level_main_09-17_end

Did she fall down there...?!

Leader, did we win?

Oh no, Leader... That wound...

Hang in there! I'll help you up. Don't you close your eyes—

*cough*, *cough*...

Don't... pull so hard. You're shooting pain through my whole body.

G—Got it! Leader, as long as you're okay.

Right... I can't... go down just yet.

The enemy's... still...

Hoh... Hahahaha... Hahahahaha!

You think... that was enough to bring me down?!

Victorian soldier dunces!

I—I dug my way out of a grave by a bloody wastewater ditch! And I still have a score to settle with you—Victorian blue bloods!

Oh? She actually managed to climb her way out!

Well, isn't that somethin' odd? Even if my shot didn't blow a hole through her chest, I thought at least she'd be down for the count.

...Arts.

She knocked my lance a few centimeters off?! She only had a few stones left! Flip, we won't get another shot like that...!

Feline... You may be the enemy, but your resolve is rock solid for sure. You've got my respect.

Pfft. Who needs... your respect?!

What I want... is your lives!

Come, Forest of Thorns!!!

There's more columns growin' from the ground?!

We can't stay here much longer...

Leader, I'll carry you. Let's go that way!

Fleeing?

Think again—I'd never let down the Leader!

Wait, what's that sound?

'To the residents of County Hillock and the surrounding towns, this is a broadcast to you in real-time.'

'As you are aware, a great disaster befell this beloved city at noon today, injuring our friends and family, and destroying our homes.'

'Together, we witnessed this heart-wrenching event transpire before our eyes.'

'They have put us through countless tribulations, one after the other, for several centuries—'

'We did not raise our voices then, because we thought they had an ounce of mercy left, and that simply by enduring longer, we would be able to coexist with them on these lands.'

'But today, the Victorian Army pressed its knife against our throats—'

'They blanketed our city in a mist of Oripathy. What they have done is far more merciless and horrifying than any Catastrophe.'

'We do not want war, but they have left us no choice but to fight back.'

'If you can hear this broadcast, if you are willing to rise up and stand with us—wherever you may be, you can become part of our movement.'

'With our flames, we will cleanse this country of the filth that has accumulated over the centuries.'

'With our flames, we will comfort the countless lives lost in the fight against injustice.'

'With our flames, we will burn open a path to a future of freedom and peace.'

'We are not your enemies. We are your friends.'

'We have, and always will be, one family.'

'Remember our name—'

'We are Dublinn.'

Is that... the spectre force?

Are they broadcastin' to the townsfolk?

No, it's not just this city... they've got all the communications bases under their control. The surroundin' cities are receivin' that message too!

Now that everyone knows what the barracks did... this is goin' to spread like wildfire.

The scariest thing is, most of what they're sayin' is true! We've got no argument, no way against it!

And even if we wanted to say somethin', we've got no way to send the message...

We're in the worst case scenario now.

Is this why you were tryin' so hard to take the communications center? You had to get news to the outside world, but you wanted to keep the enemy from doin' the same, too...

We've lost, Hamilton...

Both you... and I. We've failed, utterly.

No, we haven't lost yet!

They've got their side out first, but it's better late than never for us!

The spectre force's tryin' to dress themselves up, but we saw them burnin' their supporters to death all heartless, slaughterin' the townsfolk! We saw that with our own eyes!

We have to get the word out! We have to show the true face of their army to the world!

Yes, you're right.

This battle... is far from over.

Uh... Leader? This Caster, what's she doin'? Is she spaced out?

Harmonie, Harmonie... you bastard! You fooled me into coming here so you could make that broadcast?

What gives you... What gives you...!

What gives you the right to speak on The Leader's behalf while I have to sweep up the rubbish down here?!

Oh, I'm going to Londinium... I'm going right now!!!

Whoa... that's a gust! Why's she so ticked off all of a sudden? Doesn't it hurt when she casts Arts like it's the end of the world?

Leader, watch out! It's about to blow over the column—!

Ugh... hrnn!

