Chapter 118: What Happens In The Dark

While the rest of the {Elizabeth’s Paradise B-Team} were getting to know more about Chaos J Faust - than they likely would have wanted - Elizabeth Jr. herself was just sitting on the porch with Alexis.The two of them were patiently waiting for Bloodleaf to arrive however they didn’t just simply wait their doing absolutely nothing. Despite not having nearly as much ‘nature’ (plants) as the woods that Eel had journeyed through to get here; somehow the concentration of energy was stronger. An paradoxically stranger situation when one considers they were currently on some kind of strawberry orchid that usually led to quite some loss in Nature Energy due to that interference. That being the case, add to the fact she was sat next to the nominal expert of the [Spiritual Arts], it was obvious that she would work on increasing her understanding of said arts. Now that she had lost the ability to dip into the mana which Mother let into the world. It only made sense that Eel would make up for that loss by studying the same arts her foxy ancestors apparently once used to maintain balance in the world.“Remember it all comes down to breathing, at the highest levels of mastery you will breathe out more energy than you take in, with the amount you take in filling your entire reserve.” <Alexis>Alexis had her hand resting on the between Eel’s shoulder blades - upon her back - to help Eel in regulating her own breath.  Although she could not directly help Elizabeth Jr. (that weird energy within her made her own energy destabilize no matter how skilled she claimed to be) she could at least do this. At this point she even had a very strong inclination of what that mysterious energy inside the girl was… That didn’t feel like something that was for her to share.Everyone in this world had their own story; unfortunately it wasn’t her place to tell the story that had long been buried by Mother in fear of that girl's strength. That being the case, as someone who couldn’t hope to reach the level of an Archon, how could she dare tell that story? <It would be a disservice to that sister-in-law of mine…>As such she just used the palm of her hand to guide Elizabeth Jr.’s lungs in taking in the energy swirling around them both. It was an easy feat to help control the external Nature Energy - as to help Eel take in as much as she was physically able to - even if she couldn’t help with the internal. Nevertheless, this was all that was required for Elizabeth Jr. to quickly grow her reserve in addition to helping her obtain a greater understanding of the energy itself.<She really is knowledgeable about this stuff fufufu~!>They didn’t stop there though - making sure that Eel achieved as good a grip of this as she could in the time they were given. Howbeit, there ended up being plenty of time even as the sun settled below the mountain range and the dozen or so moon's glowered at them from above, there was no sight of Bloodleaf approaching them from the path below.Feeling the cold of night clasp her naked skin; Elizabeth Jr. could not help curiously opening her eyes to peer down toward that path.Technically she did want to try accomplishing this breathing technique without complete focus. As such it wasn’t as if she wasn’t still training - she was merely trying to accomplish more than one goal. This didn’t change the fact that there was no sign of the crimson fox.Eel couldn’t help looking back to Alexis who merely tilted her head with that usual motherly smile.“Erm… I don’t suppose that he hasn’t woken up yet?” <Eel>“Hm~ I guess that’s a chance however I think it’s more likely that brat forgot his way back home or maybe that he had a home hohoho~?” <Alexis>Not a shred of guilt upon the vixen’s face as she tilted her head. Lightly tapping her well-shaped chin as if wondering whether she wanted to go out to a restaurant or make her own food and hadn’t possibly abandoned a man with memory loss in the mountains. “Shouldn’t we-” <Eel>“Yea, I think it’s about time we get you prepared for bed, there should be a bed inside~!” <Alexis>There wasn’t a chance for Elizabeth Jr. to question Alexis as she was picked up in a hug by the buxom fox in order to drag her into the house. That poor door didn’t stand a chance as she lifted her foot up to kick the door in - it was impressive the door remained standing. The inside of the hut was quite simple & rustic; having only what was needed in addition to some hides as well as other materials which were obviously gathered from the surrounding beasts.It wasn’t as if Eel got a very good look at the hut though. Before she even knew what was happening there was a warm meal in front of her, she was washed up in a hot spring around back and was abruptly laying in bed with Alexis.Despite her own fighting style having quite the importance on overwhelming the user with a mixture of speed & strength… She couldn’t help gaining whiplash over how sudden everything seemed to happen. Felt like one second she was looking for Bloodleaf then the next she was in bed.<I don’t remember what I ate!>As such she just lay there silently with her bone-spear hugged to her chest; through the sheets she could feel the warmth from Alexis who lay behind her. This continued on even as the flickering light vanished into the inky darkness. Even after going through such an extreme battle, Alexis and the gang rushing in to fearlessly challenge the literal {True God}, those memories still made her feel cautious. In turn that made her feel guilty for having a hard time trusting them when she didn’t have a spear in hand.Whenever darkness encompassed her, she couldn't help returning back to that day when she was shown all the possible betrayals throughout her life. Although it was most certainly better than before. Thankfully she wasn’t suffering such an effect when going about her day - it was only when surrounded by the darkness that she returned to that cruel abyss.Only with a weapon in hand could she fight those dark thoughts from her mind and allow herself to let her guard down.That didn’t make her feel any less guilty though.<In all those stories a hero can easily trust people who have shady pasts yet I can’t even fully trust my own childhood friends…?>Such thoughts were what lulled her into her sleep.Yet she wasn’t alone as she could see a flickering flame in the world behind her eyelids; that fire calling her into its warmth. It wasn’t just the flame either. Beside the inferno sat a girl who peacefully sat upon a log who used some kind of polearm to stoke the fire. A weapon that mixed war hammer, war pick & pike all into one head.That blazing light managed to alight the girls face to reveal two pairs of unique horns alongside a pair of uniformly pointy fangs; those pairs of horns very different from one another. One set of horns were purely white in a shape somewhat similar to a ‘Z’ coming from her forehead while the other were on her forehead and began the same colour as her flesh. As they grew upwards, seemingly trying to pierce the heavens, they slowly went from a skin-tone to a sickly bright green.Across her face it appeared as if someone clawed all the way down her face yet those green eyes of hers lost none of their fierceness. Around her shoulder was some kind of boar hide, its tusks coming off from her shoulders, as a set of dragon heads adorned both her head and shoulders like they were large pauldrons. Some of her messy bright white hair flowed out from that dragon-head. Meanwhile her muscular yet scarred torso (including her perky breasts) was fully on display which made  Eel unconsciously swallow her saliva.<Damn she’s pretty hot…>“I’m not interested in women let alone a brat like you…” <The Beast>Her voice came out like the growl of a massive beast; something that did little to change Eel’s mind.Before she was aware of it - Elizabeth Jr. was already sitting in front of the 5’5 girl - both of them just sat around the fire next to one another. For a long time neither said anything but somehow Eel almost found herself calming down. As if the mere presence of the other female was enough to calm her down.“Take it from me, do not be afraid of betrayal, be afraid of not arriving in time to save them…” <The Beast>Her first night of many within this cabin slowly went on alongside the crackling fire.

