Глава 11

Vina!

Did I fall sleep?

You're lucky to be out for just a little bit after your injuries.

Siege, Self-Salvation Corps reinforcements have arrived. This place is relatively safe. Rest well; we'll be at your side.

Mm...

She scans the faces of her friends.

Everyone is bruised and battered, just as she is. But they are alive, and there is still hope in their eyes.

Except...

...Allerdale.

The door to the Mausoleum of Kings has closed once again.

The Sarkaz have noticed the sound of the Steam Knight, and they must have guessed that the Sighs of Kings has left its home. They're sending men to the palace.

Our scouts have tried to get close to the entrance, but there has been no sign of Allerdale.

Do you want to talk about what happened below?

Just as the warriors imagined.

Allerdale Cumberland sacrificed herself to save us.

...Ah.

Sounds like something Allerdale would do. Cumberland the Ever on High.

Cumberland...

There's no such thing as Cumberland the Ever on High, Clovisia.

Allerdale protected what she wanted to protect with her life.

Not out of any duty... simply of her own accord.

Her own accord...

Yes, she was brave.

Shame... I had a surprise for Allerdale when she came back.

This is...

The ducal manor is in ruins, but the scouts found this among the ashes.

The steam armor of House Cumberland.

It wasn't lost in the fire...

Haha.

If only she could see this.

Then she would have known that there is no such thing as a fixed path.

The fire had not taken away all the hopes that she placed on the armor.

Clovisia, we saw a Steam Knight in the Mausoleum of Kings.

Maybe the last one.

Four years ago, the Duke's men lured the Steam Knights into the Mausoleum of Kings, where they were ambushed by the Sarkaz.

That passage is the tomb of the Steam Knights.

What a gruesome scene it must have been, even though I was not there to see it.

He attacked you, didn't he? He attacked the heir to the throne of Victoria.

He was just doing his job.

He's defending the Sighs of Kings, even if it was merely an excuse to lure the Steam Knights into the mausoleum.

He witnessed comrade after comrade fall, and spent so many years in darkness. The pain must have gnawed away at his sanity.

...No.

Words like these are too simple to describe what went through the mind of this warrior.

On one side, the tombs of the kings. On the other, the bodies of his fellows. He defended the silent resting place for countless days and nights.

He was no madman or ghost. His will was so strong that it conquered death.

By his own will, he exacted revenge on a Victoria that betrayed him.

By his own will, he defended the symbol of Victoria.

I don't know if we'll ever see him again.

If... if he can escape the darkness...

May he once again find what he wants to defend.

We found the mercenaries who went to Highbury, general.

Bring them forward.

Yes, sir.

*cough* *cough* L-Let me go!

A mere girl...

She was found tied up on the streets with her fellow mercenaries.

I checked her weapons, and there were few signs of use. She hardly even qualifies as a merc.

Is that so?

Speak, mercenary.

Did you not kill a single Victorian?

Uwah...

Are you afraid of me?

N-No!

I-I failed my mission. You can punish me. But l-let the others go!

Take her back.

What...?

General...

You said she hardly qualifies as a mercenary.

Young Sarkaz like her don't understand what we fight for, nor the true face of our enemy, because no one ever taught her.

The real war is about to begin.

I will show her what this war means to the Sarkaz. She will watch it unfold by my side.

Feist!

Rockrock... ha, Squad 11 of the Self-Salvation Corps, back together again, eh?

There's only the two of us left from Squad 11.

Right.

But I'm sure we'll grow again.

We have the Doctor and the commander, after all.

What's the situation, Clovisia?;How is the Corps faring, Clovisia?

The retreat was initiated on-time, but we suffered heavy casualties.

And we're facing a supply shortage after Allerdale went missing.

If only we had more hands...

You've got a few here.

Totter?

My employer has gone missing, so my contract is now null and void.

Are you sure you want to stay?

We're already here. Hard to get out when you're on the wrong side of the Sarkaz anyway.

And we fought alongside Dagda's group in the mausoleum.

I may not have made it out alive, if not for them.

Another debt... I guess I need to push my retirement back.

Doctor, we're here.

Hello, Misery.;On time as usual.

Sorry. I wished we'd moved quicker and helped you at the command tower.

And you are...?

Horn, leader of the 2nd squad of the Tempest Platoon of Victoria.

Misery helped us break into a prison at the border of Auchterigg and Highbury a few hours ago.

We rescued a Defense Force patrol that was about to be executed for refusing to fight for the Sarkaz.

We'll be operating with Rhodes Island and the Self-Salvation Corps from this point on.

Looks like we have some new friends, Clovisia.

Thank you, everyone.

It's a pleasant surprise, one that has opened up many possibilities.