In a parallel world, Yamamoto Isoroku, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, has the battleship Yamato as his flagship.
Today, by a twist of fate, Yamato's opponent is none other than Yamamoto Isoroku.
Once close comrades, today they face each other as mortal enemies.
Everything is a matter of destiny!
"Ais, intercept all approaching ships!"
Yamato shouted, then focused entirely on her intense operations.
She had to control both her weapons and her own body and to avoid making any mistakes, Yamato had to devote all her attention to the task.
Upon hearing Yamato's words, Ais nodded obediently.
"Wind!"
Ais's voice called out, and a blue hurricane immediately enveloped her body.
Ais, driven by a relentless desire to grow stronger, was no less diligent. Her progress was equally rapid.
With her unique wind magic, which once allowed only short glides, she could now fly freely and effortlessly in the air!
Swoosh!
Before the destroyers could approach, Ais ran to the observation platform outside the bridge and flew into the sky like an arrow, rapidly aiming at her target.
"Such an impatient girl," Yamato smiled and shook her head at the sight.
"Then I mustn't fall behind either!"
With a swift movement of Yamato's massive hull, she aligned with the Combined Fleet's battle line.
Facing off in the same direction, who would be afraid?
In the battle line exchange of fire, Yamato wasn't intimidated at all.
It's worth noting that Yamato's armor was originally designed to withstand its own 460mm guns. Now, as a contracted Heroic Spirit, with the added power of faith, her defense had doubled. It could be said that no main gun, including Musashi's, could penetrate her armor.
The only thing that posed a threat to her was torpedoes.
The famous Type 93 oxygen torpedo was a masterpiece of the Japanese Navy. During World War II, the Type 93 torpedo was the world's fastest, had the longest range, and carried the most explosive power.
To counter Japan's former pride—the Yamato—the Combined Fleet unleashed an even more terrifying weapon.
"Fire!"
As the battle lines were drawn, Yamato's enhanced advantages immediately became apparent. While the enemy's main turrets were still slowly turning, Yamato had already completed a series of actions: turning, loading, aiming, and firing.
Boom!
A sound louder than thunder exploded, and under the immense recoil, Yamato's massive hull suddenly lurched back several meters.
Nine armor-piercing shells, glowing with brilliant white light, flew out of the barrels straight toward their target.
"Enemy ship has opened fire!"
The lookout on Musashi exclaimed in shock.
"How could it be so fast?!"
Yamamoto Isoroku stood up in surprise, unable to sit still any longer. He knew Yamato's every detail by heart, as it had once been his flagship. But today, it felt as if he was facing not Yamato, but a monstrous demon wrapped in Yamato's shell.
Both sides turned at the same time, reducing speed and aligning their courses. For Yamato, hitting her target was even easier than before!
The nine armor-piercing shells quickly reached their target, crashing down hard. This time, it was Mutsu that suffered. Three of the nine armor-piercing shells hit directly.
One shell passed through beneath the bridge, causing the entire structure to collapse into the sea, killing all the senior officers onboard. Another shell blew off the No. 3 turret.
The most fatal blow hit the engine room. The thick armor, as fragile as paper, was easily penetrated by the armor-piercing shell, which then exploded inside.
Flames erupted, even bursting out of the smokestacks, making it look as if Mutsu's smokestacks were spewing fire. The explosion ignited the engine room, setting it ablaze.
Coupled with a damaged boiler, the high-temperature, high-pressure white steam spread, instantly turning the engine room into a hellish inferno. Many naval officers and sailors were scalded to death by the steam before they could escape.
The explosion also severely damaged the McRucky Engine, drastically reducing its output. Mutsu's speed dropped from 26 knots to just 4-5 knots, barely faster than a crawling turtle.
On the flagship Musashi, the lookout reported to Yamamoto.
"Mutsu has signaled: 'Our ship has lost power. Do not concern yourselves with us. We will fight to the last. Over.'"
After delivering this message, the lookout's eyes were red.
Yamamoto Isoroku sighed. "Signal back: 'May you have good fortune in battle!'"
