act4d0

第一关（前）

Ugh...

Huh? Wh- what happened...?

What am I doing here... why am I laying here...?

I remember! We were infiltrating Chernobog to rescue Dr. {@nickname}——

Boss! No, no, the boss, he...

...Boss...

Huh? What's this paper?

Hold up, this... It's Rhodes Island engineering stationary.

Who could've left it here? What the hell happened?

Woah, that's a lot of big words, and they're all over the place...

Operator whose name I do not know, hide yourself well. I had no opportunity to check your nameplate, nor do I remember your name.

Please pardon the hastily scrawled nature of this message, as I am wanting for time. Do me the favor of reading to the end.

First, do not fret. You are safe, for the moment.

However, you must not, under any circumstances, leave these ruins. The probability of the enemy spotting you before nightfall is quite high.

To put it simply, you are at present completely surrounded by the enemy.

This isn't the boss's handwriting... did it even come from Rhodes Island?

They sure wrote a lot. Why didn't they just wake me up and tell me——

You came.

(Huh? A voice? Is it Reunion? Shit!)

(...No, wait, it sounds familiar. It's that guy from the clinic——)

You have managed to completely paralyze Chernobog. I am not sure whether I should be congratulating you.

We have both contracted Oripathy.

It truly is you.

I thought. It was just rumors.

It's been years, Buldrokkas'tee.

Or is it 'Patriot' now?

So. You remember me.

...General.

Were it not for you charging so boldly into the fortress with that shield of yours, Barclay, Semyon, and I would surely have died at the hands of Kazimierz's Silverlance, Pegasus Order of Knighthood.

My warriors. Are brave. Do not fear sacrifice.

Hm. Your manner of speech is quite different now than it was years ago.

I once witnessed you rousing the troops with your rhetoric, driving even Barclay the Bald Butcher to cheer your name. No easy feat.

The infection. Changed my vocal cords. Now. It is difficult. For me to speak. Fluently. Ridiculous.

As is this identity you have constructed.

Oh?

So, the Northern Tundra Guerrillas... that was you leading them. I never would have imagined you could be running around with dozens of Wendigos.

That cavalry commander, Alyosha Bluebeard, he made a bet with me that you would become Grand Marshal of the Ursus Army.

Just staff captain, General. Times have changed.

...I was jesting. But your loyalty, your record, and the plans you would devise in our staff meetings... You truly were one of the finest officers in all of Ursus.

You go too far. I am Sarkaz, after all.

If someone like you couldn't become colonel, the entire Ursus High Command should have been court-martialed.

Of course, most of them are long dead.

Then, I have outlasted them. Your colleagues, are mostly dead.

And, His Majesty said, the army serves the country. Not their careers.

He also once said it is not blood that binds the Ursus people together, but conviction. What of that now? I can only hope His Majesty is ready to rest in peace.

All our recent Emperors have seen you as nothing more than monsters. You are not Ursus warriors to them. They have done everything they can to oppress your people.

That one, more enlightened Emperor. Has already passed. This, I understand.

The war beasts. Of Ursus. Could drown the world, with their numbers. I am not special.

Then it is not because of the Army that you left.

Correct. I do not care. I want only to stand, shoulder to shoulder. With my warriors.

General, sit. Drink, with me. I have some. From the north.

...Time grows short. Let us save it for next time.

Oh... Very well.

No matter.

Go to 4th street. Find survivors. Do not threaten them. Minimize casualties. Look for supplies. Our stocks, are low, as always.

Yes, sir!

I feared you dead.

Life underground is a sort of death. Who I am today has little to do with who I was.

You hide, here? Less than ideal.

Chernobog has long been uninhabitable. The Catastrophe makes little difference to that effect.

Seems you must leave.

The clinic has been extensively looted. We evacuated beforehand, but the loss is still substantial.

It was only after I heard the rumors of your presence that I decided to stay here and see for myself.

I do not deserve, such attention. It is dangerous, here.

I wanted only to see how one of my few remaining brothers has weathered the years.

You did not. Those ties broke. Long ago.

Hmph...

...I will find out, who did it. Your clinic. That was, an aberration.

There is no need. At least, with you here, it is very unlikely that Reunion is responsible.

I cannot be sure. Reunion, can be, hard to control. There are some, communication barriers.

Still, General. You could join, Reunion.

If Ursus was, to be liberated. Then the Infected, and the others, could live. As equals.

Look here. Look around us. Look at this building impaled by Originium.

I see it.

This was once a shopping mall. All the people in a three block radius depended on this building for their very survival.

The Catastrophe. Destroyed Chernobog. Destroyed the fortress, destroyed the city. I do not agree with, the methods. But this was, necessary. We had, no choice.

It was not long ago that the clocktower was done up in colorful lights. Another dazzling array hung over the intersection below, bathing it in a warm glow.

The Infected, had no right, to enjoy those lights.

You want to make the lights glow again, and I simply want to build another market. This is the difference between us.

——There was a time. When you would not. Compromise like this.

Perhaps. There may not be such a bright future at Rhodes Island, but I cannot say I feel much for this place either.

You simply do not, wish to fight your motherland. General.

Look at this city. Look at the Infected. Look at the mall, ruined by Originium. Look at the dead.

And you. You have never, been afraid, to get your hands dirty.

Correct. Should Ursus move violently against us, we will not hesitate to fight back.

But Reunion's actions are rather outside my idea of fighting back. Look at this broken city beneath our feet——Reunion is provoking a war.

And how many people would die in such a war? How many Ursus lives would a civil war cost?

Imagine it. The Ursus devouring itself. Massacring itself. Obliterating itself.

General.

What if, the Ursus, treated the Infected, as Ursus?

Then, there would be, no war.

Excuse me.

What?

Reporting in. The leadership has made a statement: Chernobog is now completely under our control. We are broadcasting on all frequencies.

The leadership has asked for a situation report from each division.

Right. I'll take care of it.

Sorry, General. Wait a minute.

Does Reunion truly understand what they are doing?

How am I supposed to answer you, old man?