The 2nd Walpurgisnacht
Episode 1 - Episode 2
Episode: 1
Location: Cabins of Mephistopheles
Dante <This is...>
Green lights blinding our eyes and loud alarms rupturing our eardrums. I've gotten used to it by now.
Yi Sang Aough!
Yi Sang Ah... I have been wrested from my refuge of sleep once again...
Thanks to the alarm, the Sinners begin waking up one by one from their naps.
Faust Walpurgis Night has descended once again.
Even amidst that chaos, Faust remained as calm as ever. She walked up to the helm and shut off the alarm.
Dante <Already...? I thought it was supposed to be a really rare occurrence.>
Faust Yes, it is a rare occurrence. But its frequency is not something we can reliably predict.
Rodion Oww... Guess going back to sleep's out of the question now. So there's a chance that it goes off next week, too?
Faust The possibility is there, yes. Yet I don't believe that it would happen so soon; it takes some time for Mephistopheles' engine to resonate.
Faust Ah...
Faust, who was busily interfacing with the device while answering Rodya's question, came to a sudden stop.
Dante <... What's up? Is there something wrong?>
Faust ... No, everything is under control. This is within the predictable range of variables for one such volatility.
Faust I merely paused to contemplate how I should explain this to you and the rest of the Sinners, Dante. Considering that this will be a new environment for all of you, that is.
New environment...?
I looked at her curiously... but I did not voice my concerns.
She was already walking toward the Backdoor. Faust was not going to answer my question anyway.
Faust It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case... a first-hand experience.
Dante <Yep, knew it...>
Don Quixote Ooh! Thus, our humdrum daily lives are spruced up once again!
Ishmael You know, it wasn't that long ago that you were scurrying all over the cabin and placing weird decorations everywhere. Don't tell me you're already tired of it...?
Don Quixote Forsooth, I believe that we've had more than enough celebration for that occasion!
Faust Dante, please lead the way.
The bored Sinners seemed to find this new possibility of an adventure somewhat exciting. They slowly got up from their seats with enthusiasm.
... We again made our way to the Backdoor.
Location: Bus’s Backdoor
Faust Dante, the door on which this volatility occurred is in the direction of the dungeons.
Dante <Oh, so we gotta head toward my room...>
Faust Yes. Please open the door.
She did say something about the corridor changing depending on who opened the door...
I walked across the corridor, trying to recall what Faust once told me.
Ishmael Nice, we're not going into the restricted zone this time.
Ishmael Unlike the other time we had to, while off-duty, jump to the rescue of some dumbasses who decided to saunter in there despite the repeated warnings...
Heathcliff Agh... I won't do it again, all right?
Outis You've gone against the warning twice already. You are far from the most trustworthy Sinner among us.
Ishmael Heh, agreed.
Heathcliff Haaaah...
Don Quixote I have done it only once, in case thou weren't aware...
Heathcliff Shut it, you!
I'm starting to enjoy this raucousness among the Sinners.
Hoping that this camaraderie would last for a long, long time, I turned the handle and opened the door.
Hong Lu Oho...?
Gregor That... door...
Right, the door had transformed...
... into an oddly familiar shape.
Dante <This looks like one of those doors we saw back at one of the... Lobotomy Corp. branches.
Meursault It is identical.
Meursault It appears that different shapes are overlapping over the door, but all of them are of the same design.
Faust Correct. The overlapping shapes are more clear evidence that Walpurgis Night has returned.
Dante <... Opening now.>
The door creaks open, and another corridor appears before us.
Location: L Corp. Branch?
Heathcliff So this is another Lobotomy Corp. branch, innit?
The longer I look at it, the more familiar it becomes. This place definitely looks a lot like those Lobotomy Corp. branches we've been to.
Heathcliff Oi, smartarse. If we could just pop open a door leading straight into one of 'em branches, why are we doing any of this tour bus business? Ain't we wasting time and effort out here?
Faust ... There are numerous inaccuracies in your statement that must be corrected. I will tackle them in reverse order of your presentation.
Faust First. Walpurgis Night is an unpredictable event that not even I could predict.
Outis To base our entire operation on such an unstable element would be a plan most foolish.
Heathcliff Tsk... I suppose that's true.
Rodion Heath, let's try to think a little before we speak, 'kay~?
Heathcliff scowled at Rodya's remark, but soon grew dejected once he noticed that the other Sinners were nodding in agreement.
Faust Hm. Well. I won't completely deny the possibility of pursuing that method.
Faust However, I must clarify that this is not a real Lobotomy Corp. branch of the City. Merely a result of Walpurgis Night's mutation of the corridor.
Faust Therefore, I can say with quite the certainty that this does not align with our current mission, which is to retrieve the Golden Boughs from the branches existing in our current reality.
Heathcliff Right, right... Will you stop it with your lecture when I apologize for speaking without thinking?
