The quartet made their way in the direction Nowaki pointed. So far, the waters are quiet. The radar is not picking anything up, neither are the girls.
Zuihou picked up speed and went beside Zuikaku,
"Are you all right?" (Zuihou)
"Yeah. I'm fine. It just aches a little. Nothing to worry about." (RA Zuikaku)
"Really? Then, that's good. I was worried back there." (Zuihou)
"I can tell you were. You kept pestering your Admiral to let you step in and help." (RA Zuikaku)
"Eh? You heard me?" (Zuihou)
"Of course she did. She wasn't disconnected from the channel in the first place."
"Wait... Eh? No way! Myaah!?" (Zuihou)
Zuikaku ruffled Zuihou's hair,
"Looks like you can be kind of dumb." (RA Zuikaku)
"Tell me about."
"What is that supposed to mean?!" (Zuihou)
"Looks like Admiral and Zuikaku-san are back on good terms~" (Agano)
"You sure about that?" (Ooyodo)
"On that topic, if you're letting them follow me, I take it you are still willing to help me?" (RA Zuikaku)
"I would still very much rather have my girls retreat and leave you to deal with this by yourself. But, I admit, it will be a waste of both our time to retreat when the target is right over there. Besides, you don't have the luxury of a second attempt. So, yeah. My girls will stick with you and see this through the end but I expect you to protect them as much as you can. At least till they find a way to rearm themselves."
"That's... Thank you. I really appreciate it. I will protect them to the best of my abilities. You can count on me for that." (RA Zuikaku)
"Isn't that great, Zuikaku-san?" (Zuihou)
"I sort of realized this when you ferried them back the other two, but you two get on like a house of fire."
"It's as if they are sisters." (Agano)
"Really?" (RA Zuikaku)
Zuikaku seem to beam at Agano's words.
"Yeah. I can totally see you two as sisters." (Agano)
"Over there. Is that the Torii gate Nowaki was talking about?" (Ooyodo)
Ooyodo pointed to the front. Sure enough, a red Torii gate slowly came into view as they got closer. They have gotten this far that I can't even see the entirety of the large Siren vessel anymore, only its bow.
"Seems like it. Should we speed up?" (RA Zuikaku)
The other three girls looked at each other and gave an affirmative nod. If they're okay with it,
"Go ahead. But stop just in front of the gate. We have something to discuss first."
"Roger roger." (RA Zuikaku)
"Understood. Increasing speed." (Ooyodo)
The four girls increased their speed and advanced towards the Torii gate. Within minutes, they are right in front of it.
"No enemies so far. Lucky~!" (Agano)
"This is weird. I expected the entrance to be heavily guarded..."
"Right? Even if Akagi-senpai and Kaga-senpai are a cocky bunch, they wouldn't neglect to defend the base." (RA Zuikaku)
"Unless they are extremely confident we won't be able to stop them." (Ooyodo)
"Damn it! They are looking down on us!" (RA Zuikaku)
"I'm just saying." (Ooyodo)
"Putting that aside, Zuikaku,"
"Yeah?" (RA Zuikaku)
"I may not be able to get visual when you girls are inside. Do you know of a way to get a camera inside and link with our systems?"
"That's what you want to discuss? Hmm... I can try to create a link between one of my planes but it's not going to be steady. Plus, they are constantly moving about at high speeds." (RA Zuikaku)
"Shouldn't we test it out first? Maybe the camera fairy can follow us in." (Agano)
"That's a good point. But what should we use?"
"Planes?" (Zuihou)
"Rejected. If it's indoors, they will crash immediately. Agano, Ooyodo, how much ammo do you have left? Count them in shots."
"Erm..." (Agano)
"I have enough for 7 shots." (Ooyodo)
"5." (Agano)
"Ooyodo, fire a shell inside. Order the Camera fairy to follow the shot."
