Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

I have really bad luck with the weather since it is pouring down heavily to the point it's just a veil of grey before us.

So we had to hide in the tents since they were the only thing good enough to shelter from the rain.

"Professor, what do we do?", Gai asked, "We can't go out scouting like this."

"True.", I agreed and walk into the veil of grey, "Well, let me handle it."

I summon Quirinus to my hand as blue flame ignites around me, boiling every drop of rain that landed on me.

"Wake up, the Fire of Destruction and Progress."

The fire burst, forming a tornado around me. I walked further outside.

"Embrace Infinity, Dive into the Endless Abyss."

My eyes turned silver, flashing the color of red before strands of my hair turned blue.

"Let the Passion within my Heart ignite!! Consume all in my Path of Glory!!"

I pointed my lance up in the air, the spikes glow red with sparks of electricity crackling. A scarf made of flame wrapped around my neck.

"Sing! O' Souls of the Damned!! Let the World hear your Injustice!!"

As my fire burned the rain itself, I took in a deep breath with a smile.

"Inferno of Human Passion, Blaze a Trail for all to Follow!!"

Then a thrust toward the sky, a pillar of fire, and wind blew everything away, dispersing the rainfall and clearing the sky.

"This is my Style of Wickedness."

Then I dispelled this form. Yup, I did all of that for the theatrics. Then I teleported the lance back onto the ship and dusted my hands for a well-done job.

"The ground might be a bit wet, but that's fine.", I turned to them with a wide grin, "Just be careful and nothing will come out of it."

"Now, with the sun still rising, pack up the camp and resume the trip, we will use the pathway the Scout team found."

"But the tracks may have been washed away.", Francis stepped out from her tent.

"No problem.", I shrugged, "I'll show some tricks for tracking."

Gale must've moved away by this time, somewhere deeper in the forest. I won't be seeing him anytime soon.

"Remember, have your compass out at all times, and stay close to the group.", I called the coffin to me.

 

=0=0=

 

It was two hours into our walk, and we encountered something... interesting. No, the correct way to say it is 'I' found something interesting.

The tribes of the Amazon are watching us.

I signaled for the group to stop.

"Francis, unleash your ghosts here.", I commanded.

"Why?", she stared at me.

"Just do it, I won't say twice.", this is why I prefer Utopia, who asks questions later, even then, he is smart enough to know my intentions.

She stroked her hair back in frustration, then open her briefcase - a green vortex with harrowing screams coming out of it. Then ghostly warriors trapped inside flew out, littering the forest.

"Keep it up—"

BOOM!!

An explosion went off, cutting my speech, and knocking down a tree while blowing up some of the ghost warriors. Everyone was sent into a panic, holding their head down while some attacked in every direction.

Hah... even my hood got blown and covered my head.

I transformed my glasses into a mask that covers my mouth - unleashing the full might of my gaze. I threw Ouroboros Omniscia with full force, crashing into several trees, and cutting them down.

"ARRRGGGGGHHHH!!!", an agonizing scream echoed through the forest.

"Mugen, look over them. I'll deal with these people by myself."

And I bolted off, snapping and denting the roots on the ground as I sprinted toward the tribal people. Someone shot an arrow toward me, but I caught it and snapped it in half.

I stomped my foot into a tree while severing the right arm of a tribal woman. She fainted from the shock.

Oh, the coffin is here. It crashed and partially crushed a man's bottom half, thanks to the roots of a tree taking the brunt of it.

"So, what do you want with us?", I spoke calmly, staring at the third person here, who seemed to be the chief of this tribe from the amount of tribal markings.

"Outsider!!", he yelled, pointing at me, "Bringing monsters to our territory!!"

You know, I get his reaction. When you are in the land of the country with the second highest death rate in the world, you are bound to be suspicious. Brazilians are either really nice and friendly or bloody thirsty serial killers, there is no inbetween.

"I am a Leviathan Hunter, Captain Sinclaire of the Prydwen.", I lifted Ouroboros Omniscia up, "Give me passage through the forest or else."

The coffin opened up, entering its lazer mode, the thrusters used to counteract the recoil hum as they ignite.

