The Clock Tower of Fear (before battle)
<So...>
<Will this really work?>
<I guess it's barely a plan, and more like something we came up with in the last 10 minutes, but still...>
Tsk. Annoying.
... Shh, let's hide.
…….
Hiya. I've been waiting for you.
<…….>
... Did he just say 'Hiya' to the Ripper...?
How interesting... Not only did you know that I'd be coming here, but you also had the manners to extend your greetings?
I see. You've been tailing us this whole time.
Hehe, of course. You were right under our noses all this time, weren't you?
You're one of those fools playing pretend as a detective, aren't you? Killing time...
You're right. Say, can you teach me how to make the most of my time?
Give us your time and we might tell you.
What, thirty hours? What is this, a bloody joke? That ain't enough.
Just think about all those hours we've lost fleeing from these sods! We could've spent that time ripping more hours from others. I say that it's only fair that we take 300 hours from him.
Agreed. He's one of the Nest's lackeys... working with those filthy watch chains of T Corp... He deserves it. If we let him go, he'll only bring further trouble. Let's show them what happens to those that oppose us.
Seconded. Let's try to extract the exact amount of hours that evenly splits into twelve pieces.
Sod it, let's stab as deep as we can go! We don't want the repeat of the fat cat at the factory, do we? We're aiming straight for the center. We're not letting this bastard slip away with just a gash of a hundred hours!
Silence. I will decide the time. We will stab as deep as we can and rip a thousand hours from him. That should be more than enough time for us to happily share.
Well, I suppose we'll be losing our sense of taste for the next thousand hours. If we divide the burden of thousand hours equally amongst one 'nother... yeah, I can roll with that.
<Huh... it's almost like there are multiple personalities in there, all taking turns to speak...>
The culprit wasn't the only one who suddenly began to behave strangely. Hong Lu did, too.
His face relaxed into a tranquil look, as though he was ready to let something go. ... Or perhaps... that was an expression of liberation.
A thousand hours...
Will a thousand hours have passed in the blink of an eye?
Yes. And there will be no pain. Only the despair that awaits you upon your awakening.
Then... I like that.
Rip my time away.
<…!>
He... he didn't mean that, did he?
A time-tearing razor, is it?
So that is the core of the power that extracts time. Though it was no invention at all, but a Distortion...
My, this is still highly fascinating! So this is the kind of power that a Distortion can grant? Powers that only one could have dreamt of...
…!
…….
After a lengthy silence, as though the world itself had come to a grinding halt...
Why... can't we rip away your time?
I see. Everything went according to plan. It's all... so same.
I blinked, but the world is just as familiar and changeless as ever.
Wh-what...?!
We've walked right into a trap, you daft idiots! Don't you understand?!
Detectives. A.O.T.S.
<Phew... that's a relief. Had me worried for a moment there...>
About 30 minutes ago...
Like I said earlier... the Temporal Scale Gallows isn't broken. This error was caused by you.
Your time - and this applies to all twelve of you - was already bound to someone else's time.
<Someone else's time...? Me?>
... This caused a multi-reference error in the Temporal Scale Gallows, which was supposed to 'hang' your time.
So what you're saying is... because we are living within Dante's time... the gallows couldn't 'hang' our time?
<I had no idea...>
Well, if all that is news to us...
... then there's really no way for the Time Ripper to know that, either.
So, once the Time Ripper arrives and tries to rip my time away from me...
... that's when Rodya and Ryōshū can swoop in like the awesome people you are and arrest the culprit.
... And that's how this trap came to be.
<But what if... and really, what if...>
<... what if the Time Ripper manages to rip Hong Lu's time away?>
Don't worry, Dante.
It's all going to be okay.
Haah... I wonder how long the racket would last once the news of a malfunctioning Clock Tower breaks?
Wouldn't it be so entertaining to watch as people's trust in the institution, of the supposedly unerring Clock Tower, crumbles? It's going to be such a fun show.
<... I'll try my best not to malfunction.>
Tick tock... tick tock...
Hey, participation trophy. I used to really hate the sound of clocks.
I don't know when it started, but I started associating its noise with the perpetual cycle of pain. Like it's some... premonition that a clock hand-shaped blade will one day cleave clean through me. A blade of time, if you will.
But your noise...? It's a bit different. It's the kind of noise that makes me dream up something new, something different. And it's not... pain.
Well, that's why I wanted to extend my gratitude.
<Not sure what he's extending his gratitude for... but can someone ask him to do something for me?>
Dante has a request.
Right, request away.
<I think I've had enough experience to intuit when a big fight's about to break out... and I'm getting that exact feeling that something's about to happen.>
<So it's time for you to return the other Sinners to us.>
I can't believe they actually kept us imprisoned the whole time, only to let us out right before they caught the culprit...
So how was it, manager? Adventuring with just three Sinners. Was it nice?
I trust that you have learned your lesson, and that my absence was... deeply felt.
Agh, I'm aching all over just from sitting inside that jail cell. I don't ever want to go back to a place like that...
Right, so is that sod the Time Ripper or somethin'?
A Distortion we must defeat.