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I'm getting the kind of feeling they're not...

Guard! Watch out!

(Signal)

Ursus troops!

Ugh...!

Fall back!! It's the Ursus!

Not going to say a peep till the very end, huh?

What, you think I'm some kind of traitor?

You think we're despicable for turning our backs on Ursus for some lowly Infected?

We're fighting for their worthless lives, we're behind the times, and we've got no honor, so we should get our names taken off the registers and erased from history?

Maybe you have a husband or a wife, maybe you don't want to be here, but you still got sent by the higher-ups. You're just some puppetmaster's pawn, throwing away your life to do someone else's bidding...

Pathetic! Pathetic, I tell you!

Have you killed any Ursus men before? Was it the Infected or regular citizens that you killed? When you got that blood on your hands, were you even afraid? Does that keep you up at night at all?

All of you who stayed even after the Emperor died... Pathetic!

Knock it off already! Fall back!

Careful! The Ursus troops are wearing Reunion's—

No, Guard!

You mustn't say that...!

Why?

The combatants on both sides will start doubting everyone around them if you say that... The more chaotic the situation is, the more of an advantage they'll have!

If everything goes as Elysium planned, then the first thing we need to do...

...is to stop everyone right here.

We don't have much time left, and we have no idea when Reunion will come barging their way to the control tower... It'll only get harder to organize an attack once that happens!

Not all of us need to fight this battle. We're up against Talulah. A small, disorganized squad isn't going to do us any good.

I'll go.

Fall back! Fall back! Watch out for the piledriver spears! Find cover!

Amiya... Not again... You're Rhodes Island's leader!

I'm not going to tell you, 'That's all the more reason I should head in there.' ...All I'll say is, if there's something I can do and something needs to be done, then I'll do it, and I'll see it through.

And who's supposed to cover you?

I will.

Shieldguards, and that includes anyone who's injured. Let's do this. We'll hold the line here.

Feline...!

They're rounding up all the special Infected and driving them out. So ruthless. They aren't showing even the tiniest bit of mercy...

I'll crush their position and ambush point.

...Well then!

Feline, you're the first outsider ever to be backed up by both the Ursus Shieldguards and the guerilla fighters!

The young caster lifts her hand up. She pays no heed to the commotions of the battlefield, as though it matters not the slightest to her. Her eyes gleam with resolve.

Up until now, fear and regret have kept her chasing her endless flow of memories.

But now, her promise with her friend as well as the responsibility she shares with this embattlement of steel has given her cause to finally stop and rise up.

No, I'm not an outsider.

We're a team now. We'll stop this city together!

That's why I'm not an outsider!

Shieldguards! Shields up!

*Pant* *pant*...

Rhodes Island's medical technology is streets ahead of ours... I'll give you that...

Part of our plan is to send medical personnel to all the Infected settlements, but it's way too dangerous to send our normal medical operators into warzones.

I'm good... Thanks. I'm much better now that I've been bandaged.

The enemies have retreated. The battlefield has grown in size. I can't use my Arts anymore. I can't track them down.

You can count on the devils on the team to get that done for you. They're very good at that.

Thank you, Rhodes Island soldiers. Without your bravery, the number of casualties would have been much higher.

I also heard you saying just now, Cautus, you're trying to make it to the control tower by yourself?

...Uh, yeah, but also probably not.

What does that even mean?

I will probably be the only one there when I face Talulah.

A warrior from Lungmen might also be there... but I am just going to assume there won't be anyone else right now.

How do you plan on killing her all by yourself? You are nothing like the captain.

Sure, but neither is anyone else here. The more people we have there, the bigger of a mess things are going to be if a fight does break out. Besides, Talulah is much better than Patriot at quickly bringing the battlefield under control with her Arts.

I'll bring a squad inside with me. There are bound to be other threats in the control tower.

Are you sure you're bringing enough?

I trust the people on my team. Each and every one of them can be counted on, and they know how to adjust to all kinds of situations. If we end up somewhere we can't handle ourselves, we will ask for your help.

Are you trying to keep us out of the final showdown?

No, It's not that I'm trying to take charge of the battle. It's just that, sir, there are other battles that only you, the guerrillas, can handle.

You want us to stop anyone from getting inside?

Exactly.

...Amiya, you don't want me to go with you?

It's safer for you to stay outside the control tower.

You don't want me to fight with you? We'll take on Talulah... together...!

Rosmontis, Talulah's Arts are filled with energy. You're really good at dealing with all kinds of physical attacks that come your way, but... I'm worried about her flames...

But... but she... she killed Ace... she killed so many people who mattered so much to me!

Why can't I go?

If I'm not good at dealing with that... What should I do? What can I do? There were lots of other things I wasn't good at too!

You hate Talulah.

What else am I supposed to do?! Is it bad if I hate her?

Rosmontis...

I don't have the answers to those questions. I'm not saying you can't hate someone you've never met. I don't have that right.

But, Rosmontis... before I go, I'll leave you with an order.

An order?

That's right.

Orders have to be followed... Kal'tsit told me... elite operators follow orders. I...

Yeah.

—Logos told me before we left. Patriot rarely sees anyone as his nemesis...

He prefers calling people by symbols or any characteristics or equipment they have, and doesn't usually call by name or race.

But he called you a Feline just now.

That might mean he approves of you.

But he calls you that too. He called you a Cautus. And what is it about me he liked? Is it how scary I look to others? I don't want people to see me like that.

...But, you know how often we're called monsters? People have been calling Patriot a monster for many, many years.

It's true that the Arts we possess are really scary.

But he thinks of us as people. He thinks of us... as humans.

Not equals? We're both... scary... and things that other people hate.

No, that's not right. Just look at all the guerrilla fighters here. Then there's the Reunion fighters following the other leaders, and, of course, our own people.

Your good deeds earn their respect. On the other hand, bad deeds earn their hate and mistrust.

We are judged by our actions. Just like how our teammates look out for you, just like how the Shieldguards defend Patriot, and just like how we trust Dr. Kal'tsit's word without question.

Rosmontis, here's my order for you: Live, and make sure as many survive this as possible.

And, in order to do that, don't come after me even if I don't make it myself.

Amiya! But... you're my friend! I couldn't let you... let you go in there all by yourself!

No means no! Rosmontis, I promise you this.

I promise I will come back alive.

So that's why, no matter what anybody says, no matter what they say happened to me, we both need to do whatever it takes to fulfill our mission.

We have to survive this. Both of us.

And this order goes for everyone who's here right now.