The 6th Walpurgis Night

<How's the taste? Said they brewed it with the tea leaves Xichun gave us. It's called Baihao Yinzhen... or something, I think?>

Mm~ It's a nice cup of tea that goes down easily. Not as good as Xiren's, though.

<... Yeah?>

<As much as I'd love to be a part of that discussion... this thing didn't come with a mouth.>

Ah... that must be a sore spot, Dante.

You've expressed that feeling before, remember? Whenever we were snacking together, you'd say things like that.

You gave up the complimentary food from the WARP train to Rodya too, and... hm, you must've been curious of its taste back then.

<W-well, you know... it's not all that bad.>

I think I'd feel regret and sadness. It's kind of tragic, almost...

I can't give you a mouth, but you can trust me to give you a very detailed explanation of flavors. So feel free to ask me any time~

<Yeah, thanks.>

Though I'm not sure if any of that'll get through to you... given that you probably don't even remember the taste of food anyway~

E-excuse me! Manager!

<... What's going on?>

I-I know you're in the middle of a consultation, but, uh... there's this huge, big as a house truck by the entrance that's...

The point is, I think you might have to come see this!

Oi, Clockhead.

<Is that...?>

Hyah... ain't that something, huh?

<Is everything okay here...? Hope it's not another attack on Daguanyuan...>

Huh? Nah, it ain't. Well... we did suspect that at first, but it's all right.

It's because no one on the bus knows how to observe. It's all about the details, get it?

Look, it's right there. The company logo.

<... Where?>

Seriously? It's right there, in that corner over there.

They were this close to chopping that truck into a million pieces when I pointed that out.

Gotta say, I'm impressed you even managed to make out what that is... Doesn't look like anything other than a smudge to me. I guess eyesight's really the first thing that goes with age.

I meaaaan~ it's kinda their fault for making it so small and inconspicuous, ya know?

That's because it's not a public-facing vehicle.

This is a research vehicle used by the LCE Department. You've used this once before, remember?

... Mm. Extrapolating from the material and the color of the truck's cover panel, it can be determined that it is the same transportation device used for the regular check-up.

Right on.

Ever since you used it safely to arrive at LCE, we've been using it to move the LCC base around.

... Hang on, does that mean that we were your guinea pigs?

AND, guess what! Just today, when we opened the truck to transport a different team...

Oi, don't ignore me!

<Hey, this light...>

... I see.

Saude, has there been any further modifications to this vehicle since then?

Hm... well, I'm not certain on the details, but LCE's chief resear -

Hohenheim.

Yes, him. Are you two... well acquainted?

Not very well. But I do make an effort to remember his minor yet numerous mistakes.

Anyways, according to the research report he gave us, the vehicle's been modified to allow for universal use across other departments of Limbus Company.

LCB's bus - Mephistopheles, right? The report said something about using the Backdoor of that bus as a reference to equip this vehicle with various functions. And...

That explains why this phenomenon is taking place here...

Walpurgis Night.

Yet... how is this possible when we sit not astride the bus seats?

It is not a theoretical impossibility.

Certain major parts of the technology forming its engine have been shared with Hohenheim; it is within the realm of possibility that the engine's influence may be transferred there as well.

... However, the means by which it has affected this vehicle has to be studied.

It seems to comprehend our absence and the subsequent separation from the bus...

Could it, mayhap, be reacting to the presence of a Golden Bough...?

At this moment, Mephistopheles is currently boarded by Vergilius, Charon, and various other members of LCCB including Pilot. Therefore...

... if they have traveled far, your conjecture may be true.

Or... There exists a flow that ensures our encounter with the Walpurgis Night regardless of the environment surrounding us... perhaps.

Lead the way, Dante.

If it has found us, then it must rightly be observed.

Aha, I knew it. It's the former L Corp.'s turn!

<Huh? What do you mean "knew it"?>

Ah, Heathcliff opened up a betting pool about where our next Walpurgis Night location's going to be.

<... A betting pool?>

Alright, alright! What'd I say? Pay up, ya gits.

Nngh... you told me it was just about time the patterns changed!

No way... but it was just the right time to bet against the odds!

<…….>

<Hey... something about this place seems a bit different from the other former L Corp. hallways we saw in the past.

Didst thou sense it as well, Manager Esquire? Hoh... 'tis familiar yet... unfamiliar, indeed.

A stage for a play, almost...

Seems it's gotten wider, too... It's still the same long and narrow hallway, but it's slightly wider.

While it is unknown as to how many days have passed in these Headquarters...

Mm? Prithee, repeat what you have said?

Ah... no. This subject can be discussed later, when its veracity becomes clearer.

Sharing the current circumstances of this place...

... We find ourselves at the Lobotomy Corp. Headquarters of a certain day... at its Central Command, to be exact.

The very center of the middle layer.

Then the ones we've visited so far must've been in the upper layer.

Correct. It is said that the departments of Lobotomy Corporation Headquarters were progressively unlocked with the passage of time.

... Hm. According to the reports, when the Headquarters crumbled and fired that skyward light, it was...

... Indeed. It appears that with every visit, we find ourselves at a further point in time here. As soon as the current 'day' can be pinpointed...

... we might even be able to experience that day.

