CHAPTER 851: ZENIA SECRETS

Alice sat on her bed with her legs crossed.

A deep frown visible on her face as she listened to the information that Elias shared from just outside her window.

"Based on your silence I’m guessing you know something and this is not good at all." Elias asked as Alice scratched her hair.

"It’s... Complicated. But yes, if the Zenia’s are doing this much then something is definitely up and nothing good at that. Let’s buy a few samples. If I can figure out what’s inside the blood vials then maybe I can hint on what they’re trying to do." Alice sighed and stood up.

"Can’t you explain a little more before we go? I’ll be honest, treading into the dark like this is a little bit... rough even for me."

Scratching her chin, Alice nodded, gesturing for Elias to step in.

"First of all. What do you consider to be a ’perfect’ specimen when it comes to bonding with Abyss Blood."

"A... perfect specimen?" Elias was a little confused.

"Yes. If you could make a perfect human who is compatible with Abyss Blood, what kind of powers do you want them to have?" Alice clarified.

Folding his arms, Elias leaned back.

When it comes to Abyss Blood, there were several variants. Some gave permanent buffs such as physical power, some were temporary.

But what was a constant risk was the dangers of side effects. Depending on your own resistances, you may experience side effects on your 20th vial or you might experience it on your first.

Once a side effect manifests, it’s basically there for life. Counter agents are only there to make it a little more manageable, not get rid of it.

"I guess If I had to design a person... It would be immunity to side effects. Ah but then the vessel might not be strong enough to handle the changes within the body." Elias scratched his chin.

"You guessed correctly. At once point, Zenia’s had such a specimen in their possession. However, due to certain events, the specimen managed to escape and now they’re trying to recreate that miracle." Alice nodded.

Hearing this, Elias blinked his eyes.

"Wait... What?"

"At one point, the Zenia’s had a specimen who is was exactly as you described. Of course, it wasn’t immunity to side effects. The side effects still occurred. The only difference was that the body managed to repair itself, purging the side effects." Alice clarified.

"What about the benefits of Abyss Blood then? Was that kept?"

"It wasn’t. Any passive buffs such as physical power was purged just like the side effects. On the other hand, if the blood was to grant an ability, that would be stored. How much of that ability the specimen can access is simply a matter of purity and how much of the blood they consumed." Alice shook her head.

Elias raised his eyebrow.

"How... do you know all of this?"

"How? Well it’s pretty simple. I was involved. A few research notes here, a few research notes there. You know the deal." Alice shrugged.

It was partially a lie.

"You... were involved in this." Elias frowned.

He wanted to say something but stopped. The matter of the fact is that right now, she was working to stop whatever the Zenia was planning.

"Yep. Ever wonder why the Zenia family suddenly produced a crapload of Blood that required heavy, extensive testing? There’s your answer." Alice nodded.

Elias scratched his hair.

"Since the specimen escaped, the Zenia family must be scrambling to get it back. And I’m guessing that probably fuelled their desire to start taking over the other families. If anyone else gets their hand on the specimen, it could uproot everything they’ve done."

"Your thinking is too shallow. The Zenia doesn’t care about anything like that. What I can say is that their focus has turned to recreating that special blood ever since the specimen escaped.

"Not only that, but they’ve been producing hybrid monstrosities that can alternate between man and beast." Alice shook her head.

Now that Elias has seen the kind of products that the Zenia’s are making, it was a good time to get him up to date on her enemy.

Otherwise, when he faces a Hybrid, he’ll be taken by surprise and that could be the difference between life and death.

Elias took a deep breath. Hearing that such things exist... he couldn’t quite believe it. Yet Alice didn’t look like she was joking around either.

"Have you taken a look at their... artifact store yet?" Alice asked.

"They have an artifact store?"

"They should do. Artifacts are a great source of power for a Hunter, especially one that grows alongside them. But their creation of the artifacts have been... Questionable. Take this one for example.

