CEO and Shock are stuck in the Mayor’s Manor, discussing with him around the table.
Stark and Sora are inside the Orphanage, forced to participate in Father Hugo’s [Test of Faith].
But… there are still 6 other participants, isn’t there?
In a city this big, filled with monsters and secrets, what could they potentially be doing?
Lilith, Clever, Dave and Clair, Artist, and finally, Follower.
…
Clever is simply resting inside of a store in the [Shopping District], humming a small tune while spinning his cane, he is so unbothered by everything that it’s actually scary.
Is he this powerful?
Lilith is also meditating inside a moldy apartment in the [Business District], as always, her eyes are closed, and she’s floating in the air, a cyan aura surrounding her.
Eyes shut, mind open, she waited for the right moment, gathering strength in stillness.
But now that these two, who seem to be unbothered by the trial, are out.
Let’s get to those that are actually acting.
…
Artist – Museum
The streets of Termina lay silent, steeped in shadows, as Artist pushed open the grand doors of the museum.
Inside, darkness cloaked the walls, and statues stared with hollow eyes.
He gave them no thought.
Artist tightened his grip on his brush, feeling its power surge.
Monsters crawled everywhere, skeletal and warped, their limbs distorted beyond reason, their moans hollowed by madness.
Most of these monsters seemed to have escaped the paintings they had been in.
With a flick of his wrist, he summoned [Oil Wave], sending a cascade of shimmering, viscous liquid surging across the marble floor, washing over his foes.
Artist then lifted his brush, chanting with quiet intensity, “Splatter Explosion.”
The wave ignited, bright tendrils of fire leaping through the museum, splattering the walls with monstrous remains.
The monsters were relentless, but Artist was a blur, killing them all with ease.
He barely paused as he painted through the assault, splattering, slicing, and weaving through his attackers with a deadly rhythm.
There are only three tasks in the museum:
[Task 56: Steal the “Power Ruby” from the museum.]
[Task 100: Kill The Heartless One and The Tormented One.]
[Task 79: Find the “Cursed Painting” and break it.]
Artist’s goal is to take the [Power Ruby], it is the only thing he is interested in.
Anything else would be a risk, and dying meant that his masterpiece would never be complete.
After twenty minutes, he finally reached the final chamber of the museum.
He pushed open the chamber’s heavy doors and there, in the center of the room, upon a pedestal carved from ancient stone, sat the Power Ruby.
Crimson light pooled around the pedestal, illuminating the ruby’s sharp edges.
Artist’s eyes gleamed, admiration flickering across his face.
He immediately tried to reach out for it, as there was nothing else to do here.
But just as his fingers grazed it, the floor shuddered.
[Warning. Intruder.]
Before he could react, the ground gave way beneath him, stones crumbling, sending him plummeting downward.
He landed hard, his brush clattering beside him.
“Damn.”
Dusting himself off, Artist took in his surroundings.
A tunnel stretched ahead, dimly lit by torches lining the walls.
The pathway could lead only one way: forward.
He walked through the tunnel, feeling an oppressive weight in the air.
Once he arrived at the end, he noticed an exit door at the far end of a giant room.
But before that door is a fountain.
[Tormented and Heartless Altar]
[Drop your blood in it to summon them.]
“…”
[They are one of the moonscorched commanders.]
“Oh.”
So they were the final moonscorched commanders.
The Mayor was one, Father Hugo another, and these two were the last.
“Well, might as well,” he smiled.
With a quick slash of his brush across his palm, crimson dripped into the altar’s basin.
And the moment the blood met the liquid…
BOOM!
It surged upwards, twisting and contorting into shapes.
Artist watched, captivated, as the blood spun higher, transforming into the first figure: a skinless humanoid, basically it had no human skin and you could see the red interior.
It was wearing a cloak made out of its skin, and it had no mouth, as if it did, you would have to constantly hear its screams, for it is always tortured.
[The Tormented One.]
A second figure took shape beside it, feminine and almost divine.
She wore a dark suit over her body, the only exposed part of her being her face, which retained a disturbingly serene beauty.
In her right hand she was carrying a golden spear, and in her left a black blade, there was also a golden halo above her head, and black wings on her back.
[The Heartless One.]
“A mix of angel and devil…?” Artist pondered as he prepared to battle.
But Artist hadn’t realized something, none of the participants did.
The Sniper and Inquisitor are the weakest commanders by far, only serving the purpose of making the participant’s confidence grow.
They are dummies, basically, they serve no purpose.
But the other three on the other hand: the Mayor, Father Hugo, and The Altered Ones (which is the duo name for Tormented One and Heartless One) are on another level.
[Tormented One – Level 600]
[Heartless One – Level 600]
They are also the strongest commanders out of the lot, stronger than both Mayor and Hugo.
Basically, Artist was facing something almost impossible to beat.
“…”
The Heartless One’s laughter rang through the chamber, cold and mocking. “A cute little human… releasing us, just to die.”
“You aren’t good enough to be part of my masterpiece,” that is all Artist said as he stared at the two of them, “Begone.”
The two figures loomed closer, indifferent to his words.
Their levels—an overwhelming 600 each—did not escape him, but Artist’s confidence never wavered.
He had no illusions; he understood the stakes, but even then, he didn’t feel like running.
He would only run if the situation required it.
The Tormented One shifted, the grotesque form radiating a nauseating heat, its hollow eyes fixated on him.
The Heartless One moved with fluid grace, brandishing her spear, wings arcing back as she prepared to strike.
Artist moved first, holding his brush, colors spilling into the air.
He cast [Ink Torrent], a jet of dark ink whipping forward, blinding the Tormented One momentarily.
Before the creature could regain sight, Artist followed with [Brush Barrage], each stroke sharp and swift, cutting through the air in blurs of color and force.
The Heartless One sidestepped, her movements graceful and deadly.
She lunged, her spear gleaming in the dim light, aiming straight for his chest.
Artist twisted, narrowly evading the strike as he unleashed [Chromatic Storm], an explosion of colors that engulfed the room, bursts of energy forcing the Heartless One to retreat, her golden halo dimming.
But even then…
-0! -0!
Artist couldn’t harm them for some reason.
He had believed he could maybe just try to test his luck and see if he could take them on.
But he now removes everything he said before: these things couldn’t be beaten, not a chance.
“Well,” he sighs, “I guess I’ll just leave,” he drew a door in the ground, opened it, and jumped inside right as the [Tormented One] was about to blast him off.
Artist had just unleashed two monsters in the trial, and they could now leave the Museum and chase other participants.
