Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 1003: Taming A Lord

"I’ve finished placing the orders. The materials should take around four days to— hold the f*ck up."

Suyin stopped mid-sentence, confusion spreading across her face.

Perched on Lab’s shoulder, she stared at the scene in front of her with utter disbelief.

The Abyss Lord of Extalia.

The elven woman who was supposed to make sure they didn’t get into any trouble.

Was currently half-melted against the wall.

Renna leaned there like her bones had given up on maintaining her body. One arm wrapped tightly around the bottle as though someone might try to steal it from her at any second.

Her cheek rubbed against the glass as a goofy, nay, blissful smile could be seen on her face.

She was less of an Abyss Lord and more a woman who had just reunited with the love of her life.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough...

Alice had somehow acquired a tiny fan and crouched beside her. With devilish intent, she angled it just right, gently wafting the sweet aroma of the mead toward Renna.

Each soft gust carried that golden scent straight to her, wrapping around her senses and pulling her in deeper.

Ensnaring the poor woman even further.

Renna melted further.

Alice noticed Suyin and Lab’s return.

"Oh! Yo, welcome back. Did you get what you need?" She asked innocently.

"Oh! Yo my ass! What the hell did you do to her???" Suyin pointed towards Renna.

"What do you mean?" Alice blinked her eyes.

"Look!!! Look at her! Don’t look away you she devil!" Suyin pointed at Renna who was taking small careful sips of the mead.

It was truly unlike anything she had before.

And the worst part...

The part that made Cayla and Alyss pity this poor sinner who drank the devil’s mead...

Was that Alice was the only one who had this mead.

A limited supply. One that can’t be gotten anymore unless they try to recreate it through reverse engineering.

So now, this poor Lord who has gotten a taste of heaven, can never taste it again unless it was Alice who gave her another bottle.

"ARGHHHH!!!" Renna suddenly screamed as her bloodshot eyes glared at the sky.

"UWEAH!!!" Suyin screamed as well, surprised by Renna’s outburst.

"A-A-Alice did you t-try to poison her?!" Suyin panicked.

Why else would a Lord release such a blood curdling scream???

"I didn’t do anything." Alice shrugged.

Renna quickly sat up in a panic.

She stared at the bottle in her hand before turning to Alice. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Sweat dripped down her face as she had a look of pure terror in her eyes.

As though a catastrophic mistake had just been made. She hesitantly reached towards Alice.

"H-how many-"

"Just one. You’re not getting more." Alice grinned, cutting her off.

Renna’s fingers trembled. How could it be...

In her lust, in her indulgence, she had drank most of the bottle. Leaving barely a mouthful left. This rare mead, lost to time...

It should’ve been enjoyed carefully, little by little.

And yet she made the amateur mistake of drinking so much at once.

"Sh*t!!!" Renna couldn’t hold back her curse as she punched the ground.

Alice reached out, patting her on the shoulder.

"It’s okay, everyone makes mistakes like this every now and then don’t they?" Alice smiled softly, almost as though she wasn’t the one to cause all of this to begin with.

"But what matters is that you managed to stop yourself before you finished it all right? That final sip... savour it properly when the time is right."

Renna clenched her fist.

Alice was right. This final sip had to be savoured.

Storing the bottle aware carefully, she stood up.

"Whatever you need while you’re in this city, I’ll do my best to provide." She smiled.

To think that Alice would give her a bottle of such a priceless mead...

An angle!

Renna wasn’t going to be greedy to ask for more. The fact that she had gotten the chance to savour such a drink was already a miracle.

Lab was speechless, Suyin didn’t know what to say.

A Lord was tamed just like that.

Meanwhile, Cayla entertained herself with a possibility. In another world... Perhaps there would be a book written about Alice. About a girl taming weapons of mass destruction one mead bottle at a time.

She couldn’t help but chuckle at the imagery in her mind.

A goddess of mead who blessed farms with good harvest. Not because she wished for prosperity but more so to ensure her supply of mead didn’t run out.

’How stupid.’ Alyss mumbled. It was the dumbest things she had heard in a while. To think Alice’s stupidity was this infectious.

