level_main_08-16_beg

Haah!

Don't even think of touching her!

Do you intend to protect her, Hui-chieh? This traitor to the Infected, this executioner of our kin?

I'm disappointed, Hui-chieh. How shameful that you would even turn your sword on me...

Amiya?! What are you doing here?!

Watch out, Amiya! Talulah has inherited all that is Kashchey. She's already...

She's no longer that innocent girl who was kidnapped from Lungmen.

Madam Ch'en. That's not right. She's not just the 'successor'......

...I will tear off its disguise.

What? What disguise?

You're that Cautus from Rhodes Island.

Where's Buldrokkas'tee? Did you test your mettle against his halberd, or did you just see his mangled corpse?

You... How could you talk about him like that?

Oh? I'm asking with the utmost respect. I'm merely asking for the truth.

He never took off his helmet, did he?

His helmet hides the exposed greyish-white skull of the Wendigo. If the people were to see his true appearance, they would surely be frightened out of their wits.

Yet, their hate and zeal would drive them onwards, and the force of the crowd would have broken through the guerillas' defensive line.

Buldrokkas'tee would not have allowed the Shieldguards to attack a single civilian... They are not spies, after all.

Buldrokkas'tee would have been torn to pieces by the raging mob. He would have allowed himself to fall to their rage and ignorance, just as he knew that this day would arrive, as he decided to give up and surrender to his humanity.

Since you've appeared here, that can mean only one thing. Buldrokkas'tee is dead.

Tell me, how did he choose to die? He was a noble warrior. I would like to know how he met his end.

I... I killed him.

...It was me.

You?

What sort of firepower did you have at your disposal? That was... Buldrokkas'tee.

Even so, you've appeared here all by yourself, just like my pitiful sister.

Alright. The last person in this city who could kill me is now dead. Now I have nothing left to worry about.

Should I congratulate you, slaughterer of my kin?

Amiya, don't fall for her tricks!

She's already played many such tricks on me... Don't believe a single word she says. Even if she's... telling the truth.

I know, Madam Ch'en. She wants to kill you.

The Talulah standing before us still holds some untainted strands of memory deep within her heart. You are the only remaining link to her past.

You... huh. What are you talking about?

What are you looking at?

——What do you wish to see?

You can't stop me.

Are you telling the truth?

Why else would she challenge you to a fight?

Talulah will only truly die when she kills you with her own two hands.

You've stopped making any sense.

Madam Ch'en, the Talulah in front of you has not completely died yet. This tyrant is still not yet in full control of her mind.

Tell me more, Cautus. Tell me about that outdated chicanery of yours, absurd as it may be.

You should have died when Talulah stabbed you. You should be gone.

Mind-reading rabbit... I've never considered this. Even if you can read minds, you should not know these things. Where did you hear of them?

Am I reading your mind?

You've always bragged about being able to protect yourself completely using your psychic Originium Arts, Duke of Kashchey. It was your pride, as your political opponents remained helpless against it.

All I see are memories. I have no idea what you are thinking about right now, but I can feel your emotions.

I glimpsed the secret within your memories. I saw the curse that haunts your body to this day.

You are not Talulah.

I suggest you look out for your own skin before jumping to conclusions.

Amiya! Don't just stand there, avoid that fire!

Ugh!

You... you withstood it?

Hfff... Not... not for long!

You're surprised too, are you not? Heh. She did it once before.

The exact same black lines back at Chernobog.

How much longer can you hold on? Your warriors have fallen. Were their sacrifices for nothing? Will you die meaninglessly to my flames today?

How is it? Can you still peep on others' thoughts while desperately casting your Arts? Such a dirty little trick. It reminds me of...

Of what?

Think about it carefully.

Which is your real Originium Arts?

...Buldrokkas'tee dying by your hand...

What kind of joke is that.

Amiya, I'll clear a path through the remaining flames! Fall back and jump to the right! Jump as far as you can!

Right!

*Pant* *pant*... Thank you, Madam Ch'en!

Strange. Amiya, Talulah seems to be... very surprised by you.

Madam Ch'en, that's not the least of it. Please don't let your guard down, no matter what happens next!

I'll try my best. I don't think there's anything more important than both our lives, nor anything more shocking than the fate of Lungmen!

You... you're called Amiya?

Cautus, if I were to ask you to build me an illusion that would entrance me forever... would you refuse?

Nnh...!

Would you hold back and avoid using this kind of power?

I won't answer you.

Your expression and hesitation betray your thoughts, self-proclaimed kind Cautus.

I've never said that!

Your actions speak louder than words, false Infected warrior.

Black Arts that absorb memories but do not differentiate between consciousness. Not a unilateral extraction, but rather proliferation and acquisition that goes both ways...

How can this be... How can this be? Cautus, what is this? Can you answer me? Have the Sarkaz of Kazdel all gone mad?

——Devil——Sarkaz——

A lord of a different race?

