act33side

You know what I mean. You know that everyone involved in this plan is considered sacrificed already.

Her Highness knows this. She wanted to say goodbye to you all in person, but that would only make it hard for her to sleep at night.

So I lied to her. I told her you all left earlier than planned.

I'm sorry, Julie. You might have wanted to meet Her Highness too.

Julie does not reply. She strokes the name sewn onto her clothes with linen, feeling its rough texture in silence.

'Julie'.

She remembers how Her Highness would teach them lessons.

She is more used to killing people than learning things in a classroom. Although she would doze off as she didn't understand a thing, she knew in her heart that everything Her Highness said was right.

That's why she has never raised a question in class.

Who wouldn't want to see Her Highness one last time? But I don't mind it's you who gives me this. I've learned a lot from you in these past few years too.

Ah. You're not thinking that you might be more qualified for this mission than I am, are you?

No, I'm not.

There were some people who actually mentioned you at the meeting earlier, but we all agreed that it's best if you stay in Kazdel with Her Highness.

As for me, I've always been on my own, so I was the first to suggest...

You could go and join Scout's team. I remember you have already applied for it.

That was just because I wanted to learn everything I could from a hero, all so that I could beat you one more time.

We fight more or less in the same way. It's kind of a bummer leaving without having sparred enough with you.

Hmph. I really wouldn't be telling you all this if it wasn't for the fact that I'm about to head off already.

Do you... have anything else you'd like to say?

Nope. I never expected my first time leaving home would also be my last. I also never expected the person sending me off would be the unsmiling, silent head assassin who's always standing by the King's side.

Answer me honestly, Ascalon.

What's it like out there, in the lands beyond Kazdel?

Ascalon does not answer. It seems that Julie did not expect to receive one in the first place.

Julie simply gets up and leaves at a languid pace.

As though she was just heading off to get a bottle of top-notch wine.

Ascalon watches her as she walks off into the distance.

She suddenly feels like there is something unfamiliar about Julie, the same feeling as if she were unable to recognize her own reflection in the mirror.

Three months later...

Village on the outskirts of Londinium, Victoria

Come out already. There's no use hiding.

We received the info while in the city that there's a squad heading off to Kazdel. That must be you lot, right?

We've blocked off all the other roads out of this village, and don't even think about passing through me here.

Got you.

Look at your wounds and all. I doubt you could beat a civilian in a state like this.

She shakes her sword with disdain, flicking off the blood on it.

Or maybe you're waiting for your buddies to come help you out?

...The others are all dead?

As a doornail.

All your friends are dead, so why does it feel like you're breathing a sigh of relief?

Death is but a mercy... my friend.

Who the hell are you guys?

That does not matter.

Ngh... Gah...

Your blade struck true. *cough*...

She hears the assassin break out in laughter under her blade.

Only once he has finally stopped breathing does she peel off his mask.

Julie freezes. She thinks hard for a long while, before finally realizing the identity of the Sarkaz based on the marred birthmark by the corner of his eye.

His portrait had been circulated around the Scar Market's book of bounties before.

He had many aliases, but nobody knew what his real name was. He has been active for far too long, long enough to become the subject of boasts and quips from drunken mercenaries.

But the two horns that marked his bloodline and identity have been cut clean off, leaving eternal scars on his head.

Those other masked nutjobs willing to die for their cause... Did they also like chopping their horns off?

Did you need to go this far to muster enough courage to assassinate Her Highness? Was it because you had to bare steel against the King of Sarkaz, against one of the Six Heroes?

Whatever... I can tell just by looking at you all that you haven't dealt with Her Highness Theresa before.

Well, don't you worry, I'll burn away your faces. Sure, you'll be turned into some real stinky charcoal, but it beats being remembered as a sinner.

You guys can't go back to Kazdel, and this is the only thing I can do to help you. To be honest, I don't think you and I are all that different.

I can't go back to Kazdel either.

Julie and her companions pile up the assassins' corpses, set the grisly pyramid alight, then set off in the direction of Londinium.

The blaze behind them crackles. A thought suddenly pops up in Julie's mind. The furnace in Kazdel doesn't sound like this.

What was it like? She heard it all the time when she was little.

...Can't remember any of it.

Kal'tsit.

Our elites have been deployed to all the key strategic points.

Good. Listen up, there is a clear power gap between us and the Military Commission. Laying siege to Kazdel would have been an impossible operation.

But thanks to the Duke of Cavendish's ultimatum, Theresis has marched to Londinium earlier than planned.

Kazdel now only has some of the Royal Court factions aligned with the Military Commission to oversee it. He has almost abandoned the city.

This has no doubt left both the civilians and remaining soldiers in disarray.

Once the banner of the Military Commission falls, Her Highness Theresa will proclaim that they have abandoned Kazdel, and in turn proclaim the liberation of Kazdel by Babel.

This battle line will be formed by multiple points rather than an entire front. We must strike swiftly and precisely.

Due to the disparity in military strength, almost every single one of our armed personnel who still heeds the command of Babel has been assigned to taking the city.

Thus, the landship's defense will be relatively weak.

Her Highness Theresa will remain on the landship to balance the situation. We will retain a suitable force to guard the ship too, under my personal command.

Once the city gates of Kazdel have been broken open and the path to the Soul Furnace has been made safe, Her Highness will meet with the main army at all speed.

We have six hours to storm the city, else the Military Commission will have the opportunity to organize a powerful counterattack. If that time comes, our weaker Babel forces will be exposed to danger.

By the light of the setting sun, Babel will capture the Furnace and the Royal Court's chamber, and the banner of Babel will rise with the moons.

And when that time comes...

A ceasefire will resound across all Kazdel.

I have faith that we will all succeed.

Phew...

Wonderful organization, Doctor.

Just some big talk meant to boost morale. I'm sure Kal'tsit and our experienced fighters can see right through it.

Babel is going to take heavy losses.

It's not quite Theresis's style, allowing so many flaws to go exposed.

But I trust you, Doctor. I believe that with this price we must pay, we can take back Kazdel.

Theresis is going to fight for the power he most craves in Londinium. If our assumptions are correct, once he tears apart that empire, he will set his sights back on this city.

Is there no room for two Kazdels on this great land?

Perhaps there is. But if we were to split our combined strength in two, then we would not be able to resist the next invasion of our enemies.

Moreover, while the city can always be rebuilt, what the Sarkaz have been truly failed to do for millennia is to unify.

Even the Military Commission failed to gather together all the surviving factions of the Royal Court.

Are you wondering if things would be different if it was Theresis who wore the crown?

No, they wouldn't. The Sarkaz who'd come rushing into the city, escaping from wars and trying to feed themselves, would still band together and fight their King.

To band together... Such a simple and yet unimaginable way to put it.

...Indeed.

According to Kal'tsit's rough calculations, the population of Sarkaz currently living in Kazdel only constitutes thirty to forty percent of all Sarkaz across Terra.

A unification under the banner of hate would be effective yet short-lived. A unification under peace allows us to discuss development and our future.

It is not that Theresis or the Sarkaz does not understand all this, it's just that... the war broke out anyway.

Even if we take Kazdel back, Doctor, perhaps this war will still go on.

But maybe it will do for now.

After our victory, I'd like you to take a look around the city.

It is my home, and the home of many Babel Members... it is also Kal'tsit's home.

You have fought for Babel for so long, yet you have never set foot in the homeland of our memories. I haven't been a very good host in this deal of ours, have I, Doctor?