"Hey hey what are we leaving so early for?" Ferry chased after Mark and Mikael exiting out of the hotel doors. She stepped ahead of them placing her hands on her hips "Is it because of that woman who left? What did she say?"

Mikael sighed "Not a lot of good news. We can't afford time to relax when time itself is against us. Don't know how long we have until Warui achieves his goal but it's better to get a move on now than later." Though he didn't have a strategy completely figured out yet. He looked to Mark for his suggestions "Should we try contacting Amelia again?"

Mark pulled out his radio and switched to their frequency hoping for a response beyond the static. He hoped they weren't dead or too injured escaping from Imperia but that hope dwindled after a minute passed. He was about to turn off his codec when a voice came on the other end, "Hello hello? Mark, are you there?!" Sharrion's tone was shakened.

"I'm here." Mark replied plainly.

"Thank goodness. We're currently on our way to Imperia's inner city but something happened to Amelia. She's not visibly hurt but…" Sharrion found it hard to describe her mental state. Her mind was shattered by something profound. She stuttered and slurred her words, tripped over herself, and scratched her own skin feeling uncomfortable and weird in her body. "I think you might be able to do something about her."

"I'll see what I can do. Where are you now?" He said.

"This outdoor shopping street where all the civilians are. It shouldn't be too hard to find once you get here."

"Alright, we'll be there shortly." Mark switched off the radio and started moving. Their destination wasn't far at all, the road of tents they met Clarette at was still crowded but the lively feeling was off. There were small groups of people and shopkeepers murmuring about a rumor Mikael couldn't manage to hear completely while following Mark.

They found Sharrion holding Amelia at the end of this road by an empty tent. The maid sat with Amelia's head in her lap and a cold rag on her forehead. She gently moved her off to stand.

"You got here fast." Dropping the surprise of their early arrival, she looked down at Amelia. "Captain's is not well. She passed out after we ran out of the mines. Someone rigged bombs in the place and… Ibuki didn't make it out."

"N-no way…" Mikael bit his lip as Sharrion continued.

"I'm not sure if she's dead or not. She separated from us to chase after Cynthia."

This brought some relief to Mikael and he relaxed his shoulders a little, but there was still the problem of Amelia's condition. Sharrion suggested they leave her and Mark some personal space while they searched for some supplies to grab from the various shops.

And once they were away, Mark kneeled down and Amelia immediately sat up and grabbed his arm. Her grip tightened around his wrist and her red eyes spiraled. She had seen something unreal, indescribable, a vision of what was to come had she continued on wanting to end the war. And a vision of what had to be an angel, but only a glimpseーand a glimpse was all a person needed to be blinded by pure perfection. Humanity and their inherent sinfulness made it impossible to give a passing glance to all angels despite rank. Amelia's position in the church didn't mean a thing. She wasn't spared from the divine calling upon her to do whatーto give up her mission.

Her arm shakened by fear and shifty eyes darting left and right in anticipation waiting for the angel to appear once again. "I can't end this war Mark. It's impossible to end this war without countless deaths because of me."

She looked deranged. Mark placed his hand on hers and pulled it off "You brought me back to make it happen."

"You don't understand what I saw, Mark. Japan and Imperiaー"

She stopped mid sentence when Imperia soldiers poured in, trashing many tents and shops and seizing what seemed like random individuals but were underground resistance fighters and spies. Mark and Amelia looked up and their dread grew when their eyes were set upon the little girl who ratted them out to the entire military.

"Those are the ones who infiltrated the lab, Kaga!" Saeko pointed at the two. Following behind her was the shiny blonde haired man Mark didn't want to see. He slowly took step by step forward and grimaced down at what Mark had become.

Stroking his chin he wondered how an obedient soldier became the toy of a child like Amelia. Same could be said how he ended up in the hands of Midare who was also mentally stunted and permanently caused irreversible damage to the world at large. Finished with looking at his former friend, he turned around and walked back to Saeko letting Warui take the reins from here.

Warui handed Saeko a pistol as he walked past. An eyepatch dawning his scared face fit for the stitches of war. "To think the church itself would cross me. I may have been called corrupt but you at yourselves fighting against the warriors of the heavens for the sake of peace with evil? Magic is a plague the TGA uses to enforce an iron heel on Its people and you hope to cooperate with that?" He outstretched his hand and averted his head. "I don't want to hear you beg or your reasons. My kindness has been taken advantage of too many times. The least I can do is to give you death by the hand of the highest authority."

He moved behind Saeko and rested his hands on her shoulders making her tense up in anticipation. "Kill them now."

Saeko raised the gun looking directly into their eyes. First with determination then with hesitance. They had spared her life twice and this was her way of replaying them, stabbing them in the back because her loyalty towards Warui meant more than a stranger's. Maybe this wasn't the right thing to do, but Warui's words were never wrong.

She pulled the trigger and looked away as two shots fired from the gun, the slide recoiling back in her tiny hands and the loud snap of the firing deafening. Blood managed to stain her white collared dress and pale face. Their blood. The blood of people she knew a little about. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at their limp bodies being dragged away backstage.

Saeko's grip loosened and the pistol fell out of her hands hitting the ground but the sound was overtaken by a round of applause from all the cardinals she loved. She was back in Imperia HQ representing holy surrounded by the cardinals congratulating her like she single handedly ended the entire war. But she didn't, she killed one her saviors and for what reason other than she was told to. It was a weird feeling to be congratulated for doing something so wrong.

"Congratulations!" Said Kurai with her purple hair partially burnt blackish at the sides and face charred from the explosion.

"Congrats Saeko." Said Irving, often never seen.

"Congratulations Saeko!" Beatrice was as cheerful as ever, but for this? It didn't seem right.

"..." Kaga simply clapped without sharing words.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Doza was less formal than the others, and Cynthia was nowhere to be seen.

"Congratulations." Said Warui at last.

Saeko wanted to cry but didn't know why she wanted to. Withholding tears and exhausted she simply said "Thank you… Thank you all so much."

It didn't feel like there was a war not at Saeko at least and Warui explained further how this was virtual training to test the young girl for if there ever was a war. But the pain inflicted on the cardinals was real. She didn't get to see Chronos or Jean after they left to observe the front lines.

Saeko was told there were oftentimes things that were better left unsolved.

End scene