KanColle X Devil May Cry: Devil Trigger Protocol

Geryon charged toward the temple, mowing down demons with explosive spears, sometimes leaping into dimensional rifts or drifting the carriage to crush enemies. Its relentless rampage made the ride hellish for the shipgirls inside, tossed around without seatbelts.

Miyuki wailed, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!"

Naka groaned, "I don't want this crazy ride!"

Shiratsuyu screamed, "Waaah!"

Kisaragi fretted, "Where's my hairpiece!?"

Suzuya pointed, "Here, it's—ugh!?"

Haguro apologized, "Sorry!"

Souryuu pleaded, "Kaga, stop headbutting me!"

Kaga snapped, "It's not on purpose—!?"

Ooi called, "Kitakami! Where are you!?"

Kongou cried, "Nooo!"

Hiei shouted, "Big sister!"

Junyou groaned, "Ugh… gonna puke."

Yuubari yelled, "Stop! Why'd you bring alcohol!?"

Tatsuta barked, "Care about us, you dumb horse!"

Akatsuki screamed, "Commandeeer!"

Aoba begged, "Make it stop!"

Dante, firing guns alongside Geryon, slaughtered demons, sometimes swinging his bike mid-air to annihilate them. As they raced through the city, the temple came into view.

Dante remarked, "That's it? More like a castle."

The Western-style castle glowed red, massive in scale. A screeching Gigapede, seen in Leviathan's innards, swooped down, discharging lightning. Dante and Geryon weaved through the electric storm.

Suzuya shouted, "What's that awful noise!?"

Tatsuta asked, "What's happening out there~?"

Tatsuta yelled, "Do something!"

As if hearing, Geryon countered with spears. Dante rode into an office building, racing up stairs, then crashed through a window at speed, landing on the Gigapede's back. He sprinted to its head, pummeling it with Beowulf. Geryon's spears stripped its shell. The Gigapede accelerated, twisting to shake Dante off. As Rebellion slipped, Dante transformed into his Devil Trigger, flying. The Gigapede turned, charging. Dante countered with Vortex, spiraling through its body, shattering it. It crashed; Dante landed on Geryon's carriage, heading for the temple.

Dante opened the carriage door at the temple. The shipgirls were a tangled heap.

Kitakami groaned, "Worst ride ever."

Souryuu clutched her head, "Headache…"

Junyou moaned, "Sick…"

Denki whined, "Everything's spinning~"

Suzuya grimaced, "My back…"

Dante quipped, "Not to your liking, huh?"

Geryon stomped, offended. The shipgirls disembarked, gazing at the temple.

Akagi asked, "We're here?"

Kaga noted, "A castle?"

Naka marveled, "So cool!"

Tatsuta asked, "That's where the guy is, right?"

As they voiced opinions, the gate opened on its own.

Akagi said, "They're letting us in easy."

Houshou cautioned, "We don't know what's inside. Stay sharp."

They entered the temple.

Entrance

"Eek!?" Akatsuki, Ikazuchi, and Denki yelped.

Mummies littered the entrance. Akagi asked, "Aftermath of a battle?"

Dante, flipping a mummy face-up, said, "Maybe."

The mummies, armored with swords, spears, and shields, lay scattered.

Kitakami wondered, "Are these from an ancient civilization?"

Naka asked, "Like ancient ruins?"

Aoba sighed, "Could be a huge discovery! Should've brought a camera~"

Jester had mentioned an ancient demon-worshipping civilization here, though it sounded secondhand.

Tatsuta called, "Tatsuta-chan~?"

Tatsuta startled, "What!?"

Tatsuta asked, "You okay?"

Tatsuta replied, "W-What?"

Tatsuta noted, "You're sweating."

Ooi teased, "Scared?"

Tatsuta snapped, "Not scared!"

Kitakami said, "You fight demons fine, so what's the deal?"

Tatsuta insisted, "I said I'm not scared!"

Demons were fine, but mummies unnerved her. Odd, but the group focused on their task.

Akagi asked, "Where's Jester?"

Shiratsuyu said, "In a castle like this, the boss is always at the top, right?"

Shigure countered, "Not necessarily."

Dante looked up, "I'm with her."

Shigure asked, "Why?"

Dante said, "Guys pulling this nonsense always wait at the top."

They stepped over mummies toward a staircase.

A voice echoed, "Rare guests."

An old woman in a hooded black robe stood at the entrance.

"Gaaaah!" Tatsuta, Suzuya, and Akatsuki screamed, startling the others.

Dante muttered, "…?"

The woman scolded, "Rude to scream at people. Why are you here?"

Houshou asked, "Why are you here?"

The woman replied, "I've been here forever."

Suzuya whispered, "A ghost?"

The woman cackled, "Feh feh feh," ignoring the question.

Houshou stated, "We're here to defeat demons."

The woman mused, "Demons, how nostalgic."

Ikazuchi asked, "You know them?"

She said, "Quite well. They're tied to us."

The shipgirls tensed—her words hinted at abnormality.

She warned, "If you proceed, heed this: this place doesn't forgive the uninvited. Demons aren't the only threat."

Dante pressed, "What's that mean?"

Her skin turned to ash, crumbling, leaving bones and a robe. "Hold your heart strong, or demons will devour your soul. Walk both paths at once."

Suzuya cried, "Definitely a ghost!"

Akagi stammered, "What just…?"

Houshou asked, "What do you think?"

Dante shrugged, "No clue. If she's warning us, she could've been clearer."

Yuubari pointed, "Both paths at once? Maybe those doors?"

