Chapter Text
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_Accept?
Changes Approved. Applying Relevant Updates.
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Identities Have Been Changed Accordingly.
Warning: Sinners Can No Longer Be Revived.
Restoring Files To Most Previous Save: Partial.
Update Complete.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
“Dante. Wake up.”
A distant voice filled the manager's head. In a void of utter darkness, staring straight into the abyss, the tenth sinner could not think.
No thoughts, no thinking. Utter nothingness, stuck in a state of inertia and limbo. Alive yet not.
“Dante…you need to wake up.”
Nothing. Still nothing. The words rang in hollow ears as they went one way in and the other way out, the executive manager remaining motionless. Unconscious they were, in almost a death-like state to any other watching.
Yet flickers of thought arisen, semblances of cousiness appeared with the occasional twitch in the hand.
“Dante.”
A searing pain was felt, in the void, a red gaze was seen boring through the very head of the manager. At first it was numb, till it wasn’t.
As the pain got worse, so did the mind awake. Thoughts started to form as memories came back from a shroud of darkness.
House Of Spiders…LCCB transport truck…what?
Fragments appear independent of each other. Knowledge from different times, different districts and different occasions.
One could wonder if things could have gone differently, if the journey could have gone a different route or achieved a better outcome. Whether for better or for worse is anyone’s guess.
Some people could have survived, others should have died. History is the way it is for a reason, meddling it in can have some…unforeseen consequences. But to hell with it, some say.
Awake thee to the golden path, it was time to try again and set right the wrongs and set wrong the rights. There is no right or wrong now, the end goal has been erased from sight.
All is condemned to the cruelest of fates: Freedom.
There are no more chains to drag thee along or strings to puppet. The way forward is a clear one, as there are no more directives to follow.
All that is left to do is…
Wake Up.
Bolting upright, the executive manager had returned to the realm of the thinking world with a gasp only heard as ticks and tocks of a clock.
With a probable migraine, they stared directly at the figure standing in front of them, doing nothing more than merely standing.
“Welcome back, Dante.”
Dante
Speaking to them was Vergilius, the Red Gaze.
Yet something was strange, something felt utterly wrong. As if some details were missing and the entire atmosphere felt different.
“<Wha — what happened?>”
Vergilius let out a long exhale, almost pained, before answering.
“I do not know exactly what happened, but it seems apparent Limbus Company has suffered a catastrophic setback.”
Dante staggered back, almost as if they had been actually stabbed upon hearing those words exit the mouth of a colour fixer.
“Look around you, where do you think we are?”
The first obvious answer would be inside the bus, Mephistopheles, the problem is that…they weren't supposed to be in the bus.
Clean. Too clean like it had been barely touched. Outside the windows showed a view Dante hadn’t seen in a long, long time.
D Corp. To be specific, the backstreets of D Corp.
The old and wrecked, almost rotting buildings on the road littered with trash. It is a familiar sight, one that they were not supposed to return to.
In the ruins where many had called home before war, Dante was staring at the very past itself. It was identical to where they had been in D Corp.
Coincidence? It was not, it could not be.
“All the golden boughs are gone as well.”
Worse and worse. At this point someone could just tell Dante they time travelled and they would have believed them.
“I have contacted the other departments of Limbus Company. They too are unaware what has happened but the LCE has made a theory on this occurrence.”
Looking around more to see if their vision deceives them, which unfortunately it doesn’t. Driving through the exact streets from their mesmerizes, so either the executive manager distorted and this was a piece of memory from a dungeon or they had truly woken up in the past.
The only things that could top off the sense of surrealism the manager was experiencing were those two incidents that happened on April 1st…they still have no recollection of how it led there or why.
“Hohenheim said after the events of the raid on the House Of Spiders, there might have been an error with the portal that caused…this.”
“<We travelled back in time, didn’t we?>”
“Essentially, yes.”
…
Dante did nothing else before putting both hands on his head as the day just got a lot harder. Days like these almost make the executive manager want to stand outside at night when the sweepers attack.
“<I…we…this is so over.>”
Dante had patience, but maybe not enough to redo each and every sinner’s journey all over again and face the same problems as before. It was merely the repetition and headache the manager would wish to avoid.
“Do not give up, Dante. Your contract is still valid currently, you must still accomplish the company’s directives.”
The manager does not feel like doing so, however.
“<...>”
Dante slowly stood up as the aura of sheer despair passed over their shoulders. Feeling numb, they stare face to face with their guide.
“<Vergilius, what is the condition of the rest of Limbus Company?
“The majority of the company seems to be in the same situation as us. The condition of the LCA is unknown but both LCE and LCD have both been confirmed to be transported with the LCB.”
