C128: End of the Abyss P10
Overall Word count = 1665 on 8/13/2024.
Teaser Alt title: Village of Origin.
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His 'mind' gradually acquires new information but to say Axel is shocked is an understatement.
The first thing he had gained was extremely useful information about space magic which allows him to properly teleport without his ability, so he can now officially teleport to a location he has no memory of or never been to through his Operation of Parallel Memories. He can now upgrade his original dimensional cut to properly cut dimensions and he doesnt need his sword, though it would be more efficient to do so.
In addition to this knowledge, his mana burst has been upgraded to the same level as the shadow, which means that he can infuse his spatial energy into his mana burst, this is how the shadow had been 'severing' his body throughout all their fights against each other.
His mana burst now allows for short range teleportation called blinks because his energy doesnt just boost his speed or power now but supercharges the very space around him which is what allows him to teleport. It is most efficient at 5 ft of range but this can be extended up to 20 ft if he so wished. It would only take a half second or less longer for him to teleport that distance.
Village of Origin.
This is the third aspect he gained from defeating the shadow, or at least partial access. Village of Origin is the name of the Noble Phantasm that is this village.
Yes, he has a noble phantasm. Yet he cant unleash it to the outside world yet. He learned that when he defeats the third and final specter, he will gain full access. Yet there are plenty of things he can still currently do with it.
First off, It serves as a proper inner world and through the acquired spatial magic, he can bring outsiders into it to populate it however he wants. Axel is essentially the god of this world as he can project himself here at ease instead of having to go to his mind palace before walking down the path to the door only to end up at the outskirts of the village. He can properly teleport as he wishes. He can project his memories to appear like tv screens, he can do this to share any information that his soul fragments might wish to share with him or he wants to share with others.
Due to Migi's memories, he has long become aware of anime and that he lives in one such world. While he does not fully understand the original path of this world, He can very easily tell that he has long surpassed the scope of this world. It's playing catchup with him. Of course due to his previous dumb actions, he has given the world a powerful tool to use against him in the form of Tiona but his noble phantasm changes things now.
Previously the rituals required him to sync the target of the ritual with the laws of the world. This is the reason he has been reluctant to help his group to undergo the ritual, but with his noble phantasm, he gradually absorbs fragments of the world's laws which allows him to create his own demi-gods that derive their strength from him. Of course the method would still allow the target to gain energy from the outside world but unlike before, they would not be controlled by a world's will.
The only problem right now is that he lacks the law fragments needed to allow a proper demi-god to be born/created. Afterall, his body only started absorbing the energy when he defeated the second shadow and not when he gained access to the inner world. It would take him a few days to properly before he can allow a proper demigod to be born through his world.
Axel swallows down all this information and finally gets up from his meditation that he started doing, unknowingly. He travels through the dining room and arrives at the backyard of the chief mansion. There he finds the third and possibly final specter. The shadow has an even more lifelike body and expressions. Its body is also slightly taller, around 4' 7" from its previous 4' 3" from the second shade.
The shadow has longer hair, where the front reaches to just below it's neck but the back of it's hair reaches to around their waist. The only real color Axel can make out is the golden colored eyes of the shadow. Everything else maintains its standard black and shadow style. Its clothing consists of a sleeveless shirt with a fur scarf around its neck and a haori with strange squiggles around its sleeve that would likely make more sense if it was in color.
The shadow has a relaxed expression, it's head is even tilted up a bit as if it is looking down on Axel who just showed up in front of it. Axel resets his body, canceling the magic runes on his body; he wants to recover his energy but also wants to test out the power of his upgraded mana burst through this fight.
He takes a stance while the opposing shadow is relaxed like always. He uses mana burst to shift forward but the shadow simply waves his hand and energy covers the area before Axel awakens back in the real world.
Axel coughs up blood and even has a nosebleed due to how thoroughly he was defeated. It was instant and unquestionable. Axel doesnt really understand how he was actually defeated in the first place and would likely have to suffer plenty more times before could finally start making countermeasures.
Raikou helps him sit back in his seat, she is slightly panicked at seeing him so pale. One moment he started to meditate, the next moment he was releasing a large amount of energy before it was controlled back into his body. Next thing she knows is that he grows pale and coughs up blood. The commotion attracts the attention of the group which has already mostly finished bestowing their teachings onto the duo of Daphne and Cassandra.
Cassandra attempts to help and use her healing magic on Axel but his injury is spiritual in nature which only helps him a tiny bit due to the physical aspect of his backlash.
"Are you alright child?" Raikou asks with a worried expression. Axel nods but even that hurts his head and he just allows himself to lie back in his seat.
"I won against the second but lost badly against the third." he gives a quick explanation and Raikou understands and calms down. That is mostly due to Axel recovering quickly enough to use his soul magic to recover the rest of the way. Cassandra already stopped using her magic when she saw that it did very little. She is a bit demoralized at that but she quickly shakes her head of the negative thoughts. She has already been freed of her curse, she cant allow anymore negativity to flow through her.
She is soon shocked as she had to move quickly to catch something that Axel threw at her and Daphne. When she nearly fumbled it as it kept bouncing out of her hand but she finally catches it, when she opens her palms, she finds a simple looking ring that only once she flows her energy through does it brighten up and her own body starts being amplified.
Daphne also begins to undergo a similar experience as the various boosts enhance their bodies. The sensation is quite pleasurable for them as unlike the others, they weren't given various incremental prototypes.
A series of moans rise up from the duo as their senses are gradually enhanced to superhuman standards. Daisy glares at Welf to see if he is aroused by their moans but the man knows his limits and has already covered his ears and looked away from the duo. Bell and the others have blushes on their faces though they handle it in different ways. Ouka, Mikoto and Chigusa go inside the house for the moment until they finish. Bell and Lily simply walk away from the duo. Haruhime and Aisha instead get aroused. Aisha has already been a bit neglected to ensure her baby is not harmed by Axel. Yet Haruhime, who had just undergone an anal awakening. She is still recovering from their session, so the moans now only seek to arouse her again.
A few minutes pass and the duo finally settle down but both feel incredible. This fuels their desire to fight alongside Axel and the group. Axel sends a message to both groups that left that they can come back.
Once the group is reformed, Axel tells everyone to gear up, since Daphne and cassandra didn't expect this, they rush to go prepare. They have already learned how to use their nen to boost themselves by enhancing their bodies a bit through Ren.
After another half hour wait, the duo return with small bags with their own things like potions and other personal effects. They had already been warned that they would spend a few days inside the dungeon to kill it, so they have to prepare for the long journey,
The newly upgraded group is now ready for the dungeon. Everyone begins to clasp hands before Welf serves as the link to Axel and they all vanish from the spot they were just at.
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Full alt title: Noble Phantasm: VIllage of Origin, and Departure.
Query: should I retitle the previous end of the abyss chapters so that this chapter is P1? To me, it doesnt really change much since I post the 'original' titles here anyways, so it would just be revealing little bits of info to future readers. It's still all one big arc. Your thoughts if you wish to share them?