PC01B

<I was... >

<Exploring a Lobotomy Corporation branch when…>

My consciousness sinks into the depths.

The sense of cognition, itself a concept without form, floats into the shadow of an ever-widening river, swept up in its currents to nowhere.

<... when we ran into an Abnormality.>

<But... but Saude told us that Hongyuan's Lobotomy Corp. branch...>

<... should be free of any... Abnormalities... >

The Abnormality, which had appeared out of nowhere, was more otherworldly than any we'd encountered so far in our journey, and...

... deep blue.

It was fathomlessly blue, and seemed to have a pull that endlessly drew us into itself.

Just as I was about to recall this Abnormality...

<…!>

... a myriad of sceneries and a flood of incalculable thoughts crash into my mind like wild waves before ebbing away from its shores.

I was already lost and adrift somewhere within my own consciousness when I realized this.

<Just how long am I going to be adrift...?>

The sensation of my own consciousness floating away is quite the unfamiliar one.

I floated about in that strange state for a while...

... te?

An unfamiliar voice seizes my aimlessly drifting consciousness.

Are you… Dante?

<…?>

The fog of my vision clears as the voice breaks through the waves...

... and a concerned expression comes into view.

<Yes… I am.>

Ah...! What a relief...

Gregor! I think Dante has come to!

<So who are - >

<I was about to ask further questions to this stranger with particularly long, animal-like ears, but...

<Agh... nngh...>

... I felt the drowsiness coursing back with the terrifying memories of the dream, rendering me unable to speak.

I... I have to get a hold of myself...

After an indeterminate amount of time had passed...

I barely managed to wake myself from slumber to get a grasp of my surroundings, only to find myself surrounded by more unfamiliarities.

There was that stranger from earlier, sitting atop a rock and silently taking in the sights... A young girl who probably saved my life.

Wait, so... were those animal ears, after all?

... Okay, that's not important right now. I have to prioritize figuring out just where in the world I ended up in.

<... So where...?>

We're standing by the Iberian coastline. How are you feeling?

<A little out of it, but I'm okay otherwise. Iberia, huh?>

Yes. We're in Iberia.

Well, given that we're next to an ocean... maybe I drifted all the way to U Corp's Great Lake?

Iberia was an unfamiliar name, but... that was all I had to go on, given that the City was still full of more unknowns than knowns to me.

I radioed your colleagues when you briefly woke up earlier. They'll be here any minute.

<I see… >

<…….>

<Wait, my colleagues?! You must've run into the Sinners, then?>

The fog of my mind immediately cleared as soon as I realized that the Sinners were all nowhere to be seen.

Sinners…?

... I think so. I ran into them earlier - they were looking all over the place for someone with a clock for their head.

It was a pretty unique description, so... I could tell right away that you were the person they were looking for.

<So this clock head does come in handy…>

Guhh, huhh, gasp... ah! Manager Bud!

Dante~!

I'd woken up in an unfamiliar place to an unfamiliar face - and in the midst of this all-around sense of displacement, the faces that appeared before me were certainly a sight for sore eyes.

<Gregor! Hong Lu!>

Miss rabbit here told me she found you unconscious by the ocean, and, phew... I came as fast as I could, and I, oh boy... I was worried that something bad might've happened... Glad to see you're doing fine.

Were you lost at sea?

<I... don't know...>

<Well, I do think I'm fine, though. I guess not having any way to drink water's finally come in handy.>

You should go get that checked out just in case. Wait, your head's... waterproof, right?

Gregor takes a moment to steady his breathing, then mutters a casual quip as he lights a cigarette.

Well, he doesn't seem that concerned... maybe we're not actually in that much danger...

<So... what happened? Where are we...?>

Do you remember entering that Lobotomy Corp. branch Xichun told us about?

<Ah... yeah.>

<Yeah, we ran into a new Abnormality, and...>

And got sucked into it before we even had the chance to do anything.

Puff... Man, I really thought that was it for us. Especially with you getting sucked in there too, Manager Bud.

But when we came to, despite waking up with our faces down in some ditch, we were all fine without a scratch. Though there was quite the mess when we realized that you'd gone missing.

<…….>

We wanted to search for you immediately, but... it took a while before we got a better bearing of where we were.

<Uh... so we're not at U Corp.'s Great Lake?>

Hm... some of us considered that to be a distinct possibility, but it's unlikely. Ishmael was really certain that we were not in District 21.

She did concede that we might be in an unknown area within the Great Lake of the Outskirts, but... that doesn't seem likely either, given what the rabbit-eared lady there said.

The Outskirts region of the Great Lake… I've met all kinds of people from all over Terra, but I've never met anyone who referred to the Iberian sea that way.

<Terra? Iberia?>

As I found myself puzzled by these unfamiliar terms, a very obvious question suddenly struck me.

<S-speaking of which, who are you?>

Huh? Really? You fellas haven't introduced yourselves to each other yet?

<It's just that - It's all just a lot to take in...>

Fuhu, it's understandable. You did just wake up from a pretty harrowing experience. She is - ah, actually... would you like to do the honors yourself?

I'm Amiya, the leader of Rhodes Island. Please, just call me Amiya.

<I'm Dante, Manager at Limbus Company. I know I'm late, but... thanks for saving my bacon.>

It seems that this Rodeo Island is a pretty big pharmaceutical corporation. But...

Gregor trails off ominously and scratches his head before continuing with some mild trepidation.

... This young lady with the rabbit-ears doesn't know what the Head is, at all.

As far as I know, there aren't any organizations in Terra with the same characteristics as the one Mister Gregor explained... at least not with a name like "The Head".

