244. The Masterpiece

The sewers ran deep. An entire maze of branching tunnels and murky scarlet rivers spanned the entirety of this city. Within its shallows they were met with the full resistance of the Crimson Hunger.

Their Bodies, Macro Clumps, Toxic Clumps, and the remnants of the crying Bers clogged the tunnel, emerging from the forked paths like a tidal wave. The brickwork walls and ceiling split in their wake, held only by the fleshy network of moss that glued everything together like glue. The sewers breathed. It pulsated throughout the scarlet blanket of eyes, and the waterways.

And somewhere deep within they could all sense a heartbeat. It reverberated through the fibers and bounced off their chests. The vibrations, and the contractions of the sewers made it feel as though it were alive.

“It’s like we’ve taken a dive into someone’s throat!” Cer shouted, limiting herself to her claws to replenish her mana.

“Just focus! You said the Masterpiece is deeper inside, yeah Frost!?” Res cried, also severely limited in her combat abilities. At most, the duo were able to maintain their electrified defenses, and some sparking of their eyes and claws.

However, even without their magic Moons were still on an entirely different realm of strength. Both carved their way through the horde like a hot knife to butter.

“In the center. Likely where that heartbeat is coming from! Nav! Left or right!?” Frost yelled as they arrived as a fork.

“The Archivist recalls the passage being through the right.”

“But I can hear it better from the left!” Ber shouted as she crudely fought, similar to how Ignis once did. She easily overshot her punches and claws, still not used to the newfound reach she had gained.

And most of all, the sheer leverage she possessed, carving chunks of the wall as bricks showered into the waterways. Frost, using her flames, evaporated all traces of water, exposing the countless sausage-like maggots that jumped around like beached fish.

Toxic Worm
Crimson Hunger
< Scraps >
LEVEL : 10     ORIGIN : Impuritas     HP : 1,000     ATT : 5     MAG ATT : 0

Scraps followed the theme of food that was rife throughout the Crimson Hunger. But to find them in a near living sewer of all things felt oddly familiar to Frost. The concept should have been so foreign, and yet she couldn’t help but to think back to the human body.

And the deeper they moved; the more alive things became.

“I apologize Frost! It’s to the left!” Nav said, and at once –

“BREAK THROUGH THE WALLS!” Frost ordered.

“Breaking it now!” Jury replied, her tail primed.

Frost, Ber and Jury clobbered at the wall as they made their own passage towards the left fork.

The crimson rock found only in the Derma Layer was unveiled behind the brickwork. Frost couldn’t tell if was caused by the seeping blood or was truly the same material from underneath. Whatever it was, her Appraise Object Level was too low to figure it out.

On the other end they entered a large, circular chamber. It appeared like a checkpoint where water accumulated before it moved like a viscious goop. The moment they entered every entrance sealed shut.

“Tch – Never warned us about something like this!” Ber complained.

“This… reminds me of something.” Ignis’ thoughts mirrored Frost’s as they moved away from the walls, watching pale-red blobs of slime trickle in from pores within the ceiling. They oozed with a toothpaste-like consistency, and within one could find the traces of bones, rings, silverware and apparel of consumed victims.

Then it hit her.

Devouring Clumps
Crimson Hunger
< Main Course >
LEVEL : 90     ORIGIN : Impuritas     HP : 8,200     ATT : 200     MAG ATT : 300

“White blood cells… Closing checkpoints. A fucking sewer…” Frost, bearing her flames like a blade, made quick work of the encroaching swarm as Jury went to uncover the sealed entrances. “What a twisted joke. We’re inside of something’s lymphatic system!”

“Heard that one before, but you never explained what the hell it was!” Cer shouted, pummeling one of the Devouring Clumps as it desperately tried to engulf her in one, giant bite.

But little did they know that amongst everyone here, Cer had the second most dangerous maw. However, she didn’t go in for the bite, and because of her depleted mana, even these things were able to sting her body.

“It’s the body’s sewerage system! This place is a lymph node! They see us as foreign invaders, so they’re sending the equivalent of white blood cells to deal with us! Think of them as the Macro Clumps!”

“You’re telling me humans have these inside of them!? No wonder races out there call humans as trash meat!” Cer said.

“Idiot! You don’t think a cross between a wolf and a human is going to carry over these systems!?” Res argued, taking sips from a mana-restoring potions. “And would it kill you to take these!?”

“Unlike you I gotta wait a while before I can start using stuff to regenerate mana!” Cer cried. “How cute… What a waste of resources. Just sit down and die already! What’s a bunch of goop to a Moon!?”

“They’re easy, but we don’t have to waste our time here!” Jury shouted, plunging her tail into the wall until she found the hollow cavity they were searching for. Then, with striking whips of her tail, the throbbing wall crumbled before her feet, reavling a passage further into the sewers. “THIS WAY!”

“Frost – We should focus on moving rather than fighting right now! I know you need to let off some steam, but do that with the Masterpiece!” Ber stated as they followed Jury through the passage.

Ignis’ boney blade forever dragged itself along the walls and floor, generating immense amounts of Biomass for later use. Right now, using an Extended System would cause a collapse.

Whilst they moved from tunnel to tunnel, making the sharpest twists and turns, the heartbeat began to shake their world. In the meantime, Ber questioned when she’d be able to manifest the skills of the Black Swan.

“Heighten your emotions! If it’s a derivative power of mine, then you only need to get emotional!”

“That’s it!? It’s not like invoking stuff with the Blessing, huh!? And you can totally see the stats of Blessed with your version of the Blessing! Do you know how convenient that is!?” Ber shouted.

