Chapter Text
“Why... why did you not choose me? Is it because I'm not beautiful?”
The man on the ground could barely speak. A root had stabbed his body, slowly siphoning away his life. The person in front of him had a grim expression. There was no sanity found in their eyes.
"It's not your fault. You only need to prove that you can be more beautiful."
"I can be... more beautiful..."
They spoke to the air, to the woman who whispered nothing but sweets. Their body contorted into a monstrous form. Yet after the man turned cold, they returned to normal. Neither the missing memories nor the corpse behind caught their attention.
This prompted the LCB crews to change their route.
"We're going to the red-light district.”
Vergilius dropped the bomb like nothing. The sinners' reactions to that information were varied. Ishmael, Yi Sang, and Outis just sighed. Gregor, Don Quixote, and Sinclair pulled awed faces. Heathcliff, Rodion, and Ryoshu grinned. Meanwhile, Faust, Hong Lu, and Meursault remained impassive as usual.
Ishmael raised her hand. “Are we going there for work?”
Faust answered her question. “That’s right. A distortion has appeared in that location.”
< “So the usual.” >
Gregor chuckled. "Come on, what else are we going there for? Sightseeing?"
Rodion went along with the joke. "Who knows? Maybe the company decides to give us a bonus."
Outis crossed her arms. "To think we deviate from our route because of this. Does this distortion take priority?"
“Yes. According to the report, we suspect fourteen people have died."
Sinclair was stunned. "That many? How come we only know about this?"
Vergilius replied to him. "Everyone thought it was just another casualty of the business war until they discovered a strange link between the victims.”
Rodion sighed. “Money is more important than life, huh?”
"Unfortunately, yes. It's only through my contacts that we received news of a distortion in the area.”
Don Quixote’s eyes sparkled. “Dost this acquaintance bear the importance as Red Gaze?"
"No, they're just a bar owner."
“Aw...”
Charon spoke to the passengers. “Vroom, vroom. Will speed up now.”
Everyone was prepared for bumps and vehicular manslaughter. They held on to their seats as if their lives depended on it. Nobody could get used to Charon's reckless driving. Some of them almost kissed the floor when she slammed on the brakes.
Charon took a lollipop from her pocket and looked at the passengers. "We've arrived."
The sinners got off the bus feeling excited. However, the place was nothing like they had expected. The street was deserted. There were only a few passers-by on the sidewalk and employees carrying goods for closed shops.
Sinclair observed his surroundings. “I thought this place would be... livelier.”
Heathcliff laughed. "It's three in the afternoon. All the bars are still closed. The real fun begins at night.”
< “So... where are we going?” >
Dante received an answer within seconds. They heard a wailing scream from a distance. Many people were running away in the opposite direction. Outis grabbed a scared man and asked him a question. "What happened?"
“There are monsters! Leave this place!”
Vergilius spoke from the bus. "It's time to get to work. What are you waiting for?”
< “Well, you heard him. Let’s go.” >
They sped towards the source of the distress. The sinners saw strange creatures limping around the area. They had human bodies, but their heads were lodged inside heart-shaped crystals. They approached the sinners like zombies, slowly surrounding them.
< “Everyone, prepare for battle!” >
The colour of their heart crystal this time was orange. The enemies used common items as weapons, such as cleavers, scissors, and cutters. Their attack dealt slice damage. The enemies were ineffective against all types of attack. Although each enemy had 1000 HP, they took triple damage from the lust affinity.
< “Bleed team it is!” >
Dante was grateful that they had built different teams. They won in fewer than five turns. The fight was easy since there were only ten enemies. After defeating the enemy, the crystals on their head shattered, and they fell unconscious. Faust examined the people on the ground after the battle was over.
"It would appear that they have been under some form of control from the distortion."
Ryoshu blew smoke out of her mouth. "This is similar to h.c."
"Yeah, like hell chicken in K Corp."
Before anyone could voice their thoughts, a memory flashed through their mind.
“YOU WENCH!”
SLAP!
They saw a woman with a lovely appearance. She had rose-coloured, wavy hair, big blue eyes, vanilla-coloured skin, small, pink lips, and a round face... with a big forehead. She only flinched at the slap and did not fight back.
“How dare you steal my man!”
She touched her stinging cheek. “But, but I did not know he was engaged! I'm just doing my job!"
“I don’t want to hear excuses!”
The angry woman swung her hand again. The other person braced herself for another slap, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw a man who had stopped the assault. He was an employee from the same bar as her.
That man bowed to the furious customer. "Please forgive, Mary Ann. If you want to take out your anger, just hit me instead."
The woman sneered. "Oh, playing the knight, are we? Fine! Everyone, beat this guy!"
Mary Ann screamed. "Leon, no!"
She watched the woman's bodyguard grab him. They beat him, bruised and bloody. Mary Ann was forced to watch it all. After the jealous woman left, Mary Ann treated his wounds while tears streamed down her face.
“You shouldn’t protect me.”
“Come on. I cannot let our number one hostess get hurt.”
"You're a host too! Yet you end up getting hurt because of me."
He tucked his brown hair. "It's not your fault, Mary Ann. We're hosts, remember? It's our job to entertain the customers who come here. We won't know if they have a partner. More importantly...” Leon chuckled and stroked her hair. His blue eyes stared at her. "Are you all right?"
Mary Ann smiled weakly at him. "I'm fine."
