Operation story: 10-12
< 10-12
| Operation | Story |
| Previous 10-11 | Next 10-13 |
| Characters | |
 Dublinn Soldier  Robben  Taran Secret Agent  Sarkaz Warrior | |
| Backgrounds | |
 1  2 | |
After operation
| “ | After a skirmish, Horn and company are rescued by Misery. Manfred turns his offensive on Mandragora. | ” |
| <Background 1> | |
|---|---|
| [Following a skirmish with the Sarkaz soldiers...] | |
| Amiya | It's so strange, Doctor. We definitely shook off the Sarkaz warriors from before... |
| Doctor | But they're still coming without end. / It's like they know our position. |
| Amiya | Closure, are our communications being traced? |
| Closure | Not a chance, Amiya, I guarantee it! I set up triple-layer encryption on our transmitters! If they had the tech for that, then Theresis would've breached the landship a hundred times over by now! |
| Amiya | ...Doctor, I believe Closure. They must be using some other method then. |
| Feist | Miss Amiya, we're a stone's throw from the rendezvous point! As long as we link up with Team 6, we can get in contact with the subterranean support unit. Once we're underground, the Sarkaz pursuing us will be out of luck. |
| Siege | No, don't go that way. |
| Feist | Huh? Why... wait, what? Miss Siege, what are you doing here? Weren't you under... |
| Siege | ...... Team 6 is... |
| Feist | Team 6 is what? Why do you look so... erk, Miss Indra, have you seen all that blood on your hands?! |
| Indra | Your soldiers, they... all gave their lives. |
| Feist | Th-That can't be right! Team 6 is still ahead of us, how could they have run into the Sarkaz? |
| Siege | We don't have time to analyze how. Doctor, it wasn't the Sarkaz force pursuing us that killed Team 6's soldiers. |
| Amiya | You mean... |
| Siege | The enemy they faced had terrifying Originium Arts... It was more of a massacre than a battle. Hardly any of them had even drawn their weapons. |
| Indra | You sure it was Originium Arts? I don't believe that! I saw this red bug thing tear the soldiers' chests apart. Vina, you saw it too! That was a genuine monster! |
| Siege | ...... |
| Amiya | ...So the perpetrator is no ordinary Sarkaz. We have to change course. Mr. Feist, are there any other routes we can take? |
| Feist | Yes. But we don't have any support waiting on it. If we run into Sarkaz forces... |
| Siege | We'll be in for another hard fight. |
| <Background 2> | |
| [Amidst the skirmish between Horn and her comrades against Manfred and his Sarkaz soldiers, an explosion occurs.] | |
| Horn | Find cover! |
| Robben | Horn, what the hell is this?! What did that Sarkaz throw at us, a bomb? None of us even saw it– |
| Horn | ...Originium Arts. Eyes up! |
| Robben | I... I just saw something red flash by in midair! |
| Horn | Retreat! |
| [Some sort of an attack drone fires at Horn and her comrades.] | |
| Robben | It's like a thunderbolt or something! That's Originium Arts?! These... abominable devils! |
| Manfred | Still won't come out? Your war, your battle, your fight, it can't be this game of runabout you're playing, can it White Wolf? |
| [The drone rapidly fires.] | |
| Robben | Five aerial blood streaks at once? Horn, we have no chance of– |
| Horn | No. No matter how strong the Arts... he's only one person. What did Victoria do in the past, to prevail over the Sarkaz again and again? |
| Robben | You mean... |
| Horn | How many bolts do we have left? Cover me. |
| Robben | Yes, sir! |
| Manfred | A pitiful act of defiance– |
| [Horn fires at the attack drone, knocking it out of the sky...] | |
| Horn | Now... is our chance. |
| [...and gives her and her comrades the opportunity to run away.] | |
| Manfred | Counting on an Arts bombardment to make your escape? I'll give you a rude awakening. |
| [Manfred tries to reactivate the drone, but Horn destroys it by shooting it...] | |
| Manfred | –! |
| [...and turns back to face the Sarkaz general.] | |
| Horn | What I said still stands. So long as my soldiers remain here, I will not flee. |
| [Horn charges at Manfred, who guarded it...] | |
| Manfred | Not bad after all, White Wolf. I see you have the bravado to reverse course and charge me. Such a shame then... |
| [...before drawing out his sword and slashes at her, knocking the Lupo to a nearby wall and disorienting her.] | |
| Horn | ––Rrgh! |
| Manfred | Whoever told you that a Sarkaz depends solely on Arts in a fight? Even wielding no more than a sword–I can still defeat every last one of you. |
| Horn | Beating me... may not be so difficult... But making me fall will... not be so easy. |
| Manfred | How very brave of you. It's thanks to that valor of yours that I can end this battle that much quicker– |
| The instant he thrusts his sword out, the soldier before Manfred abruptly vanishes. She seems to practically dissolve and melt through the wall behind her, leaving not even a ripple. | |