Stop pushin' yourself! Your shield's out of energy. You're burnin' your own flesh for it now!

Hah... this is nothing.

Nothin'? What do you mean, nothin'? You're coughin' up blood—

You could wipe that for me.

Now's—now's no time for your jokes. And if truth be told, they've never been funny, not for one second.

I can't always hide behind your shield... Even if you order me to, I can't.

I'll run out right now. I can take a few beatin's. I think I can at least make it to her, give her another taste of my spear... I've still got at least one more shot!

She summoned all those columns at once, she should be at her limit, almost... I'll find an openin'!

Bagpipe...

Let me go! I WILL be insubordinate now! You survive this, and you can punish me with umpteen handstands, you can even get on top of me while I do 'em!

She's... Now she's flying.

Ha... You don't know how to fly. You can jump up there, with the rocks as stepping stones, but it won't be easy to hit her at the same time.

Won't know until we try...

Enough. You remember what you said just now, don't you?

Which?

We... have... to tell them.

Right, we'll definitely get the word out. I won't forget! This is why we need to take her out. It's our only way to make it up the communications tower!

Ha... communications tower...

They've got agents in the brass... agents of the spectre force. She said it herself.

Even if we make it up there... Our message... will never make it to Londinium.

It's too early to give up hope, Leader!

You're the one who taught me to trust our friends—

Right. I... I trust my friends.

Bagpipe... that's why... you need to make it out of here.

What do you mean?!

Horn lifts her mostly destroyed shield with one hand and tightly grips Bagpipe's arm with the other.

Don't waste what energy you have left.

Hold onto your spear, activate the catapult, and fly out of here—

The city's covered with hostiles. People guarding every exit... but none of them will be ready to stop you blasting out through the air.

Bring all the information with you.

Find someone you trust, and let out what's really going on with the spectre force...

Londinium needs to know the truth behind County Hillock.

Bagpipe—get out of here alive!

This... is our last chance!

Leader!!!

There is no other way. She knows this.

All the words she would use to argue are stuck in her throat. It feels as though her eyes are about to pop.

She is going to abandon her leader—her one and only remaining friend.

She is a Victorian soldier.

In combat, she has never once disobeyed the orders of the one whom she trusts the most.

Your bloody cheap tricks...!

Fine, just one of them slipping off won't change a thing.

And the one that's left here...

Heh, you can barely stand. Not going down easy, are we?!

—Let's get it over with. I'm sick of this place.

That's everyone, Uncle Oliver.

I've talked to the locals already. They've found us a way out of the city that's safe enough.

There are still a lot of hostiles around... Dublinn, that is.

The residents all believe what they say, that with the villains defeated, they won't harass the civilians anymore.

But we need to stay vigilant.

No matter the face they wear, I will never forget who got our good friend—our respected coworker killed.

Right, give me another blanket to keep the injured girl wrapped, please.

We can't let anyone see her until we make it to the nearest safehouse.

We have a long road ahead of us. I'm sure she would wish us a safe journey.

Look, Uncle Oliver...

It truly is daybreak now.

'Bagpipe, I told you to shy at no cost—'

'What I mean by that is that you must make it out yourself, even if the rest of us die here.'

'Don't look back.'

'Bagpipe, I know you can do this. Only you can do this.'

The piledriver spear tears through the skies over the remnants of the city, and bores into a swath of barren land.

Bagpipe tumbles a few times before standing up.

Then, she plucks her weapon from the ground and grips it in her hand—

She cannot look back.

That's an order.

She takes a deep breath, suppresses all the emotions welling up in her heart, and steps toward the ends of the barren plains.

Straight ahead, the real sun is beginning to rise.

'No matter what happens in our world, the sun will never fail to rise.'

'Even if it is slow to rise, many will yet make their way forward, casting rays of hope with their lives one after another.'

Midnight \ Rainy

County Hillock, Unknown alleyway

Finally. You kept me waiting.

...Sankta.

You are alone. What of the one you rescued? Where is she?

Not something you oughta worry your pretty little head about.

