Teoritta. We did it.
Yes, a truly inevitable result.
I permit you to pat my head and sing my praises.
"You truly are a goddess. Well done, Teoritta."
Well done, Teoritta.
You're a really great goddess.
Maybe everyone's like that.
You do a job well, you want a little praise.
Some people might even think it's worth risking their life for.
Help...
Help me.
It's my dad. A monster got him...
Someone else to protect.
Teoritta, you wait—
Small one.
Hey!
Fear not.
The goddess, Teoritta, and her knight, Xylo Forbartz, guarantee your safety.
We must make haste in getting your father to aid.
May I ask your name?
I-I'm...
Are you all right?
Teoritta!
Die.
Aw, nuts. Did I just shoot a kid?
Wait, huh?
That's super weird, man.
Tsav! Did you just shoot a civilian?
But it looked like she was attackin' Teoritta. It's weird, man.
Stop saying that!
I will not allow...
It got away.
Teoritta!
Are you hurt?
I told you to take it easy.
Xylo.
It appears I must learn how to use this.
That's how you blocked it?
I'll have to buy you a better one.
And train you to use it.
Still, a faerie disguised as a human?
That might've been Spriggan.
I guess the Demon Blight sees you as a threat.
I could want for nothing more.
You goddesses are always so demanding.
Let's go home to that collection of good-for-nothing bastards.
Yes, that is where we belong.
But first...
You know what to do, yes?
With great gusto and utmost thoroughness,
shower me with praise!
About 130 evacuees made it to our stronghold.
No fatalities.
Our Thirteenth Order did a great job, huh?
Captain Kivia's really whipped us all into shape.
But I haven't seen her or the infantry lieutenant anywhere.
Maybe they're letting us bask in the spotlight for once.
After all, the captain and Rajit usually lead the charge.
You fought well, all of you.
Let the military and the Temple continue to work together,
Sorry for the wait.
in the interests of this city's prosperity.
What did you learn, Frenci?
Now, all units, return to your posts and aid with the evacuation.
Your suspicions were correct.
Need to repair my injuries...
Find a new host...
Oh, there you are.
I was hoping to run into you, Spriggan.
What's this? You didn't know?
When a Demon Blight is infecting an area, it puts out a unique kind of...
Uh, what do you call it? A wave.
Other demon lords can sense it.
That's how I tracked you down.
Who are—
I need you to hear me out here, Spriggan.
I'm a member of the penal hero unit, you see,
but my crime was the most shallow, simple,
and basic of everyone there.
What do you think it was?
Well, you see...
I kill my own kind.
I take pleasure in it. It's just how I am.
Aren't humans incredible?
That trait is so common among their kind, they consider it a rather boring motive.
Stay back! Stay back! Stay back!
It's an amazing thing, being boring.
Stay back! Stay back! Stay back! Stay back!
So I've completely submitted to them.
I'll pretty much do anything they tell me.
I'm also learning about ethics, you see.
I see now that from the Demon Blight's perspective, I'm just a homicidal maniac.
The most hackneyed cliché of a murderer, killing his own kind for kicks.
No! Let go!
Let go of me! Let go!
But to humans, that makes me a champion for good.
Now, why is that?
I'm still trying to grasp the logic behind it.
Let me go!
Yes, that's it. Those cries of yours...
I love them.
They give me such a thrill.
They make me want to take my time killing you.
Oh, I forgot to introduce myself.
I am the Demon Blight, Puck Puca.
But humans use the name of the original owner of this body...
They call me Rhyno.
Anyway, pleasant dreams, Spriggan.
I can't carry out my orders now.
I guess I'll be disappointing our king once more.
Yes, I had a blood puppet take my place.
That Holy Sword is far too dangerous.
I'll need much more human blood to kill them.
I heard about your incredible deeds.
Well done. I'm truly impressed.
Thank you for your praise.
I heard about your excellent leadership as well.
I was fortunate.
Perhaps I had the blessing of the saints of old.
Your achievements here will likely earn you a position of leadership
among the High Priests.
If they were to bestow such an honor on me,
my first priority would be a personnel overhaul.
We must have more unity.
When that happens, Patausche, I will also need to elevate your position.
A personnel overhaul?
