The Unchanging

Year: 984 - 05

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6 - Episode 7 - Episode 8 - Episode 9 - Episode 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12 - Episode 13 - Episode 14 - Episode 15 - Episode 16 - Episode 17 - Episode 18 - Episode 19 - Episode 20 - Episode 21 - Episode 22 - Episode 23 - Episode 24 - Episode 25 - Episode 26 - Episode 27 - Episode 28 - Episode 29 - Episode 30 - Episode 31 - Episode 32 - Episode 33 - Episode 34 - Episode 35 - Episode 36 - Episode 37 - Episode 38 - Episode 39 - Episode 40 - Episode 41 - Episode 42 - Episode 43 - Episode 44 - Episode 45 - Episode 46 - Episode 47 - Episode 48 - Episode 49 - Episode 50 - Episode 51 - Episode 52 - Episode 53 - Episode 54 - Episode 55

Episode: 1
We were neither highfliers nor greedy vultures; we were merely children who loved technology.
Do you remember the day when we first felt that we were breathing?
Back then…
That breath alone would suffice.
Or perhaps…
It was the air that was exceptionally clear that day.
The view is obscured by smoke and dust.
Terrified screams, hopeless outcries, pained moans, and the sounds of hard objects breaking create a cacophony.
Yi Sang	It is time… to turn the clock.
I can hear Yi Sang, the only conscious Sinner at the moment, muster up his remaining strength to speak.
The others are on the floor among dismembered corpses like powerless puppets.
Fatal injuries were left by an Abnormality.
Yet, we are in the middle of a Nest.
Weren’t Abnormalities… supposed to be confined within Lobotomy Corp’s branch facilities or dungeons?
Meanwhile, the Abnormality pierced Yi Sang’s abdomen as I wondered.
I had no one else to share this question with.
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles
Hong Lu	Where are we going this time?
The Sinners seemed to grow quite accustomed to this work.
As if we were on a roadtrip, some were far less hesitant to ask about our next destination.
Faust	That’s not quite the right question. This mission begins with a person, rather than a place.
Yi Sang	A person, you say?
Faust	We happen to have a client.
Ishmael	You mean… We take requests from outside like we’re a Fixer Office or something?
Don Quixote	Oho, hath our carriage begun to be frequented by requests already? ¡Excelente! It may take little time at all to become a renowned Fixer!
Vergilius	Quiet. I’ll be answering questions.
Vergilius	As you all know, the Golden Boughs are a relatively recent discovery.
Vergilius	Fortunately, J Corp. and D Corp. didn’t have much interest when we visited their districts.
Vergilius	That is why those facilities were populated by no more than Backstreets miscreants or ragtag Syndicates.
Vergilius	However…There are Wings that have caught wind of their existence and value early, like K Corp, whose turf we’re in right now.
Gregor	Hmm? But I thought we’d already taken the Golden Bough here in K Corp’s Nest?
Vergilius	I never said that there were any rules that say only one Bough may exist in a District.
Vergilius	The distribution of Lobotomy Corp’s branch facilities is more complicated than you’d expect. They can be found everywhere… spread quite literally like tree branches.
Sinclair	Like how one was connected to our estate’s basement…
Vergilius	There also haven’t been any clear definitions about who owns the Boughs.
Vergilius	Which is why everyone’s been playing by the primitive rule that “the first finders of a Bough are its keepers”.
Rodion	Well, that’s how it usually goes with slumbering treasures~
Gregor	In that case… Are you telling us that we’ve accepted the request to earn ownership of a Golden Bough?
Vergilius	To be exact, they made the offer first.
Vergilius	Since a Golden Bough is on the line, we have…
Ishmael	No choice… I get it now.
Vergilius	Thus… Haaa, I don’t know how many times I have to remind you of this, but do not do anything to aggravate the client.
Dante	<By the way…>
Vergilius	Now then, keep your mouths shut until you’re there. All as usual.
Dante	<……>
Faust	Dante seemed to have something to say.
Dante	<…Thank you, Faust.>
Vergilius	Ah, sorry about that, Dante. I do hope you understand that it’s quite cumbersome to grow used to the concept that the ticking of a clock can be something to respond to.
Dante	<…So what are Golden Boughs used for, anyway?>
Dante	<When I think about it, all we were told was a vague order to collect them… And nothing about what the company plans to do with them.>
Faust	……
Faust	They’re asking about the purpose of the Golden Boughs.
Vergilius	…Uh-huh.
Vergilius	I see you’ve finally begun to ruminate on subjects, Manager Dante. Here you are, growing curious about the company’s plans.
Vergilius	Then I ought to aid your management as a guide by providing kind explanation.
Vergilius	The Golden Boughs…
Vergilius	They are branches, as their name suggests. That’s what we call stems growing from the trunk of a tree. These ones happen to have a golden glow.
Don Quixote	Ohoooo… Forsooth…
Don Quixote was the only one responding passionately to this information.
Thanks to this exchange, he painted me as an ignorant bloke who doesn’t even know what a branch is.
Rodya shrugs at me as if to chaff me for expecting a real answer.
Charon	Verg, the road is blocked. Should I go around it?
Vergilius	……
Ishmael	It’s blocked?
Ishmael	Strange that there’s a blocked road. This is in the middle of K Corp’s Nest, too; it’s unlikely that there’s a scene—
Before Ishmael could finish her sentence, a dull thud at the window interrupted her.
Rodion	…Something just got flung at the bus and boinked off… That was a person, wasn’t it?
Meursault	A male individual who appears to be in his early 40s. There seems to be a serious injury in his occipital region. He had already died before the impact.
Vergilius	Yeah, sure doesn’t seem like the average scuffle.
Vergilius	Pitstop. If it’s a problem you can handle, come back after you’re done.
Rodion	…And what about if it isn’t?
Vergilius	The clock’ll have to spin until it’s been dealt with.
Dante	<That’s one elegant way to tell us to go die a thousand deaths…>
Rodion	Hm, now then…
Rodion	Off the bus.
Vergilius	……
Rodion	What? Weren’t you about to say the same thing anyway? Saved you the trouble~
Hong Lu	I just can’t wait, what adventures are in store for us this time?

Episode: 2
Location: Nest K’s Streets
Faust	As you saw through the bus… we are in the middle of a Nest. A place that should be the furthest from unexpected trouble.
Hong Lu	Hmm… Would that mean this is a precious commotion?
Everyone except drowsy Hong Lu was tensed up, carefully observing what was going on…
Dante	<Hm? Is that…>
Someone was running our way in a hurry from the other side.
The civilian was too hurried to look ahead; they bumped into the Sinners and fell to the ground.
Running Civilian	Huff, huff… D-Don’t go that way!
Don Quixote	Come now, you may rest easy! We have galloped hither to save innocent lives such as yours for we are—
Ishmael	We are no such things as heroes, so please don’t say anything unnecessary.
Heathcliff	Oi, we need to cross here. If you’re here to stop us for nothing, then I’ll give you a taste of this bat.
Looking at Heathcliff’s intimidating face and Ishmael’s frowned expression in turn, the civilian seemed to take a moment to consider which would be more of a threat.
Running Civilian	There’s… something ahead… something that shouldn’t be real…
Running Civilian	I dunno what it was, I’ve never seen anything like it… Everyone was screaming and running, and then… people rolling on the floor… set on fire…
Meursault	Did the entity you witnessed have a form that does not resemble a human?
Running Civilian	…Yeah, you’re right. That’s right…!
Ishmael	Then, if it isn’t a person…
Keeping the suspected possibilities in our minds, we headed for the center of the disturbance…
Location: Nest K’s Ruined Streets
Sinclair	W—What’s going on here?
Heathcliff	It could, er… be a Distortion or whatever, no? Like that chicken place?
Dante	<No… That’s different… That one is an Abnormality, not a Distortion. I’m sure of this… somehow.>
Faust	As Dante suggested, that entity is likely to be an Abnormality. Our manager is able to “sense” it.
Dante	<But then, why…>
Dante	<Why is an Abnormality in the middle of a Nest?>
Faust	It’s a phenomenon of which Faust has never been notified. Most Lobotomy Corp. facilities were shut down as soon as the Wing was dissolved.
I was reminded of the site burial Yuri told us about, but I quickly shook off those gloomy memories.
Faust	Even if an Abnormality did break out in the meantime, there should have been a report informing us of such a fact before this mission.
Faust	It’s hard to imagine that the LCC would have been unable to notice if such an event actually occurred.
Sinclair	…Could they be the security staff that gets sent by K Corp?
Ishmael	Rather than suppressing the Abnormality… they’re just getting completely wrecked.
Gregor	Mmh… It sorta takes me back to the time when we got beat bad in D Corp’s District…
Rodion	Aw, c’mon~ First, that chicken restaurant guy goes cuckoo, and now this? I’m really over this kinda Nest K welcome…
Right as they complained…
Heathcliff	Gah! Bloody…
Debris created by the rampaging Abnormality narrowly grazed past us.
Heathcliff	Hah, the hell are you doing? Just watching from here won’t do any of us any good!
Heathcliff	…It’ll crush us all to a pulp.
Outis	……
Outis	You’re gravely mistaken. Have that insane brat’s daily ramblings finally managed to brainwash you?
Don Quixote	Ho, hark? I prithee, who dost thou mean by this “insane brat”?
Outis	The guide only instructed us to return once the commotion has been dealt with. He never ordered us to deal with it ourselves.
Heathcliff	For goodness’ sake, what’s there to be so damn obtuse about?
Heathcliff	Didn’t you see what just happened? It almost blew my head off! Who knows what else will happen if it keeps up!
Heathcliff	This’ll be over if we just beat that damn thing down… What else do we got? Parking a seat to keep watching, gobbling some chicken? Huh?!
Outis	There’s no need to waste our lives on fights unrelated to our missions.
Outis	I’m sure you filth didn’t even realize, but here’s the thing…
Outis	The more you die, the less efficient you become in battle.
Outis	Experiencing a certain pain will make you learn to fear and avoid it.
Meursault	……
Sinclair	…People are dying over there as we speak, though?
Outis	Although it will cost much time and many lives… they will eventually suppress it. Just as we do.
Outis	And I must say… I didn’t expect a whining amateur who’d cry out for his parents whenever he died to willingly suggest self-sacrifice.
Outis	Death has become a triviality to you, has it?
Sinclair	……
Meursault	If we must make the best decision between the Sinners, it’s right to listen to her.
Dante	<I…>
We’re not Fixers, and we certainly cannot be heroes.
Turning the clock obviously hurts whenever I do it, and the pain is something I can never get used to.
And yet…
Dante	<We should suppress it. I can’t logically explain why, but… I feel like we should.>
Outis	……
Heathcliff	I’d have crushed that clock and run out there if you gabbled the same rubbish, clockface.
Meursault	If that is your decision, I will abide by it.
Gregor	Yeah, aight… I’m sure you made the right call.
Sinclair	Hey, um… Thank you for making that decision.
Ryoshu	You worry too much over little things, clock. You won’t be an artist.
Outis	…This judgement was made for none other than you, Executive Manager.
The Sinners walk ahead after leaving me comments.
While all the others moved forward, Faust remained and gave me a peculiar stare.
Dante	<What is it? You think my judgement was inefficient?>
Faust	No, I just thought it would be interesting to see how you react once you’ve reclaimed your memory.
Faust’s strange statement held me in place for a moment, but I decided I want to deal with the questions that are immediately ahead of me first.
Dante	<Faust, I’ve been wondering for a while… Are you really okay with being treated like this, considering your talent and everything?>
Someone of her caliber should have no problem enjoying a luxurious life in the City.
Faust	Faust doesn’t mind. Additionally, “talent” feels like the incorrect word to describe Faust.
Faust	Many can possess talent, but Faust does not want to be included in the many.
Faust	Among the Sinners, if we were looking for a talented individual of the most commonly agreed definition, that would be… Yi Sang. For your information, I am a genius.
Yi Sang stops walking behind the other Sinners and turns around to face me.
Looking again, his eyes actually stare into the emptiness behind me.
Yi Sang	…I am no such individual.
Yi Sang	I have long stopped fluttering my wings.
Yi Sang	Thus, it would be of no use to discuss my talent, Manager.
Dante	<……>
Curiously enough, I find that some Sinners feel more distant as we spend more time together.
Ryoshu	What’s that flying machine? It’s been irking me. Got the urge to S.I.D. for the three-thousandth time.
Yi Sang	That… is a device called a drone.
Ishmael	Oh, they might be combat drones K Corp. sent to help us. The Wing seems to be above average in terms of technology.
Faust	No, viewing its design, it doesn’t appear to be equipped with combat functionalities. It also has a camera at the center.
Ishmael	Well… I guess it makes sense to get a close look at the mess happening in a well-off Nest.
Abashed, Ishmael mumbled.
Don Quixote	Ohh! Will we be featured on the thing called the “news”?
Sinclair	Wait, something’s off… Why’re…
Sinclair	Why are they only filming corpses and dying people?
Gregor	Well, it’s the provocative stuff that draws more attention, doesn’t it?
Rodion	“Look at this terrible incident! See how morbid it is!” or something like that.
Sinclair	But…
Rodion	Hold up, kiddo! In front of you!
Sinclair	Kngh… This is… definitely weird…
Dante	<Sinclair!>
Sinclair	Look at this thing. Why does it have its camera glued to me…?
Ryoshu	…I don’t appreciate a soulless audience.
Meursault	There is a considerable number of them. And these drones…
Meursault	They appear to be deliberately preventing us from entering the area where the Abnormality is.
Gregor	Can’t be. We’re here to help, so they’d have no reason to get in…
Gregor	Our way… right…?
Now the drones have started lining up, and formed a wall as if to stop us from proceeding any farther.
Mysterious Drone	Greetings, citizens. Please keep ten meters of distance for your own safety.
Mysterious Drone	K Corp’s staff has been dispatched. Your safety is assured. Please keep ten meters of distance.
Heathcliff	No, look, your staff is being slaughtered over there, can’t you see?
Mysterious Drone	Greetings, citizens, your safety is assured. Please keep ten meters of distance.
Ishmael	Hah, the instructions make no sense. What difference is ten meters going to make in this mess?
Gregor	Tsk, not gonna do us any favors, huh…
Gregor	Dunno if they’re malfunctioning or just badly designed, but we’ll have to get rid of all these before we can get to the Abnormality.

Episode: 3
Location: Nest K’s Ruined Streets
Rodion	That’s the last of ‘em… They aren’t gonna make us pay for the damages, are they?
Faust	I‘ll try to report that it was an act of self-defense.
Rodion	Fau, darling… Did I ever tell you this? You’re really just so… how do I put it… You rock!
Faust	You were rather late to realize it.
Ishmael	…Something feels strange about this Abnormality. Doesn’t quite feel like the others we’ve fought.
Gregor	Hmm, not sure if we even have that much experience in that department, but…
Gregor	Well, I guess there’s the crowd around us shouting and yelling…?
Rodion	What’s up with these Abnormalities… How’d they show up in the middle of a Nest, and how did they get… more horrifying?
Dante	<And I’ve seen that one in the Mirror Dungeons a few times, too. Never in a fight, though.>
Dante	<Come to think of it… What was the deal with those Abnormalities in the Mirror Dungeons that didn’t fight us?>
Faust	Those were glimpses into the Abnormalities’ mental spaces and habitats viewed through cracks in the mirrored world.
Yi Sang	It is a chasm, incredibly narrow and unstable.
Faust	Indeed. Which only allowed for limited interaction.
Heathcliff	Forget that, all I wanna know is… why are these so tough? They’re as nasty as what we faced on the railway.
Meursault	That is certainly true.
Sinclair	Besides, what is this… sickening fluid dripping from them?
As the Sinners pointed out, the Abnormalities here were clearly different from what we’ve encountered before.
This is…
It oozes a mysterious liquid with a blue glint.
Faust	We have no time to analyze its constituents, so we should be careful not to come in contact with it.
Rodion	Yeesh~ No need to tell me. I’m not about to smudge myself with that.
Heathcliff	Oi! Did these things eat bad food off the floor or what? It’s like they’ve got rabies—
Sinclair	Huh? Above you, Mr. Heathcliff!
Heathcliff was knocked to the ground, unable to resist.
Ishmael	Manager… It looks like you have your work cut out for you.
Outis	…Please remember that I gave you my expostulation, Executive Manager.
Outis	All men, prepare for battle!
Dante	<Figured it would come to this…>
I’ve come too far to be afraid of pulling dead Sinners back to life.
Dante	<Let’s beat ‘em and head back.>

Episode: 4
As the prolonged cycles of pain came to an end…
Location: Nest K’s Ruined Streets
Faust	The Abnormality has been successfully suppressed. We can return to the bus now.
It was a “success” that accompanied many deaths and revivals on our side, but I nodded anyway.
We got back on the bus, harboring a few unanswered questions.
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles
Vergilius	You came back later than expected. I was just about to take my first nap in a while.
I explained the oddities we ran into earlier to Vergilius. (To be more precise, Faust did the heavy speaking.)
I was expecting him to coldly tell me to do my job as the middle manager and follow whatever orders I’m given, but his answer was surprisingly earnest.
Vergilius	…The existence of Abnormalities has been almost completely unknown to the public, and we don’t possess all the details on them, either, Dante.
Dante	<Didn’t think you’d admit it right away.>
Faust flinched a little, but she didn’t relay what I just said.
Vergilius	Enigmatic as they are… let’s leave Ms. Faust and other departments of our proud Limbus Company to uncover all the details in the future, as we likely ought to.
Faust	…Will do.
Was Faust given any time at all to do some sort of research on this job?
The mysteries were left unsolved, but… if Faust accepted the suggestion without a hitch, that probably means she’s thought of a way.
Outis	You, why do you have your shoulders hunched over like that?
Outis	You’re short enough as you are, and this shrunken posture makes you practically imperceptible.
Don Quixote	…I hoped to meet Lord Siegfried again…
Gregor	(Who was Lord Sieg…fried, again?)
Ishmael	Wasn’t that the man who took photos of himself while cutting us down with one hand?
Gregor	(Right… That Zack Friture guy…?)
Ishmael was breathing audibly through her nose. The incident at the checkpoint must’ve left some deep grudges for her.
Don Quixote	Eager was I to show him… my valiant acts of rescuing imperiled civilians…
Don Quixote	I vowed that I shall meet him again as a Fixer of noble cause…
Gregor	Reunions are more touching if it’s after a long time, Don Quixote. Try thinking that it’s a good thing he didn’t show up today.
Vergilius	It really is strange, though.
Vergilius	He’s not one to miss spectacles with this many spectators around.
Hong Lu	Oho… Is he kind of like a celebrity, then?
Vergilius	You could say that. He has a flair for showmanship, so it’s usual for K Corp. to take advantage of these kinds of commotions by sending him.
Vergilius	But… if he hasn’t shown up for this perfect opportunity to draw the public’s full attention…
Dante	<That means this isn’t something they want people to notice…>
Don Quixote	I shan’t… take such vicious slander of Lord Siegfried!
Don Quixote	On the fifth row of Page 42 of his autobiography “A Hero Should Keep Smiling Until His Last”, he writes that he shall be there to aid the weak no matter when and where!
Vergilius	…Hah. Alright, you’d best hold that belief of yours dearly.
Vergilius	That way, you’ll have something to cling to when you face the extreme in the future.

Episode: 5
As the futile conversations reached an end, the bus lazily pulled to a stop.
We’d arrived… in front of a building so tall that it would take a while to count the floors.
A few shrank down as if intimidated. (I understood Sinclair being one, but Heathcliff and Ishmael also seemed to be pressured.)
A few looked around with curious eyes…
And some others walked and carried themselves as if they knew they deserved royal treatment.
Location: K Corp. Laboratory Lobby
Hong Lu	Fuhu, I guess we’ve earned some renown. We’re finally being invited to places regular people would live.
Heathcliff	Lemme make one thing clear… If the request and the reward’s a load of tosh like the last time, I’m out.
Heathcliff ground his teeth, whether by Hong Lu’s words or due to memories of what we got into last time we were here.
Samjo	Ah, you’re a little late as expected.
Dante	<As expected?>
Outis	That man is…
Samjo	It’s a pleasure to meet you again. I want you to know that this is my heartfelt sentiment and not a formality.
A familiar face I never expected to see again greeted us.
Heathcliff	…I’m out. Already told ya.
Dante	<Give it a moment! Let’s at least hear what he has to say, okay?>
Heathcliff	Let go! Do you even get how it feels to have nightmares about doing the tango with raw chickens? Huh?
Samjo	To tell you the truth, my last request was a test to measure your competence.
Samjo	And you passed with flying colors. Congratulations. I mean this one as well.
Heathcliff	Who are you to test and grade us?! You—
Samjo	That’s of course—
???	That’s of course at the discretion of Mr. Samjo, my shrewd secretary. So you must be… from Limbus Company.
Dongrang	A pleasure to meet you, I’m Dongrang. I heard a lot about you from Samjo—it almost made me a fan.
Don Quixote	Fan??? Didst thou say just now that we have earned thine adoration?
Rodion	It’s just flattery, Don Quixote…
Dongrang	If I’m being quite honest… the test wasn’t my idea. I mean, you aren’t lab hens or anything, and you deserve better than involuntary tests.
Samjo	Indeed, it was my suggestion.
Samjo	I had reason to do so as your “Limbus Company” is a little-known firm that… could or could not be newly established.
Samjo	We couldn’t take the risk of entrusting an unknown organization with a request on Mr. Dongrang’s word alone.
Ishmael	Ahem… So, that means you’re requesting us…
Ishmael asked for confirmation that this was indeed a direct request, her face seeming rather proud.
Dongrang	Why, of course. Because, you all are…
Dongrang	…….
Dongrang	Ah, why don’t I show you to my lab? There are many fun things to see.
Dante	<Changing the subject so shamelessly is only gonna bother us more…>
Samjo	Sorry? Are you really going to take these people to your laboratory?
Dongrang	Why not? They passed your test, didn’t they, Mr. Samjo.
Dongrang	And if they’ve got the skills to take down what they called an “Abnormality” as we saw today…
Don Quixote	Aha~ Thou hast heard? My, traces of heroic deeds indeed make themselves known to the masses in no time! Fufu…
Dongrang	Haha, that’s a fun way to put it.
Dongrang	Ah, and you must be the manager… it was Dante, yes? May we speak for a moment?
Faust tried to say something to Dongrang, but he and Samjo pulled me far away by the time she stepped forward.

