My name is Michael. I’m 12, but when I was 10, I was given a certain job by a man I admire greatly. Or, I guess it was more of a deal? Either way, there are two things I’ve always kept in my head since then. The first is that no matter how uselessly strong Sister Agatha is, I need to do everything I can to avoid dragging her into fights. I mean, I get it. Nobody likes to fight. You could get hurt or break something important. That’s why I wanted to trust Edgar when he told me the bandit attitude was just an act to avoid fighting.

But is Sister Agatha not fighting really that big a deal? I don’t get why that’s important, but it can’t be too important, otherwise Mr. Klein wouldn’t give that job to some random kid he picked off the streets. That’s why I’ve always treated it more like a chore. Like, I’ll put in a moderate amount of effort to calm things down and if I fail it’s hardly the end of the world. I’ll just get yelled at a bit and that’s it. Mr. Klein hasn’t sent me away yet, so I guess I’m doing something right. I definitely feel like I’ve helped avoid more fights than I’ve started. That thing with the Scumperor– I mean, that Jaeger guy was the first time the sister got her hands dirty in like half a year. There’ve been other scumbags but I somehow managed to convince them to leave us alone before things got violent.

Then there’s the second secret mission I was given. Sometimes, Mr. Klein said, there might be a situation where things go really, really bad. Like a giant earthquake or a flood or a rebel invasion – stuff that’s way worse than a street brawl with some scumbags. There’s something very specific I need to do at times like that. And now, with the crater shaking like crazy, it might be the first time I’ve had to do the thing. I mean, it’s an earthquake, right? That’s literally one of the examples I was given.

“The hell?!”

“You gotta be shitting me? Here? Now?!

“That Flashbang did something, didn’t she?!”

However, I don’t think these guys are on the same page at all. They’re just standing in place and throwing curse words around. I’m very confused now, so I run up to Dieter. He’s the most reliable guy in this gang of dregs, and they usually listen to him whenever Edgar’s not here. Why they don’t listen to him all the time, I have no idea. Ah, I guess Edgar’s the brains, so they trust his directions. In which case, I guess Dieter is like… the spine? Liver, maybe? Argh! Who cares?!

“Uncle Dieter! Why are you all just standing around?!”

“There’s not much we can do even if we wanted, kid.”

“Huh? But, it’s an earthquake. Shouldn’t we hide or something?”

Like, in a trash can, or doorframe, or something else that’ll keep your head safe. There might not be any tall buildings where we are, but there’s still walls and pillars that could fall on us and stuff.

“This ain’t no quake. It’s much worse. Look there.”

He points out into the crater, and only now do I realize all the guys are looking in that direction as well. It takes me a few moments to see it, and when I do, I can’t look away. Something huge is digging itself up from the ground. No, it’s not digging. It’s standing up. A mountain’s worth of rubble and rocks split around it and then fall away like drops of water. It’s really skinny for how stupidly big it is, almost like a skeleton. Six legs below, a torso of layered circles that looks like a ribcage, no arms, and a head that resembles the sword-and-scales talismans the sister carries around. There’s no eyes or mouth or anything like that, but somehow I just know, it’s looking this way.

“U-uncle Dieter?”

I’m so scared I cling to his trousers without realizing it.

“Sorry, kid. Don’t think too badly of me.”

He suddenly grabs me by the arms and I instantly hear a metal click. He… handcuffed me?

“What’re you– Put me down!”

I struggle on reflex as he picks me up, hoists me over his shoulder, and starts running. It’s not just him, everyone else is fleeing like scared chickens also.

“Where are you going?! We need to help Edgar’s group!”

They’re still down in that vault or whatever. We need to pull them up before that weird metal skeleton thing gets here!

“They’ll be fine! They’ll just have to hide until the titan runs out of power and goes back to sleep!”

“And how long will that take?!”

“Just an hour or so! We’ll find them after!”

Really? If it’s just that, then I guess it’s fine. They are in a vault, after all, so–

“Actually–!”

“You shut your whore mouth, Jerry!”

It takes me a few moments, then I realize. That Jerry guy’s pretty smart about certain things and he loves to show off by correcting people. In other words, Dieter just lied to me and tried to cover it up. Why? So I won’t cause a fuss? Ah, I see. I knew they were scum, but I never imagined they’d actually abandon their friends. Dieter probably thinks he’s helping me by dragging me along by force. Sorry, but I was raised better!

“Argh! You fucker!”

