Chapter Text
Pain.
That is what he felt as he was kicked over and onto the ground.
“Do you see it now? You can’t run from us.”
One of the people who followed him, a woman, judging by the voice, spoke. He looked up, and it was the one with a wolf-like mane of blue and grey hair. He sits up the best he could, given the pain, and attempts to talk back.
“<You dare…>” He lets out a slight wheeze of pain, which came out as a clock chime. “<...interrupt me just as I was engraving the ■■■■■■…>” Another wheeze. “You must be out of your-
“Ah~ If we’re being technical, what our master has planned apparently isn’t one of the City’s Taboos. It’s just the kind of thing that… no one has ever dared to consider, you catch my drift?”
The interrupting voice belonged to a taller and blond-haired woman, who was conversing with the man walking towards him, shorter than the blond but taller than the grey-haired. The blond then turned to the clockhead currently on the ground.
“Huh, would you look at that…”
The man then spoke. “You managed to get a different head so fast. Do people like you always come prepared?”
“<Kngh… Just wait ‘till I get the ■■■■■■… You’ll be no match for my…>”
The clockhead was entirely ignored.
“Haha, I guess that new noggin doesn’t come with a mouth, huh?” The blond mocked them.
“Yep, ticking is all I can hear. You think they’re screaming on the inside?”
The blue-and-grey-haired woman then approaches them and…
---
You’ve… seen this before, haven’t you?
Then I suppose I shouldn’t bore you with what you already know. I believe then you came here to see how the fates of many Children changed, not how this Child’s stayed the same, yes?
Well then, while some recitation of the familiar is necessary… let’s skip ahead to save some time, shall we?
---
The three attackers could feel nothing but confusion.
“A bus…?”
“How did it even end up here?”
“Must’ve taken a wrong turn?”
The blond stood in the way of the bus.
“Hoo, the price they’ll pay for taking the wrong road will be heavier than they expect.”
A soft, warm glow emanated around her, as she stood prepared to stop the bus in it’s tracks…
Only to be sent flying into the treeline.
“...It bested Lion’s strength?” The grey-haired woman was the first to speak, clearly confounded by this occurrence. She and Panther ran after their comrade.
With this opening, the bus door opens, and a silver-haired woman steps forth and looks at him.
“If my eyes are still right, then you will not fail to reach the port of glory.”
“<Who… are you? That nameplate… says… Faust?>”
“You’ve lost your way in a dark forest.”
“<W-Wha…?>”
“Yet you were not overcome with fear. Why was that?”
“<Because I could simply… lift my head to find the star.>”
“That’s right. Now, keep revisiting that image and let your heart speak these words aloud: ‘Follow your star’”
“<Follow… your star.>”
At that moment, he could feel numerous chains piercing his body. He screamed in pain, the best he could, given the lack of a proper mouth on the timepiece.
After the pain died down, ‘Faust’ began to speak once more.
“Please don’t worry. Your heart is still functioning, though it may feel otherwise. With this, the pact is sealed. Dante, from this day forth, we are bound by your time.”
“<What do you…?>”
“The beating of our hearts now depends on where your hands fall. I hope you’ll make a fine leader.”
"<‘Our'?>"
The voice of another woman rang out as soon as they spoke, a voice far coarser and aged than Faust’s.
“Are we really going to let that wretch we hit go? I say we finish the job!”
In response was a man’s voice, one filled with deep-seated hatred alongside a thick accent which would’ve been familiar had the clock kept any memories of T Corp.
“Shut yer arse! I’m not listening to a shriveled up prune like you!”
At this point, the clock - or Dante, as the silver-haired woman had called him - had looked towards the bus. Numerous individuals began pouring from the front doors of the vehicle. After the two loudmouths were a hyaline-haired man and a girl with reddish-pink hair.
“Ah, but wouldn’t it be nice to stretch our legs after such a long drive, Mr. Earnshaw?”
The pink-haired one said nothing, though it felt like she should’ve.
Before Dante could begin looking at the others coming out, or more importantly, stand up, a brown-haired woman began standing over him.
“What's that miserable thing writhing on the ground? Are they to be the newest addition to this squad?
This time, the pink-haired girl did speak up. “U-Um, D-Didn’t Miss Faust say that… They're going to be our boss?”