Her heart could not help but beat harder for him. How could she not fall for this man? He was genuine and kind. His personality drew people to him. Yet Marian understood that she was not special. Leon was nice to everyone. That was why she pushed her emotions aside.
It was for the best.
After watching the memory, everyone fell silent. Don Quixote hung her head. “I feel bad peeking at maiden’s heart like this.”
Yi Sang agreed. “Unfortunately, this is the only way to heal the crack in her heart.”
They followed Dante further along the street. Once again, the same enemies blocked their path. Their numbers appeared to be larger than before. Fifteen people had their heads trapped inside crystals.
Hong Lu noticed that the enemy's colour had changed. "Oh, it's purple now.”
< “I have a feeling we should use envy skills. Middle team, get ready." >
There was no significant change to the enemy's gimmick. The only differences were the weapon used and their weakness. They now used daggers, ice picks, or chandelier holders, causing stab damage instead of slash damage. The enemy was now weak to envy instead of lust.
It was another easy fight for the team. After the sinners defeated their enemies, a new memory unfolded before them.
A beautiful blonde woman with short, wavy hair stepped into an alley. She wore dark red lipstick and had a birthmark under her lip. Her white dress hugged her curves, accentuating her hourglass figure.
"Mary Ann? Where are you? Come back to the bar already!” The woman was trembling and holding herself up. "Urgh, this alley is so creepy at night. Where is she? Thumb members are patrolling around here because there's a killer on the loose. It'd be bad if either of us got caught by one of them.”
The woman turned the corner and gasped. She closed her mouth to stop herself from screaming. “Mary Ann... What are you...”
“Donatella...”
Mary Ann was caught red-handed. Her hands and dress were covered in blood. Next to her was a corpse wearing a thumb uniform. She had no choice but to kill Donatella to protect her identity. Her claws were ready to strike her. However, Mary Ann did not anticipate what happened next. Donatella tapped her on the shoulder and spoke to her.
"Let's go back to the bar so you can clean up. I'll cover you if anyone comes close."
She was stunned. “You... you hide my identity? But why?"
Donatella smiled at her. “Because I know you’re not a bad person, Mary Ann. I'm just a woman that Madam Lilith picked up from the street. I have nothing but my pretty face. Even Madam Lilith gave up on me. Yet you told me I had potential and showed me the ropes. You said that I resembled an old prima donna and told me to mimic some of her manners. I got lots of customers after that. Without you, I wouldn't be standing here.”
Mary Ann lowered her head. This kindness made her sniffle. "Thank you, Donatella... and I'm sorry to burden you with this secret."
The memory ended. Ishmael was perplexed by the new information. "Should we be concerned that our target is a murderer?"
Meursault remained calm. "Murder is common in any part of the city. Although her crime might be related to the recent killing, I believe we should focus on our mission first."
< "Meursault is right. Let's finish our task to get her out of distortion." >
The next group of enemies appeared before them. Yi Sang observed the enemy's colour. "It's light blue now. I assume they will be weak to gloom affinity."
< "Hmm, let's switch to the sinking team." >
The Crystal wielded hammers, bats, or pipes, dealing blunt damage. Of course, the number of enemies increased again. They had to fight twenty enemies in rows. By this point, Dante had identified the enemy’s weakness. They won the fight without breaking a sweat. A new memory emerged as they defeated the last enemy.
“And the number one spot goes to Mary Ann... again!"
There was a round of applause from everyone in the bar. Mary Ann had reached the top spot three times in a row. She bowed, blushing with embarrassment. After the announcement, she gathered with Donatella and Leon.
"Is that a new ring, Donatella? It's so pretty! Where did you get it?"
Donatella flushed. “Someone gave it to me.”
"Ooh, a customer? A secret admirer? Come on, spill the tea.”
She giggled. "It's nothing like that."
Leon stared at Marian's finger and teased her. “How about you? You never take out the rose-shaped ring."
Mary Ann huffed. "This one is very important to me. Bad things will happen if I take it out.”
"Bad thing? What is... Oh, I've got a call. Hold on."
Leon went outside to answer a call. Mary Ann's expression changed as she tugged at Donatella's sleeves. "Can I talk to you in private?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Donatella, do you like Leon?"
Something inside Mary Ann's heart trembled. Anxiety was etched on her face. She noticed that Leon and Donatella were wearing the same ring. Donatella must realise where the conversation was going. She had to face this confrontation.
"Mary Ann, I am sorry. I..."
"Let's not say our feelings to him at all! I won't confess to him! You won't either, right? Right?"
Donatella could hear the desperation in Mary Ann's voice. If one of them became a couple with Leon, the other would be left alone. Mary Ann did not want that. She did not want this friendship to be broken.
Donatella replied with a bitter smile. "All right."
Mary Ann was happy with her friend's response and hugged her. "Thank you! You're the best!"
Leon returned to them after hanging up and chuckled upon seeing the scene. "I hope I didn't disturb anything."
"Nope! Let's continue the party!"
The three of them continued celebrating Mary Ann's achievement. They had a toast and enjoyed a nice evening together. The three of them should remain friends. It was better that way. She would not lose Donatella or Leon.
Mary Ann should have realised that it was nothing but an empty wish.
The memort was over. Dante felt heavy after learning about the circumstances of the relationship.
< "That's... that's one heck of a flashback." >
Everyone nodded since they felt the same way.