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What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000/Story
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What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Opening
One night Sandalphon is visited in dreams by memories belonging to Lucifer. Halluel and Malluel bring news that the fallen angels are hiding in Pandemonium. As the Grandcypher rushes toward them, Belial and his hooded associate reactivate Pandemonium.
Some time has passed since the tranquil skies were tossed by the savage wingbeats of fallen angels.
Sandalphon—the supreme primarch's inherited mantle heavy on his shoulders—has linked his fate with a certain captain and crew, traveling the Sky Realm in hopes of fulfilling Lucifer's wishes.
But this borrowed peace is not to last.
Sandalphon: Nh...
Hnh... Urgh...
Hnh... Urgh...
Sandalphon: What... is this place...
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: This... looks like the Astral research laboratory...
Sandalphon: Ah... Another dream...
Sandalphon: But there's something off about this scene...
???: Ah, found you at last, Supreme Primarch.
Lucifer: Belial. Was I that hard to find? I'm sorry.
Belial: It's no trouble. Could I have a moment of your time? I have a message for you.
Lucifer: ...
Belial: Is something troubling you, Supreme Primarch?
Lucifer: I believe I've already told you there's no need to address me so formally.
Lucifer: It serves no function but to delay the communication of your message.
Belial: I remember—please forgive me. Allow me to explain my disobedience.
Belial: While you are correct that formality serves no practical purpose now, as we implement a more formal organizational structure for all archangels—
Lucifer: Belial.
Belial: Hahaha. I know, I know. Point taken, Lucifer.
Belial: But I also want to make a show of the archangels' discipline.
Lucifer: A show?
Belial: Soon more archangels will be created to help you preside over evolution.
Belial: Our ranks will swell with young blood... But there are Astrals who look upon all beasts with a wary eye.
Belial: That's where the discipline comes in. To set us apart in their eyes from animals or monsters. It impacts their estimation of Cilius as well.
Lucifer: I see... As our ranks grow, so too does the pushback from the Astrals.
Lucifer: I retract my assertion—your logic is sound.
Belial: I'm gratified you see it that way. Well, as your adjutant, I—
Lucifer: Not you though.
Belial: I'm sorry?
Lucifer: We were created at the same time. There is no meaningful difference between our abilities or our roles.
Lucifer: Excessive formality between the two of us will only create confusion regarding our ranks. There is no need for you to alter your way of speaking.
Belial: Hahaha... Oookay. If that's what you want.
Lucifer: It is. Now, about that message.
Belial: Ooops. Actually, you need to hurry to the residential section of the lab—
Lucilius: ...
Lucifer: Why do you sigh, my friend?
Lucilius: I just discovered a mistake in my work. To think that one of my creations would be incapable of relaying a simple message.
Belial: Heh heh... Sorry about that. We got caught up in a little philosophical debate.
Lucilius: Perhaps now would be a good time to address streamlining the beast disposal process.
Belial: Streamlining? Don't be so cold. If you're going to put me down, at least take your time about it. Fine ingredients like these should be simmered slowly until they're ready to burst.
Lucifer: You think beasts should be boiled?
Belial: Sure, just like a stew. Although that method takes time, I'll admit. Isn't there some way to prioritize core extraction?
Lucilius: It's risky. Pain sends beasts into a rampage. You just focus on organizing the archangels.
Lucilius: Come, Lucifer. I've settled on designs for the archangels who will govern the tetra-elements. I'd like your opinion.
Lucifer: Understood. Does the recreation of nature's unpredictability look feasible?
Lucilius: I've decided to adopt your proposal. The difference between the primarchs' desires and abilities should provide mutual interference at sufficiently random intervals...
Belial: ...
Sandalphon: So... In addition to Lucifer—no, the supreme primarch's power...
Sandalphon: I've inherited fragments of his memory...
Sandalphon: Hm?
Sandalphon: The laboratory entrance? But at a much later date, by the looks of it...
Lucifer: Is everyone here?
Michael: All four primarchs as well as the higher archangels have arrived, Supreme Primarch.
Michael: Only your adjutant is absent... Shall I dispatch an archangel of instruction to find him?
Gabriel: Haha. Never been the punctual type, has he? Maybe he's still in Lucilius's private quarters?
Uriel: Belial's something else. How does he make heads or tails of all that technical talk? The moment Lucilius opens his mouth, my eyes glaze over and I start to get the worst headache.
Raphael: That's partly because you've never seen the inside of a book. At any rate, why don't I fetch the adjutant?
Lucifer: No need. I did not request his presence at this meeting.
Lucifer: Let's proceed to the matter at hand. The High Council recently approved an expansion of the lab's remit.
Lucifer: Alongside our continued research into evolution, we will be exploring another area, which will complicate the organization's structure.
Lucifer: Belial will be assuming the role of deputy head researcher.
Michael: Deputy head researcher? Meaning he will report directly to Lucilius?
Gabriel: So that's why he isn't here.
Lucifer: He's already begun his new duties. I heard he would be overseeing the construction of a new testing facility for experimentation, but I don't know the particulars.
Lucifer: For organizational differentiation from the archangels involved with evolution, those attached to the other project will be designated "fallen angels."
Uriel: Testing facilities... Fallen angels... Just what are they going to be researching?
Raphael: Don't go asking for classified information.
But then who will act as your adjutant, Supreme Primarch?
But then who will act as your adjutant, Supreme Primarch?
Lucifer: That decision was left to me.
Lucifer: Michael, I nominate you as my next adjutant.
Michael: ...!
Lucifer: You have the right to refuse. But I hope you will consider accepting the position.
Michael: Your adjutant? Me? I am unworthy of such an honor. Why—
Lucifer: Belial recommended you and I concur. You are the best suited to this leadership role.
Michael: The adjutant recommended me?
Gabriel: That's great, Michael! The two people you respect the most know just how talented you are!
Uriel: And so do I! I'm sure all the archangels will agree you're perfect for the job.
Raphael: Fear not. I will be here to support you should you have need of me.
Michael: ...
Michael: Supreme Primarch, I humbly accept.
Lucifer: You have my thanks. We'll set aside some time for me to explain your duties in more detail.
Gabriel: Hooray, hooray! Congratulations on your promotion, Michael! Red beans and rice for you!
Michael: Thank... you. This is so sudden, it hasn't really sunk in yet.
But what are the red beans and rice for, Gabriel?
But what are the red beans and rice for, Gabriel?
Hooded Figure: ...
Gabriel: Hm?
Who was that Astral in the black, hooded cloak?
Who was that Astral in the black, hooded cloak?
Hooded Figure: Hunh. So those are Lucilius's creations...
Michael: He looked at us as though we were something unpleasant he stepped in.
Uriel: What's with that guy? He keeps popping up lately.
Raphael: I heard he was Lucilius's guest... His business probably pertains to the laboratory's expansion.
Lucifer: ...
Lucifer: Well, then. You're all dismissed. I'll notify you of any further developments.
Sandalphon: Fallen angels... That black-robed visitor... Lucilius's new research...
Sandalphon: All omens of the disaster to come...
Sandalphon: There was a hint of worry in Lucifer's eyes. I could tell... Even then, did he have some idea what the future held?
Sandalphon: Where in creation—
This must be the rebellion of the original primal beasts...
This must be the rebellion of the original primal beasts...
Primal Beast: Waaargghh!
Olivia: Cough... Cough...
Olivia: It can't be... Have all my brothers and sisters fallen?
Olivia: We were unprepared... To think we underestimated the Astrals' power to this extent...
Olivia: But this is no time to falter... I know my allies will come!
Olivia: I'll forge a future for all primal beasts. For Lucilius's sake as well as ours!
Olivia: Haaahhh!
Azazel: Huff... huff...
Azazel: Damn it, what is this! We were completely misinformed!
Azazel: Were we set up? The invitation from the fallen angels... the secret agreement to join the rebellion...
Azazel: But why? What did they have to gain?
Azazel: That sweet-talking serpent! "All for Lucifer's sake," he said! Like hell!
Azazel: Rrrgggh! Beliaaal!
Sandalphon: Haaah!
Sandalphon: Rrrah!
Sandalphon: Pant... Pant...
Come on... Who wants to be next to die on my sword?
Come on... Who wants to be next to die on my sword?
Sandalphon: Astrals... Skydwellers... This entire world... I'll wreck all of creation!
Sandalphon: Everything you hold dear will be smashed to dust by my hand!
Sandalphon: Lucifeeerrr!
Lucifer: ...
Belial: Ah, you're here. Bit of a mess we've both stepped in, huh?
Lucifer: ...
Are the fallen angels rebelling as well?
Are the fallen angels rebelling as well?
Belial: Yeah. That wasn't part of the plan, but the spirit of rebellion seems to be a powerful contagion.
Belial: Is your little pet Sandy showing symptoms?
Lucifer: I don't know.
Belial: There's an answer I never expected to hear from those perfect lips.
Lucifer: You know I am not perfect.
Belial: ...
Belial: Well, whatever. I'll handle cleanup. We'll take the beasts' remains back to the testing facility... and I need to tidy up any evidence that would implicate Cilius.
Belial: The High Council has ordered the construction of a beast cage where any surviving rebels will be incarcerated.
Belial: All the Astrals are supposed to turn out to get it built quickly... But you know in the end they'll just dump it on Cilius. Between the lot of them, they'd never figure out how to bind beasts.
Lucifer: I see.
Belial: I'm off then. I'll let you know if Sandy survives.
Lucifer: ...
Lucifer: I don't know what's driving Sandalphon... or what he was thinking in that garden...
Lucifer: I need more time...
Sandalphon: Lucifer...
Sandalphon: He was struggling... As supreme primarch, everyone looked to him for the perfect decision...
Sandalphon: And I just—
Hooded Figure: Hngh!
Lucifer: Immediate surrender would be the wisest choice. It's too late to resist.
Hooded Figure: It seems I underestimated you.
Hooded Figure: Taking your own creator's head and purging all of your kind who followed him? Impressive.
Lucifer: I have no intention of killing them. Apart from you, the fallen angels were unaware of Lucilius's true objectives.
Lucifer: Therefore I have judged only three guilty. Do you wish to request a stay of execution?
Hooded Figure: Don't mock me with Astral rights now.
Lucifer: Very well. Then your sentence will be carried out immediately.
Hooded Figure: Heh heh heh. Supreme Primarch Lucifer... Your power places you above all living things...
Hooded Figure: But I'll surpass you! Somehow, someday, I will possess a power that eclipses—
Lucifer: Haaah!
Hooded Figure: Nrrrghh—
Lucifer: Farewell.
Gabriel: Supreme Primarch. We've dealt with the fallen angels.
Gabriel: Uriel is pursuing the fugitives, and Raphael is investigating how the incident began.
Gabriel: As for the deputy head researcher, Michael is looking for him herself.
Lucifer: I see.
Gabriel: Supreme Primarch, you don't look well. Are you injured?
Lucifer: No need for concern.
I'll be in the garden—
I'll be in the garden—
Lucifer: ...
Lucifer: I'll seal away Lucilius's research. Tell the four primarchs to continue with their current assignments—
Sandalphon: Hnh...
Sandalphon: Awake at last...
Dawn already...
Dawn already...
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: The birth and death of the fallen angels...
Did some sense of present danger trigger that dream?
Did some sense of present danger trigger that dream?
Sandalphon: Or else—
Vyrn: Heey, Sandaaals...
Aw, dang. You're up already? I was gonna scribble on your face till you woke up.
Aw, dang. You're up already? I was gonna scribble on your face till you woke up.
Sandalphon: Oh, it's you. What urgent matter brings you barging into my quarters without so much as a morning greeting?
Lyria: Haha! Good morning! It is actually urgent though.
Halluel: Hey there! How've ya been, Sandalphon? Snarky as ever, I see.
Malluel: Teehee. Good morning! How's life on the Grandcypher treating you? Have you recovered the supreme primarch's powers?
Sandalphon: What fresh hell is this?
You two are the urgent matter, are you?
You two are the urgent matter, are you?
Halluel: Yup, Michael had a message for you that needed nothing less than the archangel express.
Malluel: Oh, could we trouble you for some tea? Tearing across the skies like that really works up a thirst!
Sandalphon: ...
Vyrn: Hahaha! You guys really don't treat Sandalphon like he's your boss.
Lyria: That's because you've gotten so close, right, Sandalphon? Since you started cooperating with the primarchs, you've been getting together to share information and stuff, so it makes sense!
Sandalphon: Close? The fallen angels' plots affect us all. We work together because we have to.
Sandalphon: I have no explanation for their manners.
Halluel: Did you want us to address you all formal-like? First I'm hearing about it.
Malluel: Mm... I can't quite see it, getting all yes-sir, no-sir with the cute little Sandy from the lab garden.
Sandalphon: No one asked you to. Now cough up that message from Michael already.
Halluel: Oh yeah! We found the fallen angels!
The Three: ...!
Malluel: Michael is doing reconnaissance on our enemies right now. More of our allies will be joining her soon.
Malluel: She wants all of you to back us up.
Vyrn: Hey now, hold up. You just toss these things out there, but are you sure you've got those guys' location pinned down?
Halluel: 'Course I'm sure. The archangels of instruction don't discriminate when it comes to information. But we know for sure that this is the critical moment!
Lyria: So where are we headed? Where are the fallen angels hiding?
Malluel: In Pandemonium. They're holed up somewhere inside.
Sandalphon: So the fallen angels fled to Pandemonium...
Sandalphon: Lay a course, (Captain).
Sandalphon: The final confrontation is at hand.
Belial: Mmm... Cilius, you're such a lie-abed.
???: ...
Belial: After all the trouble I took stitching you together. And me not even a doctor or an engineer.
Belial: I feel like I threw in everything you'd need. Did I forget something?
Hooded Figure: ...
Belial: Oh, Bubs! How long's it been? I don't think I've seen you since Canaan.
Hooded Figure: What's become of the plan?
Belial: I couldn't reach the beasts in the cage. The seal's been preserved thanks to the supreme primarch passing on his powers.
Belial: Well, we just have to readjust. We'll need the power to thwart our enemies for the grand finale.
Hooded Figure: No time for that. The four primarchs are on the move.
Belial: Ohh?
Hooded Figure: I thought they would be thrown into disarray without Lucifer in command...
Hooded Figure: But no matter. We will set the plan in motion now. I have another piece to play, in place of the caged beasts.
Belial: Now? But Cilius isn't on his feet yet.
???: ...
Hooded Figure: He's been out of commission for over two thousand years... There's no precedent for that among the undying Astrals.
Hooded Figure: But we don't need him awake for our plan. The grand finale is a rebellion against god. Life is not a prerequisite.
Belial: Well, you're not wrong...
Hooded Figure: You prepare to deal with the primarchs. I'm going to reactivate Pandemonium.
Hooded Figure: Heh heh heh. A new era dawns, whether the gods will or no.
Belial: ...
Belial: Cilius... You really need to wake up. Things have changed.
Belial: We did all this so we could watch the world end together.
Belial: Please, my messiah...
Archangels, fallen angels, and skydwellers. The time has come at last to see what their tangled webs have woven.
What will become of the Sky Realm, caught between Lucifer's hopes for the future and Lucilius's long-delayed grand finale?
???: The encroachment has begun.
???: When the last light has died, nothingness is all that will remain...
???: ...
???: I must protect my master's vision.
???: To bring light to the world he created, and all who inhabit it, I—
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 1: Finale - Episode 1
As she reconnoiters around Pandemonium, Michael recalls the rebellion caused by the fallen angels. Belial, once her respected superior, tricked her into leaking information to the fallen angels. Pandemonium activates, but before Michael can approach, her way is barred by fallen angels.
Pandemonium.
A structure which lurks below the dangerous altitude where airships lose all buoyancy.
A structure which lurks below the dangerous altitude where airships lose all buoyancy.
Spanning the divide between the Sky Realm and the Crimson Horizon, it is the one connection between those two domains.
The skies all around are stained a glowering red, perhaps reflecting the bloody hue of the Crimson Horizon.
Some distance away, Michael pauses in her reconnaissance mission.
Michael: Fallen angels...
When will that cursed past cease to bedevil us?
When will that cursed past cease to bedevil us?
Michael: Why are they holed up at the summit of the cage? What do they hope to do from there?
Michael: ...
Michael: This is infuriating... I'd like to simply charge in, but their power to slay immortals makes that a dangerous proposition...
Michael: I won't fall victim to his cunning again. I must remain in control of myself.
Belial: Heh... Bwahahaha...
Belial: Oh, you're good, Mikey. Being run through by a woman is a nice change of pace—
Michael: Why did you drive our fellow archangels to rebellion, Belial!
Michael: Answer me! Even if we serve different masters, we're both still archangels, aren't we?
Belial: I'm a fallen angel, Mikey—body and soul. My true mission is to drag god down off his pedestal.
Michael: Lies! You've changed. What happened to you!
Belial: Nothing's changed at all. I've always lived and breathed for Cilius.
Belial: What about all of you? What do you plan to do now that you've lopped off the boss's head?
Belial: Don't tell me you plan to keep watching over evolution? With no one left to whom to report your findings?
Michael: Don't change the subject! We move according to the supreme primarch's will!
Belial: Come on, now. I get that you all seem to enjoy blind submission, but use your head a little.
Belial: For example, did you ever puzzle out why I wanted you to be adjutant?
Michael: What?
Belial: Thanks for all the info, by the way. There have been plenty of obstacles to the fallen angels' clandestine activities, but you did make it easier on us.
Belial: Still... The way you looked at me with those big, trusting eyes, I did feel a little guilty.
Belial: Like a puppy waiting for a treat after performing a new trick.
Michael: I'll kill you!
Belial: ...!
Belial: Hey, I'm only teasing. Don't take it so... seriously...
Michael: Go to hell!
Belial: Hehehehe...
Michael: What a disgrace...
Michael: Defeat, provocation, pretense... When I look back, it was all laying the groundwork for his escape. Even the fact that he fled no farther than we could follow.
Michael: ...
Michael: But this is no time to regret past mistakes. The one I want to apologize to is gone.
Michael: All we can do is strike down the fallen angels and eliminate the threat to the Sky Realm.
Michael: Then nature can take over our roles, just as Lucifer wished.
Michael: We can retire, to live not as primarchs but as people... This will be our last battle as archangels.
Michael: They're making their move!
Is that sound coming from Pandemonium itself?
Is that sound coming from Pandemonium itself?
Michael: There's something wrong... Is it generating some kind of force field and protective wall?
Michael: I can't tell from here. I have to get closer and find out what's happening!
???: Vvvmmm...
Michael: What! You're the fallen angels'—
???: Vwummm!
Michael: Haaahhh!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 1: Finale - Episode 2
The hooded figure reveals to Belial that he absorbed the remains of Avatar's cores, gaining the ability to summon the archangels and primals who were once part of the beast. As Michael struggles to fight the cherub and watchers he summoned, Lancelot and other knights arrive to help.
Belial: Well, well. Moving a major piece already.
Belial: Bold move so early in the game. Are you sure you want to take your finger off the piece?
Hooded Figure: This farce isn't a teaching match. Make your move already.
At the summit of Pandemonium, two fallen angels enjoy a board game.
The tranquil tableau is completed by the adjacent casket in which Lucilius sleeps, against a backdrop of crumbling ruins and a glowering red sky.
???: Vvvmmm!
Belial: Did that sound to you like the fallen angels' cherub weapon firing up?
Belial: So that's the replacement piece you were talking about. I thought it had become a part of Avatar.
Hooded Figure: That's the power of void.
Hooded Figure: Avatar was destroyed in Canaan... But I absorbed the remains of its countless cores into my body.
Hooded Figure: I can now freely give form to those cores which escaped undamaged.
Belial: The power of void? Give them form?
Belial: So it's a sort of artificial summoning, using your own "core" as the intermediary.
Hooded Figure: Except that the beasts sacrificed to Avatar have been tainted by that same boundless lust for destruction.
Hooded Figure: Most of them have no capacity for independent thought—they merely destroy whatever they come into contact with.
Belial: Oh. Well, the more pieces on our side of the board, the better. We're in no position to be picky.
Belial: Are you gonna be okay though, Bubs? That can't be easy on you.
Hooded Figure: Feh. Are you worried about me? Or trying to ferret out my weaknesses?
Belial: I'm just curious about that "lust for destruction."
Hooded Figure: ...
Cherub: Vmmm...
Michael: Hnh...
Michael: My compliments. If I hadn't dodged, I'd be so much dust in the wind right now.
Michael: Is your power related to Avatar's? Are you acting under the fallen angels' orders this time too?
Cherub: Vvvmmm!
Michael: No mind left in there... Nothing but a soulless puppet.
Michael: Very well. Fallen angel or not, you are still one of us. The least I can do is put you out of your misery.
Michael: Haaahh!
Cherub: Vmm!
Michael: Rest in peace. I'll soon send the ones who led you astray to follow—
Michael: Huh?
Cherub: Vmmm...
Michael: It regenerated! All its wounds vanished in an instant... The same ability Avatar had...
Cherub: Vmmm!
Michael: You impudent little—
But you're only a byproduct of Avatar...
But you're only a byproduct of Avatar...
Michael: Which means all I have to do is keep knocking you out of the sky, as many times as it takes!
???: Kyahahaha!
Michael: Watchers, too? The fallen angels' vanguard... Damn.
Watcher: Eeheeheehee!
Watcher: Ogyaa ogyahh!
Michael: Huh? They could never move like this before! Are they part of Avatar's entourage too?
Michael: Get off me! Don't try to stop me!
Cherub: Vmmm!
Michael: !
Lancelot: Haaah!
Watcher: Kyaha?
Albert: You're through!
Watcher: Gyaah!
Michael: You—
Sierokarte: Michaaael! Now's your chance! Get out of its range!
Michael: Hah, not a second too soon!
Michael: This turns the tables. With skydwellers and archangels united, we'll wipe out the fallen angels the way we should have two thousand years ago!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 1: Finale - Episode 3
Gabriel and Cagliostro search out an abandoned testing facility once used by the fallen angels, hoping for clues about their plan. As they search the facility, they speculate about Lucilius and the mysterious, dark-cloaked Astral.
Gabriel: Aaand here we are. Another little winter wonderland.
Gabriel: I hope this time's the charm. We've been searching all over.
Cagliostro: Hyaachoo!
Cagliostro: Ugh, I'm so sick of this. I'm going to catch the flu at this rate.
Gabriel: Oh dear, we don't want that. But your body isn't built like everyone else's, is it?
Gabriel: I heard you've lived even longer than the archangels thanks to your artificial body.
Cagliostro: Diseases have done their fair share of evolution in that time too. It's a pain in the neck updating my immune system to keep up.
Cagliostro: Come on, let's take another look around the central region. That must be where this former testing facility is.
A nameless northern archipelago covered in snow all year long.
Archangel and alchemist are searching for the former site of a two thousand year-old facility supposedly located somewhere in this region.
The site and the people connected with it have been lost to history.
But the last incident with the fallen angels stirred one of Cagliostro's old memories, and she has been investigating the area.
Gabriel: So you believe this testing facility has something to do with Lucilius?
Cagliostro: Yeah. What you told me seemed to line up with what I remembered.
Cagliostro: It's not a really clear memory though. Or more accurately, I didn't ask the relevant questions at the time.
Cagliostro: Jokers showed up two thousand years ago interested in my alchemy and practically tried to kidnap me. I didn't exactly sit them down for tea and a chat.
Gabriel: Hee hee. You're a force to be reckoned with, tossing Astrals out on their ears.
Gabriel: I definitely recall hearing about plans for a new research facility. We were never informed of its location or purpose though.
Cagliostro: Avatar must have been developed in secret. The only ones who know the full story of that experiment are probably Lucilius and those other two.
Gabriel: True. We're still looking into the fallen angels—
Gabriel: Wait, I think I sense something... What's that hollow over there?
Cagliostro: Hm? The snow looks thinner there than everywhere else.
Cagliostro: Well, well... How about that?
Cagliostro: Hahaha! Looks like the entrance to a secret base if I ever saw one. Makes sense they'd put it out here in the sticks.
Gabriel: Looks like quite a deep shaft. It's been filled in with snow, but the lab we're looking for should be at the bottom!
