The second Tower belonged to the Crimson Hunger. Frost was on a collision course with the Heart of the City that lurked beneath its lands. She, the Hired Arm, Snap, and her reinforcements would pave the way for the Exalted as she pushed towards the north.

Rolling hills and luscious green fields stretched from the Capital to the distant mountains that divided the Empire. From their immense height and speed, it felt like the Bellum Empire was a small civilization. The various bastions of civilization felt so utterly disconnected due to the immense scale of the world.

It was nothing like the urban labyrinth of the Nex Megalopolis.

The Major Arcana Towers, including the Palace, were really the only landmarks of the Empire. Without them, Frost would not have known that these lands were ruled by one entity.

They pushed through emerald forests and mass stretches of land in the blink of an eye. Their speed made them invisible to the naked eye. Not even Frost would be able to perceive Snap at full speed if she were an observer.

The Bellum Empire could’ve expanded, but everything was condensed into a few cities. The total landmass in the south is roughly the same size as a single city in the Nex Megalopolis. Combine both and it’s like 3 or 4 cities worth of land. It’s huge, Nav. Grandis is massive.

“Will you be able to make it there on time?”

Yes. We’re moving at full speed. We’ll reach the north before midnight.

Frost mentally assured them before broadcasting a message to all members.

We’ll be attacking within 8 hours sometime before midnight.

Orange light blanketed the world as the sun began to set.

“On Peregian Night. How bold of you. They will not expect it at all, is what I want to say. But know that they are aware of the Iron Stars and the Black Moons. They must be anticipating something.” (Galia)

Galia was the first to respond. She continued after a short pause.

“But we have thoroughly prepared for all outcomes.” (Galia)

“One out of four wishes are compromised. A collective desire will be difficult for them with the amplification Gift on our side, and I have the Red Baron with me… what’s left of him, anyway. That leaves the Memento Mori’s Dirge, the Maestros of Flesh and their upcoming replacement of the Green Composer, and finally… Raoul.”

“I did not realize he meant it when he answered me with: ‘May we meet again.’ If it is the Avent of Desire… Oh, Jury has something to add.” (Galia)

“Frost! Don’t forget about the Seeds and people themselves! Any and all desires will contribute to fueling the Advent of Desire!” (Jury)

Jury fervently reminded her.

“We haven’t seen what they are, or what they can do yet. But I believe you’ll find a way to deal with them. Also… have you heard from Cer yet?”

“Not yet. But I’m scared that she’ll run in headfirst. She’ll definitely try to tackle Raoul on her own.”

Frost wanted to believe that Cer could win. She truly did. But she had to be logical. Cer would require help if she had to fight Raoul in enemy territory. But if it were a pure, one on one with Cer’s determination and manifested Corrupted Persona now, then it was possible for her to win.

Still, Frost didn’t like their chances. The problem she foresaw was that they’d all be locked into their own battles, making helping each other difficult if not impossible.

“And if Iscario really is there… then I’m not sure if I’ll be able to support Cer or anyone at all.” Frost slowly spoke, but she did not despair.

No, Frost was oddly calm. It was more so that she had gained enough experience to know what to expect. This calmness was reflected in how she also handled Corrupted of Affinity of Wrath. If it were her old self, then she would have already succumbed to their compulsions.

“But we have tricks up our sleeves.” The Hired Arm uttered from behind, tapping on the head of the various skulls displayed on Frost’s hips. “A big blue diamond and big red heart would give us an incredible edge.”

She peeled back the flesh around Terrent and gazed deeply into the blue light.

It did not affect her.

“That will be ideal.” Frost agreed. “Combining it with the manifestation of the Civilization Affinity will boost even further. With the nightmare about to be unleashed in this Empire, I think I’ll have a method to do it. I just can’t get blinded by hatred when I see his face again.”

Frost kept the Red Baron alive for one and only one reason.

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It was her vow to kill him in front of Iscario’s eyes.

