Chapter 38: 38. A New Corrupted Emerges

She approached the site with Jury by her side. There were 6 of these women, each bearing a different injury. The bandaged webbing was saturated in blood. Wounds from an unknown source riddled their bodies, from fresh laceration along the torso to scars from a distant past.

The nearby Anids steered clear and patiently watched from aside, as did the other healthy women.

“The Wandering Healer and the Wayfarer came back! Or… a different one?”

“A Wandering Healer… it’s been so long!”

“There’s a different Wandering Healer this time?”

“It’s only been months miss healer! Wait, you’re not the same…?”

These women sounded like they were familiar with the Wandering Healer, just like Via. It would explain why they appeared so pristine in the first place. But they mentioned something rather intriguing.

“Please hold onto your thoughts until I heal them.” Frost commanded with a powerful voice.

Months, huh? Nav, did they lie to me about the Anids being terrifying?

“Strange. Impregnation takes only days. But they are plenty terrifying. This one seems to be in disrepair if there were only 8 Octanids in total. Expanding the nest must not be a priority.”

Well, I’m just happy that things didn’t end up going ‘that’ route.

Frost mentally sighed in relief.

“Hello. Ah, I guess you wouldn’t be able to answer me back in that state. Hey, I’m going to start healing you, alright?” She spoke with a kind, gentle voice, one that made Jury envious of these women.

“… hello…?” One of them managed to groggily reply, right before Frost healed them one by one with Greater Healing. “A-Ah. The pain is – It’s going away?”

“… agh… you are…? A-A healer?” Another gurgled.

“That’s right. I’m a healer.” Frost spoke in a quiet, gentle voice to these 6 souls. “… what happened to you all? Can one of you please explain?” She looked towards the others surrounding her.

The wounds were unnatural now that she had a closer look. It was not made by a weapon or object. The skin was peeled around the sites of injury, exposing weeping tissue underneath. It looked more akin to a burn injury, but magic was the most likely answer.

“That… we don’t know. Our masters in Little Tais suddenly threw these girls into these woodlands while screaming out at the top of their lungs.” A bunny-eared girl uttered. “I saw Octanids charge deeper, but they have never returned.”

“I think there’s a fight between the nest and the town. I wouldn’t put it past them to use slaves as sacrifices to appease the Anids.” A bee-woman spoke. “… but the Anids didn’t do anything either.”

She had the abdomen of a bee protruding from her tailbone. The giant, fuzzy ball was a marvelous sight. She was an Insectid, no doubt.

“What happened in Little Tais?” Frost asked the healthiest of the injured women, but they didn’t respond. They were still mentally recovering from the ordeal. “… I see. Does anyone have any diseases I can cure in the meantime?”

“We’re all fine. The previous Wandering Healer did everything for us already. U-Um… do you not have…?” A fox-eared woman timidly said as she pointed her hand, which was posed to look like a set of claws. “The fluid?”

“Fluid?”

“Potions. The Wandering Healer we’re frequented by had the claw that injects us with high quality potions. She said they last in our system for a long time. An inoculation, she called it.” The fox-woman said, smiling fondly at the memory.

… I don’t know how to feel about that smile. It’s painful to see, but I’m glad these people can at least smile in the first place.

“You’re not afraid of the Anids, are you? I thought they did horrible things to people.” Frost commented, further investigating the wounded. She check for their pulse, breathing rates, warmth, everything that could hint at an abnormality in their bodily functions.

Thankfully, they appeared fine.

“Coming from a healer? You have a splendid sense of humor~ A lot of us… had horrible lives, as you can imagine. Like you healers, we came here to die. But we were given a purpose instead. Even if it meant that it would spell our end.” The bee-woman said. “Funny that an Insectid is saying this, I know. We have purposes of our own within our societies. But emotions tend to push us into uncharted directions.”

“At least that way we could live a fulfilling life. Miserable, isn’t it. But you of all people should know this pain.” The bunny-eared girl said as she clutched at her chest. “We’re still their broods but they’ve only kept us comfortable in their strings.”

“U-Um! Can I ask you something, kind healer?” The fox-woman asked, inching closer to the bandaged women.

“Ask me anything. Answering you is the least I can do.” Frost’s mind was in disarray, only barely kept together by the familiar warmth of Jury’s presence.

Hearing the suffering, the pain and misery from their voices caused untold emotions to stir in her heart. It was made worse by how they accepted it like it could not be helped. A natural cycle of eat or be eaten in life.

