Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 993: Faust’s Offer
Abyssal energy.
The very foundation of their world.
It was the source of Sigils, the force that allowed Hunters to transcend the limits of humanity. With it, they could flatten mountains, tear through dimensions, and stand at the threshold of godhood.
But its influence did not end there.
Abyssal energy, and by extension Abyssal blood, could be refined into blood vials. Elixirs capable of preserving life... or extinguishing it just as easily, depending on the will of the one who wielded them.
It fueled their evolution.
Abyssal engineering had pushed technology beyond what should have been possible, fusing the eldritch with the mechanical in ways that reshaped entire civilizations.
Weapons that defied physics.
Cities that sustained themselves.
Networks that connected distant regions.
All of it traced back to the Abyss.
Everything they had built...
Everything they relied on...
Every system that governed their strength and survival...
All of it stood upon this single, dangerous foundation.
And yet...
The girl standing before him spoke of blood that could shatter it.
Faust leaned back slightly.
For a moment, he said nothing.
His hand rose to his face, fingers pressing against his eyes as he let out a slow breath.
"Ha..."
It wasn’t exhaustion.
Not quite.
It was him trying to fully digest what Alice was telling him right now.
The deliberate pause of a man forcing himself to process something that did not fit within the logic he had spent his entire life understanding.
To slow his thoughts.
To reconsider.
To rebuild his assumptions from the ground up.
His fingers dragged down his face slowly.
And when his eyes opened...
They locked onto Alice.
"Is that what you used earlier?" He tilted his head slightly, gaze narrowing as he studied her. "When we were fighting. I was wondering why my reinforcement was being burned away."
Alice gave a small nod.
Miki’s brows furrowed immediately.
This was the first she had heard of it, and the implications alone were enough to make her uneasy.
A power that could bypass reinforcement so cleanly... that wasn’t something minor. Not something you simply revealed in passing.
At this point, Alice didn’t bother hiding it.
There was no real reason to.
If this was the price needed to secure the full cooperation of the Underground, then it was a worthwhile trade. Secrets like this were never meant to stay hidden forever anyway.
"Yep." She smiled faintly, almost casually. "This blood burns anything related to the Abyss."
Her eyes narrowed just a little.
"Why don’t we test it?"
With a simple flick of her finger, a droplet of blood condensed beside her.
Faust raised an eyebrow, interest clearly piqued now.
"It’s an ability?" He muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "What kind of beast did you kill to obtain something like that?"
His thoughts were already moving ahead.
If this came from a specific Abyssal entity... if it could be traced and replicated...
It could become the countermeasure to everything that is the Abyss.
Something that could fundamentally threaten the very system Hunters relied on.
"It’s half of an ability. Can’t tell you everything without you agreeing to the exchange now can I?" Alice chuckled.
Faust nodded.
With a small motion of his hand, another reflective card formed between his fingers, stable and perfectly linked to him.
Alice didn’t hesitate, she commanded the droplet to consume that card.
Violet flames spread instantly as it relentlessly burned through the Lord’s power.
Faust’s connection to the construct faltered, trying its best to hold on.
But in the end...
It snapped.
The card dissolved into nothing.
He didn’t speak.
He simply stared at the empty space, his mind already simulating the possibilities. Making notes on all the assumptions that had just been proven wrong with this singular demonstration.
"...Interesting." He muttered.
Alice smiled slightly.
"That was just a small example."
She brought her hands together.
"Let’s try something a little more noticeable."
A faint mist began to spread through the room.
At first, it was barely noticeable. Just a thin layer of crimson drifting through the air, light enough to ignore.
Then the feeling set in.
"!!!"
Both Miki and Faust reacted at the same time.
Something was wrong.
Not externally.
Internally.
Their bodies felt... off.
Faust’s eyes narrowed as he immediately focused on his reinforcement. It was fading away, corroded by the blood mist.
The longer he stayed in this area, the less he could use his Abyssal energy.
Miki lifted her hand instinctively, trying to summon her spear.
It took more effort than usual to summon. Sluggish, inefficient.
The time it took to summon the spear could be fatal if they were in a battle.