I stab Dieter in the shoulder with my pocket knife. It’s not deep, but it’s enough to make him flinch and drop me. I manage to land on all fours, then stand up and start running before he can catch me.

“Don’t be stupid kid! You’re just throwing your life away! Even if you had a hundred tanks you’d never stand a chance against that monster!”

Dieter stops and doesn’t chase me, but he does yell some scary things. I know how strong a tank is. I’ve seen one before, when I was 7. And that thing’s worse than a hundred of those? So what?!

“Fine then! See if I care!”

I know he cares. That’s why he tried to kidnap me. Well, sorry, but I’m a brat who doesn’t listen to adults unless it suits me. Besides, that big dumb thing is so slow. What’s it gonna do? Fall on me?!

“…”

Dear Lady Ovha. I deeply regret my cocky thoughts just now, so please don’t let me jinx it. I pray with all my heart, but I know it’s too late. I can see some weird lights gather around that giant metal skeleton’s scale-head. Like, six or seven of them. They shoot out and spread around the city at random. I see giant bright flashes in the distance, and a terrible noise like rapid-fire thunder rattles me to my bones a few seconds later. It’s so strong that I can’t help but slip, fall, and tumble across the rubble-covered ground. My arm hurts so bad that I’m sure I’m screaming with all I have, but I can’t even hear my own voice. The ground won’t stop shaking and I feel dust and little rocks fall on me from the barely-standing ruins on either side of the street. Everything hurts now.

I’m just a kid, so it’s fine if I just curl up in a ball and cry for help, right?

“Sisteeeer! Ah.”

All of a sudden, the pain and noise are gone, and I feel a familiar pair of hands cling onto me with so much force that I can barely breathe.

“You sweet, foolish child! Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”

I don’t know why I’m surprised. I knew she’d be fine, but how did she even get here? I look around in confusion. I think I hit my head and my vision’s a bit blurry, so it takes me a little while. I’m still in the street, and everything’s still crumbling, but not where we are. The ruins around us are only one or two floors tall, so none of the collapsing rocks come near us. I can tell the ground under the sister’s feet is vibrating like crazy, yet somehow I don’t feel any of that while she’s holding me against her chest. It’s the only part of her that’s soft.

No, wait, there’s more important things to worry about!

“Sister! Where are the others?!”

“They’re still climbing up. Don’t worry, most of them are safe.”

I crane my neck to look behind her, and I see a gigantic hole in the middle of the street. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t here just a little while ago. I mean, I still see all the gear and equipment those scumbags left behind, so it’s definitely our campsite. I understand what happened when I see a pair of burly hands grip the edge of the hole and Mark’s shiny scalp emerges from inside right after. Did she seriously dig her way up from the underground vault? Wasn’t that like, over ten meters of rock, concrete, and ass-fault? Hold on, if she could do that, then what was the point of climbing down with the ropes?! Well, I guess it looked pretty cool, but still!

“Wait, Edgar? Is he okay?!”

I immediately forget those silly questions when I see him get dragged out of the hole by Johan and Viktor. They’re holding him by the arms and shoulders, but he’s not moving one bit.

“No idea!” Viktor says with a grunt. “Idiot grabbed something weird and passed out!”

“Next thing we know,” Mark takes over, “the ground starts shaking and that crazy bitch starts punching the wall!”

“Never mind Edgar, what the hell happened here?” Johan starts looking around. “Where is every– Oh.”

It seems they finally noticed the titan or whatever. I can tell they instantly know what it is like Dieter’s group did, but these guys get mad instead of scared. I’m not too sure what they’re angry about, though. Can’t be because they were abandoned. They’re all scum, so I’m sure they’d have done the same in Dieter’s place. I get a better idea of who they’re mad at when Viktor lets Johan carry Edgar and walks over to where we are with a really scary face.

“Hey. Shitty Sister.”

He puts a hand on her shoulder with a stern face, and she looks back at him over her shoulder like he’s a piece of garbage. I mean, he objectively is, and she’s completely aware, but she usually doesn’t let her thoughts show like that.

“You know something, don’t you?”

He thumbs at the metal skeleton stomping around in the distance. Looks like he’s charging more of those bomb-lights, but it’s taking some time. Ah, now that I think about it, there’s no way this is a coincidence. Did Edgar do something to wake it up, and that’s why he’s out cold? Something to do with the Goddess? Is that why the sister’s mad, too? No, wait. She turns around while still holding me up, so I get a better look at her face. She’s not mad. She’s sad.

