Kenji could not help but laugh softly. His fingers slid over the hard dragon helm, and he could feel the immeasurable power sealed within.
"Good grief. With this size and presence, you look like the one and only ruler of heaven and earth. Even I am a little overwhelmed."
He spoke under his breath, his eyes filled with satisfaction and pride.
The Dragon seemed to understand. Its massive body trembled faintly, and it dipped its huge head in a small nod. The joints in its metal frame clicked softly, as if it were answering his praise.
Its mere existence was a deterrent. The sea around it rippled with its approach, the air thickening with oppressive waves of energy, as if even the wind had stalled in fear.
Kenji turned, his gaze falling on the girl frozen stiff beside him, Ayanami.
Shock and wariness were written plain in her clear eyes. Her slender body was trembling slightly. She gripped her ship-cleaving blade so tightly her knuckles were white, yet the weapon suddenly seemed powerless in her hands.
"Miss Ayanami, what was it you said just now?"
The corners of Kenji's mouth curled into a teasing smile as he raised a brow.
He walked toward her at an easy pace, and with each step, Ayanami's heartbeat sped up.
Suddenly, Kenji moved. His hand flashed out faster than her eyes could follow, and the ship-cleaving blade that had been in her grip a heartbeat ago was already in his.
"Oh?"
He weighed the blade casually in one hand, genuine surprise flickering over his face.
"I did not expect a shipgirl's weapon to be this heavy."
He turned the massive blade over and over with interest, toying with it as if it were a curious trinket.
Ayanami was completely stunned.
She stared at his casual motions in disbelief.
This ship-cleaving blade was a manifestation of part of her rigging, its weight equivalent to at least a thousand tons of solid metal.
A normal human would not be able to lift it, not even an inch, much less swing it.
Yet this man in front of her was playing with it one-handed, as if it weighed nothing at all.
"How... how is that possible..."
She whispered the words, a tidal wave of shock surging through her heart.
Ayanami was a famed destroyer of the Sakura Empire, known for her calm and decisiveness in battle. Yet in this moment, facing this incomprehensible dragon and this mysterious man, the confidence she relied on shattered in an instant.
She drew a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but the words caught in her throat and died, leaving her in mute, speechless silence.
'I am finished... this time I am really finished.'
Her thoughts whirled, her gaze locked on the mechanical dragon.
Its size dwarfed any rigging she had ever seen. The aura it exuded felt like a tangible weight pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
As a shipgirl, Ayanami knew her own power very clearly. Her displacement was around two thousand tons, and the ship-cleaving blade she wielded weighed at least several hundred to a thousand tons. A normal human could never simply pick it up.
Yet Kenji had snatched it from her grasp and toyed with it like a child's weapon.
That impossible reality sent her thoughts into chaos.
"Just who is this man? Does he possess some kind of power on his own? Even without that dragon, he is definitely not an ordinary human."
Her mind raced, but then she felt Kenji take her hand. The warmth of his touch made her brows twitch slightly. She tried instinctively to pull away, only to realize she was already bound by some unseen force.
"Good. Ayanami now belongs to me as a captive."
Kenji chuckled softly. His tone held a natural, unquestionable authority.
Ayanami could not think of anything to say. She could only watch helplessly as Kenji toyed with her ship-cleaving blade, then cast a sideways glance at the colossal Dragon next to them.
Its scarlet gaze was fixed on her, and she could clearly feel the warning in that stare, a silent admonition not to act rashly.
In the end, all she could do was let Kenji pull her up to her feet.
Kenji led Ayanami in a light leap and landed atop the dragon's head.
The massive dragon lifted into the air, wings spreading wide and blotting out the sky, casting a vast shadow over the sea below.
Javelin's eyes were wide as she watched the spectacle.
She saw Kenji standing on the dragon's head, with Ayanami clearly taken into custody beside him, and understanding dawned at once.
"T... this monster of a mechanical dragon... Commander Kenji summoned it?"
Her voice trembled as she muttered to herself.
"If he can really command something like that, then those rumors about him leading a powerful fleet before... they might not be rumors at all..."
Javelin's heart was a swirl of curiosity and fear. She could not stop herself from taking a step forward, only to flinch back as the dragon's oppressive aura pressed against her.
Beside her, Laffey lazily fished out her bottle, took a small sip, yet even her usually sleepy face showed a rare hint of seriousness.
"This big guy is pretty scary," she mumbled, the bottle tilting slightly in her hand.
"Commander Kenji, you really know how to bring surprises."
Laffey's nature was always relaxed and laid-back, with a fondness for drinking and napping, but even she could feel the tension in the air now.
Her half-lidded eyes studied the Dragon carefully, as if she were silently measuring just how dangerous it was.
Kenji looked down at Javelin and Laffey and lifted a hand in a light wave, his smile carrying a soothing reassurance.
"Do not worry. This is just a small incident."
His voice was gentle and steady. Then his gaze shifted forward, and the Dragon moved with it.
Its colossal head turned slowly, and its focus locked onto Kaga in the distance.