Hymn From the High Seas (Azur Lane x Commander Male Reader)

Conquer Hell

Roon stirs beside me, and I hold out my hand, hearing silence on the other end of the door. At the same time, I hold my breath and lock my muscles. Impossible... she couldn't be expecting us, could she? Did Purifier betray us?

"Purifier? Figures. No one else would let you into the city so willingly," the Empress laughs on the other side of the wood, "Come in."

My heart spikes, and I question if I spoke aloud as the double doors swing wide open. All of us stand up in alarm, and Roon gets in front of me. Musashi, Friedrich, and the Empress all sit at a large, round table in the middle of the open-air chamber, a great view of the entire city in one hundred eighty degrees.

The Empress sits between the Crimson Axis kansen, her overbearing eyes as blue as the crystals dangling a mere dozen yards away from the tower. One moment of eye-contact freezes my feet in place and makes my heart beat itself out of my ribcage. Her skin is as white as swan feathers, her hair like fresh snow. The Empress extends a hand to me with an amused grin on her fair face.

"Did you not hear me? I told you to come in," she flicks her hand toward herself.

An invisible force tugs on my body and uniform. The ground shrinks away from my feet as I'm pulled through the air and toward the Empress as if in zero gravity. All the while, she smirks as I soar toward her, holding out both arms to catch me. I reach for Cloudbreaker, and, leaning forward, I draw my saber once I'm within reach. No resistance at the tip of my blade.

"Damn it!" I flip forward and land on my feet, skidding across the sandy basalt floor before turning to face the Empress.

"Quick-witted, I see," after inspecting a lock of shorn hair, she flips it and glares at me, "Though, wit alone will not save you, (Y/N) – not from my eminence."

A spark of purple in my peripheral, and my entire body tingles. Out of thoughtless reflex, I step to one side and throw my sword overhead. A heavy weight intercepts Cloudbreaker's edge and scrapes down the length of it, crashing into the floor beside me and sending fragments of basalt ripping up my body.

Musashi lifts a great, crackling katana from the ground, and I only catch a glimpse of her vulpine eyes before she disappears. Predicting her movements, I whirl around, but Musashi's already halfway into her overhead slice.

The air becomes ionized, and a triple-layered shield fizzes between Musashi and I. Her sword slices through one, crashes through the next, and slams against the third, the blade splitting halfway through. I reach under and slash at her feet, only to be blown back by a wave of thunder and armor. Eugen catches me in her arms, and we roll across the floor, coming to a stop near the doors again.

"You alright?" she feels my arm, and I wince in pain.

I grab Cloudbreaker from the ground, its blade screeching as it drags across the rock, "I'm fine! Get in formation!"

Everyone has poured into the room and stands around Eugen and I, taking cover behind her regenerated shielding, their cannons aimed over it like a phalanx. Unquestioning, they wait for my mark, not even demanding my order to fire as they stand in defense of me. It's a level of loyalty I've only built because of Bismarck's faith in my leadership.

When no one fires, the Empress relaxes, "There we go. You have a shred of composure, it seems. Unlike little Roon, here. Her thoughts are going wild!"

Having her mind read, Roon only laughs in response. I'll set you loose soon, don't you worry.

My eyes dart from Friedrich and her rigging blocking the exit, Musashi on our left flank, and the Empress right in front, "Why're you so intent on capturing me? Why do you call me the Key?"