Part 102: This is darkness, Estelle Bright.

-In My Heart-





(If I join the society, I'll meet Joshua again. That's all but guaranteed.)
(Besides, I don't have to join them for real, right? I can just, like, pretend to join them and learn more about how they operate.)
(I'm not the best actress in the world, so it might be hard, but it's better than being locked up...)



(No...That's stupid.)
(That isn't the way I do things.)

*knock knock*

Man's Voice: Pardon me.





Heh. No need to be so on guard. I have no intention of harming you--though if you try something like that little stunt of yours earlier, I may have no other choice.
Yeah, well, SOOORRY.
What're you doing here, anyway? Weren't you guys going out somewhere?
The professor and the others are the ones who will be advancing the plan. I'm staying behind and minding the Glorious.
What is it you people are planning on doing?
If you wish to find out, why not accept the professor's invitation? You'll learn most of our plans if you do.
...
Heh. It seems you have your answer, but you're still hesitating, aren't you?
Erm.
If you want my advice, Estelle Bright? You are not suited for the Society of Ouroboros. At all. In both ability and personality.
Man...Do you have to be so completely blunt about it?
Don't misunderstand me. The potential for the necessary skill is within you...somewhere. But your personality...
You have too little darkness within you to be part of the Ouroboros.
...'Darkness'?
All those in service to the Grandmaster bear some kind of darkness on their shoulders. Myself, the professor, the other Enforcers...
Joshua, too, needless to say.
...
Hey...
What's your relationship to Joshua, anyway?
Our relationship...?
Joshua was weirdly focused on you. He seemed to know who you were even though he didn't recognize you with that mask on. And on top of that, it seemed like he was desperate to find out who you were.
That doesn't surprise me.
The professor sealed part of his memory away. He was hypnotized in such a way that the moment he left the society, he could remember little about us.
Even if he remembered his actions as part of the society, he could not remember his confederates. That would have been the core of his dilemma.
That's...
The memories of his childhood would be the same. Even if he remembers Karin, he likely would have only loosely remembered me.
I see...So that's why...
Wait. Karin? I've heard that name before.
...



Karin Astray. A childhood friend of mine and Joshua's older sister. She died ten years ago.
Wha...?
That harmonica you have was originally Karin's. Joshua held onto it as a memento...
...and then it was passed on to you.
Joshua had an older sister?!
...Um. How...?
How did Karin...um, pass away?



I hope you know what you're really asking. The answer to that question requires staring into the abyss in which Joshua and the rest of us reside...and it will stare back. Are you prepared for that?
...
Tell me.
I don't know if I'm ready for what's coming or whatever, but...I want to know what kind of path Joshua has followed. If nothing else, I have to know that.
As you wish.

-Hamel-



It was a little over ten years ago. Back when you could still find the village of Hamel on maps of Erebonia and Liberl.



Hamel was a tiny little place. There weren't many other young people, so the three of us were always together.
I dreamed of becoming a bracer, and I spent my free time practicing my swordsmanship. Karin and Joshua would watch and encourage me. That was how we whiled away the days.



Once I was done with practice, we would turn our ears to Karin's harmonica. Karin could play anything on that harmonica. Anything. But my favorite was always the old Erebonian folk song, 'The Whereabouts of Light.'
It seemed like that bliss would last forever...We believed that. We had no reason to doubt it.
That day dawned and began just like any other. And then they came.



A band of invaders, garbed in black and armed with Liberlian weaponry, came from nowhere. They encircled the village and slaughtered everyone in sight. None were spared. Not the old and infirm, not the young and defenseless...not even infants.
Those who were killed quickly in the opening moments were the luckiest by far. And the women...Even in this telling, there are some things I will not recount.



We fled desperately from that hell. We were lucky to be in a position to escape when the attack began. We fled for the outskirts of the village...The screams of our own families carried to our ears on the wind.
Once we'd gotten to the outskirts, I told Karin and Joshua I would act as bait to confuse any pursuers. I promised them I would catch up to them soon and sent them ahead.
But the attackers...They had laid their plans well. They had people in position to deal with any who tried to flee.



When I'd finally caught up to them, the scene was strangely quiet. A man, dead, shot through the throat...Joshua with a gun in his hand, dumbstruck...And Karin, holding Joshua with a horrific wound on her back. She was...barely breathing at that point.



Even now, the scene seems surreal to me. Karin was calm and content. She entrusted her harmonica to Joshua, then asked that I take care of him. And then...she died quietly, there in that clearing.



