Sinatra looks out the window to see James stepping away from Deacon and Taylor
Sinatra
Hm? So it appears that Deacon and Taylor lost. Unfortunate yet not unexpected…
Now, it seems like the detective is on his way here.
Romulus and Remulus, clashing over Rome…
I wonder, which one of us shall prevail?
At the stairs
James
(This is it, my final confrontation against the mastermind behind this operation!)
(Why am I shivering?)
(I've already come this far…)
(So why do I feel the urge to back out now!?)
(Is this my body trying to tell me I'm in danger?)
(No, I can't stop here!)
(I have to keep walking!)
!
A dog leaps down from the top of the stairs towards James
James
Lacerta!
Shoot the dog out of the air!
Bullets are fired off, but they all bounce off of the dog's head
James
W-what the hell!?
AGH!
The dog pushes the James down the stairs
James
What the fuck?! Lacerta!
Fire more!
More bullets fly out from Lacerta, but they bounce off of the dog
The dog bites off of Lacerta's arm
James
(What's with this thing!?)
(Where did this dog come from!?)
(This isn't just some regular dog, this thing was able to bite through Lacerta, meaning it must be a Manifesto!)
(Is this the boss's Manifesto!?)
(He must really be on his own!)
(He has to resort to sending his own Manifesto after me!)
James uses Lacerta to push the dog off of him
James
(Shit! Even if I know Lacerta will heal my arm, it still hurts way more than I thought it would!)
(I'm definitely gonna get back at him for this one…)
Lacerta, focus on recovering your arm!
We need to be at full strength if we want to continue o–
A dog leaps at James from behind
James
(W-where did this dog come from?)
(I could've sworn I was keeping it in front of me…)
(...so how'd it end up behind me!?)
(Lacerta's arm is only halfway back…)
(...It looks like I'll have to figure out a way to outsmart these things until I can win!)
In the office above the floor
Sinatra
Hm…
It would appear as though Beta has taken his left arm, and Gamma tried catching him from surprise…
He managed to dodge my Canes Venatici, how interesting…
That's not a feat many can claim…
The boss smiles to himself
Sinatra
It makes me all the more eager to push his body to its limits…
Back to the first floor with James
James
(Is it just me, or are these dogs appearing out of nowhere?!)
(But, that doesn't make sense…)
(This guy should only have one Manifesto…Wait, I did fight someone who could double his Manifesto!)
(But with that guy, his doubles were just fake and couldn't do anything!)
(But this guy, his dogs are able to attack me!)
(They're acting just as guard dogs would, trained to attack and kill any target that gets in their sights!)
James fires off more bullets at the dogs
James
(Damn it!)
(Why aren't these bullets doing anything!)
(They keep bouncing off…but how is that possible?)
!!!
AAAGGGHHH!!
A dog jumps back after biting another chunk out of James's arm
James
(These damn mutts!)
(Fuck! Lacerta's gonna have to try to heal even more wounds now!)
(That means I can get off even less shots than before!)
(If I have to focus on healing…)
(...Then I should focus on evading!)
(These dogs all seem to work as part of a pack and follow a hierarchy…)
(That one always attacks first…)
(Followed by that one…)
!
(Do…do they have symbols on their foreheads?)
(Wait…that thing has a "Beta" on it…that one a "gamma"?)
(Wait! These are Greek letters!)
(Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon…)
(The letters indicate their rank!)
(The new dogs get a letter from later in the alphabet!)
(There's only four of them for now…)
(But when I first arrived, there was only one at the stairs, then the second one appeared!)
(There has to be something that's happening for these dogs to keep appearing!)
The dogs begin circling around James
James
(Look around!)
(Is there some kind of door I didn't notice?!)
(I should've searched the house before I decided to start a fight!)
(I should've just staked out the house instead of rushing in…)
(One fight after the other…)
(I'm exhausted after all this fighting…)
(But I've come too far to just give up now!)
(I wonder, what would've happened if I had just left that diner?)
(What if I hadn't pushed the issue and just sat back down?)
(What then?)
(Would I still be here?)
(Jumping around the first floor of a rundown house, being chased by a pack of dogs?)
