[SS 2.75] Excision (Part 3/3) (Patreon)

“So Pathos mentioned that you had a lot of promise, but ultimately turned her down in the end. Can I ask why?” Apparently, this was the girl talk that Vystal wanted to have. The two ladies were sitting up front in a rather nice sedan with the Demons in the back. At least they didn’t all have to cram onto the scooter that Gelic had seen used previously.

“Umm, I didn’t quite turn her down, I’d say,” Angie argued, serving as Gelic’s mouthpiece. “That’s why I’m here now and was helping out with some other stuff. For joining the Sect, though, I’m not exactly disinterested, but my current situation is a bit complicated. And it makes joining anyone officially somewhat difficult.”

“Is that because of your mentor?” Vystal took a bit of a wild, but not wholly off-the mark swing. “She mentioned that it seemed like you originally had someone fairly powerful either teaching or backing you.”

“Well, she’s definitely a factor, I suppose. But… it’s not really something I can or really want to get into.” Hopefully with that, Angie would be set free from the uncomfortable corner.

“Sorry, it’s just…” Apparently it was Vystal’s turn to struggle for words. “Being scouted by Pathos was so life changing for me. It got me out of a very bad situation, and I’ve never once regretted leaving everything behind. So in a lot of ways, you could say she saved me. Then… seeing someone else in a bad situation and having my perspective, it makes it difficult for me to comprehend why they wouldn’t make the same choice. But I’m sure our circumstances are quite different, and it’s not right of me to judge.

“You seem to revere Pathos quite a lot,” Angie added. “Not just your words, but it’s clear you look up to her in all regards.”

“Yes, well…” The woman blushed. “She’s my idol in a lot of ways. Still, if there’s anything I could do to potentially alleviate concerns, or if there’s any questions you may have from someone not a part of their leadership, I’d be happy to answer anything.”

“Uhh, I guess I have two questions,” Angie relayed. “If I were to join, would I be put with you guys, or would I be put with another group since I’m just a Novice? You three are all Apprentices now, right?”

“Yes, we are,” she confirmed. “Though Rastille just barely passed. I thought his Circle was going to peter out, but it held. He has Gelic to thank for that, or rather you, to be more specific. As for where they’d place you, yes, the standard operation would be to put you in a new group, or possibly set you as the leader of your own. But if you wanted to join ours, I imagine Pathos could make that happen, and we’d be happy to have you. While we haven’t really gotten to see what you’re capable of, I can tell you’d be reliable. And… it’d be nice to have another girl around.”

“Ah, that does actually bring up another question,” Angelica’s proxy mentioned. “Who actually is the leader of your group? I thought it was Rastille, but Gelic told me that you led the Malignant Geyser mission.”

“We alternate,” Vystal explained. “Who leads can be based on a lot of factors, such as what the job is, who would be the best fit naturally, whether someone is connected to the mission somehow, or if they just plain want to. For routine stuff like this, though, we regularly rotate between Rastille and I. Sperado is left out of it for now since he can’t participate as much, but he used to do it too.”

Gelic cut in, “I find that hard to picture.”

“Well…” Vystal clearly took a moment trying to choose the best words. “He’s more capable than he comes across, and has his own strengths. I certainly wouldn’t call him the best at using Demons, or fighting, but he has a certain mind for logistics. He’s very good at knowing when something won’t work or will be a problem, and is always able get to the root of the issue. Basically, he can see through the scuff that people are spewing better than anyone else. …sorry for being so crass. It’s just the best way to describe it. And if I’m keeping count correctly, I think you said you have one more question.”

“Err, yeah.” Angie struggled with this one, trying to properly convey what the heck her real body meant by the question. “So umm, like, what’s the point?”

“Excuse me? I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“I mean, uhh, the Sect? What is the point of the Sect? What’s the end game, the grand design? Why does Zenmoon do what it does? What’s the point, the reason it exists?”

