Chapter 102 - Overcoming Her Trial

Like a helpless girl, all Nagato could do at that moment was tremble in fear and cry for help. Calling for the unknown person that appears from her memory

A blurry image of a man appeared in her mind, all she could recall is a black haired man wearing a white naval officer uniform. The same person that she promised her life and future to.

"Commander!" Nagato cried as she watched helplessly at Kawakaze being swallowed by the monster that emerged from under the water.

"Please save us…" She said before she closed her eyes, unable to bear watching the scene unfold.

This isn't the first time she cried out her plea for help. Definitely not the last. But, the person she is calling for has never appeared. He had vanished before the invasion of the Evil God began.

*Roarrr!*

A pained roar of the monster caused Nagato to open her eyes wide in shock. Something different had happened this time instead of the usual scene.

Instead of the person she was hoping to appear, he was a different person. He wasn't wearing a white uniform, instead he was wearing a strange body suit. Instead of black hair, he had white hair that seems to glow when basked under the moonlight. But their image overlaps and it's become clear that they are two same people.

In his arms as her loyal follower, Kawakaze. Alive instead of being dead. He walks over to her and places down the unconscious Kawakaze.

"How long are you going to keep cowering helplessly like that?" He asked. "Where did the proud and strong Nagato go?"

Nagato watched in a stunned state as the monster emerged again, furiously roared before plunging toward the man.

"No! No! No! Run! You will die! We cannot defeat that monster!" Nagato panicked and begged the person to flee but he instead stood his ground and turned toward the monster.

"Me, dying? Sorry, but I'm not planning to die for small fries like this." His arm turns black before a golden layer of energy coats his body.

Then, he punched the incoming monster and caused a powerful shockwave that created big waves. The fog that rendered the monster invulnerable was torn apart with his fist and shattered one of its fangs.

"This…" Nagato watched in shock. The fear and panic vanished from her mind like his fist that tore away the black fog of the monster.

"Are you still going to sit there and cower in fear or will you fight alongside me to overcome this trial?" He shouted with his back facing Nagato. His charismatic speech wakes Nagato up from her trance.

All her fear washed away and a foreign emotion appeared in her mind, telling her that she can put her trust in him. Telling her that she has nothing else to worry about as long as she has her beloved Commander by her side.

'Wait! Beloved!?' Her brain short-circuited for a brief moment. 'No! These aren't my memories. Then, the ring! Could it be that we were…' She fell into a silence and blushed. The answer is obvious and provided inside the memory given to her.

Nagato stood up and tried to cover up her burning red face from Adam. As she did, a bunch of unknown knowledge poured into her mind. It's the power that was promised to her by her other self if she cleared a trial.

"Does that mean I cleared the trial?" Nagato put her embarrassment aside and focused on this new information regarding Metamorphosis that appeared in her mind.

She looked toward Adam and saw him fighting against the black serpentine dragon that is the Steel Leviathan after the layer of black fog was torn away. He looks mighty as he trash the monster around. However, Nagato noticed none of his attacks could actually injure the monster. His attack only able to shed the invulnerability of the monster, according to how the memory describes the Steel Leviathan's power.

Then Nagato recalled a piece of conversation from the memory. 'Metamorphosis only gives us the power to defeat the minions of the Evil God.'

In some way, it could be interpreted as, the Metamorphosis is precisely the power to kill the Evil God's minions.

So, only herself can kill this Steel Leviathan. Considering this is also a trial meant for her. Perhaps, she is supposed to kill the Steel Leviathan with her own hands.

Mustering her newfound determination, Nagato used the power. She shatters the limiter imposed on her Wisdom Cube, destroying it and transforms her destroyed Wisdom Cube into the Origin Cube.

Instantly an ominous power surged from within herself, from the Origin Cube which permeated her entire being.

The sensation of gaining power is intoxicating. Numerous voices whisper into her mind like demon's temptations to serve the Evil God and betray her allies.

'Kill! Kill! Kill! Destroy those heretics! End their blasphemous existence! Kill him! Shoot him! Rip out his guts and spine! Carve out his skull! Offer his soul to your true master!'

Inside her mindscape, Nagato remained strong and resisted the mental corruption from using the power from the Origin Cube. She quickly stabilized the power as instructed in the memory while the whispers slowly died down until it fully disappeared.

When she opened her eyes, she felt a very different experience. A strange but familiar power coursing through her body. With a single thought, her rigging appeared but looked different from her old rigging. A black divine fox with cannons mounted on its body appeared.

"Attack." Nagato ordered with her fingers pointed at the monster.

The divine fox growled before jumping into the battle with all its cannons blazing. Numerous shells rained on the Leviathan but failed to do any significant damage other than irritating the monster.

"Tch! Stay fucking down will you?!" Adam leaped up and delivered an axe kick that smashed the monster back on the water surface.

Then suddenly Nagato told him to dodge. Adam did and this time a volley of shells with black fire hit the monster and set it ablaze. Although not causing any wound, the fire seems to be effective as the monster writhe around trying to extinguish the fire to no avail.

Feeling it's imminent death, the monster started its final struggle. It ignores the fire that is burning its body alive and charges straight at Adam with hate and bites him while ignoring all the incoming attack. But Adam isn't going to stand still and watch. He condenses Aura on his foot before dashing off with great speed to avoid the maw of the monster at the last moment with his imitation Flash Step.

