Ending 2

A familiar location.
Doctor: We meet again.
The doctor pushes up his glasses and smiles kindly.
Doctor: You still haven’t given up?
Doctor: You should know that your struggle is meaningless.
Doctor: Neither the Foundation nor those witch doctor arcanists can do anything about your condition.
Doctor: Even before the "Storm", the Foundation had few options for dealing with this condition.
Doctor: They have even fewer now.
Semmelweis: ...
Doctor: Perhaps you’d like me to recount the data?
Semmelweis: I know perfectly well what’s happening now.
Semmelweis: Arcanists infected with the Beyond Disease will face a physical and mental breakdown.
Semmelweis: The hallucinations and pain will destroy them from the inside out. Less than 5% of arcanists survive the process.
Semmelweis: Those arcanists who are lucky enough to make it through to the other side are called "the infected".
Semmelweis: The majority of them will be plagued by mental illness for the rest of their lives.
Semmelweis: Did I miss anything?
Doctor: You seem to know what’s going on, “Rotten Wand”.
Doctor: You should be grateful for your little bit of arcanist blood.
Doctor: It's given you that 5% chance that you wouldn’t have if you were human.
Doctor: But, should you really be grateful?
Doctor: You’re like an ignorant hunter who greedily pursues the white stag, charging headlong into a swamp.
Doctor: Isn’t it better to hurry back to the Foundation and accept your final moments?
Semmelweis: The Foundation will help me. I've never questioned that.
Semmelweis: Which is also why I can’t sit and wait for death there.
Semmelweis: I'll use my remaining time to contribute to the Foundation and pay them back for all they’ve done for me.
Doctor: It seems you're more inclined to die in the "Storm" like a stray dog than to enjoy your last moments in peace.
Doctor: You’re in over your head, trying to fight destiny. Little do you know, your actions are just a line in the footnote of fate.
Semmelweis: ... Perhaps my mind has become deranged as a result of the infection; maybe I’ve snapped—
Semmelweis: But you cannot shake my determination. After all, you’re just a hallucination.
Doctor: A hallucination? No. You’ll understand soon. It’s not that simple.
Doctor: You were never special, Semmelweis.
Doctor: You’re just an ordinary person who can’t even use arcane skills.
Doctor: What makes you think you’re special? What makes you think you can defeat destiny?
Doctor: —You’ll simply disappear into history. Just like the scum who don’t survive to be called "infected".
Semmelweis: ...
Doctor: Alright, you can go. Today’s treatment is finished.
The scene shifts. By the time Semmelweis comes to her senses, she has left the hallucination.
Semmelweis: ... He was boring.
She lowers her head to examine her hands.
They're beginning to fade away, becoming transparent. She can see the light shining through her palms and hitting the ground beneath.
Intense pain tears at the gaps between bone and flesh, as if the two are trying to rend themselves from one another.
Semmelweis: The breakdown of my mind and body is accelerating.
Semmelweis: Is it because of the singing ...?
Since the singing started, the symptoms of the Beyond Disease have rapidly increased in intensity.
Emil: Captain, are you ... Are you okay?
Emil looks worried.
Emil: Does the letter say anything special?
Emil: Since you first looked at it, you’ve been in a daze—oh, I mean, thinking.
Semmelweis looks down at the letter in her hand.
“Hello, unknown visitor.”
“I know a way to cure your condition and keep you alive.”
“That's right, I have a method to help you survive the affliction given to you by the infected.”
“Please find me in Vienna. Then, you will find redemption and overcome impurity.”
Lorelei from the Rhine.
After looking at the letter for a while, Semmelweis smiles.
She grasps the paper on both sides ...
... and tears it in half.
Emil: Captain?!
Fold, tear. Fold, tear. Fold, tear.
She continues until the letter is nothing but an unreadable pile of scraps.
Semmelweis: Emil.
Emil: ... C-Captain?
Emil looks baffled. It isn't like Semmelweis to behave so irrationally.
Semmelweis: I don’t care about your betrayal, Emil.
Emil: W-what do you mean, Captain? I don’t understand.
Semmelweis: As a field agent team captain, being prepared for betrayal from within is a must. I saw this coming.
Emil: W-wait, Captain, are you joking? Was the rumor actually true?
Semmelweis: Don’t worry, I don't intend on using “that method”. There's no need to go that far.
Semmelweis: Evidence indicates that the prisoner, “Lorelei from the Rhine”, left during the battle with the Manus Vindictae.
Semmelweis: In order for her to leave so smoothly, someone must have helped her.
Semmelweis: And for someone to pull off this operation with such precision and leave a letter, they obviously knew where we were.
Emil: Wait, Captain, surely you don't suspect me, do you?! Do you really think I’m passing information to “Lorelei from the Rhine”?
Emil: Captain, I-I'm completely loyal to the Foundation. How could I do something like that?
