The sky that morning was as grey and turbulent as the static of a dead television channel. Low mist obscured the view of downtown skyscrapers. Neon signs from various buildings gave refreshing vibrant colors that cut through the light morning drizzle. People walked by the sidewalks while opening their transparent umbrellas. Wipers cleared the front windows of cars on the streets.
One car was waiting for the traffic light. The driver’s eyes scanned the gigantic poster at one of the affluent apartment towers. It greeted everyone to the lovely city of Hiroshima-2 with the superimposed pictures of Australasian jungle wildlife and the golden-peaked Pagoda of Asian Peace. It also reminded everyone of the founding fathers by putting Emperor Burai and General Tomoyuki “Tiger of Australasia” Yamashita right in the middle.
The equally-humungous digital screen on the other side of the road showed the map of North America instead. Then, the whole continent disappeared into an endless ocean. “Remember America. Moral degeneracy and hubris caused America’s eviction from reality. We must be vigilant in upholding our values. Remember America,” narrated the voice repeatedly like a mantra.
“Half a century ago, Imperial Navy’s experimental aircraft brushed the outer atmosphere and dropped an atomic bomb on the other side of the Pacific. Today, we have broken traffic lights,” carped the driver.
“Why is it called ‘Hiroshima-2’ anyway?” asked the girl in the back.
“We are our names, Rie-chan. The imperial government decided that it would make this city as industrial and prosperous as the original one. Do you know that there’s a ‘Hiroshima-3’ in India?” the driver glanced at the girl through the mirror. She was sitting with a big student’s bag on her lap that matched with her sailor uniform.
“Isn’t that where the Axis headquarters is located, Uncle Sao?” asked Riamu as the front seat passenger. He freed one of his ears from the wireless headphone. His gakuran uniform was unbuttoned.
Sadao nodded. “Ironically, it was located at the capital of the Mad Mountbatten’s little fiefdom, our former enemy. Of course, he changed sides after he realized that the Allies had lost. He needed Japanese money and supplies to suppress the natives anyway.” He pointed to the urban morning ambiance outside of his window. “As for our glorious city, it was chosen for the strategic location just like its sisters. Hiroshima-2 was once called Sydney before the Japanese conquest. It was one of Australasia’s main hubs of industry, logistics, and basically everything. The old British and Federal governments wasted the city’s potential and chose to build a new city instead. No wonder they were shipped to the inland camps. The Japanese were wiser, but I think they should have named it ‘Hiroshima-32’ instead.”
“Why―Oh no.” Riamu just regretted asking that. He hated puns.
“Mi-zu, here’s so much water here,” said his uncle with a triumphant giggle.
Rie felt tickled too. “Is that why you live here, Uncle Sao?”
Uncle Sao shrugged and chuckled. His khaki officer uniform moved, but the high collar with emblems exhibiting his rank as captain was rigid as a rock. “Well, yeah. The money here is good. Not just the available jobs, but also the living cost. You can spend three times as much if living in Honkon or Syonan. It’s even cheaper if compared to Jagaruta, right?”
Riamu and Rie nodded. No doubt about that.
Uncle Sao’s left eyebrow went up. “Wait, I thought you’re studying Geography?”
“Oh, I am. I was looking at Mengkukuo―you know, before it turned into the Reorganized Mongol Empire―and I saw Kublai’s name and I thought about the invasion to Java....” Rie got lost in her thoughts. “It’s a long story.”
“Well....” There was a pause. “Did you know that Genghis Khan was a Japanese? The Mongol invasions of Japan were just a matter of family feud.”
Riamu gave a faint smile. “We know, Uncle. That’s all I can remember from our middle school besides ‘the mitochondrion is the powerhouse of the cell’.”
“That’s all you can remember, Anija. I also remember that Japanese guy who founded the Mughal Empire.”
Riamu looked back at his sister. “Who?”
Rie bit her lips. “A guy.”
“So enlighting.” Riamu received a slap on his arm for the sarcasm.
Uncle Sao clicked his tongue after chuckling. “Anyway, I think we need to talk about our relationship. I know how close the two of you were with your parents. We are not here to replace that. I and Aimi-neesan are here only to ensure you get the best teen life and other stuff.” His voice trailed off. “I’m not good at this.”
