One of the monitors in the monitoring room suddenly darkened for a split second before going back to normal.
“Hey, did you see that?”
Seeing that prompted one of the uniformed men monitoring the many screens on the wall to ask his partner in the room.
“Yeah? Probably just some faulty aether light. Tch. Knowing those corrupt assholes in the Principality, they supplied us with inferior goods.”
The other guy made a noncommittal reply at first, but remembering the avaricious officials in their home country, the other guy looked as though he had eaten something unpleasant.
On paper, this base, located in the mountainous area separating the entire Empire from the rest of the continent, was intended to support their “underdeveloped” ally kingdom with military personnel. However, this place would be used to weaken that same ally in their ultimate goal of destroying the Empire of Reinheith. Knowing that some of their country folk had the gall to commit these misdeeds irked him to no end.
Then a different monitor blinked this time.
I better write a report about this to the base commander.
The patriotic monitoring officer thought this series of events were caused by defective aether items. But his partner wasn’t the same.
“Seeing the monitors suddenly darken reminds me of ‘that’ from the last Human-Demon War.”
A decade ago, a new demon king was born, which prompted the Miasma folk—another term for the varied tribes of demons—to wage war against the humans. In the midst of this war, a supposedly impregnable fort fell in just one night. It immediately became widespread and brought fear to the hearts of humans and demihumans alike.
The cause of this incident was none other than "Doppelgangers". A demon specializing in espionage and infiltration. Their cursed arts—which use miasma—allow them to perfectly impersonate any individual.
In a bard’s expert retelling of this incident, one scene in particular caught on and embedded itself in the minds of the listeners.
The light dimmed, eventually darkened, and the lights came back. Once his vision returned, the soldier beside him smiled. But he knew deep in his heart that this wasn’t the same soldier anymore.
Thinking rationally, the other officer was about to dismiss his partner’s idea, but he had to swallow his words as he observed the monitors. The first monitor to go black has patrols passing through. Observing the monitors more carefully, the same happened to the second, third, and finally...
He noticed the route by which this happens. And the realization brought him a sense of dread. If this goes on, there’s only one destination for the mysterious blinks he was seeing. The monitoring room they were in.
As the blinks got nearer and nearer, the two became drenched in too much cold sweat, but they didn’t seem to notice. Standing up, they reached for their aether wands. The Principality had developed these wands, imbuing them with an array of versatile Arts. They pointed them confidently towards the door, ready to take on whatever lay beyond.
A couple of minutes passed, but the door didn’t open. Staying vigilant just in case, the two never let their guard down. They were about to sigh in relief, but the light suddenly darkened and returned to normal, all in a single instant. This happened without the door being opened.
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Retrieving an orb-shaped aether item called the Purity Crystal, the two examined each other to see if they were still the same person. As a countermeasure for the Doppelganger incident, the Empire of Reinheith distributed purity crystals and disclosed its manufacturing process. This crystal shines white if someone has Aether, red for Ki-users, and black for those who have Miasma. On the other hand, if someone had mana, it would shine, depending on their elemental affinity.
Upon quickly inspecting their crystals, the duo was perplexed by the results they beheld. Even those who use aether have varying shades of white depending in the purity of their heart. And looking at those crystals, the two expected the worst and were ready to blast the other with an offensive Art enchanted in their wand, but it shined whiter than normal.
The way they didn’t even took notice of this anomaly was worrying, to say the least.
I guess we’re panicking too much. I guess it really was just some faulty aether lights.
Heaving a sigh of relief, both men returned to their seats and went back to monitoring the CCTV-like devices in the room. They realized that their initial fear and panic had been unwarranted, and they were grateful for the false alarm.
Unbeknownst to the two men, there was now a different entity with a sinister aura in the room. It was a young girl with a rare combination of black hair and black eyes, clad in maid’s garments. The girl watched silently from the shadows, her presence unnoticed by the men. Her eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity as she observed their every move, an ominous smile playing on her lips.
And that girl was Abyss. Whenever she was in the presence of her "Mommy", she usually had a cheerful demeanor, but in the presence of evildoers, her true nature emerged. The darkness emanating from her was entirely different from Miasma's and Malevolence's. It was as if she possessed a power that surpassed even the darkest of entities. The men continued with their work, unaware that they had already been subjected to her dark powers.
In truth, for the sake of her mommy's amusement, Abyss had to hold back her true strength and only reveal a fraction of her power while attacking this base. However, she already had her fill when she attacked the others. Except for the criminal base Reiko had attacked, all of those fell in a single instant.
What was terrifying was the fact that there wasn't even a trace of evidence left behind after Abyss's attacks. The bases were in pristine condition, while the lawbreakers became like saints, their wickedness erased without a trace. However, in the fleeting moment of darkness, the evildoers experienced true "purification" as their hearts were cleansed of their sins.
Amidst the darkening surroundings, they bore the brunt of their misdeeds, and their guilt and regret intensified with each passing moment. The burden of their transgressions weighed heavily on them, causing excruciating anguish that appeared to consume their entire being. It was a punishment more severe than any physical torment they had previously experienced, forcing them to face the depths of their depravity in the darkness.
As their innermost darkness was revealed, a decision at a critical juncture was presented. They could allow their transgressions to define them and give in to hopelessness, or they could pursue redemption and atone for their sins. Then, Reiko's soothing voice—which Abyss had generated—would gently steer them towards the path of atonement.
And this is also what happened to the patrols as well as the monitoring officers in this enemy stronghold. The purity crystal's pure white glow served as proof that these men had already been cleansed.
Satisfied with their transformation, Abyss sank into her shadow as the once-lost souls now embraced their second chance at redemption and the additions to her dear mother's believers. Leaving no trace of her presence, Abyss silently observed from the darkness, knowing that her work was not yet done. Making her way through the corridors, as the lights blinked, she continued to cleanse the enemy soldiers, one by one, with her darkness.
Under the direction of her "Big Sis Rie", the young girl's sole mission was to sway—through purification—the monitoring officers to their cause and hinder the arrival of enemy reinforcements. If asked, Henrietta would prefer Abyss' darkness to cleanse the entire enemy force in one swift motion and prioritize Reiko's safety. But knowing that stubborn Chuunibyou would vehemently object to such boring methods, she had to settle for her current approach.
"Hm? Oh."
At the next moment, Abyss-chan noticed that the shadow in the corner had shifted slightly. She turned her attention towards it, and the familiar figure of their female ninja corps leader rose from the shadows. Unlike the Japanese-ninja-esque clothes she wore when she escorted Reiko to the abandoned fort, Bephine had a tight-fitting black bodysuit on, accentuating her graceful figure.
"My lady."
Bephine's voice was low and respectful as she addressed Abyss-chan. The young girl nodded in acknowledgement, prompting Bephine to continue speaking.
"With precision and speed in mind, we successfully infiltrated the enemy barracks located on the east side. Surrounding our target, the girls were at the ready, eagerly waiting for the signal to commence the attack armed with their weapons."
Ka-boom! As Abyss-chan prepared to respond that the signal was imminent, a sudden eruption of explosions and crumbling walls shattered the stillness. The panicked cries that followed suggested that the mayhem was caused by Abyss-chan's own mother, leaving no opportunity for a response.
Smiling wryly at Reiko's flashy entrance, Abyss-chan turned to the ninja and nodded in acknowledgement. With a quick exchange of glances, they knew it was time to spring into action. Sinking into the darkness once again, the two vanished, leaving no trace of their presence behind.