Chapter 1099 (1/2)
From the moment that Randidly recalled Nether Rituals forward, he spent the middle portion of his day depleting Aether with the convenient distraction of the Nether Ritual taking his attention to another place. It was a surprisingly complex process, but it definitely helped alleviate some of the monotony of the task.
For better or worse, Randidly chose Vualla as his first target. Inwardly, he justified it by saying that Vualla was the only individual who he had successfully targeted in the past and therefore she was a safe first choice, but the Grim Chimera was very glad to have another opportunity to see her. Considering the fact that he was forced to leave so suddenly...
There was a moment of hesitation as he fed Nether into the ritual as he wondered if it would work from within the Great Rift with the strategic grade Aether Key active, but almost immediately the image of Vualla fluttered to life before his eyes.
Randidly gritted his teeth. If this works… is there actually any point to using the Aether Keys to screen the forces of Nether? If not, then why-
But for the moment he let that thought slide away and focused on Vualla. Of course, this was where the difficulty started.
There was a marked time difference between Randidly and Vualla. Because his Perception accelerated, she appeared to be walking underwater in slow motion. Randidly studied the difference for several seconds, then clicked his tongue. It’s about one-third of the speed of what I’m experiencing. Shit, that means that it will feel like I spent three years here if I let the Aether Key run its course.
But honestly, it was better than the alternative of time passing too quickly while Randidly was training here. At least this gave him more of a chance to work up some Skill Levels. But while watching the Nether RItual, Randidly couldn’t handle the speed. So he breathed slowly in and out and forced himself relax. Then he relaxed further. With half-closed eyes, he slowed his heart rate down until it beat only once every five seconds.
Slowly, his Perception slowed down until the picture he was watching seemed close enough to a normal speed.
Vualla was walking along the supply caravan track along the rear of the camps, accompanied by two people. To Randidly’s surprised, this was one of the few times where the supply caravans appeared to be running, so large clouds of dust partially obscured their figures. But Randidly could see that Vualla’s long strides put her well ahead of the other two, who were trailing along behind her while talking to each other quietly.
One of the two Randidly recognized: it was Lady Iellaya, looking particularly well behaved. But the other person was a small, hairless main with rather pallid, grey skin. Randidly’s lip instinctively curled upward as he considered the three people, filled with a flinty rage that seemed to have no real justification. But then Randidly noticed the slight interference and pulled back to look inward.
Main body, this isn’t funny, Randidly’s rage easily shifted to a new target. Even if her Aether feels ancient, she is a good person. Don’t you dare try and influence my feelings any longer.
There was no response from the main body, but that feeling of disgust and rage directed toward the individuals he saw in the Nether Ritual faded away. After waiting a few seconds to be sure the emotions were gone, Randidly turned his attention back to the picture in front of him. Once more he forced the heart rate that had accelerated with his rage to slow back down.
Vualla continued to stride forward, gaining more distance between her and the other two. Eventually, Lady Iellaya looked up with a frown. “Vualla Mateo! As I said, he has already departed for his mission. There is no purpose in hurrying. Why not enjoy the sights?”
Vualla gave Lady Iellaya a look so disgusted that Randidly snorted. After gesturing with obvious sarcasm to the surrounding area that was mostly obscured by smoke, Vualla said, “Ah yes, the sights. Wonderful.” Then she turned on her heel and continued to stalk forward.
“Little missy, not much farther than that,” The hairless man said with a disturbingly high giggle. Which was exactly when Randidly realized that there was no visual variation on this man at all. He dominated his own image perfectly.
With deliberate care, Vualla slowed and turned around. “Bah, haven’t the testimony of all those in Lady Iellaya’s camp proven that Randidly was sufficiently singular? Which proves that you don’t catch every talented individual called here. Which should prove that I’m not maliciously here on the frontlines- your stupid Brigade simply isn’t as effective at catching all the talent here as you think it is. Don’t be too disappointed, realizing your weaknesses is just part of growing up.”
The hairless man’s smile grew sharper, but he only shrugged in response to Vualla’s scathing words. “This boy is a diversion, nothing more. I’m sure you realized that I didn’t really care much for him. Otherwise, would I have simply let him go on his mission without acting?”
Vualla’s jaw clenched, but she didn’t seem too surprised. “So then Terith keeping me locked up in my tent for insubordination…?”
“Games are never fun if they are too easy.” The hairless, grey-skinned man grinned wickedly at Vualla. His voice continued to pipe up erratically as he spoke. “If you have a problem with my behavior, there is an easy solution; just agree to join the Xyrt Brigade. I’ll have this Randidly fellow recalled immediately. And believe me, I naturally possess the clout to order your precious Lord Miln around.”
Vualla didn’t answer. The man’s smile stretched even wider. “Do you care about him or don’t you, girl? Is he so singular that he caught your attention or is he an image you will let die like every other image here on the frontlines?”
Randidly could see the throbbing veins in Vualla’s temple. His gaze narrowed to a sizzling point as his focus moved back to the wrinkly and small man. This bastard was trying to use him to apply pressure on Vualla? Although Randidly didn’t have much information about the Xyrt Brigade, he certainly couldn’t think it was a very good place to be if this was how they typically recruited people.
But some part of Randidly did snag on the word singular. That’s… that’s a good way to describe how I feel about Vualla. She…
It seemed that Vualla’s anger was obvious to this hairless fellow as well because he cackled again. “Of course, there is always the third option; if you can defeat me in battle, I’ll swear my eternal loyalty to you. I will become naught but your humble slave~ But if you lose… you’ll come to the Xyrt Brigade for one hundred years. Aren’t my terms fair? Ah, I know what this hesitation is… an older man such as myself, propositioning a younger woman… are you perhaps intimidated? Let me assure you, your shapeless and fleshy body isn’t what I desire. It’s simply that image you possess. That is what will soon be mine.”
This fuck… Randidly’s gaze contained every ounce of condensed hatred that he could manage. So much so that the blade Fate in his chest activated in response. Its howl for blood exploded outward inside of Randidly, scalding his insides. His heart rate spiked once more, and he began to grudgingly force his rage down so the time difference didn’t grow too great. It isn’t enough to goad her into a duel against someone who has lived for far longer in the Nexus than she has, but he’s also insulting her?
I’m just one more lever in a litany of tools this piece of shit is willing to use against Vualla...