KanColle X Devil May Cry: Devil Trigger Protocol

Right Passage, Second Floor

The thunder and heavy cruiser shipgirls battled Abyssal counterparts and a mysterious Kumano(?). Amid the chaos, Suzuya faced her.

"Suzuya, stop!" Kumano(?) taunted. "Quit, and I'll sink you quickly."

"This is wrong! Us fighting!?" Suzuya cried.

"I'll silence you!" Kumano(?) sneered.

"Why… why…" Suzuya's heart churned, her focus slipping.

"Suzuya-san!" Haguro shouted, taking a shell to shield her, now heavily damaged.

"Haguro!" Suzuya gasped.

Kitaooji, Ooi, and Aoba rushed to support them.

"Don't zone out!" Ooi snapped.

"No other shipgirls should be here. She's a fake," Kitaooji said.

"Fake? Suzuya knows I'm real," Kumano(?) laughed.

"Kumano…" Suzuya faltered.

Right Passage, Third Floor

Exiting the outer corridor, Akagi's group entered a surreal space—floating paths in a yellow-tinted sky.

"I can't keep up…" Akagi muttered.

"Fall, and what happens?" Tenryuu asked, peering down. No ground, just endless clouds.

No walls meant clear visibility, but they tread carefully.

Left Passage, Third Floor

Dante faced the same sky-bound paths. Midway, traps sprang—spiked pits, buzzsaw blades, arrows from statues, and fireballs. He danced through them acrobatically.

"Too easy," Dante quipped, reaching a magic circle that disabled the traps. Looking up, he saw more floating paths.

"An elevator would be nice," he grumbled.

Right Passage, Third Floor

Akagi's group reached a wide platform with sixteen bronze statues facing them, colored black and white.

"What're those?" Kaga asked.

"Looks suspicious," Souryuu said.

"They might move," Junyou warned.

Kongou counted. "One, two, three, four…"

"What's up, sister?" Hiei asked.

"It's chess!" Kongou said, pointing. "King, Queen, and Pawns up front."

"True," Kaga nodded.

"Impressive, sister!" Hiei cheered.

Kongou beamed proudly.

"Doesn't mean it's safe," Junyou said.

"There's definitely a catch," Souryuu agreed.

"No worries! Chess moves one piece at a time. Even if they move, we've got this!" Kongou boasted.

"Let's try," Tenryuu said, stepping forward.

The statues turned white, moving en masse as a red barrier trapped them.

"They're all moving!" Junyou shouted.

"Where's the chess rule!?" Kongou yelped.

"Don't expect demons to play fair!" Souryuu snapped.

"Carriers, launch planes! Others, cover!" Houshou ordered.

"Aye!" they responded.

Right Passage, Second Floor

"You know I'm your Kumano," Kumano(?) said, recounting shared memories.

"Then why fight!?" Suzuya demanded.

"You're happy in another fleet while I sank. I want to destroy that!" Kumano(?) snarled, dodging a torpedo.

"Time to shut up," Ooi interrupted.

"You're still here?" Kumano(?) mocked.

Ooi clicked her tongue at the dismissal.

"We're reminiscing. Don't interfere," Kumano(?) said.

"I don't care how you're here, but the Kumano we knew sank at Maizuru. Disappear," Ooi said, having been the secretary ship then.

"No use for a two-faced, incompetent flirt. Interfere, and I'll sink you," Kumano(?) sneered.

"Ignorance is scary. Yelling about Kobe beef at a supermarket, playing the fancy lady? Go lock yourself in your room," Ooi shot back.

Their venomous exchange halted both shipgirls and Abyssals.

"Ooi-cchi…?" Kitaooji muttered.

Ooi turned on Suzuya. "You too! Get sunk by this fake princess or help the Admiral who didn't ask for it. Don't drag us down with fake words!"

"Help…?" Suzuya murmured.

"Some fight for you, to save you, but you just watch?"

Suzuya recalled Kumano's voice from her doppelgänger's darkness—perhaps a hallucination, but undeniably Kumano's.

"You're not Kumano," Suzuya said, resolute.

"Even you say that… I'm hurt," Kumano(?) replied.

"If you were Kumano, you'd tell me to fight for the Admiral. Real or fake, I'll beat you and save him!" Suzuya declared, stepping forward.

"Thanks, Ooi," she added.

"Just didn't want to be dragged down," Ooi said, looking away.

"Sorry, Haguro," Suzuya said.

"I'm fine," Haguro replied.

"Round two, let's go!" Kitaooji grinned, and they dove back into battle.

Right Passage, Third Floor

Akagi's group fought Damned Chessmen, demonic chess pieces.

"Hahaha!" a Queen piece laughed, charging Tenryuu.

"Whoa!" Tenryuu dodged.

