Operation story: SN-2
< SN-2
| Operation | Story |
| Previous SN-ST-2 | Next SN-ST-3 |
| Characters | |
 Fleeing Townsfolk  Panicking Townsfolk  Agitated Cultist Mournful Adherent  Sea Monster  Silent/Vigilant Cultist | |
| Backgrounds | |
 1  2  3  4  5  6 | |
After operation
| “ | The cultists scatter before the Abyssal Hunters. A mysterious Hunter by the name of Ulpianus kidnaps Amaia, while Elysium finds a clue in the files left by the cultists. | ” |
| <Background 1> | |
|---|---|
| Alty | You're not gonna help? |
| Kal'tsit | You aren't rising from your seat either. |
| Alty | I'm not needed. |
| Kal'tsit | Strictly speaking, I'm still a prisoner of Iberia. It is not my place to worry for a High Inquisitor. Let's talk about the two of us. |
| Alty | We'll stay in this town on the coastline, for a while. We know how to follow stage directions. If you and your Abyssal Hunters fail, we'll take the Iberians and pull back to an appropriate position. Assuming the old man outside listens to us, anyway. |
| Kal'tsit | ...You're willing to help the people on the land. |
| Alty | Frost is young, I'm about the same age as Dan, and Aya maybe a little older. There's little left for us to love, except... music. Frailty of body and mind has driven humans to seek breakthroughs within their short lifespans. And what do you know, they pulled it off. |
| Kal'tsit | ...Indeed. |
| Alty | But the sea's not a fan of heavy metal. We don't have a choice. As far as survival is concerned, the land is the lesser evil. |
| Kal'tsit | It would not be difficult to get this country to listen. Reveal a few secrets, hint at old wounds, and promise that the same disaster will not strike again. |
| Alty | Can it really be that easy? |
| Kal'tsit | Even simpler, if promises can be considered lies. |
| <Background 2> | |
| [A number of Sea Terrors appear in the streets.] | |
| Panicking Townsfolk | Monsters! Monsters! |
| Panicking Townsfolk | Where's the Inquisition?! Anyone?! Help! |
| [The Sea Terror approaches the townsfolk...] | |
| Sea Terror | Grr... grr... |
| Panicking Townsfolk | Eek! |
| [...but it is cut down by Gladiia.] | |
| Gladiia | As ever, Kal'tsit picks the worst meeting locations. What's going on here? |
| Panicking Townsfolk | T-Thank you... A-Are you an Ægir too? From the outside? |
| Gladiia | ..."Too?" Ah, you refer to AUS. Ægir, eh... |
| Panicking Townsfolk | A-Are you here to fight them? You took out those monsters in the blink of an eye... |
| Gladiia | Your attitude towards the Ægir seems different in this town. |
| Panicking Townsfolk | There used to be a lot of them around here, until about twenty years ago. Did the Inquisition send you? Sh-Should we ask for their help? |
| Gladiia | None of my concern. But unless you intend to get hurt, I recommended hiding until this is over. |
| Panicking Townsfolk | A-Alright. |
| [The townsfolk runs away as Skadi joins in.] | |
| Skadi | This place, they're everywhere. Not as bad as Sal Viento, but it's still strange. |
| Gladiia | This town has not been consumed by rot. There are even those leading more or less normal lives here. |
| Skadi | The waves have not touched this place. |
| Gladiia | Then the flotsam has gone into hiding. No surprise there. If our target is that ship, then Kal'tsit must have chosen this place for a reason. |
| Skadi | Should we split up? |
| Gladiia | I'll find Kal'tsit. You and Shark handle the Sea Terrors. |
| Skadi | Right. |
| Gladiia | They are weak, but don't get hurt. Weakness is often bait. ...Shark? |
| Specter | Hm? |
| Gladiia | ...... Take care of her, Skadi. I still have trouble getting used to how she is now. |
| Skadi | I know. |
| <Background 3> | |
| [A female townsfolk is running away from the Sea Terrors.] | |
| Fleeing Townsfolk | Monsters?! Where did they come from? |
| Elysium | This way! |
| Fleeing Townsfolk | Oh, er, right! |