"Understood. Fairy-san, can you hear me? Lock onto my shell and follow it." (Ooyodo)
Ooyodo waved her 15.5cm Triple Gun Mount Kai in the air. There was a shutter animation and the view became that of the sky and Ooyodo's gun barrels. It looks like the Camera Fairy understood its assignment. This fairy is as mysterious as always.
"Ooyodo, it's on."
"Got it." (Ooyodo)
The camera panned towards the centre of the Torii gate as Ooyodo took aim,
"Firing in 3... 2... 1!" (Ooyodo)
With a loud bang and a bellow of smoke, a shell flew out of Ooyodo's gun. The camera chased after it and into the Torri gate.
The screen cut to black...
Erm... What?
"Ad...l... C... read..." (Ooyodo?)
Is that Ooyodo? The reception is so bad.
"Ooyodo, can you read me?"
"Re... No..." (Ooyodo)
"Can anyone hear me?"
It's pitch black but I can make out some movement. Or is the fairy panicking?
If it's panicking, that's a first.
"Wh... do..." (???)
"...in..." (???)
"Hold on. Don't go in. I have no idea what I'm looking at."
"G... ...ood..." (???)
"What?"
"Holy crap! It's pitch black in here!" (RA Zuikaku)
"Wah!" (Agano)
"Hyaah! Something just touched my leg!" (Zuihou)
"Sorry. That might be me. I can't see anything." (Agano)
"Wait. hold on. Let me switch on my searchlights." (Ooyodo)
Oh boy. They came in.
A light appeared and illuminated the area. The camera immediately rushed towards it and the four girls came into view.
"Didn't I tell you not to come in?"
"Ah. Was that what you said? Sorry." (Ooyodo)
"We couldn't make out what you were saying." (RA Zuikaku)
"It's alright. I couldn't figure out what you guys were saying either."
"Zuikaku-san, where are we?" (Zuihou)
Ooyodo moved her searchlight to scan the area. I can see some statues and weird mechanical instruments.
"I have no idea. Maybe this is the Sculpture Room Nowaki said? Hang on. Let me find the light switch. Ooyodo-san, can you follow me? I need the light." (RA Zuikaku)
"Got it. Agano, turn on your signal light. It's small but better than nothing. We will be right back." (Ooyodo)
"Oka~ay~" (Agano)
A small red light appeared on Agano's bridge, casting her and Zuihou under a velvet glow. Ooyodo and Zuikaku moved to find a wall.
"Uugh... It's so dark." (Zuihou)
"It will be over in a minute. Just stay where you are." (RA Zuikaku)
"This place looks like a museum. Ah. Zuikaku-san, I think that's the electric box." (Ooyodo)
"It is. Give me some light. Erm... Do I just..." (RA Zuikaku)
"Pull the lever." (Ooyodo)
"This?" (RA Zuikaku)
There was a loud mechanical thud. Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling sound and the room begin to shake.
"Eek! What's happening?" (Agano)
The shaking stopped, but the place was still dark.
"Wrong lever." (Ooyodo)
"Was that supposed to do anything?" (RA Zuikaku)
The light shone at Agano and Zuihou, before scanning the area again,
"I don't see any changes. Why do they even have that lever?" (Ooyodo)
There was another loud mechanical thud, followed by an electrical humming sound. The lights flickered to life, illuminating the room they are in. Surrounding the girls are various pieces of artwork, statues, and weird machinery.
"This is the sculpture room?"
"Why do they even have a sculpture room in a battleship?" (Zuihou)
"Akagi-senpai and Kaga-senpai are one of the weird ones in our faction. If they are the masterminds in this, I can totally see them putting something ridiculous just for the sake of it." (RA Zuikaku)
"And I thought our own Akagi was weird." (Agano)
"She will eat all of your food if she heard that."
"How does that even link?" (RA Zuikaku)
"You will understand if you meet her yourself. Anyway, should we go?" (Ooyodo)
"Yeah. Let's move."
The girls walked around the room until they found a door. The door led them into a long corridor.
