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Today was just like any other day during a mission.
A day with a schedule that they have grown plenty accustomed to.
They wake up, wait for instructions, let Vergillius give them their job, tell them where to go and they deal with a distortion or whatever is given indirectly.
They finish the job, get whatever reward, rest and wake up.
Rinse, finish, repeat.
Trudging through the city was almost natural at this point, no matter if they see new areas or not.
Be it the flora that surrounds the places, the loud noises that come from the city, the insane things that wings do, there was only trauma to be surprised by.
And now that everyone keeps getting better and better along, it's almost like a field trip where they were the leader.
With death.
A whole lot of death.
Though, today….was just the tiniest bit different, if you could say so.
“Urgh- I did not miss this place. It reeks worse than in the whale.”
“Don't gotta remind me, bud. Only bad memories here…”
“L-Lets…just get it over with.”
Today, they actually went somewhere where they had been before, somewhere where only bad things happened.
Somewhere, where dreams seem to come to die.
Lobotomy corporation.
The wing that seemed to have brought tragedy to a lot of parts of the city, even if they didn't know the exact details of the destruction.
Its wing had surprisingly not been destroyed yet, still remaining in its broken glory of dust and corpses, giving horror stories far beyond the normal scope of things.
But perhaps, that was the exact reason they had been sent there.
To slowly get rid of the abscess with every single visit. To destroy every abnormality in their way.
A way for the new wing to not have any work, to simply let another stupid group clean up the mess one singular wing had made.
Alas, Dante didn't mind too much anymore.
After all, it was their job. The job that only Dante can truly make sure would be successful for the actual true hard workers around.
Their Sinners.
One way or another, it would actually get them the respect of their coworkers and the other companies as a whole if they actually do their work.
Or make them a Villain. Both works.
….Something that however never changed, was Lobotomy corporation itself.
From the moment they stepped in, the certain smell of rot was just impossible to ignore.
Which is fascinating, for they had no real nose.
Rot, blood, melting flesh, Leftover Corpses, peccatulums-
Never-ending halls that stretched on for miles, all in that same red tint as before, where the only noise that was left were footsteps, the Sinners voices, enemies, Abnormalities…
And the ticking that would forever keep going in their head.
….Though, as of right now, there was nothing dangerous going on.
Surprising, they're aware.
Sure, a few little guys attacked them one by one, but for a visit to a place where one of their teammates got….
Don't speak of it. Don't sully her name due to your failures.
….You get the gist that this peacefulness wasn't the most comforting thing.
Especially right after a fight, where the last weeping breath of those that opposed them were taken.
“See anything that ain't dead, Ishi?”
Heathcliff spoke up, poking at a body of a Peccatulum that they had just defeated, letting out a disgusted noise at the pulsating flesh.
If anything, it was good that despite the complaining, he kept Don Quixote from literally tasting these things.
Sometimes, they were concerned about that want for blood, yet knew that they couldn't do anything about it.
Not their conversation in the end.
“At this point, I wished. It's not usually this silent for this long…especially for us.”
Ishmeal spoke with a rather tired expression, huffing to herself and looking at the walls that were starting to mold over, the blood already dried off a year ago.
There was nothing left but sorrow, dead memories that floated around the place, stories that they would never know.
Nobody found comfort in this place. No reason for any comfort to remain after…
Last time.
Instinctively, Dante turned over to Gregor.
“...Let's get going. Shouldn't take us this long to find the abnormality, huh?”
They swallowed any words they wanted to say to him.
…Right! The Abnormality. That's the reason they came here in the first place.
<I'll take the lead then. Sinners, please keep aware of your surroundings.>
Usually, Dante would have never cared to go forward on such an occasion, especially if there could be danger ahead!
They were the tool that could prevent tragedy, but well. Well. Buuttttt….
….Just let them indulge for a second in peace. They usually are squeezed in the middle of the sinners, waiting to do literally anything useful.
Not unpleasant when they finally get to be useful, but that's beside the point.
“Of course, Executive Manager! We will all be right behind you, waiting for your orders.”
Outis spoke up first as always, something they started to actually appreciate after everything, especially now that her turn was approaching.
Everyone had a reason for their behavior after all, so she must have a reason to keep up her schtick.
“There shall be NO HARM coming to our exquisite Guide!”
And even with both of their loud tones, Don Quixote truly did just want her….companions to be safe.
So, that's exactly what Dante did.
Proceed onwards in front of them, hearing all of the murmurs and conversations, listening to footsteps and looking around the facility.
It was most of the time the last moment they had to breathe, just before all would go wrong.
So, they took the moment to check it all again.
