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576. Aquagale Solitude

Tall fields of corn and wheat were divided by an unwelcoming road.

Groups of hardened men and women alike worked the fields as part of a repayment system. Debt was paid off with manual labor and special service for those that lacked coins, or as a form of punishment since despite the city possessing ‘Solitude’ in its name, this place was no longer a prison.

But was half of the truth. Aquagale Solitude was a special prison when compared to most in Elysia. It was a city large en...

575. A Glimpse of the Third Chapter of the Price of Paradise

Aquadale Solitude.

A city that once housed criminals of the Kingdom of Puritas. Deplorable souls used to fill the many hundreds of cells until they were bursting to the brim, but now those same souls were mixed with the city’s populace after the incursions following the Decade of Darkness.

The 10 years after Paradise’s destruction was a time filled with endless wars wages by the remai...

574. Fables of the Electric Fang

Desolation plagued the coastlines of Southern Grandis.

The contrast of the beauty of the world afar and the devastation nearby reminded Frost of a memory from both Earth and the old world. Sights that were depicted in the Floor of Hope were also reminiscent of the scenery that unfolded before her.

Atlas must have looked like heaven to them, as well as the Nexus. You can see it in all its glory from all the way here.

Broken wooden shacks too cramped to be called prop...

MA: 29. Snow, The White-Haired Healer

*Drip*

Something dripped beyond Red’s darkness.

*Drip*

*Splash*

It was not the kind of kind of sound that lava could make. The viscosity was too low. Red could almost visualize it. Her body couldn’t move yet. Sensation hadn’t returned either.

*Drip*

*Scuttering*

*Splash*

*Panting*

But she could hear somethi...

MA: 28. A Bullet Forged By Unending Hatred

She could feel it. Something forming… no, burning inside of her now. The brambles that wrapped her heart were not there to constrict her heart. They were preparing for this moment this entire time.

They were fuel for the inevitable flame of her vengeance.

< “In your infinite hatred.” >

An ominous voice spoke to her. It did not seem to belong to Agate. A ticking acc...

MA: 27. Heightening Emotions

“So this is how it is… this is the wall I have to overcome… Bullshit…”

Red’s hated festered.

The blade twisted into a reverse grip as she watched the Still Unloving murder countless of the Still Unborn to the utter despair of the Still Unmoved. The constant wails of malformed children and their grieving mother only caused the brambles to tighten further in her chest.

“Don’t you dare think you can take away this opportunity to live away from me! Monopolize the...

MA: 26. Giant Spider Boss Battle!

From the depths of its nonexistent lungs came a guttural cry.

< “It begins with hunger.” >

< [Tangled Reins] >

The ethereal strings that hoisted the ten-legged beast twirled as its legs closed together forming a spear. Then, when the strings could twist no more all legs were thrown out like the blades of a saw.

“Oh shit. Rock Bugs! RUN! DON’...

573. Faster Than A Bullet

“They are already dead. Stop wasting our time or the others will declare us the same!”

A fist struck the trunk of a great tree. A deep imprint was left behind where hot vapor violently steamed. Huge, silver-plated armor were worn on the eight men who had accompanied the merchant band as hired arms.

Hiring mercenaries and at least someone familiar with the Highways was standard procedure when one dared to set out into Grandis. Since the Guilds were abolished in Grandis it was d...

572. A Familiar Name

Frontier, the Capital City of the Bellum Empire. The name was less extravagant as Paradise and the Capital of the Northern Diavola Kingdom: Primus Ramus. The status of the North was not currently known by most due to blockades which mysterious appeared around the same time she left the Black Forest.

As for the West – the Apprentice mage named Autumn due to the color of her hair explained that the Bellum Empire was in an awful state. It was completely isolated from both other Kingdoms ...

571. The Deal

Frost moved into the flames, walking past the corpses of the Anids as went to retrieve her bullet. A giant ball made from the curling of ten spider-like fingers was half-buried into the soul. The pallid eye that once resided within popped like a balloon, its membrane coiling in response to the heat.

The Pentanids were not spared either.

They crumbled away the moment the Decanid perished. They were the first to reduce to ashes, revealing red blood within before the flames burned aw...

570. Back Into The Anid Nest

Embers replaced the disappearing mist. The thick redwood trees of the forest were highly flame resistant, yet they melted from the base like wet clay. Breathing the smoldering air should have scorched their lungs. Smoke also should have enveloped everything.

