Protector of the Storm
The storm rain continued to mercilessly lash the southern coast, mixing the sky's tears with the acrid stench of blood and gunpowder. Beneath the shadow of a large tree whose leaves had been torn apart by the wind, Izumo knelt on the muddy ground. The porcelain face of the silver fox was filled with a panic she rarely showed. Her trembling right hand gently patted Mogami's cheek, which was as white as cotton. She panicked when her friend from the country she was visiting lost consciousness with severe injuries.
"Mogami! Hold on! Open your eyes! You have to hold on!" Izumo shouted, her voice nearly drowned out by the roar of thunder.
The pride of Japan's frigate did not respond at all. Mogami's breathing was extremely faint, almost inaudible amid the rain and thunder that echoed one another. It was as if the storm was signaling: hurry, take her away. The deep wound from close-quarters combat with Nanchang, combined with the deadly feedback from her shattered command tower, had plunged the girl's consciousness into an abyss of darkness. Fresh blood still seeped from the corner of her lips, staining her already soaked black shirt. Izumo wept at Mogami's condition. But she had to remain strong.
Because in the midst of that despair, a far greater danger lurked from the sea. They had thought all Chinese fleets had been paralyzed, at least temporarily. It turned out not all of them had been in one place. As Izumo had predicted. They moved independently, but by coincidence, they were in a nearby location.
From behind the thick smoke of the remnants of the southern fleet base explosion, two massive steel hull silhouettes cleaved the waves at high speed. Izumo's optical sensors immediately identified them. They were the CN Type 052 guided-missile destroyer and the CN Type 053 frigate. Both approached like oceanic executioners sent to finish the unfinished job.
On the bridge of each ship stood the silhouettes of the ship girls connected to those steel entities. Their eyes gleamed with rage and vengeance. They were not targeting Izumo on land; their target was locked onto the living wreck of JS Mogami, which lay helplessly floating near the cape. Without warning, without radio communication, the Type 052's main 100mm caliber gun spat out a flash of fire. High-explosive projectiles, followed by a barrage of anti-ship grenades, arced through the air in a deadly parabola, ready to reduce what remained of JS Mogami to ashes.
"Mogami-san!" Izumo cried out, her voice choked.
However, before that rain of projectiles could touch JS Mogami's hull, two flashes of light shot from the open sea.
TRANG! BLAARRR!
A glowing blue electric spear spun at speeds beyond physical limits, creating a kinetic energy shield in the air. HMS Javelin, with her rigging fully active, hovered above the water's surface. With a cry full of fighting spirit, she parried and deflected the two main gun shells, causing them to explode harmlessly in the empty sea.
Beside her, USS Laffey surged forward with sharp, glowing red eyes. The rabbit girl who was usually sleepy had now become a highly efficient killing machine. Her twin-barreled gun rigging spat out precise, rapid-fire shots.
TATATATATATA!
Laffey's bullets struck and detonated every enemy grenade projectile in mid-air before they could get close to Mogami's ship.
"We won't let you touch the one under our protection, Izumo-nee!" Javelin shouted, positioning herself as a living shield in front of JS Mogami.
"Laffey... will destroy anyone who interferes," Laffey muttered coldly, her guns still smoking.
On the other side, KMS Z23 (Nimi) realized that JS Mogami was an easy target as long as the ship remained motionless. Its command tower was destroyed, its engines completely dead. The ship, weighing more than five thousand tons, was utterly paralyzed. She would push it away.
"We have to move this ship behind the cape cliff!" Nimi shouted. "I can do it, I definitely can. I am an Iron Blood destroyer!"
The Iron Blood destroyer girl immediately shot forward and pressed both hands against the cold steel hull of JS Mogami. She concentrated all her Wisdom Cube energy. The engines on her rigging roared to their maximum limit, emitting hot steam that overcame the chill of the rain.
"Haaaaaaarrrghhh!" she screamed.
Nimi pushed the massive modern ship's hull with the pure physical strength of a Kansen. The friction between her magnetic rigging shoes and the sea surface created giant waves that sprayed into the air. The mechanical muscles in her petite body tensed tremendously, veins of rage and concentration bulging at her temples. Slowly but surely, the gigantic JS Mogami began to shift, inching away from the enemy's line of fire toward the blind spot behind the solid rocky cape.
At the same time, JS Maya, realizing the emergency, immediately responded with superior tactical maneuvers. The Aegis ship reversed at full speed, positioning herself between JS Mogami and the Chinese vessels.
"I will provide covering fire! Retreat now!" JS Maya's professional voice echoed through the emergency channel.
The VLS silos on JS Maya's deck opened in unison. Type 90 anti-ship missiles roared into the sky, leaving white smoke trails amid the rain. The missiles streaked straight toward the CN Type 052 and Type 053, forcing both enemy ship girls to activate their Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) and temporarily halt their gun fire.
