The Diamond Counter was an insanely powerful tool if used in the right hands. Frost foresaw its value shine in moments where she was not taken seriously as a Color or as the Amalgam.

However, the meaning of ‘devalue’ was muddied at best. Likewise, she also imagined that it wouldn’t activate if someone merely didn’t believe in her status. One needed to be bastardized in all likelihood.

But in the end, there was no telling how this thing functioned exactly until the opportunity arose.

Still, its stat-doubling effect was nothing to scoff at. It had every potential to turn the tide of a battle so long as the devaluing criteria was met.

In the meantime, Frost wore the diamond brooch proudly on the left side of her chest. There was some debate on who exactly would take this item. At first, she considered Cer to wield it since she was the one who defeated the Corrupted in the first place.

But Cer insisted that Frost take it on the basis that Frost’s already insane stats would benefit tremendously if the effect ever activated.

That was an extra 4,000 ATT she’d have over Cer’s previously buffed state. And 4,000 ATT alone was already within the realm of a Moon.

10,000 ATT? Or a 20,000 damage Prejudice? Now that was perhaps teetering on the edge of a Beholder.

Perhaps, huh.

The true strength of a Beholder was either much lower than she imagined, or far surpassed herself by tenfold. There could be no in between. She could only form a terribly vague image of them through word of mouth. It didn’t help that she had never seen them fight first handedly, nor could she even see their stats.

And that wrenched her heart a little. Because if Carpalis was considered to be the weakest, then she could only imagine just what the strongest were like in terms of stats.

 

 

Surely not that much more from hers, right?

Frost revealed her stats in all its glory to the group as they travelled along the recently vacated entrance, moving past shredded walls and illusive lights.

“HUH!?” Cer erupted with shock, staring at Frost’s body as if trying to figure out how a lithe woman like her possessed such insane stats.

“A-Archetypes… are built differently. That Red Giant had no idea just what it was talking to.” Ber wryly smiled, as if in disbelief.

“That’s incredible. And to think Ignis has more DEF than you…” Res trailed off, awed by Frost as Jury puffed her chest out, elated to hear their shocked voices over her lover’s power. “You wanted a comparison right? As incredible as that is, and I mean it wholeheartedly, but a Beholder is… well…”

“Putting an Eternal Night in front of them is like throwing a worm into a lion’s den.” Cer put it bluntly. “They’re the entire embodiment of an Atelier. With a technology and all that. Makes you wonder just how strong that Arbiter is.”

“So if they’re that strong then why do they leave it to you Moons? Instead of having a margin of error, their success rate can be 100% if they were involved. Aside from the obvious destruction.” Frost argued as they ventured into a massive chamber.

The stench of death immediately greeted them like a crashing freight train.

Ignis recoiled as Jury clasped her fists, with Snap’s movements slowing down as if shocked by the sight. Frost was too used to the stench for it to violate her, but it did not detract from the gruesome imagery that littered the world around them.

“How horrible… these Impuritas are unforgivable.” Jury hissed as Ignis’ slashed at a nearby, spinning target out of anger.

The wooden construct spilled the organ-less husk of a tentacle, Aquatid person. Their bones were left intact, as were their flesh. But their organs were removed, including their eyes and tongue. Even fragments of their brain could be seen smothered around their nostrils, indicating that it was dug out through their nasal cavity.

Their body was rigid as if undergoing rigor mortis, and their tentacles coilied like a fried octopus.

“Brr…” The churning noise of an old recording tape played from Snap as it carefully watched over the group. It nudged Ignis’ back with its head as if to encourage her to keep an iron heart.

“It’s a disgusting sight. And they weren’t the only one. Fucking tens of people, all impaled like animals. What were they doing here? Playing some kind of twisted circus game?” Frost gruelingly spoke, her voice so hideously deep that she instinctively caused the triplet’s hairs to rise.

“Exactly that. It’s the kind of game where you have to hit the target without hitting the person nailed. The Blood Festival are no stranger to using family members or loved ones as the target. It’s a sure-fire way to break someone.” Cer explain with folded arms, poking one of the bodies with her foot.

“Have some respect for them!” Jury snapped at her, causing the woman to sheepishly hum.

“For people you don’t even know?” Cer genuinely asked.

“That doesn’t matter. Frost taught me that even the dead should be respected.” Jury referenced the very first time they left the forest. How Frost buried the bodies of that village alongside her.

Though Jury didn’t know any of those people, she learnt through Frost that they deserved better even in death. Cer, now under the scrutiny of nearly everyone, let loose of a drawn-out sigh and returned to the thick of the group.

“You’re acting like this is your first time seeing a mass slaughter. Pretty standard practice in Grandis.” Cer shrugged.

“It doesn’t have to be normal elsewhere. Cer. Please, leave them. They’re already dead. They’re not in our way either. Let’s just hurry and eat that fucking Heart already so no one else has to suffer like them.” She was angered by Cer’s apathy, but at the same time, she could not easily blame them.

Still, that did not mean it was correct.

Frost’s moral compass was understandably less corrupted than the people of Elysia due to the prevalence of death here. She took a deep breath and briskly strode forward with the group towing behind and all 1,000 of her glowing eyes.

She used them as scouts, sending them forward as they navigated through this strange room. Nothing but the same spinning targets painted in blood, and nailed with a person existed here. The ceiling rose far and high, torn as it revealed a bizarrely black world beyond.

The circus shook again, and she could have sworn she heard the sound of a metallic screech somewhere from beyond the void. They eventually made it to another tunnel and followed it through multiple twists and turns, listening to the sound of the screeching grow louder.

