[SS 2.73] Excision (Part 1/3) (Patreon)

“Miss Merlina, it is a pleasure to meet you.” Angie, who was wearing the Merlina disguise, found her hand grabbed within moments of the Zenmoon trio arriving at their meeting point. She was roughly fifteen in mental age now, so she should be able to hold her own in conversations without Angelica’s direct intervention. But even then, she definitely wasn’t ready for someone to be giving her such undivided attention. “We’ve heard much about you, but I fear Rastille’s recounting didn’t depict the justice that you duly deserve.”

“I’ve heard much about you too, Sperado.” Angie shook back, as friendly as she could, while reciting the words that Gelic mentally fed to her. 

“Ah, well then if you instantly knew it was me then… mostly good things, I hope.” He recoiled away from her after that, appearing to assume that he understood it was not, in fact, all good things, but did his best not to show any effect it had on him. 

“Please ignore our resident idiot. I’m Vystal.” She introduced herself next. “While he may not look it, he is a more capable Summoner than he seems. A lazy one, but can be counted on in a pinch.” Angie gave her a wider smile, her transferred memories of the woman definitely a bit more positive. “And this is my Demon, Xinder.” The mechanical bird suddenly swooped down and made a few swirls around Angie, as if he was inspecting her, before easing up to go hover behind his master’s shoulder. And then something unexpected happened.

[Incoming Transmission from Accomplice: Xinder. Do you accept?]

“Hello, Xinder?”

“Something about your master isn’t right.” He skipped all pleasantries, jumping to accusations. 

“Uhh, like what?” Damn. After all their training and practice, was the lie going to break so easily?

“She seems young and naive, as expected. One who should only be capable of summoning a Puck like you.”

Great, thanks… Gelic internally groaned at the multi-layered backhanded compliment. And Merlina was specifically tailored to look a bit older than Angelica, so how badly would he thrash her real form?

“But there is something about her that feels far more complex, like she is hiding her real power. Possibly even capable of summoning a Gremlin like me. I suspect that her status as a Novice may be fabricated, or at least mismeasured. What are your thoughts?”

“Uhm, I’m not sure.” Gelic was conflicted on how to answer it, having been caught off guard, and ultimately decided to stick with ignorance. “I’ve only ever had one master, so I can’t compare her to others. That Pathos lady did seem to think she was special, though, when she was talking to another human while I was there.” None of it was really lies, so hopefully there were no detection issues, though it was unlikely Xinder possessed such Skills in the first place.

“Hmm, alright.” He apparently was content enough with that. “And I doubt we’ll see her do much tonight. But I’ll keep an eye on her, and you should too. I know you trust her, and may not know what is obscure. Yet no matter how much you come to be content with a human, remember that we are still here as tools for their benefit and nothing more. I personally wouldn’t want to be tethered to one whom I can’t understand properly.”

Was he actually showing concern? Did Merlina intimidate him that much? And Angie was the weaker version. Would her real self be on another level of unease? It was kind of funny, in a way. Since he viewed Merlina as way stronger, but his ingrained Demon classism made him view Gelic as beneath him, just because she was two Ranks lower. And from what she’d seen of his abilities, coupled with the Ghoul fight recently, she was honestly fairly confident that she could beat him in a direct fight, unless he managed to petrify her completely.

Oddness aside, the pleasant greetings continued a minute later when Rastille arrived, having travelled separately with his truck so that they could have two vehicles for transporting them all. Very thoughtful. He introduced Himpo to Angie, who apparently had absolutely no suspicions of her, or didn’t vocalize them if he did. Though from the beginning, the muscled monkey ball didn’t seem to be overburdened with Competence or Lucidity. But he made up for it with friendliness and enthusiasm, and he was plenty strong, even clearly crushing Angie’s hand a bit when shaking.

“So would Gelic’s previous conditions work for you?” Rastille asked once the introductions were done. “I believe it was 10 Essence and $100 per kill. Then 50 Essence and $500 per hour, which we will double to 100 Essence and $1000 to accommodate the two of you.”

“Uhm, sure, that’s fine.” Angie was slow to answer, confirming everything with Gelic mentally first. It would definitely be nice when they basically shared the same brain, and she could fully think for herself with the same competencies and understanding, since it just made her look unsure about everything currently. 