Episode: 6
Location: K Corp. Laboratory Lobby
Dante	<I mean… I don’t mind, but you two can’t hear me anyway.>
Dongrang	I was too embarrassed to bring it up in front of the whole group, but actually, one of your… employees was an old friend of mine.
Dante	<Oh, who is it?>
Dongrang	And he wouldn’t give me a nod, either. Perhaps he was embarrassed like me. It was a struggle to hide how disheartened I was.
Dante	<Maybe you weren’t as close as you thought, then? …Wait, can you hear my voice?>
Samjo	Mr. Dongrang, this individual is unable to communicate normally.
Dongrang	That’s why I’m speaking, Mr. Samjo. It’s like I’m back to being a child, muttering my woes to a wind-up toy, don’t you think?
…That all was a monologue?
Dante	<What are you two even doing?>
Dongrang	It was mostly because of him that I decided to send my request to you. I can trust a familiar person better than a stranger.
Samjo	See, this is why I can’t let my guard down for even a second. You’re too easily influenced by human attachment…
Dongrang	So, let me ask you a favor; use your tact and consideration to… pretend that you know nothing about the relationship between him and me, okay?
Dante	<You haven’t even told me who that friend is…>
I could only let out a deep sigh and shake my head…
The conversation that never got through ended as arbitrarily as it began.
Dante	<This isn’t asking a favor. You’re givine me a notice.>
Location: K Corp. Laboratory Hallway
Samjo	We’re at the laboratory aisle. Ordinary visitors would not be permitted to go any further…
Samjo	But since you’ve been invited by Mr. Dongrang… I will show you to the interior.
Sinclair	Wow… I hoped… I could work at a company as big as this.
Rodion	Then, maybe you could’ve applied to one~ Why didn’t you give it a shot?
Ishmael	You’re joking, right, Rodion? Not everyone can join these companies. This kind of firm only accepts the very best of the elite.
Ishmael	Like Faust or Yi Sang, for example…
Ishmael’s remark gave me a good opportunity to bring up my earlier question.
Dante	<Yeah, why did you choose to join Limbus Company out of all the options you had? There must’ve been better places to shoot for.>
Faust	Because I am Faust.
Dante	<……>
There was a certain energy in her confidently clarifying tone that discouraged me from asking another question.
Dante	<What about you, Yi Sang?>
Yi Sang	Let me take the trouble of asking in return. Manager, why did you join the company you work for?
Dante	<I mean, that’s because I had no other choice.>
Yi Sang	…That should sufficiently answer your question.
Dante	<……>
It looks like Ishmael wasn’t exaggerating about the qualifications it takes to join this firm.
Location: K Corp. Laboratory Room
The laboratory was dominated by a stillness that could only be achieved with everyone in total focus.
Rodion	Dante, Dante, Dante, look, there… You see that? The fridge is full of snacks… We could take one… or ten, and they wouldn’t notice!
And we would break that stillness with nonchalance.
Dongrang	Take as many as you’d like. Mr. Samjo, pack some snacks from the break room into small bundles to give them later.
Samjo	Understood.
Rodion	That’s awesome, Ishy, maybe we should quit our job and join up here?
Ishmael	Everyone can hear you, Rodya…
Faust	Rodion, the work contract says…
Rodion	Joking, Faust. Joking. See?
Dante	<……>
Dongrang	Let’s move on to the request—
Shrenne	You’re bringing outsiders into the building now… What are you, a field trip guide, Dongrang?
Dongrang	Ah. Pardon me for a moment. This is Shrenne. She’s the manager of the department next to mine and a colleague who joined the company at the same time as I did. Visiting me to hurl hurtful words takes up much of her daily routine.
Shrenne	I figured someone’s got to point out the massive drain on our company's welfare budget that is your team.
Dongrang	Ah, if you’re wondering about how we spend our welfare budget… You’ll see when the Department of the Year trophy is awarded. Right, Samjo?
Samjo	It would take a full day to list the benefits the department chosen as the best receives.
Shrenne	Eugh, you’re snobs, the both of you.
Gregor	Hm. Is that a rival? I do suppose excellence is followed by envy wherever it is.
Dongrang	Envy fuels advancement, as they say, so it’s only right for us to show a little generosity for those following behind. Should we give some of the pies we bought from that store to Shrenne’s department, Mr. Samjo?
Samjo	I was planning to do so. The pepper, chili, lettuce, and curry-flavored ones, specifically.
Rodion	Gasp… That… also sounds tasty?
Dongrang	Haha… Now then, let’s get back to the main topic.
Dongrang	I heard the rumors. They were about a newly formed company collecting organic objects called “Golden Boughs”.
Dongrang	And those Golden Boughs are found exclusively inside the closed-down branch facilities of Lobotomy Corp.
Outis	How did you learn about the existence of Golden Boughs?
Dongrang	It was a recent discovery. We’d been using a Lobotomy Corp. branch near our research facility as a lab until a few months ago.
Heathcliff	You… set up a lab in that horrible place?
Sinclair	But, I thought they were all buried underground…
Gregor	Well… I guess there were rare resources and documents they could use…
Faust	…Did the scope of your research include Abnormalities?
Dongrang	Why, certainly. No researcher could overlook such intriguing subjects.
Heathcliff	Researchers must be all soft in the head if that’s what they’re interested in…
Heathcliff	…Hold on.
Heathcliff	When you were mumbling rubbish and tossing a rock at one of them chickenheads, did you…
Samjo	Ahrmhrm…
Faust	I will say, Heathcliff’s unexpected fits of insight surprise me sometimes.
Faust	You led us into dealing with a Distortion in a “coincidental” encounter so that you could gather data for your research on Abnormalities.
Dongrang	Mr. Samjo here is no good at acting. I suppose it’s due to his upright way of life.
Dongrang	Please understand. We had no means to clearly distinguish a Distortion from an Abnormality.
Dongrang	A person distorts “when the mind crumbles to figurative pieces…” was it? That was a stellar figure of speech. Did you restore his crumbled mind back to health, then?
Faust	There is no way to piece together someone else’s broken mind.
Faust	We merely showed him the way. It was the choice of the restaurant owner whether to stay there or take that path.
Dongrang	Wow, you know so much. If I were just a bit younger, I’d have jumped and hopped trying to high-five you.
Faust	You’re always unwelcome to try.
Samjo	Mr. Dongrang, you’re becoming sidetracked again.
Dongrang	Ah, you’re right. Alright… Then, one day, while we happily indulged in research in that laboratory of the Lobotomy Corp. branch facility, armed terrorists attacked the place. It was all too sudden.
Dongrang	Have you ever seen a bomb set off before your eyes? It’s quite the spectacle. It all starts and ends in a split second. Just like the universe, isn’t it?
Outis	Where are the terrorists now?
Samjo	The members have almost nothing in common, and their motive is unknown. They only showed up recently.
Samjo	In the end, the terrorist organization took over the laboratory Mr. Dongrang’s team had stayed in.
Outis	Mm. That must be when the lab was moved.
Yi Sang	…How severe was the damage?
Dongrang turned his gaze from Yi Sang to the sporadically unoccupied seats.
Dongrang	You see, those empty seats…
Dongrang	They’ll stay that way for a while. Their owners died—in that act of terror.
Looking closely, I saw snacks and flowers placed on their cushions, probably as a way to mourn the dead.
Dongrang	Ah, this fellow we only managed to recover a finger from. We couldn’t find the right place to put it, so we’ve been keeping it in storage. It should be over at the display on the second floor.
A solemn silence filled the office, but Dongrang continued, brushing the empty desk with his hand.
Dongrang	There is so much we had to leave behind.
Gregor	…Dongrang…
Dongrang	I especially miss the plaque modeled after the face of my character, that was a favorite souvenir of mine.
Gregor	I’ll be stumped, I can’t tell how much of what he says is a joke and how much of it is serious.
Outis	What about that seat, then?
Our attention was brought to a white desk that was completely empty.
Dongrang	Ah, that one is reserved.
Dongrang	We’re waiting for a new employee to take that seat.
Ishmael	Oh… Is there an application guideline for the position, then? Where can I see it?
Samjo	Ahem.
Ishmael’s bright-eyed inquisition was interrupted by Samjo’s displeased utterance.
Dongrang	Oh dear, our Mr. Samjo is feeling all uncomfortable now. Shall we actually get to the point then, Samjo?
Samjo	Let me be blunt; I suggest an accord that will benefit both parties.
Samjo	If you help us retake the laboratory, we’ll yield the ownership of the Golden Bough we found to you.
Faust	I have a question. Is this a fixed contract, or a post-fulfillment review contract? Will it be represented by delegate bodies or co-executive members?
Samjo	Allow me to answer that. This will be an immediate delegate-body-represented contract with no warranty liability. A contractual signing overseen by an observer from a Grade 1 Contract Office will take place following due process.
Dante	<A Contract Office…? I-I dunno what’s going on… Does it really have to be so complicated?>
Ishmael	In J Corp’s District, we couldn’t get the Golden Bough right away despite winning because we didn’t have anyone overseeing the deal.
Gregor	Oh… That Ayuda from the Merry Archils? She started a fight even after Rodya won the game.
Sinclair	It’s Aida from Los Mariachis…
Ishmael	That’s right. Instead of playing the role of the observer, she left us with no choice but to take the Bough with force.
Ishmael	Which is why it is safer to use the service of an Association or a Contract Office to stand as an observer or to notarize the contract even if it can be costly. That’s what Faust probably considered most carefully, I think.
Ishmael explained like it was common knowledge. I guess it’s something well-known among City folks…
Faust	This contract certainly favors our side.
Faust & Samjo	As long as the goal is achieved.
…We watched with our mouths agape as the two declared the conclusion at once.
Dongrang	This is a secret, but, I frankly don’t get more than half of what Samjo says. I just nod like “Oh I see~” and move on.
Gregor	Isn’t that a coincidence? It’s the same for us, too.
Ishmael	Aren’t you supposed to be the last person to be ignorant of your secretary’s words…?
Hong Lu	Aha, still, I guess making a contract with K Corp’s laboratory means we won’t be fighting against the Wing’s staff for a while.
Hong Lu	You know, those people who would keep healing their wounds.
The team fell into a somber silence. All the memories related to them were filled with misery and suffering.
Dongrang	Ah, so you’ve seen K Corp’s regenerative technology already.
Rodion	Ugh, we’ve more than seen it!
Gregor	Had to deal with it over and over, I get sick of the thought…
Dongrang	Ah… Why don’t I show you around my lab instead, then? It’s not here, though… You’ll have to take the elevator once more.
Samjo	Geh? You would show them that much, Mr. Dongrang? That place is off-limits for unauthorized personnel…
Dongrang	Hah, you just made a really funny noise, Mr. Samjo. Well, it shouldn’t hurt. We’re hanging out a bit to celebrate the provisional contract being signed.
I wasn’t sure if that was an appropriate way to celebrate things… but since no one on the team objected, I decided to follow him.

Episode: 7
Location: K Corp. Laboratory - Modification Lab
Dongrang	This is where regenerative ampules are made.
Dongrang	They’re publicly called “HP bullets”… but the underlying principle is a nanobot-based medical treatment.
Dongrang	There have been struggles here and there, but at the moment, the ampule I sliiightly modified recently is the most commonly used version.
Heathcliff	So let me get this straight… You’re the one who supplied that? Dammit, do you have any idea how much that made us suffer—
Ishmael	We barely managed to crawl over that adversary…
Dongrang	I’m relieved that none of you seem to have passed away or suffered severe wounds, at the very least.
Dongrang	Ah! That reminds me, I was told companies have different definitions of “death on the job” and the processes of dealing with them. I’m sure Mr. Samjo gave me an explanation on it…
Gregor	So, Dongrang, are you… continuing your research on improving those cure-all nanobots?
Dongrang	Haha, of course not. HP bullets have long been commercialized. My project right now is the improvement of livestock using them.
Ishmael	Improving… livestock?
Dongrang	If “cutting” as a concept is reduced to irrelevance… if it becomes limited to a fleeting moment…
Dongrang	Think about it. We can get an endless supply of high-quality meat.
Dongrang	And it’s not just any meat; the flesh will come from livestock researched and improved with the combined efforts of countless minds… That’s the quality and rarity we’re talking about.
Hong Lu	It seems…
Hong Lu	Dongrang has a love for meat as deep as Rodya’s!
Dongrang	Hmm… Love, you say? You might be right, if endlessly devoting time and care could be called love.
Heathcliff	Hah. I guess snobby bunches get along well, eh?
Dante	<Don’t beat up our client, okay, Heathcliff?>
Heathcliff	Depends on how they behave.
We see live chickens whose wings and legs are being sliced endlessly. They don’t even struggle, as if they feel no pain.
Gregor	Hmmm… Is this how nanobots look? All I see is liquid…
Dongrang	When infinitesimal particles have fluidity, they will look pretty much the same as fluid.
Sinclair	Ugh… Is it really necessary to go this far for food?
Heathcliff	This sight is too disgusting to handle for a rich boy who grew up on juicy meat, eh?
Rodion	…Kiddo, there are lots of people in the world who’d go any length for a meal.
Sinclair	No, I mean… This isn’t the same. And my family wouldn’t eat any meat… I, I was an exception, though…
Sinclair	Why does it have to be like this? What I’m trying to say is…
Ishmael	Ah, I think I know what you’re getting at.
Ishmael	It does feel rather unnatural, doesn't it? If it was simply for the sake of improving food... there could've been more efficient ways to do it.
Rodion	Ahh~ There's one thing I can say for sure. If this technology had been made available in the Backstreets...
Rodion	My friends and I wouldn't have had to rummage through trash cans.
Yi Sang	...Technology.
Yi Sang	No, this is no more than breeding.
Yi Sang	They will never realize they have the ability to fly for their entire lives.
Yi Sang spoke, staring directly into Dongrang. It was unusual of him to take this much interest in matters.
Samjo	I must object. Chickens cannot fly in the first place, and this technology is providing quality welfare to many...
Dongrang	It's okay, Samjo.
Dongrang	For someone who usually wouldn't look others in the eye to glare directly at a person...
Dongrang	That's a sign of desperation, isn't it?
Yi Sang	……
Dongrang	The husbandry...
Samjo	...Something seems to have happened to the lab.
Samjo	Will it be a good choice to head there now?
Dongrang	It'll be fine, Samjo. They're skilled enough that they got out of a scuffle with K Corp. security staff armed with our regenerative ampules without a scratch.

Episode: 8
Location: Invaded K Corp. Laboratory
Announcement	An explosion has been detected. Please protect yourselves from danger by swiftly moving under your desks.
Intimidating Machine	……
???	Whoops... That was a misfire.
Announcement	A second explosion has been detected. Please activate the regeneration ampule in your possession, and...
Announcement	Please wait for K Corp's security staff that will arrive within 18 seconds of, of, of...
???	Same old announcement. I wonder, why are broadcasts like that told in such calm voices?
???	Won't a little gasping and panicking be more effective in getting people to evacuate?
???	See, getting so preoccupied with all that technology and science nonsense dulls your empathy with feelings.
???	...You talk too much. Be quiet.
Samjo	Is everyone alright? If you aren't, take a regeneration sample. A cross-compatibility test is normally needed, but we're in an emergency...
Gregor	...You look unfazed. Doesn't a terrorist attack usually throw everyone into chaos?
Dongrang	The first attack did have everyone panicking. The explosive detection broadcasts didn't exist, either. Mister Samjo hid under his desk for quite some time...
Samjo	As I keep saying, the attack occurred in the lobby, and I was merely attempting to pick up a notebook that fell under the desk.
Samjo	You must take this situation seriously, Mr. Dongrang. An attack on a K Corp. laboratory in the middle of the Nest is not a matter of course.
Dongrang	For sure, they managed to arrive at the floor where the researchers are. Oh, I think I sprained my left ankle, Samjo.
I watched as Samjo injected a regeneration ampule into Dongrang's body.
Outis	Are they the terrorists that are occupying the Lobotomy Corp. branch?
Dongrang	Indeed. Speak of the devil.
Sinclair	They're part of the terrorist organization? They don't really look like well-trained combatants...
Heathcliff	Would you look at that, you got an eye for that now, kid?
Samjo	It's natural. They aren't the ones directly engaging in combat.
Samjo	It should take a single glance to notice that they appear lean and frail just like Mr. Dongrang.
Heathcliff	I've seen rich sods that don't get into fights still get body-enhancing augments just in case. You sure they aren't just acting weak?
Faust	It's not necessarily the case. As varied as ways to augment the body are, some may be repulsed by it, physically or mentally.
Faust	Some Nests even forbid their residents from getting procedures above a certain level of power if they aren't qualified.
Rodion	They don't want the lowly to rise up and topple the ruling class over, huh?
Faust	I couldn't deny those possibilities. Each Nest must have its own reasons.
Faust	But, fundamentally speaking, augmenting procedures are like high-performing vehicles. If an unqualified driver were to try and handle a vehicle with a power output above what they can handle...
Faust	Layers of order in the Nest would fall apart in no time, so they'd like to prevent that from happening.
Dongrang	Sorry to interrupt your passionate exposition, the pain was genuine for me, just so you know.
Soon enough, people wearing familiar outfits appeared, along with the unforgettable beats of footsteps.
Don Quixote	Eek!
Sinclair	T-The ones from the checkpoint...
Ishmael	And now they're our reliable allies.
Dante	<Those robots... They look seriously hostile...>
???	Hemorrhage within five seconds. Spinal damage of at least 12 centimeters in length. Direct impact on coronary artery. Destruction of the cranium.
???	These steps will ensure that the enemy meets immediate death without unnecessary suffering.
???	It can do that, but wasn't it mainly to fully destroy the brain so that they can't regenerate themselves?
???	Hey, if you don't mind, could you pretend to be dead if this doesn't kill you right away? My buddy stayed up all night upgrading the instakill function.
???	Quiet.
???	See~ I told you. With that recoil distance, it only reaches as deep as the occipital lobe. Did you really have to learn it through trial?
???	Damn it... It should have gone all the way through the temporal lobe.
Dongrang	We can't lose to them, we have robots of our own. They should be here any minute now...
Dongrang	Aha, there it is! The regeneration ampule administration drone.
Ishmael	It must be pretty handy to have them. Do they inject the ampules right as the staff is injured?
Samjo	Yes, as long as their heads aren't lost... and the ampule is injected before the golden time passes and their brain stops functioning... They're practically undying.
K Corp. Security	...Kgh.
Samjo	Injuries like holes in internal organs...
K Corp. Security	...Kurgh!
Samjo	Or broken bones can be healed in seconds.
Ishmael	Even still... They wouldn't be immune to pain. How can they be so calm about it...
Ishmael	They won't even bat an eye at a colleague right next to them being cut down.
Meursault	Natural behavior.
Meursault	If all wounds can be healed up in seconds, all judgement regarding it will be secondary.
Hong Lu	If that's the case... Will we become like that eventually?
Meursault	I don't see a reason to think about such things.
Hong Lu	I was just curious.
???	By the way... Who are these new faces with unfamiliar outfits? Anyone wanna introduce yourself?
???	None of our business.
???	True. But it's kinda awkward to be just facing them. Someone's gotta talk, no?
Ishmael	...Why should we introduce ourselves to a terrorist organization?
???	We're no mere terrorist organization. Watch your words.
???	I don't hate the sound of it. It lines up with my beliefs when I was four. I had to answer the call of a grad school because the paper I wrote on atoms won a prize at the age of eleven...
???	Shut it. We are the technology liberation alliance.
Hong Lu	Liberate what technologies exactly? Does technology yearn for freedom?
Sinclair	Maybe... they're talking about the animals in the lab... I think?
???	You hear that? He thinks we're animal protectors or something?
???	Sorry, but that went out of fashion long ago. You think we're working day and night assembling machines just to fight for happily raised chickens fried in healthy oil?
???	Type X-32 bolts are so hard to get these days, we have to order them from other Nests. Do you have any idea how much tax is added?
Faust	You can substitute type X-32 bolts by casting a c-9 bolt and tempering it at an interval of two hours.
???	You aren't gonna win over us by acting all smart...
???	Oh... Huh... No, she might be right... It could work.
Gregor	Could you tell us why you're offering advice to enemies, Ms. Faust?
Faust	You wouldn't understand. Researchers have a creed more valuable than life.

Episode: 9
Location: Invaded K Corp. Laboratory
Gregor	That... certainly looks convenient. Broken bones heal up in a matter of moments.
Dongrang	K Corp. provided us with an astronomical sum of research grants to support our research on improving this ampule. Do keep this a secret from Shrenne, please; she might get mad at me about it for three months.
Ryoshu	Hmph... Clock would only wind the thing after we've died, scared of a little hurting.
Dante	<……>
Rodion	I think I cracked a bone in my right hand~ Can I get an ampule? It's kinda harder to grip my axe.
Rodya stood in front of a K Corp. drone and extended her right arm.
Ampule Helper	Welcome. K Corp. drones are always there for your health. Administering regeneration ampule...
Ampule Helper	...Cannot administer.
Ampule Helper	Friendly entities of type 3j-54 are eligible for serum injection, but regeneration ampules may only be administered to patients hemorrhaging 1Lr or more of blood. Also, since you have not taken a cross-compatibility test for the ampules, we do not take any responsibility for possible side effects. Thank you.
Rodion	Wha~? What are you talking about, you want me to cut off an arm or a leg or something?
Sinclair	They're...
Sinclair	They're already doing that. Look at the K Corp. staff...
Sinclair	They're cutting up their own limbs... to get the ampule...
Samjo	It's a necessary requirement. It would be a tremendous financial waste to use regeneration ampules for every little scratch.
Samjo	I hate to make comparisons, but its value is far above the caliber of small firms like yours.
Sinclair	……
Dante	<Yeesh...>
Dante	<It looks a bit dangerous here. Those machines are too rough... They might get me killed if I'm not careful.>
Dante	<I might wanna stay away from the fray a bit just to be safe...>
Just then, something grazed past my head... I mean, my head with a threatening shrill.
Dante	<Ah...>
Ishmael	Grrr…
Right as another projectile flew at me, Ishmael swiftly stretched her arm to take the hit.
Turning to the direction the projectiles came from, I didn't find enemy robots.
Instead, there was a K Corp. drone glaring with red.
Outis	Executive Manager! Are you alright?
Ishmael	I'm the one who got hit, Outis...
Outis	I should have taken the projectile for you. Curses!
Ishmael	Excuse me...
Outis	Hah, see what your robots that cost a bomb to make are doing. It fired at an ally!
Samjo	I must object. That was not friendly fire.
Samjo yelled from behind, raising his hand high.
Samjo	However... It does appear that exceptions couldn't be fully configured. I apologize for that particular shortcoming.
Outis	What rubbish are you...
Samjo	As you are aware, you could come into this place purely thanks to Mr. Dongrang's whim.
Samjo	Having visitors in this place is an extremely rare occurrence, and as such, a factor that wasn't put into consideration.
Ishmael	What, ngh... are you talking about?
Samjo	That K Corp's regenerator drones do more than just heal people.
Ishmael	Why... does it look like my body is melting? Can anyone make it... make sense...
Dante	<Ishmael!>
Samjo	Normally, K Corp's drones administer regeneration ampules to injured personnel...
Samjo	However, it injects a decay ampule to deserters.
Dante	<...It shot the decay ampule at me because I was trying to escape the combat zone?>
Gregor	Ain't that just revolting... Think you can pull off summary executions when there isn't even a war going on?
Gregor	Yeah, why not just make the drones fight instead?
Samjo	The Nest you're from must have valued human life, am I right?
Samjo	The value of each drone we have far surpasses that of ten class 2 staff members combined. Do you understand?
Gregor	..."You should understand," "you accept it"...
Gregor	I've had crappy coercion shoved in my face too many times, I don't feel like complying anymore.
Faust	I do understand where it's coming from. There was research that revealed deploying K Corp's drones in simulated battles increased the odds of victory by 23.5 percent.
Faust	It was a pretty famous paper among scholars.
Outis	Since the old times, deserters who try to flee from battle have been pointed out as greater detractors of morale than the threat of overwhelming oppression or weakness of the leader.
Outis	Public punishments of deserters are a historically proven tactic supported by many examples.
Gregor	Tch. Understand it all you like, then.
Dante	<Wait, what are you all talking about?>
Dante	<Look at Ishmael, she's... melting down...!>
Outis	Ah, apologies for my negligence, Executive Manager.
Outis	I failed to consider the suffering you must endure when you turn the clock.
Dante	<Wha, that's not what I'm...>
Faust	You might want to hurry if that's your concern. Her heart should still be intact in her current state.
Ishmael	Manager... What'll... happen to me...
……
The clock's hands turn with agony.
Meanwhile, Yi Sang was staring at empty ampules rolling on the floor.
Yi Sang	……