"Yes, sir!"
Suddenly, Yamamoto erupted in anger, striking the floor with his sword, and producing a loud banging sound.
"What is the weapons crew doing? Why haven't the main guns been aimed at the enemy yet? Do they want to undergo hellish training?!"
Hearing Yamamoto's outburst, the entire bridge crew trembled. The executive officer in charge of the weapons crew instinctively stood at attention, deeply bowed, and said, "My deepest apologies! The hydraulic pressure of the main guns is at its maximum; it can't go any faster!"
"Damn it! Once the turrets are in position, have them immediately aim at the enemy ship and fire the first salvo!"
Fuming, Admiral Yamamoto slumped back into his seat. A sudden sense of foreboding crept into his heart—this naval battle, the Combined Fleet might lose. It was the intuition of a top gambler honed over many years.
"What kind of monster are we facing...?"
Yamamoto couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
On the sea, the now-slowed Mutsu had become a sitting duck for Yamato. Before the other enemy ships' turrets could finish turning, Yamato fired two more rapid salvos at an incredibly terrifying rate.
Of the eighteen armor-piercing shells, five hit their mark!
The most lethal one struck below Mutsu's waterline amidships. The armor-piercing shell passed clean through, leaving a ten-meter-diameter hole. Seawater flooded into the ship at a rate of hundreds of square meters per minute.
Despite the acting captain's efforts to close off the compartments, Mutsu continued to sink slowly. With no other option, the acting captain ordered an immediate evacuation.
Twenty minutes later, Mutsu sank slowly into the sea.
Meanwhile, the other battleships finally got their turrets into position. A deafening barrage of gunfire erupted.
A total of 41 armor-piercing shells, glowing brightly, were hurled toward Yamato. However, the shells fell into the sea before reaching Yamato, with the closest landing still 500 meters away.
By normal standards, this would be considered a world-class performance. But compared to Yamato's precision strikes, it was a dismal showing.
As a result, Admiral Yamamoto flew into another rage aboard the flagship.
But Yamato was not to be underestimated. Changing targets, she fired two more salvos, scoring a crossfire with the first and hitting three times with the second.
This time, it was Haruna who bore the brunt of the attack.
A shot severed the mast of the Haruna. Another shot struck the bow, piercing through to the other side, leaving the bow looking as if an invisible beast had taken a huge bite out of it.
The final shot was more devastating, hitting the underwater section at the stern, severing the rudder and propellers of the Haruna. With its "legs" cut off, the Haruna's speed sharply decreased, leaving it a floating target on the sea.
Yamato then fired two more salvos, sending the little angel Haruna to the bottom of the ocean.
At this point, three of the Combined Fleet's main forces had been destroyed, leaving only four ships remaining, including the flagship Musashi.
Meanwhile, in the sky, Ais had already approached the first enemy ship. Her target was the ship known as the heroine, the Fubuki.
Seeing Ais flying in the air, the crew of the Fubuki panicked. The navy is known for being the most superstitious branch of the military, and this supernatural sight almost scared them to death.
Finally, the captain snapped out of it and ordered an attack. However, in a world where even airplanes hadn't been invented, the ship naturally had no anti-aircraft weapons.
So, the crew picked up their rifles and fired at Ais, though their accuracy was pitiful. Ais glanced at them, seeing that they posed no threat, and then aimed at the middle of the Fubuki's hull. She raised her sword [Despair] and struck!
With a grating noise, the wind element gathered at the sword's tip, drilling a hole through the destroyer's thin outer shell. Ais then quickly slipped inside.
She found herself in the engine room of the Fubuki. The air inside was foul and stifling, and the sailors on duty in the engine room were mostly shirtless.
Ais glanced dispassionately at this unpleasant sight, then focused on the McRucky Engine, the ship's power core. She had seen it before when Yamato had shown her the power room of the Yamato, especially the golden glow emitted by the McRucky Engine when it was running, which had left a deep impression on her.
The sailors in the engine room were dumbfounded when they saw a beautiful girl enter through a hole in the wall. When the girl turned her gaze toward the ship's power core, the chief engineer suddenly felt a sense of impending doom.