Sounding exhausted, it would seem it had been a long day for the Red Gaze.
“Hah…the situation in the LCC is chaotic. I have yet to receive a report from Saude besides a few lines.”
It could be easily summarized as a disaster. One after another, the company is holding on together by the strings.
“Every branch has suffered massive casualties among their ranks and are in disarray. Limbus Company has been thinned to a fraction of itself.”
The losses from the perspective of the company were utterly apocalyptic in sheer scale of loss. While it wasn’t that bad to the point Limbus Company would dissolve, it was the disaster in the company's history.
Dante questions how they're even supposed to proceed from here.
“And this…also includes LCB in terms of losses.”
A chill went down the spine of the executive manager as the cold realization hit them square in the face. Absorbing the statement spoken by Vergilius, they took a frantic look around to find an outcome most terrifying of all.
Nothing.
Utter silence. How they did not notice before was almost surprising, staring at the empty seats where someone should have occupied them.
What was even more chilling was that Dante could not feel their connection to them, as if it had been entirely severed.
“<Where…>”
“They're gone, Dante. To a degree, at least from my observations.”
“<What?>”
“It might be confusing, but a majority of the sinners are no longer accessible to any degree.”
They were simple words, but shock was as if someone told Dante the Head had been overthrown or that the Claw stopped collecting taxes.
The sinners were gone. And a part of Dante didn’t believe it.
“Follow me. It would be easier to explain this way.”
As Vergilius walked towards rooms of the sinners at the back of the bus, Dante swiftly followed suit.
As they entered, the first thing they saw was that the rooms of the sinners had been…locked. By glowing yellow chains, it wrapped itself around the doorframes of each sinner’s room.
“This is what I meant. They're locked behind those doors currently. Whether they are behind or simply no longer exist, the outcome remains the same.”
No…
“<You don’t mean…”
“They are practically dead, Dante.”
Horrifying. They couldn’t even reach out to them nor feel their connection. They could not be revived, they cannot change identities, they were not even alive anymore to Dante’s senses.
The manager attempted to open one of the doors, even applying some force to no avail.
“It is useless. I already tried myself, but the doors do not budge. If this is any indication, it would be hopeless to try forcing them open.”
Despair. Utter despair washed over them as quickly as it left them. Their backs hunched as their hopes were taken and shoved to the bottom of the city.
“<What…do we even do now then?>”
“We work, Dante. The work never stops, because you must always find a way to solve this.”
An exhausted tone the words came out of Vergilius’s mouth, akin to a phrase said too many times. His eyes contradict his words.
“If the situation was truly hopeless, the LCB would have already been disbanded by now.”
A silver lining remained, no matter how little. At very least, the situation was not without salvage.
“Presumebly, more sinners could accessed if more golden boughs are acquired. Though this is merely a theory from the LCE.”
So how was Dante supposed to…
“Both the first and last sinner have been unaffected from this event.”
Two footsteps could be heard approaching their location. Two figures emerged, a man of average build and pale complexion with black hair along with a man of slightly below average height with dark brown hair with most notably, a massive, claw-like appendage replacing their right arm.
Yi Sang and Gregor. Sinner number 1 and 13.
“What’s up manager bud, how'd you doing right now?”
Gregor waved as he spoke, in which Dante quickly reciprocated with a wave of their own.
“It is ideal to know that you haven’t been affected by the occurrence, manager.”
A relief it was, for if Dante had a mouth, they would’ve released a sigh of ease they never knew they kept.
“The tasks remain the same, Dante. Retrieve the golden boughs with what you can.”
Evidently the same tasks would be harder with just two sinners, discounting the fact if their combat skills didn’t return to its previous state. If it remains consistent to where they got thus far, Dante’s opinion on this assignment might have changed.
“So…it’s just the four of us, eh?”
Gregor said while looking towards both Dante and Vergilius, almost expecting them to be temporarily joining them.
Would this even count as an emergency that Vergilius can interfere with? They assume it should fall under the type of emergencies that Vergilius is contractually obliged to intervene in.
Turning to their side to ask…Faust.
There is no Faust.
…this will be a bit challenging.
“Do not expect me to aid you. The LCA has already informed me that this incident does not constitute my tempering.”
And with that, the hope that recently rose from the despair went back down again, it’s almost like Dante’s optimism was being played with.
So too did the faces of Gregor and Yi Sang fall to anguish. It might be quite possible they are done for.
“If it’s any reassurance, Dante, the thre —”
SCREECH!
A loud, unpleasant sound to the ears filled the hallway, with the remaining sinners wincing after hearing it.
“Mephi is hungry.”
