Chapter 12:
Acid Partnership
“You've got troubles, well I've got 'em too.
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you.
We stick together and we see it through.”
– You’ve got a friend in me,
Randy Newman
* * * * *
Nicolas Siegel had one problem…
…
Okay, several. The guy had issues, that much was known. However his main problem was his brain. He was smart. Not the kind of smart that helped him go through life, but the kind that constantly bombarded him with ideas, made links between everything he saw, heard, smelled, felt, added sense to any little details, and led him to conclusions he couldn’t always explain to himself, let alone to others, before suddenly jumping to another grandiosely unrelated matter. Usually he didn’t care, and just went along with the flow of his thoughts, but sometimes it tired him.
That was partially why he loved music so much. Music both monopolized his sense of hearing and canalized a good portion of his brainpower. Then, of course, listening to so much music had made it grow into an acquired taste, but fundamentally it was similar to an addiction to painkillers. Same thing with fantasy novels. It was extremely calming to have his mind occupied with recreating an entire world based on specific descriptions and not just on the usual stimuli he encountered in his daily life.
For this reason, as Victoria was dragged violently down a whirlpool of souls who actively tried to drown her, surrounded only by murky whiteness and unnatural silence, blind, deaf and her mind focused on the acute pain the corrosive plasma made her go through… she felt good.
*ting*
[Masochism] has levelled up!
Oh! Come on!
Victoria frowned at the blue window who designated her as a pervert.
Seriously! Aaah… Interesting though. If windows still pop up, does that mean the game does not consider I’m in a battle situation? Well I’m not really fighting back… How does it work anyway? I’ve never really paid attention before. Note to self: ask Thena about it.
Unable to swim, she had resigned herself to being carried down, which she did while maintaining her usual thinking pose and sitting cross-legged. She instead allocated a part of her mind – the one that was not occupied with mitigating the pain – to observing the ethereal bodies flushing past her. It was a weird feeling, being hugged – *cough* unsuccessfully ripped apart *cough* – by partially immaterial limbs.
*put on imaginary glasses*
Individually the spirits cannot touch me, but the abnormal density of souls associated with the nature of the Guardian’s curse limiting their instinctive migration to the other side actually creates a singularity in the form of a spiritual distortion leading to the plasmatic condensation of ectoplasm inside the tri-dimensional physical mortal plane, in other word “ectoplasma”, which is in its essence a viscous manifestation of the ether. Truly fascinating. I need to weaponize it.
Spirit science. Don’t bother. Let’s just say Victoria was bathing in half-gaseous semi-conscious acid.
And I was right! Ectoplasm is corrosive, but mostly against undead. Ironic no? Well, I don’t take damage because of the [Vampiric Tear] though… I guess that counts as Soul Magic? Even if I still feel the pain. But despite the [Soul Defence] spell I added, I’ll really need a snack later. Note to self: ask Thena about it. Next is… ah… right… apparently I do need to breathe… damned. Ah! No, don’t open your mouth idiot! Even if I’m immune, drinking vaguely sentient acid isn’t pleasant… Is it?
“Sblurp-ack!”
NOOOOOOO!! It isn’t! Oh god, it’s sentient acid! SENTIENT ACID!! Get it out! Get it out! Aaaargh! I can’t open my mouth! NO! Don’t get out through there! You’re immaterial! Go through the stomach! THROUGH THE STOMACH!! AAAAAAH!! DAMN YOU MEEEEE!!! Aaaaaa… I can’t get married anymore… That doesn’t have any connection, does it? Shut up. … married … Oh! Seras! How are you? … bad … Oh! Is that a coherent answer? … married … bad … blood … kill the maid … Ah… right. Bad memories. My bad. Let’s skip that subject. Is that alright? … … … Aaaaaand she’s gone again. I swear. She’s been sulky ever since we met Ambrose again. Alalala… And I’m still drowning aren’t I?
Yeah… Victoria was smart… probably.
* * *
Eventually, seconds before she fainted from asphyxia, stomach ache and… other painful experiences, the mad dhampir suddenly felt air against her face. She inspired voraciously and opened her eyes.
Uh-ooh...
She was airborne.
Before her spread a vast cave, lit up by a faint white glow without a source. Not that she needed it with her [Dark Vision]. A forest of stalactites was hanging above her head, mirroring a good number of stalagmites below. Behind her the soul river gushed out of a horizontal chasm in the wall, falling a couple dozen metres and then flowing sinuously to the other extremity of the cave, into a jaws-like opening leading to darkness. Midway through the cave, an enormous cocoon glued to a giant stalagmite was casting tendrils of woven silk at the white wailing plasma, stabbing through passing souls and snatching them back between its folds.
