Inhaling a breath of salty air and embracing the rocky feeling on a ship, I could not help but feeling a little sad.

" Ah... She isn't here. Not anymore..." Even though the sky is blue, the ocean is calm, I still cannot feel her warmth.

" Mother, I miss you." With tears on my face, I curled up in a secluded corner of the Graf Zeppelin's runway.

Usually, I could keep my emotion in control, just not today. Mother and I used to stay on a ship with which we have many fond memories. There were uncomfortable things too but with love, we pushed through them. Being on a vessel for the first time in a long while, I felt very lonely and insecure.

" ..." Admin wanted to comfort me though she probably did not know-how. In times like this, Admin lamented her lack of physical body.

" Mother, I'm sorry... Come back!" I cried, hoarsely. Not good, I could not bring myself together.

I kept on sitting there, remembering her touches and affections. Relieving the passionate moments I had with her and the taboos we committed. Just why...? Why did the Lord grant us this twisted love only to tear it apart!?

" Kiseki, calm down!" Admin shouted. " Damn it, pull yourself together! Do not lose heart! Have you forgotten your life-long wish!?"

" Ah... My wish? Yeah... I do have a wish, a chance, right?" I muttered dazedly as I raised my head slowly.

" Yes, you still have a chance. Didn't you vow that no matter how small the chance was, you will reunite with her?" Admin's words gently soothed my raging emotion. In Admin's mind, she does not how long she can reign in Kiseki. Admin is powerless as she can not offer any long-lasting mental support just by talking.

Unaware of Admin's worries, it took me some time to break out of my trance. Taking a look at the now chilly sea, I wondered why it turned out this way. The weather is still in hot summer and this is the Pacific... So why did I see icebergs floating about?

" Ah... It was me losing control of my heart." I realized the fact that it was me who frozen the sea. Thankfully, the fleet appeared to still be able to sail normally.

" I have to fix this. Muspelheim." Mustering my mana, I cast a Fire-type area of effect spell. Naming after the burning world in Norse mythology, it can burn anything surround the user with divine flame. Normally, this spell can vaporize the sea, however, I tuned it down to just quickly normalized the surrounding temperature.

" This much should be ok." I deactivated the spell after a short while. The sea now returns its original calming blue.

" Sigh... Welcome back, Kiseki." Admin let out a sigh of relief. I could almost imagine her slumping down on a chair.

" Sorry, I caused you trouble." I offered my sincere apology.

" It's ok, this wasn't the first time. Just know that I will be here whenever you want someone to talk to." Like a big older sister watching out for her youngest, Admin comforted me again.

" Thank you very much!"

" 200 EP for a good Avatar!" Only this part of her is weird.

I shook my head, rearranged myself before head out to find something to do. As I was walking to the ship's hangar, I stumbled upon Melissa.

" There you are, Kiseki...! Are you ok?" Melissa was about to say something else until she noticed my eyes. As a maid, it was not hard to discern that I cried profusely, I guess. With concern on her face, Melissa pushed me to her private room.

" Sit here, let me get you something to drink." Letting me sit on her bed, Melissa turned away to prepare some tea.

" I'm fine, I just remembered sad things, that's all." I reassured the maid, who did not take heed. " Look, no need to fret, it's not like I was bullied or something."

" No, you're not fine. From my experience, even though you're calm, you're still recovering from negative emotions. Leaving you alone in such a state will be ignoring my duty as a maid." Melissa took out a handkerchief, gently wiping my face as she waited for the tea to be reheated. " A tightly strung bow will break one day. I doubt you ever have a proper time for yourself as relaxation, no?"

" ... I tend to ignore the downtime, I don't think I could bear it alone." I answered honestly, surprising myself. A maid's magic, should we leave it at that?

" Do you want to talk about it?" Melissa asked while facing me.

" Uhm... I don't think it's anything special though. It's just a tale of loss and grief." I downplayed my past. Melissa looks like she was not buying it but chose not to probe me any further.

" If you don't want to then that's fine. I hope this cup of Darjeeling can alleviate your heart for a bit."

" Thank you." I accepted the warm tea. For around 15 minutes, we sit in the small room, enjoying the tea in silence.

" You made very good tea. As expected from a professional maid." I complimented Melissa.

" I live to serve, after all." Melissa answered, a matter of factly.

" Phew..." I contend with enjoying the tea for a bit more before asking. " Did you need me for something? I'm guessing it wasn't an emergency."

" Hard to say whether it was an emergency or not... The Pacific suddenly turned into the North Atlantic all of the sudden, you know?" Melissa looked at me in the eyes.

