Day 27
"We live to serve, Princess." Enten bowed deeply, her waist bent at a sharp angle.
My new fleet stood behind her, mimicking the gesture with solemn faces. Gneisenau remained at my side, arms crossed and expression impassive. Enten took the lead in this procession, flanked by three cruisers in a triangular formation. Two unfamiliar battleships followed, each with their own cruiser entourage.
Behind them all, a vast flotilla of over 300 destroyers filled the space. World War II relics without Cold War upgrades, they were inexpensive and expendable. With luck and support from the newer ships, perhaps half a dozen could take down an enemy capital vessel.
The fresh additions to our "fleet" exuded a grave air. While I appreciated professionalism in my forces, the atmosphere here felt stifling. My gaze fell upon one of the battleships, a green-haired woman in her twenties clad in dark, segmented armor reminiscent of Edo period dramas. In the dimly lit cave, illuminated only by scattered fluorescent lights above, her cerulean eyes glowed.
The cruisers surrounding her were triplets, dark-haired with sickly green eyes and clad in black shark suits. As I appraised them, they noticed my lingering stare and bowed even deeper.
Enten's voice cut through the silence. "Do our forces meet your expectations, Princess?"
I faced her and nodded. "Acceptable."
A satisfied smirk played on Gneisenau's lips. "They need more training and discipline, but they are good stock."
"They do need names," I remarked, my attention shifting to the other battleship. A svelte Caucasian beauty with auburn hair and emerald eyes, she was encircled by another trio of Asian descent. Their striking purple hair and matching eyes demanded attention as they snapped into a sharp salute at my approach.
I pointed at the battleship. "I name you Ruby."
Ruby knelt before me, her voice trembling with emotion. "You honor me."
Hope glimmered in the eyes of the cruisers as they gazed up at me. With a smile, I declared, "I name you Aime, Hisui, and Mae."
Tears of joy streamed down the faces of the newly christened cruisers. Hiding my discomfort behind a strained smile, I attempted to console them, gently rubbing their shoulders. "It's okay, don't cry."
Envy smoldered in the eyes of the other cruisers and battleship as they observed the scene. A headache threatened to emerge as I sighed heavily.
Turning to the jubilant battleship with moss-colored hair, I proclaimed, "You are Mana."
"I-I was named!" she stammered, eyes wide with disbelief.
The three cruisers accompanying her stared at me expectantly, reminding me of crows perched in anticipation. After a moment's contemplation, I announced, "I name you three Morrigan, Nephthys, and Corone."
They cooed and cheered, their voices intermingling in a chorus of delight. As I approached the final trio surrounding Enten, I took in their appearance: dark gray and black hakama, aquamarine hair tied in bobs secured by thin stilettos, and crimson eyes that watched me with anticipation.
Pausing to consider, I pondered what nautical-themed names would suit them best, determined to avoid the mundane. Inspiration struck like a bolt of lightning.
"I name you Vaporen," I told the first, who bowed even deeper in response.
"Words cannot convey my gratitude."
Turning to the next, I declared, "You are Siren."
"EEHE!" The newly named girl let out a squeal before promptly fainting, eliciting chuckles from Mana, the raven-themed ships, and Gneisenau. Despite their efforts to maintain a formal demeanor, a few others couldn't contain their amusement.
The last one squirmed under my evaluating gaze, fidgeting like a modest mouse caught in a cat's sights. Tilting my head, I hummed thoughtfully, considering her fate.
I pointed a pale finger at her. "Aqua."
She gasped, body rigid as a startled deer. With a self-satisfied grin, I swept past her and settled into a large limestone throne. My impromptu meeting hall strained to contain my entire fleet, the destroyers clogging up what little space remained.
Raising an arm, I gestured dramatically. "Hello everyone. This is our first meeting together. Let's ensure it's a memorable one."
At my side, Gneisenau snickered. The sound drew glares from my abyssal subordinates, their disdain quickly morphing into terror as she fixed them with a lethal stare. I observed the scene, thoroughly amused. The newcomers would soon learn to respect my second-in-command or suffer for their arrogance.
"Now that everyone is settled, allow me to begin by organizing our battle groups and assigning duties." My voice rang out with authority. "When I am occupied with critical matters, Gneisenau shall be in command. You will obey her orders as if they were my own. Am I understood?"
A chorus of voices responded, "Yes, Princess!"
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"Excellent. I shall now turn things over to my second."
Gneisenau stepped forward, her voice ringing with authority. "Ruby, Aime, Hisui, Mae, your battlegroup is codenamed Kamikaze. You will be the first ones to engage the enemy during assaults." She turned to another group. "Mana, Morrigan, Nephthys, Corone, your group is designated Wild Hunt. Your mission is to seek out and eliminate enemy groups within our territory." Finally, she addressed the last group. "Enten, Vaporen, Siren, Aqua, your group is named Leviathan. You are responsible for coordinating island defense and logistics. Each battlegroup will command 100 destroyer escorts to deploy as needed."
The assembled ships erupted in cheers, their voices echoing through the chamber. Gneisenau raised a hand, waiting for silence before she continued. "Through testing, we have discovered a method to re-summon destroyed ships. However, this process is exceedingly costly. I strictly forbid any suicidal maneuvers, even with this capability in mind."
