Summary:
This chapter opens with Solf J Kimbley, the alchemist of the red lotus, recounting the symphony he believes is doomed as he clenches his teeth on one end of the Philosopher’s Stone he was given to hasten the end of the Ishvallan Extermination. While some of the men under his command are amazed at the power he has displayed, Kimbley feels he could have created something “more artificial”. He then grabs one soldier to use as a human shield when an attack occurs near him. The soldier he used is dead, but Kimbley is upset because his jacket got dirty.Scar charges through the village, attacking and killing as many Amestrians as he can, and reaches a group that includes his parents and older brother. The frightened Ishvallans worry about where they should go and how many state alchemists might be among the soldiers when Scar’s brother gives him his notes. He points out that while Scar is a warrior, he is merely a bookworm with shaky legs; “Who do you think is more likely to get out of here alive?”.They then see Kimbley standing on the roof of the building above them. Scar attacks, guessing it’s another soldier, but Scar’s brother sees the transmutation rings on Kimbley’s palms and realizes that Kimbley is the state alchemist. Kimbley launches an alchemical attack, sending shockwaves and rocks blasting from the building and ground to attack the Ishvallans, and Scar’s brother jumps in front of Scar to protect the younger man. As the devastation is unleashed, Kimbley revels in the noise of chaos and glory in the power of his Philosopher’s Stone.Scar’s brother searches through the rubble and finds Scar bleeding profusely from a wound to his forehead, but also from his upper right arm, which was severed through the muscles below the shoulder. Desperately trying to stop the bleeding, Scar’s brother can’t and screams for help to anyone and helplessly searches for his missing arm. Finally, staring at his arms covered in construction and deconstruction tattoos, he decides and performs a transmutation that will change Scar forever.Scar slowly wakes up in the Rockbells clinic and hears the doctors urging anyone who can to escape before the road is closed by the military. Scar thinks of his big brother and wonders where he might be. Then he sees a familiar tattoo on his arm and relaxes for a moment, thinking that at least his big brother is okay. Then horror sets in when he sees that the arm he’s been looking at is now attached to his body – his brother’s arm is now his. He screams, “WHAT IS THAT?!”, scaring everyone, and Urey Rockbell asks for sedatives, only to be told there are none left.Thinking of the grinning soldiers mowing down his people as well as Kimbley’s mischief, Scar snarls that he will never forgive the Amestrians and grabs a large knife with his left hand. Madam Shan, sitting with the young Ishvallan boy, sees him move to attack but is paralyzed with fear, leaving only Urey to notice Scar moving towards him and Sara, but it is too late as Scar murders both doctors. Taking the notes his brother entrusted to him, Scar leaves the clinic, dripping with blood and pain, but when he reaches the top of the hill above his village, his pain intensifies to a nightmarish level as his village has been razed to the ground. Kimbley left no one alive and no building standing.Soon after the Rockbells are murdered, most of their patients have fled, so when the military arrives with Kimbley, they find no equipment and very little medicine left. One soldier explains that Urey and Sara must have been killed by their own patients, and another complains that they had to waste their time trying to get to this clinic. Kimbley points out that a soldier’s duty is to fight the enemy, while a doctor’s duty is to save life. Admiring their conviction, he pulls a photo of Urey and Sara with Winry from Urey’s back pocket. Looking at the photo, he wishes he could meet them alive.In another village, Major Mustang confronts the last surviving Ishvallan in the place and asks if the old man has any last words. The man laughs sarcastically and looks Roy straight in the eye as he declares, “I will never forgive you.” The Flame Alchemist merely raises his right hand and uses his alchemy to burn Ishvallan to ashes.At the Basque Grand command post, they receive word that the Dahlia area has been secured, meaning that all areas in Ishval are now officially secured by American forces. While many soldiers wonder if this means the war is truly over and what they can take home, Hughes gratefully slumps against the transport that was about to take him to battle with another unit and sighs that he can finally go home.Back at camp, Mustang sits alone while the others celebrate the end of hostilities, only to find a man inviting him to join them for a drink. When his cup is filled with the drink, Mustang asks what their names are and then what company they belong to. The men laugh merrily and inform Roy