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Under a veil of stars.

“The sou~nd of silence~...” <Boy>Slowly a young boy, covered in a ragged hooded cloak, approached the massive ravine that now signalled one's entrance into the {Moolesh Mountain Range}. A week ago there would have been countless adventurers & beasts clashing here. Entangled in a fight of life, death & money.Now no one dared to even approach; the boy didn’t seem to care as he silently watched those energy filled boulders floating around in the air while manga boiled below. There were some courageous beasts who wished to claim a piece of this newly opened up territory - the unique nature of this place allowing for deep earth & flying monsters to each meet one another for the first time.One may think the flying beasts to have the advantage but the tough bodies of those earthen entities allowed them to resist a lot of attacks. Meanwhile many a flying fiend was unable to resist the final sleep brought upon by the toxic gases that lay hidden within the crevice.Nonetheless, despite the chaos ensuing around him, nothing seemed to even notice the presence of the boy as he seemingly blended into the background.Fearlessly he approached the precipice to gaze down silently with his bi-coloured eyes. His gaze wandered a lot as if he tried to find something - seemingly he found what he needed as his stare sharpened as his eyes narrowed. A grin formed on his face as he spoke up.“Get up; your pain isn’t weak enough to be overcome by my daughter's tantrum.” <Boy>Out from the manga a charred skeletal arm, adorned with countless cracks that gleamed with a malicious crimson, to claw into a nearby stone.“Your job isn’t done.” <Boy>