[Anti-Summon System, activated]
[Beginning Spiritron Transfer]
[Time until Spiritron Transfer begins...]
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1..."
[All processes complete!]
[Third Singularity: Okeanos]
...
Setsuna, Gudako, Drake, Golden Hind, Mio, Tohru, and Grey—seven in total—stood inside the Spiritron Transfer chamber.
With their current strength, clearing a Singularity would be easy. Even a single starship shipgirl could take it down. Still, to prepare for recruiting Heroic Spirits and possible emergencies, Setsuna brought along Tohru, Mio, and Grey as high-level combat power.
Spirit of Origin + Dragon Girl + Grey—perfect for any resistance.
Shwoop—
After the mechanical prompt sounded, the scene before them suddenly shrank into a black hole. Their bodies became semi-transparent, and a brief, intense dizziness hit before their vision contracted and then expanded again.
When they opened their eyes, they stood on the deck of a wooden sailing ship.
All around them stretched an endless sea.
"Oh, so this is Spiritron Transfer?" one remarked. "Projecting people into different times and timelines? Interesting..."
Several companions were visiting the FGO world for the first time, gazing curiously at their surroundings. The air carried the salty tang of sea breeze mixed with the harsh scent of rum. A black skull flag flew from the mast.
Half-naked pirates with curved blades at their waists sat on the deck, drinking and bragging loudly. When they noticed Setsuna's group suddenly appear, they froze, then their expressions changed dramatically.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Get them, boys!!!"
Pirates drew their weapons and charged.
"..." Setsuna thought the scene was almost identical to the original story, where Gudako was tossed onto a pirate ship and Dr. Roman had to reassure her that at least she'd gotten a means of transportation instead of being stranded on an island.
For him, even getting tossed into the sea wouldn't be a problem.
"Tohru."
"Oh, I'll handle it."
The dragon girl stepped forward.
Boom—Boom—Boom—
A minute later, every pirate on the ship knelt in neat rows.
"We're so sorry!!!" they cried. "We serve under our big sister, the great pirate Francis Drake! We lost our way and were just heading back!"
"We didn't recognize your greatness—please, spare us!!!"
"Who's your big sister?" Grey asked.
"The one and only, the great pirate Francis Drake!!!" the pirate replied with reverence. "If you're looking for her... we can take you."
"...No need," Setsuna decided after a moment's thought. "You're too slow. We'll clear this Singularity quickly—bring back the Heroic Spirits, then take care of the Demon Pillar, Jason, and Blackbeard."
His goal was to help Chaldea restore human order and recruit as many Heroic Spirits as possible. In the original story, dealing with Blackbeard and finding the mastermind was a complicated affair. With starship shipgirls at his disposal, he didn't need such trouble. In fact, the Heroic Spirits here were even more valuable.
"Golden Hind, set sail."
"Understood, Commander~"
With a wave of the shipgirl's hand—
Shwoop—
A massive, jet-black warship several kilometers long appeared on the sea.
The Golden Hind was originally a sailing warship. During her transformation into a starship, she chose to retain her pirate ship features—like the Spanish galleon-style hull, strange mast structures, and the golden hind crest on her flanks.
"?!" Gudako, seeing an interstellar-era sailing warship for the first time, was left speechless.
"Wait—what's the mast for? Don't tell me you actually raise sails in space?!"
"That's just for decoration~ I need a feature so everyone knows I'm a pirate ship~"
The Golden Hind brought them aboard her hull. In Azur Lane, sailing warships were part of the Tempesta faction—mostly pirate or privateer ships, often tied to sea monster legends or even Cthulhu mythos. As such, her rigging and hull often manifested unnameable things.
Gudako, Tohru, and the others carefully walked through the corridors to the bridge. The décor was classic European, like a ship from the Age of Exploration.
Zzz—
From the wall sprouted tentacles—like those of a sea monster—waving in greeting. They made squishy noises and even shaped a heart toward Setsuna.
"Wha—?! Tentacles?! Why are there tentacles in your hull?!"
The girls shrank close to Setsuna. If not for this being a shipgirl's hull, Tohru would've blasted them with a destruction spell.
