Blood Wolf by Any Other Name/Episode 3 - Storyline

Episode 3
Caesar	Arghh!
Zeke	...Seems like that woman got away. Inform all the knights! Have the castle completely surrounded, and don't let a single soul escape!
Blue Flame Knight	Yes, Sir!
Caesar	You fiend...!
Zeke	The Magna Code is absolute. Moreover, if we leave any of Wrath's royal family alive, it will definitely give rise to new conflicts. We will exterminate every single root, however little blood connection there may be. If that's what's required to stop this war, we'll see it through.
Caesar	Is that... is that really your sense of justice?! That's a horrifyingly chilling sense of justice. Blood Wolf Zeke... I will never ever forgive you for this! My soul will take roots of Wrath in these lands... until the next generation of Wratharis summons me back to their cause. And when that day comes... I will definitely punish you!
Zeke	... I will see this justice through. I will utilize this Power, for the sake of a peaceful world. This is the woman from before... It looks like she fought the Holy Guard while simultaneously defending her king. She was able to take out so many, all by herself...
Anastasia	...
Zeke	...She already died. Both you and me have killed a lot of people for the sake of protecting what's dear to us. That truth will never change. ...? Did I just hear something from beneath the cape of the king?
Baby	W-waah! Waah!
Zeke	A baby? You really chose the wrong era to be born.
Baby	Mm... mommy...
Zeke	...! (Laughter?)
Baby	Hee-hee!
Zeke	What innocent laughter...
Baby	Heehee.. mommy...
Zeke	Was I really about to raise my sword against a baby? What on earth have I been doing? Covered in blood, murdering a smiling babe... could that really be peace?! ... Darn it... Have I really been envying and using this kind of Power?! The future I strive for... the peace I want to build... does not involve terminating this laughter. This Power is too dangerous. I... should not have it! I should not use it ever again!!!
The present...
Zeke	(That moment, on that day... I was saved by the baby in my arms. It wasn't my life or my honor that was saved. It was my soul, rather.)
Blue Flame Knight	Argh!
Zeke	What's the matter?!
Blue Flame Knight	I've come to report! A group of Wratharis rebels who had been hiding in the nearby woods have infiltrated this village!
Zeke	Keep your calm! If they were able to hide in the woods, it must have been a small force! Restore our formation and intercept their attack!
Blue Flame Knight	Understood!
Wratharis Soldier	Oh no! What is Zeke the Blood Wolf doing here?!
Zeke	Surrender yourselves. If you put down your weapons without a fuss, your lives will be spared.
Wratharis Soldier	Do you really think we could believe that?! I haven't forgotten how many fleeing soldiers you murdered on that battlefield!
Zeke	...I will repeat myself. Give up, and surrender yourselves. The Dawn of Wrath has ended a long time ago.
Wratharis Soldier	It hasn't ended! Nothing ever did! Yes, everything is still the same! Let there be glory for the people of Wratharis!
Zeke	What? This light! A transmutation?!
Anastasia	...
Wratharis Soldier	Arghh! Ughh... W-Wratharis...
Zeke	...He succumbed through the excessive alchemic energy in his body? But... this phantom!
Anastasia	I remember your face. How could I ever forget?
Zeke	We met at the castle of Wratharis... Do you realize that they used Alchemy to summon you?
Anastasia	...Yes, I'm aware of that. I am a dead person. In the end, no one had been able to flee that burning castle.
Zeke	Judging by your body, your transmutation was incomplete. Your manifestation won't last that long.
Anastasia	It seems like the war is still continuing.
Zeke	No, it did end. This is nothing but a flickering ember of bloody days of the past.
Anastasia	I see... Am I supposed to express my grudge towards you now? Or... am I supposed to thank you, hm?
Zeke	...What?
Anastasia	The war did end. So you were right. But it does make me wonder. If that was truly the last bloodshed, then what am I doing here? Tell me, Blood Wolf. When is this peace you speak of finally going to come?
Zeke	Well...
Anastasia	If you cannot answer that question, why don't we start over once more? Why don't the two of us start a second Dawn of Wrath?
Zeke	Tsk! You fool!
Anastasia	Ah, I'm glad. You're finally starting to show some spirit. I always wondered. What would have happened if I hadn't left Caesar's side that day? Would our combined power still not have rivaled yours? Come on, tell me.
Later...
Zeke	Arghh! How can you be so powerful, even though it was an incomplete transmutation?!
Anastasia	Hehe, you're so rusty. It seems like you haven't had a worthy opponent for the past 20 years!
Zeke	I shouldn't have expected any less from the legendary Blossom Knight, who was said to be the secret power of Wratharis. (But I can't afford to lose here! If the present Blue Flame Guard were to succumb to the Wratharis of the past, it'll give rise to new conflict!) I don't have a choice but to use it...!
Anastasia	I seem to be out of time.
Zeke	...Huh? What is happening?
Anastasia	It's unfortunate that I wasn't able to witness the secret Alchemy that you used against Caesar.
Zeke	Tsk!
Anastasia	But it's okay. Just the fact that you were about to use it is good enough. The message must have gotten across. We were more than mere victims. As long as you know that, it's enough.
Zeke	This rose design... This knife must have acted as the catalyst to summon her. The people of Wratharis must have really put their deepest wishes into this. I suppose the Dawn of Wrath never ended. (When will this ever... no, let's not even go there. Let's just do whatever I can to get even just one step closer to that future.)
A moment later...
Zeke	...That concludes my report of the quelling campaign.
Patrick	Good work, Zeke.
Zeke	Thank you!
Gabirond	By the way, Captain Zeke, what happened to this catalyst that the Wratharis rebels used for the transmutation?
Zeke	It is not in existence any longer.
Gabirond	You did not retrieve it?
Zeke	I eliminated it, of course. If we would have kept it, it could have become a new seed for disaster.
Gabirond	Tsk!
Zeke	Now I think of it. I heard about rumors that the Holy Guard has been searching not only for Philosopher's Stones... but also for catalysts of powerful phantoms.
Gabirond	Well, though they could possibly cause disaster, collecting them to maintain balance in the world is also one of the Holy Guard's functions.
Zeke	Then I was right to have it eliminated. Or what? Do you think there was anything wrong with it?
Gabirond	No, there was nothing wrong with it. Right, nothing at all.
Zeke	The children are waiting for me outside. I will take my leave.