Expensive hardly began to describe it. As I mentally reviewed the calculations, my face paled. The cost to re-summon a ship was ten times its initial creation cost, compounded by the already steep twenty-fold increase from incorporating Cold War era technology. Attempting to resurrect every fallen ship would quickly drain my coffers dry.
The first destroyer we had tested this ritual on consumed nearly a tenth of that day's income. Until Gneisenau revealed its existence, drawing upon the innate knowledge granted to her, I had been entirely unaware of this capability.
Gneisenau's words were concise and effective, conveying crucial information in clear military terms. I listened attentively until the end of her speech. Afterward, I joined her on the beach, where we sat sipping drinks together, savoring the moment.
At that moment, life was good indeed.
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Enten found me after the meeting and entered my room, studying me with curiosity for some time.
"Go on, ask." I carefully carved my rook with precise fingernail movements.
"What are you doing?" My actions perplexed her.
I carved my chess piece slowly and grunted, having chipped another one. Darn.
Looking up at her, I sighed. "I'm trying to make a chess board, but as you can see, it isn't going so great." My gaze fell upon the scattered mess on my workbench, my heart sinking like a stone at the sight. What a disaster.
"Can you not simply make it with your powers, Princess?"
Shaking my head, I gave her a sour look. If only it were that easy. None of my ships came preloaded with a chess kit, as there was no necessity for such a thing. I had only my hands and copious amounts of limestone available. The tools in my repertoire were meant for ships, not finely carving rocks.
Enten lamented, "That is unfortunate. If only it were more malleable like metal."
A thought struck me. Perhaps that could work.
Reaching down, I grabbed a slab of steel lying nearby. It deformed under my strength, turning red-hot within seconds. Pressing down harder, a loud metallic screech filled the air as I continued applying pressure until the metal felt like putty in my hands.
The metal contoured to my fingers as I swiftly manipulated it into a desirable shape. A small pawn took form, and I grinned in victory.
Now we were in business.
"Princess, you did it!" Enten exclaimed.
Laughter escaped my lips. "I sure did. Now, let me introduce you to a game that will hopefully make this place a little less dreary."
Day 28
I discovered the ability to control the weather through a series of events that seemed more surreal than anything I had experienced before. It all began when I accidentally spilled my drink on my outfit. Anger welled up inside me, and as my emotions spiked, the sky above turned an ominous shade of gray. Storm clouds swirled into existence, and within moments, rain poured down in sheets, accompanied by a fierce, howling wind.
It seemed unreal, like a fever dream coming to life.
Everyone in the vicinity halted their activities, their attention drawn to the bizarre spectacle unfolding before them. They watched in awe as the violent weather raged on, seemingly out of nowhere.
After taking a few minutes to calm myself with positive thoughts, the storm dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. Intrigued by this strange occurrence, I conducted further experiments, which confirmed my suspicions: the weather was intrinsically linked to my emotional state. The realization was both exhilarating and unsettling.
As I pondered the implications of this newfound power, an uncomfortable thought crept into my mind—one that I had been trying to avoid. What did this mean for the humans? If other Abyssals possessed this ability, the consequences could be catastrophic. A single Abyssal, hidden away in a mere pond, could potentially unleash an unrelenting hurricane upon a helpless city like Miami. The prospect was chilling. How could anyone hope to combat such a force?
The urgency of the situation weighed heavily on me. I needed to gather intelligence about the wider world, and I needed it yesterday. Fortunately, an idea had already begun to take shape in my mind, a plan that might just provide the answers I so desperately sought.
Day 29
I dispatched Wild Hunt to patrol my territory and find evidence of Kanmusu or human activity. Mana relayed their orders: engage in diplomacy first, and if that failed, try to drive the intruders away. Starting a fight I couldn't win was not an option. Nukes and jets could bomb me back to the stone age, and I had no answer for that.
The only way to counter such a threat would be to let my own hatred consume me, to live under a permanent hurricane of my own making. I balked at the idea, reluctant to go down that dark path.
For now, I was safe, protected by the remote location of my home and relative obscurity. This barren patch of rock, far from trade routes and civilization, held little interest to the outside world. No one would put in the effort to hunt me down, or so I hoped.
However, I knew such attitudes would change as my island expanded. Currently spanning nearly a square kilometer, the landmass would grow exponentially as my drone capacity increased. Mining rocks and depositing them elsewhere came with no markup penalty. 100,000 drones, each carrying 100 kg of material, worked tirelessly to expand my territory. Another 188,000 gathered resources from the ocean floor, fueling ship production and the material costs of my subterranean bases. In a mere ten days, that number would balloon to over a million.
Palm trees and lush vegetation, transplanted from nearby islands, now adorned the once barren landscape. The arid patch of rock and sand had transformed into a burgeoning tropical paradise under my watchful guidance. Vibrant flowers bloomed amidst the greenery, their sweet fragrances carried by the gentle sea breeze. The soothing sound of rustling fronds filled the air as the transplanted foliage took root in their new home.
A cackle escaped my lips. I was well on my way to establishing a nascent kingdom, even if it was in the middle of the ocean with no one to witness its birth. Still, the prospect filled me with excitement. I would forge my own fantasy city-state and seize this new life by the throat.
"Try to beat that, ROB!" I called out to the heavens, my voice carried away by the salty sea breeze.
Day 30
ROB did not take my taunting well….