"Attack, don't just dodge!" Souryuu yelled.

"It's laughing in my face!" Tenryuu protested.

"Scared?" Junyou teased.

"Not scared!" Tenryuu shot back.

"Inazuma, above Akagi!" Inazuma warned.

A Knight piece dove at Akagi.

"...!" Akagi braced.

A Bishop launched fireballs.

"Hot! Hot!" Junyou yelped.

A Rook fired lasers in all directions.

"What's that!?" Kaga snapped.

They attacked, but another Bishop healed the pieces. Bronze statues resisted damage, frustrating them.

"Target the King! It's the key!" Kongou shouted.

"That's normal chess! These ignore rules!" Souryuu said.

"It's worth a shot. Dodge and focus the King!" Houshou ordered.

Hiei fired, but the King swapped with a Rook.

"Castling!?" Hiei gasped.

"They're chess after all!" Kongou said.

"It fled, so the King's the weak point!" Akagi said.

"Keep attacking!" Houshou urged.

"Hahaha!" the Queen laughed, charging Tenryuu.

"Stay back!" Tenryuu yelled.

Left Passage, Third Floor

Dante fought Abyss, high-ranking demons from the demon world's depths, wielding magical scythes. Ripples spread at his feet; he rolled away as an Abyss emerged. He blasted it with a shotgun at point-blank range, blowing it back. Another swung a scythe; Dante parried with Rebellion, shooting its head with Ebony. When Abyss attacked together, Dante spun his shotgun like nunchucks, unleashing Fireworks to blast them away.

"Need more training," Dante taunted.

More Abyss came. He cut through, racing up the spiral passage.

At the next door, Dante entered a room like those where he fought Yamato(?) and Lady(?). A figure waited, surprising him.

"Long time, Demon Slayer. Or Admiral now?" she said.

Right Passage, Third Floor

The chess battle raged.

"Use the curry?" Akagi suggested.

"What!?" Tenryuu, Junyou, and Souryuu protested.

"No choice," Houshou approved.

Dive bombers dropped Hiei's curry, splattering the Damned Chessmen, which collapsed.

"My clothes got curry!" Tenryuu wailed.

"Why's there no wind up here?" Souryuu asked, holding her nose as the stench spread.

"It's a temple. No wind," Kaga said.

"Hiei, make non-stinky curry next," Kongou said.

"Leave it to me, sister!" Hiei beamed.

"(That's why we're here…)" Junyou muttered.

"Let's move," Akagi urged.

"Inazuma, you okay?" Houshou asked.

Inazuma, teary-eyed, held her breath.

They pressed toward the top floor.

Left Passage, Third Floor

Waiting was a ghostly girl from when Dante saved Akagi and Kaga, glowing faintly blue. He recognized her—she'd called him Demon Slayer before.

"You my next fight, kid?" Dante asked, grinning.

"Guess," the ghost teased back, smiling mischievously.

"No magic from you. Not an enemy, right?" Dante said.

"You can tell," she said.

"What're you here for?" Dante asked.

"To tell you something, Admiral," she replied.

"Make it quick. Time's short," Dante said.

"Why do you think you came to this world?" she asked.

"A quiz? Fell through a hole, ended up here," Dante shrugged.

"No, you were summoned," she said.

"Summoned? By who?" Dante asked.

"This world. It called you because an unstoppable force appeared," she explained.

"World, huh? Big talk," Dante said.

"Listen!" she snapped, annoyed at his smirk.

Dante fell silent.

"You were summoned, but if you fulfill your role, you're a foreign entity here," she said.

"Foreign, huh? Harsh, but maybe true," Dante admitted, an outsider in this world.

"Keep going, you might die. Fulfill your role, and you can return home," she said.

"Not planning to die. Got promises to keep," Dante said.

"Return, and you'll forget this world—Akagi, Kaga, everyone. Still going forward?" she asked.

"No hesitation. I'm going," Dante said.

"Okay," she said softly.

"How do you know this?" Dante asked.

"Others said, 'Some things you learn in death,'" she replied.

"Did they? Knowledge after death's a hassle," Dante chuckled.

"But it's useful now," she said.

"Maybe," Dante said, walking toward his goal.

"Leaving?" she asked.

He passed her, then paused. "I won't forget anyone. My soul says so."

Her face clouded, as if that were impossible.

"Sorry I can't help or come with you," she said.

"You came to tell me this, didn't you?" Dante said.

"…Yeah!" she brightened.

"Name?" Dante asked.

"Me?" she blinked.

"Who else?" Dante grinned.

"Shoukaku-class carrier, second ship, Zuikaku," she saluted.

"I'll remember, Zuikaku," Dante said, walking away.

"Thanks," Zuikaku whispered, fading.

See you next time!