"Where do we go now?" (Zuihou)
"The ship's magazine. Let's see if there is anything we can use to replenish our stock." (RA Zuikaku)
"Do you know the way?"
"I have seen and memorized the blueprints but I'm not sure if there were any changes. Follow me." (RA Zuikaku)
They walked through the eerily quiet and winding corridor.
"Ooyodo, can you see any thing on your radar? Mine has been disabled since we got here."
"I'm not picking up anything either." (Ooyodo)
I expected the place to be heavily guarded. Are the masterminds really looking down on us?
After a while, the girls came across a blast door with two wheels and weird symbols.
"Here. The ship's magazine. Help me with this." (RA Zuikaku)
Agano and Zuikaku each held a wheel and turned it anti-clockwise. They kept turning until there was an audible 'clank', and pulled the door outwards.
Inside the room, there are a plethora of weapons. From the very old Arisaka Type 99 rifles to a MP5 submachine guns to Berretta M82 sniper rifles, or at least I think it is. There are even swords inside. More importantly, there are crates labelled 'ammunition' inside.
"Why do they need all these guns if they can't use them?"
"Don't bother trying to understand their logic. Grab anything that can be useful." (RA Zuikaku)
Agano and Ooyodo went to the boxes of ammunition.
"Is there a crowbar we can use?" (Ooyodo)
"Let's just kick it." (Agano)
With one swift kick, the lid of the ammo crate flew off.
"These are..." (Agano)
"Fairy-san, can you check if these can be used?" (Ooyodo)
"Huh? Really?! These are the same ones we use? They stole our ammunition?!" (Agano)
"What's going on?"
"This crate of ammunition contains shells. It's the ammunition we use." (Ooyodo)
"Seriously?" (Zuihou)
"What do they even get from taking our resources? And how?"
"You mentioned that one of your expedition routes was near the area, right? Maybe they got it from the same place." (RA Zuikaku)
Sirens are weird.
As Agano and Ooyodo refill their ammunition, Zuihou walked towards Zuikaku again. The taller carrier was looking at the various guns on displayed on the wall.
"Shouldn't you be looking for supplies?" (Zuihou)
"I already found them." (RA Zuikaku)
"Huh?" (Zuihou)
Zuikaku raised her hand towards the guns on the wall. A blue glow surrounded her palm and the guns transformed and broke into small blue cubes.
"These guns are made of wisdom cubes. I just need to absorb them and transform them into shikigami planes." (RA Zuikaku)
"How nice. I want to able to do that too." (Zuihou)
"If you have a wisdom cube as a core, you can do that too." 9RA Zuikaku)
"Zuihou, focus. You are the only one that has yet to find a weapon or replenish your planes."
"Okay. I get it. But I don't see any planes here." (Zuihou)
Zuihou wandered around the room.
"Do you know how to use a gun?" (RA Zuikaku)
"I tried using one before, but I didn't like it. Ah. Admiral, look!" (Zuihou)
"What is it?"
The camera moved to Zuihou's position. She pointed at a bow mounted on a stand and a quiver full of arrows.
"They are not planes but I can definitely use this." (Zuihou)
"Arrows, huh. Good shout. This might turn into an indoor battle so planes are definitely a no-go."
"Yep!" (Zuihou)
Zuihou finally got to filling up her quiver with the arrows she found. Once she was done, she regrouped with the others who were done with resupplying and were waiting at the door.
"Ready?" (RA Zuikaku)
"Yeah." (Zuihou)
"Ooyodo, anything out there?"
"No. I have a bad feeling about this." (Ooyodo)
"Let's keep moving."
Weapons drawn, the girls continued navigating through the ship. As the passed through what looks to be the dining hall, Ooyodo shouted,
"Stop! I'm picking several readings on my radar!" (Ooyodo)
"They are coming." (RA Zuikaku)
18 humanoid Sirens entered through the door on the other side of the hall. They were small, with short shoulder-length hair and an emotionless expression. Attached to each hand was a black ray-like device with yellow outlines.
