729. Burning Ascension

729. Burning Ascension

Never in his life had the Red Baron – a Color feared and revered for their strength until this abrupt disappearance – had been treated as nothing more than an insignificant speck. The eyes of the Black Dove did not even view him as an equal.

A man of his size, now smothered in the debris of books and timber shelves, was forced to look up at who he was supposed to look down upon. He was gifted with his strength, given immaculate size from birth, and had never lost a battle ever since becoming a Color.

Actually, the only one instance he remembered was what occurred in Site G-Z7.

The Black Dove seemed distracted by the sound of a distant bell rather than him, let alone the Corrupted.

… Her face…

His eyes calibrated to the new setting as he noticed something.

Where have I seen it before? A woman with hair as dark as hers should be obvious to me, but I just remember the faces of men. Which missions am I remembering? Could it have been a relative?

“Fall! Kneel! Grovel! Be restrained!”

None of his commandments had an effect on Frost. Each one was fired rapidly after the other in desperation as she took slow steps towards him.

What stood before the man could not be a Color. A monster in the suit of human skin best described this person, who held onto his hand with the same dexterity as one would with a small dagger.

“Give her the mantle. You already know what yours is.”

The Astral Blaze whispered in a voice that he could not recognize, aside from its obvious masculinity.

“In your heart you know that you have lost here. But the Astral Blaze can give you the moments you require.”

“What are you… if you’re not a Color? Are you after me for revenge? You still haven’t given me a reason!” He tried to buy himself some time, placing his tongue between his teeth in preparation to replicate elsewhere.

Half of him heeded the voice, whilst the other relied on his better judgement.

However, he could not bleed. At least not in the presence of the Black Dove.

Black particles…? From my body? Is this soot? If she plans to kill me, then I have no need to bite my tongue. I can warn Iscario of this monster. They seem to be aligned with the Nexus. They helped that Moon! And the princess… could she be after the Gift after all?

The Red Baron’s thoughts lingered on this, but he would soon draw nothing as the Black Dove brought his arm to her mouth.

“You’re a cannibal… Of course you wouldn’t see me as an equal. I’m just a meal to sate your hunger – monster. So that’s what you want. Then so be it. I’ll gladly be eaten if it’s by you.”

Frost didn’t aim for his flesh. Rather, her teeth peeled off the layers of red-painted adamantium with traumatic ease. He could not comprehend how this was possible. Even as a Color, adamantium was a powerful material that could not be easily destroyed.

The monsters from the Chains had difficulty breaking adamantium as well… how can it be possible that she is able to devour it? Who else is capable of this madness?

She simply grinded it like rock candy before her face distorted with disgust as she discarded the arm.

“The replication cycles had skewed your sense of survival. I’m more surprised that you haven’t figured out who I am yet.” The battle was still not over, and the Red Baron had falsely believed that she would give him a moment of respite.

Instead, she slapped a hand against his cauterized stub and dragged various steel strands.

“An Anid’s string! WHAT ARE YOU!?”

“Wrong, this is

my

string.” She corrected him, as if taking offence to being associated with such disgusting creatures.

A mighty kick threw him into the air. Hundreds of meters of space elapsed in a short instant. The air ruptured as a sonic boom shattered more of the library’s interior. Staircases crumbled, and wooden beams collapsed like flaming meteorites around them.

He was utterly disorientated, and the sharp pain of her kick struck his soul more than his flesh like alcohol being poured onto a wound. The Black Dove was dragged with him having used him a method to ascend the tower.

“IF YOU ARE NOT HUMAN, THEN WHY DO YOU WEAR OUR CLOTHES!?” He roared at the top of his lungs, crashing through not one, or two floors. Five floors now had gaping holes in them.

Can I use this string to move her around? In a test of pure strength, I will come out on top!

“You will. You must.”

The voice encouraged him. The one-handed Color rotated his body, causing the strings to create a twanging sound. However, no matter how hard he tried, he was bounced around like a ball attached to a racket by a string.

His body rolled against the vertical walls, cutting through as no more than a toy for the Black Dove.

Liar! What am I supposed to do against them!?

“Wait for an opportunity. It is coming. They will not be able to resist the call of the Astral Blaze.”

A heinous smirk formed on his face. Of course. If he wasn’t able to resist it, then how could this Color? Strength and mental resilience were two different things, and he did not believe that the Black Dove – the fabled combat healer – could withstand it.

