Exploration, floor 2
... What's goin' on here?
Oi... Are those Distortions over there?
<Uh... Kind of. No one recognizes them as Distortions, and this place has a different name for them, but... they are Distortions.>
Interior design renovation is underway at the Luxury Hall, as you can see.
Please watch your step.
Ah, apologies for the noise. This renovation is a rather large-scale construction project.
... "Renovation," eh?
My old bossman used to say "grab yer tools, lads! We're headin' out to renovate a whole lotta mugs!" whenever we went after other Syndicates.
That what you mean, lass?
Not exactly, no; this is just a very special refitting, quite unlike any before it - more than just switching out a few out-of-fashion displays. This time, the project is to build a cradle... in anticipation of the advent of a very important someone.
So... what're they eatin' back there? Some kinda cannibal feast?
We are feasting on the Noir. Though this will hardly sate our hunger...
Please return once the construction work is complete. You will soon see this place reborn into a far grander state of beauty!
Speaking of which... Hm, it appears your Prestige Tiers are too low to be admitted to the Luxury Hall anyway, dear customers. Please understand that the Luxury Hall is the most exclusive establishment on any floor. Naturally, its clientele has to be rigorously vetted and curated. That is to say, not just any Joe Shmoe should be allowed to waltz onto its grounds.
The hell's a Prestige Tier? You ain't gonna let us in?
No. I'm afraid the Luxury Hall... isn't the kind of establishment that needs to hawk to its customer base.
It won't be long before the renovations are complete, elevating the Luxury Hall beyond even its halcyon days since the grand opening. Please return after raising your tiers if you'd like to bear witness to the magnificent sight to come.
(She hums a nice tune, seemingly pleased with herself.)
... It would be prudent to revisit the Luxury Hall once their "construction project" is completed.
... I'd rather not return at all, actually.
Raise your Prestige Rank first and come knocking again. Then, perhaps, we will reconsider your qualifications.
Hah! That's child's play, lass! Lookee, it ain't no trouble reaching my elbo -
- oooaagh! Blimey, where am I!?
<Uh... What's up?>
L-listen, me and the lads in the restroom were just, uhm, doin' a bet, that's all. Tryin' to see if it's possible to lick one's own elbow... *cough*
It appears that you have discovered the means of moving between the floors, Dante.
<Yeah, spending the money - I mean, "eyeballs" - we earned here raised our spending tier and allowed us to rise to a higher floor.>
<... Anyway, where's Dubois?>
Dubois? What's that?
<Oh, Dubois's the guy we met on the first floor. He was supposed to work with us...>
<Huh, where'd he go?>
It is likely that he has arrived at... a different "second floor" from ours.
<But he got on the escalator with us. Are you saying that the same escalator can lead to two different places at once?>
The total surface area and population of the Grand Magasin Sisyphe are both many times greater than its appearance might suggest.
If he has gone astray somewhere in the middle, it is entirely possible to end up at a different destination despite having shared the same point of departure.
.......
Meursault gave a light nod, affirming Faust's explanation.
And just how do you know that, lass...?
Faust knows it all. That's how.
... Anyway, if that's all there is to it, I'm sure we'll run into him after pokin' around for a while.
Question is, where are we pokin' first?
<First, let's get our bearings and see what's on this floor.>
A wall made of flesh and bone blocks the way. There are bodies of dead Noirs splayed around the floor past the wall.
We cannot go in this direction yet, Manager.
Bask in the eternal light shall the Noir.
True permanence of the Grand Magasin... shall soon be upon us... The very bones and bricks of the Grand Magasin shall crumble and liquefy in the absence of the Golden Resin...
What in the bloody...?
The massacre has progressed further than it had on our last visit.
Stop right there. The interior design renovation is still -
... Wait, that letter...
<Okay, we're here with the Nail. What now?>
Aaargh!!
Oh... Please do not approach so heedlessly. Muffle your steps in here, if you would.
The Slumbering One mustn't yet wake.
Do not worry. They are sound asleep in their cradle, listening to the tender rhythms of lullabies, wrapped in the softest layers...
I unravel the flesh of all life and weave them anew, so that they may return as blankets to enwrap the Slumbering One in their cradle.
Don't you hear it, too? The somnolent, rhythmic inhale... and exhale, enveloped by the warmth of this nest?
Oi, that's the same one who stood in our way earlier, innit...?
<I'll be honest, she was already pretty intimidating when things were peaceful earlier...>
Ah, I remember you. You were last here to shop, weren't you?