Gabriel: First we need to melt the ice. I'll just heat the water's essence...
The melted snow flows away, revealing a deep artificial shaft. Gabriel and Cagliostro take the stairs which spiral down its walls.
At the bottom they find themselves in what looks like a cave, with bits of rusty machinery sticking out of the ground here and there.
Gabriel says the construction resembles the Astral laboratory she was familiar with, and they set off in the direction where she expects to find the main office.
Cagliostro: The air seems pretty fresh... There must be several other entrances.
Gabriel: With a lab of this size, it's very likely. This might have been the fallen angels' headquarters until quite recently.
Cagliostro: Including that pervert archangel, huh? What have you found out? Has he been in the Sky Realm the entire time?
Gabriel: Well, we're just piecing together scattered bits of information...
Gabriel: But it seems like he's been hiding his aura all this time in order to escape our notice.
Cagliostro: What? Is that something you can disguise?
Gabriel: Temporarily, yes. Ordinarily, it can't be done for long periods.
Gabriel: In skydweller terms, it would be like going without sleep. Imagine maintaining that kind of tension and strain for two thousand years, and the toll it would take.
Cagliostro: Sounds like he's just as twisted as I'd heard. That kind of tenacity is even more troubling than any powers he has.
Gabriel: And all the while it seems he was gunning for the supreme primarch—for Lucifer.
Gabriel: But he never got his chance... Not until that man in the dark cloak reappeared.
Cagliostro: That one's an Astral, right? One of the researchers from your lab?
Gabriel: No, not a researcher... He belonged to the Astrals' central decision-making body—the High Council.
Gabriel: We think he was dispatched to the laboratory back then to keep an eye on Lucilius.
Cagliostro: This High Council assigned Lucilius a babysitter?
Gabriel: They were essentially the Astral government. Lucilius was sort of a special person, not well understood by Astral society either.
Gabriel: But in the end, it seems like that man was secretly in league with Lucilius.
Gabriel: Maybe there was something in it for him, or maybe he just took an interest in the research... we don't know.
Cagliostro: Hunh... So even Astrals go against the grain sometimes. I didn't really want a reason to like Lucilius.
Cagliostro: I guess the point is that there was something so appealing about Lucilius's scheme that he won over all these different weirdos to his cause.
Gabriel: I suppose so. Hopefully we'll find something here that can give us the whole picture.
Gabriel: Ah, Cagliostro—look.
Cagliostro: We're here. The nerve center of the lab...
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 1: Finale - Episode 4
Sierokarte coordinates a skydweller alliance made up of militaries from across the skies, joined by Lancelot, Albert, Charlotta, Naoise, and their respective orders. Those four knights set out to create a diversion while the alliance fleet forms a perimeter around Pandemonium.
Michael: Can you hear me? I'll handle the cherub myself! Skydwellers, I leave the watchers to you!
Michael: I don't know what's making them act like this, but if they get past us to the islands, it'll be worse than the last round of cataclysms!
Sierokarte: Got it! I'll let all our allies know ASAP!
Michael: And tell them to strengthen the fleet formation! Without a tactical advantage, we have no hope of victory!
Sierokarte: U-understood! I'll have them split up and surround the enemy...
Michael: Forgive me. I realize how unreasonable it is to ask you for support in an aerial battle with an unknown enemy...
A fierce battle rages through the blood-red sky between the fallen angels' forces, sustained by the power of void, and an alliance of skydwellers from islands all across the skies.
The four primarchs sought the skydwellers' aid in order to stand against the mysterious power wielded by the fallen angels.
A district chief who also owns a major company got involved, and appealed to multiple friendly nations for their support.
The skydwellers have established a defensive line near the fallen angels' base of operations, and are attempting to prepare for the unexpected.
Naoise: Now!
Charlotta: Taaah!
Watcher: Gyaah!
Naoise: Please hurry, Michael! The cherub is recharging its beam attack!
Charlotta: Siero, your skyskimmer is ready! You can relay instructions to the rest of the fleet!
Michael: What?
Sierokarte: Hehehe! Thanks for being so speedy!
Michael: Hah. I should have known better than to doubt the sky's finest knights. You already work together as if you've been fighting side by side for years.
Michael: May fortune light your path to victory!
Lancelot: Is everyone all right?
We've repelled the watchers on the starboard side!
We've repelled the watchers on the starboard side!
Albert: What's next? I can't find any pattern to their movements... We're always a step behind.
Sierokarte: Nice work, you two! Actually, we were thinking of trying to move the fleet around to hem them in.
Naoise: A wise idea. This aerial battle is broader in scale than I had first envisioned. We would do best to prepare for a protracted engagement.
Charlotta: Understood!
The problem is, moving the fleet is going to create vulnerabilities.
The problem is, moving the fleet is going to create vulnerabilities.
Sierokarte: Yes... There's a chance the enemy won't notice them, but...
Lancelot: If vulnerabilities are a concern...
Lancelot: I'll act as a decoy. I'll take a skyskimmer and fly around drawing their fire.
Charlotta: A decoy! Are you serious?
Lancelot: Of course. I'll be counting on you to defend the fleet while I do that.
Naoise: ...
Naoise: I'm sorry, but I don't think I can agree to that strategy.
Naoise: A decoy will become more appealing to the enemy the more fire it takes. I submit that I am better suited to bear up under protracted bombardment.
Lancelot: You... do have a point, Naoise, but...
Charlotta: Then I shall accompany him! This calls for a Harvin's agility!
Lancelot: You too? I appreciate it, but I can't expose you to such danger...
Albert: We have one larger skyskimmer. It seats four, not including the helmsman.
Lancelot: Four...
Sierokarte: Hehehe. In that case, can I ask the four of you to create that diversion together?
Lancelot: Haha... Understood. We're counting on you to tell the fleet what to do!
Lancelot: Come, my friends! Once more unto the breach!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 1: Finale - Episode 4: Scene 2
The diversion is successful, but unreliable winds slow the fleet's movement. Raphael and Uriel arrive to provide favorable winds and extra muscle, and the tide of battle begins to turn in the alliance's favor.
Charlotta: Huff... Huff...
I think we managed to distract them.
I think we managed to distract them.
Naoise: So it would seem. How fares the fleet?
Albert: Probably having trouble getting into formation... An unpredictable wind kicked up—the kind you only encounter at low altitudes.
Lancelot: Yes.
If the fleet could only make it in time...
If the fleet could only make it in time...
Sierokarte: Y-you—
Raphael: How have you been, Siero? Allow me to provide you with favorable winds.
Sierokarte: Thank you so much! That's exactly what we need right now!
Raphael: Leave it to me. While I am still one with the wind, allow me to give this battle my all.
Sierokarte: Hm? "Still"?
Uriel: Yooo! That was close! Thought I was gonna miss all the fun!
Sierokarte: Uriel!
Raphael: You're late. The battle has already begun.
Uriel: What!
That whole uncoupling deal took longer than I thought... Michael's instructions were hard to follow.
That whole uncoupling deal took longer than I thought... Michael's instructions were hard to follow.
Uriel: Well, whatever. Thanks for helping out, skydwellers! Together we'll wipe the Crimson Horizon with these fallen angels!
Sierokarte: You got it!
Summoned by the strange events in Pandemonium, allied troops mass among the russet clouds.
The fleet completes its formation surrounding the towering structure, closing the vulnerable gaps between ships. All that issues from atop Pandemonium, however, is a strangely untroubled silence.
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 2: Sacrifice - Episode 1
As the Grandcypher crew attempts to distract Sandalphon from his brooding with a coffee break, a strange fallen angel appears in their path. Another odd fallen angel appears at Pandemonium, knocks Raphael out of commission, and attacks Uriel.
Sandalphon: There it is...
Sandalphon: Pandemonium. I never expected to return here.
Sandalphon: But it will make a fitting tombstone for the fallen angels, once I've fulfilled Lucifer's last request...
The Grandcypher races toward Pandemonium in answer to Michael's summons.
Sandalphon stands on the prow, deep in thought.
(Captain), Lyria, and Vyrn join him.
Vyrn: Heeey, Sandalphon! Whatcha lookin' at?
Sandalphon: Mm... Nothing in particular. How am I bothering you?
Vyrn: Hahaha. No one said you were, Grumplephon!
Sandalphon: Grump...
Lyria: Never mind, never mind! We came to ask if you want to take a tea break!
Sandalphon: A tea break? At a time like this?
Lyria: We don't know when our next chance will be! Why don't you join us?
Sandalphon: I decline. I don't need one.
Lyria: You seem really on edge. You should loosen up a little before the big battle!
Sandalphon: I'm fine. Go ahead and relax without me.
Lyria: But... but! You might get thirsty during the fight, or...
Vyrn: Geez, lighten up, Sandalphon. It wouldn't kill ya to knock back a coffee with us every now and then.
Vyrn: (Captain) and Lyria are doing this especially to buck you up.
Sandalphon: Mrr...
Choose: We want you with us.
Sandalphon: We're merely allies in battle. There's no need for any deeper understanding between us.
Choose: I'm dying for a coffee.
Sandalphon: Really? When did your palate get so refined?
Choose: Your fingers are delicate.
Sandalphon: H-how dare you try to guilt me and threaten me into compliance all at once?
Sandalphon: Your fingers are delicate.
Sandalphon: I'm glad we had this chat. Have a safe trip.
Sandalphon: I admit the folly of my actions... But to throw it in my face now is just unfair...
Continue 1Halluel: Your snacks are ready, everyone! Did you convince Sandalphon to come?
Malluel: Tee hee. From his face, I'm guessing he just said he has no intention of lazing around with the likes of us.
Sandalphon: ...
Lyria: Sorry, Hal. Sorry, Mal. He's still not—
Halluel: Typical... How can you put Lyria out like this? Your chivalry needs some work.
Malluel: That's right! You certainly are childish sometimes. I wonder if that's 'cause you're one of the littlest archangels.
Vyrn: Ohhh, now I get it. So you were always the annoying baby brother or the bungling newbie, huh?
Vyrn: But you're over two thousand years old now! You've got younger people to set an example for, so you gotta shape up!
Lyria: Yeah! Let's do our best, big brother!
Sandalphon: S-still your tongue. Besides, I'm not qualified to be your elder—
Io: Hey, what's keeping Sandalphon? I want that coffee he made before.
Rosetta: It seems your blend really captivated Io. It must be something special.
Sandalphon: Not really. What I made for her was a simple coffee milk.
Io: What? Is there a big difference between coffee and coffee milk?
Sandalphon: Heh... I suppose you aren't old enough to understand.
Io: Don't you snort at me!
Rosetta: Dear me... I can't have you bullying our little Io.
Rosetta: But now that you mention it, if you're so confident in your skills, perhaps you'd oblige me with a deep, bitter, dark roast?
Sandalphon: Oh, you want to test my skills? It seems you're not completely ignorant on the subject.
Vyrn: Wait, what's happening? I don't know what you guys are talkin' about, but that means you're coming, right, Sandals?
Lyria: Yaaay! Thank you!
Sandalphon: Urk.
Sandalphon: Sigh...
Fine, I'll join your little tea party. But I'm still in no position to be your elder.
Fine, I'll join your little tea party. But I'm still in no position to be your elder.
Vyrn: What's that supposed to mean?
Lyria: Ah... You started to say something like that a minute ago. It sounded like you knew something about me.
Sandalphon: To be precise, I don't mean you yourself, but your aspect as a catalyst capable of absorbing primal beasts' power.
Sandalphon: The creation myth tells of the god who fashioned the stars and the god who remained in the sky...
Sandalphon: The latent abilities the two of you possess are the contrivances of those gods.
Sandalphon: Meaning that your origins date far into the distant past.
Vyrn: What? We're the gods' contrivances?
Lyria: Umm... Our origins were dating? A long, long time ago?
Sandalphon: It's probably not important that you understand... But wouldn't the archangels of instruction know more about this subject?
Halluel: Why us?
Sandalphon: You're supposed to be messengers. You must have been privy to all sorts of classified information.
Malluel: Mmm... I don't know much about that.
Malluel: I guess I just can't remember things unless I need to? Or maybe we lesser archangels are all just a little more laid-back?
Sandalphon: Hmm...
Eugen: Hey, (Captain), you guys down here see anything weird? I was keepin' a lookout and I spotted somethin' out ahead of us.
Io: Up ahead? Well, the sky's getting redder and redder, but...
Eugen: Just my old eyes then? Keep thinkin' I see a dark shadow flickerin' in and out of view.
Rosetta: A dark shadow? That's suspicious, especially given our current—
Sandalphon: ...!
Lyria: (Captain), look! That must be what Eugen was talking about!
???: Ah... Aaah...
Katalina: Lyria, what happened!
Rackam: The hell is that, Sandalphon? It's got wings!
Sandalphon: Definitely an archangel... But there's something wrong with them. Stay on your guard!
Halluel: Th-that aura... (Captain), no! Don't fight her!
Malluel: I don't believe this... It feels like a combination of Az's aura with Avatar's...
Vyrn: What's the matter with you two? You're shaking!
Lyria: Her name is Az? What's—
???: Gyyaaahhh!
Albert: Too slow!
Watcher: Kyaha?
Naoise: That was the last of them! Let's fall back to defend the next ship!
Albert: Agreed! Engaging winged foes in their element is perilous, but all of our knights seem to be getting the hang of it.
Naoise: Yes, I'm impressed. The ships maneuvering on Raphael's winds are also doing some—
Naoise: Ah!
Is that a new fallen angel?
Is that a new fallen angel?
???: ...
Raphael: Nngh...
You can't be... The Executioner...
You can't be... The Executioner...
Raphael: But that power...
Uriel: Raphael! Argh, he's lost consciousness!
???: Rapha... el?
Uriel: Whoa! He swings that huge scythe like it was nothing...
Uriel: But how does this masked mook have the power to kill immortals too!
???: Immortal...
???: Why... immortal...
Why... alive...
Why... am I... here...
Why... alive...
Why... am I... here...
???: Why?
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 2: Sacrifice - Episode 2
Halluel and Malluel recognize the mysterious fallen angel as their old friend and fellow archangel of instruction, Azrael, who went missing two thousand years ago. They stay behind to deal with her while the Grandcypher goes on ahead. Meanwhile, Uriel recognizes his opponent as Sariel, an archangel once known for his prodigious strength. Try as he might to get Sariel to recognize him, however, Uriel gets no response.
Belial: Heh heh heh. I thought you might prepare doubles.
Belial: You always were the aggressive type. You barely leave your partner space to breathe.
Hooded Figure: Why would I? My goal is total domination.
Hooded Figure: Victory alone won't satisfy me. I'll carve my name deep into their hearts, so that fear will snuff out even the faintest glimmer of opposition forever.
The two fallen angels continue their board game atop Pandemonium.
Were it not for the sounds of destruction floating up from below, this might almost be a friendly game shared on the front stoop on a spring afternoon.
Belial: That power you've gained certainly could inspire eternal fear in the archangels.
Belial: Say... Are you ever going to tell me what happened to you in the Crimson Horizon?
Hooded Figure: Feh...
Hooded Figure: After I fell into those lands, I was beset by minions of the Otherworld and had to fight them off.
Hooded Figure: An endless stream of adversaries stretching on into seemingly infinite time. I gave myself over to unending slaughter.
Belial: Oh? That sounds an awful lot like hell.
Hooded Figure: Perhaps. But it was the repetition of that hellish trial which provided my opportunity to turn the tables.
Hooded Figure: The Otherworlders' thoughts congealed, coating my spear with black crystal.
Hooded Figure: The crystallized essence of the chaos comprising the Crimson Horizon—it was that power which helped Lucifer shuffle off his immortal coil.
Belial: Chaos? That crystal?
Belial: I've heard of something like that. A theoretical substance called "chaos matter." It would supposedly have the ability to upset the laws of causality.
Belial: The Crimson Horizon was a mystery even to the Astrals. That was just a theory to bridge the gaps in their knowledge—a hypothetical missing link.
Hooded Figure: It exists. The immortal primal beast Lucifer is dead. Chaos is the answer—and the end—to immortality.
Hooded Figure: Heh heh heh... A power not even the gods possess. The power to overturn providence.
Belial: So you gave chaos matter weapons to those creatures who retained some shreds of sentience.
Belial: I see... What perfect playmates for Sandy and his little friends.
Belial: Really though... Heh heh... You remodeled your own body, tampered with the powers of void and chaos, all to gain the power of a beast...
Hooded Figure: What are you laughing at?
Belial: Oh, just thinking you're quite the eccentric yourself.
Belial: The vast majority of Astrals I've known were so free of appetite and ego.
Belial: But there are always a few, aren't there? A few deviant geniuses mixed in among the flock.
Belial: Like Cilius, obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge. And you, willing to do anything for the love of power.
Hooded Figure: You try my patience. Speak plainly.
Belial: Watching men like you thrust their way through any barrier is a real turn-on.
Hooded Figure: Hunh...
Halluel: You're Az, aren't you? I don't understand...
Malluel: Why do you look like that? Does this mean Iss is around somewhere too?
???: Aah... Aa...
???: Uwaaahhh!
Sandalphon: Haaah!
Sandalphon: Fall back! That fallen angel's mind is gone!
Halluel: W-wait! She's like us! She's one of the archangels of instruction!
Malluel: Her name is Azrael... She had a twin sister named Israfel...
Malluel: They both went missing on an assignment, and we never saw them again...
Vyrn: Geez... Then we definitely shouldn't be attacking her—
Azrael: Gyaaahh!
Lyria: Hal, Mal, look out!
Io: I got this! What we need here... is an ice shield!
Azrael: Gyee?
Rosetta: She's so fast! Maybe even faster than the four primarchs...
Eugen: What do we do? We can't just hang around here to see what she does.
Katalina: Yes, I'm worried about our friends at Pandemonium. But I don't know how we're going to outdistance someone so fast...
Halluel: ...
Halluel: (Captain)... Can you guys go on ahead? We'll handle Az.
Sandalphon: Don't be ridiculous. She's far more powerful than you two-winged archangels.
Sandalphon: And those black swords are dangerous... I'm sure they share the ability to kill immortals. Archangels have never faced a threat like this before.
Malluel: I know. But it's not hopeless. We might still be able to get through to her.
Vyrn: I guess... But can you promise you'll find your way back to us?
Halluel: Of course! We didn't even get to have our tea!
Lyria: You swear? You super, ultra, mega-swear?
Malluel: I swear we'll catch up with you. For now, we're counting on you to go help Michael.
Rackam: Not gonna change your minds, huh?
Rackam: Don't do anything stupid while we're gone! Once we lock down Pandemonium, we'll send back reinforcements.
Rackam: Agh, damn it! Full speed ahead, (Captain)!
???: ...
Uriel: Hngh!
Uriel: Damn, that nearly got me... And that blade is always slashing straight at my vitals.
Uriel: The only fallen angel ever to hold their own in a fight with the great Uriel was—
???: Uri... el?
Uriel: Hey, masked mook! You're Sariel, aren't you!
Uriel: Whatever happened to you, you must remember me! I'm one of the four primarchs!
Uriel: I know you remember!
Sariel: Sari... el...
Uriel: ...!
That's right, Sariel! That's your name!
That's right, Sariel! That's your name!
Sariel: Sariel...
Sariel: Sariel... Sari... Elsari... Elsari...
Sariel: Elelelelelllllll...
Uriel: H-he's... completely lost his mind...
Uriel: This is too much... How could this happen?
Uriel: How could it happen to you, one of the most powerful origin beasts—
Sariel: Elelelllllll—
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 2: Sacrifice - Episode 3
Cagliostro finds Lucilius's notes explaining his "grand finale." He planned to use Pandemonium to destroy the boundary between dimensions, releasing the Crimson Horizon's chaos into the Sky Realm and returning the world to nothingness. Cagliostro and Gabriel hurry toward Pandemonium to share their findings.
Gabriel and Cagliostro continue their investigation of the abandoned testing facility.
Deep inside, they locate the main office and pore over the wealth of records stored there.
Gabriel: This report...
Cagliostro: Yeah. Looks like the culmination of the research they were conducting here.
Cagliostro: It's basically their findings on the Crimson Horizon. But what interests me is less the experiments themselves, and more the places where Lucilius recorded his thoughts.
Cagliostro: I'm genuinely surprised. His hypotheses concerning unknown elements were all correct. There really was someone out there as brilliant as me.
Gabriel: ...
Cagliostro: What's wrong? Something bothering you?
Gabriel: Oh. No... I was just thinking this was quite a find.
Cagliostro: I figured out how the records were organized and found all sorts of juicy info. Like a way to seal the original primal beasts, for example.
Gabriel: Haha, how fascinating. Can I have a look?
Gabriel: Let's see...
Experiment Log: What is the Crimson Horizon? That dimension predates god's creation of the world.
Experiment Log: To put it another way, our world was painted on the blank canvas of the Crimson Horizon.
Experiment Log: It is unadulterated chaos... The confluence of thoughts, philosophies, and timelines from every dimension, without any order whatsoever.
Experiment Log: On the other hand, we have the world ruled by providence. Divinely crafted logic, causality, and the laws of physics impart order to all that transpires here.
Experiment Log: These two spheres exist in direct opposition to one another, and the chaos which lives in the depths will erode providence.
Gabriel: Chaos, providence, erosion?
Gabriel: Is this true? Just how much did Lucilius discover?
Cagliostro: I don't have any way to test that theory. But it would explain many phenomena.
Cagliostro: This is just broad speculation. The next bit is what interests us.
Experiment Log: The only way to defy god is to blot out what he painted upon this canvas—to return his creation to nothingness.
Experiment Log: The chaos of the Crimson Horizon is the tool best-suited to that end.
Experiment Log: Destruction of the dimensional boundary separating our world from the Otherworld would, theoretically, unleash the chaos necessary to overturn providence.
Experiment Log: The mass necessary to destroy that boundary already exists within Pandemonium. Everything necessary for my grand finale is moving into place.
Experiment Log: The only serious obstacle remaining is the divine tower... but I need more time to resolve that riddle.
Gabriel: ...
Cagliostro: That's really all we need to know. It seems like a personal memo he made to summarize the salient points. The gist is pretty simple.
Cagliostro: Basically, he wanted to flip god the bird by blowing the world he created to smithereens.
Cagliostro: To do that, he'd use Pandemonium to destroy the boundary between dimensions...
Cagliostro: And fill the Sky Realm with the Crimson Horizon's chaos.
Gabriel: I see... Thank you. That settles some questions for me.
Gabriel: The fallen angels were acting according to Lucilius's plan to bring about a "grand finale."
Cagliostro: There were probably a lot of course corrections along the way. For one thing, their idea man is missing in action.
Gabriel: It took them a very long time to get this far after all. Do you know what the divine tower is?
Cagliostro: Not a clue. The reference is so vague...
Cagliostro: Well, at least this wasn't a wasted trip. Let's get our tails to Pandemonium so we can compare notes with the other archangels.
Gabriel: Right. I'm going to go full speed this time. Keep your hands and feet inside the airship at all times!
Cagliostro: Ahh... When you fly us it feels like I'm clinging to a trapeze with my teeth. Could we go some other way?
Gabriel: We could, but I don't wanna. You're adorable when you're scared.
Cagliostro: That's not creepy...
Gabriel: (But why?)
Gabriel: (Why would they have left such important documents behind?)
Gabriel: (...)
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 2: Sacrifice - Episode 4
Without Raphael, the alliance struggles until the Grandcypher arrives. Sandalphon comes to Michael's aid against the cherub and manifests the six wings which are proof of his position as supreme primarch.
The battle rages on in the red skies.
When Raphael goes down, the fallen angels press home their advantage, aiming to punch holes in the skydweller fleet's formation.
Lancelot: Take this! Weissfluegel!
Watcher: Higgyee!
Lancelot: Huff... huff...
It feels like they're only picking up momentum...
It feels like they're only picking up momentum...
Lancelot: They must have seen their opportunity when the wind calmed...
I'm worried about Raphael, but...
I'm worried about Raphael, but...
Lancelot: If we give ground now, there'll be no second chance.
Lancelot: Hang on! We have to weather this challenge... Our chance will come!
Watchers: Kyahahahaha!
