Chương 86: [2.12] Accomplice (Part 3/3)

"Uhh… is that all you've got?" Despite Gawk's welcome invitation to be brutally assaulted by his peer, Angelica wasn't as eager. She started with a few light jabs into his hide, err, shell-like exterior.

"Ah, wait, that… gah!" Gelic had been repeatedly prodding at him with her new claws, barely more than a tap each time so as to not seriously hurt him, trying to get Venomous Strike to proc. It triggered on the seventh hit, which was just about on par with the odds of the Skill at Lv. 1. [Gawk | Poisoned: Irritant - 2 Stacks] The flying eye immediately dove to the ground, rubbing his exterior where he'd been stung, desperately scraping his shell against the stony floor.

Apparently, Irritant was a rather effective poison, after all, and only at two stacks. That, or Gawk just wasn't used to such things.

"Maybe you should try using Molting?" She suggested, not wanting to see her friend writhe around more than he had to. A second later, she watched his shell shed a thin layer, which dissolved into nothingness once it fell away from his body. That instantly cleared the message, and he began to fly again, clear relief in his pupil.

"Ah, thanks, forgot about that. Wow, that was sooooo itchy. My eye was often itchy after I was born, since debris kept getting into it, and Molting doesn't work for it. But now it's quite resilient, definitely more so than the rest of my body, so maybe you should try that Skill on my eye so we can see the result?"

"Uhh, really?" After the anguish he'd just been through, he was offering that way too eagerly.

"If you're sure." This time, Gelic went for a Bug Bite. Instinctively, her proboscis wanted to be what jabbed him in the eye, but she was able to wrestle away the feeling and redirect it to her claws. It was a gentle poke into the sclera, which he didn't really seem to mind or notice—resiliant indeed—but that strong exterior didn't hold up once the Irritant was injected. [Gawk | Poisoned: Irritant - 9 Stacks] Whoops. She, uhh, hadn't meant to do that many.

Gelic hadn't specified the amount of stacks, so maybe the max was the default for that Skill.

"Gahhh!" Gawk felt it all at once, letting out a piercing shriek. Like before, he was back to grinding himself against the ground, but this time it was his eye straight against the stone. They seemed to be wearing off pretty fast, at least, with each one clearing after a few seconds. His eye really was quite strong and durable, especially compared to his shell which felt like it should be significantly sturdier.

"Okay, I'm good!" He was back up once more a few moments later, but his eye was clearly still not in the best shape, red and steaming from the tears it had exuded that were quickly evaporating. Irritant was proving even better than she thought, basically her own version of stunning if it left her opponents crippled like that.

"Is there anything else you want to test?" Gawk really was too nice for his own good.

"Uhh, yeah, one more thing, I guess." All that was left to test, at least with the aid of another Demon, was Potent Toxic. That shouldn't hurt him as much, just make his Health go kaboom, if it worked like she thought. But how to apply it? She could just touch him and apply it directly, but that was inefficient on her MP. More specifically, could she imbue her claws like an external weapon and use those? There were two likely possibilities if she tried it.

The first, her claws would count as her own body, and she'd just stupidly poison herself. This would be the place to test that, since it wouldn't be putting her own life at risk, but she was still hesitant because of the second likelihood. Which was that they did in fact count as an inanimate object she could imbue, but since she didn't have any sort of cleanse Skill, if such a thing existed, she'd be stuck with poison hands for a good while until the stacks cleared themselves naturally.

Maybe it was something she could come back and try another time when she wasn't with someone. Which meant the solution was her usual tried and true ice. Or was it? To test, she spawned just a plain old icicle in her clutches, and it began to steam immediately. A moment later, it easily snapped between her claws. So it would work, but she'd just have to be fast with it while in Hell. The rapidly steaming residue on her hands made her shiver.

Or, actually, wait, it was something else; her whole body, or rather, Suspecting Skin.

"The rest will have to wait, Gawk. I'm getting a weird feeling."

"Oh, what's it feel like?" Gelic glanced over to the circle where they'd entered from, currently occupied by a new arrival.

"Trouble."

