123. A Woe Beyond Comprehension

123. A Woe Beyond Comprehension

The Bloody Herring’s only saving quirk was his speed. He could have all the Etched Coins in the world, and it wouldn’t matter the slightest if he wasn’t as fast as he was.

Frost salivated at the thought of devouring that AGI for herself as she focused on the task at hand. Her job was to focus on spinning her web. The Pillars of Happiness were hers alone to handle as Cer and Ber laid down everything they had against the Complex Heart.

“Lucky you Frost! Three Moons decided to show up on your darkest hour!” Cer laughed as she zipped from segment to segment.

She wove past the spinning barrier with spectacular acrobatics, creating her own web of electricity before she launched herself straight for the Heart.

“You better start eating this one now or the pit will eat it for you!” She concluded after planting a hefty bite against it.

“Yeah! What Cer said!” Ber heartily cheered, making it clear that her reunion with Cer had uplifted her spirits to immeasurable heights. “It’s going to be a feast!”

She dashed around and sent electric swipes at the Hearts and any Pillars that Frost had finished sewing her strands into. By now there were dozens of fleeting segments. The ribs above cracked as Jury gave Frost one last look before she entered the limelight.

“Leave the fish to me!” Jury clasped onto Frost’s hands one last time. They shared a firm nod as a passionate flame ignited in Jury’s vibrant eyes.

Frost could tell that she yearned to help no matter what. Whatever the Bloody Herring schemed mattered little to her. The selfless Jury she first met was still here, willing to put her life on the line for the sake of helping her friends overcome their struggles.

“I’m rooting for you then!” Frost exclaimed as Jury spring into action.

Her lover stood defiantly in the face of their chaotic battleground as she perched herself above a lone, untouched Pillar of Happiness. Her footwear sunk into the malleable golden flesh, securing her in place as her hair danced like silver ribbons.

At a certain angle, her hair appeared like the wings of an Angel.

“What’s your problem with Frost!?” Jury made herself known with a deafening yell.

The Bloody Herring could not resist answering such an outrageously obvious question.

“Must you continue to prove your blindness!? I believe Demons were supposed to be a race of rational clarity! You are just like that useless Carpalis!”

His voice appeared everywhere at the same time.

“Happiness for all is a poisonous ideology! There must be no such thing. It is no wonder she was chased out by her fellow Demons. And it is no wonder that you found solace in the putrid cesspool that is your Nex Megalopolis!” He added, never allowing himself to cease moving unless he wanted Res to obliterate him on the spot.

Jury could not believe what she was hearing. She knew the Impuritas were disgusting, but never to this extent. Aside from the Bloody Herring being an accomplice of Iscario, she also realized that their pure malice was another factor that drove Frost into wielding so much prejudice against them.

“That doesn’t make any sense. People are happy above. You’re the one who’s looking to make everyone else miserable!” Jury was strangely affixed on the matter much to Frost’s surprise.

It was as if she was gauging the Bloody Herring, trying to dissect his heart and mind to pass on her judgement.

“Miserable... foolish Demon. Races of ears. Races of tails. And oh the blighted races of distorted body parts! Remove them and they will be no different to a human! Where is their sense of true self! Like I, who have grown scales to accommodate my innermost soul! My flesh; manipulated to reflect my true self! How can such purity be an impurity in your eyes!?”

“That’ll magically make them human... is that what you think, huh!? Frost, I will fucking kill you if you don’t take your time killing that piece of shit!” Cer erupted in fury.

Her rage spread to everyone like a plague as Frost’s blood instantly boiled. It was a miracle that she had yet to manifest the Second State as Wrath. They unanimously wanted nothing more than to catch that fish and skin him alive.

Frost was not a person who condoned torture. If she had to kill someone or something, then she’d rather do it swiftly. But this... this thing fished out the worst in her.

“And you yourself are a confused existence. Flapped ears? Feathers like a bird? A tail like a monster? Demons like you are our antithesis!”

“I... I am NOT a Demon!” Jury yelled in frustration. “I’ve always... always hated it when people called me that! I am an Angel!”

Her bold claim was met with ridiculing laughter. It sounded like he had also slipped under Jury’s skin. Frost never knew Jury despised being called a Demon. Hearing her angered voice sobered her as she was reminded of how little she knew about her.

However...

Will it work? He doesn’t believe Jury’s an Angel. But then again –

“Is she really one to begin with?” Nav read her mind like an open book.

There’s only one way to find out!

She knew Jury was unsure of this herself. Her identity was always a guessing game. But an Angel was never an option until Frost analyzed her tail. Frost had to wonder if Angels and a bunch of eyes had any relevance with one another in the first place. At least in this world.

She held her breath for seconds that felt like hours. Between the chaotic one-sided battle against the Heart and the destruction of the inner walls of the grand hall – Jury stood still as the Pillar of Happiness beneath her uttered:

“Demons... We despise them because they tell no comforting lies. Our happiness must not be destroyed.”

Suddenly, when Frost and Jury simultaneously thought that it had failed; the Diamond Counter then resonated with Jury.

“She’s –!” Frost was taken aback by the unearthing of Jury’s true race.

“Huh!? You’re telling me she’s one of those extinct feathered birds!?” Even Cer was unable to fathom this. But rather than standing around looking surprised, this reveal only raised their morale further.

