level_act39side_08_beg

Whoa, I really did it! I actually took them out! ...Need any help, Weedy?

No, I'm done here too—as long as you don't crash the ship again!

Sure thing! Phew...

I don't think I can ever ride a roller coaster again.

Wait, Elysium... where did all that blood come from?! ...Did those bone fragments hit you?

Blood?

Eh, it's fine. Happy to take one for a friend. If Thorns knows what he wants, then what can I do but support him?

Well, at least let me wrap you up a little... And what exactly does Thorns want, again? Did he say?

Ah... he can tell you himself when the time's right!

Ah, Isidro. So you wish to atone for your sins, to rescind the impact you've had on the innocent, to send them merrily back to their old lives.

Is this an expression of your resolve? A reflection of your conscience?

When they realize the end is near, many sinners turn to sobbing appeals for the friends whom they have implicated.

Alas, that does not mean they have truly repented.

How does one who knows naught of their own desire demonstrate the ability to suppress such desire, and to atone for the sins thereof?

No. It's you who need to suppress your own desire. You who needs to demonstrate that ability.

...Naturally. I have always said that desire cannot truly be killed. Even now, the desire to feed upon the lives of others lives on within me, and I must suppress it.

I will cut off my flesh with my own hand and dispose of it.

I will demonstrate that I can suppress my thirst for it, if only briefly.

Isidro can see the grotesque scars under Anastasio's collar, marks of flesh that has grown back after being cut away.

You said desire grows endlessly, dragging more and more people into the abyss.

How many have you judged and killed with that pretext? Why do you think that you, and you alone, can suppress your own desires?

Because death is liberation.

Before being corrupted by desire, you had lived an honest life, performed honest deeds.

As such, you have the right to be liberated from that corruption. By death.

But my life was a mistake from the beginning. My very existence a sin.

Were I to die, my pathetic existence would have held no meaning other than sacrilege.

Therefore, I must atone. I must atone for as long as I can, until I am consumed by desire.

Anastasio pressed the nails on his left hand against his own chest until they pierce the skin. Only pain can calm him down now.

You mentioned the meaning of your existence.

Are you really unworthy to die, Anastasio, or do you just want to live too much?

You keep talking about your desire to feed on others. But isn't your most fundamental desire to keep on living?

Be it self-harm or the judgment of others, aren't you just trying to make sure that your so-called sinful self can live on with peace of mind?

Anastasio's assault had slowed while listening to Isidro's confession; now, it intensifies again.

Each time Isidro parries an attack, strands of Corazonix float up from his arm from the impact.

If you shall not confess, you shall die.

Look out!

Chupamedias! Cojones! Finshit!

Don't you have an Iberia to save instead of coming after us?

All for a damned compass nobody cares about!

All I ever wanted was enough money so I wouldn't have to do this stuff! You think I <i>like</i> living like this?! I hate it as much as you do!

Why do you have to come after me?

You have no right to judge me... None!

Pascuala... Pascuala!

Stop! They're not fighting back anymore!

*Pant* *Pant* I...

Stop! We... need to...

We... need to... move...

Oh... Teach...

No! Teach! Hang in there...

If you pass out now, I'm leaving you out the next time I buy a round of saltfin garum for everyone!

Now... you're starting to talk like Elysium...

Really? Was it funny? Do you feel any better?

Let's find a place... to hide...

Teach...

Teach!!

Pascuala frantically digs through her pockets.

She has many pockets. Very little in them belongs to her; most was stolen.

Finally, she finds a few herbs. She chews them into small pieces, then puts them into Teach's mouth with a trembling hand.

The last thing Teach did before she passed out was protect Pascuala's head with her arms.

Pascuala presses her cheeks against Teach's arm, trying to feel her body temperature.

She has lost so many things, but right now, this warmth belongs to her.

This is the last time we'll cross blades, Juana.

Only one of us is leaving here alive.

I'm their leader. If you're angry at their betrayal, take it out on me!

And then what?

If I die, let my crewmates go.

I swear on my life that they won't have a new leader, that they'll live their new lives however they want.

Javier... you...

Juana responds with an even more ferocious flurry. The helm wheel brushes across Javier's back. He grits his teeth and swings his blade.

It finds Juana's forearm, cutting almost to the bone.

And if I kill you, I'll take your head and earn the bounty!

I'll share the money with everyone, so they'll all live better lives—

Haah—!

A violent jolt sends Javier stumbling backwards. Juana leaps, and the helm wheel falls upon him, sending blood and salt flying.

Javier swings his fists wildly at Juana, his weapon broken.

Hrrh... Hrrh...

Javier struggles to lift the heavy wheel off himself, but a punch from Juana sends him back into the pool of blood.

Hrgh...

His breathing is thick and heavy. He tries to lift himself up again, only to once again meet Juana's fist. His vision grows red with blood.

Ugh...

There is no strength left in him. He flails around in the blood pool, struggling in vain to stand up.

But the crushing weight of the helm wheel suffocates him, dislocating his arms and legs.

He can no longer even raise his head.

Hrrh...

You win... Juana... Kill me.

When I die... spare the crew... I'm the one who incited them.

Kill me... end this.

Javier gazes into Juana's eyes. He has never done so from so close, close enough to see his own reflection in them.

He suddenly feels like he still has something to say.

That day... when you passed by my window... I was trying to bake bread for the first time... it didn't work out... it was black all over...

I wasted precious food... no one would eat it... except you...

You passed by the window and picked it up... you put it in your mouth with a big smile...

You finished the whole plate...

And I was thinking at that time... that I'd give anything... to see that smile again...

Anything...

Javier closes his eyes and waits for the inevitable. The helm wheel will find his neck, and then everything will be over.

Congratulations, Javi.

*Cough*... *Cough*...

You won your duel with the previous leader.

Now stand up and get back to your crew.

Javier musters the last bit of strength he has, trying to stand.

But the floor is wet and sticky with blood. It is all he can do to crawl forward, little by little.

Then the sailors come, one after another, lifting their new leader from the blood, the one who fought with them to the bitter end.

The blood they shed in the deadly struggle mingles on the ground. They put their shoulders together.

The Corazonix on Isidro's right arm pulses. He swings his sword behind him and dodges towards the right.

Anastasio follows closely, his blade pointed at Isidro's throat.

Isidro knew that the boiling steam would gush out from a hole in the ship, stopping Anastasio's pursuit.

Isidro takes his stance again. He sees how Anastasio's sword-holding hand is scalded by the steam, yet it doesn't tremble in the slightest.

The burns do not faze Anastasio. He thirsts for pain.

Isidro thrusts into the steam. Anastasio's sword falls from his hand with a clang.

But his handcannon is now pressed upon Isidro's brow.

Anastasio is silent. He will not say another word until he has pulled the trigger.

Isidro is forced back to the edge of the ship. There is nothing behind him but empty air.

Once, you were just a pitiful child struggling to survive.

But now, you've become a killer who's drowned his hands in blood on your so-called path of atonement.

You're the only one who deserves death here.

Isidro leaps.

The sound of the handcannon's shot echoes through the hollow bones of the valley.

Isidro sees Anastasio put the handcannon back on his belt, then close his eyes as though he had just been born again.

Isidro turns his head—the bottomless pit is right below him. The heat gushing within the bones resonates with the Corazonix on his arm. He knows the steam is about to swallow him.

At the end, he looks towards the sky.

Across the towering bones, through the heat wave of the steam, he can see clouds and sky, just like the azure ocean and white waves from the stories.

The ocean he had wanted to see with his own eyes.

Isidro falls towards the steam vent.