1045. Blind, Once Again

1045. Blind, Once Again

“A close brush with death~” Acedia loomed over her, her eyes suddenly dazzling like stars. “Did you see the light at the end of the tunnel? Or hear a voice? Humans have tales about experiencing the world beyond death when they brush with death. I’ve yet to find a human like the eighty ninth meal, who told me she dreamed of having legs again in a garden she thought was the Nexus~ She was so sweet.”

“If only that was true.” Raoul sighed. “You can let go of me now.”

“I’ll wait till you can stand.” Frost did not move her supporting hand.

She scanned their surroundings as the Gateway made several consecutive wet pops. The Judge’s Prides came barreling out wearing expressions from >_< to Q_Q.

“We’re no longer in a forest. Visibility is around fifty meters now too. I can’t find a single tree in sight. My Prides.”

A rank of ten formed a line and saluted Frost. Their non-vocal nature made it difficult to know what they were thinking, or if they were even capable of cognition in the first place. Frost had her orders ready. These pawns would die for her if she so wished.

But she hesitated precisely because they were so ready to serve her.

“Spread out and explore. Don’t stray too far this time. You are to preserve your life at all costs, even if it means foregoing the mission to collect information. Now, scatter.”

They dispersed in all cardinal directions. One swiftly avoided an outstretched hand from Acedia. They knew who the real Frost was, even if they weren’t cognitively tethered. A look of disdain crept on the face of that Judge’s Pride before they slipped into the fog.

“Adorable.” Acedia hummed. “If only they did not have white hair, then they’d be closer to the slightly bigger Alter Mother. Or the rare mini-Mother. Oh, how I’ve yearned she’d one day make a fateful visit to our Leviathan.”

“Focus.” Frost snapped her fingers to dispel Acedia’s trance. “Carry Raoul. We’ll walk on our own. My Prides have already found something ahead.”

She took Res’ hand and lightly tugged her. It was a miracle Res was even able to find the correct Gateway. Although, one had to remember that Res was a highly seasoned Moon and had enhanced senses. Eyesight was far less of a detriment since she could not use her [Electric Beam] or Skills requiring her eyes.

Frost just had to lead her to the right place. A good, hefty punch from Res would be enough to neutralize most foes. Even the dreaded Octanid could not hold a candle to them in their current state.

“Stick with me. You’re the second strongest out of us. What can you use right now?”

“At best I can enhance physical attacks with [Galvanized Blood]. Short range electric arcs are possible, but I have no way to control where the arcs will land. They’ll jump to the first available point of contact.”

“Acedia doesn’t know how to space herself, but she’ll work as a good ground given her high DEF stats.”

Acedia nearly dropped Raoul in response to Frost nonchalantly uttering this.

“Electricity… is the bane of the flesh. Fire comes second. It was my one weakness as a Corrupted. Never again.”

Fire was often depicted as the direct counter flesh-based beings, humanoids and the Crimson Hunger included. However, Electric Magic could accomplish everything Fire Magic could with the addition of inflicting the Paralysis Condition.

The biomechanics of living flesh revolved around electrical impulses. Muscles, for example, could not contract without a current. If one were to shock a dead frog, one would find that it would reanimate.

But what if that current exceeded what the body was capable of producing?

It would result in involuntary contractions, which was a form of the Paralysis Condition called Seize, which could progress into the Seizure Condition.

For shapeshifters like Mimicry and the Succubus, Electric Magic destabilized the form they were taking and would reveal their true forms. This was why Acedia feared it more than any flame and was partially why she had always been deferential towards the triplets.

“I implore you, Res– if you know what’s good for you, then you will not consider using this body as a meat shield. We should focus on defending it, rather than using it as a lighting rod. You understand, don’t you? This body is precious. To inflict pain upon it is to–”

“Shut your mouth.” Res bared her fangs. “Our goal, first and foremost, is to survive as a collective. Don’t tell me that you’re afraid of a little pain. If you have the capacity to take the hit for someone else, then you are going to take it. No exceptions.”

Rarely, if ever, did anyone during her time with Frost complain about being hurt. If anything, they were more than willing to take damage if it meant the difference between winning, survival, or in Frost’s case – to save someone.

Not only that, but Acedia’s complaint was like a spit on the face.

Res had worked for over 30 years with Moons, and she could the number of times a Moon complained about losing a limb, or half their body, on a single hand.

That was if she excluded Cer’s antics.

A Moon’s mission was absolute. It was either they die and fail or succeed to die another day.

Furthermore, Acedia had said this in Frost’s body.

Ropes of electricity crackled around her. An aura of levitating rocks surrounded her as she stared into Acedia’s eyes, somehow knowing precisely where they were despite being blind.

“You’re not the Division Leader here. You are not going to lead anyone from behind. Dig in, and don’t complain. We have a child and two Healers to rescue. You, in Frost’s body, is the least of our concerns.”

Res scathingly dragged her words out. Acedia flinched, like those words had wounded her heart, and she clutched onto her chest as though she was bleeding.

A proud look crept onto Frost’s face. It was the kind of look that said: “I raised that girl.” It had also taken Raoul by surprise, conveyed by the dumbfounded look she wore. Res was the kind of person who was averse to painful experiences, but Raoul had obviously missed when Res started embracing it.

“Res is right. Get used to what it means to be human.” Frost patted Acedia’s back and led the way forward. “Don’t lag behind Acedia. You wanted to be me. Now, you’re going to have to fill in my roles.”

“Your role involves

this?

”

Acedia had never witnessed Frost’s feats, or the way she fought, so she was unaware of the extent of damage Frost had taken in the past.

Was she cut up? Ground down into paste, as Acedia had? Did she have to feel it? If she did, then what did it feel like?

“It’s a byproduct more than anything.” Frost nonchalantly began. “But we do try to minimize where possible. It’s just important to know that it’s unavoidable in this line of work. Pain should be the least of your worries if you aspire to become human. It’s one facet, yeah. But I don’t think I’d be the same person if I couldn’t feel pain. The side effect of that is not being able to feel pleasure.”

“I’ve only known pleasure. One can exist without the other.”

“You need both, instead of being blind to one.” Res said, plucking a strand of loose hair from her eyes. “Frost, my role. Nav is telling me I’m ‘Kindred’. Meaning related, or family. I want to ask you if you know how it correlates with my blindness.”

“I’m about as lost as you, because I’m the Confessor and became a Healer in the same sense that I can’t convenience of violent thoughts. Now we can confirm it has nothing to do with aspirations.”

Frost plucked a rock from the ground and nonchalantly munched on it. She was hungry, and there was nothing to eat in sight. Her [Dimensional Storage] didn’t have much food, and she would rather keep the food for the others since her appetite was insatiable.

However, she found that she quickly became full after eating just two rocks.

“How convenient. This is how I remember hunger being like. A small meal used to be enough to keep me satisfied. I miss that. Actually, I never experienced that as ‘me’, but it would’ve been easier if my hunger was manageable. Just like this.”

“I don’t miss being blind. But I would be lying if I said it made my life harder.” Res agreed, her ears suddenly standing. “Up ahead. I hear voices. Can you see anything?”

“I see a giant silhouette, and a big wall coming up.”

The forward Judge’s Pride saw the silhouette of a colossal wall. It cut the world into two equal horizontal halves. The faint blue glow of the structure illuminated the world as the light above started to dim as the minutes passed. Before long, they fog dispersed, allowing them to see the world as far as a kilometer away.

And there, they saw it.