Episode: 10
Location: K Corp. Laboratory
Shrenne	Attention, everyone! Reinforcements have arrived!!
Rodion	W-Who are those people?
Dongrang	For sure, who could these be, Shrenne~? Made new friends other than me?
Shrenne	They're Fixers from Rosespanner Workshop, the ones we're working with for the current project. They've visited here several times already, you really should be familiar by now.
Niko	Pleasure to meet you. I'm Niko, representative of Rosespanner Workshop.
The enemies' faces clouded over at the unexpected arrival of reinforcements.
???	Boring. Let's head back.
???	What?
???	Sure... We'll leave.
Niko	Would you look at that, our "aura" has made them flee out of terror... Huhu...
Dongrang	Thanks, Shrenne. This made me seriously consider the possibility that your department might be picked as the best next year for the first time.
Shrenne	Shame about your precious trophies being destroyed, huh?
Samjo	Ms. Shrenne, pardon me for suspecting, but you did not perchance wait until the trophies were broken before bringing reinforcements, did you?
Dongrang	I don't mind losing them.
Dongrang	As long as the photo is fine.
Gregor	The damage they left is pretty severe now that I'm seeing it firsthand...
Gregor	It could've gotten all the researchers killed if things went wrong.
Samjo	Indeed, which is why we must eliminate them and reclaim the facility they've occupied as soon as possible.
Yi Sang	Why, then, does K Corp... not provide assistance?
Dongrang	Mmm... Clearly, it's because they don't want the general public to know that such a thing happened in the Nest, don't you think?
Yi Sang	While I may concede on that matter as innocent feathers were involved, this concerns researchers and a laboratory directly affiliated with the Wing...
Dongrang	It's evidence that they want it to remain discrete that much, don't you think?
Yi Sang	……
Dongrang	Anyway, I ought to bring a generous supply of regeneration ampules for you all to use. Now should be a good time to depart, right?
Gregor	We aren't going on a picnic, Dongrang... You gonna be okay?
Dongrang	No problem, seeing you in battle made me all the more reassured about accompanying you.
Faust	Just so you know... the technology our manager Dante uses is on a different level compared to K Corp's ampules; rather than regenerate, it restores.
Faust	Therefore, observing it won't provide much insight that can be applied to K Corp's Singularity or regeneration ampules.
Dongrang	Restoration, not healing, huh...
Rodion	No way~ Is he trying to copy Dante's ability like what that shady Bodhisattva Chicken guy tried with his rival?!
Dongrang	I wouldn't do such a thing. I'm not the kind of person to cram down food that I know I can't digest.
Outis	It has to be common practice for someone like you to send capable underlings to do the fighting for you, and yet you insist on being on the front. Are you that hungry for a medal?
Dongrang	No, it's that I left...
Dongrang	A number of things I couldn't take with me in time.
Dongrang	Like the photo commemorating my third consecutive year of winning the excellence award, the plaque of appreciation from K Corp, the photo taken to celebrate my lab's expansion, and... what else was there, Samjo?
Samjo	...Classified documents concerning the research, sir...
Outis	...So it's more that you wanted to gain back the medals you had.
Dongrang	Oh right, that too.
Gregor	You really did just barely manage to escape there, huh...
Shrenne	I guarantee you, that nerd Dongrang has never swung a fist in his life. He's too carefree. At least bring some Fixers like me.
Samjo	Is your department going as well, Ms. Shrenne?
Samjo	I don't see how you could benefit from the success of this operation.
Shrenne	...Three of my coworkers died in their last attack.
Shrenne	I've lost too much to care about interests and benefits.
Samjo	Ms. Shrenne...
Samjo	In that case, will I be correct to assume that the payment for the Fixers will be handled by your department--
Shrenne	Ugh... You just can't stop being such an irritating bunch...
Samjo	The Lobotomy Corp. branch we must reclaim isn't too far from here.
Samjo	Let's head there together.
Dongrang	I was hoping I could get a ride on your bus... What a shame.
Samjo	I'll secure you an opportunity next time. Let's get moving for now.
Rodion	Huh? Who do you think you are to decide that...?!
Location: Way to Lobotomy Corp. Branch in Nest K
This mission felt particularly tumultuous.
Rodion	And then, you see~ I bet the chips and declared like this:
Rodion	"All~ in."
Gregor	Haah... I wanna stop hearing it... It's giving me nausea.
Niko	There's nothing like headshake poker at J Corp's casinos. Those people who sit at the slot machines all day long, they're all morons.
Heathcliff	What, you mean there's something up with the machines?
Niko	This is something I haven't told anyone else. You see...
Heathcliff	Hold on, you gotta explain in more detail...
Dante	<Things are lively this time around.>
Ryoshu	D.L.I.
"She says she doesn't like it," whispered Sinclair.
I whispered back to him saying "I know".

Episode: 11
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Interior
...The group remained consistently noisy until the moment we arrived.
Ryoshu	Only in tranquility can art bloom in its full grace...
Shrenne	There's always gonna be a snobby jerk on any team.
Outis	I must agree. I can't tell if they're here to handle a request or hang out... They loosen up too easily...
Dongrang	If there's one fortunate thing, however, it's that we won't encounter any Abnormalities here.
Dante	<Why does this person keep talking to me?>
Dongrang	To tell you the truth, the first encounter with Abnormalities was a series of shocking revelations.
Dongrang	It was hybrid, so to speak. I wouldn't have been able to conceive such a concept as developing a new source of energy from the human subconscious.
Dante	<Hmm…>
Dongrang	I believe that the so widespread and standard, hm, what was it again... right, the age of humanity is coming to an end. Now is the age of the superior minds. Not too many have realized this with their hearts yet.
Dante	<What's an "age of humanity"?>
Dongrang	You have no idea how glad I was to have you on board.
Dante	<...Some one-sided conversation that was... Much worse than the ones I have with Vergilius.>
Was it even a conversation if one of us never communicated their thoughts to the other?
Dongrang	Shh. I hear some movement.
I think you're the only one here who has to keep his mouth shut.

Episode: 12
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Interior
Dongrang	I don't see any terrorists.
Shrenne	Relax. I've brought plenty of regeneration ampules, so those murder machines can rampage all they want.
An ominous noise buzzed from the stopped machines.
Melted Machine	Alright, all... You hear me?
Melted Machine	I got pretty mad thinking you might have thought we ran off, so I'm sending you a message verbally.
Melted Machine	I'm about to tell you something real important, so listen up.
Melted Machine	……
Melted Machine	A pause to rouse tension... Good.
Dante	<……>
Melted Machine	It's that you are...
Melted Machine	You are a bunch of worthless worms.
Melted Machine	Yeah, that's right. You're just worms!
Gregor	Gimme a break. I was all ears for this load of nonsense.
Gregor approached the speaker with a grumble, scratching the back of his head.
Dante	<Wait, Gregor!>
After playing the voice, the machine suddenly starts to heat up and inflate.
Faust	The machine is heating to unnatural degrees, its components expanding.
Niko	Oh my, it really is. That's a telltale sign of an imminent explosion.
Dongrang	Indeed, and that means...
Heathcliff	Wait a moment! Get away from that damned machine!
Heathcliff kicked Gregor away from the machine.
Dongrang	Hmm... They must've used what little time they had to place traps like this.
Dongrang	Their dedication is admirable. I'm raring to see the mastermind behind this.
Dante	<Are all researchers like that? This really doesn't feel like the time for admirations.>
Faust	Such is our fate.

Episode: 13
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Interior
Sinclair	Will this... blow up once it stops working like the last one?
As we suspected, the halted machine began to play an ominous noise.
Melted Machine	Alright, so, this is the second time you killed my machines, right?
Melted Machine	Let's see...
Melted Machine	You're a bunch of roaches that do nothing other than just crawl on the floor.
Rodion	It's okay, it's okay. Don't let it let you down, Greg...
Gregor	...I wasn't feeling anything.
Melted Machine	So... go on and keep crawling like the bugs you are.
Melted Machine	Why bother looking up when you'll be spending all your lives on that flat dimension of the surface, am I right?
Meursault	I understand now. Once the machines stop functioning, they play a prerecorded voice clip, then explode seconds after.
Meursault	It is unclear what purpose they are meant to serve, but all the machines are equipped with the same mechanisms.
Gregor	Pre...recorded? I didn't see that one coming...
Heathcliff	Hah, everyone's making fun of you, eh, buggy bloke.
Gregor	...It sure is baffling how the whole world is bending over backward to mock me...
Heathcliff	Pah, that's a tame reaction... Hm? O-Oi, what's wrong with you now?
Ishmael	Hrk...
Dante	<What's the matter, Ishmael? Are you alright?>
Ishmael	Yes... I'm just feeling a little queasy...
Ishmael	You don't have to mind me. I'm fine now.
Hong Lu	There's something I've been meaning to ask, what kind of organization is this... technology liberation alliance?
Outis	Why do you bother asking such questions? All we need to know about them is that it's a terrorist organization with a hollow name; their values are irrelevant to us.
Hong Lu	Haha, you never know what use the information might have, Outis.
Samjo	I know little about them myself. I did hear that someone who used to work in a K Corp. laboratory is now one of the organization's core members. Though, I don't have the details as this took place before I joined the firm.
Samjo	She was an outstanding researcher who was once awarded the best employee award, much like Mr. Dongrang is now.
Shrenne	What? How do you know that?
Samjo	I saw her name on one of the plaques in the trophy room. Wouldn't you say it's mandatory for someone of my occupation to remember all the names there?
Shrenne	Why do you keep peeking in there, anyway...?
Ishmael	...What could be the reason a highly praised employee decided to join terrorists...
Shrenne	……
Dongrang	I believe you saw her once earlier. She was enthusiastically destroying my lab.
Dongrang	Right around when Shrenne and I joined the company, she was... well, rather famous within the firm.
Dongrang	I heard rumors that she had wanted to test the limits of K Corp's technologies.
Dongrang	Then one day... rumors about her leaving the laboratory spread.
Dongrang	Saying that this is where she ended up.

Episode: 14
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Interior
Dongrang	Ah, this corridor must be the last. Once we're past here, we'll reach the edge of the facility.
Dongrang	After I retrieve my precious items from there, I'll give you the ownership of the Golden Bough as promised.
Rodion	Feels like this is gonna end on a rotten note, you gonna be okay with that? Those terrorists really must've run off, seeing how none of 'em showed up...
Dongrang	It was part of the contract to reclaim the laboratory.
Samjo	That's why I kept telling you, Mr. Dongrang. When you draft a contract, you have to be meticulous and calculating, and write it in a way that favors us.
Dante	<...Let's get going.>
Fortunately, I didn't see any killing machines here.
However, a couple of unwelcome figures appeared in front of us.
Outis	Be on guard, Executive Manager! Someone is ahead of us.
Dante	<Yeah, but they aren't holding any weapons...>
Outis	They may be unarmed, but you are an incredibly weak and fragile civilian, Executive Manager!
Dante	<...Um, thanks? Outis?>
???	Can't you count? You clearly outnumber us by a huge margin. Don't be a baby...
???	Here at last, worms?
Sinclair	It's the same voice that played from the machines. And... it's the same face we saw earlier.
Dongrang	Where are your other members, Senior Researcher Ran?
Ran	...You managed to bring more help in that mess, I see.
Ran	And put away that "senior" crap, we haven't even known each other for long. Don't you see what's going on?
Ran	They've all evacuated. And here I am... buying time for them.
Dongrang	That's interesting... We thought we stormed in unexpectedly, yet you knew it in advance and escaped?
Ran	'Cause you're worms. Look at you, getting all cocky after receiving the best employee award...
Ran	Raiding here, dare trying to catch us.
Heathcliff	You've got a big mouth. You think you're better than us?
Heathcliff	You're outnumbered like you said. That noggin of yours probably knows you'd better surrender, eh?
Ran	...Let's say I do. It's clear what you'll do with me.
Ran	You'll neutralize me and keep me barely alive...
Ran	"Curing" me with your flaunted regeneration ampules...
Ran	Rinse and repeat, until you get the answers you want.
Dongrang	Sounds like a problem that can be prevented by giving us the answers right away. Am I asking too much?
Ran	'Course you are. Unlike you...
Ran	We aren't planning to live like roaches that feed on whatever is provided from above.
Gregor	...This is really getting on my nerves.
Ran	Ah, whatever~ I've had enough of toying with you.
Samjo	What are you trying to...
Ran	That's right, show your curiosity only to what's happening immediately before your eyes. That's how a researcher should be.
Shrenne	Ran...
With an ear-piercing noise, the building was engulfed in an explosion.
All that remains is a charred stain.
Dante	<Ngh... That hurt a lot.>
Samjo	Are you alright, Mr. Dongrang?
Dongrang	I'm fine... Someone in Dante's party pushed me away as soon as the blast was heard. You know, the quiet fellow with intimidating eyes.
Samjo	I was going to do the same, but I was standing too far away.
Niko	Whew, that was close.
After taking the impact for others, Don Quixote and Meursault had been flung all the way to columns supporting the building, their backbones fully exposed.
...Don Quixote in particular was impaled on a pillar.
Dongrang	It must be the faith that they will come back to life at any time that prompted them to jump into danger without hesitation.
Dongrang	Not out of any sort of friendship or affinity... Isn't that right?
Don Quixote couldn't give any answers, whether due to death or the pointed edge stabbing through her mouth.
Meursault	...Cough.
Dante	<Meursault? You were alive...?>
Meursault	...It was my directive to protect the manager and see that the company's mission is accomplished.
Dongrang	That... must be it, yes.
Dongrang	How convenient. You can recover your body without using regeneration ampules.
Dante	<…….>
Dante	<I dunno, the ampule looks handier...>
Samjo	Right, is Ms. Shrenne alright? And the other Fixers?
Niko	We're perfectly sound.
Shrenne	Your group blocked the blast for us, so we turned out fine.
Shrenne	That's... why you haven't been taking the ampules. That clock had special powers.
Samjo	Indeed. After all, I recruited them after thorough screening and testing.
Shrenne	I see... Well, darn... All the ampules I brought... are useless now.
For some reason, Shrenne lets out a defeated laugh and drops the ampules in her bag to the floor.
It's true... For them—looking at it from a perspective that excludes me—this is certainly a convenient power.
Fatal consequences can be reversed, and the only price is me having to bear the pain.
No, wait.
Is this really fine?
And where does this all this time to rewind come from?
Heathcliff	Clock...face... Stop...dawdling about... That yellow-haired lass is dying...
Thoroughly ravaged by the blast, Heathcliff pointed at Don Quixote.
Heathcliff	Hurry up and turn it... This... hurts an awful lot...
Dante	<...On it.>

Episode: 15
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Interior
Dongrang	Shrenne, you've got shrapnel wounds, are you sure you don't want to use an ampule?
Shrenne	I'm fine...
Gregor	That Shrenne fella... She's looking kinda blank-faced, is she okay?
Gregor	Blank-faced... Hah, of course not. She couldn't be so carefree.
Outis	……
Outis	This makes it evident.
Outis	The terrorists long since made their leave. All that's left were bloodthirsty murderers hellbent on killing us.
Outis	I've made my judgement. Hey, what do you think?
Outis nudged her head at Meursault.
Meursault	I agree with it.
Sinclair	Wha, what are you two talking about?
Meursault	There's a traitor in our ranks. No doubt remains in the matter.
Meursault	It's thanks to this spy that our course and plans were leaked from the moment we departed.
Meursault	To prevent further damage, it is right to dispose of them here and now.
Traitor.
I blankly watched as he brought up a concept foreign to me.
Outis	As it's unlikely to be one of us, the rational course of action is to suspect your institute's lackeys.
Outis	This mission must be abandoned, Executive Manager. To allow ourselves to be involved in this nonsense is...
Samjo	I am repulsed by your accusation. Are you seriously suspecting us? I can assure you that we trust each other better than you people who haven't even been in the same firm for a year...
Samjo argued, flashes of light furiously bouncing off his glasses.
Dongrang	No, Samjo. Their hypothesis sounds plausible. I would've said the same.
Samjo	……
Dongrang	You have something to say, don't you?
Samjo	Mr. Dongrang...
Outis	That group of Fixers haven't used regeneration ampules a single time since they came in here.
Outis	Any sane combatant would kill to have those.
Meursault	There is one more thing.
Meursault	When we encountered Ran...
Meursault	They were distancing themselves from her in advance. The only explanation is that they knew there would be an explosion.
Niko	Oh, bother... Why not consider the possibility that my intuition is just that keen?
Niko	What if we weren't using the ampules because these buddies and I are built healthy?
Dongrang	Hm... I've brought a truth tablet just in case. I'll believe you if you testify the same after taking it.
Niko	Truth tablet? That red thing? How can I take that suspicious-looking drug...?
Dongrang	Sorry, did you have a choice here? How strange, if I were you, I would take the tablet... or make more desperate excuses.
Dongrang	You're so gladly squandering your chances to clear yourselves of suspicion, it's almost like you're asking to be killed.
Dongrang	...Or did you decide to kill us all and get away with it?
Niko	I thought a researcher's job was writing papers... and you're out here writing fiction, you deranged maniac.
Niko raised his weapon and pointed it at us.
Heathcliff	Showing your true selves now that you're cornered, eh?
Niko	I even taught you my secret to winning at the slot machines, and this is how you return the favor?

Episode: 16
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Interior
Niko	Ah... Give me a second. I think we need to call a timeout.
Niko	Might be the sardine I ate this morning... My stomach is aching.
Assistant Fixer	Boss!
Ryoshu	No such thing. SYNC is up next.
Assistant Fixer	Shrenne...!
Ryoshu	She what?
Assistant Fixer	Shrenne told us something. While we're in here... don't ever use regeneration ampules no matter what...
Shrenne	……
Niko	Haah... Saying that out loud... is breaching the contract, you dolt...
Rodion	That so... Shrenne told you that? Why?
Assistant Fixer	I don't know... She said we'll see in due time...
Dongrang	Well, we have the simplest way to find out, don't we?
After fiddling with a regeneration ampule in his hand, Dongrang made a sudden move...
He quickly jabbed the ampule into the unguarded Fixer's body like a dagger.
Assistant Fixer	Ah...
The Fixer tried to remove the ampule, but its content had already entered the system...
Niko	…!
Assistant Fixer	...Why do you look so surprised, boss? What happens if the ampule is injected...?
Assistant Fixer	...Huh, this is weird...
The Fixer's limbs began to twist in strange angles...
Assistant Fixer	Uwaah. Uagh.
Then some things started protruding through the flesh.
Collapsed on the floor, the Fixer tried to yell something, but failed to make any sound.
Gregor	...Is it just me, or is this awfully familiar?
Rodion	Please. You don't really think you're the only one who remembers that bug den, do you, Greg babe?
Resembling larvas or snails...
Niko	...Oh dear.
Shrenne	Let's stop here. I dragged too many people into this.
Niko	Well... It was my decision to take the deal for the money.
Niko	Dearie me... Should've gone on a bigger spree yesterday if I knew it would come to this.

Episode: 17
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Interior
Dongrang	Alright, then... Care to give us an explanation, Shrenne?
Shrenne blankly looks at Dongrang, her face wooden as if she's forgotten how to make expressions.
Dongrang	Since when did you join their side?
Shrenne	...You really are something. You don't even act surprised.
Shrenne	Hah, employees that can be brought back to life without the ampules, huh... This wasn't in the plans... It's not fair.
Dongrang	When I asked why you volunteered to follow me at the laboratory, you told me this:
Dongrang	"Three of my coworkers died."
Dongrang	Five of us died in that attack. Three is the number of casualties the technology liberation alliance suffered.
Dongrang	Oh, and I checked your network history, too.
Shrenne	You did what... You're allowed to do that?
Dongrang	So they keep telling you, it takes a full day and the night after to name all the benefits of the best employee.
Shrenne	That stupid "best" tripe again...
Dongrang	I saw that you exchanged tons of mail with Ran even after she left. What was it about? You wouldn't reply to a single one I sent asking to go grab coffee together.
Dongrang	I do suppose... you've respected Ran a lot ever since you joined. Even your password was set as "missyouran", how about that?
Samjo	Wait, is this... all true?
Samjo	I don't understand. K Corp's research institutes are the best workplace you could ask for as a scientist; it's a stable job, cares about employee well-being, and has the limelight of the academy.
Samjo	But, why would you turn your back on it and collude with those terrorists...
Samjo	I saw you as a researcher with a promising future... You had a long way to go compared to Mr. Dongrang, but still...
Dongrang	Yeah, Shrenne. Why don't you say it yourself?
Dongrang	Why did you decide to collude with them?
Shrenne	……
Shrenne	The tears wouldn't stop.
Dongrang	You...
Shrenne	You know what that means, right? I...
Dongrang	…!
We couldn't hear the rest of what Shrenne tried to say.
At first, it looked like a thin red line was drawn on her body...
Then we realized that it wasn't just a line.
Gregor	Hey... Shrenne...
Cut clean in half, fluid splashed from the severed hemispheres of her brain as if to convey that regeneration ampules won't heal this.
Ryoshu	Hah, haha... Shut your mouths and keep still. Don't even breathe.
The people who slew Shrenne along with the wall behind her without letting even their footsteps be heard were...
Ishmael	…!
Ryoshu	Fixers inanely treading shadows... I'll give you the honor of being called F.I.T.S. Heh.
Ishmael	Fixers who work like that... would belong to... Shi Association.
Ishmael	An Association of Fixers that exclusively take assassination requests.
Ishmael	They most likely aren't ones we could easily fight and defeat. It depends on how much they were paid and what Section are they from, but in this case...
Ishmael	Seeing that only Ryōshū was able to pick up hints of their presence... They most certainly won't be amateurs from Sections 5 or 6.
Assassin	……
Samjo	Ms. Shrenne... Why...
Ryoshu	Tsk, gone already.
Ryōshū clicked her tongue and complained about the assassins' retreat, even though I couldn't hear or see them at all.
Heathcliff	How ridiculous. Torn by inner conflict.
Dongrang	Senior Researcher Ran was Shrenne's mentor when she first joined the firm. It looks like their bond lasted much longer than I thought.
Dongrang	You see, Dante? We were peers working for the same firm, and there's still collusion and fraternity.
Dongrang	Betrayal, division, connivance. It happens in any group of people... I guess it's an inescapable cycle.
Dante	<Not sure there's any point in telling me this...>
Dongrang	Say... How much do you trust your Sinners?
Dante	<I’m… sorry, what?>
Dongrang	You know virtually nothing about them, do you? Much like how I couldn't know everything about Shrenne. Am I wrong?
Dongrang	You... don't even know which is the one that has a history with me.