Brown-hair looks at the shorter girl, before looking back at Dante with a sense of shame on her face.
Before Dante could say anything, Faust re-initiated the prior conversation.
“It must’ve been an instant ambush-yet you still managed to hide your head.”
Despite this, Dante had far more pressing concerns than talking about their original head.
“<Who are you people? And what’s up with the Bus?”
“We are the heralds of justice who have come to aid you, and this is the magical bus that can take us wherever we wish to go.”
…
What?
“<Justice? Bus? I don’t…>”
A loud cheer regaled everyone’s ears, seemingly at the mention of ‘justice’, though the origin of the noise was quickly chewed out by some of the people who disembarked the bus. Regardless, Faust replied to Dante’s confusion.
“Is that not what you wanted to hear? You’ll feel more at ease that way…”
She looks towards the part of the forest where Wolf and Panther had gone to grab Lion.
“We’re racing against time, and the situation isn’t in our favor, so let me explain this once…” Despite her words, no urgency was expressed in her voice.
The white-haired woman explained as quickly as she could the information regarding Dante’s new situation - specifically involving the ‘Sinners’.
“<So... Let me get this right. As long as I do as you say, those complete strangers, who I've never even met before, will fight in my stead?>”
“Correct. So long as you give them the right orders.”
“<Right then. Let’s slaughter these shitheads, go back to where I was… To where I was, and…>”
A thick fog clouded Dante’s mind.
“<What was I doing? Where am I even supposed to go back to? I was right on the cusp of an extremely important moment. Something I was never supposed to forget…>”
Faust sighed slightly. “Calm down. It is only natural that this new head would have adverse effects on your memory. Focus on the struggle at hand, Dante.”
As she says this, the three ‘beasts’ from earlier emerge from the woods. One of them looked VERY pissed off…
The brown-haired woman from before - the one who called him a ‘miserable thing’ - turned to him, her face still colored with shame… for whatever reason.
“Clo-... Ahem. I’m not sure how I should address you, would 'Commander Clock' suffice…? In any case, we await your orders!”
…Seriously?
He looked to the other ‘Sinners’ for anything else, but he noticed some of them were blindly charging towards the enemy - specifically, one with a harpoon and one with a lance of some kind. One of the few standing back was that girl with reddish-pink hair from earlier, now that he had a closer look, he could see her ID card said ‘Yuri’. Her hand outstretched in futility at the renegades.
“Now, men! Skewer their hearts with your blades!!”
“I told ya to shut yer arse you bloody loon!!”
Faust, who also stayed behind, sighed. “...Please do your best, Dante.”
“<...I guess there’s no other choice.>”
This is going to go horribly.
---
“I don’t get it. These nobodies managed to take Lion down?”
Yep…
“W-Wait! I-I know we were just fighting bu-
Yuri was impaled by the tip of Panther’s halberd - encircled by two glowing rings. Yuri let out a final dying gasp before crumpling to the ground upon the removal of the point.
This did infact…
Two more Sinners, both of them female and with grey hair, stood exhausted in front of Wolf. The one with shorter hair and a bandage of sorts over one of her eyes simply sighed.
“I believe one of my fellows would say this is… ‘not ideal.’”
“Bah!! Quit that defeatism! Get off your ass and-
Before the woman with the longer grey hair and the captain’s hat could finish, Wolf had already sliced their throats open, her blade too surrounded with one of those rings. Then, they too, crumpled to the ground.
…go horribly.
That white-haired man from earlier sighed.
“Already? I didn’t even-
His head was soon crushed by Lion’s fist, surrounded by two rings. His now-headless body fell to the dirt.
Dante turned to the last remaining Sinner.
“<What the hell? You said you’d fight in my stead!>”
“We never promised to win said fights.”
“<What…>”
“And, it seems that I’m the only survivor.”
“<O-Okay. So you meant for this to happen? You got an ace up your sleeve, don’t you?>”
“Not… necessarily an ace, no. This is simply about…”
She smiled, and as she did so, Panther impaled her upon his halberd.
“...following the Star.”
Faust was promptly unskewered, her lifeless body dropping down under gravity’s pull. Panther simply scoffed.
“Is this supposed to be a mass suicide or something? It's a rather unpleasant display.”