It was unacceptable.

“Will you execute these ones?”

“Huh? No... No. No way. And I am not one of your Wandering Healers. My friend here isn’t a Wayfarer either.” Frost revealed to them, eliciting a brief silence. “We’re just travelers. Travelers caught in this web of madness. Tch… Are you sure you’re safe here?”

“I’d rather stay here and die as a brood than to live another second with those humans. Funny that monsters are more ‘human’ than humans themselves. By the way, what race are you from kind healer? You don’t smell like a human. But you sure look like one!” The fox-woman suddenly exclaimed; her eye sparkling with curiosity.

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

Demi-humans are sharp. So there’s a racial scent?

“Pure intuition and instinct. They are part Beastkin among other races. May you never forget that.”

Cer, Ber and Res must be the most incompetent wolf-girls for failing to sniff me out. But then again, my origin was still Human back then. Man… I didn’t expect to get hit this hard.

“Emotionally?”

Yes. Emotionally, spiritually, everything. Haaaaah. Shit… Oh?

“Frost. They’re waking up.” Jury noted, before suddenly –

“AAAAAHHH! AH AH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! W-W-where… where am I!?” A cat-eared girl cowered as she screamed out at the top of her lungs.

“Calm down! It’s ok! No one’s going to hurt you here!” Frost tried to calm her down, but to no avail as another one began screaming.

“I confessed everything I did! We all confessed to the sins we never committed! Stop… please stop laughing at us!” Another clutched at her ears and sobbed in terror.

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“No one’s laughing! U-um! T-The Decanid’s coming over!” The fox-woman pointed out as Frost desperately tried to figure out a way to calm them. “There’s trouble over here mister Decanid!”

“Screaming! So much screaming! People… why were they turning against each other! Why did the red slabs of text drive us insane!? O-O – our skin peeled whenever it laughed! Please… no more… please don’t hurt me anymore!” A much younger girl with dog-like ears sobbed, clutching at the parts that were previously missing flesh.

“NAV! What the fuck is going on!?” Frost yelled all of a sudden as a looming presence approached.

“How terrible…” Jury bared her inhuman teeth.

“Unknown… but you should be wary of a Corrupted presence.”

“And I shouldn’t be worried about that Decanid?”

“No. I believe it wishes to speak with you.”

A giant ball emerged from the foggy wall. Its 10 limbs curled inwards like an unbloomed flower. But the longer she stared at it, the more it appeared like the curled fingers of a pair of hands merging into one.

In the center laid a single, pale eye that observed all.

 

 

And underneath it, were a pair of massive metal claws, hoisted by shimmering strings of an unknown origin.

 

 

 

No. These were not mere claws. They were in fact Anids puppeted as a pair of claws.

And so, with a voice deep enough to reverberate within her bones, the Decanid spoke from an unforeseen organ as its 10 limbs moved like they were its lips.

“Requesting… aid… from… Archetype… Devastation… lays… ahead… Our… nest… destroyed…”

“You… how do you know what I am!?” Frost demanded.

It did not respond immediately.

“Beings… of… higher… orders… will… inevitably… detect… beings… of… the… highest… order… I… will… ask… once… more… Archetype… Will… you… defeat… the… enemy…? In… exchange… passage… to… that… town… will… be… granted…”

An enemy of an unknown origin that somehow caused these people immense misery. From the talk of the stone texts and people screaming their lungs out, Frost could not help but to imagine that this enemy it spoke of was a Corrupted.

“… It’s blocking our passage as well. Decanid. What about you. Will you fight?” Frost wanted one answer, and gazed into its giant, singular eye with unparalleled conviction.

The misery that these people were subject to was enough to boil her blood. The suffering needed to end.

“I… must… protect… these… ones…” It lowered its hands towards the women, cupping them as if carefully trying to scoop up a small, injured critter.

A satisfactory answer.

“But… they… are… close…” It revealed as Frost sensed something in the distance.

No. She could hear something.

A choir of screams, and amongst them, was the laughter of one.

“FROST! Scarlet Logic has not issued an official risk classification to the oncoming Corrupted! I will quickly calculate it based on the Arbiter’s parameters!”

 

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

 

< MONSOON >

< THE ARBITER’S TRUMPET INSPIRES >

 

 

Regardless of this, new skills and abilities awaited.

But so did brand new horrors.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

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