Back in the garden, everyone is mostly focused on the Rivalry to come, as well as facing down Ouroboros. Jusis says he is mostly grateful for what Rufus has done for him in spite of everything, but he needs to ask him something when they face him. We take the elevator up to the next corridor, and at one point, Machias points out that the area when viewed from above looks like an M and a C. Could it be Mariabell Crois, or just Maria and Campanella? Ash points out that this place is over a thousand years old, so it couldn't be that, but it's gotta be SOMETHING if they're pointing it out, right? Who knows!
In the second area, there's an Ouroboros crest covering a big door, and...a couple of crude drawings of Evil Mishy and a jester on top of that with the word WELCOME plastered over that. This is obviously a message from Maria and Campanella. Juna asks to be on the team for the next battle since Maria betrayed Crossbell and Campanella personally needled her at Orchis Tower during CS3. Rean notices McBurn isn't with them but can sense him up ahead. It's also pretty obvious that neither Maria nor Campanella are taking this battle very seriously. They intend to do just the bare minimum for the Rivalry.
Maria says that she thinks the Rivalries are very well designed and are a perfect reference for her Ars Magna research. Am I supposed to know what that is? I feel like she might have mentioned it before, but that was a while ago! Juna then poses the question of what happened to "taking back" their Phantasmal Blaze Plan. She also has to wonder what exactly Campanella even is. He's apparently looked exactly the same for the past decade, and she has the sense that he's not as much of a troll as he lets on. Altina wonders if he's a homunculus, but Crow doesn't think it's that and he doesn't think he's an immortal either.
Then Juna asks the big million dollar question: Why would people as different as Mariabell, Vita, and Lianne Sandlot all swear their allegiance to the Grandmaster? Plus, Enforcers are basically free to come and go as they please. Why does Ouroboros allow that and seemingly shrug it off like it's no big deal when several members have just quit? Musse posits that Ouroboros is an organization that works to further the Grandmaster's goals, but the members themselves are also part of some grand experiment. Naturally, Maria and Campanella are evasive and won't directly answer the questions, but as a reward for our determination, they promise to go all-out for a change. Maria says she'll share some info about Ouroboros if we manage to win.
The fight is still not too much trouble. I actually manage to take out Campanella before he gets a real turn (he uses his initial turn at the start of the battle to do one of those inverse Brave Orders, but that's it). Maria doesn't fare much better, and I proudly finish her off with a YOU'VE FAILED YOUR INSPECTION from Machias. Once again, I am surprised that all of Class VII is standing and the Ouroboros members actually appear winded, although just for a moment and then they try to flee the scene. Altina and Fie try to bar their escape with Claiomh Solais.
Campanella asks if we really believe we could capture them, and Rean replies that he wishes he could just tell them to get out and never come back more than anything else. However, they promised some juicy info, and they ain't lettin' them leave without givin' up the goods. Campanella admits the Phantasmal Blaze Plan is still in effect, and it's nearly complete, in fact. Once the Rivalries are done, their objective will be met. Presumably, he's referring to the Sept-Terrion of Steel. Celine wondered why Vita wasn't aware the plan had changed, and Maria says she was just too focused on trying to lift the curse to notice. In other words, Ouroboros feigned defeat to Osborne because they determined it would be the best way to get what they want?
Ouroboros is interested in the reformation of the Great One, although it doesn't matter if it gets properly reformed or not. Campanella says it doesn't even matter of the two Sept-Terrions disappear the way the Sept-Terrion of Mirage did. Then he reveals that the driving force behind the Grandmaster's plan is to witness what the Sept-Terrions are capable of when they fall into human hands in this "possible world," and that phrase doesn't escape Emma's notice. Maria says those who are bound to this world can't comprehend the full scope of the plan since not everyone is on the same level as Professor Epstein. So...is this some sort of indirect admission that he's the Grandmaster, or just that he discovered something that the Grandmaster is interested in gaining for himself/herself? Are we talking about some sort of multiverse here?
Anyway, Maria tells us that Rufus is on the next floor up, and Black Alberich is with him. Campanella summons a massive Aion to help them escape, and Maria says they're about to move on to the third stage of the Orpheus Final Plan. On her way out, she tells Juna to tell the SSS that she'll meet them again someday and she's rooting for Crossbell's independence. Whew, that was a lot of plot bombs, but at least it confirmed my theory that Epstein is involved in all this somehow.
The game informs us there's new dialogue back at the garden, so that's where we go. Turns out it's just Alisa and Juna who have new stuff to say, but good enough! The elevator takes us to the tower.