Victoria took in the scene for a heartbeat, before gravity heavily reminded itself to her. Her eyes widened at the sight of the approaching torrent. She spread out her arms and desperately flapped them.
“[Metamorphosis]!”
But nothing happened…
Bat-magikarp?! Ah! Still daytime! How does that even matter in a cave?!
Still falling, but with no time to try something else, Victoria quickly extended her left arm forwards and brought back the other near her abdomen, making a fist.
“TO INFINITY AND BEYouargblublublub...”
Once again, she was shaken like a ragdoll by the angry ethereal tide. Blind, deaf, unable to breath and in pain, she wondered if the Guardian was going to fish her out or if she was going to be dragged all the way to the entrance of the dungeon. Reaching the shore outside would be a pain. She didn’t want to trek the whole dungeon back. And climbing the cliff to jump once more into the whirlpool seemed tiring, though it would help her retrain her [Climbing] skill… and [Falling] too probably.
Her Thirst reserves probably wouldn’t hold anyway. And, although she was interested in what would happen in case she became dehydra… debloodated? ... blood starved, she decided it was not the moment to conduct an experiment. Recording data in the current situation would be an unprofessional mess. Even mad scientists had their work ethics! Like limiting the collateral damages to people you didn’t like, or experimenting in stable environments as not to corrupt the results.
A river of ectoplasma inside a dungeon was not eligible as a stable environment.
She was considering the use of the spell [Air Burst] to propel herself out of the river – she just needed to determine the direction of the surface – when a sudden pull to her hair nearly ripped her head off. She grabbed her braid to transfer the strain from her neck to her arms and let herself be torn out of the plasma.
Yeah! Aaaaaair!! And HAIR!! Dammit! It’s precious to a girl!
Her head hurt. She took a deep breath, caught glimpse of a copper fire and burning ambers shrouded in drakness, and then was slammed into the stone floor. Hard.
*BAM* *crack*
Her left shoulder shattered from the impact.
- 124 HP!
“Ow!”
Hoy hoy… That’s half my health. Isn’t he supposed to be bad at offense? Oh. Right. I’m paper.
“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!”
Athena was beyond pissed. And even that was an understatement.
Between the apparent betrayal from a person she had trusted, her own confused feelings for said person, the drowning that had triggered both her claustrophobia and sense of powerlessness, and the consequent loss of health of the precious avatar which was her only escape route from the world of fear she lived in – and her near total lack of a sense of humour – the Shieldbearer didn’t get the hilariousness of being pushed towards certain death into a whirlpool of vengeful spirits. In her defence though, most people wouldn’t.
Groggy, Victoria tentatively stood up, but was immediately grabbed by the front of her leather suit and jerked towards a fulminating face. The Progenitor’s Soulbound was red from anger and her glare clearly told Victoria she was about to get murdered. However the dhampir couldn’t help but feel a strange prickly warmth spread throughout her body, especially in her nether regions, while the corner of her mouth nervously crept upwards.
“THE FUCK VICKY?!” Athena spat in her face. “DO YOU ALWAYS STAB YOUR FRIENDS IN THE BACK OR IS JUST ME?!”
“Oh *cough* you’re definitely special,” answered the Princess who still couldn’t think straight, and thus spouted anything that crossed her mind. “I never push girls into acid on the first date. And I don’t have that many friends to stab anyway. Nor do I own any decent knife at the moment. *cough* I tried to stab myself once though. *cough* It was a stupid idea. Pain hurts. Did anyone ever told you that you look freaking amazing when you’re angry? I think I’m aroused. Or maybe it’s because I’m being choked by someone taller than me? *cough* A very novel experience. Can I kiss you?”
That confused the hell out of the irrational killing machine, who slightly released her chocking hold.
“Wha-What the hell is WRONG with you?!!”
“If only I knew… My mother somehow gave up on diagnosing me. Something about an overactive mind, a superiority complex, a general lack of fuck given about the world, random spikes of interest, and an inherent disregard for responsibilities, the whole mental mess being mixed with a paradoxical antisocial desire for company but not too much. I also like coke, pillows, hentais and raviolis. And hugs.”
Athena shook her head, her inner computer having difficulties to process the bugged being before it. All she knew was that she felt confusingly betrayed and she didn’t even understand why she was so confused about it.
