"Great! Now that we've used the core sealer to seal Illustrious's power and unique abilities, she's at our mercy," Kardan said excitedly.
On the other side, Illustrious, whose legendary core had been sealed by the core sealer, was feeling a wave of panic. "What's happening! Why can't I activate my unique abilities? And my power is rapidly dropping!"
Limo said generously, "You were just hit by my core sealer. In another half minute, you'll revert to the strength of a Gold-Plated Ship Girl."
"It was that dragon. Hmph! A mere seal, watch me break it." Illustrious desperately tried to use her spiritual power to communicate with her legendary core, but the golden light sphere instantly repelled her spiritual power, preventing her from connecting with the core.
Seeing Illustrious trying to communicate with her core, Limo shook her head. "It's useless. Once a legendary core is sealed by the core sealer, it's impossible to unseal it."
After several attempts and having her spiritual power repelled every time, Illustrious stopped her futile efforts. She looked at Alice and the others angrily and said, "You shameless cowards, winning this way—what kind of heroes are you?"
Alice smiled wickedly, "Hahaha! As the saying goes, the winner is king and the loser is the villain. History is written by the victors. No matter what you say, it's just the incompetent rage of a loser."
"Damn it! Ah..." Her strength finally dropped to that of a Gold-Plated Ship Girl, and Illustrious could no longer walk on air. With a final scream, she fell from the sky toward the sea.
Watching the falling Illustrious, Alice threw her Cherry Blaze sword.
In the blink of an eye, the Cherry Blaze sword turned into pink light particles and vanished in mid-air.
Raising her palm high, Alice's overwhelming Prayer Qi surged out. Countless destructive Cherry Blazes rapidly began to converge in her palm, transforming into a Cherry Blaze Spear in an instant.
"Spear of Lethal Flames!"
With a loud shout, Alice threw the spear in her hand like a Javelin.
The Cherry Blaze Spear turned into a streak of light and shot toward Illustrious like lightning. The speed of the spear was terrifying; sonic booms echoed wherever it passed, and its massive destructive power instantly left a conspicuous black trail in the azure sky.
As Illustrious fell slowly, she watched the incoming Cherry Blaze Spear and couldn't help but feel anxious. If she hadn't been sealed, she could have easily shattered it with one strike. But now, she was merely a Gold-Plated Ship Girl and couldn't possibly withstand such a terrifying spear.
Alice said viciously, "Illustrious, you're finished. With your Gold-Plated Ship Girl body, you'll definitely be pierced through, leaving a giant hole. Hee hee hee!"
"Damn it! Am I going to die? I haven't even married Atago yet!" Illustrious said with a face full of regret.
The Cherry Blaze Spear sliced through the sky, gone in a flash. Under the Gaze of countless eyes, just as the spear was about to pierce Illustrious's body by a mere foot, Atago suddenly appeared in front of Illustrious and shoved her aside.
Atago smiled slightly and said, "I'm sorry. I originally wanted to walk into a church with you wearing a wedding dress in the future, but it seems there won't be a chance."
"No!" Watching Atago about to be pierced by the Cherry Blaze Spear, Illustrious cried out in agonizing pain.
Splurch!
Illustrious escaped the fate of being pierced, but because Atago saved her, a massive bloody hole was gored through Atago's stomach by the Cherry Blaze Spear.
The two fell to the sea surface. Illustrious stood up and immediately rushed to Atago's side.
Looking at the blood constantly flowing from the hole in Atago's stomach, Illustrious immediately pulled her into an embrace and said, "Why are you so foolish! You clearly didn't have to block the spear for me."
"Cough, cough, cough... You are my woman, how could I let you get hurt?" Atago said, her aura withering. "Illustrious, promise me! After I die, you must live on no matter what."
"What nonsense are you talking about! Stop joking, Atago, don't worry! You'll be fine, I will definitely save you," Illustrious said agitatedly.
"Don't say anymore. Anyone hit by the Spear of Lethal Flames is doomed to die, so don't waste your efforts. I know my own body; I'm going to die soon. So Illustrious, you must promise me... live on... well."
"Fine, I promise you, I will live on well," Illustrious nodded and said.
Having received her answer, Atago felt at ease. Then, her eyes closed, her arms went limp, and her breath ceased.
"Atago...!" Illustrious held Atago's gradually cooling body, then let out a heartbroken cry toward the sky.