Eeeheeheeheehee!
Eeeheeheeheehee!
Lancelot: Haaah!
Charlotta: Bad news, Siero! The enemy is about to break through our lines!
Charlotta: We can't keep up with treatment of the injured... And communication between ships is lagging behind!
Sierokarte: Understood! In that case, belay my previous order...
Sierokarte: Send out a skyskimmer to strengthen our supply lines—that has to be our first priority!
Charlotta: Yes, ma'am! I'll head out to help where the formation is in danger of breaking!
Sierokarte: Thank you! But please, don't do anything too rash—
Charlotta: ...!
Siero, get down!
Siero, get down!
Sierokarte: Hm?
Watcher: Unggyaaahhh!
Sierokarte: ...!
Watcher: ...
Charlotta: Wh-what a performance... (Captain) plummeted from the heavens, twisted around mid-fall, and sliced that watcher in half with one stroke!
Sierokarte: (Captain)!
(Captain) lands beside Sierokarte, threat dispatched.
The Grandcypher parts the clouds above. One after the next, crew members slide down rope ladders to join their captain.
Vyrn: Sorry we're late! The cavalry is here!
Lyria: Siero! Everybody! What can we do?
Katalina: One step at a time, Lyria. That horde of fallen angels is certainly intimidating, but...
Rosetta: Right. I can't believe the battle is already so far advanced. Can you bring us up to speed, Siero?
Sierokarte: You got it! Let me give you a quick rundown—
Sandalphon: Hm? That aura... Is that Michael?
Sandalphon: ...
Io: Can you tell what's happening with Michael, Sandalphon?
Sandalphon: Yes. She's engaged with a huge fallen angel. And it isn't going well.
Sandalphon: Hmph...
Sandalphon: I'm going to leave the ship for a while. You lot join the other skydwellers and take care of the watchers.
Rackam: Sure, we can do that. Are you gonna help Michael?
Sandalphon: Help her? I'm going to send that cherub straight to hell.
Eugen: Hey, it's great that you're feelin' confident, but even one of the four primarchs has her hands full with that thing.
Sandalphon: Yes. A primarch.
Michael: Hnh!
Cherub: Vmmm!
Michael: Didn't strike deep enough... At least it seems like its healing faculties are flagging.
Michael: Easy, Michael... Your goal is the fallen angels at the summit of Pandemonium. Tiring yourself out with this cherub is precisely what they want you to—
Sandalphon: Haaah!
Cherub: Vmmm?
Michael: Oh. If it isn't Sandalphon.
Sandalphon: (Captain) and the crew are here too. It's time to break the stalemate.
Michael: I'm well aware of what needs to be done. You return to the others and help shore up the fleet's defensive formation.
Sandalphon: I'll destroy the cherub. You go back and take command of the skydweller alliance.
Michael: Excuse me? You expect to arrive out of nowhere and hand out orders?
Sandalphon: It's simply the wisest division of labor. I have a promise to keep and I intend to do so.
Michael: ...
Cherub: Vrrrmmm!
Sandalphon: One of Avatar's ilk... So that nightmare is still plaguing this world...
Sandalphon: But this is the perfect opportunity for me to test my strength!
Sandalphon: It's back... The strength filling me feels even more potent than before...
Sandalphon: Lucifer...
Michael: Hmph...
Very well. Let's see whether you're worthy to follow in the supreme primarch's footsteps.
Very well. Let's see whether you're worthy to follow in the supreme primarch's footsteps.
Cherub: Vvvmmm!
Sandalphon: I hope you're ready to taste the full extent of the supreme primarch's powers!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 2: Sacrifice - Episode 4: Scene 2
As Sandalphon battles the cherub, Gabriel and Cagliostro find Raphael on a nearby island and bring him back to the alliance fleet at Pandemonium.
Gabriel: From the looks of that light, I'd say Sandalphon's joined the battle.
Cagliostro: H-hey, stupid! Drop your jaw if you want, but don't drop me!
Gabriel: Oh dear, I'm sorry! It's been so long since I saw that power used... It caught me off guard.
Gabriel: But what a huge host of fallen angels... Thank goodness we have the skydwellers to back us up.
Cagliostro: The feeling is mutual. I certainly don't want the world to be returned to nothingness.
Cagliostro: Those two have weapons that can kill immortals, and they've chosen a battleground at a low enough altitude to put you primarchs at a disadvantage. Can't fault their strategy.
Gabriel: Belial was once the supreme primarch's adjutant. He's intimately familiar with all our weak points.
Gabriel: But we don't know him the same way. It's impossible to tell when he's lying or when he's telling the truth.
Cagliostro: That pervy archangel probably doesn't give a fig about anything but Lucilius, right?
Cagliostro: Wait. So then, that man in the black hood—
Gabriel: Hold that thought...
It's faint, but I sense Raphael on that little island!
It's faint, but I sense Raphael on that little island!
Cagliostro: Raphael? What the hell would he be doing there?
Raphael: Ngh...
Sorry... I failed...
Sorry... I failed...
Gabriel: Don't say that. What happened was perfectly understandable under the circumstances. What worries me is that your wounds aren't regenerating...
Raphael: Not exactly... This is only conjecture, but I believe Sariel's scythe lacks power... It's going slowly, but I am regenerating.
Raphael: I have to return... Can you get me back to the alliance flagship?
Cagliostro: Hold your hurricanes there, Windy. You're in no condition for active duty.
Cagliostro: The four primarchs are a package deal with the tetra-elements. If you don't get back on your feet, the Sky Realm can kiss its buoyancy goodbye.
Raphael: You needn't worry about that. I've already ceded my role to nature. The wind and I are no longer one.
Gabriel: That's what Lucifer wanted. Who knows what might happen to us in this battle. This way we're insured against the worst.
Cagliostro: You're all-in, huh?
Cagliostro: Fine. I'll carry Raphael. Let's hurry and join the alliance then!
Wielding chaos as their weapon, the fallen angels have once again turned the tide of battle.
Will the arrival of the Grandcypher, and the skydwellers' gradually increasing grasp of Lucilius's plan, be enough for them to regain the upper hand?
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 3: Wall - Episode 1
The primarchs and the crew convene to talk strategy during a lull in battle. In order to thwart Lucilius's "grand finale," they decide they must break through Pandemonium's defensive wall and get inside. They are interrupted by a deafening roar and hurry onto the deck to investigate.
The Grandcypher crew helps strengthen the allied fleet's formation.
As the stalemate wears on, representatives from each military meet on the flagship to share information and discuss strategy.
Michael: Sariel, Azrael, and other fallen angels who share attributes with Avatar...
Michael: Black weapons, possibly from the Crimson Horizon, with the ability to kill immortals...
Michael: And finally the rumblings from Pandemonium. We are faced with a number of unknowns where the enemy is concerned.
Sierokarte: Mmm... It's difficult to plan when we don't know what our enemies' intentions are.
Albert: We do know what their final objective is though. The vision of Lucilius revealed in the Celestial Strait made that clear.
Albert: Rebellion against god... The destruction of this world.
Michael: Yes. At the time, I assumed he was using Avatar to wreak destruction and gain supreme power, but...
Charlotta: The plan is to destroy the world by some means other than force? I can't quite wrap my head around that.
Charlotta: Should we stay here and observe for a while? We need to calmly assess our enemy.
Sandalphon: That will only give them time to launch more offensives.
Sandalphon: Their methods and motivations are irrelevant. We need to reach the summit and finish them.
Lancelot: Then you want to gather the fleet together for a concentrated strike at one location? The watchers out of range of our attack will scatter to the islands.
Sandalphon: I don't need the fleet. I can do it alone.
Lancelot: What? Are you planning to use the supreme primarch's powers like you did earlier?
Sandalphon: Yes. I've gained at least some mastery over them. At close range, at maximum power, I can—
Michael: Fool. Haven't you noticed Pandemonium's defensive wall?
Sandalphon: What wall?
Michael: You'll need firepower to break through it. Or do you plan to squander the supreme primarch's power before you even get inside?
Michael: There's no guarantee it'll last you long enough to reach the two behind this. You haven't thought this through at all. You're too green.
Sandalphon: How kind of you to warn me.
Sandalphon: But there's something to be gained from the attempt. More than there is sitting here spinning theories without any relevant information.
Michael: We're entertaining multiple theories because of our lack of information. Why are you determined to be reckless? Do you think you're the only one concerned with the outcome?
Sandalphon: ...
Naoise: Both of you, listen. A frank exchange of ideas is a fine thing, but I believe you've strayed from the main issue.
Naoise: Let us not lose focus. Personally, I believe that information on the fallen angels is—
Vyrn: Everybody! Gabriel and Cagliostro are here!
Gabriel: Sorry to keep you waiting. Michael and Sandy, you two seem as buddy-buddy as ever.
Lyria: They brought Raphael with them! He's terribly wounded though...
Raphael: Mmh... What happened with Sariel? Did Uriel manage to stop him?
Michael: He's holding him back for the moment...
How are your wind powers?
How are your wind powers?
Raphael: That's why I've returned. If it costs me my life, I will give you favorable winds.
Sandalphon: Raphael...
Cagliostro: Hmm... Well, I think I've got the general picture of things here.
Cagliostro: We found out what the fallen angels are up to. Lucilius's plan was—
Gabriel and Cagliostro relate what they learned in the abandoned testing facility.
Lucilius's "grand finale." Unleashing destructive chaos from the Crimson Horizon. Using Pandemonium to destroy the dimensional boundary.
A heavy silence falls over the group as they come to terms with the scale of Lucilius's ambitions.
Michael: I see...
Michael: Only the complete annihilation of the world, leaving no trace behind, will satisfy his lust for destruction.
Vyrn: Why would he go that far? Just how badly does he hate god?
Sandalphon: Proof of his existence...
Lyria: What are you talking about, Sandalphon?
Gabriel: That was your reason for causing the cataclysms, wasn't it, Sandy? But you know, there's no real point probing Lucilius's motives now.
Albert: That's right—time is of the essence. Our enemies are clearly stalling.
Charlotta: No matter how many enemies we defeat, if we don't stop Pandemonium, we're playing right into their hands!
Lancelot: But Siero... Can we really break through the enemy lines and their defensive wall with our current strength?
Sierokarte: Hmm... I can't deny our fleet is lacking in strength... and our supplies are running dangerously low...
Naoise: Should we divert troops from the defensive perimeter? Time remains an issue.
Sandalphon: That might also be a good idea, but I still think I should be the one to—
Lyria: Yeek! Wh-what was that!
Vyrn: I've never heard an explosion like that before! Don't tell me there's a new fallen angel out there!
Sierokarte: Let's go see what's happening, (Captain)!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 3: Wall - Episode 2
The clamor was caused by a Society fleet, led by Ilsa, opening fire on the fallen angels. The Society has been monitoring the fallen angels and decided to join the fight. With that added military might, the alliance puts the plan to break into Pandemonium in motion.
Ilsa: Fire!
Watcher: Kyahahahaha!
Ilsa: Grr. Not going to make this easy, are they?
Ilsa: We'll drop 'em this time!
Aim!
Aim!
Ilsa: Fiiire!
Watcher: Kyaha?
Ilsa: They're about to alter flight patterns! Look alive!
Sierokarte: A-another fleet? Strange-looking ships and cutting-edge equipment... Don't tell me this is the infamous Society's...
Sierokarte: Excuse meee! Could I have a word please?
Ilsa: Hm? Is that an alliance messenger on that skyskimmer?
Ilsa: All ships, cut speed! Shift to ring formation!
Ilsa: Keep sending those fallen angels to hell while I coordinate strategy with our allies!
The shadowy Society's influence lurks behind the scenes in the Sky Realm, its inner workings known to few.
Though the organization rarely acts openly, Ilsa has a surprising announcement when she arrives on the alliance flagship.
The Society has been aware of the fallen angels and strengthening its guard against them. The higher-ups in the Society have taken the unprecedented step of mobilizing a military force for this conflict.
Vyrn: How 'bout that? You really are a weird bunch, but I'm glad you're here!
Lyria: Yes! Will you help us with our plan?
Ilsa: So our first objective is to reach Pandemonium, and the ultimate goal is to eliminate the fallen angels at its summit.
Ilsa: I understand, but I can't guarantee we'll be able to punch through that defensive wall. We have no way of knowing how strong it is, and that's a major impediment to good planning.
Sierokarte: Glad to have your support! Don't worry, I'll take responsibility for everything!
Ilsa: Responsibility, eh? Failure means the apocalypse, you realize.
Sierokarte: Hehehehe! Even so, I've got your backs!
Ilsa: Heh. Let's hear the full battle plan.
(Captain) and the other delegates share their strategy.
Katalina and the knights will handle a wide swath of the watchers.
Uriel will continue to hold off Sariel, the strongest enemy on the battlefield.
Eugen, Sierokarte, and Raphael will be tasked with managing supply lines and pulling the wounded off the front lines for treatment.
Io, Rosetta, Cagliostro, and Gabriel will be stationed with the fleet, providing magical firepower for the attempt to pierce Pandemonium's defensive wall.
(Captain), Vyrn, and Lyria will wait on the Grandcypher for the wall to be breached...
And then launch the offensive on Pandemonium along with Sandalphon and Michael.
Cagliostro: (Captain), don't worry about Azrael. We'll circle back around to deal with her afterward.
Vyrn: We're countin' on ya! Hal and Mal seemed really worried about her. I hope they're both okay...
Katalina: Take care of everybody for me, Lyria. As I told you before, I have full confidence in you.
Lyria: I won't let you down! No one's reducing the world to nothingness on my watch!
Lyria: You guys be careful too, okay?
Gabriel: Godspeed, Michael. Just in case, you'd better take these too.
Michael: What? When did you all—
Gabriel: We'll trust your judgment for the rest. Do your best to support the supreme primarch. You're his adjutant after all.
Michael: Yes...
Let's all come back safely.
Let's all come back safely.
Sandalphon: Are you ready, (Captain)? Everything hinges on this battle.
Sandalphon: Come. Nothing will keep us from Pandemonium.
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 3: Wall - Episode 3
Belial and the hooded figure continue their board game atop Pandemonium, noting that (Captain) has rallied with the alliance. Ilsa's fleet, Cagliostro, Rosetta, and Io all concentrate their fire on one point in Pandemonium's defensive wall, chipping away at it bit by bit.
Belial: We've reached the middle game already. Now... how to create an upset?
Belial: Hm? Do you feel like the mood on the skydwellers' side has changed? Like their resolve has hardened?
Hooded Figure: The invertebrate entity seems to have evolved a spine. I assume that's the influence of the singularity's arrival.
Hooded Figure: I dispatched a pawn to slow them down... but it appears even the gift of chaos couldn't turn a pawn into a queen.
Belial: Hehehe...
"Key to evolution" indeed. The perfect fit for any skydweller's keyhole.
"Key to evolution" indeed. The perfect fit for any skydweller's keyhole.
Hooded Figure: ...
Belial: Ooh, I think Sandy and Gabby have joined the fray. Everyone's turning out for this class reunion.
Belial: It would seem they've discovered our plans for the grand finale. And probably also the fact that we were buying time—
Hooded Figure: What the hell are you up to?
Belial: Why, Bubs, whatever do you mean?
Hooded Figure: It's plain from their pattern of attack that they know about the grand finale.
Hooded Figure: And how could they have come by this information? Were you fool enough to have left evidence behind at the testing facility?
Belial: Ah... There's a reason for that.
Belial: Circumstances beyond my control. If I'd used my powers, Lucifer and friends would have found me.
Belial: If I'd used more conventional methods to destroy the place, there was a high probability someone would have spotted it.
Hooded Figure: Is that the best excuse you can come up with? You're resourceful enough to have devised a solution.
Belial: What? Don't say you actually respect me?
Hooded Figure: I'm judging you by your results, not the content of your character. You're lying.
Belial: Hahaha... "Lying" is a little harsh... but maybe my chief reason was a little overly sentimental.
Belial: The fact is, after the purge... Most of our research facilities were demolished. The only place still standing where he had worked was that testing site.
Belial: I couldn't bring myself to destroy that one final link with the past and all its memories just to conceal evidence.
Hooded Figure: I see.
You're not even capable of telling the truth.
You're not even capable of telling the truth.
Belial: Hee hee. Come on, Bubs. Even you had some fond feelings for that place.
Hooded Figure: Hunh.
It doesn't matter. The plan is already in motion. What they know won't change anything.
It doesn't matter. The plan is already in motion. What they know won't change anything.
Hooded Figure: Let's finish one last game before the boundary crumbles.
Belial: Oookay! Our last game, Bubs.
Uriel: Ora ora ora!
Sariel: Elelelll...
Uriel: Urk!
Uriel: Damn it... He's even stronger than he used to be!
Sariel: Lalala... la...
Uriel: What do I do about that scythe? I need some way to get in close to him.
Uriel: Do I have to throw out my whole fighting style, which relies on my regeneration? But I've never fought defensively in my life!
Uriel: Ugghh, what a pain in the pecs!
Uriel: Oryaaahhh!
Ilsa: Keep concentrating your fire on that one spot! Don't let up for a second!
Ilsa: Gabriel! Sense any change in that defensive wall?
Gabriel: You're definitely stripping away the outer layers! Keep going!
Cagliostro: Got a target lined up yet? We're ready to unleash something juicy.
Rosetta: We're ready! Let's all fire at once.
Cagliostro: Between a millennia-old genius and a five hundred year-old primal, this should be some light show.
Cagliostro: Let's show 'em two thousand five hundred years' worth of hell!
Io: Excuse me? I don't know what age has to do with it, but you're forgetting mine!
Cagliostro: It just does.
Fine. I feel dumb saying it again, but...
Fine. I feel dumb saying it again, but...
Cagliostro: Let's show 'em two thousand five hundred and—what, ten? An extra ten whole years' worth of hell!
Cagliostro: Haaahhh!
Rosetta: Haaahhh!
Io: Haaahhh!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 3: Wall - Episode 4
Michael accuses Sandalphon of being too self-centered and not noticing the people or world around him. She urges him to consider what Lucifer always prioritized. Pandemonium's defensive wall is breached and the Grandcypher prepares to fly through, but the cherub returns to stop them.
Smoke rises into the glowering sky as the fleet attempts to break through Pandemonium's defenses.
Those left behind on the Grandcypher to conserve their strength do their best to restrain their impatience as they await their cue.
Sandalphon: ...
Michael: ...
Lyria: Um... Uh... Do you two feel okay? Are you hungry at all?
Lyria: We just got some emergency rations delivered to the ship!
Lyria: This pack's for Sandalphon... They said Vice-Captain Vane of the Order of the White Dragons made it with loving care!
Sandalphon: Thank you.
Lyria: And this one's for Michael... Naoise's staff picked out the healthiest ingredients for you.
Michael: My thanks.
Lyria: Good, good. I think you'll be able to taste just how much they care about you!
Lyria: So let's dig in!
Sandalphon: Heh.
Michael: Hahaha.
Lyria: Hm? What's so funny?
Sandalphon: Sorry. You're just so obvious.
Michael: You really are. But it's our fault for making you fuss over us.
Lyria: Ah... Ahahaha... Sorry. I just... don't know what else to...
Sandalphon: Michael, I understand why you don't have faith in me.
Sandalphon: I haven't yet earned your respect or trust as successor.
Sandalphon: Far more weighty than that are the sins I've committed. The cataclysms. My responsibility for Lucifer's death...
Michael: Don't misunderstand. You succeeded Lucifer as supreme primarch because he wished it.
Michael: I have no objections on that score... But you are too blind to what goes on around you.
Sandalphon: How so?
Michael: Atonement, revenge, your vow...
Michael: Your eyes are fixed on self-centered objectives. The world and its inhabitants never enter your field of vision.
Michael: What do you think constantly occupied Lucifer's thoughts?
Michael: Passing those concerns on to you is part of my role as adjutant.
Sandalphon: ...
Michael: Heh...
I hadn't intended to lecture you.
I hadn't intended to lecture you.
Vyrn: You guys! We got the signal! There's a breach in the wall!
Lyria: R-really?
Sandalphon: It's time...
Come, (Captain)!
Come, (Captain)!
Michael: I'll clear the riffraff from our path. You all help Rackam guide the ship through!
Vyrn: Can do!
???: Cough... Cough...
Rosetta: Io? Anyone? Where is everybody?
Io: Nnh...
Ah... I'm over here, Rosetta. Cagliostro's right next to me.
Ah... I'm over here, Rosetta. Cagliostro's right next to me.
Cagliostro: Ugh, that was close. If Gabriel hadn't diverted that blast, we'd've taken it in the teeth, and that'd be all she wrote.
Gabriel: I'm so sorry. I got careless. Its aura disappeared, and then suddenly burst back into being... I can't believe it lived through that.
Ilsa: No problem—we only suffered light wounds on our side.
So that's the fallen angel the supreme primarch was supposed to have finished off?
So that's the fallen angel the supreme primarch was supposed to have finished off?
Cherub: Vvvmmm!
Rosetta: Avatar's influence seems stronger than before... Is it reacting to nearly being destroyed?
Gabriel: I couldn't say... None of us may be equipped to predict its movements...
Ilsa: ...!
Its fuse is lit! Here it comes!
Its fuse is lit! Here it comes!
Cherub: Vwwwmmm—
Michael: Haaah!
Cherub: Vwoo?
Io: Huh? Look! There's Michael!
Cagliostro: And the Grandcypher! Heeey! We blasted a hole in the wall for you!
Lyria: Oh, that's Io and the others over there! Looks like they're okay!
Vyrn: Thanks to Michael! But that cherub is still clingin' on...
Sandalphon: Tch... Its thirst for destruction just keeps growing. This must be its true form.
Sandalphon: (Captain), I'll need your cooperation. I have to conserve the supreme primarch's power.
Sandalphon: Let's knock this thing out of the sky fast and get through the wall!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 4: Wisdom - Episode 1
Far, far above Pandemonium, someone watches as the battle unfolds. Below, the crew defeats the cherub and attempts to pass through the breach in the defensive wall. Struggling through the force field at work inside the wall, Rackam orders the crew to the stern and sets a course to ram the Grandcypher into the side of Pandemonium.
Far above Pandemonium...
A lone figure observes the battle between archangels, fallen angels, and skydwellers.
???: Archangels allied with the mortal inhabitants of this world. Fallen angels employing the power of the Otherworld.
???: Both have had to alter their initial plans, and their powers are oddly well-matched...
???: But enmeshed by the inevitability of fate, any but gods will stumble, and nothing but destruction will follow...
???: The keys lie with the two singularities, and in the hands of my clone...
???: O master, the future you desire—
Rackam: Hrrrggh!
Vyrn: Rackaaam! The engines are belching fire!
Rackam: Don't worry! It's the same propulsion system we used to get through the Celestial Strait!
Vyrn: If you say so! Was that one sail supposed to fly off too?
Rackam: What'd you say! Which sail? Which sail flew off!
Vyrn: Wait, is that bad?
Cherub defeated, the Grandcypher aims for the hole in the defensive wall between them and Pandemonium.
The ship threads the needle, barely maintaining stability.
Michael: Quite the ship and quite the helmsman. He surprised me during the cataclysms and in Canaan. You could go centuries without witnessing talent like that.
Sandalphon: You're awfully calm. Doesn't the force field at work within this wall trouble you?
Rackam: Rrrgh, damn it! We've got no choice...
Rackam: (Captain)! Get everyone to the stern, and hit the deck!
Lyria: Th-the stern? Why do you want us in the back of the ship?
Rackam: Cause we're gonna ram right into the side of Pandemonium!
Sandalphon: What! Are you out of your mind!
Rackam: It's fine! I got us through the Celestial Strait, didn't I?
Sandalphon: But there's no telling what traps await inside the cage!
Rackam: Wh-what!
Michael: Hahahaha!
Michael: I'm with you, Rackam! I'll open you a hole in Pandemonium!
Rackam: Thanks, Michael! Try not to bring down the whole building!
Vyrn: Even Michael's getting into the spirit... What is she, the archangel of reckless nutcases?
Lyria: Ahahaha... Don't worry! I'm sure it'll work out!
Rackam: Come on, partner, you ready? I know I just keep asking you for bigger favors...
