act29side

Quick, upstairs!

I heard from a student just now. The Sankta we're looking for is hiding there!

A pipe organ.

The entire spire is designed in the shape of an enormous pipe organ. It matches the distinguishing characteristics of the background sounds in the cello piece we heard earlier.

There's a very high chance that the wanted criminal Arturia is hiding here.

Will you keep going up?

Originium Arts that use sculptures to synchronize voices. The very same kind I heard at the site of the attack at Karl Schmidt Street.

So you started working with the 'Witch King's remains' after all, Arturia.

If I told you... I never cared who they were, and had no interest in Leithanien's political turmoil, would you believe me?

The resentment of individuals has never been a motive for your crimes, and I see power struggles and profit as even less likely candidates.

Oh, Federico. You really do know me better than anyone. Everyone else's minds are tainted with thoughts, while you... boring as you are, you and I are alike.

All these years, I've walked amidst chaos simply to find an even stronger soul.

This journey was no different. I simply accepted the invitation of a few Leithanian acquaintances. That's the only reason for my visit.

Even without my assurances, you should already know in your heart that, no matter what becomes of Leithanien tomorrow, it will have no immediate effect on Laterano.

Perhaps.

Then, can I ask of you the same thing the Lupo boy did? That you ignore what you see here?

You're upstairs.

Hm. You guessed right. I suppose I could give you a reward and let you see me.

How about this? Once my wish comes true, I will be waiting for you at the city gates on the day I leave Zwillingstürme.

When the time comes, if you still want me to go back to Laterano with you, I promise you I'll think about it.

An arrest is not a request. You do not have the right to 'think about it.'

My lovely baby brother, you really... don't know when to give up.

Target spotted!

It's the Sankta who was at the scene of Captain Bordin's murder! Everyone, surround Sonata Spire immediately!

The suspect didn't stop! He ran upstairs!

After him!

One floor after another. Leithanien's spires are always so, so tall.

There are more and more pursuers by the second. Shoes of various ages step on the stairs, each producing a different sound.

The pipes that form the spire's walls are vibrating even more powerfully now. The sound of the organ and the footsteps blend together to form a unique piece, with the squads meandering up the spiral staircase as the performers.

At the front, Federico maintains a steady pace through the entire process. Even his heartrate remains unchanged.

His eyes do not see any of the pursuing soldiers. All he can see is the target before him. A decade has passed, but as though only a day has gone by, nothing has changed.

The last floor.

By leaping past the few dozen steps before him, he will reach his target.

D-Don't move!

You Sankta... Don't tell me you can actually fly! Just how fast can you run?!

Good thing the students told me about another shortcut up here... I'm beat!

I don't care how amazing you are. If you take another step, I'm taking you down!

So what will you do? Will you declare war on the Leithanian Gendarmerie?

They, too, are enforcers of law, much like your countless coworkers at the Notarial Hall. However, unlike you, they hesitate before plunging themselves into battle. They feel fear.

When you charge ahead in pursuit of your target with no regard for anything else, do you lay eyes on these ordinary men and women for even a moment?

What's that sound? Is somebody talking to you?

Are they your buddy? You have friends here, don't you? Did you lure us into an ambush?!

She is not my friend.

But I am a fellow Sankta.

We both have the same halos above our heads and the same wings on our backs. We're even related by blood.

How will you persuade them that you came all this way not to aid me, but to arrest me?

The misunderstandings of others have never been a reason to waver.

My teammates will be here soon. You won't get away!

Surrender.

Approach those who misunderstand you and end this pointless pursuit. Clearly explain your position and motives to them.

And then, accept the fact that you have failed once again.

You're right in front of me. I have unearthed evidence of your Arts.

Drop all your weapons! Back away from the talking sculpture!

I ask that you please calm down.

I am not your enemy.

That's what all smooth-talking criminals say! I trust nothing but my eyes and my Arts Unit!