Perhaps. Then -

Well... that didn't take long. We're here to take care of some 'Ordeal' or something again, aren't we?

Hey, I'm not complaining. We've kind of been loafing around and doing nothing while Jia Xichun left for that grand conference to decide the future of Daguanyuan or something.

Tsk, but we have so little time... I must prepare a more intense training regimen to make up for lost time.

Whichever it is... heh. It'll be F.U.N.

What's everyone waffling on about?

Cue the Sephirah... It's an angry one this time.

Yeah! What, did you expect some other voice speaking through the Central Command PA system other than Tiphereth's?

Tiphereth, the employees are confused. Please explain the situation to them.

Huh...? There's two of them?

Yes, I'm also Tiphereth.

The Central Command, unlike other departments, boasts a rather significant size; it is large enough to have to be managed in two areas: A and B. It is said that this is why they have two separate Sephirot managing this department.

Yeah, and it's a lot, even between the both of us... Which is why it's up to you to be more thorough!

Yeah, yeah... bring out the Ordeal already. What are we destroyin' this time?

Like I said, what are you all waffling on about?!

There's been an Abnormality containment breach...! The whole company's about to go belly-up because everyone else is off trying to suppress the mess on the other side!

... Oh no. The Second Warning.

Ugh... Great, look what you did, you bunch of slackers! Get to our headquarters, now! Deal with the blue entity!

Ah... tsk, this one's uh... this one's kinda elaborate, huh.

Her floating swords are... so... hard to parry. It's got such a long reach, and it's so thin that I can hardly see where it's - aagh!

Hiyah!

Haah... her again? Leaping right into the action the moment the Second Warning goes off...

Huh...? You're...?

Sorry I'm late.

Here comes~ Magical Girl!

Puff... puff...

I feel so bad, but... she won't be a threat to you, now.

Uh...

Hmm?

Art thou... verily, a... veritable Magical... Maiden?

Heh, of course I am~ I'm a Magical Girl, fighting to vanquish these evil Arcana!

UOOOOOHHHHH!!!

T-then this 'magic' in the legendary codices does exist, for truth? A-and thy most fashionable cos-tume must be, forsooth, to gather the magical powers -

Don Quixote. Calm yourself.

Huh? Where are you guys going~?

W-wherefore didst thou drag me from this consultation of great significance? I have mountains of questions to ask her -

That thing is no 'Magical Girl'.

What is with thy conspiratorily low voice, and this - hoh?

O-01-04, Risk Level WAW. It is a veritable Abnormality... dubbed 'The Queen of Hatred' for recording purposes.

Fie...?! T-that maiden there is an Abnormality?! Yet she speaketh, and... appeareth just like a human.

And to label someone whose sheer appearance exudes justice, Queen of Hatred...?

I believe that it has been impressed upon you many times in the past that Abnormalities should not be judged by their exteriors.

... Indeed, they possess the sense of self; they think, and they feel.

Perhaps, by the Head's standards, they may meet the criteria of what is considered a human.

However, that is... an Abnormality, no more, no less.

Hm~ Hm hm~

<... Oh, the lights.>

Wonderful~ Looks like I managed to protect the peace once again!

Phew... this is annoying. Why did that Abnormality have to be contained at our department?

It couldn't be helped, Tiphereth. Not even the manager knows which Abnormality will appear at the Headquarters.

... Yeah, that's true.

But she just gets on my nerves, you know? Always showing up at the tail end of a huge mess like the Second Warning, barely doing anything to help, leaving the scene like she did something...

... And you know how she completely loses it unless we baby her all the time, right?

Tiphereth? The mic is still on.

Yeah, so? Let them listen! The employees have to know, that this -

<... Abnormality is still an Abnormality at the end of the day, I guess.>

Her management appears to be quite the source of stress, it seems...

Yet aught is odd here! The maiden hath assisted us dearly in our battle, did she not? To suggest that she is hardly of any help is preposterous!

Please review this document. It is a consolidation of management reports for that Abnormality from the former L Corp. Fortunately, it seems that an extended period of management experience has left quite a detailed report behind.

Hup...

Oh, damn...

She wasn't kidding about having to baby this one, huh...

<I skimmed through it, and... looks like she's got this compulsive obsession that she always has to be on the side of justice.>

She grows more and more 'hysterical' the longer a peaceful period lasts…? What is her problem...?

Got anything to say to that, O great scholar of Fixers?

... Ahem. Indeed, 'tis quite... different from what I anticipated.

As fortune should have it, we did not encounter the mutated form of the Queen of Hatred today.

However, as they also possess such a thing as psychological stability, or... 'Sanity'...

... it seems that employees assigned to this Abnormality had the responsibility to keep it at higher levels at all times.

It cannot have been... easy to put up with humoring a monster in human skin.

... At least 'humoring them' is the extent of the required effort at this point.

Hm?

You are implying that the management of Abnormalities entail something far more complicated than simply calibrating their sanity at a reasonable level.

Yes, that is correct.

It seems that this Headquarters is yet to extract a larger quantity of Abnormalities.

A moment, if you will. To say that they extract...

... Ah, it seems that this is where this 'scenario' ends.

Dante. As there may be further information that can be garnered from this experience, repeated visits to this Walpurgis Night is also recommended.

<... Okay, got it.>

<Well, who's up for a second run?>