The skin-sack Reorganizers were nowhere in sight. Only humanoid entities roamed these vast, crowded streets whether dressed like clowns or jesters, or donned in their beloved golden-embellished armor.

More frightening however was that while they did appear humanoid, they bared similar characteristics to animals. Some would have animal tails sewn to the base of their backs whilst others sported grafted animal ears. Even whiskers or eyes belonging to that of a squid or spider.

Their colloquially known name of Animals made all the more sense now. The Monkey Brothers were more than likely a hideous Frankenstein of a monster just like all of the Blood Festival.

But this was not the only hideous detail of the story. Amongst the Impuritas were people blended in, whether alone or in groups. They were of all ages, ranging from newborn carried by mothers or children, all the way to the elderly.

They were all human as far as Frost could tell. But that could not be further from the truth. Because with one check of their statuses she was confronted with a plethora of differing races.

It did not take a genius to understand the implications.

“Stealing the eyes, ears and tongues of people…” Res’s voice deepened considerably as she swiftly touched Frost’s arm, as if requiring the calming effect of the Touch of the Black Dove.

Her face did not change. It was only her voice. But the longer Frost stared into those eyes, the more she understood that this scenery struck a certain chord within Res. Ber instantly tried to cover her sister’s eyes, but the woman snapped her head from side to side to ward her hands away.

“… So this happens here as well…” Ber spoke apologetically, right before she cracked her knuckles. “Wanna destroy them?”

“H-Huh? P-please don’t fight.” Stella begged in a silent whisper, sensing the attention they were quickly gathering. “Y-You were bad all along?”

“On my signal. You don’t need to be able to see the Impuritas Origin to tell who our targets are.” Frost also prepared to begin their onslaught, ignoring the desperate, silent pleas of the child. “… but not yet. Look at how many people are going to get caught in it.”

Frost encountered a moral dilemma. Fighting right here and now would easily result in the death of countless innocent lives. She needed to exercise more restraint than she ever had.

Their overbearing presence was impossible for both the Impuritas and the people to ignore. Merely standing there fetched countless eyes. Only the blind failed to notice, bumping into one another in confusion.

It would not even be a surprise if they had been expecting them in the first place. The Bloody Herring was part of the Blood Festival, after all. The strange thing was that they did not seem hostile. They were surprised more than anything.

A deaf, Organized Feline stumbled towards them, stroking her scarred face in disbelief.

 

 

“Beautiful…” She purred like a cat. “A bird has fallen into our happiest, oh so happiest home. Such a beautiful dove! Clad in black feathers like a crow! You… you are the epiphany of our mission! Our greatest happiness~!”

“Such a complete form! Unbelievable! Even without a beak or talons your being speaks directly to my incomplete soul!” A blind lion-looking man with a false mane around his hideous face joined, almost prostrating in utter awe as if they were in the presence of a deity.

 

 

“Different from the happiest animals! The happiest of us! Yet so – oh… OH. So close.” He wept melodramatically, repulsing Frost beyond comprehension.

Her bubbling disgust radiated through her golden gaze alone. But the blind could not see, and the deaf and speechless were just as blind, for they failed to notice how close they were to the very incarnation of death itself.

She wanted to kill them outright. However, the resulting carnage would kill many innocent lives. She wanted to avoid casualties at all costs. If her previous encounter was anything to go by, then they wouldn’t attack so long as they weren’t threatened.

Thankfully, there existed a much more efficient method of killing them.

If they could find and destroy the Heart, then they’d instantly perish. It was common knowledge and she experienced this firsthand during the aftermath of Divas Pass; when the Plagued Heart finally fell, resulting in the simultaneous death of every Crimson Hunger spawned by it.

The problem was finding said heart, but if she had to guess, then it was likely within those fortified castle walls.

Ber and Res immediately understood Frost’s intentions. From the mere mention of wishing to preserve the life of these people; they knew that their immediate target was the Heart itself.

A telltale sign of a Heart was simply marked by the existence of Impuritas monsters. If they were present in abundance, then a Heart was guaranteed to be close.

Such was the truth of these monsters, who could not operate outside of their jurisdiction.