Dante, now alone, could do nothing but panic through their incomprehensible ticking.
“<What… What am I supposed to do? Arriving with all that fanfare, only to die like flies…>”
He tried to remember something - anything, that could get him out of this situation… yet…
“<Gah… I can’t remember a thing about the past since I repeated what she said. Is this… how I die?>”
He fell to his knees, accepting his fate. The ‘beasts’ closed in, and the lion grabbed his collar, ready to deliver the final blow…
Yet…
“Deliver this message to the Serpent, false lion…”
Everyone’s heads turned to the origin, the voice, and menacing gaze befell them as they were met with two crimson eyes.
“...This is a flow that cannot be stopped.”
The next moment for Dante was a blur, orange and yellow flashing by faster than he could comprehend, but by the end of it, two of his attackers lay on the ground with fewer limbs than they had prior.
“Do you know why I only had those two dismembered? Because one of you needs to be intact to carry the rest and scram pell-mell out of here, and you’re the only one left to offer them any help.”
Panther simply muttered something, though Dante could not hear what.
“Don’t glare at me like that. This is nothing compared to what you did. With wounds like those, I’m sure your boss will recognize the effort you put in. Consider them a badge of honor, unless… You want to meet your end here?”
The panther simply stared before slinging his halberd over his back in order to drag his allies away. With space to finally breathe, Dante tried to speak to the red-eyed man.
“<Who are… Are you one of them? You’re too late, they’re already…>”
Though the words came out as only the ticks of a clock, the man seemed to understand what was trying to be said.
“I am not late for anything, Dante. We only need… a little time to rewind.”
<..!>
As soon as he finished those words, Dante was overwhelmed with excruciating, indescribable pain. Pain that was then multiplied twelvefold, leaving him writhing on the ground.
“<You… grgh…>”
The pain was too much to handle, quite simply. He was going to lose consciousness in mere seconds… but before he did so, he saw the fallen Sinners being revived as though a miracle was being performed…
“You’re in for one hell of a painful ride from here on out, Dante.”
…and he heard the voice of that man with red eyes.
---
Dante soon woke up, and after a one-sided conversation with the red-eyed man - Vergilius - and the Bus’ driver Charon, he was told by the now-living Faust that he shall be introduced to the rest of the Sinners.
“<Sinners?>”
That’s right, that’s what Faust called them when they came to his aid back in the forest. Though he hoped by acting confused, he could coax out a little more context besides the name…
“The people seated behind you, the very same who fought in your stead until mere moments ago.”
Close, but no cigar, it seems.
Anyway, after Faust finished, a cacophony of voices rang out.
“Oooh! So thou art the final piece that completes our journey’s cast! How I have yearned for this moment!”
“U-Uh, n-nice to meet you…”
A variety of other voices was also heard, though he could not make sense of it.
“Keep your mouths shut. Nothing is more unpleasant than hearing a cacophony of noises.”
Thank you, Vergilius.
“Now, a brief introduction is in order. I’ll give you time to make yourselves known, starting with the one seated at the very front. Speak.”
And that just so happened to be Yuri, who nervously stood up and walked towards Dante. It seemed uniform standards were rather laid-back here, as rather than a suit, she opted to wear a black jacket with some grey accents, though it was unzipped slightly to mimic a suit with a white undershirt and red tie. The pants, of course, matched the jacket, though they were rather puffy and were tucked into a pair of boots. She kept a cylindrical object holstered by her waist; he’s guessing this was her laser sword-thing she had brought out when attempting to fight back then.
“S-So, u-uhm… n-nice to meet you…”
“<Uh, nice to meet you too… Yuri.>”
“E-Eh, h-how do you know my name already?”
“<It’s uh, on your ID card.>”
She looked down at the ID card that was attached to a lanyard that hung around her neck.
“O-Oh, yeah… s-sorry.”
“<No, no, it’s alright. Feel free to uh, introduce yourself properly, I suppose.>”
“A-Ah, w-well uh. N-Nice to meet you, Manager, m-my name is Yuri.”
Dante then felt something being pushed towards him. He looked to his left and saw Faust handing him a stack of twelve files. Taking it, he opened the first one and saw that it was Yuri’s.