Rackam: But it's time to show 'em what we're really made of! Let's go, Grandcypheeerrr!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 4: Wisdom - Episode 2
Azrael won't respond to Halluel or Malluel, no matter how long their battle stretches. When Eugen and Cagliostro appear to back them up, Azrael reacts strangely, then speaks in another voice, seeming to address herself. In the next moment, she vanishes, leaving Halluel, Malluel, and the others to chase after her toward Pandemonium.
Halluel: That's weird... I coulda sworn this was the place.
Halluel: Hmm?
Halluel: Well now, what's this on the ground? Looks like a delicious bean cake some skydweller dropped!
???: No way, a bean cake? Where? Gimme!
Halluel: Ahaha! Found you, Az! You fell for it again.
Azrael: Whoa!
Aww... You're too good at the secret agent game, Hal. I bet none of the archangels could beat you.
Aww... You're too good at the secret agent game, Hal. I bet none of the archangels could beat you.
Malluel: Teehee. Good game, you guys. Wanna take a break under that tree?
Israfel: Seconded. Seriously though, Az, you're too easy. I worry about you.
Israfel: Also, would you really eat a bean cake off the ground?
Azrael: Just brush off the dirt and it'd be good as new! No problem!
Azrael: Aww...
All this talk of bean cakes—now I can't think of anything else. What kind of bean cake would you guys wanna be?
All this talk of bean cakes—now I can't think of anything else. What kind of bean cake would you guys wanna be?
Halluel: Hahaha. If I had to be a bean cake? I guess I'd be one with coarse red bean paste.
Malluel: I'd be a walnut bean cake! They look so fancy. I bet Iss would choose white bean paste.
Israfel: Sigh... Why are you guys humoring her? If you give this girl a crumb, she'll take the whole cake.
Israfel: Archangels of instruction have to work in pairs, and she always talks my ear off on missions. It tires me out!
Azrael: Ohh... Sorry, Iss. But I have so much fun with you.
Israfel: Mm... I'm not saying it's not fun for me. I like being with you too...
Azrael: Really? Yay, yaaay!
Israfel: Sigh...
Halluel: Hahaha! You spoil her too, Iss.
Malluel: Yeah! But lately we really need to be careful on our missions.
Malluel: Michael was just saying how primal beasts are rebelling all over the place.
Israfel: Oh yeah, we just heard about that. Apparently we've gotta be extra careful on our next assignment.
Israfel: Which is why we're going to take it super seriously, with no idle chitchat. Riiight?
Azrael: You got it, boss! Say, what do you guys want for lunch? Three desserts each sound good?
Israfel: You're definitely not going to chatter on like this on our mission, right? If you break your promise, it'll be no sweets for you!
Azrael: Nooo!
Halluel & Malluel: Nooo!
Israfel: Why are you two piling on!
Azrael has been resurrected through the powers of void and chaos to serve as the fallen angels' vanguard.
Halluel and Malluel sent the Grandcypher on ahead so they could stay and try to understand what's become of their friend.
Azrael: Ggh... G-g-g-g-gyee...
Halluel: Huff... Huff... She's too... fast. We're supposed to have the same powers, but...
Halluel: Az, don't you remember? You're Azrael, one of the archangels of instruction!
Halluel: Where's Iss? I know you can understand us—
Azrael: Gyaaahhh!
Malluel: Hal, on your right!
Halluel: ...!
Azrael: Fssshhh...
Malluel: That was too close! Those two blades have the same power that killed Lucifer.
Malluel: I'm sure it's something from the Crimson Horizon... If that hits us, we won't be able to regenerate either.
Halluel: The Crimson Horizon... This must be the work of that man in the dark cloak...
Halluel: So we need to stop him if we're going to fix Az?
Malluel: I don't know, but we're getting nowhere like this.
Malluel: Hal, I think we have to give up on talking with her. Let's see if we can bind her somehow.
Malluel: There's a chance her condition could improve, given some time...
Azrael: ...
Halluel: Wait. She's acting strange. Like she's gearing up for—
Azrael: Heegyaaahhh!
Malluel: No way!
Halluel: Mal!
Oh no—she's too fast!
Oh no—she's too fast!
Cagliostro: Ars Magna!
Azrael: Gyee?
Cagliostro: Wow. She managed to dodge my surprise attack. I'd sure like to dissect her and get a look at what's powering those reflexes.
Eugen: Sorry we're late, you two! Get aboard!
Halluel: Thank goodness... Does this mean you guys rendezvoused with the alliance?
Eugen: Thanks to you! They're tryin' to break into Pandemonium right now!
Malluel: We're so glad you're here! But Az still can't talk...
Eugen: Oh... Actually, there's another fallen angel back at the front lines who's in similar shape—
Azrael: Gyeeaah!
Eugen: No you don't! I'm onto you!
Eugen: She responds to hostility too, Cagliostro! Can you pull out one of those "containment fields" you were talking about?
Cagliostro: Huh? You want me to try that technique from the testing facility?
Cagliostro: I like how you think! Lure her toward the center of the deck!
Halluel: Containment field? Something from the testing facility?
Cagliostro: Leave it to us. With a little intensity modification, it should simply restrain her—
Azrael: Gah! Ah... Aaagh?
Malluel: Something's happening to her again!
Eugen: What's going on? Cagliostro didn't even do anything yet.
???: A... Az?
???: Az... Please... listen...
???: Look... around you...
This is the Sky Realm... We're not inside that black beast anymore...
This is the Sky Realm... We're not inside that black beast anymore...
???: Don't be scared... No one's gonna hurt you anymore... Look... Hal and Mal are... right in front of us...
???: I know how much you've missed them...
Halluel: Az!
Malluel: That voice is gone...
Didn't that sound like Iss, just now?
Didn't that sound like Iss, just now?
Eugen: I dunno about that, but the dark shadow that appeared as she vanished is the same one I spotted when she first showed up.
Cagliostro: "Inside the black beast." Does that mean they were still conscious even after being absorbed by Avatar?
Cagliostro: They were in there suffering for thousands of years? There's cruel, and then there's evil.
Halluel: Why did those two have to be dragged into this? So much pain and fear...
Malluel: That assignment took them through one of the rebellion battlegrounds... It was just rotten luck...
Eugen: Hey, you two all right?
Halluel: Let's hurry, Mal. We've gotta follow them!
Malluel: You're right. Thanks, guys. We'll take care of Az and Iss... somehow!
Cagliostro: Hey!
They're headed straight for Pandemonium...
They're headed straight for Pandemonium...
Cagliostro: Set a return course, Eugen!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 4: Wisdom - Episode 3
Once the archangel of execution, Sariel was recruited into the fallen angels by Belial. As Sariel is about to strike down Uriel, Charlotta and her allies intervene. Sariel disappears, and Charlotta guesses he may have been summoned to shore up defenses elsewhere.
Sariel: ...
Belial: Hm? Is that you, Sarry?
Sariel: Adjutant... Excuse me—Deputy Head Researcher.
Belial: Hehehe. I don't usually run into you around the lab. What's up?
Sariel: Nothing. I was summoned.
Belial: Oh? You lost about fifty percent of your body on your last mission. Looks like you barely got done regenerating. I suppose you're here to be examined—see if you're in working order.
Sariel: Examined... I see. I don't like examinations.
Belial: I'll see if I can have yours made less frequent. The standards are a little too rigid around here.
Belial: But I'm genuinely worried. I've heard what you've been up to lately. You repelled a whole horde from the Otherworld, didn't you?
Sariel: I just buried them. I don't know if it counts as extermination.
Belial: In the Sky Realm, they'd pin a medal on you. Other beasts were knocked right out of commission, but you kept on fighting with half your body missing.
Belial: Before that you dealt with that clan and their ancient weapon, and the moondwellers.
Belial: All in the job description for our angelic executioner, I suppose. Your martial abilities might even surpass those of the four primarchs.
Sariel: I just buried them. I don't know if it merits a comparison.
Belial: No interest in your enemies or your allies, hm? So what do you think about on the battlefield?
Sariel: On the battlefield? Nothing much...
Belial: And what are you thinking now?
Sariel: Now... I'm thinking about something I want to see. What I want to see after the examination is done.
Belial: I didn't realize you were an appreciator of the arts.
Belial: Well, well...
Belial: Okay, we'll take a rain check on this exam. I'll talk to the person in charge.
Sariel: You will?
Belial: Sure. Let's just make sure to get our stories straight.
Belial: And since I'm off today, can I join you for a spot of appreciation?
Sariel: I don't mind. I'm headed to a park in the residential quarter—
Belial: ...
Sariel: ...
Belial: An anthill?
Sariel: An anthill.
Belial: Oh, here comes a column now. Carrying crumbs down the hole.
Sariel: Yes.
Belial: What industrious little soldiers. Why don't you give them that bread you brought?
Sariel: I will.
Belial: Easy there. You can't just plunk the whole thing down—it's too heavy for them. Try tearing it up.
Sariel: Good idea.
Belial: Hehehe...
Belial: Well now, how many hours have we spent here? Is this hobby how you occupy your free time?
Sariel: Hobby... I don't know if I would call it a hobby.
Belial: No? Interests are the foundation of one's sense of self... Maybe your limiter was set a little too high.
Sariel: Limiter?
Belial: Archangels from the third generation onward have been made with restrictions on their intelligence.
Belial: It was the High Council's decision. Lucifer's abilities made them all a bit nervous, you see...
Belial: Implementation differs between individual archangels. Lucilius tends to play a little fast and loose with the council's edicts.
Belial: Oh. This is all classified of course.
Sariel: I see... That's why I'm so bad at conversation.
Sariel: I didn't need any of it... Not the half-baked intellect or the crude sense of self.
Belial: That sounds... awfully masochistic.
Sariel: I want to be an ant... A soldier ant who can fight without thinking at all.
Sariel: I don't like thinking on the battlefield...
Belial: Don't tell me... that injuring others is painful to you?
Sariel: ...
Belial: This is a surprise. But I think I understand.
Belial: We can make you better suited to your role—indifferent toward both enemies and allies...
Belial: I wonder if Cilius would be interested in this divergence between function and personality.
Sariel: Cilius?
Belial: Say, Sarry. Would you like to come work with the fallen angels?
Belial: We could really use you. And I'd take your personality into account when assigning your duties.
Belial: You're not a soldier ant. There's no need for you to perform meaningless slaughter.
Sariel: No need for slaughter?
Sariel: ...
Uriel: Gyurgh!
Sariel: Haahhh...
Uriel: Huff... Huff...
Damn it! Barely a scratch on him!
Damn it! Barely a scratch on him!
Uriel: But I've held him up this long... I could just let Sandals and the others take it from here...
Uriel: Sigh... Unfortunately...
Uriel: That's not how I roll! I'm not the type to throw a fight!
Sariel: Throw... fight?
Uriel: Nnnrrrggghh!
Sariel: ...!
Uriel: Huff... Huff...
How's that pile driver... taste...
How's that pile driver... taste...
Uriel: Damn. Think that's all I got... But if this is a double knockout—
Sariel: Mngh... Uurgh...
Uriel: Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me...
Uriel: At least I ripped a couple of your wings off... No more flying for you.
Uriel: Come on and kill me. Then you can stay right here for the rest of eternity.
Sariel: Eternal... death...
Sariel: Give me eternal death!
???: Stay back!
Sariel: ...!
Charlotta: Grr... Couldn't pull off that midair spinning-strike. (Captain) is something else...
Uriel: Wh-what are you doing here, you idiot! Sariel can't be defeated by mere mortals!
Naoise: I challenge you to try and evade my spear!
Sariel: ...!
Naoise: If this were a mere contest of strength, like Uriel says, we would be no match for you. But we stand against you with our combined arts of war!
Charlotta & Naoise: Haaahh!
Sariel: Hnn...
Charlotta: His front and back are open!
Naoise: Now, you two!
Lancelot: Eidesfluegel!
Albert: Lord of Blitz!
Sariel: Aaaugh!
Uriel: Is... he...
Sariel: Haahhh...
Lancelot: We're not done yet!
Naoise: Wait! What is that dark shadow—
Sariel: ...
Albert: He hardly seemed rational enough to escape at the prospect of defeat.
Charlotta: Then it was the work of a third party? Perhaps something happened to make them divert their troops elsewhere?
Uriel: I don't like this... Come on. We have to get back to the others!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 4: Wisdom - Episode 4
Before the showdown at Canaan, Belial and the hooded figure met in the Sky Realm for the first time since the rebellion and subsequent fallen angel purge to discuss their plans. Belial needed Lucifer's body in order to resurrect Lucilius, so the hooded figure agreed to kill him. Back in the present, Belial reveals that he knows the hooded figure's true objective. Tension mounts.
Belial: What a surprise. I'm impressed you survived.
Hooded Figure: Hunh... I assumed you were eliminated in the purge.
Belial: Well, it was no picnic. It took a long time for me to regenerate.
Hooded Figure: And how have you been using your new lease on eternity? To cuddle up to skydwellers while our plan rots?
Belial: Perish the thought.
Is what I'd like to say...
Is what I'd like to say...
Belial: But to be honest, the plan has been on hold. Lucifer hasn't let down his guard for a moment. Not once in two thousand years.
Hooded Figure: I never expected Lucifer himself to be the one guarding Pandemonium and keeping us from the legacy we desire.
Hooded Figure: Even less did I expect such a pitiful showing from the archangel of cunning. If you're out, then hand over the components of the plan to me—
Townswoman: I'm baaack, Belial. Here's that wine you asked for.
Belial: Thanks. Sorry to have you out running errands.
Townswoman: It's no trouble! I was surprised when your friend dropped in out of nowhere though. And when we were right in the middle of things...
Townswoman: But come to think of it, how did you know where Belial was staying?
Hooded Figure: ...
Belial: We birds of a feather can sense other members of the flock. Even if Bubs's plumage is a slightly different color.
Townswoman: Birds of a feather?
Hooded Figure: Hey. Keep your mouth shut.
Belial: Why hide it? Come. A toast to this joyful reunion.
Belial: Oh? There are three glasses here.
Townswoman: Ah, yes. Can I join you? Don't tell me you've gotten tired of me already?
Belial: No, this was very considerate of you. You chose the perfect number.
Townswoman: Really? Oh, I'm so glad. I was a little worried.
Belial: Well then, a toast. To Cilius, Bubs, and me, the fallen angels' inner circle.
Townswoman: Fallen angels—
Hooded Figure: So you've recovered Lucilius's head already... Why are you so fixated on Lucifer?
Belial: I want Cilius to see the end of the world.
Belial: I need Lucifer's body to restore Cilius to as close to mint condition as possible.
Hooded Figure: I don't understand you, beast. Is Lucilius more important to you than his plan?
Hooded Figure: Fine. I'll kill Lucifer. You seek the singularity who serves as the fork in destiny's path.
Belial: You'll handle Lucifer? He wiped the floor with you during the purge.
Hooded Figure: He is a being ruled by providence. He will fall when confronted with power denied even to the gods.
Belial: Ohh?
Belial: Oookay. The plan's back on. I'll see what's happening with the singularity.
Hooded Figure: Don't get overexcited. There's no predicting the outcome.
Belial: I know. I just want a little taste...
With the alliance bravely providing support, the crew is close to reaching Pandemonium.
The two fallen angels at the summit are entering the final phase of their board game.
Belial: Ooh, you pinned me...
Neither of us has many pieces left to move.
Neither of us has many pieces left to move.
Hooded Figure: All our strategies are in place. It's a routine war of attrition from here on out.
Belial: A draw then? But it's so much fun hounding my opponents into mistakes.
Hooded Figure: You think you can shake me in the midst of this stalemate? Do you plan to move the silent king out of that corner?
Belial: Sounds like we just got rammed by something pretty big.
Hooded Figure: The singularity and Lucifer's heir, I presume.
Hooded Figure: The boundary will shortly fall. We can leave them to their own devices and chaos will swallow them along with everything else. But...
Hooded Figure: ...
Belial: Hang on a second. We haven't finished our game.
Hooded Figure: The fork in fate's path in a time of upheaval... I didn't think its influence would reach this far.
Hooded Figure: I will destroy them myself. You take to the front lines.
Belial: Wait.
Hooded Figure: ...
Belial: Sigh...
Kept your secret all the way to the end, didn't you?
Kept your secret all the way to the end, didn't you?
Belial: Too bad. It's a real shame, Bubs.
Belial: You were just waiting for an opening to climb the divine tower alone, weren't you?
Hooded Figure: You...
The air between the two fallen angels turns leaden.
With apocalypse looming along the Crimson Horizon, what pull will the divine tower exert over the tide of battle?
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 5: Power - Episode 1
(Captain) and crew reach Pandemonium at last and race for the summit. Azrael appears and Michael remains behind to deal with her in order to atone for her failure as Azrael's former commanding officer.
The crew pounds up the stairs from the second layer of Pandemonium, racing for the summit.
The Grandcypher is out of commission after its collision with the structure, so Rackam has stayed behind to repair it.
To make matters worse, Pandemonium is littered with Otherworld forces.
Michael: Begone!
Otherworld Soldier: ...!
Sandalphon: Out of my way!
Otherworld Guard: ...!
Vyrn: Phew... Looks like that's it for this area. There sure were a lot of 'em.
Michael: They must have seen their chance to invade this world as the boundary between dimensions weakens.
Michael: The fallen angels probably counted on that happening... They're taking advantage of the Otherworlders to augment the cage's defenses.
Lyria: Will Rackam be all right? He's on the ship all by himself...
Sandalphon: We should provide enough of a distraction to keep them away from him, at least for the time being.
Sandalphon: Besides, he's a first-rate skyfarer, isn't he? He can break his way through any wall.
Vyrn: Ahaha! Are you still mad about that? Did it make you airsick?
Sandalphon: Humph... It's easier to move with an empty stomach anyhow.
Lyria: We have some emergency rations if you want! But I'm sure you'll get used to the feeling after a little more time on the ship.
Sandalphon: A little more time...
Sandalphon: Never mind. Let's just hurry toward the summit—
Azrael: Gyee... eee...
Michael: Azrael!
Sandalphon: On your guard, (Captain)! She vanishes once she takes flight! It's more like summoning magic than normal movement!
Vyrn: Wait... If she's here, then what happened to Hal and Mal?
Lyria: Oh no... Are they—
Azrael: Gyeee!
Michael: ...
Azrael: Gyah?
Vyrn: Huh? Could you see that attack coming?
Michael: Calm down. I'm sure (Captain) could anticipate it too.
Michael: No matter how swift she is, in an enclosed space like this her vectors of approach are limited.
Lyria: But Michael... Az is Hal and Mal's friend...
Michael: I know. The archangels of instruction were under my direct command.
Michael: They were all such hard workers...
Michael: I can't begin to express my gratitude to you for holding back against Azrael out of consideration for us.
Lyria: Of course we would! Any friend of yours is a friend of ours!
Michael: Thank you.
Michael: Haah!
Azrael: Gah?
Lyria: Eek! M-Michael...
Vyrn: Hey! How could you use your sword on her?
Michael: ...
Michael: Sandalphon, I'll handle this. You and (Captain) head to the summit.
Sandalphon: Doing your duty as her commanding officer?
Michael: My motives are partly selfish. I can't allow anyone else to kill her.
Sandalphon: Understood.
Lyria: Sandalphon!
Vyrn: Damn it... But we can't afford to waste any time...
Lyria: ...
Sandalphon: Let's go. Leave this to Michael.
After a moment's hesitation, (Captain) and the others turn and resume their race up the stairs.
Michael nods, watching them go.
Azrael: Gyeee!
Michael: Hngh!
Azrael: Gyee... Gyeegyeegyeee!
Michael: Azrael... I don't know if you can understand me...
Michael: I failed you as your commander. I will never be able to make amends for that.
Michael: I can't offer to die in atonement. Not yet. But you can carve your frustration into this shell.
Azrael: Gyeegyee?
Michael: Why do you hesitate? Strike now, before you grasp the situation.
Michael: This is purely selfish on my part... I wish to bear the scar you give me for the rest of my life.
Azrael: Gyaaahhh!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 5: Power - Episode 2
Belial knows the hooded figure plans to hide out in the divine tower, Etemenanki, to escape destruction during the grand finale. The hooded figure hopes to rule over what remains of the world, while Belial and Lucilius desire the annihilation of everything. Both sides have been using each other. Belial and the hooded figure square off.
Palpable tension crackles through the air at the summit of Pandemonium.
Belial's tone remains light as the hooded figure attempts to stare holes through him.
Belial: The divine tower... A structure floating in the heavens far above us all.
Belial: Rarely ever seen, but it supposedly bears a resemblance to the Etemenanki mentioned in creation myths.
Belial: In other words it dates back to the time of creation, and one can assume its purpose is somehow related to the Omnipotent.
Hooded Figure: ...
Belial: The problem with Etemenanki is, it encompasses both providence and chaos, and yet it is neither. It's a place apart. Untouchable.
Belial: Given its potential to resist even the encroachment of chaos, it is an obstacle to our grand finale returning everything to nothingness.
Belial: Or to put it another way, Etemenanki is the perfect place to hide out and survive the apocalypse unscathed.
Hooded Figure: Why you—
Belial: Hehehe... I only ever half believed in that fairy tale, but judging by the look on your face, it really exists.
Hooded Figure: Did Lucilius tell you? How did he know about Etemenanki?
Hooded Figure: Its potential was far too valuable. Only the High Council were informed about it.
Belial: Beats me. Cilius said it came to him in a dream. Maybe he witnessed creation in a previous life.
Hooded Figure: Don't push me.
Belial: Temper, temper. Just how much did the High Council really know?
Belial: Etemenanki is impregnable, but did you know its invulnerability is only skin-deep?
Hooded Figure: You know something about the interior?
Belial: So that's as far as your intel went. Well, to be fair, we don't know its exact strength either. That's what Avatar was for.
Belial: It really is a shame though, Bubs. Even knowing about Etemenanki, the one obstacle to our plan, you kept silent.
Belial: I guess you planned to stab us in the back somewhere along the way, so you could achieve your own selfish ends?
Hooded Figure: ...
Belial: Need a minute to think up an excuse?
Hooded Figure: Heh heh heh...
Hooded Figure: Buwahahaha... So we were both using each other.
Hooded Figure: To think I let you string me along this far using Etemenanki as bait.
Belial: Cilius gets all the credit. I was really just along for the ride.
Hooded Figure: Rubbish. Is destroying the so-called Omnipotent really all you want?
Hooded Figure: But I'll gladly use your idiotic plan. When it's done, I will reign supreme.
Hooded Figure: All power will revert to me. All worlds will rest in the palm of my hand.
Belial: You really are twisted. Well, who am I to judge your dreams?
Belial: But our goal is the complete annihilation of the world. Survivors will not be tolerated.
Hooded Figure: In the end you're just another drone. But you were useful, for a beast.
Belial: And here I thought we could be friends.
Hooded Figure: Die.
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 5: Power - Episode 3
Halluel and Malluel join Michael. The twins apologize to Azrael for their failure to look for her and her sister Israfel when they went missing. The apology awakens Israfel, slumbering inside Azrael. Israfel thanks Halluel and Malluel, then convinces Azrael to plunge her swords into her own heart.
Michael sends the crew on ahead and faces Azrael alone.
She opens herself to an attack from her onetime subordinate in order to atone for her failure as a leader.
Azrael: Gyaaahhh!
Malluel: Nooo!
Michael: ...!
Malluel: Aaah!
Halluel: Mal! Show me where she hit you! We've got to treat it right away!
Malluel: No, I'm fine. It was just a scrape...
Malluel: I'm sorry, Michael... You wanted to give Az a free hit, didn't you? And I just got in your way.
Michael: It's all right. It was imprudent of me in the first place... But when did you two get here?
Azrael: Gyegyegyee!
Halluel: Az...
And Iss, can you hear me too?
And Iss, can you hear me too?
Halluel: I know how much you two have suffered, and how much you missed us.
Halluel: For two thousand years... Time must have lost all meaning for you...
Halluel: And yet we...
Halluel: When you were reported missing, we never thought any further than that! It never occurred to us to look for you!
Halluel: We didn't think to question it... And all the while you were suffering so horribly!
