"Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!" "Victorian_Belladonna" began to sing. Spinning around as she began shooting both the guns in her hands. Bodies of the Berugnonites plopped onto the floor with a wet thud. "Early in the morning, our song shall rise to thee." She came to a stop in the middle of the assembly hall. The golden, afternoon sunlight would have made this place seem out of a fairytale. If it weren't harsh and pale.
Looking around, bodies of hundreds of Berugnonites stained the wooden floor. Their semi humanoid figures plagued by bullet holes of various sizes. Turquoise blood oozed out from these wounds like liquid amber. That same blood at painted the hall.
'How did they get in? All the turrents are on twenty-four/seven. . .' Hearing footsteps coming from down the main hallway, "Victorian_Belladonna" sighed. Judging from their Vis Existentiae, more Berugnonites. Lifting up her left hand, she aimed her musket rifle towards the marching enemy. "Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and might! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!"
Bang Gun fired. Body dropped. Headless. The others hesitated. They continued onward. Bang Another fell. "Victorian_Belladonna" kept firing shot, after shot. Body after body fell. Headless.
Noticing the numbers weren't dropping fast enough. She stopped firing the rifle. Bringing up her right hand, she pulled the trigger. Beretta 93R went off. The sound of the gun echoed throughout the room.
This seemed to do the trick. Berugnonites(especially these low level ones) were Mobs that had no range attacks. Melee was their only option. "Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore thee," "Victorian_Belladonna" began walking forward. Kicking aside any corpse with her heeled boots. "Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea."
More and more bodies began to pile up at the end of the hallway. They seemed not to care about their fallen comrades. Pushing and flinging the corpses at "Victorian_Belladonna". Few shots from her musket rifle left those repurposed projectiles in two.
"Cherubim and Seraphim, falling down before thee, who was and is and evermore shall be. . ."
There must have been hundreds of them. Ceaseless waves of them. But the last one went down with a shot to the head.
Wiping off the sweat from her forehead, she looked at the carnage she had caused. Up till her waist with bleeding, headless corpses. 'If only I had done this during the early-game. . . 「Critical Shot」and 「Marksman」would have grown so much faster. . .' Quiting her lampooning, she made her way back to the hall.
Call it what you may, but she doesn't feel safe being waist deep in corpses. "AH! My clothes! They're ruined!" "Victorian_Belladonna" could only cry. She was wearing nearly full white, with touches of yellow and green. Now, her white jeans were dyed turquoise. Not the look she wanted to go for.
Nothing one can do about it. De-materializing her musket rifle, she brushed back loose strands of her blonde hair behind her ear. Forming a sigil next to her ear, "Victorian_Belladonna" began to speak. "Audrey here. The main hall, left-wing and the rooms have been cleared. Everything is secured, contained, and protected."
Silence. Where the others overwhelmed? The chances that such low level enemies would have won weren't 100%. But their chances of losing weren't 0% either. . . She did sense a Buergbeast made a appearance in the garden. Should she head there? Simon maybe lazy, but he would never lose to a Mob that barely qualifies to be a mid-game sub-boss.
Then again. . . They did just come out fighting deities. . . Audrey herself had a scant seven hours of rest. . .
"
"Yeah, yeah. Well done Chérie. I'll bake you a chocolate forest cake for your efforts." Audrey joked. "News of my little brother?"
<. . . Simon is fine. His fight ended hours back.> Even when she couldn't see Gabriel's face, Audrey could clearly imagine that signature scowl Gabriel was pasted on it.
"Beating by Johnny would be worse."
Sighing in relief, Audrey looked over her shoulder. None of the Berugnonites appeared off. Brushing that thought aside, she made way for the back garden.
Not only to check on her brother, but to get some answers from him. For why did he even think that his plan was remotely a good ideal!?
'Simon, you better have a good answer for I swear, even mother and father will feel the whipping I'll give.'
[Initializing Environmental OST No.109: "White Raven Mansion Garden"]
She looked high and low for Simon. Only to find him sitting at the end of the garden, which happened to overlook the snow-covered mountain ranges to the north.
North. . . North. . . Past those mountains would be the Burgundy Desert, past that, Dry Mountain range. Northend would only be separated by a forest and ocean. . .
'. . . God dammit, Alice! Why. . . Why can't you learn to turn around and flee!?' Audrey's gaze fell onto the blooming Anemone and Celandine to her left. Funny how they are ones in full bloom at this point in time.
She continues forward. Sitting a middle in a bed of Cypress, was a man with short, wheat blonde hair that looked like it hasn't been tended too in weeks. Dressed in somewhat filthy white trousers and cocktail coat. Those stains came from the Buergbeast's turquoise blood. Where's the— Oh. There's the Buergbeast's carcass off to her right. In a bed of poppies.
Audrey sat down to Simon's left. Out the corner of her eye, she sees the bright turquoise-green gem, no larger than a watermelon, being played with as if it where a magic 8 ball. Simon's gaze is distant. Not in disinterested way he always had on. But, more so deep in his own head.
Audrey's expression soured. 'He must be thinking of Alice. . .' Audrey had her heart pulled in many directions. Seeing her younger brother like this was akin to stabbing and twisting a knife.
