468. Deities Walk Among Us

468. Deities Walk Among Us

Beholders were deities in the eyes of the world. Galia was the only one known by name, but her visage was lost to the ebbs of time and the purge of all records. Her victory against Beholder Knalzark came at a steep cost.

One price she paid was the elimination of the old Galia who graced the world with honorable virtues. No history book knew of the old name she once wielded like a blade. It was a name that inspired hope in the depths of despair, for it was one that vindicated the innocent from extreme prejudice.

That name was uttered as a figure in black coat walked past stragglers caught in the mayhem. Debris showered from the second floor of the buildings, falling onto fleeing civilians. Magical barriers were cast by students of nearby Academies.

Galia walked confidentially through the carnage towards a ravaged circus tent. The canvas that covered it was nowhere to be seen, revealing a pole with a heart suspended in the center like meat on a skewer.

“Ma’am!” A small, young man dressed in black robes approached her. He took off his pointy witch hat out to see the face of the tall woman before him. “You can’t be here –!?” Suddenly, a cold chill jabbed his neck and ran down his throat.

His voice betrayed him the moment he gazed into the cosmos that were her eyes. Saliva dribbled down the side of his cheek as Galia paid him no mind, moving forward as her presence was known to all.

“That’s the Black Dove, isn’t it!?”

“Her skin color is different. But she might be related.”

“Do you think she’s the same as that person with the winged arm?”

“W-We’re safe...”

She was seen as a symbol of hope. However, none of their words reached her ears until she passed by a collapsed storefront. There, personnel from Caldera Industries upheaved rubble to retrieved buried victims. They were not used to the gratitude shown by the people they saved and wore cold, blank looks as they worked hard until they unearthed a green-haired elf.

“Thank you! Thank... you! There’s more of us down there! And...” Suddenly, their eyes fell onto the passing Galia.

“That’s... That’s the Colorless –!”

Her voice was the only one she reacted to.

The Elf was youthful. But despite her appearance, the fact that she recognized the passing ghost was a testament to her age. Galia merely looked in her directly, smiling solemnly as she clicked her fingers, silencing the Elf as she clasped onto her lips.

“Blood-bound promises must be kept. Protectorates are doing what my people did during your past tyranny. How nostalgic.”

She spoke to herself, embracing the light of the sun as she savored the heartbeats of the Heart perched above. Her hands curled into fists.

“Now then, shall I stretch my old wings?”

She would not be fighting it with her Beholder powers. Instead, she planned to use her bare hands just as she did so long ago. If only the Protectorates knew the extent of the destruction Galia brought to Caldera Industries.

And this was before she gained the Warped Stone.

* * *

“Hm. Hm. Hmhm~ You’re not really that much different from the Big Red Heart. And here I thought that we were up against some kind of aberration of it.” Elsewhere, Enoch had her fun impaling the Hearts. “As if those exist.”

Blood dripped from her palms as she smeared it across the air. The blood instantly congealed, transforming into a web with eyes that spanned multiple streets. A crimson, thorny hedge soon formed, impaling the Hearts that tumbled from the bowels of a green Heart.

It groaned like a pipe bag, emitting a discordant symphony as she watched Justica Arms shoot down orbs of light.

“Micro Luminaire. Pretty annoying that those things can keep your kind alive. Just like Carpalis’ rings.” Enoch poked at a rack of hearts that quivered along her barbed blood.

They were impaled and incapacitated. Normally, the hearts would lunge at any living thing, but they instinctively tried to avoid Enoch at all costs.

“Don’t waste your time with a Syndicate corpse –”

“Yeah, we can see that they’re dead. Let us announce our own thing and get on our way.” The leader of the group couldn’t care less for what they had to say, crossing the canal, and marching their way past them. “If you have time, go send him to a Verdanian. They could use him as a fertilizer for crops. Syndicate bastard.”

“*Spits* I can’t wait to raid their base.” Another growled with excitement.

Azure could never get used to the polarizing nature of the healers. They were cute, cuddly, and adorable. Even she couldn’t say no to a healer’s honest request. But to see them like this caused her to grin to herself.

It only made them cuter in her eyes.

“Do you know why Res relies on the CognitO Filters?” Descartes suddenly asked, her voice nearly drowned by the passing Black Wings.

“No, I don’t. Even I find it odd for a Moon to limit their senses, never mind a Demi-Human.” Azure patiently spoke, her eyes moving to the red waters.

“You’re aware that unchosen Moons are destined to die in battle.”

“Glaringly.” Azure nodded, her hands curling into fists. “We’re constantly at risk of Corruption. That’s why Serum G was given to us. The more fortunate ones like me never needed an intervention. But that was because of special circumstances.”

“Res was included in that special program to become a Blue Moon. Of all the Moons she was at the highest risk of becoming a Corrupted. The color red was enough to nearly break her. Serum G was evidently not enough in their encounter against the Stuffed Teddy Bear.

She ended up refusing because we never included her sisters. At that time, we thought it was a shame, but it was what ultimately kept her sane for these past 30 years. Our Filters were an intervention, but also her one fatal flaw.”

Descartes explained in thorough detail.

“But evidently not risky enough for the Eclipses to take them out?” Azure was suspicious about the story, finding it odd that such high-risk Moons were left to run around in the Nexus.

Color suddenly left the Beholders eyes.

Descartes suddenly reminisced about her fateful meeting with a desperate Galia. It was the first time she had seen her make such a face. The stone-cold Descartes, who cared only to understand the mind, was left perplexed for the first time in her life.

Because Galia of all people had come to her asking for help like a mother seeking medicine for her children.

“An unlikely friend asked me for help in exchange for one small favor. That favor became a leash for a certain Star.”

She didn’t say much at all, and her tone evoked little other than disinterest. Yet Azure could only grin to herself, as if understanding her boss at a fundamental level.

“I always think that I’m lucky to be close to a Beholder like you.” Azure hummed as color returned to the eyes of the Beholder. “So, what do you need me to do?”

“Inform the Amalgam in my stead. The chances of the Fractured Nilhim using Res’ Atelier Item as a vessel is too high. In all likeliness, they were aiming to enter wherever the children ended up.” She answered, looking ahead at a winding path.

“Then what will you do?”

“Gather my thoughts. You know how I feel about the Amalgam. I dislike their approach because it makes no sense to me. I’m blamed for things I have not done. My efforts look like a sin in her eyes. Yet she has saved people from Corruption. I have not...”

There wasn’t an ounce of jealousy in her voice. She was just saddened that despite how long she had been in power, not once was she able to reverse the Corruption. To her, Frost was an anomaly that erased decades worth of effort, but even so, her ego stayed out of it.

“This not just for the triplet’s sake, but for my friend’s sake too. So – I hope she can also save that blind wolf from her hell. Get the Amalgam into the rabbit hole. We’re fighting against the clock... also, did you happen to come across a blonde-haired girl?”

“No, unfortunately. The Stars are desperately searching for her.”

“Report the site to the Amalgam when it’s found immediately. Act X predicts that the girl will become our first point of contact with the White Rabbit.”