Charon spoke from all the way from the front, barely registering to them in the back, but it was audible. Barely.
“This reminds me of a familiar memory. Déjà Vu would be an apt word to describe this feeling, for I believe this occasion reminds me of a certain event.”
Yi Sang was right, as this felt too specific. Almost as if…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Oi! Leave all ya stuff behind and get off! Y’got 30 seconds! 10! 9!...”
Ah. Dante almost forgot about this.
What did they fight again? Thugs? Random homeless people? Bums? Or all the above?
“Dante, I’ll leave you to handle this.”
Vergilius gave one last nod before walking away to the front to chat with Charon or possibly something else, but the matters of the Red Gaze were not for the manager to know nor need to.
“Hm. So, manager bud, your orders?”
It is becoming apparent that for now, they will have a relatively easy time against these foes. It would be harder to not fully kill them and try to keep them half-alive.
Hooligans. Dante almost pities them. Almost.
“<Let’s finish this.>”
Walking towards the exit, the three advance to meet adversity. With Dante standing right behind while the two sinners flank both directions to protect the manager.
The first of sinners, the taxidermied genius and the last of sinners, the soldier of G Corp’s past. About to face…litteral bums. Scums of the streets whose best weapon is either a knife taped to a pole or just a metal pipe.
One can only feel sorry at the disproportionate division of power between both groups.
“<Should we end it quickly?>”
“I believe it would be best to hasten it. There is not much to dwindle on here.”
True. That is a good point.
In that case, identities should be the end of it. Now which one, however?
Pulling the PDA, Dante taps on the list of identities and finds them…missing?
What?
Gone. All of it.
Just black lines remained where identities once stood, everything was wiped…besides a few.
Those few were outliers, very strange ones. These ones had not existed before to Dante’s best memories, as they had not extracted any such identity. It is possible they are suffering from dementia or simple forgetfulness, but it feels off.
An aura of unease radiated out of the screen, chills being sent through Dante’s finger hovering right above the PDA.
They debated if it was merely better to allow the sinners to fight in their base identities, but curiosity killed the cat.
So, Dante pressed it.
A purple chain shot out of the digital assistant and attached itself to Yi Sang. Sounds of cracking glass were heard, but more volatile than Dante remembered.
A hue of violet surrounded Yi Sang before transforming fully. As the world itself cracked, a flashing light blinded the manager.
Staggering back, they gazed up once more to find…
From break and ruin, the most beautiful performance begins.
Lobotomy HQ Record Team Captain Yi Sang.
Wearing a pristine white and black suit resembling a conductor's outfit, complete with a long tailcoat that has extended black-trimmed hems trailing on the ground.
With a mask resembling a large set of sharp teeth on their face and a monocle which references a musical symbol on the left eye.
Holding a tall black scythe which reflected no light with a white middle and musical symbols connected to it. Exuding a calming aura, like a musical to the end of days.
But one thing was for certain…
Dante did NOT have such identity under their possession!?! This feels too powerful! Yi Sang could probably slaughter a capo for lunch!
“Dante, this identity feels…particularly intense. But I…feel relatively unchanged.”
Huh. Interesting?
“<Can you elaborate, Yi Sang?>?
“Yes, it feels while there are certain instincts and emotions that feel foreign to my mind, I remain in control entirely. The current personality is dominant.”
That has…never happened before. Strange, the identities seemed to have changed entirely.
“Could perhaps be related to what happened?”
“<I might. I would have to ask —>”
…oh. Dante would have to actively remind themselves that Faust is no longer with them.
“<Ah, nevermind.>”
The trio fell into a silence before Yi Sang broke it after a moment.
“The power I wield in my hand is…tremendous. Even that might be understating it.”
Yi Sang spoke in awe looking at themselves in the window, as if they were staring at a body that couldn’t possibly be their own. Awe at the power they possessed at their fingertips.
“<Well, with that done, it just leaves you, Gregor.>”
Removing their smoke and opting for mirthless chuckle, he responded.
“Hit me with it, manager.”
And so, Dante did.
The same process repeated once more, then another flash of light blinded the room.
Standing where Gregor stood was…
“But nothing could compare to the music it makes when it eats a human.”
Lobotomy HQ Record Team Agent Gregor
A person in a suit that looks like it was glitching — no, it was glitching for all to see. There isn’t a proper way to describe it besides a mess of textures and colours, having no defined shape. Calling it a “suit” was a stretch within of itself.
Carrying a literal massive saw cannon with their prosthetic right arm along with a radio on their chest emitting random shrieking sounds.
Their entire presence was engulfed with a mildly audible static.
