Seeing Essex's towel fall and her body exposed, Illustrious, who was drinking tea, instantly spat it out. "Pfft! What are you doing?! I have a girlfriend! Even if you try to seduce me, I won't fall for it!"
"Who was seducing you, shameless person." After being seen naked by Illustrious, Essex's expression remained very calm. In her eyes, being seen by Illustrious didn't matter, since Illustrious wasn't a man anyway.
Bending down, Essex picked up the bath towel and wrapped it around herself.
After covering herself, Essex came and sat down next to the sofa. "Stop wasting time. If you ask me again today, I'll give you the same answer: I know nothing."
Watching Essex remain so calm even after her body was exposed—truly embodying the saying, 'If you're not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to others'—Illustrious blushed slightly and said, "Stop messing around, okay? What exactly is causing Atago to remain asleep? Just tell me! If I don't know the specifics, I can't possibly save Atago!"
Illustrious had also sought out the Repair Ship Girl Vestal to examine Atago's condition, but Vestal merely said she couldn't be saved and advised her to take good care of her in the coming days.
"Sigh! It's not that I don't want to tell you, but Atago said we shouldn't tell you," Essex sighed.
"What? Atago told you not to tell me? Why?" Illustrious asked, bewildered.
Thinking that Atago only had half a month left to live, Essex considered the matter and finally decided to disobey Atago's instructions and answer honestly: "Atago said she didn't want you running around and doing useless work for her, because her situation is fatal, and anything you do would be futile."
"Counting the time, Atago only has half a month left to live. You should cherish this last period and stay by her side."
"Impossible! Tell me, is she sick?" Hearing that Atago only had half a month left to live, Illustrious jumped up excitedly, grabbing Essex's shoulders tightly and shaking her. "Medical technology is so advanced now! I believe her illness can definitely be cured. Right?"
After her delicate, smooth shoulders were turned red by Illustrious's grip, Essex slapped Illustrious's hands away. "Speak properly. What good does panicking do?"
Seeing that Essex's shoulders were red and swollen from her grip, Illustrious sat down and apologized, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to."
"It's fine! Do you want to know the exact reason why Atago fell unconscious?" Seeing Illustrious's persistent inquiries over the past few days, Essex felt the sincerity of Illustrious's feelings for Atago. Perhaps Illustrious might have a way to save Atago after all! Since there was no choice but to wait for death, treating a dead horse as a living one was better than doing nothing at all.
"You're finally willing to tell me?" Illustrious said, her face filled with joy.
Essex nodded. "The reason Atago remains unconscious is that her legendary core has been eroded by the Fire of Annihilation."
"The Fire of Annihilation, what is that? It sounds really powerful," Illustrious said, blinking her sky-blue eyes.
Essex said patiently, "To talk about the Fire of Annihilation, we must first bring up the events of ten years ago."
"Ten years ago, wasn't that the first major war between the Ship Girl Alliance and the Abyssal Entities? Could it be that she was injured then?" Illustrious pressed.
Crossing her sexy legs, Essex said solemnly, "That's right! Although the Ship Girl Alliance won that war back then, internal disagreements arose over whether we should completely wipe out the Abyssal Entities."
"The North Atlantic Governors Mansion and the South Atlantic Governors Office chose to spare the Abyssal Entities. Their reasoning was that their status among humans was greatly elevated precisely because the Abyssal Entities existed, and if they were completely eliminated, the humans would then turn against the Four Grand Governors Mansions."
"The Atlantic Governors Mansion chose to completely eliminate the Abyssal Entities, arguing that the Abyssal Entities were severely weakened after their great defeat, making it the perfect time to destroy them."
"The Pacific Governors Mansion felt both sides had valid points, but due to its close relationship with the Atlantic Governors Mansion, the Pacific Governors Mansion chose to stand with the Atlantic Governors Mansion, meaning they supported the complete elimination of the Abyssal Entities."
"Does this have anything to do with Atago's illness?" Illustrious asked, sounding a bit impatient.
"Of course, it does." Essex glared at Illustrious. "Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking, understood?"
"Understood! Please continue!" Seeing Essex's aura instantly turn cold, Illustrious immediately nodded.
After composing herself, Essex continued, "Due to ideological differences among the Four Ocean Governors Mansions, the North Atlantic Governors Mansion and the South Atlantic Governors Office withdrew from the Ship Girl Alliance. To prevent the Ship Girl Alliance from annexing their waters, the North Atlantic Governors Mansion and the South Atlantic Governors Office formed the new faction, Crimson Axis."