" Ahaha... I think that was my blame to take." I laughed drily.

" I figured as much, you still came from the part where mana went volatile. I guess it was due to your...?" Not finishing her words, Melissa afraid I do not want to touch on the topic.

" It's ok, I need to explain as this was my doing. Yes, I lost control of myself back then nut now I have calmed, mostly." I put on a smile, a bit strained.

" ... Since there is no harm done. We just gonna chalk it as abnormal weather phenomenal." Melissa dismissed the issue.

" I'm grateful."

" I'm a maid, I cannot let those I serve to be tangled with such things." The maid smiled brightly. Apparently, I was a person to be served now. I don't mind, though.

We chatted for a bit on other topics. Slowly, but surely, my tensed nerves relax, much to the glee of Admin. For a time, I thought about laying down and rest, for good. It is just that circumstance will not permit it, nor will my heart be contented with such an ending.

I was about to bid my leave, seeing as I have finished my tea, but Melissa stopped me.

" Kiseki, you don't have any important item in your bunk, right?" She inquired, her eyes showing traces of expectation.

" Not that I know of, why?"

"Then may I suggest you share this room with me from now on." Said warmly by Melissa.

Caught off guard from the sudden request, I returned a question. " Hold up, why? As you can see, I'm ok now."

" For now, you are. Still, no one knows when will you have another fit like that. I want to help you in managing your emotion, staying together with me is a good way of doing so." Her explanation is fair, and strangely, I did not find the idea unacceptable.

" ... Are you sure you want to take care of me? You barely know me for a week, why go to that extend?" While I did not mind intruding on her kindness, I need her to be able to fully accept me.

" Don't fret, this is my wish, after all." Setting down her cup, Melissa stood up then gently flopped me back on her bed. " This will be your new home for the rest of the trip. For now, you should go to sleep, I will bring the belongings you have here." I watched Melissa as she took care of the utensils. I was confused as to how the situation progressed so fast, even Admin was surprised.

" This is a good thing though. I cannot help you all the time, as you have seen the last time. So having Melissa as your... limiter is not that bad. All the more so when you are wholly lacking in the relationship aspect. Use this chance to get closer to her and maybe one day, she can accompany you in your journey.

" I don't think that is wise as she still has her ties in this world..." I refuted while feeling a little bit of expectation.

" I think she is more likely to accept you than you think, but if you insist then we can wait it out naturally." Admin did not say more.

With an endearing smile, Melissa head out of the room. " Please, you should get some rest, Kiseki."

" Why is it that she cared so much about me?" A question with no answer, for now.

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Two days passed by on the sea with no encounter.

While it was a fair bit of time, we only reach the halfway point till the rendezvous. Maneuvering around patrols proved to be time-consuming and we have lost 3 brave souls in the process. It was thanks to these pilots' sacrifices that we could avoid attracting enemy attention.

As for me... Ever since I moved into Melissa's room, Riko and Franka have been teasing me nonstop. They only stopped when Melissa landed a chop on their heads. This, in turn, has me sighed in exasperation with Charlotte and Yang watching with interest. Unknown to me at the time, all the Witches except Melissa diverted eyes of gratitude at me, occasionally.

" I see you brats are still at rowdy as ever." Said the new arrival in the cantina. It was Admiral Nato.

" We have an issue." Nato removed his cheerful look. He spread out a map on a dining table. " North of the fleet, we have an inbound Dragoon of unknown kind."

The group tensed up, they never expected the trip to be easy.

" The size and shape of the Dragoon are judged to be an aerial aircraft carrier of sorts. Speed is estimated to be 20 knots, range is 700 kilometers away and decreasing. This one ignored our patrol and all attempts of maneuvering away from it. Safe to say we will be engaging it shortly."

" Sigh... and I wished for it to be uneventful for once." Said Yang. " You heard him, girls, suit up! Kiseki, could you stay in reserve, in case they breakthrough us and reach the fleet."

" I can do that. But before you go, have my blessings." I took out Shiro and held her near my chest with both hands. " Oh Lord, please protect my comrades!"

After saying a short prayer, yellow light appeared from Shiro, covering the bodies of the Witches.

" This is..." Melissa muttered as she observed that her body was filled with warm energy.

" It's one of my magics, an army buff spell. With this, I blessed you with enhanced physical and magical properties. Please, be safe out there everyone."