Episode: 18
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Interior
Dante	<Looks like we're almost there.>
Dante	<I can sense the Golden Bough resonating nearby.>
Faust	...It appears we're nearing the target location.
Dongrang	That's good. The photos and awards I left should be still there.
Samjo	Classified research documents as well, Mr. Dongrang.
Yi Sang	……
Yi Sang picks up an ampule Shrenne dropped from the floor and carefully examines it.
Dongrang	How kind of you. You didn't have to pick it up.
Yi Sang	...It's the same.
Yi Sang	This regeneration ampule...
Yi Sang	Its number abides by the same rule as the 'decay ampules' that was forcibly administered to Miss Ishmael in the earlier scuffle between K Corp's brawlers and invading machines.
Samjo	That's what's called a serial code. It's a unique string of numbers to categorize ampules. Ones that start with an "O" are original- Wait, why am I explaining this, again?
Yi Sang	Original... Identical to the 'decay ampule' injected to Miss Ishmael... So it suggests that its essence was no different from that of the regeneration ampule.
Dongrang	This series of regeneration ampule is, well, how do I say it... It's an undiluted solution. It's not exactly like the commercially available ones.
Yi Sang	……
Dongrang	What are you thinking right now?
Yi Sang	Nothing.
Dongrang	When did you first recognize me?
Yi Sang	Since you showed us the chickens in captivity.
Yi Sang	It would have sufficed to give your visitors a cursory tour, yet you insisted on showing your personal laboratory...
Dongrang	You're right. I don't know about the others, but I wanted you to see the demonstrable proof of my success.
Dongrang	I'm still sad, though. You probably had plenty of time to express your joy of reuniting with this old friend of yours.
Yi Sang	It is my thought that I no longer have companions by my side.
Dongrang	You haven't changed.
Dongrang	You've always enjoyed keeping precious things in bottles and watching them.
Yi Sang	And you were intent on releasing and showing them.
Don Quixote	Didst thou say "companions"? I must say, Yi Sang, many reunions with thy companions do await thee in this journey!
Don Quixote	In an expedition past, the, err...one wearing a tinted eyewear did confront thee!
Dongrang	……
Dongrang	Aha. So you already had a reunion to celebrate. No wonder you're being so detached with me.
Dongrang	How troubling for you, though.
Dongrang	Looks like there'll be another you have to face.
Dante	<What do you mean?>
Dongrang	I thought everyone had made their escape thanks to Shrenne's snitching...
Dongrang	But I suppose that wasn't the case.
Someone walks in, exuding a suffocatingly thick scent of flowers.
Holding a bright golden branch in her hand, an object now familiar to me.
She had a worn monochrome photograph in her other hand.
???	It's a fine photograph. Only one of this shot remains in this world now.
Dongrang	So many old friends, and not one to greet me with delight.
Dongrang	Won't you give that picture back to me? It may not look like it, but it's a cherished treasure of mine.
Samjo	Mr. Dongrang, you shouldn't get close to her! It's dangerous!
Outis	All troops, do not carelessly approach her! The Golden Bough may be destroyed...
Meursault	I agree with it.
Faust	Faust will come up with a way to retrieve it in no time.
Heathcliff	Tch, why do we keep running into problems that a good pummeling can't solve! This is right infuriating...
Everyone yells and shouts with their own goal in mind.
Regardless of the noise, the person with the Golden Bough steadily walks this way.
However, instead of going for Dongrang...
???	That piquant and fragrant smell made me feel as though the ground was sinking.
Yi Sang	…!
She plunged the Golden Bough in her hand into Yi Sang's chest...
And Yi Sang collapses on the ground.
???	I...didn't think you would end up choosing him before my eyes.
Dante	<Yi Sang!>
???	You can have this back.
Dongbaek	A photograph is nothing more than a taxidermied moment.
Even while drenched in blood, the Golden Bough still glows.
Contrasting the golden dazzle...
The faded monochrome photograph slowly falls to the floor.

Episode: 19
Yi Sang	Thinking back to those days, I felt as though I had been afloat all the time then.
Yi Sang	Yes, I was enduring life with the feeling of flying in the sky.
Yi Sang	Thus, I had been living without knowing for certain if I truly had wings or if I was a mere half-wit.
Dongrang	Yi Sang, did you stay up all night working on your research again? I keep telling you, skipping sleep will get you killed.
Dongbaek	He's something else. Remember how he'd forget to eat or sleep when he got into something?
Dongrang	He can't be helped, Dongbaek. So... what do you plan to show us at this illuminators' conference?
Dongrang	I can't help but look forward to something you've been working on tirelessly in your room.
Yi Sang	This time... I have made something I call the 'mirror'.
Thus, it has always remained unclear.
Unsure if I regret that day, or reminisce it fondly.
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Manager's Office
Dante	<...Sang... Yi Sang! You alright?>
Yi Sang	……
Yi Sang's eyes slowly opened.
Their lives are so easily light, so easily recoverable.
Yi Sang	I see... You have reversed my death as you always do.
Dante	<……>
A flash of light burst out of the Golden Bough right as it pierced his chest, blinding everyone for a moment...
And Dongbaek had disappeared in the meantime.
The smiles the people in the photograph made at each other were nowhere to be seen now.
And Dongrang cast his eyes into emptiness, reviewing the situation we got into.
Dongrang	...I'm sure Dongbaek's plan was to stab me.
Dongrang	Shrenne and Ran probably told her that I brought help from the outside...
Dongrang	But she couldn't have known that Yi Sang would be one of them.
HongLu	Ah~ So you've brought Yi Sang here on purpose?
Dongrang	Mm... Are you asking if I invited him as a meat shield knowing that I'd be ambushed? As excellent as my ability to predict courses of events is, I am no prophet.
Samjo	Either way, things went in our favor. The assault was clearly made with intent to kill.
Gregor	What did you just...? You can't be serious... A colleague of ours got stabbed to death for your boss, and you're talking like everything went well...
Samjo	It's not our responsibility to compensate for any injuries, is it? If this has left psychological scars, you are free to demand compensation, but please know that the procedures will be rather complex...
Gregor	No, my problem is with how you're describing this whole--
Yi Sang	Leave the matter there.
Yi Sang	I do not feel an ounce of pain. So you have no need to pursue this matter further.
When I turn the clock, every consequence is reversed.
Torn clothing, bloodied stains, even the smallest scars are undone.
But that doesn't make the cause of those damages something that never happened.
Which is why I have to ask.
Dante	<Are you sure you're okay, Yi Sang?>
Yi Sang shut down my last attempt to inquire with a simple "Yes", so I couldn't try again until now...
But that man named Gubo had no problem raising his weapon against Yi Sang while claiming to be his compatriot.
Yi Sang	I see, you must have been rather curious.
This time, he didn't seem to have any intent to dodge my question.
Yi Sang	I was once part of an organization named the League of Nine. Gubo, Dongrang, and Dongbaek, the one who stabbed my chest. Those faces you have seen were members of it as well, manager.
Yi Sang	However, it disbanded and scattered one day. Each of us was flown away into our own path.
Yi Sang	That was all there was to it.
Rodion	Aw, what~ Feels like your story's missing a ton of details, y'know?
Rodion	You broke up 'cause things happened and now you're pointing knives at each other~ Like, is that it?
Sinclair	Or maybe they were never friends after all.
Yi Sang	It was no more than a moment. I believe my testimony to be apt for a time as transient as that.
He started talking a lot. He hasn't turned into a chatterbox just yet, but I had the feeling that he'd soon become more talkative.
I was reminded of Faust mentioning once that he was never really the quiet sort.
Dante	<Are you really sure you're okay, Yi Sang?>
Yi Sang	I have always been okay.
If that was his true nature, then this might not be a bad thing.
Still, my feelings say that I should care for his well-being.
Dante	<From your recent memory, umm... Have you had any particularly happy or painful moments or something like that?>
Yi Sang	...You are devoting an unusual degree of attention to me today. While it does not please me... I will give you an answer since your demeanor is quite unlike the usual.
Yi Sang	If I were to choose one, the happiest occasion in recent memory would be... when we held an illuminators' conference.
Yi Sang	And the most hopeless one would be...
Yi Sang	At the forest where I first met you.
Yi Sang	The very moment my life resumed when I was certain that it had ended there.
Yi Sang	Another such moment is now. I am once again realizing that this regeneration is ever so flawless, unchanging.
Yi Sang	I hope that sates your curiosity.
Dante	<……>
Yi Sang	Now, should we not be on our way? I see a long road ahead of us.
As he walked ahead...
I could almost see it.
Although the wound was perfectly erased, there was still...
A hole in his chest, wide open with no signs of mending.

Episode: 20
Location: Nest K - LC Branch Manager's Office
Samjo	Oh dear...
Samjo	It seems a radio communication device was installed in this branch.
His phone was intensely vibrating as though the calls set it on fire.
Samjo	Yes, I understand. I'll return right away.
Samjo	It seems the laboratory has been raided again.
Samjo	There are apparently more terrorists this time, on a fiercer offense than before.
Outis	So the commotion earlier was a distraction to keep us here.
Outis	Kgh... This could have easily been prevented if it weren't for your collusion.
Outis lashed out in frustration.
Sinclair	It does feel rather strange... I think this is the first time we're going through a Lobotomy Corp. branch without facing a single Abnormality.
Hong Lu	That's true indeed. Those we did see were resting still in their eggs.
Heathcliff	The bounders from tech liberation whatever must have got some way to put Abnormalities in their eggs without lifting a hand, eh?
Faust	Though we will have to see the details with our own eyes... If they really do have the technology to revert Abnormalities into their inactive forms...
Faust	It's certain that they possess the technologies to achieve more.
Gregor	Well well, sounds like you've gotta look out, Dongrang, bud... Ms. Faust isn't one to say ominous stuff for nothing, you know.
Dongrang	It'll work out somehow. In our group is K Corp's most successful researcher... and better yet, two of the greatest geniuses in the City.

Episode: 21
Location: K Corp. Laboratory Lobby
As soon as we got back to the lobby, we could see panic-struck employees run before Dongrang and Samjo.
Hurrying Researcher	Mr. Dongrang... A moment, please...!
Dongrang	Haha, you've all turned pale. Ah, pardon me for a moment.
Dante	<The situation looks pretty tense. It's kinda awkward to stand still like this...>
As I meandered in the lobby murmuring meaningless things to myself, Don Quixote scuttled to a shelf.
Don Quixote	Oho, what manner of books are these? The pictures glitter brightly!
Sounding a merry hum, she picked up a storybook.
I peeked at the book she opened.
Yi Sang also turned his gaze toward the book, possibly bothered by something about it...
Soon, a golden haze unfolded.
Once upon a time, when everyone had their heads down and eyes fixed on the ground, there was a person who looked up into the sky.
In their eyes were twinkling stars.
Connecting the nameless stars no one else would look at,
The person gave them names, and made up stories for them as they liked.
Stories are like skeins of thread without an end;
They're drawn and woven together in an effort to find meaning from meaninglessness.
All kinds of stories in the world, happy and sad, circled in the night sky.
Then one day, the person's family fell deeply sick, their life nearing its end.
Like any other day, the person spoke into the sky about the grief they felt.
And then...
A droplet of water fell onto the person's head.
Looking up, the person found the constellation talking to them.
'Dear person who named me and gave me a story, thanks to you, I was cast onto the land and pushed by the flow of time, feeling the world in full.'
'Did you know that stars can grant wishes?'
'The tears I shed will clear you of your pain.'
Afterwards, a rain fell onto the world for a day and a half.
Everyone caught in the rain was all healed up.
The person's ill family recovered to health, too.
Since then, the person and their family, as well as all the residents of the city, have looked up at the sky and talked about happiness every night.
Ishmael	That explains it. I read that Nest K has a custom of walking outside without an umbrella to stand in the rain on the night of a certain month every year...
Ishmael	...Don't tell me, am I alone in this again? Have none of you checked out the pamphlet guide to K Corp's Nest and Backstreets until now? No one?
Rodion	Oh, that thing... I used mine to whack some bugs... So I gotta get a... new one...
Ishmael	Does this look like the time to be joking around, Rodya?!
Rodya didn't look like she was joking at all, but Ishmael seemed unaware of it.
Sinclair	By the way, that story... It feels similar to what the regeneration ampule does, doesn't it?
Sinclair	That rain that restores you to health...
Gregor	Yeah, so... You trying to say it was made from rains dropped by stars?
Rodion	Wait, wasn't it nanobots and not watery stuff in the first place?
Dante	<What do you think, Faust?>
Faust	I am a woman of science. I prefer judgement based on facts over metaphors.
Faust	This... so-called analysis and interpretation of stars and clouds might be an area Yi Sang is more familiar with.
Faust	He's a researcher like me, but we're not quite the same.
Yi Sang	……
Dongrang	We'd better hurry. The situation seems pretty serious.
Dongrang	I hear they managed to storm all the way into rooms where experiments are conducted this time.
Don Quixote	Hmm? Does this place not seem too peaceful for such a dire predicament? I see nary a man running away!
Samjo	It does appear that there's been an evacuation order. However, as you witnessed last time, this is not the first emergency that occurred this week. They might be worried that evacuating again could disrupt the 70-hour workweek policy.
Dante	<Working in this kind of place is not easy, huh...>
Outis	I don't get it. How was this attack possible? It didn't seem like a structure that allowed intruders to sneak into the room undetected.
Dongrang	We're running short of time, so I'll explain as we go up.
Ryoshu	Object.
Ryoshu	Give one reason we should go with you.
Meursault	Indeed. The contract has been fulfilled.
Dongrang	That's true. But, as much as I want to give the Bough to you, it's been taken before our eyes.
Ryoshu	Hmgh... TRASHES...
Rodion	Is this... really right? Hey... What does the contract exactly say?
Samjo	Hm... I couldn't say, I'm not all too knowledgeable when it comes to legal matters...
Instead of arguing back as usual, Samjo suddenly got busy wiping his glasses.
Ryoshu	S.A.
Sinclair	Mister Samjo... She wants answers...
Samjo	Mm?
Ryoshu	S.A...!
Sinclair	S-Samjo... She says she'll assail you this time...!
Ryoshu	Wrong. I said I'll assail him right now.
Samjo	T-This is an emergency, an emergency!!! You should go upstairs, quickly!
Dante	<L-Let's hurry along for now, Ryōshū...>
Ryoshu	I'll show SANGRIA... I swear it.
Samjo urgently sent us upstairs.
Location: Ruined K Corp. Laboratory Hallway
The hallway that was clean and calm hours ago...
Has now turned into complete mayhem, filled with screams and fleeing people.
A researcher was crying and clinging to someone who appeared to be a liberation alliance member.
Dying Researcher	Help me... Mr. Dongrang... Please, save me...
Dongrang	My staff member... is begging for help, wouldn't you consider letting them go?
Dongrang	If it's intelligence you want, I'll give it to you. We were planning to go out for a staff dinner tomorrow, and the restaurant we booked serves such delicious meat.
Dongrang	It'd be rather unfortunate if the smell awaiting us tomorrow came from incense sticks at a funeral instead of meat on a grill. Wouldn't you agree?
Alliance Member	Intelligence? We have no need for it.
Heathcliff	Huh, you're walking in unarmed now? What happened to your robots that did the fighting for you wimps?
Alliance Member	We have no need to bring our robots, either.
Alliance Member	I see plenty of useful-looking ones here.
Outis	...Are you trying to...?
Class 2 Excision Staff	We were ordered to excise terrorists. Target: all parts.
Ishmael	Huff. We outnumber them by a wide margin. It might be a little unfair, but... it seems like we won't have any trouble beating them.
Alliance Member	Ms. Ran's expertise was hijacking machines.
Alliance Member	She was more experienced in hacking than fighting.
Ampule Helper	Welcome. Here at K Corp, we value your safety above all else.
Class 2 Excision Staff	Huh, wait... What's...
Ampule Helper	For everyone's safety, deserters attempting to flee from battle will be injected with a decay ampule according to regulatory rules. The ampule will be launched if you leave the 120-meter radius of the combat area; you are 49 meters away from the perimeter.
Class 2 Excision Staff	...Shoot...
Ampule Helper	If you do not attack the enemy within the next 5 seconds, the decay ampule will be administered according to regulatory rules. You have 4 seconds remaining.
Dante	<Wait, are we... the "enemy" now?>
Class 2 Excision Staff	Damn it... I've got no choice...
Meursault	…!
Don Quixote	Why...!
Class 2 Excision Staff	I... don't wanna get hit by the decay ampule. I want to live...
Ampule Helper	Current status: no deserters detected, all status green. Please stand in line for regeneration ampules.
Meursault	…I see.
Outis	They're weighing their lives with ours, not unlike what we do. Please permit us to engage.
Dante	<...Got it.>

Episode: 22
Location: Ruined K Corp. Laboratory Hallway
Heathcliff	I take back what I said about you being spineless wimps. I'm surprised you didn't run away while we were scrapping.
Alliance Member	……
Heathcliff	You're so dead now. Bunch of book-smart sods who think using things others made is a talent...
Alliance Member	Fair point.
Alliance Member	Which is why we brought something new from the Lobotomy Corp. branch.

Episode: 23
Location: Ruined K Corp. Laboratory Hallway
Gregor	Hey, isn't something off about this?
Gregor	Was E.G.O something you could keep on all the time and use whenever like that? 'Cause I didn't know you could do that.
Gregor	We all know E.G.O isn't some kind of magic tool. It's a lot of work... just keeping my sanity from tumbling over.
Rodion	Besides, didn't someone say that those people all... used to be lab workers...! How is it possible for them to use E.G.O better than we do?
Outis	This is not a matter of proficiency in battle.
Outis	They must have employed some other trick.
Faust	There is one possibility in mind.
Faust	If they reduced Abnormalities to an ovate form and figured out a way to materialize their E.G.O the way Lobotomy Corporation did...
Faust	In other words, repeatedly researched the conditions of corrosion and trained themselves to repress it utilizing the Qliphoth Deterrence emitted by the Golden Bough...
Faust	It could be possible to use E.G.O well without being affected by corrosion even after a short period.
Faust	What they're using are tools, compressed and repressed into general utility.
Gregor	Does that mean... Lobotomy Corporation did the same...
Faust	Yes, rather than Fixers, regular employees were given the E.G.O to work with.
Faust	Of course, what we have right now isn't as refined as what the Wing used to have.
Ishmael	Wait, hold on. If you're saying they can do that with the help of the Golden Bough's deterrence power, that means it's nearby...
Gregor	...Must be. Along with Dongbaek, who has it in her hands...
Outis	I cannot help but question the security of this facility. The leader of the terrorists is freely roaming in your building, and not once has her presence been reported.
Samjo	As much as I'd like to object... I don't have much I can say. I didn't expect them to break in so easily...
Dongrang	The technology liberation alliance is formed by former researchers of renowned firms, after all.
Don Quixote	I see... So they were villains of bright minds. But I must wonder, can individuals of bright minds turn to villainy? Hmm... What a bewildering conundrum...
Samjo	Don't let them fascinate you. If they were so wise, they wouldn't have quit their enviable jobs at large firms for a terrorist organization in the first place.
Ishmael	Maybe it wasn't the life they wanted.

Episode: 24
Location: Ruined K Corp. Laboratory Hallway
Dongrang	This is troubling. I don't mind other locations, but if that place were to be attacked, it'll cause a major setback...
Samjo	Mr. Dongrang, you have an urgent call from Director Alfonso.
Dongrang	Oh boy... She's about to give me a talking-to. Can't you take the call for me, Samjo?
Samjo	I already have been, but her patience is nearing its limit.
Dongrang	Oh well... I'm not getting away from this. Pardon me for a second.
While Dongrang was away, we spotted an employee who hadn't evacuated across the hallway, nervously wandering.
Outis	Watch closely, Executive Manager. If you see a lackey snooping around like that in the middle of danger...
Outis	It most likely means you've found someone with useful information. It would be wise to make good use of them.
Outis	Hey, we're agents from a subcontracting firm here to deal with this commotion. What's going on?
Nervous Employee	I-I've been looking for Ms. Shrenne, but I can't find her anywhere. I need to tell her to evacuate...
Nervous Employee	She's left her computer on... Where could she be...
Sinclair	Ah... Actually, she-
Outis	Alright, we'll find her. You evacuate first.
Nervous Employee	Thank you.
Outis	Now, while the terrorists' informant has been removed, the staff is still in a muddle, and her computer is left on.
Outis	We're in a complete tactical advantage. It didn't even cost us any strength.
Probably thanks to the pride in this achievement, Outis sounded much more excited than usual... But no one else seemed to care.
Ishmael	The computer Shrenne used... Its password was "missyouran", right...
Dante	<We were told she was in close relations with Ran, exchanging lots of messages...>
Dante	<If we're lucky, we might find a pending email or some other clue on her computer.>
Dante	<It should hopefully give us some insight into the technology liberation alliance, too.>
Outis	You're quick to understand. That was unexpe- I mean... very much expected of my executive manager.
Gregor	Alright, good. The problem is how we're gonna sneak into the office... Who on our team is gonna walk in there bold-faced and get it done without rousing suspicion...
Dante	<If I had to choose a Sinner who can keep a still face and avoid suspicion...>
Don Quixote	Give this humble knight one more chance, and I shall succeed...!
Dante	<Meursault! Think you can handle it?>
Meursault	...As long as you command.
Dante	<Yeah, I'm counting on you.>

Episode: 25
Location: Ruined K Corp. Laboratory Hallway
Meursault	I've returned.
Meursault	There was one message in Shrenne's mailbox that was deemed worth reading.
Meursault	The environment did not permit me to print it out, so I memorized the mail's content.
Meursault	'I hope you're doing well, Miss Ran. Open parenthesis, star, tear, tear, swung dash, caret, caret... closed parenthesis.'
Dante	<Y-You can skip those parts...>
Meursault	Understood. I will then dispense with punctuation marks that do not appear important.
Meursault	'I've been trying to figure out if what you said was really true, but that sucker is making it hard.'
Shrenne	'I've been promoted to team manager too, but I wasn't let in... just because I didn't win that silly "best" award.'
Shrenne	'And he's now recruited collaborators from the outside, probably to help with whatever he's plotting.'
Shrenne	'I heard they're from a newly-found company, and I haven't checked what kind of people they are yet. I bet they're all haughty and arrogant just like their client.'
Shrenne	'Still... Still, the plan will proceed as intended.'
Shrenne	'We'll succeed... and return to a glorious past.'
Shrenne	'To tell you the truth, my most dazzling memory was when I first met you after joining the company.'
Shrenne	'But our goal is more ambitious than that.'
Shrenne	'So, let's promise to meet again there.'
Shrenne	'In a past where no technologies existed, allowing everything that existed to shine brighter.'
Shrenne	'There, chickens will freely fly over the meadows, their wings uncut.'
Shrenne	'When a person loses their arm, we'll comfort them...'
Shrenne	'And learn how to live together even if an arm is missing.'
Shrenne	'We may not be able to enjoy sumptuous feasts or conveniences of modern civilization, and we won't have nearly as many resources at our disposal...'
Shrenne	'In that vastness... We'll be free to walk all day.'
Shrenne	'Oh, I'm planning to bring Fixers from the outside for the plan. My juniors have gotten too used to the ampules.'
Shrenne	'If rapid development can only be achieved by means that cause pain and suffering to people...'
Meursault	'Then I'm willing to give up on all the prosperity it brings'.
Meursault	'That's all I have to say for now. Yours in haste...'
Meursault	Star, star, heart heart heart.
Heathcliff	You don't have to read all that!
Meursault	There's a possibility that it may have been a sequence or cipher, so I deemed it reasonable to read it out and let the manager determine its significance rather than mull over whether I should dispense with it and discount the possibility that it may be necessary information.
Dante	<Good work...>
Ishmael	How ironic.
Ishmael	I guess it's fortunate for her that she didn't get to see liberation alliance members murdering researchers without mercy...
Rodion	She probably believed she was working for a noble cause to end violence until the end of her life...
Rodion	But I agree, it was probably best for her that she died holding onto that belief.

