Work Text:
< "On your left!" >
A new abnormality appeared in the Mirror Dungeon. It was pretty easy to beat since they were on the first floor. The only thing concerning Dante was the question mark that had not been revealed.
"Don Quixote, watch out!"
Before it was defeated, the abnormality shot a beam from its mouth. Sinclair pushed Don Quixote out of the way. He fell to the ground as the light hit him instead. Don Quixote rushed to his side to check his condition.
"Young Sinclair! Art thou fare well?"
Sinclair opened his eyes. He blinked and stared at Don Quixote. His cheek turned red as he murmured nonsense.
"Are you an angel?"
Don Quixote was so astonished that she broke her knightly mannerisms. "Did you hit your head or something?"
Sinclair sat on the ground. "Sorry. I don't feel well. Can you help me walk?"
She returned to her knight act. "Sure! It's mine fault that thou got hit."
She could feel his body pressed against hers. Sinclair leaned closer to Don Quixote, shifting his weight towards her. His arms moved from her shoulder to her waist. He rested his head on her shoulder.
Don Quixote was startled. When did Sinclair become so bold?
Everyone hustled to check their condition. Dante was glad that no one was injured. There was no need to turn back time.
< "Okay, there's no need to restart. We can continue with this team." >
Sinclair was disappointed. "Don Quixote won't fight with me?"
< "Yes, she'll be on the support team with other sinners." >
"Can you put her alongside me?"
Dante was puzzled. < "Do you have a reason why you need her on the team?" >
"No..."
Dante was puzzled by him. < "All right, I'll put her on the team once we reach the shop." >
Sinclair looked slightly irritated, but kept his cool. They continued to the next stage. The fight went on as usual, but Dante noticed something was wrong. Sinclair looked anxious as he received more damage than he dealt. Dante checked their PDA and was shocked.
< "WHY SINCLAIR HAS 5 DEFENSE DOWN?" >
Fortunately, they won the fight because the team carried him.
(Besides, they were still on the first floor. How many skill issues do you have to lose on that floor?)
Heathcliff was worried. "Oi, Lads! Are you okay?"
Sinclair turned his head left and right. "Don Quixote, where is she?"
Meursault answered him. "She's standing with the rest of the support team."
Sinclair hurried over to her, ignoring the weird looks they gave him. Don Quixote was oblivious to his behaviour and talked to him as usual. Ishmael, who was on the fighting team, found it creepy. "He feels a bit different."
Hong Lu squinted at Sinclair. "You're right. There's no light in his eyes. They seem dull."
< "There's something strange with him..." >
Yi Sang tapped Dante's shoulder. "I assume he has a status effect because of the beam from the previous abnormality. Dante, please check your PDA."
Dante opened his PDA and clicked on the Sinclair icon. Yi Sang was right. Sinclair had indeed received a strange status effect. It was something they had never seen before. Dante held an emergency meeting and explained it to the rest of the sinners, excluding Sinclair and Don Quixote.
Obsession:
- Decrease defence by 5 when the obsession target is not on the field.
- Decrease base power by 5 when the obsession target is not in the field.
- Decrease clash power by 2 when the obsession target is not in the field.
- Lost 10 SP each turn when the obsession target is not in the field.
- There is a 30% chance of an indiscriminate attack when the obsession target is not in the field.
< "This is... unique. Do you know anything about this status effect, Faust?" >
"My knowledge of this status effect is limited, but it draws on one's inner obsession and takes over other personalities. For example, if Yi Sang receives this status effect, he'll act like his Ring identity."
"How unideal."
"Rodion will become very clingy to her obsession target."
"Hahaha... Thank God the beam didn't hit me."
"Outis will be..."
"ENOUGH! Outis cut her off before Faust embarrassed her. "How do we determine the obsession target? Surely it's not random?"
"They'll become obsessed with the first person they see."
Ishmael was worried. "Sinclair is not going to be like this for the rest of his life, is he?"
Faust shook her head. "Considering this is just a status effect, he'll go back to normal once we're out of the dungeon."
< "If that's the case, then it would be better to restart the—" >
Dante's words were interrupted as they read the benefits of status effects.
- Receive an offensive bonus of 5 if the obsession target is in the field.
- Base power increases by 5 if the obsession target is in the field.
- Gain clash power by 2 if the obsession target is in the field.
- Gain 10 SP each turn when the obsession target is in the field.
- There is a 30% chance of a weight attack against the enemy when the obsession target is in the field.
< "Never mind! Let's continue this mirror dungeon!" >
Heathcliff was stunned. "You just want to take advantage of the status effect, don't you?"
Gregor sighed. "We'd better tell Don Quixote about this, then."
Dante and Faust spoke to Don Quixote in private about Sinclair's strange behaviour. She scratched her head. "No wonder Young Sinclair acts rather peculiar."
< "Do you think you can handle him? If not, please tell me. We can quit the dungeon mirror on-" >
"DANTE!" Rodion called to them. "Come here quickly! Sinclair's gone crazy!"