"Due to the withdrawal of the North Atlantic Governors Mansion and the South Atlantic Governors Office, the Ship Girl Alliance dissolved. For the sake of world peace and to prevent Crimson Axis from betraying humanity and the Ship Girls, the Pacific Governors Mansion and the Atlantic Governors Mansion also formed a new faction, the Azure Fleet Line."
"The 'Ship Girl Alliance,' formed by the Four Grand Governors Mansions, thus dissolved. When this news reached the Abyssal Entities, they rejoiced. Previously, the Abyssal Entities might have been hesitant to attack any Governor-Generals Mansion due to the existence of the Ship Girl Alliance, but now that the Ship Girl Alliance had dissolved, a small fraction of the Abyssal Entities began to stir."
"This small group of Abyssal Entities formed ten fleets, led by the Fourth Calamity. Shouting slogans of eliminating humanity and conquering the world, they launched an attack on the Atlantic Governors Mansion."
"Since the Atlantic Military Police Base was weaker than the Atlantic Governors Mansion, the Central Hime of the Fourth Calamity led the ten fleets to launch an offensive against the Atlantic Military Police Base."
Illustrious asked, "What was the strength of that Fourth Calamity?"
"The Fourth Calamity was terrifyingly strong; she was already a Five-Star Calamity Abyssal Entity at the time!" Essex said gravely, "Back then, Atago was the only Legendary Ship Girl at the Atlantic Military Police Base. Facing a Five-Star Calamity Abyssal Entity, she couldn't resist at all!"
"Seeing that your place wasn't destroyed, you must have received support from the Atlantic Governors Mansion back then!" Illustrious said lightly.
After taking a sip of tea from the tea table, Essex continued, "That's right! Atago notified the Atlantic Governors Mansion at the time, and the Governor sent a Five-Star Legendary Ship Girl, Victory, to provide support."
"Although the Atlantic Military Police Base was relatively close to the Atlantic Governors Mansion, to receive support, they first had to hold out for fifteen minutes until help could arrive."
Watching Essex finish her tea, Illustrious felt helpless. How could Essex be unaware of indirect kissing? "Did the support arrive on time?"
Placing the teacup on the table, Essex said earnestly, "The support arrived on time. It was all thanks to Atago fighting desperately to resist that the Atlantic Military Police Base was not captured."
"Victory, the Five-Star Legendary Ship Girl who arrived on the scene, single-handedly repelled the Central Hime of the Fourth Calamity. After repelling the Central Hime, Victory returned to the Atlantic Governors Mansion."
"Victory is that strong? She even drove away the Fourth Calamity," Illustrious exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course, she's strong! Victory is the strongest Legendary Ship Girl in our Atlantic Governors Mansion," Essex said proudly.
"Since the Fourth Calamity was driven away, Atago wasn't injured then, was she?" Illustrious asked worriedly.
Essex said excitedly, "Of course, she was injured! The Fourth Calamity is a Five-Star Calamity Abyssal Entity. Not only is she powerful, but she also possesses a Domain. Atago was defending against the Fourth Calamity when she was injured by the Fourth Calamity's unique ability during the battle."
"The Fourth Calamity's unique ability is the Fire of Annihilation. This Fire of Annihilation is extremely domineering; it can invade a Legendary Ship Girl's Consciousness World and corrode the legendary core within it. Atago accidentally got hit by the Fourth Calamity's Fire of Annihilation during the battle, which has resulted in her suffering from the corrosion of the Fire of Annihilation all these years, until three days ago when the corrosion caused her to faint and fall into a deep sleep."
"Is there no way to remove this Fire of Annihilation?" Illustrious inquired.
"There's no way! A Ship Girl infected with the Fire of Annihilation is beyond saving; she can only wait for death," Essex replied, shaking her head.
"How could this happen? Atago and I should have been together happily for the rest of our lives!" Walking out of Essex's home, Illustrious, utterly distraught, headed toward Atago's house.
Watching Illustrious leave, Essex murmured softly, "Sigh! It seems Illustrious and Atago won't be able to become a married couple after all. What a pair of pitiful star-crossed lovers!"
That evening, after feeding Atago, Illustrious went alone to a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Military Police Base.
Sitting down by the cliff edge, Illustrious looked up at the moon, and in her helplessness, she cried out, "Heaven! Tell me, what must I do to save Atago?"