Was the previous Lord of Fiends an idiot or a lunatic? I can't even remember its name anymore. It seems that the extinction of the Sarkaz is indeed imminent.

Oh, the Sarkaz mercenary... W. The Sarkaz behind them...

So that's how it is. So that's how it is.

The Cautus Lord of Fiends. Haha...

(Amiya, to be honest, I'm not shocked...)

(I'm quite lost, actually. )

(Do you believe what she's saying, Madam Ch'en? )

(Does it matter?)

(I believe the choice is yours, Madam Ch'en. Besides, these facts wouldn't change your mind anyway.)

(Correct. In fact, I think she's trying to buy time until we suffocate.)

(But, we're trying to buy time too!)

(Huh? )

Where are your deputies? The nobles of your royal court? Your citizens?

Who else did you bring? That ghoul who's been rotting for several centuries, or that pink-eyed bastard who can't bear the slightest bit of light?

Did you personally take care of Buldrokkas'tee, or did someone do it for you?

You cannot do it, young, false Lord of Fiends. You cannot take control of them and their royal court. You are not a real Lord of Fiends. You're not even a Sarkaz. You're just a little Cautus.

You don't have the power to fight against your enemies. Should try, you would be swiftly eradicated.

Alternatively, you are just the newest toy of the Sarkaz rulers. Do you feel sadness at being a test subject, immature Cautus?

You are an outsider. You cannot do anything but wait for others to take your life and the symbol of the king. And with it, your entire being.

I can do that for you. I will help you depart this world without the slightest trace of pain.

Deathless Black Snake... are you afraid?

What?

You've said a lot, Duke of Kashchey.

Yet, if your life was really as long as the legends told, and if the dread you showed from time to time was not part of your performance...

Then, I believe I understand.

Kashchey?! Amiya, is that true?

The one in front of you is Talulah, and at the same time, Kashchey. My intuition is not wrong.

You've fought the Sarkaz in the past, Duke of Kashchey.

You're afraid of me.

You fear me.

Interesting.

However, the time for jokes is over.

I need some time to clean up the current act. This play has greatly exceeded expectations.

For now, I will have to ask you to leave the stage, Cautus. I never expected you to play such a large role. I've underestimated you.

If you can feel my 'dread', that can only mean that your Arts are still too shallow.

——I feel whatever I wish to feel. Even if I am unable to shield my memories, emotions are still a specialty of mine.

...You're not lying. That just proves my point. The you right now is definitely not completely Talulah.

Should I give you some more time, so that you may dig out some other truth from my mind? Yet my past is just that, and it can only be that. You cannot prove anything.

My mastery over thoughts is such that none who have ever tried to comprehend them have ever succeeded. Yet, you did not see what I wanted to let you see. You're honest, Cautus.

You did not lie. You can only feel emotions and backtrack along memories. You cannot see my actual thoughts.

Then, let me warn you, Cautus...

You don't know me.

You don't know 'Talulah'.

All that you've said is built upon your own hypotheses. You fundamentally cannot comprehend me.

How would you know who I am?

Nnng...

...Talulah. Or should I say, Kashchey... I don't care who you are.

No matter who you are... No, that's not right. You're Talulah. It was Kashchey that created you.

Talulah, you're not touching a single strand of her hair.

How brave you are, Hui-chieh, to point a sword at your own relative over an outsider.

No matter who it is by my side, Talulah, a good person would never strike at my friends to get at me.

Hui-chieh, you have not seen the Northern Plains of Ursus. You're just like a delicate flower grown in a greenhouse. You haven't seen how cruel this world can be.

You don't know what changed me to become like this.

Of course! I want to know... How would I not?

I want to know everything that's happened to you. I want you to tell me yourself.

Then... why not come to my side? Right now, Ch'en... I don't want to fight you anymore. I don't want to harm you again.

Hah.

You've got it all wrong.

——The reason I want to know is so I can prevent such things from happening ever again.

I want to know, so I can judge your actions, figure out your motives, compare your deeds.

...I want to know, so that I can see clearly what you want to do, how you want to do it, how far you want to go with it...

I want to know, so that I can see the extent of your sins!

As for you, Talulah...

What's done is done, Talulah. Despite my wishes, you've grown up and become as you are now.

You too, Hui-chieh. You've become something that saddens me.

My actions sadden you? Reunion invaded my city, killed my friends, harmed countless Ursus citizens and decimated so many Infected... who's saddening who?

I watched as Reunion members helped each other at Lungmen, willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their comrades. Even in the wilderness, they have nowhere to go. Who's saddening who?

You are their enemy. You are the one who stopped my people, you prevented them from taking Lungmen.

Sorry, Talulah. I wouldn't believe you if you said that sending them off to die in Lungmen wasn't just a way to get this moment here with me.

You've never believed anything I said, Hui-chieh. You've never trusted me.

You asked if I knew Talulah, I do. You asked if I believe Talulah, of course I do.

