301. What Beholder Carpalis Stands For

She did not run.

Instead, she ruffled her feathers, bleeding them until hundreds of thousands of feathers took to the skies before her. They formed a colossal drill. If she took one step left, the crystal would readjust itself like it possessed a form of sentience within its inorganic mass.

The streaks of light overhead became brighter. It was like a timelapse of the night sky’s star cycle played, as though time was accelerating. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Rather, those streaks of lights appeared to be projectiles.

“They’re close… Tsk. Now of all times!? CARPALIS! I CAN’T STAY HERE FOR LONG!”

“Are you going to run away!?” Carpalis cried as she endured an attack from both ends. The drill ate through the layers of her Faustian Bargain’s blue coat, all the while the colossal crystal caused it to groan even louder now. “Gabriella! Is your fear of the Arbiter going to make you abandon this!?”

“We’ll be at each other’s throats. And that’s in the best of circumstances!” Gabriella screamed, watching Carpalis’ form shrink, as did the crystal. “The Arbiter… will take this last wing of mine!”

A splendid rain of blue and gold filled the skies. A radiance unlike any other bestowed the world all at the cost of Carpalis hand. She eventually returned to her usual scale and was dragged through the mud on the side of her only arm.

There was some panic in her eyes. Gabriella saw this and she clenched her teeth, swallowing heavily as she arrived at an ultimatum. However, as if sensing how the Angel felt, Carpalis’ worries drifted away as a small smile formed on her face.

“… help will be arriving soon. I, after all, chose to remain here in the first place.”

Carpalis didn’t judge her.

Neither did she spite her.

She simply accepted it.

As she always had.

“This was inevitable… I’m sorry. Carpalis… I’m sorry!” Gabriella choked up, sensing the Arbiter’s overwhelming presence encroach on them.

The entirety of Brandar witnessed the spectacle. How blue, gold, white and red particles lifted to the skies, replacing their stars however temporarily it was. But none could imagine the pain and sacrifice that was made for such a sight.

Gabriella’s eyes glowed immensely. Soon, the blue crystal shattered entirely, freeing them both as the White Wing turned to the left, her heart dropping to a presence that demanded her to perish on the spot.

Carpalis kissed the earth. Her body had been dragged through it, and Gabriella tried to reach down to at least pull her up.

However, she hesitated, and Carpalis could only look up understandingly.

But that was not to say that she was saddened by it.

For a brief, split second, Carpalis remembered the same hand she tried to save. The sacrifices she had given to so many nameless souls. To watch another friend retract their hands caused her eyes to widen.

Gabriella’s back was turned to her.

She couldn’t even say goodbye to Carpalis’ face.

But she did not leave just yet. Sinder pressed forward, launching Carpalis away with a mighty kick as he collided with the White Wing. Once again, their chain of clashes continued, wrecking total havoc.

Carpalis’ body rolled. She was never the best at combat. Her Faustian Bargain did everything for her. It clawed at the ground to slow her down as she watched the two fight for their lives, Gabriella becoming increasingly desperate to break away as the streaks of light became ever brighter.

“… Justica Arms. Galia is also close… How many minutes is it now? Gabriella… how much do you fear the Arbiter?” Carpalis spoke to herself.

Explosions after explosions. Lacerations after lacerations. The violence was unending. The shattered buildings erected themselves once more in this purgatory. Suddenly, as the two met each other in the center of the city, Carpalis spotted several healers of all people.

“You’re… still alive? I did not sense any souls here. Hehe… am I already damaged beyond repair now?” She asked herself, staring down at her golden hand. “… It’s no longer safe here –!”

< [What Doesn’t Kill You…] >

Sinder

HP : 550,000,000     ATT DEF : 1,000,000     MAG DEF : 1,000,000

A fireball engulfed Sinder, the heat scaling the healers as the White Wing backed away. Sinder’s wingspan reached 50 meters now, the ‘sun spots’ shooting streams of plasma which grossly violated all in its path.

“I’m sorry – but please endure!” Carpalis apologized for a reason the healers could not understand until her Faustian Bargain increased its size by tenfold.

|| The Dealer of Hands – Salvation ||

She trapped them within a golden cage, fearing for the worst as she tried to create distance between her and Sinder. Meanwhile, in the corner of her eyes, she watched Gabriella flee from the scene, heading towards the Piece of the Fallen Star.

