level_main_16-18_end

'Dispatch speaking.'

'Target acquired. They're moving toward Lake Neva.'

'Cease fire and surround the target coordinates.'

'Coordinates sent to your terminals.'

Are you out of the woods, Raidian?

Scout team here. We're at the rendezvous point.

The first batch of vehicles are here. We'll need to wait for the second batch to arrive.

Sorry, I didn't expect things to get so urgent.

Have you tracked more of the Armies' movements, Raidian?

Not yet... the military channel went dark after our broadcast. They're on guard now, and we're unable to get more information.

It's so quiet, it's making me uneasy...

Stay hidden, Amiya.

We'll be careful.

Stay in touch. How's Mantra?

Still exhausted. Vetochki and the others have made a stretcher for her—

Amiya.

Mantra! You shouldn't be 'talking'!

I'm awake. Tell Elysium that I can walk on my own.

No, not yet.

See? I told you so!

Remember how Blaze was bedridden for two weeks after getting injured on a mission? We didn't let her feet touch the ground for a single second.

So don't even think about it, dear Mantra.

...The situation is different.

Okay, here's a compromise. Once you're through the woods, you can choose me or Elysium to be your crutch.

Is G-Grypherburg, on the other side, of the frozen lake?

I heard, the Infected, can't enter n-nomadic cities.

I never went to the cities before I got infected. I lived all my life in the villages, until a Catastrophe infected most of us.

But they said we didn't need to walk, right? There'll be vehicles, like the ones we found.

I think Nikto was from Grypherburg. Too bad he isn't here.

Say, what do you think Nikto and Rankin are doing, Vetochki? Could they have already made it to that village they were talking about?

M-Maybe.

I hope so.

Everyone, take cover, now!

An explosion—from the forest? Is the Army here?

I just sensed it... Another army's attacking from the east.

They know where we are. They're trying to force us in the direction of Lake Neva.

They're out of their minds! We're already in the Central Governorate. The Armies must know what that means!

'Deity Grypherburg is under threat... the Army... will eliminate the enemy.'

It's a public broadcast. They're telling Grypherburg that they're putting down a rebellion!

I see... this was their plan all along...

All this killing and herding... they're planning to reach the capital under the pretext of putting down a rebellion, and negotiate with the State Council by pointing their guns at the gates of Deity Grypherburg!

This was what they're trying to achieve... by sacrificing hundreds of thousands in the Far North.

Can you hear me, Amiya?

There are Army units to your east—

...The magnetic storms are interfering with comms. I can't get a good signal at this range.

The rest of the group will arrive soon. Eloysius, I need you here to get them on the vehicles and evacuate in an orderly manner.

What about you?

I must go back and point the way for them.

You're leaving me here with these vehicles? Aren't you worried that I would abandon you and flee to Grypherburg?

If that's your decision, I would appreciate a heads-up.

Rhodes Island will find a way.

You...

Hah... is this 'Rhodes Island' full of people like you?

No. They're much braver than I.

Your command, <i>Sergeant.</i>

What the hell is that thing behind us? It appeared out of nowhere—

(Stumbles)

Look out!

The Army is shelling indiscriminately. Should we find another path?

Can you reach Raidian, Elysium? The scout team might be in even more danger than we are!

Amiya! Where are you?

We're still in the forest on the eastern shores of Lake Neva! We're being fired upon by the Army—

They have reinforcements coming from the east. We must get through the lake as quickly as possible! Grypherburg is on the other side.

The Armies cannot set foot on the western shore of Lake Neva without permission. That's our only chance.

We need to clear Lake Neva before the Armies complete their encirclement—

Raidian? Raidian?!

Magnetic storm—communications—

—southwest—ice—

No lights, everyone. We'll have to cross the lake in darkness.

Go southwest... I'll point the way.

I understand. The stars, show the way—

Cannon shells fall like thunder, exploding in the middle of the crowd. The shockwave and shrapnel split the procession in two.

Dyadya Volya!

A crack appears in the ice, and some people have fallen into it.

Aaagh!!

The ice is still cracking—we can't get through!

Go back! Now! Don't come this way!

They're getting closer!

Can you reach Raidian?!

We got separated. We have some straggling miners we need to pick up, to the northwest of where the shells fell—

Roger.

On my way.

Argh—ugh...

Darya, your leg, it's bleeding... I'll wrap it up!

I'll help—

...No, Vetochki. Leave me here.

I have flint and kindling. Give me a torch and go. I'll buy you what time I can.

I'll carry you, Darya!

Don't... don't give up.

Yes, don't give up! The bleeding will stop soon. You can get further treatment once we're on the vehicles—

But those bastards won't wait! They're herding us like wild manglers. Don't you see?

If they just wanted to kill us, they could have burned every inch that we passed through, blown every building up.

Do you think they couldn't do it?

That's no reason to give up...

You don't understand. I was a hunter before they threw me into the mines. I know what some of the cityfolk like to do on hunting trips.

They corral their game in one place, kill a couple, and watch the rest struggle.

Honestly, I don't know how much time I can buy, but I have to try.

It's just a hole in my leg. I'll crawl if I can't walk. I can get a few dozen meters to the east.

Stop wasting time. Leave the torch and go.

Go!

One by one, one by one! We'll be here for fifteen minutes, there's no need to—

—push...

The operator falls quiet. No one is pushing, no one is squeezing.

They just keep walking forward silently.

...I've never seen an evacuation so orderly.

Not even the famously disciplined First Army could do this.

That's a good thing, right?

It's not normal, is it? It's as though they don't have survival instincts.