This explained why the Hearts tended to expand, although that didn’t mean those monsters couldn’t thrive beyond its reach as she saw with the meatballs. Still, the Heart itself was in a way, their own heart.

If it perished, then so did they.

However, that did not seem to be true for the Bloody Herring. Neither for L.S and Broker. Probably the Exalted as well. It also didn’t apply to the Impuritas that traversed the lands of Brandar overnight.

“The Impuritas are complex. May we understand just what monstrosities we are dealing with.”

As if the Corrupted weren’t already enough.

“We are ecstatic to receive you, oh dove of black feathers, to our happiest Showground!” A grotesque bear exclaimed as they desperately hugged their stomach to retain their many organs within.

They huffed, sniffing the air in her direction, yearning for her scent.

Goosebumps riddled her body.

“That apparel – that exquisite wear! It comes from a sacred being! And all I can do is harvest these measly organs! Oh Ringmaster Phalan! Oh the happiest of them all – what would I give to become the truest me!?”

Frost wondered if this was a ruse to cause them to drop their guard. But strangely enough, many of them had already strolled off. It was only a few who decided to remain, still awestruck by Frost.

“A messenger will certainly greet you! In the meantime, please enjoy yourselves~! One of the aspiringly tiny stars guides you. Truly the brightest out of all the rejected instruments of that loud musician!” A red and purple-bruised pada proclaimed, and at once, they went on their way, laughing amongst themselves.

“U-Um! T-this way! I didn’t know you were known! A dove… I wonder what kind of animal that is.” Stella hummed, digging her bare feet into the brickwork ground. “I… I’ll show you where the food is. J-Just please… don’t do anything. T-the last time there was a fight the streets were all m-mushy. It smelt terrible.”

She was able to navigate the streets through the grooves and cracks of the ground alone. Hundreds of onlookers passed by. Most were enthralled by their appearance, sharing smiles whilst others reflexively smiled unnaturally.

Frost was dangerously close to entering the First State as the obnoxious carnival music played, alongside the false laughter of people; and the true screams of anguish. They came from within the baroque structures around them as well as the attractions which housed the most horrifying sounds of despair.

These attractions were considerably less grotesque than the previous Dungeon. In fact, they were as close to the real thing as they could get. If she did not know about their organ harvesting methods, then she’d be fooled by their relatively normal appearance.

The fact that Frost didn’t immediately act was a moral crime. Her eyes fell onto a strange, haunted house-like structure on the side of the street. It was fenced off with wood, and she could see various, ghastly props within.

Those, however, were real. The hung bodies and skinned people were made from real people, likely the ones who failed the test of courage as they ventured through. People intimately spoke to these hanging bodies like they knew them.

To her surprise, she didn’t witness anyone die. Maybe they were injured or maimed, but they were not outright killed by the attraction. Still, she could not, for the life of her, understand why they’d enter in the first place.

 

 

When she asked Stella, the girl responded with:

“Happiness... t-to prove it… we have to play these games. T-The happiest become animals. They change. U-Um. I want to become a Star. It’s not an animal but… I like it.” Stella fondly spoke as Ber’s hands fidgeted nonstop.

She was eager to annihilate them.

“I want to kill them.” Res suppressed her emotions through clenched teeth. “… they pluck eyes like it’s nothing. They’re so blind to see that their happiness is the misery of others. Look at them… Look at them.”

“Res… Res… I’m here. I’m still right here.” Ber walked right behind her, blocking out Res’ eyes with her palms.

Res allowed it this time, instantly calming down as her ears soberly folded.

“There are times where I wish I never had my sight returned to me. I’m reminded day in and day out that no matter what we do the sights will never change.” She lamented as Ber embraced her tightly. “… you’re so keen to save them. I wonder, if you were there 30 years ago, then maybe a lot of us would’ve been happier.”

“… with this kind of power, I really wish I could have come into this world a lot earlier.” Frost agreed with her sentiments and placed a hand onto her head, pampering the pained Res. “We’ll save them. Both the people back at the cavern, and the people here. And then… we’ll be able to return to the surface. With everyone. Even you, Stella.”

“The surface…?” Stella wondered what they meant by that as Res brought a hand and tapped the girl’s head.

“A place a little less worse than yours.” She remarked, tightly grasping onto her sister’s comforting hands.