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1094. Color of Their World
🕑 Added 2025-10-26 07:41:20 +0000 UTCAct X’s forces swelled in size after reinforcements arrived through the leg of the Milinid. The remaining 2,000 became 8,000. The number was still much too low to be considered a threat.
However, Res was the only one capable of preserving the life of the Acolytes. Acedia and the Mimic of Amalgamation focused solely on incapacitation. Unlike the Hired Arm, neither could use any of Frost’s Skills, so they could not use [Starlight Barrier] as a platform to lift the injured or use Healing magic to preserve them for as long as possible.
Unlying Tablets scattered across the Grand Stage maintained many. In fact, they were purposefully kept clear by both them and Act X as a place to store the injured for safekeeping.
A pale ring surrounded the Unlying Tablets as dark particles lifted from the bodies kept within their boundaries. Acolytes did not dare tread through these boundaries. Neither did the Heralds, nor the Missionaries. They were not a target, nor were they mentioned explicitly by the Script.
The coordinated swings of their scissor-blades intentionally arced away from their own that were kept close to the Unlying Tablets. The legs avoided the Unlying Tablets as well, and the earth-shattering area-of-effect attacks made by the Missionaries did not leave even a single mark on these structures.
Thus, there was no point in destroying them.
A silent sentiment was shared amongst Act X. The Unlying Tablets were an established neutral ground that neither Jury’s group nor Act X interfered with. However, the Unlying Tablets that were infused with offensive Skills were struck down and trampled to dust.
The reason for preserving them was not clear to Res. She had a vague hunch that it was thanks to Lachesis’ arrival. The few times she was able to turn in their direction revealed a conversation rather than a fight.
Thankfully, she had a way to confirm this.
Jury
< Lachesis is on our side… Kind of. I haven’t confirmed it yet – Gah! But she’s strong! Her stats look like a red herring. Her level can’t only be 130! >
She surpasses the level limit? You can trample over a Moon, let alone a Star. The only thing closest to you is another Beholder.
Jury
< I’m glad you believe I can take on another Beholder! But I’m sorry, I don’t think she’s at the same level as a Beholder. I’d be pushed to my limits right about now! >
One of the major perks of the Blessing of the Amalgam, aside from its numerous boons, was their instantaneous, telepathic communication. CognitO Transmitters and Receptors could only reach so far before a Mediator was required. Jury served as a major Mediator for her personnel, though even now, she could not interact with them due to an unknown interference.
Thoughts ran through her mind as her tail swiped a line into the ground. Moments later, colorful spikes shot out, creating a sturdy barricade that spanned several tens of meters across.
Act X was always a closed book. A part of me wants to blame Frost not inquiring about Act X like what she did with Inflow Direct and Caldera Industries. The Minu Auditors didn’t notice this either. Jury must now be aware that they’re limited to what they can find, rather than what an Atelier is willing to tell them.
The Minu Auditors primarily used Nex to audit an Atelier.
But how could one audit the past when every tragedy was a component of one’s belief? Without emotions there could not be Nex. When one was bound to purpose and strung by its strings, then they did not need to think.
Death was embraced as no more than the will of the Script.
Thus, why did they need to feel a certain way about it? To despair? Cry? Mourn?
Certainly not.
How could Res not see it as anything but another hideous form of resignation?
The blade of a Missionary arced in the air and pummeled the side of her body. She did not need to move. It bounced off her, and she caught it with a hand before it could return to her attacker. Unsurprisingly, their weapons were ineffective against a Moon, less one of Res’ caliber and one who was wearing an outfit made of Quality X Cloth.
Act X used Quality 7 to 8 Cloth at the minimum. Quality 9 and X were not found on the Exarchs either. This was because they were never intended to take damage in the first place. Even if they did then it was no more than the will of the Script.
Another three Missionaries piled onto Res. Her form was suddenly smothered by their hulking blades. For a moment, an Acolyte let out a victorious shriek when he noticed red splotches coating the blades.
This was not blood.
