Smoldering Spire

What caused the fire?

An accident... At least, that's what we decided at first, but...

Dr. Atro would never be so careless as to leave flammables lying around. All the signs point to this being caused by someone's Arts.

We couldn't figure out where the fire started. The tent's metal support frame melted, and the bodies...

Oh...

It's fine. Continue.

Judging from the remains, the victims couldn't even leave the tent. There was no struggle. And of course, they were completely unrecognizable.

I don't think an ordinary fire could just incinerate Dr. Atro and her patients like that.

It would have to be some form of Originium Arts that could achieve such high temperatures so quickly...

How many of them were Infected?

Hm? Oh... three from our village: Kevin, Biederman, and Eckehard were receiving treatment. And there was also...

......

Thor... Thorwald.

He was the only son of the Schultz. And my friend. He wasn't Infected. He just went there to help, out of the kindness of his own heart.

Just let it out, Miss Tatjana. You need to get it off your chest.

Huh?

I can sense the pain here.

Here... there was a lot of discontent here. Much joy, much pain. But it's all gone now.

Is that... is that an Originium Art?

No. I've just seen this kind of thing so many times. Everyone wants to keep their feelings bottled up inside. But it's not healthy.

Maybe I'm wrong. But if you treat yourself like that, you'll worry the people who care about you, no?

You should cry. Cry it all out. No one will judge you.

You're right. Thank you. I already knew that, in a way, but for now I can't... I just can't let it go.

Hm—

Don't. Don't look at me, Lisa. I get it.

Hm!

*Sigh*... Now, I'm sorry!

Huh? What's that about...?

...I thought I had prepared myself mentally back on the Rhodes Island landship. Atro was a very dedicated doctor. She always reported in on time.

Of course I know what it means to lose contact with an operator. Rhodes Island has said goodbye to so many. I just couldn't get myself to believe it.

I... I let my emotions get the better of me. And I'm sorry.

But we're not the only ones to lose somebody to this act of murder.

Schultz Severin found the remains of eight individuals.

Since there are no Infected experts in our town, we can only hastily bury them...

We can't let them stay with Wolumonde. They'll be buried in the wasteland outside the town. And when Wolumonde leaves, they'll lose their hometown forever.

Of course... in keeping with our traditions... we should do better than that, at least...

This sort of thing happens a lot.

You said there were eight?

Yes. The five I just mentioned, and the others should be some wanderers who came seeking treatment.

When the Great Rift came, Wolumonde didn't escape unscathed, and of course many merchants and travelers nearby got caught up in the Catastrophe.

Things were bad for Wolumonde, but there was nothing else those people could do but chase down the town slowly crawling across the wasteland.

The look of the refugees coming in started to change... But Dr. Atro treated everyone equally. She even rescued some of the Infected. At least the ones who would accept the help.

That means one non-infected and seven Infected.

What about the Infected remains? Within minutes to hours of the cessation of vital signs, depending on the rate of Originium assimilation in the body, there is a risk of secondary spread. It's very dangerous if not handled appropriately.

Oh, right, well, the Schultz decided that because they were only lightly infected, and with the rapid incineration of tissue, there wasn't much risk.

Didn't you say you had no Infected experts?

Oh, Schultz Severin just said he was going off of experience, and couldn't be absolutely sure.

Experience, huh...? What kind of job gives you experience handling Infected corpses...?

But anyway, if he can keep his cool even after losing his own flesh and blood, maybe he takes his job more seriously than I thought.

I would like to inspect the Infected remains... I need to see Atro myself.

Yes, of course. I'll explain it to the Schultz. But most of the remains are charred so badly that we can't tell who was who.

No problem, I—

Ah—!

Lisa?

That badge...

Wow... it's Atro's employee badge. It survived...

Oh. Right.

She always complained it got in the way of her work. Isn't that funny? Just wear it on your neck or your chest. How could it get in the way...?

Let's go. I want to see her...

What was that sound?

It's coming from the town!

M-Miss Folinic! Someone's coming!

Hm...?

That symbol. It's... Rhodes Island...? When did you get here...?

And with your outfit... you're no ordinary Infected.

Are you Leithanian? Or the Sarkaz they were talking about?

They're some armed Infected partisans who showed up outside the town recently. It looks like a group of Sarkaz make up the core, but they've taken in a lot of our local Infected.

The call themselves... the 'Mudrock Squad.'