Really, Gelic should be advocating for higher pay since she was now a Puck, and they’d seen her Skills, but she didn’t want to do that through a proxy. Though at the same time, it would feel weird to raise a stink, because if she were a Sect Summoner, this would just be a duty and not a paid job. They likely didn’t pay for Abstainers or outside help for Malignant Hunts usually, so adding extra expense just for Merlina’s presence definitely showed that they were putting value in it, even if they expected nothing from her. Not to mention that they’d already paid her generously for the Malignant Geyser and Circle drawing work, so it’d feel bad to lean too much into their generosity.

“Good, then if we can do anything else to accommodate you while you’re with us, please let us know.” Rastille made sure to emphasize that point, pausing a moment for possible feedback that didn’t come. “Then we can begin. This is our first location for the night, and we expect to go to at least one more, depending how things go. But this is our top priority for the hunt.”

Gelic spoke up this time, finding it easier and in line with her previous curiosities. “So it was on purpose that you had us meet up by this hospital then.” When he’d texted her the location, she’d of course noticed the hospital’s proximity, but had hoped it to just be a convenient rendezvous point. Sadly, that was not the case. Angelica wasn’t a huge fan of hospitals, or anything medical in general, coupled with the vast swaths of people all feeling like they had more valid reasons to be there compared to her, it was just not a good time for her anxiety. Being able to hide as Gelic definitely helped the matter, and hopefully Angie would feel better since she was playing a role as well. But the idea of using magic openly in such confined, populated quarters was definitely offputting.

“Yes, apparently quite a nest has entrenched since the Geyser,” Rastille explained. “We had a scout walk through this morning, and they counted around thirty. And that was just in the public and visible areas. There’s probably a few more in staff sectors and likely a good chunk in closed patient rooms. Those are the ones we really need to worry about. Obviously, having a Malignant drain them isn’t helping their conditions or recovery, and getting access to those rooms won’t prove easy as well for us, so the Demons will have to handle the more subtle aspects.”

“I take it we’re splitting up then?” Vystal inquired.

“Yes, we’ll do Merlina and I, and you and Sperado. Then we’ll meet up on the roof where the ones who have outgrown the main building are probably camping out.”

“Ah, why can’t I go with the new girl?” Sperado complained. “I’m the most senior one here. Surely it would be best for me to pass on my wisdom.”

“Well, you’re not the only Apprentice anymore,” Vystal touted. “And are you going to be the one leading the way, calling Eliah to take care of matters when she is too inexperienced? If you have so much energy, why don’t we just let you handle it all.”

“Erm… on second thought, the teams sound like a good division of manpower.” The man retracted his suggestion. With the plan made, the four of them and the Demons in their entourage made the short walk to the hospital. About halfway, Vystal and Sperado veered off since the hospital was conveniently divided into two wings based on level of care. They were heading to the more serious side.

“Here.” Rastille suddenly handed Angie a small leather-bound folio, with a quick peek inside showing a bunch of cards and documents. “You probably won’t need it, but just in case. It has a lot of identification documents, business cards, work requests, and the like. The head of staff knows we’re coming, so they should have made arrangements, but the lie is that we’re inspectors for a credentials survey. That should keep most people out of our way and allow us into any restricted areas without question. It’s the top card when you open it if anyone asks.”

“Okay, thanks, that’s really smart,” Angie said of her own volition. “I wouldn’t have thought of that, or even know where to get them.”

“Yes, that’s definitely a benefit of being in a Sect.” The conversation ended there, but Gelic wondered if it was a specifically planted line to help sell the idea. Maybe not one that had been rehearsed, but rather that Pathos had perhaps asked them to put a shiny wrapping on everything they did while she was with them. 

Within moments of them stepping into the lobby, Rastille nudged his neck toward the ceiling, prompting Himpo to suddenly act and vault upward, grabbing onto one of the light panels. He then used his other hand to reach out and snatch the Malignant that was just chilling, and squeezed it to Essence in less than a second, like he was squishing a bug. 

Up until that point, Gelic hadn’t turned on Malignant Tracker, not wanting to get distracted by any ahead of time that may not have been part of their hunt. And when she activated it, the sheer number of sudden itches that pricked her body made her skin crawl. They really were surrounded. 

It didn’t take long for them to get past the main desk. Rastille spoke a few words to the clerk, pulled out one of the cards from his own folio, and they were waved back with no further questions. Gelic took the lead on the next kill. A lizard-looking Malignant was chilling in a potted plant, so she fired a very thin ice needle into its neck, killing it in one hit. She made sure to Salvage the leftover ice as soon as possible to leave no evidence behind. And it raised a question that she figured it was better for Merlina to ask, otherwise, Rastille may wonder why Gelic didn’t just ask her master.

