Finally, Jury noticed something.
“It attacks the largest concentration of people, but never the Sins… Not only that, but it’s not really targeting the 2nd Branch. They’re clumped up… so how come?”
“Wrath, perchance?” Galia said as they stood atop a sky bridge. She reached out towards the skies, as if she could touch the feathers of the pale bird.
“Wrath?”
“The ‘sin’ of the 2nd Branch.”
Jury did recall seeing ‘Wrath’ written on her mantle as she passed by the 2nd Branch. Surprisingly, their sin was not lust despite what she would have expected. This was because although they were driven by lust, their actual actions were considered wrathful.
Violence for example was a staple of wrath.
“… So this bird judges people on a surface level? To justify punishment?” Jury uttered.
“It would seem so.”
Galia’s answer bothered Jury. Her indifference to this chaos and in the face of death caused her to wonder why she was like this.
“Galia… How are you so calm?”
“A Beholder must have at least defeated an Apocalypse-leveled Corrupted once in their life to reach our heights. Call it a filter. It’s the way we are, and not something you should concern yourself with. I’d rather have a normal friend for once, someone who worries and questions constantly. Don’t make that face. I don’t find it irritating.”
Jury was like a sponge. Even now she was learning new things. It was how she learned so much from the Eternal Library, though the length of time she spent there was still a mystery even to herself.
< [Rightful Smite] >
The same attack targeted them again, and the two fled from the bridge. It disintegrated into grains of sand. In the meantime, Jury stopped by a nearby bridge to say something to Galia.
“I feel like my heart’s about to explode!”
“Get used to it.”
“No, I mean… It doesn’t feel normal.”
“Now that you mention it… What an odd sensation.” Galia pressed a hand against her heart.
They both recognized this as the Castigation Bird’s second Corrupted Skill.
< [Homogenous Viscera] >
The sensation was beyond uncomfortable. It was like an itch that could not be scratched from within, melded with the sensation of something wriggling, pounding, squeezing at her chest.
Jury heaved as her eyes widened. But like Galia, she was able to resist whatever the uncomfortable urge was. It seemed that everyone was affected by this, but nothing came out of it.
That was until she noticed something happening to the 2nd Branch.
* * *
“It’s begun. As living things, they’re susceptible to ‘that’ effect.” The croaks of a 2nd Order knight uttered from atop the clock tower.
The Corrupted Skill Jury knew as [Homogenous Viscera] targeted all living things. If it bled with red blood, then the effect was even more potent. It ensured that all those who were within the Corrupted’s reign of influence in what the 2nd Order knight knew as:
“The wrath of the Angel in Red. Glory upon her and watch as they succumb to your pet.”
Repenters and Impuritas alike began to shed their flesh. Coagulated blood formed at their mouths like a gag before it expanded into pair of hands. They then collapsed at each jaw and pulled themselves free from their host’s flesh, giving birth to even more bleeding minions of the Red Wing.
It was an attack that had guaranteed the death of whatever army dared to face the 2nd Order in their prime. The undead figure, who was adorned in a white chassis, recalled how their enemies were reduced to a liquid sludge.
Granted, there were sometimes a few survivors, though they were usually eliminated shortly after due to their self-inflicted injuries.
“The 2nd Branch will at least drown in what they loved the most.” He cackled, his suit of armor clambering.
He tilted his head back, readying himself to see the death of the 2nd Branch the next time he peered into the distance.
* * *
< Sins are all the bird seeks to punish. Its virtuous wingbeats already know the rights and wrongs of the denizens outside of its paradise >
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< [Scarlet Purity] >
The blood spilled by the Repenters and the Impuritas created Sins of Wrath. Hundreds were born in the blink of an eye, joining the thousands that pressured the Nexus’ forces.
However, the 2nd Branch were overwhelmed with a different kind of sensation. Those who were caught within the gaze in this moment, or were in the proximity of the attack began to display unusual behavior.
They trembled in what seemed to be delight as they began scratching at their chests. Fingernails clawed away at their clothes, revealing their bare chests. Then, they plunged their fingers into their flesh, opening their chest cavities with a flushed smile before tearing out a rib to show to the eye.
< [Blood Bargain] >
Healing Bullets rained the battlefield. The few who failed to expose their ribs were unfortunately killed by a follow up attack. The act of revealing their ribs saved their lives, and the 2nd Branch did not know why they were compelled to do so.
There was a saying that the ribs contained one’s truth and lies. Following it was another Corrupted Skill.
< [Castigation] >
This was the Corrupted Skill responsible for one’s instantaneous death, like the [Judgement] of the One Thousand Eyed Bird. The Castigation Bird flapped its enormous wings as it screeched in both pain and pleasure. Tornadoes formed in the distance from the immense winds it generated, picking up blood, debris, and the body parts of various soldiers.
