Chapter 235: 229

Chapter 229 : Voices In The Deep (1)
In many ways that day’s training was more intense than anything Agni had ever experienced before. Physically her body was fine. She quickly recovered from scrapes, chemical burns and bruises. Mentally, Agni never realized how taxing combat could be.

Most of her battles lasted only minutes, some only a matter of a few seconds. It was rare for her to fight on for longer than a few minutes at a time. Oliver’s ‘tutelage’ lasted for nearly four hours straight. And while none of the adventurers really complained of physical tiredness, a sense of mental fatigue settled on them less than an hour into the ordeal.

Agni was no different. If she allowed her mind to become distracted or lapse for even one second she would be pelted by slime pellets or nearly doused by acid spray.

Many of the adventurers took some of the flesh-melting acid directly to their face, robbing them of their vision and some of their skin. Their screams and panic served as a valuable lesson to those around them. Luckily some of the other adventurers would step in, buying the wounded time to recover. For wounds that would normally maim someone, even five minutes seemed like an eternity. That was how long it took to regenerate an eyeball melted by a slime.

According to Oliver, organs and the nervous system took much longer to regenerate. For something like a cleaved arm or lost fingers a minute at most would be needed. The long and endless barrage of strikes served to fine tune Agni’s senses and her movements, attuning them quickly. Through this she also realized that in a truly fierce battle a matter of seconds could mean life or death.

It occurred to her that most of her battles lasted seconds. Countless Grimlock were felled in her time in Adventia, but if she really considered that , the amount of time spent in battle was truly miniscule. Today she was racking up a different type of experience.

At some point during the exercise she went on auto pilot. Her body had begun to move in the proper way, allowing her to freely evade the enemy's blows. To a degree it looked as if she was dancing at times, a matador who narrowly missed a horn leveled in his (or her) direction.

As it turns out, slimes were perfect training partners to teach footwork and situational awareness. One wrong move would expose you to acid, often aimed directly at the face or torso. They also possessed long ranged and mid range attacks to keep one on their toes. The fact that there were so many of these creatures around only served to sharpen Agni’s senses in a broader sense as well.

Truly, Oliver Pagnal was a genius. Still, as she quickly mastered the art of moving her body, weaving and deftly avoiding attacks, Agni’s mind began to wander. The euphoria of being absorbed had begun to lose its effect, allowing lingering thoughts to creep their way in.

She couldn’t help but wonder what she would do if she lost an eye or arm during combat. Did she have the skills needed to survive or escape in order to recover? In a fight several seconds could be considered the difference between life and death, she couldn’t answer that question so easily.

Luckily potions existed that could instantly close wounds. A potion would first attempt to recover or heal any lost or injured body parts . She’d seen it first hand many times. This only worked to a point, based on the potency of the potion. In the event that one was wounded, those wounds would be tended to first, consuming the potion in order to render aid. The remainder, if any, of the potion would then restore lost vitality.

*But potions won’t always be available.* She thought inwardly as she tilted her head to the side, allowing a slime pellet to whiz by. It seemed today was a day for self reflection, so she allowed her thoughts to lead. She continued to pose the harder questions to herself, questions that, normally, she was afraid to consider.

The past few days had shown her just how reckless and irresponsible her ‘adventuring’ actually was. Traipsing around without a proper stack of potions, antidotes or any other items. She left it all up to Katrin in the end, yet another thing she had to thank her emerald eyed Goddess for.

It then occurred to Agni that she had been incredibly fortunate thus far. The nature of combat, of rending life and death -- she’d always come out on top.

Then a rather sobering thought came to mind.

*Until I don’t.* Until she didn’t, and then she would die. She’d been using the comfort of First Death to keep this thought at bay. The idea that adventurers, once slain, would revive in a weakened state. Then and only then would they be able to die for good if mortally wounded.

*Unless…* Agni’s mind wandered to the dark world nestled away within shards. A place where the very atmosphere ate away at one’s will and strength. This place was the only exception to the rule of death. In a shard, death was absolute. The thought of “dying once and it’s all over” held a sort of lunacy to Agni. After all, she’d spent an entire lifetime living under those rules. Yet she had to admit, the danger was real and frightening.

Shards,a portal to the realm where Grimlock were said to originate. She’d entered several shards now, each more fearsome than the next. During her travels she observed one common truth about the shard world. They were always dark and devoid of life. She’d seen no animals, no presence aside from Grimlock. It was as if some great cataclysm occurred, sapping even the light from the world within.

The thought of dying in a place was incredibly depressing, and yet that almost happened just a few weeks past. These myriad of thoughts served to form a particular displeasure for Agni. She was filled with restless anxiety, a feeling that she couldn’t quite stifle no matter her efforts.

She felt as if she was just a tiny pebble on the beach, one that could be tossed aside at any moment. It was her first time since arriving in Adventia that she felt so...small.

As Agni was thinking this a particularly large slime sidled up behind her and used an unexpected blow. It’s body stretched, forming a whip-like tentacle that was then used to smack the back of her knee. This forced Agni to stumble in the most awkward of ways, finally landing on one knee.

At the same time, the slime she’d been engaged with struck out, extending its body to land a precise blow to her chest. The sensation was jarring, the sound of the blow heavy and reverberating. The pain was unlike any she’d felt before, stinging pain which spiraled outwards and caused a reaction of equal parts anger and chagrin.

Somewhere in the vicinity an obnoxious chortle cut the air which only served to anger Agni even further.

“You punched me in the fucking tit! That really hurt!” She yelled incredulously as she summoned forth a fireball and prepared to blast the slime into next Tuesday.

“That’s it for now. Everyone take a break.” Oliver’s voice rang out, bringing her well deserved vengeance to a halt. With a snap of his fingers the slimes quivered in unison, went docile and began to roll back towards their original entrance point.