<<SINNER NAME: Yuri
SIGNATURE: 林檎
SINNER NUMBER: #13
DESCRIPTION: This Sinner, a former employee of recently defunct L Corp, is arguably one of the most valued assets for the LCB Department’s mission, as her knowledge of Abnormalities and their behaviour will certainly smooth over much of the process. In terms of combat capability, however, we’ve found her less than satisfactory. While it’s possible that over time her effectiveness may increase, we recommend not getting your hopes up and relegate her to an informational role when possible.>>
That sure is… demeaning… and also a lot of information to take on all at once. He looked away from the paper and to Yuri, who seemed to be personally scared out of her mind.
“<Ah, uh… don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll do just fine… in whatever we’re doing.>”
Yuri’s face reddened in embarrassment, and while she didn’t seem to completely believe the Manager’s words, it definitely improved her spirits somewhat.
“A-Ah, I-I… thank you…”
She gave a quick, polite bow before returning to her seat.
Next up was the white-haired man he saw in the forest as well. He wore a tailcoat within the company’s colors - again including a slight button-down to showcase the undershirt and tie. Though he did possess a neckscarf as well. His weapon appeared to be some kind of broadsword, slung behind him at the hip.
“Ah, nice to meet you, Dante. It’s okay if I call you that, right? If so, you may call me Sonya.”
After making a reciprocal greeting, Dante checked Sonya’s file.
<<SINNER NAME: Sonya Marmeladov
SIGNATURE: Cвятой
SINNER NUMBER: #9
DESCRIPTION: Despite being a Backstreets native, Sinner #9 is quite the well-educated individual. He also possesses remarkable leadership capabilities and charisma - which you, as Manager, may find useful in a pinch. As such, we suggest getting on his good side, not that he’d display open hostility towards you. It should be said, however, that due to his ties to the ■■■■■■■■■■ syndicate, he may clash philosophically with some of the more historically privileged Sinners. We suggest keeping a close eye on conversations between him, Sinner #6, and Sinner #7, especially.>>
…Something about this annoyed Dante immensely.
Anyway, Sonya seemed like a pleasant fellow. Though the mention of a syndicate was off-putting…
“I hope we can work together nicely, Manager.”
He can see what the file meant about charisma; his smile is quite effective.
“<Uh, same here.>”
With that, Sonya returned to his seat, and the next Sinner stepped forth. A young woman with grey and yellow hair, it seemed, was wearing a black uniform shirt with a white turtleneck underneath. Along with a red cravat in lieu of a tie. She also wore a pair of black work pants. The more unusual parts of her uniform included a piece of armor plating on her left shoulder as well as a black and red cape covering her back. Her weapon was also holstered at her hip, and seemed to be some sort of… nail?
“Ah~ Pleasure to meet you, Manager Dante~ I am Kromer.”
As has quickly became routine, an exchange of greetings, and Dante reads through Kromer’s document.
<<SINNER NAME: Franziska Kromer
SIGNATURE: Ergreifer
SINNER NUMBER: #11
DESCRIPTION: A former resident of ■ Nest and later ■■■■ in ■ Corp, this Sinner possesses an often overbearing and manipulative personality - though there are ways to break this persona. Regardless, it is recommended to keep this Sinner on a tight leash. WARNING: Due to connections to the ■ ■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■, it is recommended to remain wary of this Sinner’s past.>>
Great, how helpful. Tell him to be wary of connections he can’t even know?
Regardless, Kromer went back to her seat without much else to say.
Next up, another woman stepped forth. She was the woman with the shorter grey hair, and now Dante was able to notice that she wore some kind of wrapping around her right eye. She wore a dirty white button up, with the tie lazily thrown on, though still tied. The black jacket was also hastily thrown over her shoulders - not even bothering to put her arms through the sleeves. Strapped around her back was a glaive of some sort.
“I am Dongbaek.”
“<...That’s all?>”
“No. Dongbaek, like the flower.”
…What?
Moving on…
<<SINNER NAME: Dongbaek
SIGNATURE: 김나이
SINNER NUMBER: #1
DESCRIPTION: Being a former member of the ■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■■, this Sinner possesses immense talent for engineering and invention. Though we have been unable to convince her to lend us the secrets to ■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■, we believe she’ll come around in due time. It should be noted that due to her research-focused nature, she is not much of a fighter nor does she possess good insights in regards to strategy.>>
'She’s useless in combat, we just want her for her brain' is what he seemed to pick up from this. Also, what is going on with the unholy amounts of redactions? Every file since Yuri’s have used more black ink than…. He can’t really think of a comparison, but you get the point.