"Ah, it's just my ability—let's call it a gift from the sea. Royal Fortune does it too~" Golden Hind replied casually.
In the bridge, the tentacles served drinks and snacks like waiters.
"..." Gudako felt her SAN value plummeting. She checked her chair carefully, making sure it was solid metal.
"You're not going to have tentacles suddenly grow on the chairs or beds, are you?!"
"What do you take me for?!" Golden Hind rolled her eyes. "That's only for catching the Commander~ If he ever wanted a special play, I could oblige~"
"???" Gudako was horrified. "Commander, let me off this ship! Can't we just ride with Drake or Grey instead?!"
Setsuna hesitated. "Come on—it's a rare Singularity trip. Let's cosplay as pirates."
"??? You're totally thinking of weird play with Golden Hind, aren't you?!"
Vmm—
The ship lifted off under thruster power. The beaten pirates watched the flying tentacle ship with fear. Sea monsters they'd seen—but a fusion of steel and tentacles was new.
"What kind of pirate sails a flying tentacle ship?!"
...
Vmm—
The sailing-style starship skimmed the sea. Golden Hind activated sensors, scanning the sea and planet below.
"Commander, should we find the Heroic Spirits first?"
"Yeah… one by one." Setsuna considered. This world had plenty of interesting ones.
Ten kilometers away, on a small island, a large pirate camp sprawled across a clearing. Rum, jewels, and weapons lay scattered, with drunken pirates patrolling.
At the center, a Heroic Spirit in a black pirate hat and red coat lounged in a chair, eyes half-closed under the sun. She had long pink hair, blue eyes, and a bold, big-sister air—most striking of all was the chest her clothes could barely contain.
"Tch…" Drake felt thirsty, pulling a golden cup from her chest. Purple wine flowed into it automatically. She drained it in one go, savoring the taste.
Minutes later, shouts came from nearby pirates.
"Boss! Boss! In the sky!!!"
"?" Drake sat up, following their pointing fingers. Squinting into the glaring sun, she spotted a black speck growing larger. At first she thought it a seabird—then realized it was far too big.
It grew quickly: a massive, jet-black ship resembling her own Golden Hind but countless times larger. Sunlight glared off its armored hull. Even more terrifying, giant tentacles writhed from its sides and underside.
The thing looked like a monster. Just looking at it was oppressive.
"What the hell?!" Drake instantly recognized the golden hind crest on its flank.
"Golden Hind?! No—an Old One?!"
Clunk—
Under Drake's stunned gaze, a massive starship resembling a Spanish galleon—with enormous tentacles writhing from its flanks—descended onto the clearing. Steel and slick tentacles intertwined, creating a grotesque and terrifying sight. Given the Golden Hind's sheer size, its tentacles dwarfed even the largest sea monsters Drake had ever seen. Judging by their length and girth, they could easily wrap up a sailing ship dozens of meters long.
The camp's pirates scattered in all directions. Even without an attack, the very sight of such a monstrosity was pushing human limits.
Drake drew her cutlass, ready for a fight.
Clack—
Before the hatch had even fully opened, Gudako and Tohru squeezed through the half-open door like desperate escapees. They landed on the sand, bending over and dry-heaving, patting their chests in relief.
"T-too terrifying..."
"Scarier than Poseidon!!!"
"Commander, I'm never riding a Tempesta shipgirl's hull again! Let someone else pilot next time!"
Gudako looked at the Golden Hind as though staring at an unnameable eldritch horror. She'd ridden with Setsuna across countless shipgirl hulls—Eastern elegance, Eagle Union warmth, Royal refinement, Iris Libre romance—but never one with tentacles inside and out, swaying like a pirate ship at sea. The Golden Hind's ascent and descent had nearly shaken out her dinner from last night.
"Now, now, that's rude~ I used to be a sailing warship, after all. Gotta keep a little personal flair~" came a sultry voice as a black-haired, dangerously alluring shipgirl stepped from the hatch.
"This is a gift from the sea—cute, isn't it~?"
"..." Setsuna and the others didn't share the same enthusiasm. Tentacles weren't exactly "cute."
