Shadow of the Abyss

"This has got to stop," Altair muttered, alone in his room, unsure when his life slowly began to become so sexualized. He\'d suspect if he didn\'t have the Soul of the Indomitable. He would be a slave to sanguine lust as he was to its hunger. "Damn it," he cursed.

Every night, Altair found himself prowling the darkness. Lured in by his devilish charm, many beautiful women found themselves beneath his fangs, moaning his name as they clutched their legs, riding his hip with a fierce vigor, pulling at his hair, enthralled by his bite. Altair found many cared little of his tendency to draw his blood, finding many to believe it was a part of his bloodline.

Not that it mattered, as he compelled them to forget.

He couldn\'t risk the exposure. The less the world knew, the better.

Flipping over to face the ceiling, Altair shook his mind clear of unnecessary thoughts and opened his palm. "I need to work on—" He stopped, glancing at the door as he sprang up, getting into character. He opened the door, greeting the dual eye beauty.

"Hello, Leonie." He said, glimpsing the Tech Spear hooked to her back. "That\'s new."

Leonie\'s eyes glittered. "Yes. It\'s the SP-7X; pouring mana into it not only allows the spear to get sharper but hotter. It should be able to cut through any Tier Four Monster with ease, without the need for mana or high physical attributes. Some testing show—" She stopped, growing a little flush as she coughed into her palm. "I mean, yes… it\'s new."

Amused, Altair stepped out of his room. "I see. What brand is it?"

"I… I made it." She said, blushing. It was her first time mentioning it, and no one within her family knew of her hobby. Her Mother once said it was unbecoming of a lady to do the work of a man.

Altair arched a brow. \'You\'re a Weapon Architect? Sweet! Then, can I ask a favor?"

"Huh? You need a weapon?"

"No… Well Yes. But I\'m interested in Inscribing. I\'ve already mastered the language I\'m interested in a few years ago. But now I want to begin inscribing weapons. What metal would you recommend?"

With an ecstatic look, Leonie\'s dual pupils practically glowed as she spoke: "The best of the best is Ethereum. Especially low-grade Ethereum. It\'s perfect for beginners. It\'s the perfect base for any weapon due to its flexibility and durability, not to mention when drawing mana veins.

Ethereum allows for minor mistakes and corrections, Not to mention its semi-ethereal nature, allowing for multi-layered inscriptions, although it can be pricey. Ten sols an ounce. But you don\'t need much if you\'re merely inscribing. A few pounds should last years.

"Ethereum, eh." The Prince repeated, recalling one of his drawers back within the Aros Estate filled with various Ethereum weapons.

"What\'s the second best? Xenion Ore shares similar properties to Ethereum but tends to be harder to extract, refine, and use all around. Actually, this spear uses Xenion steel. I ran out of Ethereum. I must say, while the process was significantly harder, the end result was pretty much the same."

Altair\'s smile suddenly turned genuine as he chuckled. "You\'re kind of a nerd, huh."

Leonie grew flushed. "I-I-I am not!"

"Nothing wrong with being a nerd." Altair pointed out, watching Leonie squirm uncomfortably. "It\'s cute."

\'C-C-C-cute?" She stammered, taking a step back. She\'d never been called cute except perhaps by her father, the Marquess. But he said everything she did was cute, from riding her mounts to wielding her spear or the sprawled-out fashion in which she slept.

Noticing her peculiar reaction, Altair relented for now. "Well? What can I do for you, Leonie?"

"Nia…"She muttered, so soft beneath her breath Altair nearly missed it.

He grinned. "What can I do for you, Nia?"

Like a little shy cat, Nia bowed her head. "I thought we should review formations for the Tourney."

Altair stared at her, thinking it over, favoring her with a small frown. "You know of my assassination attempt," he said, and she nodded with a graveness in her eyes. "There is a high chance that there\'ll be another plot against me."

"You are not the only one with a price on their head," Nia admitted, folding her arms. "My father has openly refused to grant permission rights to the Republic of Genesis to mine our dungeons and land, alongside allowing aliens to own land on our home. That makes you a lot of enemies. Especially since more and more low-level lords are suddenly beginning to change their votes.

These past two years, I\'ve had seven kidnapping attempts."