Illustrious's shouts echoed in the air. Luckily, no one was around, or anyone who saw her would surely think Illustrious was crazy—after all, who runs to a cliff edge late at night to wail?
After shouting, Illustrious felt she had gone mad. There was no such thing as Heaven in the world; if there were, it should have eliminated the Abyssal Entities long ago.
Just as she was thinking this, a voice drifted down from the sky. "Do you want to save Atago?"
"Oh my God! Is there really a Heaven in this world?" But Illustrious found the voice slightly strange; it had a mechanical tone, like a robot speaking. To verify if she had misheard, Illustrious immediately looked up, only to find it wasn't Heaven at all, but a Mysterious Person in Black Robes.
Observing the Black Robed Person carefully, Illustrious felt this person was extremely ordinary, as ordinary as a regular human—yet a regular human could never hover in the air.
This Black Robed Person was very mysterious, wearing a sinister Smiling Face Mask on their face, while their entire body was shrouded in blackness. This blackness made the Ship Qi inside Illustrious feel threatened, causing her to involuntarily activate her Ship Qi Shield.
The aura of an ordinary person, yet possessing terrifying Black Qi, coupled with the automatic activation of her defense, made Illustrious feel that this Black Robed Person was far from simple.
Gazing at the Black Robed Person in the sky, Illustrious grew wary, intending to strike down the Black Robed Person if they tried to harm her.
"Do you want to save Atago?" The Black Robed Person looked down at Illustrious and repeated the earlier question.
"Who are you? How do you know Atago is on the verge of death?" Illustrious asked gravely.
"Who I am is not important. What is important is that I can save your beloved," the Black Robed Person said lightly.
Illustrious sneered, "Just based on you, a secretive coward, there's no way I can believe you can save Atago."
There are many quack doctors in this world. Who knows if this person is a miracle doctor or a charlatan? Being so unreliable, how could Illustrious feel safe entrusting Atago to such an unknown person for treatment?
"You must trust me, because I am the only person in this world who can save Atago," the Black Robed Person said confidently.
"Boom!"
Illustrious erupted with a powerful aura, countless streams of Ship Qi enveloping her. In the blink of an eye, Illustrious flashed and appeared before the Black Robed Person. "If you want me to trust you, let's see if you can take this punch first."
The power of this punch was terrifying. The immense aura caused the surrounding space to twist. A fierce attack containing dreadful energy instantly shattered the void here, roaring toward the Black Robed Person's head like a raging evil dragon.
Looking at the terrifying punch fiercely assaulting him, the Black Robed Person's expression remained unmoved. Only when the fist was half a foot away from hitting him did the Black Robed Person finally make a move.
The Black Robed Person lightly raised his palm, and overwhelming Swallowing Prayer Qi surged forth. A hundred-meter-long Giant Black Sword appeared three hundred meters up in the sky.
The black sword was magnificent and jet-black, emitting countless streams of Black Qi, making anyone who glanced at it feel sinister and terrifying, thus unable to muster the will to resist.
Countless streams of Swallowing Prayer Qi gathered in his palm, which he immediately struck out fiercely, colliding head-on with the rapidly approaching fist.
"Bang!"
The fist and the palm slammed together, and a thunderous sound suddenly erupted from the point of impact. A terrifying energy shockwave ripple, causing the space to ripple, continuously spread outward.
The surrounding trees were uprooted and knocked to the ground by this energy shockwave ripple.
After her punch was blocked, Illustrious immediately retreated a short distance. She looked up at the massive, pitch-black sword in the sky, her eyes locked onto the black-robed figure as she said, "This is the Sword of Devouring. Are you, Excellency, the legendary Night, the Vice Governor of the North Atlantic who fought my master to a standstill?"
"Since you know me, it saves me the trouble of explaining. I will simply ask: do you want to save your beloved?" Night said indifferently.
Knowing that this person was the King of Devouring, Illustrious confirmed once more, "Can you truly save Atago?"
"Of course! Although the Fire of Annihilation is incredibly overbearing, under the consumption of my Devouring Power, I can easily devour all of the Fire of Annihilation within your beloved's legendary core," Night said unhurriedly.
"That's wonderful! Atago can be saved. Wait..." Illustrious felt Night was being too kind; how could Night possibly help her for nothing?
"Speak! What do you want me to do for you? I don't believe you would help me for free." There is no such thing as a free lunch; Illustrious understood this principle very well.
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