127. To Reach Upon A Star

127. To Reach Upon A Star

100 Adventurers marched into the ruins of a golden hell home to thousands. The main streets were clogged with outcropping debris and countless golden needles that caught on the gear of the reckless.

None could imagine the events that had led to such devastation. Unquenchable flames illuminated the strange town-like complex. Its heat was unforgiving, and the air they breathed within its proximity seared their lungs.

That flame was far from normal.

It could not even be replicated by even the most powerful of fire mages. Furio, the level 75 Hot Headed Fire Mage, paled in comparison. He was like an ember of a dying campfire, whereas these flames were akin to a firestorm.

The untrained farmers and civilians of the group struggled to breathe. A few Adventurers fanned them with fresh air as blocks of ice cubes were used to create a cooling breeze. Frost was surprised to see that water could be made using magic, but it turned out that water created from magic was unsafe to consume unless the user themselves were significantly skilled.

This water, ironically, caused the drinker to dehydrate. It would take a special kind of iron stomach to be able to survive on this kind of low-grade water. Frost imagined it to be similar to salt water if that was the case.

She confirmed this to be the case with a small sip.

Yeah. Salty.

Unfortunately, Frost was not well versed in magic to begin with to correct their mistakes. Telling them to stop making it salty was like telling a doctor to just fix a sick patient. There was always an underlying cause, naked to the eye of those untrained or ignorant to the field.

Frost was not going to pretend like she knew, but it was interesting how the salt crystals mysterious disappeared higher one’s skill was. Magic was weird, but in the words of Cer – There were stranger things out there.

“We have another one injured!”

“Are you – Hey! They’re not responding! Black Dove! Another one!”

“Here... Squeeze some of the juice onto their tongue!”

“You – And you lads! Get yer’ asses over ‘ere and lift this off ‘em!”

There were still people they had missed after Frost and the Hired Arm’s initial scan of the Triple Paw Complex. Frost spared no time and healed them with Grand Healing. The particles of light that once left her palms were now clad in black and emitted an aura of pale light.

They were like miniature black holes. Or particles that absorbed light itself. It was ominous for a healer, but even so, it did not stop them from referring to her as an Angel... despite the real Angel sleeping cozily right before their eyes.

Additionally, this was a good opportunity to see the overhealing effect in action.

Human Denizen | HP: 125 | 100

Any injuries that damaged the overhealed portion did not directly affect their bodies. It was essentially a shield.

Unfortunately, she could not use this effect on herself. But it meant that the Moons would be able to survive at least two hits from the Heart of Ours so long as they were under the Black Dove’s Commitment effect.

Furthermore, she also had the pleasure of seeing the Scarlet Healer work her magic.

“There there~ Sit still. Sit very still. Don’t move or you might go pop. You don’t want that. I want the best for you. Haah. Haah. Look at your bones reattach~ Why are you looking away?” She panted like an animal in heat as she clasped onto the crushed shin of a woman.

The particles of light she shed were intense. The healing proficiency was almost instantaneous as the bones snapped and cracked straight into place; with the surrounding flesh inflating to normality as if it were a balloon.

She overhealed that woman to nearly two times her HP bar, and in that moment, Res swooped in and snatched her hands away.

“That’s enough.” She firmly said, causing Ponea to pout.

“Then – Then can I feed her an apple? All these delicious nutrients to nurture your wellbeing. Haaah... Get well soon, ok~?”

When a person was overhealed at over 50% they’d experience highly elevated heart rates, hyperactivity, and extreme blood pressures; enough to consistently cause what they called a Blood Rip.

Or in proper medical terminology, an aneurysm. Sometimes blood pooled through the orifices of the body.

At 100% overheal was when the body began to create excess flesh, bone mass and organs. Anymore and the person was effectively crushed by their own weight, that is if they didn’t explode in the first place.

“The Condemned could never die because of me. No matter how hard they tried to die in battle, I was always there tagging along. How rude of them wanting to go out like that.” Ponea cutely growled.