Halluel: We weren't thinking at all...
Azrael: Gyee?
Michael: It isn't your fault. The archangels of instruction were made with ability limiters.
Michael: The fault is mine. All this time I haven't been able to do anything for them...
Halluel: Limiters have nothing to do with it!
Michael: ...
Malluel: Michael, we had some sense of our limitations too.
Malluel: But we didn't question it. And we really should have...
Malluel: I'm so sorry, you two.
Azrael: Whimper...
Azrael: Ahh... Waaahh!
Michael: Azrael?
Israfel: Michael...
Israfel: Hal and Mal... you're here too, aren't you?
Halluel: That voice...
Malluel: Iss!
Israfel: I can sense you all... I can't see you, but... I know you're there.
Israfel: I'm sorry... We've caused you so much trouble...
Halluel: Don't apologize! You have nothing to be sorry for!
Malluel: Yeah... Yeah! We're so happy to see you again...
Israfel: Nnh... I want to spend more time with you all...
Israfel: But... you have to go... while I'm in control...
Michael: What? What are you planning, Israfel?
Israfel: Az... Can you hear me?
Israfel: You're tired, aren't you? After drowning in darkness for all this time... Seeing everything around us as our enemy...
Israfel: If we don't do something, we'll only hurt the people we care about... Terrible things will happen to the world... So before that happens... let's you and me take a rest, okay?
Halluel: A rest? Israfel, don't—
Israfel: With every shred of strength we have left... let's plunge these swords—
Malluel: No! Don't do it! Don't you dare—
Israfel: Thank you, everybody. Good night...
Michael: You fool—
Michael: ...!
Halluel: No... It can't be...
Malluel: Nooo!
Israfel: Ugh, c'mon, Az! You're late! We've got an assignment to do!
Azrael: Teeheehee. Sooorry!
Malluel: Where've you been? You weren't in your room this morning.
Halluel: And you've got something on your sleeves. Wait, do I smell—
Azrael: That's right! I was learning how to make bean cakes from a skydweller!
Azrael: Here's one for each of you!
Malluel: Ooh, it looks so good! Thank you!
Halluel: Thanks! You really did a great job.
Israfel: For goodness' sake... Why go through all this trouble just for bean cakes?
Azrael: I made enough for all the primal beasts too. They'll get so obsessed with bean cakes, they won't wanna rebel anymore!
Azrael: Hey, promise me, you guys! After this assignment we'll all hang out together again!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 5: Power - Episode 4
The hooded figure summons Sariel to help him fight Belial, but Belial reawakens Sariel's memories and restores his sanity. Seizing his chance, the hooded figure runs them both through with his spear.
The clash between darkness and darkness splits the blood-red sky and rains ash on everything below.
The unending destruction is visible even from afar, a visual harbinger of the end times.
Then come a sudden flash of light and a deafening roar...
Belial: Hehehe...
Belial: That last round was a thrill and a half. You nearly finished me off.
Belial: But here I am letting you do all the work. You should get to spend some time on your back.
Belial: I want to see you... all worn out and satisfied!
Hooded Figure: You imbecilic—
Belial: Aw... Wasn't it good for you?
Hooded Figure: You bore me. In the end you're the same caliber as Lucifer. Six wings aren't enough to hold my interest.
Hooded Figure: At least put on a show, jester!
Belial: ...!
Hooded Figure: You're not fooling me. You can hardly keep yourself upright.
Belial: Mm, keeping it up this long is a little tiring.
Belial: But I've been pent-up for the last two millennia, and here you are offering to rub me out.
Belial: Let's climax together!
Hooded Figure: Don't waste your ti—
Belial: Anagenesis!
Hooded Figure: Hngh!
Belial: Checkmate. Come on, Bubs, I wanna see you finish!
???: ...
???: Hahhh...
Belial: ...!
Sariel: El, el, elelel...
Belial: Chaos matter... When did you manage to summon him and switch places?
Belial: But... You hung in there, huh, Sarry?
Hooded Figure: Heh heh heh. Surprised? Sleight of hand is supposed to be your domain.
Hooded Figure: How would you like to die? Run through by my spear, or reaped by your comrade's sickle?
Sariel: Comrade...
Belial: ...
Belial: What are you standing around for, Sarry? Cilius is in that casket, you know.
Belial: Aren't you going to welcome your boss home?
Sariel: Hnnh?
Hooded Figure: Useless beast. Your serpent's tongue won't save you now.
Belial: Do you remember... when you compared yourself to a soldier ant?
Belial: But we beasts are sentient. Are you here by your own will?
Belial: Break the chains of this false lord you never agreed to serve. And let's go see how that anthill of yours is doing.
Sariel: Aaah!
Belial: Open your eyes. You and I serve only Cilius!
Sariel: Waaahh!
Belial: Sarry!
Sariel: ...
Sariel: Aah...
Depu... ty?
Depu... ty?
Belial: Hehe...
Belial: Welcome home, Sarry. I'm so glad you're back.
Sariel: Home? But what... is this place? What am I...
Sariel: I can't remember... Is the head researcher in his quarters?
Sariel: I should make my report and ask him to repair my memory—
Sariel: ...?
Belial: Sigh...
Belial: You knew this would happen, didn't you? He was a sacrificial pawn...
Hooded Figure: Feh. Checkmate.
Belial: ...
The hooded figure's spear runs straight through Sariel's back and out Belial's on the other side.
What will become of the fallen angels' millennia of accumulated knowledge and power?
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 6: King - Episode 1
(Captain) arrives at Pandemonium's summit to find Belial gravely wounded and a revived Lucilius running the hooded figure through with a sword. Lucilius's attack sends the hooded figure into the lower reaches of Pandemonium. His demand for a status report from Belial is interrupted by Sandalphon's surprise attack.
Vyrn: Huff... Huff... Finally here. Is this where the fallen angels are hidin'?
Sandalphon: Yes... But something's off. There should have been ruins here serving as a gate, but all I see is rubble.
Lyria: And I sense a whole jumble of auras... It's making my head spin.
Sandalphon: I don't know if this is part of their plan, or if the force field has degraded as a result of the boundary being destroyed—
Sandalphon: ...!
Vyrn: Hey. Um, Sandalphon?
Sandalphon: It can't be...
This aura that's swelling so quickly...
This aura that's swelling so quickly...
Lyria: Do you know who it is? There's another aura, rapidly weakening...
Sandalphon: I do...
(Captain), all of you, follow me!
(Captain), all of you, follow me!
The crew have fought their way through hardship after hardship to reach Pandemonium's summit.
But none of them are prepared to see the sight that awaits.
Belial: Heh... Hehehe...
Belial: Too bad... Taking me doesn't end the game.
Belial: The king is still in play, Bubs!
Hooded Figure: Nnngggh...
Hooded Figure: Luciliuuus!
Lucilius: Hunh... Gave me Lucifer's body, did you?
Hooded Figure: You bastard! Of all the times for you to revive...
Lucilius: I was already revived. I was simply caught between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Lucilius: You're about to experience it firsthand. You won't bounce back from this wound.
Hooded Figure: Gyah!
Lucilius: ...
Belial: Morning, Cilius. You really took your time joining us.
Lucilius: A mundane wake-up call would have sufficed. No need to unleash bedlam.
Belial: I tried, but you just didn't want to get up. So I had to get creative.
Lucilius: Thanks to which I find you in this sorry state. It's so hard to find good help.
Belial: Hahaha... I really worked myself to the bone though. I think I deserve a little praise.
Belial: Right, Sarry?
Sariel: Nh... Hngh...
Lucilius: Silence.
Belial: Yeowch! You kicked me! Right where he stabbed me too!
Lucilius: Why is the world still here? What happened to my grand finale?
Belial: We're just about to kick it off. It's not exactly going smoothly though.
Belial: By the way, how long do you think you've been asleep? It's been two thousand years, you know.
Lucilius: Two thousand years? Give me a status report on the plan and a summary of historical changes.
Belial: Oookay. But first, sorry to put you out, but could you take a look at my fellow skeweree?
Lucilius: Start talking. I can examine him on-site.
Hooded Figure: Nrgh...
Hooded Figure: Foolish of me... to underestimate a drone's work ethic...
Hooded Figure: But this isn't over... I have the powers of chaos and void—I will surpass him...
Hooded Figure: I'll retreat for now, but once my wounds are healed—
Hooded Figure: ...!
Belial: Wahahaha... A single shot, and nothing but a smoking crater left behind...
Belial: History's greatest intellect sheathed in the strongest possible vessel...
Belial: Ohhh, it's too much... I'm getting overstimulated!
Lucilius: ...
Belial: Phew...
Oh dear. Is something wrong?
Oh dear. Is something wrong?
Lucilius: Is Lucifer really dead?
Belial: Come on now. I don't want to talk about him anymore.
Belial: Once the grand finale comes, your buddy and everything else will be returned to nothingness anyhow, so—
Lucilius: Do you think I'd be hampered by sentimentality, you clod?
Lucilius: Don't you sense it? An aura just like his is slinking its way toward us.
Belial: Just like his?
Sandalphon: Paradise Lost!
Belial: Sandy—
Lucilius: Lucifer's—
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 6: King - Episode 2
Lucilius deflects Sandalphon's attack and sets out for the divine tower. Sariel stands between the crew and Belial, and Belial tears off and absorbs Sariel's wings, gaining Avatar's healing abilities and destructive urges. He transforms and attacks the crew.
Sandalphon's attack rains down on Lucilius and his followers.
But Sandalphon's blazing eyes are still searching for something.
Lyria: What a huge explosion... I can't see my hand in front of my face!
Vyrn: Did you get 'em, Sandalphon?
Sandalphon: Damn it, no. Something canceled out my attack.
Sandalphon: Something of equal strength... Something equal to Lucifer's power!
Lucilius: Hmph. So the spare took his place.
Sandalphon: Lucilius! You stole Lucifer's body!
Belial: Stole? Artists can use their creations however they please.
Vyrn: Ugh, it's you!
Shut it, perv! You look like something the cat dragged in!
Shut it, perv! You look like something the cat dragged in!
Belial: Mmm, your down-talk is just as good as I remember, Scaly. I've missed that.
Belial: I had a little falling-out with Bubs, you see. But it was good for us. We really laid ourselves bare and got it all out there.
Belial: I feel like we could really be close someday... if the world weren't going to end before that.
Lyria: You... Why do you look down on this world so much!
Lucilius: The girl in blue and the red dragon. Why do I see the two of them flanking the singularity?
Belial: I wonder? Probably because this singularity is different.
Lucilius: Hunh... The gods' apple cart has overturned, eh?
Sandalphon: Enough chatter! You won't get away with what you've done! I'll never let you!
Sandalphon: You die right here, right now!
Belial: So grumpy!
What shall we do, Cilius? This one's cute, but pretty feisty.
What shall we do, Cilius? This one's cute, but pretty feisty.
Lucilius: Idiotic. My final, divine obstacle awaits.
Lucilius: Belial.
Belial: Oookay. You go on ahead. Have fun at the divine tower, Etemenanki.
Belial: I'll meet up with you later. Let's watch it all disintegrate together.
Lucilius: You're an idiot too.
Sandalphon: Come back here! What are you planning!
Vyrn: Lucilius, you scuzzbucket!
He's heading straight up into the sky!
He's heading straight up into the sky!
Lyria: Divine tower? Etemenanki? I don't like the sound of that at all...
Lyria: We've got to go after him, (Captain)!
Belial: Ooh, how aggressive. You think you can go after Cilius? I saw him first—by two thousand years.
Sandalphon: Don't insult us! You think you're in any condition to stop us?
Belial: Of course—wait.
Belial: You're all going to gang up on beat-up little me?
Belial: That's so mean. I thought the supreme primarch was supposed to be fair, even to his enemies.
Sandalphon: You're not going to slow us down with your prattle.
Belial: Heh... You've gotten even more charming since Canaan.
Belial: You're all grown up now. Did the singularity make a man of you?
Sandalphon: Haaahhh!
Sariel: Don't touch him!
Sandalphon: Sariel! Why are you protecting him?
Sariel: Sandalphon...
Belial: Good to see you back to your senses, Sarry. How are those destructive impulses?
Sariel: Fine... I feel like myself again...
Sariel: It was your words that helped me push back the darkness of the void. Thank you.
Sandalphon: Don't you understand what's happening here? You were just an experiment to the two of them!
Sandalphon: The formation of the fallen angels was only ever to fulfill Lucilius's scheme—
Sariel: I don't care.
Sariel: Primal beasts were always tools... Sentience was an inconvenient by-product of our creation.
Sariel: But the deputy head never treated me as a tool. He gave me assignments suited to my personality rather than my abilities.
Sariel: So I'm fine with this.
Vyrn: But... But you're still being used!
Lyria: I don't know about your past, but... some really awful things have happened to you!
Belial: Beasts' values differ from yours. It's pretty gauche of you to think you can stick your nose in.
Sandalphon: Very well...
Sandalphon: I have a promise to keep. If you stand against me of your own free will, then—
Sariel: That aura... is so beautiful. Just like the supreme primarch's...
Sariel: Deputy Head, Sandalphon is strong. We can't defeat him in our current condition.
Sariel: I will shield you while you regenerate.
Belial: Oookay. I'll get on that regeneration.
Sariel: Yes. Then look for your opportunity to retreat.
Sariel: Have no fear. As one of the fallen angels, I will protect you—
Sariel: ...!
Belial: ...
Lyria: Aaahhh!
Sandalphon: What the—
Sariel, what happened? Your wings—
Sariel, what happened? Your wings—
Belial: You did well, Sarry. Only two wings though... That's odd. You were supposed to have four.
Vyrn: What are you doing, you lunatic! Why would you steal his wings!
Sariel: Depu... ty?
Belial: If I'm going to repair the wounds inflicted by Bubs's chaos matter, I'll need some of Avatar's power.
Belial: Besides, I was curious. Wings tainted by void's destructive impulses... I wanted to taste your core...
Sariel: Aa... ah...
Belial: Thanks. You really were a good little soldier ant.
Belial: Enjoy the grand finale.
Sariel: ...
Lyria: Sariel!
Vyrn: Lyria, there's something wrong with Belial! He's using Sariel's wings to regenerate, but—
Sandalphon: His aura isn't right... This is no mere regeneration!
Belial: Heh heh heh... Eeheeheehee...
Belial: So this is Avatar's thirst for destruction. Like a billion needles shooting through my bloodstream.
Belial: Cilius, I can feel your genius working inside me... Filling me to the brim... The power to drag god from his throne.
Belial: Come on Sandy, Singularity. Take me for a test drive.
Sandalphon: ...!
Here he comes, (Captain)!
Here he comes, (Captain)!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 6: King - Episode 3
Michael joins the crew as they struggle to fight Belial. Sandalphon laments his failure as supreme primarch. Michael assures him that while no one can replace Lucifer, Sandalphon, too, is irreplaceable. She gives him a wing from each of the primarchs, and with their power, Sandalphon faces Belial once more.
Sandalphon: Pant... pant...
Vyrn: What's with this guy? So much destructive power...
Lyria: Urgh... (Captain), at this rate...
The pitched battle seems only to have been a warmup for the eight-winged monstrosity.
Even the supreme primarch's powers might not be a match for this overwhelming strength and the savage intelligence that governs it.
Belial: Weeelll... Not bad.
Belial: Bubs's return was inconvenient, but worth it to get my hands on this power.
Belial: Don'tcha think?
Sandalphon: (Captain), take Lyria and Vyrn and get down!
Sandalphon: Paradise... Lost!
Belial: Ugh, don't you have any new tricks?
Belial: Anagenesis!
Sandalphon: Aaaugh!
Vyrn: Sandalphon! His six wings disappeared!
Belial: Oops. Guess he used up all the supreme primarch's power.
Belial: Well, you were just a temporary replacement anyhow. No way you could've actually mastered it.
Belial: I'll send you to join Lucifer.
Lyria: No! We have to save Sandalphon!
Sandalphon: Hnh... Urgh... Stay back, (Captain).
Belial: So long, Sandy.
???: Sandalphon—
Michael: Looks like I made it in time...
Sandalphon: Michael!
Belial: Mikey? Never thought you'd take a bullet for Sandalphon.
Belial: Guess you two were closer than I thought. But what good is it saving this husk of a supreme primarch?
Michael: Hunh... We're on the worst possible terms... But I would rather die...
Michael: Than see the supreme primarch lose to a fallen angel!
Belial: Fwahaha... You've really got guts.
Vyrn: Thanks, Michael! But we'll take it from here!
Michael: Don't worry about me. Compared to what happened to the twins, this wound is nothing...
Lyria: Oh no! Are Hal and Mal—
Michael: My apologies. They only suffered light wounds, but—
Michael: Hngh!
Sandalphon: Before anything else, you need treatment. It's my shortcomings that forced you to do this.
Michael: Hnh... You've truly grown into your role...
Michael: ...
Michael: Sandalphon. Take these wings.
Sandalphon: Wings? These... belong to the four primarchs!
Michael: Be careful. I don't know if they'll meld well with you. That's why I didn't hand them over earlier—
Belial: Well then. Done with your huddle?
Vyrn: Yikes! He's coming this way!
Michael: Sandalphon. Of course you're struggling to fill Lucifer's role. He was irreplaceable.
Michael: But no one can replace you either. It's your turn to bring about your own vision for the future.
Sandalphon: My own vision...
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: (Captain). You, Michael, and the others take cover.
Lyria: O-okay! But what about you, Sandalphon?
Sandalphon: I'm going to handle him.
Belial: Well, well. The world hasn't seen you like this since the cataclysms...
Belial: So the four primarchs entrusted you with their wings. But with the supreme primarch's power already inside you, you must be fit to burst.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: I'm going to finish this. It's time to settle the score between the archangels and the fallen angels...
Sandalphon: And between you and me!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 6: King - Episode 4
Belial tries to rattle Sandalphon by talking about Lucifer's death, but (Captain) is able to keep Sandalphon focused. Katalina and the others arrive to help. Belial realizes that (Captain) was the one element their plan didn't account for and attempts to eliminate them all.
Sandalphon: Hrraaahhh!
Belial: Heh heh heh heh!
Belial: You're really into the rough stuff, Sandy. All about the power play with you.
Belial: Still, I'm impressed. Taking what Lucifer and all the primarchs had to give you and still giving me a respectable tussle—
Sandalphon: Ain Soph Aur!
Belial: ...!
Belial: Wow, puberty is just hitting you like a freight train, huh?
Archangel and fallen angel, each bearing the marks of unfamiliar powers, remain locked in stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand.
But as they dance in their borrowed finery, the grand finale curtain looms above the stage.
Vyrn: Sandalphon, you've got this! Hang in there!
Lyria: Michael, is Sandalphon going to be okay handling all those extra wings?
Michael: His will is stronger than I expected. He seems to have assimilated them.
Michael: (Captain), this is our chance! We need to back him up!
Belial: Oh, Mikey and the others want to join in?
Belial: I'm a little disappointed though. You're no fun when you're stable, Sandy.
Belial: You're only yourself when you're a wreck.
Sandalphon: I'll finish this with my next attack, fallen angel.
Belial: Hey, Sandy? You wanna know how Lucifer died?
Sandalphon: ...!
Vyrn: Hey! He's running his mouth again!
Lyria: What? How Lucifer... died?
Michael: Sandalphon! Don't let him pour his poison in your ear!
Belial: Hehehe. You must be curious.
Belial: It was in that great hall in Canaan. Bubs ran Lucifer through with his black spear. That was pretty much it for him right there.
Belial: But didn't you think it was strange? Even if Lucifer was mortally wounded, he should have been able to get off a retaliatory shot or two.
Belial: His hands were tied. He was standing in front of an angel's cradle.
Sandalphon: A cradle? Where I was sleeping after the cataclysms...
Belial: The only flaw in his perfect defenses... the only time he ever wavered... was cleaning up the mess you made, Sandalphon.
Belial: You want revenge on the fallen angels? Even though you're the reason he died?
Sandalphon: I... killed him...
Sandalphon: ...
Belial: Aw... It's no fun breaking you if you come to heel so easy.
Vyrn: Back off, pervert! Leave him alone!
Lyria: That's awful... To Sandalphon and to Lucifer...
Michael: Get up, Sandalphon! He's just manipulating you!
Sandalphon: ...
- Remember the promise you made him.
- Someday we'll apologize to him together.
- You heard his last words, Sandalphon.
Choose: Remember the promise you made him.
Sandalphon: (Captain)...
Sandalphon: That's right. I made Lucifer a promise. No matter what anyone says...
Sandalphon: I will keep my word!
Choose: Someday we'll apologize to him together.
Sandalphon: What do you have to apologize for, (Captain)?
Sandalphon: Heh... You really are a strange one. But thank you for that sentiment.
Choose: You heard his last words, Sandalphon.
Sandalphon: (Captain)...
Lucifer's last words...
Lucifer's last words...
Sandalphon: Yes... I'm sorry. I'm fine. I won't allow this serpent to ensnare me.
Continue 1Belial: ...
Belial: I got the order wrong. I should have taken you out first, Singularity.
Belial: Skydwellers should learn to keep their noses out of celestial affairs.
Vyrn: Look out, (Captain)! He's coming!
Lyria: I-I won't let you—
Belial: ...!
Katalina: Haaahhh!
Belial: Reinforcements? How did your crew get here!
Katalina: Are you all right, Lyria? Everyone's here to help!
Rackam: Keep up your guard! He's changed since we saw him in Canaan!
Eugen: (Captain)! We'll pin him down with cover fire while you guys regroup!
Sandalphon: Thank you! We're counting on you!
Io: You won't get away this time, Canaan creep!
Rosetta: We have children onboard. You shouldn't even be allowed in the same skydom as them.
Belial: Sigh... Meddlers just rising out of the ground like earthworms after the rain.
Belial: But that's the way the singularity's influence works—a ripple that turns into a tidal wave.
Belial: I'd planned for the primarchs' resistance, Bubs's betrayal, and the development of Sandy's potential.
Belial: The only wild card was you, Singularity.
Michael: Steel yourselves, everyone! This is it!
Sandalphon: (Captain)! Let's settle things with him once and for all!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 7: 0 - Episode 1
A defeated Belial tries to convince the crew that the grand finale is in fact all primal beasts' salvation. Lyria and the others insist that they will never give up on keeping the sky blue. With the parting words, "There's no reason why the sky has to be blue," Belial throws himself off the top of Pandemonium.
After nearly two thousand years of pulling strings from the shadows, the fallen angel of cunning is at last brought to his knees.
Sandalphon and the crew take a moment to catch their breath before warily approaching.
Belial: ...
Sandalphon: It's over. You've got nothing left.
Sandalphon: Now tell me. How do we stop Pandemonium?
Belial: You think I'll tell you? This late in the game?
Vyrn: You just don't know when to quit!
Lyria: Please! Give up your plan to return the world to nothingness...
Belial: I'm only joking. I'll tell you... If you lay a little sugar on me.
Rackam: We don't have time for your jokes!
Belial: What a thrilling weapon. There's just something about that explosive release.
Eugen: H-hey, Michael! When did you grab my gun?
Michael: I'm sick of your voice. We'll find the solution ourselves.
Michael: Someone bring me Sariel's scythe.
Belial: Why the hurry, Mikey? What are you afraid of? Think I'll run off on you again?
Michael: I'm not interested in bandying words with you, serpent.
Belial: Don't glare at me like that. What's become of my adorable little trainee?
Belial: And you're all missing the point. The grand finale is also the beasts' salvation, you know.
Sandalphon: Enough of your sophistry.
Belial: Yours especially, Michael.
Belial: Beasts were created to toil thanklessly for our masters, undying, for all eternity.
Belial: Archangels bound by their allotted roles, modern beasts bound by contracts. Behind that awesome power is a yawning emptiness.
Io: Maybe in the past! Primal beasts can lead normal lives now!
Belial: Normal? I guess from your limited perspective it might seem that way.
Io: Limited perspective?
Belial: You understanding skyfarers welcomed Sandy into the fold even though he was hated and feared for causing the cataclysms.
Belial: But in a hundred years' time? Or a thousand? Who will be there in your place to sympathize with him?