And with it, so did the sound of a beating heart.

“Frost. My metaphor about the lion and the worm? It still stands.” Cer said, now leading the group as Res begged her to shut up. “Why would a lion attack a worm? It’s too much effort for such a little reward. And so what if they burrow through the soil. It’s not like it’s any of their concern.”

“Are you equating that same soil to people?” Frost growled at her, picking Cer by the collar as she dragged her close, hoisting her up till her feet were removed from the ground.

“Poor sis.” Ber mumbled.

“Hey. HEY! I meant from their perspective. You never know what goes through the mind of a Beholder. But~ I’m sure you’ll get along with that snake Galia. Her sense of justice is just like yours.” Cer pointed at Frost and grinned. “Just more brutal.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Frost plopped her back down as they made one final turn.

Her Judge’s Aid then suddenly hit a dead end, but strangely enough, she could still feel it progress forward. But she just could not see anything through it anymore. It perplexed her, and neither she nor Nav could figure out what happened to it.

“Listen. I only marginally trust Carpalis on the basis that we want the same thing. For people to live. She’s also somewhat managed by the Archetype of Hope. Hell, I didn’t even tell her that emotions can create the Corrupted, or that certain criteria exist.” Frost revealed to them, not surprising the triplets.

“Heh. Then you’ve got a brain up there. There’s no telling just what a Beholder will do with that kind of information.” Cer commented.

“That’s partially the reason. I’m leaving people I care about under her watchful eye. I didn’t want to give her any ideas if she does turn out to be evil. And besides, I have little confidence in a Beholder actually making use of my information. Not until we reach the Nexus.” Frost admitted.

“Not that you three will do anything with this knowledge, right?” She jokingly said, peeking at the three behind her with a single eye.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Cer grumbled.

“No Ma’am.” Ber saluted, as did Snap for some reason.

“Not at all. We’re here to stick by your side until you safely return to the Nexus.” Res assured, Frost’s feathers ruffling upon hearing those words, much to her relief.

 

***

 

The churning sound of metal grew louder all of a sudden. The beating heart thumped like it was on the verge of a heart attack. The sounds of the awfully melodic screams played in the background as the lights of the tunnel flickered unstably.

The few Judge’s Aid that ventured forth had disappeared entirely. They weren’t killed off. They simply just… vanished.

“Something’s not right.” Frost warned.

“There’s no air circulating ahead. It’s like there’s a dead end.” Res mentioned, using her keen animal-like senses as Ignis nodded in agreement, noticing the same anomaly.

Frost visually confirmed this. Far ahead of this wide corridor was indeed a dead end. From where the people arrived from was unknown, and she had to wonder if that wall was somehow a passage straight to the heart.

“We’re heading to a dead end? So where did those people come from?” Jury questioned as Frost pointed forward.

“Likely through there… behind that wall. But I’m unsure. Hey… can spatial distortions close sections off?” Frost asked, halting all further movement.

The group remained stationary as they stared at the glowing orange wall like it was their largest threat to date.

“I’ve never heard of that happening. Unless it’s the entrance to a Corrupted Zone or similar. But that should be impossible.” Res answered, also confused. “If it was, then they wouldn’t have been able to leave so easily.”

“Are you guys serious?” Ber questioned, as if seeing the situation in an entirely different light.

She walked right up to the wall and simply punched it open, revealing that it was made of nothing but plywood.

A false wall, so to speak.

This only further confused Frost, whose Judge’s aid disappeared.

“But that doesn’t explain how my Judge’s Aid disa –”

 

< Leaving – Entering – Leaving – Approaching – Leaving D2 >

 

< Our coordinates are being played with. We are likely under the influence of a spatial distortion! >

 

“Wait – Everything’s mangled all of a sudden! A spatial distortion!? Here!? But there’s no train or anything!” Res exclaimed as the group rushed forth in a mad frenzy, bursting through the false wall as they suddenly found themselves in a colossal, golden arena that closely mimicked a circus stage.

“This is –!?” Jury was taken aback by the countless lights that swept along the ground as rings of ascending seats were populated by skinless animals, cheering not for the entertainment, but for their organs to become distributed amongst them.

And dangling high into the air was a chained, yellow heart. Its surface was made of grafted skin, sewn with what appeared to be either string, or nerve endings. It was a bloated, putrid mass that wobbled and flailed like a water balloon.

But deep within was not water. There were hearts. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of still beating hearts, creating a single resonating thump that visually shook the world.

 

 

However, this was not what shocked Frost the most. There were three figures present along the stage before them in total. All were Impuritas. But one was from the Blood Festival.

And the other two, who were injured and battered beyond belief, belonged to the Golden Index.

“WELCOME, DEAREST GUESTS! So the rumors were true! A black feathered Color would be arriving to your aid, dogs of the golden devil! How despicably delectable! Oh. OH –!” A man dressed in a blood-soaked jester outfit pranced in the center of the stage, allowing the dripping blood from the Dungeon Heart to shower him.

But this man’s head was not normal. It was that of a giant, red fish. A herring, more specifically.

“AND IS THAT HE WHO WEARS THE WHITE FEATHERED COAT!? Oh. No. No oh dear no! It’s that wretched grey feathered Apostle!” His giant, fishy maw flapped open as he wrang his human-like hands around with exaggerated anger.

 

 

“The Impuritas… the Golden Index also owns them? Those two Impuritas are the Exalted!?” Frost could not believe her eyes, her voice nearly drowned by the thunderclap of a thousand applauses.

And an approaching, metallic screech.

“Just what the fuck is going on anymore!?”