" Thank you so much, Kiseki!" Yang accepted the blessing gratefully. Others expressed their thanks and promised to return intact. With Melissa the last to leave, she turned around then hug me gently. " Wait for us, ok?"

" I will not disappear, you know?" I said with a wry smile.

Nodding to herself, Melissa head to the hangar.

" So, you're ready?" Nato approached.

" Yeah, let's move to the tower." I replied.

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" I have the Con, Timmy." Announced Nato as we made way into the conning tower, the brain of every warship.

" The Admiral has the Con!" Repeated an officer loudly to other sailors.

" Give me a sitrep." Nato requested.

" Sir, ma'am," The officer nodded toward us. " The Witches are preparing to take off with the rest of our air group following shortly. The unknown Dragoon is judged to be 500 kilometers away from us, speed is unchanging. The fleet is moving in a screening formation, protecting the flagship and transports. Due to the slow speed of the transports, the fleet can only go at 10 knots." The officer takes a breather.

" I suggest having the ASW Fletchers escort the transports out of harm's way first while the rest of the fleet acts as a diversion force."

" Granted. The fleet will now split into two with the main fleet turns to engage the enemy." Nato decisively ordered.

" Aye aye, sir!" The officer saluted then started communicating Nato's order to the rest of the fleet. Soon, the main bulk of the fleet turned to the North while the smaller transport convoy headed Eastward.

" Have the destroyers and light cruisers set up the outer screen of the formation, battleships, and large cruiser join the flagship in line ahead. All hands, battlestations!" Nato's command also served as the signal for the Witches to take off from the runway. Their Fliegers left gust of winds on the deck. Shortly after, aircraft took their place on the Graf Zeppelin's catapults. They too, propelled to take-off speed by the catapults, flew to intercept the Dragoon. Soon, the Zeppelin emptied her deck off all aircraft, leaving only a wing of Bf-109s to patrol the sky above the fleet.

" Godspeed to us all." Nato prayed as he watched the brave pilots went on an almost certain one-way trip.

Tension was high as I gazed at the sky, at least Heaven still look blue.

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" Enemy spotted! All aircraft prepare for battle. Follow the Witches in!" The Flight Leaders of Zeppelin's air group gave out orders as they were in visual range with the enemy. Knowing this may be their last chance as flying, pilots gripped their control stick fondly or muttered a short prayer to their family members.

" Incoming!" Without warning, weapons on the Dragoon started spewing out plasma balls after plasma balls at the inbound attackers. Thankfully, magic shields were set up ahead of the flight formation on an incomparable scale, blocking all projectiles. The opening salvo of the Dragoon was stopped without a single casualty, a first in the history of mankind.

" All teams! Casualty check!"

" Team 1, zero loss."

" This is team 2, we have no loss.

" Team 3, everybody made it.

" Team 4, no casualty."

" Thanks, God. It seems like our angels grew stronger without us knowing." The flight commander smiled.

" This is Yang to flight commander, we will cover you. Swoop in, drop your payload, then RTB as quickly as you can." Yang hailed the commander through the radio. She let out a relieved sigh, seeing that their hard work paid off with the safety of the pilots.

" We're on it. All aircraft, maximum speed, and weapons armed. We're going in!" Showing faith in the power of their Witches. Pilots flew in tight formations behind shields of lights. Due to the multitude of bluish explosions on the shields, the pilots relied on Witches to guide them to their target.

As if frustrated that the plasma cannons could not destroy the flimsy-looking shields, the Dragoon let out a low groan as it deployed its own flyers. If hitting at the front did not work then just overwhelmed them from all sides.

" Inbound interceptors! Looks like that blimp is not letting us off easy." Yang smirked. " The Brownings will follow me, you girls keep up the protective shields."

" Roger!" Yang and the Brownings sisters broke off of the formation then accelerated past the shields. Dodging as they flew, they soon reached the first Dragoon interceptor.

" Have at thee!" Riko shouted a cheesy line as she thrust her .50 caliber M2 machine gun out. With one big shockwave accompanying a red beam, Riko was pushed back from the recoil of the gun. The beam easily reached the speed of light, leaving trails of destruction amid the Dragoons. In the end, the beam hit and gouged a not-so-insignificant part on the port side of the carrier Dragoon. Even from a distance, you could see the molten armored plates and smokes rising from the damaged section.

" Nice work, Riko! Keep'em peppered!" Yang complimented. She and Charlottle flew as a pair to take out the flanking Dragoons while Riko used her machine gun to suppress the main force.

