Canto V: The Evil Defining/Story Episodes/Part II
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We finally made it out of the Waves and into calmer seas.
I briefly wondered if we can finally start smooth-sailing
toward the coordinates…
…and that’s when I noticed a stationary cruise ship floating in the middle of a Lake.
We boarded the cruise ship to gather some intel.
Though it’s littered with gaudy decorations,
I don’t see anyone on board… Something about this whole affair is creeping me out.
I ran into the cabins of the ship in search of Sinclair, who fled
from Hong Lu’s scary tales. Thankfully, I was about to find him without much trouble.
But…
The Cruise was an aftermath of a devastation.
The consequences of breaking the laws of the Great Lake were severe.
… I’ll have to be more careful from now on.
The elusive Lobotomy Corp. Branch of U Corp. finally appeared
from beyond the veil of mist. But… it was completely covered
under a layer of bizarre, white membrane.
I think we’re on the correct path, at least…
The bizarreness continued deep into the Lobotomy Corp. Branch.
That white, pallid membrane was covering every inch
of its interiors. And… we found those
that were shambling around, wrapped under
that very same membrane.
We followed the mysterious butterfly deeper
into the Lobotomy Corp. Branch. A man with a flowing head
was waiting for us in there.
Rim disappeared from our sights
like a butterfly leaving its brief respite
upon the water surface. It was as though
we had all awakened from a dream.
From him we saw that familiar red mark.
… The Mermaids are coming back.
Rim was right. We could not find even a hint
of the Golden Bough from within the Lobotomy Corp. Branch.
… We’ll have to search for the Whale like he said, then.
We were waiting by the entrance when a sudden shock
shook the Lobotomy Corp. Branch. We hurried out and gazed into the mists…
and saw an intimidating-looking vessel emerge.
We were making relatively short work of the ambushing pirates,
but I had a feeling that they were just gauging our capabilities… Now that I mention it,
the largest and gaudiest vessel from their fleet has yet to hook us.
This is nothing short of a massacre. A humiliation.
He kills Ishmael again and again. I keep bringing her back,
feeling that very same pain that killed her.
… This battle is lost. Maybe Faust is right…
Maybe this is where our journey ends.
Blue embers flickered from the old man’s cigar. We didn’t need anyone to tell us
that he was overwhelmingly powerful; we knew instinctively.
Faust, who seemed to recognize the old man, led him to Vergilius
after a quick exchange of pleasantries.
We rowed toward the gray Lake as we previously discussed
with the Indigo Elder. We can see some rocks poking
out of the pale, opaque waters of the Lake.
Looks like we’ll have to maneuver our way between them.
What we thought to be a rock was a Porous Whale.
When its Mermaids crawled out of the holes, we defeated them.
But… This isn’t the Whale we’re looking for,
is it? What is Ishmael thinking?
We waded past the ocean mist and entered the obsidian Lake.
The Lake of legends, as told by Ishmael. Within it…
… Was the Pallid Whale, pale as the midnight moon.
5-20: Cruise Party
I briefly wondered if we can finally start smooth-sailing
toward the coordinates…
…and that’s when I noticed a stationary cruise ship floating in the middle of a Lake.
5-21: Cruise Party 2
Though it’s littered with gaudy decorations,
I don’t see anyone on board… Something about this whole affair is creeping me out.
5-22: Cruise Party 3
from Hong Lu’s scary tales. Thankfully, I was about to find him without much trouble.
But…
Pre-Battle
5-23: Cruise Party 4
The consequences of breaking the laws of the Great Lake were severe.
… I’ll have to be more careful from now on.
Post-Battle
5-24: The Calamity
from beyond the veil of mist. But… it was completely covered
under a layer of bizarre, white membrane.
