Chapter 22: Disciples of the Valued One

It was proving to be a little difficult. The drug she had seen get used during the Palace raid was also present here, though it wasn't as difficult now. She was capable of taking them down without rupture, and so was Selia. Soon enough, all that was left was the Fourth, who remained unamused. His overall appearance was nothing special, eh build, with brown eyes and messy hair. He seemed to control fire the same way Ruis controlled water, which was a little annoying as they hurt. Thanks to her ice, she was able to combat it better than the others. " What exactly are you guys doing here? Surely it wasn't just to get me, but if that is the case, then I'm honoured," Alice contested the Apostle, her blade pushing against his, " They were sent here to get the relic," He said, nodding his head to his dead subordinates, " And I was sent here to get rid of you in case we did run into you." " So you're babysitting, I mean, it makes sense, being the lowest-ranked Apostle and all," She baited him, and it kinda worked. His flames burnt a little hotter than before. " Keep talking, you'll be dead sooner than you think!" he barked, throwing a wall of flames at her. The attack itself was sloppy. She was able to freeze the flames and land a solid punch. Alice could've killed him, but she needed him alive, they needed to know more about the disciples' goals. It was not gonna be easy, as the fight went on, the flames got hotter and hotter. Every time she tried using her ice, the Apostles' flames would melt it down in a near instant. Making use of Hunter's surge and Cleo's buff, she was able to force him into hand-to-hand. If she could keep him from using his flames, this fight would go to her. The Apostle focused his flames into one blast, forcing Alice to put her full concentration into a wall of ice, though as it's being fixed, it's melting. Soon enough, the wall of ice was being warped in shape, it had bent around Alice now. She felt cold. Like she used ice, but it never actually affected her, but now she felt it inside her? It was hard to describe. But the only conclusion she could come to was that, like the Apostles' flame, her ice was getting better. The colour of her ice had changed as well. Before, before it was a plain blue, but now there was a strange orangeish glow spreading through it. Whatever it was, it was good. Her ice wall held now, and when the Apostle realized this, he stopped. Alice foolishly took this as him giving up and pulled out the voidcore handle. She reforms her iceblade with the stronger ice, making it the iceblade 2.0. Just barely was she able to move out of the way when a LASER pierced the ice. The Apostle pulled out a new trick, which was to use two fingers to generate a flame ball. He would hold said ball back long enough for it to become a super laser when released. Alice had gotten much better at using Hana's fighting style, slowly but surely, she was adapting it into her own. The Apostles' lasers were a problem, she could deflect them with her blade, but she was worried that taking too many hits would weaken the metal and make it really easy to break. He looked even more pissed, but since she needed him alive, she would use rupture, but without drawing on her soul energy, just a plain slash infused with her ice. 

The Apostle tried countering with his flames, but this only served to push him back. She stood over him, triumphant. His eyes were filled with desperation before his entire expression did a 180. With all his might, he threw a fully powered blast, forcing Alice to back up. This allowed him to position himself next to the pedestal with the relic. Alice couldn't quite remember, but she was almost 100% sure that dungeons with relics closed when the said relic is claimed. The Fourth Apostle grabbed the relic and forced the dungeon to shut down, putting them back out onto the field. Arthur was startled upon seeing them appear out of nowhere, especially when almost everyone's positions had been flipped. Clair and Elizabeth, who were behind Alice, were now standing near Arthur along with Selia and Cleo. Alice was the only one to remain in the same place. " Just give up, there's nothing much for you to do now," Alice called out. " You won't get in the way of our plans anymore!" The fourth Apostle yelled back as four crystals levitated behind him. Upon seeing them, she pushed in, and Selia and Arthur both fired at it, only for their attacks to be repelled by the combined entropy of the crystals, the sheer force of this many pushed Alice back as well. The one crystal in Alice's inventory was pulled out on its own and joined the rest before they began reshaping themselves. The crystals spun faster, exuding a strong force. Alice was being pushed back slightly. The crystals lost their shape as they turned into formless blobs floating in place before they shaped into sharp-looking noodles. Each one stabbed itself into the Apostle's body.

" ARRGGGGHHHHHHH!" He yelled rather loudly, his voice sounding like multiple voices yelling at once. The crystals began pushing themselves in. Once the last one was absorbed, his screams intensified as his body erupted in light, forcing everyone to cover their eyes. When the light died down, the Fourth Apostle was gone. Physically, he was someone new, his robes had been shredded, leaving him topless. He was more built now, his face was much different, it was like it had been swapped out for someone else's. The stranger pushed his hair back, and his dark purple eyes bore into her. Alice could feel it, a primal emotion rooted deep into every human, an emotion that every human present felt. Fear. For the person who stood before them was the Valued One.