Main Scenario/Obstacles That Stand in the Way

Thorn Railway Episode
40-1	Commander's Instrument
40-2	"The Thorn Railway"
40-3	Unexpected Departure
40-4	Natural Lift?
40-5	The Weight of a Sword
40-6	Shoulder to Shoulder
40-7	An Honorable Battle
40-8	Samantha and the Altar
40-9	Obstacles That Stand in the Way
40-10	Iridescent Light of Absolution

Mary	"Out-Siders, pull yourselves together! We're being pushed back. The cannon fodder are going for the main camp. Anyone who can still move, cover Fayette and Detroit! Keep up the assault!"
Mary	"Why are you fighting now? Remember why and what you are fighting for. Things are about to change. Be sure of yourself."
Mary	(The soldiers' are exceeding their limits. The situation is increasingly grim. I think it's time to consider the possibility of retreating...)
Blackfriar	"Mary!"
Mary	"Blackfriar, why are you leaving your post?"
Blackfriar	"Because it's faster than using a messenger. Change of plan. The situation has changed."
Mary	"Of course things have changed for the better, yes?"
Blackfriar	"Of course. Conductor seems to have done a good job."
Mary	"You don't mean..."
Blackfriar	"The monsters on the front lines are disappearing completely. The Mist surrounding us too... Look."
Mary	"The Phantom Mist is disappearing..."
Blackfriar	"It seems possible to continue this operation under about the same conditions as Plan 1. No, perhaps even more."
Blackfriar	"'Reinforcements' from the Royal Castle have arrived in time... They will be here soon."
Mary	"Islington's 'trump card'...?"
Blackfriar	"Yes. That 'trump card'. But they're going to leave you in command of the unit until the mission is over."
Mary	"......"
Mary	"Change of operation..."
Blackfriar	"Roger that."
Blackfriar	"ALL UNITS, CHANGE OF OPERATION!"
Mary	"Column assault! We will now revert to Plan 1! We'll proceed into the Thorn Railway and cover the SSS. The Skanda Mercenaries and the Dela Veteranov will spread out and defend the flank."
Blackfriar	"The Mist has lifted. At last we can do our work. Knights, soldiers, now is the time to advance for victory. All those who can still move, follow me!"
Blackfriar	"Out-Siders, column assault. Let's get the party started. We can't let anyone else take over the lead."
Steel thorns appeared around the steel tree. These train tracks in the middle of the thorns - So-called the Thorn Railway.
As soon as we entered the Thorn Railway, we were transported to mysterious ruins. At the end of the ruins, in a hall with an altar, we met a Samantha, who told us to "restore the Station and go to the Guardian's Room", and then disappeared.
We had just found our way to the steel tree, but when we arrived at the old Station, a Steel Seaker was waiting for us. Yet there was no sign of the Mistism cult. What in the world was she doing there?
Railway Seeker	"Leave. Divine Child of Iridescent Clouds. You cannot proceed on this steel railway now."
Queensway	"How could you possibly know that?"
Railway Seeker	"You believe a Samantha's words, but you don't believe mine?"
Yoshino	"Indeed."
Yakutsk	"Jeez, whose side are ya on anyway?"
Yoshino	"Of course on Shasho's side. But the Railway Seeker isn't wrong."
Conductor	Believing in a Samantha's words... Huh. That's certainly true. Both Samanthas and Railway Seekers are found near the Giant Trees. It would not be strange if they both had a common understanding.
Conductor	While I certainly do not believe a Samantha's words completely, if the Railway Seeker in front of us is using her words of her own will, it's possible that she's telling some truth in her own way.
Euston	"In this situation, I wonder if it is fair to put Samanthas and Railway Seekers in the same room. There is a track record of believing in Samantha's words and escaping trouble, but not for Railway Seekers."
Yoshino	"Indeed."
Yakutsk	"We don't even know what she really is in the first place. She's not the Railway Seeker we know."
Yakutsk	"The Railway Seeker we fought didn't talk like this. They were created by Ricardo, who was guarding the St. Iris Giant Tree, right?"
Queensway	"It should be. That's why Mary was surprised when she saw this particular Railway Seeker."
Yoshino	"Railway Seekers have been spotted outside of St. Iris. It was there long before Ricardo was born. Thinking about this a lot, it's not surprising that there are many different ones."
Queensway	"That..."
Putra	"We should talk to someone we can talk to. Doesn't matter if it's a human or a monster."
Putra	"Everyone, let's calm down and think about this for a minute. Remember what Euston said earlier. Is it our job to fight the enemy?"
Versailles	"No. It is to keep our people safe and the world at peace."
Putra	"That's right. This is a fight for life. A fight to make everyone happy. It's not a test of strength or a fight to show off."
Putra	"If you don't listen here and you start attacking, you're neither a knight nor a soldier anymore. That's what I think."
Putra	"Besides, you might lose something that once lost, you can never get again."
Versailles	"What you can never get again..."
Euston	"Life. And information."
Yoshino	"If it's information to save your life, you can't afford to lose it."
Putra	"Yep yep. If we're going to fight, it's better to fight as safely as possible."