The staircase split left and right, each leading to a door.

Akagi asked, "What now?"

Kaga warned, "Splitting our forces is risky."

Satsuki said, "But she said 'simultaneously.'"

Murakumo questioned, "Can we trust her?"

Dante decided, "You take that path. I'll take this one. If we need to advance both, we might meet up top."

Akagi protested, "You can't go alone!"

Kaga added, "Why do you think we came?"

The shipgirls opposed fiercely.

Dante said, "I'm fine solo. Splitting your forces is riskier."

Suzuya argued, "We can't agree to that."

Dante countered, "Those who come with me might be fine, but the rest? Who knows."

Jintsuu suggested, "We might not need both paths."

Neither side budged, stalling progress.

Dante growled, "Enough."

The shipgirls froze.

Dante said, "This isn't your fight."

Suzuya stammered, "Y-You don't have to say it like that…"

Tatsuta, furious, grabbed his collar. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

Kitakami urged, "Stop it!"

Tatsuta yelled, "You know why we came!"

Dante said, "I'm not planning to die. I brought you because I trust you. Trust me a little."

Houshou intervened, "Tatsuta, let go."

Tatsuta slowly released him.

Houshou asked, "You know we came because we care, right?"

Dante nodded, "You've made that clear."

Houshou pressed, "And you'll still go alone?"

Dante affirmed, "I'll be fine."

Houshou said, "Promise we'll meet alive up top."

Dante agreed, "Sure, promise."

Houshou declared, "We'll see you later. Let's go."

Reluctantly, the shipgirls headed right. Akagi and Kaga lingered, hesitant, but followed. Dante entered the left door.

Left Path

Dante shouted, "Drive!"

Low-level demons blocked the path, but Dante carved through them effortlessly. At the end, a door led to a vast, open space with a central path blocked by a white barrier. Searching, he found a statue with an embedded jewel. Touching it did nothing.

Dante muttered, "Push doesn't work, so slash it?"

Recalling Jester's advice from Temen-ni-gru, he struck the statue with Rebellion. The barrier vanished.

Dante grumbled, "Still pisses me off. This is too easy."

Irked by Jester's advice, he was wary of the unchallenging path. Another white barrier blocked a spiral path upward. A side passage led to another statue. Rebellion bounced off it, as did repeated strikes and gunfire.

Dante sighed, "Not liked, huh? Try everything."

Other weapons—Cerberus, Nevan, Beowulf, shotgun, Artemis, Spiral—failed. Agni & Rudra shattered it easily.

Agni boasted, "Impressive, aren't we?"

Rudra agreed, "Indeed, brother."

Dante snapped, "No talking!"

He bashed their heads together, silencing them. The white barrier vanished, but a red one trapped him, summoning demons.

Right Path

Demons appeared as the shipgirls entered. They downed them steadily with gunfire.

Naka suggested, "Curry might make this easier."

Tatsuta retorted, "The smell'd kill us!"

The large path didn't justify Hiei's curry, risking self-destruction.

Kitakami said, "Needs more space to use it."

They stuck to regular shells. At the end, a door led to a vast space. Tatsuta warned, "Stay sharp! Demons incoming!"

Recalling a red barrier from the Cerberus fight, she braced for enemies. None came.

Murakumo noted, "Nothing's here."

Tatsuta puzzled, "What?"

Tatsuta asked, "Weren't the barriers we saw red?"

Tatsuta realized, "Yeah… white's different?"

Shigure asked, "Didn't the Admiral say anything?"

Tatsuta shook her head.

Houshou suggested, "If we can't pass, let's search."

Fumizuki called, "Guys, over here!"

A statue with a jewel stood nearby.

Shigure wondered, "What's this?"

Yuubari inspected, "Hmm, no clue."

Jintsuu cautioned, "Be careful."

Houshou said, "It's here for a reason."

Kitakami asked, "What would the Admiral do?"

Junyou joked, "Lick it?"

Souryuu scoffed, "No way. You drunk?"

Junyou insisted, "I'm not!"

Hiei suggested, "Kick it?"

Hatsuyuki agreed, "He would."

Murakumo warned, "You'll hurt your foot."

Kongou proposed, "Shall we destroy it?"

Tatsuta declared, "I'll slice it coolly."

Suzuya began, "No, shelling—"

Tatsuta shouted, "Hya!" and slashed. The statue shattered.

Tatsuta bragged, "My sword's still sharp."

Suzuya grumbled, "Not fair."

The barrier vanished, but another appeared. A second statue stood in a side passage. Tatsuta's sword bounced off.

Tatsuta fumed, "Why won't it break!?"

Suzuya said, "Told you, shell it."

Tatsuta stepped up, spear in hand, chuckling.

Suzuya protested, "If a sword didn't—"

Tatsuta's spear shattered the statue.

Suzuya muttered, "Still not fair."

Tatsuta teased, "I'm still sharp too, Tatsuta-chan."

Tatsuta snapped, "Why does your weapon work!?"

Tatsuta quipped, "Daily conduct?"

Tatsuta growled, "Wanna fight?"

Ikazuchi shouted, "Look! Barrier's gone!"

The barrier vanished, but a red one trapped them, summoning demons.

Left Path

Dante cleared the demons, advancing up the spiral path. More demons fell to Agni & Rudra or were kicked off. A large door led to a square chamber with another door ahead.

A voice called, "Dante-san."

Turning, Dante saw Yamato. His eyes narrowed.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

Yamato replied, "To help you."

Dante said, "Is that so?"

Turning toward the far door, Yamato's lips curled into a smirk…