Riamu reassured him. “It’s okay, Uncle. We got the point. We want to thank you for having us at your home also. It meant the whole world for us.”
Uncle Sao snorted. “That’s the least we could do considering how bigoted your relatives are. Sorry, not sorry. I think we’ve done our religious obligation by doing seikerei every morning.” He glanced again at Rie. “Your skin tone is as charming as it is, you hear that? Don’t you ever stop swimming.”
Rie grinned. “I won’t give up, Uncle. I’ll represent our country in the Co-Prosperity Games soon.” The girl hugged her brother from behind. “We both will.”
“Good, that’s all I ask from both of you.” The car stopped at an apartment complex. “Here’s your stop. Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up after school? You know, after what happened last week.”
Riamu went out the door before his uncle could give more suggestions. “I― I’m fine, Uncle. It won’t happen again. We’ll be home before you know it.”
“I can assign some of my boys or send one of those drones,” Sadao continued through the open window.
“What, no! We don’t wanna be hit by a missile!” Rie snickering as she walked away with Riamu. After security check, the two entered the glass elevator that sent them up to the fifth-floor commuter station.
“The secretary-general of the Global Axis of Order applauded the Japanese commitment to peace in the neutral zone. In a short press conference at the Hiroshima-3 headquarters, Ursula Haverbeck stated that the atomic bombings of Nowy Urengoi, Kemerowo, and other neighboring cities in support of the Reichskommissariat Sibirien offensive were an appropriate action to prevent the rise of rogue states in the region. Furthermore, he expressed the readiness of Axis peacekeepers to combat terrorism and keep the balance of power in any way required....”
Nobody paid attention to the television screens in the commuter station. The platforms were quite crowded with the morning buzz. Uniforms were everywhere from school students to government officials. Even the zaibatsu employees were as stylish as their military counterparts these days.
Two school students sat on a bench in the opposing platform away from the bustling social interactions. Rie played with her middle school uniform bowtie while observing her brother’s attempt at buttoning his gakuran blazer. “It won’t fit, Anija.”
“You know, some people call their brother oniichan or something like that.”
“Can’t help it, I like period dramas.” Rie suddenly squealed. “It’s Baburu!”
Riamu was in a slight shock. “Huh?”
“The Mughal Japanese guy! See, I told you I remember!” She peeked at Riamu again. “Sorry that we only have this spare from your junior high days.”
“I’m not that fat,” grumbled Riamu. Two buttons were in. The third one was not so easy.
“You’re not expanding to the side. You’re expanding to all sides. Just stop it!”
Riamu exhaled in defeat. He left the blazer open to show the white undershirt. “I feel like a punk.”
“Well, I’m glad that you feel like that. It means that you’ve made progress.”
“What progress?”
“Of not being a stiff stick that you are. You don’t have to be so uptight all time.” Rie looked back at the people on the other platform. “Even mom and dad were delinquents at some points.”
Riamu gave a dismissive pfft. “Is that why you shorten the skirt, cut your hair short, and choose girls over boys?”
“Perhaps, although the last one is part of my patriotic service. We don’t need to fill this country with too many people, right?”
Riamu didn’t reply. He looked at the people too. Everyone’s so busy with their morning life. It made him remember to open his flip phone. “Do you miss them?”
“Yeah, sometimes.” Rie’s eyes were having a thousand-yard stare. “But I think it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Riamu’s finger explored the phone contact list. Most of them were his addition while some were included in the factory setting. One of the latter is the Naga Command hotline. He selected the option to send a message. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
Rie playfully swung her legs. “Perhaps later when I’m ready.”
“I’ll be here when you are.” He then mumbled while typing the message. “Dear officers of the Wunder Command, I’m here to report a suspicious activity related to the anomalistics....”
The sister gulped. “Do you miss them?”
“Every day.” Riamu put his fingers together and laid back on the bench head. “It feels like a dream sometimes. But I couldn’t wake up.”
“Am I there too?”
Riamu raised his eyebrows. “Huh?”
“In your dream?”
The brother gave a sly smile. “In my dream, you’re a Tyrannosaurus.”