“I’m sorry. Your friend’s fate is in Ovha’s hands.”

“What?!”

“His soul was drawn into the war titan.”

Viktor looks like he’s about to lose it, but the giant in the distance fires another barrage before he can say or do anything. The bombardment isn’t as random as before, and feels like it’s attacking an area somewhere on the other side of us. My heart sinks as I realize that’s the direction those guys ran off to. I clutch the sister’s habit tight as I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by how useless and helpless I am.

“How do we get it out!?”

“You cannot. That man’s existence was too sinful, and the war titan is going on a rampage as a result. It won’t stop until it runs out of power, and by then it will be too late to bring your foolish friend back. You can only hope that Ovha sees fit to accept what’s left of his soul into the afterlife.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Why are you talking like it’s someone else’s problem?! It’s your fault this happened!”

“Do not assign blame to me. It is not I who carelessly grabbed such a suspicious relic.”

“Yeah?! But if it wasn’t for your blessing, we never would’ve found it!”

Wait… blessing?

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Johan joined in the argument. “Edgar’s the only one who could see that hidden door, just like how only Mark could tell where the structural weak points are. We all saw that egg thing as just a dull stone, but he called it shiny. He grabbed it because he saw something we didn’t, and then his blessing got dragged into it.”

There it is, that word again. My mind grabs onto it, my panic pulls back, and I can almost think clearly again.

“Clearly none of this wouldn’t have happened with your meddling!”

“My child, I was merely a conduit. It was Edgar who made a request, and Ovha’s the one who answered. The shape and form of Her blessings are not mine to control.”

I remembered. I’m helpless and weak, but I’m still Sister Agatha’s blessing. Even I have something I can do.

“Fine! Okay!” Viktor started yelling again. “He did this to himself! Are you seriously going to do nothing?!”

“I do not know what you expect me to do.”

Another volley of explosive light flies off into the distance, this one focused somewhere off to the left. It takes several seconds for the tremors and winds to finish passing over us, and the argument resumes right away.

“Stop that thing! If you destroy it, we can save him, right?!”

Viktor’s right. If that titan is holding Edgar’s soul, then it’ll come back to him if we break it free!

“Do you seriously think I’m able to do that?!”

“You’re the Supreme Butcher! If anyone–”

“DO NOT CALL ME THAT!”

However, I feel my heart waver when I see the sister make such a painful expression. She’s not just angry, or sad. I don’t know what that face is. I’ve never seen it, but it makes my chest hurt.

“NEVER! Call me that. You don’t know me! But I know me! That’s why I can’t do it! I can’t… Hic! Hic!”

She’s crying now. Tears flow freely from her right eye and fall onto my arm like rain drops.

“I can’t go back. Please… Hic! Don’t make me go back.”

She falls to her knees and holds me tight again. It hurts, but in a different way. I get the feeling I’m about to do something terrible to the sister, so I hesitate again. She’s a disaster in many ways, but I still don’t want to see her hurt.

“How long?”

Johan asks a question, but he only gets sobs in response.

“How long until the titan stops and Edgar is… gone?”

“… Three days. Maybe – Hic! – two.”

“Shit. Come on, let’s try and put some ground between us before it notices us.”

“Mark!”

“Shut it, Viktor! I know it’s your job and all, but just give up on Edgar. You think he’d want to bring her back just to save his own skin?! Even he’s not that selfish.”

“That’s not– No, you’re right. I’m sorry, sister. We should leave.”

“Yes… We should. Michael, sweetie?”

“Y-yeah?”

I look up at her. She got what she wanted, but she’s not relieved at all. She still looks really sad.

“Can you walk?”

“I, uh, I think so.”

She puts me down. My arms don’t hurt anymore, and even the cuffs are mysteriously gone. I look around at the others. They’re all making the same face. I hate that face. That ‘it can’t be helped’ face. I don’t get what’s going on, but I get that it’s some complicated adult crap. I don’t care. I’ve made up my mind. Even if the sister hates me after, I can’t just leave Edgar like this. Not when he’s right there!

“Sister? I need to whisper something important to you.”

I’m still a kid, so it’s fine to act without thinking too hard, right?

“Can it wait?”

“No. Please?”

She looks worried, but bends over and puts her ear near my nose.

“Activation code: Alpha, Seven, Tango, Roger, Alpha, Zero, Zero, Two.”

