sawyer chapter 49.jpg
Title The Name of the Rose
Release date September 19, 2023
Previous chp. Collateral
Next chp. WASABI
Chapter number 49
Volume 7

The Name of the Rose is the forty-ninth chapter of the Black Lagoon spinoff series Dismemberment Galore! The Gore Gore Girl. It was originally released on September 19, 2023.

Plot

Inside a sex shop, the clerk passes time by reading a magazine when he hears someone entering. A Catholic priest walks to the counter and leans over, telling the clerk that he is looking for a Bible. Confused for a second, the clerk laughs hard, bluntly telling the customer that his shop only carries erotic books, comics, and questionable occult books. Nonetheless, he claims to have a Bible and asks him what he seeks out in particular. The priest replies that the book is not exactly the Bible and wants to avoid getting any fake books. Sitting back down, the clerk jokes that he may have something in his range. Speaking genuinely, the priest recalls a story that took place about 200 years ago. At the time, a certain monk suddenly received a revelation and began writing it down. When other Catholic priests saw the written passage, they turned pale because the content was supposedly blasphemous and unfavorable to the church.

Subsequently, a special envoy from the Pope's office was dispatched. Though the book was burned, the monk disappeared as did the text he was writing. Since then, what appears to be a manuscript has been circulated several times, with it being estimated from the retrieved pieces that the original manuscript he wrote after his disappearance was a total of three volumes. When the priest states that the manuscript is called Codex Ultra (Latin for "Book of the Beyond"), the clerk finds it interesting. He asks the priest if the book is truly in his store, with the latter replying that it took him a long time to track it down. At that point, Sawyer the Cleaner enters the store carrying a briefcase. Greeting her, the clerk asks her if she brought what he requested, advising her to go to the back since he is attending to a customer. As she walks to the back, the priest leans against the wall and blocks her path. When she glares at him, he says that among the manuscripts in circulation, one of the particular books is bound with human skin and has blood in place of ink.

Suddenly, the clerk pulls out a pistol on the priest, warning him that he should leave if he is to interfere in an important deal of his. Immediately, the priest pulls out a spiked mace and smashes the counter apart, knocking the clerk's pistol from his hand. Pulling another mace and glaring at Sawyer, he launches the flail's ball and chain at her, but she blocks the attack with the briefcase. As she is pushed back against a wall, the briefcase opens, with a few bundles of paper and bottles of ink falling and breaking. The priest looks down upon the disoriented Sawyer when the clerk shoots him in the back twice, but the priest is unaffected due to bulletproof clothing. Seeing the clerk taken by surprise from his bullets being deflected, the priest launches his flail at him, knocking him back. Heading to the back of the store, he sees a dead end and smashes the wall apart, revealing a descending staircase. Walking down the stairs, the priest walks to the end of the basement and sees five books, asking aloud it they make up the "original song."

Remembering that the monk had written three volumes, he wonders how the other two came to be. Coming down, the clerk confesses that only five books were written but apparently there were six books meant to be finished. He explains that the monk who stumbled upon the area went underground and wrote five volumes. Accepting the story, the priest asks if the monk died in the basement before finishing the entire volume. Looking at the books, he proclaims that all of the original documents will be collected, and the manuscripts will be burned. To his shock, Sawyer bursts out of the wall behind the tomes and thrusts her chainsaw into the priest's abdomen, felling him. Thanking Sawyer for her cooperation, the clerk comments that he is glad that he was able to trust Sawyer concerning the secret location. Nevertheless, he claims that the religious organization already knows about the place and will have to contact them to move the place elsewhere.

Kicking the floor, the clerk tells her that the original author is still beneath the ground, but he is skeptical about leaving him there, joking that he may still be working on his volumes. Laughing about the 200-year-old story, the clerk looks over the priest and confirms that he will have his body cleaned up. Wanting to leave, he suggests that Sawyer come get some food with him, clarifying that it will be his treat. As they leave the basement, they hear a pounding sound from the basement floor, shocking them both.

Notes

  • The chapter title is a reference to Umberto Eco's 1980 novel The Name of the Rose.
  • According to Tatsuhiko Ida, when he finished the chapter, he realized that the Catholic clergyman's physical appearance reminded him of Doba Ajiba from the 1980 anime series Space Runaway Ideon.