LEVEL : 125

< Aspiring Beholder >

NAME : JuryHP : 40,000 ^40/Min

MP : 2,400 ^5/Min

AGI : 120RESIST : 100 (+45)AGE : 26 ATT : 3,500

ATT DEF : 640 (+300)

O : 105D : 40ORIGIN : Original MAG ATT : 0

MAG DEF : 560 (+300)

S : 0 E : 0

Her stats were doubled as anticipated. She had also gained an additional 5 levels since she last checked her stats. She knelt slightly as her tail finally returned to its original size, and at once, she launched herself from the Pillar.

The Pillar melted, appearing as if a blowtorch was pointed at a block of ice. She instantly gave pursuit to the Bloody Herring, who could not believe the sudden power she had gained.

“That brooch contains a mysterious power! I recognize that shape now! Could it be from our useful Corrupted you have slain!?” His movements sharply shifted. Even though he was faster than Jury, he was nowhere near as acrobatic as she was.

Jury thrived in the obstacle-rich environment. Razor sharp threads threatened to bisect them in one fell swoop whilst one wrong move would send one plunging into an endless abyss.

None of these could slow her down. She was like a pale comet; her hair trailing behind her like an icy trail. Her relentless prowess forced the Bloody Herring to take minor damage from the strands just to keep himself ahead. The 20 AGI difference was substantial, but hardly so in an environment that favored flexibility and animal-like intuition over raw speed.

And unfortunately for him, the only healer present was his enemy.

“Useful!? You were using the Corrupted!?” Jury wondered how such a thing was possible as Frost finally finished up with the remaining Pillars.

All that was left now was to destroy the heart as she kept feeding her strands to further grow her nest.

Her blood supply was at an all-time low. But it wasn’t something that couldn’t be fixed without a little healing... and a good, hearty meal.

“Hilarious! To speak so foully of me when your Ateliers do the same! Do you believe every Corrupted is slain!?”

What’s happening to us!?

“Stolen Heart... it’s a Condition that causes one’s heart to beat for someone else!”

“You... fool... FOOL! Finish them off! So what if it’s against the plans!? The Amalgam is here! We must destroy her!” He screamed, somehow still alive.

Frost’s body steadily came to as she gripped at the floor. The sound of crackling came from her fingertips as well as far ahead of her. The exterior walls of the Complex crumbled like a busted dam.

She instantly took Jury in her arms as the Bloody Herring finally pulled out his most prized Etched Coin from nowhere.

< Etched Coin >

Chained Theocracy

ACTIVE: Dimensional Storage

EFFECT: Access a storage connecting to a different reality.

Do they know where it leads to?

Frost instantly used the Etched Coin on his behalf. She wondered how this coin was kept hidden away from her for so long, since she was able to detect the others. In fact, it was far too difficult to even focus on anything but the pounding in her chest.

But that mattered little right now. The Etched Coin shattered right before his trembling eyes. However, she was too late to notice that he had taken one other coin from the storage.

< Etched Coin >

Justica Arms

ACTIVE: Minor Hyperlink

EFFECT: Teleport the user to another Minor Hyperlink site

She always wandered why Justice strayed behind Judgement

And just like that, he vanished without a trace.

But not without sharing his last few words.

“I WILL KILL YOU AMALGAM! IF LEITMOTIF WILL NOT, THEN I WILL REND THAT HEART OF YOURS AND THAT FALSE ANGEL!” His mangled body could no longer be called one. It was a mass of flesh and bones, courtesy of Frost.

She could tell by his voice that he was shaken.

Silence returned. Shadows of the falling rocks above enshrouded them as Frost dashed away with Jury cradled in her arms. She could not believe that she had failed to kill him. She had even gone as far as to destroy his heart.

So why? What stopped him from dying?

The world shook as the crumbling walls subsided. She stopped just meters away from the mounds of stone, careful not to crush Jury as she lamented her failure. But this was not all that wracked her.

Because beyond the walls she was met with a dazzling sight. A walled city built upon six massive layers rose to what Frost could only describe as the skies. A single spire rose to a great height within the newfound cavern, and at its tip she saw the illuminous orb.

It was quite literally the only star in their subterranean night sky. A false one at that.

A greenish hue smeared its skies, and a reddish tint could be seen encasing the entire length of the spire. She heard the others rapidly approach from behind, suddenly stopping by her side without sharing a single word.

They could feel the music emanating from over there... The city, which superseded even the size of Divas Pass.

The Moon Triplets were just as shocked as she was.

< Frost... I have terrible news. The source of the Corruption Zone has been confirmed. I have made a calculation mistake. It is a previously known Corrupted >

< Do you wish to know? >

< Yes | No >

< I shall take that silence as a ‘yes’ >

//////// < WARNING > ////////

< WOE OF THE FALLEN STAR >

< THE ARBITER’S TRUMPET WAILS >

Heart of Ours

< Our tiny hearts matter little in a big world of bigger hearts. Abandon all aspirations. We take theirs as our own, so we can continue gasping in our dreams of personal wishes >

AFFINITY : Civilization

LEVEL : 220ORIGIN : Disorder HP : 15,500,000ATT : 25,000MAG ATT : 15,000ATT DEF : 5,000 MAG DEF : 6,000MP : 100,000 RESIST : 750AGI : 0

< Woe of the Fallen Stars requires the cooperation of multiple Ateliers, Moons, Stars and the Exalted. A single Beholder is enough to vanquish a Woe of the Fallen Star-classed Corrupted >

< Please do not bite off more than what you can chew >