But Alice was her best friend. It was only natural to be happy for her when she found her lover. But still. . . Did it have to be Simon's best friend? And why did it have to be her brother?
'Nows not the time Audrey. Remember what you came to ask, Audrey.' Audrey steeled her nerves. "Simon," Audrey laid back on the lawn. "would really performing. . . The Lamentable Virtue. . . really save this world?"
". . . You hate the idea of uses corpses of gods, goddesses and other deities?"
"Why should we? This is no rhapsody." Audrey closed her eyes. Luckily this time, she sees nothing but darkness. "This is no rhapsody."
"Rhapsody of the end?" Simon muttered out. "I have no idea. No idea. I'm sorry. . ."
"Is my twin brother apologizing?" Audrey joked. Opening her eyes, she stared mindlessly into the grey ocean above. If she could look closely, she could see humans, elves, aliens, all floating in it. The stars still shined. 'I wonder if we can go to space with the ocean in the way? If space still exists.'
Not wanting to continue to look at her supposed future fate, Audrey sat back up. Her coat at this point is ruined. Can't keep worrying of it. Staring off into the distance, Audrey instinctively covers her eyes from the glare of the sun. A useless act due to the ability to enhance one's eyes with Vis Existeniae. But one that, in this world, keeps whatever remains of her sanity anchored.
The sound of breaking rocks, rocks grinding against each other, and the low tremors reach her. It's picking up speed. "The world is ending. Not with a bang, but with a whisper." Audrey watched on as a mountain off at the horizon, break apart in chunks, floating slowly upwards to the grey ocean that hung in place of the sky.
". . . Can this be called a whisper? This is more align with a roar."
"Monsieur, compared to our old world, this is art. Pastels would work wonders for this." Memories crept up from their corners, deep from the wastelands of her mind.
Flashes of pale white lighting. Red pillars of magma. Howling winds. Black clouds. Rivers, lakes, oceans; bodies of blood. People floating upwards — some being sent barreling back towards the ground. Some, chained up by chains. Dragged underground.
Searing flesh. Bubbling fat. Melting bone.
Trumpets. Trumpets! So loud!
". . .Rey. . ."
. . . Horsemen. . .
". . .Rey!"
. . .Desert being green with grass. . .
"Rey!"
All flowers. . . Blooming at once. . .
"Audrey!"
"Ah? What happened?" Audrey brought up her hands to touch her face. Odd. Tears. Why on earth would she be crying? Audrey shook her head. Memories hid. Deep back in corners of the wasteland of Audrey's mind. Not gone.
Waiting. Patiently. For weakness.
Then, will sink fangs and claws deep. Never to pull out.
"Don't space out like that. We. . . I don't need to lose more people."
"Hehe, I can't help it. The end of the world as we know it is happening again." Audrey laughed a clothed laugh, in hopes of easing Simon's worry.
But she knows this act won't work. Not now. But it's all she can do.
"Holy, Holy, Holy," Audrey began to sing, "all the saints adore thee, casting down their golden crowns, around the glassy sea. . ." With a finger she raised, she took aim. Aiming at the sea above them. A gun manifested in her hand. ". . .evermore shall be. . ."
Bang
Nothing happened.
Nothing.
Sighing, she de-materialized her gun. Right hand dropping onto the floor. "I honestly wished I died fighting the Goddess and her personal protection unit. . .I so do. . . Maybe. . .maybe it would mean I wouldn't have to commit a sin — no. This act of blasphemy."
"You'd choose purgatorio over paradiso? " Simon asked.
"Purgatory is not paradise. We. . . We will end up in inferno if this fails." Looking upwards again, Audrey gazes onto a star. The lone star. The only star. Shining brightly, with a gold light.
'What was the name of the star again?' Star of Bethlehem. Audrey laughed darkly. Odd that even in this world, that name found a way to resurrect. "Maybe we should look for the Three Wise Men? They could shed some light." It was supposed to be a question, but it came off closer to a statement. Or, something closer to a decision already made.
Either way, Simon didn't reject it.
"That would be hard to convince the others. Three want to take the trip with a Virgil and Beatrice type of characters to paradiso. Two. . . Two are there. . . In purgatorio. . . Three again want crucify corpses of deities. . ."
"How long before Steven comes back? If we go now, we might be able to get to the three wise men before they commit the sin."
"Steven is out with Stacey in hopes of finding survivors. They went out in the direction of the Vermillion Spire — closer to Johnathan's location. Eight to thirteen hours."
Well, that throws most of her plans out the window. 'Eight to thirteen hours. . . Talk about crunch. . .' Audrey grimaced. Memories of working as a animator where the closest things to being nightmares.
Enough. Nows not the time to daydream. The act of blasphemy needs to be stopped. At the very least, halted.
Getting up and dusting off her clothes, Audrey stretched out her arm, palm open, to Steven. "So, you would come me to find three sages?"
Simon took the hand. "Steven will hate me for backing out a plan I proposed." They made a beeline for the mansion. Stock up on supplies. Tell the others where they are going. Hopefully they'll be back before the "Virtue" is committed.
"He'll understand. He always understands." Audrey said.
〔≡≡≡≡≡〕