| Manfred | These Arts are unfamiliar... Vigilance! |
| [A throwing knife flies at Manfred, who deflected them with his sword.] | |
| Manfred | ...A dagger from thin air? No, not from thin air... |
| [The attacker charges at Manfred, whom he intercepts.] | |
| ??? | You react very fast. |
| Manfred | I'm afraid I'd have one more hole in my chest otherwise. |
| [The unknown assailant engages Manfred as more Sarkaz soldiers show up.] | |
| Sarkaz Warrior | Target found! Take aim! What the hell? They vanished again? |
| [The assailant strikes down one of the Sarkaz soldiers before they could even retaliate.] | |
| Sarkaz Warrior | Th-They're too fast! I can't land a shot! Shields up, up! Quick! Shit, are they able to blink? |
| [Another Sarkaz soldier is taken out by the assailant.] | |
| Manfred | Blink? No such Arts could be cast without leaving even a trace! Or is this... a diversion? Don't let them fool you! All men, cast precision aside! Attack at once! So long as the enemy is still in front of us, they have no escape! |
| [The Sarkaz soldiers open fire at the assailant.] | |
| Manfred | Have we... hit them? |
| Sarkaz Warrior | General, there's no body. But the ground is shot to hell... Where can they still be hiding? |
| Manfred | ...... |
| Sarkaz Warrior | General, behind you! |
| [Manfred taunts the assailant,] | |
| Manfred | Show yourself, and your life is mine! |
| <Background fades out> | |
| ??? | Really? |
| <Background fades in> | |
| ??? | Manfred, you put it very well, but unfortunately... you were only half right. |
| Manfred | Half? |
| ??? | Sarkaz do not depend solely on Arts to fight– –but in no world do Sarkaz wield swords alone. |
| [The assailant did something that turns the ground into quicksand.] | |
| |
| Sarkaz Warrior | Aarrghh! The ground shouldn't be this soft–this place is going to swallow us! I-I'm losing my grip on my blade! General, you're sinking too?! |
| [Manfred uses his Arts to protect himself and his soldiers from the quicksand.] | |
| <Background 2> | |
| Manfred | ...Nobody move, and nobody panic. The dagger is his staff. These are Arts, and nothing more than Arts. |
| ??? | You're very calm-headed. Good... you've saved your men's lives. However... |
| [The assailant makes the ground below Manfred sink, taking his sword to the ground.] | |
| Manfred | Rgh! The ground's... nearing my stomach... My sword... |
| ??? | With your swordsmanship, blocking my attacks would be a simple task. But the more you struggle, the quicker the ground swallows you. Is this how you want to go... this self-destruction? |
| Manfred | Urgh... *cough* *cough*... |
| Sarkaz Warrior | General– |
| Manfred | No one come near! |
| ??? | Or, you could cease all movements, same as your men. |
| Manfred | You want me to wait as you run my heart through? |
| ??? | It'd be tough, killing you. |
| Manfred | *cough* *cough*... *pant*... I see now. You're not actually here to take my life. I never imagined that outside of Ascalon, Rhodes Island would have yet another apex Sarkaz assassin. |
| ??? | I'm no assassin. Unless it's called for, I have zero desire to harm any Sarkaz at all. |
| Manfred | But here you are, abetting our enemies! |
| ??? | Are these Victorians... your enemies? What I see is a group of bruised, weary warriors, on the soil of their own home, struggling painfully just to live. You and Theresis, on the other hand, are turning the Sarkaz into the enemy of all. |
| Manfred | I had entertained having a talk with your people, if I had the chance. It's a sorry thing, that we should first meet on the battlefield– –Rhodes Island Elite Operator. |
| [Manfred retaliates with his Arts, but the assailant escapes.] | |
| Manfred | ...... |
| Sarkaz Warrior | He's gone again? Ngh–the ground's back to normal! |
| Manfred | A hair's breadth. I was on the cusp of capturing him. His Arts are all too exceptional... He can induce hallucinations without influencing our nervous systems. There are marks of energy transformation on the ground. Could it be...? |
| Sarkaz Warrior | General, they're all gone! Those Victoria soldiers, I mean– |
| Manfred | Keh... He would visit me and stall for time, just to extricate those half-dead soldiers one by one? |
| Sarkaz Warrior | Are... Are we pursuing them, then? |
| Manfred | Do you think we can? I may have called it a hair's breadth, but against a Caster of that level, a hair's breadth is tantamount to guaranteed failure. |
| Sarkaz Warrior | Dammit! We were set to clean out all the rebel forces by today! Now a mercenary's gone traitor AND some mystery Caster's held us back! |
