Dies natalis

Previously in Azur Lane academy.

Many ship girls has been awakened from their deep slumber, and opened their eyes to gaze upon the unfamiliar ceiling. Waking up on a bed that have a nice scent lingering in it, the ship girls' dream ended as they forget most of the memories from their fleeting dream.

However, slipped away in those forgotten memories, the ship girls have also received their respective "gifts" and "medicine" from the savior in their dreams.

"What will those fluttering objects do?" 『Observer』

"Something far worse than any simulation you could think of..." (Sakura Zeimachi?)

Those tainted maiden, they eagerly looked for their lord, husband, partner, friend, master, little brother, pet, etc. in order to repay the kindness that they had received, thanks to the help from one of the personas who rebelled against Sakura Zeimachi's current beliefs.

Unlike the lone「fool」who could be tricked by the same trick for the second time, the ship girls didn't want to experience the same loss for the umpteenth time.

In order to get the special seat beside their savior, and for the sake of being able to obtain the same memories as to what they had remembered in their fleeting dreams...

That's why there's some who chose to take some drastic measure.

"Outta my way!"『Yamashiro』

They're vying to be the first.

"Try to put up some more don't ya? Next strike will be more than hurt."『Hakuryuu』

In the dream, they're the only ones.

"Analysis completed, numerous trajectory for dodging has been found. Requesting for master to stop resisting."『Gascogne』

In the dream, the existence of the man was always for them.

"Ahaha! What a fitting role for a lowly animal! Go on, keep running~"『Deutschland』

In that dream too, they could even forget that they're weapons of mass destruction, and live their path just like a normal girls.

"..." (『#1』 kept stroking some of the meowfficers on the piano)

Unfortunately, if there're some who're happy to have been saved, then there'll also those who didn't need salvation.

What he did was none other than an action for the sake of supporting his own ego.

Even if the truth would one day haunt everyone of them, that didn't mean he had the right to put an end to the girls' flower-filled fantasies.

" Am I... Zei's waifu? What is waifu?" (Hylia)

Just like Akagi who wants to continue living in the dream world, they felt betrayed yet again. Because even though it was nothing more than a fleeting world, they've found their own reason to live for the first time in their life.

"It's commander?" (『Eldridge』 let out a spark as she acknowledged her commander's presence)

Why did you chose reality over me?

"... Leave me be."『Perseus』

Will you leave me just like the others?

"..."『Arizona』

How can I turned that heart of yours into mine?

"*Giggle* Uhuhu... looks like things has grown interesting, Kaga."『Akagi』

That is what Sakura Zeimachi has to face as the main actor who've revived them from despond, and also as the one who've gave them hope.

He is the fool.

An idiot who likes to burn his life to connect a lot of threads belonging to other people.

It's just that, this time there are too many tangled threads for him to solve.

Because there're too many of them, the tangled threads start to clump together, and morphed into cocoons that're difficult for him to straighten out.

"Commander! Do it!"『Hornet』

"Now is the time!"『Enterprise?』

Currently, those cocoon has been flourished. However... what kind of life forms would emerges from within is still unclear.

[ Requirements has been fulfilled... ]

"Domain..." (Sakura Zeimachi)

And now...

Grasping a sphere whose weight is equivalent to many「worlds」, Sakura Zeimachi has started his fight against several parties in that world. The reason he put up such resistance was none other than for the sake of the ship girls, and also to set an example for Hylia.

Sakura Zeimachi didn't care how heavy a burden he had to carry as long as his goal was achieved, and if in the middle of his suffering Hylia and those tainted maidens could found their happiness, then the man would laugh at his own suffering since it's worth it.

But when will this truth be revealed? Probably never.

[Deploying customized field-type spell... ]

"... Expansion." Sakura Zeimachi

Such is the summary from the previous chapter of this forgotten tales.

"Oya... now what should I do?"「Observer?」

------------------

Going dark.

Basically the term is often used for storytellers to hint to their readers, if the story-line will begin to enter the "dark" era/parts which mostly composed of many important characters who fall one by one, to scenes that have a heavier impact on the audience such as adultery and violence.

There's also a term often used by soldier's army to indicate if during their mission, they'll no longer be able to contact the headquarters or use any mean of communication in order to maintain the confidentiality from the contents of their mission.

Indeed, there're several form of those meanings that could be attached to Sakura Zeimachi's actions at this time as well.

Why is that?

