KanColle X Devil May Cry: Devil Trigger Protocol

Devil May Cry Naval Base, Command Office

Dante sat at the table, eyes fixed on the demonic weapons—Cerberus, Nevan, Beowulf—lost in thought.

"She said she secretly kept what he discarded as useless."

"(Cerberus and Nevan are useful, but Beowulf isn't... What does that mean?)"

"Seems their goal is to pit powerful demons like you and me against each other."

"(How does it connect? Beowulf was Vergil's... Is that the difference?) No use overthinking it."

No answers came, so Dante let it go.

The Great Naval Command had issued orders: deep-sea ships were closing in on the trade routes near the base. Defend them. The fleet girls gathered in the command office as Dante announced the sortie team.

"Flagship: Tenryuu."

"Hell yeah!" Tenryuu pumped her fist.

"Tatsuta."

"Got it~" Tatsuta drawled.

"Kitakami."

"Yo." Kitakami raised a hand.

"Ikazuchi."

"Here!" Ikazuchi chirped.

"Kisaragi."

"Understood." Kisaragi nodded.

"And... Hatsuyuki."

"What... Seriously?" Hatsuyuki's eyes widened.

"Go get 'em," Dante said.

"I'm... gonna stay home," Hatsuyuki muttered.

"Someone drag Hatsuyuki to the docks."

Hatsuyuki was hauled off, protesting.

At Sea

The fleet reached the target area. Tenryuu radioed the base. "Admiral, we're here."

"Compass points east," Dante's voice crackled back.

"Roger." The fleet sailed east.

"Enemy spotted!" Ikazuchi shouted, identifying a light cruiser Ho-class and two destroyer I-class ships.

"Single-column formation! Time for Tenryuu-sama's attack!" Tenryuu roared, leading the charge into battle.

Operations Room

Only Dante and Ooyodo remained. Dante's policy—"Let those on the battlefield make the calls"—left him with nothing to do. Boredom gnawed.

"Can't I join 'em?" Dante asked.

"No!" Ooyodo snapped. "We've been over this!"

"You worry too much."

"You're our commander. It's our duty to protect you. No unnecessary risks."

"Don't need a babysitter," Dante grumbled.

A radio call interrupted. "Tenryuu here. Enemy vanguard destroyed."

"Main force is ahead. Fall back if it gets hairy," Dante replied.

"Relax! Tenryuu-sama's got this!"

"Hope so," Dante muttered.

The fleet pressed on, picking up fuel en route. Then they saw it: the enemy main force. A Ru-class battleship, flanked by two Chi-class torpedo cruisers and two I-class destroyers.

"A battleship... This'll be rough," Kitakami said, voice low.

The fleet's composition destroyers and light cruisers, barely upgraded, undertrained felt outmatched.

"Tenryuu-chan..." Tatsuta murmured.

"No choice but to fight!" Tenryuu shouted.

BOOM!

The fleet limped back, battered. They'd sunk two destroyers, but the battleship's onslaught left everyone heavily damaged, forcing a retreat.

"Damn it! Let me go again!" Tenryuu demanded.

"Dock first. Akashi, use whatever speeds it up," Dante ordered.

"High-speed repair materials. On it," Akashi replied.

After repairs, the fleet gathered again. Something was different.

"You're... glowing," Dante noted.

Tenryuu and the others shimmered faintly.

"Are we gonna explode?!" Ikazuchi yelped, stepping back with Inazuma.

"No!" Akashi cut in, exasperated. "It means they're ready for a refit."

"Refit?" Dante asked.

"They can be upgraded," Akashi explained.

"Nice. Get 'em all refitted," Dante said.

At the arsenal, the fleet underwent upgrades.

"Feel different?" Dante asked.

"Look closer, Admiral!" Kitakami teased.

"Hm?" Dante squinted.

"Check it out~" Kitakami spun.

"More torpedoes?" Dante guessed.

"Bingo! New and improved Kitakami, loaded with oxygen torpedoes. A bit more mature, right?" Kitakami winked.

"Same old you," Dante deadpanned.

"You wound me!" Kitakami clutched her chest dramatically.

Kitakami had become a heavy torpedo cruiser.

"Refits done? Go get 'em," Dante said.

"Roger!" the fleet replied.

"Tenryuu, torpedo squadron, moving out!" Tenryuu led the charge against the enemy battleship's fleet.

BOOM!