\'Two years,\' Altair considered as the masked image of the Reverend Mother entered his mind. \'That\'s around the same time she appeared within House Aros. Foreign intervention, perhaps.\'

"All Right," He said, mulling the matter over, "If you\'re fine with it. I\'ll call the team over… Although Reina might be MIA. I\'ve no idea where she is."

A/N: MIA= Missing in Action

Later, near the coast devoid of people, Altair, Ren, Talia, Aurora, Leonie, and Olivia gathered beneath the setting sun, blistering with amber light.

"Where\'s Laros?" Nia asked a mixture of irritation and relief on her face. "I called him, and he said he\'d be here."

"How would I know?" Olivia strained, releasing a weary yawn after her twelve-hour shift. "Maybe he bailed. He seems like the type."

"I\'d have thought a child of a dukedom would be more time-oriented." Talia snarled.

"Excuse me?" Olivia said, scrunching her brow. She turned to Talia, to her pale grey flesh that seemed to compliment her ashen hair and yellow eyes. "And who the hell are you to talk down of my family?"

"Talia." The Shadow exclaimed with bold confidence.

"You!"

"Is that all you can say? YOU?" Talia said in a mocking tone. " Is that the zenith of your vocabulary, or does your specialty lie in spreading your legs for all to enter?"

\'... Damn.\' Aurura muttered.

Trembling where she stood, Olivia\'s emerald eyes lit up as she drew her Tech Pistol from her hip and aimed it dead center at Talia\'s head.

"Do it…" Talia challenged her, stepping forward, her cold pale yellow eyes blistering a vicious fire that stained the air with killing intent.

"Enough!" Nia shouted, stabbing her spear between the two. " We are not here to kill each other. The tournament starts in two days. Sponsors of all kinds will be watching. We don\'t have time for this."

"Art…I\'m sooo hungry," Ren said, unconcerned with the drama beside her.

"Same… but someone had to spend 510 sols, so now we\'re broke. "

Ren arched her head high, snickering beneath her mask. "How about I make it up to you?"

"Hugs and kisses don\'t count, you know," Altair said blandly, watching as the lass deflated before his eyes.

"That\'s all Ren has…" the little Nephilim cried. She inched to him, stopping so close Altair felt her heat through the mask she wore to hide herself. "What about if you ate Ren?"

Altair stiffened. Perhaps it was because she was his first. But he never forgot her taste, which haunted his wet dreams. That called to him each time she tilted her neck or fell into his arms.

"Hugs, Kisses, and Nibbles. Whatcha think, Art?" Ren shot back through smiling eyes.

*Badump *Badump

His heart quickened. "I—"

"I said that\'s enough." Nia\'s harsh voice thundered, glaring at Talia and Olivia at each other\'s throats. "Two days is all we have. If you two can\'t come together, you\'re off the team."

"And who the hell made you Squad Leader." Olivia snapped, assuming Talia would have the same reaction, but she was deadly silent. She sneered, thinking nothing of it. "You\'re not even the strongest!"

"What does being the strongest have to do with being Squad Leader?" Talia said, amused, finding a dark smile on her pale lips. "Or are you of the belief that those that are strong are always right even if they give the command to lead to your death? "

Again, Olivia felt slivers of ice thicken around her chest. Unable to find a reason why such a woman was courting death by cursing her family. She\'d never met Talia, much less said even a single word to her. Yet she had just about tasted the venom in Talia\'s wretched tone.

She gritted her teeth, ready to "I—"

"I will be leading this team." Came the loathing voice of Laros as he stepped onto the beach, his auburn hair matted with sweat and his palm bloodied and blistered from training. He stormed forward, shooting a glare at Olivia as if to demand her cooperation and then Nia. "Leonie Cross, you are unfit to Lead."

Nia\'s lips pursed downwards, and for a moment, she folded her arms."Unfit? Last I checked, you tried to kill one of your teammates."She said dignified.

"I gauged how powerful my opponent was an—"

"I think I\'ve heard enough," Altair mentioned, with Ren by his side. He had allowed it within the Grove of Estelle since he could control the situation. But with the recent assassination attempt. Altair had no intention of gambling his life, much less Rens.