As my Eyes of Judgement bore into the tribal leader, arrows, and spears were aimed at me from all sides.

"Kneel.", I commanded them with Euphoria.

All of them dropped to their knees, some even fell down from trees.

"W-What are you...?", he looked up at me, his knees bleeding from being forced to kneel down.

"I am the Silver Princess of Humanity, it is rude to see me as an invader. For all of humanity and its creation is my property.", I turned off the thrusters, "Why must I be chased out of my territory?"

"This place does not belong to you!!", he screamed.

Ah~ defying me? What an interesting turn of events.

"Wherever humanity touches, I too touch that place.", huh, I just realized the innuendo of that statement.

"Now... retreat your men and let your princess pass through your land. This is your final chance.", and I walked away.

"Do... as she says...", the leader relented.

"B-But—!", one tried to argue back.

"Silence... she is a far more dangerous monster than anything we have faced—", a spear impaled his left arm, pinning him to a tree, "ARRGGGGHHH!!!"

"To disrespect me when I am still here.", I sighed, "You are lucky that I have an aversion to killing people."

I went back to the group calmly, letting my presence weigh the area down. Ah, I can see the fear in some of their eyes, seeing me as a menace.

"Now that's all done with, let's go.", I headed to the direction of El Dorado, not making detours this time.

"Wait, can't we rest?", a student asked.

"No, not until we make out of this territory.", despite my act, I have a suspicion they will target me again.

I don't really care about the student's protection, we have a Herald and the best spearwoman in the world here. I just don't like to say the same thing twice.

I pulled my hood down and stroked my hair.

I took out a cigarette, "Fu... going Northwest from here there should be a campground made by previous expeditions. We will rest there for one hour before continuing on."

The leader of the Logistic team, Joyce Allen, raised their hand, "How long does an Expedition usually take?"

"From half a year to three years, ten days is not enough despite my objection. So you all have to live with the consequences of her decisions.", I let out a puff of smoke.

Antagonizing someone is a process, slowly digging away the trust she built. This is the try-and-true method to create an event that occurs multiple times in human history. Doubts lead to distrust, and for a monarch, that leads to usurpation.

Francis noticed this, but she did not say anything since that wouldn't work well in her favor. I am not a fan of politics, but I can be quite a convincing person.

 

After another hour of traversing the rainforest, we got to the designated spot. Although a little bit overgrown but still usable after a bit of cleaning.

"Professor, how were you able to find this place?", Gai asked me.

"There are markings left behind by previous Hunters, progress is still progress no matter how far.", I burned off some moss from a tree with Malice Flame, revealing the symbol of the Hunter Association - the wolf and two swords crossing each other behind it.

"We will be resting here for an hour and continue on until sunset.", I clapped my hands, "Thanks to Angel and her friends, we have a lot of rations. If someone needs to take the backdoor, do it in pairs to ensure safety even if it is gross."

I took out a cigarette to relax my mind. Mitsuki joined me as we climbed on top of the trees.

"There is a noticeable lack of animals compared to yesterday.", she commented.

"We are getting closer to El Dorado.", I stated.

"What? That fast?", she was surprised, "I thought it would take a week at most!!"

I took in a deep breath, "Don't you feel it? Try entering your Void state."

"Oh? Okay!!", she closed her eyes, then opened them again, her eyes were a cold blue color, now dulled and hollow.

El Dorado is put in the same category as True Arcadia and Avalon because, like those places, it has many entrances and is protected by Fey Magic. And although this place has its own native Fairies, they don't dare to approach the expedition due to my presence alone. As I am the natural enemy for all things magic related.

"Woah... I can see it.", she blinked, her eyes returning to normal, "There is a weird-looking wormhole thingy there."

She pointed at one of the larger trees. Hmm, that is correct.

"Should we enter that portal?", she asked.

"No, for my own enjoyment we won't go there.", the entrance Utopia found is a bit past this one. We are only one-third into the Amazon, after all.

"We will continue heading Northwest.", that is where the interesting stuffs happen.

Luz Mala, the Wisp of the Amazon Forest. We are entering its territory.