PC07B

You…

Decades ago... a great wave ravaged through Iberia.

It wasn't long before the Seaborns carried by the waves diminished Iberia's brilliant civilization to this.

The waves... the Profound Silence then must have reduced the village to its current state as well.

Is there any reason it's called the Profound "Silence"? It doesn't seem to be the most appropriate moniker for a calamity like that.

It's because the sea went dead silent before the waves came.

The Silence then claimed ships out at sea, then the cities of Iberia, then… the Iberians…

No one could say a word in face of the ineffable calamity.

What… just what are you?

No average Iberian citizen should be privy to any of the information you're sharing.

And the Church of the Deep is really capitalizing on the pandemonium that followed the Profound Silence.

They pretend to be Ægir from the sea, delude the citizenry of Iberia, and are sowing chaos in her lands.

So that's why they're arresting the Ægir left and right. I can see the thought process, but… huh.

So... it's understandable why the Inquisitor would want to arrest us.

…….

Dante.

<This isn't good. Sharing that seems to have been some kind of a... taboo-like thing for the Inquisition.>

The Inquisitor wordlessly stared at Mayors.

Her eyes were filled with traces of anger and confusion, but…

She's afraid.

… there was fear in the face of a threat.

Not the fear of the terrified, no - it's the fear of someone who's suddenly confronted with something they must destroy.

The High Inquisitor once told me that, should I come across an Ægir who 'knows too much', there is a sliver of a chance that they may be of assistance to Iberia.

C-cease! Thou'rt threatening the innocent with thy brandishing of the firearm!

But most are seduced by the allure of the sea.

Thus, they are, with little doubt, our foes.

<... I've got a bad feeling about this.>

Get out of my way, outsider. Final warning.

<… Run!>

Quick on the uptake as always, Rodya slung Mayors over her shoulder and ran past the villagers...

… while the Sinners scattered in all directions to distract the Inquisitor.

The Inquisitor draws her firearm...

And, in the midst of all that action, Don Quixote rushed toward the Inquisitor without a moment's hesitation.

<D-Don Quixote!?>

Thou shalt go no further! I, a Fixer of Justice, shan't abide by as thou persecute them!

Forsooth, 'tis a battle delayed, not avoided! This clash is inevitable!

…….

In that moment of crisis, seconds before this could irrevocably make us a new enemy -

Mon3tr.

…!

A large obsidian crystallization in the shape of a monster burst forth between the two of them.

Gah! Who is it this time?!

That's enough meaningless bickering.

Dr. Kal'tsit!

<Do you know her?>

Yes, she's Dr. Kal'tsit - Rhodes Island Medical Department's...

Ah, Dr. Kal'tsit, behind you!

Grrrr…

…….

Shoot first, talk later, is it?

The negotiations are over. From this moment onward, Rhodes Island is now operating within legal capacity on Iberian territory under the Inquisition's authorization.

The Inquisitor fired a blast of that firearm-looking weapon, but the monster summoned by Kal'tsit managed to deflect it...

... and the cannonball thrown from the weapon punched clean through the wall of the building we stayed the night in, before punching through several other buildings behind it.

That was enough to instantly freeze the Sinners and the villagers on the spot.

… That... penetrated a building.

Though their walls may be weaker than the Head's standard for what counts as a building's exterior wall, to punch through so many is...

Puff... What a precise point it makes.

N-now's not the time to stand around impressed!

It is a violation of a taboo to have that much penetrative power in a firearm.

... We're not in the City. Don't lose your heads over this. Taboos... don't apply here.

My head knows that to be true, yet my heart finds it difficult to be still.

That is enough of that discussion for now.

It is advisable that we carefully observe and grasp the situation at hand instead of deliberating on a taboo the jurisdiction of which does not reach this far.

Yeah, so... the situation's gotten slightly better, right?

If she's Amiya's friend, she's our ally. Besides, she's got some super powerful looking prosthetic...? Prosthetic gear-looking thing, too.

…?

Is that what you think?

I apologize for the disappointment, but I am not on anyone's side. In other words, your particular denomination 'ally' might not be entirely correct.

However, if I must define my allegiance, then… let me inform you that the closest label would be that I am "Inquisitor Irene's ally".

Dr. Kal'tsit…

Amiya. Outsiders.

As much as you would like to deny it, the Inquisitor's suspicions are true.

While it can be said that the process by which she reached that conclusion was unfair, the conclusion itself is, without a doubt, correct.

So they're… actually connected to the Church of the Deep?

That is one way to put it. To be more precise, they aren't connected to the Church of the Deep - they are the Church of the Deep. Perhaps the village itself is a dilapidated church of their congregation.

Our village, a church? Just look at our buildings, where would we even congregate...?

< ... Your thoughts, Faust?>

There are not many resources by which we may analyze the decision.

However, the fact that Amiya's colleague has made the same argument as the Inquisitor brings...

... the accused's defense into question.

Y-yet, I can hardly believe that young Mayors is lying to us…

Hold on, you've been chattin' plenty with that Inquisition or whatever. How do we know you weren't aligned with them the whole time?

I see, you really are all… entirely in the dark. An expected outcome, given that all of you may be from a place far beyond the dimensional door.

As fortune should have it, there is no need for you to know it anyway; truth is truth unchanging, without the acceptance from an errant group of outsiders.

Besides, soon -

I'm sorry. It seems that we've mired you in this trouble.