“Have you even been listening to me?” Nav spoke, and Frost somehow pictured it facepalming itself.

“Don’t make us jealous over here!” Cer said. “What about you Frost!? You should be angrier now as well!”

“You mean I should be in the Third State!?” Frost asked.

“Yeah, that!”

“It’s lessened considerably after we saved Ber. But it’s creeping back up. I have a feeling I’ll be hitting the Third State soon enough. Can’t wait the leverage the power of the Heart of Ours against Scarlet Logic!” Frost salivated at the thought of finally manifesting a Corrupted beyond the Eternal Night Risk Classification. “And Nav, what’s my Nex looking like!?”

“150,000. It’s miniscule. Something is taking your Nex, and we have no method of telling what it is.”

“Could it be the Seeds!?” Jury exclaimed.

“Unknown. But they required this Nex for something. Why the sudden question?”

“I want Jury to fight with everything she has.” Frost answered with conviction, turning to the triplets as they began to approach a bright, crimson light at the end of the tunnel. “Start transferring Nex to Jury!”

“We are five steps ahead of you!” Ber grinner, revealing that she was already in the process of transferring it.

Her tail wrapped around Jury’s, as the triplets huddled close. Physical contact was required for the transfer and was usually done through firm handshakes.

“… And Frost!” Cer suddenly shouted.

“Yes!?”

“I know it’s too late to be saying this, but you should also be careful! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but if there’s anyone that shouldn’t go insane, then it’s you! Seeing that happen to Ber… makes us afraid of the same thing happening to you!” Cer echoed the same words of warning she gave to Frost as far back as their trip through the City of Diamonds.

Frost’s eyes shone. She grinned at Cer, assuring that she’d be fine. Emotions were her weapons, tempered into the form of the Corrupted. But even so, she took Cer’s words to heart as Jury stared into her eyes, silently echoing her concerns.

“Be careful Frost! They managed to get Ber, but you pulled her back. They still haven’t managed to get you!”

Her sentiments were shared amongst them, and Frost heeded her warning, and, to Jury’s surprise, she went in for a peck on her cheek.

“So long as you’re all here, then the chances of that happening is virtually zero!” Frost proclaimed, her flames brimming ever brightly like a star in their dark tunnel.

And there, at the very end, they arrived at a room shaped like a grand cathedral, except it was all made from flesh and giant eyes that quivered as they sensed Frost’s rending heat.

Eyes arranged like roses paved a path towards a duo who stood atop a red, squelching stage. Entrails ran from corner to corner of the room, as entities of desiccated remains gathered to witness the wedding. The Librarian Scraper, who was dressed in a scarlet wedding dress stared lovingly at her deceased, puppeted partner who wore a blue wedding suit.

And above them, hanging like a mistletoe, were intestines arranged into the shape of a hollow love heart.

“Oh hello… has the Prince sent you today?”

The woman spoke in the same manner as Leitmotif, her voice carrying an ominous power. Her eyes were clouded, and attached to her nape was an umbilical cord connected to the rest of the stage they stood atop.

“Welcome… Welcome. Welcome. Have you come to pay us your blessings?”

Her groom’s voice carried the same power, and at once, the tall, darkened beings which appeared like dried squids more than humans, began to tremble before they abruptly broke into a fight amongst themselves.

Shocked, Frost checked the status of everything present as her group prepared to strike them down whilst they were still weak.

Remembrance
Memento Mori
< Undead >
LEVEL : 65     ORIGIN : Impuritas     HP : 12,000     ATT : 500     MAG ATT : 0
ATT DEF : 1,200     MAG DEF : 0     MP : 0     RESIST : 500     AGI : 20

Scraper
Librarians
< Bride >
HP : 4,000

Risen Memora
Memento Mori
< Groom >
HP : 8,000

And so, Frost, without warning, lunged straight for the bride. However – as she cleaved at her head and killed her on the spot, she received a warning regardless of her swift effort.

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

< The equivalent Risk Classification of this encounter is unknown >

< But I implore you, Frost – Please make some distance! >

< CONDITION: The Bride and Groom are invulnerable between Acts of the Masterpiece >

Heeding Nav’s warning, she fled from the stage and doused them with Inferno and Liquid Fire before returning to the others as the pair of lovers began to caress one another. After the fighting of the Remembrance ceased, their bodies were devoured by the ever growing stage.

Flames still continued to leave her palms, as Ber sent electric slashes as if to test the Condition. And Nav was correct in every sense of the word, and the flesh was unscathed by their attacks as something sinister festered from deep within.

“The Prince has arrived to break up the fight…”

“My dear. Our families were always at odds. Arranging this marriage has become a dream come true.”

“FROST!? WHAT’S GOING ON! NOTHING’S WORKING AGAINST IT!” Cer cried.

“That’s a transition phase… I don’t know what’s going on either, but from what I’m hearing, it sounds a lot like a story from back on Earth!” Frost could not name the story. It was only vaguely familiar to her, and as the fleshy curtains rose to reveal the duo once again, this time in perfect condition, they were given the name of this so called Masterpiece.

< A MASTERPIECE HAS UNWRAVELLED >

Book of the Star-Crossed Lovers
Librarians
< Masterpiece >
< Our only love sprung from our only hate. Families at war. When you took that poison, I too died on that day with your happy dagger >

Whilst this was the name of their Book and the entity as a whole, the ‘scene’ before them took upon a separate title.

The Lovestruck and the Prince’s Threat
Librarians

< ACT I >

“O Prince, please do not threaten to exile us.”

“O Prince, must we wring your neck?”