As a shipgirl of the Sakura Empire, Kaga had always carried herself as proud and powerful.
Yet now, sweat ran down her back. It felt as if an invisible Orochi had coiled tightly around her whole body, squeezing the air from her lungs.
Those confident words she had spoken not long ago came back like a boomerang, smashing down on her own head.
"Damn it... if it comes to a fight, can I even win? No, this will definitely get me killed..."
She roared inwardly. Her fox ears stood straight from tension, and her tails curled tight behind her.
"Where did this terrifying metal dragon even come from? Just how enormous is its true form? Or rather... what kind of shipgirl would it take to wield rigging like that?"
As the Dragon's head slowly lowered toward her, Kaga's whole body shook. Their gazes locked, and in the next heartbeat it felt almost as if their faces were pressed together.
A single snort from the dragon washed over her. The breath was both metallic and scorching, a mixture of icy steel and burning energy.
"Big fox, how about the two of us have a little practice?"
Kenji's voice drifted down from atop the dragon's head, playful and openly provocative.
Kaga clenched her teeth, trying desperately to keep her composure, but the words still stuck in her throat.
"Y-you... do not get too full of yourself!"
She forced the line out at last, though her voice trembled ever so slightly.
The Dragon's low growl rolled through the air, like laughter at her helplessness.
Kenji knew perfectly well that only by doing this, by forcing everyone to look up and acknowledge this power, could he truly carve his presence into these shipgirls' hearts.
"Ayanami, no need to be so tense. We only need a proper talk."
He turned to the captive at his side, his voice softer now, trying to ease the edge from the scene.
Ayanami let out a cold huff and turned her head away, yet the wariness in her eyes faded a little, replaced by something more complicated.
Kenji smiled, then looked back at Kaga.
"Miss Kaga, if you choose to cooperate, we might be able to avoid unnecessary conflict."
His tone blended invitation with threat, pulling her thoughts tighter and tighter in a fierce inner struggle.
All the while, the Dragon's tail slowly swept through the water, carving deep furrows into the sea. Its aura did not weaken, it only grew heavier, as if it were declaring to every witness who the true ruler of these waters was.
Kaga held her breath, every nerve stretched taut. One hand rose slightly.
In that instant, dozens of aircraft-shaped shikigami wreathed in ghostly blue flames flickered into existence around her.
Using the appearance of the shikigami to cover her movement, she tapped the sea lightly with her toes and leaped back with elegant precision, putting what she considered a safe distance between herself and the gigantic beast.
She would never allow herself, or her sister, to fall into a dead end without a fight.
No matter how she looked at it, a head-on clash had no chance of victory.
Even the chance of escape was vanishingly slim.
He was simply too strong.
But as an aircraft carrier of the Sakura Empire, with honor and pride carved into her bones, how could she entertain the thought of fleeing without even drawing her blade?
No matter how powerful the enemy, the only path was to raise her sword and advance.
To become a prisoner in humiliation was worse than death. She would rather unleash everything she had against this mechanical dragon in a single desperate strike.
Perhaps, just perhaps, she might claw open the tiniest chance to escape from the jaws of despair.
A fragile hope sprouted in her heart and spread quietly.
She even dared to wish that the golden storm from before, that sweeping bombardment which cleared the seas, had been this gigantic dragon's ultimate move, one that could not be used again in the near future.
If that was true, then they still had a chance.
Kaga clung to that thought with all the stubbornness she had.
Besides, she was not fighting alone.
Her sister, Akagi, was nearby.
If the two of them could deploy their rigging together and unleash their skills at full force, their combined might would multiply many times over.
They might even trigger that nearly unbeatable linked combination, the bond technique that had crushed so many enemies before.
They might not be able to tear this dragon to pieces, but they could certainly display the full might of the Sakura Empire.
Who could stand against them when she and Akagi fought side by side?
Even this monstrous metal dragon might not be completely beyond their reach if the sisters fought in concert.
Kaga's battle spirit climbed higher with every passing thought.
However, it was as if the metal war dragon could read her every idea as easily as a book.
A human-like expression of pure mockery seemed to surface across its massive features.
Watching all this, Kenji was extremely satisfied.
He had never expected that the armored beast of the Emperor Armor would become so enormous after entering this world.
Even the summoning process itself had changed, directly linking to stellar energy and crossing space to descend.
That meant this war dragon was, in a sense, the embodiment of a star's power.
…
Despite the skill being ready to trigger at any time, the Dragon did not hurry to strike.
Its intent could not have been clearer: how much longer do you plan to hide?
It was forcing Akagi to appear, aiming to end this battle quickly, a battle that in its view had no suspense at all.
Yet Kaga completely misunderstood this faint mercy.
She took it as a chance.
The fox-shaped rigging beast at her side braced itself, imitating the ferocity it had shown against other shipgirls earlier. It let out a roar and its body flashed forward, claws gleaming with cold light as they scythed through the air with a shrill whistle, slamming toward the Light Emperor War Dragon's raised talon.
At the same time, the ghostly blue plane shikigami orbiting Kaga transformed in an instant into solid carrier-based aircraft, the munitions beneath their wings glinting with dangerous light.
"Boom, boom, boom!"