Abyssal Awakening

"Erick of the Zenia house welcomes three esteemed Lords." Erick took the initiative to greet the three of them with a slight bow as they glanced over to him for a brief moment.

Their gaze didn\'t last long before looking towards the Academy.

"Mnm. Prepare to enter the Inverted World, we\'ll deliver the news to the Principal." The woman nodded her head and took the lead.

Giving the three a bow, Erick gestured the others to follow behind them.

"Which nation do each of them belong to?" Alice whispered to Erick curiously.

Without Cayla acting as her source of information, it was hard for her to see what kind of Lord they were.

"Lady Renna belongs to Extalia and is part of the King\'s guard. Lord Kizen is part of the eastern nation while the largest stature amongst them, Lord Urigar, belongs to the North. All of them are high ranking Queens and Kings guard to ensure that the principal listens to the order properly without pulling anything strange." Erick explained, understanding that Alice must be curious about the Lords.

However, what surprised him more was how she could keep her composure despite their pressure.

Selen and the others that are part of his group had seen Lords before so it was only natural for them to be used to their presence.

But Alice? No ordinary Three Sigil Hunter can compose themselves in front of this aura.

To Erick, the mysteries around Kale Grani continued without stop. Her twisted mind was comparable to the Scholars in the Zenia family, her combat ability put her on par with the guards and her unknown background.

Even though they couldn\'t use the Underground anymore, the Zenia family still had a good intelligence network. Yet even with this, it\'s as though she just appeared out of nowhere.

Had it not been for the fact that Alice signed the Law of Agreement, he wouldn\'t have been able to rest easy around her.

Indeed, the moment she signed the Law of Agreement everything was determined.

As they followed behind the Lords, Alice wondered if Kaden was watching everything happen. But since he was dealing with potential leads to Allura\'s recovery, she doubted he had the luxury to keep an eye on her.

The only possibility would be the Raven feather he gifted her but Alice didn\'t want to trouble Kaden time and time again. This current situation was one where she could resolve it without his help.

\'Have you not found a method to collapse the Inverted World yet?\' Alice asked but Cayla shook her head.

[there hasn\'t been another case that\'s remotely close to the scale of the current Inverted World. Due to its sheer size and destructiveness, it achieved a miraculous balance that allows people to peer deeper and further into history than a standard entrance.

[Other similar cases can only focus on one point in time, naturally occurring entrances of the Inverted World. Dungeons for another word. But this? This is like a thousand Dungeons condensed into a single entrance. I knew it was going to be hard but this is outside of my expectations.] Cayla replied with a deep frown.

\'I see…\' Furrowing her brows, Alice sighed before nodding her head.

Since there was nothing that could be done for now, Aice simply needed to gather more information and power. Then, at the right time, she can close this damn entrance.

Thinking about this, Alice had a sudden thought.

\'Since the Lords are coming, do you think they\'re entering the Inverted World as well?\'

Tilting her head, Cayla contemplated the possibility before shaking her head.

[It\'s possible but very unlikely. In the event that the Lords indeed join this expedition, the Inverted World will react to their presence and make adjustments. If Erick is smart, he also understands that he can\'t expose the Zenia\'s plan to them and will probably suggest that they enter with just our group.]

Nodding her head in agreement, Alice let out an inward sigh before glancing over at Alyss who had been strangely silent this entire time.

\'is something bothering you?\'

\'Hm? Oh nothing. Haven\'t been much for me to comment on.\' Alyss shrugged. She was used to it. Spending time silently while watching Alice go on with her life. If anything, their interaction has been abnormal.

Neither of them should be able to talk to the other.

\'I\'ll try let you out more often after this mission okay? Sorry if I\'ve been neglecting you recently.\' Alice apologised as she too knew that she had been busy with tricking Erick.

If it wasn\'t for this, Alice would\'ve given Alyss her time of freedom at least once per day.

\'Urg... Stop saying sorry all the time. We can\'t change the state of our body in the first place. Just focus on this and repay me with some spicy meat skewers when you finish.\' Alyss huffed in annoyance.

