act33side

Hmph. We'll handle these guys.

Julie, you and the rest keep going.

Got it.

Don't even think of getting close to the General.

No need to rush. It'll be your turn soon.

I am the General's guard captain, assassin.

Then you're gonna wanna hold your sword tight.

An inconspicuous arc sweeps past Julie's eyes.

A chill runs through her spine. Her body stiffens.

She thinks of the day that she saw Her Highness in the Scar Market.

At the time, she did not even dare to raise her sword.

Enough, Manfred.

General!

They have come to me in search of an honorable death, not mercy.

They are using their lives to show me the future as they see it.

You are in a race. She is facing countless threats in Kazdel, just as we are here.

Such a race only ends with my life, or hers.

I will give you a chance. Come, deathmongers. Kill me. Do not disappoint Theresa.

Countdown

2 hours, 7 minutes, 21 seconds

'SHATTER'.

Th-The gates have fallen! They're about to come through!

Countdown

1 hour, 33 minutes, 48 seconds

Notify all operations within the city to disarm the patrolling troops.

The defenses in the city are weak. It's pretty much just the Military Commission's defense forces.

We'll strike at them before they can regroup. Move fast.

Even if both sides are trying to prevent the battle from spreading into the city, this is still rather irregular.

Send all our intelligence back to the Doctor. All operating teams, quicken your pace, and stay vigilant at all times.

Take down the Military Commission's flag in the plaza, and tune our radio into all frequencies in the city.

Countdown

49 minutes, 59 seconds

Prepare for the landship's connection. We want to let Her Highness and the others enter the region that we control ASAP.

Also contact Ascalon's team and tell them to rendezvous quickly. Three teams have already completed their deployments ahead of schedule.

Where to next, Dr. Kal'tsit?

The former site of Babel.

Babel's flag has not been raised there for many years.

Kal'tsit walks along the street. She's still familiar with the route to Babel's offices.

The Sarkaz on the street quietly move about, climbing as high as they can on the surrounding buildings, gazing at the same ruins within the city.

A flag that has not been seen in Kazdel for many years slowly rises.

Babel has returned.

Mantra's latest report says we've managed to completely clear five main roads.

If everything is going according to plan, Kal'tsit should have seen the fires of the Soul Furnace by now.

Kazdel's defenses are all but crippled, Doctor. We can board the city now.

Good.

But the Military Commission will not give up on Kazdel. If we want complete control of the city, we still need a bit more time.

By then, we might not be able to completely avert the destruction of Kazdel's center city—

Wait.

I felt them.

What?

They are still here, but they have no intention of aiding anyone.

It seems that some arrogant bystanders have joined our battle.

Theresa.

Hmm...

I also feel... enemies. Not ordinary ones.

Their souls burn with killing intent, sorrow, misery and determination.

The Military Commission's assassins. They intended to use the city as bait all along, so they can inflict heavy damage on Babel's headquarters.

This was also within my calculations. But this time, there is no wagering or planning our way out of this. We must defeat the assassins, then return to our city.

I will go control the landship's defense systems and mount a defense.

Go, Doctor.

We need not bring another fight into the city, not as it bathes in the twilight afterglow.

Countdown

22 minutes, 48 seconds

Closure, have you made contact with the landship?

Still no response.

I-I'm still overriding the city's broadcast power settings, and trying to expand its range. Maybe the landship's comms have a temporary malfunction... I'm doing my best to bring it back online!

Countdown

12 minutes, 57 seconds

I sense something peculiar, Dr. Kal'tsit.

My mother... She's prepared incantations for every person dear to her heart. When they pass away, an elegy will play in our minds.

I am still in good health at present, but...

Kal'tsit suddenly feels her blood run cold.

Even if Babel can capture Kazdel, it is bound to suffer grave losses.

Theresis was right. They can't unite. The division of the Sarkaz will be the new norm. Even given a long time, the Sarkaz are unable to go from a weak community to a world leader.

Most importantly, I pointed out another path to Theresis. His plans in Londinium will have a greater chance of success if the Sarkaz corrupt the land with Originium and destroy their enemies.

Isn't this a good thing?

Such a determined race is now our followers. They will become the first brilliant bloodstain on the curtain of Originium as it spreads.

That's right... We have no need to destroy them. No need to kill her.

I... should use the 'Civilight Eterna'. I should try to guide its hidden functions, and then I wouldn't need to...

Searching internal array. Administrator permissions found.

Verified. Valid permissions.

Welcome, Dr. {@nickname}.

Entering <color=#FF4200>(Shipwide Defense System)</color>. Please confirm subsequent operation.

<color=#000000>Should I really let Babel continue their actions at this point?</color>

<color=#000000>Am I really going to renounce the sacrifices of billions of our people in the distant past, renounce their flesh and blood, ballads and songs, renounce the spark that they have waited for ten thousand years, renounce the Originium Project... all for a race who doesn't even know what the barrier is?</color>

<color=#000000>If, for the sake of Terra, Originium was stopped... If Theresa truly succeeds...</color>

<color=#000000>Then what have we been waiting for during the ten thousand years?</color>

Theresa and the races of Terra... Do they really not have even the slightest chance of success?

<color=#000000>They do not. How could I be so naive as to believe that? They are disunited, narrow-minded, undeveloped... An accident of life, a fortunate survival, that's all.</color>

All lives have the right to believe in their own hopes.

<color=#000000>But we have no time left.</color>

<color=#000000>It is right in front of us.</color>

...Doctor?

Doctor! Can you hear me?

That's strange. There are some... peculiarities in the Doctor's emotions.

Intense, and... shadowed.

Doctor, what exactly...?

Look.

There is the fiery light from the torn apart portal, like a smoldering gash across the sky.

Only after centuries will it dissipate into nothingness.