“AAAH!! Fuck! I don’t get your games, and I’m not going to be played with. As soon as we get rid of that freaking guardian, you take me straight to Start. We get rid of that dumb class and you get the fuck out of my life!”
She released Victoria, who staggered back on the ground and stared blankly at the tall woman. Athena’s words had felt like an ice shower that brutally slapped Victoria’s mind back on track.
A sense of dread she couldn’t explain stabbed through the Princess’ chest. It was not the first time she pissed someone out of their mind with her unrepentant selfish weirdness. She never cared for those who just told her to get lost. They weren’t worthy of her concern. She was right, and everyone who couldn’t prove otherwise was wrong. That was her basic philosophy. So why care? But inexplicably she couldn’t bear the idea of losing her Soulbound.
“Thena I-”
*snap*
For an instant Victoria thought she was about to get punched again – and wasn’t pleased about it for some reason – but her deduction was soon invalidated by Athena yelping in surprise. Grabbed by two thick silky tendrils, the tall armoured woman was dragged backwards in direction of the immense cocoon, which on second look had an unhealthy yellowish colour.
It resembled more to a wrapping of mummy bandages than a chrysalis in fact. And the name [Putrid Cocoon of the Soul Eater], supplied by the interface, didn’t help giving it a friendlier image either.
Incidentally, only monsters had their name given by the game. NPCs like players couldn’t be so conveniently identified. It would have been a nightmare for assassins otherwise. Although it was a mystery where the game drew the line between NPCs and monsters. The goblins, for example, had been categorized as monsters, despite obviously possessing a certain level of civilisation.
Her very recent emotional burst already erased from her short-term memory, Victoria idly pondered on the issue of species classification while Athena struggled to break free, kicking the cocoon to keep it at a distance. After a few strange yelps from the Shieldbearer, the dhampir refocused her attention on the current situation, and another unsound smile crept on her pale face.
The monster had apparently been unable to break the [Cursed Chimera Armour] and had decided to invade through the few interstices of the plating to crush its prey. Held in the air, Athena was covered in wriggling tentacles of silk, and there probably was more to her flushed cheeks than the lingering remnants of her anger.
Victoria unconsciously licked her fangs.
And that’s why I always have been a fan of the Himekishi series…
*ting*
New Skill:
Sadism
(Passive)
The despicable aroused delight you feel in witnessing the sufferings of others has reflected on your own ability to cause pain and on the inner workings of your depraved mind.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Level: Beginner 1
Effect:
- Your attacks will cause 1% more pain.
- Inflicting pain to others may relieve you from negative mental statuses such as [Confusion] or [Fear]. Efficiency depends on the comparative levels of the status and the pain inflicted. Ratio will increase with level.
Hey! Seriously… Still not in a fight? Oh, right. Not a party.
*ting*
New Title: For having unlocked both the skills [Masochism] and [Sadism], you have been granted the title [Perverted Psycho]! Your sick mind protects you from external influences: +5% resistance to negative mental statuses. When equipped, like-minded NPCs will be better disposed towards you while those possessing the most basic moral decency will scorn you.
----------------------------------------
- Do you wish to equip the title? -
What? No!! … Does that mean I lack the most basic decency? What am I to the AI of this game? An orc? That reminds me, I should check the effect of that [Immoral Exiled Princess] title. I completely forgot about that. I guess I was pissed off about losing the [Suspicious Candyman] title back then. And I think-
“OH!! VICKY! A little help?!”
Ah, right.
Victoria dismissed the windows and took another look at the tall woman, who was almost entirely covered in mummy bandages and blushing heavily. From the dhampir’s perspective, her reddish tone harmoniously combined with her eyes and hair colour, as well as the murderous glare Athena was directing towards her.
“Aaaah… I don’t know… Say ‘please’?” she responded teasingly.
Athena wasn’t in the mood.
“WHAT?! This is your fault in the first place! YOU BACKSTABBING BITCH!!! GET YOUR FUCKING BUTT OVER HERE AND FREE ME FROM THIS CHEAP PORN FREAK!! IF I DIE HERE, I PROMISE TO HUNT YOU DOWN AND PERSONALLY SQUASH YOUR SICK BRAIN!! YOU FREAKING CUNT!!!”
“…wow.”
She really is pissed isn’t she? Though her insults lack originality as usual. It’s so her. Efficient to a fault.
Victoria was starting to get worried… about herself, because she was grinning again.
*ting*
[Masochism] has levelled up!
HOY!! No matter how you put it, it’s ludicrously too soon!
She was pissed too now.
“VICKY!!”
“Oh, for fudge’s sake!”