With rhythmic sounds, Riko's machine gun left holes in the once pristine condition of many Dragoons. Occasionally, her machine gun turned into a cannon to take out a concentrated group of enemies. Yang, using her M1 Garand, accurately destroyed Dragoon after Dragoon without missing a shot. Her bullets also left trails of light but on a smaller scale than Riko's. Charlotte mostly stayed behind Yang, readied to support her with physical buffs or to cover Yang while she is reloading.

Even though they have destroyed Dragoons numbering in the thirties, only a few minutes have passed. Dogfighting for a bit more, raking more kills in the process, Yang and the Brownings thinned out the interceptors quite a lot.

" Look! The carrier is deploying more!" Riko cautioned.

" I see them. Geesh, The number is more than the first wave, I think it deployed all the Dragoons on board." Charlotte scanned the incoming horde, she noticed that the upcoming enemies will be harder. " Yang, this wave is a mix of multiple types of Dragoon. Not just these lightly armed interceptors."

" Figured, the barrage from the blimp also stopped. Probably due to the dense formation of Dragoons, the blimp is afraid of hitting allies." Yang gave her observation.

" Yang!" Linda called out, she and the rest of the strike group arrived in the combat zone. Their shields still holding strong.

" This is it then." Yang nodded to her comrades. " All elements, all-out attack!"

" Roger!" Echoed multiple voices on the radio.

Witches will meet the Dragoons head-on once again while the aircraft will take off to higher altitude. With the dogfighting handled by Witches, pilots could utilize the superior speed of German planes to perform hit-and-run attacks on the carrier.

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" Franka, shield!" Linda called out as she reloaded her MG42. With an unparalleled rate of fire, the MG42 could, in theory, cut in half a Dragoon. Sadly, the limited box magazine of only 100 rounds is a detriment.

" On it!" With lessons from Kiseki, Franka effortlessly set up near impenetrable defense around the Witches. It was her turn to use up her MG42 ammo box.

" Hehehe, MG go BRRRRT!" Franka joked as she hosed down anything that dared to approach her. With the stupendous rate of fire, it was without doubt that her targets turned into honeycombs.

As for Melissa, she was slowly but surely taking out more prized prey. With her loadout of the .55 Caliber Boys anti-tank rifle, her fire rate is not the highest but her destructive power trumped over Riko's machine gun. Melissa set herself for engaging touch to crack Dragoons and for softening the enemy carrier whenever possible.

" Dive! Dive! Dive!" The flight commander gave the order. With the sun behind their back and engine pushed to maximum throttle, the Bf-109s and Do 335s dove downward. Thanks to Yang and the Brownings sisters, the fighters did not have to worry about interceptors. As for the defensive turrets of the carrier, most of them were destroyed by Riko's and Melissa's bullets. This, in turn, allowed the fighters group more breathing room.

The Bf-109s, armed with a 20mm machine gun, a pair of 13mm machine guns, and anti-armored rockets, were the first to discharge their payload. Large caliber bullets punctured the top part of the flying carrier, followed shortly by large rockets that left behind large craters on the once smooth surface. The strike did not end, however.

Do 335s are even more heavily armed: Each has three 30mm cannons with high-velocity armor-piercing shells, a pair of 20mm machine guns, and one 800kg bomb. The pilots of these heavily armed attackers were trained for single-point attack, meaning all of them can employ their payloads on one precise location of the enemy, dealing devastating damage. After the flight leader marks the area of attack on the carrier with his attack, the rest of the squadron will follow suit to finish the job.

While the 20mm and rockets left holes and craters behind. The 30mm gouged out all external armored, leaving the 800kg bombs free reign to wreck the internal of the carrier Dragoon. To the relief of the pilots, the flight lead of the Do 335s group successfully marked and hit a critical system of the Dragoon.

With muffled sounds of explosions and black smokes spewing all over its body, the carrier was losing altitude. As if enraged, seeing their mothership got attacked, the previously deployed Dragoons intensified their assault on the strike group. The change was so quick that it caught the pilots and Witches unprepared, casualties appeared at last.

The firsts to go down were the pilots of the Do 335s, while their armament was impressive, they traded agility for it. Unable to effectively dodge all plasma projectiles, not to mention lasers, most pilots chose to take out another Dragoon before going down. They did a lot of damage, thanks to their 30mm cannons, but the Do 335s were almost wiped out.

Witnessing such a sight, the Bf-109s could not help but join the fray. Thanks to their superior maneuverability, they survived for a bit longer while waiting for Witches to arrive.