that they are his squad, but they are all low-ranking men and never imagined that he knew who they were. One man says he recently arrived, which reminds Roy of how many men died during the fighting. Roy notes sadly that he does not know the names of any of the men who served under his command, let alone the many Ishvallans he killed.Charlie, the man who invited Mustang, takes a long drink and then tells Mustang not to be so hard on himself. While he was their leader, he used his alchemy to cut his way through the enemy and never used any of his subordinates to protect himself. His unit would feel braver if they saw his flames and trust him to lead them through any conflict and consider him a hero. They all greet Roy and thank him for surviving. Roy salutes them and then watches them walk away towards the trucks.>Roy mourns the loss of his youthful ideals and sadly realizes that despite Charlie’s encouragement, he has only saved a handful of men. When Hughes arrives to see him, Roy condemns himself as a failure instead of a hero. Hughes reminds Roy that they are all so much trash to the upper echelons of the military, and Roy believes that even a piece of trash has a small amount of pride. He then vows to protect as many people as possible and encourages them to also protect those they can.Hughes counters that it’s a dream with childish logic, but Roy argues that if someone doesn’t chase such a dream, nothing will change. Hughes smirks and says that Roy is still a dreamer, but if he wants to succeed in his dream, he will have to climb to the top of the pile as he points to where Führer Bradley is standing over the soldiers. Roy can’t imagine what it’s like up there and explains that he can’t get to that position without help,, prompting Hughes to tease him about the not-so-subtle arm twist, even as he volunteered to support Roy the whole way. But as Roy makes his vow, Bradley notices the Flame Alchemist’s steely gaze and promises to watch Roy as well.Major Kimbley is in a building with a collection of high-ranking officers congratulating the Red Lotus Alchemist on what he has accomplished and asking his personal opinion on the Philosopher’s Stone. Kimbley comments on his ability to bypass the Equivalence and its power and generally demands that Kimbley return the stone. After deliberation, Kimbley shocks the officers by throwing a rock into his mouth and swallowing it. He then rejoices that they are the only people who know he has the Philosopher’s Stone as he raises his hands to perform another blast transmutation. After setting off a massive boom, Kimbley emerges from the smoking building laughing like a madman, unaware that inside the room Envy has seen and heard everything and the Homunculus congratulates the destructive alchemist.In a desolate field, Riza finishes Hawkeye’s small grave. Mustang finds her and tells her she can stay behind while most of the soldiers get into their vehicles. He wonders if the grave is for a fallen comrade, but she sadly explains that it is for an Ishvallan child who was abandoned by the side of the road. Roy says the war is over and begs her to leave, but Riza says the war can’t end for her. She then begs Roy to make the tattoo on her back that shows the secret of flame alchemy illegible due to the burn scars. He no longer wants to bear the responsibility of the burden. Seeing her determination, Roy reluctantly pulls on his gauntlets, angry at how this war has perfected his alchemy to burn with precision.What follows is a montage of Kain Fuery, Vato Falman, Heymans Breda and Jean Havoc summarizing their strengths and talents as Roy’s underlings. Riza then introduces herself to Roy and asks to be part of his group that he is organizing. Given the suffering she suffered in Ishval, Roy is surprised that she continued as a soldier and questions what her expertise might be. “Guns.” Riza reasons that when a soldier uses weapons, it doesn’t take as long to die at a soldier’s hands. Roy argues that she is lying to herself, and she counters that the soldiers should be the only ones with blood on their hands. For future generations to live in peace, she is willing to be with the soldiers who carry corpses on their backs across the sea of blood.Mustang stands up and offers her a spot to watch his back, pointing out that she could also shoot him in the back whenever she felt he was leaving the path they discussed (for future peace). Riza bows her head and accepts the position, adding that she would follow him into hell if he asked her to. Roy then tells his new subordinates that they must all survive and protect those they hold dear and entrusted to them in order to create the world they want to see.But even as Roy asks his subordinates to commit to changing Amestris, far away Scar vows to avenge his murdered family and friends. Only revenge will give him the strength to move on, with his holy homeland destroyed and everything he loved lost.