Wh...Why...on...? Why...did that...?
The Empire invaded Liberl almost immediately afterwards. A defenseless little village, its inhabitants slaughtered by men with Liberlian arms...It was almost too perfect an excuse to invade.
It...can't be. Liberlian troops...doing that?
When the local garrison found us, they were adamant the invaders were Liberlian.
When the war ended a few months later with the Empire's defeat, however, we were given a different tale entirely. They told us instead that a band of jaeger dropouts had turned to pure brigandry. And they told us to never speak to anyone else of the attack. The Erebonian authorities announced that Hamel had been destroyed in a landslide, and all roads leading there were to be closed completely.
H-Hold on! What?! Why would they lie about that? Neither explanation makes any sense! That's almost...like...
Heh...
Indeed. Everything was a fabrication by the war hawks in the Empire to justify the invasion of Liberl. At the end of the war, the ruse was discovered, and the Imperial government was thrown into a panic. They conceded to a comprehensive peace and executed nearly everyone involved in the plot, all to pretend it never happened.
That, Estelle Bright, is the tragedy of Hamel in full.
...
That was also when Joshua's heart was broken entirely. He was now burdened with the torturous death of his sister, his parents, and everyone he knew, and even the shock of taking another man's life. How could that not shatter the soul of a six-year-old child?
...
You've likely heard the rest from Joshua. His spirit was so wholly broken that he lost all will to do anything but play that harmonica. He began to waste away. That was when the two of us were found by Weissmann. To save Joshua's life, I entrusted him to Weissman's care and threw myself into Ouroboros training.
And then, two years later...Joshua, 'repaired' as he was by Weissmann, followed the same path.
...



This is darkness, Estelle Bright. Do you understand what sort of gulf separates you and Joshua now? Do you understand what he stares into every day?
...
I do, yeah. Now I think I really understand why Joshua left.
Hm?
Hey, next time you see him, tell Weissmann thanks, but no thanks. I'll never join Ouroboros. It's not because I like or dislike the society...But as long as I'm going to pull Joshua back over that gulf you mentioned? Forget it.
...
Although I do feel kinda bad about letting Renne down after she went through all this trouble to invite me...
Hey, you think she'll forgive me if I say I'm sorry?
Heh...Hahaha. You're one of a kind, Estelle Bright.
To hear those horrors and thus lose your hesitation? You truly are more than just the offspring of the Divine Blade.
Uh, thanks for the compliment, I guess.
And you say that, but you care about Joshua too, right? You guys were friends. Or maybe more like brothers.
...



Let me be absolutely clear: that was ten years ago. To me now, he is nothing more than a rogue element to be eliminated.
Wh--
The professor seems to enjoy letting Joshua do as he pleases. I have a different plan in mind.
Sooner or later, I will deal with Joshua permanently.
WAIT A SECOND! What the hell is THIS?! Karin asked you to take care of him! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!
I have my own path I've chosen for myself. I've dedicated myself to my goal, and any who stand in my way shall die by my blade.
Not even Karin's final request will stop me.
How can you...?









The professor and the others, yes. It looks like the third stage of the plan is getting under way.
The third stage? What's...?
Heh. That is not for you to know.
Once we're finished, you'll be returned to your father. Behave until then.





The Glorious is eight thousand arge above ground. You have nowhere to run.





'Don't even think of attempting to escape,' he says. As if he doesn't know that it's human nature for me to want to do the EXACT opposite.
Besides, he's the only Enforcer on board. All right, why not? Let's do this.









Oooookay, the timing is gonna be everything. If I can figure that out, I'll be good.
Let's see...I'll wait a couple hours until they let their guard down, and then...
Right! It's worth a shot!



So this was a memento of Karin, huh?
You shouldn't throw away something like this so easily, you idiot...

-Glorious-



Enhanced Jaeger A: How's the girl acting?
Enhanced Jaeger B: Ha! Quiet as a mouse. She might be a bracer, but she's still just a kid. Probably curled up in bed, scared out of her mind.
Enhanced Jaeger A: Tch. Babysittin' while everyone else is out sucks. This is so boring. I wanted to get out there into the action!
Enhanced Jaeger B: Quit your whining. These're Leonhardt's orders, and hell if I'm not gonna follow HIS instructions to the letter.

*KRING* *KRING* *KRING*

Enhanced Jaeger B: Eh?
Enhanced Jaeger A: What was that sound?

*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*



*SKRASSHH*

Enhanced Jaeger A: You don't think...
Enhanced Jaeger B: She escaped?!





Enhanced Jaeger A: Dammit...
Enhanced Jaeger B: That stupid girl! Does she not get where she is?! Is she trying to kill herself or something?!



Enhanced Jaeger B: ...Aww, Gehenna take me, right now. She probably fell.
Enhanced Jaeger A: You have got to be kidding me...What are we gonna tell Leonhardt that'll let us keep our heads?! That damn brat...Nothing but a load of trouble!
Damn brat, huh?

-Looming Threat-













First of all, don't you think that was a bit rude? Calling a sweet maiden like myself a 'damn brat.'
Enhanced Jaeger B: I-It wasn't me! I didn't call you that, I swear!
Oh, you didn't?
Weeell, you didn't correct your buddy, then. Either way, it's nap time for you.





Reinforcements are probably gonna get here really quick, so I should book it. There's gotta be SOME way off this boat.



(And I won't give up...Not until I see Joshua...Not until I see that dummy again...)
(You won't stop for anything, Loewe? Well, neither will I!)