You mean...
You'll fill the Temple's leadership with coexisters?
Did you interrogate Lideo Sodrick?
The coexister envoy he spoke with...
"Mahaeyzel Zelkoff."
All priests and Temple officials invoke his name when praying for luck in battle.
How is that significant?
In the inner lands and elsewhere, they pronounce the name "Zelkoof."
"Zelkoff" is only used by those born in the north.
Someone with the financial means to hire the Adventurers Guild.
Someone born in the north and involved with the Temple.
It certainly narrows down the suspects.
Uncle.
When I was young and knew nothing of the outside world,
you took me out into it whenever you could.
When I wanted to take a different path from my parents, to live my own life...
You gave me what I needed to do that.
Including this sword.
When you took me out into the city, the alias you always used...
was "Zelkoff."
You still remember that?
How could I ever forget?
Of course, I checked the records of your activities as well.
And in the battle just now,
the unit that discovered the faeries in the Inland District...
You said it was Unit 7110.
No such unit exists.
Very impressive.
Uncle. Why are you working with the coexisters?
For the people who matter to me.
Stay where you are, Uncle!
Myself. My family.
Uncle!
And the pious believers of the Temple.
I want to save them all.
Patausche.
Humanity is going to lose.
I want, at least, the righteous at heart
and the family that I love to be safe.
But then, everyone else in the world—
They are none of my concern.
Everyone's the same way, Patausche.
Or do you wish to be the kind of righteous paragon
who saves complete strangers at the cost of her own family?
Uncle. I was merely—
You are still a child in some ways. Immature.
You must grow up, Patausche.
Cherish your family and those close to you.
I'd like you to become a coexister,
and shape the world to come.
I-I...
Humanity will lose to the Demon Blight.
We must be among those survivors granted positions of authority.
We must guide the survivors to the righteous—
Stop talking!
I'm sorry, Uncle.
I... I truly...
I truly looked up to you.
Are you crying?
Even if they have nothing to do with me...
Strangers with names and faces I'll never know...
It's wrong to simply abandon them.
Patausche. That's an abnormal, self-righteous way of thinking.
A savior complex stemming from an oversized ego.
Although perhaps it was I who raised you that way—
Shut up!
Rajit, arrest him!
Ma'am.
You have to atone—
Captain—
I'm sorry, Patausche.
I truly thought of you as a daughter.
Hurry! This way!
What's going on?
High Priest Marlen!
Rhyno's still not back yet?
Kivia's gonna hit the roof if she finds out.
Venetim. You gotta put that guy on a chain already.
You're the last person who should be saying that, Jayce.
Ah, what's wrong with just lettin' him do his thing?
Maybe he's off lootin' the wreckage, or he's found a faerie to mess with.
I've seen that guy bring back whole faeries alive.
Right, Mr. Dotta?
Yeah. "To study," he says.
Hey!
Bro, leave some of that for me!
You colossal fool!
You dare to demand a reward? You did the least of anyone!
Tsav! You and Rhyno have much to atone for!
Aw, c'mon! I saved Teoritta, man!
Who gives a damn? Let's move on already.
Xylo.
Frenci?
You're in an awful state. What are you sitting around here for?
Sorry, but business is closed for the day.
If you're not gonna drink it, gimme.
I'm in no mood to take your abuse, either.
Pathetic. And you expect to marry into the Mastibolt Clan?
You're worse than a hot springs monkey during hibernation.
Can't a guy get a little rest?
The battle's over here.
True.
But the attack on this city was a diversion.
You mean...
Demon Blight Abaddon.
They breached the Ninth Order's defenses and attacked the Second Capital.
My beautiful capital city? Attacked by the faeries?
They got wind of our plans and outmaneuvered us.
You mean...
Yes.
The Second Capital has fallen.
The Second Capital, Zeyllent, is the symbol of the Federated Kingdom,
and a crucial point for the nation's defense.
It's like putting a blade to the throat of the First Capital and Galtuile Fortress.
I hear she killed someone in her family.
Some Temple bigwig, right?
Excuse me. Could you make way—
Why did you kill High Priest Marlen?!
You're the one who should die!
Make way!
Heretic!
Execute her!
Come on. Move it!