I recite the magic words Mr. Klein taught me. The ones I’m supposed to tell Sister Agatha, and only Sister Agatha, whenever things get so bad that she has to act. I do this without thinking too hard because I’m still just a kid and I can be forgiven for being careless. However, I almost immediately regret my thoughtless actions as I feel a cold chill run down my back. Startled, I pull away from the sister, and I see a side of her that I recognize, but also don’t. At first it seems like her usual lopsided smile, but the eyes are different. They don’t have any kindness in them. It’s a sharpy, scary glare that reminds me of starving dogs. Is she angry? Or excited? I don’t know. I don’t want to know. I just want to run, but she grabs my shoulders and stares right at me before I can pull away.

“Where shall my blade be pointed?”

She speaks in a cold voice. Is she… asking me who the bad guy is? Isn’t it obvious? My hand shakes as I point to the big metal skeleton thing in the distance, but I’m so scared my words won’t come out. It seems like she gets the message since she glares right at the titan, lets me go, and starts walking toward it. She doesn’t move like the sister I know. Normally her steps are a bit sloppy, like she’s dragging her heels, but now she’s stomping the ground so hard it’s almost like she’s kicking the shit out of it. The guys feel something’s wrong too and all of them take a few steps back. She then suddenly stretches out her arm and grabs at the air in Johan’s direction without even glancing at him.

“Wha– Hey!”

His rifle strap snaps and the gun flies from his shoulder and into her open hand. It all happened so fast that I only saw a split-second blur. It might as well have teleported. The guy reflexively stretches his arm out as if to grab it back, but pulls his hand back just as quick.

“Seek sanctuary.”

None of us question those forceful words. In fact, that’s more or less the only thing on our minds right now, so me and the guys start running in the opposite direction, away from the titan. That gigantic war machine’s just been stomping towards the crater’s edge to the side of us, charging its next volley all the while. It quickly turns around on all six legs and its faceless scale-head leans in this direction. It’s obvious it just realized the sister’s there, but she doesn’t seem scared at all. She just points the rifle straight up and holds the middle part against her forehead, almost like she’s a knight with a sword doing a ceremony.

“O radiant Ovha, Supreme Goddess of Order and Justice.

Grant me strength and wisdom in all my deeds,

Fill my heart with Thy divine light,

And aid me in my noble purpose.”

The sister… is praying. Out loud. While standing. Hands on the butt of a gun. My brain just keeps screaming ‘this isn’t right.’ Also, she’s saying ‘me’ and ‘my?’ All the prayers she taught me have been about ‘us’ and ‘ours.’ It’s all so strange that I can’t help but want to listen in. Not like I get a choice since her voice is so clear and strong. I’m still running, though. The guys are doing the same, with Mark helping Viktor carry Edgar along.

“O Keeper of the Scales.

Bring low the heathens who sully Thy grace,

Sunder the wicked with Thy righteous might,

And let justice prevail through Thy holy wrath.”

I glance over my shoulder and see the sister slowly taking up a firing stance. I’m not watching my feet and trip on a big crack in the road, but Johan catches me before I fall. He drags me behind a boulder-like piece of rubble. The others are here too. I guess we’re taking cover while we have the chance, and I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but peek out. When I do, I see a blurry white shape appear above the sister. It looks kind of like the sword and scales on the titan’s head, but one side is way lower than the other and it just keeps getting further off-balance.

“Through your righteous servant,

May the guilty find redemption,

Now and forevermore.”

Meanwhile the war titan finishes charging its attack and launches a barrage of six curving boom-beams that head straight for the sister. They never reach her.

“Amen.”

She pulls the trigger and instead of a click I hear a loud bell that echoes across the ruined capital. A ginormous pillar of light then falls from the sky, right on top of the giant. It’s so white that I can’t help but shut my eyes and duck behind the rock, but I can still somehow see it. A horrible screech like a million nails on a million chalkboards washes over me alongside the strongest wind I’ve ever felt. It fills my nose with a nasty smell like burning plastic and I cough like crazy, nearly choking. It takes like ten seconds for everything to settle down, but it’s all so intense it feels a lot longer. When it can see and breathe again, I’m almost too afraid to peek out from my hiding spot.

Almost, but not quite.

“S-sister?”

She’s fine – not surprised – but I think I see something impossible behind her. I try climbing on top of the rock to get a better view, and I notice the guys peek over it as well. Judging from their faces, it’s not just me seeing this. There is now a second, smaller, yet otherwise identical crater where the war titan used to be. If someone were to look down at it from the sky, they’d see a giant number 8 carved out of the ground. No trace of the metal monster or its blast-attack. The thick clouds above it are gone too, but only those. Everywhere else the sky is dark. It’s a mysterious view, almost like someone poked a hole through heaven.