Back on land, Izumo did not waste even a second of the time bought by her beloved destroyers and JS Maya.
"Forgive me, Mogami. This will be a little uncomfortable," Izumo whispered into Mogami's ear.
With extreme care, Izumo lifted Mogami's limp body and carried her on her back. The weight of Mogami's human form was no issue for Izumo, but the slash wound from Shandong's nodachi on her waist felt as if it were being doused with acid every time she moved the muscles in her back. Izumo gritted her teeth, swallowing her groans of pain deep inside.
Ayanami emerged from between the trees, her large sword already drawn in her right hand. She immediately ran behind Izumo, one hand steadying Mogami's back to prevent her from slipping, while her sharp eyes scanned every corner of the forest in case enemy troops were pursuing from land.
"I will protect you from behind, Izumo-nee. Keep walking, desu!" Ayanami said with determination.
The two of them staggered through the muddy shoreline toward the sea. Ahead of them, the massive silhouette of JS Izumo slowly approached the side of the cliff, defying the waves to retrieve her commander. Its towering hull provided additional protection from the raging storm winds.
At sea, the fighting retreat continued brutally. The CN Type 052 and Type 053 had managed to neutralize JS Maya's missiles and refocused their guns. However, they had miscalculated the fury of the Azur Lane destroyers.
Javelin and Laffey were not merely holding on. They adopted a highly aggressive counterattack tactic.
"Laffey, now!" Javelin shouted.
The two of them sped in a circular maneuver, dodging the enemy's CIWS bullet rain. With perfect synchronization, Javelin and Laffey activated their torpedo rigging. They did what large fleets feared most: spamming close-range torpedoes.
Dozens of oxygen torpedoes launched from their tubes, slicing through the water at high speeds undetectable by the storm-disrupted enemy sonar. The torpedoes surged like a pack of hungry iron sharks.
BUMMM! BLAARRRR! BOOM!
Successive explosions slammed into the hulls of the Type 052 and Type 053. Walls of seawater erupted dozens of meters high. Although the enemy ships had thick armor, the massive number of torpedo impacts created tremendous shockwaves, triggered secondary explosions, and billowed thick black smoke that completely blinded their vision. The two ships fired their guns wildly but hit nothing.
"That's our gift! Now retreat!" Javelin shouted while waving her spear.
While continuously firing covering shots into the smoke for rear protection, Javelin and Laffey surfed backward. At the same time, JS Maya fired a thick steel cable anchor, hooking it firmly to the bow of the still-engine-dead JS Mogami. The anchor was positioned directly above the bridge.
"Cable attached! Nimi-san, come aboard! Please position the anchor to loop around Mogami's anchor chain side; we'll tow this ship!" Maya ordered through the loudspeaker. Nimi jumped up, adjusted the anchor's position, then returned to the sea.
JS Maya roared, pushing her gas turbines to the limit to pull the extra thousands-of-tons burden. She sailed in reverse! Nimi stood guard at the stern of JS Mogami, her guns aimed at the open sea, ready to destroy anything that dared to pursue. The hastily formed yet perfectly coordinated retreat formation began to move through the storm, speeding northward.
They were heading toward the Japanese territorial waters boundary, where emergency reinforcements had been placed on standby. The Japanese Central Command had not remained idle. At that boundary, the silhouettes of two tough old destroyers, JS Asagiri (DD-151) and JS Amagiri (DD-154), waited in the darkness. Those veteran ships were ready to unleash their remaining Harpoon missiles to blockade the sea and protect the return of their heroes, who had successfully completed the mission.
Meanwhile, Izumo finally managed to board her own flight deck with the help of an emergency cargo lift lowered to the coastal side. The heavy rain immediately greeted them on the wide, open deck. The storm wind caused the air temperature to plummet drastically.
Ayanami did not stay on the deck. Once she confirmed Izumo and Mogami were safe, the demon girl leaped back into the sea to assist the other three destroyers.
"I will help Javelin and Laffey at the rear, desu! Izumo-nee, take care of Mogami-san!" Ayanami shouted before her figure vanished into the waves, speeding after her comrades in the rear escort formation.
Izumo laid Mogami down with extreme care on the steel floor of her flight deck. The typhoon rain mercilessly battered Mogami's face. The dark-haired girl's body shivered violently. Her body temperature had dropped sharply due to massive blood loss and the trauma feedback from her ship. If left exposed to the storm without medical care, she could die from hypothermia before they reached Japanese waters.
"Damn... I don't have a quickly accessible medical room on this deck," Izumo cursed in panic.
