In the next instant, the golden cocoon exploded outward. A massive golden pillar of light, more than ten meters across, surged straight into the sky, piercing the clouds and stabbing into the heavens.
The beam did not just blow the clouds apart, at its very peak it seemed to tear through the limits of space itself, connecting directly to the eternal star burning at the heart of the solar system... the sun.
A visible torrent of particles, made purely of light and heat, poured down the beam like a host of summoned vassals answering their sovereign's call, roaring along the pillar and flooding crazily into Kenji's body.
"What is happening?!"
At the harbor, the shipgirls of Azur Lane and the Siren mass-production ships that had been locked in fierce combat all involuntarily halted, staring in stunned horror at the heaven-rending phenomenon.
The Sakura Empire shipgirls ceased their advance, frozen in place by shock and uncertainty.
What made every heart clench with dread was the pressure radiating from that blazing golden pillar.
It felt like a mountain made solid from divine will, pressing down on the soul of every living being present.
The weaker units found it difficult to even move.
"Uu..."
The massive blue-flame fox beast, which had been freely brandishing its foxfire moments ago, let out a low, unwilling cry under that towering majesty.
All four legs buckled, and it was forced down flat onto the surface of the sea, smashing up towering waves of white foam.
Kaga stared at the now pitifully pressed-down fox beast at her side, her gaze heavy beyond words as she fixed her eyes on the golden pillar that bound heaven and earth together.
"What in the world... is this power?"
At the center of the beam, Kenji slowly straightened his back.
The searing pain from before had vanished.
In its place surged an unprecedented sense of fullness and ease, a feeling that he could grasp and shape everything in reach.
He raised one hand. In his palm, five colors of light shimmered and flowed without rest... gold, green, blue, red, and brown, the hues of the world's five primal elements, dancing tamely between his fingers, merging and weaving together.
The next moment, the pillar connecting him to the sun swelled and expanded again.
An even more overwhelming tide of solar storm energy was drawn down along it.
Just then, a deep, ancient dragon's roar echoed from within the heart of the beam.
That sound seemed to cross countless ages, laden with supreme authority and raw power, making every soul on the battlefield tremble involuntarily.
The roar rose from low and somber to sharp and triumphant, brimming with the exhilaration and wild joy of something breaking free from its seals.
Boom.
An invisible shockwave blasted out from Kenji as the center, sweeping across the harbor with unstoppable force.
At the same time, countless streaks of solid golden light burst out of the pillar like living things.
They moved faster than sight could follow, like bolts of lightning tearing through a midnight sky.
Under the horrified eyes of the shipgirls of Azur Lane and the Sakura Empire, the lights flashed once across the entire Siren carrier group.
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
Deafening explosions blended into a single rolling roar.
Brilliant golden fire blossomed simultaneously on every Siren aircraft, on every Siren warship.
The light was pure and sacred, yet carried an absolute power of annihilation.
In the blink of an eye, the Siren fleet that had just been stretching from horizon to horizon, holding overwhelming superiority, together with all its carrier-based planes...
Was completely wiped out by this single volley of golden streaks, reduced to blazing wreckage on the water's surface that burned fiercely for a moment before rapidly sinking beneath the waves.
The streaks left gorgeous golden trails in the rising mist, steam flashing into existence as the seawater boiled, then dispersing into a sky full of twinkling motes of light.
What remained for everyone on the battlefield was only that sea of golden fire, spreading swiftly, then dying away just as quickly...
And beside it, the blue-flame fox giant, one patch of fur scorched black where a single streak had grazed it, staring and growling in shock and fury.
Seeing the entire situation overturned in a single breath, a sheen of cold sweat broke out on Kaga's forehead.
One strike... no, it could not even be called a proper attack. It was more like some existence had absentmindedly brushed away a bit of dust that offended its eyes.
Just like that, so casually, it had erased every Siren combat unit present.
Leaving her and her sister Akagi as nothing more than "commanders without an army," standing alone in a wasteland.
This kind of power was so monstrous it defied comprehension.
"Observer... this time, you have truly ruined us," Kaga hissed between clenched teeth, her heart turning to ice.
This was no assault on a lightly defended Azur Lane base.
This was stepping directly into a hellish crucible prepared especially for them.
After the first wave of shock, the shipgirls of Azur Lane gradually exhaled in relief.
From the current situation, this terrifying being that had appeared out of nowhere... seemed to be on their side.
An ally, however overwhelming.
...
Clang... clang...
Another thunderous metallic crash rang out, sharper and even more awe-inspiring than the dragon's roar from before.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
In the heart of the enormous golden pillar, a colossal claw thrust out, forged completely from light and some mysterious golden metal.
Then a second claw, a third...
At last, a massive body so large it took their breath away slowly emerged from the pillar, revealing itself bit by bit.
It was the mount from Kenji's memories, the ultimate steed of the Emperor Knight... the Light Emperor War Dragon.
Yet its form was nothing like he remembered.
Its body stretched over a thousand meters in length, its mountainous frame like a moving range of peaks hanging in the sky.
The shadow it cast swallowed the entire harbor and surrounding waters.
Its whole body shone with a holy platinum sheen. Its streamlined torso was wrapped in layer upon layer of armor plates that looked at once like dragon scales and like forged plating.
Every single plate bore intricate, arcane golden sigils that pulsed with light in rhythm with the flow of energy, radiating a vast and boundless power of illumination.
Its head was both majestic and fearsome, with massive golden horns sweeping back like a royal crown, and long, flowing whiskers of light drifting from its jaw.
Along its back, following the line of its spine, a row of golden fins rose like a ridge of blades and spears, their edges brimming with razor-sharp energy.
Its long tail swept lazily through the air, and space itself seemed to ripple in its wake. From the tip of the tail, tiny sparks of golden starlight flickered free and vanished.
The sheer magnitude of its body crushed down on everyone's senses.
Shipgirls and monsters alike could not help but feel their own smallness beneath its shadow.
"What... what is that thing?!"
"Some secret weapon from Iron Blood? No... the style is wrong. It looks mechanical, but it feels more like... something out of myth."
"A body that huge... how can it even exist?"
Exclamations burst out one after another. Every single gaze on the battlefield was drawn to the dragon, stunned to the very core.
The Dragon's colossal head tilted slightly, its burning eyes sweeping slowly across the battlefield below.
Finally, its gaze settled on Kenji... who stood below wreathed in golden light like a god descended.
In that instant, Kenji clearly felt a wave of devotion, affection, and unreserved joy pouring from those enormous eyes.
"Argh..."
The Dragon raised its head and let out a rapturous roar that tore through clouds and sky, the sound rolling across the sea, whipping the waves into a frenzy.
Then its massive body twisted with surprising agility.
With a movement full of warmth and obedience, it dove down toward Kenji and came to a gentle hover before him, letting out a low, rumbling sound that was almost... a dragon's version of a delighted nuzzle.