01x02 - Sentence: Spearhead the Recapture of the Zewan Gan Tunnels 1

[bunniefuu]

I'll find you.

I'll find the one who set up

me and my Knights.

The one responsible for Senerva's fate.

I'll find you

and I will k*ll you.

Xylo! Xylo!

Were you dreaming, perchance?

A wisp of a man named Venetim

asked me to wake you.

Express your gratitude

and shower me with praise.

Tell him I'll be there in a minute.

Unacceptable. You intend to return

to your slumber the moment I leave.

Yep.

Bah. Your honesty is commendable,

but your behavior is not.

Tell me why.

Why what?

Why you're still here.

They told you about us, right?

Yes.

They say the hero penalty is reserved

for the most grievous of crimes.

They have told me about your past as well.

So why—

My knight!

You had a reason, did you not?

My reason doesn't matter.

I k*lled a goddess.

That's the truth.

The pact can be canceled by the goddess's

death or by mutual consent. So just—

I will not.

What?

I have named you as my knight.

Xylo! Are you awake?

Everything's a real mess!

Quit shouting, Venetim. I'll k*ll you.

I'm afraid I may die

before you get the chance.

Seems our next mission is in.

Seriously?

We are disposable heroes, after all.

Still, I'd prefer not to die,

so could you come discuss the details?

Son of a b*tch.

My knight!

We must go. My power is needed, is it not?

Take them down!

Wh-What is the meaning of this?

Don't let mere winged insects

interrupt our rest!

It's Tatsuya and His Majesty.

Tatsuya? His Majesty?

Yeah. They're heroes like me.

Xylo! The river has turned to ice!

Who would have believed

even one of this size could freeze?

Xylo, come to my side and take a look.

Come, come! Look yonder!

Here.

"Thirteenth goddess

transport mission suspended."

"You are hereby ordered to clear

the Zewan Gan Tunnels."

Have they been affected

by Demon Blight as well?

Since the Fourth w*r of Subjugation began

with the appearance of Demon Blight

Number One, the Serpent,

our forests have been corrupted,

and the soil has continually degraded.

Over the course of those twenty years,

humanity has lost half of its habitable land.

We must not let it progress any further.

We've sent the hero unit to Zewan Gan.

On horseback, you can meet up

with them quickly.

We'll depart at once.

Please do.

Oh, that's right.

If you run into High Priest Marlen,

pass on my regards.

It occurs to me I have seen no sign

of that rogue named Dotta.

Dotta's in the repair shop.

Because Xylo hit him, I'd wager.

Honestly. As my loyal subjects,

you need to be more careful.

Yeah, yeah. As you wish, Your Majesty.

Pardon me. May I ask why

you call him "Your Majesty"?

It's exactly how it sounds.

Norgalle's seriously convinced

he's the king of the Federated Kingdom.

He committed a large-scale t*rror1st attack

against his "usurpers," and as a result,

he was sentenced to be a hero.

He was a t*rror1st.

A-And who is that?

That's Tatsuya.

Dunno what he did, but he's been

in the hero unit longer than any of us.

He appears rather detached.

Every time a hero is resurrected, they lose

parts of their mind and their memories.

We'll be like him if we're not careful.

Dammit. Everything about

this sentence is garbage.

Well, isn't this a cheery welcome?

Let's go.

The town appears to be under a pall.

Well, they're on the verge of

getting swallowed by the Demon Blight.

There's not much time left.

Is there really nothing you can do?

I'm afraid the army's decision is

Normally, they'd all have been evacuated.

I wonder what's with all the holdouts.

Hey, question.

You're

a hero?

You're not in any danger from me.

We're here to get the tunnels under control.

If you've got any digging tools,

we'd appreciate—

Why even bother now?

It's far too late.

Why didn't you come sooner?

Excuse me.

What? This isn't a show.

The tunnels are that way.

Thanks.

Will my dad come back?

It's my birthday.

He said he'd be back!

Dammit.

Don't look at me like that.

The Zewan Gan Tunnels produce good-quality

iron used in sacred seals as a catalyst,

so it seems Verkle Development Corporation

and the military poured in lots of money.