Episode: 26
Location: Ruined K Corp. Laboratory Hallway
I did my best to ignore the fierce glare at my clock from below.
I noticed a group of staff walking this way, carrying an imposing aura, unlike any other K Corp. employee we've met.
Gregor	Ah, you must be K Corp. staff. Hey! I saw some researchers that haven't evacuated over there...
Class 3 Excision Staff	……
They ignored our–or Gregor's, rather–words and proceeded upstairs.
Dongrang	They aren't here to rescue anyone. Their role is eliminating intruders and keeping classified technologies secure.
Dongrang interjected like he's always been here. I suppose he's got done with the call.
Dongrang	Rescuing is left to Class 1 staff.
Don Quixote	Gasp! Is Class 1 not the highest level an employee can reach, precisely like Grade 1 is for Fixers?! Verily, 'tis no wonder that they are the noblest...!
Samjo	Sorry? In this Nest, Class 1 is the lowest level, and higher numbers indicate better ranks...
Don Quixote	Wha, wuh, wah, wha, wai... Whaat?!!!
Don Quixote	...Even still, none can be too lordly or lowly to save lives, so how can the roles be divided?
Dongrang	Haha, bigger is better for numbers and riches alike, isn't that right?
Dongrang	Ah, the conversation dragged on for a bit... But there's nothing to worry about, I've acquired the permission.
Dante	<…?>
Heathcliff	What? Permission? For what?
Dongrang	Normally, it seems to require a bunch of paperwork as well, but since we're in an emergency, let's skip the procedures that we can. Should be fine, right, Samjo?
Samjo	Well... I believe it could be managed with three days and a half of working on the report overtime.
Samjo	And strictly speaking, the problem already began when you brought them to your lab without any report.
Heathcliff	Just tell us what that permission is about first!
Dongrang	It would seem that Dongbaek has headed that way.
Dongrang	The screening room.
Dongrang	The security procedures for entering that place can be... extremely convoluted.
Rodion	Screening room? The name doesn't give a very clear idea of what it's about~
Hong Lu	Wonder why the security is so tight about it~
Dongrang	It's at the very top of the building.
Dongrang	There are two ways to make something inaccessible: put it underground, or at the highest point.

Episode: 27
Samjo	As you might have seen earlier... that's Marile. In fact, I met him once at a job interview for B Corp. once.
Dongrang	Really? Samjo... You applied for B Corp, too?
Samjo	...Of course, K Corp. was my primary choice... A man of mediocrity like me has to send an application to every Wing in hopes that one will accept it.
There were corpses around Marile... "Appalling" couldn't begin to describe their state.
Samjo	……
Samjo	Oh dear, pardon me, I need to use the restroom...
Samjo turned pale and ran, covering his mouth with a hand.
Dongrang	Our researchers... couldn't have been able to fight back at all.
Marile	K Corp's employees didn't seem to have a problem with bludgeoning my colleagues who didn't so much as swing a fist, either.
Outis	We're looking for your boss. Where is she?
Marile	What I want to know is how you're still alive.
Heathcliff	Oh, you mean those galling murder machines? They weren't anything we couldn't deal with. The bomb... did hurt a bit, though.
Marile	No. That bomb wasn't meant for annihilation. It was a means.
Marile	There's been an unexpected variable to Ran and Shrenne's plan. What are you?
Faust broke her silence.
Faust	Even if you were to return to an age without technology, you won't find the peace you seek.
Faust	Once accustomed to the luxury brought by technology, people won't be able to withstand life in the past. Think of the time when trips to the Backstreets were trending among the rich.
Faust	They only use the experience to take another look at their own lives and be thankful for everything they have. Hardly any would live in a less opulent era given the opportunity.
Marile	...And? I don't like talkative people. Not fond of explaining things to you, either.
Faust	I'm not the talkative sort. And I don't require explanations in any field. I was simply curious to know the difference in perspectives.
Marile	...None of us take WARP trains.
Marile	We don't eat the meat the City has to offer, either.
Marile	When you know the truth, you wouldn't even consider something as shallow as Backstreets trips.
Hong Lu	Hm... The elders in my family, who must know even greater things than I do, didn't have any problem using them though?
Marile	The masses are ignorant. They won't believe it even if you show it before their eyes.
Heathcliff	And this is your conclusion?
Heathcliff	Get rid of everything and make 'em live in that empty world?
Marile	You wouldn't get—
Heathcliff	No, I think I get it just fine.
Heathcliff	There are plenty of blighters out there who just don't get it if you talk nicely.
Heathcliff	They'd only start empathizing with the likes of me after they get a couple bruises and scars on their faces.
Heathcliff	It gives me the urge to just wreck it all.
Marile	……
Marile	If we ever recruit new members...
Marile	I'll try excluding the educational background from the requisites.
Ishmael	Although Heathcliff has never told us about what schools he went to... I can see where it's coming from.
Ishmael	Still, you're going way over the line.

Episode: 28
Ryoshu	E. Y.
Yi Sang	...Did you call?
Ryoshu	That man who keeps clinging to us claiming to be your friend. What's the relationship?
Yi Sang	As can be seen, the tie has long been severed.
Ryoshu	I don't like butting in, and I hate speaking for long even more...
Ryoshu	But I'm telling you this since the smile of that ignorance-feigning scoundrel Dongrang is detestable.
Ryoshu	That one desk, one that was even more disgusting than the others because it was clean and empty.
Ryoshu	The nametag below it had your name.
Yi Sang	……
Dante	<He was planning to give Yi Sang that position all along?>
Ishmael	Do you think he's trying to headhunt him? That's supposedly a violation of moral principles between firms or something like that, isn't it?
Ryoshu	BAFFLED.
Ishmael	...What's that supposed to be an acronym for?
Ryoshu	It's not. I'm just baffled.
Ryoshu	Orange hair, you say you used to work on a ship for a long while? As a Fixer?
Ryoshu	You have serious delusions about Wings and firms. Did you dump your common sense into the great lake as chum?
Ryoshu	Bringing up morality in the world we live in... Pretty amusing for a joke.
Meursault	Headhunting and changing jobs between firms are done based on interests and efficiency.
Heathcliff	Heh, so you're a hillbilly in your own language, eh. Or should I say boatbilly?
Ishmael	Erggh...
Dante	<Even if that was the case... This really is strange.>
Dante	<He's not taking Yi Sang's thoughts into account at all...>
Yi Sang	Pay it no heed. Thoughts are rather meager things.
Yi Sang	I am quite used to the life of being taxidermied.
Sinclair	Are you sure you don't mind? Yi Sang, when you joined the company...
Sinclair	No, actually... Didn't all of us receive the same offer?
The job offer.
In my case, I was promised I'd get my aspect carved.
I could barely remember a thing, but as soon as I heard that word, I nodded as if I was possessed.
They acted like they knew my only choice would be to accept it...
Sinclair	If I joined this company...
Yi Sang	When I do...
Yi Sang	The thing I wished for dearly...
Ishmael	The thing I recited to myself every night...
Outis	Yes, the thing I thought would be impossible...
Faust	They promised to make it a possibility. Most certainly.
Don Quixote	……
Gregor	How thoroughly did they look into our backgrounds?
Heathcliff	Hah... Guess we had our version of wish-granting tales just like that storybook we read earlier.
Yi Sang	In truth, even that wish was no more than a futile dream.
Heathcliff	What, you weren't that desperate for it? Why did you join, then?
Yi Sang	Simply...
Yi Sang	I walked for so long that my feet hurt. A shower of rain was pouring down as well.
Yi Sang	The bus I saw then appeared rather inviting.
Ryoshu	Hah. That can't be it, can it?
Ryoshu	We all...
Faust	That's enough of it.
Faust	Our company rules forbid disclosing the contents of the job contract in detail.
Ryoshu	Acting all high and mighty when you're in the same boat with the rest. Foul.
Faust	……
Faust	Let's proceed.
That's when a thought struck me.
Unlike most other Sinners, Yi Sang wouldn't vocalize his pain.
Because of that, I would often discover his injuries late.
Where has he been holding all that pain?
I was reminded of the void in his chest I caught a glimpse of.
Was he keeping it in... or was it spilling out?

Episode: 29
Location: Screening Room
Sinclair	It's too dark to see... What is that?
Dongrang	It's been stopped for a moment because of the commotion, right?
Samjo	Yes, as intruders might come up... so Director Alfonso has ordered to halt the operation for the moment...
Dongrang	No, no, that just won't do. The losses caused in that brief moment will be tremendous, Samjo.
Rodion	Scratch that... What IS that thing?!
Dongrang	Ah, you see... This thing cries in our stead.
Dongrang	So I always look at it with gratitude and pity.
???	I see now... That's what Ran told me about.
The voice of a person we've been desperately looking for was heard.
Its source was right in front of us.
Some kind of translucent veil seemed to drop as she rose...
And Dongbaek was looking at us.
Dongrang	Ahh~ I've been wondering how, and now I know the answer.
Dongrang	How our security was so easily breached, how we kept losing track of you, and how you kept vanishing...
Dongrang	You had the 'veil'. Ah, it was so simple, why couldn't I think of it sooner?
Heathcliff	'Veil'? What's that supposed to be... Gah, you buggers started talking about things only you know again, eh?
Ishmael	You might be able to live in the City alright, but you clearly aren't cut out to be a Fixer.
Faust	Most people will struggle to figure out or understand the source of each technology in their lives, so they give up the endeavor and simply nod along.
Faust	Pretending to know. It's an essential skill for making your life in the City bearable.
Ishmael	…Ahem.
Dongbaek	……
Dongrang	It's an expensive Singularity-based item only famous Fixers, Wing executives, or the richest classes could afford... Even if I asked how you got it, you won't answer me, will you?
Dongbaek	Is what I'm seeing the truth behind regeneration ampules?
Dongrang	...Yes, that's right. The source of the ampules you're hellbent on destroying.
Samjo	What do you... Destroy?
Samjo	Let me ask you a question: Don't you know how many lives these ampules can save?
Dongbaek	These regeneration ampules don't simply regenerate the body.
Dongbaek	These tears can kill as easily as they can save.
Samjo	Hah... Are you trying to suggest that these tears kill people?
Dongbaek	I have nothing more to say to you if you won't believe me even after seeing it happen several times already.
Samjo	Fine then, will you concede if I prove their safety by walking into this pool?
Dongbaek	What?
Samjo	Don't slander Mr. Dongrang with your baseless claims. Countless people have recovered from life-threatening conditions thanks to this technology.
Samjo	I've been injected with it once myself.
Samjo	My neck broke while diving, but the regeneration ampule helped me recover from the brink of death. It was one of the reasons I applied for K Corp. as soon as I became an adult, but that's not the point here.
Rodion	W-What are you doing, Mr. Samjo?
Samjo	My childhood dream was to be a competitive swimmer in the Nest. I can dive from this height no problem.
Rodion	I thought it was being a baseball star...
Dongrang	Haha, you're overdoing it again, Samjo. You don't have to go through the trouble. It's okay, so just stay here.
Samjo	It's no trouble at all. You worked on the ampule yourself.
Samjo	Mr. Dongrang, Director Alfonso... and countless other researchers worked for years to perfect K Corp's regeneration ampules.
Samjo	I could only be here because I trust this technology. I'm proud of it.
Samjo	I'll be back in a minute.
Dongrang	...Wait, Samjo?
Samjo took his glasses off and jumped into the vat containing the tears.
Small bubbles rose from where he dove, but a few seconds later, no sound could be heard from the vat.
Dongrang	Ah...
Dongrang	Oh dear, what a bother. Samjo never knew about the unrefined tears.
Dongrang	We won't be able to salvage his body. Still... It's fortunate that he remained proud of us until the end.
Sinclair	...What did you just say?
Dongrang	Mr. Samjo's was a case of success from a humble upbringing. I like that sort of person.
Dongrang	Fellows who are hired by Wings even though their qualifications are far below the Wings' requirements tend to be loyal to their employers.
Heathcliff	What? Wasn't he a Nest-born...
Dongrang	Right, you do know that being from the Nest doesn't grant you a free pass to the Wings, right?
Yi Sang	……
Sinclair	What's happening? Why isn't Mr. Samjo coming back?
Yi Sang	What does the unprocessed liquid do, Dongrang?
Dongrang	The tears' function is to revert things to how they were originally.
Dongrang	The regeneration ampules available now are a product of numerous refining processes.
Dongrang	When a person who has lost an arm takes the ampule, they'll remember having the arm as its original state.
Dongrang	When someone with a dent in the head takes the ampule, their head will be restored to the shape they remember to be how it originally was.
Gregor	What about those people in the Lobotomy branch... who died like bugs...
Yi Sang	They were all under a trance, so to speak.
Yi Sang	By repeatedly playing the voice that says 'you are a bug' in a sealed, otherwise silent room... the image of bugs will be instilled in the subconscious.
Dongrang	Indeed. It becomes more effective with the step of refining and diluting it with ideas of human concepts.
Dongrang	But, when a drop of tear that lacks any kind of interpretation touches someone...
Dongrang	They'd be reverted all the way back... to the original form of humanity.
Gregor	The... original form?
Dongrang	Or should I say it helps you go back to that state?
Dongrang	Although it tries... it doesn't seem to be capable of making a person fully reach that state.
Dongrang	It consequently removes pain, but, well...
Dongrang	So, are you satisfied, Dongbaek? You were right, and Samjo probably turned into the original form of humanity or something like that in the vat of tears. Congratulations. Now, what do you really want?
Dongbaek	……
Dongbaek	The Singularity. Permanently destroying it and everything related by using the concept incinerator.
Dongrang	Concept incinerator, huh. You'll use it again?
Dongrang	So, Dongbaek... Let's say that you do successfully return to an age of nothingness... What comes next?
Dongrang	Chop trees, build huts, make clothes out of leather... Is that the kind of life you want?
Dongrang	Mourning the lost lives of trees and animals you've killed?
Dongrang	Look, Dongbaek... With an attitude like that... you'll be nothing more than a primitive amateur. Are you really sure that's what you want?
Dongbaek	You... always ask stupid questions, then and now.
Dongbaek	We decided to use vile technology as tools to get rid of their vile creators.
Dongbaek	Thus, no one can remain in the future we envision.
Dongbaek	That's why we could be free. From the obsession with survival.
Dongrang	Haha, what are you talking about? So you weren't envisioning a future; you just can't let go of the past.
Yi Sang	Both of you... Stop this.
Yi Sang	I don't want old feuds repeating before my eyes.
Dongbaek	Yi Sang, you look fine.
Gregor	You say it like you're relieved. Didn't you want him...
Dongbaek	You're right. I wanted him to die.
Dongbaek	But I'm sure he wished for the same.
Dongbaek	He wouldn't resist while it dug into his heart.
Dongbaek	It was unpleasant. It felt like I was granting your wish.
Yi Sang	……
Gregor	Seems to me both of you got a few screws loose. You think pushing someone off a cliff can be justified because that person was hesitating?
Dongbaek	Hesi— Haah, why don't we hear it from the person himself, then?
Yi Sang	...I have no words to say.
Dongbaek	This conversation is over, then.
Dongbaek	I'm frankly glad it is.
Dongbaek	I'll take this opportunity to kill two of my old companions with my own hands.
Dongbaek	Then I'll seize and burn the Singularity.

Episode: 30
Location: Screening Room
Dongbaek	Kaff... Koff...
Outis	Hemoptysis. An optimistic sign.
Faust	Even with the repeated training with Qliphoth deterrence, abuse of E.G.O will still push the user's body to the limit.
Dongrang	Will you return the Golden Bough now, Dongbaek?
Dongrang	I was supposed to hand it over to my guests over here, signed in some complicated contract with several stamps... So I can't go back on my words here.
Dongbaek	Proudly... boasting your... ignorance... still...
Dongrang	And you are weak. Still.
Dongrang	Even with the E.G.O from Lobotomy Corp, this was below my expectations, Dongbaek.
Dongrang	Besides... I haven't even introduced you to the technology I developed. I know, why don't we hold our first conference in a while?
Announcer	The daily audiovisual feed has been sent.
Dongrang	So, tell me, Dongbaek...
Dongrang	How bigger can your despair grow?
Running Civilian	Ahhhhh!! Help me!!!
Ishmael	What's up with this sound?
Gregor	Is that the footage those drones filmed while we were fighting the Abnormality on the street...
Dongrang	I read the threat you sent, Dongbaek. Said you'll release an Abnormality on the streets if I don't speak about the Singularity.
Dongrang	I know you were always fond of radical events... But I didn't think you'd actually do it.
Dongrang	Of course... It produced a lot more tears. All thanks to you.
Dongbaek	No... I wasn't planning to release it. It escaped. You ignored my warning...
Dongrang	If I responded there, that'd mean admitting that our lab had been experimenting on Abnormalities arbitrarily.
Dongrang	Thank goodness our contractors happened to be near the Nest when it happened.
Ishmael	So it was all part of your plan to have us run into the breached Abnormality?
Dongrang	It was closer to an experiment than a plan. The possibility of failure was kept in mind, but I had evidence to trust that you'd make it through.
Dongrang	I've been keeping an eye on your for longer than you might think.
Dongrang	I told you, didn't it?
Dongrang	I'm a fan of yours.
Kromer	No, Sinclair! It's always been the other way around... I am the one who grips...!
Sinclair	How is this... I don't think I want to watch...
Dongrang	We generated record tears that time as well. It played a significant part in securing the award, I might add.
Dongrang	The employees of a certain department in N Corp. weren't the best people to talk with, but I was able to procure fresh audiovisual feed thanks to them.
Rodion	That means... the reason N Corp. could get away with such cruelties in a residential area in Nest K was...
Meursault	This is what the deal entailed.
Dongrang	I think I remember a certain fellow saying this: while Brother Young-ji's 'glass window' was innovative, it was simply too vast to freely wield, especially for a coarse man like me.
Dongbaek	…….
Dongrang	Ah, Dongbaek. Was it you?
Dongbaek	What is... Are you...
Dongrang	There just were never enough tears.
Dongrang	I mean, look around you, and see how many people are suffering here.
Dongrang	So they'll be doing the crying for us.
Dongrang	With no time to shut their eyes.
Yi Sang	I only made minor modifications to Brother Young-ji's work.
Yi Sang	I wanted to show a reflection of any possibility in its unvarnished image.
Yi Sang	That is why I am considering the name for it:
Yi Sang	'Mirror'.
Yi Sang	I wish that this will serve as a tool of entertainment... giving us more joy.
Dongbaek	Is this why I haven't been able to see you lately? To discover this?
Dongbaek	Dongrang, why are you laughing like that?
Dongrang	It's just funny that you're talking so ferociously when your eyes are full of curious twinkles.
Dongbaek	Yi Sang, will you tell him to shut it?
Dongrang	Why don't you hide your astonishment of a child who's tried ice cream for the first time on your face first?
Mouths unable to hold laughter.
Exclamations of amazeness.
Smiles at each other.
Eyes glowing brighter than stars.
Everyone there felt... pure joy.
I only wished that all this...
Would remain a simple recreation.
???	Be quiet.
???	You will simply... live on as you are. As if you know nothing.
Dongbaek	The glass window... wasn't made for this kind of wicked degeneracy...
Dongrang	We're having an important moment. Please mind your language.
Dongrang	And I know what you're saying. Brother Young-ji would have scolded me for this.
Dongrang	Ah, but did you know, though? We're no longer in the time when we used to cheer over toy-like inventions. The applause won't be as loud with how few of us that remain now.
Dongbaek	…….
Dongrang	You're just struggling to let go. Isn't that right?
Dongrang	You give your grand speeches about the evil of technology... But that's no more than a pretext you made up on the way as a means to garner support. To reach your true goal.
Dongrang	You claim to fight the vile technology, but you yourself are being plenty vile.
Dongrang	When your group took over the Lobotomy branch facility where I just happened to be conducting my research...
Dongrang	You probably told your followers that it was to investigate the Singularity, but in reality, you figured out that you could find pieces of technology you could use as weapons, didn't you? Like E.G.O.
Dongrang	I wonder who gave you all that precious information. Shrenne couldn't have known that. How about a game of twenty questions, will you tell me that way?
Dongbaek	Don't talk like you know everything. That attitude of yours...always annoyed me...
Dongrang	Haha, then let me act like I know about just one more thing.
Dongrang	When we peeked through Brother Young-ji's glass window... and when we got a glimpse of worlds reflected in Yi Sang's mirror...
Dongrang	We felt the euphoria and schism we would never be able to recover from.
Dongbaek	…….
Dongbaek	Since the moment the glass window was made...
Dongbaek	All sorts of interest groups came knocking on the door.
Dongbaek	Right... While we may think... that we left the League of our own volition...
Dongbaek	We all know what actually happened... We were actually just torn apart and scattered away...
Dongbaek	And that the reason for it came from the inside...
Dongrang	Dongbaek, even if you put my work in the concept incinerator, we won't be able to go back to those innocent times. You know that, right?
Dongrang	Hmm... Even though you are aware... you still can't give up your obsession...
Dongbaek	…….
Dongrang	Ah, now I get it.
Dongrang	If someone were to discover the incinerated technologies again...
Dongrang	Other nameless fellows with other dreams... would feel the same euphoria we once felt. That's what you wanted to happen.
Dongrang	Since we can't return to the past ourselves...
Dongrang	You were going to recreate the past for coming generations.
Dongrang	Wow, what a cute and unique idea, Dongbaek.
Sinclair	M-Miss Dongbaek... Your body...
Dongbaek muttered into emptiness. It was as though she was talking to someone.
Dongbaek	Yes... I'll bury it... deep in the sand... hide them...
Dongbaek	For someone to find... some day...
Dongbaek	We... didn't discover the technologies because we were better or had exclusive rights to...
Dongbaek	You may be right, I fooled everyone including myself into working for my own goals... It was... the land we tilled... that was fertile...
Dongrang	That's disheartening to hear. Are you going to discredit all our efforts that went into plowing the soil, missing out on sights of flowers?
Dongrang	Back then, we were naive amateurs, and the past you refuse to forget is just a fleeting moment seen through rose-tinted glasses.
Dongrang	Did your colleagues who gave their lives to the cause know this, though?
Dongrang	That the cause you exclaimed was only a specious banner to lure people with. That it was as vain as a cloud on the sky.
Dongbaek	No... And yet... I'm finally seeing myself better now. Which is why I should plant the sprout and cover it with dirt with my own hands, isn't that right?
Dongbaek	The bud has fallen... and our fruit has long since withered...
Dongbaek	It must be covered with dirt again... let other fruits be borne...
Rodion	Hey... Is it really okay to let her be?
Rodion	You know... Your mind doesn't work right when you're using E.G.O...
Heathcliff	Now hold on... Are you doing this on purpose...? Taunt her as much as you can...
Outis	And wait for her to tire herself out...
Dongbaek	...Back to the innocent times, now without us.
Dongrang	Ah, innocence...
Dongrang	No words are as embarrassing as that.
Heathcliff	Oi, keep it together!
Dongrang	No one can shake your mind like I do, then and now. Isn't that right?
Dongbaek	No, I feel like my mind is blooming wider than ever.
Dongbaek	I've always wished to be a bud, soon to burst into bloom.
Dongbaek	Shrouded in scent all over the body...
Dongbaek	Even if this is my own heart-wrenching path, understood by no one...
Dongbaek	I'll still leave behind a morrow, strong and fertile like fallen petals.