Belial: His friends who understand will die off one by one, and the task of protecting an ungrateful world will wear on him, but he will live on forever—alone, misunderstood, laboring in futility.
Belial: I simply want to free him from that cycle.
Rosetta: You don't get to decide for us that our lives are meaningless. You're talking about extremes as if they were the rule.
Belial: What did skydwellers ever give Lucifer in return for his efforts? He did battle with the enemies of the sky all his life, and did its inhabitants even know his name?
Rosetta: ...
Sandalphon: Still your tongue. You're not fit to say his name.
Sandalphon: If you want to see the end so badly, I'll end you! You can apologize to the other archangels in the hereaf—
Katalina: What's happening! Pandemonium is shaking again!
Belial: Probably the chaos starting to seep in. The skies turning crimson will be quite the sight to see.
Belial: Well then...
Michael: Come back here! You think you can escape in your condition?
Vyrn: Give it up already! We're not gonna let you turn the sky red!
Lyria: Th-that's right! We'll get our blue skies back!
Belial: Your blue skies, hm?
Belial: Why are you so hung up on that? Don't you have any questions, any suspicions about how the world works?
Belial: Logic, causality, and the laws of physics are nothing more than tools of the gods' convenience.
Belial: There's no reason why the sky has to be blue.
Sandalphon: ...!
Belial: Enjoy the grand finale.
Sandalphon: Don't you dare! You don't get to end your own life!
Belial: This time, it really is goodbye.
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 7: 0 - Episode 2
The hooded figure attempts to retreat to the Crimson Horizon, but his way is barred by Halluel wielding Azrael's swords. Just as Halluel's defeat looms, Malluel arrives with Lancelot, Cagliostro, and more allies in tow.
Hooded Figure: Mrgh...
Hooded Figure: This is pitiful...
Hooded Figure: I will have my revenge for this humiliation... Once I return to the Crimson Horizon and replenish my stores...
Gravely wounded by Lucilius's attack, the cloaked man finds himself in the lower reaches of Pandemonium.
He drags himself downward, blood pumping between his fingers as he endeavors to staunch the flow, trailing gore in his wake.
Halluel: Found you.
Hooded Figure: ...
Halluel: You're the one who gave Az and Iss these black swords. You were the one pulling their strings.
Halluel: The one who used pain and fear to warp their bodies and souls!
Halluel: Why! What could be worth that kind of cruelty!
Hooded Figure: Give me those blades. Chaos matter is a very scarce substance.
Halluel: Answer me!
Hooded Figure: Who do you think you're talking to? I'm not so badly wounded that I answer to drones.
Hooded Figure: Out of my way.
Halluel: Answer me!
Hooded Figure: Hm?
Hooded Figure: That's not the power of a two-winged archangel.
Hooded Figure: Your limiter must be malfunctioning... Otherwise a lesser archangel would never dare to buzz at me.
Halluel: I'm going to avenge them. For everything you put them through!
Hooded Figure: Heh. Ludicrous.
Hooded Figure: Do you cry for every broken tool you discard?
Hooded Figure: I have no obligation to answer your questions or quell your doubts. Tools like you were made for the use of your betters.
Halluel: We!
Halluel: Do not!
Halluel: Exist to be used!
Halluel: Ahh!
Hooded Figure: Don't get carried away. Your sentience is merely the byproduct of an algorithm. An unintentional side effect of crafting autonomous tools.
Hooded Figure: A tool that can't fulfill its purpose isn't worth keeping. I'll dispose of you along with those swords.
Halluel: Pant... Pant...
Halluel: How... dare you... call the two of them tools—
Azrael: H-hi there! My name's Az, and this is my sister, Iss! You're Hal and Mal, right?
Halluel: I'm proud to have been their friend. I won't let you talk that way about them—
Israfel: I'm so grateful to you and Mal. Az used to be pretty gloomy, but being around the two of you has had such a positive impact on her.
Halluel: I'll never forgive you!
Hooded Figure: ...!
Halluel: One blow! What do you think of the archangels of instruction now!
Hooded Figure: You...
Hooded Figure: Little nuisance... I had intended to conserve my strength...
Hooded Figure: But I can't waste time on trash like you!
Malluel: Hal!
Hooded Figure: Ugh! More drones!
Halluel: Mal!
Malluel: Sorry I'm late! I brought backup!
Lancelot: We defeated all the watchers! We have Pandemonium completely surrounded!
Cagliostro: For an Astral, you're pretty twisted, messing around with void and chaos... And from the look on your face, I'd say you've got something else nasty up your sleeve.
Hooded Figure: Feh... You filthy skyroaches...
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 7: 0 - Episode 3
The four primarchs join the crew atop Pandemonium and use their powers to begin repairing the dimensional boundary. (Captain) and crew turn their eyes heavenward, knowing the next thing they must do is defeat Lucilius.
Gabriel: Thank you for catching me up. So that serpent really fell to the bottom of the sky...
Michael: Yes. And now the alliance are tracking down the remaining fallen angels? I'd like to help them, but...
Sandalphon: But the grand finale is still in motion. The boundary is wavering and the Otherworlders are agitated.
Uriel: Things are getting dicey... You have any bright ideas?
Raphael: It may not be the most elegant solution, but I don't think we have a choice. The four of us will have to use brute force to reseal it.
The four primarchs are gathered at the summit of Pandemonium, battered and bloody.
Defeating the greater part of the fallen angels has not stopped the rumblings in Pandemonium, and they need a solution fast.
Vyrn: Brute force? What're you gonna do?
Gabriel: Wait and see. I got the idea from something at the testing facility.
Lyria: But you guys are badly wounded... Pushing yourselves might make it worse...
Michael: Never fear. You're about to see just what we're made of.
Michael: Sandalphon. Give us your authorization.
Sandalphon: Authorization?
Michael: Get your head out of the clouds. You're the supreme primarch, even if you are wet behind the ears.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael...
Sandalphon: I command you to halt the destruction of the dimensional boundary and prevent the fallen angels' grand finale.
At the supreme primarch's word, the four primarchs take flight.
They form a ring, and the air between them begins to shimmer with four distinct colors as they pool their powers.
Katalina: Amazing... The rumbling is gradually subsiding...
Io: It's so beautiful... It looks like a scene from a master's painting...
Rosetta: It truly does. I think the cracks in the boundary are being filled in. They might even be sealing weaknesses that had always been there.
Io: Really? What'll happen once the cracks have all been repaired?
Rosetta: I'm guessing... the skies will feel far less influence from the Crimson Horizon. Maybe the red skies around here could even turn blue again.
Sandalphon: Yes...
Sandalphon: (Captain). These repairs will take time to complete, but the grand finale has been averted for the moment.
Sandalphon: But the ultimate threat that is Lucilius remains. I think we have to chase him down.
Vyrn: You bet your 'buncles we do! But what's he planning anyway?
Lyria: He said he was going to Etemenanki... That's someplace really high up in the sky?
Eugen: You say Etemenanki? That's the name of the divine tower in the creation myth.
Eugen: How'd it go? The Omnipotent was supposed to use that place to communicate with people, to provide guidance, or somethin' like that.
Vyrn: Wow, vague enough for ya?
Eugen: Whaddya expect from a myth? But it would kinda make sense given Lucilius's plan.
Lyria: Right. We heard him say in the Celestial Strait—the grand finale is a rebellion against god.
Rackam: We'll hafta ask him in person. Although the Grandcypher's kinda stuck where she landed. Repairs're complete, but...
Rackam: We need to figure out some way to pull her loose before we go on any wild Astral chases.
Sierokarte: Everybody! I'm so happy you're okay!
Vyrn: Siero! Am I glad to see you in one piece!
Lyria: You're here too, Siero? Aren't you needed with the fleet?
Sierokarte: It's okay! Right now I'm scouting the area on a big airship...
Sierokarte: Oh! We saw the Grandcypher was stuck in the side of Pandemonium, so we used our crane to pull her free.
All Three: Are you serious!
Sierokarte: Y-yes?
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 7: 0 - Episode 4
With the primal beast cores he's absorbed, the hooded Astral seems almost invincible. Lancelot and the others do their best to keep the hooded figure busy while Cagliostro prepares to test the theory of a primal beast containment field she discovered at the fallen angels' testing facility.
Albert: Haahh!
Hooded Figure: Too slow!
Charlotta: Albert! I need to use your shoulder!
Charlotta: Taaahhh!
Hooded Figure: You think I'll be baited by such an obvious feint?
Hooded Figure: Imbecile!
Lancelot: ...!
He anticipated my next move!
He anticipated my next move!
Naoise: Then I'll run him through!
Hooded Figure: Enough! I'll put an end to your ridiculous acrobatics—
Ilsa: Fall back, you two, and prepare to follow my attack!
Hooded Figure: That gun... That's ancient technology...
Hooded Figure: More pests. First drones, now fruit flies buzzing around my ears.
As the primarchs work atop Pandemonium to restore the dimensional boundary, knights of the alliance battle the cloaked Astral in the lower reaches of the cage.
Despite his grave wounds, the mysterious figure shrugs off the skydwellers' fiercest attacks.
Halluel: I'm begging you all... Avenge the archangels!
Malluel: Cagliostro... Does that containment field you mentioned really exist?
Cagliostro: The method for sealing primal beasts? Depends how smart Lucilius really was.
Cagliostro: But Pandemonium itself was constructed to bind primal beasts to another dimension, and imprison their power.
Cagliostro: To be fair I've got a shipload of doubts. I mean, does cloak-boy really even have a primal's aura?
Halluel: I'm sure that's what I'm sensing. He must have implanted a primal's core somewhere in his body.
Cagliostro: So he's an Astral-primal chimera. Which explains why he's so much stronger than a skydweller.
Cagliostro: Well, I'm going to bet on your aura-reading skills. This plan's a total bust if your theory's wrong though.
Malluel: Right, since that field is only meant to contain primal beasts...
I wonder if he actually chose to have that core implanted of his own free will.
I wonder if he actually chose to have that core implanted of his own free will.
Cagliostro: Must be another eccentric like Lucilius. No wonder he threw in with the fallen angels—
Watcher: Kyahahaha!
Watcher: Eeeheeheehee!
Cagliostro: Watchers! Did he summon the survivors back here to help him?
Watcher: Ungyaaah!
Charlotta: Whoa!
You coward! How dare you attack from behind!
You coward! How dare you attack from behind!
Hooded Figure: Fool. Blame your own lack of both strategy and ability.
Charlotta: Aaagghh!
Lancelot: Charlotta!
Watchers: Kyahahaha!
Eeeheeheehee!
Eeeheeheehee!
Lancelot: Out. Of my. Waaayyy!
Naoise: Uwaaugh!
Ilsa: Naoise!
Ilsa: That bilge-drinking monster... Is he actually even wounded?
Hooded Figure: Don't lump me in with your kind, you pitiful fruit fly.
Hooded Figure: Banding together has only prolonged your suffering... Prepare for extinction.
Albert: Huff... Huff...
Don't mince words, do you?
Don't mince words, do you?
Albert: Isn't Cagliostro ready yet? We have to buy her enough time...
Hooded Figure: What became of all your earlier bravado? Have you come to terms with your place in the hierarchy?
Hooded Figure: I'll reward that progress with a swift death—
Halluel: Haaahhh!
Hooded Figure: Foolish drones! Your struggles are meaningless!
Hooded Figure: Hnh!
Watcher: Kyaha?
Halluel: Can you stand, everyone? The two of us are better suited to fight the watchers!
Malluel: You guys concentrate on the man in the cloak! Cagliostro just needs a little more time!
Lancelot: Understood! I know we're up to the challenge!
Charlotta: We'll keep him busy until she can erect the containment field!
Naoise: Defense is my specialty... Let me stand as the world's shield!
Hooded Figure: Arrogant insects! Even if my entrails lay writhing on the floor, you couldn't so much as hinder me!
Hooded Figure: Die!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 7: 0 - Episode 4: Scene 2
Cagliostro activates the primal beast containment field, sealing the hooded figure—who vanishes. With all the fallen angels defeated, the crew boards the repaired Grandcypher and sails for Etemenanki.
Albert: Hrrraaah!
Hooded Figure: Ngh! How long will you prolong this futile struggle!
Hooded Figure: The heroism of weaklings! Laughable!
Ilsa: Pant... Pant...
Your narcissism makes me puke.
Your narcissism makes me puke.
Ilsa: Cagliostro!
Cagliostro: Enjoy the opening act? Well, the headliner's here!
Hooded Figure: What! A beast containment field?
Hooded Figure: Where did you get Astral tech—
Lancelot: Here he comes! Defend Cagliostro with your lives!
Hooded Figure: Too slow—
Halluel: Got you!
Malluel: This is for Az and Iss and Lucifer!
Hooded Figure: Nrgh!
Cagliostro: Hahaha! Who's the insect now!
Cagliostro: So long, sucker! Enjoy your life sentence!
Hooded Figure: Nyurrrgh!
Hooded Figure: No! How did they activate this field? Its existence was classified!
Hooded Figure: Don't tell me... That bastard left the plans among the documents at the testing site... so the singularity's friends would find them...
Hooded Figure: ...!
Naoise: The light faded... So was the containment a success?
Charlotta: That was splendid!
Lancelot: Hahaha... We all look like we've been through hell. Let's get back to an alliance ship.
Cagliostro: Yeesh... That was about a century's worth of work packed into a day. The rest is up to (Captain) and the others.
Halluel: Wow... We really pulled it off...
Malluel: Yeah... I hope Az and Iss are watching, somewhere.
The skydweller alliance has saved the dimensional boundary from destruction and defeated the two fallen angels hiding out in Pandemonium.
One final threat remains. The Grandcypher turns her prow toward Etemenanki.
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 8: 00 - Episode 1
Lucilius walks through a corridor in Etemenanki whose walls are covered in murals depicting the time of creation. As he peruses these records, Lucilius is joined by someone who looks exactly like him. The look-alike leads Lucilius to the divine chamber at the end of the corridor.
Etemenanki. A structure wreathed in mystery, floating at the pinnacle of the sky.
A tower by that name appears frequently in creation myth: a holy place where god and the inhabitants of the world could communicate.
Within, the stillness of millennia is broken by the footsteps of a solitary man strolling down the corridor which pierces the building's core.
Lucilius: Hmm... I see.
Lucilius: An interior volumetrically incongruent with the structure's exterior measurements, and built of material from the dawn of time.
Lucilius: Like an incredibly technologically advanced mausoleum. No wonder the High Council kept it secret.
Lucilius: It falls within the scope of my hypotheses...
Lucilius: ...
Lucilius: Too perfectly, in fact. I can't explain it.
Lucilius: This level of overlap between my deductions and reality cannot be attributed to coincidence—
Lucilius: Murals. I see. The images are formed by arranging a host of colored elements, suspended between layered force fields.
Lucilius: A historical record... from the time of creation?
Lucilius: The Speaker, entrusted with the will of the Omnipotent, spread the word throughout the skies...
Lucilius: Ancient people's desire for self-determination, their subsequent uprising and victory...
Lucilius: As a result of which god split his body in two—one half remaining in the skies, the other leaving to create the world of the Astrals...
Lucilius: Hmph... Apparently my theories were correct.
Lucilius: After the split, the sky god and Astral god went to war with each other. Each hoping to meld with the other and achieve ascendance, their proxy wars continued throughout our history.
Lucilius: Skydwellers and Astrals alike used as tools of homeostasis...
Lucilius: What a miserable existence.
???: People are not tools.
Lucilius: ...!
???: Welcome. I have been waiting for you.
Lucilius: Lucifer?
???: We will speak in the divine chamber. It lies at the end of this corridor.
Lucilius: ...
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 8: 00 - Episode 2
Haunted by Belial's words, Sandalphon agonizes over Lucifer's thankless millennia of sacrifice. When the Grandcypher proves unable to reach Etemenanki's altitude, Sandalphon uses the power gifted to him by the four primarchs to transport the crew there, leaving Sierokarte at the airship's helm.
The Grandcypher takes a spiraling course heavenward, bound for Etemenanki.
The higher it climbs, the clearer and bluer the surrounding sky becomes.
Vyrn: Mmm-hm! I definitely prefer my skies blue!
Lyria: Me too! That unbroken blue is so comforting!
Sierokarte: Hehehehe! It really is a calming color!
Io: Look, look! The red around Pandemonium is starting to fade.
Rosetta: It's beginning to go back to normal. The dimensional boundary must be almost fully restored.
Vyrn: The four primarchs really know their stuff. But are they gonna be okay pushing themselves in their condition? They really shoulda given that boundary some TLC a long time ago.
Rosetta: It never seemed to present any real threat before. The whole concept of the dimensional boundary was always so vague.
Rosetta: What's strange is just how much Lucilius knew about it.
Lyria: Come to think of it, why did he? Are smart people just extra intuitive?
Io: Intuition is a kind of intelligence. Your knowledge and experience weave together in your head, and produce those flashes of inspiration faster than you can consciously process.
Io: That's what Master said, anyhow!
Katalina: I can see that.
Katalina: (Captain), sorry to interrupt your rest, but could you come with me? Sandalphon's on lookout duty and—
Sandalphon: Bluuurgh...
Rackam: You look like hell. Is the spiraling bothering you that much?
Eugen: Well, it's rough on a rookie skyfarer.
C'mon, you better lie down.
C'mon, you better lie down.
Sandalphon: D-don't you talk down to me... The final showdown awaits. I can't just... lie on my...
Vyrn: Hahaha, still being a problem patient, huh? Take a load off, Queasyphon.
Lyria: Oh no... I'll get you some airsickness medicine, okay? There must be something in Siero's special first aid kit.
Sierokarte: You betcha! It's a special pharmaceutical selection available exclusively to my best customers!
Sandalphon: Don't make me laugh... The supreme primarch doesn't need common remedies...
Rackam: Sure, sure.
But Lyria, that's only a preventative. It's not gonna do anything for him once he's started tossing his cookies.
But Lyria, that's only a preventative. It's not gonna do anything for him once he's started tossing his cookies.
Eugen: Maybe a hangover cure would work better. Eh, just pour a bunch of random potions down 'is throat and one of 'em's gotta do the trick.
Katalina: Haha. No, we're not going to encourage that kind of dangerous behavior. Let's have a proper look and find something appropriate.
Lyria: Okay! (Captain), you take care of Sandalphon while we dig around.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: (Captain)... My apologies for this pitiful display.
Sandalphon: The supreme primarch is supposed to be the one looking after others. Not the reverse.
Choose: Don't let it ruffle your feathers.
Sandalphon: But... Lucifer never would have...
Choose: More like supreme puker.
Sandalphon: Rub it in, why don't you. I can't fill Lucifer's shoes.
Choose: This is just like you, Sandalphon.
Sandalphon: Well... I didn't inherit Lucifer's personality. Only his powers.
Continue 1Sandalphon: I wonder what he was thinking, all those years.
Sandalphon: He was always there, our perfect guiding light, performing his role with no thanks from anyone.
Sandalphon: Eternal isolation... Suffering without surcease... Such a hollow cycle.
Sandalphon: I hate to admit it, but that serpent's words were not all empty sophistry.
Sandalphon: What drove Lucifer to—
Sandalphon: Hm? What is that, floating above us?
Sandalphon: Etemenanki! I can't believe it... It's so far up...
Vyrn: Are you kidding me? Even an airship can't get that high. How're we supposed to reach it?
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: There's no other choice. I'll try using the power of the primarchs' wings.
Lyria: Oh! Come to think of it, they do teleport around sometimes...
Sandalphon: That's the blessing of the tetra-elements. I've never attempted to harness them myself, but it's our only option.
Rackam: You sure about this? I mean... I guess we can't turn back now...
Rackam: Siero, can you take care of the Grandcypher for us?
Sierokarte: Leave it to me! I'll be rooting for you, everyone!
Lyria: Thank you!
Sandalphon: Are you ready? Let's catch up to Lucilius.
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 8: 00 - Episode 3
Lucilius's mirror image introduces himself as Lucio—the Omnipotent's "Speaker." Lucilius, upon learning that he is Lucio's imperfect copy, not only refuses to abandon his rebellion against god, but decides to absorb Lucio into his core in order to attain perfection.
At the end of the corridor in Etemenanki is a wide, featureless space lit by a faint, cold light.
Two pairs of footsteps come to a halt, and a suffocating silence descends.
???: Make yourself at home. May I introduce myself?
Lucilius: I know you, Speaker.
Lucilius: He who relays the will of the Omnipotent to the people. A servant made by god's own hand.
???: You are laboring under a slight misapprehension, but in the main, you are correct.
Lucio: Well then, to the matter of names. In recent years, I have called myself Lucio.
Lucilius: What was the point of aping everything about me, down to my name? You expect to impress me with parlor tricks?
Lucio: I? Aped you?
Lucilius: ...
Lucio: Well, no matter. I truly have been waiting for you.
Lucio: I'm sure you've guessed already, but I would like you to call off your grand finale.
Lucio: Not only your current plan. I would like you to abandon rebellion entirely.
Lucilius: All for the sake of the absent Omnipotent. What does any of this mean to you?
Lucio: Because he split in twain, the god of the sky and the god of the stars are collectively my master.
Lucio: True, they are warring in order to fuse once more, but that conflict is none of my concern.
Lucio: I leave the fate of the world to the laws of causality and content myself to observe. Except in the case of certain outliers...
Lucilius: So you won't meddle in the conflict between the gods, but you will intervene in a third party's affairs?
Lucio: Precisely. The influence of powers not held by the gods must be eliminated.
Lucio: I cannot turn a blind eye to an invasion from the Otherworld, or the encroachment of chaos. Or to your actions.
Lucilius: I see. The Speaker's job description is rather ill-defined.
Lucilius: Siding neither with the sky nor the stars, you are the unseen stage manager, influencing the play from behind the scenes.
Lucio: I enjoy my role as stage manager. It gives me no joy to remove a splendid actor from—
Lucilius: Disgusting.
Lucilius: Eliminating third parties? I have no interest in your stance on the matter.
Lucilius: Fusion or what have you—it's all a matter of the gods' convenience. Just a material extension of the same homeostasis. I conceived of my grand finale to do away with that self-righteous egotism.
Lucio: ...
Lucilius: Here I thought you might have something interesting to impart. Get out of my sight and exercise your free will to die.
Lucio: Why do you hate god so deeply?
Lucilius: Why do you revere him so highly?
Lucilius: What is a god, anyhow? It's a label skydwellers apply to anything they come together to worship...
Lucilius: But your master is different. We know nothing about him except that he made the world. He's no more than a painted backdrop glimpsed when we envision the drama of creation.
Lucio: My master... is a being from another dimension, possessed of a great will.
Lucio: It is believed that he poured his love into every aspect of his creation in pursuit of a perfect world.
Lucilius: A perfect world? Made with love?
Is using people as pawns in his divine civil war also a display of his affection?
Is using people as pawns in his divine civil war also a display of his affection?
Lucio: Splitting himself in two was an aberration... If he did not fight, the world where he lived would be consumed.
Lucio: People were created in order to work toward the perfection of the world.
Lucilius: No, thank you. I live for myself.
Lucio: Of course you are free to so choose. But your interference with the gods'—
Lucilius: I have no intention of negotiating for permission. Freedom with restrictions is not freedom.
Lucio: ...
Lucio: How strange that my clone should be so resistant to my will.
Lucilius: Clone?
Lucio: When the god of the stars undertook to create a new world, he based it on the one he had left behind...
Lucio: The building blocks of matter, the fundamentals of ecology, and people's appearances, for example.
Lucio: As well as his Speaker.
Lucilius: ...
Lucio: Even if you were not an exact copy, you must have noticed some phenomena that defied explanation, have you not?
Lucio: Information in the back of your mind you had no opportunity to come by. Experience that seemed to be imparted by dreams.
Lucio: More telling still is the primal beast you created in your own image.
Lucio: Knowing as you did the true form of god's perfect Speaker, you instinctively felt your own shortcomings.
Lucio: And so you created Lucifer, to complete yourself.
Lucilius: So I'm an imitation Speaker... And you're the original...
Lucilius: Heh... Hahaha...
Lucio: Do you not believe me? If you give me some time, I can produce the evidence.
Lucilius: Hahaha... No need for that. I'm sure you know what you're talking about.