“Ah, our mission statement, you mean,” Vystal boiled it down into more appropriate but boring business words. “I guess you could say that the point for us is to survive. It may be different for a lot of Sects out there, with their own schemes like you said, but that’s not really the case for Zenmoon. I can’t speak for everyone, of course, just my own experiences and what I’ve seen. Maybe our highest Ranks do have their own machinations. But for us… this is a cruel world.

“Quite a few of Zenmoon's recruits are from less than ideal situations, or from other Sects they didn’t mesh well with. Almost everyone has a past they either don’t want to talk about or won’t stop talking about. Then on top of that, we’re in a world where Demons are real, and only a few of us are burdened with seeing them, knowing the truth. So we use that to our advantage to turn our lives around.

“Yes, I won’t deny there’s self-serviance, but that’s not why we do what we do every day. A lot of Sects aren’t out there cleaning up the roaming Malignants that aren’t directly on their turf, even in this city. Zenmoon often serves as peacekeepers and mediators. I can’t go into too much detail, but… Part of what Pathos was involved with out in the Middle-West was trying to stop a world war. That’s the sort of thing we strive for. I guess, keeping everyone safe, while keeping ourselves safe and prosperous, for us, that is the point.”

“I see…” Angie paused a moment to let Gelic dwell on the oddly passionate and long answer. “I can definitely understand wanting to be part of something like that.” She genuinely could, though was still conflicted, her selfish inclinations wanting to win. “It’s not that I’m against it, and… maybe someday, but right now, there’re still some things I need to figure out.” Most importantly, the issues with her Circle and how to not get caught if she did join.

Their discussion twisted away after that, eventually even reaching the realm of girly topics, but never quite diving deep. It was hard to talk about things like clothes or any material things when Angelica just used Transfiguration most of the time, and had never been too fashionable otherwise. That, and their levels of societal class were so different that common ground would be hard to find. 

“Some kind of industrial park?” Angie inquired when they approached their second destination.

“Yes, there are a lot of factories and the like here for various corporations,” Vystal elaborated. “Many of them are the type that run all day and night, so worker exhaustion and burnout aren’t uncommon. Yet there has been a spike in reports from every facility without exception over the past few weeks.”

“Meaning Malignants.”

“Yes, likely quite a few. Fortunately, to alleviate these relative concerns, each corporation has decided to give their entire staff leave for the evening to rest and recover. Meaning someone on our end made a deal with them so that we could have the place all to ourselves.” 

The four Summoners grouped up together again, though very briefly. “We’re going to split up,” Rastille directed. “There’s a lot of buildings here, so even if we went in pairs, it would take all night. Vystal and I will go with each of our Demons. Merlina, obviously we want you near Gelic, but these factories can be dangerous, so it would probably be best for you to wait outside them. And we’ll send Sperado with you to keep you safe while he deals with any of the stragglers roaming around.”

“Oh yes, I will keep you quite safe, Miss Merlina. No worries about that.” At least from past experiences, Gelic knew that he was actually a pretty good shot with the crossbows he was currently assembling. Otherwise, just from the day’s impressions, she’d probably fear winding up with a bolt in her body as collateral damage. 

They all wandered off in various directions. It didn’t really matter which one she picked, since Malignant Tracker showed them as surrounded once more. Just glancing around, she even caught a few hanging out on rooftops, one of which Sperado sniped rather proficiently right when it had her attention, like he was trying to impress her. Which did kind of work.

“Just ignore him if he tries to flirt with you, or maybe stick to small talk. Call me if anything else goes wrong, or you’re in trouble.” Gelic gave her Duplicate standing orders before heading into the closest factory. It was a cannery for… huh, catfood. And it was Cherub’s preferred brand too. What were the odds? Well, pretty high actually, since it was in every store. But that could very well be due to it being a local brand, which she never knew until this very moment. 

Even though she was fine on money, the temptation to steal some was rising. Surely a few cans, or maybe a pallet-load would be worth their Malignant problem being solved. Hush now Demon Malice, we don’t need to commit Greed for something as cheap as catfood. And while it probably wouldn’t cut into their profits to a noticeable degree, surely it would ruin someone’s day trying to fix the inventory error. 