Putra	"So Queensway, take another step back. We're supposed to be on the 'defensive' here. Why are we in an 'offensive' position during a negotiation? What should we do then if magic or sorcery is activated?"
Queensway	"Sorry..."
Railway Seeker	"Good call. When I got within range, I almost connected with the Mistism cultists' eyes."
Vivienne	"This is, a magical boundary line... I see, the Mistism cult had already made the first move."
Vivienne	"But Putra, how did you even see this? Even I had to consciously look for this line to notice it."
Putra	"Of course not. But I just guessed it might be there."
Putra	"I've always thought we were standing in the same place. If they wanted to fight us, they would have our backs surrounded, and if they wanted to talk, they would be a little further away."
Vivienne	"Putra..."
Queensway	(Now that she mentioned it, that's true. That explains why Miss Versailles was holding back behind me......)
Versailles	"Mademoiselle Queensway, cheer up. Let's look ahead. This time it happened to be you. Next time it could be me, or it could be Mademoiselle Putra."
Versailles	"Let's switch... Both of us together."
Queensway	"Miss Versailles..."
Queensway	"Yeah, let's switch."
Railway Seeker	"The Divine Child of Iridescent Clouds works miracles. But relying on that miracle will not clear the clouds. Even if we release the Station, we can't stop the the dead Giant Tree's core."
Conductor	So what's the point of just backing down? Will someone stop the Phantom Mist core's rampage on our behalf? Will someone suppress the otherworld Poison and cooperate with the Guardians?
Railway Seeker	"You have not yet fully unleashed your power. Imperfect power can also be Poison from within."
Railway Seeker	"It is possible that the Giant Tree you call the Steel Tree will become even more difficult to see. If that happens, the blessings of the Iridescent God will no longer extend to it."
Railway Seeker	"The Ooison that affected the St. Iris Giant Tree is powerful. It is not so easy to control it with the power of a single Divine Child."
Yoshino	"But the Poison is only getting stronger. The number of machine soldiers is also increasing, and we may be out of control, you know?"
Yoshino	"Do you know how to solve this? Should Yoshino and friends retreat for that reason?"
Railway Seeker	"We can't solve it as it is."
Yoshino	"If you know how to solve it, let us know. Tell us what kind of way."
Railway Seeker	"......"
Yoshino	"Speechless huh? You don't know. It seemed like you know a lot."
Yoshino	"That Samantha was the same way. It didn't feel like it was able to speak, but somehow it was saying things that Yoshino and friends didn't understand."
Yoshino then looked back at me,
and signaled with a question, "Can we continue?" At the same time, Euston also eyed at me.
ーーAll three of us seemed to be thinking the same thing.
I nodded to Yoshino, "Fine," and she resumed asking the talking Railway Seeker questions.
Yoshino	"Where did you come from, the Giant Tree? Are you a Giant Tree Guardian? Or are you someone who lived inside a Giant Tree like the Samantha?"
Railway Seeker	"Our Giant Tree has always thought of St. Iris... Even though it was blocked by thick fog, we never gave up hope that one day the railroad would connect."
Yoshino	"You are not from St. Iris, are you?"
Railway Seeker	"......"
Railway Seeker	"........."
Vivienne	"Be careful. She's changed."
Putra	"She doesn't seem to be able to speak anymore. Is it hard to negotiate?"
Railway Seeker	"...We have already presented you our conditions. Please leave this place immediately. This is already the place for us Children of Mist."
Queensway	"Mistism... I don't think they know what we just said."
Versailles	"That's more to our advantage. It's a big win."
Railway Seeker	"This Station is to lead us to the Steel Tree. Your train cannot go any further. The power of the Iridescent God cannot touch us Children of Mist."
Yakutsk	"Don't be so cock sure. Ya don't even need the Station anyway."
Vivienne	"That's right. Why do you need a Station if you don't have a train? I think you're obsessed because you had a bad experience with the Station on the Giant Tree Railway."
Putra	"Well, she was transported into the in-between dimensions."
Yoshino	"But when she came back from there, she became very strong. Think it's beyond the level of 'strong' though."
Queensway	"The Mistism cultists cannot release the Station. It's no use trying to use Conductor's power. We will do our best to stop them."
Railway Seeker	"Foolish. Do you think you can defeat us with that kind of power?"
Railway Seeker	"You don't know the full power of this Demon General. She is more powerful than the machine soldiers and the demonic beasts of the otherworld."
Railway Seeker	"With our power... we will surpass even the Giant Tree Guardians."
Euston	"Full alert! The enemy's power is rapidly increasing!"
Queensway	"What power... It's nothing compared to the first time we met."
Versailles	"Do not falter. We cannot be defeated here. Let's fight with all our might."

Thorn Railway Episode
40-1	Commander's Instrument
40-2	"The Thorn Railway"
40-3	Unexpected Departure
40-4	Natural Lift?
40-5	The Weight of a Sword
40-6	Shoulder to Shoulder
40-7	An Honorable Battle
40-8	Samantha and the Altar
40-9	Obstacles That Stand in the Way
40-10	Iridescent Light of Absolution