Part 10: Vigilante Patriotism

Far from the front, six months melt away like water.
The freezing trench winters feel like a different life. Her days return to peaceful monotony.
Tending the statue, praying day and night.
Marianne: Merciful Father, I kneel before You to beg You to have pity on this world. End this conflict and bring us peace again ...
Marianne: Amen.
Ladislas: We must begin preparations, Marianne.
Ladislas returns from an errand, hands full—bread in one, a newspaper in the other.
Marianne: For what?
Ladislas: The war will soon come to an end. The time is nigh for us to undertake our divine mission.
Marianne hurries over and takes the newspaper from his hand.
Marianne: "... enemy's crushing defeat ... seeking negotiations ... peace in sight ..."
Marianne: God has truly answered our prayers ...
Marianne: Agnès will soon return to us!
For the first time in a long while, a smile of pure joy spreads across her face.
Ladislas: First, we must cleanse the streets of those abominations.
Marianne: You mean ...
Ladislas: Seems there is little need to explain.
Following Ladislas's gaze, Marianne sees three figures approaching the church.
They are cloaked in black with accents of seductive blue.
Ladislas: Fetch thy armament, cousin.
Before he even finishes his sentence, Marianne has already raised her rifle.
Her instincts fire faster than her eyes.
???: Monsieur Ladislas, Mademoiselle Marianne, good morning.
Ladislas: Leave this place.
???: ... The Ténébrun clan, an ancient lineage of Gargoyles. You don't get an arcane bloodline more pure than that.
???: Your clan has fractured through this war, though. And you two are deserters.
???: Mademoiselle, do you recall the soldier who helped you escape that day?
Marianne: ... What?
???: It's thanks to him that we were made aware of the exceptional bloodline tucked away here.
???: You long to escape the war, yes? Lucky for you, we know how to end it for good.
???: We're here to extend an invitation.
Marianne: The soldier who aided my escape ... was one of you?
Marianne: Who are you?
???: Forgive me. I ought to have introduced us earlier.
???: We follow the Mother of Resurrection. You may call us—
???: Manus Vindictae.
A hand extends toward her, seemingly in peace.
Marianne studies the figure. The mask on his face stirs something long buried.
Marianne: ...
Two hands, crossed, lifting or concealing.
When she pried the Mauser rifle from the enemy's corpse, she saw the very same insignia.
Marianne: To accept this invitation ... would be to commit treason.
Manus Officer: ... Ah. So you've seen our emblem on the battlefield.
Manus Officer: Allow me to clarify. We've infiltrated your enemies, yes—but we serve no human faction.
Manus Officer: Our manipulation of armies is merely a means to an end. You can join us without fear.
Manus Officer: The Mother has returned. Arcanists are rising. The world will no longer be divided by nation, but ruled by blood.
Manus Officer: And you will never suffer like this again—
A shot lands by his feet, cutting him off. Smoke curls from her muzzle.
Marianne: Your warning. I know not what you plot, but speak no more your twisted words.
Marianne: What you speak is blasphemy. Resurrection is an act saved only for the Son of God.
Marianne: I will not have His virtue tainted by the likes of you.
The figure steps back, his face dark and unreadable.
Manus Officer: Mademoiselle, have you forgotten the soldier who saved you?
Manus Officer: Our voice has long been whispered among your own ...
Marianne: Don't you dare insult my comrade-in-arms. Leave! Now!
Manus Officer: What if I told you the upcoming negotiations were doomed to fail?
Manus Officer: The war will not end. Your only way out—
Ladislas: Cousin, thou needst not listen on.
Marianne: ... you're right.
She steps forward, rifle still raised.
With the Manus driven off, Marianne makes her way out of the church.
Ladislas follows close behind, still trying to dissuade her.
Ladislas: Cousin, we Gargoyles are not to meddle in this war. Thou must not make way to the negotiation site.
Marianne grips a letter pulled from one of the Manus in her hand—a lead.
Marianne: The information is too detailed—as if they know everything about the negotiations.
Marianne: If this plan of theirs is true, I must confirm it for myself.
Marianne: I cannot allow this war to go on ...

In the depths of the forest, where few human traces remain, only a few birds chirp.
But this calm is an arcane illusion—cross the incantation's boundary, and the truth reveals itself.
Outside a crude little camp, a man in a navy uniform whispers to the figure across from him.
Military Advisor: ... We'll demand they revert to confederation status. They're sure to reject such terms.
Military Advisor: And the war will go on ...
Manus Officer: We'll provide general-purpose arcane weapons and support units ...
Manus Officer: There'll be no shortage of manpower or firepower ...
