Do we... Do we need to keep increasing our reload rate?
Victorian Officer
Are you seriously trying to eradicate every mobile plate in the city?
Sarkaz Warrior
Got a problem with the general's orders?
Victorian Officer
I... I'm just concerned that bombardment on this scale will have an effect on the walls...
Victorian Officer
Nothing like this has ever happened before. If Londinium wants to swap out plates inside the city, we'd simultaneously have to shift around the walls...
Sarkaz Warrior
Didn't ask.
Sarkaz Warrior
Are you going to obey, or are you going to die? Those are your only two options.
Victorian Officer
I...
Sarkaz Warrior
What's the matter?
Horn
I think he still has a third option.
Sarkaz Warrior
You––! Urgh...
Horn
Can you still stand, Captain?
Victorian Officer
I... I'll be alright. Who are you?
Horn
An old battle buddy.
Sarkaz Warrior
Over here! Someone snuck in!
Horn
—
Sarkaz Warrior
This shield? Where the hell did Victorian soldiers come from––
Horn
It feels pretty nice to use a weapon I'm familiar with.
Horn
Captain, can this model of cannon... take out the control system of the city defense artillery?
Victorian Officer
No... It's not possible...
Horn
I was expecting as much.
Rescued Soldier
Horn, we've mopped up the Sarkaz outside!
Horn
Make sure to thank Mr. Misery again on my behalf.
Horn
Captain, is there any other way to deactivate the artillery?
Victorian Officer
......
Horn
No need for the long face. You've been praying that we'd come.
Horn
After all, you didn't even cover up your old ID from the city defense forces.
Victorian Officer
This is just a blunder. The Sarkaz... won't kill me over something like this yet.
Horn
But if you help us, you'll be put to death?
Victorian Officer
And my family too.
Victorian Officer
They'll get dragged in. The Sarkaz can kill them off at any time.
Horn
I understand.
Horn
Carle, put your sights on this traitor.
Rescued Soldier
Um, Lieutenant... Where am I supposed to aim...?
Victorian Officer
Here. At my heart.
Victorian Officer
If I die... Perhaps only then, the Sarkaz will forget about me, and stop haunting my family.
Horn
......
Horn
If you've made up your mind, we'll work with you.
Victorian Officer
Alright. Thank you, Lieutenant.
Victorian Officer
If you want to turn off the cannons, there are only two ways.
Victorian Officer
One, is to have the Sarkaz general stop them himself... The other, is to completely destroy the control room.
Horn
For the first method to work, we'll have to defeat Manfred.
Victorian Officer
That's right. As for the second option... We don't have enough firepower. And besides... Are you prepared to tear down a cornerstone of Londinium's walls with your own hands?
Horn
......
Horn
I know it's what we should do.
Horn
What about you, Captain? Are you prepared?
Victorian Officer
I've been waiting for this moment... for a long time.
Rescued Soldier
Lieutenant, you missed.
Horn
Bloody hell, I suppose my hand slipped.
Horn
Help him down the lift. Whether he lives or dies... should be in his own hands.
Horn
Too much has happened on these walls today. We don't need to add another traitor.
Rescued Soldier
What about us? Should we head up as well?
Horn
Let's go. We're going to pay Manfred another visit.
To think you'd get blasted like this by a boy who's barely seen a fight... What an embarrassment you are.
Hoederer
Even a tiny metal crab, when backed into a corner... will pinch your hand.
???
You'd better hope Manfred buys your story.
Hoederer
You shouldn't be here. It's too risky.
???
So you'd rather lean against rubble gasping for breath than let me lend you a hand?
Hoederer
*wheeze*... If you wanted to hold me up... the other side would be better.
Hoederer
Thanks to her, I can't move this arm anymore.
???
You ran into her. What did you think?
Hoederer
Well, she noticed 'Her Highness.'
???
Then, she...
Hoederer
Didn't change at all.
???
You're positive? We all saw what she was like back then.
???
Even when she was chasing down those assassins, her body riddled with wounds, could she have imagined... that Her Majesty wasn't dead?
Hoederer
She's not the volatile, impulsive mercenary she used to be.
???
So, she's getting even crazier?
Hoederer
Who can say?
Hoederer
The truth is in front of us. She snuck into Londinium by herself and didn't toss a single bomb for two weeks. Not even Manfred noticed her.
Hoederer
The way she was before, she would've rushed straight into Westhaleg and buried a hundred landmines under Theresis's throne before getting herself killed by Confessarii.
Hoederer
I can reasonably assume she's formed some wiser plans with those folks from Babel... Or rather, Rhodes Island.
???
You almost traded your life away just to make sure of that? Aren't you playing it a bit too fast-and-loose?
Hoederer
Manfred's underlings always have eyes on me. This was the only safe way we could meet.
???
Too bad for Schwab...
Hoederer
He made his peace the moment he sided with W.
Hoederer
Or should I say... We've all made our peace.
???
I sure hope so.
Hoederer
Who's there?
???
I smell... Confessarius!
Confessarius Guard
I told Manfred you can't be trusted.