So yeah, pretty ironic that

the Tunnels themselves got faeried.

Huh. My knight, what is a "sacred seal"?

According to the Temple guys,

they're wisdom bestowed on us by the gods.

Though the way my body is now,

there's only two I can use.

They're King Norgalle's specialty.

He's a genius who can singlehandedly do the kind

of tuning that'd usually take several people.

Goddess, the sacred seal inscribed on

an object is powered by the light of the sun,

and invoked by a person's life force and will.

They have various effects.

To call lightning from above.

To crack the earth below. To unleash heat.

Is it not incredible, Xylo?

But we can't beat our enemies

with sacred seals alone.

They say it was about a month ago

that the miners were turned into faeries

and began attacking indiscriminately.

A Demon Blight, huh?

Yes.

The details are fuzzy, but it seems

Number Fifty-One is being referred to as "Lotus."

Our mission is to excavate a direct route

for the Holy Knights to attack.

Still, I must reveal with some regret

that as your commander,

I'm forced to remain in the town.

Huh? You'd better be kidding me—

So

I beseech you

to promptly

proceed inside!

This might be our own graves

we're digging here.

I inscribed those sacred seals myself,

and that's the best you can do?

Dig faster.

We're doing our best here.

You appear to be struggling, Xylo.

In that case, may I step in?

Hell no.

I'm not gonna go wastin' a goddess's stamina.

But I have yet to contribute to this mission.

How am I going to earn your praise like this?

Just shut up and sit down.

I'm glad to see you're doing

your job, at least

Xylo Forbartz.

Yeah, I'd be dead if I weren't.

Goddess, would you prefer

to rest with our unit?

No, I must watch my knight at work.

I am a goddess.

But—

The goddess wishes to remain

on the front lines with us.

As sovereign of this realm,

I reject your request.

Xylo, what's wrong with this man?

Is it resurrection madness?

Nope. All him.

I see.

They told me how Dotta Luzulas

stole the goddess.

Why didn't you explain yourself then?

Like you would've believed me.

I didn't exactly have time, anyway.

In the future, tell me everything.

If we're assigned to the same mission,

it's your obligation.

Yeah, right.

While you're giving out missions like this?

What do you mean?

It's a faeried mine. Most of the time,

they'd just leave it be.

Especially with winter on the way.

What are you getting at?

I don't know what the military

or Temple folk are thinking,

but it's a pointless mission

on the face of it.

What are you after? Assuming you're not

just torturing us for the fun of it.

Are you planning to use

Teoritta for something?

Well?

Don't waste time with conspiracy theories.

Your unit will carry out its mission.

Disgusting.

This whole thing is fishy as hell.

Stay back!

Not so fast!

Limiting expl*si*n damage won't be easy.

Tatsuya!

Very impressive.

My elite soldier never fails to deliver.

He didn't even need backup.

But he could probably use some rest.

Despite points of corruption,

the surface appears safe.

This shall be the Holy Knights' front-line base.

Begin construction.

Xylo!

It is now my turn to contribute, yes?

Allow me.

Chill out.

Where shall I plant this stake?

My knight! The corruption

has encroached further!

Just hang on.

Plant a stake every three

big paces up to that point.

We'll tie a rope between them

and create a sacred seal barrier.

Then, behold!

Success! As you can see,

I have the task in hand.

Once it is complete,

I shall request a celebration.

Just do your best.

Don't hurt yourself.

What is your next task, Xylo?

Setting out the supply chests.

They'll need to be ready

for when the Holy Knights—

What the

Some of my finest work, I'd say.

Very impressive.

It is beautiful.

A system that meets unwelcome visitors

with unrepentant slaughter.

I call it the Zolinvolkov.

The name means "judge of fools."

Nice trap. How do the Knights disarm it?

Look carefully and you'll see.

There are parts of the ground that trigger

attacks, and other parts that do not.

But that in itself is a decoy!

Anyone foolish enough to touch the box

shall be scorched by the flames of judgment!

To disarm that, they will need this key—

Tatsuya!

Wh-What are you doing?

Impudent fiend.

You wanna get the whole strike team k*lled?

Take everything off except what's needed.

Y-You rogues!

This is high treason!

