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You don't need to worry about it not having the chance to fire, Master Pag. You could smack people real hard with a gun this big, and my sis is super strong!

Through the spiritual light, even the darkest stain can be cleansed. With a pious heart, even a savage monster can wade out of the mud.

—Hah—

Put that down, Captain. I've got you in my sights.

You're unstable, I can sense it. Calm down. That thing's affecting your mind. It's evoking your disappointment in Laterano.

I know you submitted your resignation before we left... But even if you're determined to return to the wilderness, right now, you're still one of us.

Think about the fried cheese we ate before we left, okay? Think about that fowlbeast hat Fiammetta got you, the soft and downy one.

My disappointment in Laterano... No, no... Far from it! He showed me how Laterano can save everyone.

None of us know if what you're seeing is the truth of reality, or illusions and lies. Mostima will be here soon. She has a way to get that thing off you.

We can start looking into its secrets <i>afterwards</i>. Alright?

There is no 'afterwards'! It's fading away! I must hold onto it... You know it's no illusion, Lemuen! It's certainly not lies!

You saw those people locked in stasis, outside of time, down in the underground palace. Those who do not die yet do not live.

You heard what that mad Sarkaz said to his shadow: 'The future shall have no secrets.'

So you should understand. What we've found is the key to time itself. What I saw was a revelation. A future where even the most savage of monsters can be saved...

Your Arts are running haywire, Andoain. That thing's eating away at you—

If that future exists, I must find the path that leads to it.

I won't let go! I need to know more!

Andoain keeps his grasp on the oddly-shaped staff. Light condenses into solid form, and engulfs the entire cave.

I have a lot of chances to pull the trigger, Lemuen thinks.

But amidst the chaotic, roiling waves of emotion, Lemuen finally finds the thread of rationality running through Andoain's mind.

They have broken bread with one another. They have built bonds with one another. They understood one another, entrusted their lives to one another. Their empathic link was stronger than any other.

In that final moment, Lemuen confirms her friend has not been swept away in that unfathomable chaos.

She loosens her finger on the trigger.

Dammit! Look out, Lemuen!

Haah—

Keph, Matriarch of the Shrine of Nurtury... Hit.

The rooftop wind whips wildly at the sniper's cheek. She does not blink. Her hand doesn't move in the slightest.

She hears. She sees. She thinks. She judges.

She doesn't have many chances to fire. She has to make every shot count.

She can pull the trigger, or let it go, but she can't afford to hesitate.

Before that crucial moment, she and her gun do not speak.

<i>Lemuen the Silent.</i>

She looks through her scope once more, double-checking what she sees in her sights. It is proof she pulled the trigger.

Compared to the ones in the vast lands, the statues oft seen in Laterano are the more incomprehensible, Cardinal.

Paradise has shaped our faith, so peculiar that it has become somewhat distorted.

The souls of the living praying for survival, as they traverse Catastrophe and suffering... such is the most basic face of faith.

No, there's never a dull statue in Laterano.

By life is faith shaped. Gun-wielding saints towering over the streets do not represent disdain for calamity and suffering. We have simply chosen to take up a different mindset when confronting them.

Through her scope, from far in the distance, Lemuen can finally see that all the statues in the shrine, their heads bowed and their hands clasped, are facing only the pious Matriarch as they pray.

Keph... If she really is a horrible monster, then it's unlikely a bullet will do any real damage.

But at the very least, it'll let the people in the shrine see what's so unnatural about her, and create an opportunity for you... El.

The rest, I leave to you!

Senior Amos?

Seniora Lemuen... my location has been compromised.

I'll come back you up right away.

N-No need.

The shrine patrol is already here, a-and the gun-knights, too... There's a lot of them!

I'll hold down the street corner. Get yourself out of the building before they surround the place.

What about you?

It's too late for me.

They've started firing. Looks like our deduction was right. This cannot be a place just for birthing babies...

Anyway, did you take care of the target?

Yes. Got her in one.

That's good, that's good, haha. At least this way, I managed to save a few people, stop a few things that needed to be stopped. Can't be useless forever now, can I?

Well then, <i>vale.</i> Go do what you need to do, Seniora Lemuen.

Actually, I've got a question I wanted to ask you... Funny, it's only once you can't hear it that I finally dare to ask it.

A glitch in the comms terminal must be keeping the line open. And so, the man goes on at length, chattering into the microphone.

Lemuen hesitates for a moment, then chooses to be silent.

Was I really <i>that</i> useless?

I never thought about it before. Even though it took nearly all I had just to become a small-time investigator for the Seventh Tribunal, and I never got a promotion during my decade or so there...

It seems us Laterans never doubt ourselves on that front. It's like we naturally have a hundred million ways to keep ourselves happy and satisfied.

I know someone who made sticks for lollipops. He'd take several types of paper tape and twist them together into rainbow-colored sticks... Made nearly no money out of it. He did it simply because he knew children loved them.

But ever since I found out Aurela had been banished from Laterano, and there was nothing I could do about it, I haven't been able to feel even a microsecond of satisfaction with myself.

'You're completely useless, Amos.' That's all I could think... Like how you can never forget the taste of the very first terrible dessert you ever ate, haha.

I thought that maybe, with a few more years, I could use my seniority to muddle my way to the Legati and go on a trip to Bolívar.

I couldn't save her in the name of Laterano. Not even I can forgive her for what she did. I just want to see her again, and apologize for that argument we had.

After so many long years of waiting, I finally got my chance, but... it was all just a dream...

A dream's fine, too.

If it's all a dream, then I don't have to worry about anything. Maybe getting shot here doesn't mean anything in reality!

When I was younger, I got fifth place at the Seventh Tribunal new joiner shooting competition, you know!

I even met Aurela that day at the range...

It's a shame we weren't able to save each other.

I'd say that, at the very least, you're a great investigator, Amos.

Oh, you were still on the line, Lemuen...

It's time to wake up.

Is the funeral complete, Andoain?

It is.

The Hall of Enlightenment is this way. You seem to be going the wrong way.

Am I?

The Nativity has begun, and the Matriarch is waiting for you. Where are you planning to go right now?

Your emotions are... rather unstable.

No. I've never felt more clear-headed. I'm not going the wrong way, either.

I ask that you accompany me to see the Matriarch, Andoain.

Looks like we arrived right on time.

Mostima, Fiammetta, you...

What, am I supposed to be like the other Liberi, pushed back into the herd by the guards, no matter how I protest?

Or should I be <i>really</i> looking forward to seeing if my halo gets to be a square or a circle?

Speaking of, I'm curious how they're going to mend the fallen angels' halos...

Mostima!

Sorry, got sidetracked. You owe us an explanation, Andoain.

Gathering up all the non-Sankta, forcing changes on their bodies... I thought this sort of stuff only happened in those shady Columbian tech companies full of mad scientists.

Is this what you meant when you said it was 'about the future, about a possibility for Laterano'?

Is this what the Matriarch promised you?

I have strayed from my path. That, I cannot deny.

Laterano wove a beautiful dream for us all. I was trapped too deep, and took too long to awaken.

Still talking nonsense even now?

The other guards will be here soon.

Dammit. Do you think we can get close to the Matriarch if we use him as a hostage, Mostima?

Maybe? She <i>does</i> trust him a lot. I'd be a little worried if we left it all up to El.

I can sense... a multitude of emotions, growing by the second. The number of people with empathy in this shrine is increasing...