Abyssal Awakening

The blade was delivered to her room along with a note that was attached to the sheath.

It was a simple note that merely stated the name of the blade, the materials it was made from along with the name of the blacksmith, Oscar.

'The name of the blade stayed the same, Bloodflame Blade. But he's adjusted it so that it can better accommodate the fire from my Sigil.' Alice thought to herself as Oscar made sure to warn her regarding the power of her flames.

As he doesn't know the full capabilities or how strong it could get, she needed to be careful with how much power she channelled through the weapon or else the violet flames could overpower the materials and cause it to break apart.

With this in mind, Alice couldn't help but wonder what her main weapon, the Obsidian Retort was made from. It was able to take any shape she willed, drained her blood to empower the edge and was able to withstand the heat and power of her fire without issue.

Not even the threads in her gauntlet were safe despite their impressive elemental resistance.

Putting down the letter, Alice glanced at the weapon that was leaned against her bed. Despite being hidden in its sheath, Alice could sense the dangerous aura the weapon was radiating as she placed her hand on the handle of the blade.

She could immediately feel a connection as black and red mist started to seep through the gaps of the sheath.

'It's excited…' Alice thought to herself. She didn't know if the blade truly had a conscience or if it was just her own mind playing tricks with her but it felt as though it was 'alive' in her hand.

Pulling the blade out from the sheath, she held it against the light and marvelled at its appearance.

Bandages wrapped around the grip of the blade and there were no longer a guard separating the blade from the hilt. A single edged obsidian blade emitted a dark aura as black and red flames danced upon the edge.

Looking at this sword, it looked as though it was a fang of a malevolent beast dug out from the deepest pits of the Abyss.

"Bloodflame Blade huh?" Alice muttered with a smile as she made a small cut on her arm and fed the blade some of her blood before activating her second Sigil.

A connection was formed between the two flames as the Bloodflame Blade surrendered itself to be used as a catalyst for the violet flame, allowing it to manifest more power without burdening Alice.

Waving the sword around to get a better feel for the blade, Alice smiled in satisfaction as this was a good alternative to her main weapon.

Having a bracelet that could shift forms at will was far too eye catching and it would only serve to draw too much unwanted attention.

At least with this weapon, she could redirect people to the blacksmith who made it.

Fixing the sheath to her belt, Alice sheathed the blade away as she stepped out of her room.

During the time they were resting, they waited for an audience with the City Lord as he had been busy dealing with the cleanup of the city. With the Scholars and main culprit missing, the best they could do was make sure the parasite didn't spread while repairing the damage done to the city.

They had received news that Kallus was ready to see them whenever they are ready.

"Seems like you're happy with the weapon." Ria grinned as she noticed Alice testing it out in her room.

"Yep. Feels nice in the hands and lets me use my second Sigil with less hassle." Alice nodded. There was another benefit to the battle she had with the unknown man a few days ago. There was now a mutual understanding between her and the violet fire.

While she was still lacking in complete control, it was now easier to wield the flame. Almost as though it had accepted her after she proved her capabilities.

"Honestly, I don't want to imagine what else you can do if you master those flames. The damage you did to the forest is… Well, let's just say a lot of the guards were baffled by how it appeared." Ria laughed as people were too preoccupied with the outbreak of beasts within the city that very few checked up on the after math of Alice's fight.

"It should remain that way. Oh before I forget." Alice grinned and jogged back into her room. Grabbing her bottle of mead, she gave the glass a light kiss and placed it in her jacket.

"Jeez… At least you're not getting drunk. But that mead is practically your treasure now." Ria shook her head while Alice shrugged.

"I don't tell Allura about your recent gambling and you don't tell her about my drinking." Alice bargained.

". . . deal."

Giving Alice a high five, the two made their way out of the inn and towards the castle.

There were two things they needed to find the City Lord for. The first was the second half of Alice's reward. The drinking flask for her mead.

The second was to get some help in finding the Underground. They had looked around the city but failed in finding anything regarding the organisation.

Upon arriving at the castle, they noticed Elyn waiting for them as they understood that they must've found out at the two of them were on their way.

"The City Lord is waiting for you in his office. Please follow me." Elyn smiled as she guided the two to the office.

Upon opening the doors, she gestured for them to enter and closed the door behind them.

This was a meeting between the three of them so there was no need for her to be here.

"Pardon me for the long wait. There were more troubles than I had originally anticipated for the cleanup. I had not expected them to make so many false rooms in the ruins underground." Kallus smiled while turning to face the two.

"Now I must thank you two for your services. Without you, this might've taken longer than expected and the damage done would be far more than what had occurred. So how can I help you today?" Kallus smiled while sitting down on his chair.

"I'm just wondering if my flask is ready." Alice shrugged, causing Ria to choke on her words as she was planning on exchanging more pleasantries before getting onto the main topic.

"Of course. In fact, I had it prepared for this meeting. This flask is more than enough for you to carry roughly 5 bottles worth of fluid. Naturally, there are better flasks but this is the best I can get my hands on for the time being." Kallus sighed while opening one of the drawers to his desk.

Removing a box from the drawer, he placed the flask on the table. It was a simple metal flask with a chain hanging around the neck. As for its size, it was the size of Alice's hand.

"Thank you for the flask, sir." Alice grinned and pulled out her bottle of mead. Without waiting another moment, she started to fill the flask with her alcohol while Ria could only sigh.

"If you don't mind me asking sir, what happened to the woman you were fighting? She seems to be connected to both the Cult of the Eclipse as well as the parasites that were found in the bodies of those affected." Ria asked curiously.

Considering the fact that he reappeared in the city soon after, she could only assume the woman had been dealt with. If so, he must've gotten some information from her.

"I'm afraid she managed to escape. Her only goal was to stall me so that her partners could escape out of my notice as I had to bring my full power against her. With me focusing on the fight, I was unable to keep an eye on the city, a failure on my part. But yes, she is connected to the Cult as she is currently a Bishop in their hierarchy." Kallus explained as he leaned back.

"Meaning this outbreak was not a simple sacrifice but rather a small part of a wider plan. One that has enough importance for them to have a Bishop overlook the operations. Had I been successful in capturing her, I would've gotten more information out of her."

Hearing this, Alice paused for a moment before remembering the words the figure had told her.

"I managed to get some information out of someone before they disappeared. They said this outbreak was not just to try turn people into shards. A hint they gave was heart blood. There should be a connection between this experiment and why heart blood is so pure in the Abyss." Alice recounted.

Furrowing his brows, Kallus was silent before sighing.

"I will relay this to some researchers. Hopefully they can decipher what this means. If I get any news, I will have the Hunter's Guild send you a letter."

"Ah! Speaking of letters, can you help us out with the Underground? We tried looking for them in this city but they're nowhere to be found. We wanted them to have my grandfather and Alice's teacher, Allura, contact us as soon as possible." Ria cut in as Kallus nodded his head.

"Alright. The Underground is a little difficult to find in this city as the 'underground' is used for the sewers as well as old ruins. But I will get into contact with them. Do you have other matters to attend to in this city or are you leaving? The Martial Law has been lifted with the cleanup being sorted." He asked curiously.

"We're going to find a carriage to Isilvaria for now. We have made quite the detour on our journey so going to Isilvaria will help us get our bearings again." Ria laughed.

"There are many merchants journeying out of this city now that the Martial Law has been lifted. I'm sure you can find a spot as their guard."

With their talks now over, Alice and Ria bid the City Lord farewell as they left the castle.

All they need to do now was to collect the rest of their belongings and find a carriage in the stables.