Chapter 275: Guardian

Bam-!

Bam-!

Bam-!

With each shot, Shiro downed a Siren ship. The ones that he targeted are the non mass production types that have the power to resurrect themselves through their control over timelines. However...

They are facing a Time Lord.

In the face of such a foe, they could not do anything but drop dead like flies. The poor beings did not even know who they were facing when they died.

"Should be enough for today."

After eliminating more than a few dozen Siren flagships, Shiro decided to back out. He had enough power to wipe out everyone, but the possibility of his world being destroyed alongside them exists. He could not agitate the enemies, thus he chose gradual elimination instead.

Summoning forth the keels on his feet, he readied [Mysteries] to escape from this "space". It is a place where time flows in an estranged manner, one of the severely eroded portions where two worlds clashed. Due to its unique characteristics, it was used as a base by the four factions who fought for their ideals.

At the same time, its appearance is similar to an endless sea engulfed in darkness. Nothing else could be seen except it and the artificial infrastructures made by the other factions.

Swooosh-!

Swoooosh-!

The sounds of rotors spinning rang. Cutting the speed of sound, its sources circled on the top of his head.

Two... Four... Eight...

Suddenly, the information that he intercepted came to his mind. For the remaining KANSENs to safely travel through time, their original compositions had to be changed. As for that, they went through a metamorphosis, transforming themselves into a stronger version of their selves...

...at the cost of something important to them.

Each META ship lost something from them—be it memories, personality, sensations, and so on.

'It's them.'

Two HMS (Royal navy) ships caught his sight. One of the KANSENs has fluttering golden hair and long ears akin to elves. Albeit, her navy-blue pupils lost their brilliance. She held a compound bow and 'stared' in his direction. Meanwhile, the other ship has a child-like stature. In contrast to the other girl, she has snow-white hair and scarlet-red pupils. An aura of majesty surrounded her, letting everyone know that she is, by no means, someone that shall be shown respect.

"...It's you. The one who kept pressing on Sirens. For so long, they suspected us first."

"My deepest apologies for that matter." He replied. "But an enemy of an enemy is a friend, no?"

Interested, the girl's scarlet pupils looked at him more.

"Only when they are on the same page. Are we?"

As they talked, Shiro's [Six Eyes], the support of his system, and [Genesis Wisdom Cube] diagnosed their current situation.

[Affliction: Blindness for eternity. It places the possessor into continuous fear of darkness.]

[Affliction: Intermittently loses her memories pre-metamorphosis. The ones lost could not be recovered.]

'...Damn it.'

For once, he regretted going in first. He knew that Anzeel has solutions at that time. But, he did not expect that the price they have to pay is very steep. Even so, they did not have much choice. Unlike his current self, they did not have enough power to go against the downcast trend of this world.

Only by paying the price could they continue to fight.

'The world's will is deeply anchored within it. Shit.'

Meaning, he would damage his world further by removing their afflictions.

'Argh... I'm being too impulsive this time.'

Unlike in the past, his sentiments started catching up to him. This made the ever-coolheaded Magus' disposition favor Fenrir's side.

'It'd be bad to mark my existence. For now—'

"When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st. So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see... "

"..!"

Before the words could reach its end, it already earned a visible reaction from the royalty.

"...So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

"You..! Who are you?!"

Turning his back, he replied:

"T'is a farewell for now."

With a single step, he vanished into this endless sea of darkness.

*****

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

An unknown man's voice resounded across the garden.

"Y-you fool! What's going on in your mind right now?! Just because you hither towards this place..."

"Ah? I thought it is a nice compliment in your country?"

The scorching heat of the sunlight made him think of this line at this exact moment.

"It is! Only... Nevermind. Let us discuss the work of today."

A trusted ally.

A smart confidant.

An active helper.

She remembers.

She remembers.

She remembers.

...

Even so... Even so...

No matter how much she tried to remember, she could not. His face, identity, and personality. The bits of memories that she has left are the ones left that make her remember him. She tried asking the other KANSENs and all of them responded the same:

"Isn't that the commander?"

"Right. He's a helpful one. I recall him rushing to our place after Hood sank. He..."

"...He was a very good commander."

She was lost in their words. She felt their emotions and the image behind him. Yet, she could not bring fully understand him. This left a hole—a sensation of emptiness—within her.

"...So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

'These words..! I remember!'

"You..! Who are you?!"

Supposedly, those words should have been kept secret from others. Only they knew about it. However, a stranger quoted the same lines as him.

Before she could comprehend the current situation, the person left.

"Your Highness. What is your command?"

The gentle voice of HMS Centaur (META) came beside her.

"That person... I beseech you to find that person."

"As you wish."

*****

"Identifies as..."

"I repeat, does... Nimitz?"

"Positive."

"A rogue KANSEN... Did the Eagle Union smuggle a Wisdom Cube?"

"This...diplomatic disp..."

Continuous waves of radio signals were intercepted by Hiryuu (META). As the ship that served as the command post during the war, she possessed a hidden ability that allowed her to intercept various radio waves.

"USS Nimitz..?"

"Did you find something?"

Temporarily the trio set their base in the pacific ocean. With its vastness, they could easily avoid the occasional patrols.

"Strange... This timeline has a KANSEN that did not exist in ours."

"...What?"

Hiryuu replied to the questioning gaze of the two.

"USS Nimitz. It was said that USS Laffey, IJN Ayanami, and USS San Diego encountered a rogue KANSEN. They are currently speculating on whether it was summoned illegally by its nation of origin."

"USS..."

"...Nimitz."

The three of them found that name extremely familiar. Although she was not summoned as a KANSEN during their times, the real ship's history is of great significance. Simply put, it is a leader of its generation.

"Something's wrong about this. Why is it that only in this timeline was she summoned?"

Immediately, Takao (META) pointed something out.

"...This timeline might be a singularity."

""??!!""

Singularity.

That term is used for timelines whose events had been drastically changed by an external factor. If the said factor was strong enough, it could destroy the scale of half of Northern Parliament's territory at the minimum.

"We need to investigate."

Having their leader speak, they unilaterally came to a decision.