“… We all have our callings. This is the price I pay for chasing mine. Chase yours, Gabriella. I hope you can find peace at the end of your plight.”

Carpalis uttered, chuckling to herself afterwards before her smile faded.

“They all take my hands for granted. And now I’m left with only this artificial one. In too wish I could run away. But in my heart I know what’s right. Therefore…” Carpalis increased the strength of the Faustian Bargain, layering it with:

|| The Dealer of Hands – Diamond Suit ||

And:

|| The Dealer of Hands – Shuffle ||

It was a Skill that promised absolute protection for those kept within her hand. Whilst Salvation reserved one’s mental state, Shuffle preserved their physical state, albeit with certain debilitating side effects.

One such was the rearrangement of organs.

But so long as they were alive and well, and so long as they were healers, then they were safe.

“Ahaha… No goodbye. No sendoff. You really do remind me of her, Gabriella. The Ringmaster who bit the same hand I fed her with. As always…”

< [World Ablaze] >

< It all returns to ashes >

Sinder’s wings collapsed into himself, forming a ball highly reminiscent of the sun as a halo of thorns appeared above. The sunspots were like eyes, spitting out endless streams of molten prejudice as it rapidly expanded, devouring the center of the city as it sent pulses of immense heat in ring-like formations.

“… I’m the one left behind. Frost. You’ve also bitten the same hand that tried to reach out for you. I wonder if I did something wrong. Sinder. Frost. Ahaha… ha…”

Carpalis was swallowed by a sea of flames, her vision disappearing entirely as her body endured the full brunt of Sinder’s wrath.

“… ha…”

Her smile – the one thing that could never be taken away from her – faded as she lowered her head, surrendering to a sorrowful lull that shattered her heart.

With it, so did the Faustian Bargain. Its exotic metal was twisted out of shape. The fingers that coiled inwards were heavily warped. The entirety of the city was devoured by the flames, and the world watched in horror.

Carpalis existence was nothing but pain. From her upbringing, to her life in the contents away from home, and now as a Beholder. Many thousands of souls were tethered to her.

Meaning she constantly endured the brunt of their pain and burdens. Minute after minute.

These flames surpassed it all, but even so, Carpalis kept her head down. She could no longer scream, and she had long lost the ability to shed tears. The few minutes spent within was, in no exaggeration, a hell she could never possibly wish upon someone else.

Her hair blackened, becoming a charcoal-like color as her body sustained numerous burns.

Soon, she could no longer feel her left arm, and her Faustian Bargen no longer resembled a hand, but a malevolent appendage fitting only of a monster.

Her legs trembled. Her body wanted to give in. And in the moments when she thought her Faustian Bargain would finally break –

Something collided with Sinder.

Something so powerful that it ripped the city in half, leaving behind a multiple-kilometer wide trail.

|| Infusion S ||

When her eyes awakened, she was greeted with the sight of an Angel with 12 wings and 7 dazzling tails, carrying with them the Beholders as one collided with Frost, dragging it through the city with destructive speed.

The entity that interrupted Frost was a vaguely humanoid machine with a brain in vat of white liquid.

That thing was Beholder E.

“I don’t remember Demons being more benevolent than we are. Times do change. I cannot see you… but I can sense your unwavering spirit.” The Angel – the Arbiter – spoke with a commanding voice to Carpalis as one tail reached down to her, bestowing a healing light that unfortunately did little to help her.

Still, Carpalis smiled, thankful for its lovely, soothing radiance.

“That’s Beholder Carpalis.” A woman dressed in a black, feathered coat near identical to Frost’s spoke. She was carried in the arms of the Arbiter like a princess. “I told you. If there is one Beholder you can entrust your vision on, then it would be her.”

The woman who spoke was none other than Beholder Galia.

She had a dark complexion, as if she had spent most of her life bathing in the sun. Her hair was short. Much shorter than Frost’s, and her judging eyes were a luscious green, with a hint of purple. They seemed to carry the cosmos in her eyes as she brought one hand to the sky, and the streaks of light subsided entirely.

Life returned to Caraplis’ eyes as she collapsed, elated beyond words to finally see many of the Beholders here, united to deal with a common threat.