I think we’re on the correct path, at least…
Speaker | Dialogue | |
---|---|---|
|
Vergilius |
Ah… There it is. |
|
Vergilius |
Our destination, the Lobotomy Corp. Branch of U Corp. |
|
SINCLAIR |
You think they're still there…? The survivors Pilot mentioned? |
|
YI SANG |
… Unless aught has transpired since then, we still have time aplenty. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Ho. Creepy. |
|
GREGOR |
That's… the Lobotomy Corp. Branch…? |
|
FAUST |
We are as close as it is physically possible to be to the center of the area delineated by the coordinates. The structure's size and appearance match the intel we received as well. |
|
ISHMAEL |
Ah… Ahh… |
|
MEURSAULT |
I observe the Lobotomy Corp. logo between the white materials. |
|
RODION |
So that's… really… |
|
GREGOR |
What the hell happened here…? |
|
HONG LU |
Pilot said that the last thing that the Twinhook Pirates said before leaving this place was… |
|
HONG LU |
'The Calamity is coming', wasn't it? |
|
YI SANG |
This sight summons to my mind memories from the earlier days of this company. The manner in which the organic tissues are… plastered over the walls is quite reminiscent of that experience. |
|
RODION |
Eugh… Back at the D Corp. Branch, right? I hope there's no poison gas trap or anything like that in here… |
|
MEURSAULT |
At D Corp., there was a traitor in our midst. Thus, it would be false equivalency to use that experience to gauge the intensity of this mission. |
|
GREGOR |
Yeah, I… don't think it'll be much better here… if not worse. |
|
SINCLAIR |
Then… Pilot's team is already… |
|
OUTIS |
We should consider them lucky if they haven't been turned into Mermaids… |
|
DANTE |
<So the Calamity was…> |
|
Vergilius |
Well, destruction isn't the only kind of calamity in this world. |
|
Vergilius |
The Great Lake is home to five Calamities. Well… four now, I suppose. |
|
YI SANG |
Whatever do you mean? |
|
Vergilius |
I meant that… Hm. You'll find out soon enough. |
|
ISHMAEL |
It won't matter how careful you are. At the Great Lake, the Calamities will always find you. The laws of the Great Lake don't apply to them… making it impossible to predict their patterns. |
|
Vergilius |
And now's the time to row your way into the ruins the Calamity left behind. |
|
Vergilius |
Take the skiff to the Lobotomy Corp. Branch. It's on the Lake adjacent to this one. |
|
Vergilius |
I'll be keeping my distance and watching from this Lake, just in case of an emergency. |
|
DANTE |
<Isn't that exactly why you should be coming with us?> |
|
GREGOR |
Who knows what the guide bud's thinking, eh? |
|
HONG LU |
We're getting a lot of use out of this boat. |
|
RODION |
Mm, I still don't trust this dinghy… It's too small. |
|
SINCLAIR |
Are Lakes usually this foggy? The Lake earlier was pretty misty, too… |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
Mm, we must remain vigilant! Fogged up horizons are climate quite ripe for an ambush! Forsooth, 'tis the number one rule of adventuring tales! |
|
RODION |
Hey, Dante? Can you… sense it? The Golden Bough? |
|
DANTE |
<Not yet…> |
|
RODION |
Hmm… You sure about that? |
|
RODION |
Ugh, I know I'm the worry wart of the team whenever we gotta check out places like this, but… I have a real bad feeling about this, guys… |
|
ISHMAEL |
What's the holdup? Aren't you coming? |
|
GREGOR |
Don't you feel it? This dread… I thought it would affect you most. You're the one who spent years on the Lake, after all. |
|
ISHMAEL |
So? That's what's stopping you? |
|
GREGOR |
It's… Haah… |
|
ISHMAEL |
Wait by the entrance if you're not going. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
What did you expect, mate? I've given up talking sense into her a while ago. |
|
GREGOR |
I thought she'd gotten a bit more cooperative as of late. … Guess I was wrong. |
|
RODION |
Well… We do have to go. |
|
YI SANG |
What may be this pale, mucous membrane covering the entirety of this structure? |
|
SINCLAIR |
Some kind of mold… Maybe? |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
I.F.[1] |
|
YI SANG |
To identify it as fungi would require it to exhibit characteristics unlike the ones we can observe here… |
|
OUTIS |
Hm. I agree. They don't appear to be fungi. In fact… |
|
OUTIS |
They appear to be made of organic, living flesh tissue. See the blood vessels here. They've grown into random shapes without purpose or intent. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Ridiculous. I am surrounded by I.F. |
|
OUTIS |
What do you mean? |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Art reliant on the chaos of existence cannot create patterns such as these. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Look at the big picture, fool. |
|
YI SANG |
Gazing upon the big picture, I only see a pointless disputation that does naught but wastes our vigor. |
|
OUTIS |
… Tsk. |
|
YI SANG |
You do not intend to stall, no? See thither. Ishmael already walks at a fair distance away from us. |
|
ISHMAEL |
…… |
5-25: The Whaler
That white, pallid membrane was covering every inch
of its interiors. And… we found those
that were shambling around, wrapped under
that very same membrane.
