level_act9d0_02_end

To the north of Kazdel lies a birch forest.

There, the progression of life unfolds. From Spring it begins, and in Winter it ceases.

And only death thrives in the long winters. All living things make their exodus in unison, leaving only the Originium crystals speckled along the ground to reflect the somber moonlight.

...Pale, withered tree trunks hang lifelessly, their slender shadows intertwining and stacking upon empty expanses of snow.

That is the scenery I saw.

...Ines!

...Ines! Tch!

...Screw you!

If you're not dead yet, then wake up already.

Huh...?

(My head... what is this pain...?)

What's going on... what happened?

Nothing happened, but just in case that fall gave you amnesia, I'll give you a quick summary.

We were ambushed an hour ago. They were quick. Our caster had no time to put up a barrier, and our team got split up. We're the only ones here.

And the comms?

Jammed. I don't know how they're doing it, but we're definitely up against pros. At least more professional than any of our prey before.

But the good news is they didn't go straight for the convoy. Looks like they got a tip or something, but not the details.

...Go ahead. Find a way to meet up with the others.

Oh? I figured you'd doubt me, at least a little.

Guess I'll leave you as bait.

Who do you think would survive if we fought?

Obviously—

Tsk... You really should do something about that nasty personality of yours. You can tell I'm injured that easy?

Oh... so it hurts that bad, huh?

I figured you had some control over your emotions, like you could fake them. Guess I was being more careful than I needed to be.

Do you always scan your teammates with Arts as soon as you wake up? Now that's a mark of trust, boss.

Force of habit.

So that's why, huh? The first thing you do after you open your eyes is surveil your surroundings. What a coward~

Hey! That hurts...!

You said bait, right? Not a bad idea.

No point in dragging along a merc who can't even stand up straight. You stay here for a sec and I'll call in the enemy.

Hope you guys get along nicely. Can't have you dying on me too quickly.

See you later, W.

Oh, one last thing. I never trusted you.

Hey, you little—!

...I found a mercenary. Just one.

Confirmation. It's W.

...That was fast.

Or rather, you've been following us the whole time, huh...?

Letting a few of them go was well worth it if it means we can get our hands on an HVT like you.

Hmph. I was gonna follow you back to the rest of your team. Never expected them to just abandon one of their own.

Tell me everything you know about them and you might get a quick death.

Well there's the trouble, huh? ...I'd love for us to be honest with each other, but the truth is that I don't know anything.

You're badly wounded. And we don't have time to waste. You might die if we torture you on the spot, and I'm sure nobody wants that.

In that case, you should chase down that woman. She knows more than I do.

...Don't you resent her for using you as bait?

You'll have a better time if you work with us.

...Bait, huh?

Say... Have you ever baited Originium slugs with industrial residue before?

...What are you talking about?

It's kind of a Kazdel folk thing. We get Originium slug infestations, you know?

Wild Originium slugs are pretty dumb, and they like Originium—

—But setting that aside, do you know what happens to the poor slugs that are lured over?

Don't mince words with—

They get blown apart, just like your buddies over there.

What?! When did you...?!

Hey, you even said I was bait. Didn't you think that meant a trap?

Probably should've killed me sooner, or ran off, I guess. Here, I'll give you another chance. Let's take it from the top.

*cough* *cough*——

—So fast?! Have you been chasing us this whole time?

You're insane!!

Ugh... Who's... behind...

Hush. No sudden movements.

It's kind of a beginner sword, but I'm not so good with a blade. If my hand slips, you die.

When— When did you get—

I'm pretty close with the shadows. Did you really think you'd be able to catch me without a scout?

Speak up. Who's your master?

I'll... never—

Graaaaahhh!!

Easy there. How's a guy supposed to talk if you turn his organs to mush?

Kazdel will... never... forgive you...

(Kazdel...)

Mm, thank you.

You really suck at torture.

...Damn. You're still alive.

You could've let him kill me first. Too bad you're so impatient.

Hmph. Of course I'd rather kill them first. These insects have taken too much from us.

When the enemy shows you an opening, any merc worth her salt would kill him, no?

...Hah.

You really do have a bit of Sarkaz in you, huh?

Rubbed off on me.

That wasn't exactly quiet. I bet more of them are on the way.

Isn't that what we want? Keep them away from the objective.

He said he let a couple get away... That means the rest are dead.

He wasn't good enough to take down that many of our people. And he was definitely scared. There's... something else out here.

Whew.

...Were you really faking your injury?

No no, you can't just fake an open wound away.

This is all mind over matter.

But let's talk about you. Did you really know that I had a present ready for them as soon as you woke up?

If I didn't wake up, I would've been the bait.

I definitely would've waited for you to die before springing the trap.

Hmph...

If one day, you meet someone who actually could read your mind...

You won't be a match for her.

I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Can you feel around with Arts?

...As if I wasn't going to do that already.

No...

That's the look that usually means we're boned.

You got that right.

But there's no running now. We press on.

And you suck at fighting, so it's all up to me?

Head west. We might be able to turn this around with Hoederer and his team.

And if we can't find them?