Captain...
It can't be...
Captain of the Thirteenth Order of the Holy Knights, Patausche Kivia.
Why did you kill High Priest Marlen Kivia and Infantry Lieutenant Rajit Heathrow?
You're just going to keep asking that same question?
My uncle was a coexister—
Wrong.
You feared High Priest Marlen's popularity and skill.
So you betrayed humanity and killed your uncle and your lieutenant.
If you confess to these known facts, you can be out of here immediately.
What about my people?
The hero unit. Xylo Forbartz. What are they doing?
Why won't you hold a trial?!
Let me speak before a court!
I'll let you think it over again.
Take as much time as you need.
Forgive my late arrival.
The discussion took some time.
It wasn't an easy decision. We weren't sure if we could add one more.
Patausche Kivia.
Former Captain of the Thirteenth Order of the Holy Knights.
Your abilities on the battlefield are quite superb,
but it was your mental fortitude that caught us by surprise.
You killed a blood relation to whom you were deeply indebted.
To mercilessly slay someone you deeply respect
for strangers whose faces you'll never know...
It was an action that transcended any concept of self-interest.
You have the unbridled conviction of a savior.
Or perhaps, more appropriately, the delusion.
How do you know all that?
My goddess summons books.
She summons information, you might say.
Yes, I know, Enfié.
Thank you.
Are you a Holy Knight?
Yes, of the Twelfth Order.
Which means we were once associates.
I'm here to offer you a choice.
You have two paths.
First: be executed as a member of the coexisters.
Second: become a penal hero, and continue fighting the Demon Blight.
Heroes are revived even after death, and have no freedom of their own.
They receive no glory.
They simply devote themselves to the service of others.
I don't think I'd agree to it myself.
I don't personally believe you're cut out for it, either.
What are heroes? What is the hero penalty?
I'll tell you as much as I can.
I'm sure you've heard rumors about this,
but the first goddess has the power to summon fighting champions.
Long ago, when the war first began,
she summoned champions from other worlds.
But I'm told the cultural differences created issues of understanding.
And so the people of old changed their tactics.
They summoned the dead of this world as their champions.
They summoned the dead?
The resurrection...
Indeed.
They stand on the front lines of the battle with the Demon Blight,
denied even death in this perpetual fight.
That's what heroes are?
The hero penalty...
Indeed.
As for why we treat it like a criminal sentence now...
Well, there are also reasons for that.
Additionally, the first goddess's powers are not perfect.
I believe you know what happens after too many resurrections.
They lose parts of their memories.
Their sense of self is worn away.
It appears humans have something that could be called a soul, you see.
How clearly she can remember the target
affects the precision of the summoning. Of the resurrection.
Enfié's records can supplement things, of course.
But the first goddess expends all of her energy every day
remembering the memories of the heroes.
I'd say she has space for just one more person's memories.
The trump card the heroes represent... is worth all of that?
Ah, well...
I certainly hope it can be.
That's all of the secrets I can tell you.
I'll leave their sacred seal collar and "repairs" for another day.
Now, it's time to make your choice, Patausche Kivia.
If I agree to be a hero, you'll get me out of here?
Yes. But you'll need to die first.
I'll carry you out of here in pieces.
I cannot compromise on this point.
Put your faith in the goddess and die,
or refuse to do so and die.
Those are your only options.
I was born into a family of priests, and left them behind.
My uncle was one of the few who understood me.
And I killed him with my own hands.
Lying here in the dark, I've thought it over many times.
What do my knights... What does the hero unit think of my crime?
I hope they think it was just a fit of madness.
But if they hate me for what I've done...
If they think I'm a coexister who betrayed humanity...
If my knights...
If he were to think that of me...
It's unbearable.
If this...
If this will allow me to fight again...
Then, for the sake of strangers I'll never meet,
I swear I will fight.
I will be a hero.
Very well.
This can't be taken back.
I really don't recommend it, either.
I'll see to it that this is kept secret.
On a personal level, I'm still opposed to making you a hero.
But...
I do respect your oath.
Now, take it.
For the lives of the many, I shall observe your moment of decision.
Patausche Kivia. I sentence you...
to be a hero.
Sentenced to Be a Hero