"Tch! I didn't expect Atago to block that attack of mine! It's truly a pity I couldn't kill you, but it doesn't matter. I'll cut you down with one more sword strike now, and you will surely die from this one," Alice said, flashing to Illustrious's side.
Seeing Alice, Illustrious's face contorted with rage as she said, "You killed Atago!"
"Mm! That's right! But so what? As a traitor, she deserved to die. Seeing how sad you are, I'll send you to meet her right now!" Alice kicked out forcefully, sending Illustrious flying back.
Without Illustrious holding her, Atago fell onto the sea. Having lost her life force, Atago could no longer lie on the surface, and her body gradually sank into the ocean.
Pfft! Illustrious, who had been kicked away and lay on the sea, spat out a mouthful of blood, her breath faint.
Alice did not let her off there; she flashed and appeared before Illustrious once more.
Looking at Illustrious's head, Alice raised her right foot. Countless Aura rapidly condensed, and then she stomped down ruthlessly.
"Well then, goodbye Illustrious. In your next life, be a smarter ship! Hahaha!"
This kick contained Alice's full power. As a Gold-Plated Ship Girl, if Illustrious were stepped on, she would surely die.
Looking at that terrifying foot, Illustrious's face was full of indignation. She thought to herself, 'Damn it! How can I die like this? I still have to avenge Atago!'
But then she thought, since Atago is dead, even if she got revenge, Atago couldn't return to her side. Eh! Forget it! Dying like this isn't bad either.
While waiting for death, the words Atago said surfaced in Illustrious's mind: "Live on well!" Thinking of these words, Illustrious's desire for survival was awakened. "I cannot die. I promised Atago that I would live on well."
She continuously used her consciousness to control her body, trying to make it move to dodge Alice's kick. However, because Alice's previous kick had been too powerful, the heavily injured Illustrious couldn't move an inch.
Watching the foot get closer and closer, Illustrious gave a bitter smile. "It seems I really am going to die this time. Sorry, Atago, it seems I won't be able to fulfill your promise."
Just as Illustrious's head was about to be crushed by the stomp, Kardan suddenly appeared in front of Alice. He kicked out and blocked Alice's strike.
Watching Kardan block the kick for her, Illustrious felt confused. 'Why would he save me?'
Alice frowned and said, "Kardan! What is the meaning of this? You don't actually want to save Illustrious, do you?"
"Whether Illustrious lives or dies is none of my business. Kill her if you want, but have you forgotten something very important? We haven't gotten our Government House Treasure back yet!" Kardan reminded her.
Alice snapped out of it. Because she had been too angry, she had forgotten for a moment. "You're right. Fortunately you stopped me, otherwise things would have been ruined."
Withdrawing her foot, Alice said sinisterly, "Illustrious, hand over the Government House Treasure immediately, and we can let you off."
Alice said she would let her go, but in her heart, she decided that as soon as Illustrious spoke, she would sink her.
"Hehehe..." Illustrious sneered. "You'll let me off? I bet the moment I speak, I'll be sunk by you immediately."
"Absolutely not! I swear, if I'm lying, may lightning strike me down," Alice said with a sincere expression.
But just as Alice said that, a clap of thunder suddenly sounded in the sky. This thunder came at a very inopportune time. Alice's face turned ugly. To have thunder right after she spoke—this slap to the face was truly loud!
"Look, even the thunder has sounded. Do you think I'll believe your nonsense?" Illustrious said with a face full of disbelief.
"Hahaha! Alice, it seems you're no good at this! Better leave it to me!" Kardan laughed loudly.
"Humph! If you think you're so good, then you do it!" Alice said with a face full of shame and anger.
"I'll do it then. Watch closely, let me show you what real interrogation looks like," Kardan said confidently.
Kardan looked down at Illustrious with ill intent and said, "Illustrious! Hehehe! Here I come!"
"Yo! Isn't this my defeated opponent? I'm warning you, don't you dare try anything funny," Illustrious said coldly.
Upon hearing 'defeated opponent,' Kardan's face immediately darkened. He had originally planned to act like a lecher to intimidate Illustrious into handing over the Government House Treasure, but now he was provoked. He was going to use more violent methods to make Illustrious talk.
Kardan stepped on Illustrious's head and said fiercely, "You're the defeated opponent! Your whole family are defeated opponents! Let me tell you, Illustrious, last time was just because I was careless. If I had been serious, you would have lost long ago."