Would he feel even a fraction of what she felt when he killed those villagers?

Whatever the case was, the Red Baron lived because of her pettiness.

“Yeah. I can’t afford to lose my mind again. There, Snap! The tower with the green light!” Frost pointed, seeing a world that steadily turned red.

Farmlands were overrun by twisting, crimson ivy. They wrapped themselves around plants, suffocating them as the ivy crept into lonely farm homes. She could see blobs of what used to be people bouncing around, some in packs. Those people were likely families or communities, all reduced to a blasphemous existence.

Her blood boiled. Crimson rot and moss clung to walls of the black tower ahead. Massive tendrils wrapped it like anchors, holding it into place like structural cables meant to support a pylon.

The tendrils were like spines draped with ribbons of flesh. Surrounding it were giant mounds that rose and collapsed like the land itself was breathing. Air and clots of blood rose to the air with each loud exhale, throwing debris and Our Bodies – the slimes of processed humans – from the Heart of the City.

The winds were so strong that Frost could feel them while they were soaring a hundred meters in the air. She knew immediately that they were in the territory of the Crimson Hunger.

Giant tentacle trees collected the wind. Poor animals caught up by the powerful breezes were trapped in a sticky membrane. It was easy to tell that they were cilia – the small hairs found inside the nasal cavity which caught foreign bodies.

They were a part of the body’s first line of defense.

Snap easily wove through forest of these colossal cilia without being detected.

“Snap, avoid all conflict. I want you to stay inside my flames.” Frost said, patting its head affectionately.

“Bzzzt~! (It’s a bit scary when you say that. But I’ll be careful).” Snap responded positively. “Zzzt. Brrr! (I’ll do my best! Anything else?).”

“Stay clear from the portal once I open it. We have guests eagerly waiting on the other side.”

The Hired Arm nodded in response to Frost, for she was the one who called Caldera Industries for help. It was why they were immediately present in Seer’s Town when she called for an Isolation Sphere.

“I alone won’t be able to destroy an entire Heart of the City. Not without manifesting the Crowned at the very least.”

They landed in the ruined square of a village. It had been plucked down to the bone. Nothing but gravel and crimson-wrapped houses remained, as well as a half-broken observation tower.

It was a blind spot within the Crimson Hunger’s territory.

Frost felt a presence from within. She already knew who it was, hence, why she did not attack immediately. The familiar silhouette of a man made from crystals and rocks leapt from tens of meters, crashing beside them with a heavy thud.

“Is it time, Amalgam?” Abadona bowed.

She looked up at the setting sun, noticing that it was falling much more slowly.

“Yes. Good. We have an Isolation Sphere already set up for us. Wait here. Once the Heart of the City is destroyed, it’ll be your turn to take over.” She ordered, hopping off Snap.

“I unfortunately have yet to find an entry. But it seems that won’t be an issue.” Abadona said. “Have they been waiting long?”

“Far too long.” Frost began, extending an arm out. “Caldera Industries will be assisting us with the Hearts of the City.”

And at once, an azure gate connecting to the Derma Layer opened behind her. Mechanized noises drowned the disturbing ambience of the Crimson Hunger. Something equally as hungry as them lurked within the portal.

Frost peered into it, seeing only a fraction of the legion that resided within.

Suddenly, a Vermilion Moon emerged from the portal. This was a vampire named Silica. She had red, flowing hair and took a sultry yet disciplined stance before Frost. With a salute, a bow, and a nod, she finally spoke.

“Amalgam! We’re ready! We’re just waiting on your orders now! Beholder Knalzark will be joining you shortly!”

The ground cracked as she spoke due to the spillage of Quantified Gravity.

Indeed. There was another Beholder involved in this war. In total, there were five Ateliers now. The reason why she asked the Hired Arm to contact Caldera Industries much earlier was not simply to take down the Hearts of the City.