Jury clenched her teeth in sorrow.
Some of those who died to the attack belonged to her Atelier.
And to make matters more painful for her, she finally received Nav’s prompt.
* * *
| The Gates of Paradise |
< CONDITION: No one can leave the gaze of the Castigation Bird without enduring Castigation. All Sins will be punished equally under the scrutiny of the Castigation Bird. The Castigation Bird is invulnerable to all forms of damage when enacting its target’s rightful punishment >
< SUPPRESSION REQUIREMENT: The Castigation Bird is temporarily suppressed when it punishes a Sinner that has already received punishment. When Suppressed, the Castigation Bird becomes vulnerable to all forms of damage >
< ADDITIONAL SUPPRESSION REQUIREMENT: The Castigation Bird will be susceptible to Critical Attacks when it wrongfully punishes an Innocent. When it punishes an Innocent again, the Innocent may use Enact Castigation >
< SUBJUGATION REQUIREMENT: The Castigation Bird is Subjugated when its HP reaches 0 or when its rightful Castigation is enacted >
* * *
“By exposing our ribs… we can avoid being killed by the bird.” A Seci Response Moon uttered, marveled by the insanity of this Condition.
But they had all the Healing Bullets in the world to make this work. Not only that but were also teamed up with people who were built for this kind of absurdity. The 2nd Branch rejoiced at the news, and at the same time, the bird’s gazes that judged them wrongly lost their golden glow.
< The Castigation Bird is shocked by the revelation of the sins written across their ribs >
< They have already received punishment >
“ATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!” Jury cried out at the top of her lungs, and at once, seven tears of space opened above her.
|| Retrocausality – Smite ||
|| Retrocausality – Smite ||
|| Retrocausality – Smite ||
|| Retrocausality – Smite ||
|| Retrocausality – Smite ||
|| Retrocausality – Smite ||
|| Retrocausality – Smite ||
Each of the colossal weapons took aim and fired a beam at 7 different eyes that had lost their color. Trails of light followed suit, striking another 13 at the exact same time. The eyes burst like a puss-filled balloon.
Scarlet blood dripped from the wound, revealing a hollow, bony cavity layered with a thin strip of muscle. Feathers grew from the veins that ran within like crystals along the walls of a cavern.
Suddenly, something began to fall as the Castigation Bird howled so loudly that it shook the world beneath their feet.
< [Primordial Pathogen] >
Sins of all manners descended all at once from the wounds of the very thing that sought to cleanse them. Everything about the Castigation Bird reeked with hypocrisy, as it did not deal with all Sins equally.
Wrath was left alone and was not summoned from its wound. Pride was also missing from the various entities that swamped the city and the lands beyond its walls, each ravenously seeking the nearest person to destroy.
They were each at Monsoon at the minimum, with few being of the Eternal Night-Risk. But if one looked closely at them, they would realize something.
“Those are just Vexed Consanguinities, but they have a different appearance. They’re not all that much stronger, but… they might be a problem.” Jury noticed.
Indeed, what came out of the Castigation Bird were mere imitations of other Sins; a disguise that allowed them to roam without being punished by the gaze of the bird, as they were originally born from Wrath.
An army of Monsoon Leveled entities was far from easy, even for a force as skilled as the 2nd Branch. Adding Eternal Night-leveled monsters – which were normally taken care of by Moons and Colors – only made matters worse.
But a miracle revealed itself on their eternal night.
The Minor Luminescence above the city suddenly shone with a gentle white glow. Accompanying it was a soft, beautiful voice that sang a heartfelt song.
“… I thought… that was supposed to make the Impuritas Invulnerable.” Jury whispered, clenching her fists as she felt strength course through her suddenly.
“Could it be that someone from our side has managed to hijack it?” Galia wondered.
“That’s the likely answer. I didn’t expect help to come… But it’s welcome, if it means that we won’t have to lose more people.”
It was obvious to Galia how Jury felt. Blaming herself was inevitable. Jury was the kind of person who memorized the names of the people who worked for her. It was a morbid, unsettling feeling knowing that the next time she’d see them would be at a funeral.
“Like I said: don’t think about it until this is over. We’ve found its weakness. My 2nd Branch will not hesitate to expose their ribs, so stay focused. This Corrupted preys on our sins. Your guilt is an admission of a sin.”
“… You’re right.” Jury nodded, slapping her own face. She had seen Frost do this before, so she tried it out and to her surprise, it managed to bring her back. “Alright. I’m good now. Now that we know what to expect, we might be able to start sending people to find the Phylactery.”
“Excellent.” Galia hummed with delight.
Castigation Bird | HP : 700,000
Before could continue the fight, the light storm above Primus Ramus transformed into a shade of blue.
Frost and Cer were either close to their destination, or –
– They were already fighting.