Pre-Battle
5-26: The Lake and the Butterfly
into the Lobotomy Corp. Branch. A man with a flowing head
was waiting for us in there.
Post-Battle
5-27: The Lake and the Butterfly 2
like a butterfly leaving its brief respite
upon the water surface. It was as though
we had all awakened from a dream.
From him we saw that familiar red mark.
… The Mermaids are coming back.
Pre-Battle
5-28: The Lake and the Butterfly 4
of the Golden Bough from within the Lobotomy Corp. Branch.
… We’ll have to search for the Whale like he said, then.
Post-Battle
Speaker | Dialogue | |
---|---|---|
|
ISHMAEL |
Looks like Rim wasn't lying. I don't think there's a Golden Bough here. |
|
ISHMAEL |
I don't feel the bough, either. |
|
ISHMAEL |
Now… what will you do? |
|
MEURSAULT |
All organic matter other than us in this Lobotomy Corp. Branch have doubtless been infected. |
|
RODION |
That Rim guy… If he's got that mark… |
|
RODION |
You think he's in cahoots with the flying blue kid from before? … Are we gonna be okay? |
|
HONG LU |
Well, he did help us at the end of the day. Even if he approached us very quietly. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
N.W.C.D.[2] What were we supposed to do? |
|
SINCLAIR |
I guess so. There was nothing we could've done. |
|
SINCLAIR |
Still… I don't think Demian held any animosity against us. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Not against you, maybe. |
|
OUTIS |
Executive Manager. I still remain doubtful of that man's intentions. |
|
OUTIS |
He didn't even share with us what their goals were before fleeing the scene. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Oi, you must know something about the bowlhead. You knew that bloke, didn't you? |
|
YI SANG |
Rim has changed too much… I cannot even begin to fathom his intentions. |
|
DANTE |
<Let's… get out of here first.> |
|
DANTE |
<It's pretty clear that the Golden Bough isn't here anymore…> |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
… What fate befalls those who remain? |
|
MEURSAULT |
A fate we can do nothing about. |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
I am well aware, yet… |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
I think I understand how you're feeling. But sometimes, you just gotta learn to let go. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
If there's anything I've learned from my life… it's that some things are too far gone to be helped. |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
… Very well, Sir Heathcliff. |
|
RODION |
What's gotten into you, Heath? Didn't know you knew how to comfort someone like that~ |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
… Ugh. I wasn't going to suffer that lass's gloom. |
5-29: Harpoons
shook the Lobotomy Corp. Branch. We hurried out and gazed into the mists…
and saw an intimidating-looking vessel emerge.