That's why I came here of my own free will, to verify this thought of mine.

But, I did not come here to prove your innocence... No, definitely not.

Why? Didn't you just say that you trust me, Hui-chieh?

Right now, we are both Infected. Why can't we just stand together? Isn't our reunion supposed to be something happy?

(Her thoughts are really shaking... ugh...)

Don't change the topic. You're the leader of Reunion!

I need proof, judgment and verification.

The L.G.D. Officer Ch'en and the present Ch'en Hui-chieh... I'm not trying to prove that 'you are innocent.' No, how could I?

The Talulah of the past? Excuse me?

No matter what caused you to become like this, since when can we look at Talulah as two distinct halves?

It's because I knew you in the past that I want to understand even more... Who and what turned you into this!

The pain and suffering you've experienced, the truth behind your father's death, your hate towards Wei Yenwu. I can understand all that. Maybe they all pushed you down this road.

But what was it that caused you to become someone so cruel?

What was it that turned you into the vanguard of the Ursus invasion? Did you deceive your people too, Talulah?

You're judging me? You abandoned everything to come here, just to tell me off?

Was it Wei Yenwu who turned you into such a blind, cold-blooded person? Shouldn't you be asking the reasons behind my actions?

No. That can wait for later. I can reconstruct the flow of events from the garbage heap.

I came to fulfill my duty.

If you really weren't responsible for these, I would fire a flare. It wouldn't matter even if you killed me, I'd still be able to prove that you didn't deserve death.

But if you're conspiring to do harm, then we will gladly give up our lives just to stop you.

I want to see to what extent you're wrong. Taking a life without a trial? That's murder. And the city is guilty of murdering the Infected.

Right now, I see it all clearly.

My sword, my thoughts, my ideas, they're all on you.

As for the past, let it remain in the past. The past...

Will never return.

I will never forgive a schemer who toys with lives, no matter who they are.

You cannot break the law with impunity.

Heh heh...

You wish to cut your ties with me, Hui-chieh.

Hmph...

It's pointless to try and taunt me. Feel free to guilt me or whatever.

This is who I am. A woman of my word. You're the one who's forgotten all this.

Amiya, I won't ask what else you need to prepare. Instead, what do you want me to do?

Ah, Madam Ch'en... I need a bit more time.

How long?

Three minutes at most.

Then I'll give you at least three minutes.

This time, we're really fighting 'shoulder to shoulder', Amiya. It's just the two of us.

But we're carrying the burden of countless lives. You know as well as I.

Three minutes, Amiya. In the next three minutes, you will not die. I guarantee it.

So, once we're done with this, I really hope you'll give me a proper explanation.

You have to help me to understand exactly what my sister's become...

Also, I want to know if we'll be able to face this thing's true nature in the end, instead of just an empty shell with a theatrical streak!

I'll accept the outcome, no matter what it is!

Alright, I promise, Madam Ch'en. And, thank you... thank you for your perseverance.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Talulah, your actions, your words... I've been watching!

I'm relying on you, Madam Ch'en!

Cautus, I don't know how you manipulated my sister's thoughts, or what sort of dirty deals you have with the Sarkaz.

Is the shadow controlling you and the mastermind behind W the same person?

Don't bother answering. I need my flames to teach you a lesson... You should not have attached yourself to the Sarkaz. You should not have used their power to disgrace the relationship between my sister and me.

Dirty deeds and sinful pasts are acceptable. The generosity and benevolence of one's country would still be willing to accept you and your repentance.

Yet, to go along with the Sarkaz and fall in with Kazdel?

... Both you and the one who raised you should be exiled forevermore, to roam aimlessly in the wastelands, thirsty without any hope of water, hungry without a dream of food, to be eaten alive by maggots as you struggle to live, yet unable to find peace as you die.

... Are you really Talulah?!

Hui-chieh, if you want to know the truth, stop protecting that seed of evil by your side. She is tearing us apart, twisting the truth and using my memories to mislead you...

Cautus, you! Buldrokkas'tee left in search of the light, yet you walk towards darkness... You're not worthy of killing him!

If the devils you're talking about are the Sarkaz I know, and if the people you're talking about are like you...

If the light you're talking about is slaughter, spreading pain, harm and deception, whereas the darkness you refer to is to salvation, sympathy, and the fight for justice...

Then I am willing to continue onwards together with the Sarkaz!

Has your identity as an Infected blinded you? Did you misunderstand their goals because of how the Sarkaz use the Infected? Are you not aware that you are the pawn in their hands?

You're trying to drag my sister into the abyss for this?

My flames will burn through your deceit and reveal the truth hidden behind you. Take care, for this will hurt. However, I have no choice but to do it.

You should ask my permission first.

I don't wish to do this, Hui-chieh.

Haven't you already done this before? I've had enough of your... hypocrisy.

Your hate is blinding you, preventing you from seeing yourself and escaping your upbringing...

You're the one who hasn't left that fire still, 'Talulah'!