blueteamnovel 779. Sundering Un(Cer)Tainty
779. Sundering Un(Cer)Tainty
779. Sundering Un(Cer)Tainty
//////// < WARNING > ////////
< NO KNOWN CONDITIONS >
< NO KNOWN SUPRESSION REQUIREMENTS >
< NO KNOWN SUBJUGATION REQUIREMENTS >
< We are only in the light of the Dirge hidden behind the smoke. I’m sure we’ll receive everything we need as soon as we break through! >
< But I might be able to formulate a list sooner! >
A myriad of factors affected how quickly Nav could reveal the Conditions. It wasn’t a matter of laziness. No matter how much Nav savored the lavishness of what little she could enjoy in her body, she was not one to let it get in the way of her work.
Distance seemed to play a large role, although this did not always hold up. After all, Frost was able to detect the Heart of Ours as well as the Beast Forever from tens of kilometers away.
So, if it was not distance, then it would be influenced by the strength of the Corrupted. Whether this came in the form of Light, tangible strength or otherwise was not currently known, but Light seemed to be the likely answer.
After all, Corrupted did possess Light.
Bolts of lightning showered from the skies like giant fissures. The enormous branches that passed by them had chunks erased upon impact. Snap wove through the incoming branches as it ran up along the main trunk. It was so large that it was like they were staring at a world made entirely of bark.
The scale of reality was altered in the same way as how Carpalis could make herself physically larger than the room itself. The grooves between each bark were deep enough for them to disappear and never see the light of day. They were like the cliff faces of a canyon, and swarming the air were branches that assailed from the light.
These branches were far smaller than the millions that seemed to span hundreds of meters in width. This did not consider just how far they had reached past them already. This and the smaller ones posed the biggest threat alongside the lightning strikes.
< [Sundering Un(Cer)Tainty] >
< EFFECT: Bolts of lightning are formed by the throes of a distressed Soul. Deal 6,000 ATT and 8,000 MAG ATT. If Target is killed, then activate [Erase] >
Erase
< EFFECT: Target is conceptually erased from all cognizant minds >
< TEMPORARY CONDITION: All targets eliminated within the Corrupted Zone of the Dirge will be afflicted with [Erase] >
“Dead ahead! Snap! Don’t change your course until I tell you to!” Frost commanded.
Immediately, she wrapped Steel Strands around their waists and anchored them to both her and Snap. That way they would not be limited to Snap’s back. The Hired Arm quickly threw herself to the side and began firing away, the recoil causing her to swing from side to side and yet, her aim remained precisely on point.
Branches as wide as meters exploded to nothing but splinters. The highly penetrative bullets of the Hired Arm pierced through the branches lengthwise, opening them up like the petals of a decaying flower.
Frost utilized her De Jure’s specialized bullets sparingly, since they could be enchanted with a specific magic in mind. Branches that were far too large were struck by a violet bullet containing [Armor Piercing].
However, she realized an issue with [Armor Piercing] bullets.
The penetrative power is too strong. It’s leaving the branches largely unaffected. [Magnitude] will work better against the much larger targets. But if that’s not enough...
Frost, while onehandedly shooting with her weapon, removed her gloves with her teeth in preparation to throw herself forward.
... then I’ll have to do this with my bare hands! Nav! How is my Emotional State looking!? [Prejudice] will be the best Corrupted Skill to use right now!
“Heighten them further! You’re not far off!”
The dire circumstances combined with Cer’s distress and the prospect of murdering Iscario should have been more than enough to at least manifest the Third State at least. But Frost felt oddly calm. Her emotions were kept under control, but she could feel a burning desire to let it all out – no doubt due to the influence of the Vestment of Goodwill.
“What the hell are you on about!?” Cer, still on edge, could not help but to blurt out at their nonsense.
“So you plan to be used like a giant blade? It will be as you wish!”
Like Frost, the Hired Arm could onehandedly fire her Justica Longarm. The benefit of a Justica Longarm was that it did not need to be reloaded and could be fired just as quickly as a Standard Talon.
So, with that in mind, Frost was tugged by the waist and made to rotate around Snap. Due to the forces exerted by the swinging Frost, Snap had some trouble balancing itself.
Thankfully, Frost could easily orientate her body forward, allowing her to keep track on what lay ahead.
Wind rushed around her as she inadvertently crashed through branches that would have otherwise been dodged had she stayed on Snap. She extended out at roughly 30 meters. It didn’t seem like much, but this was only the beginning.
“Get ready! You’ll know when to release me!”
An absurdly large wall of clusters blocked their path. Countless more branches hailed from above at an angle that prevented Snap from simply leaping over it.
“THROOOOOOW!”
Since Snap was far too fast for Frost to elapse it with her own speed, she used centrifugal force to propel her ahead. That way, she was able to reach an additional three hundred meters forward and deal with much larger obstacles personally.
[Magnitude].
One lone punch caused an immense web of cracks to form across the face of the crystal wall. This Offensive Skill was part of the Ultraviolence Profession and allowed her to disperse the energy of her punches to a 5-meter radius.
A 5-meter impact crater was left where her fist had struck, and multiple more joined it as she tore it down with a vicious flurry of strikes. Bullets, electric lances and fangs joined her as well, tearing open a new path forward.
The crystal walls then formed in a spiral-like shape up the trunk, which forced Snap to climb the tree in a counterclockwise manner.
“It’s still far away! Haven’t we been moving for a few minutes now!? AT SNAP’S SPEED OF ALL THINGS!?” Cer notified, unable to wrap her head around the sheer scale of this world.
“No, we’re definitely getting closer.” Frost, whose eyesight was superior to Cer’s, assured her that they were on pace to reaching the top.
< [Sundering Un(Cer)tainty] >
< [Sundering Un(Cer)tainty] >
< [Sundering Un(Cer)tainty] >
The storm intensified the closer they approached the top. More and more crystals formed along the way. It was as though the world itself threw everything at them in hopes for them to abandon their pursuit of the light.
And to make matters worse, a new Corrupted Skill appeared.
< “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.” >
Suddenly, the wail of the Blue Dahlia reverberated from every single crystal. Blue dahlias grew from the chasms of the tree trunk, peering from their abyss and blossoming beneath the blue light of an absent moon.
“Tch... That... hurts!” Cer grunted, as did Snap.
Thankfully, the Hired Arm could keep Snap alive no matter what as she shared the same Skills as Frost. They had each taken over 10,000 damage from that scream alone.
< “A melody infused voice that I don’t recall. Nothing I can do can help me remember if this was always my own voice.” >
Then, without warning, thousands of crystals exploded at once, sending a hailstorm of millions of crystal shards at them.
< [Echoes of (Ber)eavement] >
< EFFECT: Major area of effect attack. The crystals will amplify the Dirge’s sorrows. Deals 5,000 ATT and 5,000 MAG ATT. Ignores all DEF Stats. Form [Blue Dahlias] and change the scenery >
< “Can I atone for the child I’ve forsaken to live on that cold lake?” >
And in every single shard Frost saw that same crystal-clear lake that Ber had once called her home.