Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 168: Forest of Ruin II

When, at last, light ceases to exist within the Forest of Ruin, neither Alyssa nor Nia could bring themselves to act bravely within the darkness that didn't allow any semblance of shadows to exist. They stood petrified, consumed by fear. Altair had to laugh.

Nia was as valiant as any Amazon, and Alyssa was an Amazon, yet their terrified cries made Altair think they were a couple of little girls rather than women.

Altair might have cast a [Lighting] spell he'd gained from Aurora, but that thought quickly fell through the moment Reina blatantly dug her fingers into Altair's trousers.

Of the people who could see were Iliana, Zag, and Thaan.

Altair had the grace to blush when he felt his master's eyes land on him. He felt even more ashamed, allowing Ren to do as she pleases.

'Ren, I swear I'll pay you back a thousandfold." he swore.

For days, they walked in absolute darkness before they arrived at a lake that had become something of a beckon these past few days. The day Alyssa and Nia saw it, they nearly charged ahead, potentially to their deaths.

"What is it?" Zag asked, having been bored these past few days. Aside from scaring Alyssa, Nia, and sometimes Olivia, he'd nothing better to do.

Thanatos reached down, plucking a few blades of grass, and tossed it into the silver lake.

They all frowned at the water sizzling against the leaves, visibly being eaten by a dozen rings of expanding embers until not even ash remained.

"Acid," muttered Ren, surveying her surroundings. She saw nothing but the trembling of trees pushed about by the gentle winds. She frowned, sensing something other than the winds within the darkness.

Thanatos stood up, his calm, serene expression marred by a frown. "I do believe we've fallen into a trap," he said, turning to Altair's otherwise dark expression. "There are many creatures that use light to lure in prey."

'This is the second trap I've fallen into on Yarwin." Altair thought, biting his lip. 'Have I learned nothing?'

He looked around, narrowing his blood-red eyes. "So we're being watched."

"Looks that way," said Zag, reaching for the bastard sword on his back, allowing the hilt to barely inch out of his scabbard. He whispered, 'For Blood and Ash.'

As everyone but Altair and Thanatos drew their weapons, the air thinned. No longer were the winds blowing, yet the rustling of the trees grew even louder.

Altair ignored the sounds and stared at the lake. "Ren." He said.

And as if she understood, Reina gave a toothish smile. " I got your back. Although it'll cost you."

The boy grinned, looking forward to what she had planned for tonight.

Altair's eyes didn't quite linger on the forest like the rest. They settled on the silver lake of acid alongside Thanatos with suspicion.

'What benefit would monsters have leading us towards the lake?' Altair wondered, a shudder past through him as his eyes snapped to Reina a second too late. Blood-red fire blazed in a sweeping arc through the air, confronting the several hundred branches sharp like spears snapping at them.

Through the blood, flames, and ashes came the branches at a blinding speed.

Nia dipped forward, the sparkle in her dual eyes enhancing her perception, her spear whirled into action, thrusting and slashing. Alyssa, with her longsword, rushed out, thrusting her sword through the branches, slicing through them with great ease with her resilient strength. All the while, Reina maintained her stance, defending Altair.

Olivia had her bow in her hand, firing arrows constructed of Phoenix Flames.

Zageus moved, flickering like an apparition; his sword shuddered through the air, shredding the seemingly unending branches with sword light from his bastard sword. So mighty his sword the air seemed to ignite, catching fire as his sword whirled through the air.

Iliana merely watched, drinking a bottle of scotch. 'That's the Aspect of Ash,' she thought, narrowing her gaze to the Aspect that seemed to leave only a wreckage of ash in its wake. 'Not bad, but it'd be better if it were the Aspect of Destruction.'

Weaving dozens of tendrils of branching twisting as though they had minds of their own, they followed after Zagreus as Ash billowed from his blade. A spherical domain formed around him, pressuring the burning winds and twisting the ashes into blades themselves, causing everything in a domain of twenty meters to burn.

"That idiot," Said Thanatos darkly, knowing Zagreus's body couldn't handle the properties of an Aspect just yet. "He's really testing me. Altair, do you have this?"

