Chapter 99: It Hasn't Been A While
Leaping straight out of a way linking the ocean to the caves above, Axio put down the light he had done a detour to get as it seemed like the cave system had also been lit up, and quite well at that, the dark green moss oozing with water were clear for all to see now.
They were the ones providing the light too, the moss had become bioluminescent through some unknown means, he had no clue how pushing a lever could lead to this but he didn't complain, as he put his hands behind his ears, listening attentively for the sound of relentless hacking.
Failing to even grasp a far away echo of the old man's ruthless strikes, Axiolypito frowned, his teeth clenched against each other to form a displeased expression.
'Did the light coming on prompt him to do something else? But he is blind! It doesn't change anything for him!' he thought as he began racing through the tunnels, appreaciating having his speed back to a more normal pace, although, for some reason.
He could distinctly feel like something was holding him back from actually going to his true maximum, like an invisible cloud hampering his movements.
He hadn't noticed such a thing before...
Though he noticed that this was the speed he had always had at his best up there, he had simply failed to notice the unseen hold before, for some reason.
'Hold up...'
In fact, even though he had stayed a while up there, both in the dark and with a light, he only now realised that this cave was much more bizarre than it had been and had any right to be.
The moss in certain places had dried up and peeled off the walls, revealing what looked like blisters on the rocky walls, dark blue spots that seemed to be pulsating like a slow heartbeat.
His instincts told him not to touch them, nor to look at them for too long, it was much like when he had stared into the decorated cave, this feeling of making eye contact was beyond bizarre for Axio.
He, of all monsters, shouldn't feel such chills and be momentarily paralysed simply because he met the gaze of another, even if much more powerful, he would never freeze in such a manner and certainly not more than once.
It was like this reaction was ingrained into his very being, sewn into every fiber of his flesh down to the bones.
Axio himself wasn't afraid but his body reacted with terror, horrified at what the dark blue represented.
Still, Axio didn't forget his objective here and after doing some running around for a while, encountering dark blue flora blooming in certain parts of the cave, the moss that hadn't died off changing into the same shade and sweating out a liquid of the same sort rather than water.
Finally, he found the slef-proclaimed venator, in the process of ripping the heart of a knight out with his bare hand, having most likely punched through the armor with ease.
Pulling the still pumping heart, he threw it at the ground like trash and turned to remove his axe from the chest of another victim, the old man had actually split his skull and helm but hadn't stopped expertly after being done and instead continued to push through until he reached the heart.
He spat on the ground, no hint of blood or dark blood in his saliva, as expected, he was perfectly fine, though his focus on hearts hadn't been lost on the wretch.
"You again huh? Didn't expect the coward to came back on his own" the man taunted Axiolypito, not even sounding out of breath, even after dealing with multiple knights.
"What's happening here, old man? What do you know?" Axio questioned him, maintained a relaxed pause, knowing that the hunter didn't have what it took to be a threat.
"You don't know? Even though you reek just like it did? No, not just like it, similarly I suppose, very much the same sort of stink but no quite" the blind man seemed ready to pounce at any second, one hand grasping his axe, the other already in his pocket.
Ready to shoot another wave of bolts.
"Come on old guy, I've come to bargain" Axio forced a smile, a pity the hunter didn't have eyes to see that, he would have laughed like never before, the wretch somehow multiplied its horrible face by ten with this simple trick.
"I don't negotiate with monsters" he said that but didn't went for the kill quite yet.
"I am sure you know what all of this dark blue stuff is all about, you know, the thing that began growing everywhere for some reason" Axiolypito stayed immobile, it didn't matter whether the hunter was willing to talk or was just buying time to think of something.
As long as he answered, it would be good.
"Dark blue? Oh, pardon me but I haven't seen much for a little while now, heheheh" Axio wasn't laughing.
"Heh... You are like the venerer but you have no clue what the Abyss is? Didn't you come from it?" the old man appeared truly perplexed by this.
"Listen, I don't know what a venator or venerer is, neither the Abyss actually, why speak of it when he are already so much deeper than it?" unknowingly, Axio was on the same wavelength of knowledge as someone he would very much not like to see.
"Oh my... You truly don't know! What a fool you are! It hurts for me to say, but it seems like we are more similar than expected, I too didn't understand the dangers of the Abyss when I jumped into it" he began full-on laughing, seemed like he wasn't as sane as Axio had thought.
Just a small conversation and he was already derailing.
Suddenly, a third party joined the conversation as Axio heard a voice speaking to him in his mind as the crystal shivered.
"Truly incredible, tout simplement magnifique!" he heard clearly as he grabbed the crystal.
'What did you just say?' that was definitely another language at the end there and also, it was a new voice, a nicer sounding man that was clapping his hands.
"It isn't often that you get to see the Abyss doing such strong things, it is rather mundane but I have only one word for this particular instance: Wow!" he understood all the words this time at least, although he certainly didn't understand what this apostle was on about.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone