Chapter 10 Episode 6: Academy Military Prison 3

The world is a place created by a group of people sharing the same beliefs in an enclosed space. That belief in itself is neither weak nor strong because it is simply a matter of hierarchies. Love is greater than violence, money and influence is greater than love, and sometimes, violence is greater than money and influence.

 

When several different values exist at once, it becomes a matter of which is prioritized. Again, strength and weakness are irrelevant when it comes to faith itself. But when it comes to different worlds born from different beliefs, that is when strength and weakness comes into play. This is decided by a System’s stability, not on the belief’s ideals or correctness.

 

Now take the academy military prison, the frontline base and training facility the Warmongers have. If you think of it as a world, then it is strong. Strong enough to trample upon the famous Berserkers where the mighty had gathered. There is an information gap between them, but that isn’t the only reason the Warmongers won. Neither is it about any overwhelming power differences on an individual level. The deciding point was the power difference between the guilds as organizations.

Here in the Warmongers’ base, the gathered soldiers all carry the same mental scars. They all believe that “outside this world” they won’t be understood. If this belief is attacked, if they are shunned, they believe they will have nothing left.

 

It’s not that the soldiers are afraid of losing their place to be. It’s that they fear losing the place where their friends with the same pain stay. They aren’t putting their lives on the line for their beliefs. They obey it for the sake of their friends who believe the same. They believe that dying for that is an honor, and that is what the hierarchy is set up as. As they take the attacks they can, they get stronger by the number of wounded comrades. With each sacrifice, this System gets stronger.

 

This isn’t the only thing going on. The prison school world has one other stabilizing mechanism to its System. There is some other world that has this same System, El Dorado, the world named for the shining golden city.

 

Scene then tunes in somewhere as Oz starts talking to Amaterasu, telling her she did a good job as chairman of the emergency guild meeting. She thanks him and mentions wanting to shut herself in somewhere because she’s tired. She also sighs about how all the other Representatives just want to talk about their own things like they always do. She wonders why they can’t have a proper conversation.

 

Oz asks how the meeting turned out. Amaterasu says they naturally suspect the Warmongers of rule breaking due to two incidents. The first is the attack on the Kamata Crafters. The second is the Warmongers hanging onto the trophy and refusing to give any clear answers to their inquiries.

 

Amaterasu says that Michael, Horus, and Koropokkur are going to directly question the Warmongers. They’re heading to a Portal Koropokkur controls, Oujimachi Academy in Kita Ward. The rest of their guild is staying behind, and Amaterasu is happy to leave it to them to deal with any trouble.

 

Oz seems relieved and says that if those three go, the rest of them might not need to go either since they’re strong. Oz then asks for permission to go see his friend he promised to meet. He got word about a new rocket being made and a celebration about it, and he promises to finish all his work for the student council.

 

Amaterasu is willing to let him go, but she says there might be a problem. The Ota Ward is closely related to the current incidents they’re looking into after all. This is somehow a surprise to Oz, and Amaterasu moves on to ask if he knows about her being an assistant to the academy military prison. He says yes, though only along the lines of rumors.

 

Amaterasu then asks if Oz knows about the World Representative that runs that school as one of the management of the Warmongers. He doesn’t, which he gets flustered about. Amaterasu tells him that this Representative is like her in that they are the sun of their world, but this other Rep has a big difference compared to her.

 

Amaterasu describes his world as one where two brother suns take over from each other. For that reason the Representative represents a System that seeks sacrifices. The both of them are creators of the world and simultaneously the exiles of their world. The subject of sibling exile reminds Amaterasu of someone, and for a moment she casts her eyes down.

 

She then picks back up to say he’s the El Dorado World Representative, master of the prison school and avatar of smoke and the mirror. And he is the one involved with the previously mentioned two incidents.

 

Scene shifts back to the prison school as Yasuyori sees Daisuke and Avarga in the middle of a drill, then panics and hides in the shadows of the giants in the squad. You notice and try to call to him. Avarga says it’s time for the morning combat drills to end for them, and Daisuke thanks him as he calls him coach before switching to instructor.

 

Avarga tells his group to get to cleaning since the next group is waiting. Daisuke looks over at the mention of that and then notices you. He then quickly puts his mask back on in a hurry, then runs up to you and asks why you’re here. You comment on him being here, say you were worried about him, or hug him.

 

Going C, Taurus Mask gets embarrassed as he says you’re a passionate one. Not that he hates it or anything as he hugs you back. Anyways he says he’s happy to see you and he has to take a moment to correct between his private and stage first person pronouns. He then whispers and asks if you’re also Pretending to Be Caught.

 

You are surprised by him mentioning ‘also’ and ask about him. Taurus Mask says he can’t talk now but he can do so during break time after lunch, so he asks you to meet him at the back yard then to talk.

 

Time skips to that point as Taurus Mask tells you what’s been happening on his end thus far. He informs you that people in his school are also disappearing and not just the Berserkers. Lots of people at his school are deploring this string of disappearances. Taurus Mask got here through conspiring with Snow and the others, then moving around a lot.

 

Taurus Mask then says he was surprised when he saw a lot of the people he knows working as soldiers and instructors here. He hasn’t found everyone he’s looking for though, which includes the people in the sumo club among others. He also mentions that everyone is choosing to stay instead of being imprisoned. You agree that it seems that way and that you were told you could leave.