Another five collapsed onto the three already on her. The steel began trembling, and surrounding Acolytes roared, believing that they had managed to injure the equivalent of a god.
However, the blades began to rise. Shortly after, the Missionaries were lifted off their feet. Their combined mass was easily over thousands of kilograms, yet they floated with the same grace as a weightless child. They were parted aside like doors, revealing an untouched Res whose tail had knotted around their weapons.
Acolytes held their breaths. Missionaries did not relent, though they were unable to move. Heralds on the other hand surrounded Res, intending to attack her while she was distracted.
Yet no weapon landed on her again. No one had moved an inch. She had not used an Ability or Skill to dissuade them. Indeed, all Res did was hold the Missionaries in the air as she wore a complex face.
Think Res. We can’t keep focusing down Act X’s forces. The legs. Can we do anything about the legs? Frost has the [Oblivion Lock]. No. The simplest answer is the correct one. I’ll destroy them. First… These Missionaries and Heralds…
Res was simply lost in her thoughts.
Nothing more, nothing less. She may as well be an armored beekeeper standing in the heart of a hive. What could the bees do to the keeper than throw their lives away?
“… A Moon… Doesn’t even… See us as a threat.” An Acolyte dared to utter their deepest fear. It was obvious. They had heard of the tales of the Moons who fought the Corrupted. But witnessing one was an entirely different story.
They were not alone with this sentiment.
“A Moon cannot be the breaking point of an Acolyte, less a Herald. Disappointing. But Acolytes and Heralds were never one to be entirely embraced by the strings. Herald often stray far, only to find that their every move has been accounted for.”
A Missionary neither condemned nor reprimanded them. It was the expected outcome, however disappointing it was. Crimson spikes suddenly burrowed through their chests and burst from their backs.
“And According to Act X, when they’re ‘found’, they end up becoming a Missionary.” At Res’ command, the spikes began twisting like drills. Their innards became churned, and their lower halves were quickly bisected with the swipe of her tail.
The red spikes were created using [Tortured Artist]. It was a Passive Skill that invaded the bodies of targets she deemed as enemies. Then, their innards could be churned and converted into ‘material’.
She could not use paint freely. Nor could she create paint without material, like how sweat could not infinitely produce if one did not hydrate. One could imagine this method being the equivalent of dabbing a starved paintbrush onto a splotch of paint.
And that was exactly what she did. Her tail, which was significantly less vibrant than before, invaded their bodies to replenish her paint. The dried bristles drank their fluids, and a crimson sheen surrounded the tip of her tail.
“I’d kill you if I had the choice. But Frost’s orders are absolute. My own strings used to both blind and tether me when I was lost. I almost feel sorry for you.”
They were enraptured by her voice. It had become serene. Were it not for the splotches of pain on her face, then they would have believed her to be an otherworldly beauty. Her words caused few to lower their arms, convinced that her pity was a sign of surrender.
It soon became apparent that it was a precursor to something worse.
Res severed the limbs of the Missionaries with her claws, and then, she hurled them onto a floating platform with a graceful heave. Non-human entrails and organs trailed behind and formed a myriad of spirals, each one of eleven distinct colors. The most prominent color was grey, the color of the Sin of Sloth which fell under the umbrella of the Affinity of Purpose.
[Color of Their World]. It was a Passive Skill that caused the blood of her target to bleed in the color they closely associated with. In her heart she had made a silent bet that it would be blue given the color code of Act X.
The color confirmed to her that the ‘color’ was either closest to one’s Sin, Virtue or Affinity.
Nav
< An essence of humanity still flows through them. What’s with the sudden Nex generation? Do you not like that term? ‘Humanity’? >
As a Demi-Human, ‘Humanity’ brings back memories of our persecution. I’m sort of surprised. I thought Missionaries were just empty husks controlled by the Scripts. Even they have some kind of… Hmm. Essence? Can I start calling it that? It sounds much more beautiful than ‘Humanity’. Humanity doesn’t sound right.
Nav
< Call it whatever you wish >
