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962. The Final Tribulation
🕑 Added 2025-03-21 17:34:23 +0000 UTCUnnaturally thick blood dripped from the elongated arms of the Wholeness Reborn. Their thin fingers scraped at the floor like rakes, dragging along brittle shards of crystals at their feet.
Their blood fused with the crystal environment. No. More accurately, their blood was converted into a silicon-based form, hence why it crystalized into a transparent, grey crystal. These hazardous mounds were designed to puncture flesh however possible.
That way, even the smallest wound would begin the countdown to one of the worst fates imaginable.
“Bweeeeeeep. Gurgle. Mulching.”
The mimicked hollow human voice of the previous Infecta Rot monsters was replaced with something worse.
Mechanical groans, the sounds of churning steel – it was replaced by the guttural sounds of human biological functions. The faint membrane of muscle that draped over their long limbs, and the sinew connecting them to their enclosed abdomens shivered.
The noise came from these muscles. They were activated using a process that reminded Frost of peristalsis. Those strands created sounds that coarsely imitated human vocals, spoken in the language on a machine could decipher.
“Gurgle Grunt Vrrrrrm. Bzzzzt. Cough.”
“Vocal cords if I had to wager a guess. They don’t understand what those processes are for.” Frost paired the brilliant light with an explosion of fire.
It moved along the crystal chamber like a grand whip, effortlessly cutting through meter-thick crystal pillars.
They came crumbling down, squashing swaths of machines. But it did little to thin the herd of what was easily hundreds of Wholeness Reborn.
Their relentless pursuit for flesh was met with an immovable wall. Their claws dug into the ground, scraping meat before flinging crystal fragments in Frost’s direction like shrapnel. A kaleidoscope of colors refracted from those countless shards as they soared through the air.
“Malgam!?” Joy summoned her twelve arms and cross hatched them in front of Frost.
But this was unnecessary.
“Don’t worry Joy.” Frost uttered nonchalantly. “They’re severely underleveled. Hundreds won’t make the difference in levels. Please don’t get involved. I want you to stay next to Morgause, alright?”
“Gam…”
The crystals bombarded a colossal barrier that floated just a meter away from her fingertips.
“[Analyze Skill].”
Wholeness Reborn
< Basic Observation >
< Inorganic organisms comprised of organic material. They are born through a biomechanical process to simulate mammalian birth >
< Skill Analyzed >
< PASSIVE: Dawn of Biomechanical Unity >
< Here we are. In numbers at last, alike the counterparts we sought to become >
< EFFECT: Gain a 30% increase in AGI, RESIST, ATT, and DEF stats when numbers of Infecta Rot members exceed 100 >
< ADDITIONAL EFFECT: Gain 50% increase in AGI, RESIST, ATT and DEF stats when this number exceeds 500 >
< ACTIVE: Impregnate Specimen >
< We are not alone in this pursuit for perfection >
< EFFECT: Impregnate target with Silicon Rot >
“Fucking disgusting. And I thought Anids were enough to make me sick.” Frost growled. “They don’t see it as infection at all. It’s an impregnation to further spread these crystals.”
The complex inscriptions along the golden barrier vaguely matched the circuits that ran through the chassis of the machines.
In the split second she spent pondering on whether this was by coincidence or design, Jury had already thrown herself into the fray with an appetite for bloodshed.
“The hallway splits off another hundred meters in! Gosh – HOW BIG IS THIS PLACE!?” Jury wasn’t the first to notice the enormous scale of the Sixth Floor.
Jury’s dark hand hacked through space, leaving behind a vibrant, dark blue trail that warped light. Peering within this tear in space revealed a bright orange world. It lingered for exactly one second after a slash, allowing her to cleave the air prematurely and allow the machines to rush into tears in space.
This was the Mastery Skill of [Lacerate V] – [Spatial Tear]. It ignored all ATT DEF stats, reminiscent of Frost’s all-consuming maw.
“Th-These are the same machines from the deserts right? Up north? And f-from the Crystal Isles?” Usari couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. “Harrower Horus. Usari wants to know if you’d be able to withstand them.”
She didn’t bother to fire a single bullet. It would be no different from a droplet of water into the sea of oppressive firepower just Frost and Jury were capable of.
Horus smirked as she took down stray Wholeness Reborn with her bare knuckles. It wasn’t flashy like the duo spearheading the assault, but her movements were still as effortless. Her eyes glowed orange as she reached for a smoking pipe.
“An onslaught of these ones aren’t too bad. But I’d be hard pressed to fight them any longer than two days at most. It’s not these you have to worry about when it comes to Infecta Rot. This is only the surface-level invaders. Nothing like the ones that annihilate entire ecosystems.”
Morgause smirked as she looped her arms around Joy defensively, speaking:
“The Crystal Isles neighbors the Caldera Region. One look there and the Wormdol Region above the glassed deserts of Scladak should remind you of what they are capable of. A world without the Root-Pillar Complex leaves it susceptible to Silicon Rot. Organic civilizations transformed into inorganic rock. Tribulations are small sample sizes of what the Impuritas truly are.”
“Of all the Impuritas, Infecta Rot poses one of the greatest risks. Colors have a hard time dealing with them enough as is.” Horus took a puff from her smoke, her eyes lingering on Jury’s spatial magic. “Hm. Not bad. I’m feeling… a little motivated suddenly.”
Horus cut the air with a hand and reached into her Dimensional Storage. Within was a sheathed katana wrapped in dark, luminescent chains. As Frost and Jury cleared the path ahead, the group chased after them.
The clearing that had opened behind them was quickly closed as the swarm surrounded them. No matter how many were killed, another three would take their place. However, Horus had this under control.
“Harrower. The Orange Disruptor. Icy would like to warn you that protocols of Oboros Infinitas will have you punished accordingly if you were to draw that blade.” Hayte uttered, barely dodging the incoming crystals with his body, only to throw himself into the fray and self-destruct.
“We have the authority to do whatever we want down here. Your CognitO implants would have long stopped relaying footage back to CogitO. A bucket of bolts doesn’t have to worry much.”
Horus blinked through the air. Her weapon did not move from her side as she held it in a reverse grip. In an instant, thin chains formed around the group as tens of Wholeness Reborn were plunged into a stasis-like state.
She then slammed the hilt of her blade, activating a mechanism that caused space to tear, ripping the machines apart from the seams.
Blood, scrap, fabricated organs – it dripped in tune with the slurping sounds of Hayte’s body as he was regenerated from a pile of blood and torn clothing.
It didn’t kill them outright. These machines had a ridiculous amount of HP; far more than any Moon or Star of the Nexus. However, they still had one fatal flaw.
< PASSIVE: The Cost of Morality >
< Is it a limitation if it allows our circulation to remain objectively warm within this subjectively cold shell? >
< EFFECT: When MP (Mortal Pulp) reaches 0, HP is reduced to 0. Each Limb is the equivalent of 1.25L of MP >
This meant that merely destroying the limbs of the Wholeness Reborn was enough to take them down. But with their flailing, feral movements and immense numbers, paired with their high DEF stats made this difficult to exploit for many.
“My Atelier Item will remain sealed.” Horus smirked.
Skill Analyzed
Horus
< ACTIVE: Chained Theocracy – Dimensional Blade (Sealed) >
< ??? >
< EFFECT: Sealed: Cut through the fabric of space. Ignores 25% of targets DEF stats and RESIST. Each layered cut increases the ATT by 50% >
ATT : 1,200 MAG ATT : 1,300
