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I have seen your report.

Your achievements with Reunion are, to say the least, not worthy of commendation.

However, that being said, you have indeed procured some unexpectedly useful information.

Thank——

No, there is no need for thanks. At least, not this time.

You are all impressive warriors, and until your deaths, you are entitled to the rewards you've earned by virtue of the blood, sweat, and tears you have shed.

His Majesty the Regent knows well the acts and deeds of all Sarkaz, even those as insignificant as yourself.

The Infected are not the only thing in this temple gradually depreciating. Do you understand?

...I do.

Mm.

If I am correct in my predictions, Rhodes Island has already welcomed the return of a certain unpalatable individual.

And you... you should have made contact.

(The Regent is even faster than W? All the way from Londinium?!)

Mercenaries know loyalty only to their own interests. But that nonetheless makes a fine starting point.

When the dust settles, and you stand once again before the throne of His Majesty——

That is when you will receive your reward.

And what about the other warriors?

The young Infected has her own plans. Were you unaware?

But His Majesty will not participate in such nonsense. We have mutually decided that Victoria will stand by and watch Reunion's next move.

We lack 'effective measures' to retake control of that unit from W.

Furthermore, it is important that we, in the name of our supporters, continue to whip up the Infected in all corners of the world.

We're still going to use Reunion? I was sure His Majesty would have...

Given up? Oh my no, young mercenary.

Things are yet far from chaotic enough. Even if Reunion has strayed from its leadership, it remains a source of chaos——

What's more, should your words just now be taken as a question of His Majesty's intentions?

No, absolutely not.

Very well. Raise your head...

Oh, yes.

For the time being, you need not return to Kazdel. The journey back is too long, and matters have been progressing rapidly there.

You are to stay here, for now. Enjoy this small respite however you can.

Thank you very much.

Now then, His Majesty awaits me. You are dismissed.

Remember, see to your own business first, Hoederer.

Of course.

Hoederer, yes?

I look forward to seeing what else you uncover.

...*Sigh*.

Looks like it's house arrest for both of us?

It's not like I never thought about it. And hey, it's better than I was expecting...

But we were a little too naive.

Which part was naive? The part where you thought you'd die, or the part where you thought the Regent didn't know?

Both. He's been pulling the strings from the start.

Not that I'm surprised... he's Theresis. We've all heard the stories about him and Theresa, the invincible forces of nature...

But I guess in the course of the war, I forgot those stories... weren't just stories.

So how do we warn W? What's going on with Reunion?

We wasted so much time on the road. She might've already split with Talulah.

The other possibility is the show ends in Lungmen.

Wouldn't that be a bit too quick?

It fits with the way W works. If Talulah's gonna destroy the Infected, W'll destroy Talulah first.

Sarkaz style. With extreme prejudice.

She's pretty upset over the death of a certain merc, after all.

She knows the score.

She's out of room to hesitate any longer. Now she just needs to get into the right headspace to make a move.

And that means we're left waiting.

We've got ways to fool the Regent's eyes. It'd be a crazy risky play, but...

I've still got my own squad I can keep on 'standby.'

Victoria's all over the place right now. They probably wouldn't catch the code.

Yeah, and it would have to pass by some real tricky spots controlled by the Regent... and on to Kazdel.

Kazdel?

The battlefield ruins there haven't been touched in a long time.

But we eked out a living there for a good long time.

There was a communications station in an old bunker buried under those ruins. The tower made it look like it was destroyed, but everything down there still works.

Hold on, that was a long time ago...

How long have you been preparing this?

All done way back at the very beginning. Cost me a pretty penny too.

Heh heh.

Oh man... if they saw the look on your face right now, boy would they be surprised.

For a while now, every time you came back from a battle, you were always deep in thought, like a kid who did something bad.

I figured you'd just lost your will to fight.

Nah, it was the opposite, actually. I finally realized what it was I had to do.

How?

Because I had no choice. It's kind of liberating, in a way?

W must've said something to you before you left Chernobog.

Does that sound like her? Laying all the cards on the table?

No. She'd be a lot less of a pain if she did though.

You're right that she came looking for me before I left the core city. She knew what we were going to do.

She...

Can you put a price on the life of a merc?

Sure. Always have. Why even ask? You knew the answer.

But who set the price?

The war itself.

Sure... you got your battlefield honors, your victories, the glory you pull out of a hand-to-hand fight, all the things that raise your profile, that let everybody know what a useful tool you are.

So boring.

But that's all in the past. At least for us it is.

...What do you mean?

Every Sarkaz merc should have a nice, clean price tag.

But we don't need anybody to slap it on. No oversight. They write their own price in the blood of the enemies of Sarkaz.

You... are you saying we should get everyone to leave Kazdel...?

You look surprised. But like, they could choose for themselves.

Does this sound weird?

Not weird, right?

Just give it some thought... think about what you could be doing in Kazdel.

You're talking about doing that right in front of Theresis, in broad daylight.

You make it sound so bad. As if you don't have your own plans.

Chill... you were my boss, Hoederer.

You'd better do it, or we'll have trouble.

That's a pretty good joke. The old hands at the Scar Market would laugh themselves into a coma.

It certainly wouldn't make the committee happy. They'd be out a lotta money, and a lotta wasted brainpower.

Not to mention all the people they killed.

Sure enough... and the old hands there too... some of them are almost friends of ours...

So what are you gonna do now? It's up to you.

Well... I can't leave Londinium. Hell, I can't even leave this mansion.

I think it's up to you.

You can do a lot as a 'Messenger.'

'Keep following Talulah's orders. Hoederer isn't coming back yet.' Should be good?

As long as that comms station still works, we'll hear back. And they'll get word to W.

Hmph...

I know how to do this.

Don't give me orders.

*Sigh*... What a pain in the ass...

Just when I decide to go after the dragon lady... What a time you picked.

Get out here.

The ruins of Chernobog weren't like those of Kazdel.

There were still traces of life out on the streets, ravaged as they were. They gave you some idea of what had been.

Unlike the total annihilation back there.

Like, for example...

Those two kids. Kids painstakingly raising their weapons.

Devil! What are you doing here?!

N-no, don't provoke her...

S-sorry... we were just leaving...

Hey—

That's an army sword you're holding, isn't it?

Yes, it is. Sarkaz steel... You can't even lift it. Why are you hauling that thing around?

You gonna fight back? You gonna kill me?

Eeep——

G-get back——agh!

Rublev... your leg!

Oh, you're hurt.

You're gonna get infected. This city got hit with a Catastrophe. It's not safe here.

I won't turn into a thing like you!

Aww. What a tough kid.

Let me ask you——

——Do you know what it means to take up the blade of a fallen Sarkaz?