“Hey, I’m still new to all this,” Angie made sure to reiterate, whispering closely to the man once they were a bit more isolated. “But how well can those without Magical Proficiency see spells, like Gelic’s ice she just used?”

“Hmm, it can vary.” The man gave the gist answer, looking ready to move past it, but then paused, before turning and leaning into his deeper teacher side to explain more thoroughly. He likely remembered Gelic’s own ignorance in previous matters, and his probable standing order to be as helpful to Merlina as possible. 

“In general, most magic won’t be seen by normal humans. But if they directly interact with it, such as bumping into it or being hit, then there is a chance they may see it fully or vaguely as long as that interaction continues. And in rare cases, if the exposure is extreme, it can awaken latent Magical Proficiency. To answer what I assume is your more immediate concern, it should be fine for Gelic to use her ice as much as she needs to in here, as long as it doesn’t hit anyone or leave lasting damage. We should definitely avoid leaving behind any serious traces as well.”

The killing carried on for a while, mostly through hallways and a few storage closets. There was a good bit of action when they entered the hospital’s cafeteria, centered around the couple of folks sitting down at the tables, mostly sipping on coffee, very tired due to whatever issues they or a loved one were dealing with. The literal anklebiters latched onto their legs sucking away their stagnant mana, draining their energy with it, certainly weren’t helping. And while they were there, inspecting the kitchen itself, and more importantly, the dumpster outside of it, there was a whole family of vermin-like Malignants that were ripe for culling.

“Hey, umm, why have these ones been so… slow?” Gelic asked once they made their way back inside. “The Malignants were fought last time were a lot livelier, and most actually tried to put up a fight. These are just kind of… existing. Not really doing anything.”

“It’s because they’re full.” Rastille stated crudely, clearly vexed by the thought as well. “Hospitals are practically prime feeding grounds for them. A high population with many that just lay around all day, and I’ve heard that the sick have a higher rate of mana stagnation since it’s being circulated less naturally. We really shouldn’t have it get this bad.” He seemed to be chastising himself more than anyone.

“Don’t worry, we’ll fix it right up and get rid of them all.” Angie took the initiative to try to make him feel better, even giving him an affirming pat on the back. That… probably wasn’t something Angelica would have done, mostly due to her anxiety, but her younger self clearly wasn’t hindered by it as much. But there was of course always the fear that it could be taken the wrong way. 

More than once had a male friend mistaken her kindness for feelings, and damn, it was always so awkward. That was especially escalated because she never even considered it, having her own crushes that were nowhere in their scope, so it never registered that someone outside of it might develop emotions for her. Thinking back, all of that combined had definitely not helped her burgeoning social issues. 

It kind of made her wonder how others perceived them walking around together in the hospital. The lie to the staff was that they were coworkers, and it should end there. No one else knew that, though, and the two of them looked nothing alike. They were around the same age, or looked that way with Merlina’s purposefully aged-up appearance. So did others think they were just friends, distant relatives, or maybe something more? She wasn’t going to correct any misgivings, since it was just a more curious wondering. 

And if they did, she could certainly do worse than him. He was kind, helpful, earnest, strong, and assertive, basically all she could ask for. And honestly, if he was a woman, he’d definitely be her type. Especially the strong and assertive part. That, uhh… yeah. Stuff like that was good. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Angelica couldn’t change who she was or her preferences, and that wasn’t even remotely taking any of his feelings into account. It was quite possible she was nowhere amongst his tastes too, or if he was even interested in that sort of thing. Regardless, hopefully they could be good friends or confidants. So good on Angie for taking the initiative. 

“Yes, and we’ll strive to do better next time.” The large man nodded in agreement, highly unlikely that he was having any of the same random musings and was taking this all far more seriously than her. “And now’s where it gets trickier,” he mentioned as they approached the first patient room. “Ideally we need to get in there and dispatch the Malignant without opening the door.”

“Don’t worry, Gelic can handle it.” So nice of Angie to volunteer her without checking. The girl was getting ahead of herself in more than one way. Not that Gelic wouldn’t be fine with doing it, and it was nice that she was acting independently, but a bit more cohesive teamwork would be nice. Oh well. Time for some even sneakier tactics.