Rather, it was because Frost was not going to attack the north alone. Her ability to connect spaces meant that she could smuggle an entire army within her shadow. It would not be a pincer attack involving just her in the north, but the entire legion of Caldera Industries.

Two and a half thousand men and woman were present.

It was but one segment of the whole of Caldera Industries, as their other branches were still disconnected, particularly their motherland – Dwarhelven.

“What Gigaforge does this one come from?” Abadona questioned out of curiosity.

“Atlas!” Silica revealed her fangs as the Exalted folded his arms in understanding.

“Then it will be a one-sided bloodbath.” He muttered.

The earth split ever wider. Gorges appeared like an invisible being had clawed the world. They ran as far as a kilometer and were tens of meters wide. Strands of sinew and flesh connected the walls of the opening.

Before blood could gush from them, the drill-head of a colossal bore emerged from the fifty-meter portal. It was quite literally a moving column… no, a battering ram meant to split the earth in half. It pulverized the earth with a horrific grinding sound, causing coagulated blood and chunks of living earth to ooze at its side like mud.

It was not just one or two. Not even five or ten. Thirty of these monstrously large pillars, which had the girth of thirty meters and the length of easily a kilometer ran through the portal. They were moved by nothing but gravity, and were driven individually by Dwarves in hidden compartments just behind the drill.

These were the Gravity Augers of Caldera Industries – outdated machines that once bored into the world in search for the Impuritas. But due to them living in the Derma Layer, they were decommissioned and left to rot.

That was until now.

Each of the Gravity Augers were connected to a single larger machine that barely fit through the entire width of Frost’s portal. The circular-shaped bit dove into the ground, creating a seal as every Gravity Auger dove into the earth.

It began to spin, and at once, it fell as fast as it could drill into the earth.

The contaminated land seemingly screamed in agony.

Chasing it was a series of tubes that collected material to be incinerated as it was pumped with a blue fluid.

This was its fuel – Liquid Nex. The blue light of Liquid Nex was why everything Caldera Industries owned glowed in a spectacular azure.

With the doorway into the Heart of the City now created, the true army of Caldera Industries finally entered their world.

Men and women, both tall and short, wielded their hammers and various mechanical instruments of war. Gravity-powered hammers, devices that could destabilize or increase gravity in a radius to destroy their enemies, giant obsidian balls that could gravitate towards hostiles and crush them with its 100-ton weight, and even mechanized vehicles in the form of drill-like worms, piloted by an Commanding Drill Conductor.

They leaped into the hole without fear. Rather, the faces they made were closer to glee. Excitement. They loathed the Impuritas to the point where they took pleasure in fighting them. They did not even give it a second thought, even though this was a Heart of the City and nothing like the Plagues, Infections or Complex Hearts that they were used to.

The Vermilion Moons were the last to exit. Only five of them were present. One tugged on a bloodied chain at something still on the other side.

“Beholder Knalzark will be joining you when you reach the center of the Heart of the City! He can make it collapse into itself. Think of us as the cleanup crew. We’ll get rid of the peskier critters.” Silica laughed with her peers. “You’ll do most of the damage. Not like we can do anything to a Heart of the City, or anything once their Defense reaches stupidly high levels.”

On their bodies there were various permanent markings. Some had five. Others with ten. Silica on the other hand had fifty. These represented how many Complex Hearts they had destroyed, and thus, was evidence of their experience.

“Tch. Is he stuck on something!? Oh no, he’s just shy.” One giggled, tugging in a bloodied, heavily mutilated body.

It was a Red Giant.

“Hey, Amalgam! If all things go downhill, then we still have one of these with us~!” The girl hummed with delight.

… Nav. Infusion C is one sixteenth of a Star’s explosive death, right?

“Correct.”

Frost, staring into the empty eye sockets of the tortured Red Giant realized something.

So we have living nuclear bombs in our hands.

If all else failed, then they at least had this…

… and multiple more within the possession of the Vermilion Moons.

For the first time, Frost felt like she didn’t even have to do anything here.