2.33. HEXES

“It’s the first of its kind that I’ve seen.”

“What grade do you think this weapon is?”

“Would you allow me?”

“Here.”

I passed the sword to Cain– or tried to.

The moment it left my hands, it dispersed into particles of light.

“I guess I can’t.”

“Hold it while I examine it.”

I materialized the sword once more and held it in an inverse position.

“The features alone make it a grade 2 and above. Until we check its abilities, I cannot rule it out as so.”

“I’ll do a few test swings.”

I spun Arondight in my hand and pointed it towards an imaginary target.

Without needing any prior charge, pillars of light struck down repeatedly like lightning. The shockwave created could even be felt this distance.

I lowered my sword, the attacks ceased.

“Your Holi..”

I shifted the grip of my sword into a side stance. The gold sheen of the blade turned purple and I threw a grand swing forward.

Swoosh!

A moon arc five times the length of the blade shot out. It tore forward, only stopping when it came into contact with the building a few hundred meters in the distance.

I held the sword in front of me and saw my own reflection on the blade.

Arondight.

This weapon.

It was my main.

From where though..?

“Your Holiness, I’ve been wrong.”

I can’t remember.

“It was our fault for being ignorant of your troubles. Please don’t go over to their side.”

I don’t know how to reply to Cain.

From a narrative point of view, did showcasing my hex, Arondight cause him to revere me? That’s just stupid.

Maybe I was wrong to think that Pu’er Julis is the only person whose loyalty is excessive.

“Mister Cain. Do all angels act like this?”

“Pardon?”

“Do angels act all devout and worship people that are above them?”

“No, you are the only exception Your Holiness..”

“I don’t get why you didn’t kill me the first time we met. I’m not the old Avner you know. I thought initially it was because you recognized me, then I thought maybe you wanted me so that I could protect angels and demons from their deaths.”

Maybe Cain himself doesn’t know why he saved me.

“I don’t know what your intentions are, but it’s really uncomfortable seeing you treat me like this. Just because I was once some grand figure, it doesn’t make me one now. I may not become the angel’s ally, but it’s not like I’m going to kill you.”

I’m blabbering nonsense.

“I may be in no position to protect you completely, even so, you have my gratitudes Avner,” he lowered his head.

“...”

This angel.. is he nutso?

No. Calm down.

Cain is just being Cain. No point trying to change him.

Anyhow, what is this sword even?

I tried recalling the last time I saw it. I was sure from the back of my mind, it hadn’t been a couple months since I used this sword. Though, a couple months is long in its own respect.

Where exactly?

There’s one more hex I haven’t tried.

I consciously evoked Echoing Into the Abyss.

Holding my breath, I felt my surroundings change.

From the center that is me, the world turned black. Everything disappeared, I began to sink– fall.

I tried to scream, there was no sound.

I tried to breathe, there was no air.

I closed my eyes, resigning to the darkness.

I took in a sharp breath, I fell to my knees. My breathing became erratic.

“Avner!! Are you alright?!”

What was that?

{WARNING: EROSION VALUE: MODERATE}

Cain ran over.

“I-I’m fine..”

It damaged me.

What skill is this anyways?

Was that.. my voice? I almost didn’t recognize it.

It was so.. melancholic.

I tried to stand up. Cain supported me when I stumbled.

So this is what happens when my erosion value goes down? It’s like I’m having a fever.

I popped one of the frigate class’ active skills and healed myself.

{EROSION VALUE: 99}

So it dropped to 49 previously.

What the hell. There must be something to this hex I don’t know about.

“Thank you Mister Cain.”

“What did you do?”

“It’s one of my hexes. A skill that.. hurts the user for some reason. Nevermind that. Let’s begin training, I’ll not be using Arondight.”

“Why? You should familiarize yourself with your hex.”

“No, I’m already familiar enough with it. I need to train my battle sense.”

“If that’s what you wish for.”

I took out Blue Kaizer, Cain took out his plasma cannon.

Sparks danced in the air.

===

I closed my eyes and allowed the nausea to subside.

“Big bro?”

“Nothing, give me a moment.”

No stumbling or heavy pangs.

So it is possible to get used to this sensation.

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Where’s your teacher?”

“He’s in the office.”

During that session, I learnt that my class ability doesn’t discriminate between angels and demons. I bested Cain slightly, hacked at him a few times and healed him.

That asides, I finally got an explanation regarding these ‘Zones’. Its domain divisions were decided by what Cain believes to be, God. For each zone, there is a core. These cores are controlled by either faction, determining which zone is classified as angel or demon territory.

As 80 percent of the cores in Alska are controlled by the angels. The remainder are controlled by demons.

The cores are usually hidden as everyday objects, just like weapons. Add on top the inability of angels and demons to enter the astral domain without stepping onto a mine or coming into each other. Even if one knew what everyday object the core is disguised as, capturing it in the astral space is just difficult.

There’s a lot of planning and scheming required.

I should go visit one of these cores someday.

In addition to that, I got more information about The Seraph. From what Cain knows, The Seraph has gone back to the angel’s haven. Even he didn’t expect that The Seraph would even leave its allocated station to kill demons in an entirely different zone.

“It’s creepy.”

Lia walked beside me. The school building was dark, and the lights came on only when we tripped the proximity sensor. It was bright where we stood, but the rest of the long stretching hallway in front of us was pitch black.

Lia and I made our way to the teacher’s office. Most lights for this floor were on.

“Wow, you have the security key?”

“I do.”

I pushed through the door. There were a few teachers around, some gave me a cursory glance before returning to their work.

“Are you here for anything?”

One of the teachers asked.

“I’m here to find Mister Cain.”

“Over here,” said person waved from over his office block

He came to us.

“Let’s go.”

“Go? Go where?”

“To visit a friend in the hospital.”

“Friend? Hospital? You mean that person with..”

I chopped Lia’s head, stopping hir from saying anything further.

“Your etler can come along. I believe she’ll be happy with some extra company. It’s been weeks since her quarantine. You said you have free time to spare, didn’t you?”

I couldn’t deny Cain. After all, I did tell him that I’m no longer tied down by my parents.

I just didn’t expect he would use that as the excuse to have me visit Lynda.

===

dotturndot: Badaboom! Why does Avner know how to use Arondight? And what is the truth behind Echoing Into the Abyss? Stay tuned to find out!