Blue Archive story · Act 2: Volume 2, Chapter 2, Episode 18
Act 2 Vol. 2 Ch. 2 Ep. 18: As We Become the Flame
1 scenes, 323 lines
1. Part 1
323 lines
Who...are you talking about?
...Ugh, don't tell me...
The Tyrant Emperor.
The genius inventor, supreme strategist, the finest politician and the most glorious tyrant.
Yes. I serve her.
What...?
You...follow the Tyrant Emperor?
Does that mean... Shouko, you were behind all this?
You're the one who brainwashed Gehenna into this whole Kivotos conquest madness?
Yes. It was me.
I was the one who guided this academy down the footsteps of the glorious visionary.
All so I could fulfill her unachieved dream with my own hands.
You...! You!!! How could you...?!
Shouko... This was really all you?
All this...? Right. It followed the Tyrant Emperor's playbook.
Control through fear. Prioritizing the collective over the individual. The absolute conquest of Kivotos.
Tch!!!
A-Aah!!!
Heehee... See how the traitors who brought her down are reduced to mere puppets?
Makoto...!!!
Head Prefect!!!
This is the due revenge from someone who was driven from her rightful fortress.
And the praise and acclaim she deserved are finally being offered to her, all from the mouths of her traitors!
For the glorious one, the dethroned Emperor...!
Shouko... Everything you talked about, all we shared, was for this?
When you said you wanted to "restore order to Gehenna," you meant the Tyrant Emperor's era?
Shouko... Was it all a lie?
It could have only ended this way!!!
The sole way to restore Gehenna's glory was to follow the Tyrant Emperor's ideology!
It IS better now! I showed you that controlled order is far stronger than some paltry freedom!
If any of that were true, you wouldn't have to brainwash everyone to believe it.
I merely used the tools I was given.
Yes, I bypassed the tedious processes of debate, persuasion, and argument. They were inefficient.
What matters is that everyone ended up unified and on the right path.
Except for some subversives like you.
You... You're out of your mind.
Give us back our upperclassmen!!!
Ahaha! There's no escaping the glorious legacy she left behind, the "True NK Ultra Project"!!!
It's too late. There is only one thing you can do now!
Conquer Kivotos in accordance with her ideology and values. Reflect on your treason and demonstrate your penance with blood!
War! Glorious war, once again!!! Soon, her legacy shall set all of Kivotos aflame!
The true order built upon the scorched earth! Gehenna's flag shall fly across the entire world!
Only then...will the requiem dedicated to her finally be complete.
...Yes. For the glory of Gehenna.
Soldiers! Raise your guns! Direct your bayonets into the rotten hearts of Kivotos!
*pant* *pant*
...
Long live the Emperor.
"Is that..."
"...really your idea, Shouko?"
...
You're asking the obvious, Sensei.
If this isn't my idea, then whose is it?
Someone "forcibly planted this thought in my head"...?
"Just like with the NK Ultra Project"...?
Hah...!
So you keep condescending to me, Sensei. You think you're so clever.
To a high and mighty adult like you, I might be nothing more than a young student.
But behold, for I am the one who...!!!
...
Those eyes...
Why, why are you looking at me like that? I told you! I told you before!
You've got it all wrong! Don't, don't...
Don't look at me like that!!!
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I'm not scared! I'm not afraid! Because I chose this!!!
"..."
...
*huff* *huff*
Fufu... Fufufu...
So, what's your move now?
Look at you, a complete mess, so utterly powerless!
How about something like this?
Tch...! M-My head...!
Ugh...!
Wh-What? What's happening...?
Th-They did it...!
*huff* *huff* ...I'm glad we bought you time...
Ugh...!!! My head...!!!
What...is this song?! Something's...!
Ugh! Tch!
This atrocious "music" is the...cancelling frequency?
You found a way to counter it...? How...?
S-Stop that broadcast! Turn it off!
Um, we've lost contact with the forces guarding the broadcasting room...!
What the...? Everyone, get a grip! Resist this terrible tune!
...Sensei, is this your doing?
"It was the Intelligence Committee Director."
"Someone who refused to be defeated by the past."
Fufu, I couldn't possibly do this alone.
The Twinkle Twinkle Club! Making a spectacular appearance at Gehenna's worst rave!
Wow... It looks a little crazy out here. Is everyone okay?
While it's difficult to manipulate someone, restoring someone to their true self is simple.
It's time for the ghosts of the past to return to the grave.
We...really did it...!!!
Surrender, Shouko. It's over.
Your damn brainwashing's been broken.
And your meaningless goal of conquering Kivotos is over.
Gehenna will return to its true self. How it was.
...Back to the foolish, rowdy, chaotic... and free Gehenna.
Fufu...
Fufufu. Fufu.
So it's come to this.
...
By the way...
Why do you think I kept telling people to adapt? To accept?
Eh?
It's because it cannot be undone.
Did you really think the danger of NK Ultra was solely in the brainwashing?
What's truly hazardous comes after.
The glorious Tyrant Emperor prepared for this feeble attempt.
She foresaw everything.
If the brainwashing were to be forcibly reversed...
The death trigger activates.
What...do you mean by that?
To put it simply...
Forcibly flipping the switch like this will completely obliterate their minds.
Wh-What did you just say?!
Tch, aaah...!
Ugh...!
N-No...!
"N-No...!"
You made this so much worse than it had to be!
All you had to do was accept the new era, but you kept resisting!
All she wanted was your worship! Praise to the glorious visionary! If everyone just followed her, we all would've been happy...!!!
Things didn't have to come to this! It was you! It was all your fault!!! You complete dummkopfs!!!
Th-That's not true! None of this would have happened if you hadn't started it!
Stop this now! Make it stop!!!
I can't. There's...no cure. It's out of my hands.
