Chương 12: Failed Human Veronika Pajiri-Li

"Make me proud baby, but remember that I made you for one thing. Destroy her. Destroy her. Destroy her. DESTROY HER. Or don't bother coming home." Veronika's eyes shot open and were met with a salty sting. She was underwater, standing on the sea-floor like a rock. The perfluoroxane in her veins shone purple through her skin. It was keeping her alive, despite being the reason she couldn't float. You seem to be a little lost.

The woman's voice came from above, but Veronika could only see fish and the sun beaming into the water. Could it be the demon woman her general spoke of? That was the most likely explanation. She took a step forward, trying to get closer to the eerily soothing voice. That's it. Keep going. You'll surface eventually. Why did that sound slow her heart rate? It was already too low to begin with. The witch was probably trying to kill her before she could even reach Ring. Hehe! So cute.

If I wanted you to freeze to death in the water, I'd be making your heart skip instead. Besides, I don't operate that way. It's just not fair. As much as it pained her to admit, she did feel better when the woman talked. How pathetic. The witch hunters trained her for years. Were their efforts wasted on a poor little puppy begging for comfort? Holy shit, calm down little puppy! Hey, you thought it, not me. Just keep walking. Her fellow hunters were waiting on the island. They needed her.

She was the only one with enough perfluoroxane to resist an archwitch's powers. They sent a disposable escort with her, but Veronika had no idea where it was now. The bot probably sank too, but it wasn't burdened with the limitations of human consciousness. If it didn't break into pieces during the crash, it'd be on the island shore already. Almost there ~ you're almost there. The voice was humming now. Veronika tried to block it out as the sand started sloping uphill.

She could feel the current pushing her forward as she made her way up. Her head finally surfaced, and she saw the shore ahead. More curiously, there was a twisted beam of purple light piercing through the clouds in the sky. Beautiful. No! Heretical. She turned to the left and saw the wreckage of her tiny warship. A purple briefcase was sticking out of a nearby sand pile. Her robotic escort was sitting with its back turned from the water. Who knew how long it had been waiting.

Veronika took her first step onto actual, non-underwater land. Her leather coat was suddenly dry. She touched her head and felt her hunter's hat. She could've sworn it was gone when she woke up submerged. Welcome, welcome! You finally made it. I typically carry my pawns to shore with the current, but you were just too damn heavy. I know you witch hunters love injecting bullshit into your bodies, but you're something else. Veronika ignored the voice and walked over to her escort.

"LOA, stand up." The bot shot up and turned to her.

"Madam Veronika! You're okay, thank the Rose."

"Why were you just sitting around?"

"I-I was waiting for you…" [RINA RING!] Enough chit-chat. It's time to get your role. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Pawn registered: Veronika Pajiri-Li. Hmm… where have I heard that name before? Role: [The Witch Hunter] You've dedicated your life to murdering the masters of magic. Sure, a lot of them suck, but don't you think you're going a little overboard? I don't have much more to say about your kind. Rarity: Common.

Rank: Pawn I Perfluorohexane Infusion: This inert compound runs through your veins. It provides resistance to magic powers through being an inert chemical that does not like to react with magic. Witches will find that they need to use more energy to cast a spell on you. Even the skills I grant other pawns may require a greater cost. Wait… that's not a normal amount of perfluorohexane. What the hell happened to you? You should be dead! Damn… I pity whoever crosses your path.

WARNING: If the number of pawns with your role exceeds 5, it must be brought back down within 5 days or one will be eliminated by random chance. There are currently 7 other pawns with your role.

"Seven? I was the only witch hunter sent here." What are you talking about? You literally brought a friend with you.

"LOA? She doesn't have a soul. You can't register here."

"Uh, Madam Veronika, I did see the system earlier…" Veronika held up her finger.

"Shh." Don't tell me who I can and can't register! That machine has life-blood flowing through her, so she can access my blessings just as any flesh being can.

"Ridiculous." Veronika reached for one of the pistols she kept at her hip, but the holster was empty. The metallic corner of the purple briefcase caught the sunlight and shone into her eye. She sighed and knelt down to open it, finding both of her pistols nestled into a velvet mold.

"I don't have a purple briefcase," she said to the air in front of her.

"Explain yourself." Relax. I just gave your weapons an upgrade. All of my pawns get something special.

"I don't want anything you've touched." Technically I made all of the food on this island. Are you planning a hunger strike?

"Madam, it's probably best to go along with her for now. Your mother knew the risks when she sent you here. No one expects you to retain complete purity." Veronika didn't care about purity. That had gone out the window a long time ago. Trust was the real issue. Her pistols were her own. She assembled and modified them herself. The system had no business trying to "improve" them.

Veronika was told that the master of Ring liked to play fair, that botching a weapon would be against its code, but everyone had exceptions, even to their own rules. Oh well. She'd be testing them in a second anyway.

"Fine." She took both pistols out of the case and aimed them at LOA. She fired once and watched the bullet graze past metal skin. Woah woah woah, are we getting into a [RINA RUM-"MADAME!" LOA grabbed her arm." Please miss, I'm not your enemy!"" You saw the warning. Two witch hunters have to die. You're a witch hunter, aren't you?"" Y-yes, but I'm just one, and I'm programmed to assist you! When we find the others, you might need help killing two…" Veronika shrugged." They'll know I have to survive until my mission is complete. General Pajiri's orders."" No, you don't know that for sure. Listen, I know you don't like me, but I physically cannot betray you. The threat of death can drive anyone from the path of righteousness, even a witch hunter."" Hmph. Physically incapable?" Veronika lowered her guns." Fine. I didn't realize your loyalty programming was that strong. You can live for now. If the witch hunters here don't have a hunter unit of their own you might have a place there." LOA sighed and fell to her knees. What a shame. Veronika really wanted to kill her. She had done nothing but worry and whine the entire ship ride. The idea was to be shipwrecked, yet she kept fussing over every problem with the ship. If you're done with your lover's spat, I have a juicy skill to bless you with! I mean, seriously, you didn't even give me the chance to explain what I did to your guns before you went shooting them. Choose between [Trial by Ordeal] lvl 1 or [Guilty Until Purified] lvl 1. [Trial by Ordeal]: Choose one pawn within sight. This pawn is marked with the [Accused] condition, which forces participation in the next active Ring of Hell: an island-wide challenge that usually involves voluntary participation. If the pawn survives the Ring of Hell, the [Accused] condition changes to [Guilty], which allows any witch hunter with the [Question Extraordinary] skill to use it against the target. At level one, only one pawn may be [Accused] at any point in time. Only two pawns may be [Guilty]. [Guilty Until Purified]: Choose one pawn you've met before that you believe to be a heretic. At level one, you will know the immediate location of the target, and your attacks targeting them are 1. 5 times as powerful for six hours. If you kill the targeted pawn while this skill is active, you regain half of their resonance and resistance points. This skill costs half of your resistance points and can only be used once a week. It will only work on pawns that you GENUINELY believe are heretics. Choose wisely, little Pajiri. I'm so excited to play with you. I've missed your mother dearly. Never tell her I said that.