154 Imperial Civil War Chapter 12: Sibling Showdown

side: Kuren (Karen)

The hated enemy who forced the Prince out of line for succession—the Sixth Prince Akira—was at it again, meddling once more.

Despite sharing the same name as his brother, he had not a single cute trait like Akira the Crystal Lotus.

A nasty bastard, sharp-witted, skilled at pushing people off cliffs with cunning.

"Prince. You're alive!"

The hated Sixth Prince Akira—no, better yet, fake Akira.

That fake Akira was making a fool of himself.

His voice sounded a little like his brother’s, but Akira the Crystal Lotus couldn’t possibly be here.

Akira the Crystal Lotus should be comfortably attending high school, funded entirely by me.

Even after the Prince was cut off from the SFO due to the fake Akira’s interference, he’d desperately traced connections and sent money anyway.

That fake Akira, meddling with such a gentle prince— I’ll kill him myself.

‘What kind of joke is that? Do you really think I’d let you kill him!’

I hear the fake Akira gulp.

Even though we’re only exchanging voice—no visual feed, not even a flicker of a face—their reaction’s clear.

‘That voice… is that your sister?’

A surge of fury, something I can’t even name, rises from deep within me.

‘You don’t get to call me “sister”! You fake! I’ll—’

I cut the comms. My eyes lock onto the fake Akira’s Personal Ship.

The Prince’s vessel is a specialized electronic warfare ship—poor in combat capability.

Mine? A pure combat vessel. I’m the only one who can take this fake down.

I power up the Long Barrel 5cm Railgun.

Small caliber, but it fires special rounds and can rapid-fire—top-tier gear.

"Prince, I'm about to take down this fake Akira. Strengthen your control over Neahyume."

My Personal Ship and the Prince's vessel, drifting alongside, link their control arms—forming a solid data link.

You know, the so-called "lover's knot" thing.

He lost his Personal Ship and built a copy modeled after mine, beefing up its electronic warfare gear and sending it over.

To maximize its capabilities, I've linked it to my Personal Ship for backup—keeping it live.

So even with jamming signals, we’re still communicating directly, no interference.

"My darling... got it. I’ll push Neahyume’s control to the limit."

While he focuses on the task, I handle evasive maneuvers and attacks.

Leonardo, the Fifth Prince, can’t do a damn thing if Neahyume’s paralyzed.

We're already outnumbered, and we're relying entirely on Neahyume for the Fortress Cannon.

I'll turn the tide by destroying the fake Akira myself.

Gonna give it everything.

With resolve, I fire a G-Bullet into the fake Akira’s Personal Ship.

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ｓｉｄｅ：晶羅(あきら)

『That voice… is that my sister?』

I was thrown into confusion by my sister’s sudden voice.

Finally found her.

But wait—why’s she protecting the Prince?

『You don’t have the right to call me sister! You fake! I’ll—』

“Fake? Me?”

I’m lost. Why’s my sister defending the Prince?

Why am I being called a fake?

I was about to ask my sister— but the comms were already cut.

Before me: a black Personal Ship. Looks like the Prince’s vessel specializes in electronic warfare, while the Karen ship is built for combat.

The two ships are holding hands— their maneuvering arms linked like lovers.

The arms are larger than usual, locking the ships together tightly.

The black Personal Ship, now a single unit, began evasive maneuvers.

The Karen ship’s Railgun pointed straight at me.

Looks like the same Long Barrel 5cm Railgun as my Personal Ship.

"So, special ammo then?"

I mutter to myself, backing away.

In an instant, the Karen ship’s Railgun ignites with violet lightning.

The Railgun fires.

I steer my Personal Ship to dodge.

But the projectile— which I thought had passed by— suddenly emits intense gravity, pulling my Personal Ship toward it instead.

"G-bullet? And timed? Proximity fuse? You can actually use it like this?!"

The incoming shells, still firing, rushed toward the front of my Personal Ship.

"Meaning if I dodge, you’ll just steer me toward where it hits...?"

I activate my own Long Barrel 5cm Railgun.

Can't just shoot into my sister's Personal Ship.

Damn it, I fired a G-Bullet at the incoming projectile.

Picture releasing gravity at the point where the projectiles cross.

The projectile of the G-bullet, fired with an image imbued, released gravity at the predicted intersection point.

Come to think of it, I recall having used this before—unconsciously, back then.

Drawn in by the gravity, the Kalen-class G-Bullet releases its grip on gravity right there on the spot.

Our projectile cores release energy into each other—and annihilate.

Well, damn. Any way to neutralize her without hurting the older sister?

I decided to fire the Erosion Bullets.

Fortunately, my Personal Ship—currently functioning as a cruiser-class auxiliary vessel—carries three Long Barrel 5cm Railguns.

I’d use one to intercept the G-Bullets targeting the Karen Ship, and the other two to fire Erosion Bullets at both the Prince Ship and the Karen Ship.

I fired all three Long Barrel 5cm Railguns at the exact moment the Karen Ship launched its G-Bullets.

The Erosion Bullets meant for the Karen Ship got caught in the shockwave from the G-Bullets colliding midair.

Only the Erosion Bullet aimed at the Prince Ship remained unscathed.

Just as it seemed the Erosion Bullet would hit the Prince Ship, the Niahyūmu Ship stepped in as a shield and blocked it.

The Erosion Bullet had no effect on the Niahyūmu Ship.

“Ah… such a perfect chance… Now I can’t use that trick again.”

The Niahyūmu’s control seems to be strengthening again—pushing back on the front lines.

Probably the Prince’s ship is using electronic warfare to influence the Niahyūmu somehow.

That seamless evasive maneuver… was it because they had no time to dodge, caught mid-operation?

“Then—!”

I fire the G-Bullet for interception, the Erosion Bullet to suppress the Prince’s ship, and the Leap Bullet to shatter the lover’s bond—each timed with precision.

Then I trigger an emergency dimensional leap—warp acceleration via the dimension-jump (warp) accelerator—and teleport directly above the Karen ship.

The G-Bullets collide mid-air, detonating in a burst of energy.

Shielded by that flash, the Leap Bullet severs the lover’s bond.

Seizing the opening, the Erosion Bullet pierces through the Prince’s ship’s Stasis Field and strikes its armor.

The attack on the Karen ship halted—just for an instant, but enough.

From directly above the Karen ship, I fire three 5cm Long Barrel Railguns, each loaded with an Erosion Bullet.

One hits the bridge. One strikes the aft deck above the reactor. One hits the Long Barrel Railgun itself.

The Erosion Bullet begins its侵蚀—seizing control of the ship.

"Maybe this’ll let me avoid fighting my sister… I just hope she’ll understand… somehow…"

At that moment, a Fortress Cannon fires from the direction of Leonardo (the Fifth Prince)'s main force.

The beam—it wasn’t just aimed at me. It was a sweeping arc, catching both the Prince’s ship and the Karen ship in its path.

"Too reckless! If we keep going, my sister’s ship will be caught in the blast!"

Both the Karen ship and the Prince’s ship are already immobilized by the Erosion Bullet.

"I could escape on my own… but those two ships? No choice—have to seize control and dodge immediately…"

I had no choice but to wait, counting down the seconds until the Erosion was complete.

Network failure caused a one-day delay. Sorry about that. Details in the activity report.

Next time, I’d like to go back to Thursday, then Saturday, and keep cycling like that.