They ran back as fast as they could. The sight caught them off guard. Gregor was fending off an attack from Sinclair. The man in glasses was lucky that his arm defended him on reflex.
Sinclair was furious. "How dare you stare at her!"
"I have eyes, damn it!"
Dante was about to step in. < "Sinclair, stop! What are you doing?" >
Meursault stopped Dante from getting closer. "I believe it's too dangerous. We've been trying to restrain him, but he's swinging his weapon at us."
"Listen to him. That lad almost cut me in two."
Rodion was panicking. "We can't just stand here and let Sinclair murder Gregor!"
Outis agreed. "He'll remember this once we're out of the dungeon. It's better to stop him."
Ryoshu pushed Don Quixote. "You. Solve it."
"Huh? Me?"
Everyone nodded. Don Quixote was nervous, but she gave it a try. "Sinclair!"
As though on a leash, Sinclair ceased his attack on Gregor. He raced over to Don Quixote's side. Sinclair smiled at her with an eerily loving expression. "Do you need me, Don Quixote?"
"Uh, I..."
Hong Lu helped her. "Can you keep her company for a moment?"
Sinclair was happy. "Of course! Anything for you!"
This worked well. As long as Don Quixote was around, Sinclair did not misbehave. They continued with the Mirror Dungeon. Not much changed other than how powerful Sinclair became with Don Quixote on the field. Yet Don Quixote felt uncomfortable. She had been sitting on his lap while he hugged her from behind. This was the only thing that made him calm down. No one could get close to her, or Sinclair would lash out at them. He was delighted and whispered his feelings for her. His words went from sweet to downright possessive.
"I like you so, so much, Don Quixote!"
"You can call me Emil. Can I call you Sancho?"
"I wish we could stay like this forever."
"Please don't leave me. I'll do anything for you."
"I can't live without you. I'll kill myself if you leave."
"I'll pluck the eyes out of anyone who dares to look at you."
"I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU."
"(incoherent murmur)... confinement."
Don Quixote wanted to scream and escape.
"Sinclair... everyone is watching."
He chuckled and kissed her hand. "I don't care. Let them watch."
Don Quixote was embarrassed and pushed Sinclair away. She could not take it anymore. "Can you leave me alone for a while? I need some time alone."
"But why?"
"Thy affection is too much! I can't accept it!"
His face darkened. "It's them, isn't it?"
"Huh?"
Sinclair grabbed his halberd and ran towards the other sinners. His first target was Dante. The Clock was shocked to see Sinclair running at him.
< "Ah, crap..." >
Meursault was quick enough to push Dante away and save them. Unfortunately, he fell victim to Sinclair's frenzied assault. Heathcliff was too late to defend himself and was stabbed in a vital organ. It did not stop there. He glared at the rest of them and continued to assault them.
Dante's head made a loud whistling sound. < "Argh! Sinclair, stop!" >
Yi Sang was anxious. "This is bad. He won't listen to... Oh dear. He's just killed Hong Lu and Outis."
Ryoshu smiled. "Finally, some entertainment."
Don Quixote gritted her teeth. She pinned him to the ground and vented her anger on him. She punched him mercilessly. "Damn it! What is wrong with you?!"
Sinclair laughed. Despite being bruised all over and bleeding from his nose, he looked ecstatic. "Hahaha! You finally see me! You're paying attention to me! Killing them was the right decision!"
Don Quixote was disgusted. Even this strike felt like a reward to him. Yet, she began to feel guilty. He would not have attacked others if she had not pushed Sinclair away. However, Dante came to the rescue and washed away her remorse.
< "It's not your fault. The status effect makes Sinclair like this." >
"What should we do?"
< "... We leave." >
It was not worth risking the ticking bomb on their side by advancing any further. Dante left the mirror dungeon using their PDA. Everyone returned to the entrance.
Sinclair felt a prickling pain in his head. "What... What happened?"
Memories flashed through his mind. His face turned redder than a tomato. He remembered what he had done to Don Quixote and the whole group. After Dante rewound the time, Sinclair immediately bowed down and apologised to everyone.
"I'M SO SORRY!"
Gregor tapped him on the back. "Welcome back, Kiddo."
Ryoshu was the only disappointed person. "Just when the show was getting good."
Outis sighed. "We'd better get away from that abnormality in future runs."
The working day was over. Everyone shuffled back to their rooms. Before leaving, Sinclair apologised to Don Quixote.
"I'm so sorry! You can punch me if it makes you feel better!"
She laughed. "It is all right! Thou return, and that's what matters! Come on, we should depart to rest for tomorrow."
"... All right, Sancho."
A chill crawled up Don Quixote's spine. She stared back at Sinclair. He had already returned to his room. She did not have time to check if he had really turned normal. Don Quixote hoped that she would never meet an obsessed Sinclair again.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Sinclair would receive a future ID with a similar personality.