"Stop her!"
But there was no way ordinary men could stop Ais. Having locked onto her target, she launched her attack on the McRucky Engine without hesitation!
In an instant, Ais moved so quickly that she left a trail of green light behind her, appearing in front of the McRucky Engine in less than a second. Even Ryou couldn't match her speed.
She raised her sword [Despair], and several silver lines appeared in the air, piercing through the McRucky Engine.
Having done this, Ais turned and left.
Behind her, the McRucky Engine exploded into a pile of scrap metal. The resulting blast sent sailors flying, sticking them to the walls like pancakes.
Ais, meanwhile, walked away unscathed, her hair fluttering in the wind, forming a sharp contrast with the sailors' miserable state.
Ais quickly exited the Fubuki's engine room and flew toward her next target.
Meanwhile, the now powerless Fubuki lay motionless on the sea, like a beached fish.
Flying high above, Ais targeted another destroyer. Driven by their strategic doctrines, the destroyers of various navies tended to have different specialties.
The British and Americans, needing to counter Germany's wolf pack tactics, typically enhanced their sonar and anti-submarine capabilities. Japan, on the other hand, favored using destroyers for high-speed torpedo attacks, so they emphasized speed and torpedo armament.
Under Yamamoto's command, the destroyers on the flanks were speeding ahead, leaving the cruiser-class ships far behind.
Ais was relentless, swiftly disabling the McRucky Engine of ten destroyers in just a few minutes.
A flurry of distress signals was sent to the flagship Musashi, but even the cunning Admiral Yamamoto felt at a loss when faced with such a supernatural enemy.
No matter what he tried, whether ambushing her or firing a barrage of shots, Ais's wind-elemental shield remained intact.
Were they supposed to use human wave tactics like the army? Even then, the effectiveness of such an approach was doubtful...
But Yamamoto, an experienced strategist, quickly devised a cunning plan.
A message was sent to the destroyer fleet.
Unaware that she was being lured into a trap, Ais continued to disable the destroyers' power cores.
To her credit, Ais was almost entirely untainted by the corrupting influences of adulthood, thanks to the protection of both Loki's familia and Ryou.
For example, if it had been Ryou, he would have aimed directly at the ammunition store, blowing the entire ship sky-high. But Ais chose a much gentler approach, only disabling the power core.
After disabling a few more destroyers, Ais entered yet another engine room, only to find it deserted.
The floor was littered with crates, filled with sawdust and short, cylindrical metal objects. If Ryou were there, he would have recognized them as propellant charges for artillery shells, some of the most dangerous and volatile items on a warship.
At a distance, an officer holding an old-fashioned detonator watched the wires stretching into the engine room.
"Blowing up my ship... I must be crazy to follow such an order," he muttered.
"Captain, she's inside!" the lookout suddenly shouted.
The captain's eyes flashed with sorrow. Five years aboard a ship was enough to grow attached, even to a ship, let alone his beloved vessel.
But a soldier must follow orders.
Without hesitation, he slammed down the detonator.
Two seconds later, the entire ship shook violently as flames began spreading from the engine room.
From the outside, the ship seemed to swell in the middle, like it was suddenly pregnant, before the immense pressure tore through the hull, releasing a fiery blast.
"Captain, the lifeboats are ready. Please abandon ship immediately," a young sailor said, saluting as he approached the captain.
The captain patted his shoulder.
"This is our ship, our home. Someone needs to see her through to the end. You all go."
"Captain!"
The sailor tried to protest, but his comrades quickly pulled him back, shaking their heads.
"Go now. The ship is sinking fast."
The captain waved them off as he walked toward the bridge.
"Yes, sir!"
The sailors, their eyes filled with tears, saluted and ran toward the lifeboats.
With the ship's central structure critically damaged, water began to flood in, and the ship started sinking rapidly.
Thanks to careful preparation, the crew safely evacuated, leaving only the captain behind.
Back on the bridge, the captain locked himself inside, waiting as the ship slowly sank beneath the waves.