Taking the time they had, they pulled out their tablet, turning it on, swiping away their diary and tapping on their mission Bio.
Which they wrote themself, Thank you very much.
[MISSION OBJECTIVE]
A client has recently reached out to us, saying that several people have been going missing near the fallen Lobotomy Corporation.
This doesn't seem to be a normal case of kidnapping, as shortly after the disappearance, something so grotesque appears that people loss their mind and physically vomit.
Our job is to get rid of the Abnormality that seems to be causing it.
Now, there could be some tweaks, as in the end they weren't completely sure if it truly was an abnormality-
But come on. An entire building full of Abnormalities probably would have at least one that has weird ways of killing, right?
Looking up again, Dante passed another corner, humming some sort of tune that very evidently would have just been ticks to a normal outsider.
It was also in this moment that a certain stench caught not just them, but the other Sinners too.
“Dear God, It smells horrible In here-!”
Rodya gasped in disdain, covering her nose and mouth as some other Sinners like Yi sang and Sinclair did, even coughing to an extent.
They sometimes wished that they could understand such harsh sensation to share the pain, as it felt rather…faint for them?
No other way to describe it. They weren't used to extremities or limits anymore.
“It seems to be a mix of rot, rather old blood and a stench only able to come from heart burn. Which is already weird itself, as often the smell cannot reach that far.”
Meursault spoke as calm as ever, not even covering his mouth but absently offering a handkerchief to Rodya, which was practically ripped out of his hands.
Several more more groans and complains followed throughout the Sinners, proceeding right onward anyway.
Faust herself sighed, approaching but keeping right behind Dante as the stench did seem to get intenser the closer they got.
At least she trusted them in some way.
Which they didn't understand, but when did their opinion matter?
“Faust suggests that you are careful with your next actions. If the abnormality is near, it is completely possible for it to have already gotten a big pile of bodies for this smell to appear.”
Yeah, that's…probably not a good sign.
But it's not like they can suddenly turn around and leave the place. They have a job to do!
A job that Dante was exactly made for, to revive them until the mission is a success and take every single bit of pain for them.
That's just how this goes.
Forever and always.
Taking a deep, metaphorical breath, they grabbed the side of the turn and looked back at everyone.
Silently looking at their own hands, they nodded once more as reassurance, hoping that everyone would understand.
Luckily having their hopes answered as everyone else nodded back.
It's fine.
They got this.
They got this! It's fine!
They'll be fine.
Carefully, they looked around the corner and-
…..
……..
Huh.
They honestly thought it would be worse.
No, honestly, they thought it would be like Kromer's holy pile of corpses, but it was more…messy? In a sense.
Dante did a double check, keeping a flat hand to keep any of the Sinners from proceeding as they looked over the abnormality.
They even did a head tilt of confusion, ticking the second away as the thing and the clock seemed to lock eyes for a moment.
Even if it didn't exactly seem to have eyes.
They nearly flinched out of their skin, had the thing moved…which it actually didn't. Which was strange.
But to proceed on to what it seemed to look like-
In the cramped space of the walls, just beside a completely destroyed security door, there was a ████████ ████ of ███████ █████, which was just ████████ like █████ and █████.
….With an ██████ ████ ███████, spewing out ██████ ██████ and ████████ ████ █████-
Quite grotesque if they put it into words, actually.
Not to mention, █████████ ██████ constantly letting out ██████ █████, ████ ██████ ███████ ███ it's ████.
In a way, this thing felt undescribable with the amount of blood going on.
Truly one hell of an abnormality, they could tell you that.
Though, the strange thing was that even if the ███████ ████ noticed them and was even actively staring at them, it…didn't seem to move?
Or really, it didn't seem to care completely, keeping in a constant staring contest with its ██████ ████.
Usually, these things would immediantly run into battle, defending it's territory and making sure nothing would hurt it or whatever it's protecting.
But here, it just sat there.
Sat? Laid?
Whatever it was doing.
Though…If it wasn't attacking, maybe it wouldn't be too aggressive in battle? Would be nice, but there was something that maybe disapproved of that theory.
As their gaze roamed over the thing, they slowly lowered their head towards the floor covered in blood, noticing the issue very quickly.
Yeah, that. That sure. That sure is an issue.
All those ████████ ██████ with their ████ ██████ ███ didn't appear out of nowhere, that's for sure.
Someone who wasn't used to the sight would probably have vomited by now. Or ran. Or died. Or lost their mind.
Like the people that came before them, the reason they were even here-
But they are Limbus Company, LCB department. The one who spit death in the face for a small price of suffering.
Everyone here saw worse, that's for sure.
