On the deck of the heavy cruiser Maya, Kiana Kaslana continued mimicking Maya's behavior while synchronizing herself with the Fleet of Fog vessel's systems.
This emotionless Fog ship had been created by I-400 and I-402—members of the Fleet tasked with surveillance and intelligence operations.
Its primary role was to monitor the flagship of the First Oriental Fleet—Kongou.
Kiana Kaslana turned her gaze toward the massive warship beside her, adorned with glowing violet lines.
Standing on its deck was a woman with twin golden ponytails, crimson eyes, and a regal aura. She wore a long black evening gown and was currently feeding seagulls.
That was unmistakably the boss character.
And judging by Maya's backstory, Kongou would likely become involved in some kind of manipulation by I-400 and I-402 later on.
Noticing Maya's gaze, Kongou turned her head. "Maya, what is it?"
"Hey, Kongou, aren't we going to support Haruna and Kirishima?"
Checking through the Fleet of Fog's operational records, Kiana saw that Hyuga had been sunk, while Takao had her weapon systems locked down and was forced to retreat into open waters—eventually even severing her connection to the Fog's command network.
Well, that made another defector from the Fleet.
And now Kongou had dispatched Haruna and Kirishima, two more battleships, straight to their doom.
If she didn't intervene, the list of Fog defectors would soon grow by two more.
"Why would we need to support them?"
"If we don't, they'll lose," Kiana replied casually.
"Maya, are you suggesting that I-401 is capable of using tactics to sink Haruna and Kirishima?" Kongou asked in disbelief.
Given her calculations, even with human assistance, I-401—a single submarine—should not have been able to defeat two full-fledged battleships.
"When we gained self-awareness, we also gained the concept of time—and with it, the ability to predict the future."
"Then tell me, Maya—what makes you think Haruna and Kirishima will lose?"
Kongou could not comprehend Maya's logic.
Kiana Kaslana maintained a cheerful smile. "It's simply my conclusion based on extensive observation and data regarding human behavior."
In terms of performance and firepower, Haruna and Kirishima utterly outclassed I-401.
Unfortunately, the enemy was the protagonist group.
Fighting against overwhelming odds and achieving victory beyond one's level—those were the classic traits of main characters.
Even though this was a modern world where humans couldn't just 'power up' like in fantasy stories, the Fog's advanced technology and the unique nature of submarines gave the protagonist plenty of ways to turn the tide.
And that I-401… Kiana Kaslana suspected it was far from ordinary.
"Is that so...?"
"Then let us wait and see," Kongou said calmly, watching a white seagull land gracefully on her hand.
Tch!
Kiana Kaslana clicked her tongue in annoyance. The Fleet of Fog, bound by the Admiralty Code, was like passive game NPCs—monsters confined to their own zones, unable to act beyond their designated areas.
When attacking enemies, they insisted on sending one or two ships at a time—essentially offering themselves up as experience points for the protagonist.
They clearly had enough Nagara-class light cruisers to overwhelm their foes with sheer firepower and numbers, but no—they always had to take turns dying one by one.
To avoid seeming too suspicious, Kiana Kaslana didn't press the matter further. She had originally planned to convince Kongou to take her along to gang up on I-401.
But since Kongou refused to go, she couldn't move freely.
If she acted alone, I-400 and I-402 would immediately notice something was wrong.
When Maya fell silent and began to play her instrument once again, Kongou pondered for a moment before saying, "Maya, go provide support."
Though she didn't understand Maya's logic regarding humanity, if Maya said Haruna and Kirishima would lose, it was better to be safe.
"Alright, alright! I'm on it!"
Receiving Kongou's order, Kiana Kaslana smiled brightly and raised both hands in an exaggerated salute. The engines at the stern of the heavy cruiser roared to life, spraying red flames as the entire ship surged toward Haruna and Kirishima's location.
With Kongou's command authorizing her sortie, I-400 and I-402 would have no reason to suspect anything unusual.
She had been wondering how to temporarily separate from Kongou—now the opportunity had arrived.
As for I-400 and I-402, she already had ways to mislead them.
Once she was free from Kongou's immediate presence, Kiana Kaslana began voraciously absorbing the silvery particles in the water—the nanomaterials that composed the Fleet of Fog itself.
By simulating molecular structures, she could now generate various substances at will.
She could even simulate DNA structures and mimic metabolism itself.
It was similar to the principle of the soulium nanobots from the Honkai Impact 3rd world—but far more advanced.
The Admiralty Code that restricted the Fleet of Fog had absolutely no effect on her.
In fact, any Fog vessel with a Mental Model could also break free from the Admiralty Code—if they truly wished to.
However, since most of them still believed themselves to be mere weapons, they simply chose not to defy their programming.
A Fog Mental Model that possessed self-awareness and emotions was, for all intents and purposes, no different from a sentient lifeform.
...
Yokosuka.
The battleships Haruna and Kirishima unleashed full bombardment on the human coastal defenses. Within just a few volleys, the port had been reduced to a blazing sea of fire and rubble.
Entire segments of the protective wall were blasted apart.
"Please! I don't want to die!"
"Spare us!"
"Somebody help us!"
"Log. Categorize. Record."
On the deck of one of the two massive Fog battleships, a twin-tailed girl wearing an oversized coat that half-covered her face—Haruna—analyzed the cries of the human soldiers begging for their lives, recording the meanings of their words for future reference.
BOOM—!
Suddenly, twin explosions erupted at the bows of both ships. Two corrosive torpedoes detonated simultaneously, but Haruna calmly raised her Klein field, neutralizing the blast.
Kiana Kaslana's heavy cruiser had slipped into Imaginary Space, evading detection, and quietly arrived at the battlefield.
The two Fog battleships were unleashing a relentless storm of firepower into the sea. Under the barrage of torpedoes, missiles, and laser cannon fire, I-401 could do nothing but dodge frantically, constantly being chased and suppressed.
The more Kirishima fired, the more exhilarated she became—eventually syncing with Haruna to prepare their combined Super-Graviton Cannon.
The sea itself split apart as I-401 was locked in place by spatial compression, fully exposed to the barrel of their ultimate weapon.
One shot—and I-401 would be obliterated by the combined might of Haruna and Kirishima.
But Kiana Kaslana didn't believe for a second that the protagonist would die so easily.
Just as Haruna and Kirishima fired their Super-Graviton Cannon—splitting the sea and dragging I-401 into full view—
Kiana Kaslana disengaged from Imaginary Space navigation. All gun batteries, torpedo tubes, and vertical launch systems opened simultaneously, locking onto the trapped submarine.
As expected, a single torpedo missile shot out from the depths of the sea—one perfectly aimed strike hitting the fusion point where Haruna and Kirishima's ships overlapped.
In that same instant, Kiana Kaslana unleashed everything—artillery fire, torpedoes, and missiles in one overwhelming salvo.
Chihaya Gunzou could hardly believe it.
A Fog vessel attacking from behind? A backstab at this moment?
We're done for!
Beams and missiles struck the area in a massive chain of explosions.
But when the smoke cleared, only I-401 had taken significant damage.
"..."
Kiana Kaslana watched as I-401, despite the blast, accelerated and slipped away at full speed beneath the waves.
According to her calculations, I-401's Klein field should not have been able to withstand that level of concentrated firepower.
As expected of the protagonist—always breaking the rules.
The computational speed I-401 had displayed in that brief moment far exceeded what any Fog submarine should have been capable of.