I see that you've grown sophisticated enough to enter since your last visit, but... Dragging dirt and all kinds of grime in here without wiping your shoes?
It seems you still lack the manners to be permitted entry.
... She is preparing to attack, Manager.
There is a 90% chance of complete annihilation, should we fail to respond properly to her attacks.
I have committed your countenances to my memory. You will never be permitted entry to this hall as its customers, even after the completion of the renovation project.
Along with the Noirs in that stifling black fabric...
... you are heretofore blacklisted.
<... Looks like we're past the point of no return.>
Bring vengeance of ruination upon the unclothed, upon those who dared not fear the gaze. Only then shalt peace be with those who act.
<Who's saying this...?>
This is the Voice of the Chaplain.
The Giant of Le Noir has made the judgment call.
It seems there is a strange membrane that is repelling everyone trying to enter. Let's see if the knight out front knows anything.
A nailed cradle, an egg cast unprepared into the world.
When its beating heart draws to a close... The world may find eternity.
Wait, that voice just now -
Dammit, that bloody voice... I remember that voice...!
<... It's getting clearer and clearer.>
If you have decided what is to be done with the child who slumbers... Then go as your steps take you.
There is no point in letting it linger in your eyes.
Make a judgment call, Manager.
What to do?
Raised the Golden Nail against the cradle.
<Looks like the construction is finally over.>
Let us return upstairs first.
W-whoa!
I know full well who ye are.
Ye must be wielders of the "Golden Nail" the Lord hath prophesied.
<…!?>
The voice that counteth out the hours findeth no purchase upon mine ears.
The Lord hath charged me to serve as naught but the bearer of His word. What cause have I to heed any voice but His?
We... we are...
Witness ye in silence,
for I speak now the will of the Lord.
.......
The Le Noir of the third floor spake thus: soon shall a false idol be wrought in the depths below. The hour hath therefore come to draw back the veil.
And God did answer: "Receive the 'Golden Nail', which shall stand in the hammer's stead. Do so, and eternity shall be bestowed upon thee."
... And thus it is that I now stand before ye.
Listen, you big lass. We're just doin' whatever we chose -
I said, hold thy silence.
With your Golden Nail, ye are to pierce through the cradle of that horror soon to be born, and rend it asunder.
I shall hold back the Rouges making for this place. Make haste, and see your ordained fate fulfilled.
<But... it didn't look like there was any way through that veil.>
<We'd better ask if there's a way to get in there.>
Question.
Be thou silent...
... Hold. This gaze...
Thou...
The tabernacle's barrier cannot be torn nor permeated. How are we to progress?
Thou, what...
What bond hast thou with the voice...?
... Nay. Perhaps this, too, is but another trial laid upon me. I shall not doubt.
Thou art but a stranger from the Fount, whom God hath made ready for this hour.
[미사용] 여기까지 기어온 벌레들이 있군. 명품관의 바닥을 너희 피로 닦아주마.
[미사용] 저자가 이 전장의 원흉일세. 함께 무찌르세나!
... Given your low Prestige Tier, I will pardon an error born of ignorance... But only this once.
A wall made of flesh and bone blocks the way. The Rouges who'd been guarding this place and the corpses of the Noirs both are nowhere to be seen.
Be fast asleep... and sing to us...
It's comin' closer... It looks...
... No, that isn't anger. It aligns much more closely with... crying.
Grow... tall and strong...
... and sing to us... your Voice...
<I don't think it even understands what it's singing...>
... That's it, I can't listen to this anymore.
The child who took their first steps into the world of the living now lies on the ground, dying.
Knowing nothing but the song it hums.
Sleep... tight...
My... baby...
…….
Like a strand of fray that has snapped from fabric, the song came to a sudden stop.
The creature curled up into itself like a fetus. It never moved again.
<Well... What now...?>
Le Noir will now assume full control of the Grand Magasin. And once that happens...
... Can't we just collect what we're owed and worry about the rest later? No use splittin' our hairs over things we can do nothin' about.
We did what we set out to do, but I don't like it one bit. It ain't like there's anything we can do by whingin' amongst ourselves.
... Wait. Just a moment.
Why wasn't I told of this? Why would the Administrator Fausts - What...
<Faust? Is this about the Gesellschaft?>
... I see, the Grand Magasin will now be eternal. But... that means...
It appears we are currently unable to leave, Manager.
The Rouge who had been guarding the entrance to the Luxury Hall lies defeated.
<Let's keep heading inside...>
…….
