Chapter 899 Are You Insane?!
"Hahaha! I didn't think I'd FRIENDLY FIRE so soon!" the amplified voice of the Mad Bishop came, resounding against everything; living and unliving.
With her old face, made to turn wrinkly because of her demented grin, she looked down at Thrill whose wand was only a few hooked fingers away from falling from his grasp.
"Curious, you Bread haters! How can your wills be so weak?! Have you ever tried to taste Bread?! I expected the seas to hold something that could challenge my desire for soft fluff! To make me feel that I was worthy of my title, but no! I meet you sorry excuses for obstacles! Buckle up! Have at me!"
The contents of what the old woman said were quite provocative, albeit completely incomprehensible.
Perhaps those from the Factions could at least understand that the old Faction leader had a formidable bread fetish, but Thrill couldn't. He didn't understand a word of what the Mad Bishop was saying.
At least, until she started to make sense.
"Your methods of avoiding even compulsion must be something, but to think an alluring voice is all it took to make you kneel. Tut tut. I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or fascinated," she said, with the voices of her nine guards mellowing a little, acting as strangely perfect background music to the Bishop's declarations.
With a crafty look in her eye, the Mad Bishop focused on Thrill's wand.
"Ah. Of course. I didn't think of it. I couldn't even see it until now. Maybe you are wise after all! You are storing your souls in your wands in order to make sure even if they are compelled, they won't dictate what your bodies do! Splendid!" she cried.
...!
Thrill frowned deeply, scowls marring his face.
Replicus was astounded.
What?
Wait!
That actually made sense.
It made sense not because it was straightforward, but because he was familiar with a concept where an object became extremely close to its user.
Fond Calamities.
Much like Araeyn and the Empyrean Ribbon.
It wasn't too strange if the Curses had something similar with their wands, where they could actually use their wands as vessels for their souls!
The look on Thrill's face confirmed it that the Bishop was right.
'Still. Even if we discovered it earlier, we can't approach the Curses without being exposed to the emotions they represent. Touching them also isn't easy, especially when intending to steal from them, rather than to harm.'
The Mad Bishop didn't seem to have mentioned this in order to act upon it though.
She seemed to enjoy the hostilely baffled look on Thrill's face, and that on Musing's face as well.
The second Curse of the main trio had emerged from where Replicus had sent him flying only to be caught in the melody which was playing from around the cathedral.
With an anguished grin, Musing knelt down, but much like Thrill, he refused to drop his wand.
"Hmmm. Bread haters, I don't understand you. Surely you could leave this place if you wanted to. The Cluster is open. Why are you so stubborn? You insist on keeping us here and harvesting our emotions. Curious. You hate that creature locked up over, but when given the chance to escape it... you still stay? Why? That doesn't make any sense! Where's the logic? Is it because of the gold? Are you actual gold diggers?"
Thrill and Musing didn't answer.
The Mad Bishop wasn't pleased about it.
In her opinion, she was being as polite as she could be here and they were being rude!
What was wrong with answering such a simple question, and without that deep of a frown... frowns?!
The Mad Bishop gave a deep sigh.
"I'm crazy, and I carry grudges, you know. You're making me so angry here, I could just... I could just... ask someone else!" she said, beaming, and with a look of being enlightened.
"I bet that old creep with the six arms will be dying to have a chat with me about what's really going on. Over a loaf, of course."
...!!!
At the vague mention of the beast trapped in the crystal, Thrill and Musing jerked and turned pale.
"Hmmm, it should be difficult to set him free though, huh? But, no! Who says you only need brute force to break out of a prison, huh?!"
At once, the Mad Bishop, under the eyes of everyone who wasn't close to bowing down reverently towards the cathedral, shot into the sky and flew towards the direction of the Crystalline Prison!
"NO!" Thrill cried desperately, his face turned drastically paler than just a moment ago, veins throbbing from his neck. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
Musing looked just as deeply terrified, and the momentary rush of adrenaline – if he even had any – allowed him to summon enough strength to move his arms and legs!
He barely realised that he had managed to temporarily void the effect of the melody as he called out to the Bishop:
"ARE YOU INSANE?!"
"ABSOLUTELY!" the Mad Bishop replied blissfully.
Without a thought, and without doubt that indeed, the Mad Bishop was one twisted entity, Musing pointed his wand at Thrill and a jet of red light smashed into him.
"AUUUUUUUGHHHH!" Thrill screamed ear-piercingly, seemingly being torched by an outlandish degree of agony from the attack.
Brutal though it seemed, it helped Thrill overcome the steady feelings of ceasefire he had been feeling and he rose, his body unreceptive to the vibrations of the Collective song.
It was only temporary, but it was enough.
He and Musing soared desperately, going after the Mad Bishop as arcs of space boomed loudly around them!
Replicus wasn't sure what to make of all of this.
He had options on the table, contingencies, but they would miss their mark if he remained under the constant bombardment of the Mad Bishop's Collective song.
Even then though, what would he do against what the Bishop was aiming to do?
Watching closely, he saw Thrill and Musing shockingly catch up to the cackling Faction leader and hurl jets of elements and emotion at her.
She dove down elegantly and weaved between each of their attacks unbothered, making steady progress towards the gazebo in which the large crystal was housed.
Thrill and Musing roared in anguish and kept blasting what looked like tangible agony at each other in order to not fall for the singing after few breaths!
They didn't accomplish anything.
All they did was stall.
And the Mad Bishop embarrassed them for it.
"FIGHT HARDER, NOT SMARTER!" she called when the two Curses combined jets of silvery flame from their wands and shot them towards her.
"LET ME AT 'IM!" she cried when Musing fell prey to the Collective melody and was shielded by Thrill who then restored him for the umpteenth time since they began to face off against the Bishop.
The old woman didn't go on the offensive, but somehow, she managed to swindle her way past Thrill and Musing a few times, reaching closer and closer to the Crystalline Prison.
The two Ardent Curses didn't know why they were so afraid of letting the Mad Bishop through.
They had confidence in the fact that the Crystalline Prison could withstand attacks from all the Ardent Curses combined.
Even the sheep they had brought in couldn't destroy it with their strongest attacks... right?
'It won't break! Nomatter what! It's been here for generations! Why would it break today?!' Thrill thought to himself.
All they needed to do now, was crush this woman and get rid of her cathedral.
Yes!
That was the way to end this!
Even now, they were making it very difficult for her to proceed any further.
The distance to the gazebo remained at roughly four hundred meters, and they would keep it that way or even make it bigger!
They would watch out for any strange attacks she threw!
Thrill and Musing glanced at it each other.
There was only one way to settle this.
...!
The Mad Bishop caught on to what the two intended.
Her eyes bulged... in joy.
Bursts of white shot out from Thrill, Musing and her old figure at the exact same time!
"Majestic Territory Expulsion, Musings of Fate!"
"Majestic Territory Expulsion, Taxing Danger!"
...
"This is my CREED..."
The Mad Bishop, didn't call the name of her Territory like the two, much to their confusion.
Nitros rose around her, bashing against the other two's own, but she wasn't going for what they thought.
With a ridiculing and maniacal look of distorted condescension, the Mad Bishop looked at Musing and finished her sentence:
"...take THAT THING'S place in the prison."
...!!!
And it happened as such.
Thrill hadn't processed what kind of evil had just happened until he felt its results standing where Musing had been – close to him.
Colour drained from him, and he dropped his wand finally, his will to fight extinguished at the return of the thing he – and countless generations – had worked to keep frozen and trapped.
An abomination with six arms, six wands, three mouths... and two purple mana cores.
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