No one notices the statue hidden beneath the branches.
Still and silent, she blends in like any stone in the forest.
Manus Officer: We'll see the results of the negotiation soon.
Manus Officer: The future you want is already within reach.
The gold stars and medals on his uniform sting Marianne's eyes.
Manus Officer: Pleasure working with you.
Military Advisor: ... And you.
With just a few words, they casually decide the fate of every soldier.
Utterly absurd.
She steadies her trembling hand, takes aim, and pulls the trigger.
Manus Officer: Who—?!
She moves forward step by step, unflinching as shots ricochet off the surrounding trees, and guns down every last member of Manus Vindictae.
Military Advisor: Zut! Enemy forces?! I need to sound the alarm—
Marianne: Put down that flare.
She steps out of the forest, over the corpses, rifle aimed squarely at the adviser's chest.
Military Advisor: ... Of all the people to end my life, I never thought it would be one of my own.
Military Advisor: Didn't your commanding officer teach you never to aim your weapon at a superior?
Marianne: ... You traitorous coward. You truly have thrown your lot in with Manus Vindictae.
Military Advisor: Traitorous? Everything I have done, I have done for the motherland.
Military Advisor: The enemy invaded our land—interfered with our colonies.
Military Advisor: If we allow them to grow stronger, we will only repeat the shame we suffered half a century ago.
Military Advisor: We must wipe them out if we are to truly have vengeance!
Marianne: Fool. Manus Vindictae does not collaborate with you alone—they work too with our so-called "enemy."
Marianne: We are all pawns—us and them alike!
Military Advisor: So what?!
Marianne: What—
Military Advisor: The enemy came to us to negotiate peace—they're begging for it, in fact. Even with Manus Vindictae's help, they cannot turn the tide.
Marianne: You truly have made your lot with the devil ...
Marianne: How many more must perish before you are satisfied?!
Military Advisor: Blood is the sacrifice for victory.
Military Advisor: This is the time to give it our all. This is our chance to resolve all of our nation's problems.
Military Advisor: You're short-sighted, soldier—a coward. You have no understanding of the true nature of war.
Marianne: ... The true nature of war?
Marianne: I have seen the face of it. An excuse to spend lives like currency for your own gain ...
Marianne: And to absolve yourself of all guilt for your heinous acts.
Marianne: War is naught but a tool to exercise your ambition.
Marianne: You do not fight for the nation. You fight for yourself!
Military Advisor: Heh ... And who do you think authorized me to make contact with Manus Vindictae?
Military Advisor: Soldier, it is you who has betrayed your country and forgotten your duty.
Military Advisor: You fear death and reject the honor of war!
A raven glides down from a distant train car, lands lightly on the officer's shoulder, flaps its wings, and flies off.
Military Advisor: ... Hmph. As expected, they've rejected the deal. Negotiations have failed.
Military Advisor: So what now, soldier? War resumes tomorrow.
Military Advisor: And those who carry the glory of our nation in their hearts will be sent onward to crush our enemies.
Military Advisor: And you? Which will it be? Fight and become a hero, or turn back a coward?
Marianne: No ...
The ground shakes violently. Her insides burn.
Marianne: Huff ... huff ...
Marianne gasps for air.
At the end of a dark, narrow corridor, she sees the stone Gargoyle receding into the distance.
Ladislas: ... We Gargoyles are the enactors of His divine judgment in a demonic guise. We are the guardians of faith ...
Ladislas: Only when this war doth end shall Agnès return unto us ...
Agnès: Marie ... what immortal hand or eye could frame the cause behind these deadly ends?
Marianne: Agnès ...
She closes her eyes, her finger trembling by the trigger.
Military Advisor: So. You choose desertion.
Military Advisor: You choose to kill your compatriot, your commander! You are the traitor!
Marianne: Whoso sheddeth man's blood ... by man shall his blood be shed.
Marianne: To kill a fellow countryman is to willingly put a stain upon my soul. I confess to You ...
Military Advisor: I command you to lower your weapon!
Marianne: I shall ever bear the cross, and in death, l shall face Your judgment ...
Military Advisor: Killing me will change nothing! You're just one person! What could you possibly do?!
Marianne: Lord ...
I pray, do not abandon me!
Military Advisor: Disgraceful ...
Marianne: I will put an end to this war.
Military Advisor: Rgh!
The bullet hits him square between the eyes. He drops, his star-stamped epaulettes stained with blood and dirt.
Marianne wipes the tears from her face with her arm, her brow hardening into a look of determination.
Then, she steps forward into the forest, no longer as just Marianne, but as Sentinel.