James sees a family photo from the previous owners
James
(A family photo…)
(Fuck, I remember when we took a family photo…)
(The day my life of repentance began…)
(Over a decade ago…)
Flashback James's mom
Alright James, are you ready?
Flashback James
Mom, why do I have to wear this stuffy collar?
Flashback James's mom
Because James, we want to give your father a great gift for his birthday.
I figure having a picture of the two of us for him to keep at his office would be a great gift!
Wouldn't you agree?
Flashback James
I guess…
Flashback James looks down at his hands, and gets scared
Flashback James
M-Mom!
There are hands!
There's another pair of hands!
Not just mine!
Flashback James's mom
What do you mean James?
Another pair of hands?
Do you need spectacles?
The doctor said you had good vision before, maybe we should go back to check
Flashback James
I'm not seeing things!
There was another pair of hands!
I know what I saw!
Flashback James's mom
Hmm, the rain's really coming down now…
We might have to wait until tomorrow for a carriage to take us to the doctor…
The camera focuses on Flashback James in front of the window
Suddenly, a flash of lighting! Illuminating the shadow looming over him!
Flashback James
Mom!
I'm not crazy!
There's something like a ghost here!
It's been haunting me for a week now!
No one else can see it!
And no one believes me!
Flashback James's mom
James, when you grow up, you'll realise there wasn't anything to worry about and it's all just been in your head..
Now come here, let's make sure we give your father the best family photo possible.
Flashback James
I-if you say so…
James gets picked up by his mother and looks at his reflection in the mirror
Flashback James
(Mom is right, there isn't anything to worry about…)
(I'm fine, there isn't a ghost…)
(It's all in my head!)
???
James Spectre, Gaudete…
Receperint me…
Et ego servabo te…
Protector tuus sum…
Utere meo indicibus librae…
James, receperint ad futurum…
James rubs his eyes and looks in the mirror, just to see Lacerta looming over him
Flashback James
Aaahhh! AAAAHHHHHH!
Mom!
There!
In the mirror!
There's some kind of monster there!
Flashback James's mom
What?
Monster?
Where?
I don't see anything…
Flashback James points at the mirror using his index finger
Flashback James
It's right there!
Don't you see it!?
As Flashback James's mom gets closer, a bullet fires off from flashback James's finger, the bullet ricochets off of the wall and hits his mom between the eyes
Flashback James's mom
Ack–
J-James…
She falls to the floor, blood pooling out from the bullet hole in her head
Flashback James
M-Mom!?
MOM!?
You're ok, right?!
Flashback James's dad
What happened?!
I heard a gun go off!
Is everyone o–
He stops and falls to the floor as he sees his wife's body, crumpled up on the ground, blood everywhere
Flashback James's dad
You…
You did this…
Didn't you…
Flashback James
?
Flashback James's dad
Answer me dammit!
You did this!
This is your fault!
Isn't it!?
Flashback James
N-No!
It wasn't me!
It was the demon!
I swear!
Flashback James's dad
A demon!?
The only demon I see is right before me!
You aren't my son…
No, you aren't even human…
You're a creature that managed to crawl its way out of hell!
I'll send you back there in the name of the woman you just killed!
Flashback James's father winds up to throw a punch
Flashback James
NO!
Flashback James puts up his hands to protect himself
Flashback James
S-stay away from me!
Flashback James points at his father
Flashback James
P-please, I didn't mean to!
Flashback James's dad
Bullshit!
Do you think I'd buy that!?
Just try running you monster!
Flashback James
S-stay away! P-please!
Flashback James protects himself
Flashback James
Don't hurt me!
Please!
Lacerta shoots Flashback James's dad
Flashback James
D-dad…?
A-are you still there?
W-what did you do to me-my dad?
Flashback Lacerta
It's just as I said James, so long as you're with me, no harm shall come to you.
No harm shall befall you so long as we are together…
James
(This thing's been plaguing me since my childhood…)
(But I have to say, despite this curse being attached to me…)
(It has kept me safe so far, even healing my wounds when I get hurt…)
(But still, this thing is responsible for my parents' deaths!)
(I can never forgive it for that…)
(No, I must never forgive myself for that.)