In fact, a part of him believed that she must have had a Corrupted on her side or at least

something

that gave her so much strength. Amidst his thoughts, bullets began to riddle his body.

Plumes of fiery explosions filled the air like fire from a flack cannon. It scalded his flesh, cooking him internally as the Black Dove gave chase. Nothing affected her as she clambered up the walls, jumping to occasionally kick him ever higher with such a force that his body began to conform to the shape of his dented armor.

He would fold in the shape of an arrow tip. The agony was unmatched, and each consecutive strike was met with the image of the woman’s face…

… and someone else’s that he struggled to recall its importance.

“From this Corrupted’s very own mind!? Am I not your ally!?” He cried moments before he was shot at by another devastating bullet.

It came from Frost herself, who wielded a black Justica Arm in her right hand. She loaded it with a single hand and spat a crystal bullet into its smoking chamber.

“You never were. I don’t think you realize what it means to take up that vestment. It didn’t choose to bless you. It thought of you as a monster.”

“Hah – Gnnghk! This – BLACK DOVE – IS A MANTLE! What would you understand when it desires you more than me!?”

“Enough where I’m not delusional to continue believing that

clothing

and superficial names are enough to tell people who we are.” She refuted.

Eventually, the redness of the world died down as the hair of the distant shooter became white like snow. Their eyes were colored red but shone with a glimpse of gold much like the Black Dove through her blue eyes.

“But you did believe at one point!”

“To an extent, it’s still true. I’m the Amalgam, and that same destroyer the Impuritas prophecies.”

It finally hit him as they reached a spacious world where the flames burned at their hottest. A singularity containing the flames roared in the skies like a second sun. It stared down at them, serving as an omnipotent eye for a being they could not begin to comprehend.

I must not lose my soul to her!

“But I never chose to be them in the first place! The only thing I can do now is to shape that name into something that you –!”

It was also on this floor, or rather ceiling, that the shooter made their appearance. She strode onto the vacant ruins of the library with her gun in hand. Her face, while like the

Amalgam

, was just like…

The Princess of Puritas…? Their faces are so similar… But what of the other one? It was…

… it was in G-Z7, wasn’t it?

The Amalgam – whom he finally realized in all her glory – pummeled him to the ground with one final, flaming strike that nearly vanquished the flames of his mantle.

“– OR ANYONE CAN EVER TWIST INTO WHAT THEY WANT!”

A momentary respite was finally granted to him as the Amalgam heaved. She panted not because of her physical exhaustion, but because of a mental war that seemed to occur between her and the Astral Blaze.

She became still like a statue, yet her body was still impervious to damage.

“It’s finally time. The Black Dove… The Amalgam will be enraptured by its flames.”

And I will be able to escape… Hah… Hahaha…

Seeing that the Amalgam’s eyes had become vacant, like she was staring into a distance world, caused him to laugh.

“Hah… Keh… Hahahaha! Tch! Swine!”

But a bullet still struck him. It came from the shooter, who adamantly stood their ground and kept their weapon pointed solely at him.

“She’s the enemy! She is the monster that will damn us all! This… is no doubt a vision related to their wrath! These flames are like hers! Do not make this mistake, Corrupted!”

Another bullet struck him, greatly injuring him but he miraculously was not allowed to perish, leading him to believe that the bullet of the Corrupted was not powerful.

The Red Baron spoke like the Corrupted would be subjected to his commands. After all, he viewed himself as a sovereign with the right to rule over the weak. It was the universal right of the strong.

“Am I the only one who understands this? I don’t seek to destroy this world, like you

Amalgam

.” He tried to chew his tongue, but it kept regenerating.

The black particles never left his body, but he could feel the flames of the Astral Blaze slithering around the Amalgam contours. He studdied her suddenly silent expression half in lust, and the other with the same confusion from before.

“… is your resemblance to his sister why Iscario couldn’t kill you? If only I were there with him to make the choice easier, but I don’t think he would have appreciated what I had in mind.”

His mind then went to the other Healer, moments before it went back to G-Z7.

“I am lucky that this voice is nothing like the ticking of that pale-haired thing. Your ability to withstand such immense attacks is reminiscent of that monster. The Overseer.”

It was in the lower depths of that Site… That face again. It was…

Finally, after managing to take a step toward the Amalgam, he finally remembered familiar name.

… the doctor!