As for the sister, she’s already walking over here with that same way-too-excited smile and much-too-powerful steps. She looks like she’s crying, but from the wrong side. There’s a wide trail of blood that runs from her glass eye and down her left cheek like her scar’s some kind of gutter. In contrast to her face, her habit and headdress are in perfect shape, as if that huge wave of wind and dust didn’t touch her at all. The gun – not as lucky. Only the wooden butt-end of it is left lying on the ground.

“Hey, kid?”

“Hn?”

I dare not take my eyes off the sister as she gets closer, so I just kind of grunt in response to Johan.

“She, uh, gonna go back to normal soon?”

That… is a very good question.

“Such insolence. Know your place, heathen.”

“Guh!”

The guy suddenly grunts with pain as his knees and palms slam into the ground. He’s straining with effort, as if a super fat lady is sitting on his back.

“And you, insolent child.”

I gulp loudly as she hovers over me and looks down straight into my eyes. Was she… always that tall?

“Y-yes, sister?”

“… No. It is not your fault, for you know not what you do.”

Safe! It takes everything I have to not fist-pump at my good luck! Too bad about the others, but I’ve never been happier that I’m still a kid!

“The fault lies with Cardinal Klein.”

Ah. That doesn’t sound good. I’m sure Mr. Klein won’t hate me, though. This whole thing was his idea, after all.

“Uuuugh… Outside? What?”

“Edgar!”

This time I can’t hold it in and call out to him when I hear his voice. Viktor and Mark – who are still too scared to say or do anything – have been holding him up, but it seems he can already stand on his own, if a bit shaky. My heart then sinks again as the sister stomps right past me and heads right for him, face completely serious. She… won’t hurt him. I hope.

“You, uh, feeling okay, Sister? You seem a bit… tired?”

I know Edgar’s quick in the head, but I didn’t think he’d recover fast enough to be making small talk even though he clearly has no idea what’s going on. The sister doesn’t stop, though. She quickly closes the distance and slaps him so hard that the smack echoes all around us. I wince as I watch Edgar’s open-mouthed face twist and contort with pain, eyes blinking, red handprint on his cheek. Still, he takes it like a man and does not whine, yell, or cry.

“… Alright,” he grunts out. “I’m not sure why, but I probably deserved that.”

“That, and much more you need to answer for.”

“I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit. Just please, spare my men.”

Viktor, Mark, and a freshly released Johan take the hint and quietly shuffle away with practiced movements and no hesitation. I almost forgot, but these guys are professional scum like the others. It’s no wonder they’re so skillful at abandoning others. Well, I kind of ran away too by playing the ‘just a kid’ card, so I shouldn’t point fingers.

“Bold words.”

The sister suddenly grabs Edgar’s (probably) aching chin and pulls his head down to her eye level, so close that their foreheads almost bump.

“You will come to regret them.”

And then she kisses him. Like, full on the lips. I have no words. The others have even less. Edgar himself seems to find some, but they just get muffled as his hands flail around in a panic. He’s physically trying to push her away now. Yeah, no chance of that happening. Actually… should I be watching this? Isn’t this adult-only stuff? Well, it’s not like I see much from behind the sister, so it’s probably fine. Though, as I stare, I notice her shoulders droop and relax. The rest of her does the same a few moments later. Now that she’s no longer standing as straight as a lightpost, she suddenly looks a little bit shorter. No, she’s just back to how she always is.

“H-hm? Mpff!”

It is now the sister’s turn to let out a muffled voice and push Edgar away. She succeeds – obviously – and then slaps him even harder than before on the other cheek. This one straight up knocks him down, and I see him spit out a wad of blood and… a tooth? Yikes.

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing?!”

On the bright side, that squeaky voice tells me the sister really is back to normal.

“How despicable! To take advantage of a humble nun’s confusion!”

Bad news, it seems she doesn’t remember what she did. Actually, might be a good thing, but I’m sure it doesn’t feel that way to Edgar.

“This is the worst! I was saving myself for Michael when he grows older!”

Hey! Don’t drag me into this! Also, I am absolutely never marrying you even if you put a gun to my–

…

Actually, after what I just saw, I might consider it if it comes to that.

“Nice.”

Oh, hey, Jerry’s back.