Audience (before battle)

*tzzzt*... how... *bzzt* the others...

... These components should cover what we need for the repair.

... The transmissions are getting harder to make out...

Not surprising, considering how far the distance between the teams have grown.

And the survivors... I see nary a one in this sector, regrettably.

Again... hardly a surprise. The state of the bodies is there for all to see.

... Faust believes there is no feasible way to aid them under the present conditions.

…….

Tsk...

So it... doth appear. Verily, 'tis thee who must be most saddened by this tragedy. I beg thy pardon for raising the matter.

... There! N-now we just have to get back to the Facility Management Room.

Right... It should be right past this corridor.

Assistant, pacing about distractedly and scratching one's head out of cluelessness are all behaviors prohibited in our Research Facility.

Oh, also - frowning and cocking your head like that, and blurting a "huh?" at the screen are all likewise forbidden.

... No, I've got a bad feeling about this. Something's off...

…!

Oi, stop! Don't go out yet.

There's somethin' outside.

Hn~ Hnhnhn~ Hn~

Or... perhaps I can let the blood vessels relax and expand... Yes, that's much better.

Y-you're right... We'd have run straight into him had we left the room.

Based on the circumstances we have faced thus far, it's reasonable to conclude that this individual's affiliation lies with the Ring.

... A "Nursefather." Has to be dead strong like that lass who nicked off with Charon.

... You people, where's all that confidence you had when you beat the daylights out of me during the Monolith experiment?

Oi, mind not puttin' it like that? You'll give people the wrong idea... 'Sides, we were beatin' the daylights out of your Distortion. Well, not exactly beating the - Bloody hell, you get what I mean, yeah?

The extent of the physical trauma sustained by the corpses on display indicates... that the odds of prevailing in combat against him are minimal.

Faust does not advise initiating a battle that cannot be won when we are completely cut off from Dante.

As usage of Identities is not among our options, engaging the enemy now will only serve to deplete our numbers...

... and with so little information on the enemy, sustaining a lethal injury we have no means to treat will...

Will maketh the Manager Esquire behold the cold, lifeless form of Young Sinclair upon their return?!

And the cold, lifeless form of Don Quixote too...!

... Boss, if he keeps lingering out in the corridor...

That's quite a problem. We'll probably run into him on our way to the Facility Management Room...

... Oi. How long d'you reckon you're gonna take to fix that knackered device or whatever it is?

Given that the attack resembles a facility sabotage... I'll need to inspect each component separately instead of treating this like a regular malfunction.

I cannot be sure of anything before I see the extent of the damage... Yet even in the best case scenario, I don't expect the repairs to be done in short order.

... Dammit, Marton. Didn't I tell you plenty of times that non-standard energy redistributors are a nightmare for maintenance?

Oh, you're the one who designed this sector of the Research Facility, Boss.

... That must've been during the week leading up to my report deadline. I'm confident I made the most of the limited time I had back then.

Any chance we can buy ourselves a bit of time... or lure him away?

I'm considering five or six possible options. Though if I were to recommend one...

We have her take off those shoes.

…….

Wh-wha?! After all that mess you went through?!

Without your access to the Identities, the only viable combat option is my E.G.O gear. And its chance of defeating or killing that man - who is most likely a Maestro of the Ring - is hardly promising.

If need be... I shall step fo - I'll do it.

D-Don Quixote...!

I... I ain't havin' it.

We've been in worse trouble than this, haven't we? And sure, I've thought about yankin' off those stinkin' shoes a fair few times... but we can't do that to her, can we...?

I have said this time and again - Rocinante's self-cleaning function is always active... But let us put such matters aside.

... I would rather eschew... relying on my Bloodfiend powers, yet we are left with no recourse.

And I have faith in you. Faith that my companions shall bring me back again.

Tch...

Faust seconds Heathcliff's opinion. The plan to have Don Quixote remove her shoes is rejected.

While there are several reasons to discourage that idea, the chief among them is that... Don Quixote must not dismount from Rocinante.

Do you believe her unbound power to be insufficient to overcome this obstacle? According to the test results... she demonstrated combat abilities that were -

No, having Don Quixote remove her shoes to resolve this predicament is not an unrealistic scenario. However...

That flow... would be a choice that distances Dante from their journey to retrieve the Golden Boughs, and even if we are to entertain Hohenheim's suggestion, the removal of Don Quixote's shoes must take place as a result of the manager's decision.

H-hold on, please. This is all happening too fast... You've really got to start elaborating on stuff...

An illustrative example: in the event Don Quixote fails to control her impulses and proceeds to create Kindreds and Bloodbags with abandon...

There is a possibility that she will be unable to return to her current self no matter how many times Dante's clock is rewound.

If a Sinner cannot be restored by the manager's power, it is effectively tantamount to failing to retrieve the Golden Boughs in this world. Such an outcome would prove a decisive failure on my part in proving that -

I understand. Rejected it is. Let us move on to the next agenda.

... Art thou sure of this? We possess no fitting means to strike that villain down.

It was simply a proposed Plan A to tackle the situation. Frankly, I wasn't too eager myself to risk gambling on odds in an environment with so many variables beyond our control.

Whatever plan you lot've got in mind, do it quick. I don't see that pointy-shoes wanker right now, but...

... As for Plan B - I buy us some time while you people help Marton with repairing the device.

If I raise the Attunement level of this Shock Centipede E.G.O gear, I should be able to move for a while even after my heart has ceased to function.

I'm not exactly in top shape after all these fights... But with luck on our side, I might even be able to knock him unconscious with high enough voltage.

Hah! Says the bloke who probably hasn't even been in a proper brawl ever...

You've fought adversaries wearing E.G.O gears before, haven't you? These gears can make up for a lack of combat experience...

Hah... This ain't an argument. We stall 'im, you work on repairs.

Even if we pop our clogs... Clockhead'll come back here sooner or later. They can bring us back.

Uh... Even if we end up becoming one of those horrific exhibits... Right...?

Correct. The degree of pain accompanying that process, however, will far exceed the usual range for both the individual concerned and Dante. It is preferable we avoid such a development.

Clearly, you are all underestimating the amount of firepower I can unleash were I to be fully equipped -

Still, perhaps it's for the best that you remain uninformed.

... You're comin' along too? Not stayin' back to fix that thing?

Whoever designed this did a remarkably subpar job. Having a genius like myself repair such a second-rate piece of equipment would be a waste of talent.

So she says. But to clarify - this isn't "second-rate." It was the best design attainable given the time constraints. In other words, it was the optimal design we could manage at that moment.

…….

I leave this matter to you, then. Let us all meet again in sound form, as we did in our last misadventure.

…….

Young Sinclair, art thou well?

We'll go hold him off first, so if you need a moment to get your head sorted...

... No.

I can't just... keep wandering around aimlessly...

Wandering... aimlessly -

…….

Ah, of course...!

…!

Bloody hell...

A gallery that has achieved the magna opera of aesthetics need not bother sending out invitations. Visitors will naturally come pouring in on their own.

... Oi, you reckon... you reckon we came all this way just t'look at this lot of useless rubbish?

Dunno much 'bout this whole "art" thing... But even I can tell this is the worst bloody exhibition I've ever clapped my eyes on.

In that case, it seems I must play the curator myself for our young and foolish guests.

Just as I taught Yoshihide... From kitsch to avant-garde,

with each trend of art movement engraved into every chunk of meat.

A gallery tour narrated by a Maestro himself... You ought to feel honored, really.