Episode: 31
Location: Screening Room
Dongrang	Why don't we look at it this way?
Dongrang	Did you know that a new League of Nine has been formed in N Corp?
Dongbaek	……
Dongrang	They seem to be recruiting the old members and their technologies, similar to what you tried to do.
Dongrang	Though, it looks like they're trying to erase that past, rather.
Dongrang	This is purely conjecture, but we're all doomed to die at the hands of our dear fellow Gubo and be taxidermied, one after another.
Dongrang	All I did was bring that predetermined death a bit earlier.
Dongrang	Besides... You've gone too far for our past friendship to forgive, Dongbaek.
Dongrang	Ahh~ I was looking forward to the staff dinner tomorrow, I really was.
Dongrang	Come on, then... It's time you ceased the bloom, Dongbaek.
With the Golden Bough in hand, Dongrang stabs Dongbaek without hesitation.
Yi Sang	But why…
Dongrang	… … …
Dongbaek	……
Dongrang	I could state many reasons, but... right, let's say this is my parting act of compassion.
Dongbaek	...I knew I'd have to wilt when the time came, but...
Dongbaek	I... always...
Dongbaek	Wished to be a bud... soon to bloom, bearing the scent within...
Dongbaek	Like you, Yi Sang... How you dreamed... of flying...
Dongbaek	Like that... I just... wanted to be buried... under a piquant scent of flowers... with you all...
Announcer	New feed has been added.
Soon, the screen is filled with yellow petals.
Yi Sang	……
Dongbaek	Thank you, Yi Sang. For showing me such a moment.
Dongbaek	I would dedicate my entire life to repay you for this favor...
Dongrang	Hey, Yi Sang, what say you to setting up a lab with me? I get the feeling every day spent with you will be a fun one.
Young-ji	Amazing, Yi Sang. Unlike me, you attempted to reflect the true image in all its uprightness.
Young-ji	The images don't overlap... They aren't blurry or shaky.
Gubo	Yi Sang, you're too lax.
Gubo	Why on earth would you leave it as a plaything when it can be so much more?
???	Be still.
???	Just be still, and do nothing more than breathe.
???	For now, that's how you must live.
???	You cannot fly.
Gubo	The League has fallen apart! We have to leave this place.
Gubo	Yi Sang, you will come with me.
Gubo	You can close your eyes if you so wish. Since you're too faint-hearted, I'll see ahead in your stead.
Dongrang	What are you thinking?
Yi Sang	……
Yi Sang	Nothing.
And the scent of the grave was in full bloom.

Episode: 32
Ah, and so...
Location: Reconstructing K Corp. Laboratory
As the intense golden glow fades, the space begins to twist and morph.
Ishmael	Did the Golden Bough have the power do to this? I don't think we've even entered the fathoms of ego yet... Was it capable of warping the real world?
Faust	Excitement or questions over matters related to the Golden Boughs have little meaning.
Faust	To you, and to Faust... All of us would be the very first witnesses to what is happening before our eyes.
Faust	It would be statistically sound to assume that we will continue to witness previously unseen events in the future.
Ishmael	I suppose you're right... I mean, look at that...
Unable to properly articulate her words any further, Ishmael pointed a finger instead.
Ishmael	Even the dead... are coming back...
Bodies that have been devoid of life for a while begin to rise.
Their organs or body parts were severely damaged; this could only be described as 'resurrection'.
Gregor	Huh, I've seen some stuff, but bringing people back from the dead... sounds too implausible. Even K Corp's HP ampules couldn't do this much, right?
Outis	It's unlikely that there was absolutely no technology or Singularity capable of complete revival at some point.
Outis	However, if such technology did exist... I, for one, haven't heard of it once even during war.
Outis	That can only mean... it's not a kind of technology allowed to prosper in the City. ...If I had to guess, the Head might...
Faust	Indeed. It may well be an act of taboo as established by the Head.
Faust	It's completely different from Limbus Company's case, where we can experience revival by synchronizing with Dante.
Meursault	It's different, and wrong.
Meursault	Theirs is not a complete restoration, unlike our case. They're merely...
Meursault	Animated. That is all. They appear to lack consciousness and reason.
Gregor	Seems that way... In other words, I guess it would only count as a taboo if both the mind and body are recovered.
Faust	……

Episode: 33
Location: Reconstructing K Corp. Laboratory
When I took a closer look at the revived foes after the battle, I could see a liquid of a familiar hue flowing from their eyes.
Revived? Liberation Alliance Member Revived? Liberation	Unh... Ahheahii...
Faust	Dante, do you feel the Golden Bough's presence nearby?
Faust	Last time I saw, the Golden Bough was lodged into Dongbaek's body...
Dante	<I can't find her corpse anywhere... Must have been moved away when the space twisted.>
Dante	<But it can't be too far away, I'm sure of it. I can feel it...>
Sinclair	Ah, I don't see Dongrang, either.
Faust	He's likely to be in the same location as the deceased Dongbaek.
Sinclair	Until now... we've experienced the fathoms of ego at the same time. I guess it's thanks to Dante's particular... affinity, if that makes sense...?
Heathcliff	The hell are you talking about. Affinity?
Faust	Do you mean the chains binding us?
Sinclair	Yeah... This is one of their influences, right?
Sinclair	Then, what will happen if someone like Dongrang gets to the fathoms?
Don Quixote	Fret not, for we shall find out from now on!
Don Quixote	Let us vanquish the foes ahead for now!

Episode: 34
Location: Reconstructing K Corp. Laboratory
As we approached the center of the Golden Bough's resonance, I noticed scattering piles of yellow.
With the twisting space, petals were wavering.
Sinclair	So the fathoms of Yi Sang's ego are over there...
Dante	<Come on, let's get in.>
Yi Sang	……
Location: ???
???	Wow, I sure didn't expect I'd be back here. Is this thanks to the Golden Bough? Or is it you, Yi Sang?
When we got there, Dongrang greeted us merrily.
Rodion	How cozy... What place was this, Yi Sang?
Yi Sang	The only place where I may breathe... That's what this was.
Dante	<...There are stacks of paper on the desk.>
Rodion	Aha... Yes, you see, usually...
Rodion	These are placed for visitors like us to read.
Yi Sang	……
Yi Sang quietly picks up a stack. I couldn't begin to imagine what thoughts his face may have suggested as he silently read the letters on them.
Yi Sang	A letter, I had written once... And its structure... follows that of a play's script.
Meursault	It's then reasonable to assume that each actor in the play was provided with one.
Yi Sang	If so... This may well have been a stage awaiting our arrival, rather than a simple emptiness.
Dongrang	From the looks of it... We'll have to read out this script, right?
Dongrang	Maybe Dongbaek might just come, Yi Sang.
Dongrang	If Dongbaek got to this... space before she died... Haha, I'm not sure what I should call this.
Dongrang	Anyway, if the entrance opened while she was alive... Her consciousness might have been wrapped up in this, as ours were.
Yi Sang	...For what reason did you stab Dongbaek?
Dongrang	She hesitated a little too much... What, did you want this kind of eulogy from me?
Yi Sang	...The reason, I'll hear it.
Dongrang	No, it's really... You knew as well, Yi Sang. In that state, Dongbaek's death was imminent... Her life would've painfully scattered away if I let her be.
Dongrang	That's why you can't lash out at me, despite the anger boiling inside you. It wouldn't have made much of a difference.
Faust	This time, the fathoms of ego... might present themselves differently from the previous ones.
Faust	The fathoms of ego are places or images of someone's mind made manifest.
Faust	It releases a powerful and complex energy... It might draw in people other than the Sinners, like those deeply related to Yi Sang in this case.
Heathcliff	...That so? To put it bluntly... It dragged in a bunch of clowns to act on stage, is that right?
Faust	Although this is merely a guess... Yes, I suppose that's about right. We'll have to do our best with our given roles.
Ryoshu	...And if we don't?
Faust	The image displayed by the fathoms of ego will go awry... ultimately preventing our access to the Golden Bough. We must reenact the original's—in other words, Yi Sang's—actual memories as closely as possible.
Heathcliff	Alright, I got that clear enough. So...
Heathcliff	What the-?! I almost jumped out of my skin!
Yi Sang	I had people who accompanied me, either by caprice, coincidence... or fate.
Dongrang	What a fascinating line.
Dongbaek	...Why did you stand in front of the door like a dork?
Heathcliff	...What did you call me? Wait... Aren't you the one that just...
Dongbaek	What are you staring at my face for, like you were looking at a dead person? Why, do I look cool?
Sinclair	S-She's right, Gap-ryong, don't act like such a country bumpkin. Do you want your mannerisms to match your name?
Heathcliff	...? The hell are you saying now... What is it?
Sinclair	(Eep, I'm just reading from the script, Mr. Heathcliff. The script...! That's just what mine says.)
Dongbaek	What are you whispering like that?
Dongrang	You know, Dongbaek. Gap-ryong was thinking back to how we all managed to gather here at T Corp.
Heathcliff	That really bugs me... Oi, don't call me by that name.
Dongrang	Good acting. The real Gap-ryong always used to ask us not to call him by his name, too.
Outis	……
Yi Sang	It is now your turn to speak, Sang-heo.
Outis	Ahem.
Outis	Ah... So...
Outis	As one might know, our hometown, S Corp's district, was going through a turbulent time, many things breaking and changing.
Outis	Because of daydreaming higher-ups who tell sweet-sounding words with no substance and corrupt officials squeezing the people, the public's lives and economy teetered and twisted more and more each day...
Outis	With no guarantees of arrangements between Wings or positions to apply for, researchers like us who pursued the studies of knowledge struggle to find even a simple bolt to help ourselves.
Outis	That was when Brother Young-ji brought us together.
Dongrang	Ah... I was the one who called Yi Sang and Dongbaek. We grew up in the same town.
Outis	...Right, Brother Young-ji and Dongrang brought us together.
Hong Lu	There, I suggested:
Hong Lu	The Wing called T Corp. is seeing remarkable technological growth nowadays, generously backing inventions of machines and technology.
Hong Lu	So it should be no problem at all to get any part we need; there, all the people invent for a living.
Hong Lu	So, the like-minded ones defected to the district empty-handed, risking everything.
Meursault	As everyone wished... We were free to continue our research here.
Meursault	Even though we had to yield the colors in them, making it so they didn't outwardly shine.
As Meursault, or the League of Nine Littérateurs member he played, pointed out... I couldn't see any color in this place.
Even the flower just outside the window was devoid of color, waving like a turbid blur.
Faust	In T Corp's district, having colors is a kind of privilege.
Sinclair	They take away colors?
Ishmael	Colors establish identity. There are few better ways to rob one of uniqueness than this. Isn't that right?
Faust	For sure.
Heathcliff	...And colors are some of the few little things the poor could normally have.
Sinclair	……
Dongbaek	Hey, Aneung, are you gonna keep chatting away?
Dongbaek	The conference is today. Watch, I've made a vibrant amusement.
Dongbaek	Look. It blows up better than before, doesn't it?
Ishmael	I have to wonder what is up with your obsession with explosives... I mean, fireworks, Dongbaek...
Dongbaek	Here, you can't see stars in the night sky thanks to blinding lights and smokestacks filling the air. The stars were so pretty in my hometown, it was fun watching them together.
Dongbaek	What's more, there's no color here. Where we were, we could at least see the colors of flowers.
Dongbaek	So... I wanted to bring it back in some way.
Dongbaek	Look. Even if it's all black and white, you can still see it, right?
Dongbaek	Fire makes such a warm color.
Dongrang	I'm a bit embarrassed. I don't have anything to show off for now.
Dongbaek	Is that really something to admit so merrily?
Dongrang	Haha, treating injured animals on the streets took much of my time.
Dongrang	I couldn't leave them be. They reminded me of the yellow calf I left behind in my hometown.
Dongbaek	It used to like you so much. I don't get what it saw in you.
Dongrang	It was abandoned by its mother. Seeking warmth to lean on is an instinct all living beings have.
Dongbaek	Well, by now, I guess it... has offspring?
Dongrang	Hm, probably not. That calf was male.
Dongbaek	……
Revived? Liberation Alliance Member Revived? Liberation	Agh... Urrgiahh...
Dante	<…!>
Dongbaek	Oh, bother... Here we go again.
Dongbaek	Gap-ryong, looks like the bar owner is here to take the tab you owe again. Why don't you go outside and greet them?
Heathcliff	What the, those crooks... How'd they get here?
Faust	The strong resonance of the Golden Bough with Yi Sang is affecting the entire laboratory building.
Faust	They were caught up it in as well, but they have no ties to Yi Sang.
Faust	Since they weren't given any roles in the play... they'll instead try to ruin the stage. It'll only get worse as the fathoms grow unstable.
Ishmael	In other words, we have to be quick with moving the play's plot along.
Ishmael	The more time we spend fooling around like a certain complete oaf instead of reading what the script says, the more enemies will attack us.
Ishmael began to lightly limber up, cracking her joints.
Ishmael	So let's focus on the foes on deck for now.

Episode: 35
Location: Blossoming League of Nine Littérateurs
Yi Sang	I hope you have been well since we conversed last.
Yi Sang	I see flowers bloom outside, and the birds chirp every now and then.
Yi Sang	Though the scents of flowers spread as they like, they create a rather sweet smell once mingled in one place.
Yi Sang	I wonder if you have taken in such a smell.
Hong Lu	I was always worried about the gloom on Dongbaek's face...
Hong Lu	But the things she presents at the illuminators' conferences are relieving to see; they carry a certain joy with them.
Hong Lu	Can I take that as her way of indirectly expressing the smiles she couldn't make at us?
Dongbaek	...Well, take it however you want.
Hong Lu	Yi Sang.
Hong Lu	What are you thinking?
Hong Lu	I just can't figure out what your face might mean. It makes me curious to know what's in your mind.
Yi Sang	Those who I have brushed past until now asked that same question.
Yi Sang	However, as I did not possess the eloquence to utter a concise answer in words and the matter itself was too wearisome and perplexing to clearly summarize...
Yi Sang	I would substitute my answer with a figurative blank sheet of paper.
Yi Sang	...You know what that is:
Yi Sang	Nothing.
Yi Sang	In truth, it may not have been nothing, after all.
Yi Sang	I would feel a desire to scatter into the winds in lush blue, sensing the sway of seeds plunging into my scrawling mind.
Hong Lu	Well, how was my acting?
Yi Sang	……
Yi Sang	Brother Young-ji was a man of kindness. He was not one to rashly harbor spite or reproach for others.
Yi Sang	You resemble him in that sense.

Episode: 36
Location: Blossoming League of Nine Littérateurs
Hong Lu	You see, I called you this time, because...
Hong Lu	I've made something interesting that I'd like to show.
Dongbaek	Ahem...
Dongbaek	Young-ji... What is this?
Hong Lu	……
Hong Lu	There are simply too many transient things that wilt all too soon, don't you think?
Hong Lu	The butterfly only wanted to lightly flutter, but to be punished with death for that crime... That felt too unfortunate.
Dongbaek	Did you... bring it back... from the dead? I thought that kind of technology was forbidden by the Head's treaty...
Yi Sang	It is no such case. Although the carcass remains inanimate, something has overridden it.
Hong Lu	That's right. To be exact... it's the glass window.
Hong Lu	The butterfly can now be free within it.
Hong Lu	Even if its wings dampen while trying to cross a pond, are gripped in somebody's hands and crumble to dust, or dry out due to the lack of flowers...
Hong Lu	The butterfly won't stop. And eventually... in the distant future...
Faust	It'll make it across a sea.
Faust	If that happens, will the butterfly no longer be afraid of the sea?
Dongrang	Splendid, Young-ji. This level of technology could have numerous applications.
Dongbaek	Young-ji... Are you sure... you really made this just for the conference?
Hong Lu	What do you mean by that?
Dongbaek	A gathering where we show technology we've created as a hobby in our free time after returning from a day's work, sharing our thoughts...
Dongbaek	Wasn't that the significance and appeal of the illuminators' conference our League had?
Dongbaek	But this... It doesn't look like a simple hobbyhorse to me.
Dongbaek	Are you still... not over what happened then...
Hong Lu	...That's... how you see it, Dongbaek...
Hong Lu	I'd like to know what you think as well, Yi Sang.
Yi Sang	……
Yi Sang	As Dongrang rightfully assessed, this is nothing short of a great first discovery.
Yi Sang	Alas...
Yi Sang	If frost were to form on the glass window...
Yi Sang	It will blur the reflected image all the same.
Yi Sang	As such, the frame of this glass window... will need to be made firmer and straighter.
Hong Lu	……
Hong Lu	Yi Sang, you managed to see through its essence from just a single glance.
Hong Lu	But personally... I can't seem to think of a way, so how about this instead?
Hong Lu	Yi Sang, try recreating it in your own way.
Yi Sang	My own way...
Hong Lu	That's right. By the next conference.
Yi Sang	Is it... truly okay for me... to handle a technology as valuable as the glass window?
Hong Lu	You got it wrong. I'm making this suggestion because it's valuable.

Episode: 37
Location: Blossoming League of Nine Littérateurs
Ishmael	It looks like the group was at peace.
Dongrang	Things were good for a short while. It was as though we were on a trip. We thought everything would be fine after leaving our hometown for this new place, but alas...
Dongrang	At the end of the day, human societies weren't so different from each other.
Outis	Today... I saw something suspicious at the market.
Dongrang	Now that intrigues me. What is it, Sang-heo?
Outis	This invention. Wasn't this your work for the League of Nine, Gap-ryong?
Heathcliff	It... is. But, I mean... there's no need to scour markets and all that, right? It, it's trust and faith that binds us together, isn't it?
Outis	You must have forgotten the League's nine laws.
Ryoshu	(L.N.L. Pft. Fascinating.)
Sinclair	(Ryōshū! You aren't supposed to say things that aren't in the script!)
Heathcliff	Tsk… I know. They made me memorize every word of it, you think I'll forget?
Heathcliff	No technology made within the League shall be distributed outside. Be particularly careful not to be tainted with the smell of money.
Heathcliff	But... we've been told that all our property will be seized if we don't pay the rent for the laboratory within the next six days. What are we supposed to do?
Heathcliff	We've got to do something about it. The money we earn at the factory can only barely keep us fed.
Heathcliff	We got here from S Corp's district, taking nothing but passion for research with us! Tell me how else we're gonna pay the rent.
Meursault	That's a valid point. Taxes are heavier on us because we migrated from another district.
Meursault	They are demanding a fee we cannot afford to pay regularly.
Yi Sang	...I can pay that. So I suggest we put this matter to rest.
Dongbaek	Wait, why haven't I been told about this before? Seized? Did you know all along, Young-ji? I want to hear it from you directly.
Outis	I understand that you're upset, but be mindful of what you say to Brother Young-ji, Dongbaek.
Hong Lu	I'm fine, Sang-heo.
Hong Lu	Dongbaek, I was planning to tell you once it had been dealt with. I figured you'd be the first to get furious about matters concerning the League.
Hong Lu	And Yi Sang, while I sincerely appreciate your offer, I couldn't possibly take it.
Yi Sang	It bothers me not, for accumulating wealth has no meaning to me. I urge you to spend it for the League's sake.
Ishmael	Whaaat? Wait, Yi Sang! Were you that rich?
Dongrang	Haha, you might want to do a better job at remembering your part, yes?
Dongrang	The enemies will start attacking again, you know.
Heathcliff	Look who's fooling around like an oaf, failing what's as easy as reading words on paper.
Ishmael	Haah...

Episode: 38
Yi Sang	On that spring day, I made a small mirror. I named it 'Yeonsim'.
Yi Sang	And, I happened to catch a signal while tuning out numerous noises and shatterings.
Yi Sang	In Yeonsim, I met you at last.
Yi Sang	My left-handed self... beautiful and serene.
Yi Sang	It's a pleasure to meet you. I am...
Sang Yi	Yi Sang, isn't it. What a peculiar experience this is.
Sang Yi	And that mirror you're holding...
Yi Sang	It's what I call Yeonsim.
Sang Yi	Yeonsim, huh... (硏, to grind or study; 尋, to seek)
Yi Sang	This is a product of grinding something... scraping even the mind to polish it.
Sang Yi	I see. I suppose all versions of Yi Sang were dedicated to research.
Yi Sang	You have wings on your back, if my eyes aren't being deceitful.
Sang Yi	...What do you think of them?
Yi Sang	...Resplendent.
Yi Sang	They look quite warm... and free.
Yi Sang	We looked into and ahead of each other.
Location: Blossoming League of Nine Littérateurs
Yi Sang	I only made minor modifications to Brother Young-ji's work.
Yi Sang	I wanted to show a reflection of any possibility in its unvarnished image, without a blur.
Hong Lu	The stars I saw while lying on the ground here seemed so far away...
Hong Lu	Yet it was possible to see them up close.
Dongbaek	Is this why I haven't been able to see you lately? To discover this? I thought you caved to your yearning for rice and went back to S Corp's district...
Dongbaek	I'll say, though... This isn't half bad.
Dongbaek	Dongrang, why are you laughing like that?
Dongrang	It's just funny that you're talking so ferociously when your eyes are full of curious twinkles.
Dongbaek	Yi Sang, will you tell him to shut it?
Dongrang	Why don't you first hide your facial recreation of a child who's tried ice cream for the first time?
Dongrang	Gubo, why don't you say something? You've been part of the League for fairly long now, so stop standing around like a guest.
Don Quixote	...What more do I have to add? Everyone already seems to be of one mind.
Dongbaek	...If you're trying to be an odd one out, at least have some audacity. Some cold fish you are.
Hong Lu	I see... So this... is how you view the world.
Yi Sang	...The world I view, is it.
Hong Lu	Did you know? They say every invention carries hints of the hopes and dreams of its inventor.
Hong Lu	Discovering them is one of the spectators' joys. It's a tidbit that's good to know.
Dongrang	So, Yi Sang, what do you plan to do with this technology?
Yi Sang	Do... what exactly?
Dongrang	Brother Young-ji's glass window is already making the rounds. Researchers from other Nests have taken an interest, or so I've heard.
Dongrang	Really... We rarely saw visitors in the past, but now we might have to start punching tickets so all those people will stand in line.
Dongrang	So if you announce your work here...
Yi Sang	Dongrang, I have absolutely no intention of announcing this.
Dongrang	...None? At all?
Yi Sang	All that I ask...
Yi Sang	Is to keep this as a moment of laughter, solely between us.
Dongrang	……
Dongrang	Look, just what is your idea of...
Dongbaek	Pft... Yi Sang. That was the second funniest moment I've seen out of you.
Dongbaek	The first is... y'know, when the yellow calf was being fed milk, and it suddenly licked his hair... Pfh...
Dongrang	True, I've never seen Dongbaek laugh as loudly as then.
Yi Sang	T-That... I think we'd best forget...
Yi Sang	Human eyes are such glistening and scalding things. Fearing that they would burn me, I tended to watch them from the side.
Yi Sang	However, not seeing the subject straightly does not mean I think lowly of them.
Yi Sang	Even without looking, it is possible to seep in.
Rodion	By the way, is that... the same as the mirror we use?
Faust	Similar, to be exact. Limbus Company uses a mirror with special modifications.
Rodion	You invented something incredible, Yi Sang...
Yi Sang	What Young-ji and I did... wasn't invention; we discovered, rather.
Meursault	T Corp... wouldn't have been pleased with the idea of a technology capable of peeping into other worlds without permission.
Meursault	I do believe you know well enough that their problem lies with the lack of permission, not the capability of the technology.
Yi Sang	Although we had figured that...
Yi Sang	We thought it would be fine since it was only used as a pastime between us.
Yi Sang	The decision couldn't have been more glib.