Glancing around, Gelic could see several Malignants poking out from their hiding spots. It was going to be a pain trying to hunt down each one, especially since they were keeping to themselves. Taking them out was a lot easier when they’d actively attack her. Were they being passive because they were full, or because they now saw her as a real threat? Well, she knew how to put a spring in their step. Gelic cast Malignant Bait at its maximum level, which had apparently gone up during its hospital use. 

That covered a bit more than half of the factory in its radius, making Malignants crawl out of the woodwork. They came at her in droves. Even though they all looked pretty weak, when combined into a horde of around two dozen, that was still enough to make her internally clench a bit. Fortunately, dispatching them was no bother at all. Just to be sure she didn’t miss any, Gelic spawned two more eyes, one on each side of her mask as far back as it would go, just to remove any threat of being ambushed from behind.

A single cast of Biting Hailstorm was all it took. Thin poisoned ice needles appeared all around her and shot out like a grenade exploding, flinging shrapnel in every direction. Each one hit their mark precisely thanks to Seeking Projectile, and those that weren’t killed immediately by the piercing damage were subdued a second later from their Toxic stacks. A shower of Essence trailed back along the same path of the projectiles, bathing her in what they’d stolen from humans. 

It was kind of ludicrous how much stronger she’d gotten. Her mind went back to the first Malignant she ever faced, that three-headed snake, and how she’d struggled—her body literally forcing itself to fight back with every ounce of strength and ability it had. And now, she didn’t even need an Order to guide her. It was all innate, the result of how much she’d grown. Since what she’d used was a decently levelled Combo Skill as well, the whole act had only cost her roughly a hundred MP, a good exchange for that much destruction, and way cheaper than if she’d cast those shots one at a time.

With another glance of the stragglers, there was nothing that’d give her a challenge, so Gelic decided to try another test. Back during the Malignant Geyser, she’d tried out Starvation to no real effect, but had also killed that same Malignant shortly after. What if she amped up the potency, and maxed out the stacks of Hunger she could apply? She picked the closest Malignant that she could sense, and the results were… unpleasant. 

The bipedal mammal, sort of a sheep thing, suddenly scrambled out of its hiding spot and made a rush for a stack of catfood cans. It bit straight into the metal shell, doing its best to rip the shards away from the food with its hooves while it chomped, devouring every scrap regardless. It ate at least three cans before another Malignant came over, curious about what was being consumed, and… as it turned, it was next on the list.

Apparently, if hungry enough, cannibalism wasn’t off the menu. The sheep monster dove straight into its comrade like it was a juicy slab of meat, and tore it to death immediately. Gelic tried to interrupt the gruesome act, but by then, the prey had already been killed and consumed, its floating essence going into its fellow Malignant just like it would a Demon. She cast Malignant Bait on it once more, moving just a bit towards it to make sure it was the only one, not wanting to divert her attention from it for even a second. 

It charged at her, of course, but it was the most ravenous she had ever seen. Even those starving stump Malignants outside of Adora’s cabin hadn’t been as vicious. It was gluttony incarnate, only able to think of one thing, if such impulses could even be considered as thoughts. Gelic put it out of its misery quickly, not really wanting to see what something so starved could do to her damage-wise.

There were still a couple of Malignants left, so she could do more tests. It kind of felt like she was on the cusp of a Combo Skill, something involving making Malignants go berserk. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to go down that path any further. And her mind was made up to clear them out quickly when she got a mental message from Angie, one that sort of felt that it wasn’t meant to leak over.

“Ugh, so annoying.”

“Everything alright out there, Angie?”

“Yeah… There’s more Malignants than we expected, but Sperado is doing fine. He’s kind of the problem, though. Each time he kills one, he’s acting like some valiant savior, saying he won’t let anything harm me, treating me like some damsel in distress. It’s getting old fast, and it’s frustrating. Especially because I’m definitely stronger than him.”

“Alright, I’ll be out in a moment. And then we’ll see if we can change his perception.”