Chapter 94: 95. Aftermath of the Greed Counter

There was no triumphant cheer or uplifting rally.

Only a telling silence befell the world. All eyes were glued to the mangled cadaver of the behemoth. It dangled over them with its golden entrails swaying lifelessly to a non-existent wind.

The silence marked the end of their struggles, and the end of their harrowing tribulations. They could only drown in the shadow of colossal Corrupted, which was held by a wall of stars and a massive, scarlet tree.

“Ignis. Thank you.” Frost spoke quietly, placing a warm hand onto the girl’s head. “That’s some incredible magic. Good work. You were a big help to us all.” She praised.

A really big help… Ignis’ power is insane. An extended circulatory system, huh. Makes you wonder just what other skills she has hiding behind that 500 RESIST. Probably all physiologically related in some way.

“She says it’s a surprise. Also, physiological is a strange word to her.”

“I guess it would be to a lot of people in this world.” Frost murmured, finally releasing herself from the Iron Candle and immediately began working to heal these people. “If anyone’s hurt then please come to me! The Corrupted is already dead so there’s nothing to fear anymore!”

The wax wing dispelled alongside the heat. Ignis wore a slightly disappointed face as she savored what was left of her warmth and touched her lonely head with her only free hand.

“That… that thing was a Corrupted. Gods… this was supposed to be a normal dungeon.” A woman retched, sickened by the transpired events and the gruesome scene hovering before their very eyes.

“Pull yourself together woman. Everyone! Let’s head off while we still can!” A heavily armored man exclaimed, waving a sword overhead as Frost rapidly passed him and casted Greater Healing.

The man’s eyes widened in confusion. They were all plagued with shock, and they refused to believe that those particles were anything remotely close to a healer’s magic. And yet the wounds carved into his flesh and face disappeared.

“Wait, before you go, please run me down with the situation on your end. We just watched two different groups spill from those entrances. Yours is the third. Tell me what happened here.” Frost demanded, healing the group with unmatched proficiency.

It did not matter what injury they had showed her. Her magic dispelled their pain and repaired their corporeal bodies. They were shaken by the ordeal, their eyes overflowed with terror. Some were incapable of recognizing Frost when she appeared before them, staring absentmindedly in a catatonic state.

Her touch was the only thing that garnered a reaction.

These people needed to leave, and fast. And thankfully; amongst them was the young child that she had promised to recover. But even they were not exempted by the mentally scarring process of this wretched circus.

“… I’ll ask once more. What the fuck happened here? Did you adventurers forget how to speak?” She spoke critically, and almost coldly as she regretfully stared at the young child, her gaze sweeping over to the countless others who struggled to move, the adrenaline finally wearing off.

“We – we were separated somehow by the rumbling! Before we knew it the Heart was with us! Our… OUR…”

“HEY. Calm down. It’s over now. Just start making your way out. But be careful of the mirrors. Your leaders are already dead, right?” Frost gathered from his jittery reaction.

They were on the verge of a mental breakdown.

The triplets were right with this place requiring as much mental conviction as physical strength. The weak willed could not possibly thrive here, and yet there were normal people who were entirely fine.

They were just frightened by their predicament.

“D-dead. No… no no. No. Broker and L.S are still alive in there… with that Heart. They – they held that thing back for us to escape. Something was there. Someone appeared after the rumbling.”

“Who? Who else was there?”

“Do you think we know!? I… I mean… I don’t know. None of us know! We – we just ran! Gods know how many of us didn’t make it!” The man snapped before falling into an odd lull. “How many of us… just… just…!”

“… I think I get the gist of the situation. Thank you. Go let the people outside know that we’ll be finishing shortly.”

They didn’t say another word and only nodded, far too shaken by this. And to think they were at the higher end of the ranking spectrum. Or rather, it showed just how diamond-willed a person needed to be just to face these nightmarish threats head on.

Frost had to wonder how this world managed to survive up to this point. The Beholders and their Ateliers were likely to thank. But they were also to blame for many of its tragedies.

As the people swiftly left, with the adventurers and farmers towing each other by the wrists, Frost turned to an approaching Jury with a gentle smile.

“Great work. All of you.” She gave them the thumbs up.

“Mhm. That was easier than the One Thousand Eyed Bird, right?” Jury hummed as she strode towards Frost with open arms.

However –

“Heh. So this is how you feel on a daily basis, huh Frost!?” Cer called from somewhere above, right before a streak of lighting wove through the crimson branches.

The galvanizing wolf interrupted Jury with utter ease and took Frost for her own.