“Huh, what?” Rie gave Riamu a shoulder punch. “Say that again!”
The attacks tickled Riamu. “Ah, sorry, sorry! Have mercy!”
Rie breathed out in relief. “Anyway, I’m glad that you messed up your uniform last week.”
“You are glad that I nearly drowned?”
“Nearly drowned while doing something cool with your new friends, right?” Rie noticed Riamu gave the look. “I know you. You never went anywhere close to danger. This one is different.”
Riamu snorted. “Listen to that, my own sister told me to be a lawbreaker.”
“Well, there’s a fine line between being a bad boy who skips classes and future inmate of the secret police. You’re smarter than me anyway.”
Riamu gazed at his sister. “You’re scary sometimes, you know?”
“I know, Anija,” replied Rie with a flirtatious one-eye blink. Suddenly, she tried to grab Riamu’s flip phone. “Anyway, who are you texting to? Your girlfriend?”
Her brother’s agility was too much for her. “Hey, hey, can I get a little privacy here?”
“What’s your type? Long hairs with glasses or short-haired tomboys? Or is it short hairs with glasses and long-haired tomboys?”
Riamu put the phone in the furthest distance from his sister. “Huh? How... How did you know?”
Rie chuckled deviously. “So I got it correct, didn’t I?”
“What, no! Just... No, this is not a girlfriend. This is not even for a girl. This is....” Riamu got frustrated on his own. “You know what, I’m gonna follow your advice and be a bad boy.” Riamu closed his flip phone.
“Yo!” greeted someone who made Riamu almost drop his phone. It was Shikishima. “Muscle fatigue?”
“Ha... Hakuryu-san, what are you doing here?” asked Riamu confused.
“I’m going to school. This is my usual halftime spot.” The tanned athletic teenager noticed the two’s look at his attire. Not school uniform, but a Gaikyuu gear. The padded jersey, the bulky shoulders, the works. He even strapped on the hard helmet with a grill-like faceguard. “Oh, yeah, I usually take shower at school after my morning exercise.”
“Uh, okay, hi.” Riamu remembered his sibling. “Oh, this is my sister, Rie. She’s―”
She’s gone. Rie already left her spot and approached Shikishima to touch his biceps. She didn’t even ask permission. The high school athlete gave a clumsy smile while receiving this treatment. “Uuh, hi there.”
“How did you get it so big?” asked Rie with a grin.
“Okay, okay, time out for indecent behaviors,” cut Riamu before evacuating Shikishima a bit further away. “Gotta have a short high schooler chat here.”
“She’s adorable,” commented Shikishima as he was pushed to the other bench.
“She’s a swimmer. You know, tanned skin and broad shoulders.” Riamu whispered. “She got a fetish too.”
Shikishima chuckled in somewhat excitement. “She got good taste in that case.”
“Seriously, Hakuryu-san?” Riamu let his peer ignore it. “Anyway, what are you doing here?”
He removed his helmet. “As I said, this is my transit station after morning routine stoppage.”
“You’re kidding?” Riamu repeated.
Shikishima had his doubts. He shrugged. “Well, at least for this morning.”
“I knew it. Are you here to persuade me, Hakuryu-san? Did Sagisu-san or Minatozaki-san tell you to?”
His friend put some fingers out. “First one, yes. I am here to persuade you to come back to our team. Second, no. I’m here on my own terms. Shikishima is nobody’s errand boy.” He added another one. “And third, stop calling me Hakuryu-san. We don’t do that here, Riamu. Take the horse collar and just call me Shikishima, okay?”
“Isn’t that your Kōminka name?” asked Riamu while seating down.
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“We all serve the Holy Empress, right? And also Emperor Burai of Australasia, right?” asked Shikishima rhetorically while spreading his hands. “My native name’s Muzammil Nor Wira, born and raised here as a second-generation immigrant from Nipponesia. My parents and their parents came when the Empire needed manpower to clean up the continent’s interior. That being said, I think Hakuryu Shikishima has a nice ring to it too.”
“I have one too,” said Riamu mysteriously.
Shikishima’s lips pointed. He responded, “You’re kidding? You look― You know, like a genuine part of the Yamato race.”