Also... Sorry, it's... "Rhodes" Island, not "Rodeo".

<Sorry, Gregor's kind of bad with names.>

<So... what you're saying is that we're not in the City anymore?>

It'd be weird for any higher-up at these huge corporations to know less about the Head than we do, let alone be completely clueless about it.

Well, maybe we've tumbled into a previously-undiscovered zone of the Outskirts or the Ruins. Probably.

Or... maybe we've really found ourselves in a completely different world.

<…….>

If their conjecture is correct, we're in way bigger trouble than I thought…

This wasn't like the time we accidentally stranded ourselves in the Outskirts via a door in the corridor.

Amiya stared at me with some concern as though she felt my distress.

I think I can draw a connection to something else that's happening here.

<Rea-really!?>

Yes. Recently, anomalous signs and events have been occurring in Iberia, ever since a mysterious dimensional door appeared at sea.

And it's been said that this dimensional door is connected to something very, very distant, to something that we've never observed before. So…

<Seems reasonable to theorize that the dimensional door is how we managed to cross over to this world.>

I really would've appreciated Faust's input...

... Where'd all the other Sinners go, anyway?

A bit late on the uptake to be gawking around for the other Sinners now, don't you think?

They're at a settlement near here, where they're all helping out with various odds and ends of the village. While taking turns searching for Dante, of course~

You know, I never thought about how difficult it would be to search for someone when we're like fish out of water, too. Man... barely got even a wink of sleep since yesterday.

<Everyone's got to be really tired, then... So, it's just you two out here for now?>

No, Ishmael and Yi Sang are the other half of the search party, and we just happened to be the last group in the rotation. They must be searching elsewhere to find you, Manager Bud.

Fuhu... We got the news early thanks to Amiya's comms gear, but the other team didn't.

Yeah, we got lucky. The other team, well... we don't have any way to get in touch with them, so they'll probably continue their search until their shift is done.

Oh, are we talking about that village you mentioned earlier?

Uh-huh. Right, you've not been there yet, huh? I guess it's a bit off the beaten path.

<Well, we're going to have to rendezvous with the other Sinners anyway, so... let's head to the village for now.>

…….

Something seemed to pique Amiya's interest, as she fell into a contemplative silence… before carefully speaking up.

I would like to accompany you there.

Sure, I don't see why not. You helped us find Manager Bud, and… more importantly, you seem to know a lot more about this place than we do.

Ha ha… I don't actually know Iberia that well either, but I should be able to be of some help.

They've closed their borders and have practically locked out any foreign influences from affecting them, but... I did get a briefing before the mission.

Closed borders, huh... Then how did you get in, Miss Amiya?

We followed Dr. Kal'tsit's directions and illegally crossed the country border -

<I-illegally!?>

Oh? Does that mean you crossed the border without obtaining any permission, Amiya?

We had to cross the border somehow in order to investigate how and why the dimensional door came to be.

<Huh, is it normal for pharmaceutical companies to be doing that?>

Large pharmaceutical companies often dispatch their agents for missions.

Yes. Rhodes Island is, in its essence, a pharmaceutical company researching treatments for people infected with Oripathy - but we also work to prevent and assist in the management of various situations that can occur in high-risk areas.

<High-risk areas, huh…>

Hm? Wait, what about your companions? I doubt you came all the way here on your own.

That's, uh… we were forced to split up due to certain forces that were in pursuit - Wait, stop!

Amiya's ears twitched as she came to a stop and began scanning the surrounding area.

Then...

... There!

As we stood about confused, Amiya, noticing something, pointed toward the seashore hidden behind large and cragged rock formations.

<What are we supposed to... Huh?>

There, we saw someone wielding a lengthy greatsword...

... bickering with two familiar faces.

Again, move. You're in the way.

You needn't worry as you do.

We have had ample experience battling monsters who are much like them...

…….

Listen, I'm not worried. It's…

C'mon, better to have three fighters than one, right?

Besides, you're the first person we ran into out here, so… we've got a lot of questions to ask.

<Yi Sang! Ishmael!>

Dante...! You are unharmed.

And here I was, getting ready for a three-days-long search...

What a relief... We were all really worried that we might never be able to find you.

Fuhu, we managed to find them thanks to help from Miss Amiya here.

Amiya?

Hm? Are you two acquainted?

... Not a good time for a reunion. It can wait... until after we take out the sea monsters.

Skadi, are those organisms… the 'Seaborns' Dr. Kal'tsit mentioned?

They're 'Sea Terrors', to be specific. The less sophisticated ones among them.

And they're probably here for me.

<Sea Terrors?>

I hear the sticky noise of something viscous slithering against the rocks.

<…….>

When I turn to face the origin of the unsettling noise, I smell the heavy, wet scent of brine.

At the end of my gaze awaits... strange monsters, unlike Distortions, unlike Abnormalities, unlike anything I'd ever seen.

It is as though the sea... the sea itself is encroaching on the land...

I was almost certain we weren't at the Great Lake, but... I'm not so sure anymore.

Her experiences with the thick scent of brine at the Great Lake must've put her in a wary mood,

as Ishmael seemed to be a lot more apprehensive about these monsters than anyone else.

<Do you think those creatures could be Whales or... Mermaids?>

I don't know. The Great Lake and the Outskirts are full of unexplored mysteries, after all.

Hm... Dante, what do your senses say?

<It's unclear. I'd say the closest comparison I could make is with the Whales, but... even that's not conclusive.>

Huh...

More enemies on the horizon! We should prepare for battle…!

<Doesn't seem like we can talk things out with them, though.>

<So… let's take them out!>