Pre-Battle
Speaker | Dialogue | |
---|---|---|
|
DANTE |
<No Golden Bough, no survivors…> |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
A.T.F.N.[3] |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
No. It was a good chance to observe art crafted from a different perspective. I suppose all that wasn't for nothing. Heh. |
|
RODION |
Well~ We're going to be a-okay. A big win always follows a big loss like this~ |
|
GREGOR |
We're going to have to scour the middle of the Great Lake to find that Bough… Mm. Maybe I should've learned how to swim… |
|
ISHMAEL |
If we are to believe Rim, that Golden Bough… is inside the Pallid Whale. |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
Are we truly journeying in search of the Pallid Whale… |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
A Whale as big as a windmi— I mean, as large as a mansion? Nay, as grand as a castillo? |
|
RODION |
Can… we even catch something like that? |
|
RODION |
Even if we catch up to it, what then? Ask it nicely to please puke the Bough back into our palms? |
|
RODION |
Guys, maybe we should just go back… |
|
ISHMAEL |
Go back? |
|
RODION |
Oh, I-I mean~ |
|
ISHMAEL |
And then what? What are you going to do after we 'go back'? What, give up the Golden Bough, just like that? |
|
ISHMAEL |
Pretend like nothing happened and just move on to our next mission? |
|
FAUST |
…… |
|
ISHMAEL |
I don't know how or when it's become acceptable in this group to throw away a Golden Bough just like that, but… |
|
ISHMAEL |
… not me. I'm not going back. I've endured too much to go back now… |
|
ISHMAEL |
There was just ONE thing that kept me going in this shitty company. One thing. |
|
ISHMAEL |
And you know what that is, Faust. |
|
FAUST |
…… |
|
FAUST |
It is as Ishmael said. Abandoning the Golden Bough retrieval in the present situation is not permitted. Success is still within reach. |
|
FAUST |
But… we cannot move at this moment. |
|
FAUST |
It would be best that we rendezvous with Vergilius before discussing our next course of action. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Hah, I see. It's that stupid law of the Great Lake again, huh? |
|
FAUST |
Yes, it is. We have 2 hours remaining. |
|
HONG LU |
Wow! Good work, Heathcliff! You're so smart. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
You little… |
|
Sinners |
Woah! |
|
DANTE |
<Let’s get outta here first!> |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
W-what madness is this?! |
|
MEURSAULT |
I observe multiple ships on the horizon, beyond the wall of mist. None of their silhouettes resemble Mephistopheles. |
|
GREGOR |
W-what the… Misfire, maybe? |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
W-wait! Look around! |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
The water level… it'll be up to our britches any minute! |
|
FAUST |
It's high tide. It appears that this Lake's water levels rise and fall depending on the time of day. |
|
MEURSAULT |
They have launched something in our direction. |
|
OUTIS |
Brace for impact! Here comes another! |
|
GREGOR |
So… not a misfire, then… |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Agh… |
|
GREGOR |
It's those Twithook Pirates again, huh… Gotta say, I can respect their tenacity. |
|
ISHMAEL |
Those trash are here only thanks to your very stubborn mercy, Dante. |
|
DANTE |
<……> |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
Say not such things… What Manager Esquire did that day was a judgment most noble. 'Twas not an easy decision, forsooth… |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Wait! Just use your noggins for once. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
They're bound to that Lake, just as we are to this one. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Harpoon us all they want, it's not like them sods can drag their ships toward us. So, in the meanwhile… whassit… |
|
ISHMAEL |
No. |
|
ISHMAEL |
That's… not what the Pirates use harpoons for. |
|
DANTE |
<……> |
|
DANTE |
<So that's how…> |
|
Jolly Pirate |
Ha ha, now ye know why they call us the Twinhooks! |
|
Jolly Pirate |
Are ye ready, kids? Who wants to ride the harpoon?! |
5-30: The Big Brother
but I had a feeling that they were just gauging our capabilities… Now that I mention it,
the largest and gaudiest vessel from their fleet has yet to hook us.