Riamu gave a light stomp with his shoes out of boredom. “Half-genuine, my father’s from the Home Islands. He fell in love with my mother who was a nurse here. I may inherit my father’s genetics, but the system is adamant in its classification of mixed blood and the likes. That being said, I’m okay with having a connection with this place.”
“Well, you gotta learn more to be a local, Riamu,” said Shikishima as if he was being tickled. “You still have the pompousness.”
“That’s a new word for me,” responded Riamu with pursed lips.
The two sat side by side without further conversation for a moment before, “Well, this is awkward.”
“So, how are you going to persuade me?” Riamu caught a glimpse of his friend. Shikishima was definitely not a Japanese with that kind of tanned skin. He was still sweating a lot even with a towel ready on his neck. “Kanon and Naniwa did a great job before. Not sure how you’re gonna help.”
“My communication skill deserves to be a benchwarmer anyway. The only thing I’m good at is gaikyuu just like Myoko with her wrestling, but that wouldn’t last long too.”
Riamu did an eyebrow flash. “How so?”
“Problems of having a double life. Crashing grades, missing classes, and other issues. We’re having a group study, but the weight is the same for all of us. Even Kanon got lower scores although not as bad as the others. I’m in danger of not reaching the minimum athletic scholarship requirement.”
Riamu shook his head since he didn’t get it. “Your ad sucks, Shikishima. How do you expect me to come back as a....”―Riamu was careful with his words―“Special club member if you are being so negative.”
Shikishima chuckled while loosening his shoulder. “I’m not being negative. I’m just being realistic. Being a club member is not all fun and games. Anyway, I guess I just want to say thank you for yesterday.”
“That’s a one-time offer, Shikishima. Besides, we saved each other.”
Shikishima peeped at the schedule monitor. “I hope not, since being in the club has its own perks, at least for me.”
“How so?”
Shikishima didn’t even think to answer. “I found my new family.”
Riamu looked at his friend for a while. “What’s wrong with the old one?”
“Can I be a club member too?” asked Rie that startled both guys. Riamu even removed himself from the seat.
“No, Rie, you can’t!” He firmly stated in a quick panic.
“But why?”
“Well, she can―”
Riamu cut right in. “Whatever you want to say, don’t say it.”
His peer didn’t have time to respond since the station speakers already made an announcement. “Commuter zeppelin service to New Shinagawa will arrive in Platform 2. Please check your belongings and mind the gap. All passengers who wish to continue to Neutral Bay, Kuringai, and the end of the Eastern Australasian Line can use this service to the transit station.”
Riamu wanted to stop everything. “You don’t even know what the club is. Let’s go.”
Shikishima smiled to himself when the stubby airship slowly lowered itself to the fifth-story platform level. “Good thing that we’re going against the current. I forgot my deodorant.”
Riamu gave a clear look of disgust. “Keep your distance from us, please.”
Shikishima clicked his tongue. “Sure thing, Doshi.”
The two gondola carriages opened its door for the passengers. Their size is quite large compared to the airship itself, but the multiple miniature jet engines helped the flight. Above, birds flew in circles as if welcoming the windy morning. One winged critter seemed to be disproportionately larger than the others.
The televisor screens there showed a pie chart with multiple slices. “The renaming selection has been narrowed into four options: Skythien, Gardarike, Tartarei, and Dirlewanger-Reich. Japanese political experts noted that these names were chosen for their dual purpose. In addition to glorifying the supposed Reich’s racial past, they are also preferrable to change the German public’s perception of the region as Reichskommissariat Sibirien has been considered a hostile and cold far-away place instead of potential Lebensraum estate.”
Riamu and Rie sat on the long seat opposite to Shikishima. The armed security guard observed them for a while before continuing his duty. “So, who are you staying with?” asked the boy while enjoying the somewhat empty sideway bench for himself.
“Our Uncle Sao,” answered Rie quickly and with pride.
“Is he a cool guy?” probed him further.
“As cool as anyone could be. He’s a former Giyugun captain who now guards one of Ministry of Science’s campuses against terrorists and stuff.”
“The one on Tarakan?” asked Shikishima interested.
“No, I think it’s the one in the interior.”