The Progenitor created two large and thin throwing stars out of her hairpiece, which had been made of highly condensed blood. Then with a mind impulse threw her weapons towards the bounded Shieldbearer, increasing the rotation speed as they flew. Under the dhampir’s fine control, the two airborne circular saws severed the silken tentacles.
Athena fell on the ground with her usual unexpected grace. She immediately began to retreat, running backwards, facing her opponent and simultaneously pulling the sticky threads out of her armour. Victoria shielded her escape by severing any approaching tendril while keeping an eye out in case the monster decided to attack her too.
When her Soulbound was back next to her, the Progenitor gave her a wry smile.
“You backstabbing bitch? You sure know how to talk to a bloodsucking maiden, Thena.”
“Oh, please,” Athena growled. “If you’re a maiden, then I’m a horse. And don’t think our earlier conversation has ended.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Although please keep in mind that if I really had wanted to kill you, I had far easier ways to go about it. After all you were sleeping in the room next to the one where I was playing with poisons for nearly four days.”
Athena gave her an annoyed glance, but didn’t comment.
“Also keep in mind that I’m quite new to this whole team thing. I’m used to doing my own shtick alone, so sorry if I wronged you. I’ll try to behave. Please. I really don’t want you to leave me.”
“…”
Victoria was sincere, although again just stating her thoughts on the first degree, without second meanings. The dhampir wasn’t used to put her feelings into question, and the reluctance she felt to let the tall woman go away was something she had never experienced with human beings. She had her hypothesises, but exploring their implications would have to wait.
Her words reached Athena however, and the Shieldbearer took a deep breath to calm herself.
“Okay. I guess I also went too far. Sorry. It’s not like I was really hurt after all.”
“Well, I had factored in your toughness, probable passive skills and newly acquired resistance to soul magic.”
“Oh? So you didn’t just act on impulse?”
“Yeees? No? Eeeeh… My mind mostly does the calculations subconsciously. I trust my instinct. I get people find me weird, but my actions always make sense.”
“…”
“…from my point of view.”
“…right. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said I’d hunt you down and kill you.”
“Don’t sweat it. It was pretty hot. Besides, you’re not the first woman to tell me that.”
That got the grinning Princess a perplexed glance. She looked back at Athena and her smile broadened maliciously.
“I know weird people.”
“I’ll trust you on that.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Probably…” Athena sighed, finally as calm as she could be. “Now, how do we deal with this guy?”
Both girls back turned towards the [Putrid Cocoon of the Soul-Eater]. During the conversation, Victoria had kept hindering the monster with her ninja blood telekinesis. There was now a moderate-sized pile of silk on the cave floor. Her broken shoulder annoyed her a little, but she was confident she could guilt Athena into bareback feeding later, so she didn’t mind.
“I didn’t temper with the hairpiece too much, so the magical potency of the blood should be high. But maintaining both the 3D movement and the rotation probably exhaust mana faster, so I guess I can maintain the barrage for ten minutes? Eight now. My HPs are halved, but I don’t think I could endure a hit even at full life. I’ll need a drink soon too.”
“I’ll say it again: your plan, if I can even call it that, was utterly stupid.”
“Stupidity is my only redeeming quality. And we’re here, aren’t we?”
Athena nodded. Not complaining further about things that couldn’t be changed, she started to analyse the situation. Her own health was at sixty-four percent. While trying to break free, she had determined the exact resistance of the enemy’s threads and confirmed the main “body” couldn’t move on its own.
She also had had Victoria detail each of her skills during their long and boring trip through Nowhere, so she knew how to include the dhampir in her strategy. Athena had also offered to explain her own abilities, in the spirit of fairness, but the dhampir had waved her off, claiming she would forget anyway.
Seriously, that girl…
Despite her earlier statements induced by anger, Athena doubted she would have thrown away her relationship with the pale dhampir. Feelings aside, such cooperative partners were almost impossible to find outside of one’s circle of close friends. Most adventurers jealously guarded the secrets of their powers and the Shieldbeared couldn’t tell if Victoria was overly trusting, careless, or just so sure of herself that she believed she could overpower even an opponent who knew all her strengths and weaknesses.
Of course, the rational adventuress had no clue all three of those possibilities were actually true. Victoria unquestionably put her trust into her Soulbound, simply because she was too lazy to doubt her friends and hated to complicate relationships. She was also baselessly overconfident in her superiority over the majority of the Creation. And in general she didn’t give a fuck.