But these flames were different.

They did not burn.

They erased everything they touched save for the merchant band.

The apprentice mage had seen many kinds of magic used by a plethora of countless magicians and Adv...

MA: 25. Still Unloved

“Follow the bloody trail.”

The red lines that guided Hatchling’s Red blade was the manifestation of pure instinct. They were red strings that dictated where the tip of her blade was inserted; how it slashed against the vulnerable flesh of her prey; and who it must be done to.

She slashed the sinew strings that held up the limbs of the spider-like entities, severing their ties with the cavern before she swiftly finished them off with her only remaining pale proboscis.

<...

569. Who's Hand Would You Take?

Grandis.

A Region famous for the calamity that befell the city of Paradise and infamous for its long, depraved lists of atrocities that plagued its otherwise beautiful lands. There was a saying that the brightest light casts the darkest shadow.

The adage was written in blood. Grandis’ history was proof of it.

All regions of Grandis were mountainous woodlands, with valleys serving as natural highways that connected distant cities. If they were lucky then that city’s light...

568. Iscario, The Brightest Star and The Blackened Nexus

“Brightest Star! Answer me!” Nilhim cried.

Iscario didn’t speak a word to him, walking past Nilhim seemingly without a care or thought in the world.

His footsteps were heavy. So incredibly heavy and hot that the sand beneath him instantly turned to glass. A hand reached into his open sleeves, and from it, a golden Seed was plucked.

“Don’t tell me… How does this one have any worth to devour a Seed –!?”

“Are you questioning me?”

Fear immediately...

567. The Zone of Avoidance

A disturbance deep in the underground recesses of the Derma Layer caused the red-lined walls to violently tremble. And then as though in pain, the collective wails of millions cried out.

“_____________!”

Dark beings that fed and made their roost with the bones of the fearful had their minds corroded by visions of something they could not begin to fathom. Those same shadows fell into a collective heap of consciousness.

They could not even say the name of the very thing th...

566. Farewell To The Nexus!

After months of staying in the place she had so desperately struggled to return to, it was finally time to leave it yet again. And what better place than the same Region where it all went downhill for Frost?

Grandis. An utterly lawless Region where even Blessed don’t dare to tread. It was where the old naive Frost died long ago inside of the Black Forest.

She was not going to make the same mistakes this time.

Preparations for her departure were just about finalized on the ...

565. The Arbiter's Warning

An Arbiter’s Council was held on the 3rd day of 351 PA.

Frost had gotten used to the formalities and the attention she received during the Councils. By now one had to wonder if the Stars and Moons attended out of duty or to solely see her.

Eclipses were now allowed to join the seats of the regular Moons, though calling them regular now would be incorrect. Each row of seats housed different ranking Moon. It began with the Eclipses at the very bottom, the Lunar Haruspex, the Minu ...

MA: 24. Red VS Giant Spider

Bang.

The clash of steel hitting steel reverberated throughout the cavern. Red’s blade connected with one of the creature’s legs and yet to her shock –

“Tch… That’s not rock at all! You’re made out of damned steel!”

The realization struck her like lightning as she drifted backwards to make some space in case of a counterattack. And as expected, a leg stabbed precisely where she was just a second ago.

The Still Hungry pressed forward. It clearly saw Hatc...

564. The Arbiter's Request

Frost reached a hand towards where the water terminated.

Beneath was a pit that fell until it reached a singular point of darkness.

A thin, invisible fabric brushed against her fingertips, tearing apart at the seams.

“It’s safe. Go on. See what lays beyond.” Michaela urged. “Oh? Did you think I meant you? No. Only Frost may be permitted to.”

“Huuuh?” Cer tilted her head, only to be slapped on the back of the neck by Res.

“Show some respect! Ahem. ...

563. Galia's Arm - The Astra Inclinant

The Arbiter wore a different kind of face today. It was not the usual one that exuded the untouchable splendor of an Angel. Neither was she accompanied by an overbearing aura.

She stood behind them all simply observing them with both hands tucked behind her back. It was as if she was waiting for someone to speak.

Frost hummed something incoherent underneath her breath before speaking. For once she was able to comfortably refer to this person as –

“I guess you’re right,...

562. De Jure - The Black Gun

The object sat on a cushioned bed made solely for it. It was a long object shaped like a Justica Arm, only that it was thicker to allow the user to wield it with both hands.