Her method of healing was extremely dangerous in normal use cases. But in battle, it rivalled or even surpassed Frost’s. The problem was that unlike Frost, her magic was limited to a small number of people.

They had to be firmly attached to her, like she was some sort of parasite.

The Triplets sensed Frost’s approving thought and they simultaneously shook their heads in disapproval. Aside from Res, of course.

“We don’t need to be slowed down. But I’m also willing to let her tag along if you’re unavailable. We don’t have much of a choice on our allies.” Res was reluctant, but she was at least open to the proposition.

“Huh? I like keeping my insides inside.” Cer flat out refused.

“Exactly Sis! Why do you think they’re called innards and not outards?” Ber added as the two stuck their faces up at Frost in defiance.

She took the two by the collar using her tentacles, hanging them ever so slightly off their feet.

“Listen to me. I don’t give a fuck if you hate Ponea as much as I hate the Impuritas. If you two have the time to argue, then you have the time to get along.” Frost understood how hypocritical she appeared considering her rough start with L.S, and her suspicions over Ayel.

But that didn’t mean that they couldn’t work together towards a common goal.

“Grr. Alright, Amalgam.” Ber growled in annoyance, but she eventually obeyed. “Just don’t expect us to protect that thing.”

“Ponea.” Frost corrected.

“Scarlet Healer.” Spat Ber. “Say something Cer!”

Cer was too dazed by Frost’s intense glare to say anything. She surrendered wholeheartedly to the all-devouring eyes. Her nullified RESIST stat made her even more susceptible to whatever that condition was.

“T-This is fine.” Cer uttered before they were placed aside. “I mean, huh? You think you can just tell what you want without considering how we feel–!”

And then, just as she was about to settle her dispute with Frost; she bumped into the belly of an even bigger Frost. All forms of resistance were abruptly forfeited as she stared up into the glorious gaze of the Hired Arm.

“A-As I was saying... I don’t have any problems working with Ponea.” Cer rectified, melting like a popsicle before those brilliant eyes.

Ber was, once again, baffled by Cer. Res on the other hand was already used to her sisters’... fetish? Whatever it was, it made taming arguably the hardest of the triplets a nonissue.

* * *

Then, she said it out loud as Ayel painted swirls of stars along the night sky.

“I’m not from this world. I come from a different world. Far away with a sky studied far more than our oceans. We had no magic or Corrupted. Just ourselves to fight over. Whether you believe me or doesn’t matter. Because this world has already become my home. And right now...” Frost glanced down at the sleeping Jury, smiling ever so gently at her lover. “I want to protect it. No matter what. Besides, my friends are also in this world.”

Cer grinned mischievously at Frost’s cheesy speech. Normally she’d laugh, but the comfort of Frost’s words caused a rare warmth to envelop her body.

Ber folded her arms and puffed out her chest, happy to be called a friend of an Archetype.

Res’ face didn’t change the slightest, but one glance at her tail, ears and her fidgeting arms told an entirely different tale.

Ignis on the other hand warmly smiled for the second time ever.

“I find it difficult to believe you’d tell a lie like that out of nowhere. Finally warming up to us~?” L.S chuckled, before apologizing immediately afterwards. “Our world, hm. Surprising. There have been stories of people claiming to have arrived from different worlds. Hard to believe! Believe me! But hearing that from you... I think I’ll accept it. As a token of our friendship!”

“Trust. Friendship. Comradery. It forms in many ways. For warriors like us, it’s through covenants. They say that the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, after all.” Broker stated, acknowledging that trust will be forged regardless of their separated views.

Their united goal in battle will pummel them into one.

“Some warriors prefer the taste of water over blood.” Ponea shrugged. “Or blood instead of red paint~ Let’s hope for the best!”

“Heh. At this point hope is all we have left. And this devourer from a different world right here!” Cer rocked right up to Frost and playfully slapped her back.

“You make it sound like I’m a black hole or something.” Frost sighed.