Pre-Battle
Speaker | Dialogue | |
---|---|---|
|
DANTE |
<We're fending them off somehow, but…> |
|
HONG LU |
That ship in the middle sure is eye-catching. |
|
HONG LU |
Things are usually that gaudy for a reason, you know? |
|
RODION |
…! Uh… oh… |
|
RODION |
T-that guy, standing there at the center… |
|
DANTE |
<That weird guy up there? He's been posing like that over there ever since this whole mess started.> |
|
RODION |
Posing? That's not what I'm talking about, Dante… |
|
RODION |
Don't you recognize his tattoos? He's… |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Hmph. A B.B. of the Middle. |
|
SINCLAIR |
What's… a B**ch Brother…? |
|
RODION |
… I think she meant 'Big Brother'…? |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
…! |
|
ISHMAEL |
…… |
|
DANTE |
<……> |
|
DANTE |
<Sorry about bringing this up now, but…> |
|
DANTE |
<What's… the Middle?> |
|
DANTE |
<Just a mere mention, or a mere sight of them alone seems to… shock and intimidate a lot of people. Remember how they pretty much traumatized Pilot?…> |
|
SINCLAIR |
I heard that, the Fingers, which the Middle is a part of… |
|
SINCLAIR |
… are… on a completely different level from your average Syndicates. I've never met any of them face-to-face before, but… |
|
RODION |
No. People like us… We're never supposed to meet them like this. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
We're all going to be F.U.B.A.R. [4] |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Time for my one last cig. This is a good day to die, isn't it? |
|
DANTE |
<… Ryōshū, even you…?> |
|
YI SANG |
… If a trial must be weathered, we will weather it with dignity and tenacity, Dante. |
|
Big Brother |
All right. How was the warmup? |
|
Little Brother |
Big Bro's givin' y'all time for a warmup! Appreciate it! |
|
DANTE |
<He's wearing Sunglasses? In this gloomy weather…?> |
|
OUTIS |
All hands. Prepare for battle. |
|
OUTIS |
Executive Manager, this battle… this foe… will not be like any other we have encountered before. Under such dire circumstances, ensuring the safety of the commanding officer has to be our primary objective. |
|
OUTIS |
Please, find a safe place to hide. Make sure to stay out of his sight… |
|
Big Brother |
Boring. Didn't think you would take this long for a warm-up. |
|
OUTIS |
Let us negotiate! If you're seeking to negotiate… we're more than ready to listen. |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
Negotiate with a villain such as he…? How… |
|
GREGOR |
Well, looks like we're the ones begging for our lives now… |
|
RODION |
I-I didn't think that a Big Brother of the Middle would be here, in person… |
|
Big Brother |
Yeah. But I am. |
|
Big Brother |
So… In all those years I've spent as a part of the Middle… |
|
Big Brother |
I had this ONE iron rule that I never broke. |
|
Big Brother |
… Until today, that is. |
|
Big Brother |
Your raid of my personal safe has forced my hand! |
|
Little Brother |
Hot damn… Unbelievable! What awful mind thinks of doin' something so heinous…? |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
… What? Ain't this about what happened back at the Twinhooks' club? |
|
Big Brother |
So here on this day, I declare your sins, o guilty ones. |
|
Big Brother |
Your unforgivable sins…! |
|
RODION |
Look, we had a little kerfuffle with Ms. Smee, but… |
|
YI SANG |
… Your subordinate, she… remains safe and unharmed. |
|
GREGOR |
W-wait, no! Stop— |
|
Big Brother |
…… |
|
Big Brother |
Smee? Who's that? |
|
Little Brother |
Oh, uh… whisper, whisper… |
|
DANTE |
<… No way. He didn't know…?> |
|
YI SANG |
… My interjection may have been unnecessary. |
|
Big Brother |
Well then… uh, okay. Let's see… With that sin piled on top… |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
That's 'The Book of Vengeance'. Once your name's written on that book… F.U.B.A.R is also written into your fate. Hilarious. So hilarious that I might go mad… Ha ha. |
|
Big Brother |
Listen. We live in a binary world. The world that is luscious… and the world that is bristly. Are you aware of their differences? |
|
Big Brother |
The luscious… |
|
Big Brother |
Is what flows and wraps gently around your hand when your fingers comb through it… |
|
Big Brother |
And the bristly… is what roughly stabs and pokes out between your fingers. |
|
Big Brother |
Patience, perseverance, and a delicate pair of talented hands are crucial to becoming the most luscious that one can be. |