“Don’t give up too much, Rie-chan. He might be a terrorist.” He saw Shikishima glanced at him. “Stop teasing me,” he said while rolling his eyes.
“What? I didn’t say anything.”
“He’ll fit for the job better than Uncle Sao if you ask me,” commented Rie with a guffaw.
“She said it,” remarked Shikishima.
“I wonder who asked you, Dear Sister,” said Riamu cynically. “Let’s not spoil the view.”
The gulf panorama below the zeppelin was something to behold. The waters reflected morning sunlight like a giant mirror. Cargo ships and ferries passed by as if they were small toys. The western horizon was somewhat filled with smoke as the yakihata controlled forest fire tradition was taking place.
In the middle of it all was the crown jewel of Hiroshima-2. A former superheavy battleship of the Japanese Navy was turned into a monument of glory. “Wow, it still looks so big even from up here!” exclaimed Rie.
“Haven’t we looked at it before?” taunted Riamu. He received an elbow poke for spoiling the fun.
“That’s the Settsu Battleship Monument. While the Yamatos were more famous for their role in pummeling the Panama Canal and the Californian coast at the end of the Asia-Pacific Holy War, the final stroke was done on the deck of a Settsu.”
“That’s the ship where the Americans signed their surrender?” asked Rie.
Shikishima made a big arch above his head with both arms. “Correct, the original one. That thing is so old now though. It is skewed to the end zone. The government already closed the museum for maintenance for over six months.”
“You mean to the stern?” corrected Rie. She then mumbled with disappointment. “Too bad....”
“That being said, I’m sure that an arrangement could be done so we can visit it.”
The words lifted the girl’s spirit. “Really?”
“Really?” mimicked Riamu with a cynical tone.
Shikishima gave a wink. “Well, not by me. It would be by Naniwa. Her family has connections. Her parents were invited to the premiere of that German epic film.”
“They made a bunch, which one?” asked Riamu cynically.
“The one about why Hitler wore a pirate’s eyepatch. The one where he got ‘heroically’ end zoned in the First World War trenches.” Shikishima made sure he made a quotation mark with his fingers. He then tapped his forehead in frustration. “Uzai, why can’t I remember the name?!”
Shikishima flicked his fingers. “Yeah, yeah, that one. Deutsche, hier stehe Ich. That’s the film’s name!”
That mildly attracted Riamu’s attention. “That one is a big one,” commented the boy.
“I know, right?” Shikishima aimed his finger pistol.
“So, you guys is my brother’s new gang, huh?” asked Rie without looking.
“I guess so,” replied the jock. “Me, Kanon, Myoko, and Naniwa. Now, it’s with Riamu.”
“Probably not,” commented Riamu cynically.
Rie looked back after realizing something. “I guess all of you are close because you have something in common.”
Riamu’s eyebrows lifted. There was no way his sister figured the secret that quick. “What are you talking about, Rie-chan?”
“Oh, come on, Anija. You really can’t see the connection? They all share the names of ships.”
That made the bewildered Riamu sulked, but then he got it also. “Oh!”
“You got it.” That was all Shikishima gave.
There was still something off about it. “But Kanon isn’t a ship.”
“Nope, but Jintsu was. The Nipponese cruiser that hammered the Dutch and Anglos in the Battle of the Java Sea. That’s good enough,” replied Shikishima with a crooked smile.
“You’re good enough too, brother,” added Rie. “You’re the warrior of flow.”
Riamu puffed at the meaning of his own name.
Above, the sun itself blessed the world even though partially blocked by the persistent overcast. Other zeppelins were going about. In the distance, a flock of seabirds gathered around and displaced themselves along the inlet.
Riamu squinted his eyes at a strange view. He rubbed his eyes, thinking it was due to morning drowsiness. But it didn’t change a thing. One of the birds was far larger than the others. Then, he realized that the massive winged silhouette was flying sideways at the zeppelin.
He grabbed his sister tight. He heard a broken window shattering before the entire commuter airship shook violently. People screamed. Riamu and Rie were thrown back at the cold floor. “What’s happening?!” cried out Riamu’s sister in panic before another thump rocked the gondola.