“Stupid slime.” Agni huffed as the fireball dissipated. She then folded her arms with a great deal of attitude.

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“I can’t believe I got reassigned to this hell hole.” The tall, thin man remarked as he gazed out across the expanse of what seemed like an endless ocean. Out in the middle of nowhere the ocean breeze carried with it a great deal of humidity, coupled with the scent of salt water.

“Still. It’s very beautiful.” The tall blonde man remarked. His fair skin had begun to tan during his stay out in the “hell hole” as he called it. Indeed, if any of his acquaintances saw him now it would be difficult to recognize him. Even his normally platinum blonde hair seemed different.

He thought this as he glanced down towards his hands.

“That may just be from stress though. Ugh.” He sighed in dismay, unsure of what to do regarding his current plight. And that’s when something unexpected occurred, he heard another voice that wasn’t his own or hers.

“Are you enjoying your paradise stay Egolas?”

The blonde man looked around and, for a moment, felt that perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him. Yet he was still surprised to find someone else standing just a few meters away.

“Um. Who...are you?” He asked warily. Egolas wasn’t one to be caught by surprise easily, so more than cautiousness he now felt an overwhelming curiosity at the man standing before him.

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Slender with a fit build. Dark skin almost like milk chocolate, but most striking were his eyes which appeared golden. They seemed to circulate with a sort of energy that Egolas could not recognize.

“Oh. That’s right. We’ve never met before. My apologies.” Zero said as he removed his cape, revealing his facial features. He then lifted his left hand and conjured a particular magical construct. Shaped in what appeared to be two zero’s laid side by side. An infinity symbol accompanied by several other markings that denoted status.

“Number Double Zero? You mean you’re-- ah! My apologies. I did not recognize you!” Egolas nearly shouted as he stumbled over himself to fall on his face. He dropped haphazardly, his knees stinging somewhat as he kowtowed as low as he could possibly manage.

“Please stop. That’s awkward as heck. Ha ha.” Zero replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. It took several more minutes still before Egolas could be persuaded to stand and speak with Zero normally.

“So, how are things? I have some matters to attend to shortly, but I felt like maybe I should check in on you.” Zero said as he took in the sight of the small island in the middle of the ocean. He recognized it as a place that held both fond and bittersweet memories for himself. Now it served a completely different purpose.

“I am….adjusting.” Egolas said, his gaze shifting downward momentarily.

“That bad huh? Ha ha ha.” Zero chuckled to himself.

Egolas sighed, completely exasperated before he responded with a single word.

“Yeah.”

“She’s not getting into your head is she? She’s pretty good at that sort of thing.”

“How do you know it’s her? All of the prisoners are a bit….strange.” Egolas asked, mostly out of curiosity.

“She’s made several people reconsider life at this point. I can imagine you would be no different. Hell, she might actually have it in worse for you. You did contribute to capturing her after all -- am I right?”

Egolas sighed once more and shook his head in affirmation.

“Well, if I may be so bold to speak freely?” Egolas then asked.

“Of course. All that formal stuff is annoying and time consuming.” Zero replied as he cupped the back of his head with both hands.

“Why send me here if you knew she would get agitated by it? She’s already a handful. Just look at all the measures we have to take to keep her contained. Wouldn’t it be better to just….” Egolas’s voice trailed off. A complex feeling had arisen in his heart. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d complained, about anything. Duty was a constant part of his life, his being at this point as an Angellus. And yet this woman. She had practically badgered him into a victim’s complex with little more than words and cheap provocation.

*That blue haired bitch.* He scowled as the thought flashed through his mind. Zero chuckled at that exact moment which caused Egolas to conceal his annoyance, the expression on his face clearing up.

“It’s normal to feel frustrated but… truth be told, she’s only doing things that will get under your skin.” Zero said matter of factly.

“She really can’t do much else given her state. You’ve been following the rules I set out for caring for that particular prisoner, right?”

“Yes. Trust me, I realize how dangerous she is. I would never do anything to let that psychopath roam free again. But still, the question remains…. Why me?”

Egolas found that he desired an answer to this question most of all.

“It’s simple. There may come a time where, as misguided as she is, we may need her power. And that is why I don’t want to kill her. You and I both know how difficult it is to reach rank four. It requires being totally honest with oneself, a feat that many of us simply aren’t capable of in even two lifetimes.” Zero explained and Egolas agreed--somewhat. It was true that the average person spent their life fiercely clinging to sweet sounding lies. But Egolas could NOT under any circumstances imagine a time when the world would be better with ‘that’ on the loose.

This must have shown on his face, for Zero chuckled once more then offered some advice.

“Look. Perhaps you’re going about this the wrong way. Perhaps you’re just looking at it from the lense of angel and demon. Moral and immoral. That’s perhaps the problem with Angellus sometimes. First and foremost she’s a woman. Have you considered just...giving her something that she wants?” Zero asked before quickly adding.

“Within reason.”

“She’s confined, chained, sealed and blinded. What could I possibly give her aside from her freedom?” Egolas asked.

“Just ask her. I’m sure there’s at least something you can do for her. And then maybe...just maybe, she’ll give you some peace and quiet.”

“For a little while.” Zero then added.

Egolas sighed, his teeth grinding subconsciously before he looked up to offer yet more reasons why this would be a “terrible idea”. Only to find that he was alone once more.

“Sorry. I have to run. I know it’s hard for you, but keep at it. And work on building a better relationship with her. Don’t think of it as going against your principles, think of it as investing in a better work environment.” The words echoed through Egolas’ mind, fading away almost as quickly as Zero disappeared.

Egolas sighed heavily once more as he resigned himself to the task. One whimsical thought formed at the forefront of his mind.

“So that’s what it’s like when I just blink away huh?”

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