"Explorer- type Executors? Not good!" (RA Zuikaku)
"What's the plan?" (Agano)
"Any other way to the deepest part of the ship?"
"No. We have to pass the dining hall. It's literally right behind the door they are coming from." 9RA Zuikaku)
"Only one way then. Zuikaku-san, take them head-on. Ooyodo and Agano will watch your back and provide covering fire. Zuihou will take out those at back."
"Roger!" (Zuihou, Ooyodo, Agano)
"Get out of my way!" (RA Zuikaku)
Zuikaku charged to the front an decapitated an Explorer before it could react. It's ally took aim at Zuikaku, only to be blown up by a shell from Agano.
"Kirarin~! Agano is back in business!" (Agano)
Zuihou drew her bow and let an arrow fly. The arrow pierced the shoulder of an Explorer at the back. It fall backwards but soon got back on it's feet.
"Good. It's working." (Zuihou)
Zuihou drew another arrow, aiming at the same Explorer. only this time, she went for the head. The Explorer immediately fall as soon as the arrow pierced its head.
Chaos ensued as the Explorers opened fire at them with balls of energy. Using the tables and pillars around the hall as cover, the 3 shipgirls continued firing with Zuikaku disrupting their ranks with a close combat prowess and throwing shikigami which exploded on contact with the emotionless humanoids. After what seems to be an long and intense shootout, all of the Explorer Executor-class Sirens have been taken care of.
"Phew. Everyone alright?" (RA Zuikaku)
"Yes." (Ooyodo)
"No problems here~" (Agano)
"I'm fine. What about you?" (Zuihou)
"Same. I can't believe we got out unscathed from this." (RA Zuikaku)
"Luck, I guess. Anyway, it's great everyone is all right. Zuihou, retrieve your arrows but leave those broken ones behind."
"Okay~" (Zuihou)
"We will help." (Agano)
The girls plucked out the arrows from the Siren corpses. There were a few which got their tips broken, but most of them were reusable. Just need to clean of the blood, or whatever that dark blue-ish liquid is.
"Let's go." (RA Zuikaku)
The group exited the dining hall through the door the Sirens entered from, careful not to step on the bodies. After moving through another corridor, they end up in room which looks big enough to be a aircraft hanger. Right in the middle of the room , a lone figure stood motionlessly. It was a tall girl with long white eye and in white miko uniform with cloud patterns and elongated sleeves. A spider lily hair clip rests on the left side of her head.
"Shoukaku-nee!" (RA Zuikaku)
Zuikaku rushed to the figure and hugged her.
"Shoukaku-nee! Thank god you're o..." (RA Zuikaku)
The figure know as Shoukaku stared blankly at Zuikaku, her blue eyes devoid of life. She is already gone.
"No. Not you too..." (RA Zuikaku)
"Welcome, little birdie... And guests..." (???)
The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the large room.
"Up there!" (Zuihou)
A familiar figure clad in black and red strutted along the catwalk. Another familiar clad in white accompanied her.
"Akagi and Kaga..."
"... Why are you doing this?" (RA Zuikaku)
"An exquisite sacrifice is needed so that the Creator will continue gracing us with his blessings." (RA Akagi)
"This is all for the sake of the Sakura Empire's future." (RA Kaga)
The pair walked down the spiral staircase.
"The Sakura Empire's future... How many times do you think you can fool people with those words?! You even dragged our friends into your twisted experiments! There's no way that this cursed power is a blessing from God! There's no way it can bring us a future! What you two are doing is crazy! And by forcing my sister into your dirty little schemes, you've made me really, REALLY mad!" (RA Zuikaku)
The enemy Akagi simply chuckled,
"Is that all you have to say? If I were you, I would have spent the time thinking about how to defeat the enemy in front of you instead of chastising our actions. We've already offered her soul to the Creator. And now we will turn you into an empty husk as well!" (RA Akagi)