Confessarius Guard
Hoederer, did you really think you could hide your clever little gestures from our eyes?
Hoederer
This is all a misunderstanding.
Confessarius Guard
Oh? Unfortunately for you, you won't have another chance to twist words around in front of the leader and the Regent.
Confessarius Guard
You don't need to pretend to bow your head anymore. Pick up your sword and revel in your last battle, mercenary.
Hoederer
If that... is an order, then...
Confessarius Guard
You are powerless.
Confessarius Guard
You can't hope to protect your companions.
Confessarius Guard
Not a single shadow here... can escape my eyes.
???
Hoederer...
Hoederer
Run!
???
No, you're not giving the orders here. It cost us a lot to come this far––
Hoederer
Even more reason why we can't both die here!
Confessarius Guard
Worry not. I'll execute both of you here, together.
Confessarius Guard
You may take a moment to decide who goes first––
Confessarius Guard
Nngh?!
Hoederer
He went down... without a struggle?
Hoederer
You... It's you.
Ascalon
He got too cocky.
Ascalon
No one can claim to master all shadows. Infinite possibilities lie where the eyes cannot perceive.
Hoederer
*cough*... *cough* *cough* *cough*...
Ascalon
Hurry, get out of here. If you want to live, return to the sunlight.
Hoederer
What about you?
Ascalon
I still have other things to do.
Ascalon
I'll have you know... Confessarii underlings aren't the only ones here.
Commander, the metal structure behind us just fell––
Clovisia
That's not all...
Siege
He's here.
Clovisia
You feel it too?
Morgan
Vina, I didn't hear anything except the sound of shelling.
Siege
The sound of his heartbeat disappeared.
Morgan
What?
Siege
Run!!!
Clovisia
We've lost contact with the 12th––
Siege
They've all been sacrificed.
Clovisia
Yes...
Clovisia
Their voices completely vanished.
Siege
These... pitch-black pipes should amplify any and all sounds.
Siege
Breathing or footsteps, the clacking of a metal crab crawling through the pipe, or the rumble of machinery––
Siege
These pipes will record the vibrations of any signs of life.
Siege
And in an instant... all of those voices were devoured.
Morgan
You mean to say, this darkness behind us––
Siege
Is all the life it has devoured.
Clovisia
Just like what happened at that banquet three months ago.
Clovisia
Engineering team, close the first safety lock!
Self-Salvation Corps Soldier
Yes, Commander!
Clovisia
Miss Siege, you've... got sharp senses.
Clovisia
Are you familiar with Londinium's underground structure?
Clovisia
I remember Feist saying... you're from around these parts?
Siege
I've... only been here once.
Siege
But I've heard a lot of stories about these pipes.
Clovisia
A hundred years ago, a terrible fire ripped through the heart of Londinium. Only the royal family and a few nobles managed to escape the flames.
Clovisia
After that, a legend began to circulate that a magic circle was hidden beneath the palace that could allow the royal family to escape any disaster.
Clovisia
When I first heard that story, I couldn't help but wonder... would our royal family also use these very same pipes for their escape?
Siege
Hmm... The story I heard was very similar to your version.
Clovisia
The workers who built Londinium, the posh aristocrats and nobles, and the royal family itself–– are all forced to take the same route during times of crises.
Clovisia
That already is a story that writes itself.
Self-Salvation Corps Soldier
Commander, the safety lock is starting to give!
Siege
This door cannot hold him back.
Self-Salvation Corps Soldier
Are you serious? This door's thickness can withstand seven or eight salvos from an armored vehicle!
Siege
Retreat! Fall back!
With a sharp, earsplitting noise, a fissure appears in the middle of the metal door.
Under the tearing and folding of the tremendous force behind the door, the thick metal sheet seems thinner than paper. The fissure continues to grow, the dark void behind it like a monstrous, abyssal maw.
Clovisia
Close the second safety lock!
Self-Salvation Corps Soldier
Understoo–– Arrrgh!!
The door slams shut with a heavy thud, but the person sealing the door suddenly slips. Before he has a chance to scream, something invisible drags him into the shadows behind the door.
A smudge of blood seeps through the door's crack.
But not even the pool of blood is allowed to escape. In an instant, the shadows lurch through the door and instantly devour half the passageway.
Another massive roar rings out, though it is unclear whether it came from overhead or behind.
The pipe shudders, and the shadow's edge blurs like a predator's mouthparts, extending to latch onto its prey's ankle.
Siege
I... I've also heard of another story.
Siege
During a battle two hundred years ago, the Victorian Army joined forces with two other nations to lay siege to a city called Kazdel.
Siege
One night, an entire army of heavily-armed troops disappeared in the valley where they were stationed.
Siege
The count who had dispatched the army sent men to investigate their whereabouts, but only saw the crimson of the setting sun reflected against the mountain walls.
Siege
And as everyone remembered, that day... the sun had not come out at all.
Clovisia
The third safety lock––
Siege
Is this... the last one?
Clovisia doesn't answer her.
Just like her answer... Devoured by the monster flooding through the pipes.