It's because at the same time when Sakura Zeimachi used his Domain Expansion, there're several parties who've lost sight and contact of the port where the ship girls are currently located.

The first was from the Siren's side, and the next one was for those in the world naval government who had become even more vigilant after their defeat at the city of Rite. However, let's just focus on Siren because getting involved in government affairs is not that important.

"Uwwaaagh?! Did I... Did I just got pushed over?!"『Purifier』

In territorial waters far from the surveillance of the allied ship Azur Lane, there's a small fleet led by this elite Siren who're on their cruising route, only to be suddenly get blown away by an unknown source of power for the Siren.

The elite Siren who has shining yellow eyes and long white hair is called Purifier, a high-level Siren whose job is to eliminate unnecessary elements in the reenactments.

Unlike mass-produced ships, these high-level Siren have the ability to be connected with the other Siren which is assisted by their main frames, with this function also they hardly need a "sole" body as they can rebuild another with their technology.

Previously Purifier was assigned by another elite Siren, the Observer, to distract the ship girls in case there're any unforeseen variables while Observer intruded into the port to collect some data.

Regarding the data that Observer is referring to, it was none other than Sakura Zeimachi's actions which have changed many things in the timeline of that world.

Observer also provided Purifier several of the Siren's mass-produced ships whose numbers could form a small fleet to serve as bait, but as it turned out, since Purifiers haven't heard any report from Observer who had been caught by one of his personas earlier, she eventually grows bored to the point of wanting to brew riot even though Observer still gave no commands at all.

"You little! What's wrong with this?! Uhh... what is this?"『Purifier』

Simply put her task was to act as a bait while Observer sneaked into the port, but as its turned out instead of becoming a functional bait, Purifier got blown away and couldn't put another step further from her current spot.

"Not even a dent, is this what they called as Otherworldly-mysteriously-boisterously power?- ... Huh?"『Purifier』

Of course, Purifier didn't accept like a lap dog and kept trying to break in, but instead of an open entrance for her and the mass-produced ship, Purifier found that her arms and shoulders had become crooked instead.

Purifier who saw the damage to her body parts interestedly tried to analyze why she got a minor damage even though all she just did was only firing some life ammunition towards the barrier.

"Heyya... so you're here. It's quite a chore to search for you on this sea." (Observer?)

While she was trying to tug at her own arm to make sure it didn't snap, Purifier heard someone's voice coming from the direction of the barrier which made her turned her cannon's trajectory onto the source.

"Ahahaha! So you're there!? - ... uhhh, what? Why're your sound kind of groggy?"『Purifier』

But as she turned her head, she found nothing. Nothing except the other elite Siren who idlily stood like a sore finger while continuously facing her.

"Looking for her? That Observer. Sadly she already fled." (Observer?)

"Fled? That guy?"『Purifier』

"Yup, she said in order to regain her connection with her main frame, she chose to abandon this body and escaped. Looks like I really got old these time to be tricked by simple mind-escape." (Observer?)

Purifier who heard the words from the persona who was using Observer's body, then tried to contact the Siren's main frame to ascertain it.

Purifier also felt if it's a little strange because she couldn't communicate with Observer when she was bored, Purifier thought if it was all because that Observer had become so amused by what she has found which made Observer forgot to contact her.

'... Thus, just don't act too rashly with this pawn.'『Observer』

But it's looks like that Observer was got caught in a fish-net and got owned by her own observation subject, or at least that's what in Purifier's thought.

"Hmmm... ahaha! That's hella funny!"『Purifier』

It didn't take long for Purifier to get a cryptic message from Observer who was currently recovering from the damage she has received, and Purifier who heard the explanation from Observer actually became even more amused by that.

"What's wrong laughing like that... " (Observer?)

According to the explanation that Purifier heard, Observer had indeed managed to infiltrate the port in order to met with the unknown factor who chose to bring a huge influence to the Siren's reenactment.

Not only that, as she infiltrated, Observer also managed to find a feather belonged to one of the sleeping ship girls, and further analyzes it since the feather contained a technology belonged to neither Siren or humanity from that time line.

While she was trying to crack the feather's origin, instead of founding what she's looking for, Observer instead found her consciousness which in the form of data got completely sucked into the feather.

In there, she got to met many unknown factor belonged to the fool and of them them was that persona bearing the mark of amour.

At first the persona was acting as a naïve guy and continued to happily answer each of the Observer's questions, due to this reason Observer has gained quite a huge amount information regarding the Realm of dreams.