"I had received it while infiltrating their ranks for a bit using my disguise skill. See if you can tell the difference between this and a normal artifact." Alice snapped her finger and summoned Ruinous Void.

Receiving the weapon, Elias could sense a great flow of power coursing through its body.

But more than that... There was something else hidden within.

His pupils trembled, his hands began to shake.

He opened his mouth in horror, wanting to say something, anything but the words were stuck in his throat.

Elias turned his eyes up at Alice.

"This..."

"A child was cultivated into the weapon. All of their growth type artifacts are like this. They turn the child not yet born into a vessel to harmonise with the Hunter. They become an extra storage in sense and synchronise with whatever power the Hunter has.

"A blank slate." Alice explained, retrieving her weapon.

"I had promised this child that I’ll take revenge. Whether or not they understand me I do not know." Her fingers gently brushed against the sides of her artifact before storing it away.

Elias clenched his hands together and gritted his teeth. Veins bulging on the back of his arms and neck.

"How long have they been doing this?" Elias asked, trying his best to maintain his calm.

"Hm... If I had to guess, probably 10 years or so give or take. And they’re still doing it."

"How exactly are you planning on uprooting this family? Even if you have allies, do you even have enough manpower to destroy every single branch? And what about those not involved? Simply hired because they need a job?" Elias asked.

He was angry at the family. He was furious at the fact that children were being used, that they were creating monstrosities in this world for the sake of research.

But even though he was angry, he knew the limits of his power. Charging in with raw anger wasn’t going to solve everything.

And then there was the case of people simply trying to get by in life. They were unlucky enough to get involved and many of them might not know what the family is doing.

They can’t simply go around destroying anything with the Zenia mark on it.

"How you say? Well there’s the easy way then there’s the hard way. The hard way has me erasing things slowly from bottom to top. The easy way has me destroy everything with my allies." Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Isn’t that unfair for th-"

"Unfair? Yes I agree. But at the same time, what about all those who have died already? I think destroying everything that the Zenia family are involved in will be much better." Alice cut him off.

She too understands the unfairness of it but even so.

Uprooting the family is something that MUST be done regardless of reason.

Even if it wasn’t for revenge, she can’t allow these vile monsters to roam these lands.

Every day they’re around is another day where a victim is created.

"Unless someone can give me a good feasible plan that destroys the family quickly, I’ll stick with obliterating everything." Alice grinned.

Elias looked at the girl in front of him.

Behind her, he could see a sea of flames. The ruins of destruction and the corpses that follow. In the pursuit of a better world, she’ll leave a land of ruin.

And as much as he hated it, her words hold merit.

How do they uproot a family that has spread their influence far and wide? How do they determine those who know what’s going on and those who don’t? What about the people who agree with their views?

The liars fleeing consequence?

How do they appease the souls of those who have been killed by the family?

What about the ones who want redemption? Can they take the time to go through it one by one?

Elias leaned back and sighed.

"Let’s not think about the complicated stuff for now. Even if I want to go through with the easy plan, it’s not like I have the power to do so just yet. The Zenia’s might have ties to someone really annoying to deal with. Not to mention the Doctor who doesn’t seem to die even after I blasted his physical body to shreds." Alice rested her chin on her palm.

Thinking back to the brief exchange in the north, she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

The Doctor must’ve done something to his body. A hybrid operation perhaps to place his core elsewhere. His physical body is one that can be regenerated at all and so long as his core is not destroyed, he will not die.

Thus the annoyance becomes finding that core or...

’Severing that connection.’ Alice narrowed her eyes.

With the power of Allura and now even the Slayer under her belt. There was a little experiment she wanted to try with her sixth Sigil.

To overlay Theron’s power and experience so that she too can open the gates of Oblivion.

And by combining both the Slayer and Severance, could she perhaps merge Oblivion with her strongest attack?

This will be an experiment like no other and possibly become the key to defeating her strongest foes.