bookpower 732. Are We Worthy?
732. Are We Worthy?
732. Are We Worthy?
The Red Baron reached a point of no return. He was swallowed by his hubris and absolute certainty of his belief. His physical manifestation only solidified that what he believed in was the truth.
His Persona became his crystalized Ego, and it assumed a form that was far from hideous. It demanded awe as he floated in place, the flaming crown warping space with the gravity of his belief alone.
“They will remember me... They must remember me. The Red Baron. A Color that lost all meaning ever since my descent into that Facility! My glory will be restored!”
It was a permanent form that best depicted who he was in the most perfect sense. A man... no, a living apparel judged only by his appearance and the coat of color than what was within. A superficial, one-dimensional villain that did not need a tragic tale to explain why he believed in the things he did.
“Ha... Hahaha... I can’t let it end like this.”
A warped flame appeared in the palm of his right hand. It did not lick the air like a regular flame. It was closer to a red-hot ball of iron. As a result, he seemed to carry a miniature sun in his palms as he held it out barely past his chest.
“This was supposed to be the beginning of my own tale. My print in history that would see my name in every book! Amalgam! How many wishes are you willing to deprave from us!?”
//////// < WARNING > ////////
< ETERNAL NIGHT >
< THE ARBITER’S TRUMPET RESONATES >
Worthy
< Recognized by namesake alone >
AFFINITY : Desire
LEVEL : 160ORIGIN : Trauma
HP : 1,500,00
ATT : 4,000MAG ATT : 4,000ATT DEF : 1,900MAG DEF : 1,900
MP : 10,000
RESIST : 500AGI : 60
“The glory was all supposed to be mine!”
Red rays of light were cast by the red orb. They reached the extreme edges of the palace walls, burning the plastered pages.
“All of it! This kingdom and its people will bow down to me when I save them from the coming apocalypse! I, the Red Baron, am the only one worthy!”
Pathetic...
Frost held no pity in her heart for him. This was bound to end in a tragedy for him. But seeing that he was gushing caused her to consider allowing him to spill what he knew.
All according to him...
“Yes. His title as being the only one ‘worthy’ reflects this ability. If he is the only one worthy, then he is also the only one that can make others worthy or unworthy. Perhaps like in the same vein as his Trophies. The only people worthy are the most beautiful. You’re likely a candidate, did you know?”
You’re making me sick... Tch. He’s not so different from the Hearts, huh.
Finally, Frost cried out:
“You don’t think that they’ll despise you!? The world openly spited you the moment you disappeared! What makes you think this will change anything!?”
She finally pushed back, finally landing a colossal blow that caused him to fly away. Frost gave chase, the wake of her brisk movements cracking the ground. Light shone through from beneath.
“How can they despise me when I will be the reason why they are rescued? They will never know it was us who were behind it. Isn’t that what you did? You burned the Nex Megalopolis, then saved it from yourself so that you could appear like a hero to them all!”
“Where did you learn that from!?”
“The Sect of Gears. Iscario. Our Memento Mori partners! They saw it, and I believed it was ingenious! What a frightening mind! Hahahaha! If you just accepted it and became another Trophy... no, mine, then we could both rise higher than just these namesakes! We can become astral!”
Frost didn’t show how much she wanted to hurl. Her face instead contorted with pain to maintain the illusion of a losing battle. Somehow, it felt like they were rising as they exchanged blows. The Red Baron’s attacks, like himself, had no depth and zero complexity.
It was all for the sake of absolute domination. There was no hope for him in the face of absolute authority. Frost wondered if he would Corrupt again if he knew this.
“So the one that came up with this plan... gh... was you?”
“Many minds went into this, Amalgam! Many more than you can fathom! With Iscario at the helm, and Angels behind our backs – there is nothing we cannot do! All of our wishes will come true when the Piece of the Fallen Star is fully powered with the fuel!”
“... A collective desire.” Frost knew this much, but the Red Baron quickly corrected her, perhaps out of anger that she was not on the same page as him.
“Collective aspirations! Accomplishments! Desires alone are not enough to power it! That way we will all get something we want! Then, we will gain what we need! I will become the hero of Grandis!”
He took Frost to the next floor above. Beyond the darkness was a room of light. That light came from further above, but it was miraculously able to illuminate the interior of the empty palace. More pages and talismans were plastered on the walls. This time, she could see glyphs and symbols being drawn into them from the light.
“The Memento Mori will be able to create a Dirge of their own! The Wise Black Wolf will see a lost relative rise from the grave!”
Space began to warp around them. Piece by piece, the floors fragmented as the sound of a bell nearly drowned the Red Baron’s shrieks. Golden light illuminated through these cracks, and the world became increasingly spherical.
The horizon folded into itself, then rose to the ceiling. Yet wherever they walked, it was always on a flat plane, meaning they could not walk upside down. It was like being on a hamster’s wheel. Each platform of floating mass was separated by a meter-wide gap.
“The musicians will see the birth of a new Maestro worthy of dethroning the Green Composer!”