Episode: 39
Location: Outreaches of the Outskirts
Unknown Boy	It's quiet.
Unknown Boy	Nothing like the Outskirts...
Stephanette	You're right. Was the world beyond the Outskirts one filled with such beautiful and tranquil beings?
Unknown Boy	Yeah, I guess that must be the reason everyone tried to keep quiet about it.
Stephanette	Right, do you, by any chance... know a story about the things beyond the Outskirts? It's said there's a thing that lives here... granting wishes to those who are earnest. Wanna hear it?
Unknown Boy	Sure. I always look forward to your stories.
Stephanette	Can it wait just a moment? I saw something nice over there.
Unknown Boy	……
Unknown Boy	When we look up at our sky... all we see is a pinch of muddled light.
Unknown Boy	But here...
Unknown Boy	I can see lone stars looking down at us.
Unknown Boy	Since the city I can see from here is filled with cries of pain and despair...
Unknown Boy	I'd rather... gaze down at people from the loneliness up in the sky and shed tears with them...
Stephanette	Sorry, I was a bit late. There were flowers I'd never seen before, maybe we could smell them as I tell my story...
Stephanette	……
Stephanette	I see, have you... finally fulfilled your wish?
Stephanette	Starting today, even if the handful of stars doesn't rise in a corner of the night sky...
Stephanette	Those stars will light the dark of the lands below instead...
Stephanette	So it'll all be okay.
Location: Blossoming League of Nine Littérateurs
Sinclair	What was that just now? It felt like a story from long ago.
Faust	As the Golden Bough generated the fathoms of ego in a frenzy... foreign matters were mixed into them.
Faust	K Corp's Singularity: Tears of the so-called 'Tearful Thing'.
Gregor	Can sure see that... It's bringing back dead people to fight us.
Faust	Yes, they seem to be relevant to the experiences... of melting down.
Hong Lu	Did the mind of that Tearful Thing melt into this resonance as well, then?
Sinclair	That means... the Tearful Thing is... no different from people...
Faust	Dante, in this world... there are many who seek after stars.

Episode: 40
Location: Nest T’s Roads
Sinclair	The space has changed. Where... was this place?
Dongrang	What are you talking about, Aneung. This is the road we would traverse all the time.
Sinclair	Oh... Um... Right.
Yi Sang	This... was the place of my day's profession... or the avenue nearby.
Rodion	Hm, you researched by night... and during the day?
Yi Sang	I was an architect.
Gregor	Ooh~ An architect, huh... That's a neat occupation you had, Yi Sang.
Yi Sang	Neat, you say...
Yi Sang	Originally, children used to run in these streets.
Yi Sang	Although there weren't many... they came into my view on occasion.
Yi Sang	Even a single abandoned ball could keep a smile on their faces.
Don Quixote	I am vastly fond of youths as well! Are they not the most innocent beings?
Dongrang	But they're nowhere to be seen now. Where could they have gone?
Yi Sang	Once children are old enough to learn language, they are taken to factories.
Yi Sang	Among them are those I made... those factories whose architecture I designed with my hands.
Hong Lu	Yi Sang...
Yi Sang	They were optimized for efficiently monitoring people. It made pressing laborers more convenient than ever.
Yi Sang	Perhaps the reason my income has been rather high is that the owners of those buildings run a profitable business.
Heathcliff	……
Heathcliff	Well, even so... It's not like you spent that money to show off.
Heathcliff	You gave it all for the League.
Ishmael	...Do you remember? The first thing I invented... after getting a job at T Corp.
Hong Lu	The identification tags, right?
Ishmael	Yeah, I made them to help lost kids.
Ishmael	It's absurd, I know. Maybe I expected it to help more children reunite with their parents.
Ishmael	But now... they're being used to monitor the workers' time spent on the job in every factory.
Ishmael	Heck, I made those things, and even I'm not free from the obligation to wear one while working.
Yi Sang	Those were the kinds of achievements we accomplished in T Corp's district.
Yi Sang	Which is why... I became more engrossed in the mirror.
Yi Sang	Untainted, unadulterated... I wished to immerse myself in the pure exploration of knowledge.
Yi Sang	So that... I wouldn't have to take anything from anyone.
Sang Yi	You knew you'd face those predicaments since the moment you made your way to T Corp's territory avoiding exploitation and abuse, haven't you, Yi Sang?
Sang Yi	That you'd have to exploit others if you don't want to be.
Sang Yi	So don't feel guilty about it.

Episode: 41
Location: Rowdy League of Nine Littérateurs
Yi Sang	Flowers fell, and all things began to make busy steps.
Yi Sang	More people are visiting us each day, and twice the noise fills the air.
Dongbaek	This isn't supposed to be a downtown marketplace or anything. It's gotten way too noisy here.
Dongbaek	...Nine was the right amount of people.
Don Quixote	Oho... Many new curiosities have taken up the space! May I be permitted to touch the inventions here?
Dongbaek	...Will you shut that mouth?
Don Quixote	Khmgh...
Dante	<How scary...>
Dongrang	Don't be so sour, Dongbaek. Liveliness is good to have.
Yi Sang	Some considered the assemblage to be mere noise... // Some did not welcome it...
Yi Sang	While some considered the commotion to be growth. // And some saw it as a step in a new direction.
Yi Sang	As for me... I saw it slantwise as always.
Yi Sang	As heavy rain might pour for days after a spell of clear skies...
Yi Sang	I saw no meaning in attempting to fathom the caprices of the weather.
Yi Sang	I would simply wait for things to calm, looking out for the day's arrival.

Episode: 42
Location: Rowdy League of Nine Littérateurs
Dongbaek	……
Dongbaek	Young-ji hasn't shown up for this conference as well.
Dongrang	I heard he's been officially invited by a Wing. This is probably the second time.
Faust	You don't happen to know which Wing it was, do you?
Gregor	No one seems to know.
Dongrang	Why are you displeased about it? You're the one who turned down Brother Young-ji's offer to go with him, Dongbaek.
Dongbaek	……
Dongrang	There's no need to be so fixated on the number nine. What if there are eight or five of us?
Rodion	Say, Dongrang... How long are you gonna stick to your vet routine?
Rodion	I made precious time in my packed schedule to check out what Young-ji's group was like... and all I see are children's playthings.
Dongrang	Oh, it's been a while, Nul-in. It's a pleasure to see a fellow from my hometown here.
Dongrang	You arrived here later than we did, but it looks like you adapted much faster.
Dongrang	But I must say... It's a bit disheartening to hear you call them children's playthings.
Dongrang	You won't be saying that once you learn that animals feel pain exactly like we do.
Rodion	Well, I'll take my words back if those animals start repaying the kindness by bringing money or something~
Dongbaek	Nul-in, do you take this for a gaudy auction where technology is sold for cash?
Dongbaek	You didn't even care to cast a glance at us mere months ago, calling illuminators' conferences out of fashion... Have you come now to rake off a piece of the profit you're smelling?
Dongrang	Dongbaek...
Dongbaek	Don't mistake it for covering for you. I just don't want to see her face, that's all.
Dongbaek	By the way... What made you so passionate about curing animals? They can't pay the bills or anything. How are you gonna make a living?
Dongrang	You like to nag a lot. Well, I suppose I could run a chicken restaurant?
Dongbaek	What?
Dongrang	Hear me out for a second. I could make chickens grow tons of wings... and cut them off without inflicting any pain.
Dongrang	They only need a single pair to fly. That way, humans get more meat to eat, while chickens lose nothing for it.
Dongbaek	Pshaw...
Yi Sang	What name do you plan to give to the chicken?
Dongrang	Let's see, how about Plumpy Chicken?
Dongbaek	Dongrang, never try naming things again. Got it?
Yi Sang	I may have heard a faint sound at that moment.
Yi Sang	It was the sound of a crack.
Yi Sang	Knowing well what consequences a minuscule crack could bright about, I chose to look past it...
Yi Sang	Perhaps I wanted to pretend that I did not hear it...
Yi Sang	Alas, I was careless in my assumption that I could simply observe slantwise as it comes to pass until it has seeped...
Yi Sang	Realization comes too late.
Dongrang	You know, Dongbaek?
Dongrang	Your words weren't particularly reassuring, either.
Dongrang	It was actually what Nul-in said that gave me an important lesson.
Dongrang	That no matter how hard I try, if technology doesn't have an immediate use... no one will give it a passing glance...

Episode: 43
Stephanette	It's a beautiful yet poignant story, isn't it?
Stephanette	If all the stories in the world were happy ones, the skies might not have needed stars anymore.
Stephanette	In solitude and darkness are stars born.
Stephanette	You loved my stories for the same reason.
Stephanette	……
Stephanette	I'll tell you tales of more worlds.
Stephanette	So cry for me. In my stead, and in everyone else's.

Episode: 44
Location: Withering League of Nine Littérateurs
Ishmael	Isn't this a concept incinerator?
Ishmael	What is it doing here...
Outis	We've received an official notice that private technological invention groups of five or more people not registered as a business require a permit from T Corp.
Outis	The same goes for technology. Everything that hasn't been authorized by the Wing's tech agency will be confiscated.
Outis	Whether they're registered or taken by force... they'll be used in ways none of us wanted.
Outis	That is why we will rid the world of them before that happens.
Ishmael	But, why now of all times? Is it because of the League's gatherings... No, is this about the window...?
Dongrang	Wait, wait. This idea that we have to make technology in secret could be a pitfall, you know? Who knows, T Corp. might just give us the approval.
Outis	A foolish question. Did you forget the reason the League of Nine was established? We gathered together for the pure pursuit of knowledge. Not to serve Wings like pathetic mules.
Outis	We deserted our hometowns for this cause, and now you suggest that we yield our knowledge? After all we've been through?
Dongrang	Let's see the bigger picture. Rather than just T Corp, wouldn't the City as a whole be benefiting from them?
Dongrang	Technology only has value when it's used for others. Until then, they're mere toys.
Dongrang	With this healing technology I've developed, I could save at least hundreds of lives in the City.
Dongrang	Should we really squander that chance... on protecting this make-believe organization?
Dongbaek	Dongrang, don't make clumsy attempts unless you're planning to save everyone in the City.
Dongbaek	If I thought this measly technology had what it takes to give every single person the help they needed, I would've given my all for it.
Dongbaek	But... you think that'll change anything? The world will still be a terrible mess.
Dongrang	……
Dongrang	You're right, I thought wrong. What's the point in all this.
Dongrang	Wow... Look at that... It really does a good job at burning things. You think its creator was a researcher who had an ardor for genuine study like us?
Yi Sang	Dongrang... Are you certain you're alright?
Dongrang	Hey, check this out, Yi Sang.
Dongrang	I chanced upon this curious thing in the Backstreets.
Dongrang	It's apparently an item a Wing called K Corp. is producing these days. It's a swarm of nanobots that look like liquid to the naked eye, and when you inject it...
Dongrang	No matter how badly you're crushed, hurt, fractured, ripped, torn, or chopped away...
Dongrang	It all heals up in seconds. Amazing, isn't it? It only takes a short while for the pain to be gone. Hahaha.
Dongrang	It was perfectly fine to be hurt. I didn't have to strain my body and heart trying to cure things. I was so stupid, wasn't I?
Yi Sang	...Dongrang.

Episode: 45
Location: Withering League of Nine Littérateurs
Yi Sang	There was wilting among the nine.
Yi Sang	Those who indulged in research with purity and astonishment on their faces as they did in the old days have already withdrawn their buds.
Yi Sang	In exchange, unfamiliar sounds began to fill the air.
Yi Sang	Orderly footsteps, sounds of wind-up keys that signify their position, and heavy, low voices.
Outis	Why... Why did you tell them the League's location, Aneung?
Sinclair	...Anyone would have done the same.
Sinclair	They said if I don't reveal the source of the technology... I'll be forcefully repatriated to S Corp.
Dongbaek	Then you should've braced for it! Have the guts to bite your tongue and die if you couldn't stand to survive alone in the hometown!
Ishmael	W-Why are these people dragging me away?
Ishmael	Why is it a crime that I couldn't yield my technology?
Ishmael	My technology was worthless! You said it yourself, Young-ji! Help! I don't want to go!
Hong Lu	……
Hong Lu	No matter how hard we think... There's really only one way.
Hong Lu	It'll all be over once I go back. If I give away the glass...
Dongbaek	If you're caught, the League will be done for. Who knows what might they do with your technology once it falls into their hands?
Yi Sang	The voices of desperation ringing in the air did not change a thing.
Yi Sang	And so, there were those who rejected the notion of yielding their creations...
Meursault	I knew my turn would come.
Meursault	And... I don't believe we'll ever see each other again.
Yi Sang	Those who calmly let themselves be taken away...
Gregor	I'm bored of living in hiding.
Gregor	I've decided to go my own way. Let's hope we never meet again.
Yi Sang	Those who left on their own...
Faust	I saw a child who resembled the ocean.
Faust	It's not like the glass... or the mirror, but I like the things reflected on the waves and tides of the ocean.
Faust	Since I couldn't fathom the depth of the waters, I decided to follow along.
Yi Sang	And those who forever disappeared, leaving unknowable parting remarks.
Yi Sang	Like that... winter approached.
Ishmael	……
Ishmael	That was a painful experience. It was like I was actually in the shoes of a League of Nine member...
Faust	We're synchronizing with their memories. It's only natural that their traces will influence us.

Episode: 46
Location: Withering League of Nine Littérateurs
Yi Sang	As it turned out, each of us wanted to protect a different point in time.
Yi Sang	Some wished it to stop where it was,
Yi Sang	While some wished it to advance.
Yi Sang	In my case...
*Wham! Wham! Wham!*
Class 2 Collector	We have received a report that you are in possession of unauthorized technology.
Dongbaek	I sent Young-ji a letter in advance telling him to seek refuge.
Dongbaek	We must hide the glass window and the mirror in the basement before they can take them.
Dongbaek	Dongrang and I will carry them to safety... I want the rest of you to hold the door while we do.

Episode: 47
Location: Withering League of Nine Littérateurs
Class 4 Collector	Where is Young-ji, the League of Nine Littérateurs' leader, and his glass technology?
Dongbaek	……
Class 4 Collector	This is the price you pay for the time you've spent wrongly.
Class 4 Collector	Open the door to the basement.
Dongbaek	How do they know about the basement...
Dongbaek	One of us betrayed the league.
Dongbaek	Gap-ryong is nowhere to be seen since yesterday... It must've been him.
Outis	That matters no longer, Dongbaek. We must run, now.
Dongbaek	...Say, how about I treat you to a stunning fireworks display for the last time? Fire can be a rather pretty flower when seen from a distance.
Outis	Dongbaek, are you planning to...
Dongbaek	Let me ask for the last time. None of you here are traitors, right?
Yi Sang	There's no doubt about it.
Outis	You're asking a ridiculous question.
Dongrang	……
Dongrang	...It was me, Dongbaek. I sold the League out.
Dongbaek	……
The last things that entered my sight with the sound of the explosion were Dongbaek's half-scorched face...
And...
Our League... burning down in a colorless fire.
Location: Emptied League of Nine Littérateurs
Yi Sang	……
Yi Sang	That isn't quite right, Dongrang. You never confessed the truth to Dongbaek.
Yi Sang	Dongbaek... has remained oblivious to it. Thusly, she constantly harbored suspicion against us, knowing that it must have been one of us.
Location: Screening Room
Dongrang	It was me, Dongbaek. I ratted out the group.
Dongbaek	I knew it... It had to be...!!! You... you... fucking traitor!!!!
Location: Emptied League of Nine Littérateurs
Yi Sang	The revelation is what colored Dongbaek's dying eyes with wrath...
Yi Sang	And caused the frail E.G.O to break and fall, snapping, scattering into petals.
Dongrang	...You know, Yi Sang?
Dongrang	Loud ticks of clocks at your front door are a sign that T Corp's tech agency employees have come to your house.
Dongrang	I'm sure most of them were visited by the agency. It's an unforgettable experience. Yet it's one you couldn't have known since you must've been under T Corp's grace as a skilled architect.
Dongrang	The first visit tends to be sudden and quiet. Most are flustered by the unexpected arrival... but they still keep their pride and faith as a member of the League.
Dongrang	The agency knows that as well. They also know that their visit instilled the fear that they might come again whenever they'd like.
Dongrang	The second visit is when things start to change. They now know where my time flows from and where it's headed.
Dongrang	They have my past, present, and future. The shapes of all my weaknesses and desires are in their hands.
Dongrang	What would have been your choice? Under the same circumstances, would you have chosen differently?
Dongrang	And if so... can you say for sure that you would have?
Class 2 Collector	Organics.
Dongrang	……
Location: Nest T’s Roads
Class 2 Collector	In particular, the regeneration and treatment of animals are your interests, right?
Class 2 Collector	Do you know about K Corp, a Wing we've been working with recently? It's an emerging one, whose Nest is filled with an emerald glow.
Class 2 Collector	That Wing might be interested in your technology.
Dongrang	……
Class 2 Collector	...I'm sure you know that this is not a common opportunity.
Location: Emptied League of Nine Littérateurs
Yi Sang	So, did you accomplish your wish there at last, Dongrang?
Dongrang	……

Episode: 48
Location: Emptied League of Nine Littérateurs
Yi Sang	The explosion of the League of Nine shattered everything there was, and everything came to a halt for me as well.
Yi Sang	To stop means to cease caring... It is a state of indifference.
Yi Sang	In other words...
Yi Sang	It no longer mattered if I was weathered and stomped.
Yi Sang	But that was when someone held me by the arm.
Gubo	Are you going to stand still and let T Corp's tech agency take you away? Someone like you? Have you finally gone mad, Yi Sang?
Gubo	You must come with me.
Yi Sang	What could I have done other than nod?
Yi Sang	If he told me to be apprehended by the tech agency employees, I would have nodded all the same.
Yi Sang	If he told me to put all of the mirror technology into a concept incinerator, I would have done so.
Yi Sang	If he told me to hide on the spot and pretend I know nothing, I would have followed it.
Yi Sang	How many of the nine survived and ran away...
Yi Sang	I do not know.

Episode: 49
Stephanette	Don't be so sad...
Stephanette	I don't want to use your tears to fight the flow of time...
Stephanette	Those tears are better reserved for those who need them more dearly.
Stephanette	Don't forget... You're a nameless star, hanging in the sky for everyone who is in suffering...
Location: K Corp. Laboratory
Prudish K Corp. Executive	With the passing of Ms. Stephanette... We at K Corp. would like to take a moment to express our condolences, honoring her noble will...
Alfonso	What's the need to be so roundabout?
Alfonso	You know there's something you really want to say: which one of us will be the next chief executive...
Prudish K Corp. Executive	...Mm.
Impulsive K Corp. Executive	Kehm…
Alfonso	Well... The nomination should be simple, right? What did each of us do, and how much did it help to contribute to the growth of this Wing and its Nest...
Impulsive K Corp. Executive	Ever since Ms. Stephanette began struggling to even speak due to her age... I started extracting the tears in her stead.
Prudish K Corp. Executive	What... Having your men buy and read those 'gut-wrenching and heartwarming stories' out loud? I saw the tear production going down, too.
Impulsive K Corp. Executive	...Are you serious?
Prudish K Corp. Executive	Kah... W-Wait.
Impulsive K Corp. Executive	This is what happens when you run your mouth rashly. You knew my temper and still decided to play with fire?
Prudish K Corp. Executive	Hngh... The board of directors won't... let you get away with this...
Impulsive K Corp. Executive	I'll make sure that you're finished before that happens.
Alfonso	……
Alfonso	Ah, our dear Ms. Stephanette... You were so kind even after you've gone.
Alfonso	The tears don't have to be by noble means after all.
Alfonso	Everyone, I believe I've found the answer.
Alfonso	To take the seat of the chief executive, there's only one simple thing to do: ensure the prosperity of K Corp.
Alfonso	All that's left now is for the board of directors to cast their votes.
Don Quixote	Stop them this instant...! It appalls me greatly to think that one must suffer everlasting sights of despair in captivity for the many...
Faust	Your pleas won't reach them. This one didn't come from Yi Sang... It's a fragmented scene concerning the tears.
Dongrang	Ah, in case you aren't familiar, that one Singularity has saved countless lives.
Dongrang	It was like someone fulfilled my old dream I couldn't make true.
Rodion	……
Dongrang	If, say, I were in that vat... I would have gladly given up everything I had. Every single thing, with no exception.
Dongrang	So all we can do is just... look at it with gratitude and respect.
Dongrang	Like looking up at the stars in my hometown.

Episode: 50
Yi Sang	An overlong silence shrouded the passage of time.
Yi Sang	All my time during it was a mere adjunct.
Yi Sang	In the square wholly painted white, only two visitors came to see me.
Location: N Corp. Cubic Room
Yi Sang	To supplement... One visited in the square within the square, and the other visited in the square within the square within the square.
Gubo	You're free to do your research here.
Gubo	The mirror you seemed to love so dearly.
Gubo	Don't forget to eat your meals and supplements every day.
Yi Sang	There was no one left to gaze at the mirror and enjoy its sight, and it ceased to be a tool of amusement...
Yi Sang	Yet I still held on to it, for a reason...
Sang Yi	You wouldn't talk to even Gubo these days. You've been grasping at the mirror all day long.
Sang Yi	He just stared at your back before leaving. The expression on his face wasn't so good.
Yi Sang	It concerns me not. I would much rather face you and talk to you.
Yi Sang	When I turn away, I would like you to do the same.
Sang Yi	Yi Sang, Gubo genuinely cares about you. You know that, right?
Sang Yi	I'm pretty sure you're the biggest reason he decided to join the League before it fell apart.
Yi Sang	That is untrue. The one Gubo cares for the most... would be himself.
Yi Sang	He simply happened to chance upon me while looking for things to make him stand out.
Sang Yi	Then... let him do that. You can be under the limelight as long as you're standing next to him.
Sang Yi	Right now, N Corp's director has been trying to form a new League of Nine with you, Gubo, and Aseah.
Yi Sang	I cannot bring myself to call that organization the League when its roots are entirely different. It has simply borrowed the name that will have to be returned one day.
Yi Sang	...How go the affairs in the world outside? With your wings, you can be anywhere you'd like.
Sang Yi	The outside... Haah. It's the same, tiring stuff. The world always flows along the same current.
Sang Yi	Isn't that the truth? The League used to be bound with such strong solidarity, but now it has disbanded...
Sang Yi	There's no point in feeling joy or despair over every passing moment.
Sang Yi	So I want you to stay here with me. Be someone I can talk with.

