Azur Lane: Savior

[The enemies have come to challenge me... and these insects have embraced evil... How ignorant, how foolish!] Their communicator went up again. At the same time, the fleets was already at the center of the stronghold. [What they shall find at the core, Deus ex Machina, shall put an end to their journey! Give yourself to fear, for the end is nigh!!]

Tashkent who has been silent the whole time during the fight started to speak up to the voice. "So noisy. Come out already. That script you're reading from is lame. Come out and fight Tashkent face to face." The purple destroyer taunted the elite Siren.

The communicator went silent as soon she said it. Chapayev gave her a quiet chuckle and praised her. "As expected of Tashkent, what a beautiful response~"

"At this point, stop sneaking around in the dark and show yourself, Siren!" Rossiya also took a chance to call the elite Siren out.

[You asked for it... Mortal belongings to the path of destruction!] the Siren replied.

The giant iceberg began to creak, the ice walls cracking and splitting apart as a massive mechanical device started to stir, transforming into a different form. Splitting and recombining, the ice wall fragmented into several small units, moving rapidly on the water surface along different trajectories. Eventually, an area of the sea was circled off, surrounding everyone like a duel arena.

"W-woah what is this!?" Pamiat commented, she looked at the flying object with an excited voice. "This sounds like a final battle for us!"

"The dazzling crown of the frozen winter is crowned, the ink-stained steel flower blooms, and countless souls gather in the endless sea—to sound the prelude to the end. This is the land of the end, also the land of the prelude, and I shall play this prelude of the end!" the voice began to sounds clearer and clearer as the Siren recited the script. "In order to fulfill your dying wish, I will show myself here!"

With a gust of wind, a figure appeared on the sea before them, slowly floating in their direction. The horned Siren girl, accompanied by a giant mechanical rigging, laughed. The fleets prepared to fight the Sirens surrounding them. Countless numbers circled around as the floating humanoid Siren stood before them.

"Hmm? The huge jet-black ship suit surrounding the body... is different from all previous records...!" Minsk commented on the Siren's look.

"Good, it isn't a proper finale without a high-ranking boss!" Gangut smiled widely, revealing her fierce nature for a battle.

"If we defeat her, we can get rid of this Mirror Sea..." Grozny murmured. "She will be our last target to get out from this stronghold."

"Ahahaha! I like the looks of your faces! Yes, that's the performance that They desire!" the horned Siren said. "Let's see what it says next... 'My name shall be carved into your souls as you spend the rest of eternity trembling at the bottom of the abyss!' That's so lame, it's cool! Ahahahaha!" She laughed like a kid with a new toy to play with. "My name is the Omitter, engrave my name into your soul, fear as much as you can, tremble as much as you can, Azur Lane... haha... Ahahahaha!!"

"What a cheeky brat. Can I beat her up, dear Commander?" Tashkent turned to the Commander's ship behind her.

"Yes. Please destroy that thing, her voice is making my ears bleeding." Greynar gave her an 'okay' to do an attack.

"I agree, she need to be destroyed at all cost. Those script are lame as hell." Montplier nodded in agreement.

"Unfortunately, your idle threats mean nothing to the Northern Parliament!" Kirov stated clearly to the Siren. "If you want to threaten us, then give your best to do so by fighting us!" 

Omitter stopped laughing as soon she heard the provoking words. "Bah!!! You assholes!! You won't even play along with me for a few minutes!! Unforgivable!!!! You will pay for that!!!" 

"Ah~ The new Siren on the other side is rushing towards us while making strange noises in the communicator~ I wonder what caused that..." Minsk grinned, aiming her turret at Omitter.

"Sigh... I feel like I've been fooled since I came here. I'm so angry!" Saratoga stomped the water. "Let's finish the battle quickly and go back to the warm harbor to sleep..."

"Mass-produced fleets, aim your weapons at the Sirens around Omitter!" Greynar commanded using his loudspeaker to address the nearby fleets. "Northern Parliament, go take turn fighting that Siren boss!"

""Yes!!"" The fleets said in unison, they prepared as Omitter rushed to Rossiya that was on the front of the formation.

Rossiya tried to tackle the Siren down into the water, but the Siren was one step further from her. Omitter exploited Rossiya's reaction speed, bending her down in a tight grip and holding her hostage. She used her rigging to lock Rossiya in a state of freezing, manipulating the mirror sea's command to restrain her completely.

"Tashkent wouldn't let you!" Tashkent appeared on the side and punched her rigging, pushing her away from Rossiya. She used her rigging to drill through the ice, breaking Rossiya from the ice.

"Cough, cough thank you Tashkent, you're a livesaver." Rossiya thanked the destroyer.

"No problem, she appears to be a tough Siren to fight against." Tashkent glared at Omitter.