"Hidden talents everywhere... I thought Azur Lane shipgirls were all cute girls, but it turns out there are eldritch overlords among them..." Gudako muttered.
She caught her breath just as Drake stared in confusion at the newcomers leaping down from the ship.
"Who are you?!"
"We're from another world, here to fix this world's bugs." Setsuna stepped forward with his companions. "This is Drake, and this is the Golden Hind—same name as your flagship, but she's a shipgirl now."
"???" Drake's mouth twitched as she twirled her blade.
"Hey, hey—you just crushed thirty crates of my rum, you know! If you want to talk, show me what you've got first."
Boom—Crash—
Two minutes later, Drake picked herself up off the ground, giving a thumbs-up.
From between her assets, she pulled out a golden cup that automatically filled with deep red-purple wine. She also ordered her crew to pour rum for Setsuna's group.
"Not bad! Cheers!!!" she grinned. "It's my first time losing in one move—impressive."
Her expression toward Setsuna now carried curiosity and respect. Among pirates, testing strength was tradition—and this man had just crushed her in a single blow.
"So—what is it you've come to me for?"
Setsuna and Gudako were momentarily stunned by Drake's very… ample presentation of the Holy Grail. One of them was staring at the Grail, the other at something else entirely. Only when the cup was offered did they snap back to attention.
"We're from Chaldea, here to fix this world's bug."
It took about ten minutes to explain everything, but Drake caught on quickly.
"I'm Francis Drake, captain of the Golden Hind. Things have been strange lately—odd creatures surfacing everywhere, some even threatening to flood the world..." She smirked. "But I took care of it."
This Singularity had turned the world into a near-ocean planet, with bizarre monsters appearing constantly. Drake's Holy Grail came from defeating a monster claiming to be Poseidon, who planned to flood the world. She and her crew stomped it flat and took its Grail—a rare case of a local Heroic Spirit claiming a Grail by her own strength.
"You got the Grail yourself?!" Gudako looked at her with newfound respect.
"It's nothing special. If you want it, take it—you beat me, after all." Drake casually tossed it over.
Ritsuka Fujimaru caught it like precious treasure. "Ooooh, this is the Holy Grail! Can I make a wish?!" The golden cup brimmed with potent, pure mana.
"In theory, yes. Since it's made of magical energy, it should grant simple wishes—endless wine, infinite bread, that sort of thing. You could use it like Captain Drake does." Roman's projection appeared, adding, "But to avoid complications, don't use it for anything too extreme. Until the other Grail is retrieved, it's safer for Drake to keep it, to avoid destabilizing this world's balance."
"I wish to become a shipgirl like the Commander, with my own planet-busting starship!" Gudako declared.
Nothing happened.
"Then give me superpowers like the Commander!"
Still nothing.
"Let me eat Wisdom Cubes!"
No reaction.
"Lame Grail." She tossed it back to Drake.
Drake just stared, unsure what to say.
...
The Golden Hind skimmed low over the sea, carrying their newly recruited pirate. Drake didn't hesitate to join—they were exactly the sort of adventurous, intriguing people she couldn't resist.
"Hello, I'm the Golden Hind, Tempesta faction sailing warship… oh, right, sailing starship now?"
"Ah~ your Golden Hind brings back memories… But my captain is the Commander now~ He's the only one allowed aboard me~" the shipgirl purred.
"??" Drake wasn't sure if that was flirtation or a straightforward introduction. She eyed the massive vessel—similar to her own wooden ship in shape, but hundreds of times larger, and crawling with tentacles.
"Hello, hello, I'm also Drake—Royal Navy heavy cruiser. If you've got time, we could duel to see who's worthy of the name of that great navigator…"
"We share the same name? Settle it with a duel? I'm in!" Heroic Spirit Drake agreed without hesitation. Both had inherited the bold, competitive spirit of the great pirate.
"What shall we compete in? Swordplay or gunnery?"
"Anything you like. If you want, we can do fleet combat—it's only fair. You're a pirate, I'm a shipgirl," the shipgirl Drake said with arms crossed.
Bonk.
Setsuna rapped her on the head. "Starship versus a local in fleet combat? Really? Don't bully the new Heroic Spirit."
...
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