130. Another Painter

The name of the Amalgam took upon an additional meaning.

To the Impuritas she was no more than the world-ending beast. The great devourer. To the Nexus, she was the Archetype that was hinted to bring everything together. But here, Frost was something else. Something greater in the moment as all previous definitions were skewed by the combined light of her one hundred Touch of Golds.

She was like a celestial body orbited by her most trusted Moons. They cleaved, slashed, electrocuted and destroyed all those in their wake. Jury and Ignis were like asteroids, plummeting into whatever they touched with enough destruction to topple multiple mounds at once.

The earth was scarred with each movement, and Ignis’ strength only continued to grow as she harvested the biomass of the fallen foes. Despite her ferocity, she did not snatch the bodies of the innocent lives lost.

Sullying their bodies after death was irredeemable to her. Ignis’ fangs were laid bare like her fellow Demi-human partners as they ravaged the lowest layer of the City of Vocals.

Jury was much the same, although her razor-sharp teeth and soul-piercing eyes caused many to instinctively lock up. This effect transpired across them all. It was like a mini-Scrutiny, and it allowed for easy kills as they raced through the tight city lanes.

The reason for this was due to her newest stolen ability, the Heart of Suppression.

< Resistance combats Suppression >

< Funny. The RESIST stat has been nullified. But the very act of resistance itself has not >

Indeed. Just standing up against the Suppressers was enough to cause them to lock up as if unable to comprehend their defiance. However, this did not change the amount of Heart Wrench stacks they received. Additionally, the Etched Coin infused with Beaten Desires only marginally raised their stats.

Except for their RESIST.

< Are we allowed to hope that things will work out for the best? >

“Please don’t say that out loud!” Jury’s yell mirrored Frost’s exact thoughts, but deep down the pair hoped that things would remain to be this easy.

The largest issue at hand was the rapidly rising death toll, combined with the number of Instruments they needed to sever before they could target the Heart of Ours’ host. As much as the triplets itched to unleash their devastating area of effect skills, they understood that thousands would perish in the blink of an eye.

Ponea swam in the air, basking the fleeing denizens with her healing light. The golden trail was like that of a comet’s tail. Frost was like a planet surrounded by various celestial satellites; orbiting a false, distant star that lacked its signature warmth.

“GET GOING! MOVE! GET OUT OF THE CITY WHILE YOU STILL CAN!” Frost repeatedly screamed like a blaring siren.

The minutes quickly turned into an hour. The city was unbelievably massive, with so many twist and turns that any hopes of vanquishing the Heart of Ours in a meaningful timeframe was impossible. Splitting up was the last thing they’d do as well knowing the nature of their enemy, and neither could she summon her Big Frost to help her out.

Because as they moved through the air, using the tips of the mounds as footholds for her tentacles; they witnessed a migration of Suppressors march with the Instruments.

Their target was the Triple Paw Complex. Res made efforts to neutralize them while she still could, but it did not change that the others would be in for a tough fight… No. With their ATT, many would die just by mere proximity alone.

“What are we going to do about them!?” Res roared. “Gonna leave them to fend for themselves or what!?”

“You think we have the luxury to hold down two places at once!?” Cer yelled. “Your busty doppelganger’s got this! L.S and Broker aren’t that weak either! Level 120 creatures are a menace, but they’re not unstoppable!”

“Your hopes are way too high Sis! But don’t you think it’s weird that they’re sending the Suppressors!?” Ber suddenly stated as they landed back onto the cracked earth and resumed their murderous patrol.

“At this range they could hit everyone with that heart attack.” Jury added as Frost also found this concerningly odd. “Doesn’t this confirm that the disease can’t take effect yet?”

There should be no reason for them to send so many Suppressors and Instruments if they had a means of wiping them out in one fell swoop. It turned out that Frost and her companions weren’t the only one who were struck by the Aspirating Aspirations when they lost the Bloody Herring.

The screening testing that L.S and Broker conducted confirmed this. One of the questions asked checked who exactly was afflicted by it. Ponea cured them, although there was no disease present to cure in the first place.

This half confirmed that Aspirating Aspirations required something else to emerge before this disease could take effect. The brittle-hearted were kept far away in case this was incorrect. After all, even with their combined knowledge there was only so much they knew of the Heart of Ours.

Frost’s ability to read the conditions was their only strand of hope, and everyone clasped onto it.

“We don’t know what their intentions are for certain. But my gut is telling me that they want more instruments. Or at least they want to recover the people fleeing! They fought against the Big Red Heart itself, didn’t they!?” Frost roared.

“A big, massive heart! That’s the one, yeah!” Cer promptly answered as all eyes fell onto the central dome-like structure above. “It’s massive. Almost half the size of this city! Like a few hundred meters tall!”

“That could be the trigger. But there’s also something else bothering me.” Frost dragged them through a forest of mounds, eventually reaching the face of a massive termite mound, created with mud, embedded cloth and chunks of marble.

It appeared like a green, retrofitted garbage heap, and rose to the battlements of the second layer. The innards was like that of a hornet’s nest; a maze of nonsense that saw hundreds of Suppressers and countless more individuals singing their heart’s out against their will.

The chamber caused their voices to echo and rattle their skulls; affecting them all save for Ponea who had the weakest sense of hearing. She only grinned hideously at the sight of the unwashed masses, adoring the prospect of healing, and scrubbing their bodies clean.

“What’s bothering you!?” Res called out.

“The ‘plan’. The Bloody Herring made it sound like using Aspirating Aspirations was against whatever they’re after. In the first place – They seemed to want to steal a page from you three. They didn’t even expect me at all.”

“FUCK THEM. Let them come and try to take it again! Gotta wonder just what the hell they want from our past!” Ber was livid.

Her voice alone caused the entire chamber to instantly silence as her voice caused the Suppressors to shudder.

Frost lunged straight in with her group, entering differing narrow tunnel complexes. Her tethered tentacles sliced through the very fabric of their rudimentary fort. However, unlike stone debris, it did not fall. A sticky substance like that of mucous, blood and other bodily wastes kept the place held together like a giant ball of putty.

The thought messed with Frost. If they wanted a piece of their past, then they could have done it whilst above. There was no need to reveal it like how they did to Ber.

So why?

< [Beaten Desires] >

They were struck by the shockwave-like attack again as it nearly obliterated the entirety of the stronghold. The innocent souls fled as soon as their Instrument status was revoked; but unfortunately, not all were so lucky.

“My word… An assault on the city? By whom!?” A feminine voice called out, leading them deeper into the complex. Now that she realized it, this place was like a prison.

And if there was someone or something they were going to keep down here, then it would be one of the Painters.

“Keep talking! We’re getting closer! Are you a Painter!?” Frost shouted, following the voice to a chamber guarded by multiple, bulky monstrosities.

“PAINTER YES! RIGHT HERE! RIGHT OVER HERE – AAAAAGGGGGHH!” A bare, naked woman hung half embedded into the walls. Her skin was riddled with scars and lesions, as well as bizarre markings that appeared like body paint.

Her skin was like a pale canvas in a way.

But that was hardly the focus, because antennae found themselves wriggling underneath her skin, causing her to write and contort in unnaturally.