"This will be no easy task to do. We might as well ask the Commander to help us during the process defeating her~" Chapayev silently appeared and helped Rossiya stood.

Rossiya smiled and accepted the help. "Then we'll try to do our next strategy, aim at her rigging and destroy it." 

The Northern Parliament fleet worked together, circling Omitter as she recovered. The Siren gritted her teeth and used her authority over the mirror sea to control another iceberg, shielding herself on all sides. The iceberg then transformed into several ice spikes aimed at the Northern Parliament fleets. Chapayev smirked and used the chains from her rigging's mouth to lock onto the ice spikes surrounding Omitter. The chains extended long enough to loop back, encircling Omitter tightly.

After that, Chapayev yanked her chains as fast as she could, tightening her grip on Omitter. Her relaxed expression turned serious as she noticed Omitter smiling from afar. The elite Siren produced a cloud of smoke around herself and vanished inside the chains. Chapayev felt resistance on the chains, and as the smoke dispersed, she realized she had caught Gangut instead.

"Gangut?" Chapayev reacted quickly, retracting her chains. To her horror, she couldn't locate Omitter. Before she could respond, a humanoid Siren appeared and grabbed her by throat.

"Ahahaha!!! I caught you, you dirty woman!!" Omitter laughed on the vulnerable ship and floated above, dropping her on midair. "Let's see if height scares you!"

Chapayev wasn't easily outmaneuvered. The blue-haired cruiser swiftly ensnared Omitter's leg with her chains, yanking the elite Siren down with her. Omitter severed the chain, but this caused her rigging to freeze up momentarily. Sensing an opportunity, Chapayev noticed Volga's fighter planes approaching. Acting quickly, she used her chain to latch onto one of the planes, pulling herself away from Omitter just in time. As the cruiser descended, Omitter wasted no time in thawing out her rigging, her turrets locking onto Chapayev that escaped from her.

"You won't get away!!" Omitter shot her turrets to the fighter squadrons, thankfully Chapayev made it on time to land on the water as the plane exploded into pieces.

"Thanks Volga, your assist is a great help." Chapayev chuckled on her communicator.

"No problem~ But for some reason, my plane almost lost control. I couldn’t get a clear shot at the Siren," Volga replied, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"Then it’s our turn to join the fray!" Cleveland's voice came through the comms. "Let us take over this time!"

"Futile, futile, futile!" Omitter raged as a storm began to swirl around her, gradually engulfing the area. "I built this stronghold, and I won't let you defeat me in my own castle! Ahahaha! Yes, that's it! I feel like my potential is limitless! Is this the thrill that Tester finds so intoxicating?!"

The intensity of Omitter's fury resonated through the battlefield as the storm grew stronger, threatening to overwhelm the combined fleets. The tension in the air was palpable, with each side bracing for the Siren’s next move. Seizing the opportunity, Omitter initiated her attack, using the limited visibility caused by the storm to launch a surprise assault on the fleets.

"Come on! Struggle in the cage to your heart's content!" Omitter laughing menacingly as a wall of iceberg starting to appear one after another.

Inside the iceberg, Omitter unleashed hundreds of humanoid Sirens and pawns against the combined fleets of Eagle Union and Northern Parliament, depleting every resource within the stronghold to gain the upper hand. Omitter charged her turret at Cleveland, but South Dakota swiftly blocked the attack with her shield. Cleveland then took the opportunity to advance, closing in on Omitter. Meanwhile, Saratoga and Hornet launched their fighters to divert Omitter's attention from Cleveland. As the cruiser prepared to strike, something strange occurred—Cleveland found herself unable to properly aim at Omitter, as if an unseen force was disrupting her focus.

"Tsk, this is troublesome," Cleveland muttered as she retreated, increasing the distance between herself and the elite Siren. "The interference from the mirror sea is really messing with us! It’s not just the sighting system—it’s messing with our vision too!"

"Our planes aren’t locking onto targets properly either!" Hornet added, struggling to maintain control of her fighters as they were swallowed by the raging storm. "It’s like the storm itself is throwing everything off!"

"Hehe~ If we can't aim, then let's not aim!" Chapayev replied with a sly smile.

"Guess you’ve got a point there," Cleveland sighed. "We’ll just have to fire without aiming directly!"

"We have a significant advantage in firepower! Focus your attacks on the general area, and we’re bound to hit something!" Greynar’s voice echoed through the comms, rallying the fleets. "Take the Siren down!"

Gangut grinned widely. "Haha! That’s the spirit! Watch how we fight in the Northern Parliament!" She swiveled her turret towards Omitter’s direction and unleashed a barrage of fire, bombarding the area around the elite Siren indiscriminately.

