Canto V: The Evil Defining

Overview

Story Episodes

Battle Chapters

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Canto V: The Evil Defining
← Intervallo II
Intervallo III - 1 →
Season	Season 3: Bon Voyage
Focus Sinner	Ishmael
Story
Location	U Corp. (District 21)
Date	984-07
Story Dungeon	Into the Dark
Involved Factions	Limbus Company Pequod Town Twinhook Pirates The Middle
Involved Factions	Limbus Company Pequod Town Twinhook Pirates The Middle
Character Debuts	Pilot Ahab Queequeg Starbuck Pip Stubb Rim Ricardo The Indigo Elder Smee
Character Debuts	Pilot Ahab Queequeg Starbuck Pip Stubb Rim Ricardo The Indigo Elder Smee

The Evil Defining is the fifth Story Chapter in Limbus Company, taking place between Intervallo II: S.E.A. and Intervallo III: Miracle in District 20.

This Canto released in three parts, with Part 1 releasing on November 16th, 2023 and Parts 2 and 3 releasing in the following two weeks.

Summary

With Mephistopheles now sea-worthy, the Sinners travel the Great Lake to locate the Golden Bough. After reaching Marlin Portship to rendezvous with the LCCB, Ishmael, who is still aggressive from Intervallo II, causes trouble due to her trauma with the Great Lake, at one point nearly getting trouble with The Middle before Dante manages to stop her. While trying to locate the LCCB agent, Dante discovers another power; one that can see into people's mind and their desires. The surviving agent, a rookie, reveals that the L Corp building was initially taken over by the Twinhook Pirates backed by a Middle Finger Big Brother, only for them to abandon it due to a Calamity know as the "Pallid Whale" devouring it. The agent was only taken because his leader sacrificed themselves to make him seem more important. The agent also reveals that Saude survived Nagel und Hammer's purge of Calw and has become one of the managers of the LCCB. With a destination in mind, the Sinners travel the Great Lake to reach the building, battling various "Whales" along the way.

Ishmael's past is slowly revealed as that her fellow crewmates were led to their death by their captain's obsession over said the Pallid Whale, and she vowed to kill them to avenge her comrades. They eventually reach the L Corp building, spat out due to the Whale's effects, but are told by Rim, a distortion of one of Yi Sang's friends of the League of Nine Littérateurs, that when the whale ate the L Corp building, it swallowed the Bough and the all Abnormalities contained there. As they leave, the Middle suddenly arrives, lead by Big Brother Ricardo, who is after the Sinners due to Heathcliff stealing his hair coupons. All the Sinners but Ishmael are all killed off in the slaughter, and are only saved thanks to the arrival of another Color; "The Indigo Elder". With a Color focused solely on killing the Five Calamities of the Great Lake on their side, Ishmael hatches a plan to locate and then enter the Pallid Whale, due to the Sinners being immune to the effects of "pallidification", and succeeds, but her madness only worsens.

Now in the Whale, the Sinners are saved from being digested by semi-pallidified humans, some of which are Ishmael's old crew, and lead by Ishmael's former captain; Ahab. Ahab proposes a deal to Ishmael and the Sinners; help her reach the heart of the Whale, and she will allow herself to be killed by Ishmael. The Sinners and Ahab's party separate as they traverse the beast, with the Sinners slaying many Mermaids and Abnormalities along the way as more of Ishmael's past is revealed from Dante's powers. However, once they reunite back up at the beast's heart, it turns out Ahab sacrificed her party to ensure she reaches it.

She then reveals that she wants Dante's head, which contains the Golden Bough, to be able to kill the whale, as the effects of pallidification prevents her from actually attacking it. The Sinners and Ahab do battle, but even when corned, Ahab's obsession and determination awakens to an EGO that absorbs her remaining crewmates and sacrifices them to empower herself further. Ishmael is able to break her weapon, but nearly becomes pallidified herself before being saved by Heathcliff. She is ultimately convinced by Dante to not strike down Ahab, but rather, her prize; The Pallid Whale. Temporarily evolving her EGO, Ishmael is able to tear apart the heart, claiming the Golden Bough within. With her desire denied, Ahab breaks down, and Ishmael makes clear her intent to spare her was so she could serve as a testament to her own sins and failures, and suffer. As the beast collapses, a rope from the Indigo Elder suddenly appears, allowing them safe passage. Following the successful return to the Mephistopheles, Ishmael states her intent to stay with the Sinners until it comes time to separate, having now found purpose beyond revenge.

Post-credits, its revealed that Ahab survived the Whale's collapse, and is recruited by Hermann with the promise of slaying every Pallid Whale across infinite possibilities.

Enemies

• Twinhook Pirates
• Mermaids
  • Pallidified Things
  • Pallid Mermaids
• The Middle
• Pequod Town

Trivia

• Ishmael starts all encounters in this Canto with the Compulsion Compulsion
  Starts encounter with -25 SP. At less than 0 SP at Turn Start, gain 3 Attack Power Up. status, reducing her initial SP by 25, but gaining 3 Attack Power if she is at lower than 0 SP at the start of the turn.
• This Canto has a unique interaction between a specific Sinner Identity during a story encounter. In the Canto's Story Dungeon, if The Pequod Captain Ishmael participates in Ahab's second fight, Ishmael will start the encounter with the Reverse Compulsion Reverse Compulsion
  Heal 15 SP at every Turn Start status, healing her SP by 15 at the start of every turn, instead of Compulsion Compulsion
  Starts encounter with -25 SP. At less than 0 SP at Turn Start, gain 3 Attack Power Up.. Additionally, Ishmael and Ahab will both have a unique line of dialogue during the battle.