Sacrifice
Yun and the Rabbit's Foot;
Chris is an instigator of actions. While Geddoe is a mere mercenary following orders and wandering the globe, and Hugo is barely a man, Chris is the captain of the Zexen Knights. She is the one who kills Lulu, it was her desicion to attack the Karayan village. So it's surprising, poignant, even, that the most important moment in Chris's story doesn't involve her desicion at all.
The village of Alma Kinan is a village of mystics. The place is hidden from view, sacred. And, by some quirk of game design and a fuzzy ancient ritual, its population is 100% female. And in this village, Chris comes face to face with the story's antagonists, her comrade's true motivations, and what it means to be a hero.
At Chisha Village, Chris and her companions encounter two young women from Alma Kinan. One of them, Yun, can hear spirits and see some hazy semblance of the future. She greets Chris with open arms, though Chris is technically her enemy. She also takes Chris back to her own hidden village.
The short version goes like this: in order prevent the True Water Rune from falling into the hands of evil-doers, the people of Alma Kinan are going to release a seal. To do this, they must sacrifice a human life-- Yun.
"You don't need qualifications to make a difference."
Though Yun is happy to make the sacrifice, Chris is offended by the very idea. It's barbaric. Is a lucky rabbit's foot lucky for the rabbit? Can prosperity really be called prosperity if it comes at such a price? Her job as a knight is to protect lives, how can someone hand theirs over so easily?
The manga explores Chris's problems with the philosophies of Alma Kinan in greater Detail. That her visit to their village was predetermined, that her actions, life, and death have all been plotted out, that her father left her because of some unknowable force called destiny and that some little girl is going to thow away her life because the voices in her head tell her to, all these things are unforgivable. Chris has worked hard all of her life to be the person she is. Her choices have lead her through hardship, but Goddess, they were her own.
Chris has a hard time dealing with the idea of destiny.
Nash tries to play mediator, but in the end it's Yun herself who changes Chris's mind. Chris, for all her years of training, is so unsure about her duty, her father, and herself. Yun is sure. She has made her choice, however hard it may be, because she knows what she is doing is right. That certainty inspires Chris to make up her own mind.
Chris: I put all efforts as a Zexen Knight into combat. I only intended to defend my fellow men, the Zexen Knights and my country. But I found myself hailed as a hero, tormented by unsolicited attention and overt jealousies. Was I born with those qualities? Why do my people love me as a hero? Was this my destiny? That has always bothered me. Maybe it is why I distanced myself from the Knights. Maybe I wanted to escape the role of a hero. But I still...
Yun: You don't need qualifications to make a difference. Let expectations bring happiness, not burdens. Do whatever you feel is right. Trust your intuition. Just as I have my duties, you have yours. Wouldn't you be more upset if you had no purpose in life?
I think that's the moment where Chris makes up her mind. That people are willing to die for their homelands, the least she can do is be willing to live for them. Not to be some cherished hero-figure but a woman trying the best she can to be a protector. She still isn't sure if Yun's sacrifice was right, but I think she realizes that it's not her place to say. Yun has her duty. Chris has hers.