"Pahahaha, I was wondering who they'd put me with in the Training Grounds to test out my new Skills with, but it turns out it was just a pair of puny Pucks!" A lengthy lizard-like Demon came quickly skittering over to their location, dragging itself across the ground with its surprisingly bulky forearms, bluster in both its words and face. Since it had been so rude as to scry them—or maybe that was fine here since it was sort of like a battlefield—Angelica went ahead and returned the favor.

[Demon | Alias: Acher | Demon Rank: Hellion Lv. 1 / 40] So they were a freshly Evolved Hellion, wanting to try out their powers just as she and Gawk had. Nothing wrong with that. But this one was burdened with a much bigger ego than other Demons she'd met lately. It made her wonder if they'd have the same level of arrogance if it were Gremlins or Ghouls who were already in the room.

"Now, be good and stand still so I can test these out on you!" Acher demanded, half-laughing, half-serious.

"You can try to fight back if you want. I'll even take you both on, since even that won't be enough to challenge me!" Yeesh, was one Rank of difference really so huge that it made them act like they were untouchable? During the big Malignant battle, there was definitely disparity between a Ghoul like Eliah and the rest of the crowd. But even as an Imp, Gelic had pulled far more than her own Rank compared to all the Hellions. Or was she just a special case?

"Taste my quake!" Apparently it was time to find out. Acher haunched up onto its hind legs for a moment, making them tower above the two Pucks. At the very least, they were definitely quite a bit bigger than most other Hellions she'd come across. Xinder was a bulky bird, but probably only about half the size of this unwelcome fellow. Around the Hellion's chunky forearms, even bulkier armor made of rocks spawned, gifting them with a pair of gritty gauntlets just as tall as the rest of its body.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Acher slammed its fists down, and the ground rippled outward in two cones, one toward each of the Pucks. Gawk was able to flap out of harm's way fairly easily, but things were a bit more difficult for Gelic. Since she was landbound, it didn't quite knock her off her feet, but it destabilized her stance enough that it made it difficult to try to bounce.

Maybe she could Jump Good toward the ceiling or something, but before she could make up her mind, sharp stalagmites spiked out of the ground toward her, making her buggy instincts kick in. Her wings flapped frantically, hoisting her off the jittery ground, making her Bumble out of harm's way. More spikes chased after her, but her quick movements were able to keep ahead of them.

This was definitely a scenario where flight was definitively better than bouncing, especially since there was no telling if the spikes could also suddenly pop out of the walls or ceiling, impaling her at high speeds. Let's try out this Accomplice thing. DGS, call Gawk.

"Woah, Gelic, hi! You can hear me, right? I got a message saying you wanted to talk. What's up?" He sure was acting nonchalant despite being regularly attacked, even looking happy that his friend had called him. Though since he was flying higher than her, meaning the spikes apparently had to focus more to build bigger, their opponent was mostly focusing on the buzzing pest, and she intended to keep it that way.

"Stay out of reach, Gawk," Gelic directed, hoping he'd be willing to cooperate with her.

"I'll keep him busy while you charge up for a Stunning Gaze, and then I'll go in for some damage."

"Got it!" He agreed without question, and his eye began to glitter. Before keeping up her end of the deal, Angelica added one last touch to help in their endeavor, though it was likely unneeded. A simple Order: Beat this fool, ten Essence. [Current Contract: Put the arrogant Demon in their place | Reward: 10 Essence] Apparently the Demon Growth System not only agreed with her assessment, but encouraged the act. Now she had to not disappoint it.

Gelic could have made it a Named Order for extra assistance, but she had a pretty decent idea of how to defeat the Hellion. [Fluttering Bumble Lv. 5] [Competence increased] [Balletic Attunement increased] And that helped already. She was still getting used to her Puck form, especially her wings and flying, meaning her Bumble usage really was bumbling, and her dodging thus far was more directional spazzing.

But even just that one level upped her control immensely, making her wonder how terrible it'd be right out the box. After dodging the latest set of spikes, she retreaded over some ground that had already been punctured. The stalagmites popping up all over, piercing through the surface layer of the Training Grounds, had left plenty of rubble lying around. How did the damage get fixed? Demon Magic, probably. A concern for Hell's janitorial staff.

