782. Blooming (Cer)(Ber)(Res)

782. Blooming (Cer)(Ber)(Res)

The branches grew larger. The crystals walls seemed impenetrable. Crystal bullets and bolts of lightning struct places multiple times in quick succession, making it risky for Snap, as just earlier the lightning bolts did not strike the same place twice

Snap purred loudly. Polaroids spilled from its mouth. No one could catch them to see who was on it, but Cer knew that it was either her or the face of her mother. Thousands of variations of Cers that were deleted were printed en masse, only for them to be swept away by the storm.

The polaroids were the only proof that they existed.

“Frost! I’m going to lay down as much fire as I can! But I won’t be able to help you with that one!”

A branch larger than anything previous was headed in their direction. Snap tried to change its course, but the branch moved with the sole purpose of striking Cer down.

There was only one way to deal with that branch.

“LEAVE IT TO ME! THROW ME AS FAR AHEAD AS YOU CAN!”

The branch was like another tree trunk. It was so large that it consumed everything in their vision. It must’ve been hundreds of meters wide, or kilometers even. Accurately measuring the scale here was impossible, but Frost was confident in her powers to take it on.

“Cer! Remember this – You’re the only one who can reach your mom right now! You’re the missing piece she’s searching for! That makes you the most vulnerable out of all of us!”

Suddenly, something warm touched her.

“Wait! And you’re not!?”

It was Cer’s hand. She clasped at her coat, her nails tearing it slightly.

Long feathers sprung out like knives, and they brushed against Cer’s pale fingers.

“Iscario is just up there! What are you worrying about me for!? I… don’t want to lose another person precious to me again!”

Cer’s words were not meant to stop Frost. She wanted nothing more than for Frost to emerge victorious.

“Tch… Go get them. I’ll figure out my own way to fight. I feel like shit relying on Snap to avoid this… but it’s no so bad when you’re here too.”

There wasn’t much time left to talk. If Frost didn’t break the branch in the next 20 seconds, then they’d be reduced to a red paste. But just before the Hired Arm could begin twirling her around, Cer said one last thing.

“… You still have that thing against Iscario, right?”

Frost wanted to ask what that ‘thing’ was, but figured she’d understand when the time came.

“Before I became a Blessed, I relied heavily on chants to use my magic. But after 30 years I’ve already forgotten about all of it. Even biological processes that should be a breeze won’t come back to me if I suddenly lost my Blessing of the Nexus. You know what I mean, yeah! Oi! Frost!? You get me!?”

Frost kept this nugget of information to heart.

She knew exactly what Cer was talking about. But only time would tell if it would work.

Then, with a firm nod and after ruffling Cer’s head –

“Absolutely.”

– The Hired Arm reeled Frost around with a brilliant swing. A silver arc flashed as Frost felt the steel strand bite into her body. Were it not for her incredible high-DEF stat, then she would have been bisected from the waist.

The steel strand groaned under immense tension, and the Hired Arm’s palms bled profusely. The fabric of her gloves dug into her lacerated palms. It was the most pain the Hired Arm had experienced thus far in this world, but her facial expression did not change.

“Unfortunately for me… I don’t have your Beholder Skills or Abilities, let alone your Corrupted Skills. You might not know this, main-me – but I bear as much resentment against that Fallen Star as you do!”

Her undying loyalty and conviction to see this to the end only caused her to pull harder.

“The children of the Derma Layer didn’t know what the stars were. I came into this world believing it was different. But even when the stars exist, people still choose to hide them away. Children deserve to see everything this world has to offer! What Sinder fought for… won’t be in vain in this world!”

Finally, with one last heave, she released the strand. A sonic boom exploded from Frost’s body as a halo of water vapor surrounded her figure.

“So I have but one request from you –!”

From behind, and with the way Frost’s body shone, it was like watching a fleeting star.

“– BRING THAT FALSE STAR DOWN EVEN IF IT’S THE LAST THING YOU DO!”

“YOU AND I BOTH!” Frost howled as she pulled her body inward, spinning as fast as she could to generate as much centrifugal energy.

She was thrown so far ahead that she was only seconds away from the branch. The speed was an entirely different beast as well, and she could barely keep her eyes open. Even the smallest debris became far more dangerous than a bullet at this speed.

But Frost’s body was built for this kind of abuse.

Suddenly, a grand fireball emerged in Frost’s palm. She held it behind her as she recovered from her twirl. [Thermal Propagation] allowed her to carry her immense momentum. And with only a single punch –

“[AMPLIFICATION – MAGNITUDE]!”

|| Amplification – Magnitude ||

|| World Breaker ||

– Her fist smashed through the thinner part of the branch, eating it away until it reached the core. A fissure spanning over 50 meters instantly appeared.

Indeed. The raw impact of 150,000 ATT damage was spread to the immediate 50 meters. It was as though an invisible meteorite had struck where she punched.

Smaller cracks stemmed from tens of thousands of fissures until they consumed the entirety of the branch. Her momentum barely slowed down, and she carved through the branch like a blade, allowing Snap ample room to avoid it now.

The sides of the branch passed by Snap and the others like the arms and legs of a tall beast, all the while Frost carved the path forward with a battle cry.

“WE’RE NEARLY THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!”

And before she knew it, she was the first to be swallowed by the wall of blue.

Following her was Snap and her entourage.

They disappeared without a trace, swallowed by a veil of light.

* * *

Silence befell the world in an instant. With Cer gone, there was no reason for the Effeuiller La Dahlia to attack.

However, after an unknown amount of time, the storms resumed. The crystals regrew along the trunk. Branches continued to fall.

* * *

A lone, unconscious figure appeared suddenly at the garden far beneath the tree. Their white, buttoned shirt was stained with soot from a brutal battle, and golden strands of fur could be found on their body.

Their wolf-like ears twitched to the sound of scrunching grass. Though there was no one around the figure, they imagined that people were dancing around her. Blue flowers appeared and disappeared in the meadows, revealing memories of a figure that looked just like the one asleep.

“… gh… Where… am I…? I’m… back beneath the tree? Was I… were we rejected?”

It was Cer, and she woke up in a world all alone.

“You…”

No.

She wasn’t alone.

The ragged voice of a man caused her to grasp at the grass with renewed vigor.

Her eyes widened like full moons.

She knew exactly who this voice belonged to.

“Why are you here?”

“I could ask you the same thing…”

She sensed him. Amongst the many aberrations of Cer stood one figure that was not like the others. He stood heads and shoulders above them and was accompanied by a three-headed wolf by his side.

Cer pushed herself onto her feet, her fangs cackling with current as she gazed at the man she called her own brother.

“… Raoul…!”