Adam landed another solid punch on the right side of the monster's face and shattered something, perhaps it's jaw. The monster was on its last leg and Adam rained down a flurry of punches and kicks while Nagato unleashed black flame infused attack on the monster which burned it alive.

After a while, the monster released its final wail before it fell lifelessly on the water surface and its body quickly broke down into black particles that flew away carried by wind.

"We won…" Nagato said in relief before her transformation undoed itself and she collapsed out of exhaustion but Adam caught her before she could hit the water.

"We did." Adam confirmed with a nod.

Then the scenery suddenly changed. The sea turns into a beach with the Sacred Sakura tree standing tall above them and raining down sakura petals.

"Congratulations, you passed the trial." Nagato META suddenly appeared behind Adam and Nagato, sitting beside a table under a pavilion with tea served for everyone.

"Also, I didn't expect to see you again, Commander." She said softly but with a bitter tone filled with sadness.

Without even her realizing, Nagato META shed tears much to her own surprise.

"To think I can still be affected even after I move on from it." She questioned with surprise while looking at her own wet fingers that she used to wipe away her tears.

"Are you really Nagato from the other timeline?" Adam asked with disbelief.

"I am indeed, Commander." Nagato META nods.

"Then, can you explain to me what happened? What did you do to this Nagato?" Adam points at Nagato next to him who looks a little annoyed to be called 'this Nagato'.

"I merely pass on my power. It's useless for me either way. My world is at the verge of death. My time will soon arrive too. So, rather than bringing this power with me to my grave. I thought why not give it to someone who really needs it. I managed to contact Shinano and recruited her help and you already know what happened next."

Adopting a sad and sorrowful look, Nagato META stood up and ran toward Adam and hugged him.

"I apologize, Commander. I was unworthy to be your wife. Everyone died because I was petrified in fear. They sacrificed themselves to save me. Then I awakened my META power to save anyone. I couldn't even muster my courage to seek out for you because I was afraid. I was afraid that I could never find you even after trying my best. But it turns out that is a mistake." She sighed in regret. "All I did was wallow in despair and grief my people in that empty world ravaged with fire and filled with ashes while waiting for my final moment."

Then Nagato META turned to Nagato and wiped her tears away.

"I know it was selfish of me to ask. But, I entrust you with my wish and hope for the future. Please take care of him for me and everyone else too." Nagato META said before her body suddenly became transparent and vanished.

Then the dreamscape immediately collapsed once its purpose was fulfilled.

———

Back in reality.

Many were gathered and worried as they watched Adam and Nagato.

After Adam sat on the floor and went into a deep meditative state. They were surprised to see his body displaying changes like suddenly glow up with golden light, his arm and legs suddenly turn black and metallic and also the injuries that suddenly appeared on his body.

Akagi and Kaga, who is proficient in Onmyodo practice, immediately concluded what Adam was doing. He is projecting his spiritual body and consciousness into Nagato's mind. A very risky and suicidal move since spiritual body is fragile and literally soul without any form of protection. If his soul were to be killed in the dream, his real body would also die.

Seeing that he is determined to help, everyone felt ashamed to jump the gun and immediately suspected him of malicious acts.

After a few hours, both Nagato and Adam stirred awake which made everyone feel relieved.

"Since she is now awake. I will take my leave." Adam said as he is a busy person with a very tight schedule. He has many more things to take care of.

Amagi and the others however, wished he would stay and recuperate because they saw the injury that riddled his body although they seemed to healed up on their own. But they still insisted to repay his favor for helping Nagato.

"Ah, please wait hus- I mean, Lord Admiral!" Nagato stuttered with a deep red blush on her face while she caught his arm.

This action caused a myriad of reactions from everyone present. Some were smiling, some were chuckling silently, some were shocked and Akagi accidentally crushed a wooden beam with a dark face. But all of them have one same thought. 'Something must have happened inside the dream!' they thought. When added with the discovery of a ring on her finger that magically appeared, some were already planning the ceremony in their own minds.

After all, if Nagato can tie down Adam with a marriage. It would be a political advantage for the Sakura Empire to receive even more support from him and make them prosper for years to come. Especially with the rising threat of the Siren and war between the humans.

—————

(Is this forceful? I mean, shipgirls are basically the SKK's waifus. Am I forceful to make Nagato love Adam because of the emotions and memories of the other Nagato?

Just to make it clear. While Nagato does not love Adam yet prior to receiving the memories and emotions, she does have positive favorability of Adam. Think of it as affection 30, friend. After receiving the memories and emotions, her affection jumps to 100+.

She has to have even the silver of affection for Adam for the META awakening method to work since Nagato META is betting on love power to make Nagato to awaken her power and resist the corruption.

Nagato failed at first because the affection wasn't strong enough. But when Adam appeared and triggered the memories and emotions Nagato META gave to Nagato, her affection went up to max temporarily.

Basically, what I want to say is. Nagato has liked Adam since her first meeting with him. She has positive favorability of him after hearing his aspiration to unite other factions and fight the Siren. Also he is willing to help them without expecting any benefit.

It's just the favorability isn't high enough 'yet'. It will in the future. But it looks like I am forcefully determined Nagato 'will' love Adam without much explanation and build up. Well, that is what I am aiming to anyway. She is my best girl.)