Lucilius: But I really couldn't ask for a more fortuitous turn of events. Here I was needing some extra power to destroy the divine tower.
Lucilius: If I'm imperfect... absorbing you into my core ought to rectify the problem.
Lucio: ...
Lucio: Lucilius... Can nothing dissuade you from your rebellion against the gods?
Lucilius: Nothing. I will bring down the curtain on this miserable farce.
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 8: 00 - Episode 4
(Captain) and crew arrive in Etemenanki and learn from the murals that the creation myths they know are half historical fact. A sudden explosion shakes the tower, and they hurry to the end of the corridor to investigate.
The crew teleports into Etemenanki and follows the corridor leading to the center of the tower.
As they peruse the ancient murals, the skyfarers come to realize that the creation myth they've heard is half based in fact.
Vyrn: Hmm... Not sure I get the particulars, but this dragony dude is the Omnipotent?
Rackam: Well, probably, yeah. I mean, look at how he's posed. You can kinda tell he's important.
Io: That's some pretty half-baked reasoning, Rackam. But who's that next to him?
Rosetta: The Speaker? The writing is so old even I can't read it. I'd love to have Cagliostro look at it.
Eugen: Good thing we're not here to take a history test. First we've gotta stop Lucilius.
Sandalphon: Agreed. The historical background is of no import. Even if we've dealt with the plan, we can't afford to leave its mastermind at large.
Lyria: ...
Katalina: Why the long face, Lyria? Don't you feel well?
Lyria: Oh. No. Just sort of a strange feeling.
Lyria: I feel kind of unsettled... Like when there's an agitated primal beast nearby?
Vyrn: Huh?
Hey, Lyria? Why's your back glowing?
Hey, Lyria? Why's your back glowing?
Lyria: Fwuh? Oh. The light's coming from...
Katalina: You brought that white plume with you? The one that drifted onto the ship after the cataclysms...
Lyria: It's my lucky charm. Sometimes I like to wear it on my dress...
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: As I told you before, your latent powers originated in the distant past.
Sandalphon: This structure dates back to the same era... What you're feeling might be its influence on your summoning abilities.
Lyria: O-oh. I guess something about it does feel... sorta ancient...
Sandalphon: Heh. No need to humor me.
Sandalphon: But do you really feel all right? Just in case, I brought along the first aid—
Vyrn: Whoooa! What just blew up?
Lyria: I think... someone's fighting? At the end of this hallway!
Sandalphon: You're right! Let's go, (Captain)!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 9: 000 - Episode 1
The crew arrives at the heart of Etemenanki and finds Lucilius waiting, alone, seemingly untroubled despite the failure of his plan. The crew is shocked to discover that his new plan is to drop Etemenanki from the heavens, destroying Pandemonium and the dimensional boundary to complete his grand finale.
Vyrn: Huff... Puff...
What's up with this room!
What's up with this room!
Lyria: Th-there's someone in there! Someone's standing in the center—
Sandalphon: Lucilius!
Lucilius: Well, if it isn't the spare.
At the center of that wide open space the crew sees Lucilius, king of the fallen angels.
He stands in a lake of blood, with what appears to be a large swath of old, tattered fabric at his feet.
Rackam: Easy, Sandalphon. There's somethin' extra weird about him.
Katalina: Yes. Where did all that blood come from? He seems to be the only one here. Was there someone else?
Sandalphon: ...
Lucilius: So Belial's dead, is he?
Sandalphon: That's right. We finished him.
Sandalphon: The skydwellers dealt with your fallen angels. The four primarchs are repairing the dimensional boundary. Pandemonium is under control.
Sandalphon: Archangels and skydwellers joined forces to put a stop to your little plan!
Lucilius: My plan? A pathetic scheme further butchered by those two fools.
Lucilius: It was outdated. It needed to be scrapped and reconceived to compensate for all the changes the world has undergone since I was incapacitated.
Lucilius: As a result, Lucifer is dead, and I find the spare primarch barking at me.
Io: Wh-why you! What a sore loser. Just admit your plan was a failure!
Lucilius: Yes, the one I entrusted to them was indeed a failure.
Io: Huh?
Io: Ha... Haha! I guess you're a better loser than I thought!
Lucilius: ...
Rosetta: "The one you entrusted to them"? Strange how you phrased that...
Rosetta: Don't tell me—
Lucilius: The plan you foiled was but one of many.
Lucilius: I have countless backups.
Eugen: Whoa! What's goin' on!
Eugen: Why do I feel... so light?
Etemenanki's falling!
Etemenanki's falling!
Sandalphon: What!
You! What are you planning?
You! What are you planning?
Lucilius: It's going to take quite a large mass to destroy the dimensional boundary.
Lucilius: Dropped from this height, Etemenanki should plunge straight through Pandemonium and the boundary, leaving a geyser of chaos in its place.
Vyrn: You loon! That explosion just now was you knocking this place outta the sky...
Lyria: Y-you still haven't given up on this grand finale?
Lucilius: Heh. Your move.
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 9: 000 - Episode 2
Lucilius changes forms, sprouting twelve dark wings. He knocks down first Sandalphon, then the crewmates who try to shield him. Katalina entrusts Lyria, Sandalphon, and the fate of the skies to (Captain) and confronts Lucilius alone to buy them time to escape.
Rackam: Damn it! If we don't do something, we're gonna be skyfarer paste!
Katalina: (Captain)! Do we have any way to warn the alliance?
Eugen: I see what you're thinking! With their combined firepower, they could knock us off this collision course, but...
Rosetta: There's still time. First, we need to stop him.
Etemenanki plummets from the heavens. Its destination: apocalypse.
Lucilius seems to have lost interest in their meteoric descent. His eyes turn instead to the blood-soaked fabric on the floor.
Lucilius: Speaker... Just an obsolete model, in the end.
Lucilius: Though he could have changed forms... He was likely similar in construction to a beast—
Sandalphon: What are you looking at!
Lucilius: Did you want something? I'm busy contemplating the end of the world.
Sandalphon: I won't let it end!
Lucilius: God will fall. I have no interest in arguments with foregone conclusions.
Sandalphon: What foregone conclusion! I don't care how many backup plans you have!
Sandalphon: You won't live to try them!
Lucilius: Oho?
Vyrn: (Captain)! We gotta back him up!
Vyrn: If we stop Etemenanki but not Lucilius, he'll just bust out some other plan!
Lyria: Y-you're right! Somehow we have to get him to give up on ending the world!
Io: Let's knock the crazy out of him! Sandalphon's still got the wings it took to thrash his pervy henchcreep!
Lucilius: So after using up the supreme primarch's power, you absorbed the four primarchs' wings.
Lucilius: That would provide you with more than enough power, but you're a fool if you think you can handle it all.
Sandalphon: Laugh while you can!
Lucilius: It's no laughing matter to see my creation in such sorry condition.
Sandalphon: Your creation? It was Lucifer who made me!
Lucilius: Yes, but you didn't inherit his intellect, did you?
Lucilius: Well. You were only built to be a temporary stand-in, after all. Which means there's no one left who can stand as my equal.
Sandalphon: Enough of your prattle!
Sandalphon: Ain Soph Aur!
Lucilius: Hnh...
Rackam: Nice one! Let's take 'im down fast!
Rosetta: It's working! Now let's give him every scrap of magic we have left!
Katalina: (Captain)! Sandalphon! Watch for an opening, then we all strike together!
Sandalphon: I'm ending this... I'll bury you and all the ghosts of the past!
Lucilius: ...
Vyrn: We got 'im on the ropes! Now!
Sandalphon: Rrraaahhh—
Lucilius: An overflow... I've exceeded my core's capacity.
Lyria: Wait! His aura is blowing up!
Lucilius: Hunh.
Lucilius: ...
Sandalphon: That's ridiculous...
Sandalphon: Those black wings... Twelve of them?
Vyrn: Twelve! The pervy archangel was bad enough with only eight...
Lyria: What is this power? I've never felt an aura so dark...
Rosetta: The deepest, darkest reaches of hell...
Rosetta: His research in pursuit of power must have taken him where the worst kinds of monsters would never dare to tread...
Sandalphon: Devil...
Lucilius: Well...
Lucilius: The Speaker's power must have formed itself into a core—my body has already assimilated it.
Lucilius: Let's see what kind of output it has.
Sandalphon: Gaaah!
Io: No way! Sandalphon!
Rosetta: Even with all Sandalphon's wings, Lucilius knocked him aside like he was nothing...
Lucilius: On your feet. You're going to run this output assessment with me.
Sandalphon: Ngh... What the hell do you... mean, assessment?
Lucilius: Even I've never seen a being with twelve wings. So I'll grant you the honor of helping me gather data on the subject.
Lucilius: Aren't you happy? Lucifer reported to me once that you were desperate to be of use.
Lucilius: And here I am granting your wish.
Sandalphon: How dare you!
Lucilius: Heh...
Sandalphon: No... No effect at all?
Lucilius: Really now, what are you doing? You can't possibly be this weak.
Lucilius: If you're Lucifer's replacement, you must have a little more substance than this.
Sandalphon: Aaagghh!
Lucilius: That was only one vital organ. Perhaps I ought to disable your pain receptors before—
Rackam: Not on my watch!
C'mon, we'll keep him busy!
C'mon, we'll keep him busy!
Eugen: You hurry and heal that wound! This is where you rely on your senior skyfarers.
Sandalphon: Stay back! You can't defeat this man—
Lucilius: Are you skydwellers volunteering as guinea pigs?
Rackam: Gwah!
Eugen: Damn it... can't even make a decent human shield...
Vyrn: Rackam! Eugen!
Io: Hang on, you two! I'll heal you!
Rosetta: Io!
Io: I've got this, Rosetta—
Lucilius: So you're one of the newer beasts manufactured for "the War." Laboratory standards have truly fallen since my day.
Lyria: Io! Rosetta!
Sandalphon: Stooop!
Lucilius: You people are no help testing these twelve wings.
Lucilius: What a disappointment. I hope the rest of you perform better.
Vyrn: He's coming! Wh-what do we do, (Captain)?
Katalina: Take care of Lyria, (Captain). It won't be much, but I'll buy you some time.
Katalina: When you see your chance, grab Sandalphon. You and he hold the keys to the Sky Realm's fate.
Katalina: Haaahhh!
Lyria: Katalina!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 9: 000 - Episode 3
Katalina is defeated and the situation looks hopeless. Sandalphon urges (Captain) and the others to escape without him, but they refuse. (Captain) and Vyrn protect Sandalphon as Lyria treats his wounds. For the first time, Sandalphon feels a very personal need to protect his friends and the skies. As he realizes this, the white plume Lyria carries unleashes a blinding light.
Katalina: ...
Lucilius: What a waste of time.
Lucilius: Your side of the board is short of pieces, Singularity. What's your strategy?
One by one, (Captain)'s friends have fallen to the power of those twelve dark wings.
(Captain) and Sandalphon look around at the hopeless scene.
Sandalphon: Wait...
Sandalphon: Use me... As your test subject or whatever else...
Lucilius: You're no use to me.
Lucilius: Even Lucifer's judgment failed. Perhaps there was grit in the system. Degradation over time.
Sandalphon: What the hell do you know about Lucifer!
Lucilius: Maybe you were the grit.
Sandalphon: Haaahhh!
Lucilius: There's no strength behind your swings. You didn't think such a paltry recovery time would make a difference, did you?
Sandalphon: Ah... Urgh...
Lucilius: You'll never be more than a sacrificial pawn—
Lucilius: Oh?
Sandalphon: (Captain)!
Vyrn: Just in time! Get ready!
Lyria: This way, you two! We have to get him away from everyone else!
(Captain) manages to deflect Lucilius's blow.
The captain and Sandalphon run to join Lyria and Vyrn in a tense huddle.
Sandalphon: Pant... Pant...
Vyrn: Wow, he got you good... You gotta heal up. You can do it, Sandalphon.
Lyria: Some first aid would help, right? Let's use Siero's kit.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: (Captain)... I have to be frank with you.
Sandalphon: Lucilius may be the strongest entity in the history of creation.
Sandalphon: Find a way to escape. You three and the skydweller alliance have to find some way to thwart him.
Vyrn: We're not working with a lot of time here! How're we supposed to come up with anything?
Sandalphon: I know. But this is only one of his backup plans. Some contingency may still arise that he didn't anticipate.
Lyria: What do you mean we and the alliance? Don't tell me you're...
Sandalphon: I'll buy you some time. The researcher in him won't be able to resist an enticing enough subject.
Vyrn: In the shape you're in? Listen to yourself!
Lyria: You can't! You can't try to carry everything on your own shoulders again!
Sandalphon: It will all work out. Don't underestimate this sacrificial pawn.
Sandalphon: At any rate, once I've fulfilled my promise—
Lucilius: Retreating? First logical move I've seen you make.
Sandalphon: ...!
Lucilius: You could lay aside the wrung-out spare and relay the situation to the four primarchs.
Lucilius: They would doubtless choose to sacrifice themselves. There's a chance that self-destructing with twenty-four cores could avert the destruction of the dimensional boundary.
Lucilius: If it weren't that anyone who dares to oppose me will meet their total defeat.
Vyrn: Shut your face! Who said we were gonna retreat!
Lyria: We won't let anyone be sacrificed! We'll stop you and your grand finale!
Lucilius: Pure idiocy.
Vyrn: Wah!
Lucilius: Your choices are completely illogical. What drives you to act this way?
Lucilius: Why would the gods' outrider object to the sacrifice of archangels? And that spare you're sheltering was the enemy of your entire world.
Lucilius: Does that contradiction fall under the dictates of causality? No. Something in the system has definitely gone awry...
Lyria: H-he's coming! He's aiming for Sandalphon!
Sandalphon: So you want to put an end to it all...
Sandalphon: (Captain), you and the others get out of here. I don't know how much time I can buy you, but—
Vyrn: No, hold up!
Vyrn: I'm not about to let... the guy in the worst shape... my grouchy crabcake of a crewmate... fight alone!
Vyrn: Rrraaahhh!
Lyria: Vyrn!
Sandalphon: You fool! Are you trying to get yourself killed!
Vyrn: You rotten jerk! Don't you call him a spare! That won't fly with me!
Lucilius: ...?
Vyrn: What do you care if we contradict ourselves!
Vyrn: Sure he was a bad guy when he caused the cataclysms! Sure that was hard to forgive him for! And sure he's a sulky little Grumplephon!
Vyrn: But he's changed! He's giving everything he's got for the Sky Realm! He's struggling every day to be better!
Vyrn: No matter what anyone says, we support him!
Lucilius: Hunh... It seems I overestimated god.
Vyrn: Gyaah!
Vyrn is in danger. (Captain)'s reaction is swifter than thought.
The captain darts between Vyrn and Lucilius and stops the blow that no one in creation should rightfully have been able to counter.
Lucilius: You...
Lucilius: You're no mere skydweller. No wonder you defeated a fallen angel.
Lucilius: Heredity isn't enough to explain that. I see Belial's discerning eye never failed.
Vyrn: Grrr! Don't you ignore me!
Lucilius: ...
Lyria: Hang in there! Just a little longer!
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: How can you support me... when I'm... so...
Sandalphon: I've been so wrapped up in myself... I never saw. I never realized how all of you felt.
Lyria: Sandalphon?
Sandalphon: Lyria... I want to protect you all. I want to protect these skies.
Sandalphon: Not in atonement. Not because of my promise. Not even because I am the supreme primarch...
Sandalphon: This is my own wish, chosen myself.
Lyria: ...!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 9: 000 - Episode 4
When the light from the white plume fades, there are twelve wings sprouting from Sandalphon's back. He deduces that some interaction between Lyria's powers and Etemenanki must have drawn Lucifer's power from the plume. With a new understanding of Lucifer's desire to protect the skies, Sandalphon stands alongside (Captain) to face Lucilius.
The white plume at Lyria's side shines forth a blinding light.
It touches something inside Sandalphon, stirring memories of the paradise that once was.
His heart is filled with a profound sense of peace, alongside the achingly bitter taste of unfulfilled longing.
Sandalphon: ...
Vyrn: Sa... Sandalphon?
Lyria: Colorful wings, pure white wings... Ten, eleven... twelve?
Sandalphon: I'm not sure what happened myself...
Sandalphon: But I think it has something to do with your abilities, Lyria.
Sandalphon: Some interaction between you and this place allowed you to manifest that plume's power in the same way you summon primals.
Lyria: This plume's power?
Sandalphon: Lucifer's power.
Vyrn: (Captain)! Let's get back to Sandalphon!
Lucilius: Sandalphon...
Sandalphon: ...
Lucilius: What a mismatched collection of borrowed plumage. Befitting a spare primarch.
Sandalphon: Say what you will.
Sandalphon: Whether this borrowed finery suits me or no. Be it spattered with mud or blood... I will protect these people.
Lucilius: You sound more like a supreme primarch, but no number of wings will make you my equal.
Sandalphon: After he dealt with the fallen angels, Lucifer continued to protect the skies.
Sandalphon: He chose to do so of his own free will. Do you know why?
Lucilius: Are you going to lecture me on altruism, you narcissistic mass of spare parts?
Sandalphon: No. But you created Lucifer and laid the foundation for all the primal beasts who followed.
Sandalphon: Just once, I wanted you to consider how Lucifer must have felt.
Lucilius: I don't care for that look in your eyes.
Lucilius: One being in creation able to stand as my equal is more than enough.
Lucilius: But he's dead. And the world is about to follow.
Sandalphon: Everyone, this will be our final stand against him.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: I know how much I'm asking of you when you're already wounded, but please...
Sandalphon: Will you join me—
Before Sandalphon can finish speaking, (Captain) agrees with a warm smile.
Weapon in hand, the captain squares up beside Sandalphon.
Sandalphon: Thank you...
Vyrn: We're with you too! We'll protect the Sky Realm together!
Lyria: We'll give it everything we've got! I want to be useful too!
Sandalphon: Yes... Let's give it our all!
Sandalphon: Lucifer... We will keep these skies blue!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Chapter 9: 000 - Episode 4: Scene 2
The battle with Lucilius ends in a one-on-one confrontation between him and Sandalphon. As Sandalphon launches his final attack, Lucifer's spirit seems to join him, and their combined Paradise Lost overwhelms Lucilius's attack, defeating him at last.
Lucilius: ...!
Sandalphon: Pant... Pant...
Checkmate, Lucilius!
Checkmate, Lucilius!
Lucilius: Hunh...
Lucilius: The spare and the singularity... The girl and the dragon unfettered by providence...
Lucilius: There were far too many unpredictable elements in this equation. Failure was almost inevitable.
Sandalphon: Haaahhh...
Lucilius: But you won't take my free will.
Lucilius: Paradise Lost!
Sandalphon: Paradise Lost!
Lucilius: ...!
As light vies against darkness, (Captain) watches the king of the fallen angels fall to his knees.
Twelve mismatched wings, imbued with the strength and hope of six different souls, triumph at last over twelve dark wings untouched by love or camaraderie.
But Etemenanki is almost upon Pandemonium.
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Ending - Episode 1
As Etemenanki plummets toward Pandemonium, a rift between dimensions suddenly opens alongside and begins to pull the tower in. Belial arrives and offers the crew an airship on which to escape if they will allow him to leave with Lucilius. (Captain) accepts, but once the crew has departed, Speaker Lucio's power draws Lucilius into the rift, and Belial leaps in after him.
Vyrn: Whoa! You can see the sky through the cracks in the floor!
Rackam: Aaagh, damn it! We're practically on top of Pandemonium!
Lyria: Katalina, are you going to be okay? We did our best, but...
Katalina: It's all right. I'm very proud of all of you. I'm sure we'll find a way.
Eugen: The fleet's in motion! Looks like they noticed what was going on up here!
Rosetta: But what in the skies are they playing at? They should be evacuating the area, preparing for the worst...
Io: Wait... Do you see that rainbow? Is that something they're doing? Maybe they have a plan!
Sandalphon: Rainbow? Where do you see a—
The crew are racking their brains for a way to stop Etemenanki's fall from the heavens.
Suddenly an elliptical rift opens in the sky alongside them, larger than an airship, and filled with shifting rainbow colors.
It looks as though someone has torn away a strip of wallpaper in a crumbling old house, and exposed the building's bones.
Vyrn: What happened? Did we stop falling?
Lyria: But we're starting to move forward... That rainbow is sucking us in!
Sandalphon: Sucking us in? Don't tell me that's a door to another dimension!
???: Skydwellers... Valiant skyfarers...
Rackam: Huh? Now what!
???: There is no time to explain. The shift is about to begin.
???: You must escape before it does.
Io: Just a minute! Tell us how first!
???: The only way I can ensure his eternal bondage is to trap him in the space between dimensions.
???: My gratitude and my blessings for your incredible efforts...
Eugen: Forget gratitude and blessings! What we need is an airship!
Rosetta: I can't sense him anymore... But that voice sounded familiar...
Sandalphon: Yes... I sensed no ill will from him either.
Vyrn: Well, we're not plummeting to our doom anymore. Now let's get offa this thing!
Lyria: Right! Maybe Siero can send us a rescue ship—
Belial: Sorry to keep you waiting. Help has arrived.
Sandalphon: You're alive, you scum?
Belial: Hehehe... I am the archangel of cunning, you know.
Belial: It was a really close call though. I had to hitch a ride on an airship to conserve my strength.
Vyrn: Why you... Who'd be dumb enough to trust you!
Belial: Simmer down, Scaly. I really am here to help.
Belial: Cilius, that is.
Lucilius: ...
Lyria: To help Lucilius? So you're going to mount another evil plan?
Belial: That depends on Cilius. So let's talk terms.
Belial: Will you let the two of us go? There's an airship in it for you.
Belial: We're all nearly out of strength and time... Don't you think a peaceful solution would be better than standing here hurling insults?
Sandalphon: What do you take us for!
Belial: I'm sure you can tell from my aura—I'm really on my last legs here.
Belial: Singularity. You've already decided, haven't you?
(Captain) turns to look at the battered Grandcypher crew.
Then the captain asks where Belial's craft is moored.
Belial: Thank you. I ran a rope out behind me as I came down the hallway. If you follow it out, you should see the ship.
Vyrn: I guess I agree with you, (Captain).
Lyria: Me too... What about you, Sandalphon?
Sandalphon: It's fine. (Captain) isn't wrong.
Sandalphon: We can defeat him again. Any time. As many times as necessary.
Belial: Hehehe... Well then, enjoy the denouement.
Belial: Phew...
Belial: We need to get a move on too. I'm pretty sure we don't want to wind up in that dimensional rift.
Lucilius: Hunh...
Belial: Are you sulking? It's a shame the plan didn't work out, but we can always make a new one.
Lucilius: You're not fooling me. You don't care at all that it failed.
Belial: No, I mean it.
Well. It's a shame, but it still was amusing.
Well. It's a shame, but it still was amusing.
Lucilius: Contradictions from you too...
Belial: Love is a mass of contradictions, Cilius.
Lucilius: Urgh!
Belial: Cilius! This is bad. The rift's gravity is intensifying...
Belial: Hold onto me—
Lucilius: Grraaahhh!
Belial: This is the Speaker's doing, isn't it!
Belial: Siiigh... I guess someone has to be your whipping boy, Cilius.
Belial: Heh. Hehehe. Ehehehehe...
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Ending - Episode 2
A time bomb explodes on the airship Belial gave the crew, disabling the craft. As it plummets, Sierokarte appears with the Grandcypher. The crew prepares to jump aboard, but Lyria is sucked overboard, toward the rift. Sandalphon leaps after her and uses his last strength to send her back to (Captain) before he vanishes.
Rackam: Huff... Huff...
Wow, there really is a ship here. It bugs me how nice a ship she is too.
Wow, there really is a ship here. It bugs me how nice a ship she is too.
Eugen: I wonder where he stole her. But her engines seem fine, and her fuel tank's full.
Io: That creep was all beat up too. He's a perv, but I guess—maybe—he was pretty desperate to get here.
Katalina: We're in no position to sympathize with him... but I suppose there was more to him than met the eye.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: Let's hurry. The draw from the rift is about to tear this tower apart.
Rackam: You got it. We're outta here!
