level_act33side_05_end

Winter 1092

Border Battlefield, Kazdel

Those rampaging cystybeasts... are they migrating? The vanguard never stood a chance. All those who didn't get out of the way in time were...

And those soldiers, moving in perfect coordination without exchanging a word... None of that was in the Intel!

That's not what we need to worry about.

I'm the ranking officer now. All survivors, form up and retreat immediately. These supplies are crucial. It will be a hard winter without them.

Yes, ma'am. But how did things go so wrong even though we made our move early? Did our informant—

The intel was good. We were delayed by the mercenaries transporting the supplies. They upped the price on the spot. I've dealt with them.

This is why I hate mercenaries.

Another coincidence...

It's not a coincidence if it keeps happening over and over again. We've had way too many setbacks lately.

Focus, Babel forces must be—

Wait, hel—

A flash of white, and a hole appears in the soldier's forehead. They cannot even tell where the attack is coming from, in the noise of the cystybeast stampede.

'Leave the supplies behind, and you may leave unharmed. You have been warned.'

Without warning, Ulšulah hears a cold, coarse voice in her head.

He... he's dead. *Sarkaz expletive* We need to withdraw! Did you hear that voice?

Hmph... just a bluff! Keep your head low and stay with me!

Don't get separated! Stick together, if you want to live! We need to get these supplies back!

As for the vanguard... we're in no position to think about them.

They're retreating. I suppose nabbing the supplies isn't so easy after all.

'Be patient and follow the Doctor's instructions. The Chairman has said that the priority is to minimize casualties.'

I know, Mantra.

Mantra's lips are closed, but Scout can hear her voice clearly in his head.

She is the perfect coordinator for Babel's covert operations, and a shadow that eats away at the enemy's sanity.

The enemy vanguard has been scattered by the herd. The survivors have fled into the woods.

The enemy's actions were spontaneous, unplanned. They must have known that we decrypted their communications. But the envelopment succeeded nonetheless.

We can leave the rest to Ascalon.

Ascalon will not fail.

Neither will we.

Hah, you're absolutely right. You should get some rest, Mantra. 'Talking' takes a toll on you.

No need to worry about the follow-up. We have the Doctor.

Who directed this operation... the evil spirit again? Just what <i>is</i> this commander? Which Royal Court does it come from?

If it can do this to us, it can do it to you too! Why would you sell your soul to something like that?!

I'm getting out of here alive—

The mercenary hears breathing in the darkness not far away and swings his sword without hesitation.

Got you!

Ugh...

You're wounded too. You think you could kill me and walk away alive?

Get out of my way, or I'll kill you, if it's the last thing I do!

You're not taking Marcel's things. He's going home.

Home? *cough* *cough*—

Our home is... Kazdel! You— traitors to Kazdel...

The mercenary keeps swinging his sword at Odda, who only passively blocks with his hammer.

The mercenary's movement slows down, and his breathing grows weak.

Babel... morons...

Wasn't it the Military Commission who betrayed Kazdel?

Relax. He's dead.

Be more decisive next time, Odda, and there'll be fewer injuries.

The entire squad is dead... they should have died an honorable death, not tormented by fear—

This is not the right time to show mercy. Bring Marcel. Our mission is finished.

You... you remember his name?

I remember everyone in Babel, the living and the dead, the ones who had names, and the ones who didn't.

I could have saved him... it's just hard to raise your weapon against your own kin.

Even if it's to avenge Marcel?

Your father died in the chaos of the city. Have you ever thought about seeking vengeance for him?

Odda takes a deep breath.

I hate the people who killed him, but vengeance doesn't change anything.

A classical idea. Rational, righteous, human.

What if your vendetta is with a cold-blooded deathmonger, with hands soaked in blood?

Would you say you kill for justice and your ideals, without a hint of hatred?

I... I'm not sure.

Do you regret killing mercenaries who threaten Babel, Ascalon?

No.

Then I won't either.

Even if it means I have to...

O-Oh, I'm sorry! I'm saying silly things again. Don't mind me, I'm not important at all—

No, all Babelites are important to Her Highness.

Time to go back.

Rhodes Island of Babel, Kazdel

What are you here for?

I've already said it many times. It was my own decision to betray Her Highness.

It had nothing to do with the Military Commission, and I'm not an informer for them.

You want to execute me, make it quick.

I'm not here to torture you.

I brought some wine.

I don't need it.

Are you sure? This is Victorian fruit wine, not some lousy swill.

What are you here for?

To catch up about old times.

We have nothing to talk about.

I know Scout's hiding something from me. Ascalon would too, because she knows we know each other.

But I can make a pretty good guess why you wanted to kill the Doctor.

Be my guest.

You're not a sore loser. You're unhappy because the Doctor is an outsider.

Everyone wants Babel and the Military Commission to get along. You believe that Dr. Kal'tsit and the Doctor have widened the rift, rather than mended it.

Good guess. Now get out.

I'm an outsider too. And I'm still fighting for the Sarkaz to this day.

You—

The wine.

You're drinking out of your hat?

Do you see a wine glass in this cell? You should have brought one.

*gulp* — Ah.

What happened to the rest of your team?

Let's see... the one with the spear, the caster, the one with the shield who's sitting here right now, a medic, and a sniper?

Skullspear, White Smoke, Grey Sun, Stross, Walnut, Kung, Herb.

So the sniper's name was Herb.

He's dead. Let bygones be bygones.

All good fighters.

If I ever get to mentor the young, I'll raise them to be that kind of fighter.

Selfless, honest, cautious about picking a side, but committed once they've made their choice.

