I wish I could've done that. I also wish that, when I opened my eyes again, all of this would've been over, win or lose.
Ernesto
Too bad. I couldn't.
Ch'en
You can't beat me.
Ernesto
I'm really glad that I identified you two as my greatest foes right at the beginning... We wouldn't have made it this far otherwise.
Ch'en
You... You don't seem like those maniacs out there. Why are you doing this?
Ernesto
Let me tell you how I truly feel, now that it's come to this.
Ernesto
Ms. Candela once said that her father, a former mayor of this city, was a useless piece of trash who, propped up by the Leithanian government, could do nothing but take bribes.
Ernesto
Before the outraged citizens could kick his office's door in, he fled the country with his wife and daughter.
Ernesto
Although her father was a piece of trash through and through, as the daughter of the scumbag, she followed her father first to Kazimierz, then to Victoria.
Ernesto
Through her father, she learned all the ways that wealth could be used. She learned the very meaning of wealth.
Ernesto
Then, she came back to the city and became its mayor.
Ernesto
At a time when the resistance was nothing but a huge failure, the city found itself producing the finest liquor, coffee, and confectionaries.
Ernesto
Dossoles tequila can even be found in Leithanien and Columbia.
Ernesto
And while the Leithanians and Columbians were bickering at each other, the city transformed into a vacation hotspot of choice among the elite of both sides.
Ernesto
They had no choice but to follow Ms. Candela's rule: You may never fight here.
Ernesto
And it's not military might or prowess that makes them willingly follow this rule. It's wealth, entertainment, and all the luxuries this place has to offer.
Ernesto
It's the city's colorful facade.
Ernesto
I know that's not how I should see all this.
Ernesto
But I can't keep myself from thinking this way—
Ernesto
From a certain point of view, and all things considered, perhaps Ms. Candela loves this country far more than my father.
Ernesto
All he is doing is blindly chasing this construct of a country. He wants a country called Bolívar.
Ernesto
Its borders were defined when it was still a colony. Its citizens are those who have always lived on these lands.
Ernesto
What comes next? How will this country take on the Columbians and Leithanians in this conflict? How will it continue to develop as a country?
Ernesto
He doesn't know. He doesn't actually know what kind of a country Bolívar is.
Ernesto
But Ms. Candela found a path forward. She found meaning in its existence, and she plans to make that meaning a reality.
Ch'en
That's a load of shit.
Ernesto
It's better than having nothing but empty promises, no?
Ch'en
In that case, why help your father?
Ernesto
From the moment I was born, I've watched my father toil away amid the flames of war. I've watched him go from a spirited man to a quiet one.
Ernesto
I know what kind of person my father is. He's not like those men who chose to give in to the modern world.
Ernesto
Even though working under Ms. Candela put these thoughts in my head, that doesn't mean I will betray my father.
Ernesto
But I also cannot deny that these thoughts are getting stronger and stronger. So much that I'm slowly starting to consider the other possibilities there are.
Ernesto
That's why this operation is something like a crossroads for me.
Ernesto
I will wholeheartedly help my father in his cause. If he succeeds, then I will continue to help him.
Ernesto
If he fails, then I will accept my change of heart and become Ms. Candela's supporter.
Ernesto
Of course, if I die—
Ernesto
That just means I'm gonna be dead, haha.
Ernesto
But now is not the time for all of this to end. Not just yet.
Ernesto
That's why I can't let you through.
Ch'en
In that case... we've got nothing to say to each other.
Ernesto
Right, it's been a pleasure, Miss Ch'en.
Ernesto
If we'd met under any other circumstance, I would have loved to give you and Miss Lin a proper tour of the city.
You know that team that did really well in the championship, LUNG wRATh? Seems like their girl Ch'en is still putting up a fight.
Dim-witted Pancho Subordinate
The whole ship's our people, and all the other contestants are here. How is she putting up a fight?
Quick-witted Pancho Subordinate
Apparently she took Ernesto out.
Quick-witted Pancho Subordinate
Then she's been running up and down the ship, and now the captain's personally going after her.
Quick-witted Pancho Subordinate
Heh, that's something, and here I brushed it off when Ernesto told us not to underestimate them.
Dim-witted Pancho Subordinate
Hm? Speaking of, where's the other girl, Lin?
Dim-witted Pancho Subordinate
I don't see her among the hostages.
Quick-witted Pancho Subordinate
Who knows. Probably jumped off the ship.
Lin Yühsia
You called?
Dim-witted Pancho Subordinate
?!
Lin Yühsia leaps down from the ceiling above, swiftly dispatching them with two quick chops.
Alert Pancho Subordinate
Quick! Surround her!
Lin Yühsia
(Hui-chieh makes good distractions. There's not too many of them here.)
Lin Yühsia
(Let's get this over with quickly.)
Surrounded by the guards in the room, Lin Yühsia leans forward slightly and dashes.
She rams her knee into the first guard's stomach, sending him flying into a second guard. The two violently crash into a pillar, incapacitating them and almost knocking the pillar over.
The third guard is about to attack with his weapon, but then notices the two streams of blood gushing out of his arm. He screams and falls to his knees, before a single chop turns everything around him black.
The fourth and fifth guards attempt to attack her together, only for Lin Yühsia to kick an entire dining table toward them, tableware included. They crash to the ground before they can react.
Correctly deducing the severity of the situation, the sixth man picks up his comms in an attempt to relay the information, only to find it puffing up smoke. The next moment, he finds himself flying through the air; his body draws an elegant arc before falling into the sea.
Lin Yühsia is particularly skilled in close quarters combat, and she takes full advantage of this in the cramped dining room, dispatching the hostage guards in a flash.
The hostages, in other words the dignitaries kidnapped by the captain and the contestants who got dragged into the mess, are all trembling in the corner, gawking at her in surprise.
Lin Yühsia
Come with me if you want to live.
Dignitary
How are we supposed to escape?! The whole ship's full of Pancho's men!
Lin Yühsia
You two.
Feeble-minded Contestant
Eeep—
Headstrong Contestant
Stop embarrassing yourself. Stand up.
Headstrong Contestant
Miss Lin, we'll do what you say.
Lin Yühsia
I'll be the point guard. The rest of you, take care of the bigwigs.
Headstrong Contestant
Got it.
Lin Yühsia
Now, then...
Rafaela
Damn... am I too late...?
Rafaela
Ernesto said you'd be here. Looks like he was right.
Lin Yühsia
(Ernesto... Hui-chieh took him out, but he figured the situation right after he came to?)
Lin Yühsia
(He's a capable man. What a shame.)
Lin Yühsia
(Still, I didn't expect to run into this little girl again.)
Lin Yühsia
Little girl, you shouldn't have thrown yourself into this mess.
Rafaela
My name is Rafaela. I'm not a little girl.
Rafaela
I may be adopted, but I'm Papa's daughter, so this is exactly the mess I should be in.
Rafaela
Mi hermano called you a good person. Why are you standing in our way?
Lin Yühsia
Do you think what you're doing is right?
Rafaela
I'm not so sure, but Hermano and Papa said the city's a bad place, and I take their word for it.
Lin Yühsia
You should form your own opinions, little girl. Sometimes, your elders need your help.
Lin Yühsia
They have experience, and they can be quite insistent on following that experience.
Lin Yühsia
When it comes time for you to take over, you can't always do as they did in the past.
Lin Yühsia
You need to use your own reason to break away from their old ways. You need to think about what only you can do.
Rafaela
I don't understand.
Lin Yühsia
It's okay, but you should try to remember this.
Lin Yühsia
Okay, I still have something else to take care of, so it's time for you to be good and go to bed now, little girl.