“Believe me, Ber. You’re not the only one that wants to go in headfirst. But we need to pace ourselves. Recall every time that we did. We’ll be no better than the Ateliers.”

Ber grit her teeth before her body relaxed. Frost was correct.

Just how many were sacrificed because of their rash actions?...

561. The Casket

“Did you hear? Something strange was delivered into the Nexus.”

“People are calling it a casket, but don’t you think it’s strange for them to let us see it?”

“Yeah I thought so too. But it’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Mmm. It feels good to at least see what’s going on up there, even if it’s just a hint.”

“Right? Makes you feel proud to be a Blessed!”

The topic of the casket became a hot topic with...

560. Special Delivery

“How are the returning Exalted doing?”

Frost still hadn’t finished her duties as the leader of the Head. She was listening to Weave handover an update regarding the status of the level 200 Exalted.

“The Injector Sites have only just received them. Five of them will be arriving at the 6th Branch as soon as possible. The other four haven’t been found yet by the Stars~!”

Weave was bubbly as always. Even when in front of the Three Heads of Security she continued her ...

G-Z7: 19. A New Corrupted Arrives!?

Site Expansion.

When a Facility arrived at a pivotal moment – which was usually when the Site Core’s demand for Liquid Nex grew past an uncertain threshold – the Site would expand according to its Will.

This was how it was supposed to be.

Departments, sectors, wings, and workshops were all things that were made prior to a Site’s awakening. Afterwards it was all up to the Will of the Site Core to determine when, where and how it expanded.

All of it was done thro...

559. The Many Faces of The Amalgam

Frost was listening to the report with a content smile.

Her chin rested on a bed of intertwined fingers as firsthand accounts of the Black Wings’s success was announced by a Lunar Haruspex.

“Overwhelming victory. Zero causalities. Several denizens of D7 were unfortunately killed in the operation. Compensation is pending.”

The long-haired man who wore a kind smile found only on those who were as sly as a fox. His highly lavish fur coat with the image of a minute hand, a...

558. Hope Is The Thing With Wings

“Shoot until nothing’s left!”

“Sustain fire! Bullets to where everything moves!”

Unending roars left the mouths of the Black Wings.

They moved into Syndicate hideouts with a highly disciplined approach.

Squads of up to five or seven were led by their Captains as an encompassing ‘Murder’. Each Murder of Black Wings unleashed streamlined devastation; their bullets seemingly infinite as was their relentless drive.

“GET OUT OF OUR LINE OF FIRE!”

557. Mimicry And The Orange Disruptor

[Fire Spear] was a powerful magic used by Gold Ranking Adventurers and above, capable of taking Trickle and low-ranking Hailstorm Corrupted with enough tenacity and skill.

Following it was [Reactive Fire], another fire-based magic attack that bolstered the strength of an existing fire-based magic, essentially turning the [Fire Spear] into low-grade thermite.

It blinded Acedia, allowing him to thrust his blade forward which caught alight. He felt it connect with the being. At the s...

556. Zelvidor, The Leader of the Red Grin

The 1st of the 1st, 351 PA marked the first official operation led solely by the Head.

The Red Grin’s Headquarters were not their only asset that was struck. Various backwater hideouts involved in storage of illicit goods and people were met with the fullest might of the Head.

Gunfire cracked at every passing second, claiming the lives of countless Red Grin members. It was impossible to tell how far away the gunfire was. Even from a kilometer away it sounded like it was just a s...

MA: 23. Still Hungry

Sorrow.

The Attribute spelled the nature of the being. It did not attack, nor did it scream. The Still Unborn huddled around her knees, their cries of anguish subsiding in the presence of their mothers – the Still Unmoved.

Their mouths curved into peaceful smiles. But behind those curves was a well of palpable sadness that Red could not help but to solemnly watch.

“How do I do this? If I kill it, then there’s no telling what the repercussions will be.” Red and her ar...

555. Overwhelming Firepower

The heart of the Red Grin Syndicate was another brick in the wall casino of the City of Diamonds. Nothing substantial separated it apart from the norm. That was until one dug past the surface.

Long stretches of unused land surrounded it. The foundations of underdeveloped homes were built atop the slums where not a soul was left in sight. Belongings of the impoverished littered the hidden slums which were used as a passageway to ender the casino.

The casino itself was a three stori...