- Boom────!!!
With a deafening blast, a sound like an eardrum-shattering explosion, Mr. Dongrang's body was sent reeling backward.
Clear victory. Then...!
When an overwhelmingly powerful attack fails, it leaves an opening of equal size.
Mr. Dongrang, who had failed his attack in midair, was no different.
His posture completely collapsed in the air, and he was tumbling helplessly to the ground, unable to regain his bearings.
And waiting there at the exact right moment was Mr. Heathcliff.
...We've won this.
- Clang─!!
"Kuh..."
"Ha-ha, how about that?"
Mr. Heathcliff's strike landed. Immediately after, Ms. Ishmael and Ms. Rodion rushed in at the same time.
- Crash─!! Krrk...
Then Mr. Meursault, Ms. Otis, and Ms. Don Quixote followed.
- Thud, crunch─! Pshh─!
"....."
Various wounds were carved into Mr. Dongrang's body as he took the Sinners' attacks head-on.
This was clearly the point where his fighting spirit should have started to crumble. And yet...
Even after taking that much punishment, there was not a single fatal wound on his body, and his will to fight still remained.
He was still glaring at Mr. Yi Sang with cold eyes.
"I don't have time to waste like this."
But then... as if he realized something, his body suddenly froze in place.
Then he looked up at the ceiling as though gazing at the stars in the sky.
"Even now... I'm losing out because that thing won't cry. The chance and time to change the world are... scattering away."
Mr. Dongrang muttered those words, then turned his bloodshot eyes back to Mr. Yi Sang.
"Yi Sang... If only you, only you vanished, this would all be over!"
If one seeks good through filthy means, is that an evil act?
If, in the end, it brings profit and happiness to many... should it be called a good act?
Perhaps it was a meaningless question here, where only the filthy remained.
...Soon after, Mr. Dongrang charged at Mr. Yi Sang.
"....."
Just as the Sinners, who still had a little room to spare, were about to step in and block him, Mr. Yi Sang—who had spent the entire battle silently watching Mr. Dongrang—stepped forward first.
"Dongrang's end... is what I must bring to a close.
...For that is ideal."
Mr. Dongrang rushed forward in an instant, and just before he reached us.
- Vwoooong──
Mr. Yi Sang's mental landscape... briefly brought everything to a halt.
[I was certain I had left it behind.]
[...And yet I still seem to be inside that white rectangle.]
[By now, all things have become no more than points that can give me neither stimulus nor delight.]
[Am I to wander through my entire life, repeating this meaningless step?]
[We are nothing but chickens with their wings endlessly clipped...]
"Mr. Yi Sang is... getting worse and worse."
Sinclair pointed at Mr. Yi Sang in an anxious voice.
...Should we just leave him like that? Just as I was about to open my mouth to say something, Mr. Hong Lu cut in first.
"Manager Dante. Though the person called Yeongji only spoke through my mouth, I think... perhaps these letters Mr. Yi Sang wrote were not meant only for the Yi Sang in the mirror. To the past, to the present, and to every bond he may yet meet in the future. I think Mr. Yi Sang has been telling them all to help him."
Hearing Mr. Hong Lu's words, Dante fell into thought for a moment.
Not long after, he asked Yi Sang a question.
"Yi Sang... Right before you left N Corp, what were you thinking?"
[When I had even sent Gubo away.]
[The stars lost their light and faded, darkness filled everything, and I felt as though I had become a cripple.]
[But...]
[I thought there might be some place out there that could let me live even without wings, even as a cripple.]
[With a thread of hope, with a thought of perhaps.]
Mr. Yi Sang's mental landscape kept changing without pause, following his thoughts.
Past, or present, or events he had never even experienced. The irregular mental landscape that had been following only his consciousness suddenly stopped, with a sharp snap.
It stopped before Ms. Dongbaek.
More precisely... in the research lab of the Gubo Association. There, the impossible future form of Ms. Dongbaek appeared.
...Back then, during the play. Faust had said that Dongbaek's consciousness might have been sucked in here—could that really be true?
Had my suspicion become fact? Dongbaek, wearing that form, looked at the agonizing Yi Sang and smiled as she spoke.
"We... at least I, thought that by looking at your mirror, I was seeing things we didn't have. That's why it seemed so far away, and why I had no choice but to look at it. That's why I had no choice but to settle for reality. Just as I once watched fireworks and dreamed of stars."
Dongbaek, who had kept speaking, then changed the subject with a pitying expression.