Faust As I have said previously, I won't completely deny the possibility of pursuing that method. Besides...
Faust There are more inaccuracies to be addressed.
Dante <... More?>
I didn't think there was anything more for her to correct. But Faust clearly seemed to think that there was another critical error in Heathcliff's statement.
And without even flinching, and wearing that serious expression, she looked into the distance.
Faust This is not one of the Lobotomy Corp. branches.
Faust muttered.
Dante <Not... one of them? So this isn't a Lobotomy Corp. facility?>
Faust This is not a branch. We are at a Lobotomy Corp. Headquarters of the past—its point in time and the branch of possibility uncertain.
Ishmael ...!
Ishmael So this is...
Sinclair The broken Wing...!
Location: L Corp. HQ Control Team Hallway
Faust Indeed. We find ourselves at a 'Control Team' hallway of the former L Corp. Headquarters.
I can sense the rising apprehension among the Sinners.
So this is where it happened. I don't remember it since it happened before my amnesia... but everyone in the City knows about that incident.
The source of the blinding light that enveloped the City for days, which then sunk everyone into utter darkness for the next.
Faust ......
But Faust appears unaffected by the general air of anxiety of those around her. Instead, she continues to look off into the distance, away from the Sinners.
Maybe it's because she doesn't care... or maybe what she already knows doesn't faze her.
Dante <... Are you waiting for something, Faust?>
Faust I am. There is more to this volatility than the volatility phenomena we have experienced in the past.
Faust Soon, it will...
Before Faust finished, the lights of the corridor suddenly switched colors.
Faust It has begun.
Don Quixote W-what treachery is this? Is this... is this what they call 'Site Burial'...?!
Faust A different siren would play if an event of a magnitude requiring that level of response had occurred.
Gregor T-then what the hell is this...? I'm really not liking the look of that red light...!
Faust They're here. Ahead.
I followed the tip of Faust's finger, which pointed toward the same direction she'd been looking at this entire time.
Steam of unknown origin began to coalesce there...
Gregor ... Is that a machine...?
... and a bizarre machine of sorts appeared there.
Faust This is an Ordeal. Color: Green. Time: Dawn.
Outis ... All units!
Gregor Don't need ya spell it out for us! That menacing pile of scrap's coming this way...!
Everyone seemed to know that something like this was going to happen. They prepared for battle, warily eyeing the mysterious machine.
Heathcliff That an Abnormality, too...?
Dante <No, wait... It feels more like a... peccatulum?>
I instinctively blurted out the immediate sense they gave off, and looked to Faust. She'll know what to say.
Instead of giving me an answer, however, Faust brandished the Zweihander and stepped forward.
Faust ... We must first suppress the entities. Dante, prepare the Identity Cards.
Episode: 2
Location: L Corp. HQ Control Team Hallway
Eventually, we managed to reduce the machines to a pile of scrap metal.
Gregor ... Whew. Frau Faust, there's gotta be a reason we decided to stand our ground and fight instead of shutting the door on 'em, right?
Faust Yes. We stand to gain more reward by defeating them than by fleeing.
Gregor ... Reward?
Gregor repeated, clearly expecting her to elaborate. But Faust ignored his gesture and instead began to observe the walls and items around her.
Yi Sang ... What were the nature of these... entities?
Yi Sang stood next to Faust and began to muse alongside her.
Faust They are entities that used to appear in Lobotomy Corp. Headquarters. Entities... similar to yet different from the Abnormalities. Lobotomy Corp. Headquarters used to call them 'Ordeals'.
Yi Sang 'Ordeals'. I see. Then was this corridor, which is evidently not a containment unit, also utilized to contain certain entities as well?
Faust These monsters have a tendency to spontaneously appear during certain periods.
Dante <Monsters? Like... monsters of the Outskirts?>
Faust I suppose that is one way of looking at it. ... However, that comparison may grow increasingly inaccurate as we delve further into the technicalities. All I can share with you is that you will eventually come to know more of it, Dante.
Ryoshu Like the Nocturnal March of a Hundred Demons. Heh, I like it.
Faust Oh, Dante. There is something I must inform you.
Dante <Yeah?>
Faust There is a high chance of these 'Ordeals' or encounters of similar intensity appearing from these volatilities.
Faust I recommend challenging every occurrence of these encounters.
Dante <... So she says, guys.>
Gregor Haah... I really don't like this lighting...
Don Quixote Aha! I welcome thy preposition! 'Tis two birds with one stone, indeed; we may find entertainment as we train ourselves to be better!
Except for Faust and Yi Sang, who were quietly exchanging their observations, each Sinner began rowdily sharing their impressions.
Well... I guess that's a more reasonable preposition than 'let's just doze off in the bus until we find land'.
Hopefully Faust or Yi Sang will one day find the time to explain their findings to me...
Right, we had to get moving. I approached the Sinners to get us going.
Back To Top