At that exact moment, the faint yet powerful hum of an engine sounded from the sky. A pitch-black Qaher-313 drone descended through the storm. The stealth aircraft performed a perfect short landing right beside Izumo. It was not preparing to take off again, but had responded to Izumo's subconscious command to provide shelter.
The advanced drone shut down its main propulsion. Its very wide delta wings, combined with the aerodynamic forward canards, created a sufficiently large steel canopy.
Without wasting time, Izumo pulled Mogami's body and moved her beneath the protection of the Qaher-313's broad wing. The pounding storm raindrops were now blocked by the aircraft's steel, creating a small space that was relatively dry and safe from direct wind blasts.
Izumo panted heavily; her own body had reached its limit. She sat cross-legged beside Mogami. Without hesitation, she removed her torn and blood-stained white techwear jacket, leaving her body clad only in a wet black shirt. She draped the jacket over Mogami's shivering form.
But it was not enough. The steel deck floor was as cold as ice. Mogami's limp, hanging head needed support so that her blood flow would not be further disrupted.
Izumo took a deep breath. She moved her large, extremely fluffy silver fox tails. Those tails were usually used to maintain balance or simply as emotional expression, but now, their magical fur radiated natural warmth originating from her Wisdom Cube core energy. Izumo wrapped several of her fluffy tails beneath Mogami's neck and head, creating an extremely thick, warm, and soft fur pillow.
She then, with her remaining energy, manifested one more tail. Although it drained her energy, she forced it. She used another tail to cover part of Mogami's upper body, providing extra warmth to fight the life-threatening hypothermia.
Izumo gazed at Mogami's pale face in the dim light of the Qaher's navigation lights above them. She continued holding the cold hand of Mogami, channeling her Kansen life energy bit by bit to stabilize the Japanese frigate's heart condition.
"Hold on, you did something extraordinary today. You cannot die in a place like this," Izumo whispered with hope.
Time felt agonizingly slow. In the distance, the sounds of Javelin and Laffey's cannon fire could still be heard faintly, ensuring the Chinese fleet did not dare approach the boundary.
Slowly, the warmth from Izumo's fox tails and the wind-breaking jacket began to take effect. Mogami's previously intermittent breathing now found a stable rhythm. Her pulse grew stronger.
Mogami's eyelashes fluttered. With great difficulty, she opened her heavy eyes. The first thing she saw was the pitch-black wing of the stealth aircraft shielding her from the storm rain, then the scent of blood mixed with cherry blossoms-the natural aroma emanating from the silver fox's tail fur.
Mogami turned her head slightly, feeling the softness of the pillow supporting her. She saw Izumo sitting beside her, wearing only a thin shirt, enduring the cold sea wind sweeping the deck, with an open wound on her waist that had not yet been treated. Izumo's face looked at her with utterly sincere concern.
"Izumo-san..." Mogami called out in a very hoarse, almost whispering voice.
Izumo's eyes immediately sparkled with relief. "Mogami! Thank goodness you're awake! Don't move too much yet; your internal organs are severely injured, and your ship... your ship is being towed by Maya. You're safe now."
Mogami tried to process the information. She recalled the explosion that destroyed her tower, the pain that nearly took her life, and how she had thought her end would be beneath a muddy tree in enemy territory. But here she was now, wrapped in a warmth she had never imagined from a ship girl from another dimension who was supposed to be a guest she protected, yet had ended up being the one protected.
The dark-haired girl coughed softly. She stared intently at Izumo's face. There was no longer any suspicion or analytical intelligence gaze in Mogami's eyes. What remained was only deep respect.
"You know..." Mogami whispered, the corners of her lips slightly lifting into a genuine, faint smile. "...I admire you."
Izumo was stunned. Her fox ears twitched at the unexpected confession. "Admire... me? Why? I was the one who dragged you into this suicide mission. I destroyed your ship."
Mogami slowly shook her head, feeling the softness of Izumo's tail fur supporting her. "No... you kept your promise. You infiltrated the devil's nest... destroyed them... without taking a single human life. And you... you came back for me. In this world, if our ships are destroyed, we are considered failed products and will be replaced... but you treated me like... family."
Mogami's eyes began to glisten, tears of emotion mixing with the remnants of rainwater on her face. She weakly moved her hand from beneath Izumo's jacket and gently grasped the silver fox's fingers.
"Thank you, Izumo," Mogami said this time without the formal suffix, a pure sign of intimacy. "Thank you for saving me."
Beneath the steel wing of the stealth aircraft, amid the raging Pacific typhoon that served as a silent witness, Izumo returned Mogami's hand grip. A gentle smile bloomed on Izumo's lips, erasing all the pain and exhaustion that afflicted her body.
"You're welcome, Mogami. Now rest. We're going home," Izumo said.
