10 Eternal Engine
| ← 09 Fallen Star | 11 Nona Ouroboros → |
10 Eternal Engine
Main Story
Jamilah, the leader of the Akdilek Commercial Alliance, devises plans to secure their “merchandise,” which turns out to be the fallen Punishing Heteromer.
On Babylonia, Hassen congratulates the Gray Ravens for their performance at the International Space Station. Celica, however, breaks the news that, although their mission was successful, the Punishing Heteromer was not fully destroyed. The Gray Ravens are thus reassigned to search for the remnant of the Hetero-Core on Earth. Specifically, they are to find and destroy the Hetero-Core that ended up on the train of the Akdilek Commercial Alliance.
On the train, Changyu spots the Hetero-Core atop a commoners’ carriage of Akdilek. He blames the nobleman Ashlar for the deaths of the passengers, believing that the aristocrats could have easily prevented the casualties from the fallen Core.
Upon the Gray Ravens’ arrival on the train, Liv is shocked to see Adilek’s aristocrats enjoying their lavish lifestyle. It turns out that the Akdilek Commercial Alliance is built upon an unfair system: the aristocrats lead lives of luxury while the commoners languish in constant poverty.
The Gray Ravens’ presence is quickly noted by Sophia, one of Jamilah’s most trusted aides. After introducing themselves, the Gray Ravens discover that Sophia and Changyu are both Constructs, and that they share the same goal of chasing after the Hetero-Core. The group is forced to pursue the Core by going through the train when their path is blocked by the Corrupted and an oncoming sandstorm.
After first fending off the Corrupted atop the train, the Gray Ravens break into a luxurious carriage. There, they meet Aston and Jamilah, two representatives of Akdilek. Aston greets the Gray Ravens and offers them a deal, despite the rapidly deteriorating state of the carriage and the Gray Ravens’ protests. He also forbids the Gray Ravens from destroying the Hetero-Core, and demands they allow the residents of Asslam to move to Babylonia. The Commandant declines. Ashlar, another member of Akidilek’s aristocracy, reveals that they intend to make a deal with the Ascendants if Babylonia does not accept their offer.
Their conversation is cut short by an oncoming Corrupted attack on a commoner carriage behind them. The Gray Ravens move to save the commoners. Jamilah deploys Sophia to assist the Gray Ravens while having Changyu guard the fleeing aristocrats.
As the Gray Ravens clear the Corrupted in the commoners' carriage, more Corrupted begin to appear in the aristocrats’ carriage. During the battle, Changyu is severely wounded by the appearance of the Hetero-Core and is saved by Sophia. The Core proves to be a difficult opponent even for the Gray Ravens: Lucia and Lee fall off the train and are separated from Liv and the Commandant during the engagement. Liv and the Commandant retreat to the aristocrats’ carriage.
At a train station, Bianca, in her new Veritas frame, waits to board the Akdilek. She has been tasked with supporting the Gray Ravens and handling Babylonia’s “deal” with the Commercial Alliance. Furthermore, Babylonia deploys Lee’s new Entropy frame to replace his damaged Palefire frame. On the Adilek, Bianca meets up with Lucia, who has managed to catch up to the train using a motorcycle.
Meanwhile, a commotion ensues in the carriage, with the aristocrats asking to be separated from the commoners and the revelation that it was Jamilah, not Aston, who proposed the deal with Babylonia. Jamilah also claims that if they successfully reach an agreement with Babylonia, only the aristocrats will get to go, leaving the rest of Asslam to the commoners.
As the Corrupted attack worsens, Ashlar provokes Jamilah, calling her crazy for gambling the safety of the entire train on her plan. Jamilah retaliates, causing a great commotion in the crowd, until Sophia speaks up. Jamilah asks for her opinion on what Asslam should do, and she is about to respond when Bianca and Lucia show up.
Bianca reveals that Babylonia has accepted Akdilek’s terms and agreed to the deal. However, she personally believes that Sophia should easily be able to think of something better. Sophia proclaims that she will create a world where humanity can once again walk on Earth with their own strength, free of the Punishing Virus.
Aston and Ashlar denounce Sophia’s proposal, but her argument gains the approval of both the aristocrats and the commoners. The Gray Ravens, Sophia, Changyu, and Bianca move to destroy the Hetero-Core.
The group arrives at the top of the carriage, where they reunite with Lee to fight against the Hetero-Core. After a grueling battle, Bianca fires directly at the core, destroying it at last.
In the aftermath of the battle, the citizens of Akdilek decide against moving to Babylonia. They notice that Ashlar has gone missing during the battle, but most are too busy to care about his disappearance. Hassen orders the Gray Ravens to stay on the train until other teams arrive to pick them up.
Hidden Story
During the battle against the Corrupted and the Hetero-Core, Jamilah assigns Sophia to deal with the oncoming threat while having Changyu protect the aristocrats so as not to raise Ashlar’s suspicions.
As Sophia and the Gray Ravens evacuate the commoners, Sophia receives a distress call from Changyu on the roof. On the way, the party encounters a strange type of Corrupted, exhibiting traits similar to those of an arthropod. They dispose of the strange Corrupted and climb up to the train’s roof to assist Changyu.
On the roof, while the Gray Ravens are fighting the Core, Sophia defends the injured Changyu from the Corrupted. The Gray Ravens and Sophia retreat to give Changyu emergency maintenance. Lucia and Lee leave to provide combat support elsewhere, and Liv and Sophia find some spare parts to stabilize Changyu’s condition.
Opening Day
This section of the story was originally part of a teaser to the next chapter and can only be accessed from Story Replay in Codex.
To Jamilah, her agreement with Babylonia is merely a superficial one; as a true merchant, she plans to use the Ascendants, Babylonia, and a mysterious self-proclaimed “agent” for her own goals. She meets with the “agent,” who speaks through a robot that has the numbers ‘421’ painted on it, and promises the delivery of the “merchandise.” Soon thereafter, the Gray Ravens notice that the Commandant has gone missing.
Meanwhile, Chrome and Kamui of the Strike Hawk squad receive orders to board the Nighter, a mysterious oriental ship that only ever returns to port at night.
| ← 09 Fallen Star | 11 Nona Ouroboros → |
00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | EX00 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | EX01 | EX02 | EX03 | 13 | EX04 | 14 | EX05 | 15 | 16 | 17 | ER00 | 18 | ER01 | 19 | ER02 | 20 | ER03 | 21 | 22