Alright. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

And you, aren't you worried about your captain in the rear?

Our captain is the most experienced of us by far.

The operator stands on tiptoes, trying to see past the end of the procession that is indistinguishable from the pitch-black ice, looking for her captain.

All she sees is the bright red in the distance.

Did they really stop there...?

The enemy is shelling the ice!

I couldn't reach the driver. Someone needs to tell her to keep the vehicle running and be ready to roll at a moment's notice.

Do you read me?!

R-Roger!

You should get on, Eloysius. I'll take care of things here—

No, you go first and talk to the driver. For your captain.

I—

I'm staying here.

It was a torch that distracted the Army.

It began with a single torch that someone at the end of the procession raised.

No one heard if he said anything. No one asked why he did it. He simply stopped, lit his torch, and began to walk in the opposite direction.

Who lit the torch? I thought they said no lights—

It's Kian.

Kian? The one who made flint for everyone? I saw he gave some firewood to Darya just now.

It's him. He's walking back. But that's where all the soldiers are! Is he trying to get himself killed?

He's doing the same thing that Darya is doing.

But we're so close to safety—

I have a flint too, and some firewood.

What are you doing?

They're shelling the ice. They won't let us go. If we don't do something...

We all die.

But I want to live! I want to go to Grypherburg!

We would have died in the mines, remember? Like all other Infected in Ursus.

But if we can help the folks on the front lines survive, and the young ones who came to our aid...

People will remember what happened here long after we old-timers are gone.

One torch passes its flame to another.

One miner forsakes his life, then a second, and a third...

One by one, the miners who have not yet boarded the vehicles raise their torches and walk in the opposite direction.

Towards Kian, towards Darya, towards the trail of footsteps that led here, and towards the impending threat.

Th-They can't... bury us.

Not anymore.

You're right. They can't bury us quietly anymore, not in the snow, in the mines, or in the lakes!

We'll take the torch from our brothers and sisters, and we'll light the way...

We'll make sure that all of Ursus sees—

And knows that we once lived.

The miners who chose to stay behind raise their torches high in the cold night.

They form a bright belt of fire on the ice, one that the gunners cannot miss.

'Ursus will not bury this night the way it has buried many others,' they firmly believe.

The red eyes gaze upon the firelight.

The guns continue to fire, and the ice continues to crack, sending more miners into the gaping crevasses.

They shout and keep their torches high to the very end, with only a slight trembling in their voices.

Of course they are afraid. Of course they are fearful.

But they keep their torches raised, trading their lives for the lives of those behind them.

The Rhodes Island personnel try to stop them, but no one listens.

They're still firing, Amiya! Eloysius's vehicles are full, and the next batch hasn't arrived yet—

Amiya!

Why... why are they doing this?

We have to stop them. We can't let—

I can't stop this many in my current state.

But there must be something we can do.

Mantra...

I can feel it. I can feel their...

Their... anger.

It's so powerful. It's like it's burning them to ashes.

No...

I won't let them.

This—

This slaughter has to stop!

Anger. The same anger.

An emotion that Amiya has always fought to suppress, one that she would never allow to run unchecked.

Anger lights up her eyes, ignites her heart, and flows to her fingertips.

'Even if I don't take revenge, even if I never hold a grudge, I still have the right to rage on forever!'

The cerulean and black sword of wrath once again appears in her hand.

Ying Xiao—

A clean swing. Blue fire bursts from the tip of the sword, the highly concentrated energy drawing a wall of fire on the ice in the blink of an eye—another long and clear boundary.

On one side, the cracking ice and the shells repelled by the wall of fire.

On the other, the little Cautus and the torch-bearing Infected.

You...

Amiya points her sword at the shore, at the Army that has herded and slaughtered people like livestock.

'You go no further.'

Blue fire rages at her sword-tip, a warning to the murderers, be it the guns, the soldiers, or the battleships. Until the flames cease, until the score is settled—

None shall pass.

'Sir, high-powered Originium signal, twelve o'clock, source unknown!'

'Slow down and observe.'

'Yes, sir.'

...Did they cease fire?

No, they just slowed down.

You've stopped some of their attacks, Amiya. Rendezvous ASAP.

The other vehicles will arrive soon! Let's get out of here!

...No.

I'm staying until everyone is out.

Wait... something's coming!

A vehicle's coming toward us at high speed from the west, but it's not one of ours—I think it's a truck!

They drove onto the ice!

On alert—

Raidian! Finally got this thing to work. It's us! Me, Doctor, Ksenia—

And Lyudmila.;And Operator Crownslayer.

Rhodes Island...;Assemble.

Amiya!

Doctor! Mon3tr! How did you—

And, Operator Crownslayer...?

Didn't have time to chat along the way. I have a lot of questions myself.

But get on first.

We owe the Truckers' Union one.;I'll tell you about it later.

Is everyone alright?

Won't disappoint you.

We'll catch up later. For now, we need to get out of here.

Yes. Operator Mon3tr, Operator Crownslayer...;And {@nickname}, reporting in.

After scanning the survivors on the ice, the lights of the outpost on the southwest shore of Lake Neva point to the Army on the opposite shore.

White light faces off against red light, and the shelling grows even sparser.

'All units, this is Dispatch.'

'All units, cease fire immediately. We have an urgent request from Deity Grypherburg.'

'Repeat, all units, cease fire immediately.'

'Please acknowledge.'

'Yes, sir.'

Looks like it's stopped... for real this time.

And everyone's here.

Thank goodness...

Yes...

Looks like we made it.