Her pupils trembled slightly.
"What... is this..." She muttered, her voice unsteady despite herself.
A cold fear began to take root in her chest, subtle at first, but impossible to ignore once it settled in.
For the first time, she felt genuine fear toward Alice.
Not the kind born from strength alone, nor the caution one held toward a dangerous ally, but something deeper. It felt as though the person standing beside her was no longer entirely human.
There was something foreign about her presence.
Something that didn’t belong.
Something that rejected every law established in their world.
"It’s poison. If I want to completely shut down Abyss energy I can. But~" Alice smiled helplessly. "It prevents me from using it as well. At least with this, I make things harder while also being able to retain my skills."
Miki swallowed, her gaze fixed on the faint mist lingering in the air.
That wasn’t reassuring.
Not even close.
Snapping her finger, Alice created an illusion using the mist.
It wasn’t a violent distortion nor did it carry a sense of the space tearing apart and reforming.
One blink they were in the office. After another, they found themselves sitting around a lavish room filled with decorations and a table between them.
Faust frowned.
It wasn’t a realm transfer like the one he does.
Rather...
"A hallucination?"
"Yep." Alice chuckled, tilting her head slightly. "Once you inhale the blood, I can layer a hallucination directly onto your perception. The more you breathe in, the deeper it sets in, and the harder it becomes to break out."
"And because this mist negates Abyssal energy to some degree, you can’t just brute force your way out easily with your Sigils either."
Cold sweat rolled down Faust’s back as he was beginning to realise how absurd this blood was now.
His reinforcement was weakening, His connection to his faltered. Unstable.
As though something fundamental within his body was being tampered with at its roots.
On top of that, his perception couldn’t be trusted anymore either.
If they were in a life or death fight and Alice was to use this ability... could be differentiate reality to hallucination? What if she simply made him think he was fighting her?
What if... 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
She was slowly creeping up from behind, ready to take his head?
Every sense he relied on was now questionable.
A slow breath left his lips.
"How exactly will you be giving me this blood? Since you want to exchange this instead of using Allura’s favour, I’m sure you understand that I would need a decent amount of it."
This was now a negotiation.
Alice didn’t answer immediately.
She leaned back and crossed her legs.
The illusion around them breaking apart as they were returned to the office.
"First, I want you to state properly what you want. This blood is rather special after all. I’ve given you a taste of what it can do, it’s your turn to show some sincerity." Alice smiled.
Faust reached into his pocket, pulling out another cigarette.
This was more of a selfish wish rather than something for the Underground.
Faust wanted access to this blood for personal reasons. For a sense of safety perhaps.
What if he could turn this blood into defensive equipment? Something that can save his life?
For that kind of exchange, he’ll need it for research.
And because of that... he’ll need plenty of it.
Question now was how does he acquire it?
With how potent this blood is, Allura’s favour might not even be enough anymore.
Not for what he wanted out of it anyways.
After a pause, Faust finally opened his mouth.
"I will tell you everything I know about Allura, her current condition. The movement of Lords around her and perhaps even targeting her. The last known location of Kaden and the one he was travelling with. Hidden factions moving in the shadows. Full access to the Underground’s services with no cost." He listed out.
But he was far from done.
"Equipment, consumables, even plots of land if you desire and other things that can be bought with money will all be discounted heavily for you. If there are materials that can’t be gotten normally, I will personally seek them out and claim them if possible."
Faust took a deep breath.
"Personnel can be arranged as well. Guards, escorts, specialists. If necessary, I can call in old favours owed to me by Lords both within and beyond Extalia. Should you require their assistance, you need only ask.
"Maps of zones in the Abyss classified as unexplored, secret treasures and even personal artifacts not created by the Zenias.
"Not the false ones. True artifacts. This is what I can offer for full access to that blood. Using it for research purposes and perhaps even crafting gear if needed as well as using it to counter Abyssal energy."
Alice listened silently.
All of this for full access to her blood.
She tapped her finger, deliberating over what should be accepted and what shouldn’t.
And after a brief pause, she came to a conclusion.
