The furious barrage came down like a sudden rainstorm, pouring in from every direction toward the massive body of the Dragon.
Yet just as the attacks were about to land, not a single scale on its body even twitched. Its armor simply shone with a thin film of golden light, rising naturally across its surface.
In the blink of an eye, a colossal barrier unfolded around it, enveloping the dragon completely.
The hail of fire from the carrier-based planes, and the fox giant's claw that could tear through steel, all crashed against the barrier.
The result was almost ridiculous. Not even the faintest ripple appeared. Every blast, every impact, vanished the instant it touched the shield, as if it had fallen into the depths of the sea and been swallowed whole.
The Dragon had not forgotten its master's instructions. If possible, keep them alive.
So it chose to defend itself, and did not unleash any of its more devastating skills.
Then its two long whiskers, formed from condensed streams of pure light, soft yet unimaginably tough, swept through the air.
One golden whisker cracked through the air like a glowing whip, striking after the fox beast's roar. With one almost casual flick, it swatted the giant fox rigging out of the air and slammed it to the surface, then coiled around it like a living serpent and bound it tight.
The other whisker drew a perfect arc through the sky.
Wherever it passed, the carrier-based planes that were still pouring out firepower for Kaga were cut from existence as if wiped away by an unseen hand, exploding one after another in midair and blossoming into brief, dazzling fireballs.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The continuous detonations shook the sea, and for a moment it seemed as if fire were raining from the sky.
In the middle of that fiery rain, the golden whisker that had swept the aircraft aside did not slow at all. It moved smoothly with its own momentum, twisted lightly...
And in the next heartbeat, it coiled around Kaga herself, who was still frozen in shock and had no time to react further. It wrapped around her waist and tightened, binding her together with her fox-like rigging in one neat bundle, denying her even the slightest freedom of movement.
"Damn it... what is this monster?!"
Kaga's hands clamped down on the glowing whisker around her waist. Its surface pulsed with overwhelming power, and her beautiful eyes reflected pure disbelief.
Every attack she had launched, every ounce of hope she had clung to, crumbled to dust before this gap in strength.
The Dragon ignored her struggling and fury.
Its senses were locked on another "big fox" lurking behind the mist.
This was a pair of sisters. It might as well collect the set for its master.
A truly dutiful pet should know how to look out for its master's happiness... such as finding him two pretty little foxes to keep his bed warm later.
"Kaga...!"
Just then, a cry of panic tore through the fog.
At the same time, a roaring tide of orange-red flame surged out, like an inferno intent on burning the world to ash, crashing toward the Dragon.
Akagi's figure emerged from within the blaze.
Her features, usually seductive and composed, were twisted now by raw fury and fear, her once-alluring face darkened with almost demonic rage as she glared at Kaga and the fox beast, both trussed up like baggage in those two golden whiskers.
She had never imagined the battle would flip so violently, so suddenly, into this nightmare.
The power of this mechanical dragon was beyond frightening.
She was truly regretting it now, with a bitterness that twisted in her gut.
She cursed herself for trusting the Observer's temptations.
She cursed herself for agreeing to launch this assault, only to find herself trapped, with even escape turning into a luxury she might never touch.
Seeing her sister, the one she treasured as her very life, captured and bound like this, struck her harder than any cannon blast.
The ambition and anger that had clouded her mind were smashed through by cold reality.
That so-called "Project Orochi" she had plotted with the Observer... had always been the same as shaking hands with a shadow.
And under the Observer's goading, she had truly let greed blind her judgment, walked right into the trap and sprung it herself. Now she was not only humiliated and cornered, but she might even lose Kaga, the one person she could never afford to lose.
Damn it.
If she had known things would turn out like this, she should have brought more reinforcements from the Sakura Empire before carrying out the plan.
Akagi screamed inwardly. Regret gnawed at her heart.
Even when faced with a monster like this dragon, if she could lure it into the open ocean, then drown it in waves of shipgirls and relentless rotation tactics...
Then no matter how powerful it was, no matter how sky-piercing its abilities, there was no way it could destroy them all before its own supplies ran dry.
By any normal logic, a giant rigging beast of this scale and power...
The energy it would take just to exist, let alone fight, would be astronomical, terrifying beyond words.
Akagi glared at Kaga, bound like a toy in those golden whiskers. A storm of calculations and desperate schemes flashed through her mind.
Then a chill surged from her spine straight up to the back of her skull, making her heart clench.
On the sea in front of her, the air thickened with mist.
Sea spray churned and rose without warning, waves tumbling and folding in on themselves as water vapor gathered madly...
In mere moments, it formed into a colossal dragon made entirely of seawater, its size no less than that of the mechanical dragon that had just devastated the Sirens.
"What is this...?"
Akagi threw herself backward in a single blazing leap, retreating several dozen meters. Her bright eyes were full of suspicion and fear as she stared at this second behemoth that had suddenly appeared, then flicked a disbelieving glance at the unmoving Dragon.
What is going on?
Is this also one of his abilities?
Can he control the water as well?
She had no time to think it through.
Because the water dragon was already lunging at her.
The massive body of liquid coiled and twisted with crushing force, spiraling inward as it surged forward, trying to snare her inside its torrent.
"Damn it!"
Akagi ground her teeth, her beautiful face contorted by rage and mounting pressure.
Her figure flickered across the sea again and again, darting and spinning. Every step she took sent up sprays of white water, like she was dancing across a field of blades.
But she could feel her limits closing in.
The water dragon raised its head high and snapped its maw open.
From its jaws, it spat out a barrage of tightly compressed water shells, each blast packed with terrifying kinetic force, shooting toward her like a chain of cannon fire.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"