After reading the autobiography of sorts, Veronica put the book down and just stared towards the ceiling.
This chapter didn't give her that much new information, but it gave her a new perspective on this world.
Virginia's life was amazing, and she must've been a great person, but Veronica wasn't convinced. This account portrays Virginia as selfless and curious person, but she lived and died over a thousand years ago.
Time skews everyone's vision. This is especially true for historical figures.
Veronica also had a feeling that something was wrong with Victor Axim. It wasn't clear, but reading the few accounts about his character, he was definitely not normal.
From the other couch, a loud yawn distracted Veronica from her thoughts and made her look away from the ceiling.
Father Martin was lying on the couch, half-asleep. Veronica looked at her watch and jumped to her feet from surprise. It was near midnight already, and she hadn't even noticed.
She said a quick goodbye to the priest, then hurried home. Again, Suze berated her and while she recounted the morning and midday events she ate the leftovers from dinner.
She also showed her Lady Helper. Suze snorted when she heard the name, then appraised her about the excellent choice.
"...Have you thought about my suggestion?" asked Veronica with a glass of wine in her hand. Suze had one as well, and after taking a sip, she answered.
"I agree with you, but leaving is not that easy. There are fewer people in the basement, but they don't have anywhere else to go!"
Veronica's expression was grim, the same as Suze's.
"Things not getting any better, in fact they are only getting worse! This isn't random, the Chaotic Order causing it! We need to leave until we can!"
Suze sighed and after downing her wine, she looked at Veronica with exhaustion.
"I'll see what I can do... What about your ascension though? When are you two planning that?"
In the past week, Veronica told Suze both about her earrings and the Ascended Characteristic. She didn't tell her about her past, and Suze seemed to know that she was hiding something.
She never asked about it though, sparing Veronica of a very sad and awkward conversation.
"Sometime next week. Things are moving fast and I want to be 7th Order as soon as possible."
Suze nodded along, agreeing with everything she said.
They talked for a few more minutes, then Veronica downed her wine too, and they cleaned up. After that, they said goodnight and went to sleep.
The days went by fast again, and soon it was Wednesday night... The time for her next ascension has arrived!
...
Many people in Hammon think the Dirt District is the worst place in the entire city, but that's not a hundred percent true. Within the district's heart there is an area, which is much more horrible than its outskirts...
The Vile Quarter...
This place contains about a dozen shorter streets, full of illegal brothels, bars where people could fight to the death and gamble on said fights. Hammon's heart of debauchery, lust, and sin.
Its daily death count is about few dozen people, but never zero. It hasn't seen a single police officer in years... At least not in uniform.
Truth is many people attend this place, either to live their most horrid desires, or to spend their money on illegal events.
But people have to be careful in The Vile Quarter. If you walk into a dark alley, you might never leave it, or you will leave it in handcuffs as someone's new whore.
The major streets aren't safe either. Many people had bled out by stab wounds, while everyone just walked around them. It is an everyday occurrence.
If you are lucky, you get saved by someone who now you owe your life to, but even if you die, your corpse won't stay there for long.
Some restaurants there specialize in human cuisine, others might use your body as their plaything, or a madman might cut you open and study your insides.
The worst of the places, the most horrid of environments, the vilest of quarters.
This was the place where Veronica and Michael were heading. The two of them wore dark clothing. Michael was in a full black suit and black bowler hat. Veronica wore a full black dress, with black gloves and a dark veil, which hid her face.
Michael had a half mask on, which wasn't too unusual since many people didn't want anyone to recognize them.
There wasn't any proper plan in place. They had already talked about a way that would work to complete the prerequisite. Now they were just hunting for a victim for Veronica to kill.
The thought didn't sit right in her stomach. Murder as self defense is one thing, but premeditated murder was something else.
She was hoping to find some horrible person, so at least she wouldn't feel too bad about it. For this reason, they went to The Vile Quarter, since it was full of such people!
The two of them walked side by side, closing in on the quarter. The surroundings were as bad as they could get. The houses that still stood were rotting away. The alleys were full of vagrants and other people waiting to die.
Constant screams, angry shouts and gunshots echoed around them. The air smelled of piss, shit and blood.
While walking, they saw more than one fights break out in the middle of the small streets.
She felt Michael tense next to her. He wanted to help the people getting beaten up, but he also knew that it would be a mistake.
This place was dangerous even for them. Getting into a worthless fight between drunkards was something they couldn't afford, and so they walked on in silence.
...
On one of the streets in The Vile Quarter, a normal-looking man walked.
He wore a dark suit and a top hat. On his belt, a weapon holster and a bloody knife sat.
His hand was dripping with the fresh blood of one of his latest victims. He left the woman in a nearby dark alley after raping her, then gutting her and raping her body again.
He had a wicked smile on his face. Each time he smelt the blood on his hand, he remembered her desperate screams, which caused him to giggle with joy.
The man's eyes were full of insanity. They scanned the people nearby, trying to locate some other poor person that he can use to live his wildest desires upon.
From the entire city, this was his favorite place. People didn't care if screams sounded from an alley, they wouldn't even care if he raped someone in the middle of the street!
Thinking about this, he cackled with madness, then scanned the small crowd.
He spotted an exotic individual walking away from him. She wore a full black dress, with a dark veil hiding her face. The man watched the woman's hips move from side-to-side with lust.
The man was so absorbed in his new prey that he didn't even notice when someone bumped into him.
A tall man in a dark suit, bowler cap and wearing a half mask walked into the man's left side, then walked on without saying a word.
The man increased his footsteps, closing in on his new prey. The woman turned around for a moment, then upon seeing him closing in, she gasped and moved faster.
He knew that the even if the woman tried asking for help, nobody would care. The man jogged after her while laughing to himself.
His pants were already bulging just from imagining how his next victim would feel. It would be even better if she screamed. He always got aroused when they shouted for help.
The woman was running, knocking people out of her way. They shouted at her with anger, but were too drunk to pursue.
The man just chuckled and ran after her. He chased her down for an entire street, gradually catching up, until he was only a few meters behind her.
He could hear her rapid breathing and sobbing, which caused his horniness to increase.
With one hand he tried reaching out, but just when he was about to reach her, she turned down into a side-alley, escaping him for a while longer.
With an insane giggle, the man walked after her. He could hear her wailing increase in volume as she realized the same thing he did... The alley was a dead-end.
The man stopped in the alley's mouth and pulled out his rusty, bloody knife.
He walked towards the woman, who pressed herself against the alley's far wall. Even though her veil hid her face, he saw her terrified expression.
The man laughed again... "Oh, how I just love when they run! It boils my blood, makes me much more excited!"
His voice was grating and ugly, reflecting his personality.
The woman raised her gloved hands and pleaded for her life... "Please... Don't hurt me... I will do whatever you want... Spare me... Please..."
Hearing this further aroused the man, and in his newfound glee, he stepped closer to the woman. In fact, he was so infatuated with her that he didn't even notice when her crying stopped.
Behind her veil Veronica laughed to herself, her beautiful face split into a mad grin.
Surprising the man, she took one step closer to him too...