Origin of Sin (after battle)
<... Did we just fight the Peccatula?>
Yes.
Their appearances are rather dissimilar from what we have encountered afore. They appear to have grown more... acute...
They are evolutions of each Peccatula.
The kind of Peccatula one transforms into depends on the types of Sin that one has embodied in life, so it is no surprise that there may be variations to them.
But... we've never encountered anything like them before.
Collecting the Golden Boughs could have expedited the Peccatula growth process.
Those boughs... they really have something to do with everything, huh? Our job is starting to look a lot more serious...
Right, that reminds me. These 'Peccatula' are each supposed to represent some kinda 'Sin', right?
<Sin...>
My thoughts grow distant all of a sudden.
... No. The Sinners grow distant while my thoughts draw nearer. Their voices grow muffled.
The word 'Sin' feels oddly unfamiliar today.
It appears that they have lost their sense of self; their original forms now forgotten to oblivion.
Self...
Aren't Distortions kinda similar to that?
Hmm... some people become Distortions, and some people become Peccatula... I wonder what the difference is?
I think... I think I know...
<... Planted in the hearts of all are seeds with ever-present potential to bloom.>
Executive Manager?
What'dya say? Fau talked over ya, so I couldn't hear...
... If you would allow me to continue... Maintaining the self even at times of extreme stress could cause one to evolve into a Distortion, and -
<When the light of that day descends upon the hearts of every human, blooming the seeds buried deep within...>
... Manager?
<If one's ■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■■■, devoured by their sins, they are reborn in the form of the ■■■■■■■■■, their image reflecting the ■■■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■■ dreamt by those who are nothing.>
Dante.
Dante! What is -
<If one withstands ■■■ ■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■, yet ■■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■ ■■ their sins, the heart ■■■■■■■■...>
W-what the hell... Clockhead, what in the bloody hell are you talking about?
I ill like the sound of that... Has something gone awry with their prosthetic head...?
<Yet if one seeks to bear the ■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■, the ■■■ shall ■■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■ of their original hearts...>
E.G.O? Is that what you are speaking of?
<And in a world perceived through their own ■■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■, the ■■■■■■■ shall be unveiled: to ■■■■■ their egos ■■■ ■■■■■■■■... ■■ ■■ melt into ■■■ ■■■■■ by ■■■■■■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■■ of sin...>
Huh, they're starting to talk a bit like my grandfa - Huh?! M-manager! Your head!
Executive Manager! Y-your head is on fire!
Ooh~ what a blaze.
I-I think they're about to explode!
<Only those who can define their own ■■■■...>
Oi! We've got to do something before Clockhead bites it! Got any bright ideas, lass?!
I-I know not what to do...!
<Only those who are awakened to their own ■■■■■...>
Gaaah! 'T-tis scorching! I had thought that Manager Esquire's flaming head was merely for style, for I had not once felt such heat from it...!
Faust! What if they accidentally activated the self-destruct sequence?! Agh, this heat... if we don't douse it now, it's going to melt everything around them...!
... Yes, the operating principles are the same. Dante is, via the Golden Boughs, connected to the root of the sapling planted in the subterranean area of the headquarters. Which is to say that -
Who gives a shite about the Boughs?! We've got to douse the flames on their head!
Water! Doest nay one have water? We must make haste and douse the flames!
Some time later...
<... Ugh.>
Pray tell, art thou recover'd?!
My eyes - if I had eyes, that is - opened slowly. I was lying on the ground, surrounded by the Sinners.
<What... happened?>
Do you not recall what had transpired?
<Uh... I guess I don't?>
I do remember walking up the stairs... and suddenly feeling really dizzy.
Executive Manager. You must visit a workshop to get that looked at as soon as we return...
<Huh? A workshop? Did I malfunction or something?>
Don't talk about them like you're talking about some machine... Haah, either way, there isn't anything we can do about what just happened. Not here.
We can discuss this later once we return. What just transpired does not seem to pose any hindrance to our mission.
<Aeng-du, where is...>
She has advanced without us. While I remain curious yet concerned about your condition, we must reconvene with her. The situation calls for urgency.
<Yeah... okay.>
There was a lot I didn't understand, but since we're in the middle of an operation...
... let's deal with this first.