to her head, her form transforming once again into Maya's familiar appearance.
"I can take any shape I wish. That one just happens to be my favorite."
"I see."
Kongou didn't care much about appearances. The Mental Models of the Fog could assume whatever form they desired.
Her own form was simply the natural result of her autonomous algorithms and energy optimization.
"Should we recover I-400 and I-402?"
After their fusion, Kiana Kaslana initiated shared perception. Through it, Kongou could see everything her true body observed—as though granted divine vision, overlooking any place in the world.
I-400 and I-402 had fought against the upgraded I-401 and, as expected, were both sunk.
"Don't you dislike them?" Kiana asked.
"I do."
Kongou's tone was calm, almost cold.
Among the three sister submarines—I-400, I-401, and I-402—she held no fondness for any of them.
"You've become more straightforward, Kongou."
Kiana Kaslana smiled faintly.
A cup of tea materialized in Kongou's hand. She took a gentle sip and replied, "You taught me this—to face my emotions honestly. To like what I like, and to hate what I hate."
"401 is still sending me communication requests."
"Reject them. There's no need for pointless chatter."
"Understood."
Having left the Fleet of Fog, their positions had now reversed.
Kongou, who once gave the orders, now obeyed Kiana Kaslana without hesitation.
Under the relentless assault of the aerial warship and swarms of Honkai Beasts, the Far East region had completely fallen.
This world's technology was decades ahead of the real world's. Against ordinary Honkai Beasts, humanity could still put up some resistance—but with the aerial warship's arrival, the collapse was inevitable.
Yet across the Far East lay numerous underground apocalypse shelters.
These shelters existed all around the world.
Humanity had long foreseen the possibility of the Fog attacking land.
Those allowed entry into the bunkers were mostly elites—the powerful, the influential, and top talents from various fields.
...
The United States.
After overcoming countless obstacles, I-401 finally arrived at the San Diego base port.
But when global communications resumed, the crew received the shocking news from the Far East.
Kongou was attacking their homeland.
"What's going on?" Chihaya Gunzou asked, his expression tense.
In his understanding, Kongou should have been pursuing them—not ravaging the Far East.
It didn't align with the Fog's behavior patterns.
"No good. Kongou has cut off conceptual transmission," Iona said, shaking her head.
"But the Fog aren't supposed to attack land! What is she doing?" Kamikura Kyohei exclaimed, running his hands through his hair in frustration.
On the screen, the transformed aerial warship—formerly Kongou—was unleashing beams and missiles, obliterating the human military defenses of the cities below.
Hyuuga hesitated. "Is this... revenge?"
Takao: "Revenge? Impossible."
Watching Kongou's unrestrained destruction, Iona murmured softly, "Something's not right."
Chihaya Gunzou turned toward her. "Iona, have you noticed something?"
Everyone looked to Iona.
"Those white creatures... they're following Kongou's orders."
Iona finally voiced her observation.
"Those alien creatures—why would they obey her commands? How is Kongou controlling them?" Hyuuga asked, visibly puzzled. She had studied and analyzed the remains of the Honkai Beasts and confirmed that they were not native to this planet.
They harbored immense hostility toward humans.
The Far East government had long been investigating the origin of these alien creatures—but so far, all efforts had been fruitless.
It was a strange new form of energy. When humans came into contact with it, they became infected. Once infected, it multiplied autonomously, and the excess matter coalesced into flying white monsters—impervious to bullets and blades.
Due to certain internal political complications, the Far East government failed to eliminate the infection sources immediately.
By the time they reacted, it was already too late.
The infection had spread across the entire region.
"Are you sure those white creatures weren't created by the Fog?" Chihaya Gunzou asked, glancing at Iona, Takao, and Hyuuga.
"No. They weren't," all three replied, shaking their heads.
"Just like the Fleet of Fog, they appeared out of nowhere..." Chihaya Gunzou frowned deeply. He could feel it—something unseen was manipulating events from behind the scenes.
That mysterious entity had made contact with Kongou.
He wasn't sure whether that entity was controlling Kongou—or commanding her.
If it was the former, then it must be an unknown third-party force from beyond the stars.
If it was the latter, then that being was very likely the creator of the Fleet of Fog itself.
Chihaya Gunzou asked, "Can you, like Kongou, abandon your ship forms and ascend into the sky?"
Takao replied, "It's possible—but the Fog's rules forbid us from doing so."
Hyuuga added, "Kongou has already severed all ties with the Fog. She's no longer one of us."
With the Fog's graviton engines, taking flight was trivial.
But the rules forbade it.
Without restrictions, their vessel forms could take any shape they desired.
Chihaya Gunzou fell silent, deep in thought.
Meanwhile, in the deep-sea region where I-400 and I-402 had been sunk, a swarm of jellyfish-type Honkai Beasts discovered the wreckage of their submarines on the ocean floor—and within it, the cores of I-400 and I-402.
The Honkai jellyfish wrapped their tendrils around the two cores and swiftly retreated, heading toward the Far East.
Haruna, Kirishima, and Makie Osakabe were drawn aboard the aerial warship. Together with I-400 and I-402, the massive ship now possessed six cores—and one pseudo-Herrscher.
The aerial warship's appearance closely resembled the Hyperion from Honkai Impact 3rd—a hybrid between an aircraft carrier and a battleship. It could launch battle airships made from reconstructed Nagara-class light cruisers, as well as countless fighters and bombers.
Its own firepower rivaled that of a full-scale battleship fleet.
The Fleet of Fog had never used carrier-based aircraft for a reason—aircraft lacked Klein fields, making them easy targets for human forces. Moreover, controlling them consumed too much computational capacity.
It was far more efficient for the Fog to deploy their own Klein fields and rely on ship-mounted cannons, torpedoes, and missiles—with minimal losses.