 

Taurus Mask says you guys will need to come up with to make it so that everyone can leave on their own. He’s thinking of making them remember the people waiting for them outside so they want to go home to them. To that end, he’s been playing along while looking around inside. You either say he’s amazing or are comforted to have a friend here.

 

Taurus Mask agrees and starts talking about the war memories, which causes him to pale up and shake. You call out to him in concern and figure he saw the memories too. He tries to claim he’s alright because he’s a superhero. He swears to bring everyone back even if he has to stay there. You protest that he has to come with you all.

 

Taurus Mask is surprised before trying to laugh and agree, though clearly still disturbed by what he saw. Around this time you hear footsteps approaching, and both of you look to each other. Taurus Mask says you guys can’t be caught talking to each other, so he runs off and says he’ll see you later.

 

You then see the Shadow giant from your group come by, and he cries and moans about wanting to go back to his school and his friends on the outside, shaking as he looks at a picture he has in his pockets. He admits people have treated him well here, but he still wants to go back. You decide to try talking to him about those feelings, and he asks in shock how long you’ve been there listening. He begs you not to tell anyone else.

 

You assure him it’s okay and that there are people waiting for him. He starts to ask about you when Yasuyori shows up to stop the conversation. You are shocked by his turning up, and the mobs flanking him grab the Shadow giant. You then ask what Yasuyori is doing or try to tell them to not use violence.

 

Yasuyori says violence isn’t happening and that the giant has reason to leave. The giant reacts in fear to this, and Yasuyori asks if he’s going or something else he trails off on. The giant yells that he doesn’t want to lose his last home.

 

You react with shock at this, and the giant says that while there may be people waiting outside for him, he can’t bring himself to forgive himself for what he remembered and be with them. He also pleads for the others to stop looking at him that way and insists he’s not a traitor. It’s now that you finally figure out what it is that’s been bugging you, that guilt behind everyone’s eyes and the sense of complicity they’ve shared between them all.

 

The shadow giant begs and says he’ll never think what he thought again. Yasuyori accepts it and says he’ll have to remember his war memories even more clearly. The giant seems to slump in resignation as he agrees and thanks him for it, and the others drag him away as he hangs his head.

 

You try to protest this, but the giant says there’s nothing else to be done since he can’t go anywhere else. He then starts begging to be saved. You call out to him to stop and run towards him, but Yasuyori and his flunkies stand in the way. When you demand an explanation for this, Yasuyori asks if you figured out why you were let free.

 

Yasuyori then tells you that the whole school is being supervised by their CO’s power as he points out the mirrors that are everywhere with his eyes. You react in shock to this and wonder if he also knows about your earlier conversation. He confirms it and says he doesn’t even need to do anything himself while Daisuke is probably being restrained by the other trainers by now. He’ll be taken to the CO like the giant is to have more war memories reawakened.

 

Yasuyori says everyone has feelings about wanting to go home to places important to them, but he insists that the war memories that only they remember prevents them from returning. He asks if you think this System is clever.

 

You ask if he’s talking about a total surveillance society or say that it won’t be happening next time. He denies it and explains that the mirrors inform everyone regardless of social class, and you understand what he’s getting at.

 

Yasuyori confirms and says that if everyone can see everything including the nature of the past crimes, this will lead to harmony and kindness. He says that the prison school is not a society of total surveillance, but a society of mutual understanding. He then asks if you’ve learned it’s futile yet and offers to take you to the entrance if you want to leave. Then he notices something about your expression and is confused by it.

 

You state that you originally came for different reasons as you think of Taurus Mask and Pollux, Bathym and Andvari, and Mononobe. You say you came to save your friends, the one who helped you, and/or the people you care about. Yasuyori doesn’t responds to this, so you continue by saying that’s not your only goal now. Yasuyori asks if disbelief if you’re saying you’ll make an enemy of them and that they’re mistaken.

 

You declare that they are mistaken for believing they have no other choices other than to be here. Yasuyori is quietly surprised, and you yell about not knowing anything about the war memories, but no matter what they are they can’t be enough to trap anyone. The giants are shocked to hear you don’t have those memories and turn hostile. Yasuyori sighs in mild disbelief about you outing yourself. He then asks to make sure if you plan on leaving now or not.

 

Yasuyori states that you can’t win against the Warmongers at all since you have never done so before in all the loops. You declare you do have a chance that they don’t know about, and you send a thought about that to Solomon. He pops up in response to agree and asks you to leave things to him.

 

Over in the prison school’s commander’s office, Tezcatlipoca is laughing while surrounded by mirrors showing him what’s going on there. He watches utterly delighted as he looks at your face, asking if you’re declaring war as he refers to you as a friend. He’s also impressed you’d say you can win, saying that it’s not a war if you don’t. No war can happen if your opponent isn’t choosing to fight, doesn’t have the ability to fight, and doesn’t have a plan to win.

 

Tezcatlipoca says it has to be you as he calls you brother as well as friend again. Once again a war will break out, the most nostalgic and irritating war that has repeatedly continued. Then he warps out from his office for a second to fully materialize from the shadow he was being. Tezcatlipoca yells that he was waiting for this war with you as one of the seven managers of the Warmongers, then declares that the war with you, Quetzalcoatl, is on as the episode ends.