Gelic buzzed her way over the crumpled stones and scooped up some rocks with her claws. She pelted one toward Acher, rather poorly since it wasn't like throwing it with her fingers, but it didn't matter. Seeking Projectile! It flew straight and true, smacking the lizard Demon bang in the middle of their forehead, making them reel. If she knew it would hit so easily, maybe she would have gone ahead and poisoned it, but she didn't want to reveal her hand just yet. It was enough to aggravate them, though.

The Hellion raised back and slammed down once more, this time sending all the spikes in Gelic's direction, completely ignoring Gawk, whose eye was steadily getting brighter—really charging up his Skill this time. Both waves of spikes started chasing after her, making it even more difficult to dodge. But once she was moving at a good clip again, she pelted the rest of the rocks in her possession. Not wanting another face full of stone, Acher actually made an attempt to defend themself.

The rocky gauntlets grew a bit in size, which it used to cover its head entirely, another reason she wasn't lacing them with Toxic, because she doubted the armor counted as part of the Demon's body. And they even defended further, launching up several spikes in front of them to block the remaining rocks, proving quite deft at their new Skill. If it all wasn't a ploy, Angelica would honestly be a bit irritated. And apparently they had even more tricks.

The stalagmites stopped coming for a moment, but the ground didn't cease its rumbling. Gelic continued to bumble around, trying to escape whatever was coming for her next, but the quaking chased her wherever she went. And then it breached through the floor; a giant stone pillar directly underneath her feet that shot up with blazing speed. She was caught in its momentum, and in moments, she was about to be a squashed bug on the ceiling. But there was no need to worry.

The bolt of light launched from Gawk's eye, piercing straight through the Hellion in a blink. Acher froze immediately, and so too did the stone pillar, apparently an attack they needed to continuously control. Gelic had been prepared either way, and even used the sudden stop, which launched her skyward, to propel her momentum even more, well over her enemy and their defenses with a pre-planned Jump Good.

[Toxic Engaged] She did a flip in the air, looking back down at the lizard, picking her target as a spot just above its tail, about to be a literal pain in its ass. Biting Hailstorm! Could it really be called a storm when it was just two icy projectiles? More of a sprinkle, but two was all she'd need. Those two icicles turned out to be ridiculously expensive, however. Hopefully, it would work as she suspected, making it worth the cost Scuffing Hell. Angelica winced as she watched her MP plummet.

The first was already pretty pricey, since thirty five stacks of instant Toxic Imbuement was nothing to scoff at, eating a small but respectable percent of her now decent well of Manifest Points, and she sent the first icicle on its way before it would melt. The second, tainted with Potent Toxic, drank up about ten percent of her overall MP, maybe three or four times more than the base one. At least it wasn't a multiplier of thirty-five times, since that's what she'd be inflicting.

The first struck the Hellion right in the tuchus, making them let out a bit of a satisfying yelp from the piercing shard. [Acher | Poisoned: Toxic - 35 Stacks] And then the second smacked them a mere moment later, unable to even try to dodge because of their lingering paralysis [Acher | Poisoned: Toxic - 1, 225 Stacks] Angelica scried the absurd number for just a glimpse before it was suddenly gone, purged from the Hellion's system, but not due to some Skill.

No, Acher's body immediately flopped to the floor after a second, even more satisfying shriek, cured of all their Status Conditions, but at the cost of all their Health. [Contract Complete] [Lost 10 Essence] [Gained 10 Essence] The green glow that had been around them, the sign of their fake health, turned black and began to pulse.

And above Acher's head appeared a few numbers that were counting down, assumedly a timer of how long it'd be until their Health was restored and they could move again, clocking in at just above two minutes. [Irritant engaged] But Gelic had no plans to stick around and see what stupid thing their new rival would try next. She did another Jump Good in mid-air, over to Gawk's location, and landed next to him with a Flutter.

"Good job with your stun, it was great!" She made sure to praise him.

"Now, should we go get some food?"