Several more Milinid legs crashed into the Grand Stage. Corrupted Denizens burst from them and imdiately overrun the eastern section of the battlefield.
One leg summoned a swarm of Converted Drones, which beelined for Res. She was forced to reposition and take on the brunt of the Corrupted assault. They were brittle and required little effort to deal with.
However, their numbers far surpassed the Anids and Act X personnel combined.
Then, there were the Devoted. Their strings hijacked the bodies of the limbless Acolytes and puppeted them as newly ford Corrupted Denizens.
Another leg summoned an army of flanking knights. They were shadowy creatures with dark bodies clad in impossibly large armor. The armor was made of an ocean-blue crystal that twinkled as though infused with stars.
They were the Templars, a Corrupted Denizen who wielded a blade shaped like a crescent moon.
Marching beside them were thin beings whose feet were fused into a giant ball. They balanced atop, and they juggled orbs of light that hissed with a fuse. A permanent smile was etched into their hollow faces, and a loud, discordant giggle ca from their ranks. They were called the Jugglers.
Finally, the fourth and last army to arrive were the Deserters. They were humanoid beings clad in rags. They walked hunched, with their knuckles barely grazing the ground. Spines grew from their backs. Skewered along them were fruits in the shapes of various heads.
"What ca first? The chicken or the egg? The question applies to Stars."
Lachesis knew far more than many. She must have seen it from the strings. Every truth accounted for and kept in secrecy. The woman tilted her head on the other side, as if reading Jury's mind.
"The strings do not show such truths. I have seen the ruin they bring. Their beauty. Their love. And what they represent. Beholder Jury. Do you think the living, across every world, ca before the concept of ti? It is relegated to a Star, whereas concepts ingrained into us, are Corrupted. Our tales, our experiences, our beliefs are driven by what is, inexplicably, us."
"… Stars… are born from what? Primordial concepts?"
It was the only conclusion Jury could co to. Yet, she was certain there was more to this. Death was a universal concept of the living. Because without the living, then was death and mourning? So in her mind, she realized that there must be varying levels of Stars depending on their concept, like the Corrupted.
And Jury, whose Gift From a Star was 'Ti', made her realize why her Glimr persona was so powerful.
"I wished to ask you this myself. Because I wish to understand what implores them to tether us to them. A star bounds a planet to its pull. The sa is true for a Star and life. Corrupted. Impuritas. Beholder Jury."
Lachesis tapped the spool by her hip. It was only a quarter full.
"Please do not destroy this spool. The strings I receive from you… I wish to know what future lies beyond my strings. This comfort is also my prison. But what I would give to see Clothina's strings again…"
"… Clothina. You've said this na before. Who is she?"
"The daughter of Atropos and an Angel of Lust. The sister of the sole male Healer."
There was only one male Healer Jury was aware of. The Father of the Asclepien. She was not aware that he had a sister, or any relatives for that matter. Neither did Nav, nor Frost. Jury's mind was in disarray as she searched for an answer.
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Clothina still did not resonate with her.
Lachesis, the Weaver. Atropos, the Severer. There's three of them, right? Clothina is the third, but who fits her? Another Mothlinen? The Matriarch? But this person must also be a Nephilim if they're the child of an Angel.
In the end, she could only leave it to speculation. Lachesis wounds had healed, and she was ready to reengage.
"Wait. Please let help them! Res can't take them on all on her own!"
Lachesis' eyes opened. It carried an innocent glint that seed to say: "It's fine."
But it couldn't be further from fine. Res' didn't have infinite mana. Nor did she possess Light like Cer or could evolve her Corrupted Persona like Ber. Though she was entirely capable of taking the Corrupted Denizens and Act X alone, the issue was that they needed to protect the Healers above all else.
If even a handful made it through, then they'd have to rely on Joy and a severely weakened Raoul to defend the twins.
"You're overthinking it, Beholder Jury. As I said, this performance is required."
As she said this, a severed Milinid leg crashed into the Grand Stage. It slid many ters across the ground, crushing countless Denizens and leaving a deep chasm behind. The cracks along the leg were small. It shook, and the cracks grew.
Sothing was trying to break free.
Then, a muffled voice shouted from within.
"Tch! I know babe cut us free, but she could've – I dunno – guided us down here than to let us freefall! Does she know it's a cri to hurt a Healer!? Maybe she doesn't care about … hmph."
Alcina?
"… But we're fine. It's soft. Is it safe to shoot, or should I let Horus break it?"
"Darling, I would have broken it by now if I could. Good think we have the Amalgam twins with us."
Abigail and Horus as well?
Finally, a pair of familiar voices then conversed.
Those voices were eerily similar to Frost's.
"Silence, Color. Pay up in coins if you wish to request my services. Healers may ask freely. Wai, instructions?"
The Hired Arm!?
"Sin, you got our main body's Skills. Punch through it here and here. It'll destabilize the Milinid's internal bone structure. We're likely surrounded. My ears are picking up Corrupted. Lots of them. Prepare for combat. We're in the wolves den now. Tch. And to think the dium One wanted to co. What a disgrace. I ought to place a bear trap in her pillowcase."
The Taleor…!?
Indeed. The Hired Arm (Sin) and the Taleor (Wai) were also here to assist. They had also taken nas for themselves. The crack grew with each strike. Soon, a hand breached through, and it sawed through the bone, creating an opening.
"Corrupted, all sides. Free to engage." The Taleor was the first to erge and clasped in her hands was a timber single-action rifle that was heavily used in one of Earth's major modern wars.
"That ans shoot!?" Abigail, who was not well versed in modern combat dialect, kept her finger off the trigger of her Standard Talon until she received confirmation.
The Hired Arm – no, Sin – nodded as she retrieved a replica version of Frost's De Jure Sanguinis.
"Fire for effect. Color. Make yourself useful."
"I might as well embrace this opportunity~ Not often I find myself surrounded by beauties."
Horus humd, also receiving a firearm. It was a Justica Arm.
"Tch, Cer isn't here? Oh, ahem."
Finally, the last to erge was a certain red-haired Blood Angel who happened to be one of Cer's many lovers. Her look of disdain disappeared when she noticed Res. No amount of annoyance could make her skip the opportunity to leave a good impression on a blood relative of her lover.
"Leave the little ones to my machines. Got a bunch of babies here to help~!" She announced loud enough for Res to hopefully hear. She struck a pose, placed both hands on her hips, and then, she twisted a gauge on her nebulizer.
Red mist blew from the canisters of the visor, enshrouding the entrance. When the mist faded, an army of five-ter-tall machines powered by a red fluid erged from the Anid leg.
"It took so ti to co because I needed to scrounge up so parts for my babies! Don't worry! This ain't fighting! So any kills they get ain't my fault! I'm a pacifist, after all~! So, where's our brother in-law, I an, Raoul? Let him know that if he dies, then I can bring him back good as new~!"
They had answer to the Corrupted Denizens.
However, where there were Corrupted Denizens…
//////// < WARNING > ////////
< ETERNAL NIGHT >
< THE ARBITER'S TRUMPET RESONATES >
< I am detecting multiple Eternal Night Corrupted approaching! >
There were Corrupted.
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