Story Reader / Extra Story / EX00 Frozen Darkness / Story
Hope
Urgh...
By the time Lucia regains consciousness...
Several humanoid hybrid Constructs from the ARU appear before Lucia, clearing out the remaining Corrupted.
In the distance, others on the ice begin work on fishing out the Narwhal.
Commandant...
And... Bianca...
You're okay.
Several Babylonia transport crafts are parked nearby. A few Constructs are assessing Lee's injuries.
Is it... finally over?
This may not have been an official mission, but with everything we've gone through, it feels like a dream...
Ka-cha, ka-cha...
Rosetta's body has been placed inside a Construct bay, with several Forest Guards preparing to take her back.
Hey, don't forget... When she wakes up, bring her back for her trial.
But the rest of you guys are no longer criminals.
...
Um, I'm sorry... I'll be honest...
At first, we did refit criminals into Forest Guards, and we treated them harshly.
But as the Corrupted became more dangerous, we were worried that the Forest Guards' resentment toward us would cause them to turn against us...
Whenever Rosetta came to see the Narwhal at the port...
Her mere existence would remind the port citizens of what we did to her...
Not to mention, her imposing... sterrness made her unapproachable...
But seeing everything that you've done for us, we'll no longer harbor any prejudice against you.
So that's what it was all about?
...No matter what, the ARU is our home, too.
Let's learn to coexist from this day forward.
Aye... If it had been you from the beginning, perhaps we'd have accepted the Forest Guards long ago...
...?
What are you going on about...
Come here.
Okay!
Hey, Evan, are you going to live with the Forest Guards?
I'll come back to the port eventually! But I want to wait for Miss Rosetta to wake up and come back here with her.
Little brat...
Commandant, we should get going.
Wait, pardon the interruption.
Forest Guards... Even though the ARU has always been neutral to Babylonia...
We still hope to ally with powerful friends such as yourselves to join humanity's effort to fight against the Corrupted and the Punishing Virus.
The Forest Guards exchange looks, but they wait for Diana's response.
We... will consider it. But not right now.
Very well...
Following that, the Forest Guards disappear into the snowy forest, leaving only their tracks.
...
Lucia looks up at the sky and remembers what Alpha whispered into her ear.
"I will wait... until that day comes..." What does that mean?
Alpha stands on an iceberg, gazing at the ice floating on the Arctic Ocean.
Initiating Punishing relay communication—
Hello? Do you copy? What's your status? Over.
Hello? Over.
...
Hey, you can hear me, can't you? Over.
Ka-cha—
Alpha does not know why, but she angrily hangs up on Roland.
She continues to stare at the ocean in silence, as if a magical creature lurked within.