After uttering those sincere words of thanks, Mogami's eyelids grew heavy once more. The sense of safety offered by the warmth of Izumo's fox tails, combined with the extreme fatigue weighing on her soul, caused the intelligence frigate girl's consciousness to fade again. Her breathing became regular, her chest rising and falling in a slow but stable rhythm. She fell into a deep sleep beneath the protection of the Qaher-313 stealth drone's wing, isolated from the cruelty of the Pacific storm still howling outside.
Izumo gazed at Mogami's peaceful face for a moment, then let out a long sigh. "Sleep. The worst part is over," whispered the silver fox in a hoarse voice as she looked toward the stormy sky where the rain had begun to ease slightly. It was as if it was telling them: you are safe now, my task is complete.
Once Izumo felt the situation around them was beginning to stabilize, she refocused her mind on retrieving the remnants of her forces.
From behind the rolling black clouds that were starting to dissipate, the roar of turbine engines and rotors broke through the air. Izumo's air armada returned one by one, like a flock of iron eagles returning to their nest after a bloody hunt. Three MiG-27K Flogger fighter jets drastically reduced their speed, adjusting their swing-wing to the maximum angle for lift, and performed extremely precise short landings on the wet steel deck of JS Izumo. The hiss of hot steam rose from their jet exhausts as they touched the drizzling rain.
Shortly after, another Qaher-313 drone descended silently, taking a parking position beside the drone sheltering Izumo and Mogami. Finally, four AW249 Fenice attack helicopters landed with heavy thuds at the rear of the deck, their massive rotors slowly stopping. All air units were now fully on standby on the deck, forming a metal barricade surrounding Izumo and Mogami, ready to spit bullets whenever danger threatened again.
The atmosphere at sea gradually calmed. The typhoon wind that had previously raged now decreased in intensity, leaving only cold drizzle and long waves that rocked the remnants of their retreating convoy.
On the open sea, JS Maya, sailing in reverse, the Aegis ship that had become an unexpected hero today, continued to push her engines to the redline limit. The steel cable as thick as an adult's thigh that connected her anchor to JS Mogami caused the stern of JS Maya to creak under tension. JS Maya towed the modern ship wreck weighing more than five thousand tons with high determination, cleaving the waves and distancing itself from the hellish southern waters toward the safe zone in the north.
Meanwhile, the rear defense formation had formed perfectly. Four destroyer girls maneuvered nimbly across the water's surface, guarding the stern of JS Izumo from any threat that might pursue. Ayanami had rejoined Javelin, Laffey, and Nimi.
The four girls from different factions in the Azur Lane world now united their strength. Their cannon and torpedo riggings still glowed, emitting blue and red energy that reflected on the wave surfaces. They surfed through the sea in an inverted arrow formation, their eyes sharp as they watched the horizon behind them, still tinged with the red glow of the enemy base explosions.
Seeing such a solid formation and the air cover that had returned to her ship, the psychological tension that had been pressing on Izumo's chest finally eased. The pure adrenaline that had sustained her physically for hours began to recede.
Izumo leaned her back against the Qaher-313's landing gear behind her. She stared straight into the darkness of the storm they were leaving behind, recalling her battle with Shandong, her fear of Nemesis's appearance, and her despair when she saw Mogami nearly die in enemy territory. Her trauma returned.
"We made it... we will all go home," Izumo thought with relief.
However, the price of pushing a Kansen's absolute limits could not be manipulated.
Suddenly, without any warning, the view in Izumo's left eye changed drastically. The dark sea she was staring at was suddenly overlaid with a thick red transparent filter. At first she thought it was a glitch in her optical radar system, but a few seconds later, she felt warm, thick fluid flowing down from the corner of her eye, across her cheek, and dripping onto her black shirt.
Izumo touched her cheek with a violently trembling hand. She looked at her fingertips in the dim light. Red. Fresh blood was dripping directly from her left eye.
Thump!
Izumo's heart beat once with tremendous force, as if a giant hammer had just struck her chest from within.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Her heartbeat suddenly became chaotic, racing at a torturous speed. An extraordinary heat, as hot as a fusion reactor core on the verge of exploding, erupted in the center of her chest. The Wisdom Cube inside Izumo's body-the source of energy for her existence, the manifestation of her ship, and all her aircraft units-was experiencing a critical-scale Overload and Overheat phenomenon.
For more than twelve hours, Izumo had forced her power far beyond the recommended safety threshold. From holding five stealth jets at Yokohama harbor, instantly telepathically activating her air armada from hundreds of kilometers away, moving a twenty-seven-thousand-ton unmanned aircraft carrier, to a deadly close-quarters combat against one of the strongest close-range aircraft carriers, Shandong. All of it had drained unimaginable spiritual and physical energy.
And now, the bill for that power had come due.
"Ugh...!!" Izumo groaned in pain.