Monstrous whales, extreme distortions, some pretty insane gore on the way too.
This should be nothing!
Besides, Dante trusted their Sinners to handle the situation! They grew so much over the journey, which was something to be proud of!
They are proud of their Sinners.
Always.
But- COUGH COUGH- They were getting sentimental. They do have to finish this mission and get the report done, so-!
Dante turned around, finally cutting eye contact with the thing that let nothing more than a █████████ █████.
Looking at the Sinners, they quietly used the hand-signing that they had been been getting taught for future interactions, but still whispered anyway.
<Okay, the abnormality is right there…everyone, be careful. It is a bit gory.>
The ticking spoke for itself, giving the Sinners time to respond as Outis and Meursault looked at each other with an affirming nod.
Ryoshu hummed to herself, readying her katana while Yi sang held a hand to his dagger and Faust quietly readjusted her Zweihänder.
Quite unimportant details to others, but the Clock couldn't help but keep note on them.
And so, with a quick run in, sliding in and standing only a few meters from the Abnormality, Dante pointed and finally commanded-
<GET THEM, EVERYONE!!!>
….
What Dante expected.
Was for a fierce battle between the Abnormality and the Sinners, where they shouted orders and elad them to victory.
Where the █████ would seperate from it's body, where all those █████, ██████████ ████ would fall off and █████.
Where the undescribale would finally be defeated as usually, leaving them to be the winners of the mission, talking on the way back about some stupid story.
Maybe getting appreciation, or love, or-
“What….w-what in the actual FUCK-”
All of that suddenly broke apart
The moment Ishmeal started to scream out of nowhere.
And suddenly
What followed
Was nothing more than a Massacre.
They didn't expect Gregor or Rodya to flinch away, screaming bloody murder, wondering what the hell they were looking at
They didn't expect Sinclair to vomit hardly onto the floor they didn't expect Outis to frantically stab the thing as it ███ ███ ██ ███ ████ ███ ██████ ███
Meursault and Faust
Looked
Terrified for once
Heathcliff screamed in terror as Rodya ███ █████████ █████ and ██████, ███████ ███ of her ████ ████████.
Sinclair finished vomiting while Yi sang started to vomit
And Ryoshu
Ryoshu should have found it beautiful
But she
Was gripping Araya so hard
Araya was violently shaking behind her, as if sobbing in terror at the sight of the adults getting █████████ ███ █████ ███ █████████.
Dante
Couldn't do anything
They tried
Believe them please please believe them they tried so hard to stop the slaughter
But Hong Lu froze completely. Didn't even move.
Heathcliff got █████████. Yi sang got █████████. Meursault soon followed.
The Sinners were getting █████████, █████ ██ █████ ██████ ███ by ███.
The ringing
Ticking
Never stopped
Barely raising a hand to give Ryoshu IRA.
But she
SQUELCH.
C R A C K.
“PLEA-”
And
Then
The noise stopped.
And the smell of metal and blood suddenly came as potent as it was to the Sinners before.
So strong
Never to be ignored
Dante stood there
Completely unable to move as they couldn't take their eyes off the ██████████ ████ ██ ████ that had been their
Their
Their
Companions.
Dante forced their gaze up to the Abnormality, who seemed to have stopped everything that it had been doing before.
Going back
To the staring that it had done before with its ██████ ████.
They weren't scared of the amount of gore. Or the. The bodies that the Sinners had left behind.
But
This felt
Familiar
To the point it was getting them sick to their very stomach, which they didn't even want to mention after it █████████ ████ █████ and ████ █████ ██████.
It still
Didn't attack them after this slaughter
Strangely.
Dante did nothing more than stare at the thing for a moment, keeping eye contact with it.
It almost felt like when they fought Ricardo at first
But even
Even Ricardo didn't kill like that
Not with
….A noise came out
And
Just like that
It started to move away, something that Dante didn't even want to describe anymore as they could barely move their limbs to begin with.
So
It was gone in mere seconds
With them not even knowing if there was a reason why it didnt just attack them.
There must be one.
….
What
What had just happened.
It
It just
It couldn't have
…..
Focus. This isn't important.
They saw worse, didn't they? They saw a corpse pile that Kromer stood on, hadn't they?
This was nothing.
Nothing.
N ot hi ng.
Besides! They can just revive the Sinners, can't they? They can just turn back the clock and put them all back together!!!
They’ll be fine!!! THEY’RE ALWAYS FINE!!!
I T S F I N E.
…..
…Maybe not, but even then they couldn't focus on their own unimportant feelings.
It's not like the Sinners liked the feeling of death either. You'll get used to it though, and a part of them really hated that very fact.