And, as usual, the Princess didn’t plan anything. She would normally already have rushed in. However this time she had a partner who was more than willing to play the role of strategist, so she just stayed silent and kept stalling the boss while Athena thought things out. As opposite as their personalities might have been, the two were oddly compatible and complementary.
The Shieldbearer didn’t take too long.
“Can you throw a [Fireball] to check something?”
“Make sense. Here my command fire mighty. Form a sphere which burns my enemy. [Fireball].”
She raised her right hand and casted the spell. Her blood saws only slowed down slightly as she focused part of her brain on the incantation and aim. The fiery projectile jumped forwards, colliding with one of the tentacles. However it dispersed without causing any damage.
“Tch. Would have been too easy if it just caught fire.”
“Yes. It was covered with some kind of corrosive viscous substance. I thought it might be fireproof, but it would have been stupid not to make sure.”
“Mutated ectoplasma I suppose. And yes, pretty stupid.”
Victoria tried not to remember the countless foes Elric had faced with great difficulties just because he had forgotten to check such basic weaknesses.
Athena continued: “Okay. As far as I can tell, this one is not very versatile, but it is extremely resistant. His tendrils are efficient in both attack and defence. There’s a mouth in there. I saw it when it tried to eat me. I’ve memorised the speed and overall movement pattern, so I’ll just rush in. You keep cutting those hentai tentacles and open a path. Once I’m in contact, I’ll force open the slit were the mouth is and you’ll try to finish it. Do you have confidence in your accuracy?”
“Your knowledge in animes is abyssal, yet you so casually reference hentais and tentacles… I’m amazed.”
“…” Athena averted her gaze. *cough* “Please stay focused.”
“Su~ure. Hahaha. Feel free to ask me for good titles. Though I must confess my tastes are pretty hardcore... Anyway, yes, my accuracy shouldn’t be a problem. The power of [Lightning Strike] might be too low though, so I’ll first launch a blood spike instead. But you’ll be left without cover for a short while if we fail to kill it.”
“If the first assault fail, I’ll just retreat while it’s stunned from the attack and we’ll repeat with another finishing move. You’ve quite a lot of those.”
“Hahaha. Leave it to me, Boss,” Victoria said with a predatory grin.
A pleasant shiver rushed down Athena’s spine at being called “Boss”, especially since she knew the dhampir meant it. It surprised her how easily she accepted compliments from Victoria despite the fact she usually was so single-minded about her own worthlessness. Athena thought it probably was because she knew her friend would not hesitate to openly insult her if she ever felt the need to. Victoria’s insensitive honesty was actually very appeasing for someone who had spent her life surrounded by people trying to patch up her collapsing self-esteem with half-truths and caring lies.
With one of her own unconscious half-smiles, the Shielbearer focused her mind on the [Corrupted Cocoon of the Soul-Eater], sinking into this ocean of icy calm she could only attain when meticulously executing her planned actions. Next to her, the Bloodsoul Mage, grinning with madness, loosened the last shreds of self-control she usually maintained and let her mind devour every information it could absorb to fuel her instincts.
Followed by Victoria’s insane laughter, Athena charged. She didn’t bother evading the attacks, trusting her lunatic partner to have her back. That probably also marked her as a deranged person, but she didn’t care for once. She ran with all her power and soon reached the direct vicinity of the cocoon. She reached out.
However, right as her hands were closed in on the monster’s mouth, a large vertical tear appeared in the outer layer of bandages and a blinding light burned her eyes.
The Progenitor stopped laughing when she saw her Soulbound fly backwards and crash into a nearby stalagmite. She blinked, then quickly turned back towards the boss. Just in time to witness another condensed flash bolting in her direction.
“HESA FIRIN HIS LAZOR!!”
Forsaking all defence, the fearsome Vampire Queen bravely ducked with all her might.
* * * * *
----------------------------------------
Poor Thena. Good resolutions are one thing, but putting them into application is something else… That’s why I stopped with good resolutions. Thankfully, it was easier to get away from that than from my addiction to coke… the soda one... I don’t need no drugs to see rainbows in my raviolis!
Here’s a nice song to get rid of your worries too:
Spoiler :
And I posted a prologue to my second fiction: The Sky at Dawn. It’s a hero summoning kind of story… kinda… Or is it reincarnation? Well… I’m not sure myself. It’s serious though. Deadly serious… as much as me can do. Mmmmh… I’d say it is first person narration with multiple PoVs and some are more serious than others. Yeah. Let’s go with that. Serious. I can do serious… I should be able to… Am I?
Anyway, thank you for reading – maybe double thank you? – and see you next chapter(s).