Even though Alice seemed tough on the outside, she was prone to saying sorry too often. Perhaps it was guilt but there was nothing she could\'ve done about it in the first place.

Hearing that Alyss wanted spicy skewers as repayment, Alice nodded her head with a smile. With their body in this state, Alyss\'s time outside was very limited.

As they approached the principal\'s office, Alice could see the special grade students, department heads and their assistants looking at the Lords with wariness in their eyes.

All of them could sense the dangers of these people but dare not make a single move. Doing so meant sparking a fight between the academy and the three nations of the surface.

Pure suicide!

Standing in front of her office, Rosalyn narrowed her eyes as cold sweat covered her back. Clenching her fist, she could only grit her teeth and stay silent since she couldn\'t disobey the orders of three nations.

"What brings three esteemed Lords to my humble Academy? Unfortunately, I haven\'t prepared anything to properly welcome guests such as yourself." Rosalyn asked with a forced smile.

"There\'s no need to concern yourself with welcoming us. It\'s a very impromptu meeting after all." Renna shook her head, taking the lead and stepping into Rosalyn\'s office despite her not saying anything yet.

Stepping to the side and letting the other Lords enter, Rosalyn glanced at the staff and students before giving a small shake of her head.

Dismissing the crowd, Rosalyn gestured for the rest of Erick\'s group to enter since they came with the Lords.

Closing the door, she listened to the Order.

"Rosalyn, Crimson Witch of Ruin, despite being a beast you\'ve been given pardon and allowed to oversee this Academy. The Kingdom of Extalia is grateful for your service but a new threat has arisen. A pandemic most foul broke out in the west of Extalia, one that rots you from the inside out." Renna sat on Rosalyn\'s seat and crossed her legs.

"The strange disease is not one that can be dealt with easily and even some of the best clerics of the Moon church are struggling with containing the spread. Usage of the Inverted World for the Zenia family has been authorised. Even though you have been placed as its guardian and given a contract, I\'m sure you understand the severity of the situation right?"

It sounded nice to the ear but everyone knew it was a threat. To let her know her place and force her down.

While the pandemic was a real threat and there was no sign of falsehood in Renna\'s words, it was still forcing Rosalyn against her will despite everything she\'s done.

"I... Understand. Please allow me two days to ensure there will be no issues with the Inverted World. As you may have heard, there was a incident recently that affected the stability of the passage. If we recklessly enter, it could cause a collapse." Rosalyn bargained but Renna simply tapped her finger against the table.

"Rosalyn, I\'m saying this for your own good but don\'t force my hand. We\'ve been sent here to oversee the process and to place a new seal on the passage to ensure it\'s preservation. You do not have to worry about it\'s stability. For now, simply await further commands." Renna narrowed her eyes.

Swallowing her saliva nervously, Rosalyn bowed and nodded her head.

"...Understood."

"Gather in front of the entrance in 8 hours. That should be enough time to stabilise the entrance. After that, I hope the Zenia\'s can fulfil their side of the promise and find a solution." Renna glanced over to Erick who gave her a smile.

"Of course my Lady. The Zenia\'s will naturally use all of its power to fulfil any promises made to the nation."

Nodding her head, Renna made her way out.

The other Lords, while displeased, allowed Renna to take lead since this was technically a part of Extalia\'s territory.

Watching the Lords leave, Erick gave Rosalyn a smirk before leaving as well. Naturally, to keep up her disguise, Alice followed.

Once she was alone in her office, Rosalyn let out a shout if anger as she wrapped her chair in a swirl of blood and crushed it to pieces.

Veins bulged on her neck as she took a deep breath to calm herself.

All this time, she had maintained her stance as a subordinate to the Kingdom due to the fact that she needed the Inverted World. But if it was going to get stolen from her like this, she may as well stop holding back.

As Kaden said, she simply needed to be stronger.

After all these years, Rosalyn finally contemplated the chances of obtaining the title of Lord.