Monsters called Nemesis bring disaster.
The only ones who can fight these dangerous foes are the sorcerers.
However, the sorcerers are considered tainted beings and feared by most.
The bell!
I-Impossible!
Th-That's... Sixth Street.
Th-The armory...
The iron foundry...
The Inquisition Headquarters!
Th-The castle I built from the ground up!
Wh-Why?
Why did this happen?!
What do you think you're doing? Damn you!
Why don't I tell you a little story, then?
A sad, sad story of the past...
With Fists Like Shooting Stars -Burst-
"With Fists Like Shooting Stars."
Just about fifteen years ago,
the Inquisition took custody of some infected children
and devised a plan to make them into soldiers to fight the Nemesis.
Poucet, Hans, and Gretta...
The children were named the Defense Force,
received a warm welcome from the people of Rumble Town,
and were then thrown into the prison with heinous criminals and illegal immigrants.
Every day spent in that prison was hell,
but still, the children encouraged one another
and tried their best to live.
Then, one day...
Get out of here, Defense Force!
We don't need any sorcerers!
Get rid of those tainted brats!
Get rid of the infected!
I'm scared.
Get rid of the infected!
I-It'll be okay.
Get out of here, sorcerers!
Why do we have to go through this?
Get out of here, sorcerers!
Because we're monsters?
You kids aren't monsters.
Pay no attention to the yelling outside.
They'll get tired and stop soon.
Or if their shouting still bothers you, just do this.
You're really bad at that.
You suck! You suck!
Who are you?
My name is Oxumare.
And, here. You can have this.
Music is a great thing.
Even across different languages and cultures,
a beautiful melody will soothe the heart.
Someday, you kids will find someone to make music with you, too.
So you'd better start practicing now.
Go on, try it out.
O-Okay.
Huh?
You're about as bad at it as I am!
Oxumare's presence changed the mood in the prison, even if only a little.
But...
There was someone who didn't like the change.
Hey...
Someone gives you candy, and that's all it takes to make you fold.
You really are just like animals.
No, even less than that... You're monsters.
Just the sight of you sickens me.
Go cower in the corner of the cell, you animals.
Or else...
What's going on?
Nothing, Major Oxumare.
I was only warning them to be quiet at night.
You are Konrad, correct?
Why do you have that crossbow?
It's for self-defense in the event of an emergency, sir.
I've heard that your attitude toward immigrants and these children is problematic.
But Konrad, these children are human, just like you and me.
You say I am the same as immigrants and the infected?
Exactly.
Your inability to accept people who aren't like you is what makes you weak.
I am... weak?
Is there a problem?
No, sir. I'll be going now.
Then, that night...
That man, calling himself an ally, opened the cell
and let the children escape.
But the children were too young and naïve
to realize that this was Konrad's dirty scheme.
Awaiting the children was a hell worse than what they'd faced in the prison.
Konrad had already spread word that the Defense Force had escaped,
inciting terror in the people of the town
and instantly turning their thoughts to manslaughter.
When Oxumare came to help...
Move!
...the children had already changed.
When I was thrown back into the cell after losing my friends,
Oxumare gently took hold of me and mourned their deaths with me.
I swear I'll protect you.
But that man even looked upon that with hatred in his eyes.
Konrad had already begun forming a devilish plan.
Then, one day, some time after the breakout incident,
the thunderous roar of a sudden end...
echoed from the sky.
I-It's a Nemesis!
Help!
Run!
To the command center!
A sudden attack by a Nemesis sent Rumble Town into a state of panic.
Major, we've confirmed the appearance of multiple Nemesis.
What shall we do?
The safety of the citizens comes first.
Begin evacuation procedures.
Then should we not house the residents of Thirteenth Street here for now?
What? This is a prison!
But it would be much safer than exposing them to the Nemesis outside.
I also request permission to deploy the Defense Force.
Don't be ridiculous! She's just a child!
I cannot approve such an order!
But, sir, she is the only one who can fight the Nemesis.
If you are concerned,
perhaps you should personally take command of the Defense Force?
Major, there is no time!
Please, for the sake of our people, we need your decision!
Very well. I'll put you in charge of evacuating the citizens.
Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!
I'm sorry.
We need your power right now.
Would you please help us?
Major!
The Echo Nemesis are getting closer!
Requesting immediate orders!
All right.
Please, come.
There's nothing to worry about.
I will protect you myself.
It's my duty as an adult.
Major, I'll need you to step down now.
K-Konrad...
You bastard!
No!
Mister! Mister!
The major...
Konrad, have you lost your mind?!
Forgive me, my friend...
But I do this for the sake of this town's future.
Now, then...
Shall I have the monster die fighting the other monsters?
Or perhaps...
Run! Quickly!
What are you doing?!
Go now!
The brat!
Damn you! Just die already!
Poucet... Hans... Gretta...
Mister...
No more... What am I supposed to do?
Where am I supposed to go?
Music is a great thing.
Even across different languages and cultures,
a beautiful melody will soothe the heart.
Someday, you kids will find someone to make music with you, too.
No! Go away!
Don't come closer!
Don't come closer! Don't come closer!
Huh? They're not attacking.
But you are Nemesis, aren't you?
Was it...
They really do like my music.
Are you... hurt?
You're just like me.