"But the mirror is... showing possibility. So... do you understand? There's no need to envy the mirror. What you were looking at was... the possibility you hold inside yourself. You had it from the very beginning. The wings to turn your possibility into reality."
Having offered that much advice, Dongbaek quietly closed her eyes, as if she had guessed her own turn was over.
"...I wanted to tell you that."
"....."
As expected. With Yi Sang's low groan, the mental landscape shifted again.
This time... somewhere unfamiliar. Somewhere in the Nest?
Questions filled my head, but the familiar sentence that rang out in the next instant wiped my mind clean.
"First Sinner, Yi Sang. I've been waiting for you."
Ah, that was it. That first meeting I still couldn't forget.
"If you join Limbus Company... we'll restore your shattered, torn wings."
Yi Sang must have gone through the same process too.
So that was it.
"And..."
And? Wait, what else was there—
Before Faust could finish speaking, the mental landscape shifted again.
It was a room full of mirrors. A place where a giant mirror reflected Mr. Yi Sang.
"....."
From that place, the voice of someone utterly unexpected rang out.
...Mr. Sang?
"How is it?"
"I... am not skilled enough to gather broken fragments again. But those shining eyes... were not false."
"Our twists and turns will circle around misfortune. What you thought was a bond will one day surely scatter, and the things you cherish most will shatter into pieces, piercing your already fragile heart."
"...I know. And yet, everything must be nothing more than a fleeting instant of emptiness."
"Yi Sang, why did you make the mirror?"
"....."
Hearing Dante's question, he fell into thought for a moment.
Perhaps he could not answer the question of why.
"I... never made technology to contain value. I also know I have no way to return to the past. I merely..."
The scenery of the mental landscape overlapped with the moment when Yi Sang first made the mirror.
"That mirror you hold..."
"I call it Yeonsim..."
"Yeonsim..."
"Because this is something that grinds things down... and even grinds down the heart itself to polish it."
"I see. So all of Yi Sang was sincere about research."
With Sang's words finished, the mental landscape returned once more.
Perhaps he had found an answer of his own.
"I thought I had lost my wings, that I did not have them. I thought I was merely clutching at research, my wing bones trembling with longing... but in truth, I think the mirror's true name is this."
Yi Sang, who had been bowing his head, suddenly lifted it.
"Yeonsim. Because it seems to connect heart to heart. I wanted to live on, to flap and try flying. So I made the mirror. Even if I fell, I wanted to fly into the sky once more."
In the exchange with Sang, Yi Sang seemed to be finding his own answer, and he continued speaking.
"One day, I will surely despair... That is why... I must live... as far as I can. Whether I have wings or not... was not important."
"All Yisang have outstanding talent. At the same time, all Yisang are ignorant. Wings can be seen by every Yisang, but only one Yi Sang can fly."
"Then..."
"The Yi Sang inside the mirror may be the opposite of the Yi Sang outside it... but he is also quite similar. That shining, radiant wing you said you saw. That was my wing, and the wing reflected in your mirror."
Though Sang said that, Yi Sang only sent back a look of confusion, as if he did not understand.
"Why do I think so? ...Isn't it obvious. A mirror reflects oneself. If I could see wings in me, then those wings would be attached to you... and naturally, they would be yours."
Ah, so that was it.
The mirror reflecting Sang began to crack little by little.
That mirror was... Yi Sang's life, and at the same time, his curse.
"Then, go ahead and kick off the ground and flap your wings."
A kind of cage that made him look infinitely pathetic by reflecting another self's brilliant wings.
With Sang's words finished, the thoughts that had bound Yi Sang... shattered completely.
"I merely... wanted to fly... once more."
Yi Sang's mental landscape fully revealed itself.
This place was Dongrang's past that he wished to erase... and the place symbolizing the past Yi Sang had to unravel.
Somewhat different, but... it was the Gubo Association's research lab filled with mirrors.
There, Yi Sang shattered the mirror that had reflected him—
"Breaking the cage."
Completely...
"Freely."
He took flight.
The [Four-Sided Sword] in Yi Sang's hand, which had moved in an instant to stand before Mr. Dongrang, pierced into his chest.
That attack, carrying his own mental landscape... must have succeeded in stopping the attack of the one opposite him.
"Yi Sang..."
"Now, please stop... Dongrang."
"Ha-ha... How could I? In the end, someone has to... shed... tears... right?"