Riamu ran for the window. He scanned the skies around him. The oversized seabird was actually a dragon-like monster. Its insectoid exoskeleton gleamed crimson under the sunlight. The impression was contrasted by the white armor of the warrior that rode it and assaulted the head using a whip sword. “Hydra....” mumbled Riamu who then looked back at the broken window opposite to his seat.
The two could hear screams of help a moment before the other passenger car suddenly slumped down due to broken zeppelin deadlocks. There were tortured metal noises and sparks all around as the remaining structure tried to maintain its integrity. Rie peeked down at the injured travelers at the bottom of the half-detached barge. “There are four of them, Anija.”
Riamu gulped. “Rie-chan, I don’t think―”
“We have to help them. Hey!” The short-haired girl immediately went to the dazed security guard. “Tell me what to do to help them.”
The soldier groaned at his headache. “Give me a moment....”
“We don’t have time!” snapped Rie without caring about his rank. She was clearly frustrated by the lack of a solution.
“Rie-chan, this isn’t the time to be heroic,” persuaded Riamu behind her. “We should just―”
“Just what, stay here and watch them die?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what do you mean, Anija?” Rie came too close with her brother’s face.
“I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU TOO!” retorted Riamu.
There was silence. A long silence made each electrical fizz and growling metallic noise sound distinct.
“We are responsible for our own lives. Wasn’t that what our parents said? We can save those who we can save, but what matters, in the end, is our own lives. We know how it looks right now. The hinges won’t last long. Most likely―”
“I’m going in,” countered Rie. Her round glasses gleamed under the morning sunlight. “You got it all wrong, Riamu. What matters is not our own lives, but how we’re gonna use our lives. I think you misheard Mom and Dad’s value.”
Riamu was speechless. His right eyebrow rose in disbelief. “How... How did I mishear it?”
Rie shrugged. “Well, they explained it during our nature retreat. The one we went to the waterfall. It was so early in the morning. Perhaps it was too early for you.”
“I....”
There was a metallic ching. The armed guard removed one of the straphanger bars. “This could work as a ladder.”
“Remember the fine line, Anija.” Rie left him. “I’ll help them climb.”
The guard lowered the bar to the broken passenger car. He used a shorter supporting rod to lock two straps into place against the side stanchions. He checked the stability before Rie slowly descended herself.
Riamu watched in amazement as his sister assist the passengers up and guide them to the makeshift steps. “You must be proud,” commented the guard.
Riamu’s attention was split by the ongoing aerial battle outside. “Huh?”
“With your sister. I don’t know her, but I already know that she’s a brave girl.”
Riamu sighed and put on a sly smile. “Runs in the family.”
The security guard nodded. He was then thrown out of the passenger car by a giant claw. His screams faded out the sudden gaping hole. An alien dragon’s head then came in. Its eyes were screaming masks. Its long snout opened with threatening fangs. The tentacle-like tongues shot out. They would have killed Riamu if he didn’t do a split-second back roll jump. Seats were torn, windows were broken, and metallic frameworks were dented by slimy extensions.
One of them got his leg though. The tongue wrapped in and pulled Riamu closer. It slammed the teenager a couple of times on the floor until he was sluggish. It then pulled even closer toward the cavernous maw.
The mouth opened wider than Riamu thought possible. Rolled muscles opened to reveal the digestive causeway. But there was something else in it. Where the uvula should be, there was another grotesque humanoid figure just like before. This time, it was made of thick muscles instead of hardened armor. “I found you,” taunted the monster’s inner self.
“Durgasaur?!” But that’s impossible. Shikishima was fighting Durgasaur in the sky right now, visible through the windows like a scene of a fantasy knight against a demonic dragon.
“I’m sorry, Child. I must be forgetting that we know each other well in the previous life. My mind is usually scrambled every time we come back. Moreover, I have to split myself into multiple avatars.” Durgasaur’s second dragon form hissed in excitement. “But the urge to find you means that you are important. I can’t wait to gobble you up.”
“KYAAAH!” There was a scream. It was someone Riamu’s familiar with.
“RIE!” Before he could move, the Durgasaur dragon removed itself from the zeppelin gondola. With its clenched talons, the monster took Rie away.
