The dreamlike acridness gradually turned into the bitterness of reality, and the petals slumped down limply.
Was Dongbaek's stubborn life finally coming to an end?
Gasping harshly, she looked visibly weaker than before. If we left her like that, she'd probably die soon enough.
On that assumption, all the prisoners who still had any strength left stood their ground, but there was one who did not.
"How about this? Did you know a new N Corp group has been formed?"
"······."
"Looks like they're gathering old technology and people, similar to what you were trying to do there.
Maybe they're even trying to erase that time altogether."
Dongrang. The one who kept needling Dongbaek until the very end.
I wondered what else he was planning to pull... but I decided against acting. There was nothing to gain by stepping in now.
...That said, if it was N Corp, then it was probably Hermann— that madwoman again.
Haa... Hadn't I clearly sworn that once I got out of that mess, I'd never get tangled up with them again? Why was I getting dragged into this so often?
This was all because I'd misread the contract.
...Tsk.
"So this is just my personal guess, but we're all going to be killed one by one and stuffed away by that guy, Gubo, anyway. I just brought that moment forward."
Gubo? I feel like I know that name somehow... ah, was it that guy?
Ah— we weren't exactly close. Right. We didn't even acknowledge each other when we met before.
"And... you've crossed the line too far to cover everything with old friendship, Dongbaek.
Ah~ I was really looking forward to the company dinner tomorrow, too."
With a sneer that made it impossible to tell how much of it was sincere, Dongrang slowly approached the weakening Dongbaek.
"Now then... let's bloom at last, Dongbaek."
At the same time, Dongrang drove the Golden Bough straight through Dongbaek without hesitation.
The sight was somewhat abrupt. Most of the prisoners seemed to only wear a brief look of shock, but there was one person who could not.
Mr. Yi Sang. Only he was looking at Dongrang with an expression that was hard to put into words.
"Why..."
In that short word, there was even a faint trace of resentment toward Dongrang.
Friend. That must have been something terribly important to him.
But Dongrang ignored that anguished last gasp and pressed close to Dongbaek's body, whispering something into her ear.
I was a little curious what he said... but there was no way to know.
The only thing I could tell was that Dongbaek's face twisted beyond description after hearing it.
What on earth had he said to make her look like that...?
I should've leaned in a little more.
"······."
"I could explain many reasons, but... yes, this is my last kindness."
Dongrang said that to Dongbaek, who was glaring at him as if she wanted to kill him, then shoved her toward Mr. Yi Sang's direction.
"...I knew that when the time came, I'd have no choice but to wither away... but I... always..."
Her body was gradually turning toward Mr. Yi Sang, and her expression was slowly changing into one of emptiness.
...Was she feeling some uncharacteristic regret?
"I wanted to be a bud that would soon bloom... and hold fragrance within me...
Yi Sang, just like you... dreamed of flying away..."
Held in Mr. Yi Sang's arms, red flowers that gave off no fragrance bloomed from her body, unlike the yellow flowers before.
How should I put it? It was clearly different from her original E.G.O.
What on earth had he said to make an E.G.O that expressed the mind twist itself into something like that...?
"I too... only wanted... to be buried... without a trace... in that acrid flower scent... together with all of you..."
With those words as her last, Dongbaek lost all vitality in Mr. Yi Sang's arms and was flung to the floor.
For a moment, the viewing room fell silent.
Even the death of a villain carries its own weight.
She had a tragic enough story to warrant some sympathy, after all...
"New data has been added."
Then, the dry voice of the announcer echoed through the viewing room.
And the glass window gradually filled with yellow petals.
Right... it was clearly Dongbaek's death scene. That was it. The very scene of her dying in Mr. Yi Sang's arms just now... that heartbreaking moment.
Seriously. Hah, hahahaha...
"······."
Hah... is that thing even human?
So high-ranking Wing executives really are trash like that... huh. Yeah.
At a scene that would disgust anyone, many of the prisoners' faces soured.
Their disgust turned to anger in an instant, and just as someone was about to snap at Dongrang—
Suddenly, a brilliant golden light burst from the Golden Bough, and my vision went black.
...By now, just from the feeling of my vision going dark, I can guess what kind of nonsense I've been put through.
It's the Golden Bough, after all. The thing embedded in Dongbaek's corpse probably triggered some kind of resonance phenomenon for one reason or another. The timing was thoroughly disgusting, though.
As expected, the Dongbaek in my memory began the recollection in a lively voice.
"Thank you, Yi Sang. For showing me such a moment. I'd almost want to repay you with my whole being..."
"Yi Sang, do you want to open a separate lab with me later? I feel like every day would be fun."
Was this from that time earlier? When the mirror was first unveiled.
...The two of them, who are now trying to kill each other, were on such good terms back then.
As I was feeling a sudden pang of regret, after Dongrang's words inviting Mr. Yi Sang to found a lab, I heard a male voice I'd never heard before.
"How remarkable, Yi Sang. Unlike me, you... tried to reflect the true self as it is. It doesn't overlap... it isn't blurry, and it doesn't waver."
...Was this Youngji-hyung?
Reflect, unlike me... hmm, judging by the context, the creator of the glass window. That must be him.
When I finished thinking and lifted my head, memories from the past scattered chaotically, and many scenes were shown to me all at once.