If she's telling the truth, then what should we do...?!
If we don't fix them, a war will break out...
But if we free them, their minds will be destroyed...
The broadcast... The frequency...!
...M-My head...!
Ugh...!!! Agh...!
Damn it! Damn it!!!
We almost saved them...!!! We were right there! Head Prefect...! Ako...!
Ugh... Augh... We couldn't save them... We couldn't protect them...!
What should we do...? Head Prefect... Get a hold of yourself... Please...!!!
Tch... Ahhh...!!!
It's over...
Gehenna...is finished.
...Makoto...
Makoto, did you know something?
You're always spouting nonsense, and it's hard to find a single thing to respect about you.
You ate my pudding out of the fridge whenever you wanted. You blew our budget on the dumbest, most trivial things.
Honestly, I was sick of it.
I was sick of that foolish daily routine, and all the paperwork you piled on me.
But...
Rarely, QUITE rarely, you had your cool moments.
Even though you're always spouting nonsense... I don't dislike you.
So...
So...!!!
DO SOMETHING, YOU CONCEITED IDIOT! MAKOTO!!!
Makoto... Why do you want power?
...To become great.
Humans live by desire.
And yet, humans compromise with desire.
Humans are capable of any compromise.
That's why they're weak.
I never compromise my desires.
You are the same.
People sometimes end up mirroring those they loathe. Fufu...
Kihehe... I see...
So this is the curse you left behind. Your rotten legacy.
However.
I won't end up like you.
We'll see...
...if that holds true.
Yeah. I won't end up like you.
Is this really how you'll end?!
Is this really how you'll end?!
Is this really how you'll end?!
Is this really how you'll end?!
Is this really how you'll end?!
Is this really how you'll end?!
You would never!!!
Is this really how you'll end?!
You would never!!!
Is this really how you'll end?!
You would never!!!
Is this really how you'll end?!
You would never!!!
Is this really how you'll end?!
You would never!!!
Do something!!!
Do something!!!
Do something!!!
Do something!!!
Do something!!!
Makoto!!!
Makoto!!!
"Makoto...?"
...Kihe. So this is it.
Makoto...?
Ah. Yes. It's your beloved Makoto.
But I have a few things to take care of, so spare me a moment.
I must do something about this damn curse.
Makoto...!
To think you'd try to take over Gehenna with some petty trickery. Your arrogance is disgusting.
What...?
Soldiers.
My dear soldiers of Gehenna. My sisters!
One day...
One day, we may all vanish.
The notion of "freedom" may disappear from Gehenna...
...as a vast darkness engulfs us.
However,
Today is not the day.
...!!!
A shadow of inescapable doom may descend upon Gehenna one night.
And that moment might be drawing nearer with every passing instant.
However,
Today is not the day.
...What...are you...?
My fellow Gehennans...
Do you wish to blindly follow the orders of another?
Do you wish to live a life controlled by a stranger?
Do you wish to have all your decisions be predetermined, implanted by another?
No. You do not. For you are one of us!
I, Hanuma Makoto, Chairman of Pandemonium Society, guarantee you this freedom!
You are Gehenna!!!
You don't give a damn what anyone says!!!
SO LET'S TEAR THIS RIDICULOUS PUPPET SHOW APART!!!
I... What?
Wh-What the...?
What...happened...?
For the glory of... What? What am I even saying?
Everyone...!
Their minds...!
"The brainwashing...is undone?!"
Everyone! Are you okay? Sick? Speak to me!
H-Huh... Wh-What the...?
Hold on... Was I seriously desperate to fight in a war...? Ew.
I-Impossible...
You broke free on your own?
You shattered the Tyrant Emperor's chains...with sheer willpower?!
...
...I remember everything.
Head Prefect...
...
Iori, Chinatsu...
Kihe...
Yes, Iroha. It's your dear Hanuma Makoto, whom you love and respect more than anyone else.
Ugh...!
What?!
...
Kihehe... You've been working hard, haven't you?
*sniffle* *sob*
You stupid, idiotic, foolish Makoto.
You've put me through all this trouble. I was so scared... We were so close to losing everything.
No, I'm never working this hard again! I'm going to quit the Pandemonium Society for real next time. You'll see.
Not a chance, Iroha.
Why?!
Because you're mine.
As long as I, Hanuma Makoto, reign at the top of the Pandemonium Society, I will never let you go.
Kihehe... Understand that? You will continue to work for me...forever!!!
Tch... I hate that stupid look on your face!
Then I'm going to keep grumbling and mocking you the whole time! Suit yourself!
...I feel like I woke up from a long dream... Or was it a nightmare?
W-We really wanted to go to war?
What were we thinking...? Conquering Kivotos...?
That's ridiculous...
Ugh...!
Damn it, damn it, damn it! This is impossible...! How could...?!
She broke free from the Tyrant Emperor's legacy just like that? This must be a joke! There's no way...!!!
What should I do? What's the protocol? "In case of failure, lay low and wait for orders..."
...Hmph.
Shouko.
President.
...You're still calling me that?
...Are you happy now, Mayumi?
The glorious Gehenna was within reach. We could have accomplished anything.
...No. There was nothing "glorious" about it.
Now I see clearly. The academy we dreamed of had nothing to do with the values you kept pushing.
...Fufu...
Yes. Took you long enough to catch on. I manipulated you all.
I deceived you into believing that your desires were exactly what I wanted.
I convinced the students to gradually start accepting control, surveillance, and oppression.
...And yet it ended like this.
...So, did you have fun?
...
Shouko...
...
Are you finished, Shouko?
...Hmph.
Right. If you've got nothing else to say...
Then clench your teeth.
...There was still so much left to sort out...
But that's how the NK Ultra Project finally came to an end.