"In other words, quantity over quality! Fine by me—I’ve got all the ammo you could ever need!" Saratoga shouted, launching all her planes in one massive wave. "Squadrons, lay down suppressive fire!"

"Exactly! Keep wearing them down; we’ll win this fight!" Rossiya added, delivering a punishing strike to one of the enemies with her rigging.

The fleets continued their relentless assault on Omitter, bombarding the area with explosive shells. The Sirens and Pawns were decimated in the onslaught, consumed by smoke and fire. However, hidden within the storm, the elite Siren decided to take matters into her own hands. Omitter's storm intensified, engulfing the fleets entirely as she detached her rigging from her body, using it as a distraction while she prepared to attack directly.

"I've got you now, Eagle Union gremlin!" Omitter cackled as she lunged to grab Saratoga from the water.

But Saratoga's quick reflexes kicked in. She swung her staff rigging, striking Omitter's hand and following up with a swift blow to her face. "I told you! I may be small, but I've got plenty of fight!" she retorted, standing her ground. 

"Tch, you are also like this... Why can't i have an easy way against all of you!!!" Omitter shouted, revealing her presence to everyone around her.

"You're nothing but a piece of Siren scrap in the face of our might!" Rossiya declared, rallying her forces. "Polar fleet, attack her now!!"

With Rossiya's command, the combined fleets launched their assault on Omitter. The horned Siren swiftly dodged to the side, firing her weapon as she went, and quickly deployed a smokescreen to conceal her presence once again. Omitter's rigging then vanished and reappeared directly in front of Rossiya, the battleship nearly getting caught by the mechanical grinder in the rigging's maw. The powerful jaws of the rigging threatened to pull Rossiya in, forcing her to react swiftly to avoid being torn apart.

Rossiya shouted urgently, "Gangut!"

"On it!" Gangut responded without hesitation, rushing to her side. With a powerful strike, she punched a hole through the rigging's armor. "Say goodbye to your precious rigging!" Gangut declared, as her own rigging opened its mouth and unleashed an ice beam directly into the exposed hole, sending a blast of freezing energy surging through the Siren's rigging, freezing Omitter's rigging from inside.

As the grinder powered down, Rossiya quickly took aim with her turret, firing directly at the rigging. The explosion sent thousands of scraps flying in all directions. Slowly but surely, the remnants of the rigging sank beneath the water, disappearing from sight.

"Hmph! I suppose this is the end..." Omitter's voice echoed ominously across the battlefield before she reappeared in the sky. "I've gathered a wealth of data during this skirmish. It seems Observer had planned all of this quite meticulously." She cast a fleeting glance at the ship Greynar was on, murmuring to herself, "Interesting... Purifier did mention something about the Commander, he is indeed a series of mystery."

Omitter then raised her voice, broadcasting her next words to everyone. "However, the horn of the apocalypse has sounded, and the wheel of fate continues to turn... You cannot escape your demise! I will return...!"

With a dramatic flourish, Omitter pointed her finger to the sky and vanished in a flash of light.

A heavy silence fell over the battlefield. The girls, finally given a moment's respite, could catch their breath as the tension slowly began to dissipate.

"Welp, I guess that's that. After spending all that time blathering nonsense..." Tashkent commented, she checked her rigging, everything was fine and worked well despite the hit she took against the enemies.

"The enemy's new unit has vanished. We have triumphed, Comrade Commander!" Kirov grinned with satisfaction. "This is a moment to celebrate, we should plan something—"

Before Kirov could finish her thought, the stronghold suddenly shook violently, and the massive iceberg began to shatter slowly but surely.

"Damn it! They really have a backup plan! We need to get out of here, now!" Hornet shouted, snapping everyone out of their brief moment of relief as panic set in.

After a deafening roar, like the collapse of heaven and earth, the fortress was completely obliterated, leaving behind only the wreckage of the Siren fleet floating on the sea. Not a trace of the stronghold remained. Despite the urgency of the situation, the fleets managed to escape safely. At some point, the storm had subsided, the dark clouds began to dissipate, and a few rays of sunlight broke through, casting a gentle light over the sea.

"What a beautiful ocean..." Avrora murmured softly, her gaze lingering on the now tranquil waters.

"Indeed. This is how it should be," Chapayev added, basking in the warmth of the sunlight that broke through the clouds.

The sea before them was just as calm as when they had first arrived, but this time, it was a different kind of calm—a calm of peace and serenity.

"This marks the end of the stronghold..." Greynar remarked, his voice filled with quiet resolve.

Rossiya approached him silently, her expression determined. "Commander, may we have a moment?" she asked, her tone carrying a sense of urgency.

"Yeah? What is it, Rossiya?" The Commander turned to face her, curious.

With a nervous but sincere smile, she asked, "Comrade, could I ask you to stay with the Northern Parliament for a bit longer?"