"As the highest-ranking officer present. I\'ll lead. If anyone has a problem with that, take it up with your commanding officer.." he said, turning to Nia. "Do you have an issue with that?"

"No, Sir." She saluted.

"No, Sir," Aurora, followed by Talia and Ren, said.

"I\'ve already spoken to the Lieutenant," Laros said, smirking, his voice thick with condescension. "He has already agreed to have me lead. You may—"

Altair shifted his gaze to Olivia, " And you?" he asked, ignoring Laros.

Olivia glanced at Laros, weighing the pros and cons in but a second, and stepped beside Altair.

"You stupid little whore, "Laros spat, bearing a gut-wrenching laugh that sent a chill crawling up her spine. So devoid of humanity it echoed that he smiled, shooting everyone present a deep stare before shifting his eyes to Altair, searing his image into his mind. "You will relieve command over to me," he demanded.

"Or what?" Altair laughed, arching his lips as his eye lit up with a devilish charm. He approached Laros, standing nearly a foot taller. "What will you actually do? What can you do? I\'m not afraid of your bullshit family."

For a second, the light within Laros\'s eyes vanished before it returned. "We\'ll destroy you," he swore without a hint of emotion, almost as if he were stating a fact.

"We\'ll destroy you and everyone you love."

"HAHAHAAHAHA~" The Prince staggered back in a gale of laughter so cold for a moment, his presence took hold of everyone present, bearing its fangs. The air became stagnant, and the crashes of the waves distant. In the distance, wildlife began to wilt, robbed of their luster as if a great evil had descended.

By the time Altair was done, everyone but Ren found themselves on their knees, wet with sweat, as Altair\'s two scarlet eyes seemed to blaze so furiously that the mana around him began to shudder.

"It will seem your use has reached its end." The Prince said without emotion, wielding the Eye of Sacrilege like a knife. He bore down over Laros with a sadistic grin. "I\'ll be seeing you." He swore, turning away, no longer in the mood to conversate.

Shivering beneath a storm of fear rattling to his core, Laros clutched his throat, gasping for air, shaking with tears streaming from his eyes like so many around him. He roared, burring his head into the sand, screaming, praying for the fear to leave. But despite his prayers, his body shuddered beneath the lingering presence in the air.

\'He\'s… he\'s a monster." Olivia cried, vomiting lunch into the sand. "F…F…Fuck…" She looked at his shadow fading into the distance, urine wet upon her legs. She clutched her eyes shut. "A Demon!"

For nearly ten minutes, no one moved until Talia and Aurora drew Nia away, too weak to move herself. They left behind the two children of House Aros.

"You… You idiot." Olvia shouted into the sand when she suddenly became blindsided by the blow that whipped across her face. Stars dazed consumed her field of vision as she tumbled over the sand.

Laros pounced over her, hammering another fist into her jaw until it shattered. "FUCK YOU!!!!!" He roared, tearing off her clothing. "FUCK YOU! FUCK FUCK!" HE cried. "MOTHER MOTHER!!!"

Olvia scrambled, twisting back and forth, but Laros had pinned her down, mounting her above the abdomen, removing any chance of escape. She screamed a mournful cry, bleeding tears from her eyes as she howled for him to stop.

"Please…" she cried in a dreadful whimper.

"MOTHER! MOTHER!" Clamored Laros with a laughing cry, undone by the spiritual pressure that shook his forced conditioning. He fell back into the only thing he knew, the only thing his Mother, the Viscountess, had instilled into his mind.

"Laros… Laros, please! Don\'t do this… please… I beg…"

"I\'ll be good, mommy! I\'ll be good! Haha!" The boy cried with unfocused eyes.

[Divine Being, Passion of Sorrow, offers you power for sacrifice]

Blooding her face with his fist, Olivia could only moan a cry, powerless to do anything. Powerless to stop Laros from burring her head into the sand. Powerless to stop him from mounting her like a dog.

"Please… don\'t…" She muttered a final cry, tasting the sand and water.

"Mommy, I love you!" Laros said, so unraveled he barked. " So love me, ok! Love Laros! Love me!"

[Divine Being, Passion of Sorrow, mourns for your sacrifice and will grant you a dual cultivation Art for the price you paid.]

"NOOOOO!!!!"

From a distance, yellow eyes watched on without emotion.