Mr. Dongrang pushed the sword embedded in him even deeper.
"...!"
"Let's end it like this..."
"....."
Seeing Mr. Dongrang losing the life in his arms, Yi Sang wore a complicated expression.
"Yi... Sang..."
Just before letting out his final breath, Mr. Dongrang's eyes sparkled.
The sign of a pure time he could never fully let go of, even after abandoning the past entirely.
"...I remember the spring of that day. In our eyes, stars were rising."
"....."
Was it regret? No. Was it remorse? Or some feeling I couldn't define?
Hearing Yi Sang's words, Mr. Dongrang showed an indescribably complex emotion, then quietly, very softly, murmured,
"...They shone. They shone as brightly as your wings..."
Slowly... slowly... his life faded away...
"I... always wanted to escape... from the shadow of the Gubo Association... But in the end... what embraces me at the very end is... that, that shadow."
Along with the single tear flowing from Mr. Dongrang's eye... the mental landscape shattered completely.
...Is it over?
*
...Some amount of time passed.
After Mr. Dongrang's death, we were able to recover the Golden Bough without much trouble.
The past jointly created by the many members of the Gubo Association was also fully resolved... and we were able to get out quickly.
However, not long after, we ran into an unexpected obstacle.
Namely, because Mr. Dongrang, the contracting party, had died, all contracts related to the Golden Bough had gone poof.
The only way for us to have the ownership of the Golden Bough transferred was...
To negotiate directly with K Corp's representative.
"Well, in the end... it's not bad. Not good either, though."
For that reason, we ended up facing Alfonso, who held real power in K Corp, in person.
"Was it Dongbaek? Since the head of the organization is dead, the terrorist group will fall apart in no time. Then as for the remaining issues... I think we could do it like this."
Alfonso, who said that, put forward a proposal to us.
"Today, everything that happened at K Corp was the lone action of a mentally unstable, antisocial employee named Dongrang, who... acted on his own to unjustly seize personal gain and power. Right?"
At that tone, which seemed to carry not only calm but even a trace of playfulness, Ms. Ishmael asked back with a somewhat uneasy expression.
"...Is that enough? He may have been an enemy to us, but... he was an employee to you."
"Well... I already said my goodbyes over the phone earlier. What a cute little bastard."
...That cunning bastard. He'd already set everything up in advance.
If I interpret that casually, it means Mr. Dongrang had already accounted for the possibility that he might lose.
Everyone's not normal. In many ways.
...Myself included.
"The manager of Limbus Company... Dante, was it? For a manager, you seem to be getting dragged around a lot. If you ever want to be a leader, remember this: when trouble comes up, you have to cut it off at the root quickly."
"Go to hell."
Keheh, pfft... Wait, what? What did he just say?
"And hiring an assassin from the Shi Association to shut Shurenne up was your doing too, wasn't it?"
"...He says he understands."
So our manager had more temper than I expected... though Faust immediately restrained him half-forcibly.
No matter how much he couldn't hear, I didn't think he'd go that far and just hurl abuse. Thanks to that, my face nearly got twisted into a miserable mess.
"...Hmph. I thought you were a complete idiot. So the manager really is a manager. Ah, one more thing."
Did he still have more to say? I wish this would end already.
Trying to save face in this condition, with this body, and standing upright all by myself was starting to get difficult.
Anyway, Faust was the one handling all the paperwork. Honestly, I wasn't needed at all.
"I don't know how things got tangled enough for you to touch even our K Corp Singularity, but... the thing that cries tears was the Singularity itself, and confidential information that must never be made public."
"Limbus Company never leaks confidential information obtained through exploration to the outside. If you want, we can provide the related contract—"
"Ha. Ha. You're still saying that after seeing your contract turn blank just now? I'm not going to be held hostage by some scrap of paper."
And then Alfonso brought up a dangerous statement I absolutely could not let slide.
"I'll proceed with the memory erasure procedure."
Ah, damn. Uh... he doesn't mean he's going to peel open my brain directly, right? He means he'll hit it from the outside with some technology, right?
If not... that could become quite a pain.
Only one or two of the Sinners, including me, showed dissatisfied expressions.
For example... Ms. Ryoshu.
"M. B. If you touch my memory, I'll slice it all apart without leaving a trace."
"...Then let us proceed that way."
Of course, she was quickly stopped by Vergilius's drained voice.
"You bastard..."