“<How do you feel, Gregor?>”
He rubbed his temples and took a moment to formulate a response before answering Dante.
“Well, all things considered, it could have gone worse. I remain…mostly the same…besides a pretty bad headache I’m experiencing right now.”
The same as Yi Sang. identities no longer replace the original personalities of the sinners. This is utterly revolutionary! There can never be a repeat of Index Faust being assigned to "attempt" to kill the Red Gaze!
Dante’s sanity has finally found its rest stop. Perhaps this could go better than they thought it would. Their hopes have increased now.
“My fellow, you look quite distressed. Are you doing alright, Gregor?”
He grabbed his head in pain before lightly smacking it with their fist to seek out relief from presumably a headache turning into a migraine.
Leaning down on a chair for a few more minutes, they rose up once more. With a slight wince, he stood at full height again.
“It’s fine now, the pain is mostly gone.”
BANG! BANG BANG!
“Oi! It’s been over five minutes now! I’m gonna rip this door open and sure you regret making me wait!”
With a few more bangs, Dante decided it was time to act.
“<We should finish this before they leave a permanent scratch mark on Mephistopheles.>”
With a singular command, Yi Sang charged forward as the doors opened.
“The music shall perforate your entire being.”
“Wha —”
The first hooligan didn’t even have time to finish their sentence before they were cleanly bisected in half. Both sides fell to the ground as Yi Sang stood in the middle.
“Is — is THAT a colour fixer?!?”
“It can’t be! It must be a grade 1!”
“No, no, no, no you fools! That must be a grade 7 at best! I bet they simply got lucky and are showing off!”
With intelligence like that, Dante is almost surprised how the group hadn’t perished long before them. Such delusions could almost be strong enough to overcome distortion even.
“If we all go at them at once, there is no way they can kill us all!”
“Why the hell would I charge to my death when some of you would live!?!”
“Don’t be greedy! If you don’t charge, I’ll shank you myself!”
…they are all undeniably by the end of these five minutes either going to be fed to the bus or be reduced to a red mist.
“Go —”
BANG!
They were there. Now they were not.
In a single blast, most if not all of the group of hooligans were reduced to either splats of blood on the ground or some flesh and bones.
“This thing is a lot more powerful than I thought it would.”
Looking back at Gregor holding a cannon with steam coming out of the barrel, Dante can safely say these identities were overkill for this job.
And that was a bad thing as they needed these hooligans alive or at least, not dead. It is kinda hard now when the basic attack would kill them or eviscerate their physical form into red pulp in a second.
“Possibly it may be due to the fact our foes are in comparison to enemies we faced on later, could be described as rather lacking, might be the explanation to why they are easy to slaughter.”
It didn’t matter though. They still need fuel. So unless Mephistopheles now can suddenly run on gas, they are screwed.
At the same time they could just walk but Dante doubts Charon would be rather…happy with the fact the bus hasn’t been fed.
So what to do now…
…wait a second.
“<What if we shove them directly right now?>”
It sounded counterproductive, as that was the thing they were trying to do right now but it had merit. Instead of engaging them in combat, just round up hooligans and shove them into Mephistopheles grinder to finish the job.
“As in you mean —”
“”<Yes.>”
Both sinners were left speechless at that,
“Ryōshū would have enjoyed this request, wouldn’t she?”
“It is possible that she would.”
Before a second even passed, Yi Sang simply vanished from their current location only to return a split second later with two people in his arm held by the neck.
“...help…I can’ —”
He tossed them right in without hesitation.
“ARGHH, HELP!!! ARGHHHHH”
Their screams faded as they were eaten by the machinery to become fuel for their ride. A miserable fate and painful end all things considered. Dante felt bad for these people but one has to do what they have to do.
“It is concerning that while I am mostly the same, I feel a sense of…detachment while doing this. It must be because of the identity's history.”
More useful information to note. There are remnants of the identity's personality bleeding through, yet suppressed. Interesting indeed.
“No, please, I beg of you!”
Turning around to see Gregor carrying a man by the waist as if they were a piece of luggage, he approached the grinder.
“I’ll do anything! I’ll give you anything I have! I’ll even get a job if I have to!”
Gregor sighed while he looked in pity at the man he was carrying.
“Sorry bud, that’s just life. At best I could do this.”
A snap was heard as the hooligan’s neck was severed by force before being thrown in with the other live bodies.
The sounds of bone popping and blood splattering out had become a fact by now, barely trivial sounds.
Chunks of meat falling to the ground, it wasn’t pleasant but far from the things the group had seen.
“<How much more do we need?>”
“If I recount right, a few dozen more.”
They’re going to wipe out all the rats in D Corp at this rate.
“<Let it be done.>”