277. Arriving in Spades

As Scarlet Logic’s Midnight Teams were met with an abrupt end, the Dawn, Noon and Dusk teams swarmed through the ruins of C3 and C4.

Flight was no longer a viable option due to the Infusion bombardments, which smeared the skies with a permanent shade of red. Inhaling or merely exposing one’s flesh to the red mist spelt immediate death. It was acrid in nature, and breathing grew difficult as complications arose as a result.

The golden hand of Carpalis was another major cause for concern. Their greatest strength came from their ability to replicate so long as they possessed a soul. The golden hand robbed their members in the thousands, leaving behind unmoving husks. Small birds landed atop their bodies and pecked at hollow eyes. Even in death they seemed to yearn for the light of the Advent.

Swaths of land were left inhospitable, inhabited only by the lucky few wildlife and scavengers that devoured the corpses of the damned.

Or they were at least supposed to.

Scavenging birds migrated in the opposite direction. They steered clear of the bodies, as if afraid. Murders of crows could be seen circling a strange, black object that hovered a few meters in the air. A low-pitched, guttural moan came from the object. An organ within grumbled as pores formed along its slick, tar-like surface, appearing like a black sponge.

The lucky few to have survived the ordeal hid in terror, sealing their mouths shut as it passed overhead. The shadow of the Nexus loomed over the world, making it appear like a black moon.

Suddenly, something spilled from the pores. The floodgates opened, and a black, fibrous liquid tainted all it touched. Slowly, they clumped together into long ribbons and slithered into the city. They spread themselves thin, crawling into whatever crack they could find, searching for something.

They became the diseased arteries of a heart, and to the surprise of the survivors, the tentacles did not target them. Rather, they slithered past them, ignoring them as they held their breaths and clogged their bleeding wounds.

Deeper into the ruined cityscape, the tentacles finally seemed to find their prey. The crows suddenly dispersed, cawing loudly as if to warn the world of an approaching evil. The tentacles coiled around the heads of the Scarlet Logic members, wrapping their eyes in a thick film as a slightly red and blue liquid began to swirl within the black ball as blood began to ooze from its pores.

And in that moment, the blindfolded Scarlet Logic members had the slits of their lips expand to their ears.

An unknown evil had awakened, and unbeknownst the Scarlet Logic, it roamed alongside them.

* * *

“Filters on. Eliminate the uncooperative.” An Insectid Manager commanded their Dusk Elimination Team, fitting on a black and red respirator made in the shape of a mandible. “Orders from the Queen. Be wary. Replication may not be in active order. Assume that it is regardless. Failure to comply will result in immediate deletion.”

A bunker containing the Liquidators and the sacrificial civilians was brought under their control. Scarlet Logic members apprehended all, snapping legs and arms as they tore people away from their tubes. Liquidators were vastly powerful, but their individual strength was outclassed by the sheer number of Scarlet Logic members.

A single Liquidator was as powerful as an entire Dawn Elimination Team. But strip them of their Serums and prostheses and they were no more than any ordinary person. Weaker in fact. Their levels hovered somewhere in the 20s. 40s for more prominent ones, and very few at 100.

They relied solely on the power of their technology.

The thick, metal bunkers doors of the entrance were peeled away with acidic bile. The same putrid bile was used to melt away their prosthesis as the acrid air sept in, poisoning the civilians who were seen as enemies, and therefore treated as such.

Serums spilled as did all manners of liquids. They ran through the cracks along the concrete basement, melding with blood as the whimpers of ordinary people could be heard in response to the shouting.

“WHERE IS OUR MAGIC!?” A red armored Dragonid cried, dragging a Liquidator from their mangled, scrapped legs like a bag of bleeding potatoes. “INFLOW – DIRECT – PIECES OF – SHIT!”

They were repeatedly smashed against glass instruments and piled of thick needles in a fit of rage, but the Liquidator refused to speak as the questioning then moved to the ordinary civilians. The harrowing screams could not move them as they dragged limbless bodies from the hair. When crying was all they were met with, they were dragged from the chamber and brought above to be executed.

Some perished due to the loss of blood. Others suffered additional trauma from brutal interrogation techniques. Fingers. Nails. Tooth. Eyes. Organs – There were no limits to their brutality.

A Dawn Team member, who assimilated into their group after the destruction of their own, summoned the courage to speak up. They were appalled by the mistreatment of these people who they believed were supposed to be enemies, not innocent people.

“… Manager. A-aren’t they just –!”

*Splatter*

Unfortunately, before they could even finish uttering their words of rejection, they had lost their head. The scythe-like arm of the Manager dripped with blood along the chambers as they personally dealt with the matter at hand.

“Reflect in your next iteration. If one still remains. Anyone else wish to voice their concern over our enemies?” They turned.

There were no objections.

“Perfect.”

However, one of the Liquidators were offended by the nonchalant act of barbarism towards their own kind.

“You have the luxury to kill your own... what kind of sick bond is that?” They spat blood as they were dragged up the stairs, scraping against its jagged edges and protruding bone that was left behind by.

“The kind that keeps us in line.” The Manager said, following them up after giving his men a solid nod and a gesture to move. “Bring them all. No one’s willing to talk. Never forget that they are the ones who robbed us of our magic.”

“Heard~!”

“As you wish.”

“Godspeed.”

“Finally. I was wondering when we were going to get rid of that Dawn Team freak. The iterations should make them stronger in time.”

They were unapologetic and eager to return to tormenting their victims. At this point, it was the only pleasure they could savior before their inevitable death somewhere along the lines of battle.

“You think our Atelier robbed you? I wonder how far that bullshit is going to take you.” The only living Liquidator uttered through clenched teeth, coughing blood and an oil-like substance.