| [Elysium guides the townsfolk to safety.] | |
| Elysium | They're relatively few in number, but surprisingly coordinated. Is someone leading them? And how could they have just popped up out of nowhere? Where are they hiding? Is it... this way? |
| <Background fades out and in> | |
| Elysium | (Getting closer... there's someone here!) |
| [Elysium saw two Church of the Deep cultists.] | |
| Mournful Adherent | One falls, another takes their place. We give our lives only to buy time. |
| Silent Cultist | ...... |
| Mournful Adherent | No one here can stand against a High Inquisitor. All who resist are doomed. |
| Silent Cultist | In death lies hope. Do not squander it. |
| Mournful Adherent | Yes... we must hasten our departure. But it is a shame to abandon the closest outpost we have to the Eye of Iberia... We need but one to reach the Eye... Who goes there?! |
| Elysium | (Crap!) |
| [Elysium runs away.] | |
| Mournful Adherent | Liberi! Don't let him get away! |
| Elysium | Tch. |
| <Background 4> | |
| Amaia | Gran Faro will be no more. Is this really what you want? |
| Bizarre Hunter | ...... |
| Amaia | Our interests are aligned. This shouldn't have to happen. You're the only one who can stop the both the Inquisition and your own people. |
| Bizarre Hunter | I'll kill you, Amaia. Soon. |
| Amaia | My, my... I thought we were on a first-name basis, Ulpianus. |
| Ulpianus | ...... |
| Amaia | Perhaps you intended to make your move once we'd arrived at the lighthouse? But you know full well that's not our destination. We're going someplace further, and it's there that we'll make our choice. |
| Ulpianus | ...... |
| Amaia | Aren't the Abyssal Hunters all of one mind? Why haven't you gone back to your squad? What are you thinking? |
| Ulpianus | You never saw what I saw. |
| Amaia | Ah, yes... the oldest story in the book. They never saw what you saw, either. Did you lose trust in each other? |
| Ulpianus | Ægir is united by the bonds of blood. I chose to go into exile in order to achieve our common goal. |
| Amaia | Uh huh... |
| Ulpianus | Stay away from them, Amaia. Even on dry land, Gladiia, Skadi and Laurentina can wipe this town from existence with little more than a shrug. |
| Amaia | Hmph. |
| The hand that Amaia has placed on the book moves ever so slightly. Unperturbed, she smiles back at the provocation. | |
| Amaia | You're right. Thank you for your concern. |
| Ulpianus | I need that ship. I must reach it before Gladiia. They cannot return to Ægir knowing nothing of what's going on. |
| <Background 3> | |
| [Elysium loses the pursuing cultists.] | |
| Elysium | Finally shook them off! How can they be hiding this many people? Is this town some kind of clown car? There's nothing but barrens to the north. So where are they coming from? |
| <Background 5> | |
| [Gladiia arrives at the town square...] | |
| Gladiia | Hm. |
| [...with St. Carmen awaiting her.] | |
| Saint Carmen | A pleasure to meet you, ma'am. You must be the Abyssal Hunter that Kal'tsit mentioned. |
| [Gladiia looks at the dead cultists in the square.] | |
| Gladiia | Is this your work? |
| Saint Carmen | Iberia is not always so messy. I beg your pardon. |
| Gladiia is quiet for a moment. In her long years on dry land, she has seen how weak and backwards the terrestrial states are, but also the strength of the Inquisitors at Sal Viento. Kal'tsit's words echo in her mind as she thinks on how to live alongside those above water. The silence lasts only a moment. | |
| Gladiia | I am Gladiia, Technology Consul of Ægir, and the Abyssal Hunters' Chief Designer of Warfare. |
| For the first time, she speaks to a land-dweller as a representative of Ægir. Her counterpart nods, sheathes his rapier, and strides over the silent carcass of the Sea Terror. | |
| Saint Carmen | Carmen, High Inquisitor of the Iberian Inquisition. I see the legends of Ægir hold true. |