Wait, isn't this moving too fast? I haven't even finished sorting my thoughts yet—
"Yi Sang, you're far too soft. Why on earth do you keep that as nothing more than a toy?"
The view shifted in an instant, and what I heard was Gubo's voice.
It was a voice coming from somewhere in the middle of a mess, but before I could even properly think about where that was, my vision shifted again.
"Stay still. Just stay still and breathe.
For now, you have to live like that.
You can't fly."
Wait, this voice really feels familiar... I'm sure I've heard it before—
No, why are we moving again? This fu—
"The Gukinhoe has been shattered to pieces! We have to leave this place.
Yi Sang, you're coming with me.
If you want, you can close your eyes. You're far too soft, so I'll watch the road ahead for you."
Back to the previous chaos, Gubo's voice. No, wait, stop. If I just think a little more, I can figure something out...
I desperately pleaded inwardly, but it was useless.
My vision kept changing, and the time being shown was from not long ago.
When Dongrang suddenly asked that question.
"What are you thinking about?"
"······Nothing."
Along with Mr. Yi Sang's complicated-looking answer—
"And thus, the scent of the grave has fully bloomed."
This memory came to an end.
[Ah, and so... am I still 'nothing' after all?]
With the last words I heard from Mr. Yi Sang, my consciousness finally returned to normal.
The scene recorded in my eyes just before that was the brilliant light of the Golden Bough vanishing somewhere, while the space of the viewing room was being reconstructed into some strange shape.
...As expected of the core of a Wing Singularity, it has power beyond imagination.
Well, it's the essence of that illustrious L Corp technology. Would saying it out loud even help?
"Did the Golden Bough have power like this too? It doesn't seem like we even entered the depth of the ego... was it already able to alter an existing space?"
"There is no meaning in expressing question and excitement over every phenomenon related to the Golden Bough. For all of you, and for Faust as well... the situation of the world before your eyes is something all of you are witnessing for the first time. It would be statistically correct to assume that more unknown events will continue to unfold."
As Ishmael listened to Faust's answer, her expression was suddenly colored with confusion.
"Right... that..."
With a flustered look, she pointed somewhere.
Naturally, all the prisoners' gazes gathered there, and what was there was...
"To think it could even revive the dead..."
The corpses that had been dead for quite some time. The sight of them staggering back to their feet.
Whoa... I never thought bodies with their organs and tissues already ruined would get back up like that.
In a way, it is a resurrection-like sight, but...
Even so, that's far too unstable to call resurrection.
Was I the only one thinking that? Most of the prisoners wore complicated expressions at the sight.
Usually, people would make annoyed faces at something like this, but...
Before long, one of them, Mr. Gregor, spoke first.
"Hah, even so, the ability to revive the dead is... a bit too far-fetched. They say K Corp HP ampoules can't even do that, right?"
"It is difficult to say that there was no technology or Singularity capable of reviving the fully dead.
However, I have never heard or seen such technology, even in wartime.
That means... this is technology that cannot be allowed to spread through the City. ...Perhaps this situation has even crossed the Head's..."
"Yes. It may have even run afoul of the Head's taboo.
Limbus Company... this is a completely different matter from our revival experience through synchronization with Dante."
...These people really don't know anything about that sort of thing, do they? Well, Otis aside, I didn't expect Faust to be like that too.
Still, I'd just bundled up all the problematic information and all the useless information. The things that were okay to know were left behind, so maybe I should have a lot of knowledge.
Lately, though, I feel like I'm starting to remember things I shouldn't know as well...
Then, just as Faust finished speaking, Mr. Meursault, who had been listening in silence, opened his mouth.
What he said was something I could wholeheartedly agree with, and something I was about to eagerly continue from.
"Different, not wrong. They are not a complete form of regeneration like us; they are merely... nothing more than a state of being alive. They seem to lack consciousness and reason."
"Ah! Finally, someone who agrees with me a little. The Head wouldn't simply move because a body was revived. I believe the self is also an important component of a human being."
"Then... does that mean reviving both the self and the body... would be an act that violates the Head's taboo?"
"That would be the case. The self has a great deal of power, more than you might think. It's just, ah..."
While answering Mr. Gregor's question, I scratched my head as if troubled.
No, troubled is the right word. I'd wandered into something strange while talking. As for the self and all that... let's just gloss over it for now.
"Anyway, this means we don't need to worry about the Head making a move because of this. I guarantee it."
"I see... so you really are a former doctor, huh? Guess you know your way around this sort of thing?"
"You could say that."
Strictly speaking, no, but.
If I were a truly pure doctor, I couldn't make a guarantee like that. Hmm.
I think a slight cold sweat ran down my back, but I dismissed it as my imagination.
Ah, so the instinct to reject my former workplace really can't be helped...
Then, Dante's clock, looking toward the other side, began moving urgently.
" ...! Everyone, be careful!"
"Damn... everyone, prepare for battle!!"
So the regeneration's over, huh. Then it makes sense they'd come charging at us.
If it were the old me, I'd have had to jump in and fight, which would've been a real pain...
If I fought, that is. Hmm.
Ah, I should just guard the area near Dante and rest.
If I keep working with this brain state, I'm going to die. Die...