Izumo clutched her own chest tightly, her nails nearly tearing the fabric of her shirt. Her eyes widened as the burning pain spread through every nerve in her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. It felt as if her insides were on fire.
Suddenly, her stomach churned violently. Izumo could not hold it back. She turned her face toward the steel deck floor, away from Mogami's body, and vomited the fluid from her mouth.
Bruk... uhuk... BLAARGH!
A large amount of fresh blood was vomited onto the steel deck, its color a deep red but emitting a slight neon blue shimmer indicating direct damage to her soul core. Izumo coughed hard, vomiting more blood until a red puddle formed beneath her face. Her breathing was ragged, sounding like a leaking steam pipe.
"Haah... haah... it hurts... it hurts so much..." Izumo whimpered, holding it in. The muscles in her body tensed and spasmed. Cold sweat the size of corn kernels poured from her forehead, mixing with the blood still flowing from her left eye.
The world around her began to spin. The sound of waves crashing and aircraft engines sounded as if echoing from the end of a long tunnel. Darkness began to gnaw at the edges of her vision. Her body screamed for surrender, begging the central system to shut down her consciousness (fainting) to cool the burning Wisdom Cube.
"Izumo-nee!" Ayanami's voice called through the internal communication channel, echoing in her ear. "Is Izumo-nee okay? I detected extreme temperature anomalies from your ship's hull!"
Hearing Ayanami's voice, Izumo bit her lower lip hard until it bled, forcing her consciousness to remain awake. If she fainted now, the energy connection to her entire air armada would be severed. The helicopters and jets on standby on the deck would shut down completely, or worse, the JS Izumo's automatic control system would lose control and stop in the middle of the sea. And if she fainted, her overheating body temperature could burn Mogami, who was leaning on her tails.
"I'm... I'm fine, Ayanami," Izumo answered through the internal radio, forcing her voice to sound as normal as possible, even though blood continued to drip from her lips. "Just... a slight temperature adjustment. Stay in formation."
Izumo released the communication channel. She slowly turned her head toward Mogami, who was still sleeping soundly. Fortunately, the roar of the waves and the light drizzle masked the sound of her coughing up blood earlier. Mogami did not wake up.
Izumo's trembling hand reached out, gently stroking Mogami's wet hair, ensuring the warmth from her fox tails continued to envelop the fragile frigate's body.
"I will not give up now," Izumo thought, her red eye staring blankly forward. Memories from her previous life as Angga, an ordinary man who had never known war, merged with the absolute determination of the Kansen. She remembered the faces of her friends in Azur Lane, then those she knew in Japan, the laughter of Kaga and Hyuga at the sake tavern, and the hope of Admiral Deguchi.
To protect them all, this pain was nothing.
With her last remaining strength, Izumo leaned her head against the Qaher-313's wheel well, covering her mouth with her right palm to prevent her groans of pain from being heard. Every breath felt like inhaling shards of glass. Her injured eye continued to drip blood, while her hand gripped the steel deck tightly to channel her pain.
She endured that internal torment in absolute silence. Second by second passed like torture in hell lasting thousands of years. Yet, her eyes never left the northern horizon.
After who knows how much time had passed in that silent agony, behind the lifting morning mist, the silhouette of the territorial waters finally appeared. A coastline with rows of lighthouse navigation lights glowing through the dawn darkness, on the islands of the Senkaku archipelago. The fleet would pass those islands before turning toward Kyushu.
And there, patrolling gallantly, were the silhouettes of two Asagiri-class destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force-JS Asagiri (DD-151) and JS Amagiri (DD-154)-turning their searchlights toward the approaching convoy, giving a welcoming signal.
Seeing the reinforcements and the safe point now within visual range, Izumo's mental defenses finally relaxed. She had successfully brought them home. The silent mission into the southern hell had been completed successfully, and none of her comrades had sunk.
Izumo's lips formed a faint, extremely relieved smile behind her blood-soaked palm.
"Thank goodness... Ev... Everyone... is coming... ho... ugh... home safely," Izumo whispered somewhat haltingly.
She closed her injured left eye. Beneath the shelter of the stealth aircraft's wing, accompanied by the crashing waves of the Japanese boundary welcoming them, Izumo continued to struggle to maintain her thin consciousness, enduring the pain in absolute silence, ensuring Mogami continued to sleep in the warmth of her protection until her ship's hull touched the Yokohama dock.
The dawn light finally began to tear through the thick storm clouds on the eastern horizon, casting orange and golden hues that reflected on the slowly calming surface of the Pacific Ocean. The typhoon that had previously raged fiercely had now subsided into a thin, cold drizzle, carrying with it the scent of salt and the remnants of cold air induced by last night's lightning.