“It’ll take us far enough to reach our perpetrators. Like yourself. How else would you be making your Serums?” The Manager claimed an ear, but the Liquidator remained unphased until they entered the darkness of the Nexus’ shadow.

“… Section 1.3.12 B. Inflow Direct is an Atelier that tries to benefit the world after the last major Liquidation. Harmful conduct outside of necessary circumstances will result in appropriate action –”

Suddenly, their tongue was claimed, and it was stuffed with the innards of a felled comrade. Fluids, steel shavings and flesh gagged them as their eyes peeled wide.

“Shut them up. Shut them all up! That’s the taste of one of your Liquidator friends! You’re part machine, so who cares what you eat. Your blood is just lubricant. Who knows. You might not even have a soul!”

After a fit of coughs and vomiting what little fluids they had left, they were thrown into a pile beneath the needle like spire. The blackish lubricant they vomited was poured over them as they were rounded up to be burned alive.

“G… Good. I’d like it that way. It means I won’t end up wherever you insects are! Blaming us for a tech that only belonged to Midas. No one knows where the tech is. If we had it do you understand how many Ateliers would swoop down to get rid of us!?” The Liquidator tried to speak some reason into them, but they fell upon deaf ears.

Rather, they heard them loud and clear. They simply chose to ignore it.

“We’ll be the first to swoop.” The Manager stated.

“Besides, what else is there to look forward to other than the hunt~ If we win here, then who’s going to care if we were right or wrong? See? All we gotta do is win so no one can complain!” A Dawn Team member said merrily, taking pride in the fact that they were free to do whatever they wished on the battlefield.

“So long as we steer clear from that hand, we will be fine. As for you? Not even cold iron could save you. And neither could stealing our magic.” The Manager slyly grinned, as if knowing the truth behind their lost magic. Or rather, that Inflow Direct were not in fact their perpetrators.

They simply used it as an excuse to fight.

One held two pieces of flint in their hands, striking it as sparks showered beneath them.

“Ooooh~! Let’s set them alight! Won’t be as big as the flames over there, but it’ll do!”

The Liquidator never allowed themselves to close their eyes. They silently watched the inevitable sparks creep closer, the bemoans of the innocent becoming their hell. However, the sparks abruptly stopped as all 30 Dawn Elimination Team units turned to the sound of a nearby rustling.

A figure appeared from the ruins. It was another Scarlet Logic member, but their body was heavily damaged, to the point where it was a miracle that they could even stand.

“Isn’t that another Dawn Team Manager? Heeey~! We’ve just finished up over here! Good timing!”

The figure didn’t respond. Instead, it crookedly walked towards them, sifting through the rubble, for it could not see.

“A blindfold? Don’t tell me one of them got to you!”

“A Serum. Maybe hypnosis? Blinding? Heeeey~! C’mere. Lemme get that off of you~!”

The woman holding the flint approached the figure, tapping their cheeks as if she recognized the person. Their cheeks were abnormally soft, and her fingers seemingly slipped into the slits of their extended mouth.

“G-Gross! Were you always like that!? Hiding a big mouth? Hey? C’mon, say something already. MANAGER! Or, CAPTAIN! We got another Dawn Team member right here! Try using one of the white Serum!”

The woman Dragonis turned her head, beckoning for the others as their eyes immediately went wide.

“TURN AROUND –!”

Unbeknownst to her was that the mouth of the Scarlet Logic member had expanded to over three times the size of her head. And within were rows of razor-sharp teeth. They were hooked, and they rotated like a sawblade.

“Huh –!?”

*Snap*

Blood sputtered over her face when she returned to face her assumed comrade. Half of her body was missing from the shoulder to her waist, with a hand severed cleanly off. This entity had easily annihilated her in a single hit.

“No blood. No blood. No blood. Not same. Not same. Water. Water. Water. Blind. All blind.” The creature offered its analysis of her flesh and began creeping towards the Scarlet Logic forces.

“W-What… KILL IT! EVERYONE – KILL –!”

“MANAGER WAIT! There’s more of them!”

“THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!”

Magical, crystal bullets were fired as hundreds of these entities suddenly emerged, each wearing a black blindfold. And unlike the sluggish one that claimed one of their own, these were faster. They ran on all fours like a deranged animal, their heads and bodies twitching as if in a permanent seizure-like state.

Their erratic movements made it impossible for their shooters to track, and they were the first to go, losing their entire bodies to the flesh-eating look alike.

“Blood no. Blood no. All water. All water. Bond not good. Bond not good. All blind. Blind!”

“Blind! Blind!”

“My turn! My turn!”

The chants were horrifying. The monsters lunged for their Scarlet Logic counterparts, eliminating many as the Manager gave the order to retreat. They, however, did not make it, and were promptly feasted upon as a giant black orb hovered by, wrapping the eyes of the deceased with black tentacles. Its form shifted at times, becoming a giant black suit of spades.

“For that! For that!”

“Bond! Bond! Worth it? Worth it?”

“Real bond? Real?”

“Conviction? False!”

The entities spoke as they pointed at the orb, following it wherever it went. The civilians and the Liquidator braced themselves as another thousand trampled by. They sealed their eyes, embracing death.

But miraculously, the civilians and the Liquidator were left alone. When the dust settled and the thuds of their combined march disappeared, the Liquidator deeply exhaled, unable to believe their fortune.

Or perhaps misfortune.

Because deep down, they understood what a monster like that may have meant.

“… Please don’t be another repeat of the Big Red Heart… Administering emergency Serums… Spare 600ml. It will be used to treat noncombatants of C4 – 12th Injector Site.”