Pah. How sentimental.

Do the Sarkaz hate outsiders in Babel that much?

Fools like you who would give your lives for Her Highness wouldn't understand.

Babel might be changing certain things, but it's meaningless. It's not fast enough, and its reach is not far enough.

Her Highness did not have to have her hands tied. She didn't need to waste her time.

The Doctor helped Chairman Theresa a lot.

In what capacity?

A researcher? A military commander?

Both.

Even though the Doctor killed so many Sarkaz? The more people like that, the longer the war will drag on.

Her Highness's achievements are grand. She's solved problems all her life, taken care of the needs of generations, and now she leads the fight against Oripathy.

But what's happening now? We're fighting the Military Commission. Fighting our own. That's not part of her vision.

Oh, I almost forgot. You're a mercenary, but you're not a Sarkaz mercenary.

True enough.

I only came to Babel because I was with the others. I got involved in this because most of my people were Sarkaz.

Oh, White Smoke is dead, too.

Why bring her up now?

I thought maybe there was something going on between you two.

Doesn't matter. She's dead.

She died in the presence of Chairman Theresa.

Damn, now I'm starting to envy her. What happened?

Ambush. Only the two of us survived, but she lost her legs to an Arts trap. I had to drag her through the mud.

That's when we ran into Chairman Theresa. Well, we ran into the Doctor first.

Pah. The evil spirit showed up on the battlefield personally?

Believe it or not, I thought I was looking at a Lateran priest when I first saw the Doctor in the distance.

Huh?

The Doctor was praying with that black hood bowed low, next to the glowing Chairman.

Wasn't even kneeling or doing any sort of ritual, just gazing silently into the distance with Chairman Theresa.

That evil spirit you're talking about, Dr. {@nickname}, is not some heartless monster.

The Doctor is torn, wandering in solitude... and still, in the end, chose to bring victory to Babel.

So you came to preach? You're trying to guilt-trip me?!

Get out and take your bloody wine! Did you think I would—

No, you're not that naive.

Has a decision been made?

Yes.

Death sentence?

The Doctor and Chairman Theresa had reservations, but Dr. Kal'tsit and most of the fighters who participated in the operation won't have it any other way.

What about you?

Your betrayal cost us dozens of lives, brother.

This time, I'm with Dr. Kal'tsit.

Hmph. More wine.

You just spilled the last of it.

Are you gonna be doing it?

Yes. No need to burden Scout. He's tough on the outside but tender inside. And I don't want to hand you over to anyone else.

I came to tell you, brother, that even though you did something stupid...

Babel will remember your name. We'll keep fighting, keeping your warning and reproach in our hearts.

Train some promising young ones while you still can. Decent ones like you don't live long.

Guess so.

See you again, when the Sarkaz can finally live in peace.

The traitors and spies have been executed. Royal Court spies. They really have a lot of problems in their tribe.

Good work. What about the unit that entered the war zone?

Scouts report that they blocked key passages leading out of the mountains after attacking Babel positions.

The General did not order this. Was it someone from a Royal Court... or a Siracusan plot?

Unlikely. Reports indicate no particular bloodline characteristics to the witchcraft, and little effort was made to cipher communications. It's a rabble.

May I speak frankly, sir? The unit may be rogue, but they just happened to cram Babel in with the Catastrophe.

Isn't that a good thing for us?

What about the other commanders and mercenary captains?

Watching the show, of course, waiting to see if the enemy chooses to surrender, or die at the hands of the Catastrophe and the ruffians.

I wouldn't overthink it if I were you, sir.

You've shown as much mercy as you possibly could by ordering that we pull out of the valley and leave an opening for them.

Who knows, maybe some of my family are in that Catastrophe. I've gotten over it.

You don't care?

I try not to.

Rhodes Island of Babel, Kazdel

Sorry I'm late.

So...?

No need to start from the beginning. Ace was called on short notice. Just follow Mantra's instructions.

Go ahead. We don't have much time.

Emergency?

(Nods)

I'll keep going then.

We have twenty five hundred souls in the Catastrophe radius, mostly medics, Infected civilians, prisoners, and injured mercenaries.

The scale of the Catastrophe is larger than the Catastrophe Messengers predicted. It's currently expected to affect five outposts, three key passages, and a field hospital repurposed from an abandoned town.

They had almost made it out of the Catastrophe radius when their path was cut off by mercenaries.

Trapping medics, wounded and civilians to die in a Catastrophe?

Is Manfred willing to go to such lengths these days?

It's not his style. The three Military Commission units have retreated from the forest, even leaving a humanitarian corridor open in one of the canyons.

The Military Commission has casters on the cliffs, ready to annihilate any armed unit that attempts to pass through.

But they're not trying to hide what they're doing, and they're not doing anything we didn't expect.

These mercenaries are different. They came out of nowhere, attacked our positions, destroyed important roads and bridges, and polluted several water sources in the mountains with Originium explosives. There seems to be no reason with their actions.

Who's their employer?

We're still looking into it, but based on what little intelligence we have, it's very likely that they're rogue.

Revenge, a last-gasp struggle after being abandoned by Theresis, instigation by another country... anything's possible.

Doesn't matter. I'll find out who their leader is, and kill them.

Without leader, a band of aimless mercenaries is just a useless rabble.

You go save those people. We'll regroup back at base.

I'll leave them to you, then.

One last message. Her Highness says this operation is not part of the 'campaign'.

We should be relieved.

In a war that has become increasingly gridlocked, the opposing sides have a chance to work together for a common goal...

Saving lives from Catastrophe.