The Prince nodded. "You go help." He said, studying the lake; he snapped, conjuring a [barrier], and leaped into the acid without a second thought, startling everyone present.

"Crazy bastard!' Laughed Zag, covered in sweat.

Thanatos appeared by his side, opening his palm as a scythe pulled itself out from the darkness. Dreadful as the deepest night, it pulsed with an ancient aura of death.

"Why are you pushing it so much?"

"New bloodline, remember? I wanted to see how far I could take it," Said Zag, feeling the droplet of blood the Night Mother had granted him. "Aren't you curious as well?"

Thanatos gave a silent nod of agreement, lifted the scythe that throbbed with the ache of death, and looked around at the tendrils of branches flailing around him. He looked every bit of the God he once was holding his scythe, which seemed to pressure the air, compressing it until all that could be felt was Death.

***

The descent towards the bedrock below had been a surprisingly short journey but an enlightening one. From the moment Altair leaped into the acid below, his eyes turned wide as saucers, for around stood the inner lining of something organic.

'Did I enter the monster's throat?' He wondered, coming to a halt at the bottom. Altair looked around, finding what he saw outside to be nothing more than an illusion. The liquid acid was not in the least bit silver but a dark, pudgy red. Presumably, this was due to the chemical reaction of the air clashing in what Altair considered to be blood.

DING

Name:???

Race: Abomination

Str: 260

Dex: 0

Con: 700

Wisdom: 25

Charisma: 1

Altair took a step forward, feeling the strange organic tissue sucking at his boots like mud. It was incredibly uncomfortable. More so than he'd like to admit, maneuvering through the living creature.

His barrier held up well, especially with all the extracurricular activities between Altair and Ren. The purity of his mana had been so pure despite being surrounded by man-eating acid not even a tear could be seen.

Name: Altair Blackwood

Mana Circle: [Third Circle 99%]

Class: [Prince of the Vale Lv 61]

Strength: 301

Dexterity: 297

Constitution: 304

Wisdom: 320

Charisma: 272

Mana: 80 ? 88

It had come as quite a surprise when they learned even foreplay had caused their Mana Attribute to rise. Altair had felt it was well worth the risk if he could get his hands on the Shard of Chaos.

Still, he calculated that it would take someone with at least [440 Str] to break through his shield in a few blows before they met flesh, and by then, he suspected most of the force would have been distributed through his shield, leaving behind an attack that might bearly harm him with his almighty resistance that cut all attacks down to half.

'Ren's Mana Manipulation has been on the rise since the massive jump. It won't be long until we can do it every day.' The boy mused to himself, trying to pull his mind from the suction against his boots.

Exploring further down into the beast until the throbbing pulse of the acidic blood began propelling him off his feet. Altair conjured a Dark Moon Blade, plunged it into the strange flesh of the Abomination, and watched it wail.

The earth began to tremble, cracking with visible webs of lines stretching out for miles. Altair ignored it, hurrying downwards towards a strange throbbing muscle he could only presume it was the heart. It was large, nearly ten meters, and thick with a cloak of branches.

"The monster isn't hard to kill, but the defense is tough. With my strength and mana, which are five times as strong as the physical body combined, I should be able to cut through, but Shadowclaw has a terrible conductor. I might barely be able to— " he smiled as the shimmer of an emerald flame formed around him.

[Necrotic Flame has been activated]

[Mana: 2x increase]

Having dual cultivated with Reina whilst also being her first. Altair not only inherited her physique but also part of her soul, just as she did his.

Mana 88 ? 176

A/N: 880 Attack Power

He felt an ungodly amount of mana pooling around him, thickening within a blanket of sin. Altair felt both startled and horrified at the same time.

'This aura feels like Hell.'

Altair gulped, lifting his Dark Moon Blade, which whirled like a gale of Emerald Black flames. Used only by the Fallen Angels of the Nine Hells.

He could still recall the last time Reina conjured these Flames and how it reigned wildly out of control, burning space.

Space was burning, now tearing apart by the shared radiance of it all.

Altair looked up and smiled.

[Severing Edge]