Aaaw, no Klaassen sushi for dinner :'(
What does he mean with unnecessary bloodshed? Some all-out faction war G.O. vs Paladins?

So, I presume the G.O. has some sort of knowledge of the "weapons'" nature enough to rule out Three just walking away with Tobegg and being immune to sniper shots.
Also I still want to see Three using the gun on this dude xD.
The thing is: I wonder what's keeping Klaassen in power here, being both o the same ground does not warrant Klaassen to be able to take the Tobegg back home, does it?

Anyway, gotta be patient and read further strips as the come :P

Thus passes Shalhia. She died as she lived, with no idea of what was going on in that mine.

@Straightbackward: It could be that the smile research is valuable enough that armies would have fought and died over it if the truth got out. Or that she had the local equivalent of Archduke Ferdinand in her sights (possibly triggering a succession war).

Shalhia knew she was going to get shot from behind. What are the odds she put some armor on under her hood. And she still has Levin's gun. She can't use her powers/skills on people, but gun may be fair game.

@Straightbackward

Klaassen is working directly for the president, so he belongs to the Unity Party to be precise. The Paladin Unit is also part of the G.O., but from a different party. Can be reread on page 2142.

I wonder, if Three can hold Klassen long enough for him to die from dehydration?

@Straightbackward
"Some all-out faction war G.O. vs Paladins?"

Yeah I'm guessing she wasn't wrong about Three being potentially the result of human experimentation, and I'm guessing the Paladins REALLY don't like that

It's interesting that #3 acted out even though it's programmed to not attack non-magic humans.

Almost as if it's developing a consciousness.

How long until it breaks its rules?

It'd be quite the twist if it later turns out that Shalhia, anticipating her own death, allowed the recording cells to keep recording, so that Klaassen's monologuing is picked up by them and later falls into the hands of the Paladin order... Much like how Shalhia's actions eventually lead her to the fate she probably wished to avoid, I could very well see Klaassen's actions leading to the exact conclusion that he tried to avoid by having her killed.

@Straightbackward

He has enough knowledge to think Three can't do anything of concern to him. Which could be anywhere from perfect knowledge of Three to being completely clueless about reality and simply being inappropiately confident because he doesn't realise just how bad his situation is.

I guess I was wrong about "blades seeing use." Though I wonder if Three might find a way around their safeguards.

Noting that Three is *not* putting the spikes away yet.

At that point I want her to survive and for Toby, Shakira and Three to go on adventures together !

Dang, re-reading for the 123th time :P
Yeah, as established in 4117, Three is an esper-like, and Shalhia assumed that was human experimentation. Then the matter of funding, I assumed back then that it clearly pointed up to G.O. but being a bit more literal about what Maria said, it could as well be some supra-national organization fueled by a variety of powers aware or not of each other. (A long enough chain makes each link know only the neighbors but not the extent.) Emphasis on how Infinighoul mocked Maria, not expecting the quick ghoulification of the corpse. Shalhia's picture of the events is incomplete and blurred.

@Brownie24128 Ah, yeah, thanks. I was mixing in the G.O.U.P, Trifecta, and the whole "G.O.". I was aware of the factionalism but certainly forgot about some key elements :P. Though, honestly, others like Vallance or Merlin.Inc might as well be involved.

@DarkOverord I was thinking about who are behind Smile. The unethical experimentation is a given. The unveiling of that operating under G.O., sanctioned by someone from the G.O. is implied to not be a one-sided dismantling of a fringe faction withing the GOUP, for example, or that the GOUP is collaborating "extensively". (As if the rise of Ghouls, Phantasms, etc were a current hot-topic on some spheres in power.)

@Whispers of Sorrow I really like your take, there's a very delicate balance of power in place enough that this could bring the G.O. into turmoil even if some factions are not involved in any of the old Garrimon drama.

Either way, thank you all for the @s ^^

Ghoul Shalhia joins the team!

This is simultaneously an underwhelming death and the most appropriate one possible [assuming she doesn't still have a shenanigan up her sleeve, 'Fleshcrafting' is definitely one of those powers where you can never really trust they're dead.]

Here lies Shelly, she died the way she lived, escalating conflicts for no goddamn reason despite constantly claiming the moral high ground.