The Divine Throne of Shipgirls

Fully trained Hiei had activated her ship rigging and was standing in front of Kazeharu, trying to block him—but at that final moment, all she could do was turn her head, her eyes full of fear.

Commander... are you finally abandoning Hiei?

Hiei could not stop Kazeharu.

But someone else could.

Tirpitz opened her eyes. With a single gaze, an inexplicable wind spiraled around Kazeharu, freezing him into a thick pillar of ice.

No ice—no steel, for that matter—should be able to restrain someone over level 100 like Kazeharu.

But this was no ordinary ice. This was the power of a shipgirl. A power beyond imagination.

Hikaru held Tirpitz in his arms and walked past Lady Lexington toward the front lines.

"Judgment can be passed," he said coldly. "If no one else can judge you, then why did you try to kill yourself?"

Kazeharu said nothing. Frozen solid in the sculpture of ice, he couldn't move a muscle.

Hikaru waved toward the nearby encampment, its tents buried in rubble and sand. "Get us a motorboat. No—make it two!"

Under the gray, heavy sky, the other Commanders—who had been watching from a distance—now quietly formed ranks along the shore. No one said a word.

Then, someone began to sing.

A solemn military ballad from the ruins of a long-lost civilization.

"Departure to the Frontier."

They hated Kazeharu. But they also trusted him. If anyone could have led them to victory, he would've been their vote.

So let the march of war music send off the fallen Senior Marshal.

The stirring anthem resonated across the waves, as if the vast, black sea itself was singing in harmony…

On one boat rode Hiei, the ice-bound Kazeharu, Wakayama, and Josephine.

As the speedboat sliced through the waves beneath the bleak sky, Wakayama suddenly spoke.

"Marshal Kazeharu was my senior. A legend. Back then, he had all four Kongou-class sisters—Kongou, Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima. The guy was so lucky, the academies even started a whole course on the mysticism of building sister ships."

Cumberland replied icily, "We shipgirls don't care about governments or nations. Most of us would avoid war entirely if it weren't for Commanders orders. And now he only has one left—Hiei. Where are the others? All sunk. Used as weapons for his glory and will. People like him don't deserve shipgirls."

As a shipgirl who had gone rogue, Cumberland naturally loathed Commanders like Kazeharu.

Wakayama's expression dimmed. "Yeah… he only has Hiei left. Was it worth it?"

Hiei crouched silently by Kazeharu's frozen body, deaf and blind to the world, lost in thought.

Fletcher tugged on Hikaru's sleeve and looked up at him, her face serious.

"If the Commander ever needs me to, I'd go down without hesitation!"

Lexington flicked her on the head and scolded, "Don't say such ominous things."

Tirpitz mumbled from within Hikaru's arms, "Sinking isn't scary."

Hikaru gently rubbed Fletcher's cat ears, watching her melt into an embarrassed, purring ball like a kitten. Then he reached out and clasped Lexington's hand.

"If I need to sacrifice you to succeed," he said softly, "then I don't deserve to live at all."

Tirpitz grumbled, "Stop talking. Enemies or whatever, just blow them up. Everyone be quiet. I want to sleep."

…

When Hikaru returned to the Silent Horizon, the way people looked at him had changed.

Their gazes held both fear and admiration.

No one had believed a Mid-Captain could actually arrest a Senior Marshal.

But Hikaru did it.

The newly appointed Senior Marshal to replace Kazeharu immediately relayed the news by radio. When the message was received, hardly anyone dared to believe it was true.

The other Commanders stole glances at Lexington, then quickly looked away. The telegraph even spelled it out: the Lexington who had taken action was shockingly powerful.

Hikaru had Cumberland wait outside with the frozen Kazeharu. Then he entered the command hall to report.

Kamizawa clapped a hand on his shoulder and gave him a strong squeeze. "You're something else, man. I respect that. Seriously—big boss Hikaru!"

Then he slipped away—after all, the stares of over a thousand Commanders were far too intense.

Hikaru paid no attention to those eyes. He walked straight up to Yamato and handed back the mission scroll.

"Mission accomplished."

Fleet Admiral Gorou cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.

He was just about to speak—

—when an urgent, high-pitched alarm suddenly rang out, like a death knell.

Every Commander near the communication consoles jumped to their feet in unison.

[End of Chapter]

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