Boldness had never felt so wrong. It tended to incite different, negative emotions when one faced someone stronger than them, and spoke out of turn, especially if the speaker knew he was crossing a line.
The light coming from Replicus' sockets turned Grim a bit damp of his previous resolve. Perhaps, he should have just left well enough alone. It wasn't like Yuyui and the boss hated each other, right? Why did he have to butt in?
The gall!
Grim began scolding himself inwardly.
Seriously, who was he to even talk of this, giving advice to his boss? That was so wrong and probably crushed a few brownie points from the stack he had been carefully piling from the boss . In fact...
"You're right..."
"You know what, boss? I'm so... what?" Grim blinked while in the middle of a genuine bow.
"I said you're right," Replicus said as his head turned to face up the corridor leading to the room they had just been in. "I was indeed neglecting her."
Grim was shocked. He was actually right to confront the boss about this? Well, ahem, of course he was. He had known for sure that the boss would realise his mistake all along. It just went to show he too made mistakes.
"I wasn't purposefully ruining our relationship, however. The matter of creating bonds in itself is not a subject I am familiar with that much, when it comes to humans..." Replicus said. "I met Yuyui at a time when she served a vital purpose. A Trial of mine."
"After that, she became a companion I valued, because unlike others, she could be by my side, aiding me as much as she could without dying. Well, not permanently. I suppose since overcoming that hurdle, I have piled on the things I needed, which I hadn't been able to attain before. Allies. I almost replaced her... In a sense, it was intentional, now that I think about it."
Grim's eyes widened.
Even Pherdanta showed some emotion. Surprise, primarily.
The Unlimited, in addition to Yuyui, were the only ones who knew that Replicus wasn't actually human. The others saw it as some gimmick the boss employed to make himself look mysterious or to cover his identity, as other leaders of Factions within the Severed Union did. That said, while privy to how authentic Replicus' form was, the Unlimited were not that familiar with Replicus' personality, except for Grim who knew a little about it because of Yuyui.
Seeing the boss freely expose his emotions and thoughts like this was a bit foreign.
'Now that I think about it, Yu did say there was a lot she didn't tell me about the boss. I guess his circumstances were deeper than I imagined...' Grim thought.
"Uh... Well, regardless of what it is boss, I'm sure you can patch it up. It won't be hard either. Yu isn't the hardest person to talk to."
It was hard to tell whether or not Grim's encouragement actually meant much to Replicus given the obscure way the boss showed his emotions.
"In that you're right..." Replicus said, making Grim feel a bit better about himself.
His words had reached his boss successfully. And that was enough.
Now that he had survived the encounter, Grim decided not to push his luck. He excused himself from Replicus' presence, and headed to the large mark on the third floor where he was transported to the fifth swiftly.
On appearing on the aforementioned floor, Grim gave out a heavy sigh.
That was scary, but he managed somehow, at the very least thanks to the fact that Replicus wasn't some generic villain boss who would have popped his head for speaking out of line, just for dramatic effect. Well, perhaps Replicus just didn't know that he had a lot more screen time than he imagined.
"Well, I expect a formal thanks for toying with death. It'd be better if Yu even thought the boss said she could come for a chat... Yeah, no," Grim thought, imagining the voice from earlier giving him a stern warning.
He walked towards one of two objects that were visible on this floor. They were massive pools that stood at the centre of the floor, taking up most of the space.
Both had square-ish shapes to them – with beautifully carved rims that followed their outlines at the edges.
The sixth and seventh floors were reserved for the Unlimited, with the former housing their personal training spaces, while the latter had their living quarters.
As for these pools...
Grim faced the first, which was nearest to him. It looked to be empty.
The magical tiling within it could be seen without obscurity.
The white-haired Unlimited leapt into the pool nevertheless, with his armour still on.
As he did, the pull of gravity that should have taken him to the bottom immediately, was diluted. Grim's body lazily dropped, slowly descending until it touched the bottom roughly three meters from the top.
Grim sat down. He took a breath. Even he felt nothing, and saw nothing, but he knew, as the others did as well, that this pool wasn't empty.
It was full of Null Life Essence, the bulk of which began to be greedily devoured by his Granted Armament.
***
Replicus' quarters could be found on the topmost floor, the ninth. Unlike the mark with groves, like those on every other floor, the ninth floor had a complex sigil which required high clearance to activate whether when leaving or otherwise.
The Unlimited were allowed to reach the ninth floor, as seen with how Pherdanta stood on the sigil with Replicus, while facing a giant set of double doors.
"You can leave now. I'll inform you when it's time to leave for the Severed Coliseum," Replicus told her.
"As you wish."
Pherdanta bowed, and using the sigil, she disappeared.
Replicus kept his gaze where she had stood.
This woman was a very unique individual. Stubborn and strong. So strong in fact, that she was the only one among the Unlimited who didn't have a Hidden Class, and that did not even place her below the others in terms of power.
Her insistence to stay by his side always, had eventually worn down Replicus, and now, he found himself feeling a little vulnerable without her around.
"Hmmm. It's true. I have been replacing Yuyui, it seems..." Replicus said to himself but quickly brushed this subject away. This wasn't the time. He pushed the giant double doors and entered his abode.
"Well... let's get that Armament over with in the meantime..."
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