Regardless, Dongbaek returned to her seat and-
“At last!”
The sound of something sharp and metal hitting the floor, intermingled with normal footsteps, ran through Dante’s… let’s go with ears for clarity’s sake.
And behold, it was the long, grey-haired woman. It was clear she was far older than the rest of the Sinners so far, with her greyed hair growing down to her legs - the ends of which curled around to the point they resembled waves. She wore a militaristic uniform that felt maritime in nature, of course, being in black, red, and grey. The only exception was the dirty, green captain’s hat marked with an 8 that she wore on top of her head. Slung behind her was her weapon - a harpoon. And of course, he couldn’t forget the peg leg.
The smirk that plastered her face was… intimidating, to say the least.
“I am Ahab, Captain Ahab!”
…She doesn’t seem like she’d even care about an introduction outside of her own.
<<SINNER NAME: Ahab
SIGNATURE: Harpoon
SINNER NUMBER: #8
DESCRIPTION: This Sinner has decades of experience in all forms of Fixer work, and as such is expected to be one of the most competent combatants among the LCB. She also possesses excellent leadership experience, per her time as the captain of the ■■■■■■. We should, however, warn you that she has been ejected from the Eight Association for a reason, and that her charisma could be used against you. We highly suggest utilizing Sinner #9 as a counterbalance to her influence.>>
…Help.
Ahab soon sat back down in her seat (thankfully), and the next Sinner came forth.
…He smells like alcohol, and his uniform is a complete mess. Everything about him, from hair to clothes, could be described as ‘unkempt’. In fact, his uniform - with a black coat, black vest, and white undershirt - was entirely unbuttoned and ragged. His tie was also, well, untied. He also wore a pair of black gloves, one of his glove-covered hands grasped a dirty black cane - a golden line indicating a crease for a cane sword.
In a drunken daze, he stumbled and almost fell while approaching Dante.
“Bloody hell… The name’s Earnshaw, Hindley Earnshaw…”
“<Uh, nice to meet you too?>”
<<SINNER NAME: Hindley Earnshaw
SIGNATURE: Violin
SINNER NUMBER: #7
DESCRIPTION: Though being the wealthy Earnshaw Family in District ■■, this Sinner possesses a crude and often violent disposition. Regardless of our best wishes, he has come into our hands as an asset. Do with him what you will.
WARNING: Prohibit any attempts by him to consume alcoholic substances while he is under your management.>>
Wow, they aren’t even pretending here.
“Argh… bloody hell… if only that stuck-up bitch let me have any sort of booze-
“Faust must remind you, Mr. Earnshaw, that mind-altering substances such as alcohol are prohibited upon Mephistopheles for the sake of company operations.”
Hindley shot a glare at Faust before the more menacing gaze of Vergilius warded him off, and he returned to his seat.
6 down, 6 to go.
Before he knew it, a tall, silver-haired man - with equally silver eyes - stood in front of him. His uniform consisted black, heavy coat with grey epaulettes, and like Dongbaek, he didn’t put his arms through the sleeves - though here it seemed far more purposeful - beneath which he wore a simple white t-shirt and his red tie. The rest of the outfit was standard, minus the odd shoes emblazoned with ‘Rocinante’. His weapon consisted of a rather cartoony-looking lance that he held at all times in his right hand.
“‘Tis my turn to speak, at long last! I am Don Quixote!”
…Ooookay.
<<SINNER NAME: Don Quixote
SIGNATURE: Sueño imposible
SINNER NUMBER: #3
DESCRIPTION: An avid aficionado of all things Fixer, this Sinner possesses an almost childish demeanor. Do not let that discourage you, however, as when given a cause, he will fight rather effectively. The ‘cause’ in question is the slight delusion that Fixers are ‘knights of justice’. We recommend playing along when possible to smooth things over. WARNING: We highly advise against the removal of his shoes. No matter the circumstance.>>
So he’s a little crazy, that’s easy. Wish he knew what a Fixer was, though…
“I am a Fixer who shall sprint for the dream side by side with thee. 'Tis a pleasure.”