In Japanese territorial waters, tension still hung thick in the air, but this time not because of enemy threats, but in anticipation of the return of a mission that had gambled the nation's fate. One that, if it failed, would somehow determine Japan's future. And Izumo could not break her promise.
Two silhouettes of veteran destroyers belonging to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) cleaved the morning waves at a stable patrol speed. They were JS Asagiri (DD-151) and JS Amagiri (DD-154). As long-serving Asagiri-class ships, they did not possess cutting-edge stealth technology or advanced radars like Mogami or Maya, but they possessed unmatched survival instincts and ocean combat experience.
From behind the heavy steel doors of each ship's command tower cabin, two very different ship girls stepped out. Amagiri, known as 'The Swift Sentinel', stepped out nimbly. Her bright long red hair fluttered in the morning breeze. She wore a bold white sailor crop top uniform paired with a white mini skirt and thigh-high white socks. On her feet, traditional black geta with red straps helped her walk gracefully on the water, leaving floating cherry blossom petals and maple leaves. On her shoulder, she carried a black tactical assault rifle with her signature mischievous smile.
Following behind her on the other ship, with more formal steps, was Asagiri, 'The Snow Fox of the Sea'. Her long white hair was tied in twin ponytails with large red ribbons, her orange eyes staring sharply and seriously. She wore a formal black sailor uniform with a black mini skirt, black socks, and red traditional geta on her feet. In her hands, she held an SVD Dragunov sniper rifle with a scope, ready for long-range shots. The two ship girls walked to the bow of their respective ships, standing tall as they gazed at the southern sea slowly emerging from the mist.
"That's them," Amagiri whispered, pointing toward the massive silhouettes beginning to appear from behind the drizzle curtain.
In the distance, JS Izumo (DDH-183) approached. The massive 248-meter helicopter carrier looked like a steel monster exhausted after battling the southern sea dragon. Thin smoke still rose from several parts of its deck, and its gray paint appeared dull from soot and salt.
As the highest form of respect to the commander who had led this suicide mission and returned safely, Asagiri and Amagiri simultaneously raised their right hands, offering a very solemn and precise military salute from the bows of their ships. It was a welcome from the veterans to a new hero.
However, instincts honed over decades at sea immediately told Asagiri and Amagiri that something was very wrong.
Asagiri's eyes narrowed as she observed the movement of the massive JS Izumo hull. The carrier was not sailing in an efficient straight line. Its bow veered too sharply to the left, then suddenly corrected and veered hard to the right, creating an irregular and dangerous wake for a ship of its size. Its gas turbine engines sounded as if they were revving up and down sporadically, as if losing control synchronization. Like someone half-conscious.
Asagiri immediately used her high-powered long-range optical binoculars installed in her eyes. She zoomed in on the flight deck of JS Izumo. When her focus locked, Asagiri's breath caught.
Beneath the broad wing of the only Qaher-313 stealth drone still on the deck, she saw Izumo's figure. The silver fox's black shirt was soaked, not just from rain, but from a thick pool of her own blood flowing from her body and her left eye. Izumo was fighting desperately to maintain her crumbling consciousness, and that mental instability was directly reflected in her ship's erratic movements.
"Medical emergency on Izumo's deck!" Asagiri shouted through the emergency command channel. "Izumo has lost navigation control! The commander is in critical condition!"
Amagiri immediately ran to her communication room. "Connect to Yokohama Port! Activate Level Red medical evacuation protocol! Call all medical crew teams to standby at the dock immediately! And deploy tugboats! JS Izumo will not be able to maneuver docking on its own; it could crash into the breakwater!"
Measured panic immediately spread throughout the base's communication network. While the two veterans were busy arranging ground support, the four loyal escorts in the rear had not yet realized the horror occurring on the deck. The height of JS Izumo prevented them from seeing what was happening from below.
Javelin, Nimi, Laffey, and Ayanami were still surfing on the water, forming a protective formation at JS Izumo's stern. They felt everything was safe because the boundary was already in sight. However, Nimi (KMS Z23), who always relied on analytical data, sensed a strange anomaly.
"Wait a moment... observe the movement of the air units up there," Nimi said through their internal radio, her voice filled with suspicion.
The four destroyers looked up, gazing at the towering deck of JS Izumo ahead. The MiG-27K jets and Fenice helicopters that had landed earlier were now moving toward the main elevator to be stored inside the hull (lower hangar). However, the movement of those war machines was highly unnatural. They moved back and forth jerkily, extremely slowly, like robots running out of power or puppets whose strings were about to snap.
For a Kansen, automated combat units moving like that had only one meaning: the brainwaves and Wisdom Cube energy of the controller were on the verge of collapse.
Javelin felt an extremely bad premonition gripping her heart. "Izumo-nee... she pushed herself too far!"