"Well, if we're correcting things before you forget them anyway... what you saw was not the true body of the thing that cries tears, but its child. We couldn't very well entrust that precious true body to some researcher with no foundation, could we?"
Look at him, talking trash about the researcher he personally brought in just because the man died.
"Still, it's the pride of our Wing, so it'd be a little sad if you thought it was something so shabby... Ah, though I suppose you wouldn't be able to think at all anyway."
With that, and under the rough guidance of K Corp's higher-ups and what looked like Fixers, the memory erasure procedure was carried out on us.
Well, what else could we do? We'd just have to let our memories be erased and go home quietly.
In the end, we were able to return to the bus quickly.
*
Ah, this comfortable seat. This comforting scent of metal... yes, this is home. Even if I've only been living here for a little over four months.
Resting my head on Ms. Ishmael's shoulder as she came over to support me because she was worried, this was paradise.
So much happened today...
A pleasant drowsiness wrapped around my body. This is life.
I refuse any more of that kind of hardship.
While some Sinners were resting like me, there was also someone trying to solve the questions raised by this mission.
There he is. Dante, peppering Mr. Yi Sang with questions.
"By the way, Yi Sang... where did you want to fly to?"
"I was simply content with feeling."
"Then what about now?"
"...Hmm, no comment."
Oh, Mr. Yi Sang is smiling.
Ahhh, very slightly... if expressed in pixels, maybe two pixels' worth, but he's smiling.
Come to think of it, this might be the first time I've seen Yi Sang smile.
"....."
Come to think of it... this was a new mission, different from the ones before.
Ah, speaking of which, there's one secret I should mention now.
Normally, that procedure from earlier should have erased all memories in my head regarding the thing that cries tears... but...
...If it were something that easy to cover up, then my brain wouldn't have gone through the trouble of being directly subjected to all sorts of memory-erasure procedures with the City's best technology.
For various reasons I cannot speak of, I was able to leave with those memories fully intact.
It would have been easier on my mind if they'd just erased them... but now, should I be grateful that they didn't catch several other things?
The concealment technology really is top-notch, after all.
I have no reason to blurt it out, so I won't say it aloud... but I couldn't stop myself from letting out a private lament.
Ha... This damn head. It never leaves me alone for even a moment.
...Still, what can I do? If they did that, there must have been a reason.
"But Manager, I will say this much."
Hm? Seems Mr. Yi Sang still had something to say.
"From now on... I intend to face what remains to me. What remains is the Gubo Association's wrongdoing, and the burden left to me. So if necessary, I intend to resist as much as I can. Whether the wind blows or not... I do not wish to sway and fall. Rather than dodge, rather than be soaked through... I wish to walk where I mean to walk. Will you help me, Dante?"
"Of course."
Unlike his earlier languid, drifting tone, Mr. Yi Sang's voice now carried a clear force of will.
Even after forgetting a great deal of the memories tied to Mr. Dongrang's past, he still had that kind of resolve.
What an incredible person. Unlike me...
Perhaps this too is all part of the flow.
...I don't know. I've been lost for a very long time now.
All I can do is live as my feet take me.
Was this the moment when, despite the relieved atmosphere, I alone was being swallowed by gloom?
From where Mr. Vergilius was sitting up ahead, a meaningful remark came drifting over.
"...Remembering and watching over all this is part of the manager's burden, after all."
"...Could you hear me?"
"Dante is asking whether I heard him."
When Faust translated Dante's words, Vergilius handled it with practiced ease.
"...I didn't even hear the ticking, so did you say something? No, I couldn't possibly have heard you, Manager Dante. I was just saying something thoughtless. You looked like that kind of face."
Hah, that man really is relentless. To toss out words like that while using such sharp insight.
Well... in any case, this mission is over too. It feels strangely new.
May days like these, moderately peaceful days, continue from here on out...
Somewhere, a sharp, fragrant breeze brushed through the bus interior, though there was no way that should have happened indoors.
It wasn't enough to drown out my consciousness, but... that deep, familiar fragrance...
lingered around the tip of my nose for a long while.
*
[Are you well?
I find myself greeting you whenever I look into the mirror.
They say greetings are only natural when exchanged both ways, but...
That's fine, since I believe it will reach you someday.
From now on, I will not stop.
In the end, nothing will change... but
I too will no longer change.
Please do not worry too much. I have found new companions at my side.
I do not know what they think, but... I intend to count them as friends.
Then...
At the end.
May everyone live in peace throughout their lives.
Yi Sang.]