She tackled Frost and dragged her along the ruined landscape, clutching at her waist, inhaling her scent like a lonely pet. Frost’s heels ploughed the earth as they eventually came to a stop.

“H-Huh!? Wait – Cer – the hell is wrong with you!?” She tried prying the woman away but to no avail, for Cer’s bolstered strength had yet to subside.

“Using my new power responsibly! What else! Hmmmm!” Cer, now having free reign over Frost, mashed her face into her chest much to Jury’s horror. “You’ve still got that cinnamon scent on you! C’mon. Praise this wolf. You see that!? I did that. Where were you during my beatdown, Frost!?”

“You do realize that strength is temporary, right? It’ll be ending soon. HEY! Res! BER! Get this wet dog away from me!”

“At least praise me a little!” Cer retaliated, deflecting Jury’s furious gaze. “What’s wrong Jury? Wolf got your tongue!?”

“You know, I always wondered why it was always a cat that took people’s tongues.” Ber hummed, fixing her gauntlets proudly.

“Idiots… this is how you two react right after this mess?” Res was unfortunately unfazed by this, meaning that their reaction here was entirely normal.

Although, there was a tinge of worry in Res and Ber’s eyes as they rushed to Frost’s aid.

“Frost. Your form hasn’t changed. That means an enemy is still nearby. Hold that thing still.” Jury said something terrifying, entirely unbecoming of the kindest person she knew.

But that just went to show how far this little troublemaker crept beneath her skin.

“Can we all just calm down for a second!?” Frost shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing more than twice. “… alright. Listen. Cer. You did an impressive job. Really. If it weren’t for you then we wouldn’t have beaten it so quickly.”

“Or at all.” Cer clarified cheekily.

“Right. Or at all. Yeah… hey Cer.”

“What now? Let me take in this scent.”

“Are you –?” She wanted to ask if Cer was ok. After hearing her mental woes and subsequent conviction to battle through it, Frost had to wonder if it had taken a toll on her.

But Cer interrupted her before she could finish.

“I said let me take in this scent. What’s with you worrying about a Moon? Tch. I hate those eyes of yours. Don’t you dare take pity on me.” Cer warned, squeezing Frost till she groaned, now glaring slightly much to Cer’s delight. “Greed. Value. Worth. No one’s buying me. No one ever has, or ever will. Neither in Grandis, or within the Nexus.”

Cer’s pride was unparalleled and rose higher than Frost could fathom. The little wolf that clutched at her waist possessed a heart made of diamonds. And before long, the diamond silhouette disappeared and with it, the Empowered buff.

Frost looked down at Cer’s head. Her fluffy ears and wagging tail were cute now that she realized it. And so, she patted Cer’s head almost motherly. She half-expected the woman to retaliate but she didn’t and instead, shivered meekly to her surprise.

This is Cer, right?

“Sorry. We’ll take it from here.” Res apologized, gently taking Cer away by her shoulders. “Sis. Stay with me. Stick by our side.”

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“Yeah. Yeah yeah. I know you’re both right here.” Cer suddenly complained.

“Oi. What about me? I want a praise too. You see my claws? Wasn’t that cool too?” Ber offered her head to Frost, causing her to smile wryly.

They really are just like tamed wolves.

Ber wore a pleased smile as Frost brushed her hand against her head, feeling the fluffiness of those ears. Then, Jury lined up right behind her.

And Ignis.

And then Snap.

“… you guys…” Frost deeply sighed.

 

* * *

 

Frost ate what she could of the behemoth. The golden tentacles allowed them to climb into its gaping cavity as they scoured its blue innards for their grand prize.

A Corrupted object was guaranteed to drop like the unique loot of a raid boss, and in true game-like fashion, they needed to decide who this reward was going to.

The ethereal hands were like enlarged versions of the tubes that ran down the arms of the Wandering Healers, spilling a near identical liquid. The cavity they found themselves in was precarious at best, and countless worm-like tubes squirmed beneath their feet.

The angle of the beast did not help either. Falling from this great height would result in death by gravity, or by impalement as Ignis remained below to hold the entire thing upright.

For normal people anyway.

Frost kept her emotions engaged by devouring parts of the beast as well as remaining obsessed over the connections she made with this creature and Inflow Direct.

Not to mention the fact that people were turned into coins. She even gained a skill that granted her this disgusting power.

“Hey Res!” Frost called out from across a gored chasm filled with bubbling blue liquid and the floating remnants of those the Greed Counter had snatched. “What exactly is this blue liquid!? It’s the same one that Inflow Direct uses, isn’t it!?”

