The Distortion Detective is a Web Novel published and released by Project Moon. Set during the events of Library of Ruina, The Distortion Detective follows Moses' Office, a Fixer Office led by the titular Distortion Detective, Moses. Gifted with an ability to see the infamous Distortion Phenomenon as it progresses and a pipe with special abilities, Moses, along with her taller assistant, Ezra, take jobs regarding the Phenomenon which has been turning people into monsters since the fall of L Corp. Their goal is simple; figure out what exactly the Distortion is and how it works, along with making enough money to get by.
However, as Moses and Ezra's past begin to catch up with them, the Office finds itself facing more and more dangerous Distortions as the Phenomenon seems to get worse and worse by the day.
An English translation of the novel can be found here
.
In July 2021, it was announced that due to positive reception from fans, the novel is officially cancelled, and it will be remade as a game title instead, which will be developed after Limbus Company.
The Distortion Detective contains the following tropes:
- Alliterative Title: Distortion Detective
- An Arm and a Leg: Moses loses an arm to Vespa during their fight, though such a thing isn't such a problem in the City due to how common prosthetics are, leading to her immediately acquiring a replacement. She does hope she can get her original arm back from him, only for it to turn out that he was forced to eat it while he was trapped in YuRia's workshop.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Ezra is the big guy to Moses's little guy.
- Bigger on the Inside: A frequent trait of location-based Distortions, such as the massive sea of blood that Fei's Distortion resides in. YuRia's Psychoment/E.G.O. also is capable of this, allowing her to recreate her workshop wherever she wants.
- Calling Your Attacks: Both Moses and Ezra have a tendency to call out the models of the weapons they use when equipping them.
- Continuity Nod: Several to Library of Ruina, as the events of the novel take place simultaneously.
- Among the Distortions Dias asks Moses to investigate are Yesterday's Promise, the Church of Gears, the 8 O'Clock Circus, and of course The Library itself.
- The novel takes place while the Library is classed as an Urban Legend.
- Moses uses a Fairy to get into locked places, which also appeared in Lobotomy Corporation as one of An Arbiter's attacks.
- When the Marksman of the Mist was about to kill Moses, a flashback implies that the Smoke War was actually instigated by Benjamin, the man who would later be known as Hokma, so Lobotomy Corporation could ascend into a Wing. Benjamin hired Dias to fight for him and she manipulated Moses to do her bidding, something she is still traumatized with to this day.
- In one chapter, after dealing with a Bloodfiend, Moses talks about Blood-red Night, one of the most dangerous Bloodfiend Distortions ever recorded in the City who was killed by an Office named Charles' Office (and whom Moses had also tried to hunt.) It turns out the Office dispatched Roland and Angelica to kill her.
- Despair Event Horizon: Hitting one of these is usually the last step before a Distortion begins to manifest fully.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Recording any footage in the N Corp Nest is strictly illegal, and violating that taboo is punishable by being tracked down by a taboo hunter and dragged back to be punished by N Corp. According to Moses, no one has ever been seen again after having been captured.
- Fusion Dance: Dias and Hee-joon both possess and are looking for mysterious black boxes that are capable of fusing individual minor Distortions into much more threatening fully formed ones.
- Loophole Abuse: Technically speaking it should be against the City's rules that Dias has what amounts to a private army at her beck and call. However, if the Udjat are registered as a Fixer Office that just so happens to only take jobs from Dias, they can skirt those rules. Though Moses implies Dias still greased a few palms to get this approved.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Moses' Office eventually grows to have the services of two Smoke War veterans, an eccentric weapon maker trapped in the form of a teddy bear, and an ex-Taboo Hunter from N Corp.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Moses is typically the one giving these, as they are an essential part of turning someone who's partially become a Distortion to normal.
