blueteamnovel 239. The Necessity of Violence
239. The Necessity of Violence
239. The Necessity of Violence
Where Frost was an Angel in the eyes of those with good hearts, she was a Demon in those that lived nefariously. Morality in her mind was a set of universal principles that acted as the basis of civilization and the fundamentals of what made someone ‘good’. Or at least the concept of being civil.
Such a thing seemed like a pipe dream in Elysia, where powers reigned supreme, and where human morality was but one aspect of the greater whole. How did Kingdoms and Empires of foreign lands survive if Adventurers could wreak havoc upon them? Were they as ruthless as the Syndicates rife in the City of Spades? Did they treat their citizens like livestock, just like the Impuritas? Did they control people through fear, like Scarlet Logic?
Or were they like the Kingdom of Puritas, ruled by the most violent?
Jury returned with Ignis, and to her surprise, Cara and her Dawn Collection Team followed. Seeing them again was surreal, but expected considering this was their turf. What interested her were the Peace Flock who were smuggled aboard and driven away from the staging grounds that required a pair of lovers.
Now that Frost realized it, the Captain and the Vice Captain were a soon-to-be married couple. It made them prime candidates to fulfil the needs of the Masterpiece. After some consultation, the Archivist offered some good news.
“They were the intended catalyst. The Archivist is closely watching the Expositionist and they’re at a loss. Nothing has gone their way so far, but I would be wary regardless.”
And this is all thanks to the Archivist?
“Yes. By intercepting their present, she is altering the future. Although, this is more in line with the Fate Mechanism rather than the books themselves.”
So we’re basically fighting against their set of predictions. And she’s just giving us the heads up?
“I am not sure myself. Act X has the answers for certain.”
The Director more like it. He’s been pretty helpful so far pulling all kinds of strings for us... now for them.
Frost had each and every one of the false healers, the Red Giant, and the mantis Blood Moon lined up like death row prisoners awaiting execution. They were ensnared by her steel threads, mummified to prevent them from daring to move. The Red Giant and Blood Moon were still capable of fleeing, but Frost made them painfully aware that they no longer had the reigns over their life.
Behind them was an Unlying Tablet that periodically healed them with Grand Healing V, making death an impossibility. She never blinked, and the dirt and blood she had accumulated over the last two days instilled terror into the false healers, who gazed into the eyes of the only healer capable of violence.
*Snap*
*Crackle*
*Crack*
Frost questioned them with Jury’s aid as she doused their souls with Cinder stacks and broke fingers, joints, bones, and ribs torturously slowly. She thought of it as butchery rather than torture, for she did not see these monsters as people.
“If people at the bottom can choose to run away, then why can’t you? Is your magic really all that important? Everyone wants to live without pain. I get that. But you revel in that pain. And for what? FOR –!”
She impaled the Arachnid onto the black stake, leaving her to hang above a shallow pool of molten rock underneath.
“– WHAT!? DOES CIRCUMSTANCES DISMISS YOU FROM ALL THE ATROCITIES YOU’VE COMMITED! THEM FROM THE HEALERS THEY TORTURED!?” Ignorance was not a redeeming factor.
Like the Arachnid, she impaled the mantis through the chest with another charred stake. Both had taken enough beatings to have died over a hundred times, but they still were tight lipped. Even when they did confess, they were unapologetic. Frost had a feeling that the other Stars and Blood Moons weren’t any different.
But what about the people on the lower end of the Atelier? Were they just as willing as Cara to escape? Jury had evidence to suggest this was true with the readings she had received of their sins.
Scarlet Logic was like one gargantuan collective illusion. They still didn’t know how many were like Cara. And it still didn’t dismiss their wrongs. But Frost understood that if she destroyed their replication technology, then there was a possibility to putting an end to their menace in the Nex Megalopolis before things became out of hand.
The hell am I saying? Things are already out of hand. S4 is burning. S3 will probably follow, as well as the neighboring Sectors. Night has practically turned into day...
Frost was confident that they were incapable of moving. For the Star and Moon specifically, she moved them away from the Unlying Tablet and shattered every bone, severed every tendon and tore every ligament that would allow them to move. They were only allowed to breathe, and she repositioned the stake into a less vital part of their body, which took experimentation since they weren’t human to begin with.
Soaked in blood, Frost positioned them to face the heights that was the City of Spades, granting them front row seats for the inevitable fireworks.
“Skewering us. Judging us even though you know nothing. You... are not a healer. You are a beast that skewers. A skewering beast... with a mouth that devours all with its prejudice.” The mantis spoke in a philosophical tongue, although, its tongue and jaw were completely dislocated.
Hearing his mangled voice caused Frost to tug on the collar of her feathered coat.
“That takes me back, huh. It’s too late to figure out what I am. Watch closely. Because everything you believe in is going to burn.” Frost vowed as she turned her back away from the brilliant wall of flames.
She strode to Jury’s side and returned with her to the others.
“Are you ok?” Jury whispered, worried about her.
“It’s... Yeah. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but there’s no way in hell talking to them would have done anything. Couldn’t bribe them. Couldn’t change their hearts. Just violence.” Frost complained as Jury suddenly took her flaming hand into hers.
She was the only one who could withstand her flames, and for that Frost was thankful. A part of her felt lonely whenever she had to avoid directly interacting with the others, but so long as Jury could... then she was confident to claim that she was ok.
Frost let loose of another heavy sigh and looked towards the waiting others.
There was much deliberation to be made. With the information they accumulated, they needed to thoroughly go through with everything Cara’s team, the Peace Flocks, the Archivist and Nav knew before they could begin their assault.
Because the ‘staging grounds’, as they’ve called it, was where the Masterpiece resided.