One shouldn't be used to death.
Nobody should be used to death.
As the Manager of the LCB, they should command them in such a way that these things don't happen in the first place.
So, in hindsight, it was their fault that they even died so violently in the first place, with their organs still…
…
Fuck, they couldn’t even-
Sue them for swearing this time, they are in private and nobody cares for what they say anyway.
They don't swear in public or with the Sinners anyway, so it's fine. They won't hear this.
No use chastising themself for something they'll prevent next time. They needed to do their job.
What they were hired for. What everyone demanded from them. What everyone kept them here for.
Revive the Sinners, write the report, finish the mission.
That's all they are alive for.
Dante took a deep breath, staring down at the mess of hair, bodies, blood, organs and so much more fluids that they couldn't bare describe.
It was an utter mess and the silence was making them miss the conversations from before.
The happy chatter. The complaining. The steps. The noise.
The beautiful noise of someone alive.
…Raising their gloved hand, they stared down at the sinners bodies, and….
And
Hesitated.
Hahaha
Great.
Fucking great they HESITATE NOW? NOW, AFTER EVERYONE HAS ALREADY SUFFERED?
JUST
stop.
Stop hesitating. You've gotten used to the pain, haven't you? Used to the pain of endless variations for deaths.
This is fine. Nothing new.
Just a bit more grotesque. It's just a bit of pain. Just a bit more gory. Just a little bit of a burn.
It's fine
It's
Fine.
Slowly, Dante raised their hand, concentrating on the same sensation the star gave them every single time.
Grabbing the hands of hell, dragging every single out back to the land of the living
To
To
Wait
aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-
FUCK T H EY CA NT F E EL-
HAAITHURTSITHURTSTHEIRBODYISRIPPINGAPARTANDTHESEAMS
THEY CANT S T A N D D H URRRRGHFFUCKFUCK
H URR RGH-
I T H U R T S
THEY FELLTO TH E FL O OR, THEIRSTUPIDTHROATSCREECHINGINPA8N-
TH E IR S T O M A C H W AS RIP P I NG O P EN
EV ER Y P ART O D TH E IR B ODY WA SB EGG I N G T O DIE
P LEAA SE
SHAKINGPLEADINGSCREAMINGSOBBINGLETITENDLETITENDLETITENDLETITENDITNEVERHURTLIKETHISBEFOREL E T I T E N D P L E A S E
N O I S E S C A M E T H R O U G H
P L E A S E
Someone
Was screaming
That someone
Wa s t h e m
The ir m ind w as shut ting down w h I le th ey f orc ed it a w ale
T hey can't
D ie
Th ey nee d to k now I f the sinn ers a re sa fe
They
F orced themselves to c r awl, coughingsobbingsomethinginbetween a s the black s pots increased
S ome thing. Mo ved
S low. B ut a live
Theywantedtocryoutofhappinessbuttheywerentapersonsothatwasntpossiblewasit
Itstillhurt
It w as
S till bea ting in their ve ry prothestic
The p ai n bleed ing through
B ut
Th e I r
█ █ █ █ █ █
Was okay
That's all that mattered. Even if they
Were screaming suddenly. Yelling. Grabbing at them
Th ey could
Barely recognize anyone as the darkness took hold
It hurt
But
It's
Okay
Everyone is okay
…..Mm…
<Urrggh…>
Everything….hurts…
What happened?
The first thing that properly set in after they woke up was the pain that seemed to fill up their Clock completely.
Every single tick was a nauseating experience, which made their stomach pain not any better.
In fact, everything hurt. Like, literally EVERYTHING.
Legs felt so sore, their arms felt gummy, their head was so warm while their body was shivering and freezing….
And…
Wait
THE SINNERS-!!!
ARE THEY ALRIGHT, ARE THEY-
ARGH-
“Manager, I would prefer it if you don't move.”
M…Meursault…?
They completely ignored the sharp pain that ran through their gut, the voice being an almost instant relief from the stress that their body brought.
If Meursault was revived, that meant…the others were too.
H….Hahh…Good…
“Shit, is the git finally awake-?”
“Even if Dante is awake, it is recommended that they are not touched due to their fragile state. Recovery after such an intense pain needs to be steady.”
“Fine, I got ya, Faust. Just…worried.”
They couldn't understand a single word Faist said, but that's fine.
She's here. She's alive. That's all that matters.
Only the Sinners health mattered.
Nothing else.
They were clearly walking. Not them, they mean-
Someone was carrying them. Something they barely felt through the pulsating pain of their headache, but still nuzzled into.
When was the last time someone touched them so kindly?
They can't
Remember.
