Lost at Sea and in Another World

Impostor in The Shadows

How long will you hide from me?

Tyrant is no stranger to Bismarck's clear hatred against her, but the hint of being frustrated stirs long forgotten emotions inside her. In regards to this emotion, she reaches for a certain memento hanging by her waist and carefully unstrap it from its binding.

"......" Tyrant gently squeezes it in her right hand

The object in question is the battleship Bismarck's coat of arms, exactly the same one displayed on Bismarck's shoulder. Rather than polished and clear, the one in her possession is filled with small scratches and charred mark in a corner. Time has completely worn it down, specially that Tyrant isn't even maintaining its once proud image.

"How long has its been? I can't avoid the past whenever I have to face you. What kind of curse is this?"
[Is that what you believe?]

A certain someone eavesdrop on her and communicates through a private channel. From Tyrant's reaction, she isn't too pleased with someone else interrupting her moment of solitude.

"Didn't I tell you to focus with the task? Why are you lazing off again?" Tyrant frowns
[I've seen the little scuffle with Bismarck. She isn't playing dumb anymore since she knows there someone in Iron Blood leaking information to you]
"Bismarck won't be going out for a while after the last encounter"
[You almost diminished all of your resources. I was almost forced to drag you back, you know]
"Bismarck is more worried than I thought. I suppose I was simply curious to why she reached when I separated Tirpitz"
[You said you hate the past, but you're always drawn to it. That's why you have your eye on Bismarck the moment she realized your true identity. I believe that was when she got a close look in your eyes and speech pattern]
"It's obvious she'd find out first who I am, but it doesn't matter now. She doesn't have the slightest intention of confessing to anyone in Iron Blood, let alone Tirpitz"

Tyrant returns her sight to the coat of arms still in her hand, bitterness surfacing in her lightless and dull eyes. Her heart isn't completely devoid of emotions with the unpleasantness of her past experiences haunting her even in one of the many timelines in existence.

"I need to draw Tirpitz out, a meaningful reaction at least. Nothing will progress as long as the Maizuru fleet is keeping her from going out"
[Fufufu~ Just use those girls then. Despite how she is, she won't stand by if one of the people sheltering her is in danger. Well, you could also use their Victorious as an experiment]
"How would she even react to a counterpart?"
[You, of all people, should know she would be provoked without a second thought. Just attack their Victorious and leave a message for the Maizuru fleet]
"Better yet.....it's their Bismarck I should be targeting. That way, a reaction from her is certain"
[Aside from this little task, has there been any updates on that stray Leviathan?]
"Not even the Ashes tracked it down. It's impossible to pinpoint it when it's indistinguishable from a regular human unless you attack it"
[Since that's not our priority right now, we'll focus on Iron Blood for a while, huh. Oh well, at least it's a little fun seeing the Sirens being uneasy because of one cannon fodder]
"That cannon fodder advanced when it's not supposed to. Not only it became self-aware, it fled to live among the humans it was supposed to kill"
[Fufufu~ Don't worry, I won't go easy on it once it showed itself]

Tyrant ends the communication as she is put in a foul mood thanks to balancing two missions at hand. In the end, she chooses to prioritize dealing with both Bismarck and Tirpitz before the unknown enemy recognized as one of the mysterious Leviathans.

Iron Blood headquarters......

Prinz Eugen returns to Iron Blood for a while while she is kept busy because of Bismarck's increasing suspicion, specially after Tyrant expecting their ambush and prepared a proper counter for their fleet.