"You dare step on me?" Illustrious said angrily while her head was being stepped on. "Truly, a tiger in the plains is bullied by dogs. Kardan, I will remember what you did to me today in my heart. One day, I will pay you back tenfold."
"I'm stepping on you, so what? A mere Gold-Plated Ship Girl dares to threaten me? Who gave you the courage?" Kardan increased the force under his foot and said with a look of pleasure, "The tables have truly turned! Last time you stepped on my head, and now I'm stepping on yours. How does it feel to have your head stepped on? Is it satisfying?"
"Kardan, you will regret this..." Illustrious was beyond furious. Physically and mentally wounded, she could no longer hold on and finally lost consciousness, fainting away.
Seeing Illustrious faint, Kardan frowned and said, "Fainted already? That's too boring!"
Alice said coldly, "Stop wasting time. Just use Divine Sense to perform a memory search on her!"
"memory search! Isn't that a bit too cruel?" Limo felt it was a bit much.
One should know that a memory search was an exploration of the soul. This process would destroy the soul foundations. Once the search was over, Illustrious's soul would dissipate, leaving no chance for reincarnation.
"She deserves it! I want the world to know that those who dare to steal my Government House Treasure will only have one path: death," Alice said with a frigid expression.
"Then hurry up and do it. Find out where the Government House Treasure is." Compared to Illustrious's life, Kardan cared more about the treasure.
Alice squatted down and placed her left hand on Illustrious's forehead. Just as she was about to perform the memory search, she was interrupted.
The person was none other than Illustrious's master, Shinano. Standing in mid-air, Shinano swung her right hand heavily. Golden light flashed violently as a hundred-foot-long golden sword qi slashed ruthlessly toward Alice and the others.
Facing this terrifying sword qi, Alice and the others immediately used their own techniques to completely neutralize the strike.
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Kardan shouted, "Oh no, Illustrious is gone!"
"What do you mean gone? Could she have been rescued by Shinano?" Alice pondered.
Kardan said anxiously, "Then what do we do! Should we go after them immediately?"
"Can you beat Shinano?" Limo said indifferently.
"I can't!" No joke, Shinano was the strongest Legendary Ship Girl; Kardan didn't think he could win.
Alice sighed toward the sky. "Shinano, who had been missing for a year, has suddenly appeared. It seems we won't have the chance to get back the Government House Treasure."
...On the other side, Shinano flew rapidly through the air while holding the unconscious Illustrious. She stroked Illustrious's head and said distressedly, "It's only been a year since we last met, how did you end up like this?"
Now Illustrious was seriously injured and her breath was fading. Only Vestal from the Pacific Naval Base could completely cure her.
Speeding up and turning into a stream of light to save her disciple's life, Shinano flew rapidly towards the Pacific Naval Base... In the underground prison of the Atlantic Governor-Generals Mansion, over a dozen guard Ship Girls had already fainted on the ground, and the culprit was none other than Lilith.
Five minutes ago, Lilith, pretending to have a stomach ache, secretly stole the keys from a guard Ship Girl. With the keys, she unlocked the Blue Crystal Handcuffs.
Without the restraint of the Blue Crystal Handcuffs, her power as the King of Gold was instantly restored. She kicked the cell door open with a forceful strike.
Seeing Lilith escape, over a dozen guard Ship Girls immediately rushed at her, but their strength was too poor. Lilith simply released the pressure of the King of Gold and knocked them all down.
With her soul network restored, Lilith suddenly received a message from Lexington.
[Governor, your soul network is finally connected! How are you! Are you okay!]
[I'm fine! By the way, how is Illustrious now?]
[She suffered a fatal injury, but was saved by Vestal. She's just in a coma and hasn't woken up yet.]
[That's good, I'll be back soon.]
Exiting the prison and arriving at the beach, Lilith leaped lightly, her form turning into a stream of light as she flew towards the Pacific Naval Base... In a dark seabed, Ye, dressed in a black robe, approached the sunken Atago.
Taking off the eerie smiling mask and lowering the hood of the black robe, a Silver-Haired Girl was revealed. If Illustrious were here, she would be shocked, because Ye's appearance was exactly the same as hers.
Looking at the lifeless Atago with closed eyes, Ye said emotionlessly, "Atago! I will grant you rebirth. You shall become a member of our Deep Sea Cult!"
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