Without wasting a single second, Javelin propelled her rigging at maximum speed. She leaped from the sea surface with full force, soaring high into the air over the railing, and landed hard on JS Izumo's flight deck.
"Javelin! Wait for us!" Nimi called.
Ayanami, Laffey, and Nimi immediately followed. They leaped onto the carrier's deck one after another. The moment their feet touched the safe steel deck, they knew their combat duty was over. In unison, the four of them released their rigging synchronization.
WUSSS!
Blue and golden light exploded from their petite bodies. The mechanical weaponry attached to their backs, arms, and legs detached, transforming into thousands of glowing Wisdom Cubes. The cubes shot down into the sea behind JS Izumo's stern. In the blink of an eye, from within that light, the full hull forms of HMS Javelin, KMS Z23, USS Laffey, and IJN Ayanami manifested.
The destroyers, each over a hundred meters long, now floated independently in Japanese waters. Because their ship girls were already on JS Izumo, the ships immediately switched to autopilot return-to-base mode, sailing on their own through the waves toward the Kyushu dock to berth.
However, the minds of the four girls were not focused on their ships at all. They ran with all their strength across the wide, wet runway of JS Izumo, searching for Izumo.
Javelin, running at the front, finally found them in the middle of the deck. Beneath the pitch-black wing of the Qaher-313 stealth drone, the scene before her made Javelin's steps stop instantly, her eyes widened, and her mouth locked shut. Both hands covered her small mouth.
"Izumo... nee..." Javelin whispered, trembling.
Izumo sat leaning against the hard, large landing gear of the drone. The black clothing she wore was now sticky and glossy, drenched in her own blood. Blood still flowed slowly from her left eye, dripping down her chin and neck. Her porcelain face, which always looked calm and confident, was now deathly pale, enduring the torment of her soul core overheating. Her breathing was very short and rough, trembling with every intake of air. She was truly using every last bit of her consciousness just to ensure her ship kept moving toward home.
Seeing how hard the drone's rubber wheel was as Izumo's backrest, Javelin's heart shattered. She immediately removed the long-sleeved purple jacket she was wearing, leaving only her white tank top. Javelin ran closer, knelt beside the silver fox with tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
"Izumo-nee, forgive me for realizing it too late," Javelin sobbed softly. She lifted Izumo's back with extreme care, then placed her thick, soft jacket between Izumo's back and the drone wheel, providing a more comfortable cushion.
"Lean on this, Izumo-nee. It will feel a little better," Javelin said, sniffling slightly.
Nimi arrived a few seconds later. The Iron Blood girl who always prioritized logic immediately knelt on Izumo's other side. She took out a small biometric scanner from her pocket and brought it close to Izumo's chest.
"Her core temperature is critical. Her Wisdom Cube is experiencing kinetic energy leakage from forcing control of twenty thousand tons of steel simultaneously at long range," Nimi said in a panicked tone she rarely showed. She held Izumo's hand, which felt as hot as iron freshly taken from a forge. "She sacrificed the energy used to cool herself in order to maintain this ship's speed."
Laffey, who usually always looked sleepy and indifferent to her surroundings, had now lost all her lazy expression. Her red eyes stared at Izumo with pure fear. She held Izumo's other hand with both of her small ones, as if trying to hold the silver fox's soul so it would not leave.
"Izumo-nee... don't sleep for too long... Laffey doesn't want Izumo-nee to go," Laffey murmured, her voice slightly hoarse. "Laffey will give all her soda if you open your eyes."
Ayanami stepped forward in silence. The demon girl who was extremely deadly on the battlefield now showed her deepest gentleness. She saw the blood that continued to cover Izumo's left eye and face. Without hesitation, Ayanami removed her tactical serafuku jacket. She folded the jacket, then with extreme slowness and affection, she wiped and cleaned the thick blood staining Izumo's face, eye, and neck.
"You have fought so hard, Izumo-nee. Now let us take care of the rest, desu," Ayanami whispered while continuing to clean the silver fox's sweet face.
Feeling the gentle touches from her beloved destroyers, Izumo's eyelids fluttered slightly. She opened her healthy eye with great difficulty, looking at the faces of the four destroyers surrounding her with worried gazes. A very faint smile, extremely faint yet full of peace, slowly spread across Izumo's pale lips.
"Thank... you..." Izumo whispered, her voice hoarse and almost inaudible above the sound of the wind.
Izumo turned her face slightly, looking toward Mogami who was still sleeping soundly beside her. Even though her remaining energy was at a critical threshold and her body was threatened with exploding from overheating, Izumo forced herself. Her single large, fluffy fox tail slowly glowed, then she doubled it into two tails to provide maximum comfort. The two tails now curled neatly, acting as a double pillow that was very warm and soft to support Mogami's head.