You'll pay for what you did to Captain Bordin, Sankta!

I was not responsible for Loris Bordin's death.

They're already under the thumb of their most irrational emotions.

Your music is affecting everyone in the area.

Is this really my doing...? Perhaps this is what they've always wanted, deep down?

I told you long ago. Much like our society, most people's minds are filled with chaos.

You ignore this fact. The only thing on your mind is to sidestep the chaos and find the most efficient shortcut to resolving the issue at hand.

Poor Federico. Have you still not noticed why you've never managed to catch me, even though you've pursued me all these years?

How is a man who's sealed off his own perceptions—unwilling to touch the chaos—supposed to reach chaos itself?

That doesn't concern me.

And you are not chaos itself.

You are a criminal, and your actions beget chaos. Which is why you must be stopped.

Like right now—

I have you now, Arturia.

Federico raises his gun.

The bullet pierces the speaking sculpture opposite him and continues in a straight path until it shatters the wall.

The black-haired Sankta is standing on a balcony not far away. With her back facing the setting sun and a bow in her hand, she smiles faintly.

Meanwhile, beam after beam of Arts light finally reach the executor.

What's going on? I just saw a bunch of Gendarmerie surrounding Sonata Spire!

Haven't you heard? It's the Witch King's remains! They're hiding among us in the school, researching Arts used to hurt people! It's so scary! How come none of us ever noticed?!

I... I don't believe it. How can you be sure they aren't lying? Their Majesties have long seen the school as a thorn in their side. It's probably an excuse to destroy Ludwigs-Universität—

How dare you doubt Their Majesties?! Oh, I get it. You're under the Witch King's remains' influence yourself, aren't you? No, you might even be the one who led them here in the first place. You're one of them!

How could you slander me like that? We've shared a room ever since we started school! I even took you to my family's villa by the lake every summer!

Hah! And how many of your family's fine possessions in that villa were rewards from the Witch King?

Like that set of Arts crystals in the basement, used to observe Catastrophes! They were refined from the ashes of the Infected, weren't they?

What did you just—Defame me all you like, but don't you dare drag my grandmother into this! She was the greatest Catastrophe scholar in Einwald, and she died for Leithanien on the northern Sturmland battlefield!

My eyes... I'm reporting you and your family to the Gendarmerie and the Empresses' Voice!

You wretched... Witch King's remnant...

What does that make you? An idiot who crawled your way here by clutching the hems of the Twin Empresses' dresses? If your family didn't so happen to have been on the right side, the lot of you would still be boatmen ferrying the nobles!

What do you even know? Did you ever learn to truly respect knowledge? You don't even know which instruments to use for different occasions.

Of course, I always knew you looked down on me! Come on! Fight me!

What are you doing protecting him, Maeyer? Your family used to serve to the nobles too. Aren't you itching to take this chance to beat up these haughty snobs?

The university forbids Originium Arts duels between students.

When a pack of wild beasts gains knowledge, that doesn't mean they've become civilized. All they've learned is how to use it to hide their fangs.

We should be ridding ourselves of this brutish rabble. They'll only tarnish the elegance and values of Ludwigs-Universität!

Shut up.

We worked for centuries to earn the right for commoners and nobles to sit in one classroom together. Neither Ludwigs-Universität or society as a whole should regress.

Out of the way, Maeyer, or you're my enemy too.

Hah, you aren't much better than him, Maeyer! The old fart who raised you has been stinking up this place longer than anyone else, hasn't he?

I heard he's lived for hundreds of years, and he keeps extending his life with the bones of the dead! Maybe he put you together from bones too?

I've also heard rumors. They say even the Twins were molded by Fremont with his witchcraft.

Nonsense! Fremont and the Witch King were the best of friends! I bet he's the leader of the Witch King's remains!

—Both of you should get some rest.

His longsword, wrapped in cloth, blocks the Arts flying toward him from both sides.