Episode: 51
Location: N Corp. Cubic Room
Hong Lu	What did that fellow named Gubo want to do with the mirror, I wonder?
Yi Sang	What exactly N Corp. wished to do... I do not know in detail. I did not bother to ask.
Yi Sang	However...
Hermann	How do you like it here, is it comfortable enough? Are you keeping yourself fed?
Yi Sang	……
Gubo	Like I said, ma'am, he is a reticent man.
Hermann	Do you know of a way... to destroy all the worlds and the myriad possibilities they represent in the mirror and the glass window?
Yi Sang	I...
Hermann	Of course you'd say no. I am telling you what to study.
Hermann	Even if you say you don't want to, I have plenty of other ways.
Hermann	But I thought I should have the courtesy to politely ask you first, for your friend's sake.
Hermann	Ah, let's keep this as a little secret between the three of us, shall we?
Hermann	...Are the two still reluctant to rejoin the League? Aseah didn't seem to care either way, but these two are being tricky.
Gubo	There is no need for concern. They'll make up their minds soon.
Gubo	The new League formed here will be more powerful than ever. It's backed by none other than Miss Hermann.
Gubo	What is the problem? Are you hesitant to take the offer without Dongrang and Dongbaek to accompany you?
Gubo	...Do you really not see that I can only set my mind at ease once you make your stance clear?
Yi Sang	My mind has not changed from before.
Gubo	……
Sang Yi	...Destruction of the mirror worlds, huh. Gubo and Hermann seemed pretty serious about it.
Yi Sang	You would be right. Once they have set their mind on it, it will undoubtedly be done.
Yi Sang	And I... would end up aiding him in his purpose...
Yi Sang	However...
Yi Sang	I do not wish for you to perish as a result.
Yi Sang	You must fly away and leave before Gubo destroys you as well.
Sang Yi	...What about you?
Yi Sang	Is it not abundantly clear? There is nothing I am capable of. Unlike you, I have no wings to fly with.
Yi Sang	I have no complaints. If I mutely follow whatever they demand, they will at least let me be.
Yi Sang	As I have said, all that I have left... is you outside the mirror.
Sang Yi	...When you've suffered a loss, shouldn't you consider filling the void back up with new things?
Yi Sang	What a peculiar question. This is all that is of my world, so how will I be able to fill it anew?
Yi Sang	After that, you wouldn't show up before me for a time.
Yi Sang	A question occurs to me at times.
Yi Sang	I was the one who said this was all that I had, so why did you make such a devastated expression as though you lost everything?
Ishmael	It sounds like the Yi Sang in the mirror...
Ishmael	Wanted to keep him in this place. Telling him that it's not safe outside, so he should stay inside...
Sinclair	But, why would he do such a...
Class 3 Collector	We're here to seize the technology created by the League of Nine, an unauthorized organization with illicit activities.
Class 3 Collector	Present your clocks and identify yourselves in detail.
Dante	<Did the tech agency staff follow him all the way there?>
Meursault	It's implausible for employees of T Corp's tech agency to chase him into N Corp.
Meursault	Which suggests this is a foreign substance attempting to breach into the fathoms of ego.

Episode: 52
Location: N Corp. Cubic Room
Yi Sang	You returned to me after some time... and spoke strange things.
Sang Yi	Yi Sang. When Gubo comes back with that blue supplement... keep it stored instead of swallowing it right away.
Sang Yi	After around three days of doing so... you'll start seeing things you couldn't before.
Sang Yi	When that day comes, you will have two options.
Sang Yi	The first is to chew up all the supplements you've gathered.
Sang Yi	It will put you into a deep sleep. But when you wake, everything will return to normalcy. You'll spend your days wholly dedicated to the mirror technology like this, chatting with me from time to time. The status quo will be preserved.
Sang Yi	The second... is to leave this place.
Yi Sang	I lack the wings to do so. How will I accomplish that?
Sang Yi	A chicken may not be able to fly, but that doesn't stop it from flapping its wings.
Sang Yi	It struggles... endlessly.
Yi Sang	You perplex me. At this point in time... where must I even go? I have neither a hometown nor an awaiter to return to.
Sang Yi	Be straightforward. If there is no hometown, you can walk ceaselessly until your feet decide to stop, and make that your new home.
Yi Sang	I followed your words and avoided taking the blue supplements.
Location: A Hallway in N Corp.
Yi Sang	Once I stopped taking the supplements, what had only been a blur carved a clear image onto my retina for the first time.
Yi Sang	The room I was in was not closed. It has always been open, and I had the freedom to go anywhere.
Yi Sang	Walking through the long and narrow hallway, I saw how my mirror was being used.
Yi Sang	Then, a sudden wave of lassitude began to surge.
Yi Sang	If I took the supplements and fell asleep, everything would have stayed alright.
Yi Sang	And I wished to believe that there must have been a misunderstanding between Gubo and me.
Yi Sang	Alas...
Yi Sang	I stepped outside the white square and kept walking.

Episode: 53
Location: A Hallway in N Corp.
Gubo	Have you decided to leave, my foolish companion?
Yi Sang	They were words not meant to persuade me, but merely to pounce at me...
Yi Sang	Although they did not hurt, they may have left a mark.
Gubo	You have nowhere to return to, and you're dragging that tottering body along?
Gubo	Do you truly believe you will find a place to call home, wherever you might go?
Gubo	Enjoy your rest, then.
Gubo	I'll return once twilight arrives.
Yi Sang	With that, I parted from Gubo, who was my last remaining compatriot.
Yi Sang	I was thoroughly isolated.
Dongrang	That's right. With this, we all ended up alone.
Dongrang	Only then...
Dongrang	At long last.
Location: K Corp. Laboratory
Dongrang	My turn had come.
Sinclair	...This is the part where Mr. Dongrang hands the glass technology over to K Corp.
Sinclair	We were in the League's shoes if only for a short while, so we know what's been going on.
Location: Rowdy League of Nine Littérateurs
Dongrang	...But I must say it's a bit disheartening to hear you call them children's playthings.
Dongrang	You won't be saying that once you learn that animals feel pain exactly like we do.
Location: Withering League of Nine Littérateurs
Dongbaek	Dongrang, don't make clumsy attempts unless you're planning to save everyone in the City.
Dongbaek	If I thought this measly technology had what it takes to give every single person the help they needed, I would've given my all for it.
Dongbaek	But... you think that'll change anything? The world will still be a terrible mess.
Dongrang	It was perfectly fine to be hurt. I didn't have to strain my body and heart trying to cure things. I was so stupid, wasn't I?
Dongbaek	Then you should've braced for it! Have the guts to bite your tongue and die if you couldn't stand to survive alone in the hometown!
Location: K Corp. Laboratory
Gregor	Yup, looks like Dongrang's...
Alfonso	Why the surprise? You must have heard stories about our Wing's Singularity.
Dongrang	...Looking at it in person felt different is all. I didn't think I would come all the way here...
Alfonso	Yeah, most have similar reactions. So... can you remind me of what you can do?
Dongrang	Ah, to start with an explanation of the technology I invented...
Alfonso	My expectations are particularly high since I heard you were a member of the League of Nine. That... Young-ji person is still missing, is that right?
Dongrang	...Yes, he is.
Alfonso	Well, it's a shame about the League disbanding... But it's fortunate we managed to recruit one of them.
Dongrang	The League of Nine... always serves as a plentiful shade, doesn't it. Then and now...
Dongrang	By the way, this reminds me of a thing that would cry at me like this in the past...
Alfonso	Dongrang?
Dongrang	Oh... I mean, the reason I've come here is...
Ishmael	The thing that used to cry at Dongrang...
Ishmael	He must mean the yellow calf...
Dongrang	Haha. What are you doing now?
Dongrang	The League of Nine has disbanded, and the play is over. You're not Yurang anymore.
Ishmael	You're right, I guess I got too immersed and felt like I was one of your "companions" for a second.
Ishmael	You said you fulfilled your wish, but it didn't seem that way to me no matter which way I looked at it.
Ishmael	Did you feel the same when you saved that calf?
Dongrang	Will you watch your words? I didn't save the calf expecting a reward.
Heathcliff	You think we don't know that? You saved the poor creature right before it got crushed to death 'cause you felt like it. I remember when we took turns feeding it milk.
Dongrang	I believed that it would be okay to save lives without a price back then.
Dongrang	I guess it wasn't just my work… that burned away in the incinerator that day.
Dongrang	My mind's garden I had been tending to burned down with it.
Yi Sang	Taking a backward glance at our trails... all of us have been suffering great losses.
Yi Sang	Failing to see... what needed to be seen.
Yi Sang	Allow me to apologize. For casting only slantwise glances.
Yi Sang	We were all falling into ruin all the same, and you were no different... I did not realize it then.
Dongrang	……
Dongrang	...I wonder, do you think the cow is peacefully grazing grass somewhere right now?
Outis	I'm sure of it. He'll be waiting for you, even if you won't go back.
Dongrang	I don't think... it'll recognize me...
Dongrang	I've changed too much from who I was in the past.
Dongrang	Yeah, you're right. All the trophies and awards on my desk praising my excellence are empty husks.
Dongrang, Who Denies All	Although they dazzle gloriously... they're empty inside. They're husks I couldn't have ever gotten if I weren't a member of the League.
Dongrang, Who Denies All	That's why I liked photographs. They... contain my image in all its honesty.
Dongrang, Who Denies All	For however long, when I look up at the sky... I can't see a thing. It's like I'm under a giant shadow...
Sinclair	Who is... Mr. Dongrang talking to...?
Dante	<This time... It doesn't seem to be me.>
Don Quixote	I... might know what is about to transpire.
Don Quixote	That man is heading toward distortion...
Faust	Certainly, and the distortion... might not be the terminus, but rather a step in a process.
Sinclair	Then... I-Is there any way we can help...
Faust	To stop him from going astray in this space where mental images take physical form.
Faust	As we do, he will naturally come to accept that what lies ahead is his path.
Faust	That is how we can help him.

Episode: 54
Dongrang	So it comes down to this. I'll probably die soon.
Dongrang	In such a peaceful place...
Dongrang	...What.
Dongrang	Ha, haha...
Dongrang	You're right, it doesn't recognize me.
Dongrang	I may be filled with husks right now, but I know...
Dongrang	I'm almost there. Soon... I'll make my own technology to fill myself up.
Dongrang	I'll gather a team again... hire another secretary... There'll be a lot to do.
Dongrang	So... I don't think I'll need you anymore.
Location: K Corp. Laboratory
Alfonso	...Dongrang? I wonder how long will you keep me waiting.
Dongrang	Ah, sorry for the delay. I was reminded of something I left in my hometown...
Dongrang	But I've realized that now is the time to be thinking about what I'll gain from now on instead of what I left behind.
Alfonso	Anyone can have a moment of foolishness.
Alfonso	Right, so... You know about a way to generate an endless stream of tears, do you?
Dongrang	To reach a certain quota, people are tortured... then cured using the tears... then tortured again...
Dongrang	It's such a waste to keep spending a portion of tears on that.
Alfonso	True, so we're importing footage from a variety of Wings and Backstreets Syndicates as a substitute.
Dongrang	They're asking higher and higher prices for the audiovisual feed, aren't they?
Dongrang	Other factions are starting to notice that we're in evident need of it, albeit faintly. Even if they don't know what exactly it's used for in K Corp.
Deranged Employee	Hee... huhee... huhnh...
Deranged Employee	Could you please... break a finger now?
Dongrang	See. Your subordinate tied to this chair seems to have lost it, too.
Dongrang	…….
Dongrang, Who Denies All	I shouldn't close my eyes.
Dongrang, Who Denies All	Miss Carmen... I believe that's not exactly the case. The path hasn't ended, and I finally see clearly where I should go.
Yi Sang	Dongrang... after coming such a long way 'round... have you at last returned to this path?
Dongrang, Who Denies All	When I look into the eye... I don't feel the sympathy I used to feel anymore.
Dongrang, Who Denies All	Instead... Do you see that? A pale imitation of the League's renowned glass window, made by leeching off it... It's now become the flag that raised the esteem of K Corp's Singularity high.
Yi Sang	...Yes, I can see it well.
Dongrang, Who Denies All	Brother Young-ji has left, Dongbaek has returned to the bed of flowers...
Dongrang, Who Denies All	All that's left is a parasitic mutation of Young-ji's glass...
Dongrang, Who Denies All	My shoddy copy of the glass, which didn't manage to be anything.
Dongrang, Who Denies All	What use is technology that can't change the world?
Dongrang, Who Denies All	So I want you to stop caring like I have. Let it cry for our agony and sorrow in our stead.
Location: K Corp. Laboratory
Yi Sang	Though I was certain that I had left.
Yi Sang	...It would appear that I am still inside that white square.
Yi Sang	At this point, all things have been reduced to mere dots to me, utterly incapable of stimulation or inspiration.
Yi Sang	Will I follow this meaningless walk, wandering my whole life?
Yi Sang	We're only chickens whose wings are clipped perpetually...
Sinclair	Mr. Yi Sang seems to be in a bad spot...
Hong Lu	Dante.
Hong Lu	Even though I only delivered Young-ji's words with my tongue... it does give me a thought.
Hong Lu	Maybe, these letters that Yi Sang wrote... weren't just meant for the Yi Sang in the mirror alone.
Hong Lu	To all people he had ties with in the past, those he knows in the present, and those he might meet in the future.
Dante	<You mean, including us...>
Hong Lu	I'm thinking that he might have been calling for help all along.
Dante	<Yi Sang...>
Dante	<What was on your mind just before you left N Corp?>
Yi Sang	When I parted with Gubo...
Yi Sang	The stars lost their shine and let darkness fill the air, and I felt as though I were crippled.
Yi Sang	Yet...
Yi Sang	I thought that there may be a place that would allow me to live on, even if I had no wings and my legs limped.
Yi Sang	The thread of hope couldn't be thinner, but I held onto the faint possibility.
Dongbaek	When we... or at least I saw your mirror, I thought I was seeing what we didn't have.
Dongbaek	That's why they seemed so far, and that's why I could only look.
Dongbaek	It's why I had to settle for this reality.
Dongbaek	Like how I dreamed of stars as I watched fireworks.
Dongbaek	But the mirror...
Dongbaek	What it shows are possibilities. So... do you see what I'm getting at? You don't have to envy the mirrored images.
Dongbaek	What you saw... were the possibilities you held.
Dongbaek	You've had them all along.
Dongbaek	The wings to make your possibility a reality.
Dongbaek	...That's what I wanted to tell you.
Yi Sang	……
???	Yi Sang, the first Sinner. I have been waiting for you.
???	If you join Limbus Company...
???	I promise that we'll help you recover your torn and broken wings.
???	And...
Yi Sang	……
Sang Yi	Well?
Yi Sang	I...
Yi Sang	I do not possess the talent to pick up shattered pieces.
Yi Sang	However, those sparkling eyes... they were not feigned.
Sang Yi	Our tortuous path will circle around misery.
Sang Yi	What we thought were bonds will inevitably be lost, and precious things will shatter into shards that stab your soft heart.
Yi Sang	...I am well aware.
Yi Sang	It is for that reason all things would have no more worth than futile ephemerality.
Dante	<Yi Sang, why did you make the mirror?>
Yi Sang	……
Yi Sang	I...
Yi Sang	Never made technology to hold any value in them.
Yi Sang	I know well enough that I have no way to return to the past.
Yi Sang	Simply...
Sang Yi	That mirror you're holding...
Yi Sang	It's what I call Yeonsim.
Sang Yi	Yeonsim, huh... (硏, to grind or study; 尋, to seek)
Yi Sang	This is a product of grinding something... scraping even the mind to polish it.
Sang Yi	I see. I suppose all versions of Yi Sang were dedicated to research.
Yi Sang	I thought that I had lost my wings, that I couldn't have them.
Yi Sang	I thought I had been clinging to research, pathetically stroking the joints where wings used to be...
Yi Sang	But I believe I now know the mirror's true name.
Yi Sang	Yeonsim. (連心, "to connect the heart")
Yi Sang	It's a bridge that joins hearts together.
Yi Sang	I made the mirror because I wished to continue living and flapping and fluttering.
Yi Sang	I wished to soar into the air once more, even if I fell afterward.
Yi Sang	One day, despair will arrive for certain... It's for that reason... life must go on... as far as it can.
Yi Sang	Whether or not I had wings... mattered not.
Sang Yi	……
Sang Yi	All Yi Sangs have outstanding talent. At the same time, all Yi Sangs are ignorant.
Sang Yi	All Yi Sangs can see wings, but only one Yi Sang can fly.
Yi Sang	If such is the case...
Sang Yi	The Yi Sang in the mirror must be the opposite of the Yi Sang outside... but they're quite alike, too.
Sang Yi	I mean the wings you say you saw... those radiant and magnificent wings.
Sang Yi	They're my wings, and they're yours in the reflection.
Sang Yi	Why do I think that? ...It's obvious. The mirror is a reflection of the self.
Sang Yi	If you saw wings on me, then they were on you as well... They would obviously belong to you.
Sang Yi	Now, kick off the ground and flutter your wings.
Yi Sang	All I wished for...
Yi Sang	Just once more...
Yi Sang	I wished to fly.
Dongrang	Yi... Sang...
Yi Sang	…….
Yi Sang	I remember that spring day.
Yi Sang	Stars rose in our eyes.
Yi Sang	…….
Dongrang	…….
Dongrang	They sparkled.
Dongrang	As brightly... as your wings.
Dongrang	I've... always yearned to...
Dongrang	Escape the shadows of the League...
Dongrang	In the end... it is that same shadow... that embraces me after everything.

Episode: 55
After some time has passed...
Location: K Corp. Laboratory
With Dongrang's death, our contract with him was rendered null and void.
Meaning, the only way for us to be handed the Golden Bough was...
Alfonso	Well, consequently... it wasn't all bad. But it's not good, either.
Alfonso	Since the leader of the terrorists—Dongbaek, was it?—has died, their organization should collapse in no time. As for the remaining problems...
Alfonso	I have a suggestion on how to handle them.
Alfonso	Everything that happened in K Corp. today was single-handedly caused by a mentally unstable, rebellious employee named Dongrang...
Alfonso	In his scheme to unfairly claim personal gains and power within the firm. Do you agree?
Ishmael	...Are you sure you're okay with that cover-up story? He may have opposed us... but he was your employee, wasn't he?
Alfonso	Well... I did say my goodbyes with a phone call earlier. Some cheeky man he was.
Alfonso	And you're a manager at Limbus Company... Dante, right? You seemed somewhat unassertive for a manager.
Alfonso	If you want to be a leader, you'd best remember to nip any rising problem in its bud.
Alfonso	The faster, the better.
Dante	<Screw yourself.>
Dante	<You also hired Shi Association's assassins to silence Shrenne, didn't you?>
Faust	...They are telling you that they got the message.
Alfonso	...Hmph, I thought you were something of a half-wit, but I suppose you weren't put in charge for nothing.
Alfonso	Ah, and one more thing.
Alfonso	I don't know how things got complicated enough for you to get involved with our Wing's Singularity, but...
Alfonso	The tearful thing...
Alfonso	Was K Corp's Singularity itself and a confidential detail we could in no way allow to be known.
Faust	Limbus Company does not give away confidential information gained during investigation. If you'd like, we could arrange a contract to...
Alfonso	Ha. Ha. Are you seriously offering that just after seeing a contract you signed turn into worthless paper stacks?
Alfonso	I couldn't let a piece of paper bind me down.
Alfonso	I'll get your memories erased.
Ryoshu	SYNC. Tamper with my memories, and I'll cut you down to bits.
Vergilius	...We'll follow your method, ma'am.
Ryoshu	You piece of...
Alfonso	Well, since you're about to forget it all, let me correct one thing...
Alfonso	What you saw wasn't the actual tearful thing; it's a child entity.
Alfonso	We couldn't leave such a precious asset in the hands of some researcher with no real credentials, now could we?
Alfonso	It would sadden me if you believed that fiddling thing was the pride of our Wing.
Alfonso	...Ah, not that you'd have a chance to think that.
In spite of Ryōshū's menacing intimidation...
Following the unfriendly instructions of people who appeared to be K Corp's high-rank staff and Fixers, we were put through a memory wipe procedure, erasing every recollection of the tearful thing from the Sinners' heads.
As we left, Alfonso told us to look forward to how the tears will be used in the future...
The Sinners had memories of seeing something in the laboratory, but none of them could recall what it was, how the tears were collected, or how HP bullets were made.
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles
Dante	<By the way, Yi Sang...>
Dante	<Where did you want to fly?>
Yi Sang	I would have been content with the feelings it would give.
Dante	<What about now?>
Yi Sang	...Hm. I will leave no comments on that.
What they didn't notice, however...
Is that the memory wipe didn't work on me for some mysterious reason.
Could I recover the Sinners' wiped memories somehow, like how I rewind their injuries using the clock?
The thought occurred to me, but alas...
I don't know how I would do that, and I'm not sure if it'd be possible at all.
I was sure about one thing.
The fact that I am retaining the memories they tried to erase must be valuable... So I decided to stay quiet about it.
Yi Sang	However, manager, I will say this much.
Yi Sang	From now on... I plan to face what I have left.
Yi Sang	Those being the mistakes the League of Nine has left, and the tasks left for me.
Yi Sang	Thus, I would like to resist as much as I can if needed.
Yi Sang	No longer will I bend as the wind blows... I won't let it sway me or strike me down.
Yi Sang	Rather than be slantwise and seep...
Yi Sang	I intend to walk where I plan to go.
Yi Sang	Will you aid me in my endeavors, Dante?
Dante	<……>
Dante	<Of course.>
That's right. Even if their memories are taken, it won't gnaw away at the determination that has firmly taken root in their hearts.
Then, what is the determination that I have left?
How much must I remember and witness?
Thinking such thoughts, I looked at Vergilius who was on the other side.
Vergilius	...Because it would be one of the manager's duties to remember and witness all this.
Dante	<You heard what I said?>
Faust	Dante asks if you heard what they said.
Vergilius	...I couldn't hear the usual ticks, so I have no way to know if you even said something.
Vergilius	Of course, I can't hear your words, Manager Dante. It was just idle talk. The look on your face seemed to warrant it.
Did I have facial expressions...?
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles
Alfonso	May the meaning of those ceaseless tears be effervescence.
Alfonso	Your wish, as well as ours...
Alfonso	Are being realized to the best of our abilities as always.
Yi Sang	Have you been well?
Yi Sang	Whenever I look at a mirror, I find myself greeting it.
Yi Sang	It is said that a greeting is only natural when it is mutually exchanged...
Yi Sang	But I do not mind the one-sidedness, as I believe it will be conveyed someday.
Yi Sang	I have decided that from now on, I will no longer be stopped in place.
Yi Sang	Even if all will ultimately remain unchanging...
Yi Sang	I, too, shan't change, either.
Yi Sang	You have no need to be overly concerned for me. I now have new companions by my side.
Yi Sang	Though I cannot be sure what they will think of this... I intend to consider them as such.
Yi Sang	To close off...
Yi Sang	Allow me one final remark.
Yi Sang	May you all keep company with peace throughout your lives.
Yi Sang	Yours sincerely, Yi Sang.
Location: Nest K’s Alleyways
Dante	<They sure are serious about eating.>
Dante	<It amazes me how they can look so happy while eating out.>
I stepped out of the restaurant to briefly catch some fresh air.
Demian	……
Dante	<You're... I didn't even notice you arrive... How long have you been there?>
Demian	I told you that I would come to see you again.
Demian	Why can't people settle for just looking?
Demian	It should be enough to simply admire it, smell the scent, and enjoy the moment; but they nurture greed and obsession as they contain it in their sight, eating themselves away.
Demian	The mirror, too—it was first created for simple enjoyment.
Demian	You could compare it to a bag of chips with hundreds of flavors, for example.
Demian	But then someone came up with an idea.
Demian	'What if there was a way to reach into that possibly infinite bag of chips and take what I don't have...? What if all of us could have all the flavors that way...?'
Demian	It wouldn't be considered theft. According to the rules made by adults, anyway.
Demian	That, in fact, is stealing from me.
Dante	<……>
Demian	Countless stars are in the sky. But they aren't all the same. If someone else saw them, they might have been nothing more than dim lumps of light.
Demian	But someone who found the twinkle staggeringly charming took one of the stars...
Demian	And hung it on a high enough place for everyone to see, expelling the dark.
Demian	All the people would rejoice.
Demian	Now, here's a question.
Demian	What will become of me who has been robbed by me, and the star that's now forced to illuminate the dark forevermore?
Dante	<I…>
Demian	The mirror your friends use isn't any different. That is such a cruel piece of technology.
Demian	Take your time with the answer. Just draw me a sheep later.
Demian	You may not remember it right now... but you promised to.
Just as I tried to say something, he vanished, leaving only a hint of loneliness.
He was nowhere to be seen, as if he returned to where he belonged. I couldn't even remember what I was trying to answer.
Previous Chapter - Back To Top - Next Chapter