They race through the mud and debris.
Sentinel: How much longer?
Hound: About ten more minutes at this pace.
Hound: Maybe less if there are no interruptions.
Sentinel: Hmph. What an optimist.
Hound: ...
There isn't anything more to say. They just keep moving.
Until they leave the trench behind.
...
Sentinel: Take cover.
They dive into a shell crater. A bullet skips off the lip of earth in front of them, kicking up wet clods of dirt.
Sentinel: Pin them down.
COMBAT
*clang*
A searing-hot shell casing ejects from the chamber.
Sentinel: Threat neutralized.
Hound: Nice shot. Right, we've arrived.
Yermolai veers off to the side and drops into a stretch of abandoned trench.
Sentinel follows close behind.
They stand before a sealed underground bunker.
Yermolai stops a short distance from the entrance, pulling from his coat a bundle of explosives and a hastily drawn map.
Hound: Take these.
Sentinel: ...
Without a word, she takes the key items for this suicide mission.
Hound: I'm surprised you'd agree to this.
Sentinel: I have my reasons.
Hound: Sure. Let's go over the plan one more time.
Hound: Two of our investigators discovered a number of tunnels running under Hill 299. The one we've just arrived at leads directly to the Manus's ammunition depot.
Hound: After the war broke out, the Manus sealed all accessible tunnels with poison gas. Judging by the bodies I found earlier, this gas can penetrate all existing gas masks.
Hound: On the bright side, that means there aren't many guards in the tunnels—at least, that's what we think.
Hound: Your goal is simple: reach the ammunition depot, detonate the explosives, and destroy the fortress. After that, the Foundation will evacuate with the soldiers.
Sentinel: Good to know the Foundation's investigation bore some fruit.
Hound: Hill 299 is so conspicuous that everyone just unconsciously overlooked it.
Sentinel: I'm prepared. You may leave now.
Hound: Alright. Good luck.
The man offers a wave.
Only once Yermolai's footsteps have faded into the distance does Sentinel open the bunker door.
Violet-red mist billows out.
Sentinel: ...
She furrows her brow and takes a cautious sniff.
Thankfully, as before, it has no effect on her.
Yet from within, she can hear something dragging. Sentinel holds position at the door, waiting as a shadow shuffles into view.
Charon: ...
A grim figure emerges from the toxic mist.
Sentinel: What are you doing here?
Charon drags a corpse out of the shelter and halts outside.
Charon: One war ends, and another begins. More lives will be claimed by their own kind.
Charon: I am simply doing what I always do.
Sentinel: You knew of this tunnel?
Charon: Tunnel? I know nothing of it. The cloud of death hanging above this place—that is what led me here.
She knows better than to suspect him.
Sentinel: Cloud of death?
Charon: An ambiguous omen.
Sentinel: An omen, hmm. Tell me then, who will this cloud of death fall upon?
Charon: Death is impartial. It doesn't decide who will live and who will die.
Sentinel: But I can.
She breathes in the toxic air without concern.
Sentinel: I suggest you leave. Should this cloud not fall upon me, an explosion will soon obliterate Hill 299.
Charon: Do you intend to claim the lives of all the Manus Vindictae troops here?
Sentinel: Do you intend to stop me?
Charon: ...
He broods for a moment, as a silent war is waged behind his mask.
Sentinel: I should leave. Time is pressing.
But as she turns, Charon's voice breaks through with sudden clarity.
Charon: I do not wish for such carnage to occur, yet I am powerless to prevent it.
Charon: But before you go, a word of warning ...
Charon: The war you've been fighting is, in fact, over. What lies before you is a conflict all its own—a much harsher path.
Charon: You still have a chance to turn away from this and relieve yourself of the burdens placed upon you.
Sentinel: In view of the sufferers of this war, my burden is light.
Sentinel: Harsh or not, I shall not waver from the path I have chosen.
Charon: You first set foot on the battlefield five years ago. What makes today different from that day?
Sentinel: I now know the true cause of the conflict, and I have seen the face of the true enemy.
Sentinel: If I must sin to fulfill my sacrifice, then so be it.
Charon: Your willingness to suffer, your passion for sacrifice ... it is beyond me. Perhaps you possess a wisdom beyond my comprehension.
Charon: Yet, still, I feel a deep sadness for you.
Charon: I am in no position to stop you from walking through the gates of hell.