Listen. I know the formidable foe you are. How did she find you, and how did she convince you to protect her? Could she have reached an agreement with Laterano behind our backs?

No, that can't be. They said there was a Victorian soldier working with you.

So she chose to seek Victoria's protection? In that case, who sent you—Which duke?

You sure you wanna waste your time thinking on something as pointless as that?

My comrades are indeed in quite a hurry, but I suggested talking to you nonetheless.

Whatever your employers promised, we can offer you much more. Wealth, power, titles—

Aha, I'm afraid you couldn't give me what it is I need.

Dublinn's power likely far exceeds your expectations—

Please do tell. What is it?

Justice ain't gonna dispense itself, what do you think my gun's for?

So you mean to say... you are determined to stand in our way?

Now there's a question worth asking. Should've started with that one.

How regrettable, my lady. This is truly regrettable.

—It's time.

Five other silhouettes emerge from the shadows.

'The Accountant,' 'The Convict,' 'The Immolator,' 'The Toxicologist,' 'The Bandit'—And you, 'The Elocutionist.'

Mighty familiar names.

Far from the first time we've met—

You, 'The Accountant.' You've meticulously worked out the profit this war'll reap you, and you're racking your brains to turn even more lives into bigger numbers, deeper black on your balance sheet.

You, 'The Convict.' You escape from prison again and again only to commit greater crimes, get yourself sent back to prison to repeat the cycle again.

You, 'The Immolator.' Burning single houses and families hasn't given you what you need for a long while. Soon, not even burning a whole city will fill the hole in your heart.

You, 'The Toxicologist.' You call yourself a scholar, but fancy titles don't hide the truth, that you're all caught up in heartless slaughter and one nasty scheme after another—

—And your next betrayal will take a few cities to hell with you.

You, 'The Bandit.' Living up to that name, you're thirsty to snatch anything you can from the hands of others, and not just money, either.

You steal their dignity, and your lust for it will bring whole countries to ruin.

And then there's you, 'The Elocutionist.' You're really into those five dollar words, trying your hardest to turn fancy talk into a political weapon, the kind to spark wars greater and uglier.

If I let any of you through, that girl will die, and all that evil I just talked about gets to carry on, free and clear.

So—

She pops her last bullet into her revolver's cylinder.

It's about time for you to stand trial, for the last time.

This is your so-called faith?

You got the wrong idea. My faith ain't exactly the kind you're thinking of—

If I believe in anything, it's my gun.

There is only one of you, and there are six of us.

I got enough ammo. Don't worry, nobody's missing out.

You will die here.

Lucky I won't do it alone.

'Outcast, I understand everything you said.'

'You've walked a great many roads. You've never looked back. You judge people with gunfire, but you know in your heart that the very last one awaiting judgment at the end of the road... is you.'

'I don't want you to get there—I don't want any one of you to get there.'

'Fate is there to be shattered. You may be happy with this ending yourself, but I want to try to change it.'

'Right. Even if the days gone by showed me my failure time and again, even if all of you left me one by one, I don't want to, and I can't accept this.'

'Outcast, give me this chance.'

'Come back alive.'

Aha, old friend... In the end, it looks like I'm not gonna be able to follow that order.

Six bullets shoot out of her revolver at once.

At the same time, six enemies are charging toward her—

One of them is trying to hack away at her with his axe. Another is trying to spray a toxic gas at her. A third is trying to deflect her bullets with his Arts, while a fourth is trying to take the chance to dash past her, toward the other end of the alleyway.

But their actions will forever be frozen at the very moment they began.

Before any of them can cry out in surprise or fall to the ground, they have turned to dust in a holy light.

The moment she fired her gun, their judgment was already complete.

The brilliant gunfire surges fiercely into the sky, illuminating almost the entire city.

Outcast stands still, allowing the impartial flames to engulf her. Starting at her fingertips, they reduce her to ashes.

<color=#000000><i>'This road,</i></color>

<color=#000000><i>it was always meant to end like this.'</i></color>