| Gladiia | You're different from the others. |
| Saint Carmen | I have a few more years under my belt. |
| Gladiia | Where's Kal'tsit? |
| Saint Carmen | She's speaking to another guest from the ocean in the chapel. |
| Gladiia turns to walk away when— | |
| Saint Carmen | If you've come to speak to the doctor, I'm sure she's shared the same information with you. |
| Gladiia | ...Perhaps. |
| Saint Carmen | What do you think of her suggestion? |
| Gladiia | We can talk after I've confirmed she's unharmed. |
| Saint Carmen | We have no reason to harm someone who wishes to protect Iberia from the bottom of her heart. |
| Gladiia | So you say. I've seen more foolishness in my brief time on land than I have for half a lifetime. |
| Saint Carmen | If it's been such a brief time, how can you be so sure? |
| Gladiia | The worst of times brings out the worst in people. Iberia's current reality is far from gilded. Regardless, I'm not here to debate. If she's in the chapel behind you, then— |
| Saint Carmen | You'll never reach the Eye of Iberia without the Inquisition's help. |
| Gladiia | ...... |
| Saint Carmen | It was not destroyed in the Profound Silence. If the Stultifera remains afloat, then the Eye of Iberia is the only way to find it in the vastness of the ocean. |
| Gladiia | ...... What Iberia can offer, I can achieve on my own with only slightly more effort. |
| Saint Carmen | I suppose I have something to look forward to then, Gladiia. |
| <Background 6> | |
| Vigilant Cultist | How many left? |
| Agitated Cultist | Four or five, maybe. Some have departed to seek sanctuary elsewhere. |
| Vigilant Cultist | Very well. Burn these documents. We don't have time for them. |
| Agitated Cultist | Gran Faro... I once called this place home. |
| Vigilant Cultist | You are still bound by such distractions? |
| Agitated Cultist | No... no more. Burn them all. |
| [The cultists burn down the incriminating files about the Church of the Deep.] | |
| Vigilant Cultist | The Inquisition must not find them. We embrace this knowledge, and promote harmony through enlightenment. The Inquisition, in their ignorance and selfishness, calls it heresy. |
| Agitated Cultist | Let's go. We will find a way to reestablish contact. We too will embrace the ocean, someday. |
| [The cultists leave as Elysium reveals himself.] | |
| Elysium | (Are they gone? Is this one of their hideouts? And here I thought it was just a struggling restaurant. It's only two blocks from the chapel, for crying out loud.) (They're burning their papers? I have to put the fire out!) |
| [Elysium approaches the burning documents, but the fire is too strong.] | |
| Elysium | (The flames are too strong. I have to save what I can—) Yowch, that's hot! |
| [Elysium put out the fires and sifts through what remained of the files.] | |
| Elysium | Whew... are these blueprints? Some sort of equipment...? The stamp of approval has been burned to ash. Historical records of Iberia... theses on ocean currents... What are they planning? Breo... gan? Royal shipwright? And what's this? A drawing of that statue in the square? —! |
| [Ulpianus appear and puts Elysium at axe-point.] | |
| Ulpianus | Put that down, Liberi. Let it burn as it should. |
| Elysium | You— |
| Elysium has always been confident in his ability to talk his way out of a situation. In this case, however, he does not get a chance to, barely avoiding the touch of cold steel. | |
| [Ulpianus strikes at Elysium, but he dodged it as he breaks out.] | |
| <Background 3> | |
| Elysium | Hey, don't you know it's rude to strike without warning?! |
| <Background fades out> | |
| Ulpianus | ...... |
| <Background fades in> | |
| [Elysium tries to contact Kal'tsit...] | |
| Elysium | Dr. Kal'tsit! Their goal is— |
| [...but Ulpianus showed up right in front of him and cuts the communicator out of Elysium's hand.] | |