Abyssal Awakening

Glaring at the girl sitting on a mountain of corpses, the slave trader found himself stepping back out of fear.

He thought luck was on his side after seeing merchandise that was far better than any. That delicate skin, that appearance, all of it was perfect. If he captured her, he could've sold her for a big profit.

Surely the battle slaves empowered by the new berserk blood would help him capture her right? These are slaves that not even the ruling body of Caethis dared to look down on lightly.

Yet this girl…

The moment he sent them to capture her, she burst into action. In one move, all of them collapsed on the ground and their insides burned away.

"What? Don't want to treat me to dinner? Such a disappointment. And here I thought you were a gentleman, bringing some escorts with you so that you could treat me to a decent meal. Or were these meant to be bodyguards? Aren't they a little… Weak?" She grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth.

Colour drained from the slave trader's body. Weak? His bodyguards? No, they weren't weak. She was simply too strong!

"S-Stay away from me!!!" He screamed, turning around to run.

However, Alice narrowed her eyes and flicked her finger.

The slave trader's motor controls were flipped in an instant and he crashed into the ground. Red thread tied itself around his ankles as she dragged him back and suspended him in the air.

"Stay away from you? Didn't you want to capture me earlier? What happened to that? Can't handle me?" Alice asked as her finger traced his face.

A pink and purple energy manifested around Alice's finger, burning away at the trader's skin.

"ARGGGG!!!" Letting out a scream that attracted more attention than before, everyone could see Alice torturing the trader by drawing across his face.

One of the main traders that existed in the underworld was being killed in public!

"Little girl, can I ask you to spare him?" A voice rang out as Alice lazily glanced towards the rooftop and saw a silver haired man with a pair of elongated ears, crimson eyes and what seemed to be a pair of demonic black horns sticking out of his head.

He wore an elegant black tuxedo with golden highlights and red tassels.

"And who are you to request that of me? This waste of space wanted to capture me of all things. Didn't even want to treat me to a meal too." Alice crossed her legs as her finger slowly dug into the trader's left eye.

Ignoring his screams, she kept her eyes on the strange man standing on the roof.

Hearing her response, he furrowed his brows and disappeared from where he stood.

"Nope~ Don't go cheating now. There are rules to everything." Alice shook her head.

Around them, the threads that were disguised by the mirror jester Sigil revealed itself as everyone was trapped in a spider web of her making.

Even the strange man had to stop as the threads around him were reinforced by the same strange energy that she used to burn away the trader's flesh.

Currently, he stood a few meters away from Alice.

"The fact that you left him alive for this long clearly means there's something that you want." He asked as Alice nodded her head.

"Yep~ This is why I like smart people. However, even though I like smart people, I have to ask…

"Where did you get this blood?" She narrowed her gaze.

The original goal was to get money so that she could fight in the arena. But it was secondary to the blood that she saw them use.

At first, she thought it was part of the Zenia family's schemes again. But she couldn't sense her own blood in there at all. There was something else at play. It was eerily familiar yet also very different.

"Are you wondering about Fallen Symbiosis? It's a new type of blood that's being shipped from the East. Very potent in power but there's only so much someone can drink before they die." The man replied honestly.

He could sense the bubbling killing intent under her tone and decided not to test her patience for now.

"The East huh?" She muttered, giving the slaves beneath her one last glance.

"Now then, how much do you think this guy's life is worth? Please remember that he tried to capture me." She changed topics and pointed at the now one eyed trader.

Looking at the trader, the man thought for a moment before turning his gaze to Alice.

"If it appeases you, you can take his life. Instead, I'd rather the two of us talk business instead." He smiled, adjusting the cuffs on his wrist as the wires around him fell limp.

Raising her eyebrow in surprise, Alice wasn't sure what he did that caused her to lose connection with her threads.

"Depends, what kind of business are we talking about?" Alice asked. With one swift movement, she twisted off the trader's head and tossed it away. His body struggled momentarily before falling limp and she burned it away with the power of corrosion.

"Please follow me, business is better discussed in more private accommodations." He turned around as Alice shrugged her shoulders and followed him for now.

She had to admit that she was rather curious about this 'business' that he wanted to discuss but more importantly, she wanted to know the source of this strange blood in the East. She had a feeling that if it was already getting smuggled overseas, it was probably running rampant in the East.

It was better to gather some information so she doesn't travel blind.

"May I have the honour of knowing your name? I don't believe I've seen the young miss frequenting these parts before." He asked, giving her a side glance.

"It's only polite to say your own name first."

"Lorien. Now yours?" He replied with a smile. Discover exclusive tales on empire

"Calista."

Walking in silence, the two soon arrived at a rather inconspicuous building hidden off to the side of the main road.

The inside of the building was far better than what could be seen from the outside. Taking a few steps down, Alice could see a large gambling den with several paths leading elsewhere. Located in the centre was a large roulette table with several gamblers sat around it.

Around the roulette table were various tables hosting different games from blackjack to poker.

Alice wasn't familiar with any of them as the only gambling she'd done was with her life on the line or in an Arena.

This kind of gambling she didn't like as she had no control over the variables.

Entering a VIP room, he gestured for her to sit opposite her.

"Now, for this business that I want to discuss with you, may I know why you're in the underworld in the first place? People don't come here without a specific goal in mind. Whether that be losing yourself in lust, purchasing a slave or following your addictions. There is always a goal in mind." Lorien asked as he glanced down at the gamblers losing their money.

"Oh? And this is important because?" Alice crossed her legs.

"Because I have multiple business opportunities that I can offer you. Depending on what your goal is, I can give you something more to your liking." Lorien smiled, gesturing for a waiter to bring over some high quality wines.

Seeing the waiter approach with a collar around her neck, Alice's eye twitched for a moment as it was similar in design to her old collar.

Naturally, this didn't escape Lorien's notice.

"Seems like you're displeased with the purchase and selling of slaves." He smiled, raising the glass of wine to his nose before drinking.

"Perhaps. As for my goal… Let's just say I'm looking to line my pockets with a bit of coin." Alice swirled the wine in her glass but didn't drink.

"Some Coin you say? How much Coin are we talking about? For someone of your… abilities, I can only assume that you wish to work with Platina rather than Gold." Lorien asked, keeping his eyes on Alice.

"Quite the astute observation. Now let's talk business. What kind of transaction do you wish to get from my capabilities?"

"Straight to the point I see. Alright, the transaction is a simple one. You help me and I'll get you the Coin you need. You see, the Pirates have been quite the pain recently and they've been cracking down on things. Even if it's not smuggling illegal goods over, they're confiscating quite a few of our wares.

"What I want you to do is simply to scare them a little. Keep them occupied so the next few shipments arrive without any issues. You don't need to fight, simply acting as a deterrent is good enough. Do that and I'll pay you 1 platina for each shipment that arrives without any issues." Lorien offered as Alice rubbed her hands together in her mind.

"How many shipments are we talking about?" Alice asked, wanting to see how much she could make from this exchange.

"There are 10 shipments that are scheduled to arrive within the next week. If all 10 arrive without any issue, I'll pay you an extra 5 Platina."

"Make it 2 Platina per shipment and 10 extra if all of them arrive without issue." Alice made a counteroffer.

Furrowing his brows, he thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

"I can do 2 per shipment but the extra remains at 5 Platina if all shipments arrive without issue."

Seeing as how he was agreeing with the price of 2 Platina per shipment, whatever was inside must be rather important.

All she needed to do was make sure they arrived without issue then she'd get paid. Anything that happens outside of that is technically not a part of their contract.