Then we die.

We wiped out half the escort team, but we couldn't stop the convoy before point A5.

They threw out a lot of decoys. Some of the most well-guarded ones were fakes.

Either Babel's pulling some next-level strats, or... the real one doesn't even need protection.

Yeah, we need to end this fast.

Thought we could leave mop-up operations to those scum... Didn't think they'd blow that too.

Their skills are all over the place. Hoederer's team was a lot tougher than I thought.

If Babel didn't score them first, would've been nice to get them for ourselves.

Do we keep chasing?

We don't know what's up ahead.

Understood, General.

We lost them?

Split up. You go east, I'll take the west.

Phew... phew...

These guys aren't easy marks.

Duh. Hide.

Pfah...

Knock it off. You've been at it since the beginning. You're gonna go blind. Don't your eyes hurt?

Of course they hurt, dumbass. But we have to find a way out...

Aieeeeee! I surrender!

Ooh, what a nice, clean slash. Did you see that?

They're dressed up as mercs, but these aren't mercs.

Cut the chatter!

They don't even need to ambush us. They could take us head on in the ruins and we wouldn't be able to beat them.

What are you thinking?

Huh...

Are you still spying on me? At a time like this?

No. I just haven't gone blind yet.

You've got so many... are those grenades? What are you doing?

Are you gonna blow yourself up with them?

A kill's a kill, no?

Don't throw your life away for nothing.

For what then?

What's the point of living? What should I throw my life away for?

...Sarkaz really are crazy.

That's why I never trusted you. You're not crazy.

Hey, W! Wait!

Gah, come back!

Yep. Found one. The one and only W.

The way you toss those Originium grenades around, and such big ones too. That's the kind of crazy that gets my blood pumping.

How do you do it? All my friends incinerated in a flash, and don't have a scratch on you?

What can I say? Practice makes perfect.

The General's gonna like you.

Just lay it all out for me. What's Babel got you doing? You can do a lot better somewhere else.

Why should you trust me?

Why should I trust you?

Asking the right questions in the right order.

Mercenaries are a tool of war. If we're gonna fight, we gotta have the right tools at hand.

Don't you think we're more expendable than that?

That's your call.

We got another one hiding 17 meters out, 4 o'clock. The one with the scouting arts. You can think it over too.

Put the sword down. You can't beat me. Welcome to try though.

Hmph...

What do you want?

Yeah... this fits. We got W and Ines.

You got maybe 20% of your people left. The scattered remnants can't do much.

What's that you're standing on...?

Oh? This?

It used to be a person. I guess it's hard to tell at this point.

You get it now? We're not your regular mercenaries. We're not hitmen either.

What if we do this? There's the two of you, plus your leader. Only one of you three has to die.

The other two bring back a head. I don't care whose. We pin all the losses on the head and take in the survivors.

Not that this is my call. But we have to do something for our fallen men.

Things could've gone a different way if we weren't meeting on the battlefield.

That's awful nice of you.

Just my luck. I suck at fighting. I probably can't beat this ugly bitch.

Now we're so honest all of a sudden.

Yeah, so the only other choice is for us to team up and kill Hoederer.

Yep. Hoederer.

So——

Hm...

Tell me... why do mercenaries insist on getting killed?

I'm not gonna stay on the side that's getting played. I'd much rather play with someone else's life.

Plus, I'm real sick of listening to you. You're boring. And your shitty little attempt at a death game sucks.

Oh, and my poor little lamb here steadily going blind...

She's not Sarkaz. You noticed, right? You stepped right into her minefield.

You know how this will end. You've already lost.

Oh?

I dunno about that one...

Are you really going? The landship is right here.

Yes, I didn't expect them to spot it so soon. Did intel blow this one?

At least we've got the mercenaries.

We put them in danger. They have no idea what's happening.

They're mercenaries. They live for this. And sooner or later... it will be our burden too.

I can save them. I can save some of the men who would die for our mistakes.

You're right, Theresa, but...

There isn't a single Sarkaz, not a single person, who should die for nothing.

...*Sigh*... Then I'm coming with you.

Good. Thank you——

——Kal'tsit.

Wow, reinforcements, huh...? Who are they...?

There's a lot of them...

Hey, you stay with me.

Sorry... I'm just so... sleepy...

Since when do you know the word 'sorry?'

I had to watch you pass out last time... Now it's your turn...

C'mon, be a team player... I just need a little... nap...

Tch.

Fourteen, fifteen... Still more...

They're professionals. Look how they move... they know the battlefield even better than we do...

...Kazdel... hmph...

Ine... Come in... someone...

Going... to save you...

Comms are back...?

What... what's this feeling...?

Someone's close...!

...Hoederer.

Ines! Where's W? What are your coordinates?

You lived in Kazdel... before the war... didn't you?

There's something I have to ask...

Are you wounded? Catch your breath.

Find a safe place to hide. The convoy is going to call in reinforcements for us...

Just... listen to me, Hoederer.

Okay, I'm listening.

The King of Sarkaz... The one who lost Kazdel... Her Majesty...

Is she... a woman with white hair?