Nobody wants you around.
It's not like you came to this island because you wanted to, right?
What's that?
The town, and the people, fell from the sky.
And as I watched Thirteenth Street fall,
my heart froze over.
[Hameline's Pipe] It's a pipe for children gifted by Oxumare. Blowing this pipe was the only peace she and her friends had.
You're the child from back then?!
It's strange, isn't it?
I was supposed to fight these Nemesis as the Defense Force,
but I ended up saving them.
But this isn't the end of my happy little story.
What?!
After killing Oxumare and my friends,
Konrad placed the blame for his sins on the immigrants in the prison
and called them terrorists.
He then told his captain at the time
that letting Thirteenth Street fall was the only way to save the town.
What?
That can't be.
The collapse was the result of that.
It was a necessary sacrifice!
If the immigrants had been allowed to multiply further,
the town would have been ruined!
I had no choice but to sully my own hands!
And what excuse will you give for what you're doing now?
A few months ago, when I said I'd help you get rid of the immigrants,
you happily accepted my offer, did you not?
Lies!
I would never work alongside a lowly sorcerer like you!
The way I feel is no different from fifteen years ago!
The immigrants are a cancer killing Rumble Town!
They must be completely eliminated!
Even if citizens who aren't immigrants get hurt, too?
Of course! Evil cannot be annihilated without sacrifice!
I will climb over their dead bodies to claim victory at any cost!
T-To hell with that!
I won't let you decide to kill me!
What have we done?
How could we have entrusted our lives to this man?!
So she started it all to get revenge?!
She's our whistleblower of justice!
Is she going to save us, then?
The bell even fell where the captain's mansion is.
You all seem to be mistaken, good people of this town.
Huh?
I dropped the bell to ring out the sound of judgment.
You are all going to die here.
What's the matter? Are you still going to deny the blood on your hands?
Don't be foolish!
That scumbag only succeeded in pulling off such a large-scale plot
because of all of you!
I wasn't there fifteen years ago!
I-I had nothing to do with it!
"Nothing to do with it"?
How are you people, who tried to execute innocent infected children and sorcerers,
any different from Konrad?!
B-But...
The people of this town haven't changed a bit since then!
None of you can do anything alone,
but when you're addressed collectively as "good people,"
you can carry out all manner of cruelty!
It was the same when we escaped prison!
No matter how we screamed, they wouldn't stop beating us!
I still vividly remember the pain and despair I felt that day!
Don't give me convenient excuses to claim your own innocence now!
Every single person in this town is an accomplice!
You are all my enemies!
It's just the same now. You all did as Konrad said, without question!
You tried to kill people!
You people just embrace having a leader, don't you?
You want someone else to make your decisions for you.
So as a special gift, I'll decide your fate for you.
Sink along with this island!
I have lived my life for this moment alone!
I will play the finale to my revenge as this entire town is destroyed!
Start praying! Tremble!
Feel hope slip away!
And then... die!
So sorry to interrupt at the crucial moment,
but Grimm would like you to answer a question.
Now!
Round up all the remaining weapons and bombard Twelfth Street!
B-But—
Silence!
I have no need of immigrants or any who defy me!
All must be burned to the ground to be purified!
If you dare disobey me...
Y-Yes, sir!
So you were behind all this.
The way Taj and everyone else suffered.
The reason that girl hates everyone so much.
It was all because of you!
And what if it was?
I am the champion of Rumble Town.
I am the one chosen as its strongest man!
Strongest? Don't make me laugh!
What?
You can't achieve anything without deceiving everyone!
You're a weakling!
You're the weakest man in Rumble Town!
I am... weak?
You say I am weak?!
Filthy infected! Tainted sorcerer!
You are less than an insect, and you call me weak?!
I'll say it over and over!
You are a weakling!
Silence!
He knocked my attack aside with one hand?
And I don't see even a trace of Fantasia!
Curse you!
Konrad!
The mere existence of you infected people and the immigrants is sinful!
You are vermin, and you are monsters!
Where is the evil in exterminating such pestilence?!
We are not vermin or monsters!
We are sorcerers!
I-I don't understand it.
How does his attack carry so much force?
If he's throwing such heavy blows bare-handed,
his bones should be shattering!
H-He's amassing a tremendous amount of Fantasia in one spot?
The Fantasia is absorbing the impact of my blows
so that they instantly slide right off his body, negating all damage!
This boy has the ability to manipulate Fantasia at will?!
That's...
Seth!
I have personally buried all those who ever defied me!
You can meet the same fate they all did!
My name is Konrad de Marbourg!
I am the impenetrable barrier wall that protects Rumble Town!
He's absorbed my attack!
Just like that bandaged sorcerer!
If you're a barrier wall,
I'll just blow you wide open!
Skull Burst!
I am a champion.
My ideals are stronger, nobler, and more beautiful than anyone else's!
I am a righteous wall that shall never break!
I am...
a wall.
To Be Continued
Next Time
A mysterious man presses Seth for answers
about why he fights, and what position he will take.
Meanwhile, with Hameline's attack, the fall of Rumble Town begins.
Can Seth, Melie, and Grimm save the town?
Next time on Radiant, "Fly High and Pierce Through the Storm."
Fly High and Pierce Through the Storm -Rising-
Look forward to the next episode!
End