04 - Greater Villainess [4]
I just discovered a second ago that I have a broken system that defiled all logical reasoning.
Did Eris know this?
If I acquired one of her abilities, could she tell that I did?
If so, could she tell which one?
What were the conditions and repercussions attached to this ability?
A lot was going on in my head but now was not the time.
I had to make a decision fast before things got out of hand.
[Eris DeLorentis]
[Ability List]
→ DeLorentis Swordsmanship
→ Lady of the Winter
→ Lesser Heal
—
One look at Eris' ability, it was clear that she had an interesting set of abilities.
Her family's sword style, which was good for offense.
Lady of the Winter was an A+ rank elemental manipulation ability that granted Eris control over ice.
The ability was versatile for both defensive and offensive actions.
Lastly, Lesser Heal.
Lesser Heal was a C rank.
It may not be equal in efficiency like the healing ability of Priest class individuals but it was still good.
It was good for short lasting recoveries, and for tending to minor wounds as first aid.
That was something that could make a whole lot of difference in critical situations
However, my choice was pretty much obvious.
'Lady of the Winter.'
Of course the processing was quick but so were our enemies.
They finally revealed themselves, jumping out of the smoke screen from different points.
"Be careful, Eris."
She didn't even need that but all the same, I had said it.
—Clank!
There it was. The magnificent DeLorentis Sword Technique.
Eris' draw and sword handling was graceful and flawless.
Despite the enemies' intention of taking us by surprise, she kept her composure.
Eyes sharp, and other senses heightened, knowing full well that it was wise to expect anything at this point.
She blocked one of the masked men's heavy sword strike.
The man was evidently bigger than her, and wielded an even larger sword.
On paper, Eris shouldn't be able to beat this man even after a thousand tries but she held her own and quite well at that.
The effect of the power behind the strike was only able to shove her about five metres back.
"You are stronger than I thought, Miss DeLorentis," the masked man pointed.
Though seemingly praiseful, it was clear that his words had intentions to demean her.
[Ding…]
[Congratulations! Lady of the Winter has been acquired]
'Sweet! An A+ rank elemental ability right off the bat!'
I was elated, high on good hormones and ready to face any obstacle.
At the moment, two of the masked men stood in front of me.
'Four against two. Hmm.'
The two in front of me cackled like creeps who were about to take advantage of somebody.
Without fretting, I put my hand on the hilt of my sword, ready to strike.
As I unsheathed my blade, something took me by surprise.
Mid draw, another panel followed the last one that announced my acquisition of [Lady of the Winter].
My eyes shone with confusion.
For an instant, I was frozen in shock.
[Congratulations!]
[10x Upgrade! Lady of the Winter has been upgraded to Absolute Zero]
[Ability: Absolute Zero]
[Rank: EX-]
—
I swallowed my saliva.
Clearly, I was bemused.
My opponents could see that. Immediately, they decided to use the chance to their advantage.
Their creepy laughter reached my ears, dragging back to reality as I withdrew the entirety of my sword.
—Clank!
I parried one, shoving his dagger and pushing his attacking hand away from me to the side.
Unfortunately, this had left me open to the second person's attack that was aimed for my flank.
He slashed forward and I leaped back just in time to avoid any major injuries.
'Tch! It's a surface wound.'
He had cut me lightly.
Such a level of injury was nothing to worry about. Not even to take my mind off the new ability I had acquired.
Absolute Zero—an upgraded version of Eris' Lady of the Winter.
…10x upgrade?
Does that mean Absolute Zero was ten times stronger than Eris' ice ability?
We clashed for a little while more.
Two battles going on simultaneously and surprisingly, Eris and I managed to hold our grounds using only our sword skills.
These guys were not worth it.
They weren't even that strong.
Seeing that they were not making any headway, they resorted to their final move.
"Do it now!" the bigger one among them yelled out, while continually clashing with Eris.
The other three stepped back first, and soon the leader joined them.
Each one brought out a syringe, holding it tightly while stabbing it into their necks.
"What's that?" I muttered, regrouping with Eris now that we had the chance.
I had asked because she was clearly stunned seeing whatever they injected themselves with was.
"It might not be but I think that those are demonization fluids," Eris answered me.
Demonization fluids?
I knew what those were.
Artificially produced special chemicals that were attributed to give power that was close to those of demons.
However, demonization fluids were not cheap that any ordinary person would get their hands on.
Even a fake vial had a price that was about tens of thousands.
"Either that or a cheap knockoff, right?" I asked Eris.
Without turning or saying anything to acknowledge my input, she nodded. Thus, finally expressing agreement with my line of thought.
The difficulty of this battle was about to increase.
As if fighting against demonized humans wouldn't be stressful enough, we also have to deal with the archer who has been attacked from a long range with his arrows.
That was a situation we couldn't afford to be in.
—Swoosh!
Eris shot forward with an incredible speed, leaving a little cold mist in her wake.
Her plan was simple. To stop them before they were completely transformed.
However, Eris has miscalculated, not accounting for that bastard archer.
I heaved a sigh and glanced at the palm of my right hand.
If I didn't test [Absolute Zero] here, I wasn't sure when I would get the opportunity to do so again.
I reached in within myself, seeking out the Ice Essence that formed the root of this ability.
A cool but soothing feeling slowly spread from inside my navel, traveling all the way to my right hand.
What an incredible feeling it was!
A feeling that made one believe they can do anything.
I took a deep breath, and then…
"Absolute Zero."