|
DANTE |
<……> |
|
Big Brother |
Do you understand? |
|
Big Brother |
Do you understand now, the incredible amount of effort that goes into maintaining this hair in the right shape and the perfect lusciousness? |
|
Big Brother |
There once was a coupon. A coupon to get the coveted personal hands-on hair care… |
|
Big Brother |
… from the director of a top-level luxury hair salon on one of the richest ports of U Corp., the Stingray Portship! Continuously, for FIVE HOURS! |
|
Big Brother |
It is said that, with that coupon, anyone could enter the world of the luscious! And anyone with a coupon had the privilege of an appointment-free visit! |
|
DANTE |
<……> |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Oh. |
|
DANTE |
<So… we're being accused of taking his… coupons for a hair salon?> |
|
SINCLAIR |
So when you called him a B**ch Brother… |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
I meant that he can be a real Bitch to get rid of once you piss him off. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Damnit… We should've steered clear of these bastards… |
|
Big Brother |
They were to be my first steps into the world of the luscious. |
|
Big Brother |
Yet, the coupon thief… |
|
Big Brother |
… has left me stranded indefinitely in the world of the bristly… |
|
Big Brother |
Behold. Behold the testament to your heinous sins. |
|
DANTE |
<… Heathcliff?> |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
I-I didn't know the safe was his! Look! It's got colorful kitty stickers on it! You've got to be absolutely barmy to assume that it's the safe of the Middle's Big Brother, right?! |
|
Big Brother |
Everyone has… different tastes, just like the numerous, colorful Lakes of the Great Lake. |
|
Big Brother |
Your blatant lack of respect for diverse, differing tastes will have to be added to the Book of Vengeance as well. |
|
RODION |
Someone, please shut Heath up before he adds anything more to that book… |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Hup… |
|
DANTE |
<Heathcliff… Did you even know who, what, or where these coupons were for?> |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Of course not… Bloody hell… |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
Sob… We are the villains in this tale, then? Have we become naught but little thieving rascals? Wherefore hast thou committed such villainy, Heathcliff… |
|
DON QUIXOTE |
Thou hast not once given a second look at a hair salon, yet why… |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
I-I've got my reasons… |
|
MEURSAULT |
There is one good news, however… |
|
MEURSAULT |
The chance of your absolution, even if you were to return the coupons, is infinitesimal. Infinitely close to nil, in fact. |
|
MEURSAULT |
Thus, keeping the coupons will make no difference to the outcome of this encounter, Heathcliff. They are now yours. |
|
MEURSAULT |
The bad news… |
|
SINCLAIR |
… is that we'll all be O.O.F.-ed before Heathcliff even gets the chance to use them… |
|
Big Brother |
And the price of your sins… |
|
Big Brother |
Uh… Let's see. Title 8, Section 20 says… |
|
Big Brother |
On row A… Line 6… Hair Salon Coupons… |
|
DANTE |
<That book has instructions in case someone steals their hair salon coupons?!> |
|
Big Brother |
Aha! I've found it. |
|
Big Brother |
Complete and total extermination of all involved parties; execute the coupon thief and any and all of their affiliates. Effective immediately. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Hmph. Truly, a B.B. |
|
Ricardo |
My name's Ricardo, a Big Brother of the Middle. Let my name be the last thing you remember before you perish. Memories are important, after all. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Unsatisfying… I'll get a proper luxury cig next time. … If there is a next time. |
Post-Battle
5-31: The Big Brother 2
He kills Ishmael again and again. I keep bringing her back,
feeling that very same pain that killed her.
… This battle is lost. Maybe Faust is right…
Maybe this is where our journey ends.
5-32: The Indigo Elder
that he was overwhelmingly powerful; we knew instinctively.
Faust, who seemed to recognize the old man, led him to Vergilius
after a quick exchange of pleasantries.
5-33: Rocks
with the Indigo Elder. We can see some rocks poking
out of the pale, opaque waters of the Lake.
Looks like we’ll have to maneuver our way between them.