They can't even feel the warmth of the one keeping their hands on their body so tenderly.
Not like they deserved it.
They passed out.
They failed.
Failure.
At least
They weren't conscious for long.
….Softness.
Softness is what they felt once they woke up a second time.
Indulging for a moment without thoughts, they turned to cuddle into it, grabbing sheets that they just realized were there.
This
Didn't feel familiar.
Not in the same way.
They didn't feel safe before.
Dante finally felt a low pain around their waist, but that was the only token left of what had happened.
Nothing else was left. Like always.
<Mmm…What?>
“Ah, Executive Manager. You're finally awake.”
Alright, Full-Body flinch for the day was done with Outis' voice slamming through the silence, despite its calmness.
They forcefully sat up, looking over to the tired but focused face that Outis had made the entire time.
They think.
They didn't know.
<A-Ah...what…uhm. Are you. Doing here?>
They readjusted themselves, keeping their gaze at their companion and very much noting the heavy squinting she did.
Maybe that was a stupid question.
Outis sighed heavily but leaned forward, surprisingly not yelling their head off about responsibility and all the like.
“Doing shifts watching over your. Last one was Hong Lu and I've been here for about thirty minutes.”
Oh.
That's…quite the long stay, especially if the other Sinners were doing shifts just to see if they were awake.
Which they wouldn't have to do if they handled the battle better.
And the Abnormality probably escaped, which meant they failed the mission.
And they completely destroyed the revival process, leaving every single Sinner vulnerable just because they couldn't take it and-
“Dante?”
Right, CONVERSATION.
<S-Sorry-! Still dizzy. Could you tell me what happened back there?>
Outis stared a bit longer.
She readjusted her hands, which she had been clasping together for quite a while before crossing her arms and leaning back.
Looking in a direction that wasn't theirs.
“...After we fought that disgusting thing and probably lost, we were quickly revived.”
That checks out, yeah.
Even though they could have defeated the thing.
Probably. If they were better at being a Manager.
“Very quickly we spotted you on the ground, screaming, sobbing and…being in so much pain that you passed out mere seconds after.”
….
Oh.
Oh no.
They- No, OF COURSE they saw them having a complete pain breakdown after being just revived, they literally saw them-
They shouldn't have seen that.
They didn't NEED to see that in the first place.
They shouldn't have even had to go through such PAIN! THEY DESERVED TO HAVE THE REVIVAL PAIN ANYWAY!
THEY COULD HAVE WON, HADN’T THEY JUST-
“Dante, do you still need assistance?”
…
They didn't realize that they were gripping their arms too hard until Outis finally touched their shoulder.
Dante made eye contact again and noted that silent, patient yet concerned expression.
Did they need assistance?
They didn't feel much pain at all anymore, like always. Just that little, Leftover pain from the waist that they mentioned before.
All the Sinners were safe too, so there was absolutely nothing to worry about anymore, was there?
It's all fine now. Just a little accident from then that they needed to fix up.
Especially now that they needed to write the filled report in peace, urgh-
They hadn't even considered how everyone would react if they failed it. They probably were looked down upon now and it's all their fault-
But.
They needed to answer, didn't they?
So
<No, I do not. Thank you, Outis, I truly appreciate it.>
“...Are you certain?”
Dante stared.
Thought about it.
Hm.
<Absolutely certain. Just need a bit of rest, that's all!>
Another look.
Perhaps ten seconds of staring as she squinted more, tightening the hands on her legs.
Maybe she wanted to stay. Outis was always the resilient and caring type despite everything.
…But, with an affirming nod, she stood up, brushing herself off and looking at them.
“Then, I will inform the others of your wellness. Please, do tell if you need anything at all or if the pain increases.”
All that Dante did was nod back, as if there was truly no other answer that needed to be said.
There wasn't
Was there?
<Of course. Thank you.>
And just like that, with one more look back-
“...Rest well.’
CLICK.
Outis went right out the door, probably off to tell everyone else how they have finally woken up and are not in anymore pain.
….
……..
God.
They are are sort of a fucking idiot, aren't they?
Huurrrgghhh-
Just messed it all up again because they couldn't just take all the pain.
….
It's fine.
It's fine. They said this before. It's one failure in-between a billion victories they have fought for.
And besides.
Nothing of value was lost. Nothing of value was anymore hurt.
…This passing emptiness that they felt.
They wished they could describe it. Truly.
No matter.
It didn't matter now.
Just a bit of rest and they would be back doing their job, going in the back and shouting orders for the Sinners to follow.
Without any nasty accidents like that.
So.
It's fine.
It's always fine.
Dante is fine.