Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 212 Ritual, Endure The Pain

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This chapter could be a little much for some.

I mean, nothing intense does happen, but there are some innuendos that could lead you to... Well, not getting comfortable.

Many mentions of getting cut up here, so please, take care of yourself!

Peace.

(Rather big chapter)

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"... Follow after my footsteps, don't step anywhere else." Tina said without turning back as they crossed the dried land

"Did you do something to the ground?" Dale asked as he looked at his feet

There was nothing unusual there, just dead grass and feeble dirt that crumbled under his heavy boots, from time to time he saw the bony remains of other creatures, so dried up and weak that they shattered with little strength.

As they broke apart, it revealed their hollow interior, they had been sucked up of even their marrow.

If the Devil was really attacking anyone who dared approach, how come they were fine?

"Not the ground itself, but you'll see what I'm talking about soon."

"I haven't been doing nothing these past few hours, I was just as busy as you two." She said with a smile as she turned her head halfway to look at Dale

"Just come over, we're not far from it."

"..."

But Dale was hesitating.

'My instincts are telling me to leave this place and so is my body... It's getting hard to move.'

'I feel like a small child choosing whether to run in the dark corridor to take a leak in the bathroom at night or if I should remain in the light…'

'I hate this, it would've been better to not know what was lying under my feet.'

…

Albeit he was sweating as he walked, Dale eventually arrived in front of the cocoon with Tina, trying to be as light with his steps as he possibly could.

As light as a borderline 200Kg knight was...

"Alright, we're here."

"This place is more secure, so you can walk around as long as you're not over the line of thorns on the ground, they're quite sharp too so don't get too close." She said with a reassuring smile as she tapped her foot on the ground

"... I don't think that makes me any better, and how come closer is safer?"

"Don't they say the best hiding spot is right under one's nose?" She asked with a chuckle as she looked at the large roots that dug into the ground

"The roots that feed the egg extend from beneath it to secure nutrients and to defend it."

"But this close, there was little to no resources or a need for defenses, so the roots just settled further away."

"It's like our nerves, they're very sensitive around our hands, but in some places, you may feel close to nothing."

"And with a little bit of a proofing, now the roots will never realize someone has breached their defenses... Of course, getting here to do all of this wasn't exactly east, but I'll spare you the tale for another time."

"Uhum…"

'Still… Now that I'm close to it, this thing looks bigger than I thought.' Dale thought as he raised his head to look at the cocoon

'Its surface is also reflecting light slightly, it does look very solid, like a metal.'

'Caladgolg should be sharp and durable enough, right? The question then is my strength.'

'Is this made of silk or something else? Would it be possible to make clothes out of it?...'

"Dale, don't lose focus now." Tina added as she touched his left shoulder

"You're free to try and take it down, but only when everyone is together and ready."

"We didn't come here for that."

She turned to the cocoon, pointing at several markings on its surface.

Dale previously thought them to be veins similar to those on leaves, but upon a closer look, they didn't look completely natural.

Almost like… The carvings she made on his hand some time ago…

"Can you see?" She asked as she raised her head to look at the cocoon

"The carvings on the cocoon?... My hand is suddenly itching…" 

"Tsk, don't worry Dale, I won't be carving your hand with a knife today." Tina said with a somewhat apologetic expression as she remembered how awkward it was to constantly re-apply the carving to his hand everyday

"..."

'Today?...'

"You already know, but I'm a witch, and although I'm a little rusty, I've somewhat got back at it recently."

"And you see, I was planning to train you over time, have you learn how to control your instincts and body slowly… But we can't lose this opportunity now, can we?"

"The Tripodal Mark grows from consuming Corrupted Vitality… And look at what we have here, a giant reservoir of it sitting still in the middle of the forest right after having a feast." She said with a chuckle as she smiled

It wasn't a pretty smile, Dale could feel the darkness surrounding her lips…

"Although I do feel a bit bad for not going through the normal process, I don't think that'll make a difference for you."

"You're not the kind of guy to over the standard first, isn't that right?"

"We can't lose this sort of opportunity."

Dale understood everything so far, but he still had to ask:

"Before we continue… What are we going to do exactly?"

"We're killing two blows with one stone." She said as she took out her ritual knife from her waist, the same one that ravaged Dale's hand on a daily basis before

He still had nightmares about it from time to time whenever he slept...

"Through this ritual, the Devil is the offering, and you are the receptacle."

"The Mark will devour the Vitality, weakening it while strengthening you, if we're lucky, it'll die before being able to do anything."

"Normally I would teach you how to hunt stronger Devils first, so you could become a proper bearer of the Mark, a Greater Devil like this would eventually just be your prey but... A plan is only a sketch at the end of the day, we have to improvise from time to time…"

"So please, take off your armor and other items, we can't have them interrupt the process."

"..."

Although Dale knew he was somewhat safe with her next to her, he still felt extremely exposed.

His high Stats plummeted, and his sturdy chest protection would vanish...

He was still pretty strong without them, but could he still survive an ambush from this creature or even any other?

/Strip.../

Eventually, Dale removed everything, and the only thing on display was his pair of boxers.

"Now… Remain still, this might hurt a little." Tina said as she approached him

'As expected he's quite well built, Little Yumi got herself a good man.'

"?!?! I… I thought you weren't going to carve my hand." Dale said with confusion as he took a step back unconsciously 

"And I won't silly!" She said with a large smile as she swept her hand in the air

"I'll carve the rest of your entire body."

Dale's face was suddenly devoid of blood.

