CHAPTER 894: PLAN TO ESCAPE TERMINUS

"Do I look like a charity to you? I sell weapons, I sell items that help you fight. I sell armour that keeps you safe. What part of my wares looks like food to you?" Rolo let out an annoyed sigh.

With how many times Alice had approached with weird requests, he was beginning to think she didn’t quite understand the concept of an item store.

"Is there nothing? Honestly just some food would be fine. Like any food. At least something that’ll fill more than just... this." Alice held the healing grass with an awkward smile.

"Do you even have money after spending everything on upgrades?" Rolo pointed his smoking pipe as Alice coughed awkwardly.

There wasn’t any monsters she could kill in the second area so she couldn’t get any Embryos.

"Use this. It’s a damage boost item, but it should fill you up somewhat. I’ll charge you double price but use tier 1 Embryos as payment. You’ve already unlocked the second store anyway." Rolo sighed, tapping his shelf.

Next to him, a stack of jerky appeared as Alice nodded eagerly.

Handing over her tier one Embryos, she thanked Rolo quickly and backtracked to the elevator. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to teleport between the camps otherwise this would’ve made the trip much easier.

Reaching the bottom, she glanced at the storm that seemed to have gotten worse and furrowed her brows.

Her tracks have been mostly erased but she could still remember the path she took.

The adjustments she made and the traps that were put into place.

Rushing through the storm, Alice found the ruins once more.

Thankfully, everyone was still there as Alice sighed in relief.

"You’re back." One of the men glanced at Alice in surprise.

They didn’t think she would come back. Hardly anyone did after seeing this kind of storm.

Not only that, but it had also picked up compared to earlier so finding them must not have been easy.

"I did say I’ll come back. Do we have some water and fire? We can probably make some soup with this." Alice smiled, holding the stack of jerky.

Seeing food all of them regained a bit of life in their gaze as they quickly scrambled the pots together.

Thankfully, making a fire wasn’t an issue since they have items prepared for it.

While waiting for the water to boil, Alice sat down next to the girl hiding herself under a blanket.

"How come you don’t sit with the others?" Alice asked curiously while the girl hugged her knees.

"They call me devil child. But they keep me around." She replied, surprising Alice.

"Devil child?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

She turned her gaze to the rest of their group as none of them replied. They simply fell silent with an awkward cough, not wanting to look over.

Especially when Alice had brought the jerky and was now asking the girl about when they called her the devil child.

If anything, at least they brought her along so they won’t get blamed for leaving her back at the village.

"Because I used mommy and daddy." She replied instantly, without hesitation.

Alice opened her mouth, she wanted to say something but held herself back.

What else could she mean? In the harsh north where famine is present everywhere. In the ruins where her parents are absent and... what remains of a human just behind the corner.

There’s no need for Alice to ask more.

She simply lifted the girl up and placed her on her lap.

Patting the girls head, Alice simply offered her comfort while the soup waited to boil.

Once the soup was cooked, they started to distribute it in makeshift bowls.

There weren’t many wood bowls available since they needed to use it as emergency food if needed.

Watching the girl eat the softened jerky, Alice felt her heart ache.

Hugging the girl from behind, Alice was about to close her eyes when she felt the girl shuffle.

"Want some?" She asked, offering the food.

Alice smiled but shook her head.

"Don’t worry, I’ve already eaten."

But upon hearing this, the girl froze. Her eyes trembled but no tears fell.

She simply ate the jerky soup without saying anything else.

Expanded her zone. The boundary wasn’t wide by any means but it should be enough to keep them safe for now.

*BOOM!!!

Once more, an explosion sounded out in the distance.

"Do you know what that is?" Alice asked but the group glanced at her in confusion.

"Again, bad eyesight." Alice shrugged with a bitter smile.

"It seems to be a giant beast. We can’t see it too clearly either but the silhouette is bigger than any we’ve seen. We had a group go ahead of us before, saying they’ll pick up some of the beasts that monster killed for food." One of the men replied as Alice folded her arms.

If she wanted to farm this area for some stats, she’ll definitely need to go deeper into this area.

’Is that monster the last boss of this area?’

"I’ll leave the jerky with you guys okay? I’m going to scout ahead a little." Alice smiled but the girl clutched Alice’s sleeve.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be back. I came back with the jerky didn’t I?" She reassured.