Heroes are an eccentric bunch.

Damn. Needs more heat.

Allow me.

Is a more powerful flame needed?

Nah. Keep it on low, please.

It is done!

This latest one is even more

perfect than the others!

Shall I make another, my knight?

Hmm? Sure.

Delicious, no? I have officially mastered

the skill known as "cooking"!

I shall permit you to praise me

out of gratitude.

If Dotta or Venetim were here,

we might've gotten a little more.

Are they dividing these

military ration budgets fairly?

I'll be having words with

the Minister of Finance about this.

Sounds good. Once the mission

is over, you do that.

It appears the plan is

proceeding smoothly, Xylo.

Have we come close to the demon lord?

Most likely.

It is surely my blessings

that have made it possible.

Will the Holy Knights not also

be grateful for my contributions?

Yeah, maybe a little.

My knight.

Might we not defeat

the demon lord ourselves?

Are you stupid?

First off, I don't want to.

Second, it's against orders.

B-But my knight, surely a goddess—

Hell no.

Join the Holy Knights if you wanna do that.

This again?

Xylo, my knight.

You must ask more of me.

It is you who must say

I am a goddess of superlative power,

or I shall never be satisfied.

Xylo.

Communiqué from the main force.

Is that a distress signal?

Hurry Help need aid

Demon Blight under attack

Captain! More incoming!

Prepare to engage!

All forces, charge!

This is worse than I expected.

We've got to—

My knight.

Those faeries

They were once human, were they not?

Yeah. But they're knockers now.

Keep up your attacks!

I don't like it, but it's gotta be done.

If the Holy Knights get wiped out,

our heads get blown off.

Give us an order, Holy Knight Captain!

Xylo Forbartz.

Flank them!

Go forth, my elite royal soldiers!

Bring peaceful slumber to

the ensorcelled subjects of my kingdom!

Let's get in there.

Those people

They can never return to how they once were?

There are people in the city

who still await their return.

Once they reach this state,

there's no going back.

We can at least

put an end to their suffering!

Now! Charge!

Hell of a mission.

Yeah. Who knew humans

could turn into faeries?

What the

Hey, you okay?

Hey.

Voice Voice No

Their voices

It seems there are a few dozen workers

who didn't make it out in time.

Sounds miserable.

They are loyal subjects who gave

their all in service to my kingdom.

We must save them at any cost.

Impossible.

Saving civilians isn't part

of our mission objectives.

We can't risk Holy Knights losses for it.

Xylo Forbartz.

For my own reference, let me ask you.

If we were to embark on a rescue,

how many losses could we expect?

Guess you're in a tricky position, too.

You can expect a lot.

Having to escape through narrow corridors

while defending civilians

Captain Kivia.

If I may be so bold, is it really necessary

to ask that man's opinion?

We'll use scorched earth seals

to close off the tunnels.

I believe those are the orders

Galtuile gave us.

I know that.

You intend to abandon

the people of my kingdom?

This is mass high treason! It's rebellion!

What are you fools doing? Unhand me!

How unbecoming.

To see Norgalle Senridge,

the last disciple of Sage Hordeaux and

the pride of the Academy, reduced to this

You traitors!

You'll all be punished under royal decree!

Calm down, Your Majesty.

Do what they say,

or that seal on your neck will k*ll you.

Xylo! Are you turning on me, too?

Dammit.

Stay here. We'll go save them.

What?

We got the front-line base set up.

You Holy Knights can carry out

your mission as ordered.

If we don't make it out in time,

just bury us alive in there.

Any fatalities will be limited to heroes.

Xylo! Just as I expected from my knight!

Holy Knights, do you agree?

The moment we succeed in rescuing them,

you can join them in showering us with—

Teoritta stays with you.

What'd you expect?

We can't let a goddess be buried alive.

R-Reconsider, my knight!

We must always remain—

Goddess Teoritta.

Xylo! You have tricked me!

You will pay for this!

You're all so damn self-serving.

To be honest, I don't give

a damn about the civilians.

But I'm mad as hell now.

At the commanders

who formed this garbage plan,

and at the people eagerly

awaiting my death.

I've dug a grave already.

Time to march into it as far as I can go.