"C-Can we not do that?..." He asked as his eyebrows twitched

"Child, of course we can… But then, we would have to do so later… One body part at a time."

"This is all part of the Tripodal Mark, we're only improving it, and given your body, it'll all vanish over time, so you don't have to worry about scars, even if some form, I'll clean them off for you." She said with a sweet smile

"T-That's g-good to hear, but that wasn't exactly one of my concerns." Dale said with a slight stutter as he saw her knife gleam in the light as it approached him

There was nowhere to run, behind him, the line of thorns stood, if he passed it, another problem would arise... Literally.

"I'll start with your right arm, then I'll proceed to your left arm and hand, I'll then connect both arms to the chest and back before finishing your head."

"Lastly, I'll carve your legs and feet and we'll be done, just relax, I'll be gentle."

"..."

'How can you say that when you'll be literally carving my flesh with a bloody knife?!'

"Now…"

"Stay still." She said as her eyes flashed red

"?!"

'My body…'

Dale found himself unable to move or speak, he could only move his eyes and close them.

Tina took a step forward, reaching for his right arm, and pulling it close to her.

"If you truly can't take it anymore just blink as many times as you can, do so as well in case you feel any severe discomfort like being unable to breathe properly or even lightheadedness."

"You need to be conscious at all times, if you feel you won't be able to keep yourself awake, blink and I'll give you some time to breathe."

"Blink with only your left eye for a No, and with your right eye for a Yes, do you understand me?"

/Blink…/

Dale blinked with his right eye before blinking multiple times with his left one.

/Smile…/

Tina smiled.

"You're full of energy, good!"

/Blink blink blink blink!/

"Hum?"

Seeing Dale wish to move so badly, she partially removed her seal on him, allowing him to only speak and move his head around.

"What is it? We were about to start?..."

"... Can't we like… Use something to…"

"Unfortunately no, there was a reason why Witches were scorned in the past."

"If you cannot connect with your senses to their fullest, then this ritual will lose its meaning."

"But don't you worry, I won't be touching 'those' places, I'm not 'that' sadistic." She said with a chuckle

"There wouldn't be that much flesh to carve anyway." She said with a smirk

"#!!"

'Excuse me!'

"Though... I'll still need to connect the lower Marks with the Upper ones, so I'll be slashing that pair of yours with a straight line."

"... Couldn't we have done this elsewhere?" Dale asked as he remembered the dozens of Karkavan and Testros far away outside the danger zone

"We could, but then you would need to move through a very dangerous environment with blood gushing out of every muscle in your body." She said as she clasped her hands with a smile

"And if we took too long, your body would heal and we would have to re-do everything."

"... Forget I said anything…"

"Anything else then, child?"

"Hum… I don't know if this matters, but I took this from inside a monster I hunted outside… And I have no idea what it is for…" Dale said as he took a small red crystal from his inventory

The Shard of Belterix!

'I still have a few other items, but they're mostly equipment items or materials, nothing else truly comes to me as necessary to be revealed given the situation.'

"Hm?... My, you found something rather spectacular." Tina said as she held onto the red shard

She gazed at it, trying to see what she could learn from its faint sheen...

"Do you know what it is?"

'Urg… I still can't move my body… My body is tingling all over…'

"This is Vitality, crystalized… In a rather weird way." She said as she raised the crystal above her head

/Tremble…/

As she did so, the cocoon suddenly moved.

"Oops, it looks like someone else noticed it also… But oh well, it can't move or tell where it's coming from so we'll be fine." She said as she turned to look at the trembling egg

"Hum… I've never seen something like this before, though I've read of similar formations."

"Vitality wasn't meant to be able to condense in a crystalline shape though, this isn't Mana to tie itself onto another material."

"But… We can make use of it." She said as she looked at Dale

"You said you took it from a creature, how did it look like?"

"It was a Wyvern, a red one."

When he said that, Tina's eyes opened a bit.

"You slew a Wyvern?"

"Yes."

"Alone?"

"Yes…"

When he said that, she smiled even more.

"I'm so proud, you're growing splendidly well… I imagine you still have its body with you?"

/Nod…/

"Good, I'm sure those old people will enjoy working with a body like that, but do you still have its blood?"

Dale found such a question strange, but he took it out after she allowed him to move, a large bucket of blood, it wasn't everything he had though.

"This is enough, ha, it couldn't get any better."

'With a student like this, I'll have to pump up my studies, otherwise, I won't be able to give him proper guidance.'

"Anything else you'd like to say?"

"Apart from the story I already told you about… Then no."

"Why didn't you tell me you slew a Wyvern before?" Tina asked with a slight frown

"I thought it was inconsequential…" Dale replied as sweat fell from his forehead

"... You were right… Then."

"Now, it's far from that."

"If you have nothing else to say, I'll start."

Dale merely closed his eyes as a reply, and Tina nodded silently.

"I'm sorry for sealing your body like this, but I can't have even the slightest chance of a mistake here."

"You're a strong man Dale, but even a single twitch could mean having to wait for your body to heal so we can re-do this process, and you're not the only one that wouldn't want to do that."

"Same thing for your voice, it will be painful and you'll want to scream…"

"If the pressure grows too much, you can blink and I'll let you vent a little… Now, let's begin."

Tina's knife approached Dale's arm, he didn't want to even look…

And like the coldest of winds, he felt its edge penetrate his skin.

The start of his own Nightmare.

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Notes

I'll likely jump the description of Dale's pain next chapter and just go for the results, but if people wish for it, then I can go into details... Somewhat.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, peace!