Pre-Battle
Speaker | Dialogue | |
---|---|---|
|
DANTE |
<… Something's floating over there.> |
|
SINCLAIR |
Are those… Islands? There's a lot of them… |
|
OUTIS |
They may be reefs. Perhaps that is this Lake's challenge… To navigate it while avoiding them to the best of our abilities. |
|
SINCLAIR |
Well, they sure do look rocky. But… They're too big to be called reefs. |
|
YI SANG |
Do you sense aught, Dante? |
|
YI SANG |
We may attempt to discover a path that does not lead into an area cluttered with such obstacles, yet that would require us to hazard a path unknown. It may lead to this plan's ruin. |
|
DANTE |
<Hm…> |
|
FAUST |
If you can sense even the most general direction of the Golden Bough, please relay it to me. I can use that to approximate its location. |
|
FAUST |
I can assure you a degree of accuracy, now that we have with us additional data provided by the Indigo Elder. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Huh? Why couldn't you have just been our magic compass to begin with, clockhead? |
|
FAUST |
They are able to do this only under the peculiar conditions of the Great Lake, which has very few in the way of obstacles. |
|
FAUST |
The urban areas of the City are dense with structures, both high and low, and into the underground. The higher population density also complicates matters. Considering that Dante can detect the Golden Bough only in close proximities, considering that there may be insurmountable obstacles in our way, their sense will not be of much help there. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Tsk. So they're back to being just your usual clockhead anywhere else. |
|
DANTE |
<Huh, so that's why… that's why I could feel the Golden Bough here, even when it was so far away…> |
|
FAUST |
Confirmed. We will turn the ship around in that direction. |
|
ISHMAEL |
… Oh. |
|
ISHMAEL |
It's this Lake. |
|
FAUST |
Ishmael, do you have any new information to share with us? |
|
ISHMAEL |
… Yeah. Here… I know what to do from here. I know exactly what to do. |
|
ISHMAEL |
Outis, I can't clearly see what's in front of us from back here. Tell me precisely what you see. Their numbers, their sizes, all of it. |
|
OUTIS |
… Trying to avoid the wild currents and find a safe path around these rocks? Understood. |
|
OUTIS |
About 350 meters ahead. Miniscule, plain patterned, glistening rock. About 500 meters ahead of that is a medium-sized rock. It has a bump on top of it that stands out. |
|
ISHMAEL |
Continue. |
|
OUTIS |
Hm. And not so far ahead from there is a large island with a rough, porous surface… Oh, upon closer inspection, it's like an archipelago of three… four similar islands. |
|
ISHMAEL |
Good. |
|
OUTIS |
… Good. We've made it past the first rock. |
|
HONG LU |
Its texture was a bit… different from that of a normal rock, wasn't it? |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
G.E.[5] That's not the texture of a rock. Or even soil. |
|
OUTIS |
We just passed the second one. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Oi, what's so weird about the texture? I can't see over the big boy and the long one. |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
Hmph. That there… is a living, breathing thing. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
What? |
|
OUTIS |
… Wait… Swabbie! Watch where you're steering this ship! We're going to crash into that third rock at this rate! |
|
ISHMAEL |
And that's what I'm going to do, Outis. That's where we get off. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
That rock? That creepy, porous rock over there? |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Oi, feel free to crash into a rock on your free time, but don't take all of us with you! There's not even a single tree up there, let alone a person. What the bloody hell are we anchoring there for? |
|
ISHMAEL |
You gotta screw your head on in a different direction in the Great Lake, Heathcliff. |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
What are you talking abou— |
|
HEATHCLIFF |
Do you even know where you're going, woman?! |
|
RYŌSHŪ |
… Oh yes, she knows. Huhu. |
|
SINCLAIR |
Wait, that white color… Ishmael? |
|
ISHMAEL |
Yeah. Those aren't islands or rocks. |
|
ISHMAEL |
They're… all part of a Whale. |
5-34: The Pallid Whale
When its Mermaids crawled out of the holes, we defeated them.
But… This isn’t the Whale we’re looking for,
is it? What is Ishmael thinking?
Post-Battle
5-35: The Pallid Whale 2
The Lake of legends, as told by Ishmael. Within it…
… Was the Pallid Whale, pale as the midnight moon.
Story Chapters
| |||
---|---|---|---|
Inferno (Main Chapter) |
|||
Deviazione (Detour Tales) |
Intervallos | Intervallo I - Intervallo II - Intervallo III - 1 - Intervallo III - 2 - Intervallo IV - 1 - Intervallo IV - 2 | |
Mini Episodes | Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3 - Season 4 | ||
Story Dungeon | Inferno | D-02 (Canto I) - J-03 (Canto II) - K-02 (Canto III) - Reminisced League of Nine (Canto IV) - Into the Dark (Canto V) | |
Deviazione | A Restauranteur's Fathoms (Intervallo I) - A Blade Fiend's Fathoms (Intervallo III) - The Final Problem (Intervallo IV) |