Ah, say no such thing! We shall not abide by as one such injustice is perpetrated before our eyes!

The village has already been identified by the Inquisition… and the Inquisition has even brought an ally. It seems quite unlikely that words shall resolve this conflict.

But we promise you, we will take responsibility for what is done. We have benefited far too much from your warmth and kindness not to do so.

The village chief, with a benevolent look, pulls a dagger from his cloth…

… and I immediately knew what Kal'tsit was about to say.

Take responsibility? You don't have to go that f - gah…!

Blimey…!

We are now departing for the sea. Yet, as we cannot bring ourselves to leave you here… I must ask you to join us for this journey, become our bloodkin.

What is - What are you doing?! Stop!

The unanticipated - or, perhaps, I was simply in denial of this rising dread - ambush did not end there.

Hngh…!

Dammit, the Inquisitor was right…!?

…….

The villagers suddenly began shanking the Sinners with weapons they had concealed in their clothes,

and it seemed that they were coming for me as well.

Agh!

<Amiya, on your left!>

Amiya materialized a black ribbon-like apparition, parrying away the dagger flying in my direction,

but another villager rushed in, taking advantage of the opening.

Krrrrk.

The charging villager's back made a visceral, crunchy noise.

<S-someone flung them away.>

Didn't mean to be this late.

Skadi… Let me catch you up to speed -

I know the situation. This fishy smell was what I went to investigate earlier.

<W…what about the Sinners?>

Unlike Amiya and I, who managed to survive the initial ambush, the Sinners weren't doing so well.

At least we had a silver lining in that the Inquisitor and Kal'tsit's quick understanding of the situation and the subsequent retaliation led the villagers away from the Sinners.

How...? I didn't notice any... hostility or... aggression...

What an odd thing to say. Why would we hold any animosity against you? Why would we intend to kill you?

We are not trying to hurt you. We are simply trying to give you a form better suited for the sea.

Until… we were obstructed.

I apologize, for our unfamiliarity has caused you trouble, Inquisitor.

… I won't make a big stink about what happened. What's truly unforgivable is that the heretics tried to take advantage of the ignorance of outsiders to flee the Inquisition.

… And… Even if you are outsiders, any lives lost on Iberian soil are my responsibility. It's my fault. I'm... sorry it came to this.

…?

Wait, lives lost? We're still alive, you know. We can shake off a stab wound like -

This is most unfortunate, outsider.

<Huh? What?>

Your friends are either going to die or turn into Seaborns.

The daggers that stabbed them were laced with the flesh of Sea Terrors.

Once that happens, most die. And the survivors… become overwritten by their cells, becoming nothing more than another sea monster.

<W-what!? That's…>

<... not… a very big deal?>

Everyone was acting like this was it for the Sinners, but…

Hey, I should be able to deal with this by turning the clock. It's not that bad.

My only concern was that I didn't know what would happen if I tried to bring them back after they're fully transformed into Seaborns…

The Golden Bough helped deal with the Whale's Pallidification effects, but I had no idea how it would interact with Seaborn transformations.

<We should just kill them before they turn.>

I know this must be very hard for you, but fir - What?

<Sorry to bother you with this, but can you kill my friends? Ah, and... preferably in the least painful way you know?>

…….

<Oh, sorry. Was the last part kinda too much to ask?>

W-wait, don't give up already! If we bring them back to Rhodes Island, we should be able to do something to help them.

<Uhh... how should I explain this…? Guys, can you - >

Dante… I know what ya mean, but... ha ha, I just can't right now.

Mm. My strength has rapidly deteriorated since the ambush.

It's kinda tingly too, so maybe they used some kind of paralytic cocktail?

<…….>

<J-just trust me this one time. I can assure you that I'm not just giving up on them.>

But -

Amiya. Can you understand the outsider's speech?

Yes, yes… It's just that… they're making a pretty difficult request…

They want me to kill all of their friends before they transform into Seaborns…

Okay.

And before we even knew it, Skadi had already decapitated the Sinners, none of whom resisted.

Amiya seemed to have been taken aback by how fast Skadi jumped into action.

Wh-what are you doing?!

Skadi!?

<Don't let this spook you. This is just how we roll.>

The clock turns.

The decapitated heads creep toward the headless torsos, connecting with the threads of blood…

The sensation is that of reversal; it feels as though the Sinners and I are severed from the rest of the world, rewinding in isolation.

Is this rewinding us going back in time, or are we defying the concept itself?

This pain is multifold worse than the sensation of a straightforward decapitation; the pain is in the heart.

As the current of death reverses, I sense…

… a deep, crushing isolation.

<…….>

Their wounds are… disappearing.

Resurrection, metempsychosis, or time reversal…?

Puzzling. I have no knowledge with which to interpret this technology. The cost… seems to be that the pain is transferred to one who rewinds.

... But that seems too small a price for such great power, though the discussion of whether this can be categorized as 'power' should be explored later.

<…….>

I couldn't stop shaking - all of my limbs were trembling from the icy solitude. Still, I took a moment to collect myself and ordered the Sinners.

<I don't know just what they were thinking, but…>

<... we should be able to find out once we take them down.>

You dare deceive the Executive Manager, and try to take their life…?

Prepare thyself! For thou shalt now pay the price for making a mockery of justice!

Yeah, we can't just let this slide, ya know?

How unfortunate.

I had high hopes that all of you would become fine bloodkins.