She wasn’t sure if it was the girl letting her go or if she didn’t have the energy to hold on, Alice stood up and set the girl down.

Despite the storm ravaging outside, Alice simply adjusted her hood and ventured on.

This was simply a reflection of the past. Even if she were to show the girl pity here, it wouldn’t change where she would be in the future.

IF she survived.

Taking a deep breath, Alice focused her gaze.

*RUMBLE!!!

A ghostly figure burst out of the snow dressed in all white. Pale blue skin, golden orbs that act as eyes and white hair matching her dress.

A snow woman of sorts.

Alice brandished her blade and prepared to strike but the monster let out a shriek!

Recoiling back, Alice covered her ears but frowned when she noticed the ice forming on her body.

"Shut up already!"

Pale Lance!

Throwing her spell, she stopped the monster from applying more debuffs onto her and jumped into the air.

Crashing into the snow woman from above, Alice pinned her down with her feet against the snow woman’s shoulders.

Stabbing down with her rapier, Alice took aim with her finger.

Directly between the beast’s eyes.

Pale Lance!

*CRUNCH!!!

The lance dropped down from above, destroying the monster’s head.

From the ashes, a tier two Embryo dropped along with a piece of tattered cloth.

Picking up both items, Alice frowned, sensing three presences rapidly approaching her area.

’The earlier cry must’ve attracted them.’

Jumping back, Alice aimed her rapier.

*BANG!!!

Bursting through the storm, three snow women charged at Alice as she activated Adela’s Blood Blade!

Moving back, Alice began to chant an unfamiliar prayer as blood converged around her.

Forming a ritual of sorts, three blood blades solidified and appeared around her.

Each one slashed at a different target.

As expected, the damage wasn’t impressive but it’s enough to stop them from screaming.

Hopping to the side, Alice narrowed her eyes and flicked her wrist.

Pale Lance!!!

The lance pierced them from the right, skewering all three together and pinned them against the ground.

Lunging forward, three slashes of her rapier was enough to finish the job.

Two tier two Embryos and one cloth.

Storing the drops away, Alice consumed some pills to regenerate her mana.

Clutching the Embryo in her palm, a new path opened ahead of her. The trial of butterflies leading to the next camp.

Her path was clear and Alice walked deeper into the storm.

###

Caera wiped away her sweat before sighing in relief.

They stabilized Verona’s condition. Her situation won’t get any worse but it won’t exactly get better either.

They don’t know what’s tethering her away but the distance was rather... strange.

It was both far yet close. Impossible to reach yet she was connected.

Through the layers of the Abyss, through the realm itself.

’Is it the surface? Or somewhere else?’ Caera frowned.

She tried to track the source but something was blocking her senses.

The presence of a Realm Ruler, barring outsiders from peering into her realm.

But last she recall... the surface is lacking a Realm Ruler and the one who rules the Void has now fallen into a deep slumber.

’A new realm...’ Caera furrowed her brows.

This entire thing had Nyer’s fingerprints all over it and I was clear he’s moving his plans to the next stage.

But first things first, they needed to transport everyone out of the Abyss for now. The longer they stay here, the more the miasma starts to affect them.

’How will I even move everyone out of here... Piercing the barrier between Terminus and the other layers might be a bit annoying but I can find one of my old portal devices. Issue is energy...’ Caera paced back and forth with a deep frown on her face.

To move this many people, the amount of energy needed to repair then activate one of her portals was enormous. Enough where even if she was to leave herself completely defenceless, she wouldn’t have enough power to transport even half of them.

Lost in her thoughts, Caera suddenly lifted her head.

She had an idea.

One that should give them enough of an opportunity to move everyone out of here but...

It may also turn this portion of the Abyss into a dead zone.

’Forget it. Getting them out takes priority.’ Caera shook her head.

It doesn’t matter if they move only a single layer. So long as they’re out of Terminus, a solution can be found.

"Frida, Sigurd, I’ll need your help. We’ll break out of Terminus once we manage to get Verona’s soul back. And I also need you to make a vow, a contract." Caera frowned.

"Whatever I do to help us break out of Terminus when the time comes, I want you to erase that from your memory and soul. Erase all traces of what you see me do."

If they don’t... Madness will take shape.