With Renna offering her help, Alice turned to Suyin and gave her a peace sign.

Suyin facepalmed.

"I’ll be working on the memory device. Since there are four days before the materials arrive, do whatever you want in that time. Let me know if sometime changes."

Without wasting any time, she jumped through the portal and Alice reapplies the camouflage.

"Do you lot have an accommodation yet? If not, would you like me to show you around? There’s an inn near the elven district with a great view of the city. Even if Miss Lab here can’t restrain her Lord aura, it wouldn’t be an issue." Renna asked, clearly more friendly than before.

"Sounds great. Is there a place where I can find some good drinks as well?" Alice grinned, making the motion for drinking with her hand.

Renna’s eyes sparkled.

"Of course I know a place. Who the hell do you think I am?" Renna grinned. "I’ve drank in all the places in this city. I know where the best stuff is hidden."

Alice laughed as she had the same look in her eyes.

Renna lifted her hand.

Alice grinned and did the same.

*CLAP!!!

Their palms struck each other with a loud clap and they were locked into a handshake.

An acknowledgement between two similar minded people.

From one alcoholic to another.

Elias had returned from his shopping trip as well. Seeing this scene, confusion dominate his mind.

What happened while he was gone???

###

"Erm... Monika." Plume called out while Monika was drinking tea in the back.

"Hm?"

It was rare for Plume to be the one to call her out. Most of the time, it was the other way around.

And in the first place, what is there for her to see? Alice hadn’t been dragged into the Nightmare for a while now. With Grand Cathia being transformed into an optional Nightmare Zone, it would be hard to have Alice enter out of her own choice.

Not to mention the fact that her next location was Thalmyra. Another experimental zone.

"Take a look at this." Plume pointed at one of the screens as Monika sighed and walked over.

But the moment she laid her eyes upon what was being projected, her body froze.

There was a strange look in her eyes. Anger? Disbelief? Confusion?

A myriad of emotions cycled but at the end, it landed on one.

Caution.

"When did this happen?" Monika asked.

"I just noticed it now. But from the way it looks..." Plume frowned. "It’s probably been going for a while now... I think."

"That damn boss... What the hell does he think he’s doing..." Monika clicked her tongue.

For Plume, it was a first. To see Monika genuinely annoyed and disturbed by what was happening.

"Erm... what should we do?" Plume asked.

Monika fell silent.

What should they do?

Easy to ask, hard to answer.

She folded her arms and summoned her staff.

Having it hover horizontally, she took a seat and crossed her legs.

"What to do..." She mumbled.

When it comes to what she wanted to do, she usually allowed the cogs to simply move at their own pace.

As an observer, there was little she can manipulate without punishment.

When she knows the future possibilities, tampering with the present too much would earn their ire.

Which only made the current situation more annoying to deal with.

Because what Nyer had done... What he has experimented with...

The cogs connected to this was far too big!

No matter what she does, the moment she decides to tamper with this, the likelihood of black chains appeared on her limbs increases drastically.

To know what is happening yet not having the power to change things.

It was in times like this that Monika wished she could turn off her ability to perceive the cogs.

Should she warn Alice? No... Doing so was a dead end.

If she makes a move carelessly, a domino effect will be created.

And... She had no role to play in the these cogs. The stage has been set, the actors chosen.

She was merely a member of the audience, chosen to observe the play before it was released publicly.

Massaging the bridge of her nose... Monika made a decision.

"Plume." She called out.

"Yes?"

"Do you trust me with your life?" Monika asked.

". . ."

Ever since Monika had found her... she had always told her to not do anything. To not stand out if she can help it. To simply watch so that she could live.

And yet now... It seems like that time was coming to an end.

As fragments of Yvael, there was only two fates open to them.

To observe and do nothing.

Or...

"Mnm. I trust you." Plume smiled happily as Monika revealed a face of guilt.

With no other choice, she leaned forward and gave Plume a hug.

"I’m sorry." Monika apologised.

Plume returned the hug.

"Do what you need to do."

With that, Monika separated from Plume. Her fingers hesitated briefly before slowly digging into Plume’s chest...