Ah, how convenient.
“<A Fixer?... That definitely feels like a term I used to know…>”
“Dost thou wish to know what a Fixer is? I can answer thy question! Fixers are the protectors of the City! Ah! Perchance thou mayst struggle to remember the City. ‘Tis-
Before he could finish his sentence…
“I believe I said this was for brief introductions.”
“A-Ah… my apologies, S-Sir Red Gaze.”
He quickly rushed back to his seat in embarrassment.
Next up was a short woman with long, black hair, with her bangs colored white. Her uniform was… not very uniform, in fact. At least compared to the other Sinners. Most of it was some sort of black dress, which had a slit going up to her hip on her left side, though what should’ve been bare leg had been covered by a pair of pants. The part of the dress covering her shoulders was white with some red detailing. On her waist was a red rope of some kind that held two fans. Were those supposed to be her weapons? And instead of the usual ID card, she had a little nametag instead.
“My name is Ji-
She stopped herself mid-sentence, as if she suddenly remembered something important.
“...Xueqin, Cao Xueqin. You may be my Manager for the time being, but I won’t let you boss me around, understand?!”
Something was up with her, but he wasn’t going to question it.
“<U-Uh, alright.>”
Onto the file.
<<SINNER NAME: ■■■ ■■■■■■ Cao Xueqin
SIGNATURE: 暖香
SINNER NUMBER: #6
DESCRIPTION: Born into the illustrious ■■■ Family of ■■■■■■■■, this Sinner can be short-tempered and often haughty in nature. It is, however, highly advised to respect her position even if it seems unreasonable, as angering her family is not within Limbus Company’s best interests.>>
Xueqin moved back to her seat and sat down, ignoring Sonya’s slight glare at her. She might be a hassle to deal with…
Next up was a man who was dressed up in a rather refined manner, a proper suit and tie with gold accents, as well as a pair of white gloves. Some sort of device was held in his left breast pocket, right beneath his name tag, and was connected to it by a chain. His hair went down to his neck, and was colored black, but around the roots of his hair were patches of white.
…
Silence.
“<May I know your name-
*beep*
At that moment, he pulled out the device and looked at it before replying.
“Rien…”
???
When he said his name, he sounded almost like he was about to lose consciousness, but he continued to stand there just fine… somehow, this is the most confusing one he’s met. He’s just gonna read the file…
<<SINNER NAME ‘Rien’
SIGNATURE: Les Vagues
SINNER NUMBER: #4
DESCRIPTION: ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■. WARNING: Under no circumstances should you force him to act against the orders he receives from his pager. Failure to comply with this will be considered a breach of the contract and may result in loss of benefits, restriction of freedom, and/or termination - both of employment and otherwise.>>
…
Guess not?
Dear Wings - whatever those may be - he’s at his wits’ end.
“<Uh, Nice to meet you… Rien.>”
“Pleasure to meet you as well, Manager.”
He gave a polite bow before sitting back down. Despite said politeness, something about his words felt… hollow.
The last three weren’t anything interesting. Meursault, Outis, and lastly Faust.
Faust and Vergilius explained their objective, whatever reaching the ‘Inferno’ meant, and Faust also took the liberty to explain what Mephistopheles was.
The Sinners, including Dante, disembarked Mephistopheles to go beat up some ‘Rats’, as Vergilius called them. He noticed Faust had stayed behind with Vergilius, but he just presumed it was some corporate business he didn’t need to know about…
---
“Miss Faust.”
“Yes?”
“Your body language seems… off. I suppose something was different from what you expected?”
She gasps softly, she hadn’t expected to be read so easily like that…
“The Flow… It is a little off from what Faust expected… but it’s not unmanageable.”
Indeed. When the Administrator Fausts had requested her, a mere ‘Duplicate Faust’, to follow the Flow of ‘Stupid Faust’... She did not expect, excluding Faust and the Manager, only Sinner #5 and Sinner #12 to remain unchanged.
She is in no position to question it, however. She owes too much already.
“Miss Faust, do you think the Manager will be able to, well, manage?”
“...Yes. At least, Faust hopes so.”