The Final Check-up, part 5 (after battle)

The escape pods to the surface are here, but there's only one seat left. They're saying that the next one's in… five minutes.

I-I…

Look, I don't actually believe you hired me because you saw my potential or something like that.

But I want to believe that you found the hope in potentialities because of me.

A hope, an anticipation that we can make things better as long as we keep at it.

I can't leave you all behind… I can't just save my skin without... Not without… everyone.

This is what a right-hand man does, isn't it?

Take my potentiality you found and rise. Take it with you to the surface.

But you, Johann... what about you...?

Well, maybe next time... some other time.

Wrath… is a hideous emotion.

That is why I did nothing at the entrance of that branch.

Only…

… remembering, nothing more.

Remembering the ones I've left behind.

... I can sense the Dungeon of the Fathoms slowly beginning to close.

Some time later...

Ah, I've returned, safe and sound.

Welcome back, boss.

…….

I… to be frank, I once wished to be someone like yourself, Heathcliff.

What are you talking about? We don't want Heathcliff to be like Heathcliff.

Because it's not easy to put my faith not in games of numbers, but in those slimmest potentialities of the world and continue to exist.

I know it's not very befitting a researcher to be so, but… it is quite the romantic attitude for a human to embody, is it not?

Well, the experiment is over. It was…

A huge success, all thanks to us. Right?

No. It was a failure.

I had established this hypothesis that the sole answer was to hold a firm belief in the self, and nothing else.

Had my hypothesis been correct, I... would have remained a Distortion.

Thus I would like to extend my gratitude to all of you. Thank you for making me fail.

…….

It seems that the classification for my Distortion was HE-5-SU.

Disappointingly mediocre, but I don't suppose it can be helped.

The world is a place where we must find the ray of potentiality among the mediocre, after all.

… Let us move on now. Mephistopheles is prepared to depart.

Hohenheim's researchers waved at us.

We'll... meet again, right?

Ew, no thank you.

Everything has an end. So, do consider this to be our final meeting.

Down to the last exchange, this guy…

The last thing we saw before the portal activated were the LCE researchers pushing up their glasses in our general direction.

Though I'd only taken a step or two, the entire world around us seemed to transform, landing us back inside the transportation instrument.

Now that I think about it, we didn't even get to learn why Gregor's bones made those cracking noises.

All we learned from this experience is that the Sinners have all become... 'mediocre'... but they each held certain potentialities within themselves.

Each of us mulling over the events at the LCE, we returned to the bus where Charon and Vergilius were waiting for us.