“A black what!?” Cer sounded shocked, but her eyes screamed curiosity.

“Forget I even opened my mouth.”

* * *

The preparations were set. The very first phase of combat was set to revolve around the removal of the Instruments. That way, Leitmotif would be rendered vulnerable.

Naturally, this was far easier said than done. Numerous issues were bound to arise, and if things looked too good to be true, then she could always count on Murphy’s Law to take effect.

The doors to the chamber suddenly burst open unexpectedly. A rush of children flooded through, chirping as Perla desperately tried to stop them from interfering.

“I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed, lowering her head at almost every step of the way.

“It’s ok. We’ve just finished up. Perfect timing if anything.” Frost assured, watching a warry Stella be dragged around by her fellow friends.

“U-Um! Are we not supposed to be here? I- I can hear the others here!” Stella worriedly said.

“She said it’s ok! C’mon, let’s look at the light from the balcony! You can see the light through your eyelids, right!?” Aster exclaimed, pointing at the blinding light of the lonely star perched at the tip of the green spire.

They huddled up at one of the few balconies. Stella unfortunately couldn’t see anything no matter how hard she tried as the children squealed in delight, finally being just that much closer to the very thing they aspired to reach.

“It’s beautiful... See! See!? Look Stella!”

“You can feel the warmth too, can’t you!?”

These children bared no malice, but one could certainly see how it’d appear cruel. Frost glanced over at Ayel who suddenly began brushing over his painting with ravenous speed.

Curious, she moved over to his side and wondered just what he was trying to correct, only to find that he was repainting over the stars for some reason.

“Oh look! The mister painter is painting a painting of stars!” One of the girls cutely exclaimed, pointing over as the children turned and immediately rushed to see.

“W-We’re moving again?” Stella spoke as if perpetually reluctant.

Not that anyone could blame her. She was blind, and the sudden movement of everything must’ve been frightening for her.

“Mhm! C’mon!” Aster hummed, dragging her along to Ayel’s beautiful painting.

One by one, hands rose as they bombarded both him and Frost with questions regarding the stars.

“Why are there so many stars?” One asked.

“It’s a mystery, but there’s supposed to be billions. Not just one.” Frost stated, causing the children to unanimously chirp “Ooooh!?”.

“What about the swirling colors!”

“When a star explodes they turn into a bunch of colorful gas. Sometimes they shrink, sometimes they grow, and sometimes they even change colors.” Frost made it fun and easy for the children to understand, adoring their curiosity.

“Does that mean the fishy man will explode into a bunch of gas? Isn’t he a star, like that singer?” Another asked, causing Frost to nod.

“Yeah... he’ll definitely explode.” She sinisterly muttered beneath her breath before sharply mellowing her tone. “I mean, who knows~?”

“He’s a different kind of star. A bad star.” Ayel stated, swiping his floating painting with one final, dramatic brushstroke. “Perfecto~! Where’s the blind one?”

“U-Um... Wait, isn’t he supposed to be evil? Painters a-are –!”

“Aww. Won’t you at least see the hard work I’ve put into my painting?” Ayel faked his sadness, causing Stella to reach out for Frost’s sleeve, following her voice.

“It’s ok Stella. I think... Hey. Wait...” She was about to say something until she finally noticed the changes he had made to the painting.

“So you’ve noticed!” He applauded her sharp eye.

“You gave the stars texture...” Frost constantly found herself being taken aback by the unaffiliated Impuritas. “Stella. It’s ok. Here. You’re not alone. Everyone, help her touch the painting, ok!”

... Nav. There’s a lot of things I’ve seen in this world. More bad than good. But the good that does come around...

Stella, Aster and all the children reached out for the painting. Their tiny hands brushed over the swirling stars as Stella’s face instantly blossomed.

And then, she froze. Her body trembled and before long, tears began to drip from her cheeks.

... Makes me feel like it was all worth it in the end.

“So that... that’s... a star...” Stella sobbed.