"Sortieing. Which ship wants to sink?" Tatsuta purred.

BOOM!

"Heavy torpedo cruiser Kitakami, sortieing," Kitakami announced.

BOOM!

"Ikazuchi, sortieing for the Commander!" Ikazuchi cheered.

BOOM!

"Kisaragi, sortieing," Kisaragi said calmly.

BOOM!

"I... wanna go home," Hatsuyuki whimpered.

BOOM!

The fleet returned, defeated again, barely intact.

"This is painful to watch," Dante said. "No battleships here, so Akagi and Kaga, you're up."

"We'll show the pride of the First Carrier Division," Akagi said.

"Leave it to us. They'll fall in one blow," Kaga added.

"Nice. Kitakami, Tatsuta, Ikazuchi, Kisaragi, you're in too," Dante said.

Tenryuu bristled. "Hey! Don't bench me! Let me fight till I drop!"

"Till you drop?" Dante's voice hardened. "Weren't you taught not to throw your life away?"

"I'm a fleet girl! Fighting deep-sea ships is my purpose! Let me fight till I die!" Tenryuu shouted.

Silence fell, heavy and tense.

"You wanna die? Fine. But what about Tatsuta, left behind?" Dante asked quietly.

Tenryuu froze. "That's..."

"Those left behind suffer more than the dead," Dante said.

Akagi and Kaga exchanged glances, recalling Dante's earlier words: "My old man, my mom, the people who raised me... even my brother... they're all gone."

"You'd only get in the way now. Cool off," Dante said.

Tenryuu stormed out.

"T-Tenryuu-chan..." Tatsuta whispered.

The reorganized fleet sortied.

"Battleship, huh? Akashi, let's build one," Dante said.

"We're low on resources," Akashi warned.

"Think of it as an investment."

"It might not be a battleship," Akashi cautioned.

"Don't care," Dante said.

Arsenal

"Let's see what we get..." Dante used high-speed construction materials.

"Haguro, youngest of the Myoukou-class heavy cruisers," a new girl introduced herself.

"A heavy cruiser, huh?" Dante said.

"S-sorry!" Haguro stammered.

"Kongou, born in England, returned to serve! Nice to meet you, desu!" another girl chirped.

"Battleship?" Dante asked.

"Yes, Kongou, eldest of the Kongou-class fast battleships," Akashi confirmed.

Kongou's eyes locked on Dante, and time seemed to stop. "Burning Love!!" she declared, smitten.

Meanwhile, the fleet fought. "First attack wing, launch!" Akagi ordered.

Akagi and Kaga's airstrikes sank the two Chi-class cruisers and two I-class destroyers effortlessly. As aces from their previous base, their skill was unmatched. The damaged Ru-class battleship fell to their follow-up bombing.

That night, Tenryuu sat alone in her dark room, brooding.

"What about Tatsuta, left behind?"

"Those left behind suffer more than the dead."

"(I know that... but...)" Tenryuu muttered.

Nevan appeared from nowhere. "What're you doing in this gloom?"

Tenryuu stayed silent.

"Sulking because Dante scolded you?" Nevan teased.

"What do you want?" Tenryuu growled.

"Just passing time," Nevan said.

"Then leave. You're annoying."

"Why do you fight?" Nevan asked.

Tenryuu didn't answer.

"Did you know Dante had a brother?" Nevan continued.

"First I'm hearing of it. Had?" Tenryuu asked.

"He's gone now. Dante knows loss—thanks to his foolish brother," Nevan said.

"What happened?" Tenryuu pressed.

"Can't say. I'd get in trouble." Nevan smirked. "Dante understands why he fights. He's resolved. What about you? Will you be the foolish sister who breaks Tatsuta's heart, or not?"

Nevan vanished, leaving her words hanging.

One Week Later

The Devil May Cry Naval Base was called to defend nearby islands.

"Can I go this time?" Dante asked.

"No!" Houshou and Ooyodo said in unison.

"Admiral, let me fight," Tenryuu said.

"Head cooled off?" Dante asked.

"I want to fight. Not to die. Not to hurt Tatsuta. I'm resolved," Tenryuu said firmly.

Tatsuta looked at her, eyes soft. "Tenryuu-chan..."

Dante grinned gently. "Do what you want."

The fleet sortied, Tenryuu among them, her face alive with purpose.

They crushed the enemy main force.

Naval Base Waters: Sea Control Secured!