Chapter 297: Demeanor of a Fragment Bearer

Althea was not one to be shaken by needless emotions, especially at crucial moments. Ever since she was a child, she’d never really been like others of her age. She never cried even when a situation demanded it. She never complained even when she was pushed to her limits. When others in the Seneschal family broke during training, she always pushed on mindlessly… mechanically… to her absolute breaking point…

Nothing could move her.

At least until now. Experiencing something as surreal and as incongruous as she had would leave anyone shaken to their core.

Althea didn’t even know what she particularly felt at the moment. A ringing noise droned in her ears as she stared at her shaking hands. She couldn’t hear a single thing. Not even the ear-rupturing sounds of the tumultuous clashes from the fight in the sky.

The battle above her continued at full tilt, the Cruor Mortis crying out with every clash and sending shockwaves trembling through the ground beneath her knees, but all of it reached her as though it were happening in a different world entirely. She was kneeling in the middle of a battlefield and she could only stare at her hands.

That was until a force rocked her off her knees from the side, knocking the wind out of her lungs and snapping her out of her trance.

Althea wheezed harshly, gulping mouthfuls of air as she tried to pinpoint what had hit her.

Before her eyes could even focus, an angry, mocking voice yelled from her front:

“What are you dreaming of in broad daylight?! Do you think you’re in your home?! You’re on a bloody battlefield, woman!!”

Preceptor Odette’s signature scathing voice was easily recognizable. Althea knew it was her before she even looked up.

The Preceptor was livid, her eyes scanning the surroundings and rapidly coming to an understanding of what had happened. Her sneer deepened after her quick assessment before her eyes locked onto Althea’s.

“So you killed a person? Big whoop! You’re a Transcendent Fragment Bearer! You play with reality’s rules, so you should expect repercussions!” Odette’s voice was laced with surprising venom, as if she was genuinely disgusted with Althea’s response.

The fight still raged in the sky above them, now a battle solely between Elias and the Husk. Their clashes created shockwaves that sent tremors rippling through the ground even this far below.

Odette hissed as she stared at Althea, continuing in her scathing tone:

“…And yet someone like you got a fragment as powerful as Order itself… What a bloody waste!” she spat, striding forward.

Immediately, the gravity surrounding Althea increased. Not enough to be crushing, but enough to make moving comfortably difficult. Her jaw clenched as she watched Odette draw closer.

“At least that fragment will be put to good use now,” Odette’s tone turned satisfied. “It’s just a shame that I can’t earn any benefits from it… but it’s no matter. From Elias’ words, you seem to be very important to the Inner Circle…”

She paused, then chuckled insidiously.

“…only terrible fates await those who draw the interest of the Inner Circle.”

She had reached Althea now, and she stared down at her with that sneer still on her face.

But when Althea looked up at her, instead of the broken, shattered expression Odette expected to see, she found something entirely different. Althea’s eyes burned with a flat, cold fury directed straight at her. Pure, unadulterated hatred that didn’t waver even under the crushing weight of the gravity pressing down on her.

The gaze made Odette’s expression flicker. She looked slighted, her brow furrowing as she raised her hand as if to deliver a sharp smack across Althea’s face. But halfway through the motion, she stopped herself and let out a low, mocking chuckle instead. She let her hand drop and shook her head with a look of feigned admiration.

“At least there is some semblance of the demeanor of a Fragment Bearer in you,” Odette said. “But it is far too late for fiery gazes… Though even if it weren’t, you would never be able to do anything to me.

Your fragment is very powerful, I’ll give you that. It controls a core aspect of reality with extensive uses and interpretation possibilities… but I am simply a better Fragment Bearer and a better Ossuarist than you will ever be.”

Above them, the battle continued to rage with terrifying intensity. The Cruor Mortis cried out with every exchange, a sound filled with the glee of battle as it clashed against the air and the Husk. Odette ignored the chaos above and stepped closer to Althea, her eyes wide with a strange, manic light that hadn’t been there before.

“You can never reach me. And do you know why?” she asked, letting the question hang.

“…Because you lack the mindset of a Transcendent Fragment Bearer, Althea! You do not embrace our true nature! You still let mortal shackles hold you back! And you will continue to!” her voice rose to compete with the thunder above.

“We are the peak of power! We are blessed with the soul density required to wield the fragments of great figures from a lost time! Those figures did not live their lives in the shadows or under the thumb of bureaucracy! They lived without inhibitions! They lived without holding back! They did whatever they pleased whenever they pleased, because they had the strength to make the world obey them!”

She gestured toward the sky, toward the spectacle of Elias and the Husk wreaking havoc above their heads.

“As bearers of fragments from such figures, why should we hide ourselves?” Odette asked, her face twisting into a wide, crazed grin. “Why should we hide our power or be bound by rules that tell us to never reveal what we are? I am actually thankful for this world tear. Its arrival in this boring, stagnant world was much needed. If things had stayed the same for any longer, I might have actually gone mad.”

She was rambling now, her words coming out rapidly and near-incoherently.

“Now there will be no choice left for the Inner Circle,” she chuckled loudly. “They will have no choice but to allow all Preceptors to truly show their might. We will run amok in the world and live as we please. We will topple the Archons who claim to be the greatest powers in existence. We will take their titles and show them that their Arcanist magic is nothing compared to the might of a fragment!”

Althea felt the gravity pressing down on her lungs, making every breath a deliberate effort. Her neck veins bulged as she forced her head up, her gaze never leaving Odette’s face. She squeezed her words out in a sharp, dry rasp:

“How long do I have to keep listening to this rabble?”

Odette went silent immediately. Her face went blank as she stared down at Althea, who continued talking, squeezing out words with obvious strain.

“…If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were one of those Harvester cult maniacs based on the way you’re speaking,” Althea continued, her voice gaining strength despite the pressure bearing down on her.

Odette stared at her for several long seconds. She looked stunned at first, then a slow smile crept across her lips before she burst into a sudden, loud fit of laughter. Then, just as quickly as the laughter had started, her face switched to freezing cold.

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