“Let’s play first. If you can survive this, I’ll digest you faster,” growled Durgasaur as it beat the extensive wings. Two pairs of them to support the heavily armored body.
“Are you okay?!” called Kanon as the Yellow Ketsaru Hydrahead who took wing and scout the scene. The claws on her boots were strong enough to hold Naniwa as the Black Makara.
“He got Rie!” screamed Riamu back.
Durgasaur circled the zeppelin before swooping in. Before the terrified passenger, the monster opened its mouth again. The humanoid figure stood out like a living tongue. “What’s a dragon without fire?”
With that, Durgasaur’s humanoid figure blast out a blaze like a living flamethrower. A mixture of combustible chemicals protruded in the morning sky toward the zeppelin. The broken windows and the silvery gondola walls lit up.
“NO!” The two katar daggers suddenly appeared in front of the teenager. He crossed the dual weapons and something marvelous happened. The dust and smoke around Riamu began to disperse as if by a growing invisible wall. An intricate circular sigil glowed out when meeting Durgasaur’s flame. The violent burst was easily tamed.
“There it is!” roared Durgasaur as it suddenly swooped in. It easily broke the energy pattern into shattered pieces before assaulting Riamu’s passenger car. The Zennyo Hydrahead was nowhere to be seen afterward. The daggers dropped on the floor.
He was taken by the dragon. Its claws clamped on his gakuran and basically immobilized him. Riamu kept on trying to free himself, but the exoskeleton was too hard to break through.
Then, one of the talons stood up and struck him. The pointy nail dug deep into his right shoulder. Riamu screamed in unbearable pain.
“Anija!” shrieked Rie. Tears fell off her eyes and doused her glasses.
“Let’s get somewhere more quiet so that I can finish my meal, hahaha!” Durgasaur dragon beat its quadruple wings across the Hiroshima-2 waters and left strong turbulence behind.
The choppy air current made Yellow and Black Hydrahead’s flight troublesome. Kanon saw the gathering muddy cloud in front of them. “He’s gonna teleport. We have to stop them!”
But the strong winds came to slam her and Naniwa again. For a moment, Kanon almost lost her balance. The Black Hydrahead groaned at their perilous journey. “Throw me in!”
“Huh, what are you saying?”
“We’re not gonna make it. You have to throw me to Durgasaur so I can catch him up!”
The Yellow Ketsaru Hydrahead saw the monster. Its massive body was too far away, leaving only the whipping thorny tail. “The condition is not suitable for our teleporters. If you miss it, you’ll fall to the gulf!”
“You just handle the hurling. I’ll handle the landing, okay?” replied Naniwa as the Makara Hydrahead.
“Kusottare....” For a moment, Kanon looked at her. She felt that this was a bad idea, yet it was their only playing card. She nodded. She still thought that it was a very bad idea. “Fine, hold on to your butt. Sē no!”
In an aerial acrobat, the Yellow Hydrahead flung her partner high in the air. The obsidian warrior did a perfect somersault before landing. Unfortunately, the armored tip of the dragon’s tail whipped away from her. Naniwa was falling.
But that wouldn’t stop her yet. Her trusty drill sword appeared in her grip. She did an emergency downward energy attack. The resulting air pressure propelled her back up. The Hydrahead then stabbed the weapon onto Durgasaur’s hide. With one hand on the sword, she was saved. “Haha, I should’ve joined the gymnastics team after this,” she said, still gasping.
“Haven’t you joined before?”
“It was the cheerleading team,” snorted Naniwa. She catapulted herself onto the monster’s dock. She didn’t even have enough time to balance herself as a gigantic gloomy sphere began to bloom beneath the stormy skies. While the overall shape was dark, the outline was glowing with sickening electrical blue. Bolts of Lightning struck it all over and an unnatural wind below its wispy surface.
Durgasaur flew straight into it. It came in from one side and no trace of it was found on the other. The sphere was essentially a dimensional gateway. “Find me!” shouted Naniwa before she too entered it.
The orb collapsed. The clouds dispersed. The ripples on the water were gone. The Ketsaru Hydrahead was left flying alone. “Nana-chan!” she called, but there was no answer.