…….
They don't look to be much of a conversationalist.
They're standing guard at their assigned post. They don't seem to have any intention of stepping aside.
They held their post until the very end.
The corpse of a Rouge. The bladed arms have all been snapped apart, leaving the body sprawled across the floor.
The corpse of a Rouge. The tentacles attached to their face begin to crawl outward, only to fall still moments later.
The corpse of a Rouge. The entire body has been crushed beneath a heavy hammer, mangled beyond recognition.
<It's just a corpse.>
... It has not yet matured, but its power is to be reckoned with.
I mean, thing's supposed to be their leader, innit? 'Course it's a tough sod.
*sigh* No turning back now... Guess we'll just have to give the bloody thing a proper thrashin'.
Perhaps... there might have been another option.
<It started with us accidentally tipping the Noirs off about the Rouges...>
<But we made the best choice we could, given what we had.>
…….
... Whatever. All we've gotta do is put that bastard down somehow. Then we take what we're owed... and get the bloody hell outta this shithole of a department store. That's it, innit?
Right. Let's have another go.
Oi, oi... you... your head... you alright?!
As I had already died, my head has returned to the same state it was in previously.
<Let's give up on going in there. I don't think that's an opponent we can beat... not yet, anyway.>
Tsk. Can't be helped, then.
Dante, the recommended option is to first observe how the situation develops before initiating combat.
<I thought that was our opening... Guess not.>
For this floor...
Intuition... reinforced by reason...
... I see. It is an honor to serve esteemed customers such as yourselves.
Do you have it with you, the... Golden Nail?
Yes. An explanation of the current circumstances would be most appreciated -
Thanks to your efforts, we are now privy to the knowledge that the Rouge God has truly forsaken them. Naught remains to stay our assault.
Thus, we have marched here to cut off once and for all the voracious maws of the Rouge that greedily gnaw at the Golden Resin.
As written in this letter, we shall offer you all the items in this Luxury Hall without charging a single pair of eyeballs.
... You need only take the Golden Nail and rip apart the horrible false god the blasphemous Rouge are birthing into this world.
<.......>
Are we takin' this deal, Clock?
<If I'm being honest, it doesn't really seem all that important to me if we're working for the right side, whether that's the Rouges or the Noirs.>
<We're just here to pick up the Golden Bough we can supposedly obtain once we reach the top floor of the Grand Magasin...>
<... and escape this place alongside Meursault.>
.......
<It just so happens that right now, working with the Noirs seems to give us the best chance at achieving that goal.>
<... Faust? Meursault?>
Yes, Manager.
Listening.
<I'd like to ask for your opinions, too.>
<Do you think I'm making the right choice here? We - >
If that is something of your choosing.
There are no right or wrong choices.
The important thing is -
.......
... It's nothing. I will follow your judgment, Manager.
Meursault strode forward without saying another word.
Jeanne will be saddened.
...? What did you just...?
... It seems the situation within is dire.
I pray you make haste.
All we need... to do... is enter the Tabernacle...
... But... Why... can't we...?
That Tabernacle...
... Is a barrier against evil and a sieve for the good.
Though I am but a humble servant who may be defeated by difficult customers, no evil shall penetrate it before the Slumbering One is born.
So there was somethin' else she was bankin' on aside from herself... She's basically guarding a safe.
Ah... though impregnable be the tabernacle, I must still maintain a clear path for the Slumbering One for their waking.
<The Chaplain...? Ah, the Voice we heard on the first floor...!>
Thus I proclaim: the divine retribution for the recalcitrant who insisted on deafness before the Voice of God, for those whose final defiance shall be their demise.
Wield my vengeance in thy hammer of justice, my faithful child. Deliver my judgment and smite the servants of the false Crimson God.
I answer your calling, Lord.
<... Stranger from the Fount, huh.>
<We... can slip beyond some of the rules and common sense that govern this place. And we belong to neither the Rouges nor the Noirs.>
... I see.
If the freedom to travel between floors is equivalent to estrangement and the lack of belonging thereof...
There is a possibility that we may likewise be exempt from the barrier that blocks the Noirs.
Meursault walked up to the barrier...
Uh...?
... and was sucked inside as though the wall itself was but an illusion.
Dante.
<Got it. Let's go.>
The Voice... they built...
The Voice of apostasy... woven from nothing but strings and desire... Unguided by any divine message...
It is horror that awaits... from within...
<Finding a way to deal with that barrier is one thing, but we're first going to have to put her down.>