| Manfred | It's Rhodes Island... This is all because of Rhodes Island. We missed our chance to round them up in their entirety, but their losses can't be light, can they? They had their chance to hide in the dark, but now they've been driven front and center. For them, revealing their forces is already a colossal tactical defeat. An assassin, an expert spacial illusionist Caster, and the as-yet unseen Banshee... How many cards does Rhodes Island still have up their sleeve? |
| Sarkaz Warrior | General, what are your plans? |
| Manfred | ...Let us go. Before we deal with Rhodes Island, we first need to put the discontented clown in its place. |
| <Background 1> | |
| [The assailant took Horn and her comrades into a safe place.] | |
| ??? | This should be far enough for now. |
| Horn | ...Is this outside of the factory district? You... cut open space with your dagger? |
| ??? | Don't always trust your senses. Tricking your eyes is much easier than influencing space. |
| Horn | You've... You've rescued me, and not just once. My eyes might not show me the truest answers, but my senses never lie. Just who are you? |
| ??? | Misery. I'm Misery of Rhodes Island. |
| Horn | Rhodes Island? I'm sorry... |
| Misery | You'll get a chance to hear a full explanation from Bagpipe in due time. |
| Horn | Bagpipe? |
| Misery | She's a coworker at this point. Not to mention... the last friend my best friend ever made. |
| Horn | Sounds like I've been quite a bit out of the loop. But before I lose myself to the joy that Bagpipe made it out, allow me to once again thank you and Rhodes Island. |
| Misery | Let's get out of here first. Chances are we'll be meeting again soon enough. Manfred's almost worked out the truth of my Originium Arts. He could be coming after us any moment now. |
| Horn | ...No. I imagine he'll be busy with something else right now. |
| Misery | You mean Dublinn. County Hillock's Mandragora... There's no way she's leaving this factory now. |
| Horn | ...... |
| Misery | Are you giving yourself grief for not being able to personally avenge your comrades? |
| Horn | I... I'm just lamenting. Myself for standing here, regretting that I missed the opportunity to kill her... Or her, for being long since beyond saving. |
| <Background 2> | |
| Mandragora | That's odd. This is what you agreed with them, right? Why aren't they here to back us up? |
| [Mandragora and her Dublinn comrades are fired upon, with a Dublinn soldier getting shot...] | |
| Dublinn Soldier | I–argh! |
| [...and dies.] | |
| Mandragora | What the hell is it–? |
| Dublinn Soldier | Sarkaz! It's Sarkaz! We have to run– |
| [Another Dublinn soldier is shot dead.] | |
| Mandragora | ...Were we spotted? No. Not like this. "Spy", we have to go– Only ten meters to that sliding door there, right? Just ten meters, and we're right out, and... |
| Taran Secret Agent | A... Alright, let's run... |
| Mandragora | Just like we used to, you pulling me. We only had to run fast enough that those noble kids couldn't catch us... Grotesques! Get down, block them! |
| [Mandragora orders her grotesques to shield her and her comrades, only to be destroyed by the Sarkaz's Arts.] | |
| Mandragora | Bastards! Can't even rely on you in a time like this? |
| Taran Secret Agent | Mandragora... |
| Mandragora | What? Didn't I tell you to stay quiet for now? |
| Taran Secret Agent | I can't keep walking. You go. |
| Mandragora | What...? Can't you see? I've been doing all this just to... |
| Taran Secret Agent | To save me? Or to gain favor with the Leader? |
| Mandragora | Is there a difference? What are you talking about? We're just five meters away, our people are right outside! |
| Taran Secret Agent | They're gone. |
| Mandragora | What? |
| Taran Secret Agent | Mandragora... The Leader... she's long since abandoned us... |
| [The informant is shot.] | |
| Mandragora | "Spy"! Bastard, bastard–stones, go! Skewer them, impale every one of those Sarkaz! |
| [Mandragora retaliates with her geokinetic Arts.] | |
| Mandragora | You'll be alright, "Spy", it's just an arrow, we're three meters away, even if I have to carry you– |
| Taran Secret Agent | ...Just go. |
| Mandragora | I... |
| Taran Secret Agent | If you can make it out... Don't... Don't head for the Leader. |
| [The informant dies.] | |
| Mandragora | ...Did you just die? Who said you could die so easily...? I... Cillian, Cillian... you bloody disgrace! I'm not letting you die here, you stand up for me, stand up! |
| Manfred | No need to work yourself up. You won't live much longer either, Mandragora. You and your old Taran friend will meet again before you know it. |
| Mandragora | ...... Ha... hahahaha! Manfred, you cost me another eleven lives. You don't know the half... you don't know anything of what it took to kill that many Sarkaz. |
| Manfred | ...This is exactly why you must die here. |
| [Sarkaz soldiers surround Mandragora.] | |
| Mandragora | Perfect... drop yourselves right in my lap. I'll crush every one of you into paste, no prisoners. |