Yang and the Brownings did want to help only that they were blocked by multiple Raven-type Dragoons. It was not until Melissa sniped them and some brave Bf-109s kamikazed to break the encirclement, did Yang could go and support the group. By that point, only thirteen aircraft were left, two of those were Do 335s. Severe loss to the Zeppelin's air complement.

At least, the carrier was shot down. Cleaning up the smaller Dragoons should not be an issue, right? Not.

The falling carrier suddenly exploded below them. From the large cloud of the explosion, an extremely fast projectile shot out. No, not a projectile, but a rocket-shaped Dragoon.

Breaking the sound barrier as it accelerated toward the fleet. Yang cursed as she had no way to catch up with it. The only thing she could do was to give the fleet a heads-up and hoped for the best.

" We need to deal with this mess fast! Melissa, go with the air group back to the Zeppelin! We will handle the rest here." Yang calmed herself and ordered. Right now, sending back the pilots and Melissa is better than retaining them here. Maybe Melissa could attack the Dragoon from behind with her rifle.

" I will excuse myself first." Melissa flew away first, followed by the propeller sounds of the fighter craft. It did not escape Yang's eyes that Melissa had a look of worry on her face. As for whom, she and everyone here could guess.

" Kiseki, please be safe." Melissa muttered. Her voice disappeared with the winds.

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" Inbound fast mover! ETA 30 seconds!" Shouted the radar operator.

" All vessels, fire at will!" Nato ordered as the Fleet Admiral. Previously, all the cannons, including the main guns, were aimed in the direction of the carrier Dragoon. It did not take long to train the gun onto the new target.

Sounds and shockwaves made by the warships of the fleet shook the ocean. Ahh... the vibration of war is a delightful feeling.

All the gun batteries we had let loose at the Northern sky. Flak clouds covered the path of the approaching Dragoon but did little to impede it.

" It could even tank 380mm and 406mm anti-air shells... Needlessly heavy armored opponent." I commented on the situation.

" This is the first-ever record of a supersonic Dragoon. I don't think the fleet will have enough time to fire another salvo of flak at it." Admin offered her view. She was correct, it takes time to load the shells, and the smaller 40mm guns do not have enough of a punch.

As Nato and the rest in the conning tower watched in hopeless fury, I stepped out.

" I will take it from here." I materialized Spear and took up a position next to a 20mm machine gun.

" All vessels, cease firing and prepare to deploy countermeasure! Crews must brace themselves for impact!" Nato gave the order and nodded to me. I did not pay attention because I was looking through my scope., tracking the target.

I loaded a new magazine containing special bullets then press the bolt release. I infused Spear with my mana, and this time the bullet inside reacted and space around me distorted. From the point of view of Nato and the rest, crackles of lightning danced around me while space cracked under the pressure was what they saw.

Madan, the bullet that is a special consumable that enhance the effect of a spell. Costly to make so I only have a full magazine of twenty rounds of it but it sure as hell gonna kill the troublesome Dragoon.

" Spatial Rend." I pulled the trigger and the Graf Zeppelin rocked to the starboard side as if a tsunami just hit it. The after-effect of the spell was that strong.

As its name suggests, Spatial Rend is a spell that tears open space. The bullet, coated with the spell, contained such deadly energy. It left behind a path of purplish lightning as it impacted the Dragoon with the speed of light. With a burst of energy, the Dragoon was torn into pieces.

" As I thought, layered defense... I'm glad I made the right call to use a more destructive spell." While I can see Death Lines or Death Spots of a target, what I see is not necessarily the true 'Death' of the target. If the target is soulless and has multiple armor plates, I will only see the first layer of armor's weak spots, not the rest. It was the reason why I spent more effort on taking down this special Dragoon than others.

" Bastion of lights." With the rest of my energy, I cast a large wall of light that covered the fleet.

" All hands, brace for impact!" Nato shouted as he saw the fragment of the supersonic Dragoon bombarded the light wall. Thankfully, the wall held and the ships only rocked a bit due to the disturbance of the sea.

" ... I want a damage report, now!" Nato straightened his back, there might more to come but that was one crisis averted at least.

I wiped off the sweat on my forehead.

" I hate soulless machines." You can not kill them without effort. Unlike a human, where I can just kill the soul. I need to tear apart a machine, piece by piece if it is as strong as the one I just downed.

" 50 EP for the Avatar that saved the day!" Admin cheered me up.

" Thankfully, I have you to alleviate the annoyance." I joyfully smiled. The situation should be resolved soon.

Strangely, I could not wait to taste the tea and confectionary Melissa made again.