Sometimes Observer also shares what little information she has on matters related to how her "creator" wanted a suitable world, some indication of who Antiochus was, even to the point of why Siren didn't took an act when the ship girls were turned into sex slaves by the otherworlder.

'It's really a surprise.'『Observer』

"Hahahah... Fheww~ That's really crack me up hearing this! Hahaha~"『Purifier』

Then what made Purifier laughed her ass off while keep slapping the ocean's surface, whilst Observer had to endured her shame as she recovers her data in the Siren's main frame.

Well... let's just settled it with "A humiliations which made the meat sweeter", and moving on to how the encounter between Purifier and this persona bearing the mark of amour proceeds.

"Oya? Looks like you've stopped laughing." (Observer?)

"Yeah, it kinda tickle me to fight someone with that form but- ... ohhh you gotta be kidding?!" 『Purifier』

As Purifier regained her mood and prepared to do her battle formation, she was suddenly summoned by Observer again who told her to retreat and abandon her body which was currently being controlled by that persona.

'I don't really like to say it twice, retreat now. We've been wasting some precious time as we chattered with him.'『Observer』

"Oh really?! That's suck, why do I- ... Yeah fine fine."『Purifier』

The Observer's own reasoning is also quite reasonable, because if the Sirens continue to disturb the ongoing reenactment more than this, then there'll be some other parties who would like to intervene to stop them.

Such as the Ashes, in this world Ashes are similar to some wild card that could bring heavy influence to not only ship girls, but to Siren as well.

That's why she told Purifier to retreat before they use this chance to sabotaged another one of Siren's plan, or pose another disagreement between them.

"But yeah..."『Purifier』

Feeling very annoyed that everything she wanted to do was wasted, Purifier with her sharp gazes glanced back and saw that persona who was playing around by twirling the tentacles on Observer model's body.

"Well, it's not a prob to let out some farewell gifts right?"『Purifier』

'... Fine, just do it quick.'『Observer』

Using her arrogant pose and gestures, Purifier commanded every mass-produced ship to aim their functional cannon towards that persona who still playing with Observer's tentacles.

Light particles began to be loaded in each cannon, and the aiming angle has been adjusted to the intended target.

However, the artillery rain that was supposed to poured towards the persona who're using Observer's body, it didn't appeared.

'Shot it?'『Observer』

"..."『Purifier』

Purifier's face looked astonished because even though she had aimed all the cannons at him, the persona who're using Observer's body seemed not to care or even not afraid at all of the cannons that could even scratch those ship maidens' armor.

"Oya? You're not going to shoot?" (Observer?)

"... Nah, it just a hunch but let me ask. What will happen if I shot?"『Purifier』

'Oi... is there something wrong with your algorithm?'『Observer』

Surprisingly, that Purifier who really liked to fight continued the conversation, and hearing Purifier's words, the persona felt very happy because he could chat a little before starting their battle.

Using the crooked smile of Obsever's lips, this persona provokes the Purifier to start immediately so that it can end in quick as well.

"If you shoot? What else, the fun begin." (Observer?)

Purifier felt strange when she heard those words coming out from Observer's mouth who was famous for avoiding meaningless banter, but that didn't mean she wasn't happy.

"Ahaha! You know about that, I think it'll only give me a good time. No way in forever I could even try to hit Observer's mouth up till now."『Purifier』

"Oya-oya, did you got something with the real Obsever? I thought you Sirens are a warm and comfy bunch. " (Observer?)

"No way in hell that's true."『Purifier』

That's more or less the total of their conversation going on, before finally the actual battle of two elite Sirens began which was ultimately won by the persona controlling Observer's body.

The fight takes quite a while as by the order of Sakura Zeimachi to not overkill with DPS to the Elite's Siren body they could find, especially during the fight with Purifier whenever she tried to self-destruct as she realized her lost.

As Purifier's consciousness had left her shell in the form of data, Sakura Zeimachi also ordered to let her go so they could use when the later part arrived or as a back-up plan.

Because of this fact as well, Sakura Zeimachi has managed to get a pair of elite Siren's model bodies that're not only still fresh and wet, but also contained a huge amount of information regarding the Siren's origin.

For what purpose he collected them is still unclear, but maybe by using this catch, he could turned it into a merit which those world government's dogs would acknowledged.

"Hmm? Eh, why're you? My other half? Hello?" (Observer?)

And with that... the scene then reverted back to how the Chamber of the Mind entered its dark state.