Rosetta: The walls are already crumbling... Disappearing into the rift...
Sandalphon: If we are to believe that mysterious voice, that rift probably leads to a domain similar to the Crimson Horizon.
Sandalphon: But who was that—
Vyrn: Gah! Now what's going on!
Katalina: A breakdown? Did we get hit by debris from Etemenanki?
Lyria: I don't think so! I saw something flash at the bottom of the ship, and then flame shot out!
Rackam: I smell gunpowder... That muck-sucking phlegmsicle! He rigged this ship with a time bomb!
Sandalphon: How could I be so careless! How could I fall for such an idiotic trick at a time like this!
Eugen: Huh? I know the sound of that engine...
Eugen: Hahaha, look! The one person craftier than the archangel of cunning is coming to our rescue!
Sierokarte: Ahoooy! Everyone, quick! Get on board!
Lyria: Siero! And the Grandcypher!
Rackam: I'll bring her right alongside the Grandcypher! Everybody jump across!
Vyrn: You got it! Like we'd get taken out by this lame trap!
Lyria: Let's go! We jump on three. One—
Lyria: Aaahhh!
Katalina: Lyria! Lyriaaa!
Io: No! Lyria was pulled overboard...
Rosetta: What's going on? The rift's pull is getting even stronger!
Sandalphon: Why is this happening... It's as if fate itself demands our destruction...
Sandalphon: But...
Sandalphon: Now it's my turn... I will save you.
Sandalphon: Hngh... Hhh... Haaahhh!
Vyrn: Sandalphon!
Lyria: Aaahhh!
Sandalphon: Lyria!
Lyria: Sa... Sandalphon!
Sandalphon: This is the last of my strength... There's somewhere you need to be, Lyria.
Sandalphon: Never let go of (Captain)'s hand.
Lyria: ...!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Ending - Episode 3
Sandalphon awakes in what appears to be the Astral research lab's garden, where Lucifer is waiting to pour him coffee. After a peaceful interlude and some much-needed closure, Sandalphon is summoned back to the Sky Realm by his friends' voices. He awakes in midair, being rescued by (Captain) and the others.
Sandalphon: Mm... Urgh... Ugh...
Sandalphon: What... is... this place?
Sandalphon: Ah... Another dream...
???: This is no dream.
Sandalphon: ...!
Sandalphon: Luci... fer?
Lucifer: Have some coffee. It's been a long time since I could serve you one.
Sandalphon: Coffee...
Lucifer: Perhaps I'm presuming too much, assuming you still enjoy it.
Sandalphon: Ah, I... Yes. I do. Thank you...
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: Ah...
Lucifer: Hahaha...
Lucifer: This is the first and last stop for every soul. A place where those burdened with sentience may rest.
Lucifer: Right now, it would seem your soul has gotten lost, and come here independent of your body.
Sandalphon: Does that mean I'm dead?
Lucifer: I don't believe so. But I do not know enough about this place to say for certain.
Lucifer: Even the space in which we now find ourselves may simply be an illusion spun from my own memories.
Lucifer: Or yours.
Sandalphon: This is no illusion.
Lucifer: How do you know?
Sandalphon: I can tell. My mind feels clearer... I know you are Lucifer.
Lucifer: Do you.
Sandalphon: Yes.
Lucifer: Then you must be Sandalphon. Did my message reach you?
Sandalphon: Yes. Lucilius's legacy, his research to bring about the end of the world, has been destroyed.
Sandalphon: I believe the four primarchs are in the process of ceding their roles to nature.
Lucifer: I see. I knew I could put my faith in you.
Lucifer: Thank you. And forgive me for placing such a heavy burden on your shoulders.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: I'm the one who should apologize, Lucifer.
Sandalphon: For the rebellion, and the cataclysms. I sowed those seeds myself.
Sandalphon: And still I blamed you, and saw only my own pain. I set the stage for the tragedy that unfolded in Canaan.
Sandalphon: Mere words could never encompass my regret...
Lucifer: You have no need to apologize to me. I was the one who overlooked your feelings of inferiority—
Sandalphon: No. I have to acknowledge my sins for what they are. I must, if I am to atone in any meaningful way.
Lucifer: Sandalphon...
Lucifer: Very well. But you must remember one thing, for my sake.
Lucifer: Even should the world deny you forgiveness, even should people throughout time look upon you with hatred, you are and always shall be my solace.
Sandalphon: Always...
Sandalphon: Thank you. I will carry those words close to my heart.
Lucifer: I'm depending on you, Supreme Primarch.
Sandalphon: Understood!
And you will always be my guiding light.
And you will always be my guiding light.
Lucifer: Hahaha...
Lucifer: Ah, your cup is running low. Would you like another?
Sandalphon: Ah... yes! Allow me! I think my technique has improved—
Vyrn: Heeey! Sandalphon! Open your eyes!
Lyria: Please! Please wake up, Sandalphon!
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: Ah... Actually... I think I should be going...
Lucifer: I see...
Lucifer: Very well. I believe you know how to return to them. All you need do is spread your wings and follow your heart.
Sandalphon: Yes...
But, you know...
But, you know...
Sandalphon: Once I had kept my promise... Once I had fulfilled the task you imparted to me... I hadn't decided what I should do next.
Sandalphon: Or to be more truthful... I wanted to come join you...
Sandalphon: But now... I think...
Sandalphon: I might want to stay with my friends in the Sky Realm.
Lucifer: Good. I'll be rooting for you.
Sandalphon: Haha... You already knew how I felt, didn't you? That's why you called me your solace—to cheer me on.
Lucifer: Oh dear. So you knew that I knew.
Sandalphon: And now you know that I know that you knew what I knew. What nonsense.
Lucifer: Hahaha... But that really is how I feel.
Sandalphon: And the offer of another cup? Were you not tempting me to stay longer?
Lucifer: The heart is a bundle of contradictions.
Sandalphon: Hahaha... What are you saying?
Sandalphon: Hahaha...
Sandalphon: Well then...
I'm going out for a bit.
I'm going out for a bit.
Lucifer: All right. I'll be waiting.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: Ah... er...
It's the reverse, isn't it? It used to be me staying behind in the research lab's garden.
It's the reverse, isn't it? It used to be me staying behind in the research lab's garden.
Lucifer: Now you're the supreme primarch, and I'll be the one to await your return.
Sandalphon: You might find yourself growing restless... I recommend cultivating the coffee trees.
Lucifer: I'll give that a try.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: I'm going out for a bit...
Lucifer: I'll be waiting.
Sandalphon: ...!
Sandalphon: I'm going out for a bit!
Lucifer: I'll be waiting.
Sandalphon: ...!
Lucifer: ...
Lucifer: I'll be waiting...
You used to say that to me almost every day.
You used to say that to me almost every day.
Lucifer: I think now... I might just understand how you felt in that shaded garden, all those years.
Lucifer: Till next we meet, Sandalphon.
Sandalphon: Nh? Is this... the Sky Realm?
Vyrn: Hey! Sandalphon came to!
Lyria: Sandalphon! You have to hold on tighter!
Sandalphon: ...!
When the dimensional rift blinked out of view, Sandalphon reappeared, unconscious, and resumed his fall through empty space.
In desperation, (Captain) and the others boarded the Nightcypher to catch up to him.
The hand which once shoved (Captain) into the yawning void is now clasped tightly in the captain's.
Sandalphon: (Captain)! Why would you come after me at a time like this!
Sandalphon: Why...
Choose: You belong with us.
Sandalphon: I belong? Hahaha, I can't believe you...
Choose: I'm dying for a coffee.
Sandalphon: Hahaha... You threw yourself overboard in a flightless ship just for coffee? You may have a caffeine problem...
Choose: Your fingers are delicate...
Sandalphon: Th-this again!
Sandalphon: Is this the time for jokes? For a moment I thought you were finally going to take your revenge!
Continue 1Vyrn: Ahaha! I'll signal the Grandcypher!
Lyria: Right! Let's all go home!
Sandalphon: Yes...
Sandalphon: Let's go home!
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - Ending - Episode 4
A few days after the showdown, the archangels have ceded their roles to nature and begun their new lives as skydwellers. Azrael and Sariel are restored to health and sanity. Sandalphon resumes his journey with the crew, with a new dream of one day opening a cafe.
Several days pass.
All the archangels cede their roles to nature and embark on their new lives as ordinary people.
The twins, after hanging up their halos as archangels of instruction, are setting up residence in the forest on a certain island.
Halluel: That oughta do it!
Malluel: Oooh! Brava, brava! Our new house is done!
Halluel: Not too shabby! It was a great idea to build it in the branches of this huge tree.
Malluel: Just like a pair of nesting birds, don't you think? Once we've rested up, shall we go introduce ourselves to our neighbors in the village?
Halluel: Sounds good! This is our first time as homeowners. I wanna do everything by the book.
Malluel: I'm so excited! After that we should report in to Michael.
Halluel: Maaal. We don't have any more missions to do.
Malluel: Whoops. Old habits die hard... But what if we just drop in to invite her here? I want to find out where everyone's settling down anyway.
Halluel: True. Shall we go then?
Malluel: Yeah!
Eugen: Hey, Hal! Mal! How ya been?
Halluel: Eugen! What brings you here out of the blue?
Eugen: Oops! Did I get here ahead of my letter? I've got some news for the two of you.
Eugen: Back at Pandemonium, I was making battlefield supply and evacuation runs.
Eugen: I picked somebody up who was on the verge of death and brought 'er to Raphael for treatment.
Malluel: Raphael used his healing powers? Wait... you couldn't mean...
Azrael: Ah... Hal... Mal...
Halluel: Az!
Azrael: Um! I, uh... Uhm...
Cagliostro: It was a combination of Raphael's healing techniques and my alchemy.
Cagliostro: We didn't wanna say anything earlier and get your hopes up, since her chances of survival were under ten percent.
Cagliostro: So we waited until we had good news—
Halluel: Thank goodness! You're really alive!
Azrael: Yeah, Hal! I'm alive!
Malluel: Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere?
Azrael: No, Mal! I'm absolutely fine!
Cagliostro: Sure, sure. Pay no attention to the genius over here who just made medical history.
Eugen: Hahaha! Let it slide this once. They're so happy.
Azrael: Oh! Iss is with me too! Right here, in my heart.
Halluel: Ohh... Iss, you did a great job too!
Malluel: Welcome home. We should throw a party!
Azrael: Thank you! Iss and I will make you looots of yummy bean cakes!
Cagliostro: This is their miracle. I guess the archangels of instruction have a lot to teach us about love.
Eugen: Damn straight.
Sariel: ...
Sariel: I'm alive...
Why am I alive?
Why am I alive?
Uriel: Yooo. You're up, huh?
Raphael: You have Uriel to thank. It was he who asked that I save you.
Sariel: Uriel... Raphael...
Uriel: This isn't pity. I just wanna finish our fight properly.
Raphael: There was something very strange about your wound. It appeared fatal but was in fact much less serious.
Sariel: My wound wasn't... fatal?
Uriel: In fact, the blow destroyed the core that had been tainted by void. That's why you're back to your old self now.
Raphael: Honestly, we're struggling to understand what happened to you.
Sariel: It destroyed the tainted core... Removed the sickness...
Uriel: Anyway, for now you should get some rest. Later on I can catch you up on the last couple millennia of history.
Uriel: Oh yeah—you hungry? I'll make ya some Uriel Stew.
Raphael: Uriel... Stew is not an appropriate meal for someone convalescing.
Sariel: Deputy Head... Are you telling me to go on living?
Sariel: I don't understand... I don't understand, but for me, you will always be—
Sariel: Ooh, an ant.
Sierokarte: Eat as much as you like, everybody! Gotta replenish those reserves!
Katalina: Thank you. Yet again, we are deeply in your debt, Siero.
Sierokarte: Don't be silly! It was the knights who did all the heavy lifting.
Katalina: Hahaha. I learned a great deal about swordfighting techniques from each of their countries. I'm sure it will prove a great asset.
Lancelot: I see! So that's why you standardized your order's uniforms? The Sky Knights really are worthy of their reputation.
Albert: Heh... The Order of the White Dragons is quite renowned itself—both for swordplay and for its culinary arts.
Io: Why are the knights comparing outfits and cooking? I woulda expected them to be, I dunno, more...
Charlotta: We're the same way! The Lumiel Order of Holy Knights can also put out an impressive spread.
Naoise: Haha, it would seem all knightly orders have certain values in common, no matter whence they hail.
Rosetta: That's true. There are some feelings we all share, transcending national borders and even time...
Rosetta: Oh, Gabriel, your glass is empty—can I order you another drink?
Gabriel: Thank you! I'll have what you're having, Rosetta. You can still go another round or two, right?
Rosetta: Can you tell? Of course I wouldn't let you drink alone.
Gabriel: Hooray! This really is a novel feeling. I guess even centuries of difference can't stop people from making friends.
Gabriel: I still have so much to learn about the world...
Michael: You didn't have to come all this way just to see me. How courteous of you.
Ilsa: I wanted to pay my respects. Your leadership and your extraordinary efforts in battle were deeply instructive for me.
Michael: You've had quite the difficult road to travel yourself, dealing with threats from beyond the skies.
Ilsa: It's the path I chose.
Ah, by the way, there's something I'd like to confirm.
Ah, by the way, there's something I'd like to confirm.
Ilsa: As far as we know, are Lucilius and his underling still missing in action?
Michael: Yes... They fought it to the last, but it is highly probable they were sucked into the dimensional rift.
Michael: We know nothing about the space between dimensions, but we have no indication that they survived.
Ilsa: I see...
Well then, I will take my leave.
Well then, I will take my leave.
Michael: ...
Michael: The threat of the fallen angels is past. The archangels turn once again down a new path.
Michael: Lucifer... We, too, believe in the skydwellers. The world you love so much is in their hands now.
Michael: Please, rest easy.
Rackam: Hey there, kids. All finished with your shopping? Let's get everyone onboard and weigh anchor.
Vyrn: We're all set! We got a set of tableware, and sugar, and syrup...
Lyria: And an apron and tea towels! We picked some simple, cute designs.
Rackam: What's all that stuff for? You plannin' to open a cafe or somethin'?
Sandalphon: I tried to stop them, but they insisted...
Vyrn: Hahaha, you guessed it, Rackam. We got to talkin' while we were running our errands.
Lyria: It's Sandalphon's dream to open a cafe! Right, Sandalphon?
Sandalphon: I was just thinking aloud... It wasn't something I'd given any serious thought.
Sandalphon: But before I knew it, the conversation had barreled out of control, and they'd decided I should open an onboard cafe for practice.
Rackam: Well, you know how it goes with these three. You can use the spot next to the mess hall.
Vyrn: Yaaay!
Lyria: Whoo-hoo!
Sandalphon: What is wrong with all of you...
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: But... Thank you. I will use it well.
Vyrn: Don't you fret your haloed head about it! And we'll help out when it comes time to set up the real deal too!
Lyria: That's right! Now how about a fight song for Sandalphon as he sets out to follow his dream?
Vyrn: Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa!
Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa! Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa!
Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa!
Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa! Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa!
Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa!
Vyrn: Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: Ha ha...
Sandalphon: Hahaha! I don't understand the lyrics, but it's catchy.
Vyrn: Oh! He digs it!
Sandalphon: Hold on. It hasn't earned my unequivocal stamp of approval. There's still room for improvement.
Sandalphon: Even in a fight song, not every verse has to be so high-energy. You can vary it up.
Lyria: Uhhh, how?
Sandalphon: Hm. Well, if you alter the pitch and tempo slightly... Like this...
Sandalphon: Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa...
Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa. Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa.
Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa...
Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa. Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa.
Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa...
Sandalphon: Yeah, yeah, yeah...
Sandalphon: What do you think?
Vyrn: Oooh! That was really good!
Lyria: That sounded lovely! I didn't know you liked to sing, Sandalphon!
Sandalphon: Haha...
Sandalphon: Let's get going. I'm going to accompany you on your journey a little longer.
Sandalphon: In order to fulfill my own wish, this time.
The curtain falls at last over the tempestuous play in which skydwellers, archangels, fallen angels, and even gods played a part.
The sky—blue once more from horizon to horizon—stirs up a gentle wind as if to signal its approval.
It fills the Grandcypher's sails, urging the crew along on their journey.
The airship's cargo of hopes and dreams shines bright to light their way.
The End
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - God's Reverie
Months after imprisoning Lucilius in the dimensional rift, the Speaker wonders what the fusion of the two halves of his master would mean for skydwellers and whether the Omnipotent is truly needed in this world. He summons (Captain), Lyria, and Vyrn into a dream and tests them in order to seek his answer.
Some time has passed since the fallen angels' attempt to destroy the world.
Somewhere, a man of arresting beauty stands on an empty stage.
Once he was called the Speaker, disseminating the Creator's will to the people and guiding the course of the world's destiny.
Lucio: My clone...
He allowed free will to seduce him...
He allowed free will to seduce him...
Lucio: To the end, he refused to be swayed by anyone. Even me.
Lucio: The only way to quell the endless rebellion in his heart was for me to hide inside his core and await my opportunity to draw him into the gap between dimensions.
Lucio: But to thus confine a being like unto my own child...
Lucio: O Master. Can you hear my voice?
Lucio: The storm of trial is past and your wishes have been carried out. Will you not grace me with your counsel now?
Lucio: A single word would suffice...
Lucio: ...
Lucio: Of course... This triumph was not mine alone.
Rackam: But it's time to show 'em what we're really made of! Let's go, Grandcypheeerrr!
Katalina: Are you all right, Lyria? Everyone's here to help!
Rosetta: You don't get to decide for us that our lives are meaningless. You're talking about extremes as if they were the rule.
Eugen: You hurry and heal that wound! This is where you rely on your senior skyfarers.
Io: Hang on, you two! I'll heal you!
Vyrn: No matter what anyone says, we support him!
Lyria: We'll give it everything we've got! I want to be useful too!
Lucio: Just like the archangels, the skydwellers have once again exceeded my expectations...
Lucio: I thought the inhabitants of this realm had avoided extinction only by the grace of Lucifer's protection.
Lucio: But in the end, it was the combined strengths of all this realm's inhabitants which defeated the power of those twelve dark wings.
Lucio: ...
Lucio: What would become of them if the gods of the sky and stars were to fuse?
Lucio: Reconstruction according to the laws of the Creator's providence? Enforcement of the triumphant realm's paradigm upon the defeated?
Lucio: Can I truly continue on as I have? Is it still right of me to be carrying out his will?
Lucio: I must reach some definite conclusion...
Vyrn: What is this place? Looks like a theater stage.
Lyria: Mmm... I was sure I was in bed asleep a minute ago... Maybe I'm dreaming.
Vyrn: (Captain), Lyria, are you guys just characters in my dream?
Lyria: Well... how do you know you're not appearing in my dream?
Vyrn & Lyria: Hmmm...
???: The subconscious of every creature in god's creation is fundamentally linked.
Vyrn: Huh? Something popped out over there. Is that one of the actors who work here?
???: Nothing so grand. Perhaps you could call me the stage manager.
Lyria: The stage manager? But you look so familiar...
???: Hahaha...
Vyrn: Ah, I know how this goes. You called us here, right?
???: Full marks. This is indeed the third time you have been summoned by means of your subconscious minds. I applaud your composure.
Lyria: This is all going over my head. Is there something you want to talk to us about?
???: There is. Something of great import.
???: I wish to know whether I am needed in this world.
???: Or perhaps... whether my master can still be considered a force for good in this dimension.
Vyrn: Hey, guys? Can you make heads or tails of this? Is he running lines with us or somethin'?
Lyria: He seems serious. I feel like he's really struggling with something.
???: (Captain). What is your will?
???: Can you abide the conflict between the gods of the stars and sky, playing out always beneath the surface of your realm?
Choose: It's unforgivable.
???: I see... As the saviors of this realm many times over, I believe you've earned the right to say so.
Choose: It makes no difference to me.
???: Interesting... Certainly, that conflict has no direct bearing on skydwellers for the moment. And you have your own objectives to pursue.
Choose: I don't understand what you mean.
???: Do you truly not? Much of the relevant information has been scattered throughout your journey, if only you cast your mind back and connect the threads.
Continue 1Vyrn: That again... Lucilius was yakkin' on about somethin' like that. Are you in a knot over this "god" too?
???: Forgive me, Master Vyrn. This question is intimately tied up with my reason for existence. And with that of the Sky Realm in fact.
Lyria: "Master Vyrn"? Wait... Are you...
???: Very well. This shall be my last question.
???: Will you allow me to test your strength in order to discover the solution to my quandary?
Vyrn: Agh! I knew that's where this was heading!
???: This is the third reverie in which you have been tested. This time I, too, shall be judged anew.
???: As the mold from which Lucilius was cast, as Lucifer's kin, and as god's representative—
Vyrn: Here he comes, (Captain)! He means business!
Vyrn: I don't care what beef the gods have with each other! I just want all of this outta my scales!
Lyria: Lucio, you...
???: That's right. My true name is—
What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 - God's Reverie: Scene 2
(Captain) and the others pass the trial. The Speaker is convinced that the fusion of the sky and Astral gods is not something the Sky Realm needs. (Captain), Lyria, and Vyrn wake from their dream to find Sandalphon demanding an explanation for Lucio's resemblance to Lucifer. (Captain) and the others laugh as Lucio works Sandalphon into a lather by feigning ignorance.
???: ...
Vyrn: Pant... Wheeze...
How d'ya like them apples!
How d'ya like them apples!
???: I admit my total defeat.
Lyria: Um... Did you find the solution you were looking for?
???: Yes. Thanks to you, I can confirm it with every fiber of my being. The world had already achieved perfection, hadn't it?
???: You who dwell among the clouds... You nurture your mutual bonds and support one another to supplement your weaknesses. It is your limitations which imbue you with that brief and blinding spark.
???: Your imperfections have taught you to surpass perfection itself.
Vyrn: Uh, sure... Are you complimenting us or insulting us? I can't tell.
???: You have my sincerest admiration.
Henceforth, I abjure my role as observer.
Henceforth, I abjure my role as observer.
???: I will simply use my powers for the good of the skies...
???: And one day, I will seek the answers from my master—the true purpose of the skies, their inhabitants... and me.
Lyria: ...
???: Day is dawning in your world... Morning chases away the dark of night.
???: You have my gratitude and blessings for your assistance—
Vyrn: Yaaawwn...
Another beautiful morning...
Another beautiful morning...
Lyria: G'morning, (Captain), Vyraaawn...
Lyria: Oh, sorry. I thought I slept pretty well, but...
Vyrn: Did you have a weird dream too? I had another real nutty one.
Lyria: Now that you mention it—
Sandalphon: Wait... Lucifer, please come back!
Vyrn: Wh-what's goin' on?
Sandalphon: Pant... Pant...
What are you doing here?
What are you doing here?
Lucio: I'm doing the laundry. Today is my turn.
Sandalphon: What?
Lucio: Oh, you must be Sandy. I've heard a great deal about you but hadn't gotten around to introducing myself.
Lucio: My name is Lucio. Before joining the crew, I was the star of a theater troupe.
Sandalphon: ...
Sandalphon: That's not an explanation! Just who are you!
Lucio: As I said, my name is Lucio.
Vyrn: Hoo boy. I forgot these two hadn't run into each other yet.
Lyria: Ahahaha... Sandalphon has spent most of his time holed up in his room.
Sandalphon: How dare you strut around wearing his face! This insult will not be borne!
Lucio: Do I resemble someone you know?
Lucio: It does happen, you know. They say everyone in the skies has at least three lookalikes.
Sandalphon: I don't care! That person is the only one who matters to me!
Lucio: Hahaha... You truly care for him, don't you? Your Lucifer is a lucky man.
Sandalphon: Why, you... This is nonsense! Pure nonsense!
Vyrn & Lyria: Ahahaha!
Having raised for the epilogue to the archangels' skysweeping drama, the curtain descends once more.
The world still holds mysteries enough to complicate the Grandcypher's journey.
But as long as the skies they sail are blue, the bonds they forged—surmounting millennia of history and fate itself—will see the crew through every challenge.
Through the joys and the tears to come, they will weave their tale with one overarching theme: that they are stronger together than they are alone.
Characters
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