Semmelweis ignores him, her words calmly cutting through his wailing.
Semmelweis: Therefore, when I saw this letter, I came to a conclusion.
Semmelweis: There must be a spy on the team. One who is feeding information to the enemy.
Semmelweis: And most of the refugees we're tracking are from your home country—Serbia.
Emil: I, I ...
Emil: Please believe me, Captain! I have no ill intent towards you! I just, I just—!
Semmelweis: Though uncommon, this isn't unheard of in the Field Agent Association.
Emil: Argh, I never should have helped them in the first place! This confounded letter ... Damn arcanists! Unreliable little—
Semmelweis: So, are you one of these refugee rescuers?
Emil: No, no, no! I’m not! I’m a human for crying out loud! How could I have anything to do with those arcanists?
Emil: I just ... Just happened to assist them!
Emil: I tipped them off, told them we were going to take care of this team of Manus followers, and that was it!
Emil: I had no idea what they were up to!
Semmelweis: Why did you do it? As you said, you’re a human and have no reason to help them.
Emil is silent for a moment. Then he heaves a sigh.
Emil: Along the way, I was thinking about what you said earlier.
Emil: You said that neither the Foundation nor the Austro-Hungarian Empire could quickly eliminate the influence of Manus Vindictae on the refugees.
Emil: Do you know what that means?
Emil: It means the Austro-Hungarian Empire has to deal with the problems posed by the refugees as quickly as possible.
Semmelweis: The Empire is well aware of the damage a group of unstable arcanists can do.
Semmelweis: So, when the arcanist refugees can't be controlled, the Empire isn't averse to taking extreme measures.
Emil: Just like they did in the past.
Emil: After all, they bear no moral responsibility for them.
Semmelweis: Yep. It's a common practice these days.
Emil: They're my countrymen. I can't sit back and watch a tragedy like this unfold. I have to find a way to stop it.
Emil: Believe me, I have no sympathy for arcanists. They're to blame for all of this.
Emil: But even so, they shouldn't suffer such a fate.
Emil: Even if they are Manus scum, they should be judged and punished by the law. Their fates shouldn’t be determined by the whims of old men!
Emil spits on the ground, venting his discontent.
Emil: I don’t know who “Lorelei from the Rhine” really is. But what I do know is that she can stop the refugees from turning to Manus Vindictae.
Emil: And that’s enough.
Emil: All this careful exploration and tolerance ... It's not making any difference! It's time to do something.
Semmelweis: ...
Semmelweis: I understand your motivations.
Semmelweis: I must say, your behavior surprises me a bit, Emil.
Semmelweis: I thought you really hated arcanists.
Emil: Everyone hates arcanists. But they're still people—people who live side by side in this world with me!
Semmelweis: ...
Semmelweis: There’s something I neglected to tell you. I’m also an arcanist.
Emil raises his head in disbelief.
Emil: Impossible. Why would the Foundation send an arcanist to ...?
Emil trails off, quickly realizing something much more important.
Emil: Hang on! Captain, what I mean to say is ... Uh, arcanists are good people, too ...
Semmelweis can’t help but laugh.
Semmelweis: Look at me, Emil.
Emil: Captain?
Semmelweis: I’m not going to punish you.
Semmelweis: While you have taken advantage of our organization, investigating Manus Vindictae falls within our scope of work.
Semmelweis: Besides, this is rather important intelligence.
Semmelweis: So, I'll hide what you’ve done from the higher-ups.
Emil: C-captain—A-are you serious?
Semmelweis: Reporting your actions would serve no purpose. It would only cost me a team member.
Emil: T-thank you so much, Captain! I-I ...
Semmelweis’ communication device buzzes.
Semmelweis: Good timing. It’s a dispatch from the higher-ups.
Semmelweis: If you’re worried, you can listen in on the call.
Emil: N-no, I trust you, Captain!
Semmelweis: ...
Semmelweis is not lying. She does not intend to report Emil’s actions to Madam Lindsay.
To her, it makes no sense.
Semmelweis: Everything went smoothly, Madam Lindsay. I was just about to report the details. We—
The critical point of the era has emerged, which means the arrival of the "Storm" is imminent.
Upon its arrival, the "Storm" will wipe out his existence completely.
There is no need for her to do anything.
Semmelweis: You mean Vienna?
Semmelweis: ...
Semmelweis: I understand. I have two “Teleport” arcane skill floppy disks. They'll help me reach Vienna quickly.
Semmelweis: Madam Lindsay, Hofmann is my friend, too. I'm glad for the opportunity to help her.
Upon ending the communication, Semmelweis places the communication device back into her backpack, just as she had done countless times before.
Semmelweis: “Lorelei from the Rhine”?
—Semmelweis mutters, looking towards Vienna.
Semmelweis: Perhaps ... It’s destiny.