“That’s the weird thing I’m trying to figure out! Inflow Direct was around for a long time. It’s probably one of the first Ateliers to ever appear! But they specialize in transforming magic into liquid. Not whatever this thing is!” Res called, severing massive chunks with her electric gaze.

“What about the healing potions!? You don’t think they took healers and took their magic!?”

“That’s highly likely! I know some Wandering Healers that had their magic stolen from them! But they never mentioned Inflow Direct’s involvement! Inflow Direct cannot steal magic!” Res replied. “But it’s also possible for a healer’s magic to outright disappear even though they still have the affinity!”

It was a confusing mess with no certain answer. It did not help that their knowledge was entirely surface level. But Frost wondered if they were talking about a certain Wandering Healer.

“You’re talking about D-13, right!?”

“Are you kidding me Frost!? Don’t even mention that bitch’s name around us!” Cer warned, wiping her jaw as she dug her hands through a small, gored tunnel. “Remember the twins when we first met!? Orh and Thras!? They used to be Wandering Healers at one point! But their magic wasn’t stolen!”

“Those two were Wandering Healers!?” Frost’s suspicion was now confirmed. She had a feeling that those claws were strange. Although… “Is that why Thras has the stringed hand?”

“They’ve just changed Ateliers. Remember Raoul!? He was their Wayfarer until things happened.” Cer revealed this interesting tidbit of information, causing Frost’s eyes to widen.

I see. So he was a Wayfarer. Now he’s a Star, if I remember correctly. That might explain why he’s mentioned to be so close to Beholder Galia, since that implies he would have been a part of Justica Arms.

“FROST! You’d be surprised how much people can change.” Cer then continued, running her hand along the still pulsating walls of this place. “You’ve seen how the healers are. All bubbly. Happy. Makes you want to kidnap them and keep them for yourself. But look at how those two are now! They’re the only Wandering Healers I’ll ever respect! Because they realized their faults. And they suffered after that realization.”

… how fucking horrible.

“So – what was their callsign when they were still Wandering Healers!?”

“You mean designation!? D-11. 11 symbolizing them as twins… I’ll never, ever forgive the people that put them there. On that train carrying all those criminals. Do you know what it takes for a healer to break? For a healer whose mind is perpetually locked as INNOCENT!?”

Cer snapped at the air, destroying major sections as tubes and liquid spilled as if a dam had opened.

“They were never the same. And now they’re so broken that they require Act X just to be able to find purpose in their lives now! And you wonder why I despise every soul beneath the Nexus!” She concluded, scowling at the bodies that floated in the liquid pool in the center.

Res quickly moved to Cer’s side, as did Ber. The woman seemed to calm down in that instance, finding solace in the comforting presence of her sisters.

“… let’s just find this thing quickly. Those two Golden Index Captains are as good as dead. Frost. Promise me that you won’t break. You of all people… should never become like them.”

“That won’t happen. Trust me, the day I break is probably the same day this world goes upside down!” Frost assured and managed to weave in a small joke.

“… good.” Cer deflated with a near minute long sigh.

Afterwards, the topic of the creation of the coins popped up. Apparently, turning people into coins was a tradition of the past to give value to the said coins. If they had a body and a soul etched into the coin, then it itself had inherent value and therefore was the most stable kind of currency…

… And this process also existed in the present, albeit only with creatures. It was a morbid twist on how games had creatures magically transform into coins. But this was no game, and Frost felt sick to her stomach, knowing that people amongst these creatures were butchered and transformed into coins.

Cer then asked her to take a coin and snap it open. When she did, she found a network of white strands holding its shell together.

It closely resembled the structure of bone marrow.

She crushed the coin in her palms and asked one final question as Cer neared their prized jewel.

“The Frozen Springs… what is that?”

“A Region far up north, just east of the Anid Region. Lots of snow. Lots of mountains. Lots of dead healers.” Ber said coldly, shivering to give her a visual. “It’s sad. But you know how the world treated them already.”

“… so why do they call it the frozen springs?” Frost asked as a faint humming sound then emitted in the direction that Cer excavated with her electric jaws.

“No one knows. But rumor has it that an Atelier used to be there until it was destroyed by Inflow Direct during a period called the Liquidation War. As for the war itself, we don’t know.” Res answered, watching Cer rapidly home into the Corrupted Object, reaching what appeared to be the heart of this creature.

“It’s a diamond brooch!? Woah. Haha! Of course greed and a diamond would go hand in hand!” Cer exclaimed, revealing a beautiful brooch with immaculate golden and blue hands curling at its rims. In the very center was a single, fist-sized diamond that radiated an incredible power.

“Here it is!” Cer held it high into the air for all to bear witness to its magnificent luster.

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