"I... I want to sleep for a while..." Izumo said weakly, her eyelids growing heavier as the pain slowly began to numb because her body's system was preparing to shut down her consciousness. She looked at Javelin and Nimi in turn. "Please... take care of Mogami. Make sure... she stays on top of these two tails of mine... until the human medical team comes to lift her. Don't let her get cold."
Hearing that final request in the midst of her dying condition, Javelin could no longer hold back her tears. The purple-haired girl wiped her tears and nodded with great strength.
"I promise, Izumo-nee! I won't let anyone move her before medical help arrives!" Javelin exclaimed, her voice trembling yet firm. "Sleep. You are safe now. I... I will watch over you here. We will all watch over you."
"Good..." Izumo said.
That was the last word to leave her lips. Slowly, her right eye closed tightly. The tension that had been tormenting the muscles in her face completely relaxed. Her silver fox ears drooped limply downward. Izumo's head fell slowly, resting comfortably on Javelin's jacket. The previously chaotic roar of jet engines from the elevator direction now stopped completely. The energy connection had been severed. Izumo finally released her control, sinking into a very deep sleep to recover her Wisdom Cube.
The moment Izumo's consciousness was cut off, the roar of JS Izumo's main gas turbine engines in the lower hull immediately subsided, gradually dying with a heavy hiss like a giant running out of breath. The massive carrier's momentum slowly slowed on the water, losing its propulsion. The ship now merely floated, tossed by the waves heading toward Tokyo Bay.
However, they were not left drifting for long.
From the direction of Kyushu harbor, the loud, continuous blare of ship horns broke the morning silence. Four bright orange tugboats raced through the water, escorted by several coastal patrol vessels. Those small but massively powered diesel ships immediately approached the massive hull of JS Izumo.
With highly skilled and coordinated maneuvers, the tugboats took positions on the right, left, and stern sides of the carrier.
"Contact position! Push slowly!" the command voice from the tugboat speakers echoed in the air.
The tugboats' bows, lined with thick rubber, pressed against JS Izumo's steel hull. Their diesel engines roared loudly, spewing black smoke into the air as they exerted all their power to move the 27,000-ton iron behemoth. With the help of the four tugboats, the now engine-dead JS Izumo was pushed slowly but surely, guided through the breakwater into the calm waters inside Kyushu harbor.
On land, the scene at the main Kyushu dock looked like an anthill in the middle of a storm. Hundreds of human military crew members ran about in coordinated fashion. Military medical trucks with flashing red rotating lights were already on standby along the dock edge. Emergency treatment tents were erected within minutes. Officers shouted instructions through megaphones, while medical teams stood ready with stretchers, oxygen tanks, and thermal blankets.
The commander of the southernmost naval base, the high-ranking officer who had previously attended the strategy meeting, stood at the edge of the dock. His face was tense as he watched the massive carrier slowly approach with tugboat assistance. He knew what it meant for a ship to be towed home. The operation might have succeeded, but the price paid was extremely high.
When JS Izumo's hull finally made gentle contact with the dock's rubber fenders, massive mooring lines were immediately thrown and securely tied to the iron bollards by the ground crew. The landing gangway was quickly lowered. Nimi helped throw the lines and lower the stairs.
Dozens of human medical crew members ran up onto the flight deck, accompanied by the Commander himself. When they reached the middle of the deck and saw the scene beneath the Qaher-313 drone's wing, the medical crew fell silent for a moment, overcome with extraordinary respect and emotion.
They saw JS Mogami, their intelligence pride, sleeping with a peaceful face, covered by a jacket and supported by a pair of fox tails that still radiated warmth, strictly guarded by the Azur Lane destroyers standing in a circle with vigilant gazes. And in their midst, leaning against an aircraft wheel, the blood-soaked Silver Fox, breathing extremely slowly-so slowly that people thought she wasn't breathing at all-in her deep sleep.
"Medical team, evacuate Mogami-san immediately! Be careful with her internal injuries! And prepare a special stretcher and intensive care room for Izumo-san! We may not have the technology to heal her soul core, but we must protect her physical body with all our strength!" the Commander ordered, his voice slightly choked with emotion.
The southern base commander walked closer. With tremendous respect, he removed his command cap, knelt on one knee on the wet steel deck, and bowed his head deeply before the deeply sleeping Izumo.
"Your duty has been completed extraordinarily," the Commander whispered while the medical crew began working deftly around them. "The skies and seas of Japan are now safe because of you. This entire nation owes you their lives."
The morning breeze blew gently, sweeping across the wet deck, carrying away the remnants of gunpowder scent and replacing it with the peace of a new dawn.
Rest well, hero.
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To be continued
Chapter 18: Are You Sure You Want to Continue the Journey? I Will Miss You.